Staff Picks

A fun romance about transformation and starting over. Body positivity messages are sprinkled within, which is refreshing. It also includes a home remodel, which is satisfying, too!
 

Publisher's description: 
Rose Barnes feels best when she's invisible--so when she wins the lottery and is suddenly thrust into the spotlight where everyone wants something, hiding out in a small town in North Carolina makes perfect sense. Rose has got curves for days--and to Angus, the big, burly, bearded contractor working on her new house, she's just plum perfect. Rose is surprised to learn that Angus has a sense of humor and a soft heart beneath that gruff exterior. Angus can't help noticing that wacky Rose is smart, funny, and has a sexy underwear stash that leads him to some very unprofessional fantasies. As their unlikely friendship becomes love, Angus becomes determined to help Rose overcome what he believes are financial troubles. But with Angus's need to always give more than he receives, Rose's multi-million secrets could mean the end of a beautiful relationship.

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I discovered this book on our shelves and was happy to find an author similar to my favorite author, Sarah Addison Allen. It is heartwarming and hopeful and is about making new choices on life's journey, with a sprinkle of magic , of course!

 

Publisher's description:

An uplifting novel about a heartbroken young pie maker who is granted a magical second chance to live the life she didn't choose. . . . from the bestselling author of The Enlightenment of Bees. Lolly Blanchard's life only seems to give her lemons. Ten years ago, after her mother's tragic death, she broke up with her first love and abandoned her dream of opening a restaurant in order to keep her family's struggling Seattle diner afloat and care for her younger sister and grieving father. Now, a decade later, she dutifully whips up the diner's famous lemon meringue pies each morning while still pining for all she's lost. As Lolly's thirty-third birthday approaches, her quirky great-aunt gives her a mysterious gift-three lemon drops, each of which allows her to live a single day in a life that might have been hers. What if her mom hadn't passed away? What if she had opened her own restaurant in England? What if she hadn't broken up with the only man she's ever loved? Surprising and empowering, each experience helps Lolly let go of her regrets and realize the key to transforming her life lies not in redoing her past but in having the courage to embrace her present.

 

This is a very practical book about how to find small moments of joy or 'microjoys' in the midst of life's sorrows. Cyndie Spiegel experienced a couple of extremely challenging losses and setbacks and was able to find hopeful moments in the midst of it all; and she shares how we can too.

 

Publisher's description: 

Bighearted and hopeful. Unflinchingly honest and healing. A profound compendium of intimate, inspiring essays and thoughtful prompts that will keep you afloat in difficult times and sustain you in the everyday. Microjoys are a practice of discerning hope and joy in each and every moment of our lives. They are accessible to all of us, at all times, if we can hone the ability to look for them. They are the hidden wisdom, subtle treasures, and ordinary delights that surround us: A polka-dot glass on a thrift store shelf. A cat that you didn't know you needed to adopt. A dear friend's kind message at just the right time. The neighborhood spice shop. A beloved family tradition. The simple quietude of being in love. A chai tea recipe. Cyndie Spiegel first began taking note of microjoys during the most difficult year of her life-when she experienced back-to-back unprecedented and devastating losses-and she found that these small moments of hope helped her move through each day with a semblance of comfort and a bit more joy. Through beautifully written narrative essays and prompts, Cyndie shares the microjoys that have kept her going through tough times and shows us how we can learn to see the microjoys in our own lives. Microjoys don't change the truth of loss or make grief any more convenient, but they allow us to momentarily touch joy, keeping us buoyed and moving forward, one step at a time.

 

I found this book to be super engaging. Zoey and the characters sprung to life in this story about transformation, acceptance and creating your own supportive and colorful community. Fans of Sarah Addison Allen won't be disappointed!

 

Publisher's description:

Right off the coast of South Carolina, on Mallow Island, The Dellawisp sits--a stunning cobblestone building shaped like a horeshoe and named after the tiny turquoise birds who, alongside its human tenants, inhabit an air of magical secrecy. When Zoey comes to claim her deceased mother's apartment on Mallow Island, she meets her quirky and secretive neighbors, including a girl on the run, two estranged middle-aged sisters, a lonely chef, a legendary writer, and three ghosts. Each with their own story. Each with their own longings. Each whose ending isn't written yet.

 

Loved this book about a middle school girl whom is in the foster care system and gets placed in a new home with a eclectic family who runs a petting a zoo. Also, there's a sprinkling of magic in here too. For fans of Wishtree by Katherine Applegate. :)

 

Publisher's description:

Red's inexplicable power over the wind comes from her mother. Whenever Ruby "Red" Byrd is scared or angry, the wind picks up. And being placed in foster care, moving from family to family, tends to keep her skies stormy. Red knows she has to learn to control it, but can't figure out how. This time, the wind blows Red into the home of the Grooves, a quirky couple who run a petting zoo, complete with a dancing donkey and a giant tortoise. With their own curious gifts, Celine and Jackson Groove seem to fit like a puzzle piece into Red's heart. But just when Red starts to settle into her new life, a fresh storm rolls in, one she knows all too well : her mother. For so long, Red has longed to have her mom back in her life, and she's quickly swept up in the vortex of her mother's chaos. Now Red must discover the possible in the impossible if she wants to overcome her own tornadoes and find the family she needs.

 

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Beautiful art. Beautiful message. And you just might learn a couple new things about the Statue of Liberty. This book is catalogued as Juvenile non-fiction but I think people of all ages will enjoy it.

 

Publisher description:

If you had to name a statue, any statue, odds are good you'd mention the Statue of Liberty. Have you seen her? She's in New York. She's holding a torch. And she's in mid-stride, moving forward. But why? In this fascinating and fun take on nonfiction for kids, Dave Eggers and Shawn Harris investigate a seemingly small trait of America's most emblematic statue. What they find is about more than history, more than art. What they find in the Statue of Liberty's right foot is the powerful message of acceptance that is essential of an entire country's creation.

 

If you ever wanted to run away, travel to New York City and try out for a Broadway musical, this book is for you! Nate Foster, a really funny 13 year-old from Pittsburgh, dreams of landing a role in "E.T. the Musical," and I can't wait to see if he gets the part!

 

Publisher Description:

Nate Foster has big dreams. His whole life, he's wanted to star in a Broadway show. (Heck, he'd settle for seeing a Broadway show.) But how is Nate supposed to make his dreams come true when he's stuck in Jankburg, Pennsylvania, where no one (except his best pal Libby) appreciates a good show tune? With Libby's help, Nate plans a daring overnight escape to New York. There's an open casting call for E.T.: The Musical , and Nate knows this could be the difference between small-town blues and big-time stardom.