Staff Recommendations
Daryl M.
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Violet
by Thomas, Scott
October 28, 2019
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Our past affects us. Significant events, whether pleasant or devastating, can follow us throughout our lives. But what if a tragic event, experienced as a child, affected not only those who directly experienced it, but all of those who lived in the immediate area? What if those effects lasted for decades after the initial event occurred? This is the idea that Scott Thomas explores, both thoughtfully and frighteningly, in his new novel, Violet.Kris Barlow is a veterinarian living in Colorado. When her husband is killed in a car accident, Kris decides to pack up her eight-year-old... Read Full Review
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Haunting of Tram Car 015
by Clark, P. Djeli
October 21, 2019
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In his short story “A Dead Djinn in Cairo” (available in e-Media), author P. Djeli Clark introduced readers to an alternate Egypt of 1912, and the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, who are charged with investigating disturbances of a paranormal nature. In his new novella, Clark returns to both this world and the Ministry to investigate The Haunting of Tram Car 015.The case seemed simple enough on the surface: car 015 of the Cairo’s... Read Full Review
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The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
by Richardson, Kim Michele
October 7, 2019
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In The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, Kim Michele Richardson tells two stories that have, until now, been overlooked in most fiction and history: the story of the blue people of Kentucky and the Pack Horse Librarians of the 1930s, both of whom are incredible examples of the resilience to triumph over difficult circumstances.Cussy Mary Carter lives near Troublesome Creek, Kentucky. She is a young, unmarried woman living with her father, who works in the coal mine along with most of the men in town. She was named after Cussy, France, the place from which her great grandfather, Martin... Read Full Review
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The Ruby Slippers of Oz: Thirty Years Later
by Thomas, Rhys
September 23, 2019
Call Number: 791.1 W835Th-1
“Keep tight inside of them. Their magic must be very powerful, or she wouldn't want them so badly," said Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, talking about the ruby slippers.In L. Frank Baum’s children’s novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the magic shoes worn by the Wicked Witch of the East – and transferred to Dorothy after the Witch of the East’s untimely demise – were silver. In 1938, when MGM began pre-production of the motion picture based on Baum’s novel, it was decided that silver simply would not do for the lavish Technicolor film. With the slash of a pen,... Read Full Review
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The Lost History of Dreams: A Novel
by Waldherr, Kris
September 16, 2019
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When famous, and some would claim infamous, poet Hugh de Bonne dies unexpectedly, his last remaining family relations are called upon to enact his final request. De Bonne wishes to be buried on the moors near Shropshire, in a chapel of stained glass he had built 16 years earlier as the final resting place for his wife, Ada. He wants his body placed in the chapel next to that of his wife and for a daguerreotype to be made of their remains accompanied by his niece by marriage, Isabelle Lowell.Robert Highstead, de Bonne’s cousin, is a former Oxford historian and now works as a photographer of... Read Full Review
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Magic for Liars: A Novel
by Gailey, Sarah
September 3, 2019
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When Sylvia Capley, the Health instructor at Osthorne Academy for Young Mages, is found in the school library bisected from head to toe, cleanly down the middle, the National Mage Investigative Service (NMIS) concludes that her death was an accident, a spell gone wrong. The Headmaster of the school doesn’t agree with their conclusions and reaches out to Ivy Gamble, a bay area Private Investigator who specializes in small time cases, insurance fraud and cheating spouses. But as the twin sister of Osthorne’s Theoretical Magic teacher, she is an outsider who is aware of the magical community... Read Full Review
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Red, White & Royal Blue
by McQuiston, Casey
August 19, 2019
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Alex Claremont-Diaz is the 21-year-old First Son Of The United States (FSOTUS). He has lived in the White House with his older sister, June (FDOTUS) for the last three years, during his mother’s first term in office. He is a media darling, being continually followed, photographed and dissected by the press. He, June, and Nora, the granddaughter of the Vice President, are referred to as “The White House Trio,” three ambitious and beautiful, young people of which the press and the American public cannot get their fill.Alex is scheduled to attend the latest Royal Wedding in London, along with... Read Full Review
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The Survival of Margaret Thomas
by Howison, Del
August 5, 2019
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The Western has been an established genre of fiction for well over a hundred years. In the early to mid20th century, Western fiction grew in popularity, largely driven by similarly themed motion pictures and television programs. In the 1970s, however, the genre began to fall out of favor with the general population. Even so, there has always been an audience interested in new stories or masterful reworkings of existing tales. Indeed, there are continual rumblings of a comeback for the Western genre. All that may be necessary for this to happen is a strong story, with all of the genre... Read Full Review
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Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You
by Moore, Scotto
July 15, 2019
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It’s happened to all of us. You hear a song and it instantly raises your spirits. Or, you hear a different song and it instantly makes you feel melancholy. Some music makes you want to move, while other music makes you want to relax and be still. Something reminds you of a song and then it is repeatedly playing in your head all day long. Music elicits reactions, whether wanted or unwanted. But what if music were used, intentionally, for questionable purposes? This is the intriguing question explored by Scotto Moore in Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You.A long-time music blogger... Read Full Review
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Middlegame
by McGuire, Seanan
July 1, 2019
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Roger Middleton is a rather typical seven-year-old boy. He lives with his adopted parents in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He seems to be exceptionally gifted when it comes to grammar, spelling, anything to do with languages, really. But he struggles with even the most basic levels of mathematics.Dodger Cheswich is not a typical seven-year-old girl. She lives with her parents in Palo Alto, California and she is a mathematical genius. She appears to be able to comprehend and master increasingly complex levels of equations far beyond her limited number of years. But she doesn’t deal well with... Read Full Review
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Snow White Learns Witchcraft: Stories and Poems
by Goss, Theodora
June 24, 2019
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"Fairy tales are another kind of Bible, for those who know how to read them.” 'Red as Blood and White as Bone' in Snow White Learns Witchcraft by Theodora GossTheodora Goss is an award winning-author, a professor of literature and writing at both Boston University and the Stonecoast MFA program. Her debut novel, The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter (2017) and its sequel, European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman (2018) are wonderful and long-overdue adventures with a group of “girl monsters or monstrous young women,” who are the daughters of... Read Full Review
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The Reign of the Kingfisher: A Novel
by Martinson, T. J.
June 10, 2019
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The first appearance of Batman was in Detective Comics in the Spring of 1939, making 2019 the character’s 80th anniversary. Batman is a sharp contrast to most “superheroes” in that he possesses no “super” powers. His prowess, whether physical or intellectual, comes from rigorous training and study. He patrols the fictional metropolis of Gotham City, an urban center so rife with criminal proceedings that law enforcement simply cannot stem the tide of illegal activities. While Batman has the tacit endorsement of the local police force, through his unauthorized partnership with Police... Read Full Review