Staff Choices

 Lessons in Chemistry, a charming debut novel by  Bonnie Garmus, is filled with great humor and occasional heartbreak. Chemist Elizabeth Zott is raising her young daughter Mad ("legally Mad") by herself while trying to pursue her career as a research scientist. It is the early 1960s, and few people will let Zott forget that a woman's place is in the home, not in a lab. The indignities (and worse) that Zott faces in her field, from her professors, bosses, and fellow scientists, are all too real...and a foreshadowing of the Me Too movement that will not occur for almost another 60 years.
Eventually forced to find work outside the lab, Zott comically becomes the unlikely star of Supper at Six, a cooking show on a local tv station. Refusing to pander to the stereotypes of housewives, she uses her show not only to give chemistry lessons to to her viewers through the science of cooking, but also to deliver feminist manifestos that are far ahead of their time.
Elizabeth Zott is one of those quirky characters you won't soon forget; smart, beautiful, yet extremely literal and socially awkward. Possibly on the spectrum, if such a label existed at the time. There is a colorful cast of supporting characters, including her neighbor, Harriet, imprisoned in a miserable marriage; Mrs. Mudforth, the world's nastiest kindergarten teacher; the preternaturally gifted Mad, who uncovers family secrets; and possibly the most memorable canine to ever grace the page, Six-Thirty, the dog who failed bomb detection school but is an expert in the human heart.
Fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and A Man Called Ove should also delight in this ultimately life affirming novel. 

Amanda Lovelace writes succinctly, yet expresses emotion and hard-hitting ideas into her poems, which feels autobiographical and heartfelt. Her feminist viewpoint is self-affirming despite, or because of, diving into some darker territory about relationships, outdated ideals and how we can still fall into unhealthy traps. This is a slim book of poetry, accessible, not high-brow and can be quickly read. It also contains beautiful artwork that illustrates the contrast in the title of being both soft and fierce.

My favorite verse is on page 27: "i refuse to be ashamed of taking up my rightful space. i refuse to apologize for daring to have an opinion. - it's a pleasure to disappoint you."

Flower Crowns & Fearsome Things is for fans of Amanda Lovelace's other work and for those who would like to try reading contemporary poetry.

By the time Blue Lake is 15 years old, she and her mother Scarlet have moved multiple times, always on the run from a mysterious person that Scarlet only identifies as HIM. Blue slowly begins to doubt this person's existence and her mother's sanity as they settle into a small tourist town in Michigan. Isolated for so long while growing up, Blue learns how to have friends despite her outsider awkwardness. Further, she is drawn to the music shop in the neighborhood. The shop's owner recognizes her musical talent and becomes her mentor - once Blue convinces her mother to allow her to take piano lessons. Scarlet is an artist, a painter, who loses herself in her work but continues to isolate herself except for the therapy sessions she pursues with a psychoanalyst in town. And so the story goes on, each chapter revolving around three different points of view, revealing a little more, pulling the reader along and making us wonder what is the truth and how will this end? 

Scarlet in Blue is a mix of psychological fiction, coming-of-age, childhood trauma, control, mother-daughter relationships, art, music, murder, a long-term plot, and family secrets. It is descriptive and ominous. The reason why Scarlet and Blue are on the run, and how they survive, makes it a unique story.

If you enjoyed author Jennifer Murphy's debut novel I Love You More, you may also enjoy this page-turner.

Growing up in an Italian American family in the 60's in Westchester New York meant dinner at the table every night. It meant endless discussions about food. And it meant creating lifelong habits and memories.. with food. This charming book is filled with anecdotes from Stanly Tucci's life growing up, as well as his life as an actor. I loved hearing about his school lunches with delicious leftovers, Sunday meals at his grandparents home, lobster boils with his in-laws on the coast of Maine as well as numerous meals at favorite restaurants around the world. 

Peppered into his heartfelt reflections about his wife and children, are humorous stories revolved around making movies such as Big Night and Julie & Julia to name a few. Of course, being an actor, and being married to an actresses sister, there are many entertaining celebrity stories as well. 

