Charlestown-Clark County: Recommended Reads

Recommended Reads

Staff Picks

Dorisann's pick:

Joanna Fluke - Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder

Margaret's pick:

Debbie Macomber - Cottage by the sea

Lisa's picks:

Lisa Jackson - Last Girl Standing
Lisa Gardner - When You See Me
Heather Graham - Deadly Touch
Cassandra Clare - Chain of Gold

Michelle's picks:

Ann Ross - Miss Julia Stirs Up Trouble
Philip Craig - Murder at a vineyard mansion

Most Checked Out & Requested Books in March at Charlestown-Clark County Public Library

books

The four winds - Hannah, Kristin
A Gambling Man - Baldacci, David
Finding Ashley - Steel, Danielle
21st birthday - Patterson, James
The Russian - Patterson, James/ Born, James O.
The affair : a novel - Steel, Danielle
Dark sky : a Joe Pickett novel - Box, C. J.
Eternal - Scottoline, Lisa
Ocean Prey - Sandford, John
Country Proud - Miller, Linda Lael
Curse of Salem - Hooper, Kay
Dog Man : Mothering heights - Pilkey, Dav
Win - Coben, Harlan
Danger in Numbers - Graham, Heather
Fair and square - Burnell, Heather Ayris
Legacy - Roberts, Nora
The Red Book - Patterson, James/ Ellis, David
Meant to Be - Deveraux, Jude
No Way Out - Michaels, Fern
The Bounty - Evanovich, Janet/ Hamilton, Steve
The Last Night in London - White, Karen
The Unforgiven - Graham, Heather
The Vineyard at Painted Moon - Mallery, Susan
A Distant Shore - Kingsbury, Karen
Miss Julia happily ever after - Ross, Ann B.
Missing and Endangered - Jance, Judith A.
Sooley - Grisham, John
The Tooth Fairy vs. the Easter Bunny - Deenihan, Jamie L. B.
The lady has a past - Quick, Amanda
Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder - Fluke, Joanne
Blink of an eye - Johansen, Iris
Faithless in death : An Eve Dallas Novel - Robb, J. D.
Cat kid comic club - Pilkey, Dav
Deadly Cross - Patterson, James
Neighbors : a novel - Steel, Danielle
The Palm Beach murders : thrillers - Patterson, James
Who was George Washington? - Edwards, Roberta
A Time for Mercy - Grisham, John
Calder Brand - Dailey, Janet
Death by Chocolate Snickerdoodle - Graves, Sarah
Fast ice : a novel from the Numa files - Cussler, Clive
Itty-bitty kitty-corn - Hale, Shannon
Kingdom of shadow and light - Moning, Karen Marie
The Easter bunny that overslept - Friedrich, Priscilla
The Selection v.1 - Cass, Kiera
The Stepsisters - Mallery, Susan
The kaiser's web - Berry, Steve
A Simple Murder - Castillo, Linda
All That Glitters - Steel, Danielle
Bunny Bus - Paquette, Ammi-Joan
Dangerous women - Adams, Hope
David gets in trouble - Shannon, David
Double Jeopardy - Woods, Stuart
Easter mice! - Roberts, Bethany
Guts - Telgemeier, Raina
Haunted hibiscus - Childs, Laura
If you give a cat a cupcake - Numeroff, Laura Joffe
Llama Llama mess mess mess - Dewdney, Anna
Logan likes Mary Anne! : a graphic novel - Galligan, Gale
Lover unveiled - Ward, J. R.
Otter loves Easter! - Garton, Sam
Pete the cat and the itsy bitsy spider - Dean, James
Pride and prejudice - Austen, Jane
The Berenstain Bears' Easter surprise - Berenstain, Stan
The Cottage on Lighthouse Lane - Bunn, Davis
The Paris library : a novel - Skeslien Charles, Janet
The awakening - Roberts, Nora
The leprechaun who lost his rainbow - Callahan, Sean
The newcomer - Andrews, Mary Kay
The shadow box - Rice, Luanne
Tiny the Indiana Easter Bunny - James, Eric
We begin at the end - Whitaker, Chris
Animal instinct - Rosenfelt, David
Barbie fairytale collection
Before she disappeared : a novel - Gardner, Lisa
Betty Bunny loves Easter - Kaplan, Michael B.
Biscuit and the little llamas - Capucilli, Alyssa Satin
Clifford's spring clean-up - Bridwell, Norman
Dog Man unleashed - Pilkey, Dav
Dog man 9 - Pilkey, Dav
Don't let the pigeon drive the bus - Willems, Mo
Easter egg disaster - Ruelle, Karen Gray
Easter parade - Berlin, Irving
Endless mercy - Peterson, Tracie
Firefly Lane - Hannah, Kristin
Fly away - Hannah, Kristin
Fortune and glory : tantalizing twenty-seven - Evanovich, Janet
Hidden - Michaels, Fern
Hop on Pop - Seuss, Dr.
Katie the catsitter - Venable, Colleen A. F.
Lightning game - Feehan, Christine
Minerva Louise and the colorful eggs - Stoeke, Janet Morgan
Notorious - Palmer, Diana
One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish - Seuss, Dr.
Piece of My Heart - Clark, Mary Higgins/ Burke, Alafair
Piggy Bunny - Vail, Rachel
Ready, set, go cart! - Dean, Kim
Robert Ludlum's the Treadstone exile - Hood, Joshua
