Every month we let you know what we’ve been reading and our monthly recommendations. You’ll get to see new titles with fabulous reviews from the Bay Books team. We’re sure you’ll love these fantastic books just as much as we do. We recommend a wide range of genres and themes. So get ready to explore more books!
Friends of Bay Books Picks
Odder by Katherine Applegate
(review written by Charlotte Mills, age 9)
If you like otters, you should read Odder by Katherine Applegate. It is a great book for
most ages, with lots of suspense. My teacher read it to our class in second grade and I
have read it twice since then.
Odder is a young otter who is separated from her family and goes on a journey to find
them. It is a great adventure, including meeting a great white shark!
If you like this book, the author Katherine Applegate has many more, also very good! (Fiction)
Tina’s Staff Picks
Set over the course of one day, a heart-racing debut about a pregnant woman facing the unimaginable, determined to find safety. Set in the Pacific Northwest, our main character is in an IKEA when “The Really Big One”, the Cascadia Earthquake, hits. As Annie tries to make her way home through the aftermath, all the while addressing her unborn child, Bean, she experiences humanity and realizations that are at once thought provoking and funny. This is a knock premise with enough moving adrenaline that you will finish it in one seating. I sure did! (Speculative Fiction)
By Way of Sorrow by Robyn Gigl
Do you enjoy a good legal thriller? I certainly do and found a new series that I became absolutely hooked and therefore binged my way through all three books of this series, eager for the fourth one to show up at Bay Books. By Way of Sorrow is an original and enthralling legal thriller that showcases how diverse voices enliven and refresh well-worn genres. With non-stop action and legal twists, as far as the case goes and aside from Erin’s insistence on correct terminology to describe her and Sharise’s gender status, they are merely lawyer and client caught up in the flaws in the American legal system which gives politicians power over the judiciary. And we love that. The ending is a surprise and will leave you wanting to read the next legal thriller starring Erin McCabe. (LBGTQ+)
Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind Food That Isn’t Food by Chris Van Tulleken
In this book, Chris van Tulleken, father, scientist, doctor, and award-winning BBC broadcaster, marshals the latest evidence to show how governments, scientists, and doctors have allowed transnational food companies to create a pandemic of diet-related disease. He explores the origins, science, and economics of Ultra-Processed Food to reveal its catastrophic impact on our bodies and the planet. This is a light read, by any means, but it does shed light on the way food is being produced faster and faster to feed a widening, global appetite. Also, and that it might have addictive traits built in. Truly an interesting and informative read. I appreciated the humor in it once in a while! (Science, Non-Fiction)
Becky’s Staff Pick
Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan
Sports journalist and former professional basketball player, author Kate Fagan tells the
story of a reclusive best-selling author who finally decides to come forward with her
identity. In doing so she shares her life’s story – choosing between relationships and
the pursuit of a dream. She is not proud of all her actions but in telling her story she is
finally ready to accept the truth.
Along the way, Fagan explores complex relationships between women and the limits of
ambition.
How do we balance our public and private selves?
It’s a well written and insightful page turner. (Adult Fiction)
Skye’s Staff Pick
A Shadow in the Ember by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Seraphina was born in a shroud, the maiden who’s supposed to be untouched and unknown. She’s also the one who was promised, the one who’s to be the consort to the Primal of death. A plague has been taking its toll on the land and people, killing crops and brining sickness and starvation and there’s only one way to stop it. KILL THE PRIMAL OF DEATH. That’s what Seraphina has been trained to do her whole life, seduce and make him fall in love with her then kill him and the rot stops…or so they thought. Nothing would be that easy in a world of gods and mortals…and not quite mortals too. Nothing is as what it seems and more trouble is awakening. The Flesh and Fire series was a great read as a fantasy lover! I liked the smoothness of the storytelling and the storyline kept things interesting! (Fantasy Fiction)
Wendy’s Staff Pick
The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil. E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
Claudia is a bored, frustrated, very bright and somewhat bossy 11 year old, looking for an adventure! She is the mastermind of a plan to run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, and convinces her younger brother, Jamie, to join her. The two resourceful siblings cleverly avoid being discovered by museum staff, sleep in dusty, ancient beds, bathe in the restaurant fountain, educate themselves about the various exhibits, AND uncover a secret! They very helpfully set out to prove that the museum’s newest acquisition is the work of Michaelangelo! This mission introduces the kids to a unique new friend who has an unexpected family connection.
When asked what my favorite childhood book was, this charming classic is always at the top of my list. After being recently gifted with a copy of this book by a friend, I can say that now re-reading it many decades later, it did not disappoint. This Newbery Award Winner is a wonderful story to read to a 6+ aged child, and a great chapter book for mid to later elementary readers.
