This is the perfect year to join your local library Adult Summer Reading Club program!

Summer Reading Club will certainly be a little different this year, but in some ways that will be great for adults.

Most libraries have taken this situation as an opportunity to streamline their Summer Reading Programs. You will likely be able to sign up online, through email, or over the phone, even if your library is not currently open.

A lot of libraries are even still offering prizes for curbside pickup along with books and other materials. Prizes vary by community, but I have seen everything from restaurant coupons, to drawings for a brand new iPad. It comes down to local funding and donations. Your library will have a list of prizes.

Summer Reading Club Book List!

If you are wondering what to read this summer, check out the following book list! There is something for everyone, Romance, Horror, Non-Fiction and everything in-between. The following books were published within the last two years and have at least a four star rating on Goodreads.

If you are looking for new books to read check out this May 2020 Can't Wait Book List and this June 2020 Can't Wait Book List. 

The nice thing about this Summer Reading Club book list, is that many of these books will be available for free from your library with no wait!
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Historical Fiction

A single twist of fate puts a servant girl to work in Queen Victoria’s royal kitchen, setting off a suspenseful, historical mystery by the New York Times bestselling author of The Tuscan Child and The Victory Garden.

Isabella Waverly only means to comfort the woman felled on a London street. In her final dying moments, she thrusts a letter into Bella’s hand. It’s an offer of employment in the kitchens of Buckingham Palace, and everything the budding young chef desperately wants: an escape from the constrictions of her life as a lowly servant. In the stranger’s stead, Bella can spread her wings.

Arriving as Helen Barton from Yorkshire, she pursues her passion for creating culinary delights, served to the delighted Queen Victoria herself. Best of all, she’s been chosen to accompany the queen to Nice. What fortune! Until the threat of blackmail shadows Bella to the Riviera, and a member of the queen’s retinue falls ill and dies.
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Having prepared the royal guest’s last meal, Bella is suspected of the poisonous crime. An investigation is sure to follow. Her charade will be over. And her new life will come crashing down—if it doesn’t send her to the gallows. Follow this link for a No Spoiler Book Review of Above the Bay of Angels.
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Romance

Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.

They're polar opposites.

In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer's block.

Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She'll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he'll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.
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Mystery
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The man known as Wilde is a mystery to everyone, including himself. Decades ago, he was found as a boy living feral in the woods, with no memory of his past. After the police concluded an exhaustive hunt for the child's family, which was never found, he was turned over to the foster system.

Now, thirty years later, Wilde still doesn't know where he comes from, and he's back living in the woods on the outskirts of town, content to be an outcast, comfortable only outdoors, preferably alone, and with few deep connections to other people.

When a local girl goes missing, famous TV lawyer Hester Crimstein--with whom Wilde shares a tragic connection--asks him to use his unique skills to help find her. Meanwhile, a group of ex-military security experts arrive in town, and when another teen disappears, the case's impact expands far beyond the borders of the peaceful suburb. Wilde must return to the community where he has never fit in, and where the powerful are protected even when they harbor secrets that could destroy the lives of millions . . . secrets that Wilde must uncover before it's too late.
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​Mystery

Soon after her twenty-fifth birthday, Libby Jones returns home from work to find the letter she’s been waiting for her entire life. She rips it open with one driving thought: I am finally going to know who I am.

She soon learns not only the identity of her birth parents, but also that she is the sole inheritor of their abandoned mansion on the banks of the Thames in London’s fashionable Chelsea neighborhood, worth millions. Everything in Libby’s life is about to change. But what she can’t possibly know is that others have been waiting for this day as well—and she is on a collision course to meet them.

Twenty-five years ago, police were called to 16 Cheyne Walk with reports of a baby crying. When they arrived, they found a healthy ten-month-old happily cooing in her crib in the bedroom. Downstairs in the kitchen lay three dead bodies, all dressed in black, next to a hastily scrawled note. And the four other children reported to live at Cheyne Walk were gone.

The can’t-look-away story of three entangled families living in a house with the darkest of secrets. Follow this link for a No Spoiler Book Review of The Family Upstairs.
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Romance

Tiffy and Leon share a flat
Tiffy and Leon share a bed
Tiffy and Leon have never met…

Tiffy Moore needs a cheap flat, and fast. Leon Twomey works nights and needs cash. Their friends think they’re crazy, but it’s the perfect solution: Leon occupies the one-bed flat while Tiffy’s at work in the day, and she has the run of the place the rest of the time.

