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April's Recommended Reads

All books mentioned in this edition of the Great Reads Newsletter are available in the Ocean County Library's Libby by OverDrive Collection and/or in our catalog
 
On mobile devices you can download the Libby App from the device's app store to browse the OverDrive Collection.
 
For help and support visit the library's help page and click on the Libby by OverDrive tab.

Adult Fiction
That's Not How It Happened
by Craig Thomas
Paige didn't set out to be a stay-at-home mom, but when her husband's screenwriting career took off right before they had a son with Down syndrome, the decision was made for her. Now, with their children nearly grown and unsure what's next, Paige writes a memoir about the challenges of raising a child with a disability. When a major actress-turned-producer shows up at her door eager to make her "inspiring" story into a movie, she's shocked, excited, and a little terrified.

Someone is After Lulu Dupree
by Josi S. Kilpack
Five years ago, LuLu was in a car accident that left her with a traumatic brain injury and a gaping hole in her memory. Choosing to start over rather than return to a life she can't remember, she moved to Sedona, Arizona, and built a new life which includes plenty of time for crochet, night-hiking in the desert, and starting an eco-friendly cleaning company. But now her buried past might be coming after her.  If she's going to survive repeated attempts on her life, including a poisoned Snapple and an attempt to burn down her house, she'll need to confront her past—both what she can remember, and what she's managed to forget.
Young Adult Fiction
Rules for Camouflage
by Kirstin Cronn-Mills
Evvie Chambers is doing her best to skate through the last month of high school to graduation. The only thing standing in her way is a biology report on foxes—and her teacher, Mrs. Audrey Dearborn. The same Mrs. Dearborn who’s been a thorn in Evvie’s side for years, refusing to acknowledge or accommodate her neurodiversity. Evvie would much rather be doing her report on Aretha, the octopus she cares for when volunteering at the Minnesota Zoo but deviating from the exact assignment is not allowed. Evvie’s only escape from high school hell is the Lair: a safe haven for kids whose brains need some time away.

Climate of Chaos
by Cassandra Newbould
In dystopic Seattle, storms have devastated Earth's population, a new virus is spreading, and the privileged live inside domes controlled by Aegis Corp. Healthcare is earned by hours accrued working in Aegis's pharmaceutical factories. If you run short on hours, you're sent to Harvest House for debt collection—a place from which no one returns. After a storm killed Fox LaRosa's parents and left her disabled, Fox and her younger sister, Rabbit, join their fugitive aunt's mercenary group Still Alive. Their mission is to restore the imbalance of medical access for post-storm survivors. When a med supply heist goes south, Rabbit is taken captive, and Still Alive refuses to rescue her. Fox must choose between duty and family, and leaves home to infiltrate Aegis's interior domes where Rabbit is being held hostage. The more Fox learns about life in the domes, though, the more she realizes Still Alive isn't as altruistic as they claim.
Middle Grade Fiction
The Girl in the Walls
by Meg Eden Kuyatt
After a hard school year, V has been sent to her Grandma Jojo's house for the summer in order to get away from it all. But unlike neurodivergent, artistic, sock-collecting V, Jojo is uptight, critical, and obsessed with her spotless house. She doesn't get V at all. V is sure she's doomed to have the worst summer ever. Then V starts hearing noises from inside the walls of the house...Knocks, the sounds of a girl crying, and voices echoing in the night. When V finds a ghostly girl hiding in the walls, they seem to have an immediate connection. But the buried secrets go much deeper — and are much more dangerous — than V even suspects. And they threaten to swallow her and her family whole if she can't find a way to uncover the truth of the girl before it's too late.

Absolutely Everything
by Damian Alexander
Lately, life feels like a lot for Marcella. Sixth grade seems complicated on purpose. Marcella keeps forgetting her homework or getting distracted while she's doing it. Plus, her bestie has new friends, and her parents even want to move apartments. She's trying to keep track of the changes—but absolutely everything is stressing her out!
Picture Books
The Boy Who Found His Voice
by Tyler Gordon
There once was a young boy who had trouble with words. He paused and stuttered and stammered, which made school really tough. But with encouragement from his mom and a paintbrush in hand, he learns that finding your voice isn't about being perfect—it's about being true to yourself.

Wish In A Tree
by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Oliver’s brain is a volcano of ideas—always bubbling with questions. This makes it hard to focus at school, and sometimes he worries he won’t ever fit in there. So it’s a good thing he has a friend who reminds him that great minds don’t think alike. And that a brain that blazes with curiosity and imagination is a glorious thing.

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