fiction

If you enjoy John Sanford, Vince Flynn, Lee Child, or David Rosenfelt try one of these suggestions of gripping mysteries with great characters. Many are part of ongoing series.

American spy : a novel by Lauren Wilkinson
Also available in: e-book | e-audiobook

It's 1986, the heart of the Cold War, and Marie Mitchell is an intelligence officer with the FBI. She's brilliant, but she's also a young black woman working in an old boys' club. Her career has stalled and her days are filled with monotonous paperwork. So when she's given the opportunity to join a shadowy task force aimed at undermining Thomas Sankara, the charismatic revolutionary president of Burkina Faso whose Communist ideology has made him a target for American intervention, she says yes.

Bad monkey by Carl Hiaasen
Also available in: e-book | audiobook

Andrew Yancy--late of the Miami Police and soon-to-be-late of the Monroe County sheriff's office--has a human arm in his freezer. There's a logical explanation for that, but not for how and why it parted from its shadowy owner. For more Andrew Yancy, check out Razor Girl.

 

Sometimes we just want to read about what's familiar or what's possible. Here are some suggestions for books that feature a high level of realism. You probably won't find many dragons or wizards or outer space adventures here.  Grade levels are suggested, but remember that each Reader is different, and might find something interesting at another level. Under each grade is a link for even more titles.

Kindergarten

Mary had a little glam by Tammi Sauer

Mary shares her glamorous style with all of her classmates.

Ready to hide under the covers to avoid the bumps and spooks outside your window? Here's a collection of spine-tingling stories. Books are suggested for Sixth Grade, but remember that each reader is different and might find something interesting at another level.

Animus by Antoine J. D Revoy

The residents of a quiet Japanese neighborhood have slowly come to realize that inauspicious, paranormal forces are at play in the most unlikely of places: the local playground. Two friends, a young boy and girl, resolve to exorcise the evil that inhabit it, including a snaggle-toothed monster.

City of ghosts by Victoria Schwab
Also available in: e-book | e-audiobook

After surviving a near-fatal drowning that gives her the ability to enter the spirit world, Cassidy, the daughter of television ghost-hunters, visits Edinburgh where the encounters with the city's old ghosts reveals the dangers that come with her powers.

 

Searching for something spooky, strange, or downright scary? Try one of these titles. Some are more silly than spine-tingling, but you'll find your fill of ghosties, ghoulies, and long-legged beasties.  Grade levels are suggested, but remember that each Reader is different, and might find something interesting at another level. Under each grade is a link for even more titles.

Kindergarten

Bone dog by Eric Rohmann

Sam, very sad after his dog Ella dies, is persuaded to go out trick-or-treating and is surprised and delighted when Ella -- his very own bone dog -- comes to save him from a group of rowdy skeletons.

 

Looking for a book that will keep you turning pages? This list features unique fiction titles, many with strong female protagonists, for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Jonathan Safran Foer, and Tara Westover.

Also available in: e-book | audiobook | e-audiobook | large print

For years, rumors of the "Marsh Girl" haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Her interactions with other people, however, leave her open to suspicion.

The vanishing half by Brit Bennett
Also available in: e-book | large print

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

Car and tent on a hill surrounded by grass and trees. Ocean sunset in background.

Check out one of these fictional stories about the great outdoors while you are enjoying your camping experience.

 

Photo by Robson Hatsukami Morgan on Unsplash 

Children's Books

Also available in: e-book

When fifteen-year-old Margot and her three sisters arrive at Applecote Manor in June 1959, they expect a quiet English country summer. Instead, they find their aunt and uncle still reeling from the disappearance of their daughter, Audrey, five years before. As the sisters become divided by new tensions when two handsome neighbors drop by, Margot finds herself inexplicably drawn into the life Audrey left behind. When the summer takes a deadly turn, the girls must unite behind an unthinkable choice or find themselves torn apart forever. Fifty years later, Jesse is desperate to move her family out of their London home, where signs of her widower husband's previous wife are around every corner. Gorgeous Applecote Manor, nestled in the English countryside, seems the perfect solution. But Jesse finds herself increasingly isolated in their new sprawling home, at odds with her fifteen-year-old stepdaughter, and haunted by the strange rumors that surround the estate.

