Staff Picks: May 2022
LISA G’s PICK: We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
GENRE: Epistolary, Thriller
WHY SHE CHOSE IT: I did it! I finally read a fiction book! We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver is a disturbing novel written in letters by a woman to her husband after their son commits a school shooting. The reader takes turns feeling pity, anger, sadness, and hope for each character until the shocking end. This won't be the last fiction I pick up, and definitely won't be the last book by Lionel Shriver I read.
THE SYNOPSIS: Eva never really wanted to be a mother - and certainly not the mother of the unlovable boy who murdered seven of his fellow high school students, a cafeteria worker, and a much-adored teacher who tried to befriend him, all two days before his sixteenth birthday. Now, two years later, it is time for her to come to terms with marriage, career, family, parenthood, and Kevin's horrific rampage in a series of startlingly direct correspondences with her estranged husband, Franklin. Uneasy with the sacrifices and social demotion of motherhood from the start, Eva fears that her alarming dislike for her own son may be responsible for driving him so nihilistically off the rails.
CLICK TO RESERVE “We Need to Talk About Kevin” by Lionel Shriver ON THE LIBBY APP (eBook)
LISA S’s PICK: Book Lovers by Emily Henry
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
WHY SHE CHOSE IT: I don’t read a lot of romance novels, but when I read the synopsis of Book Lovers, I knew I had to read this one. The book’s opening line hooked me: “When books are your life-or in my case, your job-you get pretty good at guessing where a story is going." As an avid reader, librarian and book blogger, I identified with our main character, Nora, immediately. Charlie and Nora have great chemistry, and while I loved their love story, I truly adored the whole book. It’s the perfect read to get you ready for summer: it’s light, funny enough to make you laugh out loud, and if you are a book lover, you will likely see yourself reflected in these pages.
THE SYNOPSIS: Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.
Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.
If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.
CLICK BELOW TO RESERVE “Book Lovers” by Emily Henry:
TORI’s PICK: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
GENRE: Romance
WHY SHE CHOSE IT: I picked The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo for pride month! Old Hollywood glamour with a modern take, Taylor Jenkins Reid writes books that make you forgetting your reading. Evelyn Hugo is that fabulous famous person you meet once and brag about for the rest of your life. A book about love and friendship- its a perfect curl up in a warm blanket on a rainy night book.
THE SYNOPSIS: Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?
Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.
Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.
CLICK BELOW TO RESERVE “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid:
BRANDY’s PICK: The Upside of Falling Down by Rebekah Crane
GENRE: Romance
WHY SHE CHOSE IT: What would you do if you woke up in a hospital in a strange country with no memory of who you are or where you are from? Clementine wakes up to find out she is the only survivor of a plane crash in Ireland and she panics when she hears that her father will be travelling from America to take her back home. Clementine decides it is better to run away from a life she does not remember and she begins to fabricate a new life. When she meets Kieran, she tells him that her name is Jane and thus, the lies and adventures begin.
This is a classic story of a girl looking to find herself while also finding love. It is a quick and easy read. Perfect for a rainy afternoon. Some of the plot points and characters are a wee bit questionable and/or problematic but if you can overlook them, you may enjoy this light read.
THE SYNOPSIS: For Clementine Haas, finding herself is more than a nice idea. Ever since she woke up in an Irish hospital with complete amnesia, self-discovery has become her mission.
They tell her she’s the lone survivor of a plane crash. They tell her she’s lucky to be alive. But she doesn’t feel lucky. She feels…lost.
With the relentless Irish press bearing down on her, and a father she may not even recognize on his way from America to take her home, Clementine assumes a new identity and enlists a blue-eyed Irish stranger, Kieran O’Connell, to help her escape her forgotten life…and start a new one.
Hiding out in the sleepy town of Waterville, Ireland, Clementine discovers there’s an upside to a life that’s fallen apart. But as her lies grow, so does her affection for Kieran, and the truth about her identity becomes harder and harder to reveal, forcing Clementine to decide: Can she leave her past behind for a new love she’ll never forget?
CLICK TO BORROW “The Upside of Falling Down” by Rebekah Crane FROM THE LIBRARY
