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Michigan Fiction: Marlena

by eapearce

For those of us who have spent all or most of our lives in Michigan, Julie Buntin’s striking descriptions of a desolate, gray northern winter will strike a chord. Buntin lives in New York now, but she spent her formative years in northern Michigan, and this is the setting for her first novel, Marlena. The narrator of the story, Cat, has just moved to tiny Silver Lake, far up the western coast of the mitten, with her recently- divorced mother and older brother. The family struggles to make ends meet; Cat’s mother cleans houses for the wealthy tourists and her brother works nights at a plastics factory. Cat is lonely and unhappy, until she meets her next door neighbor, 17-year-old blonde, beautiful Marlena. As their lives become increasingly intertwined, Cat dives deeper into the dark world of addiction and illegal activity. An older Cat narrates portions of the novel, looking back on her time in Silver Lake with Marlena, and struggles to make sense of the beauty and tragedy she experienced there.

Set in 2006, in the early days of the opioid epidemic, the book is a fascinating and devastating testament to how easy it is to lose control. Buntin clearly writes from a place of experience and awareness, which allow the story to rise above others of its kind. Marlena, Cat, and the others who do what they must to survive in a bleak world that seems to have no future are not characters easily forgotten.

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Pulitzer Prize Winners 2017

by lucroe

The esteemed Pulitzer Prizes have been awarded for 2017 and they should all be required reading. Here is the list:

Fiction: Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead: picking up numerous awards besides the Pulitzer, including the National Book Award & the Carnegie Medal. At the top of many best book of the year lists for 2016. Whitehead chronicles two runaway slave's trials as they attempt to allude their captors with allegories that resound into the present day.

General Nonfiction: Evicted by Matthew Desmond: additional honors include the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Carnegie Medal, & PEN award. Desmond followed 8 families in Milwaukee struggling with poverty.

History: Blood in the Water by Heather Ann Thompson: another that picked up numerous accolades and awards for telling the incredible story of the uprisings as well as the aftermath

Bio/Autobiography: The return by Hisham Matar: a deeply moving portrait of the author's continued hope of finding his father alive after his mysterious disappearance in Libya

Poetry: by Tyehimba Jess: Multiple award winning poet and Detroit native, Jess, deserves an even bigger following with this fascinating collection of poetry and narrative

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The Unlikelies

by potterbee

Soon to hit the shelves this June is a story to start the summer about five diverse teens who form an unlikely alliance.

With her best friend headed of to camp and college, high school senior Sadie is bracing herself for a long, lonely, and boring summer. Things take an unexpected turn when she rescues a baby in distress and a video of her good deed goes viral. Suddenly internet-famous, Sadie's summer changes for the better when she's introduced to other "hometown heroes." These very different teens work together to right local wrongs and do good in their community.

This second and anticipated book from Carrie Firestone delves into issues that impact teens daily lives from bullying, body shaming, cyber group behaviors, and addressing the horrors and destruction of heroin addiction. The story maintains positive themes while dealing with such serious issues and is regarded as similar to stories like The Breakfast Club and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. Firestone weaves a rich story using humor and romance in a style consistent with her first novel adored by readers, The Loose Ends List.

A captivating read for fans of Young Adult fiction, readers will find plenty to relate and aspire to as the kids attempt to better the world and confront their own struggles with love, loyalty, and friendship.

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New Addition to the Alien Franchise

by PizzaPuppy

With Alien:Covenant being released this Friday in theaters, now is the perfect time to revisit the previous installments in the classic science fiction horror series.

Here at AADL, we have the original Alien on DVD and Blu-ray, as well as the sequels Aliens and Alien 3. These first three movies (as well as Alien: Resurrection) have also been collected into one set called the Alien Quadrilogy. We also have AVP: Alien vs. Predator, a cross-over between this series and the Predator series, as well as the most recent addition to the franchise: a prequel called Prometheus. While originally Prometheus was merely set in the same universe as Alien and was not considered to have a direct connection to the previous movies, Alien:Covenant is a direct sequel to Prometheus and therefore ties it directly back into the franchise.

The Alien franchise has also produced several books, including Alien: Sea of Sorrows and the brand new Aliens: Bug Hunt: All New Tales from the Expanded Alien Universe. There's a great graphic novel series that has been collected into an Alien Omnibus (other volumes can be found here and here), as well as the graphic novella Aliens: Fast Track to Heaven.

