Fields of Fire by Ryan Steck

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Matthew Redd is a Marine through and through. He is a special ops soldier preparing for a mission with his team. The go time has been pushed back again so the team commander gives them all 36 hours liberty.

That’s when things go wrong for Redd in Ryan Steck’s debut, Fields of Fire. With a few hours of liberty left he is out for a ride when he spots a woman trying to change a tire. Raised in the cowboy way, he stops to help. The pretty redhead insists on thanking him with a beer and after some hesitation he accepts – a coke not a beer.

The next day he comes to with a splitting headache and no memory of what happened after he drank the coke. Before he can get himself together, MP’s burst through the door and arrest him for treason. The mission was a go and a trap. His whole team died. He knows he must have been drugged. Did he give away operational details and is responsible for his teammates deaths?

After a week in a cell, Redd is given an option – he can go to trial on a number of charges or he can accept an OTH, other than honorable discharge. It mean the end of his military career but with no way to prove if he is innocent Redd accepts.

After being released, he realizes he missed a call from J.B. Jim Bob Thompson is Matthew’s adopted father and is the one person he doesn’t want to disappoint. When he was eleven years old his mother died from an overdose. His biological father (who didn’t know he had fathered a child) came into his life briefly to take Matthew to J.B.

Living on J.B.’s Montana ranch was hard work and with J.B.’s guidance Matt developed a strong work ethic and a love of the land. But after high school, he followed in J.B.’s footsteps and joined the Marines. Now when he returns the call, he will have to tell J.B.what happened.

But J.B. doesn’t answer and the static filled message he left – Matty … trouble’s come knocking … might need your help – has Matt worried. He doesn’t even bother to pack, just jumps in his truck and heads to Montana.

After a long night, he reaches home to find J.B. isn’t there. He is dead. The official version is he broke his neck when his horse threw him. Matt is not buying it but the body has already been cremated.

J.B. left everything to Matt but things had been hard the last few years and he left behind a lot of debt. The most serious is unpaid taxes. Matt doesn’t have the money to pay it all but if he can get the ranch back in shape maybe he can earn enough to keep it off the auction block.

The area and the town of Wellington have changed since Matt left and a lot of the properties have been bought by Wyatt Gage. The son a billionaire, Wyatt seems intent on adding to his considerable land holdings. He wanted J.B.’s land but J.B. refused to sell now he is determined to get it from Matt.

Matt’s refusal to sell starts a chain of events that threaten the ranch and Matt himself. When he discovers the trouble that came knocking, he has to wonder was the death of his teammates tied to what is happening in Montana.

Matt Redd reminds me a lot of Lee Child’s character Jack Reacher, big, strong fighters that think. But where Reacher is a loner, Matt is looking for home and belonging. This novel is labeled as inspirational fiction but it is not overtly religious in tone. The fighting is violent, the body county runs pretty high and the action is intense.

This is the first book in what is now a 4 book series. If you are a Jack Reacher fan, you might give this series a try. Read-alike authors include Lynette Eason and Terri Blackstock.

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Review written by Patty Crane, Reference Librarian

 

Into the Blue: a Love Story by Emma Brodie

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AJ Graves is feeling stuck. She was supposed to spend this summer at training camp, which would earn her a sports scholarship, which would get her into college, which would eventually lead to her dream job: writing on Saturday Night Live.

Instead, a broken arm has her spending her summer working at a video store and writing fan fiction about her favorite show – Astronauticals, a kitschy, decades-old sci-fi program with a dedicated fan-base.

The star of the show, Eudora Drew, is a local legend. One of the many members of the Drew family who have had illustrious acting careers, she is now a bit of a recluse.

AJ’s new co-worker Noah is Eudora’s nephew, and AJ is not sure why a member of the Drew family would need to work – let alone a puny summer job at a video store. Plus, it is embarrassing when he catches her watching Astronauticals all the time.

