Selfie Book Talk, Episode #24

Dark Rise by C. S. Pacat

Available as: eBook | eAudiobook | Print
Recommended by: Amy B. at Haggard Library
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Description:

Sixteen-year-old dock boy Will is on the run, pursued by the men who killed his mother. Then an old servant tells him of his destiny to fight beside the Stewards, who have sworn to protect humanity if the Dark King ever returns. Will is thrust into a world of magic, where he starts training for a vital role in the oncoming battle against the Dark.

As London is threatened and old enmities are awakened, Will must stand with the last heroes of the Light to prevent the fate that destroyed their world from returning to destroy his own.

Read-Alikes:

In Deeper Waters by F. T. Lukens

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer

Boo-Hoo Moo & The Web Files by Margie Palatini

Available as: Boo-Hoo Moo Print | The Web Files Print
Recommended by: Amanda M. at Haggard Library
Genre: Children’s picturebook

Boo-Hoo Moo Description: When Hilda Mae Heifer’s trademark “moo” starts sounding even worse, the other animals decide she is lonely and hold auditions to find her some singing partners.

The Web Files Description: Ducktective Web and his partner try to quack the case of the pilfered peck of perfectly picked pickled peppers.

Read-Alikes:

Whoosh Went the Wind! by Sally Derby

Duck Duck Moose by Dave Horowitz

Pumpkin Soup by Helen S. Cooper

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Available as: eBook | eAudiobook | Print
Recommended by: Ellen S. at Schimelpfenig Library
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Description:

Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him. When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his true gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.

Read-Alikes:

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

Legendborn by Tracy Geonn

The House on the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune

Inventing Latinos: a New Story of American Racism by Laura E. Gómez

Available as: Print
Recommended by: Stephanie T. at Davis Library
Genre: Non-fiction

Description:

Part history, part guide for the future, Inventing Latinos argues that all Americans must grapple with Latinos’ dynamic identity–an identity that is impacting everything we think we know about race in America.

Read-Alikes:

Not a Nation of Immigrants by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

Once I Was You by Maria Hinojosa

Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice

Available as: Print | Spanish
Recommended by: Tenille M. at Haggard Library
Genre: Horror

Description:

This is the story of Louis, as told in his own words, of his journey through mortal and immortal life. Louis recounts how he became a vampire at the hands of the radiant and sinister Lestat and how he became indoctrinated, unwillingly, into the vampire way of life.

Originally begun as a short story, the book took off as Anne wrote it, spinning the tragic and triumphant life experiences of a soul. As well as the struggles of its characters, Interview captures the political and social changes of two continents. The novel also introduces Lestat, Anne’s most enduring character, a heady mixture of attraction and revulsion.

Read-Alikes:

Lives of the Mayfair Witches series by Anne Rice

Carrie by Stephen King