Denali

By: Ben Moon
Location: NF 920 MOO
Genre: Non Fiction, Memoir


The story of a dog, his human, and the friendship that saved both of their lives.

When Ben Moon moved from the Midwest to Oregon, he hadn't planned on getting a dog. But when he first met the soulful gaze of a rescue pup in a shelter, Ben instantly felt a connection, and his friendship with Denali was born. The two of them set out on the road together, on an adventure that would take them across the American west and through some of the best years of their lives. But when Ben was diagnosed with colorectal cancer at age 29, he faced a difficult battle with the disease, and Denali never once left his side until they were back out surfing and climbing crags. It was only a short time later that Denali was struck by the same disease, and Ben had the chance to return the favor. Denali is the story of this powerful friendship that shaped Ben and Denali's lives, showing the strength and love that we give and receive when we have our friends by our side:

"Beware !!! Reading this did bring me to tears!

This is a moving true story of a man and his husky-pit bull cross friend, Denali. Ben Moon is an adventurer and lives a very active life, surfing, rock climbing and adventure photography. He and Denali lived a ‘dirtbag’ lifestyle, camping near Ben’s climbing sites and enjoying the freedom of nature.

In the midst of this story Ben is diagnosed with colorectal cancer at the young age of 29! His story is inspiring and documents his struggle and survival to beat this insidious disease and still continue to enjoy his sports with a colostomy bag. It's also an adventure story, especially about Ben’s love of climbing.

Denali helps Ben through his darkest times and the favour is returned. This book will touch your heart deeply, it is extraordinary, very detailed, extremely raw and written by Ben Moon himself. A recommended read."- Gloria

Regretting

By: Colleen Hoover
Location: FIC HOO
Genre: Romance- Family

“Sometimes you have to walk away from the fight in order to win it.”

From #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Ends with Us comes a poignant novel about family, first love, grief, and betrayal that will touch the hearts of both mothers and daughters.

Morgan Grant and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Clara, would like nothing more than to be nothing alike.

Morgan is determined to prevent her daughter from making the same mistakes she did. By getting pregnant and married way too young, Morgan put her own dreams on hold. Clara doesn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Her predictable mother doesn’t have a spontaneous bone in her body.

With warring personalities and conflicting goals, Morgan and Clara find it increasingly difficult to coexist. The only person who can bring peace to the household is Chris—Morgan’s husband, Clara’s father, and the family anchor. But that peace is shattered when Chris is involved in a tragic and questionable accident. The heartbreaking and long-lasting consequences will reach far beyond just Morgan and Clara.

While struggling to rebuild everything that crashed around them, Morgan finds comfort in the last person she expects to, and Clara turns to the one boy she’s been forbidden to see. With each passing day, new secrets, resentment, and misunderstandings make mother and daughter fall further apart. So far apart, it might be impossible for them to ever fall back together.


"This is a book about grief, betrayal, and heart break. But it’s also a story about love, forgiveness, and moving forward. Life isn’t easy. But there are people in your life that make it easier and all around better. Regretting You is a captivating and refreshing story of a mother and daughter. It’s a story about all different kinds of love and I adored it. A new five star favorite!" Christy

Deep Water

By: Sarah Epstein
Location: FIC EPS
Genre: Mystery, Thriller 

Henry Weaver is missing.
Three months ago, thirteen-year-old Henry disappeared from The Shallows during a violent storm, leaving behind his muddy mountain bike at the train station.

Mason Weaver is trapped.
While Mason doesn't know who he is or what he's capable of, he knows the one thing binding him to this suffocating small town is his younger brother, Henry.

Chloe Baxter wants answers.
Why would Henry run away without telling her? One of Chloe's friends knows something and she's determined to find out the truth.

As Chloe wades into dangerous waters and Mason's past emerges, a chilling question ripples to the surface: how far would you go to keep a secret?

"Now THAT'S how you write a mystery!

