NEW BOOKS

FICTION

Brooks, Geraldine: HORSE

Kentucky, 1850.  An enslaved groom and a boy foal forge a bond of understanding that will carry the horse to record-setting victories across the South.  When the nation erupts in civil war, an artist who has made his name on paintings of the racehorse takes up arms for them.  Based on a true story. — Publisher’s note


Chan, Jessamine: THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD MOTHERS

Because of one moment of poor judgment, Frida Liu is faced with the possibility of losing her young daughter.  She must prove that a bad mother can be redeemed.


Chen, Katharine: JOAN

Girl, warrior, heretic, saint.  A stunning reimagining of the life of Joan of Arc and a story of how feminine strength and will can change the world. —Publisher’s note


Clark, Andrea Yaryura: ON A NIGHT OF A THOUSAND STARS

In this moving emotional narrative of love and resilience, a young couple confronts the start of Argentina’s Dirty War in the 1970s and a daughter searches for truth twenty years later. —Publisher’s note

The author spends summers on Mt. Desert and will be speaking at a Seal Harbor library event next summer.


Doiron, Paul: HATCHET ISLAND

A windswept island off the coast of Maine becomes the site of a double murder and a disappearance. —Publisher’s note


Foley, Lucy: THE PARIS APARTMENT

Meet the residents of number 12, rue des Amants, a beautiful old apartment building, the socialite, the nice guy, the alcoholic, the girl on the verge.  Everyone’s a suspect.  Everyone knows something they are not telling.  See you in Paris. —Publisher’s note


Haig, Matt: THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY

Between life and death there is a library.  Up until now, Nina’s life has been full of misery and regret.  But things are about to change.  When she finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right.


Henry, Emily: BOOK LOVERS

When Nora Stephens, a very successful New York literary agent by chance runs into Charlie Lastra, a bookish, brooding NY editor in tiny Sunshine Falls, North Carolina, early dislike for each other begins to change.  Clever and funny.


Hildebrand, Elin: THE HOTEL NANTUCKET

Tale about a summer of scandal at a storied Nantucket hotel. —Publisher’s note


Mandel, Emily St. John: SEA OF TRANQUILITY

Author takes reader from Vancouver Island in 1912 to a dark colony on the moon nearly five hundred years later. —Publisher’s note


Powers, Richard: THE OVERSTORY 

“The best story ever written about trees” and a varied group of courageous people who try to protect them.  A Seal Harbor Book Club choice. —Quote from Ann Patchett


Shteyngart, Gary: OUR COUNTRY FRIENDS

Eight friends, one large country house, several small ones, four romances, and six months of isolation because of the current pandemic — a story about love, friendship and betrayal that reads like Chekhov on the Hudson. —Publisher’s note


Talty, Morgan: NIGHT OF THE LIVING REZ

Set in a Native community near Mt. Desert in Maine, this book is a riveting debut collection of short stories about what it means to be Penobscot in the 21st century.  Penobscot author wowed a recent COA Coffee and Conversations group with his presentation this summer.


Towles, Amor: THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY

In June 1954 eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson, recently released from a work farm in Nebraska, plans to drive to California with his eight-year-old brother.  Two prisoners from the farm have hidden in the trunk and force a change of plans — driving to the city of New York.  A Seal Harbor Book Club choice.

NONFICTION

Browder, Bill: FREEZING ORDER: A TRUE STORY OF MONEY LAUNDERING, MURDER, AND SURVIVING VLADIMIR PUTIN’S WRATH


Georges, Gigi: DOWNEAST: FIVE MAINE GIRLS AND THE UNSEEN STORY OF RURAL AMERICA


Gooley, Tristan: HOW TO READ WATER, CLUES AND PATTERNS FROM PUDDLES TO THE SEA

Readers will learn how to gauge depth, navigate, forecast weather and make other predictions with water.


Hanah-Jones, Nicole: THE 1619 PROJECT

African-American author, a winner of the Pulitzer Prize, has collected stories of enslaved people written by thirty-five African-American authors.  It consists of fiction and poetry and tells of the struggles of enslaved people in the United States from 1619 to 2019, a period of 400 years.


Hill, Fiona: THERE IS NOTHING FOR YOU HERE, FINDING OPPORTUNITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY

A celebrated foreign policy expert and key impeachment witness reveals how declining opportunity has set America on the grim path of modern Russia — and draws on her personal journey out of poverty, as well as her unique perspectives as a historian and policymaker to show how we can return to our forgotten places. —Publisher’s note


Kimmerle, Erin: WE CARRY THEIR BONES: THE SEARCH FOR JUSTICE AT THE DOZIER SCHOOL FOR BOYS

Against fierce opposition, a forensic anthropologist investigates the notorious Dozier School for Boys revealing the true history of the events behind the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Nickel Boys. Publisher’s note


Ferrer, Ada: AN AMERICAN HISTORY CUBA

With rousing stories and characters, drawing on thirty years of research in Cuba, Spain and the United States, the author tells her amazing story.  Winner of the Pulitzer Prize.


