We’ve been so busy welcoming all our excited Summer Reading participants, we almost forgot to announce this month’s most anticipated arrivals to our adult fiction collections! Choose an upcoming read from the sample spotlights below or broaden your choice with the expanded New Fiction in June list.
Looking for more personalized suggestions? Fill out our new Choose My Next Book form to receive five titles hand-picked just for you, or feel free to give us a call at 847/590-4070.
After her husband leaves her, a romance-channel screenwriter finds a new chance at love when a sexy leading man is cast to play her husband in a movie based on the script she wrote about her marriage’s collapse.
If you are in the mood for…Warm, Relatable, and Endearing.
An evocative drama follows a woman caught leading a double life after one husband murders the other, and the true-crime writer who becomes obsessed with telling her story.
If you are in the mood for…Character-Driven Crime.
When her husband suddenly leaves her for another woman, Lillie, furious and with limited options of whom to turn to for help, finds unexpected allies who come to her aid, while, at the same time, she comes to theirs.
If you are in the mood for…Grief, Hope, and Humor.
After foiling an attack at the hotel where he’s staying, Dez, a retired mercenary, musician and gatekeeper, is back in action and drawn into a dangerous conspiracy involving media manipulation, militias, an armed coup and an attempt to fracture the very country in which we live.
Explores that time in your life when you must decide what you want and how to get it, all while navigating love, friendship, and the realization that the path you thought you were travelling has just taken some hard turns.
A unique and isolated town faces a singular affliction: some mothers vanish, disappearing into the clouds. When motherhood comes for Vera, she is faced with the question: will she be able to stay and mother her beloved child, or will she disappear?
If you are in the mood for…Haunting Dystopian Fiction.
May brings a bouquet of spring reading options, especially if you adore spending time with fellow book lovers, being immersed in tense thrills, or dreaming of summer romance. Settle into a sunshine view and enjoy a promising read from the spotlights below or broaden your choice with the expanded New Fiction in May list.
Looking for more personalized suggestions? Fill out this form for titles curated just for you, or feel free to give us a call at 847/590-4070.
Landing her personal hero and mega-best-selling author Essie Starling as a client, housecleaner Liv Green forms an unlikely friendship with this infamous reclusive, but when Essie suddenly dies, leaving her an astonishing last wish, Liv discovers a connection between them that changes Liv’s own life story forever.
Waking up in Lisbon alone, her husband gone with no warning, no note, not answering his phone, Ariel Price, sensing something is wrong, realizes she knows so little about her new, much younger husband, and discovers just how far she’ll go when everything is on the line.
A luminous debut novel about a widow’s unlikely friendship with a giant Pacific octopus reluctantly residing at the local aquarium-and the truths she finally uncovers about her son’s disappearance 30 years ago. For fans of A Man Called Ove.
If you are in the mood for…Poignant and Heartwarming
Isabelle is completely lost. When she first began her career in publishing after college, she did not expect to be twenty-five, still living at home, and the only Black employee at her publishing house. So when she overhears her boss complaining about a beastly high-profile author who has failed to deliver his long-awaited manuscript, Isabelle sees an opportunity to prove her worth and finally get the recognition she deserves.
If you are in the mood for…A Fun Modern Take on Beauty and the Beast
In the aftermath of the Mexican War of Independence and the execution of her father, Beatriz accepts Don Rodolfo Solorzano’s proposal of marriage and is whisked away to his remote country estate where she is faced with a malevolent presence linked to his first wife’s death.
Saved from the clutches of her uncle, the notorious Richard III, by Henry Tudor, Elizabeth of York, the oldest daughter of the late King Edward IV, becomes the first queen of the Tudor line–a blessed union that results in the unification of the warring houses of Lancaster and York.
Collections of poetry, free form, or novels-in-verse: we’ve got all your tastes covered! Celebrate National Poetry Month this April by reading lyrical, beautiful poetry from our Young Adult collection. Browse our curated lists below or pick up a staff favorite.
A beautiful and hopeful free-verse novel about a girl who tries to adjust to a new home after she emigrates from Syria with her mother while also worrying about her father and brother still in Syria. Jude’s emotions ring clear though the verse and catch the reader. I highly recommend the audio version as well!
This stunning and unique book is a blend of art and text in a journal-like format that captures the frustration and anxiety of a Black boy overwhelmed by the onslaught of bad news — COVID, racism, police brutality, and more — and the way he finds solace and hope in the embrace of his family.
What a unique read! Grimes creates one-of-a-kind poems from the words of little-known women poets of the Harlem Renaissance. The poems are enhanced by incredibly beautiful full-page illustrations. A glorious and refreshing celebration of women creators!
The book is an eye opening look at grief, gang violence, and family. The verse is melodic and intense yet very approachable! Heartbreaking yet oddly hopeful. A must read!
Featuring a diverse tapestry of poets such as Amanda Gorman, Elizabeth Acevedo, and Mary Oliver, this compilation of poetry speaks to the emotional experiences of growing up. Interwoven between some of the more intimate or tough parts of growing are the joys and highs of life, ultimately leaving a message of hope behind.
“If you cannot believe that things will soften, trust that I believe for you.”
Sixteen titles went head-to-head in a bracket-style, four-round tournament of champions voted on by MPPL teens. Only one was crowned the coveted 2022 Favorite Teen Read Winner.
This week we had an amazing time learning about gardening, harvesting, recipes, and history from award-winning Ojibwa author and speaker Kim Sigafus. Missed the program? Watch the recorded version anytime through April 27th.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsOTtqsdazo
If you are interested in reading about Native American experiences or about gardening, check out our staff recommendations:
As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on “a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise.
Daunis, who is part Ojibwe, defers attending the University of Michigan to care for her mother and reluctantly becomes involved in the investigation of a series of drug-related deaths.
Rendered a single mom after her husband’s fatal car accident, textbook illustrator Lillian recruits her young daughters and supportive sister to help her do research for a boutique vegetable guide at the Los Angeles Botanical Garden, where a patient instructor and quirky gardeners help her grieve and find healing.
A novel which grapples with the complex history of Native Americans; with an inheritance of profound spirituality; and with a plague of addiction, abuse and suicide, follows 12 characters, each of whom has private reasons for traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow.
Centering around three courageous women, who meet for the first time at a crossroads in their lives, this first installment in a new trilogy follows Stella as she casts aside her fears and finds a special love that she will do anything to protect.
A historical novel based on the life of the author’s grandfather traces the experiences of a Chippewa Council night watchman in mid-19th-century rural North Dakota who fights Congress to enforce Native American treaty rights.
Seeking solace in the Malaysian plantations of her childhood after grueling World War II experiences, criminal prosecutor Yun Ling Teoh discovers a Japanese garden and its enigmatic tender, an exiled Japanese royal gardener who reluctantly accepts her as an apprentice.
A vigilante enforcer on South Dakota’s Rosebud Indian Reservation enlists the help of an ex to investigate the activities of an expanding drug cartel, while a new tribal council initiative raises controversial questions.
A talented but reclusive gardener is inspired by her love of classic literature to embark on a female odyssey to reconnect with her four once-close friends through simple activities and digital encounters that unexpectedly catapult her into viral fame.