I've been through it all. I've read New York Times Bestselling mysteries and award winning ones too. None of them captured my attention as much as Deep Water did. This was wonderfully layered and I was constantly intrigued by the mystery of Henry Weaver and even more so, his brother Mason who was even more mysterious than the actual kidnapping case itself" SYLVS

Imposters

By: Scott Westerfield
Location: FIC WES
Genre: Sci Fi / Dystopia- Westerfield!
Series: Imposters #1

Master storyteller Scott Westerfeld returns with a brilliant new series set in the world of his bestselling Uglies series. 

Impostors introduces new characters, new tech and a new city within the legendary Uglies world. This first book in a new quartet is a thrilling return to the world of the New York Times bestselling Uglies series.

Frey was raised to take a bullet.

She's the body double for her twin sister Rafia - the precious heir of the first family of Shreve - and her existence is a closely guarded secret. So while Rafi was schooled in poise and diplomacy, Frey was drilled in weapons and combat. Her purpose: to protect her sister from their tyrannical father's many enemies.

When Frey is sent in Rafi's place as collateral in a precarious business deal, she becomes the perfect impostor - as elegant and charming as her sister. But Col Palafox, the son of a rival leader, is getting close enough to spot the killer inside her. As layers of deceit peel away, can Frey become her own person, and risk everything in a rebellion?

Heartstream

By: Tom Pollock
Location: FIC POL
Genre:Thriller

A taut psychological thriller about obsession, fame and betrayal, for fans of Black Mirror

"This book was terrifyingly tense, I felt like I could have been reading a script for a black mirror episode."- Lucy

I just wanted to see you. Before the end. A taut psychological thriller about obsession, fame and betrayal, for fans of Black Mirror. Cat is in love. Always the sensible one, she can't believe that she's actually dating, not to mention dating a star. But the fandom can't know. They would eat her alive. And first at the buffet would definitely be her best friend, Evie. Amy uses Heartstream, a social media app that allows others to feel your emotions. She broadcasted every moment of her mother's degenerative illness, and her grief following her death. It's the realest, rawest reality TV imaginable. But on the day of Amy's mother's funeral, Amy finds a strange woman in her kitchen. She's rigged herself and the house with explosives - and she's been waiting to talk to Amy for a long time. Who is she? A crazed fan? What does she want? Amy and Cat are about to discover how far true obsession can go


"This was such a heart stopping, intense and frantic read, filled with crazed fans and scary obsession. The unsettling premise of the story, coupled with deception and unreliable narrators made this quite the ride!  Anyone who's spent five minutes on Facebook or Twitter could attest to the mob fan mentality, described in the book, being set firmly in reality. A fact that made this book that bit scarier.  The plot twists were fantastic and left me reeling at the end.  Every time I thought I knew where it was headed, there was another surprise around the corner." Jenny

How to Grow A Family Tree

By: Eliza Henry Jones
Location: FIC HEN
Genre: Family


"This book was absolutely brilliant. It is possibly one of my favourite YA novels ever!! I absolutely adored the characters, and I LOVED the story. The book has so many beautiful messages, and everyone would benefit from reading this book. The book shows that sometimes things that are covered in gold, are crumbling on the inside, and that sometimes you can find beautiful things in the darkest places."  Tirrna

From the author of P is for Pearl comes a heart-warming book about family, friendship and what home can mean.

Stella may only be seventeen, but having read every self-help book she can find means she knows a thing or two about helping people. She sure wasn't expecting to be the one in need of help, though.

Thanks to her father's gambling addiction, Stella and her family now find themselves living at Fairyland Caravan Park. And hiding this truth from her friends is hard enough without dealing with another secret. Stella's birth mother has sent her a letter.

As Stella deals with the chaos of her family, she must also confront the secrets and past of her 'other' family. But Stella is stronger than she realises.

From the author of P is for Pearl comes a heart-warming book about family, friendship and what home can mean.

