We’re not sure where the first part of the year went, but the leaves are fully out on the trees, the smell of grilling is wafting through the air, and suddenly it’s May. Grab a tall glass of lemonade and enjoy these great reads in the sunshine.The following information is provided courtesy of the Arlington Public Library.
Fiction
Shanghailanders
By Juli Min
This novel told in stories follows the members of a wealthy Shanghai family, starting in 2024 and working steadily backwards in time until 2014. As perspectives shift with each new story, family secrets are steadily uncovered and a fuller picture emerges to the reader, if not necessarily to the characters. A tender and thought-provoking exploration of a marriage, family, and how well we know the ones closest to us, set against the backdrop of Shanghai’s rapid pace of change. // Available May 7. Library catalog link here.
Swiped
By L.M. Chilton
After breaking up with her boyfriend, Gwen gets back in the dating game, downloading an app, swiping right, and going on a series of terrible first dates. Things go from bad to worse when her terrible dates start getting murdered. The police are looking at her, so Gwen’s off to revisit the dregs of her love life to warn them they may be next, all while trying to figure out who got access to her data, and why? It’s funny and charming, as well as a good, twisty mystery. // Available May 21. Library catalog link here.
The Wealth of Shadows
By Graham Moore
In the lead up to WWII, Ansel Luxford, a Treasury Department attorney, crisscrosses the globe, doing his best to ensure Axis powers don’t have access to needed supplies–and the Allies do. America is technically neutral, but through programs like lend-lease, puts her thumb on the scales. Full of small details, little known historical facts, and real-life people like JP Morgan, John Maynard Keynes, and even Luxford himself, economic warfare offers an interesting new angle for WWII thrillers. // Available Available May 21. Library catalog link here.
How To Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying
By Django Wexler
Trapped in a fantasy world, Davi’s stuck trying to defeat the Dark Lord trying to conquer the land. Over the past 10 centuries, she’s tried 277 times. Each time she fails, she dies, and starts back over at the beginning. Davi’s had enough, so this time, she decides if you can’t beat ‘em, you might as well join ‘em and switches sides. The Dark Lord always wins, but this time it’s going to be Davi in this darkly comic read. // Available May 21. Library catalog link here.
Nonfiction
Chop Fry Watch Learn: Fu Pei-Mei and the Making of Modern Chinese Food
By Michelle King
Growing up in a wealthy home, Fu Pei-Mei didn’t spend time in the kitchen until she and her husband fled the Chinese Civil War. After arriving in Taiwan, she struggled to feed her young family, eventually spending her dowry to hire chefs to teach her to cook. Fu then taught what she learned to other women. She eventually opened her own cooking school, published several cookbooks and had her own TV show. Her impact on Chinese home cooking led the New York Times to dub her the Julia Child of Chinese Food. // Available May 7. Library catalog link here.
The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth
By Zoe Schlanger
From the Peruvian jungle to the cliffs of Hawaii, environmental reporter Schlanger chronicles groundbreaking research that challenges our understanding of plants as passive entities. Through lyrical prose and meticulous research, she introduces readers to the idea of plants as intelligent beings, capable of communication, memory, and even social behavior. Whether you’re a “plant mom,” science enthusiast, or curious about the wonders of nature, this must-read will leave you viewing plants in a whole new light. // Available May 7. Library catalog link here.
The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America
By Larry Tye
Now they’re household names, but in the early twentieth century, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie fought racism and changed the face of music (and the United States) forever. Offering substantial biographies of each musician, Tye also examines their friendly (but serious) rivalry, the cities they played in, and how (and why) their music helped lay the groundwork for the Civil Rights movement. Exhaustively researched and delightfully told, a fascinating read of music and American history. // Available May 7. Library catalog link here.
Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space
By Adam Higginbotham
When the Challenger exploded shortly after blasting off, the watching world wondered what went wrong. Like he did in Midnight in Chernobyl, Higginbotham presents a meticulously researched and highly readable deep dive into the hubris and bureaucracy that created the disaster, including the many warnings that were ignored. // Available May 14. Library catalog link here.
Middle Grade
Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens
By Rebecca EF Barone
In early 1980, earthquakes and smoke plumes started occurring on the long-dormant volcano, Mount St. Helens. Scientists were unsure what it meant, while journalists and politicians wanted clear answers and predictions. Barone successfully builds the growing tension as the volcanic activity also increases, until May 18, when the volcano catastrophically erupts. The narrative then shifts to the people who were caught in the eruption including some of the fifty-seven casualties and several survivors. A thrilling read full of fascinating science, political tension, and vivid detail. // Available May 14. Library catalog link here.
Teen
Rising from the Ashes: Los Angeles, 1992. Edward Jae Song Lee, Latasha Harlins, Rodney King, and a City of Fire
By Paula Yoo
In late spring, 1992, thousands of fires burned across LA. Gunfire echoed through the streets and there was more than a billion dollars in damage. 12,000 people were arrested, 2,400 people were injured, and sixty-three people died. The spark of the uprising was the acquittal of four police officers accused of brutally beating Rodney King, and the light sentence given to the shopkeeper who killed Latasha Harlins, but tensions had been simmering long before. Yoo’s searing narrative looks at tensions between LA’s Black and Korean American communities, LAPD’s history of racism, and the systemic issues that led to the uprising. He examines some of these issues that still remain, and how the community has recovered in the subsequent years. A compelling and nuanced look at recent history many teens may not know–even as the repercussions echo today. // Available May 7. Library catalog link here.
Jennie Rothschild is a collection engagement librarian for Arlington Public Library.