FICTION
America was hard to find by Kathleen Alcott. Three indelible characters embody the truths about this country in transition during America’s most iconic moments in the later part of the last century: the race to space, the race against the Vietnam War, and the ravages of the AIDS epidemic.
The body in the wake by Katherine Hall Page. Amateur detective and caterer Faith Fairchild is at her Penobscot Bay, Maine cottage preparing for a summer wedding, when she stumbles across….a body.
Bunny by Mona Awad. A darkly funny, strange novel about a lonely graduate student drawn into a clique of rich girls who seem to move and speak as one.
Cape May by Chip Cheek. This explores the social and sexual mores of 1950s America through the eyes of a newly married couple from the genteel south corrupted by sophisticated New England urbanites.
City of girls by Elizabeth Gilbert. Someone told Vivian Morris in her youth that she would never be an interesting person. Good thing they didn’t put money on it.
The confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins. A servant and former slave is accused of murdering her employer and his wife in this thriller that moves from a Jamaican sugar plantation to the fetid streets of Georgian London.
Dark site by Patrick Lee. Sam Dryden comes under attack from unknown forces as an unremembered episode from his past threatens more than just his life.
Deception Cove by Owen Laukkanen. An ex-convict, an ex-Marine, and a rescue dog are caught in the cross-hairs of a ruthless gang in remote Washington State.
Disappearing earth by Julia Phillips. A year in the lives of women and girls on an isolated peninsula in northeastern Russia opens with a chilling crime.
The flight portfolio by Julie Orringer. Based on the true story of Varian Fry’s extraordinary attempt to save the work, and the lives, of Jewish artists fleeing the Holocaust.
The guest book by Sarah Blake. This sets out to be more than a juicy family saga – it aims to depict the moral evolution of a part of American society. Its convincing characters and muscular narrative succeed on both accounts.
Have you seen Luis Velez? by Catherine Hyde. A novel about two strangers who find that kindness is a powerful antidote to fear.
The heads of Cerberus by Francis Stevens. A rediscovered sci-fi classic written in 1919 set in a dystopian 22nd century society where the winner takes all, a precursor to “The Hunger Games”….and to Hitler’s Germany.
How we disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee. A novel set in World War II Singapore about a woman who survived the Japanese occupation and a man who thought he had lost everything.
The invited by Jennifer McMahon. A chilling ghost story with a twist – in the woods of Vermont a husband and wife don’t simply move into a haunted house, they build one.
Little darlings by Melanie Golding. “Mother knows best” takes on a sinister new meaning in this unsettling thriller.
Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin. Novel based on the story of the extraordinary real-life American woman who secretly worked for the French Resistance during World War II – while playing hostess to the invading Germans at the iconic Hotel Ritz in Paris.
Necessary people by Anna Pitoniak. Set against the fast-paced backdrop of TV news, this is a propulsive work of psychological suspense about ambition and privilege, about the thin line between friendship and rivalry, about the people we need in our lives, and the people we don’t.
On a summer tide by Suzanne Fisher. When her father buys an island off the coast of Maine with the hope of breathing new life into it, his daughter thinks he’s lost his mind. She soon discovers the island has its own way of living…and loving.
The oracle by Clive Cussler. A husband and wife treasure hunting team search for an ancient scroll which carries a deadly curse.
The policewomen’s bureau by Edward Conlon. The NYPD’s “No Girls Allowed” sign fades in this fictional account of a real woman’s struggle for respect and success in a profession that men wanted all to themselves.
Redemption by David Baldacci. Amos Decker learns that he may have made a mistake on a case he worked as a rookie detective – one with heartbreaking consequences, and he may be the only person who can put it right.
Resistance women by Jennifer Chiaverini. Historical saga that recreates the danger, romance, and sacrifices of an era and brings to life one courageous American and her circle of women friends who waged a clandestine battle against Hitler in Nazi Berlin.
This storm by James Ellroy. A massive novel of World War II Los Angeles.
