Nicole recommends "The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store"

This CMPL Book of the Month follows black and Jewish residents of Chicken Hill as they help each other survive in the decades before WWII. Their lives and struggles overlap as McBride reveals more and more about each character, until their lots are thrown together fully by an attack from the white establishment that leaves a Jewish woman dead and a black boy in danger.

James McBride is becoming one of my favorite authors. I love the way each chapter is a self-contained story and how the plot just sort of reveals itself by stacking stories on top of one another. The way that you almost forget about the body that's discovered in the well in the beginning of the book, until it comes back around at the end. This book is fantastic.

Meghan recommends "The Eden Test"

 

“Seven Days. Seven Questions. Forever Changed.”

Daisy has booked a week-long stay in a rustic cabin at The Eden Test; a marriage retreat for couples in trouble. The trip comes as surprise to her husband Craig, who shows up at the cabin intending to leave her for another woman. And yet, Craig decides to stay, and discovers he may sacrifice more for Daisy than he thought possible.

There’s something sinister about The Eden Test, and readers quickly ascertain that Daisy knows more about their situation than she is telling her husband. Is the older couple who run The Eden Test just friendly, or are they spying on Craig and Daisy? Are the locals just hostile to “citiots” (city-idiots) or is their attitude part of the test? And can Craig and Daisy put their pasts behind them, or will their secrets finally catch up to them?

The Eden Test is an entertaining book that kept me on my toes. 

Recommended for adults.

 

Justine recommends "The Detroit Public Library: An American Classic"

The Detroit Public Library: An American Classic was written by Barbara Madgy Cohn and Patrice Rafail Merritt. Both have been running a tour of this Detroit gem for years and decided to put the information from their tour into a book.  The book itself is a combination of full-color pictures and descriptions, explaining the meaning behind each mural, sculpture, and tile work. The book also shines a light on various local artists from the early 20th century, including the founders of Pewabic Pottery. The Detroit Public Library has a beautiful Pewabic fireplace mosaic, much like how we at the Clinton-Macomb Public Library have a Pewabic water fountain. However, I think the DPL's mosaic is prettier, and I don't say that lightly as a CMPL employee.  

I definitely recommend reading this book then making a trip to the main branch of the Detroit Public Library.  Need I remind you it's free?