Our adult selections for March are decidedly serious and topical, dealing with opioid addiction, racial bias, and living under despotism... while our teen and children’s selections are full of magic and fantasy. Never let it be said that there are never new and interesting titles to check out from the Free Library every month!
Young Children (Up to 2nd Grade)
Life on Earth depends on water. Here is a bold and lyrical picture book about protecting one of nature's most sacred resources. Told from the perspective of a Native American child, written by Ojibwe/Métis author Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Tlingit artist Michaela Goade, this picture book is a powerful call to action to defend Earth’s natural resources—inspired by the Dakota Access Pipeline protests and similar movements led by Indigenous tribes all across North America.
Older Children (3rd Grade to 6th Grade)
In four of the Five Kingdoms, technology (internal combustion engines, automatic weapons, and universal translators) is the norm, but in Joson magic still rules—except for 14-year-old Jiho Park and his sisters, who nullify magic. This Korean mythology-inspired adventure follows Jiho as he takes a job with Omni Murtagh Inc, the company trying to forge a path through the Kidahara, the mysterious forest that protects Joson from the outside world. On the trail, Jiho must join a long-missing princess (who is decidedly not human) and the Kidahara's inhabitants to save the land. Author Ellen Oh conjures up a world that is populated by diverse and fanciful characters, from the long-missing Princess Koko, to Jiho, to the leader of a Robin Hood-esque community of bandits: 15-year-old Micah, who discovers just in time that she has become the unwitting pawn of the evil wizard Luzee. Lots of action, magic, humor; a touch of family angst; and a modern feel in narration and details make this an easy choice for Harry Potter fans and those who like their magic rooted in real-world trappings.
Teen Fiction
Sixteen tales by bestselling and award-winning authors that explore the Black experience through fantasy, science fiction, and magic. Evoking Beyoncé’s Lemonade for a teen audience, these authors who are truly Octavia Butler’s heirs, have woven worlds to create a stunning narrative that centers Black women and gender-nonconforming individuals. This book will take you on a journey from folktales retold to futuristic societies and everything in between. Filled with stories of love and betrayal, strength and resistance, this collection contains an array of complex and true-to-life characters in which you cannot help but see yourself reflected. Witches and scientists, sisters and lovers, priestesses and rebels: the heroines shine brightly and you will never forget them. Authors include Elizabeth Acevedo, Amerie, Dhonielle Clayton, Jalissa Corrie, Somaiya Daud, Charlotte Davis, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Justina Ireland, Danny Lore, L.L. McKinney, Danielle Paige, Rebecca Roanhorse, Karen Strong, Ashley Woodfolk, and Ibi Zoboi.
Adult Fiction
Yunus Turabi, a bus driver in Tehran, leads an unremarkable life. A solitary man since the unexpected deaths of his father and mother years ago, he is decidedly apolitical—even during the driver's strike and its bloody end. But everyone has their breaking point, and Yunus has reached his. Handcuffed and blindfolded, he is taken to the infamous Evin prison for political dissidents. Inside this stark, strangely ordered world, his fate becomes entwined with Hajj Saeed, his personal interrogator. The two develop a disturbing yet interdependent relationship, with each playing his assigned role in a high stakes psychological game of cat and mouse, where Yunus endures a mind-bending cycle of solitary confinement and interrogation. In their startlingly intimate exchanges, Yunus's life begins to unfold—from his childhood memories growing up in a more free Iran to his heartbreaking betrayal of his only friend. As Yunus struggles to hold on to his sanity and evade Saeed's increasingly undeniable accusations, he must eventually make an impossible choice: continue fighting or submit to the system of lies upholding Iran's power. Gripping, startling, and masterfully told, this novel is a haunting story of life under despotism.
Adult Nonfiction
Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Eric Eyre delivers his entry in the (sadly) growing literature about the opioid epidemic ravaging the country. This book details the story of a pharmacy in Kermit, West Virginia, that distributed 12 million opioid pain pills in three years to a town with a population of 382 people, and of one woman, desperate for justice after losing her brother to an overdose.
Adult DVD and Blu-ray
Out on their first date, Queen and Slim are stopped for a minor traffic violation. During an era of increasing racial tensions, their interaction with the police officer escalates quickly. Terrified for his and his date's life, Slim disarms the officer and shoots him. The couple goes on the run, thinking it's their only option as they are labeled cop killers. When a viral video is released of the incident, they are quickly relabeled as victims of trauma, terror, and grief by people nationwide.
You can find these new titles and many more great books, ebooks, audiobooks, movies, and music in our catalog and at a neighborhood library near you!
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