Langley-Adams Library Recommendations

"... In this wondrous, profoundly moving novel, Szalay's diverse protagonists circumnavigate the planet in twelve flights, from London to Madrid, from Dakar to Sao Paulo, to Toronto, to Delhi, to Doha, en route to see lovers or estranged siblings, aging parents, baby grandchildren, or nobody at all. Along the way, they experience the full range of human emotions from loneliness to love and, knowingly or otherwise, change each other in one brief, electrifying interaction after the next. Written with magic and economy and beautifully exploring the delicate, crisscrossed nature of relationships today,  Turbulence  is a dazzling portrait of the interconnectedness of the modern world." (Goodreads.com) For such as small book, Szalay really moved me with his short vignettes that peer into the lives of people from all across the world. The book caught my attention because it centered around people traveling and as someone who likes to travel I found it interesting to read ...

"Amanda can’t figure out what’s so exciting about kissing. It’s just a lot of teeth clanking, germ swapping, closing of eyes so you can’t see that Godzilla-sized zit just inches from your own hormonal monstrosity. All of her seven kisses had been horrible in different ways, but nothing compared to the awfulness that followed Kiss Number Eight. An exploration of sexuality, family, and faith, Kiss Number Eight is a coming-of-age tale filled with humor and hope." (Goodreads.com) Kiss Number 8 is about so much more than kissing. To me this graphic novel is about struggling with faith, holding on to friends who aren’t that great for you, and dealing with family issues. This graphic novel was not quite what I was expecting, and I really enjoyed it. It brought me back to when I was in school. It allowed me to revisit my younger self and see how my thoughts and opinions have changed. It’s ending is also very sweet. Who doesn’t love a happy ending? I recommend this graphic n...

The premise of  Symptoms of a Heartbreak  is this: Saira Sehgal is sixteen and just starting her first job as a doctor. She's a "Girl Genius," having been in college at eleven and graduating med school at sixteen. Now she's ready for the professional world. But she's still sixteen, and her fellow interns and doctors at Princeton Presbyterian Hospital are very much not. Despite having graduated, she needs to prove herself as a professional, and as a doctor. Oh, and she needs to get her driver's license. But when she meets a cute patient that she starts to have feelings for, all bets are off.   I'm not usually the biggest fan of rom-com type books, but let me tell you that this is an #ownvoices author and that that's super important. The author wrote from the point of view of her own culture and it added an extra something. Because Saira, the protagonist, is more than a Girl Genius Doctor. Her family is a huge part of her story and you can tell how much ...

" Memory makes reality.   That’s what New York City cop Barry Sutton is learning as he investigates the devastating phenomenon the media has dubbed False Memory Syndrome—a mysterious affliction that drives its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived.  That's what neuroscientist Helena Smith believes. It’s why she’s dedicated her life to creating a technology that will let us preserve our most precious memories. If she succeeds, anyone will be able to re-experience a first kiss, the birth of a child, the final moment with a dying parent.  As Barry searches for the truth, he comes face-to-face with an opponent more terrifying than any disease—a force that attacks not just our minds but the very fabric of the past. And as its effects begin to unmake the world as we know it, only he and Helena, working together, will stand a chance at defeating it. But how can they make a stand when reality itself is shifting and crumbling all around them?" (Goodreads.com) Blak...

“In this quick and easy guide to queer and trans identities, cartoonists Mady G and JR Zuckerberg guide you through the basics of the LGBT+ world! Covering essential topics like sexuality, gender identity, coming out, and navigating relationships, this guide explains the spectrum of human experience through informative comics, interviews, worksheets, and imaginative examples. A great starting point for anyone curious about queer and trans life, and helpful for those already on their own journeys!”  (Goodreads.com) This non-fiction graphic novel was informative and fun. It’s easy to digest, which makes it a great companion to have in every school and household. It stresses that identity is a process, and because of this, it gives readers the terms they need to help them through that process. Its colorful and fanciful drawings make it a fun read. It allows the reader to see the characters for who they are, rather than a gendered being, which is great for non-binary individuals. ...

"Eve's life as a spy is not adding up to what she had hoped it would be when she started. She is a bored, very smart, MI5 security officer who is very desk-bound. Villanelle is a very talented killer, mercurial in mood, who clings to the luxuries of her job. Eve and Villanelle go head to head in a fi erce game of cat and mouse, each woman equally obsessed with the other as Eve is tasked with hunting down the psychopathic assassin." (Google.com) Despite the dark nature of the show and murders that take place at the hand of the show's assassin Villanelle, there are plenty of laugh out loud moments. The actresses playing Eve and Villanelle have great chemistry on scene making it hard to decide who to root for in their endless cat and mouse game. This show definitely kept me guessing and it didn't end the way I expected it to. Now I am eagerly awaiting the third season to see where the characters end up next. The show also features great music and costumes (specifi...

  “Ever-superstitious Alex Mills will do anything to avoid a jinx. Picking up pennies, knocking on wood, collecting rabbit's feet . . . you name it. That is until she steps on a crack and it actually does break her mother's back. To save her mom, Alex must follow Hubbub Caskside, a trusty leprechaun, on a journey through the end of a rainbow to Haphaven, the world where all of Earth's superstitions draw their power. All she needs is a rabbit's foot to save her mom, but she soon discovers the lucky article won't be so easy to retrieve.” (Goodreads.com) I chose to read this graphic novel because it dealt with superstitions and I thought that it would be interesting to see how they could be interpreted. What this novel did great was show how we let things, such as superstitions, control our lives. When in actuality it is us who controls what happens. It was fun to see how the superstitions manifested on the page. Although it had a predictable ending it was enjoy...