#annerecs

We were tagged by @prettyasapic for this getting to know you meme. The other post was getting very long, so we're putting our answers on their own to save your dash. (Also, we're a whole team of reader's advisors, so we have a variety of answers for each question!)

Here we go! If you particularly like someone's answers, we've included everyone's individual rec tag in the tags - you should be able to just click it and see what they've recc'd in the past. Oh, and if anyone else wants to do this, consider yourself tagged :)

📖 Currently reading:

Anne: The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter

Jae: Dot Slash Magic by Liz Shipton

Susan: A Fountain Filled with Blood by Julia Spencer-Fleming

Robin: Ash by Malinda Lo

Julie: Fela: Music is the Weapon by Jibola Fagbamiye and Conor McCreery

Kate: In Perfect Light by Benjamin Alire Sáenz and The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green (We had to ILL In Perfect Light - don't be afraid to use your library's purchase request service!)

Ashley: The Housemaid series by Freida McFadden. On book 3: The Housemaid is Watching

📺 Last series you watched:

Anne: Percy Jackson & the Olympians

Jae: Percy Jackson & the Olympians

A few of our team have suggestions for you!

Anne recommends:

These Deadly Prophecies by Andrea Tang - Knives Out but with sorcerers

I Am the Swarm by Hayley Chewins - A novel in verse in which women in the Strand family are born/cursed with powers

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa - Starts in an urban setting but transitions into the faery realm

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare - Part of the Shadowhunters universe and set in the 1800s. You don't have to read the main series or any previous books set in the universe to understand this one. (Jae seconded the Shadowhunters books!)

Rachel recommends:

Lovely War by Julie Berry: I have suggested this book before. I LOVE it. The story is historical fiction with fantasy elements as some of the Greek gods narrate the story.

Halflings by Heather Burch

In a World Just Right by Jen Brooks

Dragons in Our Midst series by Bryan Davis

Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan

Jae recommends:

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

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Review by: Anne

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang, a fantasy novel inspired by the Second Sino-Japanese War, was one of the most lively reading experiences I’ve had this year. After watching Kuang’s "Asian American Representation in Literature" talk through LCPL's online author talks program, I knew I finally had to pick this up.

The Poppy War is known widely to be a difficult read, so I definitely suggest checking potential triggers before giving it a try. We've included some resources at the bottom of the post to help you out with that.

The story was stunning. The book follows Rin, a peasant girl from a country called Nikara which was based on China. She trains to become a shaman and soldier, and what ensues is a magical, horrific, gut-wrenching, and enchanting story of a child forced into a war she inherited.

Rin has to make unimaginable choices which paint her as the most morally gray character I have read. The story was so striking that I was rooting for Rin the whole way through even though she made more-than-questionable judgement calls.

Review by: Anne

The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa follows Nana and his human Satoru as they go on a long and scenic road trip. The two have lived together for five years, but Satoru tells his beloved cat he has to rehome him due to unavoidable circumstances, so they travel person-to-person trying to find Nana the perfect forever home.

Each stop reconnects Satoru to loved ones from his past in a warm and heart-tugging way that even evokes emotion from self-proclaimed "tough" cat Nana. However, each home has something that makes Satoru decide not to rehome Nana and catapults the reader into beautiful stories of relationships, grief, nostalgia, jealousy, love, and more.

There are so many stories about dogs and people, but finally there is one about cats! This book cut into me and healed me all at once. My cat Ivy is FIV+ (similar to HIV in humans), and I'm constantly worried about her health. This book came to me at the exact time I needed it, and I'm changed. It's one of those stories that linger, and I can't tell if I'm happy, sad, or some other emotion I've no name for. And what a cool concept! A story of humanity narrated by an animal who doesn't understand social conventions. The author wrote the voice of a cat so well which somehow made the humans' stories draw more emotions from me. This would be a great creative writing exercise.

Arikawa's storytelling was exquisite because it injected life into every character, animal or human. I felt the ferocious love of Nana through each line and margin. I highly recommend the audiobook which was performed like a play. Audiobooks have never been my favorite, but I started this one on Libby thinking it would be quick and cozy. I don't think it would have affected me as much had I read the physical book.

George Blagden, who read the book, made me feel like I was there right between Nana and Satoru. This, mixed with Arikawa's moving and descriptive writing, sucked me in just as much as any physical book ever had.

Give it a listen or read if you want to remember how special animals are, the impact they have on our lives, or if you're in a deep reading slump!

Check it out: Print - Audiobook - eBook