Staff Picks

Tender, nostalgic, hilarious.

 

This graphic novel explores the complex questions persistently posed to many masculine-presenting folks which are: What does it mean to be a "man"? What feelings, experiences, and circumstances contribute to the development of toxic masculinity? Is there such a thing as positive masculinity, or is masculinity in itself inherently toxic?

 

Neatly packaged in a hilarious narrative about an imaginary shark, this text encourages deep engagement from youth and adults alike, and will especially resonate with middle schoolers.

 

Publisher's description:

A hilarious middle-grade graphic memoir about boyhood, toxic masculinity and a shark named Jaws. For fans of Guts and New Kid.

 

Two collections of distinct yet interconnected stories pull no punches in exploring the bloody Battle of Okinawa, as well as the modern consequences of continued U.S. military occupation on the island. Higa blends traditions of Okinawan spirituality with a cutting narrative and an iconic art style to create a beautiful book.

 

Publisher description:

This heartbreaking manga, by an award-winning cartoonist, examines the history of Okinawa and its military occupation. An essential manga classic presented in English for the first time. A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection Okinawa brings together two collections of intertwined stories by the island's pre-eminent mangaka, Susumu Higa, which reflect on this difficult history and pull together traditional Okinawan spirituality, the modern-day realities of the continuing US military occupation, and the senselessness of the War. The first collection, Sword of Sand, is a ground level, unflinching look at the horrors of the Battle of Okinawa. Higa then turns an observant eye to the present-day in Mabui (Okinawan for "spirit"), where he explores how the American occupation has irreversibly changed the island prefecture, through the lens of the archipelago's indigenous spirituality and the central character of the yuta priestess. Okinawa is a harrowing document of war, but it is also a work which addresses the dreams and the needs of a people as they go forward into an uncertain future, making it essential reading for anyone interested in World War II and its effects on our lives today, as well as anyone with an interest in the people and culture of this fascinating, complicated place. Though the work is thoroughly about one specific locale, the complex relations between Okinawan and Japanese identities and loyalties, between place and history, and between humanity and violence speak beyond borders and across shores. Please note: This book is a traditional work of manga and reads back to front and right to left.

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Thought provoking and at times eerily relatable, this piece of satire walks a fine line between utopian and dystopian fiction. Young adults readers will be encouraged to ask themselves difficult questions as they read. A great choice for those who are hoping to reevaluate our connection to technology and consider what it is that makes us human.

 

Publisher's description:

For Titus and his friends, it started out like any ordinary trip to the moon -- a chance to party during spring break. But that was before the crazy hacker caused all their feeds to malfunction, sending them to the hospital to lie around with nothing inside their heads for days. And it was before Titus met Violet, a beautiful, brainy teenage girl who has decided to fight the feed and its ever-present ability to categorize human thoughts and desires. M. T. Anderson’s not-so-brave new world is a smart, savage satire that has captivated readers with its view of an imagined future that veers unnervingly close to the here and now.

 

This book will simultaneously break and heal your heart. An exploration of how expectations can often be limiting and of the difficulty in navigating the maze that is family dynamics. Julia's journey to understanding her family and her self is inspiring and identifiable across many cultures. Easily one of my top three recommendations for teen readers, a truly excellent book.

 

Publisher description:

Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents' house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family. But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga's role. Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed.

 

Find I am not your Perfect Mexican Daughter in our online catalog

What's that dark shape going bump in the woods? Brooks' chilling tale of man vs. beast is sure to make you want to run for the hills (or run away from them).

 

Publisher description:

As the ash and chaos from Mount Rainier's eruption swirled and finally settled, the story of the Greenloop massacre has passed unnoticed, unexamined, until now. But the journals of resident Kate Holland, recovered from the town's bloody wreckage, capture a tale too harrowing and too earth-shattering in its implications, to be forgotten. Because if what Kate Holland saw in those days is real, then we must accept the impossible. We must accept that the creature known as Bigfoot walks among us, and that it is a beast of terrible strength and ferocity.

 

I find myself returning to this collection of stories again and again. A master of defamiliarization, Chiang tackles the familiar, nagging questions inherently tied up with the human condition. From heart-wrenching to inspiring, this collection is sure to leave you breathless.

 

Publisher description:

In these nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories, Ted Chiang tackles some of humanity's oldest questions along with new quandaries only he could imagine. In "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate," a portal through time forces a fabric seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past mistakes and second chances. In "Exhalation," an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications that are literally universal. In "Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom," the ability to glimpse into alternate universes necessitates a radically new examination of the concepts of choice and free will. Including stories being published for the first time as well as some of his rare and classic uncollected work, Exhalation is Ted Chiang at his best: profound, sympathetic--revelatory.