So many exceptional books were released this year, and our staff devoured them all. Here are some of our favorites…
Little Fires Everywhere | Celeste Ng
The characters and their dialogue were well-developed and meaningful, and the story lines were intricately woven together. So often in fiction writing I see characters react to conflict in unrealistic ways. Sometimes it’s better for the plot, but what I appreciated about the teen characters specifically in Little Fires Everywhere was how their true-to-life reactions to trauma and stress elevated the authenticity of the story. — Katie Moore, eMarketing Specialist
Running With Raven | Laura Lee Huttenbach
A great story about life, commitment and perseverance. A must read for all of us who are wacky and run. — Jeff McDaniel, Vice President, International Business Development
Emma in the Night | Wendy Walker
Between the psychological intrigue and twists of the learning more and more about this dysfunctional family made for a read I just couldn’t put down! — Marsha Yarborough, Project Manager
Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich | Norman Ohler
A history of supposedly performance-enhancing drugs in Germany before and during WWII and their influence on the German war machine. An interesting aspect is the number of current multinational pharmaceutical companies that had their beginnings distributing things such as cocaine, opiates, and nutritional supplements enhanced with these drugs. The pharmaceutical product development is the stuff of fiction, and the consumption by the Nazi leadership, and their addiction is represented as an element of the rise and fall of the Third Reich that merits Ohler’s examination. The reader does have to allow a bit of leeway with “facts” as the author had to fill in a number of blanks with admitted speculations. — Martin Warzala, Director, Collection Management & Technical Development
A Plague of Giants | Kevin Hearne
The author of the Iron Druid Chronicles forays into new a new fantasy realm full magic, swordplay, intrigue and of course, fire-wielding giants. — Shawn Sealy, Senior Web Designer
Traitor to the Throne | Alwyn Hamilton
Peppered with romance, steampunk machinations, Middle Eastern magic and political intrigue, Traitor to the Throne even provides a real cliff hanger of an ending that you will not see coming. A worthy addition to this growing series for teens, entertaining and timely on so many different levels. — Alison Curtin, Prebind Manager, Children’s & Teen Services
Final Girls | Riley Sager
This book was crazy and one of those “just one more chapter” reads. I had no idea what was going to happen and the book really surprised me. If you love thrillers, this needs to be on your list! — Rachel Rupert, Junior Designer
What We Lose | Zinzi Clemmons
— Tanika Bradshaw, Advertising Sales Representative
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body | Roxane Gay
Gay is blunt in the way you want your best friend to be; in fact, Hunger is very much like sitting down with a good friend while she tells you her darkest secrets because she knows that only you will be able to understand them. This book is raw and intimate in a way that can make the reader uncomfortable, but isn’t that the point? To learn understand others, to feel empathy for strangers, instead of automatically resorting to an unfair assumption? We are all flawed, but most of us are not as brave as Gay, who puts herself out there in the most personal of ways. — Deborah McGrane, Software Training and Documentation Specialist
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