But then, Noah shares some insider trivia with her about the production and the improvisational aspects of the show. Eudora and her husband met on the set; before his death, Ezell taught Noah some of the improv games that they play on Astronuaticals.

Noah and AJ strike up a tentative friendship, and eventually get coerced into asking Eudora to participate in a convention that AJ’s younger brother is helping to run.

Enigmatic Eudora agrees to attend, but only if Noah and AJ will spend the summer working with her on their acting. Between work and acting lessons, the pair are nearly inseparable for months. They develop a deep, intuitive connection through improv training, and suddenly AJ can see a new future for herself as an actress.

Then, without warning, Noah leaves town and Eudora coldly severs their teacher-student connection. AJ is left floundering, but determined to succeed without them.

Seven years later, AJ’s career is up-and-running. She is writing both for television and a well-known improv troupe.

That is how she gets invited to an improv performance, which is actually a covert audition for a new TV show: a reboot of Astronauticals that will have to be fully improvised due to an ongoing writers’ strike. There, among the crowd of improv actors, is Noah Drew.

Noah is now a household name; he’s the current Hollywood heartthrob and the star of an HBO series, but their connection still feels the same.

The tension is palpable in their scenes, and AJ – much to her dismay – becomes one of the stars of the TV show. Off-screen, Noah keeps his distance. Until the moment that he really, really doesn’t, and all their history comes flooding back.

Emma Brodie’s INTO THE BLUE: A LOVE STORY is not a romance novel. The love story between AJ and Noah is the central point that the novel revolves around, but everything spinning around that hub is equally important.

Every detail of the novel has been carefully crafted; Eudora’s grief, the struggle between AJ’s family and her dad’s alcoholism, even what it means for AJ to have achieved her dream and found it was not perfect. I will be thinking about this book for years to come.

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Book review by Alyssa Berry, Technical Services Librarian

THE NAMES BY FLORENCE KNAPP

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In the United States, we usually name our babies before they even leave the hospital, but in England, new parents are given a forty-two days’ grace period to live with their child before they register their birth with their local field office. In Florence Knapp’s THE NAMES, what would usually be a normal ritual for a new parent becomes a critical point of no return for new mother Cora.

While it has been made clear by her husband, Gordon, they will follow in his family’s tradition and name the baby after him, as Cora and her nine-year-old daughter, Maia, walk to the registry office, the two discuss possible other names. Maia is set on “Bear.” A name that she thinks sounds warm and cuddly, but also strong and protective. Cora likes “Julian,” and reasons that it could still be considered a tribute to her husband since it means “sky father.”  

During the discussion, the wishes of her husband weigh heavily on Cora’s mind, because despite Gordon being a well-respected local doctor, and a pillar of the community, he is a terrifying and volatile tyrant behind closed doors. She usually does her best to not upset him, but she knows she must try to make the best decision for her new baby. 

When Cora arrives at the field office she hesitates when it is time to fill in the blank for her son’s name.  Will she adhere to the expectations of her domineering husband or will she follow her heart and give the baby a different name?

What follows next is three stories. Told so readers learn what life looks like for the baby depending on which birth name Cora selects. One story features Bear, one Julian and one Gordon. 

It is a fascinating and inventive concept that Knapp utilizes. Readers get three separate glimpses into the child’s life, depending on the name chosen. The novel jumps forward in seven year increments and readers learn not only what Bear, Julian or Gordon have each been up to, but also what has transpired with Cora, Maia and other supporting characters.  

Knapp is not the first to use this “what-if” concept, think of the popular 1998 “Sliding Doors” movie, but I found Knapp’s use of this storyline immensely effective and satisfying. Each story is compelling on its own, but the combination makes this “Read with Jenna” selection ripe for discussion. 

