The Hogfather

Pauli Murray was an activist, lawyer, priest, and so much more. While not as well-known as those who lauded her work like Thurgood Marshall and Ruth Bader Ginsberg, she worked for decades to dismantle discriminatory practices in the United States for people of color, women, and the poor. Born a mixed-race orphan in the 1910s, Murray always felt that she was "in-between" genders, and likely would have identified as transgender today. This recording contains adult language and themes. Find Jane Crow in print and as an e-audiobook on Hoopla.  This episode was read by Churchville Branch Library manager, Ali. Jane Crow: The Life of Pauli Murray was written by Rosalind Rosenberg and published in 2017 by Oxford University Press.

Naledi Smith is working on her graduate degree and has no time for the annoying emails claiming she's the disappeared betrothed of Prince Thabiso of Thesolo. Thabiso can't resist the opportunity to track her down and see what life and love are like as a regular person. Can their undeniable chemistry outweigh the burden of the long-hidden truth? Find A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole in print, and on Libby and Hoopla.  A Princess in Theory was written by Alyssa Cole and published in 2018 by Avon Books, part of Harper Collins Publishers.

This week's winner is the recent recipient of the Printz Award, given to the best work of young adult fiction each year.  Everything Sad is Untrue (a true story) by Daniel Nayeri is a semi-autobiographical novel is about a boy named Khosrou (whom everyone calls "Daniel") who stands, trying to tell a story. His story. But no one believes a word he says. To them, he is a dark-skinned, hairy-armed boy with a big butt whose lunch smells funny; who makes things up and talks about poop too much. But Khosrou's stories, stretching back years, and decades, and centuries, are beautiful, and terrifying, from the moment his family fled Iran in the middle of the night with the secret police moments behind them, back to the sad, cement refugee camps of Italy. and further back to the fields near the river Aras, where rain-soaked flowers bled red like the yolk of sunset burst over everything, and further back still to the Jasmine-scented city of Isfahan. Place your hold on Everything Sad is Untrue today! 

Our Middle Grade pick this week is the latest recipient of the Newberry Medal, When You Trap a Tiger, written by Tae Keller. When Lily and her family move in with her sick grandmother, a magical tiger straight out of her Halmoni's Korean folktales arrives, prompting Lily to unravel a secret family history.  Check out When You Trap a Tiger however you like to read! Print Audiobook on Overdrive Ebook on Overdrive Advantage

This week’s first chapter is adult nonfiction Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America by Beth Macy. Macy plunges the reader into this country’s more than twenty-year struggle with opioid addiction. However, through all of the greed, loss, and pain, Macy finds hope in the American spirit of resiliency and determination. This book is for adults and contains adult language and situations. You can find copies of Dopesick here.  This episode was read by Churchville Branch Library manager, Ali. Dopesick was written by Beth Macy and published in 2018 by Little, Brown, and Company.

This week’s first chapter for adults is We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry. The year is 1989 and the Danvers, Massachusetts High School girls’ field hockey team, the Falcons, will do anything to win states this year - even if it means tapping into some devilishly dark powers.  Hilarious, bold, and original, this book about sports, friendship, and bucking society's norms will have you hooked all the way to the finals. This book is for adults and contains adult themes and language. Find it in print and as an audiobook on Libby!  We Ride Upon Sticks was published in 2020 by Pantheon Books, a division of Random House, LLC.

Our YA pick this week is Conversion by Katherine Howe, a chilling mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane that is Prep meets The Crucible. Inspired by true events—from seventeenth-century colonial life to the halls of a modern-day high school—Conversion casts a spell. With her signature wit and passion, New York Times bestselling author Katherine Howe delivers an exciting and suspenseful novel, a chilling mystery that raises the question, what’s really happening to the girls at St. Joan’s? Grab your copy today!

Our Middle Grade pick this week is Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk, a historical novel about a young heroine in Depression-era Maine who is navigating the rocky terrain of her new life on Echo Mountain. This episode of First Chapter Fridays with ACL was recorded by Youth Services Librarian Hailee. To get your copy, click here!

A festive entry in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, which sees wizards, a monster bashing nanny, and actual gods racing to save the Hogfather.

Our YA pick this week is Puddin’ by Julie Murphy, a cozy, realistic fiction about unexpected friendship, romance, finding your own voice, and Texas-size girl power. Millie Michalchuk has gone to fat camp every year since she was a little girl. Not this year. This year she has new plans to chase her secret dream of being a newscaster—and to kiss the boy she’s crushing on. Callie Reyes is the pretty girl who is next in line for dance team captain and has the popular boyfriend. But when it comes to other girls, she’s more frenemy than friend. When circumstances bring the girls together over the course of a semester, they surprise everyone (especially themselves) by realizing that they might have more in common than they ever imagined. This episode of First Chapter Fridays with ACL was recorded by Youth Services Librarian Hailee. Puddin’ was written by Julie Murphy and published by Balzer + Bray. To get your copy, click here!