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!
Tina’s Picks
This book will resonate with fans of Hatchet and My Side of the Mountain. Ash is a 15-year-old who finds peace and comfort in the solitude of the wild, a trait she shared with their Grampa Edwin until he passed away. The goal is to seek out the secret cabin that Grandpa built in the woods and stay there, forever. Using online videos to learn survival skills, money that they earn in odd jobs, they set off into the Northern California wilderness with their dog Chase. Into this storyline, the author weaves questions of identity, gender, race and climate change into a fundamental tale of survival. Young Adult Fiction, LBGTQ+
Practice Girl by Estelle Laure
Initially I was dismayed at Jo’s neediness and thought this was going to be a typical ‘teenage girl angst’ book where things continue relentlessly with an unsatisfying finish. But truly, this book is a portrayal of a young woman learning to take control over her body, mind, and life. She realizes, through a very rude awakening, that she was so focused on her need for emotional attachment that she lost sense of her self-worth and became confused between sex and love. She calls out her male ‘best friend since fifth grade’ for not sticking up for her when she is called a ‘practice girl’ and she is right. She begins to focus on practices of equality and self-worth rather than seeing herself as a shadow of boys.
Extremely enjoyable and pointed in its lessons. (Young Adult)
The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward
Not a new title but its scariness bears repeating as a Staff Pick. It STILL haunts me! This gothic horror novel goes far beyond spooks and frights, slithering into the uncomfortable area of trauma and how it shapes us. It is a layered puzzle box that keeps you guessing and breaks your heart. Easily the best horror novel I have ever read and one of the best books I’ve read period. It haunts me.
I love this author and her monkey brain that creates such unusual stories. Six of Crows,” which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, is one of several entries in Bardugo’s sprawling Grishaverse — which also includes the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the King of Scars duology — and this breakneck fantasy heist novel (along with its sequel, “Crooked Kingdom”) is hands down my favorite. A lot of fantasy books explore the idea of found family, but you will not find a scrappier or more fiercely loyal clan than the crows. As individuals, they are each outcasts who learned from a young age to set aside childish indulgences like trust or frivolity and fend for themselves. But together, they are able to take the bad cards they’ve been dealt and shuffle them into an underdog’s advantage. They may express their love through black humor — their refrain before starting a job is “No mourners, no funerals” — but that mercenary front protects a tender and unbreakable core. No matter what deadly scrapes they get into (and morally questionable tactics they employ to get out), you root for them the whole way. I did!
Becky’s Picks
The View from Lake Como by Adriana Trigiani
The author’s Italian roots are delicious as she shares her favorite family meals throughout this story of a woman’s determination to lead a creative life, one that includes love.
Jess is a talented draftswoman, working in her family’s stone business in blue collar Lake Como, N.J. Family comes first, and Jess is responsible for keeping the trains on the track.
When an unexpected family loss occurs, family secrets force Jess to question her loyalty. With a one-way ticket to Carrara Italy, her ancestral home, Jess is determined to write a new story… this time in stone. I loved the trip to Italy and Jess’s determination to find her own way.
Wendy’s Picks
Sisters in the Wind by Angelin Boulley
Boulley’s latest novel (3rd in this compelling YA series) follows a young woman, Lucy, who has been simply trying to survive in the 5 years since her father’s death. She has determined that living a life in hiding is preferrable to any sort of pseudo-security offered to her through the deeply flawed and traumatizing foster system. Two strangers, purportedly with her best interests at heart, convince Lucy to trust them. The strangers reveal truths about Lucy’s past that her father hid from her – her Ojibwe heritage, her siblings and a grandmother who could possibly provide Lucy with a real home. But Lucy is being followed and in great danger. Her secret past may prevent her from having any kind of future. This internationally acclaimed, award-winning author provides us with yet another powerful read!