In addition to all of this, we also have an awesome Art Print: Alien, 2015, created by local artist Jeremy Wheeler. This Art Print and other cool Tools are available for checkout with your LCard.

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Saints for All Occasions

by Lucy S

In a review in The Washington Post, Ron Charles says, “In a simple style that never commits a flutter of extravagance, Sullivan draws us into the lives of the Raffertys and, in the rare miracle of fiction, makes us care about them as if they were our own family.”

Though the plot of her new book, Saints for All Occasions, takes place over the course of only a few days, J. Courtney Sullivan carries us back and forth through time with the story of two sisters, Nora and Theresa, as they emigrate from Ireland to Boston in the 1950s, and the separate paths they follow once they arrive. Once in Boston, Theresa becomes pregnant and Nora and her husband raise the child as their own. This deception creates a rift between the sisters and lays the ground work for many more secrets within multiple generations of their family.

It is Nora’s story that lies at the heart of this book, even as she only ever seems to know who she is in relation to others, a wife to her husband, a mother to her children, and most challengingly, a sister to Theresa. Nora would like life to follow a plan, with her at it’s helm, but people are messy and they disappoint and confound her, remaining unknowable to her. Nora conveniently seems to forget parts of her life that don’t fit into her imagined order and thus becomes mired in deceit. As the mother of four children, Nora must manage how much she actually wants to know about the people she has raised. “This, then, was the hardest part of being a parent. Your children had their private worlds, where you could never protect them. They were yours and yet not yours.”

Nora’s sister, Theresa, ends up in a convent in Vermont and becomes Mother Cecilia. She initially goes there to escape, but what she finds in herself as a nun gives her more happiness than Nora will ever know. “To sit alone with your thoughts in silence for so long, you had no choice but to confront them. The calm came not from slipping a habit over one’s head but from facing down all that plagued you and coming out the other side.”

Sullivan delves into weighty issues such as religion, birth-control, family, love, loss, and addiction, without ever getting too heavy-handed or sentimental. She carries us along through the strength of her characters, so that they will stick with us, even after the last page.

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Ramadan Mubarak, Curious George!

by evelyn

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan starts next week. If you have a little one who is curious about this holiday, check out our great selection of Ramadan materials for children!

Babies can start learning about Ramadan with the board book It’s Ramadan, Curious George, in which the little monkey celebrates with his friend Kareem.

Older readers will love the picture book Lailah’s Lunchbox. Ten year old recent immigrant Lailah is proud to be old enough to fast for Ramadan for the first time, but she is nervous about explaining it to her classmates. Lailah’s school librarian comes to the rescue with sage advice in this beautifully illustrated book.

Children who like Sesame Street can watch the Ramadan episode of Adam’s World, a television show in which puppets explain the Muslim world to kids.

For even more kids’ books on Ramadan (both fiction and nonfiction), take a look at this list!

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Storytimes: S is for Snake! Sssssss!

by eapearce

This week at storytimes at Traverwood and Westgate, Elizabeth told stories about snakes! Ssssssss! We heard Mama Hen’s Big Day, where Mama Hen has to find the perfect place to lay her beautiful egg, and The Gruffalo, where mouse plays a trick on all the forest creatures (including snake, of course!). We also read The Snake Who Said Shhh, by Jodie Parachini and heard the story of Samantha the snake who lost her silly snake siblings while babysitting and had to go search for them!

AADL storytimes are intended for ages 2-5 and are free and open to the public. For details about our storytimes at every location, visit the Jump page!

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2017 "It's All Write!" Contest Finalists!

by krayla

The finalists of the 2017 “It’s All Write!” Teen Writing Contest are officially published! Check out the list of finalists to see who will move on to the next round. A panel of published Young Adult authors will read the finalist stories over the next several weeks to choose the contest winners. Congratulations to everyone who chose to participate this year!

All writers and aspiring writers are welcome to attend the "It's All Write!" Awards as part of AADL's first Teen Writing Festival on June 4!

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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

by PizzaPuppy

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hit theaters on May 5th and has already taken in more than $500 million dollars in the worldwide box office. The popular film is another in a long list of movies that take place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, inhabited by popular characters such as Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk and other characters in the Avengers, as well as the more recent additions which include Ant-Man and Dr. Strange.

In addition to the first movie, the Blu-ray edition of Vol. 1, and the awesome soundtrack, we have plenty of materials to help satisfy your Guardians of the Galaxy craving.

