New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

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Here some of the new exciting releases for you to take a look at this week!

The Guncle by Steven Rowley – When Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP) for short, takes on the role of primary guardian for his young niece and nephew, he sets “Guncle Rules,” but soon learn that parenting isn’t solved with treats or jokes as his eyes are opened to a new sense of responsibility.

Hidden by Fern Michaels – In the first in a brand-new series from a #1 New York Times best-selling author, brother and sister Cullan and Luna Bodman are drawn into a dangerous mystery through an antique with a complicated past.

Legacy by Nora Roberts – After launching her own line of yoga and workout videos, Adrian Rizzo begins receiving death threats, which lead her back home to Maryland, where she, with the help of her childhood crush, must find the truth when the threats escalate to murder.

Arctic Storm Rising by Dale Brown – Exiled to guard a remote radar post along Alaska’s Arctic Frontier, U.S. Air Force intelligence officer Nicholas Flynn, after an American F-22 collides with a Russian interloper, is ordered to find a missing stealth bomber before the enemy and prevent a potential nuclear holocaust.

The Photographer by Mary Dixie Carter – When Delta Dawn, the photographer she hired for her daughter’s 11th birthday, starts slowly integrating herself into their lives, Amelia Staub soon discovers that she will do anything to permanently become of the picture.

My Remarkable Journey by Katherine Johnson – In this extraordinary memoir, the woman at the heart of the smash New York Times best-seller and Oscar-winning film Hidden Figures shares her personal journey from child prodigy in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia to NASA human computer.

Version Zero by David Yoon – From a New York Times best-selling author comes a thriller about how we can save ourselves from the very real perils of a virtual world.

The Living Sea of Waking Dreams by Richard Flanagan – In a wrenching novel of family, climate change and the resilience of the human spirit, Anna, whose aged mother is dying in a world of perennial fire and growing extinctions, escapes into visions of horror and delight through the ever-widening hospital window.

Honeycomb by Joanne Harris – A illustrated set of dark, captivating fairy tales from the best-selling author of The Gospel of Loki.

Checking in: How Getting Real About Depression Saved My Life and Can Save Yours by Michelle Williams – In her first book, an acclaimed musical artist courageously shares the hidden secrets that nearly ended her life; the importance of her faith, family, and friends; and the lessons she learned about prioritizing her mental health.

~Semanur

Discover@RRPL

carolLeave a comment

Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q Sutanto

Meddie Chan is a young Indonesian/Chinese American who always puts her mother and Aunties first. She resents her role as the wedding photographer in her family’s wedding company, but dares not admit it. In her meddlesome and overbearing family, everyone has their role: Big Aunt is the pastry chef, Second Aunt is the make-up artist, and Meddie’s mother designs wedding gowns, while Fourth Aunt is the entertainment. Meddie wonders if she’s given up everything for her family, and is silently bitter for not moving away with her ex, Nathan, when she had the chance.

In an effort to be “helpful,” Meddie’s mother sets Meddie up on a blind date on the eve of an important and profitable wedding that the Chan family is planning. It’s bad timing when Meddie’s obnoxious blind date makes such an outrageous pass that Meddie ends up wrecking his car and, accidentally killing him. Rather than go to the police, she turns to her mother and Aunties for help. Obligingly, the Aunties rally to help hide the corpse, in a freezer! When the freezer, with corpse in tow, inadvertently follows them to the wedding, hilarity ensues.

Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q Sutanto is a sometimes-irreverent, blend of mystery and dark family comedy that has a hint of romance, too. It delivers the kind of over-the-top, madcap fun and mayhem you expect from authors like Janet Evanovich and Lisa Lutz, and it the gives readers a peek into Indo-Chinese culture along the way. Why not take a wild ride with the Aunties? Place your hold here.

