The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Title: The Mysterious Benedict Society
Author: Trenton Lee Stewart
Genre: Children's

This is a series about 4 gifted children who are hired by Mr. Benedict to stop his evil twin from brainwashing the entire world! Truly a great series with well-written, quirky characters that will keep you guessing!

- Julia

Check out The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart @ the library!

Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley

Title: Three Holidays and a Wedding
Author: Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Holiday Romance

Are you someone who enjoys a fun Hallmark movie during the holiday season? This story is a hallmark movie in novel form - a fun, delightful, magical romance that embraces the convergence of three holidays that happens every few years. It is set in 2016, when Christmas, Hanukkah, and Ramadan happened within days of each other. A blizzard detours an airplane with multiple holiday travelers, which is forced to land in the small town of Snow Falls. It is a true holiday town, where the sequel to a huge holiday romance movie is secretly filming and the locals seem to really know how to celebrate all of the holidays occurring around them! Enjoy a little holiday magic by reading this story!

- Katrina

Check out Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley @ the library!

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Title: Dash and Lily's Book of Dares
Author: Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Genre: YA Contemporary

Do you have that one book that you are always willing to go back and reread? One that serves almost as comfort food for your brain? This is that book for me! A fun story of falling in love through notes and challenges left in a notebook, and the on-going quest to discover who is behind the notes that they are reading, Dash & Lily is a story written from two points of view that takes its readers on a journey. A journey through New York City, a journey as this relationship develops between these two teens, and a journey that explores just how powerful the written word can be. Check this one out - it is especially wonderful around the holiday season, as most of this book takes place during the Christmas season in downtown NYC.

- Katrina

Check out Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan @ the library!

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

Title: The Personal Librarian
Author: Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
Genre: Historical Fiction

Belle da Costa Greene, a librarian in the early 1900's, worked for J. P. Morgan as his Personal Librarian. This book talks about her time working at the Pierpont Morgan Library and the relationships she had in the book collector's world. Although this book is historical fiction, Belle was a critical figure for her time, and it was amazing to learn her story. I couldn't put it down!

- Bridget

Check out The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray @ the library!

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

Title: One Last Stop
Author: Casey McQuiston
Genre: Fantasy

Life during your twenties is always a big learning experience! August, at 23, has just moved to New York City and has found a wonderfully eclectic group of roommates that are pulling her out of her shell. But the real discovery that causes August to learn her own strength and abilities starts with a random meeting on the subway. August never sees "Subway Girl" anywhere else but continues to run into her again and again. When August finally starts talking to Subway Girl, she begins to try to find out who she is and eventually discovers that Subway Girl has just stepped out of the 1970s and is somehow restricted to this subway line in August's time.

How do you decide if falling in love is worth the risk when you KNOW that the relationship can never move farther than the end of this single track?

- Katrina

Check out One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston @ the library!

Black Tudors: The Untold Story by Miranda Kaufmann

Title: Black Tudors: The Untold Story
Author: Miranda Kaufmann
Genre: History

I love history, and sometimes it feels like I've read everything about the Tudor period. This book, however, reveals the rich and somewhat hidden story of Black people in Tudor England. Contrary to popular belief and depiction in fiction/media, Black people had a thriving community and presence in Tudor England. It's really fascinating, especially given Brexit and conversations around what is truly "English" to read about the long history of immigrants and their various roles in England. It's also fascinating to read about the connections between race, religion, and social acceptance; this echoed things I learned about only as an adult from reading "Stamped From the Beginning" by Ibram X. Kendi. A great read for anyone interested in history, especially Tudor history, and a surprisingly relevant way to engage with current debates on citizenship and belonging.

- Meagan

Check out Black Tudors: The Untold Story by Miranda Kaufmann @ the library!

Everything's Fine by Cecelia Rabess

Title: Everything's Fine
Author: Cecilia Rabess
Genre: Fiction, Romance, Politics, Identity

Jess is a young Black woman starting her finance career at Goldman Sachs. She discovers that one of her new colleagues, Josh, is an old classmate from college. She remembers him most for the heated discussions they would have in a legal course. As their relationship transforms, Jess learns more about who she really is verses who she has always believed she should be. She considers how often being the only Black face in a room has shaped her life. Josh has lived a very different experience - being a white man from a privileged community in Connecticut. “Everything Is Fine” explores what it means to have difficult conversations (and make difficult decisions) with those you love when you don’t share the same perspective.

