Staff Picks Newsletter
UFO Mushroom Invasion by Marina Shirakawa
UFO Mushroom Invasion
by Marina Shirakawa

Graphic Novel: A flying saucer crashes deep in the mountains of Japan. Wary of the hyper-intelligent beings they find inside, the government hides from the public all news of the alien craft. But it's not the strange visitors themselves that they should be afraid of--the real danger is the parasitic spores smuggled aboard! Will Earth survive the UFO MUSHROOM INVASION?!

Recommended by Chris, Ewing Branch
Margarettown by Gabrielle Zevin
Margarettown
by Gabrielle Zevin

Fiction: Written in the form of a final letter to his young daughter, Jane, N. recalls his relationship with Margaret Towne and Margarettown, the upstate New York town to which she introduces him--one inhabited by a mysterious family of women named Old Margaret, Marge, Mia, Maggie, and May.

Recommended by Gina, Hickory Corner Branch
Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova
Monstrilio
by Gerardo Sámano Córdova

Fiction: Grieving mother Magos cuts out a piece of her deceased eleven-year-old son Santiago's lung. Acting on fierce maternal instinct and the dubious logic of an old folktale, she nurtures the lung until it gains sentience, growing into the carnivorous little Monstrilio she keeps hidden within the walls of her family's decaying Mexico City estate. Eventually, Monstrilio begins to resemble the Santiago he once was, but his innate impulses--though curbed by his biological and chosen family's communal care--threaten to destroy this fragile second chance at life.

Recommended by Marwa, Hightstown Memorial Branch
Inheritance: The Lost Bride Trilogy, Book 1 by Nora Roberts
Inheritance: The Lost Bride Trilogy, Book 1
by Nora Roberts

Fiction: Inheritance is the first in The Lost Bride Trilogy by #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts--a tale of tragedies, loves found and lost, and a family haunted for generations. 1806: Astrid Poole sits in her bridal clothes, overwhelmed with happiness. But before her marriage can be consummated, she is murdered, and the circle of gold torn from her finger. Her last words are a promise to Collin never to leave him... Graphic designer Sonya MacTavish is stunned to learn that her late father had a twin he never knew about--and that her newly discovered uncle, Collin Poole, has left her almost everything he owned, including a majestic Victorian house on the Maine coast, which the will stipulates she must live in it for at least three years. Her engagement recently broken, she sets off to find out why the boys were separated at birth--and why it was all kept secret until a genealogy website brought it to light. Trey, the young lawyer who greets her at the sprawling clifftop manor, notes Sonya's unease--and acknowledges that yes, the place is haunted...but just a little. Sure enough, Sonya finds objects moved and music playing out of nowhere. She sees a painting by her father inexplicably hanging in her deceased uncle's office, and a portrait of a woman named Astrid, whom the lawyer refers to as "the first lost bride." It's becoming clear that Sonya has inherited far more than a house. She has inherited a centuries-old curse, and a puzzle to be solved if there is any hope of breaking it...

Recommended by Rebecca, Hollowbrook Branch
Death of the Author (Deluxe Limited Edition) by Nnedi Okorafor
Death of the Author
by Nnedi Okorafor

Science Fiction and Fantasy:  A disabled Nigerian American woman pens a wildly successful Sci-Fi novel, but as her fame rises, she loses control of the narrative.

Recommended by Shannon, Hopewell Branch
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil
by V. E. Schwab

Science Fiction and Fantasy: This is a story about hunger. 1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada. A young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets. This is a story about love. 1827. London. A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow—but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined. This is a story about rage. 2019. Boston. College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge.

Recommended by Kimberley, Lawrence Headquarters Branch
Breaking the Rules by Suzanne Brockmann
Breaking the Rules
by Suzanne Brockmann

Fiction: Navy SEAL Izzy Zanella and his estranged wife, Eden Gillman, are set on saving her brother even if that means reconciling with each other to prove to a court that they can give better care to the young teenage boy. Just as their hearts begin to mend, the makeshift family gets caught up in saving another youth from a crime ring in Las Vegas and ends up with a group of dangerous men on their trail.

Recommended by Michelle, Robbinsville Branch
It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
It Happened One Summer
by Tessa Bailey

Fiction: Piper Bellinger is fashionable, influential, and her reputation as a wild child means the paparazzi are constantly on her heels. When too much champagne and an out-of-control rooftop party lands Piper in the slammer, her stepfather decides enough is enough. So he cuts her off, and sends Piper and her sister to learn some responsibility running their late father's dive bar... in Washington. Piper hasn't even been in Westport for five minutes when she meets big, bearded sea captain Brendan, who thinks she won't last a week outside of Beverly Hills. So what if Piper can't do math, and the idea of sleeping in a shabby apartment with bunk beds gives her hives. How bad could it really be? She's determined to show her stepfather -- and the hot, grumpy local -- that she's more than a pretty face. Except it's a small town and everywhere she turns, she bumps into Brendan. The fun-loving socialite and the gruff fisherman are polar opposites, but there's an undeniable attraction simmering between them. Piper doesn't want any distractions, especially feelings for a man who sails off into the sunset for weeks at a time. Yet as she reconnects with her past and begins to feel at home in Westport, Piper starts to wonder if the cold, glamorous life she knew is what she truly wants. LA is calling her name, but Brendan -- and this town full of memories -- may have already caught her heart.

Recommended by Christine, Twin Rivers Branch
A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
A Tempest of Tea
by Hafsah Faizal

Young Adult Fiction: On the streets of White Roaring, Arthie Casimir is a criminal mastermind and collector of secrets. Her prestigious tearoom transforms into an illegal bloodhouse by dark, catering to the vampires feared by society. But when her establishment is threatened, Arthie is forced to strike an unlikely deal with an alluring adversary to save it--and she can't do the job alone. Calling on some of the city's most skilled outcasts, Arthie hatches a plan to infiltrate the dark and glittering vampire society known as the Athereum. But not everyone in her ragtag crew is on her side, and as the truth behind the heist unfolds, Arthie finds herself in the midst of a conspiracy that will threaten the world as she knows it.

Recommended by Matheson, West Windsor Branch

Matheson recommends the audiobook version: I loved the British accents provided by the narrator.
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Howl's Moving Castle
by Diana Wynne Jones

Juvenile Fiction: Eldest of three sisters in a land where it is considered to be a misfortune, Sophie is resigned to her fate as a hat shop apprentice until a witch turns her into an old woman and she finds herself in the castle of the greatly feared wizard Howl.

Recommended by Lydia, Library Business Office
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