March 2022 - Staff Reading Suggestions
OCEAN STATE
by Stewart O'Nan
The story opens with a girl telling you her sister murdered another high school girl, but this is not a psychological thriller. It's a slow simmer of a book that focuses on two working class families, imperfect mothers doing the best they can and the fallout in the family when that isn't good enough. At the center of it all are their teenage daughters. Two of the girls from the different families are swept up in the all-consuming passion of first love, both with the same boy. This book will captivate you with the heartbreaking story of these mother, daughter, sister, and first love relationships.
-Kirsten
SECRETS OF OUR HOUSE
by Rea Frey
(Direct to Paperback)
Jackie's Pick:

Desi is the mastermind behind her dream getaway house. Nestled high into the mountains of North Carolina, it is a sleek place, a luxurious place, a dark place, a place full of secrets. Secrets about the man she longs for, a man who is not her husband. Secrets about the roots of her family that must never see the light of day. When Desi and her family arrive from Chicago to spend the summer in the mountains, the seeds for the tumultuous months to follow are planted and cannot be undone.
THE UNSINKABLE GRETA JAMES
by Jennifer E. Smith
Indie musician Greta James reluctantly agrees to an Alaskan cruise with her father, after the death of her mother and a recent public meltdown on stage. The cruise should be just what father/daughter need to grieve their loss, except their relationship has always been strained. Enter author and fellow cruise passenger Ben Wilder, and Greta finds herself navigating her grief, her career, her complicated relationship with her father and her growing attraction to Ben. A good spring break read!
-Morley
ONE ITALIAN SUMMER
by Rebecca Serle
One Italian Summer takes you to Positano and the beautiful Amalfi Coast, on a trip that Katy takes alone, grieving the loss of her best friend and mother, Carol. The trip explores her mother's past and helps her realize how the people who leave us are never far from us. I was swept away with this story and loved the end.
-Eleanor
VLADIMIR
by Julia May Jonas
Vladimir by Julia May Jonas is a really great book, so please don't judge it by its cover. I removed the jacket to read the book because I disliked it so much. Enough about the cover of this debut novel. It is what's inside that counts, and it packs a punch. The backdrop is that a female English professor's husband is accused of sexual misconduct by multiple students. Concurrently, a young male novelist is hired by the school, and our narrator finds her world continuing to spin.
-Molly
THE LOVE OF MY LIFE
by Rosie Walsh
Staff pick:

Emma loves her husband, Leo, and young daughter and would do anything for them. Unfortunately, almost everything she's told them is a lie. Leo is an obit writer and during some research he uncovers some loose threads of Emma's life. Things begin to unravel in her life and marriage, and it may just be the undoing of them all.
THE BEAUTY OF DUSK: ON VISION LOST AND FOUND
by Frank Bruni
Frank Bruni is a NYT columnist and a prolific writer. He recently suffered a stroke permanently damaging the optic nerve on one eye. He persevered by seeking the council of others who have experienced physical losses. He eloquently shares the stories and wisdom of others who have suffered terribly and managed to find purpose and joy. Bruni is able to do the same and shares the beauty and hope that is neuroplasticity! You will come away from this book looking at life differentlyin a good way.
-Martha
THE DIAMOND EYE
by Kate Quinn
From the author of The Rose Code and The Alice Network comes the story of Mila Pavlichenko, a woman who begins the war as a quiet librarian and ends as history's deadliest sniper with a record of over 300 confirmed kills. Based on a true story, Kate Quinn introduces us to yet another important and lesser-known female figure of WWII.
-Morley
THE GOLDEN COUPLE
by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
Avery Chambers is a highly renowned, yet highly unconventional therapist. She promises to fix you in ten sessions regardless of your problems. Marissa and Matthew Bishop glide into Avery’s office with the veneer of the perfect couple, until Marissa discloses her recent act of adultery. This confession, along with Avery’s unique methods of treatment, set into motion a dangerous path. The Bishops give adage to the phrase: perfection is deceiving…
-Morley
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