Vessel by Lisa Nichols. An astronaut returns to Earth after losing her entire crew to an inexplicable disaster, but is her version of what happened in space the truth? Or is there more to the story?
Waisted by Randy Susan Meyers. Seven women enrolled in an extreme weight loss documentary discover self-love and sisterhood as they enact a daring revenge against the exploitative filmmakers.
A woman is no man by Etaf Rum. A Palestinian-American teenager, much like her mother before her, faces the prospect of an arranged marriage.
NONFICTION
The art of inventing hope by Howard Reich. This offers an unprecedented in-depth conversation between the world’s most revered Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel, and the son of survivors, Howard Reich.
The book of pride by Mason Funk. This captures the true story of the gay rights movement from the 1960s to the present, through richly detailed, studding interviews with the leaders, activists, and ordinary people who witnessed the movement and made it happen.
The cost of these dreams by Wright Thompson. A collection of true stories about the dream of greatness and its cost in the world of sports.
A fiery gospel by Richard Gamble. The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the road to righteous war. Readers with an interest in 19th century American religious and political popular culture will enjoy this bio of the hymn by Gardiner’s own Julia Ward Howe.
Furious hours by Casey Cep. Harper Lee worked on the true-crime story about a rural preacher accused of murdering five of his family members in the 1970s. Cep unravels the mystery surrounding Harper Lee’s first and only work of nonfiction, and the shocking true crimes at the center of it.
How to forget by Kate Mulgrew. In this very honest and examined memoir about returning to Iowa to care for her ailing parents, Mulgrew takes us on an unexpected journey of loss, betrayal, and the transcendent nature of a daughter’s love for her parents.
Questions I am asked about the Holocaust by Hedi Fried. Now 94, Fried has spent her life educating about the Holocaust as a survivor and answering questions about one of the darkest periods in human history.
Save me the plums by Ruth Reichl. Gourmet magazine readers will relish the behind-the-scenes peek at the workings of the magazine. Reichl’s revealing memoir is a deeply personal look at a food world on the brink of change.
A season on the wind by Kenn Kaufman. A close look at one season in one key site that reveals the amazing science and magic of spring bird migration and the perils of human encroachment.
They were all her property by Stephanie Jones-Rogers. Bridging women’s history, the history of the South, and African American history, this book makes a bold argument about the role of white women in American slavery.
Woodstock by Dale Bell. In celebration of the 50th anniversary, this new photo book goes behind the scenes of the hit documentary film, Woodstock.
New Children’s Books for July 2019
PICTURE BOOKS
Bruno, the standing cat by Nadine Robert
Cece loves science and adventure by Kimberly Derting
Count on me by Miguel Tanco
Dear boy, a celebration of cool, clever, compassionate you! by Paris Rosenthal
Ghost cat by Kevan Atteberry
How to read a book by Kwame Alexander
Sea glass summer by Michelle Houts
Tilly & Tank by Jay Fleck
BEGINNER READERS
Fancy Nancy Toodle-oo Miss Moo by Victoria Saxon
First little readers book level B by Liza Charlesworth
Leaf it to Dot by Andrea Cascardi
Rocket out of the park by Andrea Cascardi
CHAPTER BOOKS
The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M.T. Anderson
The haunted house by R. A. Montgomery
Princess Island by Shannon Gilligan
Space pup by R. A. Montgomery
Your grandparents are spies by Anson Montomery
Your grandparents are zombies by Anson Montomery
NON-FICTION
Encyclopedia of Strangely Named Animals by Fredrik Colting
How to be a scientist by Steve Mould
The science of flight by Ian Graham
The science of spacecraft by Alex Woolf
The science of vehicles by Roger Canavan
What a waste: trash, recycling, and protecting our planet by Jess French
MOVIES
Bernie the dolphin with Lola Sultan
The cheetah children by PBS with Robyn Keene-Young
Daniel Tiger’s neighborhood: won’t you be our neighbor? Animated
How to train your dragon: the hidden world with Jay Baruchel
Telling time by Rock ‘n learn with Richard Caudie
Notes from Booklist, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Library Journal, and New York Times Book Review.