The Good Father by Noah Hawley
Recommended by Senior Librarian Kathryn Zimmerman for adults
Paul Allen, respected physician, loving husband, and father of twin 10-year-old boys, is home with his family on an ordinary evening. As they watch a TV game show, a breaking news report informs viewers that Senator Seagram, a leading Presidential candidate, has been shot. Minutes later, Secret Service agents knock on the front door. Daniel, Paul’s adult son from his first marriage, has been identified as the shooter. Believing Daniel is innocent and desperate to save his son, Paul begins an investigation that spans the country. What he learns about Daniel, and himself, will change this father forever.
Also Known as Rowan Pohi by Ralph Fletcher
Recommended by Librarian Rose Ryan for teens
Bobby Steele and his friends are faced with dead-end lives. Bobby’s mother left the family last year and his father did jail time. Stuck with no real chance of attending a prestigious high school, they create a fictitious application as a prank. In a twist of fate, when the application is accepted, Bobby becomes Rowan Pohi and has to decide whether his old or new life deserves to be lived.
Glory Be by Augusta Scattergood
Recommended by Librarian Ann Pieri for children
Summer in Mississippi is sizzling hot but that doesn’t matter to Glory Hemphill, almost 12, because she can swim in the community pool. She doesn’t notice it’s for whites only until northerners arrive and talk about ending segregation. Folks get upset over what these Freedom Workers are saying so the Town Council closes the pool to avoid trouble. Glory then has to stand up for what’s right, even if it makes some friends and neighbors mad.
Civil rights tensions in 1964 are observed by naïve but fair-minded Glory. She and her family members are appealing characters that kids will enjoy.
