Loup City Public Library

When a young woman moves into a new neighborhood, her kleptomaniac cat decides to “fix” the lonely people in the community while he simultaneously tortures the neighbor’s dog. This is a cute, light story that is perfect for a palate cleanser between heavier books. If you love cats, you should definitely check this one out.

Jessie’s mother died when she was fourteen-years-old. Now she is sixteen and starting a new school after her father eloped and drug her across the country to sunny L.A. where every girl seems to be blond, skinny, and rich.  All of the things that Jessie is not. Soon after her arrival, Jessie receives an e-mail from an anonymous source offering to give her all the info she needs to survive her junior year. I have been surprised at just how many teen books deal with grief in a very realistic, compassionate way. This book does a great job of describing the loneliness of grief and dislocation. There is also quite a bit about sexuality.

When Jilly’s sister is born deaf, she attempts to find out more about being deaf from an on-line friend. Her friend is not always nice or patient with her questions. I found this book to be realistic in the responses of frustration from the oft questioned acquaintance. There are a lot of serious issues discussed in this book. There is also a police shooting.  I think the issues were covered in a sensitive way.

If you haven’t hopped on the “Pete the Cat” train, you need to get your groove on!  This groovy cat thinks life is “all right”.  Kids love Pete.

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Albright was the first female Secretary of State under President Clinton. She was also a refuge as a child fleeing to the United States from the Nazis. This was a deep dive into various fascist regimes in the past and her concerns for the future. Check it out on audio on Libby!

Whether you like fantasy, mystery, or literary fiction, there is something on this list for you to enjoy!

Hank likes to be alone and is quite rude to anyone who steps into his yard. However, when someone tells him that “Nobody Hugs a Cactus” he begins to see how lonely his life is. This is an adorable story and a great read aloud!

An imaginative fantasy novel where the humans are the bad guys.  It is a well-written adventure/quest story.  Grief, danger, loyalty, and betrayal all make an appearance as well as a decent amount of humor to keep things from getting too dark. If you hate cliffhangers, you might want to wait for the rest of the series.  However, for kids who love Erin Hunter’s Warrior series, this is a good comp.

Karen McManus, author of “One of us is Lying”, returns with a second teen mystery.  In this one, teen homecoming queens go missing in this small town never to return. As they investigate the dysfunctional families around them looking for a killer, they aren’t aware of all of the secrets this small town harbors. While the writing and plot is good, it doesn’t have the same “soapy fun” feeling of the first book.

Our book club book this week was a backlist title and inspiration for one of my favorite movies. If you like Southern fiction or fiction about small town life, this is a good pick.  There were plenty of issues to discuss! The only downside to this novel was the daunting number of characters.

What started out as a beautiful sunny day has become a windy, cool, rainy mess. So glad I walked to work today!  The rest of you, I am sure, were much smarter. In honor of that, treat yourself to some wonderful reads!

A beautifully evocative novel of the marshlands and a young, isolated girl trying to find her way. There is an intriguing mystery but the beauty of the book lies in the atmospheric land and the wonderful characters.

Ms. Owens is a nonfiction writer and zoologist too, I believe. I look forward to checking out more of her writing.

A soapy, angsty, intense teen murder mystery. It was wonderful. Teens and adults alike will find something to love in this novel.

Always being the “good egg” can be stressful. Sometimes you just have to accept those around you as they are and move on!  This was an adorable picture book.

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“The Lost For Words Bookshop” by Stephanie Butland is a bookstore lover’s dream of a book. The bookshop is a safe haven for Loveday Cardew who prefers to live in the pages of books. Hiding from a traumatic childhood event and a recent ugly relationship, Loveday allows only people who work in the bookshop with her to penetrate her shell. When her past and present troubles collide to jeopardize her very life, Loveday will find out who her true friends are.  A lovely book with some very serious topics. TW: Domestic Violence

Rebecca Roanhorse weaves Navajo legends and myths into her post-apocalytic novel.  The Navajo people built a wall around their lands to protect them after the chaos of the Big Waters flooded much of what was the United States. They didn’t realize the cataclysmic event had also loosed some monsters of legend and there are few who will be able to take down these monsters. Maggie Hoskie is a monster-hunter. One who doesn’t need a partner…until she does. An action-packed fantasy with some dark threads.

Stubby is a fellow soldier and mascot for his fellow doughboys in World War I. There is a lot of history packed into this easy read. Disguised as an “animal book”, Calkhoven does a great job explaining the conflict and the chemical warfare prevalent during this time without getting bogged down in the horrors of war.

I had another book and craft laid out for Storytime this week.  Then I saw this little treasure and what can I say?  Who can resist dragons? Especially stuffed-up dragons who refuse to cover their sneezes!  It was a hit with the Storytime group!

A beautiful sunny day is the perfect type of day to start on your Spring and Summer reading lists.

In “The Great Believers”, we alternate between a 1980s America at the peak of the AIDS epidemic when fear and misinformation were rife and the 2010s. The 1980s setting was much more interesting and the characters leap off the pages.  This book is well worth the read.

You may need that sunshine and kleenex to get you through these books.  “Girl in the Blue Coat” by Monica Hesse is a sad tale of love, friendship, betrayal, and redemption in Nazi Germany as a young woman searches for a missing Jewish girl.

I really enjoyed this book. It was well written. I appreciated how the author showed the complexities of trying to protect someone without inhibiting their independence and how this constant struggle to maintain an equilibrium can be exhausting. The subtlety the author used in explaining how we lash out or thoughtlessly hurt others and how we might forgive and be forgiven was lovely. I liked the overall message of accepting people as they are….the metaphor with the leaves was superb.

It is entirely rude to take someone’s picture first thing in the morning and use it on a book cover without their explicit permission; however, since the story and illustrations of this grumpy monkey and his friends are adorable, I suppose I will forgive them.  “Grumpy Monkey” by Suzanne Lang.