Category: Staff Picks

Online Reading Challenge – November Wrap-Up

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Hello Fellow Challenge Readers!

How did your reading go this month? Did you read something set in Africa that you enjoyed? Share in the comments!

“We believe the one who has power. He is the one who gets to write the story. So when you study history, you must ask yourself, Whose story am I missing? Whose voice was suppressed so that this voice could come forth? Once you have figured that out, you must find that story too. From there you get a clearer, yet still imperfect, picture.”
― Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing

I read our main title: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. This is a multigenerational saga that spans countries and centuries. Two half-sisters are born in eighteenth-century Ghana in different villages. The kicker: they don’t know the other exists. One sister, Effia, marries an English slave trader, moves into Cape Coast Castle, and lives a life of comfort and somewhat peace. She raises half-caste children with her white husband. The other sister, Esi, is captured in a raid on her village, imprisoned in the dungeons of Cape Coast Castle, sold into slavery, and shipped off on a boat. She ends up in America, where her children and grandchildren will be raised in slavery.

This book follows Effia and Esi’s descendants through eight generations. It discusses slavery in the past all the way through to racism in the present. One thread loops through Ghana with Effia’s family. Another thread travels America with Esi’s family. Readers switch back and forth between each woman’s descendants to learn how past actions influence their futures.

Gyasi’s debut novel was absolutely breathtaking. I listened to the audiobook and wished that I would have had access to the family tree that was in the front of the print book. If you decide to give this book a listen, Knopf Double Day has a copy of the family tree online that you can use. As I was reading, I was amazed that this was the author’s debut novel! Homegoing was beautifully written and tore at my heart as it introduced characters with heartbreaking stories of loss, danger, and love. Gyasi does a wonderful job of telling the accounts of a family and how their bodies are affected by events/people/places out of their control, while also being sensitive to their souls.

In December, we’re headed to Cuba!

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

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“Every real human interaction is made up of a million tiny moving pieces. Not a simple one-note situation: a symphony of cues to read and decipher and evaluate and pay attention.”
― Katherine Center, Hello Stranger

Sadie Montgomery has spent her life struggling. Determined to not need anything from her father, she decided not to study medicine and became an artist instead! She has had her share of ups and downs, but it looks like her life may finally be on the upswing. Sadie has just learned that she is a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition with a prize of $10,000. This competition has the opportunity to publicize her work more and hopefully bring more commissions her way.

Everything’s great, right?! Wrong. Her joy is shattered when she learns that she needs to have surgery right now. The surgery will be minor and she will only need to stay in the hospital for less than a week. In the midst of recovery though, Sadie discovers that the surgery has altered her ability to paint portraits in a big way: she can no longer see faces. Sadie has prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness. This should hopefully be temporary, but the doctors can’t give her any definitive answers. This is the worst news a portrait artist could receive.

Sadie is devastated. Her new reality consists of avoiding looking at faces or seeing a disconnected jumble of facial features every time she looks at a person’s face. Her life just can’t seem to go right. She still wants to be an artist, her family is going through some extra messy drama, and Peanut, her dog, is now sick! In the midst of this madness, Sadie also may have met the man of her dreams. Actually, she may have met TWO men of her dreams. What is she to do? With her perceptions screwed up, Sadie walks through life slowly, wanting to make sure she knows who she is talking to without having to tell everyone she meets that she is face blind. Her journey to acceptance is rough, but at least she has these men, and Peanut, to distract her. Right?!

This title is also available as a Libby eBook, Libby eAudiobook, large print, CD audiobook, and Playaway audiobook.

“We’re all just doing the best we can. We’re all struggling with our struggles. Nobody has the answers. And everybody, deep down, is a little bit lost.”
― Katherine Center, Hello Stranger

New Contemporary Novels with a Twist!

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When I was shelving new books last week, I noticed a new subgenre of contemporary novels with a twist. These books are ones that have contemporary settings, but have unusual/strange/peculiar premises. Fascinated by this, I started hunting for even more and came up with the following list.

Below I have gathered contemporary novels that were released in 2023. All descriptions have been provided by the publisher and/or author.

Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter

A year into her dream job at a cutthroat Silicon Valley start-up, Cassie finds herself trapped in a corporate nightmare. Between the long hours, toxic bosses, and unethical projects, she also struggles to reconcile the glittering promise of a city where obscene wealth lives alongside abject poverty and suffering. Ivy League grads complain about the snack selection from a conference room with a view of unhoused people bathing in the bay. Start-up burnouts leap into the paths of commuter trains, and men literally set themselves on fire in the streets.

Though isolated, Cassie is never alone. From her earliest memory, a miniature black hole has been her constant companion. It feeds on her depression and anxiety, growing or shrinking in relation to her distress. The black hole watches, but it also waits. Its relentless pull draws Cassie ever closer as the world around her unravels.

