Check Out: What Montgomery County Was Reading in January

Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL) maintain an extensive collection of materials for county residents to check out. Have you ever wondered what the county’s library visitors are reading? We turned to our county’s librarians to determine the most popular titles in January.

For the month of January, the most read books by genre are:

Juvenile Fiction

• Hamster Princess: Whiskerella by Ursula Vernon
  A funny, feminist twist on the Cinderella fairy tale for fans of fractured fairy tales
  Princess Harriet Hamsterbone is not the kind of princess who enjoys fancy dresses or extravagant parties. Cliff-diving, fractions, and whacking people with swords are more her thing. So when she’s forced to attend a boring ball in honor of a visiting ambassador, Harriet is less than thrilled–until a bewitchingly beautiful stranger arrives. Who is she? And where did she come from? The mystery leads to a not-so-wicked stepsister, an incontinent lizard, and a fairy’s spell that’s really more of a curse. Luckily, Harriet knows a thing or two about curses…
  Smart, funny, and filled with swashbuckling adventure, book five in the critically acclaimed Hamster Princess series is a hilariously re-told fairy tale for the modern age.
  Click here to see availability at Montgomery County Public Libraries.
• Just Like Jackie by Lindsey Stoddard
  Family is family, no matter what it looks like. Readers will cheer for this pitch-perfect story, just right for fans of such books as The Great Gilly Hopkins and Fish in a Tree.
  For as long as Robinson Hart can remember, it’s just been her and Grandpa. He taught her about cars, baseball, and everything else worth knowing. But Grandpa’s memory has been getting bad–so bad that he sometimes can’t even remember Robbie’s name.
  She’s sure that she’s making things worse by getting in trouble at school, but she can’t resist using her fists when bullies like Alex Carter make fun of her for not having a mom.
  Now she’s stuck in group guidance–and to make things even worse, Alex Carter is there too. There’s no way Robbie’s going to open up about her life to some therapy group, especially not with Alex in the room. Besides, if she told anyone how forgetful Grandpa’s been getting lately, they’d take her away from him. He’s the only family she has–and it’s up to her to keep them together, no matter what.
  Click here to see availability at Montgomery County Public Libraries.
• Black Panther: The Young Prince (Marvel Black Panther) by Ronald Smith
  Black Panther. Ruler of Wakanda. Avenger. This is his destiny. But right now, he’s simply T’Challa – the young prince. Life is comfortable for twelve-year-old T’Challa in his home of Wakanda, an isolated, technologically advanced African nation. When he’s not learning how to rule a kingdom from his father – the reigning Black Panther – or testing out the latest tech, he’s off breaking rules with his best friend, M’Baku. But as conflict brews near Wakanda, T’Challa’s father makes a startling announcement: he’s sending T’Challa and M’Baku to school in America.
  Click here to see availability at Montgomery County Public Libraries.
• Treasure Hunters: Quest for the City of Gold by James Patterson
  Gear up for an exciting new adventure with the thrill-seeking Kidds as they search for a missing city in South America made entirely of gold!
  When Bick and Beck Kidd find a hidden trove of pirate treasure, it includes a map with clues to an even bigger score: the lost Incan city of Paititi. But treasure hunting is never easy–and when the map is stolen, the Kidds must rely on Storm’s picture-perfect memory to navigate the dangerous Amazon jungle. Watch out for that nest of poisonous snakes!
  To save the Amazon rainforest and stop a Peruvian tribe from losing their home, the Kidds must unlock the secrets to the missing map and find the fabled city of Paititi…before the bad guys find it first. The race is on!
  Click here to see availability at Montgomery County Public Libraries.

