Looking for your next spooky read before Halloween season is over? Check out some of our new children’s BOO-ks!
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Book Review: The It Girl
The It Girl by Ruth Ware
If you’re here in search for spooky thriller this autumn, look no further. Ruth Ware’s The It Girl is the perfect blend of Harry Potter and Gossip Girl creating an eerie, cinematic, murder mystery that will keep you hooked.
Hannah, the protagonist, experiences a dramatic shift in lifestyles almost immediately after leaving home to attend Oxford University. This change is driven by her introduction and instant bond to her new roomate, April Clarke-Cliveden. April is your typical spoiled, glamorous, and chaotic teenage girl, she’s blunt bold and full of mischief. Yet beneath her arrogant exterior, April grows a sister-like bond with her new roommate, Hannah.
Another key figure in the book is Will — Hannah’s future husband and Aprils ex — which creates a significant amount of drama and tension between the three (Gossip Girl anyone?). The novel alternates between “before” “after” narratives, contrasting Hannah’s adult life (marriage, pregnancy) with her year at Oxford. Through this structure, it is revealed that April was murdered on campus. Even a decade later, Hannah still questions whether the convicted man was truly guilty.
This dual-timeline format creates a strong contrast as Hannah investigates the past in one chapter, and you experience it firsthand in the next. During the present day chapters, Hannah works her way through the suspect list while battling a rough pregnancy, with sickness and sleepless nights. She eventually ends up accusing all of her friends, and even the father to her child. This sequence of events adds suspense to the novel, as new information was fed to Hannah by the real killer. I genuinely really enjoyed reading this book. It pulled me in every time and I couldn’t go 10-15 pages without wanting more. The novel really immerses you into the drama making you feel like a part of the friend group. Additionally, it was very satisfying how Ware’s writing style matured as the chapters switched from past to present, showing how Hannah has matured as well, with a more juvenile perspective towards the earlier years of the story. At the beginning of the timeline, Hannah’s relationships are fairly surface level. However, as the story progresses, relationships-especially her’s with Will and April grow deeper with time.
My only critique is that the book sometimes gets stuff in unnecessary details that don’t add to the plot.
However if you’re in the mood for a spooky autumn mystery, Ruth Ware’s The It Girl will not disappoint, its twists and turns will leave you stunned.
Reviewed by Teen Volunteer, 10/21/25.
Book Review: The Great Fire
The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard
I first discovered Shirley Hazzard when I found a pocket-sized edition of The Great Fire in a thrift store. For many months, I carried The Great Fire around, reading it at random or flipping through it, until finally I sat down and read it in one big gulp. This method of reading The Great Fire, of fits and spurts before I finally jumped into it, was very fitting to the book. Shirley Hazzard writes with stark, quick descriptions, which bleed inexorably into a startlingly complex picture of loss.
The book begins with Aldred Leith, who has been assigned to report on the conditions of Japan and Hiroshima following World War 2, and expands to tell a larger story of humanity’s attempts to process grief through the perspectives of characters surrounding Leith. The story is at first cold; the emotional responses of the characters are not as immediate and fully felt as in other books I’ve read. Yet, upon reading further, I found this hesitance and shyness of the novel to be its strongest strength. In Hazzard’s slow revealing of the characters, the reader is introduced to the hazy, war-torn reality the characters are faced with, in which the characters are grappling, just as the reader is, for a more tangible, sharp vision of loss. This slow desperation builds on itself until the book becomes almost taut, until it is almost unbearable to read because of how suddenly striking and beautiful the story becomes. With a few more neat, seemingly simple sentences, Hazzard closes her novel, and the reader is left with a portrait of mourning, of stillness, and of the world spinning onward despite all it has left behind.
I would highly recommend to anyone who is looking for a good lesson on writing and books—Hazzard’s method of using apparently stark sentences to grasp complicated, painful realities is stunning and is one of the best gifts of The Great Fire. Along with this gift are many others; the book is a fascinating glimpse into the time period after World War 2, is stunning in its character dynamics and depictions of characters’ struggles, and, in the end, manages to give the reader a glimpse of hope that is both grounded in the reality of the novel and somehow still sings with beauty.