But with obsessive ex-boyfriends, demanding clients at work, wrongly imprisoned brothers and, of course, the fact that they still haven’t met yet, they’re about to discover that if you want the perfect home you need to throw the rulebook out the window… Follow this link for a No Spoiler Book Review of Flatshare.
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​Historical Fiction

Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically.

The leader, and soon Alice’s greatest ally, is Margery, a smart-talking, self-sufficient woman who’s never asked a man’s permission for anything. They will be joined by three other singular women who become known as the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky.

What happens to them–and to the men they love–becomes an unforgettable drama of loyalty, justice, humanity and passion. These heroic women refuse to be cowed by men or by convention. And though they face all kinds of dangers in a landscape that is at times breathtakingly beautiful, at others brutal, they’re committed to their job: bringing books to people who have never had any, arming them with facts that will change their lives. Follow this link for a No Spoiler Book Review of Giver of Stars.
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Non-Fiction/Memoir

One day, Lori Gottlieb is a therapist who helps patients in her Los Angeles practice. The next, a crisis causes her world to come crashing down. Enter Wendell, the quirky but seasoned therapist in whose office she suddenly lands. With his balding head, cardigan, and khakis, he seems to have come straight from Therapist Central Casting. Yet he will turn out to be anything but.

As Gottlieb explores the inner chambers of her patients' lives -- a self-absorbed Hollywood producer, a young newlywed diagnosed with a terminal illness, a senior citizen threatening to end her life on her birthday if nothing gets better, and a twenty-something who can't stop hooking up with the wrong guys -- she finds that the questions they are struggling with are the very ones she is now bringing to Wendell.
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Horror

Fried Green Tomatoes and Steel Magnolias meet Dracula in this Southern-flavored supernatural thriller set in the '90s about a women's book club that must protect its suburban community from a mysterious and handsome stranger who turns out to be a blood-sucking fiend.

Patricia Campbell had always planned for a big life, but after giving up her career as a nurse to marry an ambitious doctor and become a mother, Patricia's life has never felt smaller. The days are long, her kids are ungrateful, her husband is distant, and her to-do list is never really done. The one thing she has to look forward to is her book club, a group of Charleston mothers united only by their love for true-crime and suspenseful fiction. In these meetings, they're more likely to discuss the FBI's recent siege of Waco as much as the ups and downs of marriage and motherhood.

But when an artistic and sensitive stranger moves into the neighborhood, the book club's meetings turn into speculation about the newcomer. Patricia is initially attracted to him, but when some local children go missing, she starts to suspect the newcomer is involved. She begins her own investigation, assuming that he's a Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy. What she uncovers is far more terrifying, and soon she--and her book club--are the only people standing between the monster they've invited into their homes and their unsuspecting community. Follow this link for a No Spoiler Book Review of Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires.
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Non-Fiction/History
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On Winston Churchill's first day as prime minister, Adolf Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen, and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away. For the next twelve months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons. It was up to Churchill to hold his country together and persuade President Franklin Roosevelt that Britain was a worthy ally--and willing to fight to the end.

In The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson shows how Churchill taught the British people "the art of being fearless." It is a story of political brinkmanship, but it's also an intimate domestic drama, set against the backdrop of Churchill's prime-ministerial country home, Chequers; his wartime retreat, Ditchley, where he and his entourage go when the moon is brightest and the bombing threat is highest; and of course 10 Downing Street in London. Drawing on diaries, original archival documents, and once-secret intelligence reports--some released only recently--Larson provides a new lens on London's darkest year through the day-to-day experience of Churchill and his family: his wife, Clementine; their youngest daughter, Mary, who chafes against her parents' wartime protectiveness; their son, Randolph, and his beautiful, unhappy wife, Pamela; Pamela's illicit lover, a dashing American emissary; and the advisers in Churchill's "Secret Circle," to whom he turns in the hardest moments.

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Mystery
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The secrets lurking in a rundown roadside motel ensnare a young woman, just as they did her aunt thirty-five years before, in this new atmospheric suspense novel from the national bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls.

