January 2023 - Staff Reading Suggestions
ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS
by Stacy Willingham
Jackie's pick:

Isabelle Drake's life is forever changed when her toddler is taken from his crib in the middle of the night. With little evidence and few leads, the case goes cold. She agrees to be interviewed by a true-crime podcaster, but that questioning and her self doubt have her second guessing everything and everyone.
THE BANDIT QUEENS
by Parini Shroff
A young Indian woman finds the false rumors that she killed her husband surprisingly useful—until other women in the village start asking her for help getting rid of their own husbands—in this razor-sharp debut. Shroff captures the complexity of female friendship with wry, wit and tenderness. An immensely enjoyable read.
- Kathy
ALL THE BROKEN PLACES
by John Boyne
Meet Gretel, age 91, living in a posh flat in London. A new family moves in below her and she quickly takes to their 9-year-old son after witnessing a disturbing, violent act. Meet Gretel, age 15, in 1946 after fleeing a notorious Nazi concentration camp in which her sadistic father was the head commandant. The two narratives move swiftly and with gasp-out-loud truths and complexities. This is one of the most powerful stories I have read in a long time.
-Morley
THE LIGHT PIRATE
by Lily Brooks-Dalton
Jackie's pick:

Set in the near future, this hopeful story of survival and resilience follows Wanda—a luminous child born out of a devastating hurricane—as she navigates a rapidly changing world. Told in four parts—power, water, light, and time—The Light Pirate mirrors the rhythms of the elements and the sometimes quick, sometimes slow dissolution of the world.
LOCUST LANE
by Stephen Amidon
Four students have a party in their affluent suburb, and one winds up dead. The three surviving students are all suspects, and each is hiding secrets. As parents of the students get involved and the media swiftly picks up the story, the true events of what happened spins out of control. Perfect thriller for fans of Liz Moore’s Long, Bright River or Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere.
-Morley and Laura C.
THE HOUSE IN THE PINES
by Ana Reyes
Maya was a high school senior when her best friend, Aubrey, mysteriously dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man named Frank whom they’d been spending time with all summer. Years later, reeling from the trauma, Maya clicks on a YouTube video of a man and woman having a conversation in a diner. The woman suddenly drops dead as Maya recognizes the man to be Frank. Shocked, Maya will now go to all ends to find out what happened to Aubrey and what secrets Frank is hiding.
-Kirsten
SAM
by Allegra Goodman
A fantastic book to start the new year! We meet Sam at age seven, and this gorgeously written coming-of-age novel follows her until early adulthood. Living with her single mom and younger brother, her itinerant father introduces her to climbing, at which she begins to excel. The climbing, falling and failing, is a metaphor for much of Sam’s life and although her struggles are many, her story is ultimately hopeful. Starred reviews all over—put this one on your list.
-Di
ROUGH SLEEPERS
by Tracy Kidder
Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Mountains Beyond Mountains brings us the remarkable story of Dr. Jim O’Connell’s urgent mission to bring a community of care to Boston’s unhoused population. Rough Sleepers show us how a few people can make a huge difference, even in a flawed system. Part documentary, part oral history and part social history, this is the story of one man’s journey to solve an insoluble problem.
-Kathy
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