The World-Famous Nine

Guterson, Ben. The World-Famous Nine. New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2024.

Middle grade mystery/fantasy books are always popular, because they are so much fun to read! The World-Famous Nine is no exception.

Zander and his parents live in Pittsburgh, where his parents are professors. But this summer, Zander gets to spend 5 long weeks with his grandmother, who owns and operates The Number Nine Plaza, an amazing department store with a Ferris Wheel, several restaurants, a pet shop, and many other magnificent departments to explore.

But strange things are happening at The Nine, from short power outages to attacks on the staff. Natasha is the daughter of one of The Nine’s staff and sometimes works at the department store (swinging above the diners at the 360, the rotating restaurant near the top of the building). Natasha and Zander become fast friends, and decide to investigate the strange happenings, and the inscriptions found all around The Nine. If they can figure out what the inscriptions mean, it will lead them to a precious artifact from the early days of the store that might be able to save its future!

This book is perfect for those in late elementary school and early middle school who love a good mystery with puzzles to figure out. The Nine is a bit magical, if for no other reason than it has 19 floors and takes up a city block and serves cherries and pickles ice cream! The supporting cast of characters are a lot of fun to read, and you’re never sure who is good and who is not. There’s enough excitement to keep even the most reluctant reader engaged in what will happen next to Zander and Natasha!

Mary Beth Adams is the Community Engagement Librarian for Alamance County Public Libraries. She can be reached at madams@alamancelibraries.org.

 

Missing White Woman

Garrett, Kellye. Missing White Woman. New York : Mulholland Books / Little, Brown and Company, 2024.

Thriller lovers (especially those who loved When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole) will love Missing White Woman.

Breanna is ready for a romantic weekend with her boyfriend Ty in New York City. They’re staying just over the river in an Airbnb in Jersey City, and the row house is as gorgeous as advertised. The neighbors look a little suspicious of a black woman trying to enter the code on the door, but Breanna, unfortunately, is used to that. She and Ty have a great weekend together, even though there are a few discordant notes. Ty can’t stop working and takes calls even when they’re having a romantic carriage ride.

Then, on Monday morning, Breanna gets up and goes to find Ty. Instead, she finds the body of a white woman in the foyer. Ty is nowhere to be found. The police suspect Ty has something to do with the murder, and Breanna wants nothing more than to prove his innocence and escape without being arrested herself.

The back story for Breanna and the other characters is strong and gives emotional weight to what is happening in the present. This thriller is really well-written and would be a great book club read. Book clubs (or families or friends) would have a lot to discuss, from neighborhood watches and the use of social media as a news source to the coverage of missing white women versus the coverage of missing people of any other race and gender and the macro- and microaggressions people of color face every day, including those from the police.

I recommend listening to this book via Libby – you won’t want to stop listening when your car ride is over, or your chores are done! It also is available as an ebook through Libby and a hardback book at your local library!

Mary Beth Adams is the Community Engagement Librarian for Alamance County Public Libraries. She can be reached at madams@alamancelibraries.org.

 

2024 Best Fiction for Young Adults, Winners and Nominees

YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) puts out a list every year of the best fiction titles of the year before. Anyone can recommend a title, and the blogging team chooses the top ten titles. Alamance County Public Libraries owns most of the titles already, and I’ve included a link to our request form if one of the titles we don’t have appeals to you!

Top Ten

Becoming a queen by Clay, Dan

Mark wore a dress for a talent show, and his boyfriend broke up with him. His older brother, whom he often turns to when he’s upset, is struggling with his own issues. So Mark puts on a dress again, and finds it offers escape from his pain and a chance to be his authentic self (and see others’ authentic selves).

Dear Medusa by Cole, Olivia A.

This novel-in-verse deals with sexual abuse of a high school student by a teacher. Alicia feels cut off from her classmates and the world until she finds a note from another survivor in her locker. Maybe she isn’t as alone as she feels she is, and there is hope for her and the other survivors to make it through this year.

 

Divine rivals : a novel by Ross, Rebecca (and Ruthless vows , second in the duology)

This historical fantasy/romance duology features Iris and Roman, who are rivals for the newspaper columnist job at the Oath Gazette. The world is in chaos, as the gods have woken, started a war, and mortals have to choose a side. Iris relieves her anxiety by writing letters and slipping them into her wardrobe. They vanish and end up in Roman’s hands, and he decides to answer. Thus begins an enemies-to-lovers story.

