One for the Books: If the old adage holds true, two authors sometimes can be better than one
To see the full list of recommendations and to see the other categories, visit www.naperville-lib.org/ABC.
'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society' by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
In post-World War II London, writer Juliet Ashton searches for her next book idea and unexpectedly finds it in a letter from a man on the island of Guernsey. As they exchange letters, Juliet becomes captivated by the quirky members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a group that formed during the German occupation as a cover for breaking curfew. The society's charming, eccentric members, from pig farmers to literature lovers, become a central part of Juliet's life.
'This is How You Lose the Time War' by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, becomes something that could change the past and the future, except the discovery of their bond would mean the death of each of them. There's still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win.
'The Personal Librarian' by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
In her 20s, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J.P. Morgan to curate rare books and art for his new library, becoming a prominent figure in New York society. Known for her taste and negotiation skills, Belle builds a world-class collection. However, she hides a secret: she was born Belle Marion Greener, daughter of Richard Greener, the first Black Harvard graduate. Passing as white despite her African American heritage, she must protect her identity in a racist world to safeguard her family and legacy.
'The Paradise Problem' by Christina Lauren
Anna Green thought she married Liam 'West' Weston for access to housing at UCLA, believing they'd signed divorce papers after graduation. Three years later, Anna is struggling as an artist while West is a Stanford professor and heir to a fortune. To inherit his $100 million, he must stay married for five years, and with pressure mounting, he turns to Anna, his ex-wife. As they navigate his wealthy family's expectations, Liam questions if his fake marriage is worth losing the love that unexpectedly blossomed from a lie.
'Leviathan Wakes' by James S. A. Corey
Humanity has colonized the solar system, but the stars remain out of reach. Jim Holden, XO of an ice miner, stumbles upon a derelict ship, the Scopuli, and unknowingly acquires a dangerous secret. As war looms, Detective Miller searches for a missing girl and his investigation leads him to Holden. Together, they must navigate tensions between Earth, Outer Planet rebels and powerful corporations, with the fate of the universe hanging in the balance.
'Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter?' by Nicci French
On Alec Salter's 50th birthday, his wife Charlotte vanishes, and though the village is at the party, no one notices until hours later. While Alec dismisses it, their children grow anxious, and soon Etty and her friend Morgan find the body of their neighbor, Duncan Ackerley. The police believe he killed Charlotte before taking his own life. Thirty years later, Morgan returns to Glensted with his brother to make a podcast about the tragedy. As secrets resurface and a fire leads to a murder, Detective Inspector Maud O'Connor is sent to investigate, uncovering a terrifying new truth about Charlotte's and Duncan's deaths.
'She Said' by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey
For years, reporters tried to uncover the truth about Harvey Weinstein's treatment of women. In 2017, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey's investigation for the New York Times exposed disturbing allegations, secret payouts and nondisclosure agreements. As sources came forward, a dramatic showdown between Weinstein and the Times unfolded. 'She Said' tells the powerful story of the journalists' work and the courageous women who spoke out for justice, future generations and themselves.
'I Will Always Write Back' by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda
Caitlin's class assignment to write a letter to a student in Zimbabwe leads to an unexpected, six-year correspondence with Martin, a top student there. As they exchange letters about their lives, they form a deep friendship that changes them both. In this dual memoir, Caitlin and Martin share how their long-distance connection shaped their lives and made them better people.
'Dry' by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
The drought — or the Tap-Out, as everyone calls it — has been going on for a while now. Everyone's lives have become an endless list of don'ts: don't water the lawn, don't fill up your pool, don't take long showers. Until the taps run dry. Suddenly, Alyssa's quiet suburban street spirals into a warzone of desperation; neighbors and families turn against each other on the hunt for water. And when her parents don't return and her life — and the life of her brother — is threatened, Alyssa has to make impossible choices if she's going to survive.