Upstate NY, 1982. Every small town like Fell, New York, has a place like the Sun Down Motel. Some customers are from out of town, passing through on their way to someplace better. Some are locals, trying to hide their secrets. Viv Delaney works as the night clerk to pay for her move to New York City. But something isn't right at the Sun Down, and before long she's determined to uncover all of the secrets hidden…
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Non-Fiction Psychology

How did Fidel Castro fool the CIA for a generation? Why did Neville Chamberlain think he could trust Adolf Hitler? Why are campus sexual assaults on the rise? Do television sitcoms teach us something about the way we relate to each other that isn't true?

While tackling these questions, Malcolm Gladwell was not solely writing a book for the page. He was also producing for the ear. In the audiobook version of Talking to Strangers, you'll hear the voices of people he interviewed--scientists, criminologists, military psychologists. Court transcripts are brought to life with re-enactments. You actually hear the contentious arrest of Sandra Bland by the side of the road in Texas. As Gladwell revisits the deceptions of Bernie Madoff, the trial of Amanda Knox, and the suicide of Sylvia Plath, you hear directly from many of the players in these real-life tragedies. There's even a theme song - Janelle Monae's "Hell You Talmbout."

Something is very wrong, Gladwell argues, with the tools and strategies we use to make sense of people we don't know. And because we don't know how to talk to strangers, we are inviting conflict and misunderstanding in ways that have a profound effect on our lives and our world.
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​Fantasy
In the early 1900s, a young woman embarks on a fantastical journey of self-discovery after finding a mysterious book in this captivating and lyrical debut.

In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place.

Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own.

Lush and richly imagined, a tale of impossible journeys, unforgettable love, and the enduring power of stories awaits in Alix E. Harrow’s spellbinding debut–step inside and discover its magic. Follow this link for a No Spoiler Book Review of Ten Thousand Doors of January.
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Science Fiction

Shana wakes up one morning to discover her little sister in the grip of a strange malady. She appears to be sleepwalking. She cannot talk and cannot be woken up. And she is heading with inexorable determination to a destination that only she knows. But Shana and her sister are not alone. Soon they are joined by a flock of sleepwalkers from across America, on the same mysterious journey. And like Shana, there are other “shepherds” who follow the flock to protect their friends and family on the long dark road ahead.

For on their journey, they will discover an America convulsed with terror and violence, where this apocalyptic epidemic proves less dangerous than the fear of it. As the rest of society collapses all around them–and an ultraviolent militia threatens to exterminate them–the fate of the sleepwalkers depends on unraveling the mystery behind the epidemic. The terrifying secret will either tear the nation apart–or bring the survivors together to remake a shattered world. Follow this link for a No Spoiler Book Review of Wanderers.
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Contemporary Fiction

After the loss of her mother and her own battle with breast cancer, Joanna Teale returns to her graduate research on nesting birds in rural Illinois, determined to prove that her recent hardships have not broken her. She throws herself into her work from dusk to dawn, until her solitary routine is disrupted by the appearance of a mysterious child who shows up at her cabin barefoot and covered in bruises.

The girl calls herself Ursa, and she claims to have been sent from the stars to witness five miracles. With concerns about the child’s home situation, Jo reluctantly agrees to let her stay—just until she learns more about Ursa’s past.

Jo enlists the help of her reclusive neighbor, Gabriel Nash, to solve the mystery of the charming child. But the more time they spend together, the more questions they have. How does a young girl not only read but understand Shakespeare? Why do good things keep happening in her presence? And why aren’t Jo and Gabe checking the missing children’s website anymore?

Though the three have formed an incredible bond, they know difficult choices must be made. As the summer nears an end and Ursa gets closer to her fifth miracle, her dangerous past closes in. When it finally catches up to them, all of their painful secrets will be forced into the open, and their fates will be left to the stars.
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Check back on Tuesday for a No Spoiler Book Review of Dumplin'.

To put it simply, Murmur of Bees is a family saga set in early 1900s Mexico. It follows multiple generations of a small town farming and ranching family.
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​But, Oh My Gawd! There is so much more to this stunning story. 
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​​This book is told in two timelines, with multiple perspectives. There is the ancient man looking back on his life, and the stories of the people who lived through the ongoing wars, corruption and the Spanish Influenza outbreak of the time.

One of the things I love about this book is that it is written like a tall tale. They are living through the time of legends. The time of Coyotes and Lions.

This book is full of beautiful imagery and symbolism. The family’s connection to the land is so exquisitely written, it is impossible to know if the family represents the land or the land represents the family. And I’m not even going to get into the bees and Simonopio, you’ll just have to read Murmur of Bees to see for yourself.

