Staff Pick - God Help the Child

Gold Help the Child tells the story of Bride who was born with dark, blue-black skin. Bride was raised by Sweetness, a mother who couldn’t bear to event touch her and whose affection stopped short of neglect. However, she grows to become a successful career woman in the cosmetics industry, and, with the help of a fashion consultant, learns to love herself through accentuating what her mother found so detestable.

Unexpectedly, Booker, the man Bride’s been seeing, skips town; his last words, “You not the woman I want.” This leads Bride to a trip through the country to Whiskey, Booker’s hometown. On the way, she wrecks her car and ends up spending six weeks recovering with a rural couple and Rain, the pale skinned girl they’ve also taken in.

When Bride's strength returns, she continues on her path to Whiskey where she plans to confront Booker. Along the way, we learn an important incident in Bride’s childhood that led to a series of events that came between the lovers.

Anger, pity, jealousy – Morrison develops her characters through their personal experiences and makes you feel something for them. God Help the Child is another wonderful book by the Pulitzer and Nobel prize winning author who doesn’t disappoint.

If you'd like to check it out, you can find it in our catalog by clicking here.

-William

Staff Pick - Downcast

Downcast is about Stephanie Starr, a girl going through her senior year of high school with no expectation that this year would be any different than previous years. Because of her over controlling mother, she has no personal life, and is situated on the bottom rung of the high school social ladder because of the dowdy clothing her mother makes her wear.

However, life is about to change for Stephanie when two brothers start going to her high school for their final year. Haley and Zachary Smith are both handsome, and have the popular kids all vying for their attention, but Haley is interested in just one girl - Stephanie.

Life as Stephanie knows it begins to unravel the more she gets to know Haley, and she's not sure if she should be thrilled by all the changes, or terrified. Just who is Haley Smith, why is he so determined to win her, and why is her mother suddenly beginning to act so strangely?

Downcast is a fast paced book that I found difficult to put down. Stephanie Starr is a very relatable character as she goes through the ups and downs in her life, trying to find answers to all the questions that just keep piling up. In the end, she just might get more than any girl could bargain for.

If you'd like to check it out, you can find it in our catalog by clicking here.

-Amber