Staff Picks
Nadine's Picks
What seems like a perfect life for Shae, the social media guru, starts as a real-life crisis portrayed as a mental health breakdown to help deceive everyone in her life, even the reader. Her state of mind takes you down her psychological plots as she schemes to cover her wrong doings. She watches as both her marriage and career goes down the drain. She starts to come apart at the hinges after her husband’s affair and then divorce. Watch as both worlds (social media and marriage life) collide. This sets her on a new path, revenge - payback to the individuals that did her wrong.
The mere thought of your child missing is too much to endure. This book has many twists and turns throughout. Don’t rely on the title for hidden clues. Friends form alliances to find the missing child, and in doing so find hidden secrets. The surprise ending will give you the answer to the secrets. This is now a movie on Netflix. Love it!
Kat's Pick
Enemies to lovers between a god and a monster. Great world-building and characters. This is the first book in a 5-book series.
Theresa's Pick
If you’re looking for something a little different with a dystopian feel, I highly recommend this book. It’s thought‑provoking and a great reminder to appreciate and be grateful for the time we have.
Tara's Picks
Short, tense story that will leave you concerned about these characters and the world we live in. It involves the Magdalene laundries in Ireland. The movie, with Cillian Murphy, is also excellent.
If you liked Room or Small Things Like These, this is a similarly unsettling story. It's the story of a child who hasn't eaten in four months, supposedly miraculously. The story unfolds from the point of view of the nurse, who is an outsider to this small, poor, rural and religious Irish village. It has also been made into a great movie on Netflix.
Melissa's Picks
Music and history are two of my favorite subjects, so diving into the world of 90s–2000s rap and hip‑hop through the eyes of one of the few women to dominate the genre, Eve, was such a treat. It gave context to moments I personally remember as a kid or moments I had no idea about.
What can I say, I love music and the sounds of nature when I am in the comfort of my own home. So finding calming ambient versions of some of my favorite Disney Channel classics has been water for my brain and has honestly been really helpful when reading or when trying to fall asleep.
Justin’s Picks
Oil and Marble follows the intense artistic rivalry between Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci in Renaissance Florence as they compete to create masterpieces that will define their legacies. The book was an extremely enjoyable read because it vividly showcases the differing points of view of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, especially in how each approaches their artistic craft, one driven by passion and struggle, the other by intellect and curiosity.
Follow Raphael as he rises to fame in Renaissance Rome, navigating rivalries, patronage, and the pressures of artistic greatness. Through his eyes, you’ll experience the challenges of balancing ambition, creativity, and reputation while working on major commissions for the Vatican. It’s a fun read because it brings art history to life through a vibrant, first-person narrative, making Raphael’s world feel immediate and engaging.
Alyssa's Pick
When Augusta Stern retires to Florida, she discovers that the unrequited love of her youth, Irving Rivkin, resides in her community. With two parallel storylines being told sixty-two years apart, discover what went wrong and if there's a chance to make them right.
Yvonne's Pick
Abuelaish has been crossing the lines in the sand that divide Israelis and Palestinians for most of his life – as a physician who treats patients on both sides of the line, as a humanitarian who sees the need for improved health and education for women as the way forward in the Middle East. And, most recently, as the father whose daughters were killed by Israeli soldiers on January 16, 2009, during Israel's incursion into the Gaza Strip. Instead of seeking revenge or sinking into hatred, Abuelaish called for the people in the region to start talking to each other. His deepest hope is that his daughters will be "the last sacrifice on the road to peace between Palestinians and Israelis.
Nat's Pick
Poetry, essay, and visual art coalesce into a personal meditation on American solitude. Found within are current events (keep in mind, this was first published in 2004), photographs, and the author’s honest experiences with mental health and race in the United States. For me, this lyric essay is one of the most intimate accounts of a lived experience that I’ve read. Despite being written before smartphones, I think this book will appeal to any reader who frequently considers their relationship to news headlines while sitting alone in their room, behind a screen.
Lisa's Pick
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
Tradwife meets her match in this very dark, somewhat comedic, but suspenseful read. It's a commentary on social media and societal norms featuring a protagonist that you hate to love. It's a twisting plot with a divisive ending.
Camila's Pick
I am not usually a non-fiction reader, but I recently read and really enjoyed Lena Dunham's Famesick. Dunham is sometimes seen as a controversial figure, but she is an undeniably talented writer. The way she writes about her own chronic illnesses and complicated relationship with fame is always fascinating. If you were ever a fan of her show, Girls, then definitely check out this book.
Jillian's Pick
Elise Gravel is responsible for some of the cutest and funniest kids' books out there, and True Colors is no exception. This candy-colored graphic novel is a hilarious and nostalgic exploration of growing up as a complete goofball with undiagnosed ADHD. It's a must-read for anyone who is or was the artsy weirdo, and I'm recommending it to every Dork Diaries fan I know. Come to the kids' floor and check it out—I ordered an extra copy for our collection as soon as I finished it!
Bethany's Pick
Hum by Helen Phillips
Can AI have empathy? This near-future speculative fiction attempts to answer that question in a concise examination of motherhood and society.
For more great books, check out the staff picks section on the first floor of the library. Happy reading!