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InuYasha

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InuYasha by Rumiko Takahashi
Format: Manga Series
Who it’s for: Teens

Kagome is a present-day high school student in Tokyo, but ends up getting sent back to Sengoku feudal era of Japan after she encounters a magical shrine. She meets a half-demon named InuYasha, who is stubborn but honest and loyal. After a treacherous event takes place where the powerful Shikon jewel shatters into a million pieces, the two heroes team up to find all of them before they slip into the wrong hands. Along the way, Kagome and InuYasha meet some amazing friends, go on great journeys, and try to protect the world from complete evil! This is a classic manga series that has so much depth and character development to it. The anime and movies that were based on this manga have been released, so if you love reading this series, give those a try! Find InuYasha in the catalog.

Testimony from Your Perfect Girl

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Testimony from Your Perfect Girl by Kaui Hart Hemmings
Format: Book
Who’s it for: Young Adult

Annie is a wealthy teenager who has everything she could ever want. On the outside, her family seems to be perfect but their entire world comes crashing down when Annie’s father is accused of stealing investment funds from several clients. The entire town begins to shame the family, so Annie and her brother are sent to live in a smaller rural town with their aunt and uncle. Annie knows that her father is innocent, but a lot of others don’t seem to agree. She must come up with another identity to remain in hiding until the trial is over. Annie learns how to make new friends and live a completely different lifestyle, while trying to discover her passions in life. Will she tell her new friends about her true identity or keep it all a secret until she can go back home? This is a story that has new connections, inner conflict, and the ultimate realization that parents are perfectly flawed humans too. Find Testimony from Your Perfect Girl in the catalog!

A Season on the Wind

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Title: A Season on the Wind by Suzanne Woods Fisher
Format: Book
Who’s It For: Teens and Adults

Penny Weaver remembered Ben Zook from her childhood. She met him in the meadow near his family’s farm. She taught him about birding while visiting her grandmother. Together, they traversed the countryside and spotted an eagle’s nest.  They became friends.  However, decades later, Ben did not remember Penny.

Ben Zook left Stoney Ridge and his Amish faith long ago. He had become a world-renown photographer. One day, Ben returned with his cousin Natalie to rent Penny’s guest house. And they hired Penny’s brother Micah for his keen birding skills. Micah had spotted the elusive White-winged Tern.  Ben wanted Micah to help him to spot it to photograph it. It was actually Micah’s pesky neighbor Trudy Yoder who’d seen the bird.  Could Micah find it?

Penny provided a meal daily for Ben’s father, Zeke Zook.  The poor man suffered from Alzheimer’s and, she suspected, loneliness.  He was gruff to most people, yet he trusted Penny.  Why hadn’t Ben returned home when his mother passed?  Were there unresolved issues between Ben and his father?

An Amish widower named Roy King brought flowers for Penny.  Roy liked Penny, and yet Penny couldn’t get Ben out of her heart and mind.  Micah liked Shelley, Trudy Yoder’s beautiful older sister.  And Trudy liked Micah.  What a pickle!

Penny loved birds and privately kept a collection of drawings of them in her home.  In her last church, she had been told that drawing was prideful. Penny didn’t want to draw attention to herself.  She simply loved birds.  So, when she moved to Stoney Ridge and a new church, she didn’t show her drawings to anyone.  Yet Natalie snooped and found some.  She loved them!  As an interior decorator, she knew she could sell them for Penny.  What if she just took one to look into it for Penny?

A Season on the Wind is a touching tale of wounded hearts, flawed individuals, and restoration.  I enjoyed the context of birding and Micah’s humorous birding notes.  Penny was clearly the heroine, yet the surrounding cast was personable and realistic, with their own issues to overcome too.  If you enjoy an inspirational story of love and faith and character, I recommend this book to you.  

And you can find A Season on the Wind in our catalog.

 

 

 

 

 

Your Mama

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Your Mama by NoNieqa Ramos
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Kids

This book tugged on my heart strings as a mother to an almost 4-year-old. Parenting is hard! However, mamas always make the magic! Whether it is making a special treat for the little ones, or caring for them when they’re sick mamas are superstars and they deserve their own book. This books explores the patience and the love that mothers everywhere give to their children no matter what. The relationship between mother and child is so special and this book emulates that.  This book mixes the Spanish & English lyricism and beautiful illustrations. This is a great example of an amazing diverse read for all families.

Find Your Mama in the catalog

The Tea Dragon Society

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The Tea Dragon Society Series by Kay O’neill
Format: Book & eBook on Hoopla
Who is it for?: Everyone

Prepare yourself for an overload of adorable in a world where tea leaves grow on the antlers of tiny dragons. In volume one, Greta a blacksmith’s apprentice, meets new friends and the tea dragons that they care for. Minette is a former prophetess with a mysterious past. Hesekiel and Erik, retired adventurers, are the last remaining members of The Tea Dragon Society. Together they work to keep the knowledge of tea dragon care alive. In volume two, The Tea Dragon Festival, we meet Rinn, a forager from a small village in the mountains. On one of their quests, they meet Aedhan, a dragon from the Silver Wing Clan that accidentally took an 80-year nap. In volume three, The Tea Dragon Tapestry, Greta pursues an apprenticeship with a famous blacksmith from a faraway city and Minette has reoccurring dreams of memories she thought were lost to her.

The series touches on a lot of very important themes such as friendship, grief, and personal growth. Each volume includes pages from the Tea Dragon Handbook. Kay O’neill’s art is warm and charming. I enjoyed seeing how they “dragonified” the different kinds of teas. Chamomile is cute and sleepy while Jasmine is regal and well-groomed. This graphic novel series is perfect for someone who wants something calm, endearing, and lovely to read. Find The Tea Dragon Society in the catalog or on Hoopla!

The Woman on the Orient Express

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The Woman on the Orient Express by Lyndsay Jayne Ashford
Format: Book
Who’s It For: Adults

Agatha Christie didn’t want to be around for her husband’s wedding.  Make that her ex-husband’s second wedding.  So, under the alias of “Mary Miller,” Agatha boarded the Orient Express bound for Baghdad.  On the train, she shared a compartment with beautiful yet controlling Katharine Keeling.  Agatha also encountered archaeologist Max Mallowan.  Max mysteriously requested that Agatha not disclose his presence to Katharine.  Agatha befriended Nancy Nelson on board too.   Agatha, realizing that Nancy was pregnant and alone, hired Nancy to be her secretary during their time in Mesopotamia.  While grieving the end of her marriage, Agatha drew closer to Katharine and Nancy.  And she explored exotic Baghdad in the delightful company of Max. 

The Woman on the Orient Express is a wonderful escape-read.  While the protagonist Agatha is taking a break from her troubles in England, the reader travels through her eyes to a far-flung locale.  While the story is not a mystery per se, it is suspenseful.  Moreover, the author interwove fact with fiction.  Archie Christie did divorce his wife for another woman.  Agatha Christie truly mourned the end of her marriage.  Katharine Keeling was based on the historical person of Katharine Woolley, nurse and archaeologist.  In fact, Agatha Christie did travel on the Orient Express and tour the archaeological dig in Ur with Mr. and Mrs. Woolley.  Indeed, at the dig she met and later married archaeologist Max Mallowan.

If you’re as big of a fan of Agatha Christie’s mysteries as I am, this book is for you.

And you can find it in the catalog right here.