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He's one of the biggest name in show business — and it's possible you've never heard of him. At 54, Swedish songwriter and record producer Max Martin has written more No. 1 singles than any artist, aside from Paul McCartney. He counts Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Ariana Grande and the Weeknd among his collaborators, but he's so low-key and humble that he refers to his music career as his 'day job.' That would make musical theater Martin's passion project. Specifically the creation of a jukebox musical called '& Juliet,' which strings together some of his biggest hits in service of an uproarious, feel-good plot that reimagines the heroine of Shakespeare's famous teenage tragedy as her own woman — one who doesn't decide to stab herself in the heart when her main squeeze drinks poison. Success was important to the show, mainly because Martin wanted to do right by his A-list collaborators, all of whom gladly agreed to allow their songs to be included in the score. Featuring a libretto by playwright and TV writer David West Read, choreography by Jennifer Weber and nearly 30 hits by Martin, the stakes felt very high going in. 'I have written a lot of these songs with other people, so I felt a huge responsibility towards the artists and the co-writers, that this needed to be something really extraordinary,' Martin said. Martin had recently flown in from Japan, just in time to catch '& Juliet's' L.A. premiere on Friday at the Ahmanson Theatre. It felt like a homecoming for the show because many of its most memorable songs were recorded in L.A. Thanks to earworms including Katy Perry's 'I Kissed a Girl,' Backstreet Boys' 'I Want It That Way' and Justin Timberlake's 'Can't Stop the Feeling!,' '& Juliet' has a proven track record. It has survived and thrived for almost seven years, scoring nine Olivier nominations — and three wins — during its initial run on London's West End; and earning nine Tony Award nominations during its 2022 Broadway debut. It recouped its cost last year and is the only show from the 2022-23 Broadway season that is still playing. In the risky world of musical development, where nearly 80% of Broadway producers fail to get back their investments, this is considered a major win. Martin was unassuming as he and Read broke down how the project came to life in a conversation that highlighted Martin's deep commitment to the musical and his desire to share the limelight with every single actor, producer, creator and crew member who helped bring it to life along the way. Martin's wife, Jenny, came up with the concept of a musical featuring Martin's catalog. 'And I was like, 'Sure, how hard can it be?'' he said with a wry smile. 'We were very naive going in.' A few years passed during which time they took some meetings and spitballed ideas. Nothing stuck until 2013 when they had a four-hour dinner with producers Theresa Steele Page and Tim Headington. Page was an executive at a music management company and Headington had produced films that included 'Argo' and 'World War Z.' The pair had decided to try their hand at a jukebox musical, Headington explained in an interview, and when they put together a list of songs they wanted to include, they realized almost the entire list had been written or co-written by Martin. Page set up a meeting with Martin's manager, Martin Dodd, who initially told them there was no way Martin's music could be licensed for a musical — that changed after their dinner at the Peninsula hotel in Hollywood. 'Max was so generous. He said, 'Hey, you can have my catalog. You can change words if you want. You can change context, but let's make this great,' said Headington. 'So now we have the best pop musical catalog in the world and we've got no story.' Page got to work looking for a writer, a process that involved many dead-ends and far too many pitches about, 'a local coming out of Louisiana and now she's a star,' Page said. 'Or it was a complete retelling of 'NSync or Backstreet Boys, and we said we do not want anything that's close to what we worked on, because we're still friends with all those guys and we want to have that separation.' Enter Read. The young writer was about to get a gig on the hit comedy 'Schitt's Creek,' for which he went on to win an Emmy. He was recovering from a concussion and had been advised by doctors to stay in a dark room so he could heal, Page recalled. During that time he listened to Martin's catalog on repeat and ultimately presented the completely left-field concept for '& Juliet.' Page called Headington immediately and said, 'We found it.' Then they flew Read to L.A. to pitch Martin in his studio, and Martin agreed. From the beginning it was crucial to Martin that the story stood on its own — without the music. 'We didn't want to shoehorn the songs into the story,' he said, nodding in appreciation at Read. 'I don't understand how you did it, David. How you made it feel as if these songs originated from the story.' Read said the best part for him was being given free reign to use whatever music he saw fit from Martin's catalog without any demands about how he did it. 'There are some of Max's most famous songs,' he said, noting that there was no way he wasn't going to use Spears' chart-topper '... Baby One More Time.' 'But then there are also these lesser-known, but still incredible songs, and part of what works is that balance.' Martin invested himself and his time wholly in the endeavor from the jump, including collaborating on the orchestrations. 'This busy man spent hours of his time hanging out with us in the rehearsal room, giving us his original ideas for some of these songs and telling us some of the meanings behind them,' said Rachel Simone Webb, who plays Juliet in the North American tour and served as an understudy for the same role in the 2022 Toronto production. 'And every time he started speaking, it was dead silent in the room, so that we could listen and just understand his mind and glean ideas from this icon in the rehearsal room.' Webb said she has heard people call Martin the 'Shakespeare' of pop music. Webb also sang the part of one of Romeo's exes for the official cast recording and recalled that Martin was there giving notes and collaborating with the cast. Martin even recorded one album with the British cast and another with the American cast, Read said. 'Max treated this like his new album,' he said. 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