KDL Recommends

Sherman Alexie is funny and deadly serious at the same time; these 31 stories of varying lengths all deal with the modern experience of being a Native American in a white-dominated culture.
–Helen Kay at KDL’s Spencer Township branch

I really enjoyed the banter and dialogue between Books and Braun. The characters have real depth and the plot keeps you guessing all the way through. I’m currently reading the Janus Affair, book #2 in the series and I can say it only gets better.
-Christopher at KDL’s Gaines Township branch

Both A Dog’s Purpose & A Dog’s Journey by Bruce Cameron are incredibly wonderful, thought provoking, laugh out loud, and even cry like a baby books. Ideally for dog lovers, but I have recommended them to those who aren’t into dogs and they have enjoyed them also. Need to be read in order.
-Karen at KDL’s Sand Lake/Nelson Township branch

I have a picture book recommendation: Lester’s Dreadful Sweaters by K.G. Campbell. This is a hilarious story about a little boy, his “cousin” that knits horrible sweaters, and his attempts to dispose of said sweaters with a humor that echoes Lemony Snicket’s. The opening line caught me right away: “Cousin Clara’s cottage was consumed by a crocodile. Luckily, Cousin Clara wasn’t in it.” Any book that uses words like “inexplicable tragedy,” “ghastly,” and “irksome,” and has a protagonist with a list of “Suspicious Stuff Starting with C” has my vote!
-Dawn at KDL’s Gaines Township branch

Nola Céspedes, an ambitious young reporter at the Times-Picayune, finally catches a break: an assignment to write her first full-length feature. While investigating her story, she also becomes fixated on the search for a missing tourist in the French Quarter. As Nola’s work leads her into a violent criminal underworld, she’s forced to face disturbing truths from her own past and is confronted with the question: In the aftermath of devastation, who is responsible for rebuilding what’s been broken?

Recommended by Shaunna at KDL’s Grandville branch

According to the historian Josephus, two women and five children survived the Roman siege at Masada in 70 CE.

Hoffman’s novel tells the stories of four extraordinary women, each of whom came to Masada by a different path and whose lives intersect during the desperate days of the siege. Beautifully written, with complex characters and an intriguing historical background.
-Marlys at KDL’s Wyoming branch

While on a literary tour in London that pays homage to mysteries, librarian Karen Nash is faced with a real-life mystery of her own when a fellow guest at bibliophile Caldwell Perkins’s cozy B&B is murdered and her former flame and his new girlfriend crash her vacation.

Recommended by Melissa at KDL’s Service Center

When Queen Elizabeth, disguised in a skull-emblazoned hoodie, sneaks out of Buckingham Palace to escape her duties for a little while an unlikely sextet of royal attendants team up to find their missing monarch and bring her back before her absence sets off a national scandal.

Recommended by Yuko at KDL’s Service Center

Anyone interested in the Mannasseh Project that was featured in ArtPrize this year may be interested in reading this realistic teen book about sexual enslavement. It is written in verse and is a great readlike for Ellen Hopkins titles.
-Morgan at KDL’s East Grand Rapids branch

Unlike the other Birthmothers in her utopian community, teenaged Claire forms an attachment to her baby, feeling a great loss when he is taken to the Nurturing Center to be adopted by a family unit. Even if it’s been a while since reading The Giver, the story flows and the writing is compelling. I didn’t read the second and third books in this series, yet I didn’t feel lost reading the final installment. I listened to the audio and found myself sitting in the car in various parking lots, listening until I reached the end of a chapter.
-Beth at KDL’s Gaines Township branch

Excellent WWII story!
-Laura at KDL’s Plainfield Township branch

Written in prose, the author creates fictitious monologues from various points of view of the tragic death of Matthew Shepard. This is a poignant tribute that stayed with me long after I read it. I hope no one hesitates to pick this up and read it.
-Linda at KDL’s Service Center

A fascinating account of the landing of the Pilgrims in 1620 and their complicated and at times contentious relationships with the Native Americans they encountered.
-Mark at KDL’s Krause Memorial branch

I just finished My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher and it basically broke my soul and made me weep copious amounts of tears and I thought I would never recover. But in a good way! The book’s about a family dealing with the aftermath of the 7/7 London bombings, five years after the fact. Our 10-year-old narrator Jamie’s sister was killed, and no one could decide what their feelings were doing, so his Mom runs away with someone from her support group, and his Dad becomes a raging hyper-racist alcoholic, and his other sister Jas (the twin of the deceased Rose) dyes her hair and acquires some piercings and gets down to trying to raise her little brother, given that her parents completely fail at it, even though she’s only fifteen and still coping with her own grief issues. It’s basically amazing but it’s also going to make you want to curl up in a ball and rock back and forth. Highly recommend!
-Monica at KDL’s Wyoming branch

What the what? The Pretty in Pink girl? The Breakfast Club goody-two-shoes? Yep. I was skeptical, since I have read fiction by two other Hollywood actors and was severely underwhelmed. But I love short stories, and these didn’t disappoint. Ringwald is a talented writer with a flair for believable dialogue – often difficult to pull off well. The book centers around the aftermath of a husband’s infidelity, but it’s so much more. One favorite for me was “My Olivia,” a story about one mother’s struggle to accept her young son for who he truly is.
-Morgan at KDL’s Service Center

I just finished the Sheila Roberts Icicle Falls Christmas book, Merry Ex-Mas. It was cute! I like her for a fun read.
-Barb at KDL’s Byron Township branch

A bit mystery, a bit adventure, a bit of humor and wonderfully human story of elderly Faith Bass Darling and her mission to obey “God” by selling her entire family’s heirlooms, including Tiffany lamps for only a dollar!
The characters are believable and the story memorable.
-Susan at KDL’s Grandville branch

A truly wonderful follow up to Daughter of Smoke and Bone.
-Beth at KDl’s Gaines Twonship branch

My pick is Pie, written by Sarah Weeks, and is a J book. I picked this up on a whim, and I loved it! This mystery is about a young girl, whose pie-making aunt passes away, and the ensuing events that occur! Also included in this little story are pie recipes, which you will want to make (and share with me!)
-Robin at KDL’s Spencer Township branch

i’ve been waiting for a venue…to talk about this movie…”Hysteria”..with Hugh Dancy and Maggie Gyllenhaal…. …Pleeeease! I really cant believe that this maybe historical fiction? Of course I watched this for the historical benefit….riiiight….You just have to trust me….and watch this…I laughed my head off. I think I may have fell of the couch…once or twice…If I tell you what its about..it will ruin it for yah’ll…again you’ll have to trust me…
-Tami at KDL’s Sand Lake/Nelson Township branch

Great story of a baby raised on a luxury liner in the year 1900, he grows up to lead the band as an accomplished pianist on board, never once leaving the ship. Fantastic music and interesting storyline with a twist at the end.
-Brian at KDL’s Service Center

Based on the novel by Paul Torday, this satirical comedy embroils a British financial Manager (Blunt) and a Scottish fisheries expert (McGregor) in the dream project of an excentric sheik— to set up a fully-stocked lake in the middle of the desert so that the Yemeni people will be able to experience the joys of fly fishing. A little romance & a little bit of maneuvering by the British government, along with one or two fundamentalist arabs who are totally against the idea, make for a charming & thought-provoking film.
-Marlys at KDL’s Wyoming branch