June's Recommended Reads

All books mentioned in this edition of the Great Reads Newsletter are available in the Ocean County Library's OverDrive/Libby Collection and/or in our catalog.

 

On mobile devices you can download the Libby App from the device's app store to browse the OverDrive Collection.

 

For help and support visit the library's help page and click on the Libby by OverDrive tab.

Adult Fiction

The Titanic Survivors Book Club

by Timothy Schaffert


For weeks after the sinking of the Titanic, Yorick spots his own name among the list of those lost at sea. As an apprentice librarian for the White Star Line, his job was to curate the ship’s second-class library. But the day the Titanic set sail he was left stranded at the dock. After the ship’s sinking, Yorick takes this twist of fate as a sign to follow his lifelong dream of owning a bookshop in Paris. Soon after, he receives an invitation to a secret society of survivors where he encounters other ticket holders who didn’t board the ship. Haunted by their good fortune, they decide to form a book society.

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In Universes

by Emet North



Raffi works in an observational cosmology lab, searching for dark matter and trying to hide how little they understand their own research. Every chance they get, they escape to see Britt, a queer sculptor who fascinates them for reasons they also don't—or won't—understand. As Raffi's carefully constructed life begins to collapse, they become increasingly fixated on the multiverse and the idea that somewhere, there might be a universe where they mean as much to Britt as she does to them...and just like that, Raffi and Britt are thirteen years old, best friends and maybe something more.

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Young Adult Fiction

Dear Wendy

by Ann Zhao


Sophie Chi is in her first year of college and has long accepted her aroace (aromantic and asexual) identity. She knows she'll never fall in love, but she enjoys running an Instagram account that offers relationship advice to students at her school. No one except her roommate can know that she's behind the incredibly popular "Dear Wendy" account. When Joanna "Jo" Ephron created their "Sincerely Wanda" account, it wasn't at all meant to take off or be taken seriously—not like Wendy's. But now they might have a rivalry of sorts with Wendy's account? Oops.

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Otherworldly

by F.T. Lukens


Ellery is a non-believer in a region where people swear the supernatural is real. Sure, they've been stuck in a five-year winter, but there's got to be a scientific explanation. If goddesses were real, they wouldn't abandon their charges like this, leaving farmers like Ellery's family to scrape by. Knox is a familiar from the Other World, a magical assistant sent to help humans who have made crossroads bargains. When the crossroads demons come to collect Knox, he panics and runs. A chance encounter down an alley finds Ellery coming to Knox's rescue, successfully fending off his would-be abductors.

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Middle Grade Fiction

Linus and Etta Could Use a Win

by Caroline Huntoon


Linus is the new boy at school, and is more than happy to fade into the background of his new middle school.

Etta isn't like other kids at school, and she's proud of it. The class misanthrope, she's still reeling from a painful friendship breakup, making her more than happy to burn middle-school bridges before she heads off to the local alternative high school next year. When Etta's over-it-all attitude sparks a challenge from her ex-best friend, Marigold, to get Linus elected student body president, Linus is thrust back into the spotlight. But what started out as a bet quickly turns into a true friendship between Linus and Etta.

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Gooseberry

by Robin Gow


There's a lot twelve-year-old B doesn't know—like what their new name should be after coming out as nonbinary. Or what it would feel like to finally feel at home after moving around to different foster families for years. There's one thing B does know: they want to be a dog trainer when they grow up. Then they meet Gooseberry—a feisty stray dog. With Gooseberry, B could have everything they want: a family of their own, and a dog to train. And B's newest foster parents agree to let B adopt him. But Gooseberry is anxious and barely lets B pet him, let alone train him.

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Picture Books

Marley's Pride

Written by Joelle Retener

Illustrated by DeAnn Wiley


Marley is a little nonbinary kid with big anxieties. Crowds? Pass. Loud noises? No, thanks. When their Zaza is up for an award at Pride, they want to go to the parade for the first time with their beloved grandparent. But can Marley overcome their fears? 

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Not He or She, I'm Me

Written by A.M. Wild

Illustrated by Kah Yangni


A child gets ready for a wonderful day. They gleefully get dressed, hug their parents, go to school, and play with friends. All the while, unapologetically reminding themselves that they are and can only be themselves.

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