This book was originally published in Spanish, so I think it is important to acknowledge the translator. Books can so easily be lost in translation. Not only is the story cohesive and the language flawless, but it is lyrical and poetic. I will never know how this read in the original Spanish, but thanks to Simon Bruni, I was able to enjoy this book without ever feeling like I was reading a translation.
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Murmur of Bees is historical fiction with magical realism. Fans of the Alchemist by Coelho will love the folklore feel of the story. Fans of the Good Earth will love the relationship between the family and the land. Anyone interested in Mexican History and culture will enjoy this book.

Goodreads Summary
From a beguiling voice in Mexican fiction comes an astonishing novel—her first to be translated into English—about a mysterious child with the power to change a family’s history in a country on the verge of revolution.

From the day that old Nana Reja found a baby abandoned under a bridge, the life of a small Mexican town forever changed. Disfigured and covered in a blanket of bees, little Simonopio is for some locals the stuff of superstition, a child kissed by the devil. But he is welcomed by landowners Francisco and Beatriz Morales, who adopt him and care for him as if he were their own. As he grows up, Simonopio becomes a cause for wonder to the Morales family, because when the uncannily gifted child closes his eyes, he can see what no one else can—visions of all that’s yet to come, both beautiful and dangerous. Followed by his protective swarm of bees and living to deliver his adoptive family from threats—both human and those of nature—Simonopio’s purpose in Linares will, in time, be divined.

Set against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution and the devastating influenza of 1918, The Murmur of Bees captures both the fate of a country in flux and the destiny of one family that has put their love, faith, and future in the unbelievable. 

For more Can't Wait Book Lists, No Spoiler Book Reviews and Articles from the Library Life, subscribe below!
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Check back on Thursday for an Adult Summer Reading Club Book List!

After wading through hundreds of upcoming titles, I have narrowed the list of June New Release Books to these ten exciting titles. I flipped through book review catalogs, book blogs and library chat forums to ensure that I found the most interesting and original new books. I try to include a variety of Fiction, Non-Fiction and even Young Adult books. This month’s selections are a little on the dark side, with a couple of fun humorous options thrown in. Hopefully, there is something for everyone!

I exclude sequels and anything that will not have broad appeal.
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Please note, publication dates are shifting due to the Coronavirus epidemic. I verified the publication dates on multiple sources, however they may still change. Thank you for your understanding, if some of these become inaccurate. 
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​Non-Fiction

When Rosayra Pablo Cruz made the wrenching decision to seek asylum in the United States with two of her children, five-year-old Fernando and fifteen-year-old Yordy, she knew the journey would be incredibly difficult, dangerous, and potentially deadly. But violence had made life in Guatemala untenable; Rosy knew her family’s only chance to survive was to go north.

After a perilous journey that left them dehydrated, starved, and exhausted, Rosy, Fernando, and Yordy crossed into Arizona. Almost immediately, they were forcibly separated by government officials under the Department of Homeland Security’s “zero tolerance” policy.

In The Book of Rosy, Rosy and Julie Schwietert Collazo, founder of Immigrant Families Together, the grassroots organization founded to reunite mothers with their children, tell Rosy’s story. They expose the cruel conditions of the detention facilities, the unbearable anxiety of having her children ripped away, and the faith and love that helped her through the darkest time.

A gripping, unflinching depiction of the human cost of inhumane policies and the unbreakable bonds of family, faith, and community.
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​Historical Fiction

The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Ten years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' storylines intersect?

Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.
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Thriller

When Charlotte married the wealthy widower Paul, it caused a ripple of gossip in their small lakeside town. They have a charmed life together, despite the cruel whispers about her humble past and his first marriage. But everything starts to unravel when she discovers a young woman’s body floating in the exact same spot where Paul’s first wife tragically drowned.

At first, it seems like a horrific coincidence, but the stranger in the lake is no stranger. Charlotte saw Paul talking to her the day before, even though Paul tells the police he’s never met the woman. His lie exposes cracks in their fragile new marriage, cracks Charlotte is determined to keep from breaking them in two.

As Charlotte uncovers dark mysteries about the man she married, she doesn’t know what to trust—her heart, which knows Paul to be a good man, or her growing suspicion that there’s something he’s hiding in the water.

