DSCL September Shelf Talk book titles

Adult

“This is Your Mind on Plants” by Michael Pollan – In this non-fiction title, author Michael Pollan will challenge the reader on how they think about drugs, explore the powerful attraction humans have to psychoactive plants and the equally powerful taboos associated with them. This book is a “unique blend of history, science, and memoir” in which Pollan approaches these plants from different angels and perspectives. You can read a review of this title, available in print and on Overdrive, at kirkusreviews.com/bookreviews/michael-pollan/thisis-your-mind-on-plants/

Pastoral Song by James Rebanks – This international bestselling non-fiction title and written by New York Times bestselling author, has been named “Nature Book of the Year” by the Sunday Times (London). As a young boy, Rebanks learned how to work his grandfather’s farm the old way, but by the time he inherited the farm, it was barely recognizable. This book is about “what it means to have love and pride in a place and how it may still be possible to build a new pastoral: not a utopia but somewhere decent for us all.” You can read a review of this eBook title, which is available on Overdrive at kirkusreviews.com/bookreviews/james-rebanks/ pastoral-song/

“All the Little Hopes” by Leah Weiss – This historical fiction title is the story of friendship that is forged by books and bees while growing up in the shadows of World War 2. The setting is the tobacco farms of North Carolina and the quiet town that becomes the home of a Nazi prisoner-ofwar camp. This book is the story of “two girls growing up as war creeps closer, blurring the difference between what’s right, what’s wrong and what we know to be true.” This title is available in print and as an eBook on hoopla. You can read a review of this title at publishersweekly.com/978- 1-72823-274-4

“Steel Fear” by Brandon Webb & John Mann – The New York Times bestselling author team of Webb, combat-decorated Navy SEAL, and Mann have written this debut highoctane military thriller. “A ninety-thousand-ton aircraft carrier. Six thousand men onboard. A killer in their midst. And the disgraced Navy SEAL who will track him down.” This title is available in print and eBook on Overdrive. You can read a review of this title at publishersweekly.com/978- 0-593-35628-9

Childrens

“Pax” by Sara Pennypacker and illustrated by Jon Klassen

Pax and 12-year-old Peter have been inseparable ever since Peter rescued the fox as a kit. But one day the unimaginable happens: Peter's dad enlists in the military and makes him return the fox to the wild. At his grandfather's house three hundred miles away, Peter knows he isn't where he should be – with his best friend, Pax. He strikes out on his own despite the encroaching war, spurred by love, loyalty, and grief, to be reunited with his fox. Meanwhile Pax, steadfastly waiting for his boy slowly embarks on adventures and discoveries of his own. A long-awaited sequel will be published in a few weeks. hbook.com/

?detailStory=review-of-pax

“Tap the Magic Tree” written and illustrated by Christie Matheson

A clever, interactive picture book in the vein of Herve Tullet's Press Here, Tap the Magic Tree invites young listeners to tap, rub, or shake the book, then turn the page to see how their actions have changed the "magic" tree. In this way they move a tree through the seasons and watch as it changes from bare brown to leafy green then flowers, grows fruit (apples!), changes colors, loses its leaves, and finally (with the help of the reader) sprouts leaves again. thechildrensbookreview. com/2014/09/tap-the-magic-tree-by-christie-matheson-book-review

“Da Vinci’s Cat” by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Two unlikely friends--Federico, in sixteenthcentury Rome, and Bee, in present-day New Jersey--are linked through an amiable cat, Leonardo Da Vinci's mysterious wardrobe, and an eerily perfect sketch of Bee. Newbery Honor author Catherine Gilbert Murdock's Da Vinci's Cat is a thrilling, time-slip fantasy about rewriting history to save the present. This inventive novel will engross anyone who loved When You Reach Me and A Wrinkle in Time. nytimes.com/2021/06/08/ books/review/da-vincis-cat-catherine-gilbert-murdock-paul-zelinsky.html

“Crayon Man: true story of the invention of Crayola Crayon” by Natascha Biebow

What child doesn't love to hold a crayon in their hands? But children didn't always have such magical boxes of crayons. Before Edwin Binney set out to change things, children couldn't really even draw in color. With experimentation, and a special knack for listening, Edwin Binney and his dynamic team at Crayola created one of the world's most enduring, best-loved childhood toys - empowering children to dream in COLOR! kirkusreviews.com/bookreviews/natascha-biebow/the-crayon-man/

