Staff Picks
November 2022
Nothing More To Tell
by Karen McManus
A girl named Brynn returns to a school 4 years after her family had moved out of town. 4 years ago, one of her teachers was found dead, and the case was never solved. Brynn gets an internship working at a true-crime show and her big story is to find out what happened to Mr. Larkin. Students, teachers, and neighbors are all on the suspect list. 4 years ago, someone got away with murder, but they’re about to be caught.
This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and e audiobook.
Recommended by: Erin Faxel, Youth Services Teen Librarian
Posted in: Young Adult Fiction
The Girl in White
by Lindsay Currie
Posted in: Youth Fiction
October 2022
Tune It Out
by Jamie Sumner
Twelve year old Louise Montgomery, Lou for short, has been displaced by her mom’s restlessness her whole life. They move from place to place living off of odd jobs and Lou’s singing talent, even though she hates performing. It’s been just the two of them against the world until an accident alerts the authorities to their questionable lifestyle. As a result, Lou is sent to live with her aunt and uncle while her mom works on rebuilding her life. Lou discovers a lot about herself and learns that her sensory processing disorder doesn’t have to hold her back. From the author of Roll with It, comes another wonderful middle grade novel about overcoming obstacles and being true to oneself.
This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and e audiobook.
Recommended by: Erin Cady, Youth Services Reference Librarian
Posted in: Youth Fiction
The Genius Under the Table
by Eugene Yelchin
Yevgeny is growing up in Russia during the Cold War. He’s not talented like his ice-skating star older brother. He feels as if he has no artistic talent at all but then his parents see the secret artwork he has been creating underneath the family’s dining room table. Once he starts taking art lessons under the tutelage of an art master, his life starts looking up.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Biographies
Clues to the Universe
by Christina Li
Benji is tired of being bullied at school. When a new girl, Ro, shows up and they accidentally pick up each other’s folders they become friends. Ro is totally into science and space and wants to make a rocket and enter it into the science fair. All Benji wants to do is draw. He’s obsessed with comics. When Ro discovers something about Benji’s absent father, they make a deal.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Fiction
My Life in the Fish Tank
by Barbara Dee
Zinnia, Zinny for short, is having a rough school year after her older brother is diagnosed with a mental illness. Her parents ask Zinny and her siblings to keep it a secret. As a result of this, Zinny loses touch with her best friends because they ask questions that she feels she can’t answer.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Fiction
Dark Room Etiquette
by Robin Roe
This YA book is over 500 pages long, but it grabs the reader—no pun intended as Sayers Wayte, the main character, is kidnapped—from the start. With his privileged lifestyle, Sayers feels nothing can touch him and he uses and abuses his charm, money and looks. After being kidnapped by a man who insists he is his long-lost son, he starts on a long journey of not only physical survival but also emotional and mental survival. Coping with the traumatic events becomes a soul searching and heart wrenching process to find his way back to discover who he really is.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian
Posted in: Young Adult Fiction
Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre
by Carole Boston Weatherford
On May 31 and June 1, 1921, an armed white mob looted homes and businesses as African-American families fled an affluent area known as Black Wall Street. The police and local politicians did nothing to protect the people, homes, and businesses. As many as three hundred African Americans were killed, most buried in unmarked graves, and thousands were left homeless.
This book is available in the library and on Hoopla as an ebook, e audiobook and movie.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian
The Spirit of Springer: The Real-Life Rescue of an Orphaned Orca
by Amanda Abler
This is a true story about Springer, an orphaned orca, who was found alone in Puget Sound in 2002. She was in poor health due to skin sores, starvation, and loneliness- since her call was not what other orcas in the area responded to. Scientists found where orcas like her were living. After being healed, she was released near them with the hope that they would accept her into the pod.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian
Posted in: Youth Nonfiction
Above the Rim: How Elgin Baylor Changed Basketball
by Jen Bryant
Learning to play basketball in the streets, Elgin Baylor took his ability to jump high and hang in the air over the rim to new heights. His nickname was Rabbit. After college he became the first professional African American NBA player. Elgin played in the late 1950s and early 1960s for the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers using his acrobatic skills to excel as a player. Though people loved to come see him play, he was not allowed into “whites only” restaurants and hotels as the team traveled. Changes in society were happening that are referred to as part of his journey to stand up for himself by sitting down and getting people and the NBA to change.
This book is available in the library and as a movie on Hoopla.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian
Posted in: Youth Biographies