Posted on by Maureen

Murder for the Modern Girl by Kendall Kulper

Book Description

Gatsby-era glamour, a swoon-worthy love story, and an indomitable heroine dazzle in this romp that captures the extravagance of the Roaring Twenties and the dangers of vigilante justice.

A ravishing young mind reader stalks the streets at night in kitten heels, prowling for men to murder.

A soft-spoken genius toils away in the city morgue, desperate to unearth the science behind his gift for shapeshifting.

It’s a match made in 1928 Chicago, where gangsters run City Hall, jazz fills the air, and every good girl’s purse conceals a flask.

Until now, eighteen-year-old Ruby’s penchant for poison has been a secret. No one knows that she uses her mind-reading abilities to target men who prey on vulnerable women, men who escape the clutches of Chicago “justice.” When she meets a brilliant boy working at the morgue, his knack for forensic detail threatens to uncover her dark hobby. Even more unfortunately: sharp, independent Ruby has fallen in love with him.
 
Waltzing between a supernaturally enhanced romance, the battle to take down a gentleman’s club, and loyal friendships worth their weight in diamonds, Ruby brings defiant charm to every page of Murder for the Modern Girl—not to mention killer fashion. An irresistible caper perfect for fans of The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, in an exquisite hardcover package with rose-gold foil.
 
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

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Posted on by Maureen

Blaine for the Win by Robbie Couch

Book Description

After being dumped so his boyfriend can pursue more “serious” guys, a teen boy decides to prove he can be serious, too, by running for senior class president in this joyful romp from the author of The Sky Blues.

High school junior Blaine Bowers has it all—the perfect boyfriend, a pretty sweet gig as a muralist for local Windy City businesses, a loving family, and awesome, talented friends. And he is absolutely, 100% positive that aforementioned perfect boyfriend—​senior student council president and Mr. Popular of Wicker West High School, Joey—is going to invite Blaine to spend spring break with his family in beautiful, sunny Cabo San Lucas.

Except Joey breaks up with him instead. In public. On their one-year anniversary.

Because, according to Joey, Blaine is too goofy, too flighty, too…unserious. And if Joey wants to go far in life, he needs to start dating more serious guys. Guys like Zach Chesterton.

Determined to prove that Blaine can be what Joey wants, Blaine decides to enter the running to become his successor (and beat out Joey’s new boyfriend, Zach) as senior student council president.

But is he willing to sacrifice everything he loves about himself to do it?

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Posted on by Maureen

Murder Among Friends: How Leopold and Loeb Tried to Commit the Perfect Crime by Candace Fleming

Book Description

How did two teenagers brutally murder an innocent child…and why? And how did their brilliant lawyer save them from the death penalty in 1920s Chicago? Written by a prolific master of narrative nonfiction, this is a compulsively readable true-crime story based on an event dubbed the “crime of the century.”

In 1924, eighteen-year-old college students Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb made a decision: they would commit the perfect crime by kidnapping and murdering a child they both knew. But they made one crucial error: as they were disposing of the body of young Bobby Franks, whom they had bludgeoned to death, Nathan’s eyeglasses fell from his jacket pocket.

Multi-award-winning author Candace Fleming depicts every twist and turn of this harrowing case–how two wealthy, brilliant young men planned and committed what became known as the crime of the century, how they were caught, why they confessed, and how the renowned criminal defense attorney Clarence Darrow enabled them to avoid the death penalty.

Following on the success of such books as The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh and The Family Romanov, this acclaimed nonfiction writer brings to heart-stopping life one of the most notorious crimes in our country’s history.

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Posted on by Maureen

Out on the Ice by Kelly Farmer

Caro Cassidy helped Team USA win Olympic medals when she was younger, but now she’s content to manage a hockey training center outside of Chicago for girls’ hockey.

Amy Schwarzbach never made it to the Olympics, but she’s a hotshot player for a professional women’s hockey team. She’s very excited about the opportunity to work at Caro’s facility because Caro has always been one of her idols.

At first, Caro doesn’t know what to do with Amy’s exuberant personality because it’s such a stark contrast to her more reserved nature, but opposites attract. 

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Posted on by Maureen · 1 Comment

Isabel Feeney, Star Reporter by Beth Fantaskey

51wysrnge2blI received a copy of this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Isabel Feeney, Star Reporter is a middle grade novel written by Beth Fantaskey. Its narrator and protagonist is Isabel Feeney, a ten year old girl who works as a newspaper girl working in 1920s Chicago. One evening, she witnesses one of her regular customers greet a man and walk into an alley. Seconds later, Isabel hears a gunshot, and when she rushes to the alley, Miss Giddings is standing in the alley, and the man is lying on the ground- dead.

Of course, it seems like Miss Giddings shot the man, who turns out to be a part-time gangster. Detective Culhane thinks that she did it, and so does newspaper reporter Maude Collier. But Isabel knows that her friend Miss Giddings is innocent, and she is determined to prove it. Isabel might have to work to help her single mother earn money instead of going to school, but she knows that she has what it takes to be a newspaper reporter- just like her idol Maude Collier. And so, Isabel Feeney sticks her nose where it doesn’t belong, all in the name of justice for her friend Miss Giddings. Read more