When she ends up unexpectedly pregnant at the same time her CEO’s demands cross into illegal territory, Cassie must decide whether the tempting fruits of Silicon Valley are really worth it. Sharp but vulnerable, unsettling yet darkly comic, Ripeportrays one millennial woman’s journey through our late-capitalist hellscape and offers a brilliantly incisive look at the absurdities of modern life.

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House of Cotton by Monica Brashears

Magnolia Brown is nineteen years old, broke, and effectively an orphan. She feels stuck and haunted: by her overdrawn bank account, her predatory landlord, and the ghost of her late grandmother Mama Brown.

One night, while working at her dead-end gas station job, a mysterious, slick stranger named Cotton walks in and offers to turn Magnolia’s luck around with a lucrative “modeling” job at his family’s funeral home where she’ll impersonate the dead. There’s a lucrative fee involved and she accepts. But despite things looking up, Magnolia’s problems fatten along with her wallet. And when Cotton’s requests become increasingly demanding, Magnolia discovers there’s a lot more at stake than just her rent.

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Chlorine by Jade Song

Ren Yu is a swimmer. Her daily life starts and ends with the pool. Her teammates are her only friends. Her coach is her guiding light. If she swims well enough, she will be scouted, get a scholarship, go to a good school. Her parents will love her. Her coach will be kind to her. She will have a good life.

But these are human concerns. These are the concerns of those confined to land, those with legs. Ren grew up on stories of creatures of the deep, of the oceans and the rivers. Creatures that called sailors to their doom. That dragged them down and drowned them. That feasted on their flesh. The creature that she’s always longed to become: the mermaid.

Ren aches to be in the water. She dreams of the scent of chlorine, the feel of it on her skin. And she will do anything she can to make a life for herself where she can be free. No matter the pain. No matter what anyone else thinks. No matter how much blood she has to spill.

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Confidence by Rafael Frumkin

At seventeen, Ezra Green doesn’t have a lot going on for him: he’s shorter than average, snaggle-toothed, internet-addicted, and halfway to being legally blind. He’s also on his way to Last Chance Camp, the final stop before juvie.

But Ezra’s summer at Last Chance turns life-changing when he meets Orson, brilliant and Adonis-like with a mind for hustling. Together, the two embark upon what promises to be a fruitful career of scam artistry. But things start to spin wildly out of control when they try to pull off their biggest scam yet—Nulife, a corporation that promises its consumers a lifetime of bliss.

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Notes on Her Color by Jennifer Neal

Gabrielle has always had a complicated relationship with her mother Tallulah, one marked by intimacy and resilience in the face of a volatile patriarch. Everything in their home has been bleached a cold white—from the cupboards filled with sheets and crockery to the food and spices Tallulah cooks with. Even Gabrielle, who inherited the ability to change the color of her skin from her mother, is told to pass into white if she doesn’t want to upset her father.

But this vital mother-daughter bond implodes when Tallulah is hospitalized for a mental health crisis. Separated from her mother for the first time in her life, Gabrielle must learn to control the temperamental shifts in her color on her own.

Meanwhile, Gabrielle is spending a year after high school focusing on her piano lessons, an extracurricular her father is sure will make her a more appealing candidate for pre med programs. Her instructor, a queer, dark-skinned woman named Dominique, seems to encapsulate everything Gabrielle is missing in her life—creativity, confidence, and perhaps most importantly, a nurturing sense of love.

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The Dog of the North by Elizabeth McKenzie

Penny Rush has problems. Her marriage is over; she’s quit her job. Her mother and stepfather went missing in the Australian outback five years ago; her mentally unbalanced father provokes her; her grandmother Dr. Pincer keeps experiments in the refrigerator and something worse in the woodshed. But Penny is a virtuoso at what’s possible when all else fails.

Elizabeth McKenzie, the National Book Award–nominated author of The Portable Veblen, follows Penny on her quest for a fresh start. There will be a road trip in the Dog of the North, an old van with gingham curtains, a piñata, and stiff brakes. There will be injury and peril. There will be a dog named Kweecoats and two brothers who may share a toupee. There will be questions: Why is a detective investigating her grandmother, and what is “the scintillator”? And can Penny recognize a good thing when it finally comes her way?

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Want more? Here’s a list of ten more unusual contemporary novels! Share your favorite in the comments.

August Blue by Deborah Levy

Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang

Dykette by Jenny Fran Davis

The Last Animal by Romana Ausubel

Big Swiss by Jean Beagin

Open Throat by Henry Hoke

Biography of X by Catherine Lacey

The Guest Lecture by Martin Riker

Ghost Music by An Yu

The Survivalists by Kashana Cauley

Everything is Ok by Debbie Tung

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Debbie Tung has created a graphic memoir full of comforting comics about anxiety and depression in Everything is Ok. Debbie’s words and drawings are relaxing, gentle, and relatable, as she walks you through her own anxiety and depression.

