Category: Books

Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan

- Callen Leave a comment

If you’ve ever wanted to read a classic book but can’t stand the long-winded scientific descriptions, there’s nothing like a modern retelling, preferably YA, to give it an inclusive and action-packed second life. In this case, middle-grade urban fantasy powerhouse Rick Riordan has written Daughter of the Deep as a skillful homage to Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Welcome to Harding-Pencroft School, the science and technology high school that trains some of the world’s best scientists, diplomats, code-crackers, and naval warriors. It’s divided into four “houses” or focuses of study: House Dolphin, communication and cryptology experts; House Shark, warriors and leaders; House Cephalopod, engineers and innovators, and House Orca, experts in medicine, psychology, and memory. Ana Dakkar is a freshman in House Dolphin, about to undergo her end-of-year trials to determine if she has what it takes to continue her program. Harding-Pencroft is her only home after her parents died two years ago, leaving herself and her brother Dev, a House Shark senior, orphaned. Unfortunately, her trials do not go as planned as she and the rest of the freshman class witness a tragedy that plunges them all into a race for their lives – and for a once in a lifetime treasure. It turns out that they and their rival school, Land Institute, have been in a years-long cold war over the legacy of Captain Nemo (as made famous in Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues under the Sea) who, as it turns out, may not have been so fictional after all…

Rick Riordan fans will love his signature quirky, inclusive, tight-knit friend group that makes up the main cast of characters, and Star Trek fans will love their journey into the unknown under a tightly regimented chain of command. I loved how much of an homage it was to Jules Verne’s original, while at the same time adding a more modern perspective – including greater diversity and a more thoughtful engagement with mental health, trauma, and grief. In my opinion, Rick Riordan does a good job balancing exciting action and character development with a deeper message about the importance of science and oceanography.

If you like exciting adventures, undersea exploration, and compelling characters, or you still love Percy Jackson, you won’t want to miss this book.

Romance Reads: Kiss Quotient series by Helen Hoang

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Helen Hoang is a New York Times bestselling author of the Kiss Quotient series: The Kiss Quotient, The Bride Test, and The Heart Principle. While these books are considered a series, they are loosely connected and do not require you to read the previous books in order to understand the later books. These books are also steamy romance reads. Helen has been obsessed with romance books since eighth grade. She currently lives in San Diego with her family.

What drew me to Helen Hoang’s novels is her relationship with Autism Spectrum Disorder. In 2016, Helen was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, specifically what was previously known as Asperger’s syndrome. In each of her books, at least one of the main characters is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Helen’s knowledge of this disorder is clearly present when she writes each of those characters and how they interact with the world.

The Kiss Quotient is the first book in this series. Stella Lane loves math. She believes that math is the only thing that makes the universe make sense. In her job, Stella comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases. Her job gives her more money than she knows what to do with, but unfortunately doesn’t help her at all in the dating department. You see, Stella has Asperger’s syndrome. She doesn’t necessarily want to date, but recognizes that she needs practice. She is wealthy and successful, but one-on-one interactions with people are awkward for her.

Wanting to get more practice, Stella decides to hire a professional, escort Michael Phan. She wants Michael to teach her how to be a good girlfriend and comes up with a detailed lesson plan of what she wants to learn. Michael has mounting bills and a hard rule that he doesn’t take repeat customers. When Stella presents him with an unconventional proposal, he decides that he can’t turn her down. What starts as a no-nonsense partnership starts changing when they fall into a pattern. Michael and Stella spend more time together, learning more about each other as they work through Stella’s list. Stella starts to grow on Michael, while Stella learns that love isn’t something that can be quantified.

These titles are also available in large print, as OverDrive eBooks, and as OverDrive eAudiobooks. Visit our catalog to find those other formats!

Kiss Quotient Series

  1. The Kiss Quotient (2018)
  2. The Bride Test (2019)
  3. The Heart Principle (2021)

Major Detours by Zachary Sergi

- Callen Leave a comment

Do you like tarot cards, choose-your-own-adventure stories, or books with a lovable group of friends? If so, this could be the perfect book for you. Able to be read either straight through or on a path of your own choosing, Major Detours by Zachary Sergi is a brilliantly flexible novel incorporating interactive choice-making elements inspired by the Tarot, including the importance of personality and interpretation.

