Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

Title: Ordinary Grace

Author: William Kent Krueger

Genre: Fiction, Coming of Age, Mystery

"It was a summer in which death, in visitation, assumed many forms. Accident. Nature. Suicide. Murder." The words of narrator 13-year-old Frank Drum, growing up in small town MN in 1961, captured me from its outset. This is a quiet yet powerful book full of mystery, secrets and adversity.  Frank's father is the town Minister, whose unshakable faith and hope holds his family and town together even in the midst of unspeakable tragedy and sorrow. For all its "heaviness," the story is ultimately uplifting and hopeful and leaves you touched by "not-so-ordinary" grace.

- Karen

Check out Ordinary Grace @ the library.

Hey Ladies! by Michelle Markowitz and Caroline Moss

Title: Hey Ladies!

Author: Michelle Markowitz and Caroline Moss

Genre: Humor

Hey Ladies! Such a simple salutation, but what follows is a years’ worth of communication, mostly through e-mail, between a group of 8 friends living in the New York area. It starts with January’s resolutions shared with each other, to February’s surprise proposal, and then the rest of the year is all about Jen’s wedding preparation and events.

Even if you don’t have a group of friends quite like this, it’s hard not to get involved with the friendship drama of these very different women. You’ll root for Nicole’s business startup, be flustered with Ali’s making decisions for everyone with a pretty steep price tag. You’ll follow Jen’s wedding drama, and hope that Gracie and Morgan stay as level headed as they are throughout it all. Caitlin, a wellness guru wanna be; Katie, an aspiring journalist; and Ashley, a teacher in Connecticut round out our group of 8.

Originally on the now-defunct site The Toast, this year-in-the-life book will have you laughing and being thankful you aren’t on the receiving end of these ladies’ e-mails!

- Katie

Check out Hey Ladies! @ the library.

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

Title: The Immortalists

Author: Chloe Benjamin

Genre: Fiction

1969. New York City. The four young Gold children, Varya, Daniel, Klara, and Simon, visit an old lady rumored to be psychic. After she speaks with each of the siblings in turn, they are left with the date of their impending death. Follow the children as they try to defy their foretold destinies and become a researcher, a doctor, a magician, and a dancer. Did the Romany woman have their futures pegged? Can they move out of the shadow of their own impending deaths? Check out The Immortalists to see.

I liked that I could picture the story as it took place in my mind's eye. I also found Benjamin's portrayal of a person with OCD to be very authentic. Plus, she's a local (Madison, WI) so she name drops spots around our state in the book which is cool, too.

- Sarah R.

Check out The Immortalists @ the library.

Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror by Steve Alten

Title: Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror

Author: Steve Alten

Genre: Action, Horror, Science Fiction

Years ago, Jonas Taylor saw something terrifying during a deep sea dive that changed his life forever. Now, he works to prove that there really is a monster living deep within the Marianas Trench. But when the creature escapes to the surface, everyone will have to pay the price as it begins its rampage through the oceans.

The inspiration for the upcoming movie The Meg, this book is a fun, fast-paced adventure with a little science and a lot of action. A great read for anyone who loves Jurassic Park or is afraid of what could be lurking in the ocean’s depths!

- Rachel C.

Check out Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror @ the library.

Lady Sherlock Series #1 and #2: "A Study in Scarlet Women" and "A Conspiracy in Belgravia" by Sherry Thomas

Titles: A Study in Scarlet Women and A Conspiracy in Belgravia (Lady Sherlock Series #1 and #2)

Author: Sherry Thomas

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery

Excellent! The Lady Sherlock Series is a gender-flipped retelling of Sherlock Holmes. It's not the first gender-flipped retelling, but it has to be the best. The characterization is fabulous, the crimes and surrounding plots are interesting, and both novels provoke fascinating conversations on gender and class. There's also some superbly poignant romantic tension. I listened to the audio book versions (available on OverDrive and Libby) read by award-winning narrator Kate Reading. She gives each of the many characters a unique voice without ever going over the top. Highly recommended!

- Rachel K.

Check out A Study in Scarlet Women and A Conspiracy in Belgravia @ the library.

Show Your Work! 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered by Austin Kleon

Title: Show Your Work! 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered

Author: Austin Kleon

Genre: Art, Business

Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon is a short, quick read that merges a how-to guide with the inspiration of a self-help book (but without the cheese). With Kleon's encouraging advice, you will finish the book feeling inspired and confident on how to move forward in promoting your creativity. Kleon lays out 10 easy ways for creatives to share with others what they're doing in a way that's authentic and meaningful. From how to talk about your creative ventures to strangers (even if you aren't making any money from it yet) to practical ideas of what to post on social media (even if you don't have a "finished product"), Kleon's presentation is really approachable, and any creative (artists, writers, musicians, etc.) would find something beneficial to glean from this book. Highly recommended.

- Sarah P.

Check out Show Your Work! @ the library.

Poetry Review: "Love Her Wild" by Atticus and "Elise Cowen: Poems and Fragments" by Tony Trigilio

This week's review compares two poetry books. The first is Love Her Wild by Atticus, and the second is Elise Cowen: Poems and Fragments by Tony Trigilio. Read on to discover which may appeal to you!

Looking for something light to read this summer? Try some poems!  In Love Her Wild, mysterious instagram poet Atticus collects some of his most evocative writings.  These short, lyric observations capture the beauty and adventure in life from the delight in wild places to the irrepressible energy of young love.  Read about moonlit nights in the desert and love that tears poems from your flesh alongside stark black and white photographs of the world he so lovingly describes.  Love Her Wild is the perfect book to bring along on a picnic or to the beach.

Or, if love and beauty aren’t your cup of tea, Elise Cowen has an extended metaphor about corpses that might speak to you.  Following her suicide in 1962, nearly all of Cowen’s work was burned for their unsettling exploration of sex, drugs, and mental illness.  In Elise Cowen: Poems and Fragments, Tony Trigilio collects and comments on the sole surviving notebook of the legendary beat poetess, best known for dating Alan Ginsberg.  In this glimpse into the mind of one of the most prolific writers you’ve never read, Cowen questions the source of her madness, the social mores of her time, and the role of women through a proto-second-wave-feminist lens.  Read about cockroaches and pot shards and the charmlessness of love.  This book is can’t-miss for any fan of the beat generation, or anyone curious to see how poems evolve from draft to finished form.

- Leah

Check out Lover Her Wild and Elise Cowen: Poems and Fragments @ the library.