Staff Recommendations, Week of August 29, 2023

 

The last book rec blog of August? Wowee. Time flies. Might as well spend it reading a good book, right? Here are this week's picks.

Harlem After Midnight by Louise Hare gets the Rachel Copeland recommendation treatment this week. Rachel says: "Lena Aldridge has made it to New York City, but she certainly hasn't made it big, not after the disaster that was her recent voyage across the Atlantic. With death in her wake, she looks for insights into her late father's past, only to find even more secrets, and more death. If that weren't enough, her only friend in Harlem, Will Goodman, has secrets of his own, and one of them might be deadly enough to put a target on Lena's back. Little does she know, in a few days' time, someone is going to fall from a third-story window clutching Lena's passport. Wow - I won't dare tell you what I love about this sophomore Canary Club mystery because it's just too good! All I can say is that Hare juggles three timelines with aplomb, and just as she lulled me into a false sense of security - surely she can't pull off another wild twist! - well, there goes the rug under my feet."

Next up, Jen Steele with a recommendation for The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead & Wendy Mass. Jen says: "Rebecca Stead & Wendy Mass weave a tale of ghosts, secrets, a diligent guardian cat, and the power of books. Evan's town does not have a library; it mysteriously went up in flames a long time ago. One day, a little free library (guarded by a large orange cat, no less) suddenly appears, so Evan decides to take two books. This decision will set Evan and his best friend, Rafe, on a course to solve some mysteries. Unfortunately, no one wants to answer their questions. Told through alternate points of views between Evan, the cat, and a ghost, I found The Lost Library to be one of the most charming middle grade books I've read this year!"

And those are the recs! We'll be back in this same little corner of the internet next week with more great books. Until then, read on.