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Adult
“Architects of an American Landscape: Henry Hobson Richardson, Frederick Law Olmsted, and the Reimagining of America’s Public and Private” by Hugh Howard – Two design titans profoundly influenced how American came to interact with the natural and constructed world around them as the nation recovered from the tragic war. Olmstead was considered the “first and finest park maker and environmentalist” credited with the preservation of Yosemite and Niagara Falls. While Richardson, who has almost been forgotten, is credited with the iconic Boston Trinity Church to the Shingle Style and the open plan concept for family homes. Howard reveals how “these two men created original all-American idioms in architecture and landscape that influence how we enjoy our public and private spaces to this day.” You can read a review of this title, available in print and on hoopla, at publishersweekly.com/978-0-8021-5923-6
“The Plant Hunter” by Quave Cassandra Leah – Dr. Quave was born with multiple congenital defects and nearly lost her life at the age of three because of a staph infection. She has a great understanding of plants and an intimate knowledge of the strengths as well as the failings of modern medicine. This book blends together botany, science and memoir to recount her journey in search for natural compounds that are long known to traditional heals that could “help save us all from looming crisis.” You can read a review of this title, available in print or on Overdrive, at kirkusreviews.com/bookreviews/cassandra-leah-quave/the-plant-hunter/
“The Magnolia Place” by Fiona Davis – New York Times bestselling author, Davis, write this historical fiction novel about Lillian Carter who has lost her mother to the 1919 Spanish flu outbreak. As Lillian’s grief causes her life to become desperate, she takes a job with the Frick family that finds her entangled in a web of “romantic trysts, stolen jewels, and family drama that runs so deep, the stakes just may be life or death.” Fact and fiction are combined smoothly with beautiful descriptions that make this “Davis’s best work to date.” You can read a review of this title, available in print or on Overdrive as an eBook or eAudio, at publishersweekly.com/978-0-593-18401-1
“The Violin Conspiracy” by Brendan Slocumb – Music has always played an important role in the life of this debut author. Slocumb believes that music is a “life-saving force, and a gift we should always offer to our children.” (brendanslocumb.com/about-me) The novel follows the life of Ray McMillian, who is growing up in Black rural North Carolina, with a life of low-income jobs already mapped out for him. But he has a git and a dream to become a musician, even if his mother and the inherent racism of classical music are in his way. Only his grandmother supports him and gifts him his grandfather’s fiddle, which becomes part of a legal battle, then is stolen for ransom demands. You can read a review of this title, available in print and an audio book Overdrive at publishersweekly.com/978-0-593-31541-5
Children’s
“Picturing a Nation: the Great Depression's finest photographers introduce America to itself” by Martin W. Sandler
140 full-color and black-and-white photographs depict the United States Farm Security Administration's sweeping visual record of the Great Depression. In 1935, with the nation bent under unprecedented unemployment and economic hardship, the FSA sent ten photographers, including Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, and Gordon Parks, on the road trip of a lifetime. The images they logged revealed the daily lives of Southern sharecroppers, Dust Bowl farmers in the Midwest, Western migrant workers, and families scraping by in Northeast cities. Using their cameras as weapons against poverty and racism--and in service of hope, courage, and human dignity--these talented photographers created not only a collective work of art, but a national treasure. Grouped into four geographical regions and locked in focus by rich historical commentary, these images--many now iconic--are history at its most powerful and immediate. Extensive back matter includes photographer profiles and a bibliography. slj.com/review/picturing-a-nation-the-great-depressions-finest-photographers-introduce-america-to-itself
“Blancaflor, the hero with secret powers: a folktale from Latin America” by Nadja Spiegelman & Sergio García Sánchez
A damsel to the rescue! Raised by a mean ogre of a father who eats his opponents for dinner, Blancaflor is often told not to show off her own considerable powers for fear of scaring off suitors. When a prince falls from the sky and wakes up in her lap, she is spellbound and moves heaven and earth to help the endearing, yet not so clever, young man, all while trying not to let him know. A superb graphic storytelling of a classic Latin American folktale highlighting the invisible labor of women and the contributions of Indigenous cultures.hbook.com/story/review-of-blancaflor-the-hero-with-secret-powersa-folktale-from-latin-america
“Dewey: there's a cat in the library!” by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter, illustrated by Steve James Enjoy Dewey in picture book format for younger readers! When Librarian Vicki Myron finds a young kitten abandoned in the Spencer Library return box, she nurses him back to health, deciding then and there that he will be their library cat, and naming him, appropriately, Dewey Readmore Books. Dewey loves his new home, but once he discovers the littlest library visitors-who like to chase him, pull his tail, and squeeze him extra tight-Dewey begins to wonder if he's truly cut out for the demands of his new job. In the end, he is triumphant as he realizes that helping people big and small is what he is meant to do, and that by sharing his special brand of Dewey love, he can be the best library cat of all. publishersweekly.com/978-0-316-06874-1
“The Tale of Peter Rabbit” written and illustrated by Beatrice Potter Peter is a mischievous and disobedient young rabbit who loves the yummy vegetables he finds in Mr. McGregor's garden, the only problem is, Mr. McGregor doesn't want Peter to get his paws on his crops! Peter’s mother also does not want him or his siblings Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail to enter the garden since their father met a terrible end in that place. This is the first book in a series that grew to a total of 23 beloved animal tales by 1930. Peter Rabbit was published 120 years ago in 1902, is still being published, and by the same company. Beatrice Potter's own brand of fairy tales are classics, loved not only by children, but also by their adults.booktrust.org.uk/book/t/the-tale-of-peter-rabbit/
Young Adult
“The Selection” by Kiera Cass: For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape a rigid caste system, live in a palace, and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon. But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her, and competing for a crown she doesn't want. Then America meets Prince Maxon--and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.
Publisher’s Weekly Review: publishersweekly.com/978-0-06-205993-2
“Shatter Me” by Tahereh Mafi. One touch is all it takes. One touch, and Juliette Ferrars can leave a fully grown man gasping for air. One touch, and she can kill. No one knows why Juliette has such incredible power. It feels like a curse, a burden that one person alone could never bear. But The Reestablishment sees it as a gift, sees her as an opportunity. An opportunity for a deadly weapon. Juliette has never fought for herself before. But when she's reunited with the one person who ever cared about her, she finds a strength she never knew she had.
Publisher’s Weekly Review: publishersweekly.com/978-0-06-208548-1
“Uglies” by Scott Westerfeld. Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. In just a few weeks she'll have the operation that will turn her from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty. And as a pretty, she'll be catapulted into a hightech paradise where her only job is to have fun. But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to become a pretty. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally a choice: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. Tally's choice will change her world forever.
Kirkus Book Review: kirkusreviews.com/bookreviews/scott-westerfeld/uglies/
“Matched” by Ally Condie. Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.
Kirkus Book Review: kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/ally-condie/matched/
