November's Recommended Reads

All books mentioned in this edition of the Great Reads Newsletter are available in the Ocean County Library's OverDrive Collection and/or in our catalog.

 

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Adult Fiction

Calling for a Blanket Dance

by Oscar Hokeah


Told in a series of voices, the life of Ever Geimausaddle takes readers through the multigenerational perspectives of his family. His father’s injury at the hands of corrupt police, his mother's struggle to hold on to her job and care for her husband, the constant resettlement of the family, and the legacy of centuries of injustice all intensify Ever’s bottled-up rage. Meanwhile, all of Ever’s relatives have ideas about who he is and who he should be. His Cherokee grandmother urges the family to move across Oklahoma to find security; his grandfather hopes to reunite him with his heritage through traditional gourd dances; his Kiowa cousin reminds him that he’s connected to an ancestral past. Once an adult, Ever must take the strength given to him by his relatives to save not only himself but also the next generation of family. 

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Shutter

by Ramona Emerson


Rita Todacheene is a forensic photographer working for the Albuquerque police force. Her excellent photography skills have cracked many cases—she is almost supernaturally good at capturing details. In fact, Rita has been hiding a secret: she sees the ghosts of crime victims who point her toward the clues that other investigators overlook. As a lone portal back to the living for traumatized spirits, Rita is terrorized by nagging ghosts who won’t let her sleep and who sabotage her personal life. Her taboo and psychologically harrowing ability was what drove her away from the Navajo reservation, where she was raised by her grandmother. It has isolated her from friends and gotten her in trouble with the law. And now it might be what gets her killed.

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Young Adult Fiction & Nonfiction

A Snake Falls to Earth

by Darcie Little Badger


Nina is a Lipan girl in our world. She's always felt there was something more out there. She still believes in the old stories.

Oli is a cottonmouth kid, from the land of spirits and monsters. Like all cottonmouths, he's been cast from home. He's found a new one on the banks of the bottomless lake.

Nina and Oli have no idea the other exists. But a catastrophic event on Earth, and a strange sickness that befalls Oli's best friend, will drive their worlds together in ways they haven't been in centuries. And there are some who will kill to keep them apart.

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Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians but Were Afraid to Ask

by Anton Treuer


From the acclaimed Ojibwe author and professor Anton Treuer comes an essential book of questions and answers for Native and non-Native young readers alike. 

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Middle Grade Fiction

The Star That Always Stays

by Anna Rose Johnson


Growing up on Beaver Island, Grand-pire told Norvia stories- about her ancestor Migizi, about Biboonke-o-nini the Wintermaker, about the Crane Clan and the Reindeer Clan. He sang her songs in the old language, and her grandmothers taught her to make story quilts and maple candy. On the island, Norvia was proud of her Ojibwe heritage. Things are different in the city. Here, Norvia's mother forces her to pretend she's not Native at all-even to Mr. Ward, Ma's new husband, and to Vernon, Norvia's irritating new stepbrother. Despite the move, the upheaval, and the looming threat of world war, Norvia and her siblings are determined to make 1914 their best year ever. But how can she have the best year ever if she has to hide who she truly is? 

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Healer of the Water Monster

by Brian Young


When Nathan goes to visit his grandma, Nali, at her mobile summer home on the Navajo reservation, he knows he's in for a pretty uneventful summer, with no electricity or cell service. Still, he loves spending time with Nali and with his uncle Jet, though it's clear when Jet arrives that he brings his problems with him. One night, while lost in the nearby desert, Nathan finds someone extraordinary: a Holy Being from the Navajo Creation Story—a Water Monster—in need of help. Now Nathan must summon all his courage to save his new friend. With the help of other Navajo Holy Beings, Nathan is determined to save the Water Monster, and to support Uncle Jet in healing from his own pain.

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Picture Books

Finding My Dance

Written by Ria Thundercloud

Illustrated by Kalila J. Fuller


At four years old, Ria Thundercloud was brought into the powwow circle, ready to dance in the special jingle dress her mother made for her. As she grew up, she danced with her brothers all over Indian country. Then Ria learned more styles—tap, jazz, ballet—but still loved the expressiveness of Indigenous dance. And despite feeling different as one of the only Native American kids in her school, she always knew she could turn to dance to cheer herself up.   

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At The Mountain's Base

Written by Traci Sorell

Illustrated by Weshoyot Alvitre


At the mountain's base sits a cabin under an old hickory tree. And in that cabin lives a family — loving, weaving, cooking, and singing. The strength in their song sustains them through trials on the ground and in the sky, as they wait for their loved one, a pilot, to return from war.

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One Book OCL: Online Book Discussion

 

The Woman in the Library

by Sulari Gentill


October 14 - December 15


The tranquility is shattered by a woman's terrified scream. Security guards take charge immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers, who'd happened to sit at the same table, pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning—it just happens that one is a murderer.

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