Staff Recommendations
Daryl M.
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The Monster of Elendhaven
by Giesbrecht, Jennifer
October 17, 2022
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A young man washes up in a harbor with no knowledge of who he is or where he came from. He doesn’t even have a name. He is tall, with dark hair and pale skin. He also possesses a strong sense of survival, driving him to do whatever is necessary to make his way on the dark and dangerous streets of Elendhaven.Florian Leickenbloom is the antithesis of this mysterious young man. He knows his name and that he is the last surviving member of one of Elendhaven’s founding families. He is small and slight of stature with blonde hair. Florian lost his entire family, along with a majority of the city’s... Read Full Review
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Hawk Mountain
by Habib, Conner
October 12, 2022
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In the late afternoon, Todd sits on the beach watching 6-year-old Anthony, his son, play in the surf. A man approaches Todd, and, after a minute, he recognizes him. It is Jack, who bullied Todd relentlessly during their senior year in high school. In spite of their shared history, Jack seems pleased at seeing Todd. He claims that their meeting is a coincidence and goes on to tell Todd that he has just left his wife, is determined to create a new life for himself, and asks if he can spend the night at Todd’s home.Jack’s stay with Todd and Anthony extends beyond the first night. Jack continues... Read Full Review
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The Extraordinaries
by Klune, TJ
September 13, 2022
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Nick Bell is far from an ordinary teen. He experiences attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and is required to take daily medication. Two years ago, his mother was killed in a bank robbery, leaving him and his father to reconstruct their lives together. He met his best friend, Seth Gray, when they were six years old. They’ve been inseparable ever since. Nick is a superstar in the world of Extraordinaries fan fiction. He is one of the most popular writers of stories relating to the few individuals that have super-powers known as Extraordinaries and his 250K word, and 60+ chapter,... Read Full Review
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A Prayer for the Crown-Shy
by Chambers, Becky
September 7, 2022
Call Number: SF
In 2021, Becky Chambers introduced readers to the moon of Panga, where, centuries ago, the civilization’s robots gained consciousness and, en masse, walked off into the surrounding wilderness and were never heard from again. Until the day a robot named Splendid Speckled Mosscap walked up to Sibling Dex, a tea monk, and asked “What do people need?”In A Prayer for the Crown Shy, Chambers returns to Panga and follows Sibling Dex and Mosscap as they travel through the different areas and settlements of Panga on their way to the City. Like our world, each settlement has a different... Read Full Review
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The Kaiju Preservation Society
by Scalzi, John
August 29, 2022
Call Number: SF
In early March of 2020, Jamie Gray is unceremoniously demoted from marketing executive to “deliverator” at füdmüd, an internet startup company in New York City. As the COVID pandemic worsens, Jamie struggles to get by until a chance delivery happens to be to Tom Stevens. Tom tells Jamie that he works for an “animal rights organization” and currently is in need of a last minute replacement for an upcoming field assignment. The position will require Jamie to “lift things” and is equally as glamorous as food delivery, but in a much more interesting locale and with much better pay and benefits.... Read Full Review
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The Children on the Hill
by McMahon, Jennifer
August 15, 2022
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Monster. The word brings to mind ugly, misshapen creatures wreaking havoc wherever they go. Perhaps the most famous monster is Frankenstein’s monster from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. It’s been over 200 years since the teenaged Shelley created one of the most enduring tales of all time. And over the last two centuries, many have pondered who is the true monster in Shelley’s story? Is it Victor Frankenstein’s creation, the person he created from the parts of others, spurned by everyone, including his own creator, forced to live an existence alone and in constant fear? Or is the true... Read Full Review
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Siren Queen
by Vo, Nghi
August 1, 2022
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On a whim, a young Chinese-American girl pays with an inch of her hair so that she and he sister can see Romeo and Juliet at the new nickelodeon in their neighborhood. From that moment on, she has a single desire: to be a motion picture star. Not simply an actress, but a star. Quite a goal for a young Asian-American girl in 1930s Los Angeles. Luli Wei is not her real name. It actually belongs to her sister, stolen in a moment of panic while meeting with the head of Wolfe Studios. But no one in the movie business uses their real names. To provide your employer with your real name... Read Full Review
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Remarkably Bright Creatures
by Van Pelt, Shelby
July 25, 2022
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After her husband’s death, Tova Sullivan took a job cleaning the Sowell Bay Aquarium. She works evenings after the aquarium has closed to the public, mopping the floors, clearing the trash cans, and cleaning the glass walls of the exhibition tanks until they shine. As she works her way around the circular building, she chats with the various occupants of the aquarium. She knows them all very well and while she believes it is pointless to carry on one sided conversations with them, it makes her feel less lonely while she is working.Marcellus is the giant Pacific octopus at the Sowell Bay... Read Full Review
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The Book Woman's Daughter
by Richardson, Kim Michele
July 11, 2022
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In 2019, Kim Michele Richardson told the story of Cussy Mary Carter and her work as a Pack Horse Librarian in The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. Now, in 2022, Richardson returns to tell the next chapter in Cussy Mary’s story, which actually belongs to her daughter, in The Book Woman’s Daughter.It has been almost 17 years since the events recounted in The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. During most of that time, Cussy... Read Full Review
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Never Been Kissed
by Janovsky, Timothy
June 27, 2022
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As Wren Roland celebrates his 22nd birthday with his best friends and roommates, Mateo and Avery, he begins to lament the fact that he has never been kissed. He’s been close, but has yet to experience what his degree in film studies has convinced him will be a life-altering and incredibly romantic experience. As the evening progresses, and the drinks flow, Wren finds himself more than a bit drunk in front of his computer. He clicks on the email folder labeled “tentacle porn” (It seems like the perfect hiding place! Who would ever look in there?) where he has four email drafts to the four guys... Read Full Review
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One last stop
by McQuiston, Casey
June 21, 2022
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A young woman on her way to her first day of classes at Brooklyn College spills coffee on herself just prior to boarding the subway. Another young woman on the train comes to her rescue with a scarf and a kind word. The next time the student boards the train, her rescuer is there. They declare each other “coffee-girl” and “subway girl” and begin chatting. Is it a “meet cute” of the type employed in almost every/any romance novel? Absolutely! But, in the hands of Casey McQuiston, author of 2019’s fantastic Red, White, and Royal Blue, it is the beginning of so much more!In One Last... Read Full Review
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One-Shot Harry
by Phillips, Gary
June 6, 2022
Call Number: M
The year is 1963. Martin Luther King, Jr. is about to hold his Freedom Rally at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles; William H. Parker is Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department; John F. Kennedy is President of the United States; Pat Brown is the Governor of California; Gas is $0.29 a gallon and ground beef is less than $0.50 a pound. It is in this world, which is as different as it is similar to ours, that Gary Phillips sets his new novel One-Shot Harry.Harry Ingram is a freelance news photographer in Los Angeles. He also works side-jobs serving legal papers. Harry recently reconnected with an... Read Full Review