"Eliza Henry Jones is an author who knows how to delve deep into the human condition and explore those confronting, emotional issues that shadow every family in a different way. In her new YA novel How to Grow A Family Tree (Angus and Robertson 2020), she once again gives us a heart-wrenching and poignant story about love, loss, friendship, betrayal, loyalty and the YA tradition of examining self-identity (Who am I? How did I get here? Why am I the way I am? Do I deserve this life? What if things were different? How am I supposed to be in the world?), whilst also traversing wider themes such as poverty, socio-economic class privilege, adoption and addiction." Cass

Once & Future

By: Amy Rose Capetta, Cori McCarthy
Location: FIC CAP
Genre: Fantasy, LGBT, Retellings

A new King Arthur has risen and she's got a universe to save.
Coming to terms with your identity is always difficult. But for Ari, as the reincarnation of King Arthur, it just got a lot more complicated. What on Earth (or anywhere in space) can she hope to achieve with a rusty spaceship and an adolescent wizard called Merlin?
Gender-bending royalty, caustic wit and a galaxy-wide fight for peace and equality all collide in this brilliant reinvention of the Arthurian legend. 

"Once & Future is a queer and inclusive adaptation of the Arthurian legend that turns over ideas about oppression, about classism and capitalism, and, most of all, about how none can hold a candle to the most infinitesimal spark of hope, all while on a high-stakes rollercoaster quest to save humanity…and that’s no mean feat. While the story of King Arthur is used as a basic premise, the authors craftily unweave the original tale, using threads of it to inspire different characters, only to subvert the whole with lost desert civilizations, spaceships and interdimensional travel. Once & Future also introduces a diverse mix of characters from different backgrounds and with differing sexual orientations, all frankly discussing their identities and futures (Ari is pansexual, is from an Arab-settled country and has two moms, Lamarack is black, disabled and identifies as gender-fluid, Merlin is basically a gay disaster, and there's also a sapphic romance between Ari and her Gweneviere)." Chai

The Rage of Dragons

By: Evan Winter
Location: FIC WIN
Genre: Fantasy, Dragons

It may be cliche to say a book was impossible to put down, but well, dang it, this book was impossible to put down! RICK RIORDAN

GAME OF THRONES MEETS GLADIATOR... The Omehi are surrounded by enemies that want them dead. They will not be easy prey.

#1 BEST SELLER in its category 
TOP 50 in Dark Fantasy 
TOP 100 in Epic Fantasy 
TOP 100 in Swords and Sorcery 


One in twenty-five hundred Omehi women are Gifted, wielding fragments of their Goddess’ power and capable of controlling the world’s most destructive weapon - Dragons. One in a hundred of their men has blood strong enough for the Gifted to infuse with magic, turning these warriors into near unstoppable colossi.

The rest are bred to fight, ferocious soldiers fated to die in the endless war. Tau Tafari, an Omehi commoner, wants more than this, but his life is destroyed when he’s betrayed by those he was born to serve.

Now, with too few Gifted left and the Omehi facing genocide, Tau cares only for revenge. Following an unthinkable path, he will become the greatest swordsman to ever live, dying a hundred thousand times for the chance to kill three of his own people. 

"I think it's great, but then I wrote it, and my mother always said I should be proud of myself and the things I accomplish. I'm very proud of this. Maybe too proud. You be the judge. Though, you're most likely to have a good time if you enjoy Robert Jordan's expansive worlds, Brandon Sanderson's detailed magic systems, Joe Abercrombie's gritty combat, and Pierce Brown's page-burning pace of action.

My goal was to write something that I would, as a reader, love. The joke is that, since I'm the one who wrote the book, I've lost the distance needed to know if I'd actually like it. But, I am proud of it. I think it's good."-Evan Winter- the writer:)

Love Frankie

By: Jacqueline Wilson
Location: FIC WIL
Genre: LGBT, Romance

GROWING UP. FALLING IN LOVE. COMING OUT.

Frankie is nearly fourteen and teenage life certainly comes with its ups and downs. Her mum is seriously ill with MS and Frankie can feel herself growing up quickly, no thanks to Sally and her gang of bullies at school.

When Sally turns out to be not-so-mean after all, they strike up a friendship and are suddenly spending all of their time together.

But Frankie starts to wonder whether these feelings she has for Sally are stronger than her other friendships. Might she really be in love?

Frankie doesn't want Sally to just be her friend. She wants her to be her girlfriend. But does Sally feel the same?

