| Final Spin by Jocko WillinkWhat it is: A fast-paced, gritty crime novel about life on the run and the American Dream deferred.
Starring: Increasingly desperate 23-year-old Johnny, who works a soul-crushing, dead-end job as a stock clerk, his disabled younger brother Arty, for whom Johnny is driven to commit a robbery, and Goat, Johnny's best friend, partner in crime, and fellow fugitive.
Read it for: Johnny and Arty's unexpectedly tender relationship, which is "reminiscent of the George-and-Lenny moments in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men" (Booklist). |
|
| The Goodbye Coast by Joe IdeWhat it is: A contemporary take on Raymond Chandler's hardboiled detective Philip Marlowe, by the award-winning author of the compelling IQ mystery novels.
What it's about: In a vividly described present-day Los Angeles, PI Marlowe takes on two missing persons cases -- but to solve them, he's going to need the help of his ex-LAPD detective dad, with whom he has a tense relationship.
Reviewers say: "The bantering father-son interplay...really gives the book its zip" (Booklist); "worthy of the great Raymond Chandler" (Kirkus Reviews). |
|
| How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia NagamatsuWhat it is: An "epic and deeply intimate" (Booklist) mosaic novel that charts the devastating course of the Arctic Plague, an infectious disease that emerges from melting permafrost in 2030 and transforms society.
Read it for: Realistically flawed characters, an intricate narrative structure, and a bleak yet hopeful apocalyptic tale.
For fans of: David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, or Emily St. John's Station Eleven. |
|
| The Leopard is Loose by Stephen HarriganWhat it's about: A single frightening, thrilling summer day in 1952, when the escape of the Oklahoma City Zoo's leopard sends the city -- and one little boy's family -- into a furor.
Read it for: The compelling, innocent voice of narrator five-year-old Grady McClarty, who provides an imperfect yet insightful perspective on adult issues like postwar anxiety, grief, and the city's simmering racial tension, which threatens to boil over.
Reviewers say: Leopard is a "likable, nostalgic yarn that explores how minor incidents can catalyze into bigger crises" (Kirkus Reviews). |
|
| The Love Con by Seressia GlassShe didn't come here to make friends... As a finalist on the reality competition show Cosplay or No Way, single girl Kenya Davenport needs a partner for the couples' challenge.
She came here to win: Kenya's best shot at claiming the $100,000 prize is teaming up with her friend and business partner, Cameron Lassiter, who agrees to pose as her on-camera boyfriend.
For fans of: Olivia Dade's Spoiler Alert series, or Jen DeLuca's Well Met novels. |
|
| Watch Her Fall by Erin KellyWhat it is: An intricately plotted work of psychological suspense about the elite world of professional ballet that delves into the sweat, tears, and (especially) blood behind the glamour.
Reviewers say: Watch Her Fall is a "daring" thriller featuring "an inventive ending that's both thematically and narratively satisfying" (Publishers Weekly).
You might also like: Layne Fargo's Temper, which examines similar issues in the world of theater. |
|
| Yonder by Jabari AsimWhat it is: A haunting and mystical story about enslaved people fighting to preserve their humanity and their dreams of freedom from the oppressive chattel slavery system they live under.
Starring: The Stolen, which is how the enslaved people of the Placid Hall plantation describe themselves as they share narration duties; the Thieves, which is how they refer to their White captors; and an itinerant preacher who provides an enticing glimpse of the possibility of freedom.
About the author: Multi-genre writer Jabari Asim is known for his short stories (A Taste of Honey), nonfiction (We Can't Breathe), poetry (Stop and Frisk), children's books (Preaching to the Chickens), and previous novel, Only the Strong. |
|
| Garbo by Robert GottliebWhat it is: A revealing and extensively researched biography of Greta Garbo, who rose above her impoverished Swedish origins to become one of Classic Hollywood's most enigmatic (and reclusive) stars.
Featuring: "A Garbo Reader," which compiles profiles, quotes, and articles about Garbo, plus hundreds of eye-catching photographs.
Reviewers say: "This comprehensive biography may be the final word" on Garbo (Library Journal). |
|
| South to America: A Journey below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani PerryWhat it's about: Princeton professor Imani Perry, who was born in Alabama, traveled throughout the southern United States using the region's history and culture as a lens to view the country as a whole.
Why you might like it: Along with travel and history, South to America weaves together musings on race and place and details about Perry's family and life.
Reviewers say: A "saturated, gorgeously written, and keenly revelatory travelogue" (Booklist); "a rich and imaginative tour" (Publishers Weekly). |
|
| You Don't Know Us Negroes and Other Essays by Zora Neale Hurston; introduction and edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Genevieve WestWhat it is: A sweeping essay collection of pieces penned by author and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960).
Read it for: An irreverent chronicle of Black life, culture, and creativity from the birth of the Harlem Renaissance to the civil rights movement.
Essays include: "Race Cannot Become Great Until It Recognizes Its Talent;" "Which Way the NAACP?;" "Spirituals and Neo-Spirituals." |
|
| Ain't Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds; artwork by Jason GriffinWhat it is: A timely, collaborative, multimedia work with text and art exploring Black lives simultaneously threatened by police violence and the COVID-19 pandemic.
How it's told: In three sections called "Breaths" that invite readers to identify their own sources of oxygen, the people and things they hold dear.
Author alert: Fans of author Jason Reynolds will appreciate this collaboration with artist Jason Griffin, their first since 2009's My Name Is Jason. Mine Too. |
|
| I Love You Because I Love You by Muon Thi Van; art by Jessica LoveWhat it is: A call-and-response read-aloud about the loving bonds people share, illustrated with an inclusive, affirming cast of characters.
How it's told: In dialogue-style text that pairs "I love you because" statements with "Because I love you" responses. For instance, when a child tells an adult "I love you because you tell the best stories," the adult replies "Because I love you, my best story is you."
Kids might also like: Julie Fogliano's If I Was the Sunshine, another sweet and lyrical look at reciprocal relationships.
|
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|