Short, Philip: PUTIN


Benway, Robin: A YEAR TO THE DAY (Young adult)

A teenager struggles to cope with the death of her sister killed in an automobile accident. Told in reverse chronological order over the course of a year.

BIOGRAPHY

Seaman, John: FROM THE MARSHALL PLAN TO COVID-19: JAMES G. LOWENSTEIN AT 94


Hecksher, Philip: TOGO, A TRAVEL MEMOIR

The author writes a memoir with many photographs telling of a trip made with a friend from tiny Togo to cross West Africa.  The journey began in 1969 and continued in 1971.  Philip Hecksher lived on Mt. Desert Island for several years.


Wood, Robin Clifford: THE FIELD HOUSE: A WRITER’S LIFE LOST AND FOUND ON AN ISLAND IN MAINE

Author Robin Wood, a writer, purchased and lives in Rachel Field’s house on Sutton Island overlooking Mt. Desert.  Wood became inspired to tell the life story of the famous author who wrote the Newbery Award Winner Hitty, Her First Hundred Years and several other books of poetry and fiction.  Robin gave an excellent presentation at the Seal Harbor Library this summer.

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

PICTURE BOOKS

Buitrago, Jairo: DRAWING OUTDOORS

This is a story about a “school that has almost nothing” but has a very special teacher.


Dorleans, Marie: OUR FORT

Three friends set out to visit their secret fort at the edge of the woods, but as they are enjoying the freedom and nature all around them a big storm rolls in. —Publisher’s note


Geron, Eric: THE POULTRYGEIST

Why did the chicken cross the road?  How did the chicken cross the road?  Where is the chicken now?  CAUTION: Contains images that may scare you silly! (This is true.) —Publisher’s note


Hayes, Karel: THE SPRING VISITORS

A family of bears awaken in a cottage after a nice winter sleep.  Torrential rains hamper their efforts to leave the cottage shipshape for the returning human owners.  It looks a lot like Mt. Desert in the spring.  Hopefully you did not have bears in your house for the winter.


Khan, Naaz: ROOM FOR EVERY ONE

When Musa and Dada board a bus to the beach in Zanzibar, Africa, the friendly bus driver turns one stop into ten stops with increasingly large passengers in this silly counting book set in Africa.


McGinty, Alice: BATHE THE CAT

The family cat turns a day of housework into riotous story-time fun in this rhyming tale of mixed-up chores and family silliness.


Myers, Matt: CHILDREN OF THE FOREST

Seeking a life of freedom and adventure.  Look no further than your own backyard. —Publisher’s note


Reynolds, Emma: AMARA AND THE BATS

Amara loves bats, so when  she learns there are none near her new home due to habitat loss, she overcomes her feelings of helplessness and inspires her community to take action.  Combines a good story along with a lot of information about bats.


Root, Phyllis: CELIA PLANTED A GARDEN. Writer, painter and gardener Celia Thaxter grew up on a desolate island where her father worked as lighthouse keeper.  When Celia was twelve the family moved to Appledore Island where her father built a large hotel and Celia planted a garden that is still there today.  True story.

Note:  This is an especially fine new collection of picture books.  Come and have a look.  Picture books are for all ages.

NOVELS RECOMMENDED FOR READERS IN GRADES 3 – 6

Elliott, L.M.: LOUISA JUNE AND THE NAZIS IN THE WAVES

The author captures the drama and heartbreak of the U-boat attacks on the eastern US coast during World War II through the eyes of a young girl living in tidewater Virginia.


Field, Rachel: HITTY AND HER FIRST HUNDRED YEARS, A Newbery Award Winner

The author lived on Sutton Island when she wrote about a six inch tall doll named Hitty carved by a man named Preble living on Great Cranberry Island.  The doll belonged to a little girl named Phoebe.  Hitty has many adventures including being on a pirate ship.


Kelly, Erin Entrada: THOSE KIDS FROM FAWN CREEK

Every day in Fawn Creek, Louisiana, is exactly the same.  Until it isn’t. —Publisher’s note


Meade, Suzanne: A TERRIBLE TIDE: A STORY OF THE NEWFOUNDLAND TSUNAMI OF 1929. On November 18, 1929, Celia is setting the table for her 13th birthday when an earthquake destroys her home and village.  Celia must help her family survive the disaster. Based on a true story.

NON-FICTION

Coppens, Katie (Gr. 2-4): THE ACADIA FILES, SUMMER SCIENCE

This is a good book for readers who like science and like to ask questions.  The main character is a girl named Acadia who asks many questions starting with, “Who keeps stealing my blueberries just as they ripen?” (Series)

Happy reading!