Staff Choices

For me, summer has always been a great time to read short stories. They fulfill the desire for a good read, but they leave you time to enjoy summer things: gardening, swimming, napping...In Doña Cleanwell leaves home: stories, Ana Castillo takes us from Chicago to Mexico in the 1960's to the 2010's. Many of the characters travel, seeking a look into the past, only to find more secrets buried.

One of the stories follows Katia, a young woman looking to put put her mark on the world and help others. She is redirected by an unexpected letter asking her to go to Mexico and retrieve her Mother. Another story, has Martir, who moves into an apartment in Chicago,  with a much younger pot dealer but whom also loves to dance. These seven stories share life from the working people. Beauticians, food servers, factory workers add the layers of depth that make this collection so engaging. 

The Dog of the North is a gentle, quirky story about families, how much we can handle, what we're willing to do for them and because of them, broken relationships and newly found ones.

Penny quits her job to move to Santa Barbara to help her irascible, unconventional grandmother. Her grandmother's accountant, Burt, has acted as a stand-in friend and confidante but now needs reinforcements. Once Penny arrives, chaotic, calamitous events happen in quick succession. Some are comedic, mad-cap and some have much more gravity. All are treated with tenderness. As we get to know Penny,  Burt, his brother Dale, Penny's sister, her father, her grandmother, her grandfather and why Penny needs to go to Australia . . . it becomes an adventure of the heart. 

This book is for fans of author Elizabeth McKenzie and her other novel The Portable Veblen. This title is also available as an eAudiobook on cloudLibrary.

Even for those who may not normally pick up "Beach Read" titles, Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto is an excellent introductory novel to the quick, entertaining, binge-read vibe. Part rom com, part amateur/cozy mystery/suspense, this novel follows Meddy Chan and her quirky mother and aunts as they do their best to pretend that everything is fine when everything is not, in fact, fine. After a blind date gone wrong, Meddy ends up with a body in her car. Her very caring family of course will help her with the body--but first, work. The Chans, who run a very successful wedding business, are about to run the most high profile celebrity wedding of their lives--a wedding that could make or break their careers. To further complicate matters, the guy in Meddy's trunk is the wedding venue hotelier...or is he?

In a novel that blends genres in a fast-paced and entertaining manner, Sutanto explores themes of family, love, and devotion, all while giving the reader a rollicking good time. (Fun fact: The chaotic aunties may or may not be based on Sutanto's own family...) The novel won Sutanto the UK "Comedy Prize for Women in Print" prize, and the film rights have been acquired by Netflix. Fans of Sutanto's books may also enjoy the sequel to Dial A for Aunties, Four Aunties and a Wedding, and her other cozy mystery novel, Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. (This title is also slated for a TV adaptation, to be produced by Oprah and Mindy Kaling.)

Readers who enjoy Dial A for Aunties  may also like Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala, Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen, and Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano. For more cute romances and chill vibes, try The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna.

The second book of the compelling story of Danny Ryan and his band of brothers, City of Dreams keeps you engaged and enthralled. It’s action, suspense, family, love and betrayal. Complex characters and a great story make this an excellent read. Can’t wait for the next and final installment! Kudos to Mr. Winslow!

The one word I would use to describe In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune is charming. This is the most charming book I’ve ever read. The banter between characters is top notch, really drawing you in and connecting you with the characters. Honestly, if Klune had written this entirely as a conversation between Nurse Ratched and Rambo, and absolutely nothing happened, I would have read the whole thing and loved it.  

A cozy sci-fi loosely based on the Adventures of Pinocchio, this story is both heartwarming and heartbreaking, adventurous, and hopeful. You’ll adore the characters, rooting for them endlessly in their mission to save Victor’s father in the City of Electric Dreams. 

Victor, a human, and his father Gio, an android, have lived a secluded life deep in the woods. Over the years, Victor has found several decommissioned robots at the nearby dump and refurbished them. Both Nurse Ratched and Rambo no longer remember their lives before decommissioning but have found a new purpose as part of their little family unit.  

One day Vic, Rambo and Nurse Ratched stumble upon a humanoid discarded in the dump. Although they fear this newcomer, they take him home and fix him up. They aptly name the grumpy fellow Habitually Angry Puppy or HAP for short based on the remnants of his model number. HAP’s appearance sparks a series of events that upend their lives and change everything they thought they knew.  

The House in the Cerulean Sea by Klune is one of my favorite books, and I can confidently say In the Lives of Puppets has placed itself right beside it. 

What are the rules? 

Stick together! 

Run if we have to. 

Na dallying! 

No drilling. 

And above all else, be brave! 

Ramsey Lewis truly was a gentleman of jazz. A native Chicagoan, he made the decision to remain in Chicago instead of moving on to New York or the West Coast. The breadth of the book covers so much ground - how Lewis grew up, his musical influences, his parents who provided a strong foundation for him, his relationships with musicians, his family and children. His philanthropic side shines through as being a driving force for the creation of the Ravinia Jazz Mentor Program in partnership with Chicago Public High Schools. An interesting aspect of the book is that he includes commentary by others who may have had differing viewpoints on the same subject. 

