SCPL TN BOOK BUZ

  A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher Submitted by Austin Leonard, Assistant Branch Manager, Thomas Memorial Branch Library A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking is a comically creative, young(er) adult book about a 14 year old girl named Mona. She’s not like the other magic folk tasked with defending the city or keeping the streets safe. She can’t fling fire, or throw lightning. She’s a bread wizard.. Literally. Her familiar is a magical sourdough starter who is frankly unkillable and also a little bit sentient (his name’s Bob). She works in her family’s bakery, and entertains the customers with occasional gingerbread dance ensembles. But things turn serious when she finds a body on the bakery floor. Turns out there’s an assassin targeting magic folk, and she might just be next. On the run, with corruption finding its way to light. The assassin may be the least of her worries as she finds herself in the city, now no longer filled with wizards, with a war bre...

Gallant by V.E. Schwab Submitted by Austin Leonard, Assistant Branch Manager, Thomas Memorial Branch Library Gallant is a dark-fantasy, young adult novel surrounding Olivia Prior, a mute 16 year old. She grew up in the gray-scaled Merrilance Academy for girls, learning to keep to herself. She clung tight to her mother’s journal, her only link to the mother she’s never known. Through her journal she discovers her family’s dark past and learns of a place referred to as “Gallant” along with a warning to never return there.  Olivia receives a letter from her uncle inviting her home.. To Gallant. She returns wishing to belong somewhere and finds herself with family she never knew she had. Here she discovers more about her past and about her abilities through her mother’s journals filled with mysterious inky illustrations. Her cousin Matthew remains hostile and doesn’t want her there, and she is seeing more ghouls than ever before. Olivia learns of the Prior family mission. To upke...

  Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paige Toon Submitted by Heather Groom, Sullivan Gardens Public Library Branch Manager "Even while Toon was breaking my heart into tiny pieces, I couldn't put it down."-Jill Santopolo, author of  The Light We Lost.      Paige Toon has crafted the perfect Summer Romance with her new book "Only Love Can Hurt Like This". Main character Wren has just found out that her fiancé is in love with another woman. Or so he says in an awkward, hurried conversation that brought up more questions than it answered. Devastated and alone in Bury St. Edmunds, UK, she pulls together what is left of her life and moves back to her hometown of Indianapolis, IN. Surrounded by her family, she searches for solid ground with the community and home she grew up in.     It wouldn't be a story if it ended there, of course! Wren tries to focus on her career, her family, and anything that will keep her mind off of the train wreck engagement she left be...