NBS recommends start-of-summer reads

Sundays At Tiffany’s

By James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet

P315

MANILA, Philippines - Jane Margaux is a lonely little girl. Her mother, the powerful head of a New York theater company, makes time for her only once a week, for their Sunday trip to admire jewelry at Tiffany’s. Jane has only one friend: a handsome, comforting, funny man named Michael. He’s perfect. But only she can see him. Michael can’t stay forever, though. On Jane’s eighth birthday he leaves, promising that she’ll soon forget him. Years later, in her thirties, Jane is just as alone as she was as a child. And despite her own success as a playwright, she is even more trapped by her overbearing mother. Then she meets someone— a handsome, comforting, funny man. He’s perfect. His name is Michael.

The Girl Who Chased The Moon

By Sarah Addison Allen

P299

Emily Benedict came to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve the riddles surrounding her mother’s life. Why did she leave her hometown so suddenly? Why did she vow never to return? But in a place where unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight, where the wallpaper in your bedroom changes to suit your mood, and where the neighbor bakes hummingbird cakes in the hope of bringing back a lost love, Emily will find that the answers are not what she expects.

True Grit

By Charles Portis

P629

Charles Portis has long been acclaimed as one of America’s foremost comic writers. True Grit is his most famous novel — first published in 1968, and the basis for the movie of the same name starring John Wayne and now the film by the Coen brothers starring Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon. It tells the story of Mattie Ross, who is just 14 years old when a coward going by the name of Tom Chaney shoots her father down in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and robs him of his life, his horse, and $150 in cash. Mattie leaves home to avenge her father’s blood. With the one-eyed Rooster Cogburn, the meanest available US Marshal, by her side, Mattie pursues the homicide into Indian territory. True Grit is eccentric, cool, straight, and unflinching, like Mattie herself.

Darkest Mercy: The Final Wicked Lovely Book

By Melissa Marr

P349

The Summer King is missing; the Dark Court is bleeding; and a stranger walks the streets of Huntsdale, his presence signifying the deaths of powerful fey. Aislinn tends to the Summer Court, searching for her absent king and yearning for Seth. Torn between his new queen and his old love, Keenan works from afar to strengthen his court against the coming war. Donia longs for fiery passion even as she coolly readies the Winter Court for battle. And Seth, sworn brother of the Dark King and heir to the High Queen, is about to make a mistake that could cost his life. Love, despair, and betrayal ignite the Faery Courts, and in the final conflict, some will win and some will lose everything. The thrilling conclusion to Melissa Marr’s New York Times bestselling Wicked Lovely series will leave readers breathless.

Please Don’t Be True: Includes Dangerously Alice, Almost Alice, And Intensely Alice

By Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

P349

Everything can change in an instant. Everything. And then there is only before and after. Alice had a plan for her junior year. She’d laugh a lot, reinvent herself a little, and always have her friends right there with her. But, lately hanging out hasn’t been as easy as it used to be. Maybe it’s because everyone is a little over their heads with relationships, school, and they have too much to do, or maybe something has changed between Alice and Liz and Pam and Gwen. Before Alice can even get her head around what that might mean, something does change. Something big. And, now nothing can ever be the same again.

The Blue Zones: Lessons For Living Longer From The People Who’ve Lived The Longest

By Dan Buettner

P295

With the right lifestyle, experts say, chances are that you may live up to a decade longer. What’s the prescription for success? National Geographic explorer Dan Buettner has traveled the globe to uncover the best strategies for longevity found in the Blue Zones: places in the world where higher percentages of people enjoy remarkably long, full lives. And in this dynamic book he discloses the recipe, blending this unique lifestyle formula with the latest scientific findings to inspire easy, lasting change that may add years to your life. You’ll meet a 94-year-old farmer and self-confessed “ladies man” in Costa Rica, a 102-year-old grandmother in Okinawa, a 102-year-old Sardinian who hikes at least six miles a day, and others. By observing their lifestyles, Buettner’s team has identified critical everyday choices.