At the 2023 AHML Lit Stroll, co-author Aaron Cohen eloquently spoke about his books including Gentleman of Jazz and his friendship with Lewis. Cohen made certain that he honored this great musical talent. His meticulous research references show that he cared about showcasing Lewis' vast body of work.

Gentleman of Jazz is for fans of music and for those who would like to learn more about a Chicago legend.

Katherine Center continues to be my go-to author for meaningful Women’s Fiction. She knows how to craft a thoughtful story that has humor, love, and deeper meaning.

Hello Stranger, is a romance, and yes, the romantic plotlines are very good — but it goes deeper with Sadie’s unique situation and how it impacts every aspect of her life that made this book so compelling to read. Sadie is a portrait artist who is diagnosed with a malformed brain vessel that requires immediate surgery. When she wakes in the hospital post-surgery, she realizes she now has a condition called acquired prosopagnosia, otherwise known as “face blindness”. The surgery has left her with swelling near the brain center that processes faces, and there’s no telling whether this is a permanent or temporary condition.  Right before the surgery, Sadie learned that she was a finalist in a portrait competition that could finally give her the big break she is looking for — but if she can’t see faces, how can she paint them? Sadie’s life was already messy before the surgery — barely making ends meet through her Etsy shop, dealing with her estranged family, a truly evil stepsister, and a pesky, yet helpful, neighbor. Even though I could see what was about to happen, I still enjoyed the journey getting there.

I appreciated the author’s note and acknowledgements for it gave great insight into learning about the real disorder that Sadie has: Prosopagnosia.  I also really related to her insight into the romance genre and how all stories run on anticipation, but romance uses positive valanced anticipation. Don’t we all need a little more positivity in our lives? I would highly recommend adding Hello Stranger to your summer reading list.

Estee Lauder has been an iconic name synonymous with cosmetics and beauty products for almost a century. In her own signature style, author Renee Rosen creates a fascinating and entertaining historical fiction based on the creation of this beauty brand. The fictionalized story is told through the perspective of Gloria Downing, a woman who befriends Ms.Lauder as they both scrape by at a New York hair salon. Having lived aristocratic lives that had fallen on hard times, the two women find a connection that is the force behind the future success.

Renee Rosen is a master of taking readers into the world of women breaking through barriers to attain the fame and fortune they work tirelessly to achieve. I loved the rich story of this Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl, if you love historical fiction with strong female characters, you will love it too.

Part typical narration, part epistolary fiction, part news broadsheet, and with liberal quotations of Tennyson and other classics, In Memoriam by Alice Winn combines a forbidden romance with World War I historical fiction. The story chronicles the lives of Sidney Ellwood, a young Jewish man, and Henry Gaunt, his half-German friend, beginning with their student lives at an elite British boarding school. Ellwood and Gaunt come of age during the early stages of the Great War. At a time when patriotism and war are glamorized, Ellwood and Gaunt struggle not only with their own disillusionment of the war and the world, but also with their feelings for each other.

Winn, in her riveting debut, shies away from neither the horrors of war, or the diversity of those affected, ranging from gender, sexuality, nationality, class, and more. While there are a plethora of authors and creative works regarding this complex era, Win chooses to explore this complexity through the eyes of youths and adolescents, from the starry-eyed boys at home to the veterans in the trenches to the soldiers in POW camps. The vivid writing style reflects Winn's background in film and screenplays, while her literary references reveal her academic background in English Literature at Oxford University.

Readers who enjoy this novel may also enjoy other works with similar themes, such as The World and All That It Holds by Aleksandar Hemon, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin, The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. A more fantastical book set during World War I is The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly, while a more contemporary novel with a similar tone is Ghost Town by Kevin Chen. A comedic re-imagining of (WWII) POW camps is depicted in Hogan's Heroes. 

Classic works referenced in this novel include: works by Herodotus and Euripides; Adam Bede by George Eliot; and various works by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, most prominently featuring In Memoriam, A.H.H and "The Charge of the Light Brigade."

Alex Quinlan not only survived the horrific murder of her parents and brother but is accused of the crime and dubbed “Empty Eyes” by the insatiable media. When the state’s case falls apart, Alex with the help of her attorney sues the state for defamation and while she wins the case, the media still has doubts of her innocence.

Ten years later and Alex is now Alex Armstrong and working as an investigator for her attorney’s law firm. When she is sent to investigate the disappearance of a college student, Alex discovers unexpected connections to the murder of her family and soon realizes that those she is closest to may not be who they seem.

This is one of those books that you think is finished with the revelation of the killer, but it is not. A twist filled plot and another in the last pages of the book, make this a book that will be discussed long after “The End” whether you liked it or not. Alex is a character that you immediately feel sympathy for with her treatment after the murder of her family, but as the story continues, she grows into a strong and intelligent protagonist who refuses to forget the past but seeks answers from it. This thriller has intriguing characters that are fully fleshed and believable, multiple mysteries and shocking twists that never end.