Do you ever finish a book and want to give it all the merit it deserves? While every reader is entitled to their own opinion, and we certainly don't agree with each other in many cases, it's a really great feeling to give a book 5 stars!  Here are some five star reads recommended by library staff:

Holly recommends . . .

Cover image for Isola : a novelOur book group just read Isola by Allegra Goodman and everyone loved it. It’s a historical novel with female main characters that turns into a great adventure with some romance thrown in. Plus, it’s based on a real historical figure. We all gave it 5 stars!
Find Isola in the library catalog
This book is also available for digital checkout:
Libby eBook  and audiobook
Read more about the author Here 

 

 

John recommends . . .

A label with a hand on a keyboard

AI-generated content may be incorrect.Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford 

Alternate history novel set in the once thriving mound-building Indian Nation of Cahokia, on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River at St. Louis. A murder mystery. What happens to Cahokia if the midwestern Indian population had not been decimated by disease and forced retreat? Cahokia is a thriving metropolis run by an indigenous population beset with the same modern issues of the predominantly white world, but living with the issues on their own terms. Fascinating imagining of an alternate history.
Find Cahokia Jazz in the library catalog
This book is also available for digital checkout:
                                             Libby  audiobook
                                             Read more about the author Here

 

Nancy recommends . . .
A book cover with a bottle of wine

AI-generated content may be incorrect. 

I gave The Wedding People by Alison Espach five stars. The characters were believable, and I enjoyed how they changed throughout the story. The writing is witty, engaging and thought-provoking. It also didn’t hurt that the setting was in a beautiful location.
Find The Wedding People in the library catalog
This book is also available for digital checkout:
Libby eBook  and audiobook
Read more about the author Here

 

Beth recommends . . .

A book cover with a desert landscape

AI-generated content may be incorrect.

The Entire Sky by Joe Wilkins

This book is a satisfying read on so many levels and the first 5 star book I’ve had the pleasure of reading in a while. There are strong, determined characters who are survivors. Set in eastern Montana with a strong sense of place, the writing is poetic. Highly recommend you check out this book.
Find The Entire Sky in the library catalog
This book is also available for digital checkout:
Libby eBook  and audiobook
Read more about the author Here 

 

Dani recommends . . .

A cover of a book

AI-generated content may be incorrect.All Systems Red by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)

I discovered The Murderbot Diaries when I was in search of a fun, light book to balance my recent heavy-topic reading. It was the perfect palate-cleanser sci-fi book for me. I loved it so much that I downloaded the audiobooks so that I could get through the first five books of the series as quickly as possible without having to forgo all my adult responsibilities. I could not get enough of Murderbot whose personality traits give any even mildly neurodivergent reader a character they can, at the very least, partially relate to and can't help but root for
Find All Systems Red in the library catalog
This book is also available for digital checkout:
Libby eBook  and audiobook
                                                Read more about the author Here

 

Beth D. recommends . . .

A book cover with a couple of kids

AI-generated content may be incorrect.My 5-Star Recommendation is Frankie & Bug, by Gayle Forman. I loved the setting of this book (the 1980s, Venice Beach, CA) as well as the two main characters and their unlikely friendship. Through Frankie and Bug's eyes, we get a glimpse of how the AIDS epidemic was creating so much fear and hatred in the late 80s. While the historical background is heavy, this book manages to be simultaneously very funny and very poignant. If you're a fan of Judy Blume's YA and Middle Grade books, I think you'd love Frankie and Bug
Find Frankie and Bug in the library catalog
Read more about the author Here