The question of how much of one’s life is determined simply by the name that is assigned at birth is brilliantly explored. The novel quietly implores readers to consider how much of their own path was set the moment their parents wrote their name on the birth certificate. Knapp’s thoughtful, matter-of-fact narration keeps the narrative moving forward and readers will be hard-pressed to put this one down. I highly recommend it!  

 

Review written by: Jeana Gockley, Joplin Public Library Director

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Nonfiction Reads

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I am excited to share that I, Sarah Turner-Hill, have read TWO nonfiction books so far this year. Pretty wild news, I know. I am a consistent consumer of fiction, but for 2026 the one reading goal I made for myself was to read more nonfiction. Two books is more for me, so I am already crushing my goal (thank you for your kind support). The two nonfiction books I read I thoroughly enjoyed (another win) so I would like to share my thoughts with you. 

How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing by KC Davis

I discovered this book from our library’s 2025 Staff Picks, a list of staff members’ top reads for the year. This book was listed by two different staff members so I took that as a good sign. Written by KC Davis, a licensed professional therapist, How to Keep House While Drowning truly is a gentle approach to home care, but also self care. Its aim is to provide simple, accessible steps and advice not only for cleaning your home, but how to improve the thoughts and feelings about cleaning your home. The book is founded on the recognition that there can be a lot of self-loathing and hate talk when it comes to chores and the grownup tasks of keeping a home clean and functioning. Davis proposes that instead of thinking of things like dishes, laundry, cleaning, and even cooking as “chores”, think of them as “care tasks”. And a care task should serve you, not the other way around. Davis provides simple, functional ways to help make this happen in such a real, vulnerable way, drawing from her own experiences struggling with taking care of her home amid mental health struggles or simply during regular life stress. I really appreciated how real this book was, it contained no shaming, doing the opposite by providing tips to stop shaming yourself when the laundry basket piles up or those clothes you’ve been meaning to donate have been in your car for months. The format is also very accessible. It’s written in bite size pieces with the intention of reading a little bit daily or over time, which was perfect for me. It also has helpful skip ahead reading guide tips; if you are short on time or attention the end of a chapter will tell you specifically where to go next or highlights from that chapter if you don’t want to read the entire thing. It’s a very easy book to read, with Davis mentioning its format and even type coloring is designed with struggling readers in mind. I really appreciated Davis’ approach to cleaning (or should I say care tasks) and how validating this book was.

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The House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom by Shari Franke

Oh. My. Gosh. I love a memoir and this one did not disappoint. I didn’t know any of the back story to Shari or the nightmare she was about to unfold within the pages of this book. I discovered this book because it won the 2025 Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Memoir. Now I know why. Shari is the oldest daughter of six children, and as Shari grew up her and her five siblings became unwillingly famous thanks to their moms hit YouTube Channel 8 Passengers, in which Shari’s mom, Ruby, vlogged her households day to day lives. Shari’s story reveals the truth that often happens in social media: the surface is a facade that hides a darker truth. Behind the camera Ruby was tyrannical; rigid with rules, controlling, and demanded her children act a certain way, both on and off camera, and wouldn’t hear of it if Shari didn’t want to be filmed or wanted to do something other than what her mother instructed. Ruby’s YouTube channel grew to viral level, with videos gaining millions of views. The height of the popularity was simultaneously a nightmare for Shari and her siblings, who mentions “The line between genuine interaction and performance had blurred so completely that sometimes, I wasn’t sure any of us could tell the difference anymore.” Then Ruby meets “lifestyle” coach Jodi Hildebrandt and joins her coaching program “ConneXions”, which would be best described as a cult. Jodi and Ruby’s need for control fed off one another and their relationship became extreme, with Jodi moving in with the family for a time. Shari moved out for college at 18 and continuously worried over the wellbeing of her younger siblings, and Ruby’s usual tyrannical tendencies were knocked up to disturbing proportions once Jodi entered the picture. There is a lot in this book to try to sum up here, but eventually Jodi and Ruby were both arrested on multiple charges of aggravated child abuse. Perhaps this sounds familiar as it was viral news in 2023. This was a difficult read given the subject matter of Ruby’s cruelty and abuse of her children; Shari shares many horrific details and truly sad events. Shari wrote this memoir as part of her healing process, and that shows in her approach and the strength you can feel coming from her words. Where she has the opportunity to say whatever she wants about the situation, she shares the truths of her experiences in a way that comes across honest, healing, and unhateful, although Ruby earned any hate Shari could have sent her way. It’s a complicated, heartbreaking story, but very impactful and important, especially as the trend of family vlogging is as popular as ever.