 

For Lamb by Cline-Ransome, Lesa

Lamb Clark can’t change the fact that she is Black and living in Jackson, Mississippi in a time when looking wrong at someone White can get you lynched. She still is friends with Marny, the daughter of a local White doctor, because they have so much in common – a love of books and reading, controlling older brothers, and a parent that is not in the picture. But when Marny’s older brother George sexually assaults Lamb, and her older brother Simeon retaliates, a mob is formed by George to find and punish Simeon.

 

I kick and I fly by Gupta, Ruchira

Heera is part of the Nat, a caste of nomadic people who are no longer allowed to ply their trade of entertainment via wrestling, acrobatics and juggling. They believe the only work for their women is prostitution. Heera is given a chance to escape that through a hostel teaching women kung fu, where she learns how strong she really is and the power she has as a woman.

 

Plan A by Caletti, Deb (not owned by the library; click here to request we purchase it)

Ivy and Lorenzo are taking a trip across the country, from Texas to Oregon. Their ultimate destination is a place where Ivy can receive a legal abortion. Lorenzo is determined to make this trip fun, from stopping in places with world-capital names like Rome, Oregon and Paris, Texas, to finding the corniest roadside attractions possible. But they also find other women who share their stories of reproductive experiences and decisions and chip away at the shame Ivy feels.

 

Promise boys by Brooks, Nick

J.B., Ramon and Trey are students at Urban Promise Prep School, a charter school that has very strict rules about everything. When the principal is murdered, these three boys are the prime suspects and must band together to figure out who actually killed him, and why.

 

Saints of the household by Tison, Ari

Max and Jay try to keep their mother safe from their abusive father by intervening whenever they can and acting as a support for each other. When they see a friend in trouble, they beat up a classmate, but then question if that was the right decision. They use their doubt about their actions to explore their Bribri heritage and what kind of person they want to become.

 

 

Their Vicious Games Wellington, Joelle (not owned by the library; click here to request we purchase it)

When scholarship student Adina gets in a fight with her former best friend, she loses her spot at Yale. The Finish, a competition held by the Remington family, can get her life back on track, but she has to survive a game that is not at all what she expected – a fight to the death.

 

 

Warrior girl unearthed by Boulley, Angeline

Perry isn’t like her twin, who is excited to take part in the Kinomaage program’s internship. But after a car wreck involving a mother bear and her cubs, Perry’s aunt Daunis requires Perry to take part, too. Through her internship, she learns about “Warrior Girl,” whose remains and knife are in the university’s archives. She researches how to repatriate remains and funerary artifacts, and she and the other young adults fight for Warrior Girl to be returned to her people.

 

 

Other Nominees

Always the Almost by Underhill, Edward (not owned by the library; click here to request we purchase it)

Ander and Santi were here by Garza Villa, Jonny

As you walk on by by Winters, Julian

Bianca Torre is afraid of everything by Winans, Justine Pucella

Bittersweet in the Hollow by Pearsall, Kate

The buried and the bound by Hassan, Rochelle

The chalice of the gods by Riordan, Rick

Chaos theory by Stone, Nic

City of Nightmares by Schaeffer, Rebecca (not owned by the library; click here to request we purchase it)

Cruel illusions by Fuston, Margie

Delicious monsters by Sambury, Liselle

The do-over by Painter, Lynn

The do and donuts of love by Jaigirdar, Adiba (not owned by the library; click here to request we purchase it)

A door in the dark by Reintgen, Scott

The fall of Whit Rivera by Maldonado, Crystal

Forever is now by Lockington, Mariama

Forget me not by Derrick, Alyson

Give me a sign by Sortino, Anna

Gloria Buenrostro is not my girlfriend by Hoàng, Brandon

Going bicoastal by Adler, Dahlia

Gone Wolf by McBride, Amber (not owned by the library; click here to request we purchase it)

Gorgeous gruesome faces by Cheng, Linda

Heartbreak boys by Green, Simon James

Highly suspicious and unfairly cute by Hibbert, Talia

How to succeed in witchcraft by Brophy, Aislinn

If tomorrow doesn’t come by St. Jude, Jen

Invisible Son by Johnson, Kim (not owned by the library; click here to request we purchase it)

Izzy at the end of the world by Reynolds, K. A.

The lake house by Durst, Sarah Beth

Mascot by Waters, Charles

Miles Morales : suspended : a Spider-Man novel by Reynolds, Jason

The minus-one club by Magoon, Kekla

Nigeria Jones by Zoboi, Ibi Aanu

The queens of New York by Shen, E. L.

