msjamgochian'sinfinitebooklist

Glaciers by Alexis M. Smith from gerard donaghy on Vimeo . This little book was just the thing after a long day of noise and action. Ms. Smith's writing has the soothing effect of a massage: "The cool fabric settles over her skin, and she thinks how this might be the first time in decades that a warm body has filled this space. She reaches behind her for the zipper and feels the fabric tighten around her as she draws it up to her midback, then stretch perfectly across her shoulders as she tugs it the last few inches up her spine. It's never the wedding dresses, you know... Not the death-do-us-part dresses. It's those first lovely dresses: the slow dance dresses, the good-night-kiss dresses. It's those first pangs that we hold on to." Glaciers is the perfect book for thoughtful, reflective readers. Give it to all the quiet, vintage-loving, introverted, lovelies in your life. Thanks, Alegria! Grade 9+

A hilarious yet sad debut novel set in San Francisco, TDDNI, revolves around a series of murders and the life of recent MFA graduate Korean-American Philip Kim. When his baby boomer neighbor is shot, and turns out to be a semi-famous adult film star named "The Grey Beaver," he unwillingly gets caught up in the ensuing investigation, and becomes the target of a complicated, dangerous scheme. Underneath the light is an incredibly dark look at what it means to be Korean-American, especially in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings. If you live or have ever lived in San Francisco, where much of the early action takes place, you'll enjoy Kim's stinging yet delightfully comical portrayal of the city and all of the local references. Click here for a full review . Grade 12+

17-year-old Jamie is madly in love with gorgeous hunk Josh. Unfortunately, Josh and his family are members of The Right and The Real, a religious cult, and Jamie's Dad has fallen victim to their trap. He ends up marrying another cult member, and at the creepy mass ceremony, Jamie is required to pledge herself as a member of The Right and The Real, and devote herself to their leader, the self-named Teacher, who, according to the cult, is Jesus Christ himself. When Jamie refuses to take the pledge, her brainwashed father uncharacteristically rejects her, and, taking the side of The Right and The Real and his new wife, Mira, kicks her out of the only home she knows, leaving her essentially homeless with the majority of her senior year ahead of her. Jamie is a survivor, and in spite of her grim situation (she ends up living in a cheap motel full of people on the edge), manages to survive, keep her dreams of attending art school in NYU alive, and save her father in the process. Anothe