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“Call Us What We Carry” by Amanda Gorman

For teens and adults:

Amanda Gorman’s bestselling poetry collection is a breathtaking journey through sorrow, resilience, and hope. Beautifully written with language that feels like both a lament and an awakening, each poem is suffused with emotion. Writing on profound topics including the weight of history, the loneliness of the pandemic, the nature of patriotism, and the urgency of justice, Gorman delves deep into the perils of the human experience while still offering light, unity, and optimism.

Gorman’s inventive layouts and designs, including poems shaped like flags, text messages, journals, and historical documents, make the reading experience immersive and deeply personal. Her voice is both intimate and expansive, wrapping around collective grief yet lifting it toward possibility.

This collection is a treat for poetry lovers and for those new to the form. For anyone who prefers audiobooks, a special treat is in store. Gorman serves as narrator and does not merely read her poetry – she performs it. Gorman offers a moving and uplifting experience that inspires forward progress.

“The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club” by Helen Simonson

For adults:

In the summer of 1919, Constance is out of a job as the world tries to return to normal after the Great War and the men return home. Now working as a lady’s companion, she finds herself at a crossroads as to what she will do next with her life. As the daughter of farmers, yet having worked as bookkeeper during the war, she has very little prospects for finding similar employment.

Upon meeting Poppy, the local baronet’s daughter, Constance finds herself ensconced in Poppy’s circle of friends and family. Poppy also happens to be the free-spirited owner of a lady’s taxi service and leader of a local women’s motorcycle club after spending the war working as a courier.

Motorcycles, romance, women in trousers, friendship, English high society, and the after-effects of a devastating war come clashing together in one British seaside village. “The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club” weaves together its cast of characters into an often humorous, yet thought-provoking, comedy of manners and is enjoyable for anyone who loves a cast of witty, likable characters navigating their way through historical events.

Allyson Palagi, Information and Reader Services Librarian