Young Adult

XOXO by Axie OH-Jenny's never had much time for boys, K-pop, or really anything besides her dream of being a professional cellist. But when she finds herself falling for a K-pop idol, she has to decide whether their love is worth the risk. A modern forbidden romance wrapped in the glamorous and exclusive world of K-pop, XOXO is perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Maurene Goo. Jenny didn't get to be an award-winning, classically trained cellist without choosing practice over fun. That is, until the night she meets Jaewoo. Mysterious, handsome, and just a little bit tormented, Jaewoo is exactly the kind of distraction Jenny would normally avoid. And yet, she finds herself pulled into spending an unforgettable evening wandering Los Angeles with him on the night before his flight home to South Korea. With Jaewoo an ocean away, there's no use in dreaming of what could have been. But when Jenny and her mother move to Seoul to take care of her ailing grandmother, who does she meet at the elite arts academy she's just been accepted to? Jaewoo. Finding the dreamy stranger who swept you off your feet in your homeroom is one thing, but Jaewoo isn't just any student. Turns out, Jaewoo is a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world. And like most K-pop idols, Jaewoo is strictly forbidden from dating anyone. When a relationship means not only jeopardizing her place at her dream music school but also endangering everything Jaewoo's worked for, Jenny has to decide once and for all just how much she's willing to risk for love. publishersweekly. com/9780063024991

“These Hollow Vows” by Lexi Ryan-Brie hates the Fae and refuses to have anything to do with them, even if that means starving on the street. But when her sister is sold to the sadistic king of the Unseelie court to pay a debt, she'll do whatever it takes to get her back--including making a deal with the king himself to steal three magical relics from the Seelie court. Gaining unfettered access to the Seelie court is easier said than done. Brie's only choice is to pose as a potential bride for Prince Ronan, and she soon finds herself falling for him. Unwilling to let her heart distract her, she accepts help from a band of Unseelie misfits with their own secret agenda. As Brie spends time with their mysterious leader, Finn, she struggles to resist his seductive charm. Caught between two dangerous courts, Brie must decide who to trust with her loyalty. And with her heart. publishersweekly. com/9780358386575

“10 Truths and a Dare” by Ashley Elston-It's Senior Party Week, that magical in-between time after classes have ended but before graduation, chock-full of gimmicky theme parties, last-minute bonding, and family traditions. Olivia couldn't be more ready. Class salutatorian and confident in her future at LSU, she's poised to sail through to the next phase of her life. But when the tiny hiccup of an unsigned off-campus P.E. form puts Olivia in danger of not graduating at all, she has one week to set things straight without tipping off her very big and very nosy extended family. Volunteering to help at a local golf tournament should do it, but since Olivia's mom equipped her phone with a tracking app, there'll be no hiding the fact that she's at the golf course instead of all the graduation parties happening at the same time. Unless, that is, she can convince the Fab Four--her ride-or-die cousins and best friends Sophie, Charlie, and Wes--to trade phones with her as they go through the motions of playing Olivia for the week. Sure, Olivia's sudden "passion" for golf is met with some suspicion. And sure, her grasp of the rules is a little shaky. And yes, okay, a very cute, very off-limits boy keeps popping up in her orbit. But she is focused! She has a schedule and a plan! Nothing can possibly go wrong . . . right? kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/ashley-elston/10- truths-and-a-dare/

“Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet” by Laekan Zea Kemp-Told in two voices, Pen, whose dream of taking over her family's restaurant has been destroyed, and Xander, a new, undocumented, employee seeking his father, form a bond. As an aspiring pastry chef, Penelcope Prado has always dreamed of opening her own pastelería next to her father's restaurant, Nacho's Tacos. But her traditional Mexican-American mom and dad have different plans. Xander Amaro Is a new hire at Nacho's. For him, the job is an opportunity for a chance at a normal life, to settle in at his abuelo's, and to find the father who left him behind. When both the restaurant and Xander's immigrant status are threatened, he will do whatever it takes to protect his new found family and himself. kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/laekan-zeakemp/somewhere-between-bitter-and-sweet/