Best of the Year: Staff Picks

Staff pick by: Alan, North Valley Library
A young couple's plan to flip a house in Southern California goes awry and old wounds in their marriage reopen in this dark novel of unrelenting tension. McGinniss (The Delivery Man, 2008) presents a smooth combination of present-time narrative and extensive flashbacks to reveal two lives wracked by more than just mortgage woes. McGinniss covers familiar territory in the marketplace and marriage but injects it with an urgency, a sense of constant, inescapable threat that all adds up to a taut page-turner. -- KIRKUS REVIEW

Staff pick by: Linda, Administration
Mercy, a young Korean American and recent Columbia graduate, is adrift, undone by a terrible incident in her recent past. Hilary, a wealthy housewife, is haunted by her struggle to have a child, something she believes could save her foundering marriage. Meanwhile, Margaret, once a happily married mother of three, questions her maternal identity in the wake of a shattering loss. As each woman struggles with her own demons, their lives collide in ways that have irreversible consequences for them all. -- Goodreads

Staff pick by: Scott, Erna Fergusson Library
That futurists have a terrible record hasn’t discouraged them, and this delightful addition to the genre does not deny that predictions have been wildly off-base.
The reason that futurists are often wrong is that people assume the future will resemble the present except for improvements or decay. Three decades ago, relevant observers assumed that the Internet would become “five thousand TV channels”—paradise for the couch potato. Few saw that viewers would take over, sucking up (but rarely paying for) traditional journalism, art, and entertainment and producing their own. - KIRKUS REVIEW

Staff pick by: Ben, Digital Services
So many fantasy authors short-change readers with lazy, off-the-peg invented worlds – kings, magicians and the forces of evil from central casting, and feudal societies and fairy castles from the overused props department – that it’s a breath of fresh air to discover a fantastical world that defies easy provenance and brings something new to the genre. Genevieve Cogman’s first novel, The Invisible Library (Tor, £7.99), features a secret society founded to preserve literary texts from a series of alternate worlds, and a warped London setting that is part eldritch fantasy, part steampunk, with a dash of the supernatural in the form of vampires and werewolves thrown into the mix. Library worker Irene is sent with her apprentice Kai to London to obtain a copy of Grimms’ Fairy Tales, only to find the book missing and others on its trail, and willing to commit murder to get what they want. With a companionable heroine in Irene, and a satisfyingly complex plot, The Invisible Library – the first of a series – is a book in which to wallow. --The Guardian

Staff pick by: Debbie, Youth Services
For readers of The Nightingale and Sarah’s Key, inspired by the life of a real World War II heroine, this remarkable debut novel reveals the power of unsung women to change history in their quest for love, freedom, and second chances. New York socialite Caroline Ferriday has her hands full with her post at the French consulate and a new love on the horizon. But Caroline’s world is forever changed when Hitler’s army invades Poland in September 1939—and then sets its sights on France. An ocean away from Caroline, Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager, senses her carefree youth disappearing as she is drawn deeper into her role as courier for the underground resistance movement. In a tense atmosphere of watchful eyes and suspecting neighbors, one false move can have dire consequences. For the ambitious young German doctor, Herta Oberheuser, an ad for a government medical position seems her ticket out of a desolate life. Once hired, though, she finds herself trapped in a male-dominated realm of Nazi secrets and power.
The lives of these three women are set on a collision course when the unthinkable happens and Kasia is sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious Nazi concentration camp for women. Their stories cross continents—from New York to Paris, Germany, and Poland—as Caroline and Kasia strive to bring justice to those whom history has forgotten. -- NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Staff pick by: Lizzie, Main Library
Lust:
1. intense sexual desire or appetite
2.a passionate or overmastering desire or craving
3.ardent enthusiasm; zest; relish.
Wonder:
1. something strange and surprising; a cause of surprise, astonishment,or admiration
2. the emotion excited by what is strange and surprising; a feeling of surprised or puzzled interest, sometimes tinged with admiration
3. a miraculous deed or event; remarkable phenomenon
From the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author comes an intimate look at the driving forces in one man’s life. With Augusten's unique and singular observations and his own unabashed way of detailing both the horrific and the humorous, Lust and Wonder is a hilariously frank memoir that his legions of fans have been waiting for. His story began in Running with Scissors, endured through Dry, and continues with this memoir, the capstone to the life of Augusten Burroughs. Funny, sweet, alarming, and ultimately, moving and tender, Lust & Wonder is an experience of a book that will resonate with anyone who has loved and lost and loved again. -- St. Martin's Press

Staff pick by: Kelsey, Central & Unser Library
You can choose to be Romeo or Juliet—TEAM MONTAGUE or TEAM CAPULET—and depending on your choices, you may go to brunch with Benvolio at The Merchant of Breakfast, visit Ophelia in Denmark, or trade dumb sex puns with Mercutio…and you don’t necessarily have to die in the end! One of the options is to actually become Juliet’s glove—though sadly, “gloves are not capable of sentient thought.” North, who funded the first of these books (To Be or Not To Be, 2013) with a Kickstarter, has scattered the entire text of the play among the 474 numbered sections. -- KIRKUS REVIEW

