Black Mountain Library reviews and recommendations

With thousands of books to choose from, and new titles coming in regularly, the Black Mountain Library offers reading material for everyone. 

Below are six book recommendations with reviews by library staff. Call the Black Mountain Library at 250-4765 or visit buncombecounty.org/libraries if you would like to reserve any of these titles. 

Fiction:

"Big Sky"

by Kate Atkinson

Best-selling author Kate Atkinson returns to the world of the iconoclastic detective Jackson Brodie. In "Big Sky," Brodie has relocated to a quiet seaside village, in the occasional company of his recalcitrant teenage son and an aging Labrador, both at the discretion of his ex-partner Julia. It’s picturesque, but something darker lurks behind the scenes. Jackson’s current job, gathering proof of an unfaithful husband, is fairly standard-issue, but a chance encounter with a desperate man on a crumbling cliff leads him into a sinister network—and back across the path of his old friend Reggie. Old secrets and new lies intersect in this breathtaking novel by one of the most dazzling and surprising writers at work today.

If you like this one, also try: "The Cuckoo’s Calling" by Robert Galbraith and "The Forgers" by Bradford Morrow

"The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls"

by Anissa Gray

The Butler family has had their share of trials, but nothing prepared them for the literal trial that upends their lives. Althea, the eldest sister and substitute matriarch, is a force to be reckoned with, and her younger sisters have both appreciated and chafed at her strong will. They are as stunned as the rest of the community when she and her husband are arrested, and the family is disgraced. As Althea awaits her fate, Lillian and Viola must come together in the house they grew up in to care for their sister’s daughters. What unfolds is a stunning portrait of the heart and core of an American family.

If you like this one, also try: "An American Marriage" by Tayari Jones and "The Great Believers" by Makkai

Non-Fiction:

"Nanaville"

by Anna Quindlen    

Celebrating the love and joy of being a grandmother, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Anna Quindlen goes full nana in "Nanaville: Adventures in Grandparenting." Long before blogs even existed, Quindlen became a go-to writer on the joys and challenges of family, motherhood, and modern life in her nationally syndicated column. Now she offers thoughtful and telling observations about her new role, no longer mother and decision-maker but secondary character and support to the parents of her grandson.

"The Ghosts of Eden Park"

by Karen Abbott

During Prohibition, George Remus starts trafficking whiskey and owns 35 percent of all liquor in the US by 1921. To bring him down, prosecutor Mabel Walker Willebrandt dispatches investigator Franklin Dodge. Remus is imprisoned, his wife has an affair with Dodge, and the two plot to ruin Remus, sparking a feud that reaches government and ends in murder. "The Ghosts of Eden Park: The Bootleg King, the Women Who Pursued Him, and the Murder That Shocked Jazz-Age America" tells this fascinating true story.

Young Adult:

"Bridge of Clay"

by Markus Zusak

An unforgettable family saga from the author of "The Book Thief."

"Bridge of Clay" is the story of five brothers who bring each other up in a world run by their own rules. As the Dunbar boys love and fight and learn to reckon with the adult world, they discover the moving secret behind their father’s disappearance. At the center of the family is Clay, a boy who will build a bridge—for his family, for his past, for greatness, for his sins, for a miracle. But how far is Clay willing to go? And how much can he overcome?

"Darius the Great is Not Okay"

by Adib Khorram

Though Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, he’s half Persian, and his first-ever trip to Iran is about to change his life. Darius is sure he won’t feel at home in Iran; his clinical depression doesn’t exactly help. But then Darius meets Sohrab, and everything changes. Soon, they’re spending their days together, playing soccer, eating faludeh, and talking for hours on a rooftop overlooking the city’s skyline. Sohrab calls him Darioush—the original Persian version of his name—and Darius has never felt more like himself.