How to Become a Planet by Nicole Melleby

Title: How to Become a Planet

Author: Nicole Melleby

Genre: Fiction, children's

Pluto doesn’t feel like herself anymore. She doesn’t feel like getting out of bed in the morning and she has lost interest in one of her favorite things – astronomy. Pluto’s mom, who runs a pizzeria on the Jersey Shore boardwalk, chose Pluto’s name because she loves space. Pluto and her mom have gone to the planetarium since Pluto was a young child, but Pluto doesn’t want to go.

Pluto meets Fallon, whose family opened a new business nearby. She connects with Fallon because Fallon doesn’t know her as the girl who was diagnosed with depression who stopped going to school a month before the end of seventh grade.

Pluto makes a list of things she wants to do during the summer to make her feel like Pluto again. The list includes visiting the planetarium with her mom and attending her friend Meredith’s birthday party. Pluto also needs to study with a tutor to enter eighth grade in the fall. Fallon has a checklist as well and the two teens connect because of their lists. The book realistically covers mental health in a way that is natural, not overbearing, and Pluto is likeable so Pluto’s struggles keep the reader interested.

- Elizabeth

Check out How to Become a Planet by Nicole Melleby @ the library!

The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood

Title: The Knitting Circle

Author: Ann Hood

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

I love stories that explore friendship and the strength women find within the bonds of their relationships with each other. The Knitting Circle is such a book....at its heart is Mary Baxter, writer, wife and mother. But now she is lost in despair at the sudden death of her young daughter. She's unable to find herself or any part of her previous life with her husband, Dylan, and the grief and sadness are swallowing her up. But then she learns to knit, and it saves her. More accurately, it's the people she meets at "Big Alice's" Sit and Knit that slowly, but surely, save her. Hood's writing is true and honest and she handles difficult, painful issues with sensitivity and humor. I've added this to the top of my "Fav's" list.

- Karen

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The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Title: The Plot

Author: Jean Hanff Korelitz

Genre: Mystery; Thriller; Literary Satire

Jacob Finch Bonner received modest recognition for his first novel but has failed to follow up on his initial success. As a teacher in a low-residency MFA program, he hears his student's "foolproof" plot that Bonner admits would make a hit. When the book isn't published a few years later, Bonner discovers that his student has died--and the plot is now available to him. The novel becomes a bestseller, but then Bonner gets a message: "You are a thief." Who is behind the mysterious note? And will he find out before it's too late? This book is addictive and suspenseful and sure to cure a reading rut.

- Sarah

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New From Here by Kelly Yang

Title: New From Here

Author: Kelly Yang

Genre: Fiction, children's

Knox is a 10-year-old kid living in Hong Kong with his parents and two siblings. When the COVID-19 pandemic begins, Knox’s parents decide to move their family to America. Knox’s parents used to live in California before moving to Hong Kong before Knox was born. Unfortunately, Knox’s dad has to stay behind because he has to work. Knox has to rush to fit his most important belongings in a suitcase. Once they arrive in the U.S., Knox and his big brother, Bowen, are told they must share a bedroom in the house. Knox is used to having his own space and Bowen isn’t nice to Knox, telling Knox he gets only a little space in the room.

School is difficult for Knox because he has a tendency to “blurt things out” and not sit still in his chair at school. He is coming to recognize that he has ADHD. The story follows the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and Knox reacts to each news story about the virus. The book also touches on anti-Asian sentiments related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the story focuses more on Knox’s daily challenges like keeping his brother from driving him nuts, finding friends at his new school, and learning more about ADHD. The book is a good pick for children or younger teens who enjoy realistic fiction. The story is based on the author’s real experiences in 2020!

- Elizabeth

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The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy by Anne Ursu

Title: The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy 

Author: Anne Ursu

Genre: Juvenile Fantasy

When there is magic involved, it often highlights those people who are seeking power and who want to exploit it. But when the very magic is needed to protect the kingdom that one lives in, it is hard to be taken seriously if you start pointing out the problems with the magic that is woven all around you.

This book is about a school where girls are sent if they have done something to be classified as "troubled girls," and Mayra certainly fits the label. After causing enough mischief that her brother loses his chance at being a sorcerer, and getting his own estate, she receives a letter stating that she will be taken to this school (which no one seems to have heard of before) the following day. But when the troubles at the school continue to rise, and it seems like all of those that are meant to protect them are instead hiding important truths from them, it is up to these troubled girls to discover just what hidden strengths brought them all to the school in the first place!

- Katrina

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A Walk In the Woods by Bill Bryson

Title: A Walk In the Woods

Author: Bill Bryson

Genre: Travel writing; non-fiction

Bill Bryson has just moved back to the United States after living in the United Kingdom for the past 18 years. In order to reacquaint himself with his homeland, he has decided to walk the Appalachian Trail. The Appalachian Trail is a hiking trail that stretches 2,194 miles, from Georgia to Maine. Along for the ride, or walk in this case, is Bryson's friend Katz, who he has not seen in 20 years and is not a hiker. After purchasing the whole of an outdoor store to carry on his back, Bryson tells the story of their journey, while weaving the history of the trail and the lands that surround it.

I picked this up after visiting the Smoky Mountains and doing an incredibly brief two mile hike on the Appalachian Trail (it did not feel brief at the time). I cannot imagine the hundreds of miles and nights of camping that Bryson and Katz did on their journey. Bryson's writing has enough humor to keep you reading and wanting to know, do they make it? It almost leaves you thinking, if these two can hike that much, maybe I could too. Reader, I could not.

- Beth

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Leave Only Footprints by Conor Knighton

Title: Leave Only Footprints

Author: Conor Knighton

Genre: Memoir; Travel Memoir; Nonfiction

After a breakup, the author decides to go on an adventure, visiting 59 national parks in a year. Rather than tell his story chronologically, the author groups his visits by theme. For example, "Canyons," "Caves" and "Mountains" as well as "Mystery," "Love" and "Forgiveness." He weaves in the history of various parks and stories of contemporary visitors and workers along with his personal journey. For instance, he describes the "conscience pile" of wood once stolen and then returned to Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona as he contemplates forgiving his ex. This thoughtful and at times funny tale will have you planning your next visit to one of the national parks.

- Sarah

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