- Tiffany

Check out Everything's Fine by Cecilia Rabess @ the library!

Rick by Alex Gino

Title: Rick
Author: Alex Gino
Genre: Children's Fiction

Discovering that you are not the only person who does something, feels something, or reacts in some way is part of the experiences that make us realize that we are part of a larger group, part of humanity. There is a sense of magic that is an integral part of learning a new word to describe yourself, or to describe how you are feeling.

This is never more true than in middle school, as you are exploring your own identity, and forming your own sense of self outside of who you have always been told you are. Rick is just starting his time in middle school, and as he quietly joins the Rainbow group that meets after school, he learns that there are more words to describe people than gay, straight, and lesbian - and begins to realize where he might fit in, himself.

- Katrina

Check out Rick by Alex Gino @ the library!

Fruit Punch by Kendra Allen

 

Title: Fruit Punch
Author: Kendra Allen
Genre: Memoir, Black Writers

Storytelling is powerful because not only does it make it difficult to ignore reality, it connects us. Imagine a life without a default experience; where everyone believed there is value in all our stories. Kendra Allen is a young Black girl growing up in Texas in the late 1990s and early 2000s, telling her coming of age story - in her way. Her conversationalist tone describing her turbulent, yet loving upbringing grabs hold of you and guides you down a poetic spiral that you can’t help but connect to.

- Tiffany

Check out Fruit Punch by Kendra Allen @ the library!

The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley

Title: The Seven Sisters
Author: Lucinda Riley
Genre: Historical Fiction

Have you ever tried to look into the stories of your past to discover who you are?

Maia and her five sisters, all adopted as children and named after the stars in the Seven Sisters constellation, gather back at their childhood home after learning of their father's death. It is only after his passing that the six women discover that he has left each of them a clue to their own heritage. Each of the sisters has to search for the courage to take their first steps into the unknown in order to discover their past. This first book of a series, The Seven Sisters follows Maia as she interprets the scraps of information that she has and flies off to Brazil. It is told as almost a split-story, as you get to read about Maia's search as well as the information she discovers and the story of her ancestor's life in the shadow of the planning and creation of the Christ the Redeemer statue at the mountain peak overlooking the town.

Sometimes it is in the discovering the bravery of those who have come before that we can discover our own reasons to embrace all that life presents us, and this is what truly spoke to me while reading Maia's story. I can't wait to read the next story in the series, as Maia's sister Ally searches for her own story in Norway!

- Katrina

Check out The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley @ the library!

A Man and His Cat by Umi Sakurai

Title: A Man and His Cat
Author: Umi Sakurai
Genre: Manga

This is an adorable book about a cat who is adopted by an older man. The illustrations are so cute and anyone who has a pet will relate to the sweet relationship shared by these two!

- Bridget

Check out A Man and His Cat by Umi Sakurai @ the library!

Answers in the Pages by

Title: Answers in the Pages
Author: David Levithan
Genre: Children's 

This story is especially relevant in today's world. It begins when the main character, a fifth grader, brings home a book that he has been assigned to read and leaves it in the kitchen to watch TV. His mom finds the book, reads the end, and tells her son not to read it any further, and that she would be going to his school the next day in order to discuss the matter with his teacher and principal.

Answers in the Pages is a wonderful look at book bans, LGBTQ characters in stories, and just how different parts of society can be affected by these efforts. I found it especially meaningful to read this story from the point of view of the students, some of whom are very invested in the fight to save the book, and some of whom just want to see if the adventurers defeat the monsters at the end of the story!

- Katrina

Check out Answers in the Pages by David Levithan @ the library!

The Tea Dragon Society by Kate O'Neill

 

Title: The Tea Dragon Society
Author: Kate O'Neill
Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy

The Tea Dragon Society is an adorable cozy fantasy book that focuses on the day to day lives of characters in a little town. The main character, Greta, is a blacksmith apprentice who learns about the practice of tea dragon care-taking. This is a great read for any age!

- Bridget

Check out The Tea Dragon Society by Kate O'Neill @ the library!