Debbie shares her struggles and relationships with her own anxiety and depression. She digs deep and shows how normal it is to find getting out of bed incredibly hard. Her stories of overthinking, intrusive negative thoughts, and the nearly constant switches between highs and lows are incredibly important as it breaks down the stigma of not sharing mental health struggles with the world.

Debbie’s stories are deeply personal, yet very relatable. Her twisty road to recovery is long and hard, but when she finally vocalizes her need for help, readers can see how her drawings and attitude start to change. Debbie even details her conversations with her therapist, something I found deeply moving. She didn’t need to invite readers into her deepest and most personal spaces, but she did, and I will forever be grateful she is illustrating and sharing her mental health struggles. Her journey to be more mindful and caring to herself and her mental health was enlightening. Debbie is merciful with herself and in doing so, gives readers permission to treat themselves with kindness and to open up. Seeing someone who also struggles with mental health issues shows readers that they are not alone and that it is okay to have dark places as long as you are being kinder to yourself and learning how to love yourself on your road to recovery.

2024 All Iowa Reads Selections

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In the middle of October 2023, the All Iowa Reads Selections for 2024 were announced on Iowa Public Radio’s Talk of Iowa program. All Iowa Reads was established in 2003 as a way to foster a sense of unity through reading. In libraries across the state, patrons are encouraged to read these selections at some point within the calendar year.

The All Iowa Reads titles are selected by three different committees run entirely by volunteers. One committee selects the adult titles, another selects the teen titles(ages 12-18), and the third selects the kids titles (ages 8-12). For more information about their process and requirements, visit the State Library of Iowa All Iowa Reads website.

More information and resources about the All Iowa Reads Selections for 2024 will be posted in 2024 on the State Library of Iowa’s website in January.

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The 2024 Adult All Iowa Read selection is The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson. The following description is provided by the publisher, Milkweed Editions.

A haunting novel spanning several generations, The Seed Keeper follows a Dakota family’s struggle to preserve their way of life, and their sacrifices to protect what matters most.

Rosalie Iron Wing has grown up in the woods with her father, Ray, a former science teacher who tells her stories of plants, of the stars, of the origins of the Dakota people. Until, one morning, Ray doesn’t return from checking his traps. Told she has no family, Rosalie is sent to live with a foster family in nearby Mankato—where the reserved, bookish teenager meets rebellious Gaby Makespeace, in a friendship that transcends the damaged legacies they’ve inherited.

On a winter’s day many years later, Rosalie returns to her childhood home. A widow and mother, she has spent the previous two decades on her white husband’s farm, finding solace in her garden even as the farm is threatened first by drought and then by a predatory chemical company. Now, grieving, Rosalie begins to confront the past, on a search for family, identity, and a community where she can finally belong. In the process, she learns what it means to be descended from women with souls of iron—women who have protected their families, their traditions, and a precious cache of seeds through generations of hardship and loss, through war and the insidious trauma of boarding schools.

Weaving together the voices of four indelible women, The Seed Keeper is a beautifully told story of reawakening, of remembering our original relationship to the seeds and, through them, to our ancestors. – Milkweed Editions

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The 2024 Teen All Iowa Reads selection is Hollow Fires by Samira Ahmed. The following description has been provided by the publisher, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

This powerful, gripping thriller from a New York Times bestselling author shows the insidious nature of racism, the terrible costs of unearthing hidden truths—and the undeniable power of hope.

Safiya Mirza dreams of becoming a journalist. And one thing she’s learned as editor of her school newspaper is that a journalist’s job is to find the facts and not let personal biases affect the story. But all that changes the day she finds the body of a murdered boy.

Jawad Ali was fourteen years old when he built a cosplay jetpack that a teacher mistook for a bomb. A jetpack that got him arrested, labeled a terrorist—and eventually killed. But he’s more than a dead body, and more than “Bomb Boy.” He was a person with a life worth remembering.

Driven by Jawad’s haunting voice guiding her throughout her investigation, Safiya seeks to tell the whole truth about the murdered boy and those who killed him because of their hate-based beliefs.

This gripping and powerful book uses an innovative format and lyrical prose to expose the evil that exists in front of us, and the silent complicity of the privileged who create alternative facts to bend the truth to their liking. – Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

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The 2024 Kids All Iowa Reads selection is Tumble by Celia C. Pérez. The following description has been provided by the publisher, Kokila.

From the award-winning author of The First Rule of Punk and Strange Birds, a dazzling novel about a young girl who collects the missing pieces of her origin story from the family of legendary luchadores she’s never met.

