The Diamond Eye
St. Martin's Press, 2021. 464 pages. Historical Fiction.
Books read and reviewed by librarians at the Provo City Library
by Jennifer Yen
Razorbill, 2022. 303 pages. Young Adult Fiction
High school junior Gigi Wong is determined to be picked for
a contest that could lead to an exclusive tech internship, but when her
matchmaking app goes viral Gigi must deal with the unexpected consequences of
helping her friends find love.
This is a follow-up to Yen’s A Taste for Love in which she loosely based the plot on Pride and Prejudice. In this
installment, Yen uses Emma as her
jumping off point for the matchmaking storyline. It was fun seeing characters
from the other book, and Gigi is a fun and charismatic protagonist to get to
know. The banter-filled romantic comedy was a delight to read.
If you liked Love,
Decoded, you might like:
by Emma Lord
Wednesday Books, 2020. 361 pages. Young Adult Fiction
Meet Pepper, swim team captain and chronic overachiever. Her
family may be falling apart, but their massive fast-food chain is booming -
mainly thanks to Pepper, who is secretly running Big League Burger's massive
Twitter account. Enter Jack, class clown and constant thorn in Pepper's side.
When he isn't trying to duck out of his obscenely popular twin's shadow, he's
busy working in his family's deli. He might not like the business that holds
his future, but when Big League Burger steals his grandma's iconic grilled
cheese recipe, he'll do whatever it takes to take them down, one tweet at a
time. All's fair in love and cheese - that is, until Pepper and Jack's spat
turns into a viral Twitter war. Little do they know, while they're publicly
duking it, they're also falling for each other in real life - on an anonymous
chat app Jack built. As their relationship deepens and their online shenanigans
escalate, even these two rivals can't ignore they were destined for the most
unexpected and awkward romance that neither of them expected.
by David Yoon
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2020. 349 pages. Young Adult Fiction
When Sunny Dae--self-proclaimed total nerd--meets Cirrus
Soh, he can't believe how cool and confident she is. So when Cirrus mistakes
Sunny's older brother Gray's bedroom--with its electric guitars and rock
posters--for Sunny's own, he sort of, kind of, accidentally winds up telling
her he's the front man of a rock band. Before he knows it, Sunny is knee-deep
in the lie: He ropes his best friends into his scheme, begging them to form a
fake band with him, and starts wearing Gray's rock-and-roll castoffs. But no
way can he trick this amazing girl into thinking he's cool, right? Just when
Sunny is about to come clean, Cirrus asks to see them play sometime. Gulp. Now
there's only one thing to do: Fake it till you make it.
by Tirzah Price
HarperTeen, 2020. 360 pages. Young Adult Fiction
Seventeen-year-old aspiring lawyer Lizzie Bennet seeks to
solve a murder before her rival Mr. Darcy beats her to it.
by Robert E. Gough
Storey Pub, 2011. 311 p. Nonfiction
A full-color resource explains how to gather, clean, and store seeds for three hundred different kinds of vegetables, fruits, herbs, flowers, trees, and shrubs, as well as how to propagate and care for new seedlings.
This is a great book for gardeners, earth-lovers, and scientists (or just those who are genuinely curious). It contains beautiful pictures and very fascinating and helpful information.
If you like The Complete Guide to Saving Seeds you might also like...
by Billy F. Best
Ohio University Press, 2013. 200 p. Nonfiction
Saving Seeds, Preserving Taste will introduce readers to the cultural traditions associated with seed saving, as well as the remarkable people who have used grafting practices and hand-by-hand trading to keep alive varieties that would otherwise have been lost. As local efforts to preserve heirloom seeds have become part of a growing national food movement, Appalachian seed savers play a crucial role in providing alternatives to large-scale agriculture and corporate food culture. Part flavor guide, part people's history, Saving Seeds, Preserving Taste will introduce you to a world you've never known--or perhaps remind you of one you remember well from your childhood.
by Dan Jason
Harbour Publishing, 2020. 88 p. Nonfiction
Saving Seeds is a clear and winsome introduction to the essentials of seed saving, from seed selection criteria to harvest and storage tips. It also addresses the role of seed-saving communities: local swaps, seed companies, friends and neighbours and even how the Internet can support this time-honoured practice. In an era of community gardens, farmers markets and renewed interest in heirloom species, Saving Seeds is a timely call to ensure a more secure future for our seeds and ourselves.