Greenglass House by Kate Milford

Title: Greenglass House
Author: Kate Milford
Genre: Children's

It is the dead of winter in the Greenglass House--Milo's favorite time of year. This is because there are often no visitors, which leaves him plenty of time to relax and be alone in the house with his parents. However, one night, the doorbell rings. And it rings again, and again and again. As the number of guests rise, so do the tensions as Milo and the cook's daughter, Meddy, must search to find out why all of these guests are here and how they are connected to the house.

- Julia

Check out Greenglass House by Kate Milford @ the library!

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam

Title: Punching the Air
Author: Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam
Genre: Young Adult

This is an incredible book for two reasons: it not only tells a powerful and moving story, but it does so in verse. The book is entirely written in poems that reveal the inner thoughts, fears, and dreams of a young Black boy who is convicted of a crime he did not commit. Stuck in prison and terrified, you follow him as he tries to navigate this new world and finds refuge in his art. Salaam is one of the Exonerated Five (formerly known as the Central Park Five) who was himself falsely accused and convicted of a crime. The emotions and artistry of this story blew me away.

- Meagan

Check out Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam @ the library!

How Can I Help You by Laura Sims

Title: How Can I Help You
Author: Laura Sims
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

Set in a library, this story alternates perspectives between Margo, a former nurse who "helped" her patients transition from life, and Patricia, a writer turned librarian who can't quite give up her dreams of publication. As it turns out, Margo hasn't quite given up chasing the feeling of witnessing someone's death. When Patricia meets Margo, she finds her muse. But what will happen when Margo realizes that Patricia is spilling Margo's dark secrets in the notebook Patricia carries? A delightful insider's look at library work that's also reminiscent of My Sister, the Serial Killer.

- Sarah

Check out How Can I Help You by Laura Sims @ the library!

Nobody Needs to Know by Pidgeon Pagonis

Title: Nobody Needs to Know
Author: Pidgeon Pagonis
Genre: Memoir

During their freshman year of college, Pagonis learns something shocking: the many surgeries, pills, and doctor visits of their youth were not due to cancer, as they had been told, but because they had been born intersex. The journey of learning, accepting, and fighting for their rights forms the core of this memoir. Pagonis has a clear and powerful voice, and bares it all, holding back nothing and letting readers see the impact of decisions their parents and doctors made years ago. This is an incredible story of one person finding and using their voice.

-Meagan

Check out Nobody Needs to Know by Pidgeon Pagonis @ the library!

Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy by Angie Thomas

Title: Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy
Author: Angie Thomas
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Perfect for fans of this author (have you read The Hate U Give) to enjoy or to pass on to a younger sibling, Nic Blake is a character that you can't help but find relatable - even while she's running around with her pet hellhound or complaining about having to wait to get her own dragon! Nic is from a family of Manifestors, who have magic in their blood. But she can't do anything cool with her powers yet, because her father refuses to teach her how to use them! Join Nic on the adventure of a lifetime as she discovers who her family is, who she truly is, and where she belongs - all while trying to dodge Hairy Junior and the Devil's Daughter!

-Katrina

Check out Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy by Angie Thomas @ the library!

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

Title: When Women Were Dragons
Author: Kelly Barnhill
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, LGBT, Feminism

This tale takes place during the 1950s & 60s when all of a sudden thousands of women just disappear from their homes. They devour their husbands and leave behind a fiery wreckage. It was dragons. But discussing dragons is too uncomfortable so no one talks about the devastation that was left in the wake of the "mass dragoning". This coming-of-age story centers on a single family with a child named Alex and how she must endure growing up being lied to all the time. This book encapsulates what it might have been like to grow up as a woman in the 50s and what might have happened if women just decided they had enough.

-Gina

Check out When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill @ the library!

Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins

Title: Her Royal Highness
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Is there any group of people who live their lives more steeped in tradition than the royal families? I can think of few others. This book (along with its companion book, The Royals) shows just what might happen as the rules passed down which govern their lives are forced to confront modern understandings - for example, what happens when the princess not only falls in love with a commoner, but one who also happens to be another girl?

This book is a delightful twist of a common premise: what happens when if, while trying to have a normal college experience, you just happen to be assigned a princess as a roommate, become instant enemies, are thrown together in multiple ways, and just happen fall in love with that princess along the way? And, perhaps even more importantly, what happens when her family - and the public! - find out all about it?

-Katrina

Check out Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins @ the library!