Rain rising by Comrie, Courtne

Reggie and Delilah’s year of falling by Bryant, Elise

Remind me to hate you later by Mason, Lizzy

Rhythm & muse by Brown, India Hill

The secrets we keep by Gustafson, Cassie

The sharp edge of silence by Rosenblum, Cameron Kelly

She is a haunting by Tran, Trang Thanh

A spark in the cinders by Moke, Jenny Elder

Spell bound by Lukens, F. T.

The spirit bares its teeth by White, Andrew Joseph

Star splitter by Kirby, Matthew J.

Stateless by Wein, Elizabeth

This Dark Descent by Josephson, Kalyn (not owned by the library; click here to request we purchase it)

This delicious death by Cottingham, Kayla

This time it’s real by Liang, Ann

Those pink mountain nights by Ferguson, Jenny

Unraveller by Hardinge, Frances

We are all so good at smiling by McBride, Amber

We deserve monuments by Hammonds, Jas

What happened to Rachel Riley? by Swinarski, Claire

What stalks among us by Hollowell, Sarah

When the angels left the old country by Lamb, Sacha

Where you see yourself by Forrest, Claire

 

The Spellshop

“The Spellshop,” by Sarah Beth Durst. Copyright 2024, New York: Bramble, Tor Publishing Group (376 pages, $29.99).

Content Warning: Fire/Fire Injury, death, grief.

Looking for a cozy fantasy read that is less autumnal forward than most others? Durst’s The Spellshop is just the ticket. With its summer storms and seahorses, you’ll just fall in love with this charming island that is the background to Durst’s story.

Our main heroine, Kiela, is a displaced librarian. Her assistant, Caz, is a magicked spider plant. Together, they flee the burning library that was once their home, clutching all of the books they can carry. Kiela and Caz travel to Caltrey, an outer island of the empire, to hide away in Kiela’s old childhood home. Here, Kiela is hoping that she and Caz can keep their heads down, keep the books safe, and not interact with the community, but that’s easier said than done.

They bide their time, intending to eventually return to their burned library, but life, and the island have other plans for them. In order to survive and help the island thrive again, Kiela uses her books and enchants the plants to grow. With the grown plants, our protagonist opens a jam shop as a cover as she tends to the island itself.

It’s a low stakes kind of book, but that’s not to say that Kiela doesn’t come up against obstacles and unknown forces. Pick up the book today to discover what happens in this magical world next!

Kayleigh Dyer is a Library Technical Processing Assistant at May Memorial Library. Contact her at kdyer@alamancelibraries.org.

Back to School

If you have kids heading back to school this month, you know it can be a time of anxiety and excitement. This collection of books will help your student get through those back-to-school jitters!

Back to School by Wanda E. Brunstetter – Brunstetter is a popular Amish romance writer who also writes an adorable series of books for elementary school readers! In this book, Rachel is happy to be back in school, but not so happy that Orlie is there, making her life miserable. Kids will see themselves in Rachel as she tries to get along with a classmate that is just, well, ornery!
Back to School, Backpack! by Simon Rich – Going back to school is exciting, but it also can make you anxious. Backpack isn’t sure he’s ready for the crowded halls, scary bathrooms, and lonely cafeteria tables at school. Kids will identify with Backpack as he names some of the fears they have about school. This would be a great conversation-starter with your young child about their fears!
Back to School is Cool! by Jim Jenkins – This is an easy reader, so young readers will feel accomplished when they read this book to themselves. Pinky Dinky Doo’s little brother is nervous about school starting, so Pinky tells him about her worst hair day ever, which happened to be on picture day. Pinky’s reassuring words will help kids feel more comfortable about starting school.
Louise the Big Cheese and the Back-to-School Smarty-Pants by Elise Primavera – Louise wants to be the best this year, and make straight As. But she has the hardest, toughest teacher ever. Will that end her dreams to make the grade? This illustrated chapter book will delight students, whether they are overachievers like Louise or not!
Tiny Goes Back to School by Cari Meister – This Level 1 easy reader uses simple wording to tell a compelling story. Tiny the dog is having trouble obeying commands, like sit and come. Tiny’s family decides to send him back to school, but will Tiny ever learn? Kids who struggle with certain skills will identify with Tiny and be motivated to keep trying!
Llama Llama Back to School by Anna Dewdney – Llama Llama isn’t ready for summer to end – he’s loved backyard camping and picnics and time to play with his friends. He’s nervous about school starting again, but with the help of his momma and his friends, maybe it will be alright. This beloved character will make young kids feel understood if they’re nervous about school, too.

Mary Beth Adams is the Community Engagement Librarian for Alamance County Public Libraries. You can reach her at madams@alamancelibraries.org.