Reviewed by Teen Volunteer, 10/13/25.
Library Latest- October 14, 2025
October is National Fantasy Month! Explore this genre by checking out some of these fantasy books.
Library Latest: September 23, 2025
Hispanic Heritage Month is September 15th to October 15th! Catch up on some of the latest children’s books by Latinx authors/illustrators handpicked by our Children’s Staff!
Library Latest- September 9, 2025
September is National Honey Month! Learn about the uses of honey and the importance of bees through these fiction and non-fiction books.
Book Review: Crying in H Mart
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Funny enough, I did actually first hear of this book while I was at H Mart a few years ago. I had always meant to pick it up, and this summer I finally did. I have to say, all the raving reviews I have heard about this book are spot on. The story itself is very moving and detailed, and a lot of what Zauner mentions about growing up with an immigrant mother can strongly relate to myself, which made the read even better.
The novel starts when Zauner is 25 years old, and recalls how her world first shifted when she first discovered that her mother had stomach cancer. Triggered by grief and sadness, she reflects on how she had begun to lose sight of the times she spent with her mother before her illness and how recalling those memories even led her to becoming culturally connected and find solace in cooking Korean foods. Thus, this leads us to the core of why this book is called, Crying in H Mart.
While reading this, I was really glad to hear the perspective of someone who grew up with the same issues of not being able to entirely relate to their immigrant parents due to the vast cultural difference, and also how lack of connection to language put up barriers. The way Zauner writes is in a very relatable style and her reflection is very raw and understanding. I loved reading her book, and at times, it even made me laugh, smile, and cry.
I would definitely recommend this book to almost anyone, because even though you might not be able to relate to Zauner’s writings of grief, her story is still powerful and serves as a brilliant read.
Reviewed by Teen Volunteer, 8/27/25.
Book Review: Where Sleeping Girls Lie
Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
I recently dived into the mind-bending, plot-twisting, extraordinary world of this novel, Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, and all that I have to say is wow. It had been a while since I picked up a mystery-horror book and I was looking for a book that could fill the empty void I had, and this novel did it’s job.
To begin with, the novel describes the story from the point of view of Sade, a new student at Alfred Nobel Academy, an international boarding school in England. After the sudden death of her father, she enrolls at the school and meets her mysterious roommate, Elizabeth. Before she even has the time to get acquainted with her, Elizabeth goes missing, and Sade begins to work together with Elizabeth’s best friend, Baz, in order to figure out what happened to her. They soon discover that the school has been hiding secrets about Elizabeth’s whereabouts and discover hidden connections between Elizabeth’s past and the current students at the school.
Honestly, it was so amazing to see this novel’s plot come together and reveal such a fascinating story. I did not expect for the story to expand from Elizabeth’s disappearance, to the secrets of the ultra-rich, popular students at the school. The main character, Sade, herself is such an interesting character because as we dig deeper and deeper into the story, we find out about her past, and her older sister Jamila, who is the reason for Sade wanting to come to the school in the first place. The book is filled with little anagrams throughout the chapters that hint to the story and plot and the best part is that you don’t understand how it’s all connected until the very end. In fact, there were times I had to go back and reread some of the chapters to figure out what exactly they were alluding to!
To put simply, this book was an incredible read and kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end, I am not kidding. I would definitely 10/10 recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good, good, mystery book and I wish I could read it all over from start to finish to experience how good it was to read this book again.
Reviewed by Teen Volunteer, 8/27/25.