You may also be interested in this No Spoiler Book Review of The Marriage Lie by Kimberly Belle
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​Contemporary Fiction

One year ago, the person Olivia adores most in the world, her father, left home for a meditation retreat in the mountains and never returned. Yearning to make sense of his shocking departure and to escape her overbearing mother—a woman as grounded as her father is mercurial—Olivia runs away from home and retraces his path to a place known as the Levitation Center.

Once there, she enrolls in their summer program for troubled teens, which Olivia refers to as “Buddhist Boot Camp for Bad Girls”. Soon, she finds herself drawn into the company of a close-knit trio of girls determined to transcend their circumstances, by any means necessary. Led by the elusive and beautiful Serena, and her aloof, secretive acolytes, Janet and Laurel, the girls decide this is the summer they will finally achieve enlightenment—and learn to levitate, to defy the weight of their bodies, to experience ultimate lightness. 

But as desire and danger intertwine, and Olivia comes ever closer to discovering what a body—and a girl—is capable of, it becomes increasingly clear that this is an advanced and perilous practice, and there’s a chance not all of them will survive. Set over the course of one fateful summer that unfolds like a fever dream, The Lightness juxtaposes fairy tales with quantum physics, cognitive science with religious fervor, and the passions and obsessions of youth with all of these, to explore concepts as complex as faith and as simple as loving people—even though you don’t, and can’t, know them at all.
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​Young Adult

A "monomial" is a simple algebraic expression consisting of a single term. 30H, for example. Fifteen-year-old Greer Walsh hasn't been fazed by basic algebra since fifth grade, but for the last year, 30H has felt like an unsolvable equation - one that's made her world a very small, very lonely place. 30H is her bra size - or it was the last time anyone checked. She stopped letting people get that close to her with a tape measure a while ago.

Ever since everything changed the summer before ninth grade, Greer has felt out of control. She can't control her first impressions, the whispers that follow, or the stares that linger after. The best she can do is put on her faithful XXL sweatshirt and let her posture - and her expectations for other people - slump.

But people - strangers and friends - seem strangely determined to remind her that life is not supposed to be this way. Despite carefully avoiding physical contact and anything tighter than a puffy coat, Greer finds an unexpected community on the volleyball squad, the team that hugs between every point and wears a uniform "so tight it can squeeze out tears." And then there's Jackson Oates, newly arrived at her school and maybe actually more interested in her banter than her breasts.
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​Thriller

Low Morrison is not your average teen. You could blame her hippie parents or her looming height or her dreary, isolated hometown on an island in the Pacific Northwest. But whatever the reason, Low just doesn’t fit in—and neither does Freya, an ethereal beauty and once-famous social media influencer who now owns the local pottery studio.

After signing up for a class, Low quickly falls under Freya’s spell. And Freya, buoyed by Low’s adoration, is compelled to share her darkest secrets and deepest desires. Finally, both feel a sense of belonging...that is, until Jamie walks through the studio door. Desperate for a baby, she and her husband have moved to the island hoping that the healthy environment will result in a pregnancy. Freya and Jamie become fast friends, as do their husbands, leaving Low alone once again.

Then one night, after a boozy dinner party, Freya suggests swapping partners. It should have been a harmless fling between consenting adults, one night of debauchery that they would put behind them, but instead, it upends their lives. And provides Low the perfect opportunity to unleash her growing resentment.
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​Young Adult

Lex was taken – trafficked - and now she’s Poppy. Kept in a hotel with other girls, her old life is a distant memory. But when the girls are rescued, she doesn’t quite know how to be Lex again.

After she moves in with her aunt and uncle, for the first time in a long time, she knows what it is to feel truly safe. Except, she doesn’t trust it. Doesn't trust her new home. Doesn’t trust her new friend. Doesn’t trust her new life. Instead she trusts what she shouldn’t because that's what feels right. She doesn’t deserve good things.

But when she is sexually assaulted by her so-called boyfriend and his friends, Lex is forced to reckon with what happened to her and that just because she is used to it, doesn’t mean it is okay. She’s thrust into the limelight and realizes she has the power to help others. But first she’ll have to confront the monsters of her past with the help of her family, friends, and a new love.
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​Non-Fiction Graphic Novel

Jason Adam Katzenstein is just trying to live his life, but he keeps getting sidetracked by his over-active, anxious brain. Mundane events like shaking hands or sharing a drink snowball into absolute catastrophes. Jason has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, a mental illness that compels him to perform rituals in order to protect himself from dangers that don’t really exist. He checks, washes, over-thinks, rinse, repeat. 

