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I recently asked Laurel, a member of our circulation team, for a recommendation. Laurel was deep into We Begin at the End (2021) by British author Chris Whitaker.

Fun fact: a section of The Dearly Beloved, Cara Wall’s debut novel, is set in Wheaton, Illinois!

Set in a Nigerian town, this book opens with a mother finding her son’s body on her front porch. This was no natural death and who took the time to wrap him in a cloth and place him in front of her house? Through flashbacks of Vivek’s life, we learn more about this intriguing, lovable boy and his friends, who seem to know more than they admit about his demise.

8 out of 10 stars

Recently I read the book The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. In this book the main character, Hazel, is suffering from a type of lung cancer. In the beginning of the book she is depressed from living a life with a terminal illness. But throughout this book she progresses and grows in who she is and forms strong relationships. While this book is a romance, it is very beautifully written.

At the onset of this story, Roy and Celestial have been married for a little over a year, and are just getting to the point where they understand each other. Tragically, their marriage is derailed by a miscarriage of justice that lands Roy with a 12-year prison sentence. The remainder of the book explores the very complicated dynamics of a forced long-distance marriage. Told from multiple perspectives and spanning several decades, the story dives deep into the family members and circumstances that make us who we are.

Have you read the modernized Cinderella adaptation yet? If not, the sequel ‘The Princess and the Fangirl’ recently came out, so you may want to pick it up.

Haunting.

Heroine by Mindy McGinnis opens near the end, “When I wake up, all my friends are dead.“

Grace is new in Prescott and plans to stay under the radar, but when she discovers the former occupant of her room, Lucy, was run out of town after accusing several (popular) boys at school of rape she’s finding it hard to stay quiet.

Rosina and Erin are the token freaks of school. Rosina is bogged down by responsibilities and expectations from her family and dealing with her crush on a cute cheerleader. Erin has Asperger’s  and is trying to compartmentalize her own past traumatic events.

Monday Charles is missing and her best friend Claudia seems to be the only person who cares; inquiries to Monday’s mother, their school, and even the police receive little response, and in some cases Claudia is straight up turned away. As events unfold and the reader gets glimpses into Monday’s life (before the disappearance) it becomes clear that her home life is a far cry from the stable family that Claudia has.