Most recent staff pick: Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne
"This dreamy, funny, impressionistic romance is *the* book to help you re-enter the world after a year indoors. Ruthie is 25 and has been working and living on-site at a retirement village since she was 19; she has no plans to leave her job. Ever. The outside world scares her. Forgetting to lock doors sends her into a panic. But then she meets Teddy, one of the greatest romantic leads in history. And makes an unlikely friend in Melanie, one of the sweetest best friends I've ever read. The perfect book to inspire us to brazen out in-person socialization again."
Open on the shores of Lake Michigan: Two writers, who were former college rivals, end up as neighbors one summer. Will they become friends...or something more? Yes! They totally will and it's awesome! This book is funny and charming and steamy.
"A beautifully written and illustrated memoir that both captures what it means to be a teenager and what it means to be an immigrant with sensitivity and nuance. This book lingered with me long after I finished reading it."
"What a dreamy, odd, beautiful book. I wanted to linger inside these essays forever. Slate writes with such vulnerability and honesty at times it felt like I was experiencing heartbreak in real-time with hope, always hope and gentleness."
"Many of the stories in EVERY HUMAN LOVE grapple with the darker corners of love and motherhood, using speculative elements to expose deep, sometimes unspeakable, fears about domestic life. These stories are deeply unsettling--Pearson defiantly resists happy endings--but they also ring true, as if Pearson has crawled into the recesses of my brain to pry out the scary thoughts that keep me up at night."
"The writing and language of BEYOND BABYLON was so remarkable and unique I felt like I was reading a novel for the first time. But in addition to the beautiful prose this is a novel that is deeply empathetic toward complicated mother/daughter relationships and toward those who feel like outsiders in their communities and in their own skin."
"This book is so elegantly written and the author so enthusiastic about his subject that even if you occasionally get lost in the physics of it all the beauty of the language will carry you along."
"A book that manages to be impossibly sad and impossibly hopeful at the same time. And the illustrations are divine."
"To The River is a remarkable piece of nature writing, but, at its core, it is a book about a heart mending itself and the unwieldiness of memory. Part memoir, part nature writing, part literary biography, this just might be the perfect book."
"Pippa Park Raises Her Game is not only a fun and zippy read but is a book that tackles big issues with nuance and sensitivity. Pippa is a funny and smart heroine who sometimes makes mistakes, sometimes doesn’t behave in ways that she feels proud of, but who always learns from her experiences, and whose heart is always in the right place. I couldn’t help but wish as I was reading this book that I had a friend like Pippa when I was in middle school!"
"A great New York City set mystery for fans of FROM THE MIXED-UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER."
"This book has all the elements of winning the title of "Saddest Book In The World" but stick with it and you'll be rewarded with a beautiful, hopeful story, empathetic story about perseverance and love."
"Eagerly awaiting a new Aciman novel post-Find Me? Check out this 2017 to satiate yourself! The novel tells the story of a man named Paul through five interconnected short stories but the real subjects of this book is desire in all its forms."
"A coming-of-age story set against a backdrop of political resistance, DISORIENTAL moves forward and backward in time as the protagonist reflects on her life in Iran and Paris. There's a lot going on in this book and at times I wondered where the author was taking me but the evocative writing and twisty structure eventually swept me up and left me feeling unsettled and changed in the best of ways."
"I went through 8 years of schooling (8 YEARS!) being called the wrong name by one particular teacher. SIDEWAYS STORIES FROM THE WAYSIDE school perfectly captures these kinds of elementary school absurdities. Also, it's hilarious. A great book to read together!"
ITHACA is a retelling of THE ODYSSEY from the perspective of Telemachus, Odysseus's son, but there's no need to have read THE ODYSSEY to enjoy this book! Patrick Dillon's writing is beautifully evocative without being overwrought--clean and engaging. A coming-of-age story that examines the relationship between fathers and sons and the experience of growing up in the shadow of a great man.
I cannot recommend this book enough! The third in a biographical trilogy, Dumpling Days tells the story of the summer Grace Lin and her family spent in Taiwan learning about Taiwanese culture, art, and her family's personal history. Lin's reflections on what it means to live between two cultures is beautifully nuanced and moving. And finally, the food writing is DELICIOUS. Be prepared to crave dumpling for the duration of the book!
The experimental, first-person style of Milkman evokes the paranoia and discomfort that goes hand-in-hand with being constantly monitored, judged, and watched. This books comes out swinging and is unrelenting in how it interrogates what it means to be a girl in an environment where difference is punished by unwanted attention. Not a comfortable read but a significant one.
This sweet little book is a reminder to keep an open mind and an accepting heart. Perfect for Halloween and beyond!
This book has an enjoyable wildness of style. Let yourself be swept up in the rhythms of Kingston's writing.
A thought-provoking book that uses speculative elements to tell a love story set against the backdrops of war and migration. Subtle and nuanced, funny and sad.
Cambridge, MA, art, literature, virtual reality, young love. All are elements of this beautiful, empathetic novel but in the end Goodman is ultimately asking us to consider what it means to see and be seen in the world when reality is often so less appealing than virtual worlds. Consider this staff pick the kick-off to my campaign to make Allegra Goodman more of a household name.
Mary Shelley was tackling the perils of STEM without the mediating influence of the humanities and vice versa in 1818. A Gothic masterpiece and a cautionary tale. Let's revist and discuss.
Well-written and well-reported fast-moving book reveals the dark heart of Silicon Valley. A tough read but worth it.
Brazen out the winter months with Colwin's delicious recipes and beautiful and moving essays about family, friends, and New York City.
"A funny, sad, sometimes frustrating look at the intersection of motherhood and creativity. This books is claustrophobic in the best of ways and expresses in excruciating detail the varying, sometimes not socially acceptable, feelings that accompany the raising of tiny humans."
"Woodson does so much with so little in this middle -grade book that tackles issues like race, class, death, and incarceration with nuance and empathy. Be prepared to cry at this beautiful book!"
"Another beautiful book by Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson about the keeping an open mind and open heart."
"Is it odd to say that a book about loneliness is a delightfully fun and zippy read? So be it! This book is a funny, personal, vulnerable, and important look at the growing epidemic of loneliness in the U.S. Call your friends! Call your mother!"
"This is a sweet, thoughtful middle-grade novel that sensitively deals with tough topics such as racism and bullying through the eyes of a young Indian-American girl who learns how to honor and enjoy all the different parts of her life and culture."
"A picture book that perfectly captures the sensations one feels when a good friend moves away but you stay behind. Yes, this book sad, but it is also a love letter to enduring childhood friendships. Read this book with a box of tissues nearby!"
"This dreamy, funny, impressionistic romance is *the* book to help you re-enter the world after a year indoors. Ruthie is 25 and has been working and living on-site at a retirement village since she was 19; she has no plans to leave her job. Ever. The outside world scares her. Forgetting to lock doors sends her into a panic. But then she meets Teddy, one of the greatest romantic leads in history. And makes an unlikely friend in Melanie, one of the sweetest best friends I've ever read. The perfect book to inspire us to brazen out in-person socialization again."