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S.M.C.'s Reviews

Susan McCloskey has worked at Bookshop Santa Cruz since graduating from UCSC in 2000. She is the former Event Coordinator at Bookshop and continues to consult for the store. In her other life, she is a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist. She believes in story, and loves the meld of working with books, narrative, and people.

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Starling House crosses many genres—think an odd blend of Stranger Things meeting a modern-day Wuthering Heights. When Opal’s mother dies in a car accident, Opal is left to raise her much-younger brother in their small Kentucky town and takes odd jobs doing anything she can in order to get her brother into a good school and out of the town. She is offered a job with ample pay, cleaning the “haunted house” on the edge of town—a house long rumored to be at the center of the town’s mysterious history of disappearances and misfortune—and she can’t say no.  

—S.M.C.

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Starling House: A Reese's Book Club Pick By Alix E. Harrow Cover Image
$28.99
ISBN: 9781250799050
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Tor Books - October 3rd, 2023

Of Time and Turtles Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell by Sy Montgomery

In Of Time and Turtles, Sy Montgomery (Soul of an Octopus) opens up to us the world of turtle rehabilitation (and really all things turtle). Montgomery works as a volunteer in a well-respected turtle rescue organization and does a wonderful job of describing the amazingness of turtles along with the hardships they face in living among humans. A snapping turtle heals himself from paralysis; a tortoise seemingly comes back from the dead; another is a picky eater who enjoys cuddles. You will find yourself holding your breath and cheering on behalf of these incredible spirited souls.  

—S.M.C.

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Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell By Sy Montgomery, Matt Patterson (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Sy Montgomery, Matt Patterson (Illustrator)
$28.99
ISBN: 9780358458180
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Mariner Books - September 19th, 2023

This Wheel of Rocks by Sister Marya Grathwohl

Sister Marya Grathwohl became a nun in 1963 and was eventually assigned to an order in Montana that worked closely with the Crow and Northern Cheyenne people. Deeply moved and educated by traditions in both tribes, she is faced with the expanding and unlearning she has to do about her own belief systems. She realizes also that she feels most connected to God through nature, and works to promote environmentalism as a way of living. Her memoir offers fascinating insight into the seldom-seen world of a young woman who dedicates her whole life to one of faith.  

—S.M.C.

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This Wheel of Rocks: An Unexpected Spiritual Journey By Sister Marya Grathwohl Cover Image
$29.00
ISBN: 9781594487309
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Riverhead Books - November 14th, 2023

The Improbable Tales of Baskerville Hall by Ali Standish

In this reimagining, a young Arthur Conan Doyle is summoned to a mysterious boarding school dedicated to extraordinary children. All is not well, though; the school is repeatedly being vandalized. When the existence of a dangerous secret society is revealed, Arthur and his friends are pushed toward their limits in more ways than one. This book will delight you and keep you turning the pages, with the promise of more adventures to come! 

—S.M.C.

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The Improbable Tales of Baskerville Hall Book 1 By Ali Standish Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9780063275577
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: HarperCollins - September 12th, 2023

Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America by Matika Wilbur

Matika Wilbur, of the Swinomish and Tulalip peoples of coastal Washington, spent over a decade capturing the people, stories, and cultures of all 562 federally recognized Native American tribal nations for Project 562. Each person she photographed selected their own location, clothing, poses, and props for their portrait, and many spoke about what Indigenous identity means to them. The breathtaking images and moving words made Project 562 one of my favorite nonfiction titles in recent years.  —S.M.C.

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Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America By Matika Wilbur Cover Image
$50.00
ISBN: 9781984859525
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Ten Speed Press - April 25th, 2023

You Could Make This Place Beautiful: A Memoir by Maggie Smith

Respected poet Maggie Smith unexpectedly shot to fame when her poem “Good Bones” went viral. As a mother, teacher, wife, and connoisseur of language, Smith explores how each of these roles has shifted over time for her. This memoir is beautifully written, and I loved what Smith’s creative and precise writer’s perspective teaches us about how to tell a personal story.  —S.M.C.

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You Could Make This Place Beautiful: A Memoir By Maggie Smith Cover Image
$28.00
ISBN: 9781982185855
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Atria/One Signal Publishers - April 11th, 2023

Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark

At its surface, Fellowship Point is about a friendship between two best friends in their eighties, Agnes and Polly, and what will happen to the land along Maine’s coast that their families have owned for generations. The brilliance of Alice Dark’s writing is evident on every page as she brings the land and the characters to life, and the end to this novel had me reeling. I will be recommending this book to as many people as I know. 

—S.M.C.

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Fellowship Point: A Novel By Alice Elliott Dark Cover Image
$20.00
ISBN: 9781982131821
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books - May 9th, 2023

Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi

Nigeria Jones was raised in the Movement, a Philadelphia Black liberation group headed by her father. When her mother—who is also a leader in the group as well as a teacher for members’ children—disappears, Nigeria starts to question everything. Her tenacity is awe inspiring. Ibi Zoboi has given us a story that speaks to the powers of grief, love, and tradition, and has moments of intersection with infinite openings of possibility.  —S.M.C

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Nigeria Jones: A Novel By Ibi Zoboi Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9780062888846
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Balzer + Bray - May 9th, 2023

Chaos Theory by Nic Stone

Andy is drowning in grief while Shelbi is doing her best to stay anonymous as a senior at her brand new high school. Suddenly an accidental text throws these two into a friendship neither saw coming. Nic Stone never shies away from hard topics but instead writes about them with grace, humor, and wry observation. I raced through this book, rooting for Andy and Shelbi, not wanting to pause until I could see just how their stories resolved.

—S.M.C.

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Chaos Theory By Nic Stone Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9780593307700
Availability: Not On Our Shelves, But Available from Warehouse - Usually Delivers in 3-14 Days
Published: Crown Books for Young Readers - February 28th, 2023

The Best Strangers in the World: Stories from a Life Spent Listening by Ari Shapiro

Reading Ari Shapiro’s new book—a mix of memoir, travelogue essays, and testament to the importance of journalism and inquiry—has quadrupled (and then some!) my appreciation of and fondness for the host of NPR’s All Things Considered. With candor, astute humor, and a dedication to the importance of finding humanity across all environments, Shapiro has written a book that hits all the marks—I laughed, I teared, and I came away filled with hope as he reminded me that as fragmented as the world may seem, with the right listening perspective, the commonality for connection is a universal bond that cannot be broken. —S.M.C.

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The Best Strangers in the World: Stories from a Life Spent Listening By Ari Shapiro Cover Image
$28.99
ISBN: 9780063221345
Availability: Not On Our Shelves, But Available from Warehouse - Usually Delivers in 3-14 Days
Published: HarperOne - March 21st, 2023

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