Langley-Adams Library Recommendations

“A gorgeous and timely novel based on the incredible story of Sophie Scholl, a young German college student who challenged the Nazi regime during World War II as part of The White Rose, a non-violent resistance group.  Disillusioned by the propaganda of Nazi Germany, Sophie Scholl, her brother, and his fellow soldiers formed the White Rose, a group that wrote and distributed anonymous letters criticizing the Nazi regime and calling for action from their fellow German citizens. The following year, Sophie and her brother were arrested for treason and interrogated for information about their collaborators.”  (Goodreads.com) I really enjoyed this book. I haven’t read many books written in verse, and now I want more. Verse allowed me to encounter the text in two distinct ways. I could read it straight through, like with prose, and learn about the resistance group The “White Rose”. Or I could read it with breaks and pauses, like with verse, and get a deeper feeling for what Sophie was

“ A gripping and hilarious middle-grade summer camp memoir from the author of Anya's Ghost. All Vera wants to do is fit in—but that’s not easy for a Russian girl in the suburbs. Her friends live in fancy houses and their parents can afford to send them to the best summer camps. Vera’s single mother can’t afford that sort of luxury, but there's one summer camp in her price range—Russian summer camp. Vera is sure she's found the one place she can fit in, but camp is far from what she imagined…”  (Goodreads.com) Vera wants to fit in. She doesn’t feel like she does at home so she picks a camp with people who share a common background. What she learns is that it doesn’t matter what you have in common, it’s how you interact with people that matters. I enjoyed the story but it didn’t wow me.  I recommend this book if you like summer camp stories, not so happy endings, coming of age stories based on authors experiences. Meghan McCabe Children & Youth Services Libra

"A novel set in 1953 Tehran against the backdrop of the Iranian Coup about a young couple in love who are separated on the eve of their marriage, and who are reunited sixty years later, after having moved on to live independent lives in America, to discover the truth about what happened on that fateful day in the town square." (Goodreads.com) Starting out in time and place that is very different from our own, I enjoyed reading this book because you got to take a glimpse into another culture and the struggles that they faced. This was also a beautiful love story that shows just how love can sweep you off your feet but also how it can affect you when it is taken away. I would recommend this is you like historical romances. Kelsey Fitzgerald Library Assistant Available at the Langley Adams Library 

“From a leader of feminist punk music at the dawn of the riot-grrrl era, a candid and deeply personal look at life in rock and roll… Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl is the deeply personal and revealing narrative of Brownstein's life in music, from ardent fan to pioneering female guitarist to comedic performer and luminary in the independent rock world…” (Goodreads.com) I’ve had an interest in the Riot Grrrl movement for sometime. A couple of years ago I read “Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution” by Sarah Marcus and it was interesting to learn about its origins. Carrie Brownstein’s book came out in 2015. I was familiar with her from the show ‘Portlandia’ with Fred Armisen, but not as a musician. I enjoyed learning about her experiences of being in a band, dealing with all that comes with being on tour, and what life is like after it ends. I recommend this book if you like memoirs, female musical artists, and you’re interested in the Riot Grrrl movement.

“Moxie girls fight back! Vivian Carter is fed up. Fed up with her small-town Texas high school that thinks the football team can do no wrong. Fed up with sexist dress codes and hallway harassment. But most of all, Viv Carter is fed up with always following the rules. Viv’s mom was a punk rock Riot Grrrl in the ’90s, so now Viv takes a page from her mother’s past and creates a feminist zine that she distributes anonymously to her classmates. She’s just blowing off steam, but other girls respond. Pretty soon Viv is forging friendships with other young women across the divides of cliques and popularity rankings, and she realizes that what she has started is nothing short of a girl revolution.”   (Goodreads.com) I enjoyed this book; it had angst, romance, and a whole lot of sisterhood. I felt the main character was relatable in the sense that many women have encountered some type of sexism or injustice and don’t always know how to react to it. It was a feel good read where girls work

“The last place Lana Lee thought she would ever end up is back at her family’s restaurant. But after a brutal break-up and a dramatic workplace walk-out, she figures that a return to the Cleveland area to help wait tables is her best option for putting her life back together... once the restaurant’s property manager, Mr. Feng, turns up dead―after a delivery of shrimp dumplings from Ho-Lee. But how could this have happened when everyone on staff knew about Mr. Feng’s severe, life-threatening shellfish allergy? Now, with the whole restaurant under suspicion for murder and the local media in a feeding frenzy...it’s up to Lana to find out who is behind Feng’s killer order...before her own number is up.” (Goodreads.com)   I don’t usually read cozy mysteries, but when I saw that Chien’s theme was different types of Chinese food, I was instantly hungry. Death by Dumpling is the first in the Noodle Shop Mystery series. Since I am not a frequent reader of cozy mysteries it wasn’t too predic