Fiction

Rust & stardust book cover

Rust & stardust

T. (Tammy) Greenwood

FICTION Greenwoo T
Fiction, Historical Fiction

Camden, NJ, 1948. When 11 year-old Sally Horner steals a notebook from the local Woolworth's, she has no way of knowing that 52 year-old Frank LaSalle, fresh out of prison, is watching her, preparing to make his move. Accosting her outside the store, Frank convinces Sally that he's an FBI agent who can have her arrested in a minute, unless she does as he says. This chilling novel traces the next two harrowing years as Frank mentally and physically assaults Sally while the two of them travel westward from Camden to San Jose, forever altering not only her life, but the lives of her family, friends, and those she meets along the way. Based on the experiences of real-life kidnapping victim Sally Horner and her captor, whose story shocked the nation and inspired Vladimir Nabokov to write his controversial and iconic Lolita, this heart-pounding story by award-winning author T. Greenwood at last gives a voice to Sally herself.

Amanda's picture

The author handled this story well, not giving graphic detail of Sally’s ordeal but giving enough for the reader to understand how horrible it was and how frightened Sally was of her captor. I loved the portrayal of all the other people affected by Sally’s kidnapping getting their perspective told. That added an element to the story as a whole that made the entirety of it more relatable. Maybe not a story for everyone, but certainly a well-done story of a resilient young woman who faced a despicable situation. -Amanda

Daisy Jones & the Six : a novel book cover

Daisy Jones & the Six : a novel

Taylor Jenkins Reid

FICTION Reid Taylor
Fiction, Historical Fiction

"Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go-Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it's the rock and roll she loves most. By the time she's twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things. Another band getting noticed is The Six, led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she's pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road. Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend. The making of that legend is chronicled in this riveting and unforgettable novel, written as an oral history of one of the biggest bands of the seventies. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a talented writer who takes her work to a new level with Daisy Jones & The Six, brilliantly capturing a place and time in an utterly distinctive voice"--

Amanda's picture

This, to me, was a pretty great portrayal of a band and its musicians during the classic rock period. What really got me into the book was the oral history aspect of it - that it’s the band and those around them reminiscing years later. Their memories differ. They’ve had a couple of decades change their perspective. I enjoyed these characters and their personalities. I could almost hear their music as I read the story and see them interact on stage. If you are a fan of Behind the Music, this is a book you have to try! -Amanda

The remains of the day book cover

The remains of the day

Kazuo Ishiguro

FICTION Ishiguro, Kazuo
Fiction, Historical Fiction

The novel's narrator, Stevens, is a perfect English butler who tries to give his narrow existence form and meaning through the self-effacing, almost mystical practice of his profession. In a career that spans the second World War, Stevens is oblivious of the real life that goes on around him -- oblivious, for instance, of the fact that his aristocrat employer is a Nazi sympathizer. Still, there are even larger matters at stake in this heartbreaking, pitch-perfect novel -- namely, Stevens' own ability to allow some bit of life-affirming love into his tightly repressed existence.

Amanda's picture

The writing is superb, and for those who enjoy Downton Abbey this book provides a comfortable amount of upstairs/downstairs intrigue. I did enjoy the main character's development over his car trip, reflecting on his life and coming to recognize the faults in choices he made. This is an excellent choice for those interested in midcentury Britain. -Amanda

Dear Sweet Pea book cover

Dear Sweet Pea

Julie Murphy

eBOOK
Fiction, Kids, LGBTQ+

"Thirteen-year-old Patricia, widely known as Sweet Pea, navigates her parents' unconventional divorce and finds herself in the unlikely role of her town's advice columnist"--

Anne W's picture

Added by Anne W

An American marriage book cover

An American marriage

Tayari Jones

eAUDIO
Fiction

"Newlyweds Celestial and Roy, the living embodiment of the New South, are settling into the routine of their life together when Roy is sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit. An insightful look into the lives of people who are bound and separated by forces beyond their control"--

Becky's picture

“An American Marriage” will have you thinking about the effects of incarceration and the messiness of human relationships. -Becky

A high five for Glenn Burke book cover

A high five for Glenn Burke

Phil Bildner

jFICTION/Bildner Phil
Fiction, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+, Kids

After researching Glenn Burke, the first major league baseball player to come out as gay, sixth-grader Silas Wade slowly comes out to his best friend Zoey, then his coach, with unexpected consequences.

Anne W's picture

Added by Anne W

King and the dragonflies book cover

King and the dragonflies

Kacen Callender

jFICTION Callende Kacen
Fiction, Mystery, LGBTQ+, Kids

"In a small but turbulent Louisiana town, one boy's grief takes him beyond the bayous of his backyard, to learn that there is no right way to be yourself"--

Anne W's picture

Added by Anne W

Hurricane child book cover

Hurricane child

Kheryn Callender

jFICTION Callende Kheryn
Fiction, Adventure, LGBTQ+, Kids

Born on Water Island in the Virgin Islands during a hurricane, which is considered bad luck, twelve-year-old Caroline falls in love with another girl--and together they set out in a hurricane to find Caroline's missing mother.

Anne W's picture

Added by Anne W

Martin McLean, middle school queen book cover

Martin McLean, middle school queen

Alyssa Zaczek

eBOOK
Fiction, LGBTQ+, Kids

Seventh-grader Martin McLean has trouble expressing himself except at Mathletes competitions and, now, as a female impersonator but his first-ever drag show falls on the same night as an important Mathletes tournament.

Anne W's picture

Added by Anne W