I highly recommend the audio version of this, but be warned With humor, irony, grace and some mouth watering recipes, Stanley Tucci writes a lovely and thoroughly enjoyable memoir. 

One Italian Summer will make you want to drop everything and immediately fly to the Italian Riviera. This book does a beautiful job of depicting Positano, capturing its natural beauty. The town does feel like a place where magic can happen, making it an appropriate setting for this book.

Katy’s mom passes away and her marriage is struggling, so she decides to take the trip to Italy her and her mother had planned before she died. Rebecca Serle does an amazing job of capturing the grief of losing a mother. Yet, overall, I did not like Katy as a character, as she seemed quite selfish and seemed co-dependent on her mother.

I appreciate magical elements in a novel, but find they work best when the character struggles to understand them at first. Upon arriving in Positano, Katy encounters the 30-year-old version of her mother, Carol, and the two connect and enjoy each other's company. Katy learns more about her mother through the magic of time travel, both the good and the bad - including some difficult revelations that lead Katy to question everything she believed about her mother and their relationship. 

In the end, I struggled to understand Katy's borderline obsession with her mother because it blinded her to other things in her life. I also struggled with the time travel piece, as Katy readily accepted it without investigating the reason. Despite these issues, I did find the story to be well written and the vivid description of the Italian setting enthralled me. 

Colleen Hoover's newest book Reminders of Him is a story that will rip your heart apart and then slowly put it back together again.

Kenna Rowan is a heroine who represents the raw realities of being a young girl, woman, daughter and mother. Having made an honest and horrific mistake 5 years ago landing her in prison, she loses two loves of her life – one being her daughter. Coming back to the town where everything started and ended, Kenna does all that she can to receive forgiveness and to once again be a part of her daughter’s life.

The only person in town who doesn't hate Kenna is local bar owner Ledger Ward, and as they grow closer, the chances of Kenna ever having her daughter in her life drift farther and farther away. Kenna and Ledger are both connected by an unimaginable tragedy, and it's going to take so much courage and forgiveness to move past it and build a future.

Reading the story through both of their own POVs and watching each of them fall in love with the other showcased true endurance and perseverance. This was definitely a heavier read than other contemporary romances and it centers around family, grief, and forgiveness. This is a compelling story that is heartbreaking, yet hopeful. Fans of Colleen Hoover's other fantastic novels and those who enjoy second chance stories will love this book.

Light from Uncommon Stars is Ryka Aoki's debut novel - a blend of fantasy, science fiction, artificial intelligence, a demonish deal and the beauty of music. I became invested in the story and in the three main characters, Katrina, Shizuka and Lan whose storylines revolve around one another brought together by chance and fate.

It covers themes about gender identity, runaways, non-acceptance, acceptance, painful experiences, actions taken that can't be undone, and found family. Despite these heavy real-life issues it is interspersed with humor, kindness and hope.

This is a strange yet surprising book about friendship and taking chances. Take a chance and pick up a coy of Light from Uncommon Stars.

“Sorting through my mother’s things, it’s made me wonder what I want the world to remember me by.” – Just Haven’t Met You Yet

Laura Le Quesne arrives to the Channel Island of Jersey to write an article for her magazine Love Life when she realizes she has grabbed the wrong suitcase. Of course, it only makes sense to open the stranger’s suitcase and go through its contents: her favorite book, piano music for her favorite artist, and a heavy knit fisherman sweater. Laura is absolutely positive that this is the man of her dreams and commissions a cab driver to take her on the mission of finding her dream man.

I absolutely loved this book. Laura’s character is so quirky and charming and although her ideas surrounding a “dream man” and “soulmate” seem outlandish and only for the movies, you can’t help but cheer her on with her mission to find picture-perfect love. Sophie Cousens really takes you along for the ride, painting a beautiful picture of the Channel Island of Jersey and some of the whacky residents Laura encounters. I loved that the quest wasn’t entirely about finding love but also shattering the idea and pressure of finding the “perfect” story worthy of a magazine article. Laura learns that life is inevitably harsh but beautiful if we make it that way.