Library News & Events2018-09-27T15:54:30-05:00

Secrets and Gossip-May Book Giveaway

Secrets and Gossip – May Giveaway

Want to know a secret? The juicier, the better! These novels explore secret worlds, haunting disappearances, celebrity gossip, and family intrigue. Want to find out more?  Dive in!

The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry

Expected Publication Date: May 2, 2023

When a woman discovers a rare book that has connections to her past, long-held secrets about her missing sister and their childhood spent in the English countryside during World War II are revealed.

In the war-torn London of 1939, fourteen-year-old Hazel and five-year-old Flora are evacuated to a rural village to escape the horrors of the Second World War. Living with the kind Bridie Aberdeen and her teenage son, Harry, in a charming stone cottage along the River Thames, Hazel fills their days with walks and games to distract her young sister, including one that she creates for her sister and her sister alone—a fairy tale about a magical land, a secret place they can escape to that is all their own.

But the unthinkable happens when young Flora suddenly vanishes while playing near the banks of the river. Shattered, Hazel blames herself for her sister’s disappearance, and she carries that guilt into adulthood as a private burden she feels she deserves.

Twenty years later, Hazel is in London, ready to move on from her job at a cozy rare bookstore to a career at Sotheby’s. With a charming boyfriend and her elegantly timeworn Bloomsbury flat, Hazel’s future seems determined. But her tidy life is turned upside down when she unwraps a package containing an illustrated book called Whisperwood and the River of Stars. Hazel never told a soul about the imaginary world she created just for Flora. Could this book hold the secrets to Flora’s disappearance? Could it be a sign that her beloved sister is still alive after all these years?

As Hazel embarks on a feverish quest, revisiting long-dormant relationships and bravely opening wounds from her past, her career and future hang in the balance. An astonishing twist ultimately reveals the truth in this transporting and refreshingly original novel about the bond between sisters, the complications of conflicted love, and the enduring magic of storytelling.

 

Do Tell by Lindsay Lynch

Expected Publication Date: July 11, 2023

As character actress Edie O’Dare finishes the final year of her contract with FWM Studios, the clock is ticking for her to find a new gig after an undistinguished stint in the pictures. She’s long supplemented her income moonlighting for Hollywood’s reigning gossip columnist, providing her with the salacious details of every party and premiere. When an up-and-coming starlet hands her a letter alleging an assault from an A-list actor at a party with Edie and the rest of the industry’s biggest names in attendance, Edie helps get the story into print and sets off a chain of events that will alter the trajectories of everyone involved.

Now on a new side of the entertainment business, Edie’s second act career grants her more control on the page than she ever commanded in front of the camera. But Edie quickly learns that publishing the secrets of those former colleagues she considers friends has repercussions. And when she finds herself in the middle of the trial of the decade, Edie is forced to make an impossible choice with the potential to ruin more than one life.

Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo

Expected Publication Date: August 1, 2023

Flor has a gift: she can predict, to the day, when someone will die. So when she decides she wants a living wake–a party to bring her family and community together to celebrate the long life she’s led–her sisters are surprised. Has Flor foreseen her own death, or someone else’s? Does she have other motives? She refuses to tell her sisters, Matilde, Pastora, and Camila.

But Flor isn’t the only person with secrets. Matilde has tried for decades to cover the extent of her husband’s infidelity, but she must now confront the true state of her marriage. Pastora is typically the most reserved sister, but Flor’s wake motivates this driven woman to solve her sibling’s problems. Camila is the youngest sibling, and often the forgotten one, but she’s decided she no longer wants to be taken for granted.

Spanning the three days prior to the wake, Family Lore traces the lives of each of the Marte women, weaving together past and present, Santo Domingo and New York City. Told with Elizabeth Acevedo’s inimitable and incandescent voice, this is an indelible portrait of sisters and cousins, aunts and nieces–one family’s journey through their history, helping them better navigate all that is to come.

What We Kept to Ourselves by Nancy Jooyoun Kim

Expected Publication Date: October 10, 2023

1999: The Kim family is struggling to move on with their lives after their mother, Sunny, vanished a year ago. Sixty-one-year-old John Kim feels more isolated from his grown children, Anastasia and Ronald, than ever before. But one evening, their fragile lives are further upended when John discovers the body of a dead stranger in the backyard. The tragedy seems random until it’s revealed that the dead man was carrying a letter to Sunny, sparking a desperate investigation into the stranger’s history and possible connections to Sunny—only to discover that someone has been watching them.

1977: Sunny is pregnant and has just moved to Los Angeles from Korea with her work-obsessed husband. America is not turning out the way she had dreamed it to be, and the loneliness and isolation is broken only by a fateful encounter at a bus stop. The unexpected connection spans the decades and echoes into the family’s lives in the present as they uncover devastating secrets that put not only everything they thought they knew about their mother at risk, but their very lives as well.