The must-have new novel about falling in love for the first time from bestselling, much-loved children's author, Jacqueline Wilson.

"Jacqueline Wilson writes such amazing books for children m I wish we’d had her when I was young. This deals with important issues like being a carer as a child, trying to deal with your sexuality as a teenager and of course trying to survive school life as a teenager. A brilliant read that also deals wonderfully with relationships, bullying and of course what love is. An absolutely brilliant story and should be read by parents as well as teenagers." Woollygeek

House of Earth and Blood- Crescent City #1

By: Sarah J Maas
Location: FIC MAA
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Series: Crescent City #1

A first adult Book!

BOUND BY BLOOD.

TEMPTED BY DESIRE.

UNLEASHED BY DESTINY.

Bryce Quinlan used to light up Crescent City, partying all night in the clubs where the strict classes of angel, shifter, human and Fae merge intona sea of beautiful bodies.

And the a demon murdered her closest friends.

Two years later, when the supposed killer is behind bars but the ceimes start up again, the city's leaders command Bryce to help investigate. They assign an enslaved fallen angel, Hunt Athalar, to make sure she does. But as Bryce fights to uncover the truth - and resist her attraction to the brooding angel who shadows her every step - she finds herself following a trail that leads deep into her own dark past. 

“That's the point of it, Bryce. Of life. To live, to love, knowing that it might all vanish tomorrow. It makes everything that much more precious.” 

Chain of Gold

By: Cassandra Clare
Location: FIC CLA
Genre: Fantasy
Series: The Last Hours #1

Oh my- COVER ART!!!!! and this quote from the book...

“There is no better distraction in this world than losing oneself in books for awhile.”

Chain of Gold is the first novel in a new trilogy that stars the Shadowhunters of Edwardian London.

Welcome to Edwardian London, a time of electric lights and long shadows, the celebration of artistic beauty and the wild pursuit of pleasure, with demons waiting in the dark. For years there has been peace in the Shadowhunter world. James and Lucie Herondale, children of the famous Will and Tessa, have grown up in an idyll with their loving friends and family, listening to stories of good defeating evil and love conquering all. But everything changes when the Blackthorn and Carstairs families come to London…and so does a remorseless and inescapable plague.

James Herondale longs for a great love, and thinks he has found it in the beautiful, mysterious Grace Blackthorn. Cordelia Carstairs is desperate to become a hero, save her family from ruin, and keep her secret love for James hidden. When disaster strikes the Shadowhunters, James, Cordelia and their friends are plunged into a wild adventure which will reveal dark and incredible powers, and the true cruel price of being a hero…and falling in love.

"This is now my favorite Cassandra Clare book yet! I absolutely love and adore these characters so much! It brought back all the same emotions I had while reading The Infernal Devices and it made me so happy! I think the London institute is by far my favorite."- Kevin

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

By: Suzanne Collins
Location: FIC COL
Genre: Hunger Games!!!!

“You’ve no right to starve people, to punish them for no reason. No right to take away their life and freedom. Those are things everyone is born with, and they’re not yours for the taking. Winning a war doesn’t give you that right. Having more weapons doesn’t give you that right. Being from the Capitol doesn’t give you that right. Nothing does.

THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES will revisit the world of Panem sixty-four years before the events of The Hunger Games, starting on the morning of the reaping of the Tenth Hunger Games. On returning to the world of The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins said, "With this book, I wanted to explore the state of nature, who we are, and what we perceive is required for our survival. The reconstruction period ten years after the war, commonly referred to as the Dark Days-as the country of Panem struggles back to its feet-provides fertile ground for characters to grapple with these questions and thereby define their views of humanity."

The Feel Good Guide

By: Matilda Green
Location: NF 158.1 GRE
Genre: Feeling good about yourself!  

Easy Steps Towards a Happier, More Fulfilled You

When Matilda Green, author of The Lazy Girl's Guide to Living a Beautiful Life, found herself facing some hard times, she knew she needed to do something to boost her happiness and her self-esteem. But what?

So she set out on a journey of discovery, embracing gratitude, mindfulness, and meditation techniques, and learning how to be kind to others and to herself.