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Review by Sarah Turner-Hill, Adult Programming Coordinator

ASHIMPA by Catarina Sobral and SUNDUST by Zeke Peña

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Happy Spring! I haven’t done a picture book round-up in a while, so I thought I would share a few of my recent favorites. 

Zeke Peña’s Sundust incorporates fantastical elements in a story about two siblings who explore the desert in their Southwestern town near the Mexican border. Illustrator Pena’s authorial debut begins, “Where the rock wall ends, the desert begins.” This sentence sets the stage for adventure. The unnamed characters follow a fuschia line over mesas, around discarded car parts, and under and over various flora and fauna. As they trail the fuschia, which they refer to as sundust, they pay close attention to everything it touches. They explore a nopal tree, comparing its toughness and brightness to their mother. They watch a caterpillar transform into a butterfly and realize that, “change is okay.” Profound observations feel wise without being didactic; this is likely due to the hummingbird-like speed through which they traverse the landscape. The story is mostly rooted in reality, though magical elements shine through. In this way, the children in the story feel especially authentic. When you’re a kid, imagination can turn even the most mundane situations into epic adventures. 

Zeke Peña’s artwork is also incredible. The splashes of fuschia propel the story forward both literally, as the kids chase the sundust streak, and figuratively, as the effervescence of the color provides the book with an undeniable energy. Sundust received the Caldecott Honor this year, and the accolade is well deserved. This ode to the sun, the desert, and home is a treat to read and to look at; it deserves a place among the classics. Peña, who lives in Northwest Arkansas but was raised in the Southwestern United States, has written an enduring love letter to a place. 

Another recent favorite picture book of mine is Ashimpa: the Mysterious Word by author-illustrator Catarina Sobral. This quirky tale of language and grammar was translated from Portuguese by Juliana Barbassa. As a self-proclaimed grammar nerd, I can find much to enjoy about parts of speech, though I know that’s not the case for everyone. Ashimpa is a rarity in that it turns an overview on different parts of speech into a story of levity, humor, and absurdity. 

One day, the story begins, a researcher discovers a new word: ashimpa. Everyone wants to use this word but no one knows how. So, the researcher asks Mrs. Zulmira, who is 137 years old, if she has ever heard it. Mrs. Zulmira declares that the word is actually “ashimp” and it’s a verb. To show its meaning, she uses it in a ridiculously vague sentence, “People ashimped, people had always ashimped.”

So as not to appear unintelligent or out of the loop, everyone in the town begins using the word. One day, however, a linguist declares that “ashimpa” is a noun. The people pivot to using it in this way without question. This pattern continues through various types of speech to comedic effect. Sobrol’s pencil-sketch illustration and cut paper designs add to the quirkiness of the story. The people and scenes are simple sketches, yet they exude a childlike playfulness. Even with minimal facial features, Sobrol’s characters express a range of emotions that add to the story’s humor. This book is fun as a read aloud and could be expanded into an interactive grammar lesson. 

Both Sundust and Ashimpa: the Mysterious Word are available in the Children’s Department of the Joplin Public Library. Happy reading!

Find Ashimpa in catalog.

Find Sundust in catalog. 