A 2023 Pura Belpré Author Honor Book

Twelve-year-old Adela “Addie” Ramírez has a big decision to make when her stepfather proposes adoption. Addie loves Alex, the only father figure she’s ever known, but with a new half brother due in a few months and a big school theater performance on her mind, everything suddenly feels like it’s moving too fast. She has a million questions, and the first is about the young man in the photo she found hidden away in her mother’s things.

Addie’s sleuthing takes her to a New Mexico ranch, and her world expands to include the legendary Bravos: Rosie and Pancho, her paternal grandparents and former professional wrestlers; Eva and Maggie, her older identical twin cousins who love to spar in and out of the ring; Uncle Mateo, whose lucha couture and advice are unmatched; and Manny, her biological father, who’s in the midst of a career comeback. As luchadores, the Bravos’s legacy is strong. But being part of a family is so much harder—it’s about showing up, taking off your mask, and working through challenges together.

Stay tuned in January 2024 for more information about these All Iowa Reads selections.

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga

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‘I am learning how to be
sad
and happy
at the same time.’ – Jasmine Warga, Other Words for Home

Lately novels in verse have been popping up on the top of my to-read list. Novels in verse are stories that are written using poetry instead of the typical format of a novel (sentences, paragraphs, and chapters). These books don’t have to rhyme, although some do! If you’re looking for a quick read, give a novel in verse a try. My latest read was a novel in verse that hit me right in the feels: the Newberry Award Honor winner, Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga.

Jude and her family live in a beautiful seaside town in Syria. Her parents run a store, while her older brother attends school. When the war in Syria creeps closer to their home, her parents decide that it would be best for Jude and her mother to move to Cincinnati, Ohio to live with relatives. Jude is devastated. She doesn’t want to leave her older brother and father behind, but her parents have already decided they must leave.

When Jude and her mother land in Cincinnati, everything moves too fast and the world is too loud. Her family try to help the two assimilate, but Jude is at a loss. She used to watch old American movies with her brother and best friend, but those movies are nothing like the real America where she now lives. A big confusion for her: Americans need to label everything. Jude and her mother are suddenly ‘Middle Eastern’, something she has never been called before. Jude is incredibly observant, noticing the new opportunities available to her, the new ways people react to her, and the new friends she finds. Jude’s new life is full of so many surprises, both good and bad, but she is able to live up to her brother’s words to ‘be brave’.

This middle grade free verse novel was beautifully written. It is authentically written, descriptive, and thought provoking. Warga talks about many issues that immigrants face when they flee their unsafe homelands and then the issues that pop up once they land in a new place. There are themes of resilience, belonging, family, and identity. This is a story of one family’s transformation before and after the war began in Syria. Their lives will never be the same, but they have no choice.

This title is also available as CD audiobook, Playaway audiobook, and as a Libby eBook and Libby eAudiobook.

100 Years of Books- Decade Challenge

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Guest Blog by Brittany P.

Last year, I was listening to a podcast called What Should I Read Next. The host was interviewing a guest reader who had created a challenge for herself to read 100 books, one for each year beginning in 1922. Knowing that there was no way that I could complete this challenge, I decided that I could commit to 10 books! Below are my 10 titles and what I thought of them. I would be very interested to know what you thought of the titles listed if you have read them!

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1923 – The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie

3 out of 5 stars

In this second installment of the Hercule Poirot Series, Detective Hercule Poirot finds himself in France after receiving a letter from millionaire Monsieur Renauld. Upon arrival however, Poirot finds Renauld’s body in a hollow grave on the golf course near his property. To make matters more complicated, Renauld’s wife was found bound and gagged. Upon further inspection, things are not always black and white.

I listened to this on audio and enjoyed it immensely. This involved a full cast of characters complete with background sounds! It was a whole experience and surpassed my expectations. I hope to read more Agatha Christie works next year!

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1933 – The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett

4 out of 5 stars

I didn’t know how much I was missing until I picked up this short and fantastically-written piece by Dashiell Hammett. Nick and Nora Charles find themselves in New York for a short visit. After marrying Nora, Nick took on her family business and left his detective days behind. This all ends when the pair are approached by a flustered young woman asking for help locating her missing father. Nick begrudging takes on the case after some rather interesting interactions.

This book was fun, the characters were hilarious, but the best part was Nora Charles. She made the entire book a joy to read. Set in the 1920’s it was full of parties, drinking, and wise banter. Truly a recommended read.

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1943 – The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and translated by Richard Howard

3 out of 5 stars

When a pilot crash lands in the Sahara Desert, his situation seems hopeless. As he is trying to repair his broken engine, the pilot is greeted by a small child. The Little Prince offers hope in the hopeless to the Pilot and shares of his adventures that led him the the very place they stood together.

