Staff Recommendations
Daryl M.
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Before She Was Helen
by Cooney, Caroline B.
September 23, 2020
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Helen Stephens lives a quiet life in Sun City, a retirement community in South Carolina. She regularly plays cards in the clubhouse with other residents of the complex, including her neighbors Joyce and Johnny. While she is mostly retired, she continues teaching some Latin classes at a local high school. She has what she needs and most of what she wants. But a single careless act will set in motion a series of events that will upend, and ultimately threaten, Helen’s quiet life in Caroline B. Cooney’s new novel As Helen begins another day, she sends her daily text to Dom, her next-door... Read Full Review
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It Came From the Sky
by Sedoti, Chelsea
September 8, 2020
Call Number: YA
Sixteen-year-old Gideon Hofstadt prefers an orderly life and an orderly future. In his schoolwork, he excels in the sciences, but struggles with the vagaries of the humanities. It is the same way he struggles with his relationships with his family, friends, and his maybe boyfriend, Owen. Gideon cares about Owen, but as the only other gay student in his school, Gideon fears that Owen really doesn’t care about him, as there aren’t any local alternatives for either of them. When he creates a seismograph and wants to test it, he allows, against his better judgement, his older brother Ishmael to... Read Full Review
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The Operator
by Berg, Gretchen
August 31, 2020
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In a world where most people walk around with a telephone on their person that can allow them to contact someone anywhere in the country, or the world, easily and directly, it may be a bit of a shock to realize that as little as 50 years ago many people relied upon the assistance of an operator to connect their calls. Operators, primarily women, manually connected callers to the person with whom they wanted to speak. Another marked change, societal rather than technological between the age of operators and today, has to do with personal information. Again, it may seem odd to contemporary... Read Full Review
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The Darwin Affair
by Mason, Timothy
August 18, 2020
Call Number: M
It probably goes without saying that when Charles Darwin published his revolutionary theories regarding evolution, and their supporting evidence, in The Origin of Species in 1859, there was controversy. Even today, 160 years later, Darwin’s theory of species evolving over time still engenders strong feelings of resistance to his ideas, especially within faith-based communities, in spite of the fact that his ideas gained the wide ranging support of the scientific community long ago. So, it probably isn’t surprising that when first introduced, Darwin’s ideas sparked outrage and controversy... Read Full Review
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The Ghosts of Sherwood
by Vaughn, Carrie
August 10, 2020
Call Number: e-Book
The earliest references to Robin Hood date back to the 14th century, and the earliest surviving copies of the story are from the 15th century. The details may change, but the core of the legend concerns a nobleman turned outlaw with a band of followers known as the Merry Men. He is a highly skilled archer and swordsman, who is loyal to the absent King Richard. He challenges the treatment of common people by Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham by robbing the rich and giving to the poor. He also has a legendary romance with Maid Marion. The story is one of the best-known British folktales... Read Full Review
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A Star is Bored
by Lane, Byron
August 3, 2020
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Kathi Kannon is the daughter of a famous actress mother, and went on to gain her own fame as Princess Talara in the space spectacular, Nova Quest. She has gone on to work as a script doctor and written several novels, but several decades later she is a star in decline. She is famous, outrageous and always looking for the next thrill, and needs a personal assistant. Enter Charlie Besson, a young man from New Orleans who has transplanted himself to Los Angeles. He is searching for something, anything, that will bring purpose to his currently miserable existence. When he is suggested as a... Read Full Review
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Pretty as a Picture
by Little, Elizabeth
July 21, 2020
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A young film editor in need of a job is offered one that, at first, seems too good to be true: working for an Oscar-winning director on a high-profile project on location. But, as we all know, if something seems too good to be true, it more than likely is. So, it should really be no surprise that the production turns out to be plagued with accidents, a temperamental director who is regularly firing the crew, and threatening the cast, and finally there is a murder.When Marissa Dahl’s agent calls her in for an interview, she is both excited and terrified. It sounds like a great opportunity, and... Read Full Review
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When we were magic
by Gailey, Sarah
June 29, 2020
Call Number: YA
After graduation, prom night is often the penultimate event in the life of a high school senior. Students may save, plan and dream about the night for months or even years prior to going. So what happens when the prom doesn’t go the way you planned? What if something truly unexpected, like death, mars the evening? What do you do and who do you call? This is the set up for Sarah Gailey’s latest, and first Young Adult novel, When We Were Magic. This novel definitely has a crossover appeal for adults.Alexi’s prom night, overall, has not gone as she planned. Oh, a few things went exactly... Read Full Review
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The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea
by Tokuda-Hall, Maggie
June 22, 2020
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A young noblewoman is betrothed by her parents into an unwanted, arranged marriage. A young pirate struggles to survive and protect his brother from the dangers inherent in the life they have been forced to live. A mermaid is captured and threatened with death because her blood, when drunk, allows humans the solace of forgetting things they don’t want to remember. A witch lives in seclusion because the Nipran Empire has declared her kind a threat that must be eliminated. The Sea, which the Nipran Empire uses and is attempting to subjugate to its will, will bring these different individuals... Read Full Review
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Conventionally Yours
by Albert, Annabeth
June 15, 2020
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A common theme in novels, motion pictures and television is the fine line between love and hate. One only has to look at William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew (or it’s modern reincarnation 1999’s Ten Things I Hate About You) for an example of supposed loathing turning to love. And there are many, many other examples of this theme. Annabeth Albert takes this idea and sends it on a cross-country road trip in her latest novel, Conventionally Yours.Conrad and Alden are two of the regular gamers who play at Professor Tuttle’s shop near Gracehaven College in New England.... Read Full Review
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Under the Rainbow
by Laskey, Celia
June 8, 2020
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In a recent survey, the small town of Big Burr, Kansas has earned the title of “most homophobic town in the U.S.” The non-profit that conducted the survey, Acceptance Across America (AAA), determines that the appropriate response to their findings is to send a task force to Big Burr. They will move to Big Burr, set up an office and live in the town for two years. AAA hopes that the task force can, and will, become a part of the community. They are also hopeful that eventually they will be able to change the locals’ attitudes regarding LGBTQ people. Debut author Celia Laskey chronicles... Read Full Review
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Upright Women Wanted
by Gailey, Sarah
June 1, 2020
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Esther just watched her best friend die. Beatriz was found to be in possession of “inappropriate” materials, and for that she was hanged in the town square. Esther’s father spoke from the podium about the dangers of “deviance” all the while keeping his eyes locked on Esther. Beatriz’s death was a warning to Esther, and so she ran. She stowed away in the Librarians’ supply wagon. Luckily for Esther that they were in town supplying the other residents with materials that support “correct education” and Approved Materials to read, watch and listen to. Esther hopes to join them, these... Read Full Review