Reading Radar: Digital Edition

The staff from our Reading Radar pages have identified more titles they think you’ll like. All are available for downloading from our website, with your library card. Just click on the book you’re interested in to find it in our catalog.

Ashlee L

Cinder
This futuristic take on the well-known story of Cinderella creates an interesting mashup of fairy tales and science fiction, complete with cyborgs, secrets, and an evil stepmother.

Carol

Life of Pi
Pi Patel and his family emigrate to North America, along with the animals from their zoo in India. When the ship sinks, he finds himself alone in a lifeboat with a hyena, an orangutan, a zebra, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon it's just Pi and the tiger, mano a mano, for 227 days.

Jen

LaRose
This novel explores the tension between two families in North Dakota after a hunting accident results in the death of a young boy. Erdrich uses this event to write about the Native American experience in modern America and how cultural traditions and beliefs fit into contemporary life. She is gifted at tracing family threads and following the impact of events over generations. I cried for everyone in this book.

Kris

Let's Do Nothing
"Let’s Do Nothing" is the perfect solution to being overwhelmed with everything going on, and gives great ideas about what kids can do when they’ve done it all—hint: it’s nothing! Cute animations bring the story to life, and will inspire readers to do nothing as well.

Loren

Stranger Things: The College Years
A set of novellas, by yours truly! I hope you enjoy... The College Years (Vol 1): The Stranger Things kids, now in college (1990), encounter a long-dead friend, and face off the worst creature of the Upside Down. The New Generation (Vol 2): Set in 2009, Eleven's son becomes vulnerable to an internet-based creature that he brings into physical existence. World's End (Vol 3): Eleven, now in her sixties (in 2037), is a raving lunatic, and her backwards-aged son embarks on a desperate time-traveling mission to undo the shadow holocaust devastating America. The Witch of Yamhill County (Vol 4): In this prequel set in 1992, Eleven confronts the Russian witch Baba Yaga, who terrorizes countrysides and eats children. The Black Rose of Newberg (Vol 5): The second Hopper prequel, set in 1997. Eleven assists her father Jim Hopper in going after Oregon's most dangerous serial killer. Endless Night (Vol 6): The sixth and last volume telling the full tragedy of Mike Wheeler in 1987.

Marita

Assassination Vacation
Sarah Vowell traveled all over the U.S. visiting sites of significance to the assassinations of presidents Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley. It's hard to imagine how this subject could be hilarious, but Vowell makes it so. She visited cemeteries, famous architecture, and wacky museums. One of the standout anecdotes is when her young nephew calls cemeteries "Halloween Parks." A great book for people who like their history with a dash of the macabre.

Mary Ellen

Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts
Tuesday Mooney is a loner and likes it that way--until a mysterious billionaire dies and leaves his fortune to whomever can solve the treasure-hunt mystery he left behind. Can Tuesday trust the person who seems to hold the key to the mystery?

Niki

A Wrinkle in Time
A fantasy/sci-fi adventure through time and space that begins one dark and stormy night. There is a reason this story is hailed as one of the greats! Whether you're a first-time reader or a repeat rereader like me, I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys relatable characters and a thought-provoking adventure.

Tracy

Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers
There are probably a gazillion novels set in World War II, but this one caught my eye because it's set in Hawaii, not long after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Violet's soldier husband gone missing, and she needs a way to support her daughter while also coping with the wartime tension--and all the soldiers--occupying their island. I've never been to Hawaii, but the vivid descriptions made the islands come to life.