The Night Diary, a Newberry Honor book, is an incredible story about the 1947 division of India into two countries: Pakistan and India, and the effects of the division on a young girl and her family. 

This book is perfect for readers that love a complex character, historical relevance, overcoming great odds, and a journey to find home, identity, and a hopeful future.  

You can find this book in our fiction section under FIC HIR. 

Indian No More is a historical fiction novel that tells the story of the U.S. government's mass efforts to relocate Native American tribes in the 1950s. Told through fifth grader Regina Petit's point of view, it's about a girl whose Native American identity is challenged when she and her family move to urban Los Angeles. 

Regina and her little sister, Peewee, find that they have to figure out a lot about their identity very quickly in order to hold on to the things that are important to them, or else assimilate in ways that are expected of them. 

This book is perfect for readers that love historical fiction, stories of family dynamics, staying true to your own identity, and the struggle to accept change.  

You can find this book in our fiction section under FIC MCM.

After her best friend dies in a drowning accident, Suzy is convinced that the true cause of the tragedy must have been a rare jellyfish sting–things don't just happen for no reason. Retreating into a silent world of imagination, she crafts a plan to prove her theory–even if it means traveling the globe, alone. 

This book is perfect for readers that are looking for a friendship drama combined with scientific facts and a complex character.  

You can find this book in our fiction section under FIC BEN. 

Twelve-year-old Ben Coffin faces a lot of hardships in his life, but the love of a small, scruffy dog and the bright friendship of a courageous girl help him to overcome devastating loss, and to open his heart. The book explores powerful themes of grief, family, and love. 

This book is perfect for readers who love dynamic characters, friendship, family, and dogs.  This book is a bit of a tear jerker and will leave readers feeling emotional.  

You can find this book in our fiction section under FIC GRI. 

Calling all historical fiction fans - this is a book for you!  Allies is an action packed novel that follows the events and battles of D-Day on the Beaches of Normandy during World War II.  The storyline flows between the perspectives of four main characters - each with a different nationality and reason for enlisting.  

**Content warning: The novel does not spare readers the horrors of war and uses some mild language that would be expected during tense war scenes.  

Alan Gratz is a phenomenal writer who really pulls his readers into the battles.  While reading, you feel like you are next to the characters, experiencing the events along with them.  A must read for all fans of World War II novels! 

You can find this book in our fiction section under FIC GRA.

Twelve-year-old homeschooled Olive is tired of being seen as “fragile” just because she has osteogenesis imperfecta (otherwise known as brittle bone disease) so she’s thrilled when she finally convinces her overprotective parents to let her attend Macklemore Elementary. Olive can’t wait to go to a traditional school and make the friends she’s always longed for, until a disastrous first day dashes her hopes of ever fitting in.

Then Olive hears whispers about a magical, wish-granting hummingbird that supposedly lives near Macklemore. It’ll be the solution to all her problems! If she can find the bird and prove herself worthy, the creature will make her most desperate, secret wish come true.

When it becomes clear that she can’t solve the mystery on her own, Olive teams up with some unlikely allies who help her learn the truth about the bird. And on the way, she just might learn that our fragile places lead us to the most wonderful magic of all . . .

You can find this magical story in our fiction section under FIC LLO.

Echo is a young-adult novel about the power of music to unite individuals across time, and even save lives.  The wide-reaching novel follows an enchanted harmonica to 1933 in Germany, 1934 in Pennsylvania, and 1942 in California, before uniting the characters we meet along the way at Carnegie Hall in 1951. Covering the rise of Nazism in Germany, the tail end of the Great Depression in the United States, and the beginning of U.S. involvement in World War II and the internment of Japanese Americans, it examines the social issues of the period through the lives of young people. 

In each locale, the harmonica finds its way into the hands of a talented young musician who finds him or herself in need of courage and comfort in the face of personal struggle that reflects the larger inequality and change in their social context. The harmonica passes hands between Friedrich Schmidt, Mike Flannery, and Ivy Maria Lopez, and eventually makes its way into the hands of Kenneth Yamamoto, a soldier whose life it saves during World War II. 

Pam Muñoz Ryan beautifully weaves the three stories together for an epic culmination of all of the characters coming together in 1951 in New York City's Carnegie Hall. This book is a must read for those with a passion for in World War II, music, or dynamic characters that overcome great obstacles to achieve social justice in the face of great odds.  

You can find this beautiful story in our Fiction section under FIC RYA. 

An Elephant in the Garden is the story of Lizzie, Karl, and their mother  - an elephant zookeeper - during World War II. The zookeepers were instructed to destroy the animals as a precautionary measure so the animals don't run wild should the town be hit by bombs. The family persuades the zoo director to allow them to keep Marlene the elephant in their garden instead. 

When the town is hit by the terrors of war the family is forced to flee with Marlene in tow.  The theme of the story is man vs. animal and man vs. man as the family is refused shelter because there are very few places that can house an elephant. 

This story is inspired by a true story of an elephant rescued from the Belfast Zoo during World War II.  

If you love historical fiction, books about World War II, and books about compassion toward animals, this is a must read! 

You can find this in our library under FIC MOR. 

Wow - this is a read! 

Grenade is the story of two young soldiers - one American and one Okinawan - who witness firsthand the horrors of a war that neither of them want to fight. 

Ray is a Marine who enlisted to escape a difficult family life on his family farm. Hideki is yanked out of school and drafted into the Blood and Iron Student Corps to fight for the Japanese army.  

Ray is armed with grenades and an M15 rifle, Hideki is armed with 2 porcelain grenades and the instructions to use one to kill Americans and the other to kill himself.  

Hideki and Ray fight their way across the island of Okinawa, surviving battles and attacks that nearly cost their lives. But when the two of them collide in the middle of the fighting, the choices they make in that single instant will change everything. 

This book explains Okinawan culture, the horrors of the 83 day long Battle of Okinawa, the impact that the war had on Okinawa citizens and how they were used as human bombs for the Japanese army, and how committed the Imperial Japanese Army was to fight until the brutal end. 

***Content Warning*** This book contains graphic descriptions of what American, Japanese, and Okinawan soldiers and citizens faced during this brutal battle. 

If you are a fan of historical fiction, WWII novels, or military fiction, this book is a must read!  

You can find it in our fiction section under FIC GRA.

The Girl in the Lake is a ghost story that follows four cousins who spend a summer vacation at their grandparent's lake house. When the cousins first arrive they notice some strange events happening around them and begin to suspect that there might be some ghost activity. 

As the cousins dive deeper into events surrounding them, they learn that their grandmother's sister, Great Aunt Ellie, had drowned in the lake surrounding the lake house. Great Aunt Ellie is haunting the cousins! However, her hauntings take on a very different twist when the cousins begin to understand WHY she is making her ghostly presence known. 

This book is way more than a ghost story and focuses on the themes of segregation, racial injustice, overcoming fears, trusting yourself, and the power of family to overcome obstacles. 

If you are a fan of spooky fiction, this is a book for you! 

You can find this book in our libarary under FIC BRO. It's a very popular title so request a "hold" if it's one you'd like to check out.