Juvenile Non-Fiction

• Does a Fiddler Crab Fiddle? by Corinne Demas
  This picture books helps children discover what fiddler crabs do
  Click here to see availability at Montgomery County Public Libraries.
• Fancy Party Gowns: The Story of Fashion Designer Ann Cole Lowe by Deborah Blumenthal
  A beautiful picture book about Ann Cole Lowe, a little-known African-American fashion designer who battled personal and social adversity in order to pursue her passion of making beautiful gowns and went on to become one of society’s top designers.
  Click here to see availability at Montgomery County Public Libraries.
• Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of Young John Lewis by Jabari Asim
  “John wants to be a preacher when he grows up-a leader whose words stir hearts to change, minds to think, and bodies to take action. But why wait? When John is put in charge of the family farm’s flock of chickens, he discovers that they make a wonderful congregation! So he preaches to his flock, and they listen, content under his watchful care, riveted by the rhythm of his voice. Celebrating ingenuity and dreaming big, this inspirational story, featuring Jabari Asim’s stirring prose and E. B. Lewis’s stunning, light-filled impressionistic watercolor paintings, includes an author’s note about John Lewis, who grew up to be a member of the Freedom Riders, chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and demonstrator on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. John Lewis is now a Georgia congressman, who is still an activist today, recently holding a sit-in on the House floor of the U.S. Capitol to try to force a vote on gun violence.”
  Click here to see availability at Montgomery County Public Libraries.
• Underground Railroad: Navigate the Journey from Slavery to Freedom With 25 Projects (Build it Yourself) by Judy Dodge Cummings
  Imagine leaving everything you’ve ever known–your friends, family, and home–to travel along roads you’ve never seen before, getting help from people you’ve never met before, with the constant threat of capture hovering over your every move. Would you risk your life on the Underground Railroad to gain freedom from slavery?
  In The Underground Railroad: Navigate the Journey from Slavery to Freedom , readers ages 9 to 12 examine how slavery developed in the United States and what motivated abolitionists to work for its destruction. The Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses operated by conductors and station masters, both black and white. Readers follow true stories of enslaved people who braved patrols, the wilderness, hunger, and their own fear in a quest for freedom.
  In The Underground Railroad , readers dissect primary sources, including slave narratives and runaway ads. Projects include composing a song with a hidden message and navigating by reading the nighttime sky. Amidst the countless tragedies that centuries of slavery brought to African Americans lie tales of hope, resistance, courage, sacrifice, and victory–truly an American story.
  Click here to see availability at Montgomery County Public Libraries.

Young Adult

• Thunderhead (Arc of a Scythe) by Neal Shusterman
  Rowan and Citra take opposite stances on the morality of the Scythedom, putting them at odds, in the chilling sequel to the Printz Honor Book Scythe from New York Times bestseller Neal Shusterman, author of the Unwind dystology.
  The Thunderhead cannot interfere in the affairs of the Scythedom. All it can do is observe–it does not like what it sees.
  A year has passed since Rowan had gone off grid. Since then, he has become an urban legend, a vigilante snuffing out corrupt scythes in a trial by fire. His story is told in whispers across the continent.
  As Scythe Anastasia, Citra gleans with compassion and openly challenges the ideals of the “new order.” But when her life is threatened and her methods questioned, it becomes clear that not everyone is open to the change.
  Will the Thunderhead intervene?
  Or will it simply watch as this perfect world begins to unravel?
  Click here to see availability at Montgomery County Public Libraries.
• Truly Devious: A Mystery by Maureen Johnson
  When Stevie Bell, an amateur detective, begins her first year at a famous private school in Vermont, she sets a plan to solve the cold case involving the kidnapping of the founder’s wife and daughter shortly after the school opened.
  Click here to see availability at Montgomery County Public Libraries.
• Michael Vey 7: The Final Spark by Richard Paul Evans
  Michael Vey is missing and it’s up to the Electroclan to find him in this electrifying seventh installment of the New York Times bestselling series!
  The final book in the Michael Vey series opens with the Electroclan facing a devastating loss: Michael is missing. He made the ultimate sacrifice to save his friends and now he’s gone. What is next for them and the revolution?
  he battle on the island of Hades ended with a devastating explosion that left the island a smoking ruin and much of Hatch’s army dead. However, Hatch survived and while his plans have certainly suffered a setback, he’s more determined than ever to bring the world’s governments under his control. But first, he wants to wipe out the Resistance and capture the remaining members of the Electroclan.
  As Hatch’s forces storm into action, it seems nothing can stand in their way. The Electroclan is divided. The voice is captured, and Michael’s mother is being used as bait to lure the leader of the Resistance out of hiding. Can anything–or anyone–stop the Elgen? Or is this the end?
  Click here to see availability at Montgomery County Public Libraries.
• Warcross by Marie Lu
  When a game called Warcross takes the world by storm, one girl hacks her way into its dangerous depths.
  For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game–it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down Warcross players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty-hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. To make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships–only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.
  Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.
  In this sci-fi thriller, #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu conjures an immersive, exhilarating world where choosing who to trust may be the biggest gamble of all.
  Click here to see availability at Montgomery County Public Libraries.

