Recommendations
See what La Grange Public Library staff members have to recommend.
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Ain't She Sweet?
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by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Sugar Beth Carey, the beautiful, conceited daughter of rich and powerful parents, has returned home to Parrish, Mississippi where she made so many people miserable during her teen years. Many in town are hoping to see her humiliated—not the least being her former teacher, Colin Byrne, whose career she ruined by telling lies about him. Colin is now the owner of her former home, and plans to… Continue
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The Golden Compass
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by Philip Pullman
With the new HBO series, His Dark Materials, coming out in November, it's the perfect time to catch up on this classic story. Philip Pullman spins a fantastical tale of Lyra, a young girl from parallel universe Oxford, and her daemon, (basically the soul in animal form) Pan. Lyra is on a quest in the far north to resuce children stolen away by a sinister group with gruesome intentions. The Golden… Continue
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The Fruit of the Drunken Tree
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by Ingrid Rojas
This novel takes place in 1990s Columbia during the reign of drug lord, Pablo Escobar. An affluent mother with two girls living in a gated neighborhood hires a girl from the guerilla occupied invasions to work as a live-in maid. The youngest daughter tries to understand the new maid, but her strange ways indicate something more than shyness. All the women in this story are forced to make… Continue
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A Room With A View
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by E.M. Forster
Meet sheltered, young Lucy Honeychurch as she travels to Italy in this wry classic. Her sensibilities are piqued by both the beauty and sensuality of Florence, as well as the romantic entreaties of passionate, unconventional George Emerson. Lucy, who is traveling with her spinster cousin, the straight-laced Charlotte, knows that George is from a lower social class, but he’s just so much… Continue
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Black Leopard, Red Wolf
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by Marlon James
Author, Marlon James, jokingly referred to the book as the African Game of Thrones, but there’s very little to laugh about in this dark fantasy. Tracker, and a group including a shapeshifter, a giant and enigmatic witch, are hired to locate a boy under suspicious circumstances. Throughout their adventure, the reader is challenged to witness uncomfortable truths that fit frightfully into… Continue
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Midnight Robber
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by Nalo Hopkinson
Seven-year-old Tan-Tan dresses in her favorite costume as her folk hero “The Midnight Robber” during Carnival on the futuristic Caribbean colonized planet, Toussaint. The festivities resemble that of Carnival on planet Earth, but all residents are connected through ear implants to the surveillance system of Grande Nanotech Sentient Interface, also known as Granny Nanny. At Carnival,… Continue
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The Fourth Monkey
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by J.D. Barker
A long-sought serial killer is killed by a bus with his journal conveniently in his pocket. Detective Sam Porter rushes to find a final victim the journal alludes to; a teen girl who may still be alive. The killer, who follows a “See No Evil” pattern as his modus operandi, has written extensively about his upbringing in the journal, providing plenty of reasons for the direction his… Continue
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The Friend
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by Sigrid Nunez
Unexpectedly profound is the outcome of Nunez's endeavor to marry together themes of loss and despair with wry, yet sincere ponderings over the nature of our canine companions. Nunez writes a darkly humorous and poignant story of a woman grappling with the death of a friend. This book generates its value in an emotional currency not often found in literature and is a well-earned recipient of the… Continue
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Slammed
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by Colleen Hoover
Her father’s death was devastating, and now 18-year-old Layken’s mother has uprooted her Texas family and relocated them to Michigan. Things look brighter when she meets Will, the hot, friendly guy from across the street. They go on one wonderful date to a poetry slam before the bottom falls out of their budding relationship in a shocking way. Layken must make mature decisions in the… Continue
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A Gathering of Old Men
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by Ernest J. Gaines
When a brutal Cajun farmer is killed on a Louisiana plantation, a white woman and 18 elderly black men each claim responsibility. The sheriff believes he knows who did it, though plenty of people had motives. Meanwhile, the dead man’s father debates whether to form a lynch mob while his college student son tries to convince him “the old days are over.” This is a fascinating… Continue
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The Secret Scripture
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by Sebastian Barry
The tragic story of a 100-year-old Irish woman unjustly installed in a mental asylum for most of her life is told through journal entries. Roseanne McNulty had several strikes against her when she was locked up. She was Protestant in a strongly Catholic county, beautiful and joyfully sexual with her new husband, and acquainted with local rebels. Now, the Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital is… Continue
