Research Center Guides: My Perfect Read: New Book Gurus

New Book Gurus (Technical Operations Team)

New-Book Gurus at your service.

Not sure what you’re in the mood for? Ask the New Book Gurus for some fresh reading ideas! The Technical Operations team at Fairfax County Public Library includes library staff who select and catalog books, unpack big ol’ boxes full of new materials, apply the labels and stickers that help you find things on the shelves, and much more. As we work with all those books, we’ll be keeping track of the new titles that catch our eye to recommend to anyone who asks.

On our Recommended Reading tab, you'll see a sampling of recently-published and upcoming titles that have caught a team member's eye, but we've got plenty more where those came from. We’re an eclectic group of folks with varied reading interests, so if you’re up for trying something new, give us a shout!

Here are some of our team members' favorites:

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
ISBN: 9780062662835
Publication Date: 2019-05-07
Ever since she got pregnant freshman year, Emoni Santiago’s life has been about making the tough decisions—doing what has to be done for her daughter and her abuela. The one place she can let all that go is in the kitchen, where she adds a little something magical to everything she cooks, turning her food into straight-up goodness.

Even though she dreams of working as a chef after she graduates, Emoni knows that it’s not worth her time to pursue the impossible. Yet despite the rules she thinks she has to play by, once Emoni starts cooking, her only choice is to let her talent break free.
What Can a Citizen Do? by Dave Eggers; Shawn Harris (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9781452173139
Publication Date: 2018-09-11
A citizen can pick up litter. A citizen can pull a weed. A citizen can help that critter. A citizen can plant a seed. A citizen can aid a neighbor. A citizen can join a cause. A citizen can write a letter. A citizen can help change laws... Empowering and timeless.
Forty Autumns by Nina Willner
ISBN: 9780062410320
Publication Date: 2017-08-15
In Forty Autumns, Nina recounts her family’s story—five ordinary lives buffeted by circumstances beyond their control. She takes us deep into the tumultuous and terrifying world of East Germany under Communist rule, revealing both the cruel reality her relatives endured and her own experiences as an intelligence officer, running secret operations behind the Berlin Wall that put her life at risk.

A personal look at a tenuous era that divided a city and a nation, and continues to haunt us, Forty Autumns is an intimate and beautifully written story of courage, resilience, and love—of five women whose spirits could not be broken, and who fought to preserve what matters most: family.
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas; Robin Buss (Introduction by, Notes by, Translator)
ISBN: 9780140446159
Publication Date: 1997-05-01
The story of Edmond Dantes, a man betrayed and incarcerated. It tells of his search for Abbe Faria's hidden treasure and his reappearance as the fabulously rich, brooding, Byronic and vengeful Count of Monte Cristo.
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
ISBN: 9780312659301
Publication Date: 2011-01-04
Calpurnia Virginia Tate is eleven years old in 1899 when she wonders why the yellow grasshoppers in her Texas backyard are so much bigger than the green ones. With a little help from her notoriously cantankerous grandfather, an avid naturalist, she figures out that the green grasshoppers are easier to see against the yellow grass, so they are eaten before they can get any larger. As Callie explores the natural world around her, she develops a close relationship with her grandfather, navigates the dangers of living with six brothers, and comes up against just what it means to be a girl at the turn of the century.

Explore some of our favorite (relatively) recently published books!