Adult Fiction

• The Perfect Nanny: A Novel by Leila Slimani
  She has the keys to their apartment. She knows everything. She has embedded herself so deeply in their lives that it now seems impossible to remove her.
  When Myriam, a French-Moroccan lawyer, decides to return to work after having children, she and her husband look for the perfect nanny for their two young children. They never dreamed they would find Louise: a quiet, polite, devoted woman who sings to the children, cleans the family’s chic apartment in Paris’s upscale tenth arrondissement, stays late without complaint, and hosts enviable kiddie parties. But as the couple and the nanny become more dependent on one another, jealousy, resentment, and suspicions mount, shattering the idyllic tableau. Building tension with every page, The Perfect Nanny is a compulsive, riveting, bravely observed exploration of power, class, race, domesticity, and motherhood–and the American debut of an immensely talented writer.
  The #1 international bestseller and winner of France’s most prestigious literary prize, the Goncourt
  Click here to see availability at Montgomery County Public Libraries.
• The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
  If you knew the date of your death, how would you live your life?
  It’s 1969 in New York City’s Lower East Side, and word has spread of the arrival of a mystical woman, a traveling psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the day they will die. The Gold children–four adolescents on the cusp of self-awareness–sneak out to hear their fortunes.
  The prophecies inform their next five decades. Golden-boy Simon escapes to the West Coast, searching for love in ’80s San Francisco; dreamy Klara becomes a Las Vegas magician, obsessed with blurring reality and fantasy; eldest son Daniel seeks security as an army doctor post-9/11; and bookish Varya throws herself into longevity research, where she tests the boundary between science and immortality.
  A sweeping novel of remarkable ambition and depth, The Immortalists probes the line between destiny and choice, reality and illusion, this world and the next. It is a deeply moving testament to the power of story, the nature of belief, and the unrelenting pull of familial bonds.
  Click here to see availability at Montgomery County Public Libraries.
• The Wife Between Us: A Novel by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
  When you read this book, you will make many assumptions.
  You will assume you are reading about a jealous ex-wife.
  You will assume she is obsessed with her replacement – a beautiful, younger woman who is about to marry the man they both love. You will assume you know the anatomy of this tangled love triangle.
  Assume nothing.
  Twisted and deliciously chilling, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen’s The Wife Between Us exposes the secret complexities of an enviable marriage – and the dangerous truths we ignore in the name of love.
  Read between the lies.
  Click here to see availability at Montgomery County Public Libraries.
• Munich: A Novel by Robert Harris
  Hugh Legat is a rising star of the British diplomatic service, serving at 10 Downing Street as a private secretary to the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain. Rikard von Holz is on the staff of the German Foreign Office–and secretly a member of the anti-Hitler resistance. The two men were friends at Oxford in the 1920s, but have not been in contact since. Now, when Hugh flies with Chamberlain from London to Munich, and Rikard travels on Hitler’s train overnight from Berlin, their paths are set on a disastrous collision course. And once again, Robert Harris gives us actual events of historical importance–here are Hitler, Chamberlain, Mussolini, Daladier–at the heart of an electrifying, unputdownable novel.
  Click here to see availability at Montgomery County Public Libraries.

Adult Non-fiction

• The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter by Margareta Magnusson
  A charming, practical, and unsentimental approach to putting a home in order while reflecting on the tiny joys that make up a long life.
  In Sweden there is a kind of decluttering called dostadning, do meaning “death” and stadning meaning “cleaning.” This surprising and invigorating process of clearing out unnecessary belongings can be undertaken at any age or life stage but should be done sooner than later, before others have to do it for you. In The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning , artist Margareta Magnusson, with Scandinavian humor and wisdom, instructs readers to embrace minimalism. Her radical and joyous method for putting things in order helps families broach sensitive conversations, and makes the process uplifting rather than overwhelming.
  Click here to see availability at Montgomery County Public Libraries.
• The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish
  From stand-up comedian, actress, and breakout star of Girls Trip, Tiffany Haddish, comes The Last Black Unicorn, a sidesplitting, hysterical, edgy, and unflinching collection of (extremely) personal essays, as fearless as the author herself.
  Growing up in one of the poorest neighborhoods of South Central Los Angeles, Tiffany learned to survive by making people laugh. If she could do that, then her classmates would let her copy their homework, the other foster kids she lived with wouldn’t beat her up, and she might even get a boyfriend. Or at least she could make enough money–as the paid school mascot and in-demand Bar Mitzvah hype woman–to get her hair and nails done, so then she might get a boyfriend.
  Click here to see availability at Montgomery County Public Libraries.
• Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser
  The first comprehensive historical biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the beloved author of the Little House on the Prairie books.Spanning nearly a century of epochal change, from the Indian Wars to the Dust Bowl, Wilder’s dramatic life provides a unique perspective on American history and our national mythology of self-reliance. With fresh insights and new discoveries, Prairie Fires reveals the complex woman whose classic stories grip us to this day.
  Click here to see availability at Montgomery County Public Libraries.
• Scalia Speaks: Reflections on Law, Faith, and Life Well Lived by Antonin Scalia
  This definitive collection of beloved Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s finest speeches covers topics as varied as the law, faith, virtue, pastimes, and his heroes and friends. Featuring a foreword by longtime friend Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and an intimate introduction by his youngest son, this volume includes dozens of speeches, some deeply personal, that have never before been published. Christopher J. Scalia and the Justice’s former law clerk Edward Whelan selected the speeches.
  Click here to see availability at Montgomery County Public Libraries.

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