Blog Entries

The Bright Sword
By Lev Grossman
Adult Fiction

Young Collum has dreamed of earning his place at King Arthur’s Round Table ever since he could pick up a sword. He’s no one important, and not even really noble enough to be knighted, but when he has a chance to steal away and journey to Camelot, he seizes the opportunity.

Unfortunately, it seems Collum’s dreams are destined to be disappointed. By the time he arrives at the castle, Arthur has been killed by his son, Mordred; Excalibur has been thrown into the sea; Merlin has been entombed; and Gueniviere and Lancelot have retr...

Snowglobe
By Soyoung Park 
Translated by Joungmin Lee Comfort
Teen Fiction

Climate change has created a world of constant winter.  Temperatures reach 50 below zero daily.  Commoners trudge every day to work at a power plant. There, they labor like hamsters on a wheel to generate the power needed to keep living bearable and to supply power to Snowglobe, a city under a glass dome and the sole region that is warm. Everyone living in Snowglobe is an actor or director.  In exchange for their climate-controlled life of luxury, they provide reality TV progra...

The Selkie’s Daughter 
By Linda Crotta Brennan
Children's Fiction

If you’re wanting a mythical, magical escape, give The Selkie’s Daughter by Linda Crotta Brennan a read. While it is written for 10-14 year olds, adults will enjoy the rich tapestry of Scottish-Irish mythology with a captivating coming-of-age story. Set along the rugged shores where land meets sea, the novel introduces readers to the enchanting world of selkies—mythical beings that live as seals in the water and shed their skins to walk on land as humans. 

T...

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women
By Lisa See
Adult Fiction

 

Good historical fiction can transport you to another culture and time with the turn of a page, and Lisa See’s Lady Tan’s Circle of Women did just that. I was captivated by how easily See submerges us into the setting and ethos of Ancient China. Our main character is Tan Yunxian, a bold girl from the Ming dynasty and raised by her grandparents. Though she is born into an elite family of tradition, Yunxian’s grandmother teaches her to break these barriers and become more than what tradition has defin...

The Book That Can Read Your Mind
By Marianna Coppo
Children’s Picture Book
Recommended for ages 4-8 (but really limitless)

What a fun interactive book! The author adapts a 17th-century Italian magic trick for this amazing book that kids and adults will love.  It will provide hours of fun as you test the magic of the book. 

A rabbit takes the stage and invites the reader to pick an audience member from the book picture and then you follow the directions as the rabbit magician tries to guess who you have chosen. All 36 audience m...

The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County
By Claire Swinarski
Adult Fiction

This atmospheric novel revolves around two families in small town Northwoods Wisconsin. Based on the title and cover, I was expecting a cozy read, but Swinarski took her characters into some deeper and darker territory than I was expecting.

Whenever there is a funeral at St. Anne’s parish in Ellerie, the funeral ladies cook up a storm. They believe that grieving families shouldn’t have to worry about cooking, so they load mourners up with enough food for the bereavement dinner and days a...

Icarus
By K. Ancrum
Young Adult Fiction

In Icaras by K. Ancrum, two boys living in different types of prisons embark on a journey toward freedom that begins with their fateful encounter.

Seventeen year old Icarus lives in a gloomy and joyless house with his father Angus.  At his father’s behest, he breaks into a nearby mansion owned by Mr. Black, stealing priceless works of art and replacing them with fakes impeccably produced by his father.  The scheme is Angus’s attempt to seek revenge for Mr. Black’s role in his own wife’s death.  Icarus h...

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder

By David Grann
Adult NonFiction

I was excited to read David Grann’s The Wager, but I was especially excited when I discovered I could snag an e-audiobook copy from Libby. As far as research goes, this book was researched flawlessly. It’s packed with 1700s history, but never once felt heavy or dry with information. Grann gives us the voyage of the Wager: how this beast of a ship and its crew traveled the Drake Passage, how it endlessly endured until its very last demise. We see the characters come to li...

Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide 

By Rupert Holmes
Adult Fiction

Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes takes readers on a thrilling journey back to the 1950s, where a prestigious college for aspiring murderers sets the stage for intrigue and dark humor. Step into the halls of The McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts, a luxurious institution shrouded in secrecy, where students learn the fine art of dispatching their deserving targets.  

In this retro setting, Holmes crafts a ...

April is National Poetry Month and to celebrate, the Public Libraries of Saginaw is welcoming you to submit to our Poetry Contest! Whether you write in rhyme, converse in couplets, scrawl in sonnets or frolic with free verse, we want to see  your best work!

Teens (ages 13-17) and Adults (18+) can submit their work to https://saginawlibrary.librariesshare.com/saginawpoetry between April 1-30. Winners will be selected by judges Colleen Alles and Maureen Hart from the Friends of Roethke.

Poetry submissions will only be accepted online.ONE POEM PER PERSON may be submitt...

The Lost Library
By Rebecca Stead & Wendy Mass
Children’s Fiction

This story is about a little free library that is guarded by a fluffy orange cat named Mortimer. The beautiful cover pulls you in and makes you want to know more.  You will not be disappointed!  It has been written for children but adults will enjoy this book also.

This is an endearing  mystery told by a boy named Evan, a cat and a ghost librarian.   A little free library appears suddenly in a small town right in front of the historical museum.  Everyone is s...

Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods
By Grace Lin
Children’s Nonfiction

Who doesn’t love egg rolls, sizzling rice soup and General Tso’s Chicken?

Author and artist Grace Lin grew up eating authentic Chinese food cooked by her immigrant mother – but she also loved Americanized Chinese food from her favorite restaurants. This 288-page, lavishly illustrated, “story feast” breaks down the menu at a typical American Chinese restaurant, telling the reader how each dish got its name, where it came from, and how it is t...

Hurt You
by Marie Myung-Ok Lee
Young Adult Fiction

 

Hurt You is narrated by Korean-American teenager Georgia Kim.  Her older brother Leo is neurodivergent, which sometimes causes seizures, socially inappropriate behavior, and violent meltdowns.  The family has moved from the city to suburban Sunnyvale for a school district that supposedly has a great program for special needs students.  The family now has their own house and lots of room, but Georgia aches for the true sense of community she felt in their urban apartment. Georgia is thr...

Our Bookmobile is on the move, bringing mobile services to partner agencies all around Saginaw! And we're currently looking to add more stops to our regular routes.

Bookmobile stops are scheduled once a month and typically last an hour, during which patrons can sign up for a library card, check out books and Chromebooks, get help accessing the library’s ebook collections and return library materials.

Unlike Bookmobiles of the past, the current Public Libraries of Saginaw Mobile Outreach Vehicle is designed to transport books but not be a self-contained unit. “Setting up ...

Remarkably Bright Creatures
by Shelby Van Pelt
Adult Fiction

This debut novel from Shelby Van Pelt is a beautiful story, full of feel-good moments and a whole lot of life lessons. The story is alluringly sensitive, building on your heart piece by piece. The narration is partially given from a giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus McSquiddles. Through his perspective we see real human feeling, emotion and even some mischief (the octopus can pick locks, sneak out of his tank, and go for late night snack runs…all amazing and hilarious).

In another central pers...