​This sequel to Winger is so much better than I thought it would be. Several of my students were disappointed with it but I found it surprisingly good. I loved Winger. The book is a fresh young adult novel with an unusual main character who is realistic and funny. By the time the end comes though the book takes a surprisingly serious turn and ends too abruptly so the sequel helps process that last main event. Stand-Off shows a more serious and mature Ryan Dean who is dealing with PTSD from the trauma but still crazy about his girlfriend and rugby.

Suggested and requested by multiple students, this small book of poetry is amazing. I immediately bought it for myself and loaned it out to my friends. The poems are honest and so to the point. Beautifully crafted it is an edgier book of poetry geared more for twentysomethings but we definitely have a group of readers here who are ready and anxious to read this one.
I also read a series of fluff books suggested by a friend that I'm not adding to the library but really enjoyed. 
I also read Carrying Albert Home for my staff book club and really enjoyed it. 
​Our February Staff Book Club read Carrying Albert Home by Homer Hickam. Hickam also wrote Rocket Boys. This book is part fiction, part memoir/biography. Hickam tells the story of his mother and father early in their marriage when they were transporting a pet alligator to Florida from North Carolina. They meet people (some famous), have adventures, and stall returning home to the coal mines. It is more a story about their marriage and the times they live in than about the alligator. Hickam is filling in the blanks between what he knows to be truth and weaves a funny, heartwarming story about a young couple finding their way. 

A student gave me the Mara Dyer trilogy for Christmas and I read the 1st one if just a few days. Mara is involved in an accident in which three of her friends have died. Her family moves to Florida for a fresh start but Mara is having a hard time adjusting. And then there's a boy.... Suspenseful, mysterious, with a fated love story intertwined, I enjoyed this one and look forward to reading the rest of the series.