Book Review: Passing
Passing by Nella Larsen
I recently read Passing by Nella Larsen, and honestly, I wasn’t a big fan of it. The story was about two childhood friends, Irene and Clare, who reconnect years later. Clare is passing as white, even though she’s actually Black, and Irene starts getting caught up in Clare’s complicated life. I thought the concept of the book was interesting, because it’s about identity, race, and fitting into different worlds. But at times, I thought it was kind of confusing. The writing style was a bit old-fashioned, and sometimes I had to reread parts just to figure out what was going on. There were moments where I wasn’t sure what the characters were doing and where they were. For me, the pacing also felt a little slow and boring. The story focused on small details, which made it hard to stay focused. Even the ending left me a bit confused. It happened pretty quickly that I wasn’t sure what it was about. Overall, I didn’t even know what was the main point of this book. As a reader, I didn’t connect with it much. It was hard to follow at times, and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I hoped.
Reviewed by Teen Volunteer, 8/18/2025.
Book Review: The Kitchen God’s Wife
The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan
As an Asian reader, I love reading books about the Asian American experience because I can relate to them a lot. The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan is an example of one, and is by far one of my favorite books I’ve read in a long time.
The story revolves around a Chinese-American woman named Winnie Louie and her relationship with Pearl, her daughter. When she believes she is dying, Winnie reveals a lifetime of secrets to Pearl, including her experiences in China during World War II and her abusive first marriage. This forces Pearl to confront her own secret regarding her multiple sclerosis, a life-changing disease that she was hesitant to mention to her mother because of her mother’s superstitious beliefs. Ultimately, these revelations strengthen the bond between mother and daughter.
Winnie was raised in China whereas Pearl was raised in the United States, so they inevitably have different views of the world. The narrative switches between their perspectives, which is a really good way of keeping a reader engaged because you can empathize with both characters despite their conflicting opinions. Winnie recounts her life beginning from her childhood with her mother, her father’s second wife who mysteriously disappears one day, to when she moved to the U.S. Her story is very well written with just the right amount of detail, not so much that you start to skim pages but not so little that it’s not captivating. The tension peaks regarding Pearl’s true parentage, indicating that their stories are seamlessly linked – Winnie’s doesn’t necessarily end before Pearl’s begins.
The story revolves around a Chinese-American woman named Winnie Louie and her relationship with Pearl, her daughter. When she believes she is dying, Winnie reveals a lifetime of secrets to Pearl, including her experiences in China during World War II and her abusive first marriage. This forces Pearl to confront her own secret regarding her multiple sclerosis, a life-changing disease that she was hesitant to mention to her mother because of her mother’s superstitious beliefs. Ultimately, these revelations strengthen the bond between mother and daughter.
Winnie was raised in China whereas Pearl was raised in the United States, so they inevitably have different views of the world. The narrative switches between their perspectives, which is a really good way of keeping a reader engaged because you can empathize with both characters despite their conflicting opinions. Winnie recounts her life beginning from her childhood with her mother, her father’s second wife who mysteriously disappears one day, to when she moved to the U.S. Her story is very well written with just the right amount of detail, not so much that you start to skim pages but not so little that it’s not captivating. The tension peaks regarding Pearl’s true parentage, indicating that their stories are seamlessly linked – Winnie’s doesn’t necessarily end before Pearl’s begins.
Even though the mother-daughter relationship is emphasized the most, other relationships are also significant in the story. We see the importance of sisterhood between Winnie and Helen, a friend who stuck by her side throughout her first marriage up to the present day. Their friendship was unlikely as they disagreed on many small things. However, the harrowing experiences of war taught them to appreciate each other’s company despite their constant disagreements. Their strong bond directly refutes the idea that ‘blood is thicker than water’ as they were endlessly loyal and kept each other’s secrets through everything. It is Helen that convinces both Winnie and Pearl to finally tell each other what they’ve been holding in.
The major themes of The Kitchen God’s Wife are the complexities of mother-daughter relationships, the impact of war and displacement, and the struggles of women in a patriarchal society. All three are inextricably linked in this novel and are well-developed. As someone who was raised in the west by parents who had moved from Asia, this book resonated with me. If you share a similar experience or have migrated yourself, I definitely recommend you try it!
Reviewed by Teen Volunteer, 8/17/25.