He does his best to hide his embarrassing compulsions, and sometimes this even works. He grows up, worries about his first kiss, falls in love with making cartoons, moves to New York City — which is magical and gross, etc. All the while, half his energy goes into living his life, while the other half is devoted to the increasingly ridiculous rituals he’s decided to maintain to keep himself from fully short-circuiting, 

Then, he fully short-circuits. 

At his absolute lowest, Jason finally decides to do the things he’s always been told to do to get better: exposure therapy and medication. These are the things that have always freaked him out, and they continue to freak him out. Also, they help him recover. 
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Thriller

What was it like? Living in that house.

Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book called House of Horrors. His tale of ghostly happenings and encounters with malevolent spirits became a worldwide phenomenon, rivaling The Amityville Horror in popularity—and skepticism.

Today, Maggie is a restorer of old homes and too young to remember any of the events mentioned in her father’s book. But she also doesn’t believe a word of it. Ghosts, after all, don’t exist. When Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall after her father’s death, she returns to renovate the place to prepare it for sale. But her homecoming is anything but warm. People from the past, chronicled in House of Horrors, lurk in the shadows. And locals aren’t thrilled that their small town has been made infamous thanks to Maggie’s father. Even more unnerving is Baneberry Hall itself—a place filled with relics from another era that hint at a history of dark deeds. As Maggie experiences strange occurrences straight out of her father’s book, she starts to believe that what he wrote was more fact than fiction. 

Follow this link for a list of New(ish) Thriller That Will Give You the Creeps!
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Historical Fiction

He is trying to poison me. You must come for me, Noemí. You have to save me.

After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find -- her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.

Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough, smart, and has an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.

Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.

And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.

You may also like this No Spoiler Review of Haunting of Hill House

Summaries from Goodreads

I am most excited about My Eyes Are Up Here, Home Before Dark, and Mexican Gothic. What upcoming titles are you most excited to read?

May 2020 Can't Wait Book List Here

For more Can't Wait Book Lists, No Spoiler Book Reviews and Articles from the Library Life, subscribe below!
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Check back Tuesday for a No Spoiler Book Review of Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia

I’m 98% sure that this book was based off of one of my past lives. I was definitely an independent, book pushing, pack horse librarian. Or at least, I hope I was. 
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The Giver of Stars, is a historical fiction book based on the real life American Pack Horse Library Project. The project began in the mid-1930s in rural Appalachia and was meant to bring books to remote residents. While this project only lasted for eight years, the idea of ensuring access to books and educational materials has always been, and will always be a primary driver for librarians. For this reason, there are almost 700 bookmobiles in operation within the United States to this day. Same idea. 

​I loved this book. The writing, the characters, the setting, everything was so compelling. However, my absolute favorite aspect of this book was how well that Moyes illustrated the importance of access to information. The teeny tiny little library with just a handful of books helped the residents protect themselves from their employer and helped women lower their chances of getting pregnant. This is exactly why libraries are so important, and I was so impressed by how well it was written.

I read this book for book club and it seemed like everyone really enjoyed this book. Our meeting was in late March, so we were already on lockdown and actually met on Zoom. We did not have as good of turnout as usual and people had to come and go a little more often, but everyone who attended had positive things to say. It was interesting to see that some people loved the setting, some people loved the characters, some people loved the complex relationships; there was something for everyone.

This book will appeal to readers of historical fiction and fans of Jojo Moyes. Anyone who loves libraries and truly believes in access to information will appreciate this book’s message. If you enjoy books about independent, strong willed, intelligent women then you will love this book. You may also like this No Spoiler Book Review of The Great Alone. 

Check back on Thursday for the June 2020 Can't Wait Book List!

Stephen King is such a prolific author that a scientific study is required to understand which of his published books are his very best. In order to scientifically determine his best works one needs to consider, not only all of his novels, but the author as well. 

I wanted to include a quick biographical section on Stephen King in my scientific study, so naturally I went to his website stephenking.com 

I expected to find how many books King has published, but determined that the number is incalculable. He does have a list of his written works, so if you have a strong scrolling ability, you can try to determine the total that way. Please let me know if you find the answer. I suspect it’s a constantly changing variable.

There is some interesting biographical information on his website. Stephen King is 6’4” tall, which is unexpected and newsworthy. He met his wife in a library, which is the most appropriate and adorable thing ever. Much more about his life, parents, where he lives, etc. on his website.

