KDL Recommends

I’ve always loved Tinker Bell and as a narrator, I love her even more. Neverland has a very different feel in this book and for me, the story of Peter Pan has never been better told.
-Morgan at KDL’s East Grand Rapids branch

I read Shadow and Bone, by Leigh Bardugo (Book 1 in the Grisha Trilogy). I loved everything about this new teen read – the setting, the language, the magic, the strong characters, the suspense. I could not put it down, and can’t wait for the next installment in this series!
-Kris at KDL’s Comstock Park branch

Chloe and the Lion by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Adam Rex. I picked this one up again the other day for a picture book display and laughed out loud again as I read it. Mac Barnett narrates the story of the intrepid Chole, introducing his friend Adam as the illustrator. Mac and Adam get into a spat over whether Chole should meet a lion or a dragon when she gets lost in the forest, leading to a replacement illustrator, Adam getting swallowed by the lion, and Mac attempting to illustrate the book! Kids will laugh at the absurdity, adults at the nods to popular fairy tales and conventions (including lines such as “Clearly, the knight was an idiot”). A very interactive, metafictive read.
-Dawn at KDL’s Gaines Township branch

Definitely a read-a-like for Sarah’s Key.
-Theresa at our Byron Township branch

An entertaining European spy novel.
When Amelie Levene, who in six weeks is due to take over as the first female Chief of MI6, disappears without a trace while in the south of France, it is the gravest crisis MI6 has faced in more than a decade. Britain’s top intelligence agents turn to one of their own: disgraced former MI6 officer Thomas Kell. The trail leads Kell to France and Tunisia, where he uncovers a shocking secret and a conspiracy that could have unimaginable repercussions for Britain and its allies.

Recommended by Shaunna at KDL’s Grandville branch

With love and determination befitting the “world’s greatest family,” twelve-year-old Deza Malone, her older brother Jimmie, and their parents endure tough times in Gary, Indiana, and later Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression.

Recommended by Beth at our Gaines Township branch

It is a great teen book that gives wonderful insight into what life was like living in East Berlin under communism. It shows the difference between the two cultures and lifestyles that shared a city but were separated by the Berlin wall. The story is told through the eyes of a teenage boy who just wants to express himself and not follow the communist norms.
-Craig at KDL’s Cascade branch

A prequel to Mario Puzo’s Godfather. This tells the stories of the early years of the Corleone family and their eventual rise to power in the New York underworld. Falco leans heavily on the small stories that Puzo includes in his original. A young Luca Brasi is featured prominently in a horrifying event that brings him to the Corleone family.
-Jim at KDL’s Kentwood branch

They say, don’t judge a book by its cover, but this one intrigued me. On it is a large friendly guy who looks like a hell’s angel with a pretty little ginger cat perched on his shoulder. This is the story of Jackson and Benny who embarked on a beautiful journey of discovery together; two broken souls who mended each other. Jackson was a drug addict, food addict, you-name-it addict, and Benny was a small grey cat who was brought to the animal shelter in a cardboard box with a fractured pelvis and the label “unbondable”. Jackson doesn’t hold his punches in this sincere account of a man who was hell-bent on destroying himself but found a reason to come clean and help others.
-Cathy at KDL’s Kentwood branch

Preparing to fight China’s nineteenth-century Opium Wars, a motley assortment of sailors and passengers establish family-like ties that eventually span continents, races, and generations.

Recommended by Patrice at KDL’s Grandville branch

Hiding her clandestine activities behind the persona of a model Nazi soldier’s wife at the height of World War II, Sigrid Schroeder dreams of her former Jewish lover and risks everything to hide a mother and two young children who she believes might be her lover’s family.

Recommended by Melissa at KDL’s Service Center

These are not your typical graphic novels in the way that they are informative about the laws of economics. Interesting reads!
-Emily at KDL’s Cascade branch

From the author of The World According to Garp and A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving’s thirteenth novel is a tender treatment of coming of age as “sexual misfits” in the late 1950s, and how the height of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s devastated so many Americans’ lives. Takeaway quote: “Be intolerant of intolerance.”
-Morgan at KDL’s Service Center

The fictionalized story about the most famous gladiator, Spartacus. This titles tells the first half of the Spartacus story, from his betrayal by his king to his fights in the arena to his revolt that caused Rome to quake. The second book Spartacus: Rebellion is due out next March.
-Jim at KDL’s Kentwood branch

Kennedy (no relation) set out in search of modern India, but ended up embroiled in the personal gender politics necessary to live as a single woman in a culture in transition.
-Helen Kay at KDL’s Spencer Township branch

Great story written by Herman Melville’s great-great-great-granddaughter set on Martha’s Vineyard after WWII.
-Michelle at KDL’s Service Center

My pick is King Arthur’s Very Great Grandson, an Easy book, written by Kenneth Kraegel. On his 6th birthday, Henry Alfred Grummorson, who is a descendant of King Arthur, sets out for adventure. But no one that he encounters want to engage in battle with him. What will Henry do for adventure?
-Robin at KDL’s Spencer Township branch

I really enjoyed this exciting account of the building of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and of the murderer that used the fair to lure his victims.
-Mark at KDL’s Krause Memorial branch

The female character is strong & tough, yet feminine & funny.
-Shaunna at KDL’s Grandville branch

Nonfiction book about women of various ages, regions and backgrounds who worked for the French Resistance during WWII. These women were arrested (some repeatedly) before being sent to the camps in Germany. I listened to this on my iPhone (KDL also has the ebook version) and while the amount of detail about what these women suffered was extremely disturbing, I couldn’t stop the book. I wanted to know if they made it out-a minority did- and if they received justice for what they had gone through- regrettably not. Their experiences after the war made me think of how Vietnam Veterans were treated after they returned home.
-Sandy at KDL’s Alto branch

I usually avoid novels based on TV series/characters or movie novelizations, but made the exception in this case (Strictly speaking, it isn’t based on the TV program as it never aired, thanks to the BBC going on strike at the time). I’m glad I did. I was given the radio play based on the script a few years ago and loved it, so was thrilled to come across the novel. Gareth Roberts did a sterling job of turning Douglas Adam’s script into a book. I think the late Douglas would have been pleased. There’s a lovely homage to Douglas’ much loved “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy” at the end of the book. A must for Doctor Who and Hitchhiker’s Guide fans.
-Cathy at KDL’s Kentwood branch

Good teen cloak and dagger read. The story moves fast like Divergent/ Veronica Roth and Legend/ Marie Lu.
-Michelle at KDL’s Service Center

“Sixteen-year-old Evie is forced to face the truth about her supernatural past when a deadly faerie battle threatens the future of the entire paranormal world”—Provided by publisher.

Recommended by Beth at KDL’s Gaines Township branch

Was Shakespeare a fraud? Who really wrote about cloak-and-dagger political intrigue, illicit romances in the Royal Court, and the schemes of greedy nobles hungry for the power of the throne? Set against the backdrop of the succession of Queen Elizabeth I, and the Essex Rebellion against her, intrigue and suspense advance the theory that it was really Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford, who penned Shakespeare’s plays.

Recommended by Kris at KDL’s Wyoming branch

I just watched a documentary called The Cove, which was very accurately described as “The Bourne Identity meets Flipper.” It absolutely blew my mind—even my husband, who tends to roll his eyes at SAVE THE WORLD-type movies, thought this was a good one, probably because it wasn’t just “Save the animals!” it was also “Save the children of Japan from mercury poisoning!” Very good, very sad, very awesome.
-Monica at KDL’s Wyoming branch