FDL Reads: The Lost Apothecary
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
Reviewed by: Susie Rivera, Reference Specialist
Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction
Suggested Age: Adults
What is This Book About?: In the late 1700s, Nella runs a hidden apothecary shop in London. Rather than dispensing concoctions for healing, Nella gives out poisons to women who want to get rid of men who have wronged them. In present day, Caroline is vacationing in London without her husband. Caroline studied English literature and history but gave up her dreams of becoming a historian when she took a desk job at her parents’ estate. While on a mud larking expedition, she happens upon an old apothecary vile and begins to investigate its origins. As she digs more into her research, unexpected connections between the past and future come to light.
My Review: I read this novel for our FDL Swords and Sorcery fantasy book club. This book was definitely heavy on the historical fiction side, rather than fantasy. The fantasy aspect does pop up in the end, however. If you like your fantasy heavy on the magic, etc. then this is probably not the book for you. I enjoyed it and was actually hooked from the first chapter. Though some events are a little implausible, I will give Sarah Penner some leeway as this is her debut novel.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Secrets, Girl Power, Concoctions
Give this a try if you like… In the Dark by Loreth Anne White, The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica, Writers and Lovers by Lily King
Rating: 4/5
Yoga for Kids – Library Resources
If you’ve been thinking about trying out yoga with your family, but aren’t sure where to start, this is for you! Yoga can be intimidating, especially for kids. The library’s new Yoga for Mindfulness STEAM Kit is the perfect way to introduce yoga in a playful setting with no pressure! (Check out the other new STEAM Kits for kids here.)
Yoga for Mindfulness STEAM Kit
The kit includes two games: Yoga Dice and the Yoga Spinner game. Yoga Dice is a collaborative game where the players race against a token of focus stones to complete the poses on the dice. The instructions are clear and simple – no yoga experience necessary! My 5-year-old and 8-year-old, who generally refuse to practice yoga with me, LOVED this game!
The Yoga Spinner game involves completing the poses on the spinner to collect a card of each of the four colors. As of the writing of this, my family hasn’t fully played this game, but they were both very excited to play it and disappointed when we had to stop. This game involves partner poses – which can be a little tricky!
Yoga for Kids by Susannah Hoffman is the book included in the kit with lots of awesome pictures and instructions for both parents and kids!
Other books on yoga for kids at our library include:
I am Yoga by Susan Verde Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Good Morning, Yoga by Mariam Gates illustrated by Sarah Jane Hinder
Breathe Like a Bear by Kira Willey
Sitting Still Like a Frog Activity Book: 75 Mindfulness Games for Kids by Eline Snel
– Cassie, Youth Services Assistant
Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month
National Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month is celebrated September 15 through October 15 – a time to lift up the cultures and contributions of Americans tracing their roots to Spain, Mexico, Central America, South America and the Spanish-speaking nations of the Caribbean. Learn more about the diverse history and culture of Hispanic/Latinx Americans, amplify their voices, and support their businesses – and get started by reading one of these anticipated books by Latinx authors of 2021.
American Delirium by Betina González
The Sea-Ringed World by María García Esperón
Infinite Country by Patricia Engel
The Soul of a Woman by Isabel Allende
What’s Mine and Yours by Naima Coster
Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia
My Broken Language by Quiara Alegría Hudes
Indivisible by Daniel Aleman
The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez
One of the Good Ones by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite
Velvet was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Cazadora by Romina Garber
Follow the links below for more amazing books for all ages.
Big Rig Petting Zoo Postponed!
Unfortunately, we’re postponing the Big Rig Petting Zoo until next year due to ongoing and increasing COVID-19 concerns.Employment Opportunities!
The library currently has three part-time positions open for a Circulation Assistant and two Youth Services Assistants. Please visit fondulaclibrary.org/about-us/jobs for more information, including job descriptions and qualifications.
New Books by Diverse Authors – Giveaway
Black Girls Must Die Exhausted by Jayne Allen
Tabitha Walker is a black woman with a plan to “have it all.” At 33 years old, the checklist for the life of her dreams is well underway. Education? Check. Good job? Check. Down payment for a nice house? Check. Dating marriage material? Check, check, and check. With a coveted position as a local news reporter, a “paper-perfect” boyfriend, and even a standing Saturday morning appointment with a reliable hairstylist, everything seems to be falling into place.
Then Tabby receives an unexpected diagnosis that brings her picture-perfect life crashing down, jeopardizing the keystone she took for granted: having children. With her dreams at risk of falling through the cracks of her checklist, suddenly she is faced with an impossible choice between her career, her dream home, and a family of her own. The first novel in a captivating three-book series about modern womanhood, in which a young Black woman must rely on courage, laughter, and love—and the support of her two longtime friends—to overcome an unexpected setback that threatens the most precious thing she’s ever wanted.
Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara
Twenty-year-old Aki Ito and her parents have just been released from Manzanar, where they have been detained by the U.S. government since the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, together with thousands of other Japanese Americans. The life in California the Itos were forced to leave behind is gone; instead, they are being resettled two thousand miles away in Chicago, where Aki’s older sister, Rose, was sent months earlier and moved to the new Japanese American neighborhood near Clark and Division streets. But on the eve of the Ito family’s reunion, Rose is killed by a subway train.
Set in 1944 Chicago, Edgar Award-winner Naomi Hirahara’s eye-opening and poignant new mystery, the story of a young woman searching for the truth about her revered older sister’s death, brings to focus the struggles of one Japanese American family released from mass incarceration at Manzanar during World War II.
The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
In the waning days of the Civil War, brothers Prentiss and Landry—freed by the Emancipation Proclamation—seek refuge on the homestead of George Walker and his wife, Isabelle. The Walkers, wracked by the loss of their only son to the war, hire the brothers to work their farm, hoping through an unexpected friendship to stanch their grief. Prentiss and Landry, meanwhile, plan to save money for the journey north and a chance to reunite with their mother, who was sold away when they were boys.
Parallel to their story runs a forbidden romance between two Confederate soldiers. The young men, recently returned from the war to the town of Old Ox, hold their trysts in the woods. But when their secret is discovered, the resulting chaos, including a murder, unleashes convulsive repercussions on the entire community. In the aftermath of so much turmoil, it is Isabelle who emerges as an unlikely leader, proffering a healing vision for the land and for the newly free citizens of Old Ox.
In the spirit of The Known World and The Underground Railroad, a profound debut about the unlikely bond between two freedmen who are brothers and the Georgia farmer whose alliance will alter their lives, and his, forever.
The Bombay Prince by Sujata Massey
November, 1921. Edward VIII, Prince of Wales and future ruler of India, is arriving in Bombay to begin a four-month tour. The Indian subcontinent is chafing under British rule, and Bombay solicitor Perveen Mistry isn’t surprised when local unrest over the royal arrival spirals into riots. But she’s horrified by the death of Freny Cuttingmaster, an eighteen-year-old female Parsi student, who falls from a second-floor gallery just as the prince’s grand procession is passing by her college.
India’s only female lawyer, Perveen Mistry, is compelled to bring justice to the family of a murdered female Parsi student just as Bombay’s streets erupt in riots to protest British colonial rule. Sujata Massey is back with this third installment to the Agatha and Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning series set in 1920s Bombay.
-Annotations from the publishers
–Post by Melissa Friedlund, Reference Specialist
Giveaway
Enter your name here for a chance to win ARCs of the books mentioned in this post. ARCs are “advanced reading copies.” These are free copies of a new books given by a publisher to librarians and other reviewers before the book is printed for mass distribution.
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