Staff pick by: Amanda, Materials Support Services
Told in alternating points of view and perfect for fans of Anthony Doerr's Pulitzer Prize-winning All the Light We Cannot See, Erik Larson's Dead Wake, and Elizabeth Wein's Printz Honor Book Code Name Verity, this masterful work of historical fiction is inspired by the real-life tragedy that was the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff—the greatest maritime disaster in history.— Amazon.com

Staff pick by: Linda, Administration
Small Great Things is about racism, choice, fear, and hope. The novel is based on the true story of a labor and delivery nurse who was prohibited from caring for a newborn because the father requested that no African-American nurses tend to his baby. In the fictional version, Ruth, the African-American nurse in question, finds herself on trial for events related to the same request made by a white supremacist father. Using the narratives of Ruth, the baby’s father, and the female public defender who takes Ruth’s case, Picoult examines multiple facets of racism. The topic of race in America is difficult to talk about, but in in an honest and revealing way Picoult allows readers to draw their own conclusions about how we see ourselves and others in the world. Small Great Things is an important and thought-provoking novel about power and prejudice that deserves to be read, digested, and shared with others. -- Seira Wilson, The Amazon Book Review

Staff pick by: Jennifer, Cherry Hills
Meyer complements her Lunar Chronicles series with Stars Above, a collection of nine short stories, including five new tales (as well as four stories previously released online). This variety of short pieces enriches the series, using several different approaches to add to Meyer’s fantasy world and its fascinating characters. “The Mechanic,” for example, toys with perspective by describing Cinder and Kai’s first meeting from his point of view, while several prequels delve into character backstories and provide more detail to incidents alluded to in Meyer’s other works. Many of the stories explore childhood experiences to develop characterization, and in a few instances, the tales consider some of the questions of selfhood and social responsibility that Meyer’s full-length novels delve into more deeply. An especially unique inclusion is the previously released “The Little Android,” which diverts from the Lunar Chronicles’s cast of characters (except a brief interaction with Cinder) to offer an enchantingly unique Little Mermaid retelling. Most popular, however, is likely to be the title piece “Something Old, Something New (or Stars Above),” which provides an epilogue to Winter (Feiwel & Friends, 2015/Voya 2015) by describing Scarlet and Wolf’s wedding, an event that reunites the key characters of the series and is sure to delight fans. While most of these short stories cater toward audiences already familiar with the Lunar Chronicles, those who have enjoyed Meyer’s sci-fi fairy tale retellings will relish the chance to dip their toes more deeply into this rich world. VOYA, April 2016 - Reviewer: Meghann Meeusen; Ages 11 to 18.

Staff pick by: Jennifer, Cherry Hills
The 11th book in Lackey's Elemental Masters series (after From a High Tower) partners familiar faces with literary great Sherlock Holmes to solve a series of strange events. Series protagonists Nan and Sarah have returned, along with their feathered companions, Grey and Neville, and their talented young ward, Suki. After being tested by the great detective himself, the pair set out to work with John and Mary Watson, making particular use of Nan's psychic abilities to solve the case of a missing girl whose sister is the new darling of the Royal Opera stage. The course of the case sees Nan and Sarah searching in opposite directions, and the strength of their devotion to each other is tested as they delve into their work with the Watsons. Lackey's characteristic attention to detail often overwhelms the greater story, but the beauty in the bonds between characters shines through. The artificially elongated narrative detracts from an otherwise sumptuous story set against the backdrop of Victorian England. -- Publishers Weekly
“The mix of humor, history, fantasy, and mystery is balanced in a way that any reader could pick up the book and thoroughly enjoy it from beginning to end.” ―RT Reviews

Staff pick by: Alan, North Valley Library
An ingénue from the Midwest learns the ways of the world, and the flesh, during her year as a back waiter at a top Manhattan restaurant. Danler's debut novel takes place behind the scenes of a restaurant in Union Square whose rigid hierarchy, arcane codes of behavior, and basis in servitude and manual labor makes it less like a modern workplace than the royal court of 18th-century France—but with tattoos and enough cocaine to rival Jay McInerney. Danler aims to mesmerize, to seduce, to fill you with sensual cravings. She also offers the rare impassioned defense of Britney Spears. -- KIRKUS REVIEW

Staff pick by: Lizzie, Main Library
Three women - three secrets - one heart-stopping story. Katie, seventeen, in love with someone whose identity she can't reveal. Her mother Caroline, uptight, worn out and about to find the past catching up with her. Katie's grandmother, Mary, back with the family after years of mysterious absence and 'capable of anything', despite suffering from Alzheimers. As Katie cares for an elderly woman who brings daily chaos to her life, she finds herself drawn to her. Rules get broken as allegiances shift. Is Mary contagious? Is 'badness' genetic? In confronting the past, Katie is forced to seize the present. As Mary slowly unravels and family secrets are revealed, Katie learns to live and finally dares to love. Funny, sad, honest and wise, Unbecoming is a celebration of life, and learning to honour your own stories. - David Fickling Books

Staff pick by: Amanda, Materials Support Services
Perfect for fans of innovative storytelling, like Marcus Sedgwick's The Ghosts of Heaven and David Mitchell's The Bone Clocks, Where Futures End is a collection of five time-spanning, interconnected novellas that weave a subtly science-fictional web stretching out from the present into the future, presenting eerily plausible possibilities for social media, corporate sponsorship, and humanity, as our world collides with a mysterious alternate universe.— Amazon.com