For kids, we have the picture book Night Night Groot as well as the comic book Guardians of the Galaxy: Beginnings.

For teens, we have many different comic trade paperbacks, including Guardians of the Galaxy: Prelude (an official Marvel Cinematic Universe tie-in), Vol. 3 of the War of Kings and Legendary Star-Lord Vol. 1: Face It, I Rule. We also have Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1: Cosmic Avengers, Vol. 2: Angela and a cross-over with the All-New X-Men called The Trial of Jean Grey from the mind of Brian Michael Bendis.

For an adult audience, we have titles such as Guardians of the Galaxy: The Complete Collection Vol. 1 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4: Realm of Kings, as well as a cross-over with the Avengers called Avengers: the Korvac Saga.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is estimated to be released on DVD and Blu-ray in September 2017, so look for it in our collection then!

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The Handmaid's Tale and Dystopian Lit

by PizzaPuppy

By now you've probably heard about Hulu's new 10-episode series of The Handmaid's Tale, based on the classic dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood. In it, the former United States is now a totalitarian surveillance state that responds to plunging birth rates due to environmental factors by holding women captive and forcing them to bear the children of the ruling class. Freedom is heavily restricted (especially for women), and a secret police force called 'the Eyes' watches every public move. The story adeptly blends themes of fascism and politics, women's rights, language as it relates to power, and complacency within a society into a full and rich story. If you can't get enough of The Handmaid's Tale, we have the classic novel on audiobook as well as the radio dramatization. There is also a 1990 movie adaptation of the novel available for check out.

If you've already exhausted these options, and you're looking for something in a similar vein, here are some suggestions below on what to read after The Handmaid's Tale. For more suggestions on dystopian novels for all ages, take a look at the public lists for Adult Dystopian Fiction, Teen Dystopian Fiction and even Kid's Dystopian Fiction.

Classic dystopian novels include 1984 by George Orwell, A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, The Children of Men by P.D. James, A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, and The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Many of these also have movie adaptations, which can be found on this list.

If you're looking for something lesser known, take a look at A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller, set in a Catholic monastery after a devastating nuclear war and spanning centuries as civilization attempts to rebuild itself from the ground up. In it, the monks of the 'Order of Leibowitz' decide to preserve the last remnants of scientific knowledge until they deem that the outside world is ready for it. There's also The Fireman by Joe Hill, about a terrifying plague that threatens to reduce civilization to ashes and the heroes who attempt to stop it, led by a man known as the Fireman. The Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane Rogers follows a similar path, in which a rogue virus that kills pregnant women is unleashed on the world. Jessie Lamb is a 16-year-old girl attempting to navigate this new world who is ready to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to save the human race. And in The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist, citizens over the age of 50 without families or jobs are deemed 'dispensable' by the government and sent to a facility to participate in experiments and donate their organs to more 'essential' members of society.

There are also plenty of great dystopian novels for a teen audience. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Divergent by Veronica Roth, The Maze Runner by James Dashner, Red Rising by Pierce Brown, and Uglies by Scott Westerfeld are extremely popular teen dystopian series. Some lesser known titles include Bumped by Megan McCafferty, in which teenaged girls must become fanatically religious wives or expensive surrogate mothers for couples made infertile by a widespread virus, Wither by Lauren DeStefano, where an accident of modern science creates a situation where men die at age 25, women die at age 20, and girls are kidnapped and married off to repopulate the world, and The Jewel by Amy Ewing, in which a poor girl from the inner city is purchased and trained to become a surrogate mother for royal children. In Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien, a 16-year-old girl who believes she is the last survivor of a nuclear war comes across another survivor with tyranical intentions, and in Unwind by Neal Shusterman teenagers can have their lives 'unwound' and their body parts harvested for others to use.

Last but not least, there are many excellent dystopian books for children. The most well known are probably The Giver series by Lois Lowry, in which a boy becomes one of two people in his society with memories of the past and discovers the dark secrets about the society he lives in. The Last Wild by Piers Torday explores a world in which animals no longer exist. The Among the Hidden series by Margaret Peterson Haddix revolves around a third child living in hiding due to a society where families are only allowed to have 2 children. And in The One Safe Place by Tania Unsworth, a boy earns a coveted spot in a home for abandoned children that promises a near perfect existence: unlimited toys, food and the chance for another family. It isn't until he arrives that he discovers that all is not as it seems.