July 2021 - Staff Reading Suggestions
THE FOREST OF VANISHING STARS 
by Kristin Harmel
An old woman has a vision that a baby girl needs to be saved from her German parents and kidnaps her and raises her in the forests of Eastern Europe. After the old woman dies, the girl lives years on her own in the forest until she meets up with a group fleeing the Nazis. As the group of Jewish refugees learn from the girl how to survive in the forest, she learns about love and how strangers can become family as they all reconcile with their past and an uncertain future. I loved this book. It was a different kind of WWII story than I expected and I couldn't put it down.
-Kirsten
THE TEMPLE HOUSE VANISHING
by Rachel Donohue
(direct to paperback)
Twenty-five years after a brilliant scholarship student and a charismatic teacher at an Irish Catholic boarding school disappear, a young journalist endeavors to solve the mystery. Donohue alternates chapters between the journalist's investigation and the young student's point of view as she tries to find her place at the elite school. This Gothic tale will keep you guessing.
-Laura S.
WHAT IS A DOG?: A MEMOIR
by Chloe Shaw
What is a Dog? is a gorgeously written memoir about a woman reflecting on her past and present through the relationships she has had with her dogs. An only child, wife, mother, and anxious individual, Chloe interprets and explores the world around her by philosophical thought, self-reflection and overflowing love of canines. A smart, heartwarming meditation on dogs for anyone who has loved and lost a four-legged friend.
-Morley
THE PAPER PALACE
by Miranda Cowley Heller
An engrossing story of love and betrayal set in Cape Cod. The story unfolds in alternating timelines: beginning with the 24 year period in which Elle cheats on her loving husband; and interspersed with five decades of Elle's childhood and her family legacy. A perfect summer read.
-Laura S. and Kirsten
INTIMACIES
by Katie Kitamura
Kathy's pick: 

An interpreter has come to The Hague to escape New York and work at the International Court. A woman of many languages and identities, she is looking for a place to finally call home. She’s drawn into simmering personal dramas: her lover, Adriaan, is separated from his wife but still entangled in his marriage. Her friend Jana witnesses a seemingly random act of violence, a crime the interpreter becomes increasingly obsessed with as she befriends the victim’s sister. She is pulled into an explosive political controversy when she’s asked to interpret for a former president accused of war crimes. She is soon pushed to the precipice, where betrayal and heartbreak threaten to overwhelm her, forcing her to decide what she wants from her life.
GODSPEED
by Nickolas Butler
(Releases July 27, 2021)
From the author of Shotgun Lovesongs and Little Faith comes the story of three friends and co-workers who are given the opportunity to build an epic house outside of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The house promises to be the pinnacle of mountain architecture and unlike any project the company has taken on. The hitch, however, is a punishing deadline from a mysterious, wealthy, and severe woman named Gretchen. If completed in time, Gretchen will pay the men a life-changing amount of money, making it an opportunity too good to pass up. But why did the last construction company abruptly walk away and why did she choose this small group of three men to take on the project? This is a story of greed, the haves, the have-nots, the seedy underbelly of society and what money means. I loved it! 
-Morley
COUNT THE WAYS
by Joyce Maynard
“I’m sorry. I love you. Thank you. Please forgive me.” This Ho’oponopono prayer precedes the story of a young, loving family in rural New Hampshire rocked by an unimaginable tragedy and how they try to survive. Told over decades, this novel will draw you in completely. An engrossing, thoughtful read about sacrifice, grief, forgiveness and healing.
-Di
SHOULDER SEASON
by Christina Clancy
The author of The Second Home has written another terrific summer read! The year is 1981 and Sherrie, a small-town girl from Wisconsin, has applied and been accepted to work at the famed Bunny Resort in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Sherrie is as naïve as she is eager to begin her life living in the bunny dorms for a season of waiting tables, flirting cautiously, and being swept into the sex, drugs, glamour and glitter of bunny life. As she gains confidence, Sherrie becomes involved in a love triangle with tragic consequences that will haunt her for years. Moving narratives between 1981 and present day, the reader roots for Sherrie and sees the human side of a young girl learning to gain confidence in all realms—sexual, financial, societal and ultimately with herself.
-Morley

Children & Young Adult Selections

BETTER WITH BUTTER
by Victoria Piontek
The past year has been hard for so many kids and this is a wonderful story about a young girl learning how to handle her anxiety with the help of an adorable fainting goat she names Butter. The addition of Butter to Marvel’s life isn’t without some ups and downs, hilarity and heartbreak and these characters will steal your heart! 
-Di & Molly
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