Hello! Here's what Wilmette Public Library staff has been reading as we slowly thaw out and get ready (hopefully) for Spring. You can search for these titles and put them on hold through our online catalog or you can look for an ebook or e-audiobook on the Digital Library of Illinois. 

Title: Hamnet: A Novel of the Plague
Author: Maggie O'Farrell
Reader: Joan B., Adult Services Librarian

This is a historical fiction novel about Shakespeare, his youth, and family, covering a little-known story about his most beloved play, Hamlet. This book was aNew York Times Notable Book (2020) and a listed as a Best Book of 2020 from the Guardian, Financial Times, Literary Hub, and NPR.

Title: The Children of Red Peak
Author: Craig DiLouie
Reader: Krista H., Teen & Adult Services Librarian

This psychological suspense novel might also be considered a horror novel by some. It follows four people who, as children, were a part of a cult that started as a peace-loving Christian community and devolved over time into something scary and strange, culminating in a violent, sacrificial night on Red Peak Mountain where the whole cult disappeared--except for them. Years later, as adults coping with various traumas, they go back to Red Peak Mountain to try to remember what happened once and for all. This is psychologically gripping and emotionally fraught but has a lot of interesting, thoughtful points about love, family, faith, and hope.

Title: The Truths We Hold: An American Journey
Author: Kamala Harris
Reader: Susan K-T, Youth Services Librarian

This is a youth autobiographical memoir of the first woman, African American, and South Asian American to become attorney general of the State of California, and the second black woman ever elected to the United States Senate, and now she is the first woman, first African American and South Asian American Vice-President!  She describes her immigrant parents that encouraged her to care deeply about social justice and civil rights, particularly her scientist mother, and a life she has lived based on those principles.

Title: Big Girl, Small Town
Author: Michelle Gallen
Audiobook Narrator: Nicola Coughlan
Reader: Rachel G., Adult Services Librarian

Majella lives a simple life working in the local chip shop and caring for her alcoholic mother in Aghybogey, the small Northern Irish town she grew up in just after the Troubles. Her routine brings her comfort, that and watching Dallas from the safe comfort of her bed. When Majella's Granny is unexpectedly killed, her life becomes more complicated and she begins to wonder if there is more to experience. A highly captivating and original heroine. The audiobook is narrated by Nicola Coughlan of Bridgerton and Derry Girls fame and she does an amazing job of bringing Majella and her story to life.

Title: When Women Ruled the World: Six Queens of Egypt
Author: Kara Cooney
Reader: Jill M., Adult Services Manager

Actually known during their time as female kings, author, Egyptologist, and archaeologist Kara Cooney describes six women of ancient Egypt who kept their dynasties going through turmoil with little recognition throughout the annals of history.  Often, these female kings ruled while a male heir was too young to take control and we are given insight into their ingenuity, power and strength, and because they were women, how quickly they were erased by men throughout history.  Cooney also draws parallels between the sexism that both ancient Egyptian women and modern women face today.