What We Can Know by Ian McEwan

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It’s not unusual for revered writers to lose some of their literary vitality as they age (sorry, Don DeLillo). It also appears that Ian McEwan received his immunization against this particular affliction. What We Can Know, his 18th novel, is a prescient work of fiction that both charms and haunts. And similar to McEwan’s Atonement, a novel published a quarter century ago, What We Can Know will eventually take residence somewhere deep in memory, where recalling its very existence evokes some weighty emotions—even if the details are lost.

The novel is set not too far in the future, 2120; yet it’s still just on the other side of human catastrophe. Nation-states as we know them are gone. AI-initiated defense systems led to various nuclear exchanges. Sea levels have risen dramatically and in what used to be England—and what now appears to be a series of archipelagoes—there lives a scholar, Thomas Metcalfe, trying to piece together an understanding of life in the early 21st century.

We are given microscopic glances into the state of the world Thomas occupies, which makes sense. Thomas doesn’t even know the immediate state of his world. Global interconnectivity via the web has essentially disappeared. Thomas still has access to the detritus of the once-digital world. He can read logs of our digital correspondences and posts. But he finds them—just as most of us find them now—to be not only indigestible but also garbage.

His focus of research concerns the events surrounding a 2014 dinner party that took place at the country home of Francis Blundy, an eminent poet. It would become known as the “Second Immortal Dinner” because it was when Francis, in front of notable guests, recited a sonnet cycle for his wife entitled “A Corona for Vivien.” There was only one copy of the poem. It was never published and not known to be read by anyone other than Francis. Through attendees’ journals and letters, Thomas studies their lives and the world they occupied. So, in many ways, this is the world Thomas lives in as well, a plentiful world he can only dream about.

But, of course, Thomas must make his way in his contemporary world. If you’re a humanities instructor today and think teaching literature and history is a struggle, Thomas and his colleague—and on/off romantic partner—Rose would like for you to try it after the collapse of civilization. To their students, with their “flattened and timorous” minds, there’s almost a cruelty in studying a world that once held so much. When forced to examine the past, their students wear a particular countenance: an unspoken knowing that most of the inhabitants of the early 21st century “deserved the mega-deaths they brought upon themselves.”

To Thomas and Rose, within the years the world shattered “world literature produced its most beautiful laments, gorgeous nostalgia, eloquent fury–and those masterpieces, so we promised, we would study together.” Still, they have intense disagreements over how one should chronicle the past. Thomas is so obsessed with the missing poem, Rose believes he’s no longer acting as a responsible scholar, at least when it comes to filling in the historical blanks around the time “A Corona for Vivien” was recited.

Thomas knows that the missing poem is famous because it’s missing. The real scholarship lies in the reactions it elicited, that the idea of the poem is what people find beautiful. It’s a repository for dreams. But Thomas is fixated with the poem proper. To complete the circle, he and Rose go on a journey to find it.

McEwan forces the reader to sit with his various characters. A first-time McEwan reader may wonder if the time is worth the payoff. A returning McEwan reader knows to wait. And sure enough, like an increasing electric current, What We Can Know starts to hum. Throughout the second part of the novel, I found myself quite often smiling as I read, beguiled by McEwan’s writing and devilish techniques.

What We Can Know places the reader in a unique position, for we are contemporaries of the people Thomas studies. We understand them more than we can understand Thomas and his contemporaries. Nevertheless, regardless of the human era, “We are trapped between the dead and the unborn, the past ghosts and the future ghosts,” thinks Thomas. After experiencing many tribulations, he continues, “Our ultimate loyalties must be to the loud and ruthless present.”

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Review by Jason Sullivan

The Accidental Rewrite by Milly Johnson

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Polly Potter is unhappy. Her partner, Christopher, takes her completely for granted at home and at work her misogynist boss treats her as a servant and takes credit for her work. But in The Accidental Rewrite by Milly Johnson, Polly is about to make some changes.

