Langley-Adams Library Recommendations

In need of a humorous feel-good book? I highly recommend "All About Me" by Mel Brooks! I also recommend that you listen & read it-as Mel narrates it and the book provides photos. I listened to this while I was walking and found myself laughing out loud. I am sure all that walked past me wondered what I was listening to-ha!        Mel Brooks is more than meets the eye by the way. Did you know that Mel, 95 years old, was taught military engineering skills at the Virginia Military Institute and served as a corporal in the 1104th Engineer combat Battalion, 78th Infantry Division defusing land mines as the Allies advanced into Nazi Germany? That his real name is Melvin Kaminsky? Did you know thanks to Brooks' production company "The Elephant Man", "The Fly", "84 Charing Cross Road'-just to name a few dramatic movies got made? Mel was smart enough to realize he was too known for comedy to let his association with these great films be known (unti...

It's 2061, and a comet is about to hit Earth, wiping out the world's population and making the planet inhabitable. Only a privileged few get the opportunity to go to space and live on a new planet. Twelve-year-old Petra Peña and her family are given this rare opportunity because her parents are scientists who will be able to help make the new planet habitable for humans. The catch is that getting to the new planet, Sagan, will take 380 years, so Petra, her brother Javier, her parents, and the many other passengers on the ship will be put in a cryogenic sleep until they reach the new planet.  When Petra wakes up, she realizes something is wrong immediately. Instead of waking up and seeing her family, she realizes that everyone on the ship is now brainwashed. Her family is gone and the ship is now ruled by The Collective, which is determined to erase all information about and artifacts from Earth. Petra is the only one who remembers Earth and the stories her grandmother told her....

Max is a biracial (White and Japanese) transgender teen boy who is learning how to grow into himself and is facing struggles with school, home, and the fact that he now has magical powers.  Max’s trusted friend Jen is the only one who knows that Max is a boy at the novel’s beginning.  Max decides to come out to his mom and dad on his 16th birthday, but his mother can’t accept the fact that her little goddess wants to transition since they are descended from the Goddess of Light, Aurora.  Max’s powers transform him into an uncomfortable frilly dress with heals, which causes him to experience dysphoria.  Max has to prove to his mother that he can be a man and use his powers in his own way to fight the darkness that feeds off of negative energy, and he finds that some of his classmates were under the darkness spell.  Max is able to find a group of friends who teach him how to be himself and help fight back the darkness that is creeping into the world, and if they d...

Ada and the Galaxies follows an inquisitive little girl named Ada who loves the stars so much that couldn’t wait to go to her grandparents’ home in Maine where she would be able to see them.  D uring her long day of waiting to see the stars, Ada was able to see many things that she wouldn’t normally see, since she lived in a city.   When night fell, so did the fog, and Ada was so worried that she wouldn't be able to see the stars. To help pass the time, Ada's grandfather, Poobah, showed Ada a special book of photographs taken by the Hubble Space Telescope of the stars and the galaxies.      Join Ada and check out the night sky by reading this  educational and beautifully illustrated children’s bedtime story.   Sherry Sabins Library Assistant  

When Claire Kovalik and her crew intercept a distress call at the edge of known space, the message leads them to a luxury cruiser, the Aurora, which had been lost for decades. Eager to claim the wreck and cash in on their find, the team boards the vessel only to encounter a horrific scene of mayhem and death. Dead Silence kept me entertained from the very beginning as I was determined to learn what happened to Claire and her crew aboard the Aurora, and what caused the violent scene they encountered.  Not only was this book a real page turner, it also tackled topics including corporate greed, mental illness, and how people deal with stressful/traumatizing experiences. S.A. Barnes did a great job developing her characters, particularly the main character Claire Kovalik, whose experiences at a Mars colony as a child directly influence how she handles the situations she finds herself in throughout the book. I highly recommend this book for any fan of either science fiction or horror as...

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood follows fictional characters, Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), as well as Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie). Actor Rick Dalton and his stunt double, Cliff Booth, move through the ups and downs of fame and Hollywood life in the late 1960s, while Sharon Tate has a lot of similar experiences separately. I don’t know that I’ve even seen any of Quentin Tarantino’s other movies, but I still really enjoyed Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. While the movie can be considered slow at times, the portrayal of this time period of Hollywood feels very authentic and pure. After this movie’s 2019 release, Brad Pitt went on to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2020, which was very well deserved, in my opinion. There’s a sequence at the end that is sure to be enjoyed by anyone who watches the entire movie, even if they didn’t like parts of it. Overall, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood serves as a great period piece and character study, while offerin...

