Rachel's Recs

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Camp Zero: A Novel By Michelle Min Sterling Cover Image
$28.00
ISBN: 9781668007563
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Atria Books - April 4th, 2023

A book that becomes more and more relevant every passing day. In a frighteningly possible future where climate change has destroyed life as we know it, the powerful elite live in luxury while the rest of the population faces exploitation and displacement. Delve into this brutal world through three equally captivating points of view and uncover the secrets of Camp Zero, a mysterious building project in icy northern Canada that sits at the heart of this story. Don't let this book's slow build fool you - the storlines fall together seamlessly and culminate in an ending that will leave you shaken. Although a quick read, the characters and message of this story will stick with you long after the last page.

-Rachel


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Confidence: A Novel By Rafael Frumkin Cover Image
$27.99
ISBN: 9781982189730
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Simon & Schuster - March 7th, 2023

This queer heist novel is fiendish, funny, and a wild ride from start to finish. At 17, the too-sharp-for-his-own-good Ezra Green is sent to Last Chance Camp after selling knock off apparel and drugs at his highschool. It was supposed to straighten him out, but ends up introducing him to who would become his partner in crime and intermittent lover, the charming Orson. Over the next decade, the two create and expand NuLife, a corporation built on promises that sound too good to be true - and they are - but Ezra and Orson are the ultimate samming team, and they're out to get rich quick. At its heart, this novel is about obsession, both in money and romance, and the chaos that ensues when you reach too far for something - or someone - just out of grasp. 

-Rachel


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The Night Ship: A Novel By Jess Kidd Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781982180829
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Atria Books - August 8th, 2023

The Batavia set sail in 1628 for the Dutch East Indies, but never made it. In the pages of this haunting book, Jess Kidd gives new life to the ship and its passengers. In one storyline, follow Mayken, a newly orphaned girl aboard The Batavia, as she attempts to snare the monster she is sure is terrorizing the passengers. In the second, be transported to 1989 to follow Gil, a young boy sent to live on a remote island with his fisherman grandfather. Although separated by centuries, their stories mirror and intertwine with each other in unexpected ways. Complete with her signature supernatural elements, Kidd crafts a historical fiction novel full of ancient lore, sea-faring adventures, and maybe even a ghost or two.

-Rachel


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Our Crooked Hearts: A Novel By Melissa Albert Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9781250826367
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Flatiron Books - June 28th, 2022

I’m not typically a reader of young adult novels, but who doesn’t love a coming of age book full of mystery, witches, and dark magic? There is no waiting around for this story to get interesting – within the very first chapter, seventeen-year-old Ivy has an unsettling encounter with a stranger who suddenly appears in the middle of the road. From there, things only get weirder – and witchier. Mirroring Ivy's story is one taking place decades earlier, following that of her mother, Dana, who Ivy knows is hiding something sinister. Between their two intertwining perspectives comes a story of family secrets, the supernatural, and the power of female fury.

-Rachel


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Nowhere Girl: A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhood By Cheryl Diamond Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9781643752518
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Algonquin Books - June 14th, 2022

Cheryl Diamond grew up on the run. Constantly moving countries, changing names, and dodging the law, the only source of stability in her life was her family. However, even this eventually becomes uncertain. In addition to exposing Diamond's unconventional upbringing, this memoir is an exploration of a family weighed down by secrets and generations of trauma. Deeply psychological, painfully honest, and in many ways stranger than fiction, Diamond shares her story with admirable vulnerability and a surprising amount of humor.

-Rachel


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The Blacktongue Thief By Christopher Buehlman Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9781250799975
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Tor Books - May 10th, 2022

As one of the most highly anticipated fantasy books of 2021, my expectations were high, and I certainly was not disappointed. While struggling to thieve enough to repay his debts, our narrator, Kinch Na Shannack, meets a mysterious traveling soldier on a mission to the faraway East. The two forge an unlikely alliance and embark on an epic journey full of magic tattoos, intricate lore, flesh-hungry monsters, an adorable blind cat, and so much more. Buehlman allows his experience telling bawdy Irish tales at the Renaissance Faire to shine through Kinch’s voice in the best of ways; his humor and wit perfectly balance the tension-packed battle scenes and gruesome descriptions. Lovers of dark humor, unlikely heroes, and fantastical tales with elements of horror - this is a book you will not want to miss.

-Rachel


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An Unlasting Home: A Novel By Mai Al-Nakib Cover Image
$27.99
ISBN: 9780063135093
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Mariner Books - April 12th, 2022

Sara had believed that she left Kuwait for good, but after her mothers death, she returned to her home country to run her mother’s bookshop and teach at Kuwait University. After she is accused of blasphemy due to the content of her lessons and faces potential execution, she reflects on the complicated relationship she has with the country she was raised in. Between the pages of Sara’s story is that of multiple other women from her family: her two grandmothers, her birth mother, and the woman who left her whole life behind to raise Sara and her brother. Although this story covers a wide breadth of foreign history, don't be intimidated! The lives of these incredible women are told with absorbing intimacy that will immerse you from the very start. 

