Recommendations from your library staff.

Thirty years ago, Amelia Vaux Tanner and her husband built a house high on the bluffs, a cottage they named Chateau Laveau. For decades, “Ama” played host to American presidents, Wall Street titans, and cultural icons. But her favorite guests have always been her three “goddaughters:” Esperanza “Perry” Soto, a beautiful, talented Afro-Latina lawyer with Ama’s strong, yet guarded personality; Olivia Jones, a gifted Wall Street analyst with Ama’s brilliant, logical mind; and Billie Hayden, a gifted marine biologist and rule-breaker with Ama’s courageous free spirit.

This summer on the Bluffs will be different. An era is ending: Ama, now nearing seventy-one, is moving to the south of France to reunite with her college sweetheart. She has invited Perry, Olivia, and Billie to spend one last golden summer together with her the way they did when they were kids. And when fall comes, she is going to give the house to one of them.

Each of the women wants the house desperately. Each is grappling with a secret she fears will hurt her and her chances. By the end of summer, old ties will fray, new bonds will be created, and these three found sisters will discover they aren’t the only ones with something to hide. Ama has a few secrets of her own. What she has to give them is far more than property. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, she will tell these surrogate daughters she fiercely loves and protects everything they never knew they needed to know.

How do you get people to appreciate what is right in front of them? In The Tale of the Mandarin Duck, it takes a mysterious, beautiful duck and a clear-eyed kid to point out the obvious! Bette Midler’s distinctive voice joins striking photos of the real duck by Michiko Kakutani and charming black-and-white drawings by Joana Avillez. This book will have readers of all ages coming back to visit the fantastical interpretation of New York City and its odd ducks—both feathered and human.

You may have heard of a song written by Woody Guthrie called "Plane Wreck at Los Gatos (Deportee)." It's been covered by a ton of folks, like Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan, and Joan Baez, and tells the story of a plane crash in 1948 where dozens of Mexican nationals and a few Americans died in a horrific blaze. At the time, no one was 100% sure of the names of the Mexican nationals on board so their families never got closure.

Journalist Tim Hernandez set out a few years ago to name these victims and tell their stories.

This is a series of short vignettes giving a name and face to the victims -- a short tale of a romance, told by the 90-something year old woman who was the girl left behind; a tale of a man who brought his love of baseball to each labor camp be joined; a small town struggling to build a well.

I highly recommend this to anyone -- but I wouldn't recommend reading it on an airplane.

This was supposed to be a very different book. Five years ago, Jessica Simpson was approached to write a motivational guide to living your best life. She walked away from the offer, and nobody understood why. The truth is that she didn’t want to lie.

Jessica couldn’t be authentic with her readers if she wasn’t fully honest with herself first.

Now, America’s Sweetheart, preacher’s daughter, pop phenomenon, reality tv pioneer, and the billion-dollar fashion mogul invites readers on a remarkable journey, examining a life that blessed her with the compassion to help others but also burdened her with an almost crippling need to please. Open Book is Jessica Simpson using her voice, heart, soul, and humor to share things she’s never shared before.

In Tiny Tales, Alexander McCall Smith explores romance, ambition, kindness, and happiness in thirty short stories accompanied by thirty witty cartoons designed by Iain McIntosh, McCall Smith’s longtime creative collaborator. Here we meet the first Australian pope, who hopes to finally find some peace and quiet back home in Perth; a psychotherapist turned motorcycle racetrack manager; and an aspiring opera singer who gets her unlikely break onstage. And, of course, we spend time in McCall Smith’s beloved Scotland, where we are introduced to progressive Vikings, a group of housemates with complex romantic entanglements, and a couple of globe-trotting dentists. These tales and illustrations depict the full scope of human experience and reveal the rich tapestry of life—painted in miniature.

Set in 1944 during WW2, Stalag 17 follows the daily existence of the American POWs held in captivity. The soldiers share a group camaraderie with the exception of the opportunistic J.J. Sefton. Sefton is not above fraternizing with the German guards and making deals to ensure his own comfort. Tensions rise when two of the American POWs, Manfredi and Johnson, are killed trying to escape. It is obvious there is a "stool pigeon" among the men and Sefton is the prime suspect.

Sefton claims innocence, but conflicts among the men escalate further when captured American war hero Lt. Dunbar is brought to the camp en route to being handed over to the SS for interrogation. The men know they need to help Dunbar escape, but will the barracks traitor ensure Dunbar meets the same fate as Manfredi and Johnson?

The great Billy Wilder was nominated for several awards for directing and adapting the screenplay for this comedy/drama and his trademark wit coupled with hard truths are evident. Leading man William Holden is wonderful as unconventional, tough-guy soldier Sefton and won an Academy Award for his portrayal.