The Suicide Squad is a really good superhero comedy. The cast is great; as always, Margot Robbie is great as Harley Quinn, and Jon Cena makes for a great addition to the DC Extended Universe as Peacemaker. The fighting sequences are very well choreographed, kind of like Birds of Prey (also starring Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn). I had never seen the original, not-so-well-received Suicide Squad from 2016, but this was still awesome. James Gunn killed it with his usual humor and action that superhero fans can recognize from his other movies, like Guardians of the Galaxy. Overall, The Suicide Squad is a spectacular, colorful, and fun adventure, that’s sure to be enjoyed by DC fans and action fans alike! Shaun Hood Library Page

Black Widow takes place in between the appearances made by Natasha Romanoff AKA Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) in Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. Fans of the character who haven’t seen Black Widow yet may likely jump to conclusions stating that it’s not an origin story. However, while Black Widow may take place after several other movies that the character has already appeared in, it does bring her back to her troubled past, as well as introducing her family to the audience. I LOVE the opening sequence. Right away, it told me that this is not your typical Marvel movie, it’s something different. I also really enjoyed the new characters. Natasha’s adoptive sister, Yelena (Florence Pugh), is so fun, and of course, nobody can go wrong with David Harbour. Overall, Black Widow manages to be a great superhero movie, while succeeding in bringing spy-thriller vibes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Shaun Hood Library Page  

Opioid, Indiana is the heart-wrenching story of Riggle, a grief stricken 17 year old from the border of Texas who finds himself trying to acclimate to the weather and culture change of moving to rural Indiana. Having nowhere else to turn, he finds he has to navigate the hardships of the rural drug culture. Along his travels, Riggle is fortunate enough to find a great best friend who showed him kindness and that he wasn’t alone on this Earth.  Riggle embarks upon on a hero’s adventure to find his addict uncle to avoid being put in a state home for orphans, but the rent is due in a few days and Riggle isn't sure he can earn enough before then. Along his travels Riggle meets the colorful people of Opioid, Indiana and sees the possible futures his life could take if his chooses one path over another.  Sherry Sabins Library Assistant If you liked this, you might also enjoy (Both available in the MVLC):

In this alternate, fantastical history, witches are real. Or, they were real. Now, women's ability to do witching has been made illegal for women. While women can do magic, it is frowned upon, and the only thing they are allowed to do is little charms to help themselves with "women's" or household work. In 1893, James Juniper is on the run and ends up in New Salem, where her estranged sisters Beatrice Belladona and Agnes Amaranth reside (and yes, there is a reason for those names!). She soon finds a purpose and joins the local women's rights movement - first interested in women's suffrage, but wanting  more . She wants to bring witching back. Agnes finds herself pregnant and is first hesitant to join the movement her sister wants to create in case she puts her baby in danger. Beatrice is an assistant librarian at the New Salem College, but has secretly been delving into research about women's witching, and how to bring it back. Juniper's sisters end up...

Me (Moth) is a beautifully written book that flows so elegantly. Amber McBride grabs your attention straight away from the first page through the end, tugging at all your feelings throughout the whole book. This petite book is a great example of a novel-in-verse and Amber McBride is a virtuoso at it. Even if you are not into poetry or written verse, this would be a great way to test it out, and the story won't fail to keep you engrossed. Me (Moth) follows two teens learning about life, love, death, racism and their history. I don't want to spoil anything more from this masterwork, or give away any of its secrets, but it's definitely a must-read and you won't regret picking it up. Sherry Sabins Library Assistant This book is available at the Langley-Adams Library, as well as other libraries in the MVLC. If you enjoyed this book, you might also like:

The Man Who Died Twice is the second offering from British comedian Richard Osman, and if you haven’t already read his first book, The Thursday Murder Club , stop what you’re doing and get it now. Seriously. It’s that good.   This second book picks up a week after the first one ends and brings back all of the best characters from the first book. The group of four septuagenarians, Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim, set off to solve their next mystery after Elizabeth receives a letter from a new resident at Cooper’s Chase retirement community with whom she shares a bit of history. Osman’s talent at combining humor and the quaintness of a retirement community in the English countryside with more “gritty” topics like murder, drug dealing, jewel theft, and the mafia really shines in this novel, and you can really tell that he enjoys writing these characters as much as the readers love reading them. Matthew McNichol Library Assistant This book is available in regular and large print...

I was fortunate enough to have been invited to a zoom program with these two new authors. Their book caught my interest thus I checked our library’s copy out. On the night of their program, I had read the first 5 chapters. Needless to say, I was hooked! While listening to Jenny and Danielle, it made sense that these two women are huge fans of Jane Austen-Pride & Prejudice being their favorite!     So…with this said, if you enjoy historical fictions, Downton Abbey and are a fan of Jane Austen novels/movies, “The Last Season” is for you!        Well to do Cassandra Drayton first met Crispin St. John when they were adolescents. At that time, Crispin was working as her father’s stable boy. A friendship forms between them only to be forbidden when discovered by Cassandra’s father. Crispin is sent packing and ends up traveling to India while Cassie is locked in her father’s world. Years later, they meet up again.       Have their circ...

