Natalie Recommends Lilo and Stitch

It's with a heavy heart that I am sharing that Daveigh Chase, known for her roles as Lilo (Lilo and Stitch) and Chihiro (Spirited Away), as well as Samara (the Ring) and Samantha Darko (Donny Darko and S. Darko), passed away on June 16th.  

In honor of her memory, I wanted to do a staff recommendation for the two movies of hers that resonated with me the most: Lilo and Stitch and Spirited Away.

Lilo and Stitch was a favorite in my house, being my sisters favorite Disney movie.  So much so, that I could, and still can to a degree, quote the whole movie.  It is one of my all time favorite Disney movies as well.  It's a heartfelt movie that looking back does a good job of tackling the issues within it.  As well as having a good dose of humor and action.

As for Spirited Away, this is one of the more well known and beloved Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli movies and won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2003.  This coming of age story is beautifully animated with wonderful music and a fun cast of characters.  For me it was the first Studio Ghibli film I had seen, which lead to it becoming my favorite from the studio with Princess Mononoke and Howl's Moving Castle not too far behind. I would definitely say that Spirited Away is a must see.  

My condolences goes out to Daviegh Chase's family, friends, and boyfriend.  As well as fans of her work.  She will be missed.

Meghan recommends "You & Me and You & Me and You & Me"

 

 

Adam and Jules have been married over twenty years. They love each other, but they also feel pulled in different directions and they blame each other life’s disappoints. One night after a fight, Adam retreats to his shed to cool off. He pulls out some old mixtapes (yes, actual cassettes!) that he’d made for Jules earlier in their relationship. When he plays one of these old cassettes he’s transported back in time, into his younger self, with all the feelings he had for Jules on the day he gave her the tape.

He’s astounded, of course! He shares his experience with Jules and they take turns revisiting the past. They discover they can influence their past selves and each makes small and then larger “tweaks” to try to fix their current problems. Will they “fix” their relationship, or rupture their connection forever?

This was a fast-paced and sweet read about the twists and turns life takes, and how to hold on to what matters to you. The musical references will delight Gen X and elder millennial readers! Recommended to fans of Rainbow Rowell’s Landline or What Might Have Been by Holly Miller.

Kayla recommends "The Starving Saints"

The Starving Saints - Caitlin Starling - Adult

I started reading this blind, with absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into. It was such a treat to be taken through the reality-bending, medieval world inside of Aymar castle, and to experience the journey through the perspective of three fantastically-written characters. If you're a fan of medieval horror or dark fantasy, give this one a try!

Nicole recommends "Slayers of Old"

Jenny the Vampire Slayer...I mean, Hunter of Artemis, has been retired for decades after discovering that she was being used as a weapon by a group of old guys. For twenty years she's lived with Annette, a half-succubus with a keen mind for finances, and Temple, a now-99-year-old wizard with a psychic connection to their house. Jenny is a part-time demon EMT, she and Annette run the bookstore downstairs, and Temple spends his time feeding everyone and caring for their house. None of them are expecting to have to dust off their skills and save the world, but a baddie from the past summoning an eldritch horror can't be ignored.

This book was funny, heartwarming, then funny again. It's strange to call it a "cozy horror" when the stakes are literally apocalyptic and not everyone makes it out alive, but there's something comforting about main characters who are adult enough to know who they are and what's worth sacrificing for.

 

Amy recommends "Her Last Breath"

I figured this one out early on but I honestly think that made the whole thing even better! It’s fun thriller set underground which somehow amps up the reader’s reactions to everything. By the end, you won’t even know who you are rooting for.

Meghan Recommends Daughters of the New Year

 

 

Happy Lunar New Year! 2026 is the year of the Fire Horse. Do you know what animal sign  of the Chinese Zodiac you were born under? If you were Xuan’s daughter, you’d know. As Daughters of the New Year opens in 2016, Xuan is poring over her guide to the New Year and calling her daughters to tell them what to expect for the year and how to make the most of their fate, based on their zodiac signs.

 

Readers then meet her three daughters, each forging her own path, disdainful of their mother’s superstition (as they see it.) Then the book skips back, and we see snippets of the girls growing up; feeling never American enough, never Vietnamese enough. Then  Xuan, newly arrived in the United States and trying to adapt to her new life. Further back, to the escape from Vietnam, further back, to her life in Sai Gon, where she was rich and her own mother blamed Xuan’s poor choices on her signs. We continue to be led back through the generations, finally ending with legendary figures like Lady Trieu and the Trung sisters.

 

After the initial jumps back in time, I kept waiting to get back to current day, but as I settled in to the backwards journey, I began to see parallels between the sisters in 2016 and their ancestors. The author writes in her author’s note, “I imagined a family just like ours (and indeed, many Vietnamese immigrant families ARE just like ours), children purposefully and maddeningly separated from a cultural history too difficult to recall. What was interesting to me was not necessarily the damage wrought in the present, but rather a subversion, an unraveling of the past. What happens when we have the ability to go back, uncover a truth that is, in reality, forever, obscured? What would we discover? How often does history repeat itself without or knowing, the same pain and joy experienced again and again?”

 

While it sounds like a writing experiment, I found it oddly worked in the novel – no character is less interesting because we only to see get a piece of her life, and the fact that we don’t know exactly *what happened* makes sense – history never ends, a family doesn’t end, everyone just keeps living their individual lives, inextricably connected to everyone who came before or after.

 

Recommended for people who enjoy open-ended fiction.

Colleen recommends "The Warm Hands of Ghosts"

This adult historical fiction title effortlessly weaves an eerie undertone of magical realism amongst a somber tale of grief, loss, and finding strength to go on.  

The Warm Hands of Ghosts tells the stories of Laura Iven, a wounded and discharged field nurse, and her brother who she left behind, Freddie. Laura has survived the horrors of war as well as a recent tragedy at home. Before she can recover, she receives word that her brother has died in combat. But Laura is convinced that something is amiss and sets off to find out the truth.

Once her story is underway, we are introduced to Freddie from his point of view. Freddie Iven finds himself trapped on the battlefield with another wounded soldier. But is this soldier an ally or enemy? Can they make it out alive? If they do, where can they even go?

Against all odds, they manage to escape killing fields and find solace in an abandoned mansion. But all is not quite as it seems for them, either.  

Laura and Freddie fight to reunite with one another as they overcome physical obstacles, fight psychological battles, and traverse treacherous war-torn lands. But are they headed towards one another, or have their paths already passed in time and space?