Southwest
Neighborhood Library

Booktalking "Six Months Later" by Natalie Richards

Chloe is a 17-year-old girl who is missing half a year of her life. Somehow, she managed to miss last summer. After she bumps her head in November, she realizes that her last memory is from May. Her memory issues are highly disconcerting to her. The teen loves summer and everything about it, but she has no recollection of the last one. She has no idea what she is doing or how she got to this point.

Realistic Fiction - Teens

Booktalking "The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali" by Sabina Khan

17-year-old senior high school student Rukhsana is in Seattle, and she is fiercely in love with Ariana and not one bit ashamed of it. Unfortunately, her parents do not feel similarly. As a Muslim girl, they expect her to marry a nice Muslim boy. Ariana is not Muslim, and Ariana's folks see her lover as a kind of potential terrorist threat. The two girls struggle to keep their relationship safe. Ariana would like the news to be out in the open, while Rukhsana desires to preserve her future. The two girls both apply to Caltech, and they are thrilled to be accepted.

Teens

Booktalking "Efren Divided" by Ernesto Cisneros

Efren wants to be a typical boy who has his family life who has his family life at home and his friends at school. This sense of normality and well-being shatters when his Ama is deported to Mexico. The teen and Apa attempt to keep this knowledge from the twins, Max and Mia, for as long as possible, but they soon catch on to the stark reality of the horrific situation. Efren's friend, David, is campaigning to become class president. Efren, meanwhile, can barely manage to help take care of the twins and do his schoolwork in the midst of his inner turmoil.

Adventures - Children

Booktalking "A Girl and Five Brave Horses" by Sonora Carver

Sonora Carver was a misfit during her school-age years. Often truant as a girl due to fraternizing with horses, Sonora was about to be expelled when her mother asked her to stay home anyway to take care of her younger siblings. Then, one day her mother presented her with a wild idea. She showed her an ad for a diving girl with Dr. Carver's diving horses. Sonora was less than thrilled about the proposition until she saw a performance. She was then captivated by the job opportunity, and she could think of little else. It became her mission to dive with horses.

Beyond "Maus"

8 Banned and Challenged Comics

Book banning, unfortunately, is nothing new.

Grief in Memoir

What to read while you wait for Crying in H Mart

Michelle Zauner’s memoir on grief, family, and food, Crying in H Mart, is massively popular. In fact, as of this writing, the print copy of the book has 549 holds at DC Public Library. While you wait for your turn with this powerful personal account, why not try some similar reads?

With Love, from Colleen

Books for fans of Colleen Hoover

Cookbooks: It's What's For Breakfast!

Recipe collections for the most important meal of the day

February is National Hot Breakfast month! And while I’m guilty of a just-coffee-for-breakfast most mornings, I am a huge fan of breakfast food -- in fact, rather than cake, we opted to do a waffle bar to celebrate our love of breakfast at my and my husband’s wedding. Delicious!

In the Shadows

Books about lesser-known serial killers

Especially with the advent of true crime podcasts and blogs, we’ve all heard of Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and the recently positively-identified “Golden State Killer,” Joseph DeAngelo. Many interested in true crime can name a handful of serial killers off the top of their head. But what about lesser-known serial killers?

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

Beyond "Part-Time:" Indigenous Voices in YA

When Sherman Alexie published

Southwest Neighborhood Library