Lakeland Public Library discussion

Happy April, friends! This year marks the 25th anniversary of National Poetry month. Launched by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry month seeks to remind us all that poets pay an integral role in our society and that poetry matters. Over the last year, I’ve found myself becoming more interested in learning about and reading more poetry. I’ll definitely be checking out the Academy’s list of 30 Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month at Home or Online. Poetry not your thing? We’ve got you covered with some fresh reads for April:

Northern Spy by Flynn Berry
Since The Good Friday Agreement 20 years prior, the IRA has gone underground, but they never really went away. Lately, bomb threats, security checkpoints, and helicopters floating ominously over Belfast have become features of everyday life. When BBC producer Tessa sees security footage of her sister, Marian, participating in a raid on a gas station, she's convinced that Marian has been abducted or coerced. The sisters were raised to oppose the violence enacted in the name of uniting Ireland. The truth about Marian is revealed, and Tessa's faced with impossible choices that test the limits of her ideals, the bonds of family, her notions of right and wrong, and her identity as a sister and mother. (This book was recently announced as the April 2021 pick for Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club, so get yourself on the request list for this one now.)

Fatal Fried Rice by Vivien Chien
Lana runs her family's Chinese restaurant like nobody's business. When it comes to actual cooking, she's known to be about a step up from boiling rice. So Lana decides to go to culinary school to prove that she has what it takes in the kitchen. But when the course instructor, Margo Chan, turns up dead after class, Lana suddenly finds herself on the case. Since she was the one who discovered the body, Lana must pull double duty to find the killer and clear her name. With or without her boyfriend's help, Lana launches her own investigation into Margo's life and mysterious death. It leads her on a wild goose chase to and from the culinary school and back to the noodle shop, where the guilty party may be closer than she thinks. (This is book #7 in the Noodle Shop Mystery series.)

Machinehood by S.B. Divya
It’s 2095, and humans are dependent on pills. These pills supplement their health so they can stay alive. They also boost their endurance, focus, and productivity to compete with robots and droids in the new gig economy. Welga Ramirez, an executive bodyguard, is close to early retirement before her client is killed by a terrorist group. The Machinehood has attacked several major pill funders and issues an ultimatum: stop all pill production in a week. The US government believes the Machinehood is a cover for an old enemy, one that Welga is uniquely qualified to fight.

Raft of Stars by Andrew Graff
Tired of the physical abuse his friend Dale "Bread" Breadwin endures from his father, Fischer "Fish" Branson decides to take action. After hearing a gunshot, the boys believe they have murdered Bread’s father. They flee into the forest and find a raft, but natural terrors threaten to overwhelm them. Sheriff Cal, Tiffany, the gas station attendant, and Fish’s mother and grandfather track them into the forest. The time spent in the wilderness changes everyone and helps them develop and reshape their identities and reevaluate how they live.

Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge
Libertie is set in Reconstruction-era Brooklyn and is inspired by the life of Dr. Susan Smith McKinney Steward, the first Black female doctor in New York. Dr. Kathy Sampson has a clear vision for her daughter's life: Libertie will go to medical school, practice alongside her, and carry on her legacy. Libertie falls in love with and marries a man from Haiti who promises her that she will be his equal on the island. When Libertie realizes that she is subordinate to her husband and all men, she must discover what freedom really means for a Black woman and struggles with where she might find it for herself and those who come after her. (BookPage magazine interviewed Greenidge about the little-know history behind the novel. Read it here.)

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert
No matter how hard she tries, things in Eve Brown’s life always go wrong. But when she ruins an expensive wedding, her parents tell her it’s time to grow up. Until she can commit to a job for one year, they are cutting her off financially. This reality check leads her to interview for an open position at Jacob Wayne’s bed and breakfast. Jacob is set on dominating the hospitality industry and expects nothing less than perfection. When Eve and her purple hair turn up unexpectedly, he’s unimpressed and tells her, in no uncertain terms, no. Then she mows him down with her car...accidentally. Eve feels responsible for Jacob’s injuries and sticks around to help run the understaffed B&B. Jacob should hate everything about this, but the more time the two spend together, the more their hostility turns into something else. (This is the final book in the Brown Sisters trilogy.)

Red Island House by Andrea Lee
When Shay, a Black American professor with an adventurous streak, marries Senna, an Italian businessman, she never imagines that this adventure will take her from their home in Milan to an idyllic stretch of beach in Madagascar. Senna builds them a lavish vacation villa, making her the reluctant mistress of the sprawling household. She finds herself torn between her connection to the continent of her ancestors and her privileged American upbringing. Initially, she’s content to observe the affairs and rivalries around her. Throughout their marriage, Shay finds herself drawn deeper and deeper into a place where a blend of magic, sexual intrigue, and transgression forms a modern-day parable of colonial conquest. A collision of cultures forces her to make a life-altering decision that will forever change the family's life.

The Jigsaw Man by Nadine Matheson
There's a serial killer on the loose. When bodies start washing up on the banks of the River Thames, Detective Inspector Angelica Henley fears it is the work of the notorious Jigsaw Killer Peter Oliver. But it can’t be him; Olivier is already behind bars, and Henley was the one who put him there. The race is on before more bodies are found. She’d hoped to never have to see his face again, but DI Henley knows Olivier might be their best chance at stopping the copycat killer. But when Olivier learns of the new murders, helping Henley is the last thing on his mind. Will it take a killer to catch a killer? Now all bets are off, and the race is on to catch the killer before the body count rises. But who will get there first – Henley or the Jigsaw Killer?

First Person Singular: Stories by Haruki Murakami
First Person Singular is a collection of eight short stories told by the classic Murakami narrator: a lonely man. Philosophical and mysterious, the stories touch on love, solitude, memory, and childhood. As a collection, the stories challenge the boundaries between our minds and the outside world. Is the narrator Murakami himself? Is this a memoir or a work of friction? You, the reader, get to decide.

Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer
Security consultant "Jane Smith" receives an envelope with the key to a storage unit. Inside she finds a taxidermied hummingbird and clues leading her to a taxidermied salamander. Silvina Vilcacampa, the woman who left the note, is an alleged eco-terrorist. Jane becomes obsessed with discovering her whereabouts and her fate. By taking the hummingbird from the storage unit, Jane sets in motion a series of events that quickly spin beyond her control. Soon, Jane and her family are in danger, with few allies to help her make sense of the true scope of the peril. Is the only way to safety to follow in Silvina's footsteps? Is it too late to stop? As she desperately seeks answers about why Silvina contacted her, time is running out―for her and possibly the world.

Are any of these books going on your TBR? Is there another new release you’re excited about? What books have you been loving recently? Let us know in the comments!