New
April Monthly Essentials
The days are longer and my daffodils are blooming. Hello, Spring!
As it is April, a lot of folks are gearing up for gardening, Earth Day, and all sorts of nature-y goodness. We, of course, have you covered with must reads, including our exciting new list, Wild About Reading, collecting the science and nature memoirs your patrons want. Below, you will also find the Top Books of April, the biggest blockbusters, hot sci-fi, and more!
Wild About Reading
Junglekeeper by Paul Rosolie
Buy the Junglekeeper audiobook
From the publisher: Deep in the Peruvian jungle, there exists a corner of the world that remains untouched—one teeming with giant anacondas, where the haunting cries of howler monkeys send brightly colored macaws shooting across the canopy. It’s an ecosystem of stupendous biodiversity, uncontacted tribes, and adventures that most people don’t even dare to dream of.
When he first set foot in the jungle, Rosolie was a dyslexic kid from Brooklyn who struggled to graduate from high school but had an undeniable calling to the outdoors. He was lucky enough to meet the indigenous naturalist Juan Julio Durand, and together, over two decades, they have created Junglekeepers, an organization that has found a way to halt deforestation and protect more than 110,000 acres—inspiring millions along the way by documenting their progress online. But this work takes grit, and years in, Rosolie and Durand are past their “barefoot machete days,” grappling with chain saws, massive fires, illegal miners, and the worst of humanity. Here, Rosolie brings you up close and personal with one of the wildest places on the planet and tells the incredible story of “first contact” with one of the most mysterious uncontacted tribes on Earth: the Mashco Piro.
This book is about the profound power of saying yes: yes to one’s calling, yes to sticking with your dream when it comes at a high cost, and yes to taking a stand to save what might otherwise be gone in a generation. It’s a story of calling, connectedness, and hope.
Top Titles of April
Dawn on the Coast by Arley Nopra and Ann M. Martin
Buy the Dawn on the Coast ebook
From the publisher: Dawn can’t wait for her trip to California. Aside from all the sun and fun, it’s her first visit since her brother, Jeff, moved back to live with their dad. California is better than Dawn ever remembered it. The beaches are beautiful, the local theme park is a blast, and Dawn is enjoying all her favorite foods. Plus, Dawn’s best friend, Sunny, has even started her own baby-sitting club! Things are going so well that Dawn begins to wonder if she might want to stay in California with her dad and Jeff.
Dawn is a California girl at heart, but could she really leave Stoneybrook — and her mom and The Baby-sitters Club — for good?
April Blockbusters
Rites of the Starling by Devney Perry
Buy the Rites of the Starling ebook
Buy the Rites of the Starling audiobook
From the publisher: Calandra’s five kingdoms are on the verge of destruction. The crux migration is coming. And in the wake of a devastating attack, I’ve been separated from the man who owns my heart.
I’m lost. Terrified. Homesick. Hunted by monsters, driven to exhaustion, and kidnapped by a powerful priest, the only thing keeping me going is the little girl counting on me to keep her safe.
It’s my turn to become the Guardian.
Our lives change one fateful night. A night of death. A night of monsters. A night of truths. That night, I learn the real meaning of fear—and the depth of my own strength.
Everyone wants me to be something I’m not—a queen, a spy, a sacrifice. But what if I embrace my crown? What if the secrets I uncover save our realm?
What if my sacrifice means salvation for the man I love?
For too long, I’ve feared the monsters we make.
It’s time to discover the monster within.
Top Sci-Fi of April
The Faith of Beasts by James S. A. Corey
Buy The Faith of Beasts audiobook
From the publisher: The monstrous Carryx empire was built by subjugation and war. Thousands of species are bound to their Sovran’s command in an endless, blood-soaked test: be useful in the eternal conflict or be slaughtered.
Dafyd Alkhor, highest among their human captives, is feared and despised by the very people he champions. Ruthless in carving out his niche in the eternal war machine of the empire, he will reshape human nature itself as a tool for their alien masters’ use. But Dafyd’s loyalty is not what it seems.
The Swarm, an agent of the Carryx’s deathless enemy, has been smuggled into the Carryx world-palace along with the human slaves. Its mission: discover a way to bring down the empire’s eternal reign. But the longer it lives among and within humanity, the more it forgets that it is a weapon.
As the human captives spread through the battlefronts of empire, the awesome power of the Carryx becomes clear. And with it, a desperate plan for their destruction.
But empires hide secrets, and even the deathless enemy may not be what it appears …
Top Historical Fiction of April
Mrs. Benedict Arnold by Emma Parry
Buy the Mrs. Benedict Arnold ebook
Buy the Mrs. Benedict Arnold audiobook
From the publisher: Philadelphia in the 1770s. Peggy Shippen longs for the war she’s living through to end. Though not always appreciated at home, she finds her curiosity is welcomed by a lively and influential circle of friends, including a glamorous rising star in the British army, Captain John André.
When the war separates them, Peggy is devastated—both by his absence and the horrors of ongoing conflict—before finding consolation in a man whose heroics for the Patriots have captured the world’s imagination: General Benedict Arnold.
As she trades Loyalist balls for Patriot salons, entertaining the most prominent figures of early America, and navigating the country’s lethal political currents, she conceives of an audacious scheme to achieve peace and her family’s survival, unleashing what would become the most famous act of treason in history.
When uncertainty and bloodshed are the only constants, Mrs. Benedict Arnold asks, how far will one woman go for safety?
Top Christian Titles
Nothing Is Impossible with God by Shannon Bream
Buy the Nothing Is Impossible with God ebook
Buy the Nothing Is Impossible with God audiobook
From the publisher: If your life doesn’t look the way you expected, that doesn’t mean God can’t use you. The Christian life often doesn’t feel like the stained-glass images we remember from childhood—happy, holy, hopeful. But God never promised that we won’t have trouble. Rather, He promises to be with us through the storm.
Be encouraged by the real struggles of biblical heroes, including:
- Moses, the slave-turned-prince who faced constant curveballs in life.
- Daniel, the exile who maintained his integrity in the most hostile environment imaginable.
- Joseph, the “chosen one” with family trauma like you wouldn’t believe.
- Jonah, who ran away from his mission and ended up at the bottom of the sea.
- Elijah, the bold prophet who went from miracles to extreme loneliness.
- Peter, the impulsive and changeable fisherman who became a “rock” of the faith.
Their journeys were full of trials, but they found abounding peace in Jesus.
Nothing Is Impossible with God is an encouraging reminder of how the Lord is willing and able to bless us more than we can possibly imagine. It will comfort, inspire, and equip you for life’s challenges by showing that nothing is impossible with Him.
More Recommended Lists You Don’t Want to Miss
A Court of Thorns and Roses Series Read-Alikes
In the Conversation (New list featuring the fiction and nonfiction the news media can’t stop talking about, including The Spectator, recently added to the All Access Magazine package!)
If you ever need help shopping, you can always email your Digital Content Librarian! Find your DCL in the SUPPORT tab of Marketplace.
About the author: Shelia did everything from answering questions at the Reference Desk to tech training to running a classic lit book club in her 17 years in public libraries. Now she helps other public libraries make the most of their OverDrive collections. In her spare time, she’s either writing or reading, usually with an opera playing in the background. If you ever run into her, ask Shelia about #WITMonth.