Roblox character encyclopedia -
Serpentine : an Alex Delaware novel - Kellerman, Jonathan
Shakeup - Woods, Stuart
Smile - Telgemeier, Raina
St. Patrick's Day - Haugen, Brenda
Surviving Savannah - Henry, Patti Callahan
The Coast-to-coast Murders - Patterson, James/ Barker
The Drowning Kind - McMahon, Jennifer
The Easter Bunny's assistant - Thomas, Jan
The Girl from the Channel Islands - Lecoat, Jenny
The Guest List - Foley, Lucy
The House on Olive Street - Carr, Robyn
The Law of Innocence - Connelly, Michael
The Stone Wall - Lewis, Beverly
The babysitter : my summers with a serial killer - Rodman, Liza
The dark secret
The first Easter - Heyer, Carol
The gift of the magpie : a Meg Langslow mystery - Andrews, Donna
The kitchen front : a novel - Ryan, Jennifer
The pigeon has to go to school! - Willems, Mo
The return - Sparks, Nicholas
The sentinel - Child, Lee
The thing about spring - Kirk, Daniel
The umbrella - Brett, Jan
The very impatient caterpillar : am I a butterfly yet? - Burach, Ross
The viscount who loved me v.2 - Quinn, Julia
There was an old monkey who swallowed a frog - Ward, Jennifer
Unfinished business : an Ali Reynolds mystery - Jance, Judith A.
Walk in my combat boots : true stories from America's bravest warriors - Patterson, James
What pet should I get? - Seuss, Dr.
When I found you - Novak, Brenda
Wings of fire : the dragonet prophecy - Sutherland, Tui T.
1st Case - Patterson, James/ Tebbetts, Chris
A good girl's guide to murder - Jackson, Holly
A new beginning v.1 - Bentley, Sue
A stranger in town : a Rockton novel - Armstrong, Kelley
ABC dinosaurs
Alone - Freeman, Megan E.
An Amish surprise - Gray, Shelley Shepard
An extravagant death : A Charles Lenox Mystery - Finch, Charles
Awkward - Chmakova, Svetlana, 1979- author
Baby-sitters little sister : Karen's roller skates. - Farina, Katy
Baby-sitters little sister. v. 1, : Karen's witch - Farina, Katy
Benny and Penny in Lost and found : a Toon book - Hayes, Jeoffrey
Bunny's Easter egg - Mortimer, Anne
Dark sky : a Joe Pickett novel - Box, C. J.
Daylight - Baldacci, David
Diary of a wimpy kid v.10 : old school - Kinney, Jeff
Diary of a wimpy kid v.14 : wrecking ball - Kinney, Jeff
Dog Man - Pilkey, Dav
Dog man : Brawl of the wild - Pilkey, Dav
Dr. Seuss's sleep book. - Seuss, Dr.
Eva's campfire adventure v.12 - Elliott, Rebecca
Fool me twice : a novel - Lindsay, Jeffry P.
Garfield goes bananas - Davis, Jim
Ghast in the machine! v.4 - Eliopulos, Nick
Go, dog, go! - Eastman, P. D.
Ground Zero - Gratz, Alan
Happy Easter, Little Critter - Mayer, Mercer
Horton hears a Who! - Seuss, Dr.
Intuitive fasting : the flexible four-week intermittent fasting plan to recharge your metabolism and renew your health - Cole, Will
Invisible girl : a novel - Jewell, Lisa
Ivy + Bean v.1 - Barrows, Annie
Jackpot - Woods, Stuart
Kamala's way : an American life - Morain, Dan
Keep sharp : build a better brain at any age - Gupta, Sanjay
Llama Llama misses Mama - Dewdney, Anna
Max Meow - Gallagher, John
My toothbrush is missing! - Thomas, Jan
Nypd Red 6 - Patterson, James/ Karp, Marshall
Pursuit - Robards, Karen
Rocking in my school shoes - Litwin, Eric
Six Weeks to Live - McKenzie, Catherine
Slime for dinner - Stilton, Geronimo
Someone to cherish - Balogh, Mary
Star Wars rogue one : the ultimate visual guide - Hidalgo, Pablo
Stellaluna - Cannon, Janell
Sunrise on Half Moon Bay - Carr, Robyn
The Attack - Griffin, W. E. B./ Butterworth, William E.
The Bad Guys in the One?! 12 - Blabey, Aaron
The Berenstain bears and the real Easter eggs - Berenstain, Stan
The Easter egg artists - Adams, Adrienne
The Sneetches, and other stories. - Seuss, Dr.
The children's blizzard : a novel - Benjamin, Melanie
The good sister - Hepworth, Sally
The lost heir v.2 - Sutherland, Tui
The old farmer's almanac -
The parable of the lily - Higgs, Liz Curtis
The request - Bell, David
The return of the Jedi - Grange, Emma
The story of Easter - Fisher, Aileen
The summer of lost and found - Monroe, Mary Alice
The un-fairy - Mews, Melody
The wife upstairs - Hawkins, Rachel
There once was a cowpoke who swallowed an ant - Ketteman, Helen
There was an old woman who lived in a book - Tejido, Jomike
Total Power - Flynn, Vince/ Mills, Kyle
Troubles in Paradise - Hilderbrand, Elin
Twenty - Grippando, James
Ultimate shark rumble - Pallotta, Jerry
Who is the Mystery Reader? - Willems, Mo
You Betrayed Me - Jackson, Lisa

