Springing Backwards to June Staff Picks
This is a uniquely dark book, where the darkness just lingers in the back of the whole story. Have you ever thought about what you would do to be the best at something? Well, Andres wants to be the best musician. But what is the price that he is willing to pay? This is a page turning, creepy book!!
Recommended by Chris
This is a wonderful, action packed book about a group of kids that are classified as Unwanteds. How would that make you feel that at the age of 13 you had to go through a sorting and know that nobody wanted you? But what is beyond the wall is nothing like anyone thinks. There are so many fun characters and different magic that bring the story to life.
Recommended by Chris
Oh my, the chaos that ensues in this book is wonderful. The animals are everywhere and the food is flying. This is fun to read aloud and there are so many great things to talk about with the illustrations. This is also a great book for manners and for those just beginning to read. There are so many fun words!!
Recommended by Chris
Have you ever wanted to jump right into a story and do things right alongside the characters? Well, that is sort of what happens in Story Thieves, until the characters start to come out of the book and wreak havoc on the town. So how do you get the characters go back in the book and clean up their mess? Well, Owen and Bethany have to overcome these challenges in this action packed book!
Recommended by Chris
This is a wonderful book about what fact is. It a great teaching book about feelings and what the truth is. I feel that every person should have to read this book and get a good reminder about the difference of what is a fact and what is a lie. I also LOVE the illustrations!! Some lessons are hard to learn but they need to be taught.
Recommended by Chris
An amazing and beautifully illustrated dino guide is the perfect introduction to the lost world for any kid! With pages dedicated to all the most popular dinosaurs, and some lesser known ones, you’ll get all the important information in bright colors and exciting blurbs. Where did they live? What did they eat? How do we think they looked? There are also pages of introductions to paleontology and excavation. An awesome book for any kid (or grown up kid) with an eye for dinosaurs and the heart for exploration!
Recommended by Jenna
The Paris Ritz was a hotel in a class of its own, designed to meet every whim. This is where people stayed as a vacation from reality. All that changed when the Nazi’s took over the Ritz, using the hotel as their headquarters. Claude and Blanche Auzello, the directors of the Ritz, walked a fine and dangerous line as they catered to the Nazis while secretly involved in the French Resistance during the Nazi occupation. Although a book of fiction, this novel is based on the true story of Blanche Auzello, the “mistress of the Ritz.” Fascinating read!
Recommended by Virgie
I am turning 70 this summer, and this book is talking to my soul! I want to be that WOMAN ROWING NORTH! Mary Pipher, author of Reviving Ophelia, clinical psychologist and cultural therapist, has written this book for women on the cusp of change. We cannot deny change because it’s going to happen anyway! Rather, we must embrace change and consider this the perfect time to expand our souls! This book is filled with wisdom to ponder, accompanied by statistics. One of my favorite nuggets of wisdom was, “When we limit our belief in our own potential to grow, we also limit our incentive to grow.” This book came, for me, at the perfect time!
Recommended by Virgie
Suzanna is a beautiful, troubled and complicated woman, living in the shadow of her dead mother. Her marriage of 10 years is failing, and to find her soul she opens a quaint little shop, the Peacock Emporium, which becomes a gathering point for many of the townspeople. This endeavor gave her hope and allowed her to be her own person. When she hires spunky, young Jessie, Suzanna enters a relationship that will change her life … forever! I became so invested in the cast of characters, that I began to write my own ending in my head, just in case! If you’re looking for a good summer read, nothing too heavy but very captivating, I suggest this novel as your next indulgence!
Recommended by Virgie
Immigration has been a topic of conversation in our country, and I recommend this book as an important and timely read for juveniles and teens. Jude, a young Syrian girl, has recently moved to the U.S., and in beautiful verse she describes the difficulty of leaving her beloved home country, and how the prejudice against Muslim Americans feels. Fresh in America, she gives the reader a broad perspective of American culture, and wants us to know we need not fear her people. After all, what refugees want is “love, understanding, acceptance, safety and a chance for happiness.” This is a powerful book that takes a good look at acceptance and belonging.
Recommended by Virgie
This touching, true story is about a young troubled girl, her grandpa and bees. When her parents divorce, 5 year old Meredith comes to live with her grandparents. May’s emotionally disturbed mother has sucked the spirit out of her, and she finds solace in spending time with her eccentric bee keeper grandpa, who teaches her all about the amazing life of bees. Through the metaphors of the bee community May becomes secure in a new meaning of her life and is rescued from a difficult childhood. This book is a treasure! Not only does it reveal fascinating facts about bees but it also opens the reader’s eyes to the magic and wisdom of nature.
Recommended by Virgie
Katherine is a brilliant mathematician working on the Riemann hypothesis, a problem that’s been mystifying mathematicians since the 1850s. As her fascination with this hypothesis leads her further into the world of mathematics, she stumbles upon stories about her mysterious past. First of all, this is a wonderful story about feeling lost and finding roots and all the complications that come with that. Not only does this book capture the weird twists and turns life takes you on, but it reveals how math can be absolutely beautiful. As someone who hated math classes, Chung’s writing reminded me how human and delightful math can be.
Recommended by Izzy
This one is for all those lovers of S-town, Serial, or any other true life/true crime podcast. Sadie’s life has been anything but picture perfect - her mother, Claire, was addicted to drugs since before she was born, and things didn’t get much better when her younger sister Mattie was born. Her life goes from bad to horrible when Mattie is murdered outside of their small Colorado town, and the underfunded police department is ill equipped to deal with the investigation. Sadie becomes convinced that she is the only one that can deal justice to her sister’s killer, and she disappears from her small trailer park life. Enter West McCray, a radio personality who gets sucked into Sadie’s world and makes it his mission to find out what happened to Sadie, because nobody wants another dead girl.
Recommended by Megan