Staff Picks

There’s a lot of depth in this coming-of-age story set at a turning point for an eleven-year-old named Julia as well as every other living thing on Earth.  

In the opening pages of The Age of Miracles news that the earth's rotation is slowing down startles Julia’s family from their routine.  As the novel progresses relationships are strained--sometimes irreversibly-- when society breaks into factions and resources dwindle.  Though ecological ramifications play a part in the story the real focus is about growing up during a time of great uncertainty.

If you're looking for a unique story filled with interesting characters, I'm sure you'll enjoy The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker.

Alicia Cavitt
Information Specialist

Staff Favorite Websites

Do you know how to pronounce that favorite author’s name? If not, you are not alone! There is a great website, Teachingbooks.net where you can listen to an author pronounce his or her own name, so you know it’s correct! I always thought I knew how to pronounce Jodi Picoult, but I discovered I’d been pronouncing it incorrectly for years! It is pronounced “PEE- koh” like the tea. Rick Riordan tells us his name is pronounced RYE –r- don (first syllable pronounced like rye bread).

One of my favorite authors, Chris Bohjalian, of Armenian descent, actually pronounces his name differently than most of his family who have, in his words, “Americanized” the pronunciation over the years. He says Bok-JAIL- yen, but most people say Bow JAIL yen (first syllable pronounced like to tie a bow).  Take a listen to such popular authors as John Scieszka or Brian Jacques. They just might surprise you!

The authors also sometimes go into a little history or give you some fun facts about themselves. For instance, Christopher Paolini explains that his name is Italian and means “little Paul”. Avi only goes by that one name, given to him by his twin sister when they were about a year old.  R.L. Stine’s family has never called him R.L., they call him Bob. Maya Angelou has a similar story about her name and her older brother’s influence. Sometimes, when he was smaller, people used to tell Neil Gaiman not to make things up. He never listened.

Teachingbooks.net has a nice 3 minute overview video to help familiarize readers with the vast services it offers. If you don’t find your favorite author on Teachingbooks.net, try searching for the author’s official website to learn more. Either way, you’re sure to discover something surprising about the authors you love!

Beth Moore
Information Specialist

Staff Picks

Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea, and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them   by Donovan Hohn

Follow the true life journey of thousands of yellow rubber ducks. (Actually, they are plastic not rubber despite them being referred to as being made of rubber for years and throughout childhood for many of us.)  This is the story of what happens when a container falls off a cargo ship at sea, but with a more interesting plot.  It all started when yellow ducks started showing up along the western coast of the United States and even in Alaska, and then turned up in Maine as well.  

You will learn of the ducks’ travels as they follow the ocean currents.  There are discussions of other issues such as the immense amount of trash that is floating in our oceans including the massive “Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch“ that sits somewhere out in the Pacific and is twice the size of the state of Texas.

“Like Bill Bryson on hard science, or John McPhee with attitude, journalist Hohn travels from beaches to factories to the northern seas in pursuit of a treasure that mystifies as much as it provokes.” (2010 Booklist Reviews)

Joan Dudzinski

Information Specialist

Staff Picks



Isobel (Izzy) Spellman is the 28-year-old daughter of a family of private investigators who work and live together in San Francisco. Family interrogations are commonplace, and personal privacy is not an option.

The book is told from Izzy's point of view, with her life chronicled by a list of misdeeds, ex-boyfriends, and surveillance techniques not approved of by her parents. When Izzy decides that she doesn't want to pursue the family business after all, her parents relent, on the stipulation that she take one more case. This fifteen-year-old cold case will take all of Izzy's wits to solve.

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz is the first book in a series of mysteries. 

Meredith Bowermeister

Information Supervisor

Staff Picks

Have you ever heard the terms hikikomori or rental sister? 

Hikikomori is the Japanese word for withdrawal as well as the name of a social phenomenon that’s a growing problem in that country, affecting an estimated one million people.  Hikikomori sufferers sequester themselves in a single room and have minimal interactions with anyone, sometimes for years on end .  A rental sister is a professional at coaxing the hikikomori back into the world.

In Jeff Backhaus’ new novel Hikikomori and the Rental Sister a Japanese-American woman employs a rental sister to coax her husband out of a three-year-long isolation.   By sliding notes and origami under the door and opening up with confessions of her own, the rental sister persuades the recluse to open up and the two of them bond in a way that leaves both of them wanting more.  The intriguing characters in this unique love triangle offer a fascinating look into a very private disorder.

Alicia Cavitt
Information Specialist

Patron Picks

We love hearing from our patrons!  One of them recently shared her impression of Cinder by Marissa Meyer. 

"I just love retellings of fairy tales- and this one just takes the cake! What a great story and a great premise! A futuristic Cinderella with Cinderella as a cyborg! Pick it up- you won't be sorry!"

Share your own favorite book on our blog by emailing FCPL's Ask a Librarian.  

Staff Picks

If you enjoy books with great characters I have two to suggest. 

A preteen and thirty-something become unlikely friends in Nick Hornby’s About a Boy.  Who's the adult in this scenerio?  It’s hard to tell. 

Childless Will joins a single parent’s group to meet women but discovers a different kind of companion when a clever twelve-year-old deduces the ruse.   Fascinating characters and just the right touch of humor make this tale about the effects of divorce, bullying and other heavy issues a great read. 

In  Roopa Farooki’s The Way Things Look to Me, three siblings attempt to rebuild their lives and their relationships five years after their mother’s death.  A television segment on the youngest sister’s Asperger’s disorder upsets the melancholy status quo and brings out the best and worst in the family.  Asif, Lila and Yasmin Murphy are characters you're sure to remember for years to come.

Alicia Cavitt
Information Specialist

Staff Picks

I picked up Splendors & Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz because it was a Newberry Honor Book and because the cover intrigued me. (I admit I do sometimes judge a book by its cover.)  It did not disappoint. 

The whole feel of the book is very Dickensian from the Victorian England setting to the poverty stricken state of the two orphaned children who serve as the main characters.  The plot keeps you moving along as you try and discover the mystery behind a kidnapping, and understand the secrets behind the evil magic that seeks to destroy the children. 

I loved the Cockney accent that several of the characters used.  The characters, both main and minor ones, are incredibly interesting.  Oh yeah, throw puppets in the mix and you get a dark, fascinating tale that is a fun read!

LeAnne Craig
Information Specialist-Youth Services