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EmmaLeave a comment

The Woman with the Blue Star

by Pam Jenoff

During the early 1940’s, 19-year-old Sadie Gault, her father and pregnant mother, are living in the Jewish ghetto in Krakow, Poland. To avoid roundups of Jews being sent to concentration camps, the family eventually escapes into the sewer. Pawel, a Polish sewer worker, helps them find a semi-safe place underground with the Rosenberg family. He brings the group food when possible. Tragically Sadie’s father drowns during their escape.

19-year-old Ella Stepanek lives with her cruel Nazi collaborator stepmother also in Krakow. One day Ella sees Sadie peeking through a grate in the street. The young women have much in common despite Sadie’s horrific living circumstances. The two become friends/confidants despite their only contact being through a sewer grate. The whole situation between the young women is extremely dangerous for them and for the others living in the sewer.

After Sadie’s mother gives birth, the group soon realizes that the baby’s cries will put everyone in danger. Sadly, Sadie’s mother leaves the sewer hoping to return after leaving the little girl at a catholic charity hospital. Eventually the sewer is not a safe hiding place for anyone

The story is told in alternating chapters between Sadie and Ella. It is a story based on historical fact and is not easy to read. It is a story of bravery, friendship, and family with an unexpected twist at the end.

~Emma

(The “Blue Star of David” on a white armband was worn by Jewish people from Poland, East Silesia and Upper Silesia.)

New Nonfiction for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

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We are celebrating the Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May, and we created a small selection of great books from 2020-2021 for you to choose from. 

Click on the pink text to go to our catalog to check out the book!

The Magical Language of Others : by E. J. Koh

Pop Song : by Larissa Pham

Why We Swim : by Bonnie Tsui

Family in Six Tones : by Harlan Margaret Van Cao & Lan Cao

Minor feelings : by Cathy Park Hong

This Is One Way to Dance: by Sejal Shah

Eat a peach : by David Chang

Crying in H Mart : by Michelle Zauner

Ace : by Angela Chen

Not quite not white : by Sharmila Sen

Semanur

Love is in Bloom: New and Upcoming Romance

NicoleLeave a comment

Ahh May. That magical time of year when the flowers are blooming, everything is a beautiful green, and the weather is wildly unpredictable (that might just be a Northeast Ohio factor). It’s also a great time of year to pick up a light and fun romance! Take a look below for ten new and upcoming romance titles sure to make for a great read- whether you are cozied up on the couch or soaking up some sunshine poolside.

Excited to dive into one of these titles? Visit our OverDrive digital library or request a print copy today!

New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

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These are the books we are adding to our collection this week. Click on the blue text to go to our catalog and place a hold today!

Where the Grass Is Green and the Girls Are Pretty by Lauren Weisberger – When her husband is arrested in an Ivy League admissions sting, jeopardizing everything she worked so hard for, Peyton, co-anchor of a hit morning show, soon discovers that this is not the worst of it as dark secrets in their posh world come to light.

The Stars We Share  by Rafe Posey – A sweeping World War II novel about the secrets we keep from the ones we love, and a couple tested again and again by distance, sacrifice, and a woman’s ambition to fulfill her own dreams.

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren – Perfect for fans of The Rosie Project and One Plus One, an entertaining novel follows single mom and data-and-statistics wizard Jess Davis as she, using a revolutionary new scientific dating app, is matched with the app’s arrogant creator who is not what he seems.

The Hunting Wives by May Cobb – Moving to a small Texas town, Sophie O’Neill is immediately drawn to socialite Margot Banks who invites her into a secret clique called the Hunting Wives, with which she becomes obsessed until she finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation with no way out.

Local Woman Missing  by Mary Kubica – When Delilah, who disappeared 11 years earlier when she was only six years old, shockingly returns, the residents of a quiet suburban neighborhood want to know what happened to her, but no one is prepared for what they’ll find.

The Clover Girls by Viola Shipman – The new owners of Camp Birchwood—thanks to their late friend, Emily—Elizabeth, Veronica and Rachel must spend a week together remembering the dreams they put aside and find a way to become the women they always swore they’d grow up to be.

