Recommended reading from Central Oregon librarians

In this touching picture book, soft and expressive illustrations lend themselves to a young child’s emigration from Taiwan to the U.S. while simultaneously chronicling her deep relationship with her beloved PoPo, the grandmother she is leaving behind. With heartfelt touches in both text and illustrations reflecting the immense connection shared between these two, the reader is given snapshots of the traditions they hold dear, even when an ocean comes between them. Despite big changes, new customs and the inevitable passing of time, there is one thing that will remain unchanged: the love shared between this young girl and her PoPo.

On the day Zoe Washington turns 12, everything in her life begins to change. She receives a letter in the mail from her birth father, Marcus, who has been in prison since before she was born. Despite her mother not wanting her to have a relationship with him, curiosity gets the better of her and she responds. Through the exchanging of letters, Zoe starts to suspect that Marcus might have been telling the truth when he claimed he was innocent. In this middle-grade novel, which explores systemic racism and inequities in the criminal justice system, readers will root for Zoe as she tries to find a way to help Marcus, focus on her lifelong dream of becoming a baker, and navigate the complexities of families and friendship.

Teen books

“Chlorine Sky,” by Mahogany L. Browne

Mahogany Browne, writer of the viral poem “Black Girl Magic,” serves us the perfect follow up to her powerful poem with this coming-of-age novel in verse. We meet Sky as she navigates her relationships with her sister (her biggest bully), her best friend (who has abandoned her), her first boyfriend (her first heartache), and her relationship with herself (her biggest silencer). Pick up this beautiful novel about a girl learning to internalize Browne’s “Black Girl Magic” and TAKE UP SPACE in a world that violently stamps this out of young black girls. This is a must read for any lovers of “Poet X,” by Elizabeth Acevedo. “Chlorine Sky” is available at the Deschutes Public Library in electronic format on Libby.

“A Complicated Love Story Set in Space” is a romance, mystery, space saga about Noa, a teen boy who inexplicably wakes up in a spacesuit just as his spaceship is set to blow. The last thing Noa remembers, however, is going to bed in his Seattle home. With the help of DJ and Jenny, Noa sets out to find out how he ended up there, but a mysterious murder, alien monsters, a killer school dance, and the most difficult challenge — healing and falling in love — make it easier said than done. You won’t want to put this book down until you finish! Content warning for segments detailing a sexual assault and subsequent mentions of the assault. “A Complicated Love Story Set in Space” is available at the Deschutes Public Library in electronic format on Libby.

Adult books

“Oona Out of Order,” by Margarita Montimore

Margarita Montimore delivers a charming debut that reminds you to make every day count. In this fantastically sweet time-travel novel, Oona Lockhart is transported to a different year in her life every Jan. 1, starting on her 19th birthday. In her first jump, she’s become a middle-aged version of herself, living in a large mansion in New York City and understandably confused. With help from a mysterious young man and her mother, Madeline, Oona learns about her peculiar condition and braces for her whirlwind life ahead. You can’t help root for Oona when she finds herself as a philanthropist, rave-girl, and married to a stranger. Every surprise chapter of Oona’s out-of-order world is a pure delight.

“The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” tells the story of what happens when two people, Addie and Henry, both receivers of a Faustian bargain, meet and fall in love. Addie has traded a life of immortality in exchange for perpetual anonymity. Three centuries later, Henry makes a deal to live one year with the doting attention of everyone he meets. Lurking in the background and making unexpected appearances is the dark spirit Luc, the granter of both of these bargains. Told in a nonlinear storyline, Schwab takes you back and forth in a timeframe of 300 years to learn the reasons why Addie and Henry made their deals with Luc. Part historical fiction, part fantasy, and part romance, this book will satisfy a wide range of readers.