Talking in the Library

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton My rating: 4 of 5 stars A dreamy, historical fiction-ish magically-realistic novel about a family of supernaturals who move from France to Manhattan, and then out to Seattle in the early days of the 20th century. I kind of zipped through it, and think that it is more of a book to savor, like the delectable bakery treats Emilienne makes. Emilienne is the family matriarch, who settles in Seattle and makes a life for herself after her husband dies. Everyone thinks she's a witch--and there are some strange things about her. Her grandaughter Ava is even stranger--she has magnificent wings like an angel. When a new man comes to town he becomes obsessed with her and sets a tragedy in motion. The writing style is beautiful, just like Ava's wings, and the details of this magical world will stay with you long after you close the book. View all my reviews

Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero My rating: 4 of 5 stars Gabi is a high school senior in Southern California and this her diary. SO MUCH DRAMA!! Her voice is funny, good natured, honest, and searching. She's smart, a poet, loves to eat (gotta love a girl who keeps beef jerky under her pillow!) her father's a meth addict, her two best buddies are going through some major life upheavals--and she's finally getting a love life. She treads a careful line between honoring Mexican cultural traditions and becoming herself. One of the themes of the book is connection to, acceptance of, and agency over young women's bodies. Gabi is not stick thin and she wrestles with this throughout the book, culminating in a zine she creates that we get to read. I recommend for a few reasons: teens tend to love first person narratives and SO MUCH DRAMA!--just like the telenovas that Gabi's aunt Tia watches every day--yet the drama has a purpose: Gabi does a lot of seriou

Chinese language collection at Weston Public Library This morning district librarians and ELL teachers visited the Weston Public Library where we learned how the library supports English language learners in our community. Did you know that the Weston Public Library offers group conversation classes every Wednesday morning from 9:30-10:30am? matches students with individual tutors? (currently people seeking tutoring outnumber available tutors) developed a great collection of materials to help English language learners get to know their new community, customs, schools, and language? offers a large collection of books in Simplified and Traditional Chinese? Help our English language learners take advantage of the high quality services our public library provides. Let them know these services exist for them, and that a library card is free to all Weston residents.  Better yet, if you are student who is friendly with an English language learning student, think about invit

The Half Life of Molly Pierce by Katrina Leno My rating: 4 of 5 stars I didn't really know what this book was about when I picked it up, but I saw a review from one of my friends on Goodreads that it was about Dissociative Identity Disorder and thought, hmm, I liked Sybil: The Classic True Story of a Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities (I mean, who didn't) let's give this a try. The story presents as a mystery. Why can't Molly remember things? How did she become involved in that motorcycle accident? How do people know her when she doesn't know them? What is happening when her friends and family look at her strangely and move on in the conversation? Who is Molly Pierce? The author answers that question deftly through two major characters. This was a quick, satisfying and ultimately hopeful read. View all my reviews

The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone by Adele Griffin My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book is strongly modeled on one of my favorite books of all time Edie: American Girl . You would think that would mean I *wouldn't* like this one, but, happily, I LOVED IT! Addison Stone is a charismatic, beautiful, artistically talented, driven, original, schizophrenic girl from Rhode Island who breaks out due to her artistic talent, and takes the New York art world by storm. She's in all the tabloids, dates famous guys, stages artistic stunts that get lots of attention, develops her talent, is exhibited at the Whitney Biennial.... She's a wunderkind. This kind of person that art dealers, sons of famous people, and others hang onto for perks, influence, and income. The kind of person who everyone thinks is in control. The truth is she's not in control and her highs, lows, and hallucinations/communications with a ghost drive her to her death. The novel is presented as nonfiction,

The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer My rating: 4 of 5 stars I could not put this book down! But first, a description: this is a combo of an Americanized-70's New York version of Brideshead Revisited , the New York version of Tales of the City , and a more fictionally fleshed out version of The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement . Suburban Jules meets a band of glamorous New York teenagers at an arts camp in 1970 something. They christen themselves "The Interestings" and spend the rest of their lives orbiting around the charismatic Wolf family. I classify this as historical fiction because New York in the 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, and 10s is a major character. Read this if you like book long on plot and short on description. The pacing is fast and the plot works hard to resolve itself in a dramatic and satisfying way. At the end you'll feel like you watched an HBO miniseries--and as a matter of fact, this would make a great one. View