The Family Upstairs is a psychological thriller about growing up in a cult-like environment. A previously rich family opens their doors to a con-man and his family. They slowly infiltrate every aspect of their lives, implementing bizarre rules and demanding complete submission. Before long they are all barefoot, wearing homemade tunics, and worst of all, VEGAN… Just kidding, things get way worse.
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Jewell’s writing of this book can only be described as “crafted”, everything is done on purpose. Some of the book is first person, while other sections are third person narratives. The narrative shift, added an interesting layer of complexity to the story. As if that weren’t enough to keep you guessing, the story is told through multiple perspectives with alternating timelines. This book is complex and thought provoking. 

Don’t you love it when you find a good dark and thrilling mystery? The kind of book that keeps you reading late at night because you just can’t put it down. Isn’t it great when a book gives you the creeps? When writing gives you goosebumps? These are the best mysteries.

This list was made for fans of Gone Girl, and The Woman in Cabin 10. If you love dark mysteries with lots of plot twists, these books are for you. These stories feature haunted hotels, spooky local folklore, accidents, murder and mistaken identity. All the elements of great creepy thrillers. The following books were published within the last two years and have been keeping people up at night ever since. Check out the summaries below to pick your next favorite dark mystery!

Orla is fresh out of college and eager to prove herself as a reporter. She wouldn’t mind finding a boyfriend, but is determined to put her career first. So, of course she literally falls head over heels for Aiden.

Aiden is a wildlife photographer and won’t be in England for long. He lives in a tent and goes where the animals are. No serious girlfriends. He is not sticking around.

This book was the Goodreads Choice Winner for 2019 Memoirs. While I have been reading more memoirs, I don’t typically watch reality TV, so I didn’t know who Jonathan Van Ness was. I didn’t even know that they had rebooted Queer Eye! I was looking for something light and funny and this seemed to fit the bill. Plus it was available on audio from my library, score!

What I love about this book is that Jonathan Van Ness (JVN) is so positive! This book is crammed full of inspirational and body positivity quotes. I love how JVN is unapologetically original and completely himself. If you are looking for a positivity boost, this is for you!  

I never really knew a lot about Greek Mythology. I like the stories, but I always feel bogged down by the details and those impossible Greek names. I love pondering the religious aspect of Greek mythology, how all the Gods had different jobs and were tangible forces in the world. Their religion was so colorful, so awe and fear inspiring. Just don’t ask me to tell you which God had which job…    

What I like about Circe is that it takes a handful of Greek myths and connects them through one central character. You see everything from the point of view of one of the lesser goddesses. You learn about Prometheus, the River Styx, Helios, and the Trojan Horse from someone who was there at the time. It makes the stories more understandable and approachable. It’s not a collection of fairy tales, it is one story with a relatable main character.  

Don’t get me wrong! I love World War II Historical Fiction! It’s just, there is so much more to history than WWII. History starts one second ago, and goes all the way back. Everywhere. Have you ever wondered what life was like in Japan, in the 1600s? How about Russia, in the 1920s? With historical fiction you can go just about anywhere at any time.

I compiled this list with the help of some librarians and book bloggers on Twitter. All of these titles are rated at least four stars on Goodreads and most of them have hundreds-of-thousands of reviews. About half of these books were published within the last few years and the other half are considered to be classics. All of them are readily available for check-out or purchase.
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These books make varying attempts to be historically accurate. The Giver of Stars is loosely based on true events and will make you feel like you are living in depression era Kentucky. The Underground Railroad features a LITERAL underground railroad. The author may have taken some artistic liberties with that, but the result is amazing! All of these books will transport you to another time and place with their own unique style.

Release date: June 23, 2020

The Girl from Widow Hills is a “Baby Jessica” story. The details are a little different, there is an underground drainage system instead of a well and there is sleepwalking involved, but you get the gist. Arden/Olivia is six years old when she sleepwalks into an open grate on a stormy night and is lost for days in the drainage system. She unwillingly becomes a media darling and symbol of hope for the nation when she is miraculously rescued. The Girl from Widow Hills begins twenty years later.

I was lucky enough to receive an advance reader’s copy of this book and I was excited to get approved. I love the concept, who doesn’t love a good rescue story? Plus, anything about sleepwalking is so interesting!

