Staff Recommendations, Week of June 15, 2021

We have a few choices for you this week. First up is Jason Kennedy, who recommends this month's #1 Indie Next pick (check out the whole list right here!), the brand new novel by Joshua Henkins: Morningside Heights. Here's what Jason says, "Morningside Heights chronicles a family’s attempt to make their life work through an unexpected curveball. There is real love between the parents, Spence and Pru, and their child Sarah, and even for Arlo, Spence’s child from a previous, short-lived marriage. When Spence is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s, everyone’s life is turned upside down. While this story centers around Spence’s decline, it really is Pru who shines. She loves her husband, though she never conceived of becoming a caregiver and slowly dissolves into his disease. It’s heartbreaking and uplifting all at once. A great testament that life continues to evolve and rebuild in the face of adversity."

Next, Jen Steele picks the perfect picture book for summer - Paletero Man by Lucky Diaz, with illustrations by Micah Player. Jen says: "Paletero Man is a lyrical feast for the senses! Inspired by Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band song of the same name, Paletero Man follows a young boy as he rushes through his Los Angeles neighborhood to buy his paleta from the Paletero Man. In his excitement to get to Paletero Jose, he races past the neighborhood vendors with no time for small talk. But his money has fallen out of his pocket along the way, and he does not discover it is missing until he is in front of Paletero Jose's cart. What is he to do?! Joyful, brilliant illustrations and a catchy song make this a wonderful addition to family story time.

Want to listen while you read? Here's the inspirational song!

Plus A Paperback Pick! One of Jen Steele's absolute favorite books of last year gets its paperback release this week: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Jen says, "When Noemí Taboada’s father receives a most troubling letter from his niece, he sends Noemí as the family’s ambassador to determine if Catalina is in any danger. Immediately upon arrival it is clear to Noemí that she is an unwelcome visitor. Her cousin’s new family are the Doyles; an English family that lives in High Place, a crumbling mountaintop estate where nothing is what is seems and something sinister lurks. Mexican Gothic has everything you want in a gothic novel - gloom and doom, mystery and romance, monsters and nightmares. Silvia Moreno-Garcia cranks up the melodrama to thrill and delight readers. Unputdownable!"