Books We Loved in 2016: Part 2

We read so many great books in 2016 that we couldn't be confined to just one post. Here's the second installment of our staff's favorite books that they read in the last year. Enjoy!

• The Whisper by Pamela Zagarenski
  "This is one of the most visually stunning picture books I've ever read, plus the story is a great take on the power of imagination."
• Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova
  "This graphic novel for middle-graders has all the feels! It's about having the courage to be yourself with all the awkwardness of being a tween."
• Girls Like Us by Gail Giles
  "Beautiful book about friendship... It was so good I cried."

Elisabeth S, Reference Librarian/Social Media Coordinator

•  A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
• Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
• Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop

Megan S, Collection Management Librarian

• Princess Princess Ever After by Katie O'Neill
• Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
• All the Single Ladies by Rebecca Traister
• A Tyranny of Petticoats edited by Jessica Spotswood

Ally W, Library Consultant

• The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
• The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell  

Gloria J, Machine Lending Librarian

• Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue
  "A story about two families during the housing bubble of 2008: one is an immigrant family from Africa trying to make a life in America and the other is a wealthy family barely hanging on due to all the secrets they keep from one another. A moving story of friendship, loss, and the great American dream... does it exist? Is it achievable anymore?"
• Enchanted Islands by Allison Amend
  "Loosely based on the true story of Frances and Ainslie Conway and their time as military spies on the Galapagos Islands. However, much of the story is from Frances's point of view, telling how she came to be a spy and exploring her great lifelong friendship with Rosalie. While this is historical fiction, it immerses the reader so deeply into Frances's life that more research on the real Frances Conway will be of great interest. I fell in love with this book and all of its characters."
• State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
  "The tale of a pharmacy researcher who is sent by her boss/lover to the deepest, darkest corner of the Amazon to investigate the death of her colleague Anders Eckman. Eckman had been dispatched to check on the progress of the incommunicado Dr. Annick Swenson, a rogue scientist developing a fertility drug. This plot-driven title is well written and one that stayed on my mind long after I turned the last page."
• The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood
  "The story of 104 year old Ona and an 11 year old boy... the boy, a Boy Scout, has been helping Ona around her house on Saturdays. Along the way, Ona shares her life story and secrets as the boy does odd jobs for her. To say more would ruin the book, but I will say that this book has Boy Scouts (as previously mentioned), a road trip, a Christian band, and fun facts from the Guinness Book of World Records (real facts!) Don't let this book fly under your 'to be read' radar."

Shellie Z, Talking Book Services Director

• Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
• The Mapmaker's Children by Sarah McCoy
• In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware 

Mary Rodgers B, Readers Advisor

Let us know the best books that you read in 2016 in the comments below and look for more book recommendations soon. Until then, happy reading!