After wading through hundreds of upcoming titles, I have narrowed the list of May New Release Books to these seven exciting titles. I flipped through book review catalogs, book blogs and library chat forums to ensure that I found the most interesting and original new books. I try to include a variety of Fiction, Non-Fiction and even Young Adult books. I exclude sequels and anything that will not have broad appeal.

Please note, publication dates are shifting due to the Coronavirus epidemic. I verified the publication dates on multiple sources, however they may still change. Thank you for your understanding, if some of these become inaccurate. 

​Well, here we are! It’s April 2020 and most of the country has been working from home for a month. If you have small kids at home you are learning how difficult it is to juggle, work, zoom meetings, meals, showers, nap-time, homeschooling and every other work and household crisis. I really hope that you have an understanding boss and a helpful partner, because this is a lot.

I started working from home part-time when my oldest daughter was three. I wanted to be able to spend more time with my daughter while she was little. My significant other is a business owner with a demanding schedule, so running the household mostly falls to me. I was lucky enough to be able to step into a part-time, work from home schedule, which allowed me to focus on my family more. It was the right choice for me and my family.

A lot of people are discovering their library’s online collection for the first time and are still getting used to the process. Most libraries will have all of the newest and most popular books purchased, but there is going to be a wait list. So, while you are waiting for, Where the Crawdads Sing, and The Splendid and the Vile, consider reading something you may have missed a few years ago.

Follow this link if you have questions about accessing your library’s online collection, read the e-book and e-audiobook section.

The following books were published at least two years ago and are available for check-out in all of the library systems that I checked. I cannot promise what may be available to you, but you should have a pretty good chance at getting most of these books right away! 
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This book feels impossible to review. I always feel like, the better the book, the harder it is to review, and this was a great book! I am going to attempt a review, but you should just skip this trashy blog post and read the book!

There are hundreds of books that revolve around doors to other worlds. Ten Thousand Doors of January is one of the best that I have read, it’s so creative and well written. Every door that is opened in this book leads someplace completely new, with unique lands, interesting people and terrifying, sometimes magical creatures. The writing is so immersive that you will feel like you can open a door to “The Written” and purchase a blessing. Or build a boat on a mountaintop and sail into an ocean. Ten Thousand Doors of January is a magical new take on an old concept.

​The Coronavirus is creating a lot of stress and anxiety for kids and teens right now. As parents we like to think that our kids have nothing to worry about, but it’s simply not true. No matter how much we try to shelter our kids from the hard news of the world, they still know. My oldest is only six and she is absolutely worried and being affected by what is happening. A Twitter friend asked me to suggest some gentle reads for teens. After reaching out to other librarians and bloggers, I have narrowed the suggestions to the following funny, happy, or cozy books and series, to help young readers relax.
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As I am writing this my county is on lockdown. I know many people across the world are living under similar orders, whether they are official or not. We are dealing with empty grocery stores. Worrying for the first time in our lives, if we will be able to get milk for our babies. We are not allowed to leave our homes, except for groceries, medicine and daily outside exercise. We must maintain a social distance and not spend time with anyone outside our household. It is a real-life nightmare.
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A Twitter friend asked me to find gentle reads for her kids and I thought I should do the same for adults. I am limiting my entertainment to light comedies as much as possible right now and I figure lots of other people are doing the same. Here are some options from a variety of genres that will hopefully help you relax. I have included a summary excerpt from Goodreads followed by my thoughts on the books.  
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Let’s go back to Valentine’s Day for a minute.

After doing my best to just ignore Valentine’s Day this year, I reluctantly got into the spirit. I was not planning on doing any Valentine’s posts at all. Then I ended up doing a guest post for UpcycledAdulting.com, entitled Romance Books to Make You Believe in True Love. The post was meant to get other people excited to read romance, but ended up back firing! Honestly, how could anyone resist those charming book summaries? Especially Flatshare!

Please use this post and companion Pinterest Board as a way to find free and low cost learning and activity websites. I have included resources to help you access free ebooks and e-audiobooks, homeschooling resources, tutorials and classes for adults, exercise videos, and online tours of famous zoos, aquariums and museums. I have also included reliable drama free news sources to help you stay up to date in this unprecedented time.

If you are an educator and would like to add resources please click “Join” on the Pinterest Board and I will approve you to add new content. If you are a blogger and have ideas for indoor activities you would like to add please join the board as well. Let’s all turn this crisis into an opportunity to learn and grow!

Here are some ideas to get you started: