September's Recommended Reads |
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All books mentioned in this edition of the Great Reads Newsletter are available on the Ocean County Library's OverDrive Collection. You can browse the entire OverDrive Collection here.
On mobile devices you can download the Libby App from the device's app store to browse the collection.
For help and support visit the library's help page and click on the OverDrive tab.
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Mexican Gothic
by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
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After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.
Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.
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The House of Broken Angels
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In his final days, beloved and ailing patriarch Miguel Angel de La Cruz, affectionately called Big Angel, has summoned his entire clan for one last legendary birthday party. As the party approaches, his mother, nearly one hundred, dies, transforming the weekend into a farewell doubleheader. Among the guests is Big Angel's half brother, known as Little Angel, who must reckon with the truth that although he shares a father with his siblings, he has not shared a life.
Across two bittersweet days in their San Diego neighborhood, the revelers mingle among the palm trees and cacti, celebrating the lives of Big Angel and his mother, and recounting the many inspiring tales that have passed into family lore, the acts both ordinary and heroic that brought these citizens to a fraught and sublime country and allowed them to flourish in the land they have come to call home.
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Clap When You Land
by Elizabeth Acevedo
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Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people...
In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal's office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.
Separated by distance—and Papi's secrets—the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered.
And then, when it seems like they've lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.
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I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
by Erika L. Sanchez
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Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. They do not move out of their parents’ house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family. Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga’s role.
Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed.
But it’s not long before Julia discovers that Olga might not have been as perfect as everyone thought. With the help of her best friend, Lorena, and her first love, Connor, Julia is determined to find out. Was Olga really what she seemed?
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Sal and Gabi Break the Universe
by Carlos Hernandez
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In order to heal after his mother’s death, Sal learned how to meditate. Turns out he can reach into time and space to retrieve things from other universes–even his mom! He has promised his dad and stepmom that he won’t bring back his mother anymore, but sometimes he can’t help himself.
Sal doesn’t talk about his ability with anyone. At his performing arts school, he just chalks it up to being a magician. When he meets Gabi, student council president and editor of the school paper, he realizes she is someone he can work with. When things get out of hand, it’s going to require some truly out-of-the-box thinking to set things right.
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There are no shortcuts to surviving your first day at a new school—you can't fix it with duct tape like you would your Chuck Taylors. On Day One, twelve-year-old Malú (María Luisa, if you want to annoy her) inadvertently upsets Posada Middle's queen bee, violates the school's dress code with her punk rock look, and disappoints her college-professor mom in the process. Her dad, who now lives a thousand miles away, says things will get better as long as she remembers the first rule of punk: be yourself.
The real Malú loves rock music, skateboarding, zines, and Soyrizo (hold the cilantro, please). And when she assembles a group of like-minded misfits at school and starts a band, Malú finally begins to feel at home. She'll do anything to preserve this, which includes standing up to an anti-punk school administration to fight for her right to express herself!
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When Daisy Ramona zooms around her neighborhood with her papi on his motorcycle, she sees the people and places she's always known. She also sees a community that is rapidly changing. As the sun sets purple-blue-gold behind Daisy Ramona and her papi, she knows that the love she feels will always be there. |
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Across the Bay
by Carlos Aponte
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Carlitos lives in a happy home with his mother, his abuela, and Coco the cat. Life in his hometown is cozy as can be, but the call of the capital city pulls Carlitos across the bay in search of his father. Jolly piragüeros, mischievous cats, and costumed musicians color this tale of love, family, and the true meaning of home. |
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An Online Book Discussion |
During the month of September join us in reading, Ordinary Girls.
Check our Facebook page for our online book discussion.
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