Madam by Phoebe Wynne – While working at Caldonbrae, a prestigious boarding school high above the rocky Scottish cliffs, 26-year-old Rose Christie discovers the true extent of the school’s nefarious purpose when she tries to find out what really happened to her predecessor.

Freedom by Sebastian Junger – Intricately crafted and thought-provoking, the author, ruminating on the concept of freedom, shares his journey walking the railroad lines of the east coast with three friends as an experiment in personal autonomy, but also in interdependence.

Phase Six by Jim Shepard – One of the few survivors of a mysterious outbreak in Greenland, 11-year-old Aleq must deal with crushing guilt for what he may have unleashed from a mining site, while two Epidemic Intelligence Service agents work together to head off the cataclysm.

Light Perpetual  by Francis Spufford – A novel set in 1944 London imagines the lives of five souls who perished during a visit to a local store, illuminating the shapes of experience, the extraordinariness of the ordinary, the mysteries of memory and expectation, and the preciousness of life.

~Semanur

Discover Films @RRPL

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Did you know that RRPL is an online provider of entertainment to our patrons? We offer entertainment through the streaming services Hoopla and Kanopy. Simply go to our website here. Click on the streaming service of your choice, create an account with your library card and begin browsing.

On a monthly basis we offer two separate programs, Film Club and Streaming Stories Spotlight, which highlights a film selected from one of our streaming services.

In May, Film Club will be discussing The Joy Luck Club, a 1993 drama film about the relationships between Chinese-American women and their Chinese immigrant mothers. We will meet on Thursday, May 27 at 7pm and you can sign-up here. The film is currently streaming on Hoopla.

Watch The Joy Luck Club | Prime Video

Also in May, Streaming Stories Spotlight will highlight The Lobster, a 2015 surreal black comedy dystopian film. You can view our review of the film here. The film is currently streaming on Kanopy.

Throwback Trailer: Colin Farrell's 'The Lobster' is worth the watch | Movie TV Tech Geeks News

Discover@RRPL

carolLeave a comment

Nora Seed, a 30-something who suffers from depression, is at her lowest point. Filled with regrets about the choices she has made, she decides to end her own life. Her plan goes awry, however, and Nora wakes up in a sort of limbo, a library filled with books containing every imaginable version of her life story. This library provides Nora with a chance to try out other lives to see if things would end up differently for her. If Nora finds the book that contains the life she wants, she can live out the rest of her days fulfilled and happy, and be saved.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig was on many people’s lists of favorite books last year, but I only just read it. My only regret: not starting it sooner. Place your hold for a copy of this memorable novel that explores life’s endless possibilities for Nora (and all of us) here.

Nora and this novel are fictional but mental health issues are not. If you know someone in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Discover@RRPL

EmmaLeave a comment

Before she was Helen

by Caroline B. Cooney

Clemmie Lakefield alias Helen Stephens has been living a lie for over 50 years. Helen is a semi-retired high school Latin teacher who lives in Sun City, South Carolina, a close-knit retirement community. Helen checks in on her recluse neighbor Dom Spesante daily. When Dom doesn’t answer his phone or reply to her text messages, she uses her emergency key to check his home. Helen notices another door in an unusual place that connects Dom’s home with his other neighbor. Of course, she checks it out and discovers an unusual glass sculpture. She sends a picture to her great-nephew who immediately posts it on the internet. The sculpture is stolen. Suddenly Helen becomes the target of a deadly drug dealer attempting to retrieve the sculpture and a large amount of cash. When a dead body is found in Dom’s garage, Helen fears her past life as Clemmie Lakefield may be uncovered as police investigate. Her past life dealt with the death of a favorite basketball coach at her high school.

A prolific author for young adults. This is her first adult novel which is full of twists and turns.

~Emma