Polly and Christopher have been together for eight years and their relationship deteriorated to the point that he had an affair. Polly left but agreed to come back if they would work on getting back to what they once had. A year has past and things are no better. The only enjoyment she has is her creative writing class which Christopher doesn’t even know she attends. He has no interest in what she does other than cleaning and cooking.

Polly made her plan to leave but decided to wait until after a family commitment. Christopher’s sister is renewing her vows and Polly is to be bridesmaid and wear the hideous dress picked out for her. While waiting she begins an assignment for her writing class. She is to plan a novel. Her heroine, Sabrina Anderson, is all the things Polly wishes for herself. Sabrina is strong and leaving her unfaithful husband and lousy job, her daughter is alive and traveling, and she had parents who loved her.

Finally the day of the vow renewal arrives. Polly has her bags packed, her money and passport in her purse, and will load her car and leave after the ceremony. When she reaches the town hall and is ready to follow the bride down the aisle, she realizes something is terribly wrong. Even with all eyes on her Polly can’t do what is expected and flees.

She doesn’t take time to pack all her things in the car, she just goes. She sticks to her plan to spend a couple of weeks at the coast where she has happy memories. Almost there Polly stops at a scenic spot hoping to regroup and get a cup of coffee. But a bad day gets worse when she is mugged and injured.

Awakening in the hospital her mind is blank. Her purse and car are gone and the only thing she knows is her name, Sabrina Anderson. Of course, no one with that name is listed as missing and Christopher and family are not searching for Polly Potter. If her memory doesn’t return, she is destined for a long hospital stay then a shelter.

Marielle, a retired nurse and a volunteer at the hospital, befriends Sabrina/Polly and decides to help her regain her memory. Marielle has an apartment attached to her home and offers it to Sabrina while she is recovering. She even finds Sabrina/Polly a job working in her son’s restaurant.

As Polly settles into her new home and job, she remembers some things but it is all mixed up with Sabrina’s story. She grows close to the people she works with, especially Tony, Murielle’s son, and begins to build a new life.

But what will happen when her memory returns? When Sabrina’s life collides with Polly’s, will she be strong enough to fight for the life she deserves?

Johnson has written a humorous, heart-warming novel about found family and second chances. A special touch is the printed retractions from The Daily Trumpet between some chapters. The Daily Trumpet is the local paper renowned for all the mistakes they make including one involving Sabrina.

You may find it takes a while to get to the heart of this novel but keep reading, you will be rewarded. The library has this title in both regular print and large print.

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Review written by Patty Crane, Reference Librarian

Superfan by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

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Minnie is a college freshman, feeling adrift and isolated after relocating from Denver to Austin. College was supposed to be a time to meet lifelong friends and have new experiences. Instead she finds herself eating dinner alone in the dining hall and watching internet videos in her dorm room.

That is where she first encounters HOURglass, a soon-to-be-viral boy band modeled after K-pop groups.

The boys make her feel less alone. Their shining light beaming out of the laptop screen and into her soul. She watches their performances, follows their journal videos, participates in live streams – HOURglass becomes the center of her life.

Jenny Tinghui Zhang’s SUPERFAN is a dual-perspective novel. Half of it follows Minnie through her first year of college while the other focuses on Eason, one member of HOURglass, and a secret from his past that could destroy their chance at fame.

To the fans, Eason is Halo. He is the bad boy of the group; rough around the edges, but loved the most because of it. Each member of HOURglass has had his image and history carefully curated to endear them to their fanbase.

The public knows that Halo is the member that came in with the least experience. Minwoo was an opera singer in Korea. Julian was a professional figure skater. Colt has model-like good looks and a background in sports.

Eason’s big break came when he delivered food to an audition. A week later, he got a phone call telling him the executives liked his air of pent-up frustration. It was a break that he did not know he needed. He has worked himself to the bone to become Halo – to avoid ever going back to his old life.