-Rachel


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Shadows of Pecan Hollow: A Novel By Caroline Frost Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9780063065352
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: William Morrow Paperbacks - February 7th, 2023

Pecan Hallow is the place where nothing ever happens - until Kit Walker stumbles into town, dragging her past as one of Texas’s most wanted thieves along with her. Despite her crimes, Kit manages to scrape together a life for herself and her disobedient daughter Charlie. Little does she know that Manny, her old lover and partner in crime, is out of prison and determined to make her his once again. Frost uses her background as a family psychologist to the fullest extent, presenting Kit’s trauma and toxic relationship with Manny with complexity and heart-wrenching emotion. This story seamlessly weaves together the perspectives of Kit, Charlie, and Manny, creating a story that is suspenseful, touching, and deeply psychological. A solid read from start to finish.

-Rachel


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The Boy with a Bird in His Chest: A Novel By Emme Lund Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9781982171940
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Atria Books - January 3rd, 2023

Owen is a boy with a bird in his chest. A bird named Gale, to be precise, who has lived inside him his whole life. Owen’s mother, determined to keep him out of the hands of scientists and directors, hides him away from the world. But then, after a lifesaving trip to the hospital exposes his secret, he is sent away to live with his uncle and cousin to hide from those who will apparently stop at nothing to find him. Follow Owen as he experiences the outside world for the first time and takes on the challenges of teenage life while harboring his strange secret. This is a powerfully touching coming of age story exploring love, sexuality, and what it means to be different. If you are looking for a unique LGBTQ+ novel or a book about the power of identity and acceptance, then look no further. 

-Rachel


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Bibliolepsy By Gina Apostol Cover Image
$26.00
ISBN: 9781641292511
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Soho Press - January 4th, 2022

This is for anyone who has not only devoured books, but has felt devoured by them in return. It is the mid-eighties, and revolution is brewing in the Philippines under the brutal dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. Political turmoil grows by the day, but Primi Peregrino’s mind seems to be elsewhere: on books, the thing that has consumed her since childhood. Now a young woman searching to live adventures of her own, her passion for books even takes hold of her love life; as writers congregate to express opinions on the upcoming revolution, she takes the opportunity not only to read their work, but pursue romantic connections with them. This quick and quirky read is, at its core, an unconventional exploration of Philippine history and the power of great literature.

-Rachel


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Beasts of a Little Land: A Novel By Juhea Kim Cover Image
$27.99
ISBN: 9780063093577
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Ecco - December 7th, 2021

This book captivated me from the moment I picked it up and only got better with each turn of the page. In Japanese-occupied Korea, poverty, violence, and political turmoil run rampant. Here we meet two characters who are fatefully connected: Jade, a young girl sold by her family to a courtesan school who later becomes a famous actress, and JungHo, a street beggar turned revolutionary fighter. Their paths, shaped by the historical landscape, twist and turn yet always manage to find a way back to each other. Follow them and a variety of other characters as they navigate love, fight for independence, and struggle to take control of their own destinies. 

-Rachel


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The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All By Josh Ritter Cover Image
$27.99
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ISBN: 9781335522535
Published: Hanover Square Press - September 7th, 2021

At 99 years old, Weldon Applegate tells his coming of age story in classic tall-tale fashion. The son of a lumberjack, Weldon inherits the “Lost Lot,” a piece of seemingly untamable land desired by the infamous – and diabolical – Linden Laughlin, who will do anything to get what he wants. Set in the small town of Cordelia on the edge of modernization, be swept away to a place of old magic and legends amidst the snowy mountains, and follow Weldon as he fights to defend his family legacy. If you love a good yarn full of wit, charm, and poetic turns of phrase, then put this at the top of your booklist. 

-Rachel


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Goodbye, Again: Essays, Reflections, and Illustrations By Jonny Sun Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9780062880857
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Harper Perennial - April 20th, 2021

Who knew such meaning could be found in houseplants and scrambled eggs? In this collection of essays, short stories, and pen drawings, Sun brings new meaning to even the seemingly mundane and reveals his deeply personal experiences with anxiety, depression, and just being human. This book is for anyone who has ever felt lost in life; you are not alone, and will surely appreciate Sun’s raw honesty. Hilarious, heartbreaking, and just a tad hopeful, this book will leave you feeling sentimental and perhaps a bit less lonely.

-Rachel