The Sisters Chase by Sarah Healy
Also available in: e-audiobook

A gripping novel about two sisters who are left homeless by their mother's death and the lengths the fierce older sister will go to protect her beloved young charge. The hardscrabble Chase women - Mary, Hannah, and their mother Diane--have been eking out a living running a tiny seaside motel that has been in the family for generations, inviting trouble into their lives for just as long.Eighteen-year-old Mary Chase is a force of nature: passionate, beautiful, and free-spirited. Her much younger sister, Hannah, whom Mary affectionately calls "Bunny," is imaginative, her head full of the stories of princesses and adventures that Mary tells to give her a safe emotional place in the middle of their troubled world. But when Diane dies in a car accident, Mary discovers the motel is worth less than the back taxes they owe. With few options, Mary's finely tuned instincts for survival kick in. As the sisters begin a cross-country journey in search of a better life, she will stop at nothing to protect Hannah. But Mary wants to protect herself, too, for the secrets she promised she would never tell, but now may be forced to reveal-hold the weight of unbearable loss. Vivid and suspenseful, The Sisters Chase is a whirlwind page-turner about the extreme lengths one family will go to find and hold onto love.

The Other Alcott by Elise Hooper
Also available in: e-audiobook

We all know the story of the March sisters, heroines of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. But while everyone cheers on Jo March, based on Louisa herself, Amy March is often the least favorite sister. Now, it’s time to learn the truth about the real “Amy”, Louisa’s sister, May.
Stylish, outgoing, creative, May Alcott grows up longing to experience the wide world beyond Concord, Massachusetts. While her sister Louisa crafts stories, May herself is a talented and dedicated artist, taking lessons in Boston, turning down a marriage proposal from a well-off suitor, and facing scorn for entering what is very much a man’s profession.
Life for the Alcott family has never been easy, so when Louisa’s Little Women is published, its success eases the financial burdens they’d faced for so many years. Everyone agrees the novel is charming, but May is struck to the core by the portrayal of selfish, spoiled “Amy March.” Is this what her beloved sister really thinks of her?

Hidden by Helen Frost

Years after Darra Monson's father stole a minivan with Wren Abbott hiding in the back, the girls come face to face at summer camp and together they try to work through what happened to them and the impact it had on their lives.

Willow Run by Patricia Reilly Giff

During World War II, after moving with her parents to Willow Run, Michigan, when her father gets a job in the B-24 bomber-building factory, eleven-year-old Meggie learns about different kinds of bravery from all of the people around her.

Having earned a scholarship to a private girls' high school, self-proclaimed psychic investigator Gilda Joyce investigates the circumstances surrounding the drowning death of a student whose ghost supposedly haunts the campus.

Today the American Library Association announced its Youth Book & Media Awards, including the John Newbery Award. The Association for Library Service to Children has awarded the Newbery for over 90 years for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature, commonly given to a chapter book. 

To find past award winners in our catalog to check availability, do a title search for Newbery Medal Winner.

For more information about this award and its recipients, check the ALA website.

2016 Newbery Award Winner

Last stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña

A young boy rides the bus across town with his grandmother and learns to appreciate the beauty in everyday things.

Realistic Fiction for Kindergarteners

Looking for something without talking animals or inanimate objects come to life? Try a few realistic fiction titles.

A year with Marmalade by Alison Reynolds — A cat and a little girl cope with the loss of a friend. Look for A New Friend for Marmalade as well.

 

Ling & Ting: not exactly the same! by Grace Lin — Look for more Ling and Ting in J READER LIN.

 

The snowy day by Ezra Jack Keats — A young boy enjoys the magic of a wintry day in this Caldecott-winning picture book.

Lucy rescued by Harriet Ziefert — Lots of opportunities for howling, this is the story of a new dog adjusting to her new home.

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