A Spotlight on Books about Social Equality

brown squares

Adult Nonfiction

The Black and the Blue by Matthew Horace
Veteran police officer and CNN law enforcement analyst Matthew Horace offers an unforgettable account of the racism, bigotry, and colorlines that permeate America's law enforcement culture, institution, and system, and lays out a blueprint for change.

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
Set amid the civil rights movement, the never-before-told true story of NASA’s African-American female mathematicians who played a crucial role in America’s space program.

And Still I Rise: Black America Since MLK by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
A timeline and chronicle of the past fifty years of black history in the U.S. in more than 350 photos.

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Coates shares with his son—and readers—the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children’s lives were taken as American plunder.

The Black List by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
Twenty-five prominent African-Americans of various professions, disciplines, and backgrounds offer their own stories and insights on the struggles, triumphs, and joys of black life in America and, in the process, redefine "black list" for a new century.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
An autobiography describing the early years of Maya Angelou’s life. The first in a seven-volume series, it is a coming-of-age story that illustrates how strength of character and a love of literature can help overcome racism and trauma.

Adult Fiction

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Newlyweds Celestial and Roy, the living embodiment of the New South, are settling into the routine of their life together when Roy is sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit. An insightful look into the lives of people who are bound and separated by forces beyond their control.

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
A journey through Mississippi’s past and present that is both an intimate portrait of a family and an epic tale of hope and struggle. Grapples with the ugly truths at the heart of the American story and the power, and limitations, of the bonds of family.

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The story of the enslaved Hiram Walker, who can't remember the mother he lost young but is blessed with mysterious powers and is determined to join the war on slavery, escape the plantation, and rescue the family he made for himself there.

Beloved by Toni Morrison
Brings the unimaginable experience of slavery into the literature of today and into the reader's comprehension.

Teen Books

SLAY by Brittney Morris
By day, seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is an honors student, a math tutor, and one of the only Black kids at Jefferson Academy. But at home, she joins hundreds of thousands of Black gamers who duel worldwide as Nubian personas in the secret multiplayer online role-playing card game, SLAY. No one knows Kiera is the game developer, not her friends, her family, not even her boyfriend, Malcolm, who believes video games are partially responsible for the "downfall of the Black man,” Driven to save the only world in which she can be herself, Kiera must preserve her secret identity and harness what it means to be unapologetically Black in a world intimidated by Blackness. But can she protect her game without losing herself in the process?