In The Feel Good Guide Matilda pulls together everything she has learned and shares her own experiences, in the hope that it will help others too. This practical resource, full of helpful tips and real talk, comes complete with an action plan in every chapter to get your own journey kick-started.

As Matilda says, this isn't so much about changing who you are as it is about loving who you are. It's about celebrating yourself, embracing and being proud of the person you have grown to be, and finding the right tools to help you remember just how awesome you really are.

The Long Distance Playlist

By: Tara Eglington
Location: FIC EGL
Genre:  Romance, Family, Music 

Told primarily in instant messenger conversations, Skype, emails and texts, this is Jaclyn Moriarty's Feeling Sorry for Celia for the modern teen.

Taylor and Isolde used to be best friends - before THAT FIGHT, 18 months ago. It's been radio silence ever since - until Taylor contacts Isolde to sympathise with her breakup: the breakup that she never saw coming; the breakup that destroyed her confidence and ended her dreams of joining the National Ballet School.

Taylor's had his own share of challenges, including a life-altering accident that has brought his hopes of competing at the Winter Olympics to a halt.

Isolde responds to Taylor, to be polite. But what starts out as heartbreak-themed Spotify playlists and shared stories of exes quickly becomes something more.

And as Taylor and Isolde start to lean on each other, the distance between them begins to feel not so distant after all ...

A boy. A girl. A one-of-a-kind friendship. Cross-country convos and middle-of-the-night playlists. With big dreams come even bigger challenges

‘The Long Distance Playlist’ is a feelgood cozy read with charming protagonists, an irresistible relationship to root for and fun well-rounded supporting cast of characters" Anna

Katipo Joe

By: Brian Falkner
Location: FIC FAL
Genre:  Holocaust, Aotearoa,    WWII

SCHOOLBOY.           SPY.           ASSASSIN

"I loved this book, while I was reading it all I couldn't help comparing it to Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider series, its that good." Jo

Young Joe is living in pre-WWII Berlin, with his British father and NZ mother, attending school and witnessing the excitement of his friends who are enthusiastically joining the Hitler Youth Movement.

Joe feels uncomfortable with the growing mistreatment of local Jews, and after the arrest of his father as a spy, he is forced to escape from Berlin with his mother. Joe is separated from his mother and evacuated to New Zealand, and, while war looms in Europe, he is frustrated by his distance from the action, and his inability to do anything about finding his father. After a harrowing route back to Europe, Joe attempts to infiltrate the Hitler Youth movement in Germany while at the same time searching for his mother and father in wartime Berlin.

"Joe is a 12-year-old boy living in Berlin in 1938 with his diplomat parents. The Nazis are on the rise, and Joe gets to see firsthand the mistreatment of local Jews, before his world is completely turned upside down. He is shocked to learn that his parents are spies. His father is taken by the Gestapo, and he and his mother only just make it out of Germany.
His mother sends him to New Zealand, while she goes to London. Then in 1941 Joe stows away and makes his way back across the ocean in an incredibly dangerous journey. But when he gets to London Joe discovers that the address on his mother’s letters doesn’t exist. Suck in the middle of the Blitz, with bombs falling all around him.
Joe spies his mother outside Winston Churchill’s War Rooms, however before he can contact her she is presumed dead in a bombing. But Joe presence hasn't gone unnoticed and he is recruited by MI5 and is sent on a dangerous mission to Paris to infiltrate the Hitlerjugend or Hitler Youth movement to effect an assassination of a prominent Nazi general.
This book is very special and I knew it would be..."

Robin Hood

By: Robert Muchamore
Location: FIC MUC
Genre: Action and Muchamore

Hacking, Heists & Flaming Arrows

I saw a brilliant doco on Robin Hood in the lock down, it was figuring out what was fact and what was fiction. I was surprised by what i thought was truth but wasnt. It still is a really good yearn and these books keep fanning the fire of the myth, which is flipping brilliant!


A town. A forest. A hero.