I am glad that I read this title as it was one that I have meant to read for a while now.

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1953 – Madeline’s Rescue by Ludwig Bemelmans

5 out of 5 stars

Twelve little girls in two straight lines go out for a stroll one day. All is going according to plan until Madeline slips and falls in the Seine. When all seems hopeless, a brave dog jumps in and rescues the child. After the great rescue, the dog is taken in and has especially taken a liking to Madeline. Just when everything is settled, Lord Cucuface discovers that a dog is living in the old house in Paris and bans Genevieve and all future dogs from the home. Never fear, the girls and Miss Clavel find a way to keep the beloved dog Genevieve in the end!

As a child, I loved Madeline in all of her forms! It was fun to revisit her adventures with my children through this lovely story. I ended up buying this title used and it currently resides on my daughter’s bookshelf!

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1963 – The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

5 out of 5 stars

A classic novel that is required reading for most high school and college curriculums that I somehow never got a chance to read until now. The Bell Jar is a story of one woman’s battle with mental illness and the stark contrast of care in which is given to those with connections vs. those without. Having been written in 1963, Esther gives a first-hand account of the practices Psychiatry performed.

Plath writes beautifully and perfectly grasped the feelings of a young adult woman trying to figure life out while battling serious depression. At times this boom was hard to read due to traumatic scenes but I am so glad that I read it! I am especially glad to have read it at this stage in my life.

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1973 – How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

3 out of 5 stars

Billy, Tom, Alan, and Joe are all bored one day. Out of their boredom, a bet ensues. Alan and Joe bet that Billy can’t eat 15 worms in 15 days. If Billy succeeds, his buddies must pay him $50. With the dream of buying a bike from a neighborhood kid at stake, Tom helps his best buddy every step of the way.

This book was part of my 2023 reading challenge. This book turned 50 years old this year and I understand why kiddos have loved it so much. It was witty and very gross. The perfect combo for many of the kids that I know.

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1983 – Heartburn by Nora Ephron

4 out of 5 stars

Rachel Samstat, a well-known public television chef and author is seven months pregnant when her husband tells her that he has fallen in love with someone else. In the midst of a downward spiral, Rachel heads home to New York City and finds refuge in her father’s apartment and recounts her life leading her to Mark, the cheating scoundrel.

Nora Ephron is famous for creating witty characters and romantic comedies. This story is all about loving yourself and being whole on your own. I really loved this short read and look forward to watching the movie!

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1993 – The Giver by Lois Lowry

2 out of 5 stars

Jonas lives in a society dictated by the elders. No one seems to question the rules and regulations because they help keep the society efficient and running smoothly. When a child is a 12 they are assign the job that they will carry out for the society. Jonas is assigned a rather distinguished role that makes him begin to question everything.

The Giver is assigned reading for many young people and I missed the boat. Deciding to take this on as an adult, oof. It is heavy and sad. The writing is good but I gave it a 2 because of where I am in my life currently.

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2003 – Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella

3 out of 5 stars

On a flight home from a business trip, Emma pours out all of her secrets during some uncommonly rough turbulence. Thinking that she will never see the man sitting next to her again or anyone else for that matter, Emma discloses everything that she has kept locked tight for years. Once home, she finds that spilling her secrets to a stranger had a lasting effect beyond her wildest dreams.

I love Sophie Kinsella books and I am excited to have finally made time for this one!

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2013 – Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

4 out of 5 stars

Rachel Chu is invited to spend a summer with her boyfriend Nick’s family in Singapore. Rachel and Nick have a quiet life in New York City but finds that the Nick in America is not the same Nick in Singapore. Nick is from a well-known family that is quick to judge Rachel making her question everything.

I really liked this book and look forward to reading more titles in this series! Kwan paints a beautiful story making you feel as if you are in Singapore as you read and made me incredibly hungry as he described the meals that were consumed. Food, paired with delightful characters, made this book a very fun read!

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2023 – Good for You by Camille Pagán

5 out of 5 stars

Aly Jackson has finally landed her dream job but after a public meltdown, she is put on administrative leave. Not knowing where to go from there, Aly finds herself in Michigan at her brother’s lake house. When Aly arrives, she finds that she is not the only one in the house. Her brother’s broody, messy best friend is there too.

Good For You is a story of finding your strength even in the darkest of times. Pagan paints a gorgeous story making this a perfect summer read!

When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

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“But we are not one star. We are millions. Not one background, but millions.

To the untrained eye, the night sky is a scattering of stars, a chaos of light and dark across the universe.

And yet, the stars are not lost.
They form patterns. Constellations. If you know how to look, there are stories woven into the very essense of stars.