The Seed Garden
by Micaela Colley
Seed Savers Exchange, 2015. 390 p. Nonfiction.
Seed Savers Exchange and the Organic Seed Alliance bring together decades of knowledge to demystify the time honored tradition of saving seeds using lush photographs, clear instructions, and easy-to-comprehend profiles on specific crop types. Whether interested in simply saving seeds for home use or working to improve varieties of beloved squashes and tomatoes, The Seed Garden provides a deeper understanding of the art, the science, and the joy of saving seeds.
Seed to Seed
by Suzanne Ashworth
Seed Savers Exchange, 2002. 228 p. Nonfiction.
Seed to Seed is a complete seed-saving guide that describes specific techniques for saving the seeds of 160 different vegetables. This book contains detailed information about each vegetable, including its botanical classification, flower structure and means of pollination, required population size, isolation distance, techniques for caging or hand-pollination, and also the proper methods for harvesting, drying, cleaning, and storing the seeds.
NS
By Ray Stoeve
Amulet Books, 2022. 278 pages. Young Adult Fiction
Sixteen-year-old Arden Grey is struggling. Her mother has left their family, her father and her younger brother won't talk about it, and a classmate, Tanner, keeps harassing her about her sexuality--which isn't even public. (She knows she likes girls romantically, but she thinks she might be asexual.) At least she's got her love of film photography and her best and only friend, Jamie, to help her cope. Then Jamie, who is trans, starts dating Caroline, and suddenly he isn't so reliable. Arden's insecurity about their friendship grows. She starts to wonder if she's jealous or if Jamie's relationship with Caroline is somehow unhealthy--and it makes her reconsider how much of her relationship with her absent mom wasn't okay, too. Filled with big emotions, first loves, and characters navigating toxic relationships, Ray Stoeve's honest and nuanced novel is about finding your place in the world and seeking out the love and community that you deserve.
I like the way this book handles relevant teen issues such as navigating new friend groups, what to do when your best friend dates their first girlfriend, or dealing with an emotionally and physically absent parent. It is a pretty emotion-filled book, which makes sense as it is about a teenager in high school. I think where this book really excels is in the relationships between characters and I like seeing how these shift and change throughout the book. Overall this feels authentic and relatable.
The Field Guide to the North American TeenagerBy Ben Philippe
Balzer + Bray, 2019. 372 pages. Young Adult Fiction
A hilarious YA contemporary realistic novel about a witty Black French Canadian teen who moves to Austin, Texas, and experiences the joys, clichƩs, and awkward humiliations of the American high school experience--including falling in love.
LovelessBy Alice Oseman
HarperCollins Children's Books, 2020. 432 pages. Fiction
Georgia has parents who are still in love, two sets of grandparents that are still together, and a brother who married his girlfriend, but at eighteen she has never even kissed someone (not even her lesbian best friend, Felipa) or particularly even wanted to. At the prom afterparty she is surrounded by couples making out, and she really does not know what is wrong--but in college she comes to understand herself as asexual/aromantic, and to capture the part of her identity that has always eluded her.
Ramona BlueBy Julie Murphy
Balzer + Bray, 2017. 408 pages. Young Adult Fiction
Struggling with the loss of her home and her dysfunctional family after Hurricane Katrina, gay teen Ramona finds solace in a new swimming hobby while developing confusing feelings for a boy who challenges her perceptions.
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If you like The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music, you might also like:
Endurance: A Year in Space, a Lifetime of Discovery
BHG