Adults
The Color of Dragons by R. A. Salvatore, Erika Lewis
An action-packed, romantic pre-Arthurian tale of the origins of magic (and Merlin). Maggie’s powers are especially fickle. With no one to help her learn to control her magic, the life debt that she owes stretches eternally over her head, with no way to repay it. Until she meets Griffin, the king’s champion, infamous for hunting down the draignochs that plague their kingdom. Neither has any idea of the destiny that they both carry, or that their meeting will set off a chain of events that will alter every aspect of the life they know – and all of history thereafter. – Publisher
Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon
The highly anticipated latest entry in the Outlander series. Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall were torn apart by the Jacobite Rising in 1746, and it took them 20 years to find each other again. Now the American Revolution threatens to do the same. It is 1779 and Claire and Jamie are at last reunited with their daughter, Brianna, her husband, Roger, and their children on Fraser’s Ridge. Having the family together is a dream the Frasers had thought impossible. Meanwhile, the Revolutionary War creeps ever closer. And with the family finally together, Jamie and Claire have more at stake than ever before. – Publisher
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
The heroes of Cloud Cuckoo Land are children trying to figure out the world around them, and to survive. In the besieged city of Constantinople in 1453, in a public library in Lakeport, Idaho, today, and on a spaceship bound for a distant exoplanet decades from now, an ancient text provides solace and the most profound human connection to characters in peril. They all learn the story of Aethon, who longs to be turned into a bird so that he can fly to the paradise of Cloud Cuckoo Land, a better world. Like Marie-Laure and Werner in All the Light We Cannot See, Konstance, Anna, Omeir, Seymour, the young Zeno, the children in the library are dreamers and misfits on the cusp of adulthood in a world the grown-ups have broken. – Publisher
Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
Harlem Shuffle’s a gloriously entertaining novel of heists, shakedowns and rip-offs. This ingenious story plays out in a beautifully recreated New York City of the early 1960s. It’s a family saga masquerading as a crime novel, a hilarious morality play, a social novel about race and power, and ultimately a love letter to Harlem. But mostly, it’s a joy to read, another dazzling novel from the Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning Colson Whitehead. – Publisher
Teen/Young Adult
Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen
Simi prayed to the gods, once. Now she serves them as Mami Wata – a mermaid – collecting the souls of those who die at sea and blessing their journeys back home. But when a living boy is thrown overboard, Simi does the unthinkable – she saves his life, going against an ancient decree. And punishment awaits those who dare to defy it. – Publisher
Finding My Voice by Marie Myung-Ok Lee
Seventeen-year-old Ellen Sung just wants to be like everyone else at her all-white school. But hers is the only Korean American family in town, and her classmates in Arkin, Minnesota, will never let her forget that she’s different. At the start of senior year, Ellen finds herself falling for Tomper Sandel – a football player who is popular and blond and undeniably cute – and, to her surprise, he falls for her, too. Now Ellen has a chance at a life she never imagined, one that defies the expectations of both her core friend group and her strict parents. But even as she stands up to racism at school and disapproval at home, Ellen discovers that her greatest challenge is one she never expected: finding the courage to speak up and raise her voice.
Dear Justyce by Nic Stone
An incarcerated teen writes letters to his best friend about his experiences in the American juvenile justice system. Vernell LaQuan Banks and Justyce McAllister grew up a block apart in the southwest Atlanta neighborhood of Wynwood Heights. Years later, though, Justyce walks the illustrious halls of Yale University … and Quan sits behind bars at the Fulton Regional Youth Detention Center. Through a series of flashbacks, vignettes and letters to Justyce – the protagonist of Dear Martin – Quan’s story takes form. What leads a bright kid down a road to a murder charge? Not even Quan is sure. – Publisher
Kids
Dragonboy by Fabio Napoleoni
Dragonboy begins a new series about a playful little boy and his band of lovable stuffed animal friends. Dragonboy is curious. He is playful, pensive and kind. More than anything, he is himself: an imaginative little boy who loves to be a dragon. His stuffed animal friends – Darwin, Yellow Kitty, Simon and Drako – are always by his side as he explores and discovers something new. Because the best part of an adventure is being with the ones who know you best.
Pages & Co.: The Book Smugglers by Anna James
Since he was six years old, Milo has lived on board the Sesquipedalian, or “Quip,” a magical train that uses the power of imagination to travel through both stories and the real world. Aboard the Quip, Milo lives and works with his uncle, Horatio, a book smuggler who trades in rare books. When Horatio takes on a dangerous new job, he needs the help of Tilly Pages, a uniquely gifted bookwanderer. But when Tilly’s grandfather and Horatio are poisoned by a mysterious copy of The Wizard of Oz and fall into a deep sleep, Milo and Tilly find themselves racing against time to save them. The friends must journey to the Emerald City with Dorothy and eventually to Venice, Italy, to find out who is behind these strange poisonings. – Publisher
Clarice the Brave by Lisa McMann
The only good cat is a fed cat. Clarice, a young ship mouse, knows this to be true. She and her brother, Charles Sebastian, were taught to be careful – as all mice are – but caution is no match for the sea, which took their mother, and it is certainly no match for Special Lady, the horrid cat who ate their sister. Now the siblings hide in their pantry crate, knowing every move they make could be their last. This gorgeously written tale about a small mouse with a big heart and her perilous journey to reunite with her brother is an adventure for the ages. Clarice the Brave is a story of family, friendship and hope that young readers are sure to enjoy. – Publisher
Submitted by Colleen Bauman, Community Engagement Manager at the Pickerington Public Library
