Staff Picks Hot Out of the Oven

Looking for a book you can know you/your niece/your neighbor/your son's playmate hasn't read yet? Here are the chapter book room staff's favorites of our new titles.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
Bookseller: Rachel
Genre: fantasy, zombies
Suggested reading level: ages 13 and up

Mary has always lived in the village, where the Sisterhood makes the rules and the Guardians watch the borders. When the Unconsecrated invade, infecting anyone they can catch, Mary must defy what she’s been taught to escape and find the truth. You won’t be able to put this gripping read down!

Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede
Bookseller: Michelle
Genre: fantasy, twin story
Suggested reading level: ages 12 and up

Eff copes with the stigma of being the 13th child, twin of the seventh son of a seventh son, in the wild frontier of a magical America (“Columbia”) in the 1840s. Like most Wrede novels, there is equal adventure, reimagined mythological creatures (steam dragons!), exciting plot twists, and coming-of-age revelations. I look forward to the rest of the Frontier Magic series, but it stands quite well on its own.

The Anatomy of Wings by Karen Foxlee
Bookseller: Katie
Genre: contemporary realistic fiction, family tragedy
Suggested reading level: ages 15 and up

Jennifer might understand how her older sister Beth died, but she doesn’t understand why. Jennifer’s story alternates between the present and the past, and her narrative with her family members’ and neighbors’ perspectives, as she tries to uncover the truth of Beth’s final months from a few unlikely clues.

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco Stork
Bookseller: Michelle
Genre: realistic fiction; for fans of Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Suggested reading level: ages 12 and up

This summer, Marcelo wants to continue living in his tree house and work with the ponies at his school, but his father wants him to experience the “real world” by working in his law firm – and our unique hero learns more than either of them bargained for. (Fun local fact: It’s set in Boston!)

If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Bookseller: Rachel
Genre: fantastic reality, tragedy
Suggested reading level: ages 13 and up

Mia must choose between Julliard and her devoted boyfriend, until her parents are killed in a brutal car crash that leaves Mia critically injured. Ejected from her body, Mia's consciousness watches her loved ones keep vigil, now faced with a choice between dying or having the courage to live.