Amelia, Chase, Cleo, and Logan are off on one last road trip before they all go off to college. They’ve chosen a route inspired by tarot cards, because their friendship is partially built around an unusual deck that was owned by Amelia’s late Grandma Flo. They plan to visit a few tarot shops and maybe learn more about the deck along the way, but they get way more than they bargained for when they discover the deck is a rare, one-of-a-kind collector’s item that holds clues to mysterious missing cards. Dodging obsessed collectors and avid followers of the deck’s creator, Carson Perilli, the four go on the hunt for the deck’s last four cards and the truth about Grandma Flo’s legacy. It’s up to the reader to decide the choices they make at crucial turning points throughout the story.

Never having read a Choose Your Own Adventure book, I found this format both exciting and engaging and also agonizing – making quick decisions is not one of my strongest skills. I did think it was original, and the choices you have to make are thoughtful ones, based around the characters’ personality traits and social goals. For instance, Chase is often torn between his best friend Amelia and boyfriend Logan, leading to some delicate moments where he (and you, as the reader) must choose how to keep peace, or which side to take. As someone with a hefty amount of social anxiety, I appreciated this spotlight on how subtle word choices can have big consequences for conversations and relationships.

The characters are LGBTQ-diverse, well-drawn, and distinct, and the adventure skillfully walks a delicate line to keep the action exciting but the mood light. If you’re looking for an escapist YA that reads a bit like a video game and also asks questions about art, legacy, friendship, and fate, this may be the book for you.

Cozy Mystery Reads: Finlay Donovan series by Elle Cosimano

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Elle Cosimano is an Edgar-nominated and award-winning author of four young adult novels. Her debut adult novel is the first in the Finlay Donovan series, Finlay Donovan is Killing It, which has been described as a contemporary mystery series. This first title was featured in People Magazine and was also highlighted as one of the New York Public Library’s Best Books of 2021. The second book in this series Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead will be released in February 2022.

The first in the Finlay Donovan series, Finlay Donovan is Killing It, introduces Finlay, her family, and her life to readers in a funny, engaging manner unlike anything I had read before. The premise was entertaining from page 1, plus Finlay read as a relatable character just trying to make it through the day alive and mostly unscathed. This novel is fast-paced and portrays a mother who doesn’t have it all together, yet her kids end up surviving. Finlay is an authentic character living in a messy life just trying to make it through motherhood one day at a time.

Finlay Donovan has it under control – well, for the most part. Her life has changed drastically from where she imagined herself to be, but she’s managed to keep her two kids alive and fed. Recently divorced, Finlay is a stressed out mom of two and a struggling novelist. Her writing isn’t going well, her ex-husband has fired their nanny (WITHOUT telling her), and her kids seem determined to cause as much chaos as possible. Case in point: her four-year-old daughter decided to give herself a haircut and had a meltdown that was only solved when Finlay duct-taped her hair back onto her head(because that’s what daddy would have done and he can fix anything). She may look ridiculous, but hey, the kid stopped screaming.

At a meeting with her agent over lunch, Finlay discusses the plot of the new suspense novel she has been working on and how bad writing is going so far. She just can’t seem to find a way to write yet another book about a murder, even though she has already been given (and spent) part of her advance. As she is preparing to leave, Finlay realizes that another lunch-goer has misheard her and has assumed that she is a contract killer. Finlay inadvertently accepts the offer to get rid of this woman’s problem husband. The money she offers certainly can help her pay some of her bills. What follows is a series of mishaps, bungles, and wrong place/wrong time situations that show Finlay that real life crime is way more complicated that just writing about it ever will be. Finlay finds herself entangled in a murder investigation and the money quickly becomes not worth it if it means she will be in prison, separated from her kids for good.

Finlay Donovan series:

  1. Is Killing It (2021)
  2. Knocks ‘Em Dead (2022)

1979 by Val McDermid

- Lynn Leave a comment

Val McDermid makes a departure from her other long-running series in this novel – which is set in …1979!

Very likely the beginning of a new series – this book is set in Glasgow, and stars young reporter, Allie Burns. Like McDermid herself was in the late seventies, Burns is starting out her career as a reporter on a metro daily newspaper. Fighting against notions that female reporters should cover fluffy, lifestyle stories, Burns does her best to break into investigative journalism. Working with Danny Sullivan, the two collaborate on stories involving corruption, murder and the secretive security services.

What makes this a cut above other crime series is the specificity of the setting. In this era, this gritty Scottish city is rife with sexism and  homophobia – both of which have a direct impact on Burns and Sullivan.

And like Ireland, Scotland had a nationalist movement that, in the seventies and eighties, was evolving into a more activist and popular movement.

