Staff Picks: March 2022
LISA G’s PICK: Pilgrim’s Wilderness - Tom Kizzia
GENRE: Nonfiction, Biography, True Crime
WHY SHE PICKED IT: A biographical account of a large wandering family of extreme faith, who, while attempting to put down roots in the Alaskan wilderness, come to a head with the National Park Service. During the investigation, wild accusations fly, and secrets come to light making the stand off extremely dangerous and deadly for everyone involved. A must read before the end of winter.
THE SYNOPSIS: When Papa Pilgrim appeared in the Alaska frontier outpost of McCarthy with his wife and fifteen children in tow, his new neighbors had little idea of the trouble to come. The Pilgrim Family presented themselves as a shining example of the homespun Christian ideal, with their proud piety and beautiful old-timey music, but their true story ran dark and deep. Within weeks, Papa had bulldozed a road through the mountains to the new family home at an abandoned copper mine, sparking a tense confrontation with the National Park Service and forcing his ghost town neighbors to take sides in an ever-more volatile battle over where a citizen’s rights end and the government’s power begins.
CLICK BELOW TO RESERVE “Pilgrim’s Wilderness” by Tom Kizzia:
LISA S’s PICK: The Herd - Emily Edwards
GENRE: Contemporary
WHY SHE PICKED IT: The Herd takes on the hot-button topic of childhood vaccination, and does so with care for both sides of the argument. The best thing about this book was that in itself, it never passed judgement on either mother, even though its characters did. While I have my own feelings about vaccination, this book showed me the other side. The writing style reminded me of Liane Moriarty, and I was caught up in the drama from the first page.
THE SYNOPSIS: You should never judge how someone chooses to raise their child.
Elizabeth and Bryony are polar opposites but their unexpected friendship has always worked. They're the best of friends, and godmothers to each other's daughters - because they trust that the safety of their children is both of their top priority.
But what if their choice could harm your own child?
Little do they know that they differ radically over one very important issue. And when Bryony, afraid of being judged, tells what is supposed to be a harmless white lie before a child's birthday party, the consequences are more catastrophic than either of them could ever have imagined . . .
CLICK TO RESERVE “The Herd” by Emily Edwards FROM THE LIBRARY
TORI’S PICK: The Atlas Six (The Atlas #1) - Olivie Black
GENRE: Fantasy
WHY SHE CHOSE IT: This immediately goes onto my ‘favourite-of-all-time’ shelf. It’s a dark academic fantasy with multiple points-of-view (POV). Since it has multiple POV, it is definitely a character driven story. All of the characters have unique, intense personalities, making the reader love or hate them- either way your rooting for all of them as they compete against each other. Well this is about each character and their relationships to each other, it’s also about the science behind magic.
THE SYNOPSIS: The Alexandrian Society, caretakers of lost knowledge from the greatest civilizations of antiquity, are the foremost secret society of magical academicians in the world. Those who earn a place among the Alexandrians will secure a life of wealth, power, and prestige beyond their wildest dreams, and each decade, only the six most uniquely talented magicians are selected to be considered for initiation.
When the newest candidates are recruited by the mysterious Atlas Blakely, they are told they will have one year to qualify for initiation, during which time they will be permitted preliminary access to the Society’s archives and judged based on their contributions to various subjects of impossibility: time and space, luck and thought, life and death. Five, they are told, will be initiated. One will be eliminated. The six potential initiates will fight to survive the next year of their lives, and if they can prove themselves to be the best among their rivals, most of them will.
Most of them.
CLICK TO RESERVE “The Atlas Six (The Atlas #1)” by Olivie Blakef:
BRANDY’S PICK: By Any Other Name by Lauren Kate
GENRE: Romance
WHY SHE CHOSE IT: If you love reading books about books, this romantic comedy is for you! This cute and short story kept me turning the pages all day. Lanie works as an editor at a publishing company and when she is conditionally promoted to editorial director, she is handed the opportunity of a lifetime, to work with favourite author, Noa. When Lanie finally meets her idol face-to-face, Lanie questions everything she believes, especially her ideas surrounding love.
Although somewhat predictable, it was exactly what I needed to read this weekend - something lighthearted, fun and of course, romantic.
THE SYNOPSIS: What she doesn’t know about love could fill a book.
With a successful career as a romance editor, and an engagement to a man who checks off all ninety-nine boxes on her carefully curated list, Lanie’s more than good. She’s killing it. Then she’s given the opportunity of a lifetime: to work with world-renowned author and her biggest inspiration in love and life—the Noa Callaway. All Lanie has to do is cure Noa’s writer’s block and she’ll get the promotion she’s always dreamed of. Simple, right?
But there’s a reason no one has ever seen or spoken to the mysterious Noa Calloway. And that reason will rock Lanie’s world. It will call into question everything she thought she knew. When she finally tosses her ninety-nine expectations to the wind, Lanie may just discover that love By Any Other Name can still be as sweet.
CLICK TO RESERVE “By Any Other Name” by Lauren Kate FROM THE LIBRARY