You can't go far without a quick brain and some rule-bending in a place like Locksley. After its vast car plants shut down, the prosperous town has become a wasteland of empty homes, toxic land and families on the brink. And it doesn't help that the authorities are in the clutches of profit-obsessed Sheriff of Nottingham, in cahoots with underworld boss Guy Gisborne.

When his dad is framed for a robbery, Robin and his brother Little John are hounded out of Locksley and must learn to survive in the Sherwood forest, stretching three hundred kilometres and sheltering the free spirits and outlaws. But Robin is determined to do more than survive. Small, fast and deadly with a bow, he hatches a plan to join forces with Marion Maid, harness his inimitable tech skills and strike a blow against Gisborne and the Sheriff

"Robert Muchamore does it again with a thrilling read, packed with action, where kids outsmart adults with a winning combination of skill, cheekiness and luck.
In this first in the series, we have a modern setting for the Robin Hood legend. In this setting, Robin is a twelve year old boy who finds himself on the wrong side of the law because he refuses to let local bully boy Gisburne try and set up Robin’s father. He escapes into the forest where he is befriended by a local biker gang and the leader’s daughter Marion.
Though on the wanted list, Robin prepares to fight for justice for his father and do whatever he can to get revenge in Gisburne for his corrupt practices.
There’s no denying this is highly fantastic in approach, but it was good fun and I’m sure it’ll entertain many readers."- Karen

The Boy in the Black Suit

By: Jason Reynolds
Location:FIC REY
Genre: Young Adult, America- as you hear it on the news

Sometimes I open a book in the office and for a few minutes of skim reading. I want to get to know our books. A few times, I get lost in that book, time stands stil, students might be lining up for something they need, But Im gone, inside the covers of that book. It doesn't happen all that often- but it just did with this one!!!!
It is very very good!

“Light always wins”
― Jason Reynolds, The Boy in the Black Suit

“And sometimes,” he continued while flipping another one, “I can lose and lose and lose and I don’t know why. But there’s nothing I can do but just keep flipping the cards. Eventually, I’ll win again. As long as you got cards to keep turning, you’re fine. Now, that’s life,” he said, pushing another hand I won over to me.”
― Jason Reynolds, The Boy in the Black Suit

Matt wears a black suit every day. No, not because his mom died - although she did, and it sucks. But he wears the suit for his gig at the local funeral home, which pays way better than the Cluck Bucket, and he needs the income since his dad can't handle the bills (or anything, really) on his own. So while Dad's snagging bottles of whiskey, Matt's snagging fifteen bucks an hour. Not bad. But everything else? Not good. Then Matt meets Lovey. Crazy name, and she's been through more crazy stuff than he can imagine. Yet Lovey never cries. She's tough. Really tough. Tough in the way Matt wishes he could be. Which is maybe why he's drawn to her, and definitely why he can't seem to shake her. Because there's nothing more hopeful than finding a person who understands your loneliness - and who can maybe even help take it away. 

"Matt is struggling to deal with the recent loss of his mother to breast cancer. His father isn't doing much better and begins drinking excessively which lands him in the hospital. While his father is recuperating, his neighbor Mr. Ray, a funeral director, keeps an eye on him and offers him a job. To Matt's surprise, he finds that his job offers him a certain sort of comfort in that he regularly encounters other people who are grieving.

When a funeral causes him to cross paths with a girl he's been crushing on, Matt begins to heal and discovers a shocking past connection to the girl and her family.

I LOVE this author's work! The characterization is strong (especially the dialogue), the setting is richly recreated and features an urban environment, and the twists are fresh and interesting. I really liked the coverage of grief in this book and in particular the conversation Matt and Mr. Ray have about life being like the card game War.

I highly recommend this book for any readers who enjoyed When I Was the Greatest and enjoy character-driven stories about African American teens living in urban areas."- Samantha

Penguin Problems

By Jory John and Lane Smith
Location: PIC JOH
Genre; A stunning  Picture Book

This is a delightful book about always seeing why life is tough and hard, seeing all the problems around us, until someone points out the good stuff to our wee Penguin.
It is all about perspective!

"Oh, you're going to read this book? Somehow I seriously doubt that. I bet you won't even finish reading this flap.