Monster by Walter Dean Myers
As a way of coping with the horrific events that entangle him, Steve, an amateur filmmaker, decides to transcribe his trial into a script, just like in the movies. He writes it all down, scene by scene, the story of how his whole life was turned around in an instant. But despite his efforts, reality is blurred and his vision obscured until he can no longer tell who he is or what is the truth. This compelling novel is Walter Dean Myers's writing at its best.

All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
Rashad and Quinn—one black, one white, both American—face the unspeakable truth that racism and prejudice didn’t die after the civil rights movement. There’s a future at stake, a future where no one else will have to be absent because of police brutality. They just have to risk everything to change the world. Cuz that’s how it can end.

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
An ode to Put the Damn Guns Down, this is New York Times bestseller Jason Reynolds’s fiercely stunning novel that takes place in sixty potent seconds—the time it takes a kid to decide whether or not he’s going to murder the guy who killed his brother.
Told in short, fierce staccato narrative verse, Long Way Down is a fast and furious, dazzlingly brilliant look at teenage gun violence, as could only be told by Jason Reynolds.

Stamped — Racism, Anti-Racism and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
This is NOT a history book.
This is a book about the here and now.
A book to help us better understand why we are where we are.
A book about race.
Through a gripping, fast-paced, and energizing narrative written by beloved award-winner Jason Reynolds, this book shines a light on the many insidious forms of racist ideas--and on ways readers can identify and stamp out racist thoughts in their daily lives.

Dear Martin by Nic Stone
Justyce McAllister is top of his class and set for the Ivy League—but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. And despite leaving his rough neighborhood behind, he can't escape the scorn of his former peers or the ridicule of his new classmates. Justyce looks to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for answers. But do they hold up anymore? He starts a journal to Dr. King to find out.
Then comes the day Justyce goes driving with his best friend, Manny, windows rolled down, music turned up—way up, sparking the fury of a white off-duty cop beside them. Words fly. Shots are fired. Justyce and Manny are caught in the crosshairs. In the media fallout, it's Justyce who is under attack.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least win her first battle. As the daughter of an underground hip hop legend who died right before he hit big, Bri’s got massive shoes to fill. Insightful, unflinching, and full of heart, On the Come Up is an ode to hip hop from one of the most influential literary voices of a generation. It is the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you; and about how, especially for young black people, freedom of speech isn’t always free.

Children’s Picture Books

The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander
Famous African-American athletes, artists, and activists are highlighted in this book. Their accomplishments are celebrated while acknowledging the incredible hardships they had to overcome to reach those triumphs.

Ron’s Big Mission by Rose Blue
Future astronaut, Ron McNair, tells the story of his childhood and how he defied segregation laws to register for a library card in the whites’ only library of his South Carolina childhood.

Hair Love by Matthew Cherry
Black hair is celebrated in this adorable picture book where a father must learn to style his preschool daughter’s hair.

Granddaddy’s Gift by Margaree King Mitchell
In the segregated South, a young girl goes with her Grandfather to register to vote. Despite adversity and hardship because of his decision, he still teaches his granddaughter that the right to vote is precious.

Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson
This beautifully illustrated book tells the story of African Americans in America and how even though they experienced slavery and racism, they were able to fight for freedom, fight for their rights and continue fighting for equality.

Children’s Chapter Books

New Kid by Jerry Craft
This graphic novel of seventh-grader Jordan Banks who struggles to fit in at his new private school where he is one of the few African Americans attending.

A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramee
12-year-old Shayla does not like making waves at her junior high school. She is a good student and a rule follower. However, she must decide whether or not following the rules is worth it when her school bans the BLM armband she begins wearing to show support for the movement.

Genesis Begins Again by Alicia Williams
13-year-old Genesis does not like her dark skin and is trying to lighten it as this novel begins. However, as her talent for singing begins to be encouraged she learns about other black musicians about how racist ideas of beauty are hurtful and untrue.

One Crazy Summer by Rita Garcia Williams
It is 1968 and three sisters, Delphine, Vonetta and Fern are visiting their mother for the summer in Oakland, California. When they arrive in Oakland, they learn their mother works for the Black Panther Party, a group of African Americans struggling for civil rights. The girls spend the summer attending the Black Panther-run community center and learning more about the struggle for equality Black Americans face and more about their mysterious mother who left their father when the girls were very young.

Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson
Six diverse kids in Ms. Laverne’s sixth grade classroom are supposed to meet weekly in an unused art room for a book club. However, instead of talking about books, Ms. Laverne encourages them to talk and share about their lives. Through these conversations, the kids’ worries and fears emerge including racial profiling, deportations and gun violence. These conversations also bring the kids closer together and help them understand one another.