Staff Picks

Created on February 17, 2022, 4:05 pm

Last Updated January 4, 2023, 3:34 pm

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This charming tale of a young woman's return to her family's magical flower farm in Mexico had me utterly spellbound. It has romance, family antics, and self discovery. What more could one ask for? - Andrea W
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Feast for your eyes! Have fun roaming the pages of Ponti's delectable birthday-cake-building, nonsense punning, gargantuan tale of rich excess featuring his iconic chicklets. A playful picture book with a world deep enough to return to again and again. - Theodore R
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I’ve been stunned by where I’ve ended up in a Murnane story—for his obsessions frequently produce imagery that seems to penetrate to the heart of fiction, and he leads you there with one perfectly pitched sentence after another. - Theodore R
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How does the death of a loved one change us? What are the choices and mistakes we make while trying to survive adulthood? Rowley gently explores these questions in his delightful novel about five 50-something friends with a decades-long pact to celebrate life and each other. - Alex Z
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Being a teen is hard enough. Growing up in and out of the hospital is even harder. Ellie’s candid narration provides insight into being a teen with a rare illness while dealing with “normal” issues like deciding how much of herself she wants to share with others. - Andrea W
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A riveting tale for true crime aficionados, exploring the infamous 1924 Leopold and Loeb case in Chicago. Uncover the chilling murder plot hatched by two college students and the gripping legal battle that ensued, revealing intriguing insights into their motives and minds. - Jennifer S
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A rollicking exploration of England's monarchs from Arthur to Elizabeth I. Mitchell's wit and historical insight provide an entertaining and enlightening narrative for those fascinated by British monarchy. - Jennifer S
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Set against the backdrop of Argentina's complicated, dangerous political landscape of the 1980s and 90s, this tale of a powerful family steeped in occult power unfolds slowly and through different characters as it jumps forward and back in time. - Alex Z
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This novel addresses cultural appropriation, challenges of having career as an author, ethics, race, friendship and anxiety/mental illness. She writes a captivating narrative that keeps you engaged all the way to the end! - Todd P
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If you are new to yoga or a veteran, you will love this book, Larkin breaks yoga down to the bare basics, with easy to follow instructions and adaptations that makes yoga accessible for all. it could literally help change your life for the better. I have bought my own copy. - Mike N
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This sharp, spiky novel explores the complicated issues of identity and belonging through the story of a former piano prodigy who goes to work for a bonkers - and possibly sinister - high-end beauty company. - Alex Z
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Maya used to steal artifacts all over outer space to return them to their rightful owners. She has since settled into academia, but one of her best friends needs her for one last, very important job. An exciting adventure with spaceships and aliens. - Michelle M
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Funny, thoughtful, irreverent and full of emotional insight, Thomas' essays on returning to his hometown of Baltimore as a married adult, then weathering the pandemic as a new homeowner in the suburbs, made me feel like I was hanging out with an old friend. - Alex Z
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Violet is having a tough year. She started middle school, is worried about keeping her friends, and she has to move. On top of that, she has a ghost in her room and she feels sick and tired all the time. A lovely and empathetic story about life changes and long term illness. - Michelle M
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I loved this personal and political story of three generations of women in a Hawaiian family, told from the community's perspective. Loosely based on a real community that fought the construction of a Walmart on the Big Island. - Charlotte M
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If you have an devices with a reusable battery - a phone, tablet, ebike, eREADER - you owe it to the people who mined the minerals inside it to read this book. - Charlotte M
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Slow-burn sci-fi romance, with two lovable protagonists, set in a universe that got me thinking, Who's scarier: the person who can control your thoughts, or the person who can read them? - Charlotte M
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This crime drama movie paved the way for changing how Asian Americans were perceived in cinema as high school overachievers get bored with being the model minority as they find themselves turning to petty crime. There's also a fun tie in with the Fast and Furious series! - Deborah K
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This selection of short stories provides fantastical doses of the intelligent, inventive, and often mystifying writing of one of Latin Americas greatest authors. "The Library of Babel" stands out as a philosophical and metaphysical puzzle weaving themes of time and reality. - Miguel R
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This engaging novel is both a werewolf tale and a moving exploration of emotional trauma, female rage and the despair we face when our bodies betray us. Warning: explicit body horror. - Alex Z
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