On the shelves — Aug. 7

The following books are available for checkout at:

Clovis-Carver Public Library

Silence by Mercedes Lackey and Cody Martin weaves together the stories of several characters as they struggle in new lives in Occupied Japan after World War II. As part of the occupation, they find shortages of food and medical supplies, plus discrimination and mistrust, especially toward Japanese Americans who have been forced to repatriate. Despite difficulties, the characters find the inner strength and resiliency that they need to survive.

The Excellent Lombards by Jane Hamilton is a charming story, seen through the eyes of young Mary Frances "Frankie" Lombard, whose idyllic life on the family apple farm begins to fray. As she is haunted by the fact that some family members stay on the farm and others must leave, Frankie finds the foundation of her roots shaken and learns that change is inevitable.

The Charmers by Elizabeth Adler unfolds with Mirabella Matthews inheriting a villa in the South of France after her Aunt Jolly dies unexpectedly and mysteriously. Driving on the way from the train, Mirabella is run off the road by a motorcycle and soon discovers that the dangers do not end there. It turns out that Aunt Jolly had a past, and as the various men who were a part of it show up at the villa Mirabella must find out who can be trusted and who is using charm to mask the face of a murderer.

Hidden Cameras by Joe Plomin takes you through the history of undercover reporting, equipment used, and the ethical and moral issues that are raised when secretly filming others, plus relating the stories of families, so worried about the care of their love ones that they resort to hidden cameras. The section on what to do with footage obtained by secret filming is particularly thought-provoking.

Approaching Ali by Davis Miller shares a deeply personal story of Ali's post-career life, told from the unusual friendship that began with a stranger's knock on the door. From Ali's take on historic fights to his struggles with Parkinson's to unguarded moments, as when the boxer performs magic tricks for kids on a South Carolina beach, Miller celebrates the one-two combo of charisma and power that made Ali both his lifelong muse and one of the most famous athletes on the planet.

Plants from Pits by Holly Farrell asks, what do avocados, apples, mangos and tomatoes have in common? The answer is that they can all be grown at home, for free, from pits that you would otherwise throw away. Learn to grow a range of fruit and vegetables, indoors and out, plus deal with pests and other problems with minimum equipment and experience.

Portales Public Library

The Swarm by Orson Scott Card

During Earth's first Formic War, a Formic ship wreaked havoc on the planet by trying to destroy life on Earth and prepare it for the settlement of their own species, but Earth fought back with corporate and military forces and the Chinese army. However, China was left devastated, acting as a warning to the other nations when scientists realized that the sole invading ship was merely a scout. Now, a mothership has been spotted out past the solar system's Kuiper Belt, heading straight for Earth, with all humankind knowing that once it reaches them, it will be unstoppable. In response, Earth elects a Hegemon, an official to keep all the nations united together against their common foe, as well as a Polemach, who is responsible for organizing the newly united countries of the world into one military force, called the International Fleet. As the mothership comes ever closer, Bingwen, Mazer Rackam, Victor Delgado and Lem Juke fear that basic human greed, ambition and differing politics will get in the way of Earth's retaliation.

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Clementine and Erika have been best friends since childhood, and Erica has always found refuge in Clementine's friendship from her own rough background. Now adults, Clementine is a cellist and has two daughters with her husband Sam, while Erika and her husband Oliver are childless, with both couples sharing a close but complicated relationship. When Erika and Oliver invite Clementine and Sam over for a barbecue with their eccentric neighbors Tiffany and Vid, they happily accept, but two months later, all four spouses are unable to move on from a traumatic event that occurred that day. While Sam and Oliver struggle with their feelings, Clementine refuses to think about it and Erika tries to remember exactly what happened, with the truth tearing apart what they thought they knew about trust, friendship, parenthood and marriage, leaving them with the question: “What if we hadn't gone?”

The Bones of Paradise by Jonis Agee

Ten years after two hundred Lakota men, women and children were brutally murdered by the Seventh Cavalry at Wounded Knee, a white rancher named J.B. Bennett and a Native American woman named Star are killed out in an isolated meadow on J.B.'s land. As the town questions who killed them and why, their twin deaths draw together both J.B. and Star's family and reveal awful secrets about the Bennetts that have been buried for years. Among J.B.'s relatives are his controlling father Drum, his teenaged sons Cullen and Hayward, and his wife Dulcinea, who has returned after years of self-exile and tries her best to reunite their dysfunctional family. Sharing their grief is Star's sister Rose, who mourns for both her beloved sister and the wrongs that have plagued their people for generations, vowing to avenge Star at all costs.

— Summaries by library staff