Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

Title: Next Year in Havana

Author: Chanel Cleeton

Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction

Marisol grew up hearing stories about Cuba from her grandmother Elisa, who left there as a teenager and never returned. Now, Elisa has just passed away, and her final wish was for Marisol to visit Cuba for the first time and spread her ashes there. Marisol stays with her grandmother’s childhood best friend, who gives her a box of letters that Elisa gave her to protect when she left the country in 1959. The letters show her a side to her grandmother’s life that she never knew about, and Marisol sets out to discover the full story. The book switches between Marisol’s viewpoint in 2017 and Elisa’s in 1958, so readers learn along with Marisol about the man who wrote the letters and the circumstances that caused Elisa’s family to leave Cuba. However, the more Marisol digs into her family’s past, the more attention she draws from the government, until she begins to put herself and the family she is staying with in danger. This is an intriguing book that keeps readers surprised until the end. 

- Melissa

Check out Next Year in Havana @ the library.

The Witch Elm by Tana French

Title: The Witch Elm

Author: Tana French

Genre: Mystery

Tana French's novel, The Witch Elm, focuses on a young man named Toby, an easy-going, fairly lucky, Teflon kind-of-guy -- nothing bad sticks. Then his luck changes in a bad way: a break-in at his apartment, a brutal beating, and the news that his favorite uncle has cancer. Toby decides to move into the family's ancestral home with Uncle Hugo to keep an eye on him and hopefully recover some himself as his memory is spotty and his healing is slow. Then a body is found. The cops are asking questions while Toby is asking himself if a murder lurks in the gaps of his history. 

I experienced this story as an audiobook and the narrator, Paul Nugent, gives the story added depth and a lovely Irish accent to the tale.

- Sarah R.

Check out The Witch Elm @ the library.

Harry's Trees by Jon Cohen

Title: Harry's Trees

Author: Jon Cohen

Genre: Magical Realism, Fantasy

When Harry's wife dies in a sudden accident, he is heartbroken. He is stuck in an unrewarding job and has always dreamed of working outside with trees. In his grief he tries to escape from all the pressures of his job and his money-hungry brother by commiting suicide in a nearby forest. Little does he know that he will be found by a young girl moments after his plan fails, and that she will interpret his arrival in her life as a fantastical sign from her father who recently died unexpectedly. What follows is a story of how friendship can be found in unlikely ways and redemption in doing things that you love. A heartwarming and uplifting read.

- Elizabeth

Check out Harry's Trees @ the library.

The Feather Thief by Kirk Johnson

Title: The Feather Thief

Author: Kirk Johnson

Genre: True Crime

What an intriguing and bizarre read! I don't even know where to start with this book! It was so strange (in the best way possible). An American college student studying flute at London's Royal Academy of Music with a fly-tying hobby planned and executed a heist to steal rare and valuable feathers from the British Museum of Natural History. He never went to jail, and was only required to pay a fine that was just a fraction of the actual value of the stolen goods. Only one third of what was stolen was returned, and even then they were unusable to the museum because they had informational tags removed. What possesses a flute player with a fly-tying hobby to steal feathers? How did he get off so easy? What happened to all the missing feathers that were never returned? What makes feathers so valuable, anyway? What even is fly-tying and who even cares?

I'd highly recommend checking out this book. It is well-researched and well-written, and answers most of these bizarre questions, leaving only a few unanswered. I'm not much for true crime, but this was fast-paced (especially towards the end) and was really interesting.

- Sarah P.

Check out The Feather Thief @ the library.

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

Title: Before We Were Yours

Author: Lisa Wingate

Genre: Historical Fiction

In this book two stories are told. 

Memphis, TN, 1939: Rill Foss is the oldest of five who live in a shantyboat on the Mississippi River. After a health crisis forces Rill's parents to seek out a hospital, Rill and her siblings are captured and end up in a Tennessee Children's Home Society Orphanage. Rill struggles to keep her siblings together and safe as they are given new names and displayed to would-be adopters.

Aiken, SC, Present: Avery Stafford, the daughter of a prominent senator, is now being groomed to take her father's place as his health is failing. With her life of privilege, her law-degree, and her long-time fiance, it seems as though everything is being planned for her. A surprise meeting during a photo op at a nursing home makes her dig deeper into her family's history and what she learns may just derail all of her family's political plans.

This book was selected as the 2017 Goodreads winner for Historical Fiction. 

- Sarah R.

Check out Before We Were Yours @ the library.