McDermid writes with authenticity about this time and place – you can tell she hasn’t just done research and layered on details. She has written characters who speak and act based on assumed knowledge, beliefs and their behavior is predicated on the lack of digital technology. How fun is that?! People making calls on landlines and typing on typewriters – in a non-ironic way!

 

 

 

 

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

- Stephanie Leave a comment

To tell you the truth, I don’t get how we can almost unanimously agree that murder is wrong, yet when it comes to rape some people still see shades of gray.  – Megan Goldin, The Night Swim

Megan Goldin’s latest The Night Swim is a psychological thriller that covers a controversial trial in a small town. Content warning: this book talks about rape, violence, sexual assault, sexual battery, murder, and domestic violence.

Rachel Krall is a true crime podcast host. She has become a common household name after a previous season set an innocent man free. The attention this garnered her has been both positive and negative. Some of the public also see her as the last hope of those seeking justice, constantly wanting her attention.

For her third season, Rachel has come to the small town of Neapolis to cover a controversial trial pitting a local golden boy against a young girl. This rape trial has torn the town apart. A swimmer on track to compete at the Olympics has been accused of raping the young granddaughter of the police chief. Rachel need this latest season to be a success, so she throws herself into the investigation and attends every day of the trial.

Rachel’s concentration is derailed when she finds a note under her car windshield asking for help. Thinking it was a one-off, Rachel continues her investigation into the trial. More mysterious letters keep showing up asking Rachel to find out what really happened to the writer’s sister twenty-five years ago. Officially Jenny Stills drowned, but the writer insists that she was actually murdered. Despite the pressures of the podcast weighing on her, Rachel can’t stop her desire to look into Jenny’s case. The more questions she asks, the more non-answers she receives. No one wants to dig up the past. Rachel’s investigation into Jenny’s case takes a turn when she realizes that both the present trial and the past mystery are connected. What she discovers could have devastating consequences for all involved.

This book is also available in the following formats:

Cozy Mystery Reads: Noodle Shop Mystery series by Vivien Chien

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Cozy mysteries have become one of my comfort reads in the last couple months. One of my favorite series that I have been reading is the Noodle Shop Mystery Series by Vivien Chien. Chien was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio where she grew up in a mixed-race home. She first started writing adventure stories in elementary school. Her love of writing and books only increased in the coming years. She attempted her first novel when she was 16. Now she is the author of the Noodle Shop Mystery series, which has seven published novels and an eighth scheduled to be published in January 2022.

All of the Noodle Shop Mystery series books can be found at one of the Davenport Public Libraries. A complete list of the books in this series can be found at the end of this blog post.

The first book in the Noodle Shop Mystery series is Death by Dumpling. Lana Lee never thought that she would end up back working at her family’s restuarant, Ho-Lee Noodle House. After a bad break-up and a dramatic walk-out from her last job, Lana’s life is in tatters. Not sure what to do, she decides to head back home and start waitressing at the restaurant as a way to begin putting her life back together. The downside: her mother. She wants to find Lana a husband and has been hinting towards various men around Asia Village that they would be perfect for her.

All thoughts of finding Lana a husband are put on the back burner after Asia Village’s property manager is found dead in his office. The restaurant is in the hot seat after it becomes known that an order of shrimp dumplings from Ho-Lee is found next to the body. Mr. Feng had a severe, life-threatening shellfish allergy that everyone in Asia Village knew about, so the discovery of the shrimp dumplings causes major concern. The whole restaurant is under suspicion and that of course causes the local media to descend upon the plaza searching for clues. Lana must find a way to clear the family and their employees, and restore the restaurant’s name.

Noodle Shop Mystery series

  1. Death By Dumpling (2018)
  2. Dim Sum of All Fears (2018)
  3. Murder Lo Mein (2019)
  4. Wonton Terror (2019)
  5. Egg Drop Dead (2020)
  6. Killer Kung Pao (2020)
  7. Fatal Fried Rice (2021)
  8. Hot and Sour Suspects (2022)

Wayward by Dana Spiotta

- Lynn Leave a comment

Wayward  is one of the trickiest books I’ve run into in a long time. While I was reading it, I kept marking passages because they were so true and insightful. The thoughts and feelings of Sam, the main character, had such resonance and were so beautifully written. Proudly middle aged, she is not sad about losing her youth and beauty. She’s actually looking forward to what’s to come and  becomes involved with a Facebook group called Hardcore Hags, Harridans and Harpies. I empathized with Sam’s rage at how she’s dismissed as irrelevant now that she’s middle aged.