Be like a star. Shine your light. Shine your story. For stories will lead us home.”
― Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed, When Stars Are Scattered

Omar Mohamed and Victoria Jamieson worked together to create When Stars are Scattered, a graphic memoir telling the story of Omar and his younger brother’s lives as refugees. Omar and his younger brother, Hassan, have spent most of their lives in a refugee camp in Kenya called Dadaab. Separated from their mother at a tender age, the two young boys are taken in by an older woman in the camp who becomes their foster mother/legal guardian. Life in the camp is boring. Hassan has complex medical needs that the doctors in the camp don’t know how to treat. There is never enough food. Straying too far past their camp could result in bullies taking their clothes.

When Omar is offered the chance to go to school, he is torn. He would love to go to school. He wants to learn. School would also add some liveliness into his day. If he went, he would have to stay away from Hassan for longer periods of time, something that he isn’t quite sure Hassan would understand given that they are the only family the other has left. The balance between family duty and the chance to change their future weighs on Omar the entire time they live in the refugee camp.

This graphic memoir was heartbreaking, yet full of so much tender hope. Victoria captures Omar’s story so expressively and manages to inject humor into a difficult situation. While the art style is simple, it doesn’t detract from the point the authors are making. This retelling of Omar’s story pulls on your hearstrings and will bounce your feelings all over the place. Even though this is categorized as a juvenile graphic novel, this story is applicable to readers of any age.

This title is also available as a Libby eBook and Libby eAudiobook.

Sports Romances

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I have noticed an increase in sports romances being featured on BookTok (the book part of TikTok), in other types of media (television, newspapers), and at book stores and libraries. My latest read even mentioned my favorite sports romance movie: Bend It Like Beckham. In my research, I discovered romances spanning many sports: figure skating, football, baseball, gymnastics, soccer, dance, basketball, and more.

I’ve gathered a list of different types of sports romances, both adult and young adult, owned by the Davenport Public Library. This is by no means all of the sports romances available and is only intended to give you a glimpse. All descriptions have been provided by the publishers or authors.

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Adult Sports Romances

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

Sparks fly when a competitive figure skater and hockey team captain are forced to share a rink.

Anastasia Allen has worked her entire life for a shot at Team USA. It looks like everything is going according to plan when she gets a full scholarship to the University of California, Maple Hills and lands a place on their competitive figure skating team.

Nothing will stand in her way, not even the captain of the hockey team, Nate Hawkins.

Nate’s focus as team captain is on keeping his team on the ice. Which is tricky when a facilities mishap means they are forced to share a rink with the figure skating team—including Anastasia, who clearly can’t stand him.

But when Anastasia’s skating partner faces an uncertain future, she may have to look to Nate to take her shot.

Sparks fly, but Anastasia isn’t worried…because she could never like a hockey player, right?  – Simon & Schuster

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Intercepted  by Alexa Martin

Marlee thought she scored the man of her dreams only to be scorched by a bad breakup. But there’s a new player on the horizon, and he’s in a league of his own…

Marlee Harper is the perfect girlfriend. She’s definitely had enough practice by dating her NFL-star boyfriend for the last ten years. But when she discovers he has been tackling other women on the sly, she vows to never date an athlete again. There’s just one problem: Gavin Pope, the new hotshot quarterback and a fling from the past, has Marlee in his sights.

Gavin fights to show Marlee he’s nothing like her ex. Unfortunately, not everyone is ready to let her escape her past. The team’s wives, who never led the welcome wagon, are not happy with Marlee’s return. They have only one thing on their minds: taking her down. But when the gossip makes Marlee public enemy number one, she worries about more than just her reputation.

Between their own fumbles and the wicked wives, it will take a Hail Mary for Marlee and Gavin’s relationship to survive the season. – Penguin Random House

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The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

The first rule of book club: You don’t talk about book club.

Nashville Legends second baseman Gavin Scott’s marriage is in major league trouble. He’s recently discovered a humiliating secret: his wife Thea has always faked the Big O. When he loses his cool at the revelation, it’s the final straw on their already strained relationship. Thea asks for a divorce, and Gavin realizes he’s let his pride and fear get the better of him.

Welcome to the Bromance Book Club.

Distraught and desperate, Gavin finds help from an unlikely source: a secret romance book club made up of Nashville’s top alpha men. With the help of their current read, a steamy Regency titled Courting the Countess, the guys coach Gavin on saving his marriage. But it’ll take a lot more than flowery words and grand gestures for this hapless Romeo to find his inner hero and win back the trust of his wife. – Penguin Random House

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Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner

A sapphic rivals to lovers rom com for fans of Ted Lasso and A League of Their Own, where two soccer teammates are at odds before falling in love as their team gears up for the World Cup.

