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It's no secret that library staff read. A lot. And when we finish a great book we can't wait to recommend it! See what we've been reading below or visit our Staff Picks blog. You might just find your next favorite book! |
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Jenny Cooper Has a Secret
by Joy Fielding
Lora writes: Linda Davidson, a widow, spends her days missing her husband and visiting her best friend Carol at Legacy Place, a memory care facility. On one visit, Linda meets Jenny, a ninety-two-year-old fellow resident, who tells Linda that she's killed several people. Not sure whether to believe her, Linda begins to visit with Jenny when she comes to Legacy Place. Jenny also reveal the names of the people she's killed--but is she telling the truth? Jenny Cooper Has a Secret (2025) is a great read-alike for Hallie Ephron and Turn of Mind (2011) by Alice LaPlante.
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Mina's Matchbox
by Yoko Ogawa
Karen S. says: Renowned in her home country, Yoko Ogawa is one of the few female Japanese artists to have her work translated into English. Because her most recent publication, Mina’s Matchbox, was reviewed as one of the best novels published in 2024, I chose it for WPL’s Fiction Book Discussion's June 2026 read. Only then did I learn that Ogawa’s previous publication, The Memory Police, won the National Book Award Prize for Translated Fiction in 2019. Mina’s Matchbox was first published as a series of installments in a Japanese newspaper. For this reason, the chapters read like densely crafted set pieces. The story centers around a twelve-year old girl, Tomoko, whose father has died. To survive financially, her mother must return to school for a year to become a dressmaker. During this time, Tomoko goes to live with her aunt’s family, only to find herself among people, and in an environment, unlike any she has known. Tomoko’s aunt has married an affluent man, the heir to the Fressy fortune and current CEO of the company. Fressy, we learn, is Japanese soda company, and the drink is consumed in abundance and assumed beneficial for health and well-being, despite the fact that is laced with radium. That’s right, radium. Take this as a hint that all is not as it seems in Tomoko’s new home. She loves her extended family, particularly her cousin, Mina, but there are secrets and mysteries about everyone that she must try to understand. The aftermath of World War II shadows everything in this novel. There are hints that the lavish estate in which Tomoko now lives is falling into disrepair; a zoo once surrounded the home, but a fire, possibly a fire-bombing, wiped out all the animals but one, a pygmy hippo who plays a small but important part in the story. Tomoko’s relatives are suffering their own trauma and disappointments. Despite this, Tomoko and Mina become comrades in creativity and adventure . . . and volleyball, specifically the Japanese volleyball team who participated in the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. Mina’s Matchbox is a unique, some dreamy novel that explores a formative year for a girl and her extended family.
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At the library Come visit us in person and we'd be happy to help you choose something perfect just for you. |
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Just for you For personalized recommendations, fill out a Book Match form. |
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