The Proudest Blue (eBook) by Ibtihaj Muhammad; Hatem Aly (Illustrator); S. K. Ali (As told to)
Call Number: JP MUH
ISBN: 9780316519007
Publication Date: 2019
Olympic medal-winning sabre fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad was the first woman to represent the United States at the Olympics while wearing a hijab. Her debut picture book expresses a little girl's pride in seeing her big sister start the school year confidently wearing a hijab for the first time - the beautiful blue fabric likened in text and illustrations to the ocean and the sky on a sunny day.
The Proudest Blue (eAudiobook) by Ibtihaj Muhammad; Hatem Aly (Illustrator); S. K. Ali (As told to)
Call Number: JP MUH
ISBN: 9780316519007
Publication Date: 2019
Olympic medal-winning sabre fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad was the first woman to represent the United States at the Olympics while wearing a hijab. Her debut picture book expresses a little girl's pride in seeing her big sister start the school year confidently wearing a hijab for the first time - the beautiful blue fabric likened in text and illustrations to the ocean and the sky on a sunny day.
Emergency Contact (eBook) by Mary H. K. Choi
Call Number: YFIC CHO
ISBN: 9781534408968
Publication Date: 2018
Honor Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May by reading about Korean-American Penny Lee, an awkward college freshman who becomes increasingly close to the intriguing Sam, a college dropout/baker/barista. In a familiar scenario for stay-at-home times, their relationship develops almost entirely through long text conversations. The question is, can they make it work in real life?
Emergency Contact (eAudiobook) by Mary H. K. Choi
Call Number: YFIC CHO
ISBN: 9781534408968
Publication Date: 2018
Honor Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May by reading about Korean-American Penny Lee, an awkward college freshman who becomes increasingly close to the intriguing Sam, a college dropout/baker/barista. In a familiar scenario for stay-at-home times, their relationship develops almost entirely through long text conversations. The question is, can they make it work in real life?
The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion (eBook) by Fannie Flagg
Call Number: FIC FLA
ISBN: 9781400065943
Publication Date: 2013
Life seemed to be slowing down a bit for Mrs. Sookie Poole. At long last she might get to relax and even do some traveling with her husband. When she discovers something from her mother’s past though, she begins to question everything she thought she knew about herself and her family.
The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion (eAudiobook) by Fannie Flagg
Call Number: FIC FLA
ISBN: 9781400065943
Publication Date: 2013
Life seemed to be slowing down a bit for Mrs. Sookie Poole. At long last she might get to relax and even do some traveling with her husband. When she discovers something from her mother’s past though, she begins to question everything she thought she knew about herself and her family.
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? : big questions from tiny mortals about death (eBook) by Caitlin Doughty
Call Number: 306.9 D 2019
ISBN: 9780393652703
Publication Date: 2019
Best-selling author and licensed mortician Caitlin Doughty answers real questions from kids about death, dead bodies, and decomposition. Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?, blends her scientific understanding of the body and the intriguing history behind common misconceptions about corpses to offer factual, hilarious, and candid answers to thirty-five urgent questions posed by her youngest fans.
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? : big questions from tiny mortals about death (eAudiobook) by Caitlin Doughty
Call Number: 306.9 D 2019
ISBN: 9780393652703
Publication Date: 2019
Best-selling author and licensed mortician Caitlin Doughty answers real questions from kids about death, dead bodies, and decomposition. Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?, blends her scientific understanding of the body and the intriguing history behind common misconceptions about corpses to offer factual, hilarious, and candid answers to thirty-five urgent questions posed by her youngest fans.

