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Melanie's Picks
 This aptly titled novel is dark and foreboding with interesting characters who come to life in the storytelling. It felt like Wuthering Heights but with dark magic. Don’t miss this page turner chocked full of cultural tidbits! |  No other author can impart tension and abject horror like Tremblay. Here we have two friends who are desperately trying to outrun a super rabies virus that, when infected, causes people to lose control physically and become mentally deranged. You won't be able to put this one down! |  I always like Ruth Ware, her stories are well thought out, suspenseful and twisty. That being said, this is not my favorite. Will definitely read her next one though. |
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 Part horror, part thriller, all page-turner! Haunted house, haunted past, who needs air conditioning with these chills!! |  A beautiful and sparsely written story of sacrifice and youthful idealism. What dreams would you sacrifice to save another person? |  I have not had so much fun since reading Christopher Moore!! Vern is the last dragon on earth and he is a bit crusty! He used to drink beer, but decided keto was a better way to go, so now he drinks vodka!! And he lives near a swamp outside of New Orleans! What’s not to love!! |
 A parable, a warning. Hedonistic adults, a terrible climate crisis and the children must take the lead. I am stunned by this book. |  This story is full of humanity and life lessons, adventure and the art of community. Kirra, our protagonist, leads us through her loss and onto her healing. You won't want to miss this page turner with a strong nod towards ecology and working together as community. |  Cute monsters, scary monsters, and monsters who don't even know they are monsters abound in this adventurous tale with themes of grief and belonging and friendship. |
 Loved this! Circe is one strong independent woman/witch/nymph. We get to travel with her through her immortal life and experience the choices she made and her loves and losses. This book is equally good for the neophyte to mythology as for the scholar. |  I loved this intense story of two sisters and the choices they made. The author seamlessly shifts from present day to the past at a perfectly easy to read pace. A gritty side of Pittsburgh is the setting, where one sister is searching for one gone missing. Police corruption, violence against women, drug addiction, and family struggles are some of the subjects covered. So well written and smooth. Don't miss it! |  Charlie Mackesy wrote a truly gentle and beautifully, inspirational, graphic novel. It's deceptively simple words and drawings encourage the reader to fill in the lines. This book would be a precious gift to yourself or a dear friend. |
 A tense, fast-paced, thriller! Intriguing plot and interesting characters make this one come alive! Time is up for a grand old house and the secrets it holds. |  A humorous but pointed look at race, privilege and our motivation to act. Never preachy, Kiley Reid studies human nature, her debut is a literary novel that reads like suspense. |  Melinda Gates is a hero to many women and children. She is a successful business woman, philanthropist, mother and wife. She is clearly aware of how she is received and is an example of a woman empowering women. Her writing is inspiring and friendly without moralizing. Don't miss this one. |
 For me, the introduction was completely worth the price of admission! Don't skip it! I thought I would just read one or two of these short stories but I just couldn't stop reading! Each one was unique and interesting and they all were well written and tense and provocative. There is a bonus at the end of a little follow-up by the author on the motivation for each story. My favorite one speaks to the book hoarder in all of us, whose greatest fear is leaving this earth with a book unfinished... |  This book spoke to me as a daughter, wife, mother, woman, human, earthling. Michelle wrote so personally of her hopes, dreams, successes and mess ups that most of the time, I was in tears of sympathy and understanding or laughing out loud. I like these people, for their decency, their honestly, their hope and their humility. |  Emma Donoghue does not disappoint, in her newest book, Akin, or ever. A completely readable and satisfying story. Using the dual themes of photography and family, we experience a new relationship between an elderly man and a young boy as they contemplate what family means and how it molds them. |
 Lindsay Lackey's debut Middle Grade novel is spectacular! A young girl finds herself being tossed about in the foster care system. When she meets the Grooves she has developed a very hard protective shell. With love, trust, farm animals and friends, our girl finds her true ohana (family). |  My first Karin Slaughter book, completely readable as a stand alone, although part of a series. I was compelled to drop all my responsibilities to read this book in less than 24 hours! I learned more about militant right wing neo nazi groups than I want to know, unfortunately, this is current and foreboding. |  This book begs to be read slowly and savored, every single word. The authors voice sings out in my mind and each line is poetry. Meet Harriet Tubman and other heroes compelled to help "conduct", and experience life in the south for people called "tasked". Beautiful and painful. |
 Engrossing and fast paced Swedish legal thriller told from three different perspectives. Insights into the Swedish legal system! |  Richard Russo has done it again! This is a completely satisfying book with wonderfully developed characters, plot and setting. A story of college roommates, meeting up after 40 years and the stories we keep and the truths we believe. |  This "nail- biter" about the glass ceiling in corporate America is a well thought out mystery, apropos of today's news stories. Women united are a strong force! |
 A bittersweet coming of age story about memory, with characters so real I had to keep reminding myself they were fictional. Set in the 1980's in Niagara Falls, Canada. Reminiscent of Stand by Me. |
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