Grace Henderson has been a star of the US Women’s National Team for ten years, even though she’s only 26. But when she’s sidelined with an injury, a bold new upstart, Phoebe Matthews, takes her spot. 22-year-old Phoebe is everything Grace isn’t—a gregarious jokester who plays with a joy that Grace lost somewhere along the way. The last thing Grace expects is to become teammates with benefits with this class clown she sees as her rival.

Phoebe Matthews is too focused on her first season as a professional soccer player to think about seducing her longtime idol. But when Grace ends up making the first move, they can’t keep their hands off of each other.

As the World Cup approaches and Grace works her way back from injury, a miscommunication leaves the women with hilariously different perspectives on their relationship. But they’re on the same page on the field, realizing they can play together instead of vying for the same position. With every tackle the tension between them grows, and both players soon have to decide what’s more important—being together or making the roster.

The perfect blend of funny and steamy, Meryl Wilsner’s Cleat Cute is about being brave enough to win on and off the field. – Macmillan Publishers

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Everything for You by Chloe Liese

Enemies become lovers in this sizzling sports romance about taking a chance on love when life’s taught you it’s a losing game.

Oliver Bergman is a beloved rising soccer star, all sunshine smiles and the heart of their team’s spirit. To make matters worse, he’s obscenely attractive. In short: he’s genetically designed to get under misanthropic, miserable Gavin’s aggravated skin.

Ten years older than Oliver and a legendary player at the end of his career, Gavin Hayes is the team’s demanding captain. He’s also a giant–albeit gorgeous–grump who lives to rain on Oliver’s parade. Especially when Oliver and Gavin are named co-captains of the team.

Sick of their hostility, Coach gives them an ultimatum: put an end to their enmity or say goodbye to being captains. Forced to finally to lower their guards, Gavin and Oliver realize that they also have chemistry off the field and it’s fueled by something much more powerful than competition—an explosive attraction. – Penguin Random House

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Head Over Heels by Hannah Orenstein

The past seven years have been hard on Avery Abrams: After training her entire life to make the Olympic gymnastics team, a disastrous performance ended her athletic career for good. Her best friend and teammate, Jasmine, went on to become an Olympic champion, then committed the ultimate betrayal by marrying their emotionally abusive coach, Dimitri.

Now, reeling from a breakup with her football star boyfriend, Avery returns to her Massachusetts hometown, where new coach Ryan asks her to help him train a promising young gymnast with Olympic aspirations. Despite her misgivings and worries about the memories it will evoke, Avery agrees. Back in the gym, she’s surprised to find sparks flying with Ryan. But when a shocking scandal in the gymnastics world breaks, it has shattering effects not only for the sport but also for Avery and her old friend Jasmine. – Simon & Schuster

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Take the Lead by Alexis Daria

Gina Morales wants to make it big. In her four seasons on The Dance Off, she’s never even made it to the finals. But her latest partner, the sexy star of an Alaskan wilderness show, could be her chance. Who knew the strong, silent, survivalist-type had moves like that? She thinks Stone Nielson is her ticket to win it all—until her producer makes it clear they’re being set up for a showmance.

Joining a celebrity dance competition is the last thing Stone wants. However, he’ll endure anything to help his family, even as he fears revealing their secrets. While the fast pace of Los Angeles makes him long for the peace and privacy of home, he can’t hide his growing attraction for his dance partner. Neither wants to fake a romance for the cameras, but the explosive chemistry that flares between them is undeniable.

As Stone and Gina heat up the dance floor, the tabloids catch on to their developing romance. With the spotlight threatening to ruin everything, will they choose fame and fortune, or let love take the lead? – Macmillan Publishers

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 Out of His League by Caroline Richardson

Gretchen Harper has always been practical. Dependable, solid, predictable. She’s never taken risks, and she’s especially never bought coffee for gorgeous professional athletes in airports. That is, until she meets her favorite baseball player on the worst day of his career.

Being sent to the minor league is just the first of Joshua Malvern’s many worries—he’s got an injury that won’t heal and his entire career and future are on the line. When a beautiful woman offers him coffee, that simple kindness is exactly what he needs to lift him out of his funk. He asks her to join him in first class, not expecting to end up joining her in bed.

What starts as a one night stand ends up holding the promise for so much more. And while stepping out of her comfort zone has never been Gretchen’s style, for a chance at true love she’ll have to decide whether she’ll swing for the fences, even if it means striking out. And Josh will have to step up to the plate. – Provided by the author

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Young Adult Sports Romances

She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen

High school nemeses fall in love in Kelly Quindlen’s She Drives Me Crazy, a queer YA rom com perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Casey McQuiston.

After an embarrassing loss to her ex-girlfriend in their first basketball game of the season, seventeen-year-old Scottie Zajac gets into a fender bender with the worst possible person: her nemesis, Irene Abraham, head cheerleader for the Fighting Reindeer.