Sometimes, it can be hard to pull in a reader when the premise is somewhat unusual given that the main character is half-deer. However, Gus and the other hybrids are immensely humanized through character development in many ways. There is indeed turmoil that takes place throughout the journey of Gus and Jepperd, and this is most definitely a dark story. I also really enjoyed the style of artwork in the series. There is also a TV adaptation on Netflix; the first season is out now! Sweet Tooth is a mystical tale of love, loss, and friendship. If you like fantasy and/or have enjoyed other post-apocalyptic comic series like The Walking Dead, then you’re sure to love it. Shaun Hood Library Page This book can be found within the MVLC. Let us know if we can place a hold for you! If You Like This Book. You Might Like:

The members of the Montoya family are used to strange, magical things happening around them. It all seems to stem from their family matriarch,  Orquídea .  One day, each of the Montoyas, living all over the United States, receive an invitation from  Orquídea  that states she's dying, and each member of her family should come collect their inheritance. When everyone arrives, they find  Orquídea  turning into a tree, and she still won't fully explain the magic that has always been in their lives. What they learn is that their family matriarch made a deal 48 years ago - a deal that affected all of them, and now she's trying to protect them from a danger none of them even imagined. This book was fantastic! It was full of whimsy and magic. I enjoyed that the book alternated between  Orquídea's life in the past and the current lives of her descendants, and how they intertwine. I highly recommend this book if it sounds like something you might enjoy! Darcy Le...

  Minari follows Jacob, portrayed by Walking Dead alum, Steven Yeun, his wife, Monica, and their two kids. The family of four moves into their new house in Arkansas, and starts to discuss and plan how they’re going to grow crops, get water, and move through life in this new community. I may be bias to Steven Yeun considering that I’m a longtime Walking Dead fan, but he did indeed get nominated for Best Actor in the 2021 Oscars for this role. In addition to the great acting, Minari is beautifully shot with great cinematography. Overall, Minari is a great movie about family, and what it’s like moving to the United States, from another country, as well as moving far away within the United States itself. Check out my full review of Minari on Fandomize Media!  www.fandomize.com/movies/review-minari-is-a-heartfelt-story-of-family-worthy-of-all-its-oscar-hype/ Shaun Hood Library Page                        This ...

Lobstah Gahden Written by Alli Brydon & EG Keller Illustrated by EG Keller This educational and funny book follows the story of Walter, the lobster who is competing against his neighbor, Milton, in the annual Swell Gahdens contest. But what happens when trash and pollution start destroying all of Milton and Walter’s hard work? They work together to solve the problem!  This picture book is a fun read since the entire book is written in an over-the-top “wicked awesome” Boston accent. The ending of the book includes "lobstah" fun facts, ways that children can help reduce ocean pollution, and organizations that are helping Walter, Milton, and their neighbors! Trillions of Trees Written & Illustrated by Kurt Cyrus This book follows a little girl who attempts to buy a trillium tree, but is misheard and is instead sent a trillion trees! It follows her, her brother, and her entire community as they plant the trees in yards, parks, and reservations to restore a forest after...

(image taken from www.vanityfair.com) The Walking Dead  (Season 9) serves as somewhat of a fresh start for The Walking Dead , as it introduces the style of Angela Kang, a longtime writer for the series who took on the role of showrunner at the start of this season's production. As the first female showrunner, she does not disappoint. The writing for storylines, dialogue, and further developing fan-favorite characters, is very rich and complex in so many new and creative ways that the series has never experienced before. Throughout the season, as noted by several cast members leading up to the premiere, there is an ongoing theme of more diversity and feminism within the leadership of the survivors. Longtime fans of the series definitely take note of the use of different types of weapons. For example, now that the survivors are such a large number of years into the apocalypse, it has become harder and harder to find bullets. Therefore, in Season 9, many characters we know and love ...

"A generous woman is rewarded by her community in this remarkable author-illustrator debut that's perfect for the Thanksgiving season, perfect for fans of Last Stop on Market Street. Everyone in the neighborhood dreams of a taste of Omu's delicious stew! One by one, they follow their noses toward the scrumptious scent. And one by one, Omu offers a portion of her meal. Soon the pot is empty. Has she been so generous that she has nothing left for herself? Debut author-illustrator Oge Mora brings a heartwarming story of sharing and community to life in colorful cut-paper designs as luscious as Omu's stew, with an extra serving of love." (goodreads.com) This picture book will captivate not only your children, but also, YOU! It is a very special story with beautiful illustrations made from paper collage using bold, vibrant colors that really draws you in and adds to the richness of the story. Threaded throughout the book is the idea of love and community, sharing and c...

"One October morning, Laina gets the news that her brother was shot and killed by Boston cops. But what looks like a case of police brutality soon reveals something much stranger. Monsters are real. And they want everyone to know it. As creatures from myth and legend come out of the shadows, seeking safety through visibility, their emergence sets off a chain of seemingly unrelated events. Members of a local werewolf pack are threatened into silence. A professor follows a missing friend’s trail of bread crumbs to a mysterious secret society. And a young boy with unique abilities seeks refuge in a pro-monster organization with secrets of its own. Meanwhile, more people start disappearing, suicides and hate crimes increase, and protests erupt globally, both for and against the monsters. At the center is a mystery no one thinks to ask: Why now? What has frightened the monsters out of the dark? The world will soon find out." (goodreads.com) No Gods, No Monsters  is a weird book. H...