Both a riveting page-turner and moving family story, What We Kept to Ourselves masterfully explores the consequences of secrets between parents and children, husbands and wives, the search for home when all seems lost, and what it means to dream in America.

 

Annotations from the publishers

 

Post by Melissa Friedlund, Reference Specialist

 

Giveaway

Enter your name here for a chance to win ARCs of the books mentioned in this post. One entry per person. Drawing to be held approximately 7 days after this post.

ARCs are “advanced reading copies.” These are free copies of a new books given by a publisher to librarians and other reviewers before the book is printed for mass distribution.

#FDL is a weekly update on all things Fondulac District Library and East Peoria.

May 25th, 2023|

Book Recommendations for AAPI Month

May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.   During this month we celebrate the contributions that Asian and Pacific Islanders have made to our history and culture.

Check out one of these books or place a hold today!

This is Paradise: stories by Kristiana Kahakauwila

Intimacies by Katie M. Kitamura

The Incendiaries by R. O. Kwon

A Place For Us: A novel by Fatima Farheen Mirza

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

The Sympathizer  by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Music of the Ghosts by Vaddey Ratner

Miss Burma by Charmaine Craig

The Bad Muslim Discount: a novel by Syed Masood

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

The Farm : A novel by Joanne Ramos

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan

That Kind of Mother by Rumaan Alam

The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka

Blackmail and Bibingka by Mia P. Manansala

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev

Run Me To Earth by Paul Yoon

Monstress by Marjorie Liu

Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad

The God of Small Things by Roy Arundhati

The Leavers by Lisa Ko

–Post by Susie Rivera, Reference Specialist

#FDL is an update on all things Fondulac District Library and books.

May 20th, 2023|

FDL Reads: Dark Places

 

Dark Places by Gillian FlynnDark Places: A Novel See more

Reviewed by Julie Nutt, Reference Assistant

Genre: Suspense, Thriller (domestic thriller)

Suggested age: Adult

What is this book about? Libby Day is the sole survivor after the brutal murder of her mother and sisters, supposedly committed by her older brother, Ben. Ben is found guilty of the crimes based on Libby’s testimony that she witnessed the attack first-hand. Libby’s existence has been consumed by the publicity surrounding the murders, never fully developing a life or personality of her own beyond the headlines. When Libby is tracked down by a true-crime enthusiast interested in her story and the belief that Ben is innocent, it is just the beginning of Libby’s journey to find the truth.

My review: “I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ.” – Libby Day. Flynn’s novel cuts deep into raw emotions and pivotal events that led up to the night of the family’s shocking deaths. Her biting prose provides an intense view of the characters’ struggles: Mom Patty’s anguish; Ben’s pain and desperation as a teen trying to fit in; Libby’s battle with her own memories. Not a single gritty, dirty detail is spared in painting the stark backdrop of rural Kansas, during the 1980’s farm recession.

Based on reading both Sharp Objects and Dark Places, Gillian Flynn is a master of ending with completely unexpected twists. In a 2019 article by ScreenRant, Flynn’s ending to the book/movie Gone Girl was “one of the best plot twists of the 2010’s.” In a 2019 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Flynn said, “I’ve always loved those ending of unease.” Just like Libby Day, you’ll think you’ve got the mystery figured out. But the truth? You’ll never see it coming.

Three words that describe this book: heavy, harsh, deep

Give this a try if you like: Dark, familial TV dramas and films like the HBO series Sharp Objects (based on the novel by Gillian Flynn), or Big Little Lies (based on the novel by Liane Moriarty); novel The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (also a film); Paradise Lost (documentary on the West Memphis Three, teens convicted of murder based on “Satanic Panic” of the ‘70’s and ‘80’s)

Rating: 5/5

Find it at the library!

Available on Axis 360 and Libby apps!

FDL Reads

 

May 18th, 2023|

Find Your Voice! Summer Reading 2023

Our voices have power! This summer, we encourage readers of all ages to share stories, express yourselves, spark change, and get creative with FDL for the library’s 2023 Summer Reading Program: Find Your Voice! Join us June 1 through July 31 for a fantastic summer reading program offering fun and prizes for readers of all ages! Readers can register and track their progress online at fondulaclibrary.beanstack.org or on-the-go with the Beanstack app, or pick up a reading log from the library.

Engaging programs are planned throughout the summer focusing on a variety of creative activities, such as writing contests, a photography contest, comic book workshops, art projects, a musical instrument petting zoo, and more! We’ll also have family favorites like story times, movie nights, and crafts, as well as a lineup of exciting presenters to share magic, music, wildlife, science, and more! Find programs and register to attend through our online calendar.