Irene is as mean as she is beautiful, so Scottie makes a point to keep her distance. When the accident sends Irene’s car to the shop for weeks’ worth of repairs and the girls are forced to carpool, their rocky start only gets bumpier.

But when an opportunity arises for Scottie to get back at her toxic ex—and climb her school’s social ladder—she bribes Irene into an elaborate fake- dating scheme that threatens to reveal some very real feelings. – Macmillan Publishers

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The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons

Fifteen-year-old Spencer Harris is a proud nerd, an awesome big brother, and a David Beckham in training. He’s also transgender. After transitioning at his old school leads to a year of isolation and bullying, Spencer gets a fresh start at Oakley, the most liberal private school in Ohio.

At Oakley, Spencer seems to have it all: more accepting classmates, a decent shot at a starting position on the boys’ soccer team, great new friends, and maybe even something more than friendship with one of his teammates. The problem is, no one at Oakley knows Spencer is trans—he’s passing.

But when a discriminatory law forces Spencer’s coach to bench him, Spencer has to make a choice: cheer his team on from the sidelines or publicly fight for his right to play, even though it would mean coming out to everyone—including the guy he’s falling for. – Penguin Random House

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Until Friday Night by Abbi Glines

To everyone who knows him, West Ashby has always been that guy: the cocky, popular, way-too-handsome-for-his-own-good football god who led Lawton High to the state championships. But while West may be Big Man on Campus on the outside, on the inside he’s battling the grief that comes with watching his father slowly die of cancer.

Two years ago, Maggie Carleton’s life fell apart when her father murdered her mother. And after she told the police what happened, she stopped speaking and hasn’t spoken since. Even the move to Lawton, Alabama, couldn’t draw Maggie back out. So she stayed quiet, keeping her sorrow and her fractured heart hidden away.

As West’s pain becomes too much to handle, he knows he needs to talk to someone about his father—so in the dark shadows of a post-game party, he opens up to the one girl who he knows won’t tell anyone else.

West expected that talking about his dad would bring some relief, or at least a flood of emotions he couldn’t control. But he never expected the quiet new girl to reply, to reveal a pain even deeper than his own—or for them to form a connection so strong that he couldn’t ever let her go… – Simon & Schuster

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Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei

A. L. Graziadei’s Icebreaker is an irresistible YA debut about two hockey players fighting to be the best—and the romance that catches them by surprise along the way.

Seventeen-year-old Mickey James III is a college freshman, a brother to five sisters, and a hockey legacy. With a father and a grandfather who have gone down in NHL history, Mickey is almost guaranteed the league’s top draft spot.

The only person standing in his way is Jaysen Caulfield, a contender for the #1 spot and Mickey’s infuriating (and infuriatingly attractive) teammate. When rivalry turns to something more, Mickey will have to decide what he really wants, and what he’s willing to risk for it.

This is a story about falling in love, finding your team (on and off the ice), and choosing your own path. – Macmillan Publishers

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Do you have a favorite sports romance? Let us know in the comments!

Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook, Ko Hyung-Ju, and Ryan Estrada

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“But you can learn a lot about history by figuring out what people wanted to hide.”
― Kim Hyun Sook, Banned Book Club

I read Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook and Ryan Estrada and illustrated by Ko Hyung-Ju right before Banned Book Week 2023 began. This week celebrates the freedom to read and the opposition to censorship. Banned Book Club couldn’t have been a more appropriate book to start off this year’s Banned Book Week. To boil it down, this book tells the story of a group of students who form a book club that reads banned books during the reign of South Korea’s Fifth Republic. They put their lives and the lives of their family and friends in danger in order to read censored and banned books, amongst other forms of protest.

In 1983, Kim Hyun Sook was finally able to convince her mother to let her go to college. She was beyond excited to start college, to expand her world, and to study Western Literature. Kim was ready for the break of working in her family’s restaurant. She couldn’t have known that her literature class would send her down a road that she never saw coming; it would be a massive turning point that would alter her life in a way she couldn’t imagine.

Kim’s decision to go to college happened in the midst of the South Korea’s Fifth Republic. This military regime found its way to power through torture, censorship, and the murder of protestors. When Kim started school, she was met with a wall of protestors hurling insults and molotov cocktails. Not interested in getting involved, she throws herself into her books. After meeting the editor of the school newspaper who invites her to join his book club, she is shocked to see that the group is actually an underground book club reading banned and illicit literature that the military regime has forbidden. Unsure of what to do, but wanting to read these books, Kim stays in the club and finds herself drawn into the dangerous activities that the other members are involved in. Soon she will be swept up in a torrent of fear and violence as the people of power close ranks on the protestors.

“Do they ban books because they see danger in their authors, or because they see themselves in their villains?”
― Kim Hyun Sook, Banned Book Club