Don't worry about it. Why would you want to learn about some penguin's problems when you have plenty of problems of your own? Just look around. The world's a mess!

Besides, you probably don't even like penguins. Heck, I barely like penguins and I am a penguin.

Seriously, I'll understand if you put the book back on the shelf. Go ahead. It's for the best.

I'm sure you'd just get a bunch of paper cuts, anyway. And you'd probably bend the pages. And you'd get your little fingerprints everywhere.

When was the last time you washed those grubby hands of yours? No offense.

Sigh.

Listen: I'm going back to bed. Read, don't read. Buy, don't buy. Whatever.

Just try not to wake me up.

I'm a light sleeper.

And I have a lot on my mind."

The Deepest Blue

By; Sarah Beth Durst
Location: FIC DUR
Genre: Fantasy, Magic- Standalone!

Cover art!!!!!


The natural magic of the classic The Island of the Blue Dolphins meets the danger and courage of The Hunger Games in this dazzling, intricate stand-alone fantasy novel set in award-winning author Sarah Beth Durst’s beloved world of Renthia.

Life is precious and precarious on the islands of Belene. Besieged by a capricious ocean full of malicious spirits, the people of the islands seek joy where they can. Mayara, one of the island’s fearless oyster divers, has found happiness in love. But on the day of her wedding to the artist Kelo, a spirit-driven storm hits the island with deadly force.

To save her loved ones, Mayara reveals a dangerous secret: she has the power to control the spirits. When the storm ends, she is taken into custody by the queen’s soldiers and imprisoned with other women like her.

They vary in age and social status, but to many they are heroes who will aid the country or witches that will sacrifice themselves trying. No matter who they are, the women are sent to a terrifying place—an island filled with bloodthirsty nature spirits, and left without food, water, shelter, or any tools except their own instincts and magic. Whoever survives the Island of Testing will be declared heirs to the queen. But no matter if she wins or loses, Mayara knows that the life she dreamed of is gone.

"I recommend this book to fans of Game of Thrones for complex characters in a complex world and fans of The Hunger Games for the same feeling of survival. I also recommend to any 16+ readers who love a good fantasy novel. I ended up giving this novel 5 out of 5 stars!" Erin

We Had To Be Brave

By: Deborha Hopkinson
Location: NF 920 HOP
Genre: Holocaust

I love the TV programme  "Who do you think you are" where celebrities are taken on a journey to discover their journey from their ancestors. I watched one last year about a man who discovererd his fore-bearers were transported into Scotland from Hungry. It was a story of real redemption and hope in the pain. I am so pleased a book has been written about Kindertransport.


Sibert Honor author Deborah Hopkinson illuminates the true stories of Jewish children who fled Nazi Germany, risking everything to escape to safety on the Kindertransport.
Ruth David was growing up in a small village in Germany when Adolf Hitler rose to power in the 1930s. Under the Nazi Party, Jewish families like Ruth's experienced rising anti-Semitic restrictions and attacks. Just going to school became dangerous. By November 1938, anti-Semitism erupted into Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, and unleashed a wave of violence and forced arrests.

Days later, desperate volunteers sprang into action to organize the Kindertransport, a rescue effort to bring Jewish children to England. Young people like Ruth David had to say good-bye to their families, unsure if they'd ever be reunited. Miles from home, the Kindertransport refugees entered unrecognizable lives, where food, clothes -- and, for many of them, language and religion -- were startlingly new. Meanwhile, the onset of war and the Holocaust visited unimaginable horrors on loved ones left behind. Somehow, these rescued children had to learn to look forward, to hope.

Through the moving and often heart-wrenching personal accounts of Kindertransport survivors, critically acclaimed and award-winning author Deborah Hopkinson paints the timely and devastating story of how the rise of Hitler and the Nazis tore apart the lives of so many families and what they were forced to give up in order to save these children.

