Après April Staff Picks
Appreciate some Après April Staff Picks after your spring skiing!
Check out our audiobook playlist HERE!
This is a soulful, heartbreaking, and beautiful story all rolled into one! Eleven-year-old KB narrates the story of her broken family, through the heavy topics of racism, abandonment, depression, death, and drug use. As KB experiences her own “coming of age,” she reaches the conclusion that the people in her life have flaws, but are nonetheless lovable. KB’s character is so endearing, and so flawlessly childlike, that I wanted to jump into the book, remind her to keep her eyes on the magical fireflies, and give her a healing hug!
-Virgie
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Ruta Sepetys, author of Between Shades of Gray and Salt to the Sea has written a suspenseful historical fiction novel taking place during the Ceausescu Communist dictatorship in Romania in the 1980s. Although the storyline is fiction, the suffering and social injustice of 20 million Romanians is NOT! The brutal Romanian Securitate (police force) forcefully recruit and command a network of informers. In fact, 1 in 10 Romanians were intimidated by spies. It’s terrifying to imagine how being “spied on” can affect you and your relationships! This is yet another compelling Septy’s novel including teens whose bravery will amaze you! If you enjoy historical fiction, don’t miss it!
-Virgie
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The tobacco culture/industry of the ’40s was far different from that of today, thank goodness! This story takes the reader to a North Carolina tobacco processing town, where 16-year-old Maddie finds work for the summer, making dresses for the wives of the wealthy tobacco magnets. These women are entitled, yet powerless in many ways. Throughout the summer Maddie discovers disturbing practices and dangerous working conditions within the factories and realizes the depth of the adverse effects that compromise the health of the entire town. Unlike the wealthy but powerless wives, Maddie is a force to be reckoned with, and takes on the tobacco industry!
If you enjoy books about powerful women, such as The Radium Girls, then you will enjoy this read, I’m sure!
-Virgie
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Xingyin has lived a long peaceful life with her mother, the moon goddess, in a gorgeous manor on the moon and was content not knowing the details of her past. That is until the Celestial Empress comes to visit and reveals a ground-breaking secret that turns Xingyin’s world upside down. She was never supposed to exist. In order to keep her safe, her mother sends her away and tells her to keep her identity a secret or else suffer the fiery wrath of the Empress. Follow along as Xingyin finds her way in the Celestial Kingdom among people much more skilled in manipulation and deceit than her.
I absolutely adore this book and will be re-reading it many times in the future! I would recommend it to anyone interested in a fun way of learning more about Chinese mythology.
-Isabella
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If you run in outdoor social circles, you may have heard of a guy who goes by the moniker Semi-Rad. He’s an adventure and outdoor journalist known for posting minimalist, dry, witty cartoons about running and being in nature on his website and Instagram. But the guy who runs ultra-marathons and writes for Outdoor magazine started his adult life on a very different track - two DUIs, a few days in an Iowa jail cell, and court-mandated rehab. Leonard’s book reads like a confession. His musings on the reasons why he, of all people, has such a hard time with alcohol seems to touch on the common thread of the addictive personalities that seem to migrate to mountain towns. By the time I finished the last paragraph, I was itching to dust off my climbing shoes and go find a mountain that scares me.
-Megan
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I find it difficult to express in words the impact this heartbreaking memoir has had on me! As I finished the last chapter, I close the book and stood shaking in my boots! Reputable author, Amy Bloom, confronts the taboo subject of death and it’s painful! Before her husband, Brian was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease, Bloom was suspicious something was wrong. Once diagnosed, Brian, still possessing a sound mind and full understanding, asks his wife to help him end his life with dignity, “on his feet rather than on his knees.” Bloom’s memoir shares her insightful feelings and chronicles her support plan with a Swiss organization, Dignitas. Bloom is successful to help her husband die on his own terms. In my opinion, Bloom’s actions were the ultimate act of love!
-Virgie
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Have you ever had an encounter with a stranger that, to this day, you can’t forget? One that for whatever reason, will stay cemented in your mind forever? I certainly have and so I was immediately intrigued by the subject of this book. What a lovely little homage to those people who touch our everyday lives in even the smallest of ways. Every one of these letters is a love letter to serendipity and the human experience. Written by a cast of talented authors in their own right, I invite everyone to read these stories and truly appreciate and marvel at the little moments in their own lives.
-Jenna
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You either like politics or want to stay as far away from them as possible; either way, this book is for you. This humorous political commentary is almost a travel book as much as it is a political commentary. Two friends travel through different countries and use beer as their main talking point. If you like beer, travel, and humor, you’ll love this book. Also if you think socialism is a good system, this may change the way you think, and who doesn’t love to be open-minded!
-Hallie
As a fiction and horror enthusiast, let me tell you, no book has ever scared me more than this. This book unearths buried scandals, child trafficking, and sexual assaults that Hollywood and the media has swept under the rug. Movies and TV have such an impact on our culture and society, but we rarely talk about the messages behind them. If you’re trying to get woke, grow your critical thinking skills, or just find out what motivates the biggest producer of media in the world, read this novel. If you don’t want to sleep at night, I have great horror book recommendations for you, but if you don’t want to sleep forever, this is your book! Also, as a former fan of Barbara Streisand, I would recommend this book so more people may reconsider their icons.
-Hallie
Monsters aren’t real. They’re just stories made up to keep kids in check. Except lately there has been someone, or something taking the children and killing them. No one comes back alive and no one knows what they look like. No one, except Erica, a quiet hunter, and James, a boy who witnessed the deaths of his friends.
Will this unlikely duo be able to stop what hides in the shadows, or will they themselves be devoured?
-Patty
A reverse coloring book is such a cool idea! These pages provide you with blotches and splatters of color, and it’s your job to draw in the lines and distinctions. The artist is allowed just a touch more creative control this way, and it certainly gets you thinking about color and space in new ways. I love it!
-Jenna
Follow along with a little girl and her fathers as they plant and maintain a beautiful garden of flowers, fruits, and vegetables. As the plants age, so does the girl and you get to see everyone grow up. This is a beautiful book that teaches the value of putting your hands on the earth, but also all about spending time with the people who are important to you, and how traditions can tie us all together.
-Jenna
Follow Sam on his adventures with his Grandma - on their bicycles! Together they travel across the U.S. and to other continents. Sam writes a postcard from each destination, providing cool facts about the place. This book is an amazing way to learn about our world, and an inspiration to travel to these places - maybe with Grandma!
-Virgie
Helping children navigate and cope with the sickness and death of a loved one is a tough endeavor. This new book is a way to initiate the conversation and a great tool to use to guide your child through a difficult time. What I especially appreciate about this book, is the identification of feelings, and the concrete activities that can be practiced to ease discomfort. The back of the book contains an adult guide of various detailed activities that can calm and soothe troubled spirits.
-Virgie
