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Frankly in Love was definitely one of the books of 2021 that I enjoyed the most. At first glance, the book seemed like it is nothing more than a fake-dating romance, but soon unraveled to be more of an exploration of conflicting cultural identities. Romance definitely takes a back seat to the drama being Korean American brings for Frank Li, who feels enormous pressure to be one or the other because of rising expectations.

2 out of 5 Stars

The first book in the magical and action-filled Farsala trilogy.

Well, I did it: I read one of the first works of “Pandemic Fiction” by a North American author. Too soon, you ask, for any author to do justice to the subject? Too soon to read about the last two complex and challenging years, laced with so much tragedy, especially as we’re not exactly out of the woods yet? I wondered too.

4 out of 5 Stars

“He had suddenly begun to have a sense that the reason he wanted the escape was not only in order to sacrifice thirty thousand on it and thus heal his scar, but also for some other reason. 'Is it because within my soul I am a murderer, too?' He had started to wonder. Something distant but burning had stung his soul.”

The new Dune movie (2022) proved to be a character development exercise.  I found myself longing for the galloping action style of the 1998 movie.  Though the action sequences were few

5 out of 5 Stars

“When I was seeing her out, in the ante-room, I thought she was about to cry.” 

National Library Week (April 3 – 9) is a yearly celebration of libraries, the many services they offer, and their workers. This year’s theme is “Connect with Your Library,” which highlights libraries as a place to get connected to technology through broadband, computers, and other resources. Beyond technology, libraries offer many ways to connect through community, classes, clubs, books, and more. See below for some ways you can celebrate National Library Week with WPL, and for a list of tech resources and services we offer. 

Uniquely narrated by a fig tree, The Island of Missing Trees switches between two timelines to tell a story of love, heartbreak and a nation torn apart.  

What a powerful read. That this book exists is a miracle: originally written for a contest in 1930s Eastern Europe (in what is now Poland and Lithuania), these six essays were among hundreds hidden from the Nazis multiple times and eventually discovered in a church in 2017.

The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe

When seventeen-year-old Nora O'Malley, the daughter of a con artist, is taken hostage in a bank heist, every secret she is keeping close begins to unravel.

Winter’s Orbit, by Everina Maxwell, is an intricately plotted blend of space opera, court intrigue, and slow-burn romance. When the death of Prince Taam threatens to destroy a peace treaty that protects the Iskat Empire from alien invaders, the Emperor attempts to salvage the treaty by arranging for her grandson, Prince Kiem, to marry Taam’s widower, Count Jainan.