Shelf Talk: DSCL Reading Recommendations for April

Adult

"When Harry Met Minnie by Martha Teichner" – In this memoir of love and loss, Teichner writes of being in the right place and the right time and of the mysterious ways that a beloved pet can bring people together. This is the tale is much more than the fairy tale story of boy dog meets girl dog. It is the story of two women with complicated lives who form a meaningful friendship through their mutual love of Bull Terriers. You can read a review of this title, available in print and on Overdrive, at kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/marthateichner/when-harry-met-minnie/

Fortune’s Many Houses: a Victorian Visionary, a Noble Scottish Family, and a Lost Inheritance by Simon Welfare – This book is a fascinating family quest that details the dramatic downfall of Scottish John and Ishbel Gordon, the Marquess and Marchioness of Aberdeen in the late 19th Century. This couple appeared to have it all in both Victorian Britain and North America, including Texas cattle ranches. The story ultimately proves to be a “true tale of love and loss, fortune and misfortune.” You can read a review of this title, which is available in print, at publishersweekly.com/978-1-982128-62-3

"The Girl from the Channel Islands by Jenny Lecoat" – This historical fiction novel follows Hedy Bercu a Jew, who fled to Vienna only to see the German planes fly over the skies, knowing that the invasion of the Channel Islands is imminent. Hedy knows she is in great danger with each passing day as she chooses to hide in plain sight. Her survival depends not only on her courage but on the community she cherishes and the man whom she should consider to be her enemy. This title is available in print and as an eBook in Overdrive. You can read a review of this title at publishersweekly.com/978- 1-5258-0641-4

"The Power Couple" by Alex Berenson – Brian and Rebecca Unsworth seem to have it all. A beautiful house in the D.C. suburbs, two well-behaved teens, important and successful careers in the government – Rebecca with the FBI and Brian with the NSA. But their marriage is not as perfect as it seems. In this thriller by Berenson, this marriage is about to be put to the test when they are faced with the kidnapping of their daughter during a European getaway. This novel is a “fast-paced, globe-trotting espionage novel full of surprising twist” with a look at the challenges of balancing a career, parenthood and love in the modern marriage. This title is available in print and as an eBook in Overdrive. You can read a review of this title at kirkusreviews.com/ book-reviews/alex-berenson/the-power-couple/

Children’s

"Good Housekeeping Kids Cook!" 100+ Super-Easy, Delicious Recipes – Young chefs are showing off their skills on television cooking show, and they can cook! This cookbook offers recipes for kids who want to learn their way around a kitchen but no longer want to eat “beginner kid dishes”. J 641.51 KID slj.com/?reviewDetail=good-house-keeping-kids-cook-100-super-easy delicious-recipes

"Goodbye winter, hello spring" written and illustrated by Kenard Pak – Join a boy and his dog as they explore nature and take a stroll through the countryside, greeting all the signs of the new season. In a series of conversations with everything from the melting brook to chirping birds, they say goodbye to winter and welcome the lushness of spring. E PAK kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/kenard-pak/goodbye-winter-hello-spring/

"Snapdragon" by Kat Leyh – "This endearingly offbeat story emphasizes found community, the importance of love and friendship, and a fierce commitment to individuality―all powerful themes for middle-grade readers” ages 10-14. Booklist, starred review Familiar with Leyh’s work in the Lumberjanes series? Then you will recognize her bouncy art and figures that keep the story energy high. J GN LEY publishersweekly.com/978-1- 250-17111-5

"One plastic bag: Isatou Ceesay and the recycling women of the Gambia" by Miranda Paul; illustrations by Elizabeth Zunon – A true story of now one person can effect change. A young girl in Gambia saw that plastic bags began replacing traditional woven baskets for market days. Isatou Ceesay encouraged women of the village to crochet baskets from the cleaned and recycled plastic bags taken from garbage heaps. Sometimes working in secret to avoid public ridicule, Isatou made a real difference by turning harmful trash into useful objects. E 363.7 hbook.com/?detailStory=review-of-one-plastic-bag

Young Adult

"Mazie" by Melanie Crowder – Mazie has always longed to be on Broadway. But growing up in her small Nebraska town, in 1959, that always seemed like an impossible dream. So, when an opportunity presents itself to spend six weeks auditioning, Mazie jumps at the chance, leaving behind everything--and everyone--she's ever known. New York City is a shock to the senses: thrilling, but lonely. Auditions are brutal. Mazie's homesick and she misses the boyfriend whose heart she broke when she left. Nothing is as she expected. With money running out, and faced with too many rejections to count, Mazie is more determined than ever to land a role. But when she discovers that booking a job might mean losing sight of herself, everything Mazie always thought she wanted is called into question.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/melanie-crowder/mazie/

"The Valley and the Flood" by Rebecca Mahoney – When Rose Colter hears a voicemail from her own phone playing on her car radio, she follows the broadcast to the small town of Lotus Valley, where she discovers that she's the prophesied bringer of a catastrophic flood. publishersweekly. com/978-0-593-11435-3

"The Electric Kingdom" by David Arnold – When a deadly Fly Flu sweeps the globe, it leaves a shell of the world that once was. Among the survivors are eighteen-year-old Nico and her dog, on a voyage devised by Nico's father to find a mythical portal; a young artist named Kit, raised in an old, abandoned cinema; and the enigmatic Deliverer, who lives Life after Life in an attempt to put the world back together. As swarms of infected Flies roam the earth, these few survivors navigate the woods of post-apocalyptic New England, meeting others along the way, each on their own quest to find life and love in a world gone dark. kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/davidarnold/the-electric-kingdom/

"Muted" by Tami Charles – For seventeen-year-old Denver, music is everything. Writing, performing, and her ultimate goal: escaping her very small, very white hometown. So, Denver is more than ready on the day she and her best friends Dali and Shak sing their way into the orbit of the biggest R&B star in the world, Sean “Mercury” Ellis. Merc gives them everything: parties, perks, wild nights – plus hours and hours in the recording studio. Even the painful sacrifices and the lies the girls have to tell are all worth it. Until they're not. kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/tami-charles/muted/