Early Morning Riser
By Katherine Heiny
Jane falls in love with Duncan easily. He is charming, good-natured, and loves her dearly but, unfortunately, he happens to be the world’s most prolific seducer of women. Jane sees Duncan’s old flings everywhere in their Boyne City town. While she’s able to come to terms with his dating past, she wishes she did not have to share him quite so widely. This novel has the small-town feel of the Gilmore Girls and is filled with delightful and quirky characters that will make you laugh out loud.
The Women of the Copper Country
By Mary Doria Russell
This fictionalized portrait of the lives of the men and women of the early 20th-century labor
movement in the Upper Peninsula’s copper mines features several characters based on real-life people. Annie Clements, who grew up in Calumet, unites the European immigrants working in the mines to organize a labor strike, helping her earn the nickname “America’s Joan of Arc.”
Beautiful Music
By Michael Zadoorian
Set in early-1970s Detroit, this novel tells the story of one young man’s transformation through music. Danny Yzemski is a pop radio–loving loner balancing a dysfunctional home life with the sudden harsh realities of freshman year at a high school marked by racial turbulence. After tragedy strikes the family, Danny finds his own reason to carry on: rock ’n’ roll. Beautiful Music is a touching story about the power of music and its ability to save one’s soul.
Firekeeper’s Daughter
By Angeline Boulley
As a biracial, unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in on the nearby Ojibwe reservation or in her hometown. After Daunis witnesses a shocking murder that thrusts her into a criminal investigation, she agrees to go undercover. This quick-paced and thrilling novel set in Sault Ste. Marie will keep you on the edge of your seat and teach you about the Ojibwe culture, customs and language.
Okay for Now
By Gary D. Schmidt
In this middle-grade novel, Doug Swietek moves with his family to upstate New York and gets a fresh start in a new town. He stumbles into the library one Saturday morning in search of air conditioning and the path of his life changes. He meets a new friend, Lil, and becomes intrigued by the Audubon book in the display case. The story revolves around the birds that he learns to draw and readers will see Doug develop a lovely group of advocates throughout the novel and slowly begin to turn his life around, but not without a few bumps in the road.
Gaston
By Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by Christian Robinson
This picture book is the story of four adorable poodle puppies: Fi-Fi, Foo-Foo, Ooh-La-La and Gaston. Gaston works hard to fit in with his siblings, but he never quite feels like he belongs. After a chance encounter with a bulldog family in the park reveals there’s been a mix-up, Gaston moves in with the bulldog family. Things look right, but they don’t feel right. Can these puppies follow their noses — and their hearts — to find where they belong?
Rebekah Craft is the Director of the Baldwin Public Library in Downtown Birmingham. For more book recommendations for all ages, stop by the Baldwin Public Library to speak with a librarian. We love to talk books! Baldwinlib.org.