Start Reading!
• Borrow books, audiobooks, and magazines from Fondulac District Library or download or stream eBooks and audiobooks from our digital collections.
• Whether it’s reading a graphic novel, listening to an audiobook, or reading an article, it counts! All reading must occur within the program dates.

Earn Badges
• Record your minutes in Beanstack.
• Earn 1 badge for every 50 minutes (PreK-2nd graders), 100 minutes (3rd-8th graders), or 150 minutes (high schoolers and adults).
• Earn one badge for completing an activity or attending any three Fondulac District Library programs.
• Earn 10 badges to complete the program. Kids can pick up badges at the Youth Services desk, and teens can pick up badges from the 2nd floor Information desk).

Win Prizes
• Participants receive prizes for reaching the halfway point by earning 5 badges AND for completing the program by earning 10 badges.
• Participants who complete the program will also be entered into a prize drawing!
• Halfway prizes can be picked up starting June 12, and completion prizes can be picked up starting June 26. Prizes are available while supplies last.
• The last day to pick up prizes is August 13.

Our 2023 Summer Reading programs and prizes are made possible thanks to our amazing community sponsors!

list of summer reading sponsors

May 15th, 2023|

FDL Reads: King of Battle and Blood

King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. ClairKing of Battle and Blood (Adrian X Isolde, 1): St. Clair, Scarlett: 9781728258416: Amazon.com: Books

Reviewed By: Jeremy Zentner, Reference Assistant

Genre: Fantasy

Suggested Age: Adults

What is This Book About? There are many great houses that rule the kingdoms of Cordova. Isolde is a warrior princess from House Lara, but the vampire king of Revekka has set out to conquer her kingdom and he’s powerful enough to do it. Upon House Lara’s night of surrender, Vampire King Adrian strikes a deal with Isolde and her father. The House of Lara can continue their way of life, unhindered, if Isolde becomes King Adrian’s wife and queen. Now, Isolde will have to marry a monster for the sake of her people’s security and become queen of the vampires.

My Review: This book is like pizza. It may not be the best in the world, but it’s still pretty good. Set in a fantasy world where witches, vampires, and zombie-like creatures lurk in the shadows, the reader follows Isolde de Lara on her journey into marriage, love, magic, and power. This is certainly a steamy book, full of wildly explicit scenes, but it also depicts some interesting political intrigue, magical elements, and outright sword battles. What I like about this novel is that Isolde, from the very start, is a warrior first and a royal second. When she enters King Adrian’s palace as queen, she’s more than willing to slay anyone trying to take advantage of her mortal weaknesses. With her finely-tuned combat skills and forceful demeanor, Isolde is extremely capable of ruling the vampires.

Three Words that Describe this Book: paranormal, fantasy, steamy

Give This A Try if You Like… Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake Series), Dead Witch Walking, Behind the Throne, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Rating: 4/5

Find it at the library!

FDL Reads

May 10th, 2023|

#FDL: Big Library Read

Tastes Like War — Feminist PressFondulac District Library provides access to a large collection of eBooks and audiobooks through the Libby app. Several times during the year, Overdrive hosts a Big Library Read, an online book club for readers around the world. Featured books are chosen by librarians and announced shortly before the Big Library Read begins. Our library is provided with unlimited copies of the eBook or audiobook, and our patrons can read without wait time through the Libby app from May 3-17 . A library card number and PIN are required to access the book. This spring, the Big Library Read has chosen Tastes Like War by Grace M. Cho. Below is a little about the book from The Big Library Read’s website:

“Grace M. Cho grew up as the daughter of a white American merchant marine and the Korean bar hostess he met abroad. They were one of few immigrants in a xenophobic small town during the Cold War, where identity was politicized by everyday details—language, cultural references, memories, and food. When Grace was fifteen, her dynamic mother experienced the onset of schizophrenia, a condition that would continue and evolve for the rest of her life.

Part food memoir, part sociological investigation, Tastes Like War is a hybrid text about a daughter’s search through intimate and global history for the roots of her mother’s schizophrenia. In her mother’s final years, Grace learned to cook dishes from her parent’s childhood in order to invite the past into the present, and to hold space for her mother’s multiple voices at the table. And through careful listening over these shared meals, Grace discovered not only the things that broke the brilliant, complicated woman who raised her—but also the things that kept her alive.”

Check it out on the Libby app and join the Big Reads discussion at biglibraryread.com/join-the-discussion/tastes-like-war/!

Post by Susie Rivera, Reference Specialist

#FDL is an update on all things Fondulac District Library and books.

May 3rd, 2023|
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