New Adult Fiction: Wednesday, May 20

Happy Hump Day! Maybe some of you are starting to plan your weekend. We hope you remember to do some reading! We have lots of new titles—so why not stop by when you can (we’re open til 8 pm tonight) and see what’s on the shelves? To place a book on hold online, visit https://owwl.org and sign in to your account using your library card number. Pick up your book from the shelves near the circulation desk when you have time.

Here are a few of the new adult fiction titles we’ve gotten in recently:

Bertie’s Theory of Ice Cream

When despair for the world grows, Bertie’s theory of ice cream reminds us that it’s the simple pleasures in life that we should hold onto. And everyone’s favourite seven-year-old has a lot to put up with: at home, Irene is planning lessons on Irish Culture for Bertie; at school, he is forced to join Olive and Pansy’s book group, and during a day out with his best friend Ranald Braveheart Macpherson, the boys find themselves unexpectedly invited to a wedding. Meanwhile, Bruce’s latest property venture goes horribly wrong after trying to move a flat’s front door to give it a more prestigious address. And Sister Maria-Fiori dei Fiore Montagna discovers the missing part of the Stone of Scone in Drummond Place Gardens.

Chasing the Clouds Away

Maisy Gallagher has her own dreams, but when her father passes away, she selflessly sets them aside to help her family. Despite knowing it was the right thing to do, she can’t help but wish for the road not taken. Chase Furst, the hardened heir to a financial empire, is focused on his own life and his work as a bank executive. His childhood was marred by his mother’s struggle with addiction, which left him cynical and emotionally distant. But then Chase meets Maisy. To his surprise and annoyance, she offers to help him during a time of need and declines his offer of payment. Instead, she asks him to pay it forward—and not with money or a quick fix, but through an act of true selflessness. At a loss, Chase doesn’t know where to begin.

Livonia Chow Mein

In 1978, two tenements on Livonia Avenue in Brownsville burned to the ground, killing one resident and displacing dozens of others. Who set the building ablaze remains unclear, but the survivors are convinced the culprit is Mr. Wong. Who exactly is Mr. Wong, and what allegedly drove him to this extraordinary act of violence? The novel explores four generations of Wong family history, joining the present and the past.