Previous Recommendations

Crafty Science [eBook] by Jane Bull
Call Number: J745.5 B 2018
ISBN: 9781465477682
Publication Date: 2018
This hands-on crafty science book introduces inquisitive children to the wonders of science through craft projects with everyday objects. Award-winning author Jane Bull combines art, craft, and cooking activities with gentle scientific learning, showing children that science, technology, engineering, art, and maths are all around us - and in everything we make and do!
Somewhere Only We Know [eBook] by Maurene Goo
Call Number: YFIC GOO
ISBN: 9780374310578
Publication Date: 2019
Told from two viewpoints, teens Lucky, a very famous K-pop star, and Jack, a part-time paparazzo who is trying to find himself, fall for each other against the odds through the course of one stolen day.
Somewhere Only We Know [eAudioBook] by Maurene Goo
Call Number: YFIC GOO
ISBN: 9780374310578
Publication Date: 2019
Told from two viewpoints, teens Lucky, a very famous K-pop star, and Jack, a part-time paparazzo who is trying to find himself, fall for each other against the odds through the course of one stolen day.
It's Not All Downhill from Here [eBook] by Terry McMillan
Call Number: FIC MCM
ISBN: 9781984823748
Publication Date: 2020
After a sudden change of plans, a remarkable woman and her loyal group of friends try to figure out what she's going to do with the rest of her life.
Before and After [eBook] by Lisa Wingate
Call Number: 362.734 C 2019
ISBN: 9780593130148
Publication Date: 2019
From the 1920s through 1950, Georgia Tann ran a black-market baby business at the Tennessee Children's Home Society. She offered up more than 5,000 orphans to eager parents--hiding the fact that many weren't orphans at all, but stolen children of poor families, desperate single mothers, and women told in maternity wards that their babies died.
Before and After [eAudiobook] by Lisa Wingate
Call Number: 362.734 C 2019
ISBN: 9780593130148
Publication Date: 2019
From the 1920s through 1950, Georgia Tann ran a black-market baby business at the Tennessee Children's Home Society. She offered up more than 5,000 orphans to eager parents--hiding the fact that many weren't orphans at all, but stolen children of poor families, desperate single mothers, and women told in maternity wards that their babies died.
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernández
Call Number: JFIC HER
ISBN: 9781368022828
Publication Date: 2019
In this charming middle grade romp, 13-year-old Sal Vidón is a type 1 diabetic and amateur magician with the inexplicable ability to open holes in the space-time continuum. When his friend Gabi’s hospitalized baby brother takes a turn for the worse, Sal’s power might just be the solution they need—unless it destroys the universe. Sal and Gabi are clearly a fictional team destined for greatness. Look for book 2, Sal & Gabi Fix the Universe, in May 2020!
Wicked Fox by Kat Cho
Call Number: YSF CHO
ISBN: 9781984812346
Publication Date: 2019
If you want a fantasy-romance, this story set in modern-day Seoul is perfect for you. Gu Miyoung is secretly a gumiho, a nine-tailed fox who must devour the energy of men in order to survive. No one believes in the old tales anymore and Seoul is the best place to hunt with so many evil men no one will mind being gone. But when she saves Jihoon, a human boy, from being attacked by a goblin deep in the forest, she loses her gumiho soul in the process. Jihoon remembers the tales of the gumiho that his grandmother told him and while he knows Miyoung is dangerous, he is still drawn to her. When a young shaman tries to return Miyoung’s gumiho soul to her, she must make a decision over her immortal life or Jihoon’s.
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
Call Number: FIC LUI
ISBN: 9780525520610
Publication Date: 2019
A fiercely imaginative novel about a family's summer road trip across America--a journey that, with breathtaking imagery, spare lyricism, and profound humanity, probes the nature of justice and equality in America today. Told through the voices of the mother and her son, as well as through a stunning tapestry of collected texts and images, Lost Children Archive is a story of how we document our experiences, and how we remember the things that matter to us the most.
Kid Gloves by Lucy Knisley
Call Number: 618.24 K 2019
ISBN: 9781626728080
Publication Date: 2019
Her whole life, Lucy Knisley wanted to be a mother. But when it was finally the perfect time, conceiving turned out to be harder than anything she'd ever attempted. This moving, hilarious, and surprisingly informative graphic novel memoir not only follows Lucy's personal transition into motherhood but also illustrates the history and science of reproductive health from all angles.
The Shortest Day by Susan Cooper; Carson Ellis (Illustrator)
Call Number: JP COO
ISBN: 9780763686987
Publication Date: 2019-10-22
This cyclical volume by award-winning creators Cooper and Ellis observes winter solstice, offering an alluringly haunting alternative to more familiar seasonal stories.
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
Call Number: YFIC EME
ISBN: 9780525647072
Publication Date: 2019-09-10
Carnegie Medal nominee Emezi makes their young adult debut in this compelling, nuanced tale of a transgender, selectively nonverbal girl named Jam, and the monstrous figure that finds its way into her allegedly utopian universe.
The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
Call Number: FIC ADA
ISBN: 9781984806093
Publication Date: 2019-11-05
When his wife asks for a divorce, Nashville Legends second baseman Gavin Scott finds help from an unlikely source: a secret romance book club made up of Nashville's top alpha men. With the help of their current read, a steamy Regency titled Courting the Countess, the guys coach Gavin on saving his marriage. But it'll take a lot more than flowery words and grand gestures for this hapless Romeo to find his inner hero and win back the trust of his wife.
The Collected Schizophrenias by Esmé Weijun Wang
Call Number: 616.898 W 2019
ISBN: 9781555978273
Publication Date: 2019-02-05
Schizophrenia is not a single unifying diagnosis, and Esmé Weijun Wang writes not just to her fellow members of the 'collected schizophrenias' but to those who wish to understand it as well. In essays that range from using fashion to present as high-functioning to the depths of a rare form of psychosis Wang's analytical eye, honed as a former lab researcher at Stanford, allows her to balance research with personal narrative. Winner of the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize

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