We'll Fly Away

By: Bryan Bliss
Location: FIC BLI
Genre: Realistic, contemporary, abuse

National Book Award Longlist Title * Booklist Editors’ Choice * CYBILS Young Adult Fiction Finalist * Nerdy Book Club Award for Best Young Adult Fiction * Paste Magazine Best Book * YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults

"Bryan Bliss has written an empathetic and stirring novel about what it means to fight for the outcasts, the forgotten, and even the hated, reminding us that we all have worth. That we are all valuable."—Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking

“A compelling and raw story.”—Publishers Weekly

Luke and Toby have always had each other’s backs. But then one choice—or maybe it is a series of choices—sets them down an irrevocable path. We’ll Fly Away weaves together Luke and Toby’s senior year of high school with letters Luke writes to Toby later—from death row.

Best friends since childhood, Luke and Toby have dreamed of one thing: getting out of their dead-end town. Soon they finally will, riding the tails of Luke’s wrestling scholarship, never looking back. If they don’t drift apart first. If Toby’s abusive dad, or Luke’s unreliable mom, or anything else their complicated lives throw at them doesn’t get in the way.

Tense and emotional, this hard-hitting novel explores family abuse, sex, love, and friendship, and how far people will go to protect those they love.

"This book was interesting. It is the story of two friends in the senior year of high school. Alternating chapters unfold the story between letters written from death row and the events that led up to the incarceration. This is not a feel good book. But if you like true crime podcasts and shows, this is an interesting book to read. The only thing is I felt that it ended too abruptly.

This quote taken from the authors note pretty much sums up the book:

"Yes, it is a book about the death penalty. But it’s also a book about friendship. It’s about growing up hard, in a way that forces you to make choices you’d otherwise not make. It’s a book about wanting to escape. It’s about love and loyalty. It’s about people who care, even when you don’t. And maybe most importantly, it’s a book that invites readers to ask the question: do I believe a person can ever be beyond redemption? My hope is that, after reading We’ll Fly Away, the only answer can be: “no.”"
Estee



“Bliss dares his readers not only to see the depths of human complexity, but to care.”—BooklistOverall, this book touched me to the core. It left me lost and in tears. I loved and hated it. It was very well written. The characters are built perfectly and seem so real when you read it. I enjoyed the interspersed letters from Luke to Toby via death row. It was an interesting perspective to place into a young adult story. It fit well into the narrative. This story is beautiful in it's anguish. I recommend it to everyone, but keep in mind that it is a grim story with no happy ending to be had. Beautifully done. After this, I plan to read Bryan's other two books ASAP. Sarah

The Deathless Girls

By: Kiran Millwood Hargrave
Location: FIC HAR
Genre: Fantasy, Horror, LGBGT, Retellings


Review taken from  Sara on Goodreads

"The Deathless Girls is part of a series from Bellatrix focusing on the girls forgotten to literature. Those female characters that have been sidelined in epic stories to allow others to shine, and have been lost in the background. But more than that, this is a story about female love and relationships. It’s full of sisterly love, a sapphic romance, the brutality of life and to top it all off - vampires. Kizzy and Lil are 17 year old traveler twins who are captured and sold into slavery. Kizzy is the beautiful twin, who soon attracts the attention of the local Lord. Full of fire and light, she refuses to succumb to her fate. Lil sees herself as the more dowdy twin. Always in her sister’s shadow. But when Kizzy catches the eye of the wrong man, it’s left to Lil to fight for her.

It’s Kizzy and Lil’s relationship that pulls the story along, and holds everything together. Their love feels genuine, all consuming and entirely reliant upon the other. Kizzy isn’t whole without Lil, despite their obvious differences. All the other characters pale into insignificance compared to them, including the various love interests- which both feel rather sudden and slightly underdeveloped. That said, the sapphic relationship is sweet and delicately portrayed. The villains are also very one dimensional, although I came to deeply loathe them, without any ambiguity to them.

The overall plot is good, and is well written and fast paced. This is a relatively short book, sitting at just over 300 pages, and the story is quick to read. Because of this however, the plot feels like it’s missing any real depth to it - as though we’re really jut skirting around the edges of what could have been a more epic adventure. I wanted more substance to really get to grips with the sister’s story. The ending is also rather rushed, with our main antagonist only really showing his face for the final act.

A good story of female love, but I wanted (pardon the pun), more bite. "