Yet, it’s not always easy to like or even understand her. Her actions and interactions with her husband and daughter seem opaque and impulsive. She doesn’t ever explain to her family, in a satisfying way, why she leaves them. The allure of solitude is certainly understandable, as is buying and restoring a beautiful old house. But there’s never any payoff; her dreams and plans never come to fruition. In the beginning of the book, the signs are all there for a story about a woman of a certain age whose marriage comes apart and she restarts her life by moving into an house that is beautiful but needs a lot of work. But, neither her life nor the house are ever transformed. In fact, her life becomes messier and less resolved and her house remains ramshackle.

It soon becomes apparent that the outcome of the book was not going to be predictable; there isn’t a smooth, satisfying narrative in which wrongs are righted and growth and change follow hardship. But, as in real life, expected trajectories turned out to be unfulfilled. New friendships and relationships start out in a promising way but are aborted.

Go into this book with no preconceived ideas of the usual formula of: woman leaves husband, buys a cool, abandoned house, becomes self-aware, makes new friends, and transforms her life. If you don’t have such expectations, it’s a great read about a fascinating, complicated person.

 

 

Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok

- Stephanie Leave a comment

“In love and life, we never know when we are telling ourselves stories. We are the ultimate unreliable narrators.” – Jean Kwok, Searching for Sylvie Lee

Searching for Sylvie Lee is a mysterious suspenseful drama that tugs at the complicated lives of three women – two sisters and their mother. Every person in this story is full of secrets – some more deadly than others.

Sylvie is the beautiful and successful older daughter. She can do no wrong. Sent to the Netherlands by her parents when she was a baby, Sylvie spent the first nine years of her life living separate from her family. Sylvie is heading back to the Netherlands to visit her dying grandmother who raised her. Now Sylvie has vanished.

Amy is the baby of the Lee family. She looks up to her older sister Sylvie. Sylvie may be seven years older, but she basically raised Amy. The younger sibling who never quite measures up to her sister, Amy is trying to figure out what to do with her life. She has dropped out of college and moved back into her parents’ tiny apartment. When Amy learns that Sylvie is missing, she will do whatever it takes to find her. It is time for her to step up and help Sylvie. The more she explores Sylvie’s disappearance, the more secrets she discovers.

Ma is broken. When she moved to the United States from China, she and Pa were newly immigrated and too poor to raise their eldest daughter Sylvie. They made the difficult decision to send her to the Netherlands to be raised with family. She was only supposed to be there for a little while, but it was nine years before Sylvie brought home to help take care of Amy. Their relationship has been a bit strained as a result, but Ma loves Sylvie and Amy.

When Sylvie disappears, the whole family is thrown. She is the solid middle of their family that they all revolve around. They have to find her. She wouldn’t just disappear without letting one of them know.

This book is also available in the following formats:

The Lights on Knockbridge Lane by Roan Parrish

- Callen Leave a comment

Roan Parrish continues to rise to the top of the list of my favorite authors with The Lights on Knockbridge Lane, a book where you come for the steamy romance but stay for the good parenting and cozy domesticity. Perfect for the holiday season, this story is a festive entry in the Garnet Run series, while keeping up its themes of healing from trauma and forging new futures.

Adam has been raising his adopted daughter August (Gus to her friends) alone since a painful divorce. It’s been hard for them both to move back to Adam’s hometown, and so Adam desperately wants to make Christmas magical for her. Enter their reclusive neighbor Wes, who Gus aggressively befriends in order to see more of his unusual pets — including a tarantula named Bettie. Together they embark on a mission to have ‘the most lights ever’ on their house – Gus’ only Christmas wish. Meanwhile Adam and Wes grow closer and they start imagining a future together. But when their project goes viral, Wes’ fear of the spotlight threatens to ruin their fragile relationship.

As always, Parrish pairs her warm romance with deeply felt insights; in this case exploring the intrusive, destructive side to celebrity culture, what it really means to embrace differences, the bumpy road to making a family, and – most of all – how important and possible it is to break generational cycles of trauma. Both Adam and Wes struggled with toxic parents growing up, and both make it their mission to be gentle and honest with Gus. It was so refreshing to read consistent examples of good communication and transparency in parenting, so that Gus feels not only like a fully fleshed-out character but it’s also clear how seriously Adam takes his great responsibility of raising a child.

If you’re looking for a romance that can be spicy, cozy, and wise all at once, that can heal your heart and give you hope, you may want to read this book.