HOURglass has accumulated a devoted following. Their U.S. tour has sold out stadiums, and they have a huge following for all of the videos they post. Minnie feels deeply connected to the boys, but she knows that she is one devoted fan in a legion of devoted fans.

Still seeking connection, she finds an online forum dedicated to HOURglass called The Heaven. The people are all welcoming and she can tell that they are all huge fans of the band. Minnie is even able to find support about the other issues in her life through the forum.

But there is a darker side to The Heaven. A sub-group of members has dedicated themselves to following the band. They have connections in particular industries or enough money to buy privileged information. They appear at the airports and hotels when the band is traveling. And they know the secret that is haunting Eason.

SUPERFAN is an excellent examination of fame and fandom. The ways that we claim ownership over something that can never really be ours. Minnie loves Halo, and she is motivated by wanting to help and protect him.

When they do come face-to-face, Eason also feels a connection to her – he can feel how passionate she is about HOURglass. But she is more than just their fan and he is more than just her idol, and neither of them will ever experience that part of the other.

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Book review by Alyssa Berry, Technical Services Librarian

The Heir Apparent by Rebecca Armitage

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New Year’s Day in the Australian outback is not turning out how twenty-nine year old Lexi Villers had envisioned.  One minute she is camping with her two best friends – Finn and Jack – and she is about to make what feels like a stronger connection with Jack, when a helicopter interrupts.  Out steps her grandmother’s long-time personal assistant, Stewart, and he lets her know that there has been a terrible accident and she needs to return home to England immediately.  

Lexi’s grandmother is the Queen of England, and due to a skiing accident Lexi is now first in line for the crown.  Despite leaving on bad terms years earlier, and vowing that she would not take part in the royal family’s drama moving forward, Lexi quickly resumes her royal duties. Her relationship with her family and the Crown is a complicated one. Since birth she has felt immense pressure to conform to her family’s expectations, and with little guidance she has always had to decide how to navigate her personal ambitions and her inherited responsibilities.  And this time home is no different, with the Queen giving her a year to decide if she will assume her rightful position, next in line for the crown, or if she will officially renounce it for good.  

Lexi is unsure what to do.  She has built a beautiful life of her own in Australia.  She has friends, a career, a solid place that feels like her own.  But being “next in line” she feels a strong sense of duty to help her family.  Over the next year Lexi learns a lot about herself, her family, her friends and her country.  In the end, a scandal threatens her plans and she must decide how she wants to live the rest of her life. 

I saw this contemporary fiction novel promoted as a “modern fairytale,” and that might not be the best description, but it is a great hook to get people  interested in the book. Readers who enjoy stories where the characters are the heart of the story will likely find this one engaging and memorable. The book has something for everyone – drama, romance, intrigue and feminism.

My favorite part of the book is the pacing. There are pockets of intrigue and drama, but also quiet scenes where Lexi looks internally at her choices. The author seems to employ this so readers can have a behind the scenes look and consider why the characters act as they do it. The author unfolds the story a bit at a time, through flashbacks and it is effective in keeping the action moving and hooking the reader. The timing is spot on, and notably, the dialog is clearly delivered.

All-in-all this novel is easy-to-read and entertaining. Questioning where one fits in the world is one that most people struggle with, making the story engaging and accessible to many.  

Review written by: Jeana Gockley, Joplin Public Library Director

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The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

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Dear Reader,

This April marks the fourth year for Joplin Reads Together, Joplin Public Library’s community read designed for adults. A month-long initiative, Joplin Reads Together aims to provide the community with a shared reading experience, community connection, a promotion of literacy, and programming by way of selecting one novel, inviting the author to visit the library, and hosting programs inspired by that novel. This April the library will host 11 programs inspired by the selected novel, including a presentation and book signing by the author. We couldn’t pull it off without the support from our three Joplin Reads Together Community Partners: Friends of the Joplin Public Library, Post Art Library, and MSSU Spiva Library. I appreciate their contribution and excitement each year! Just as I appreciate the community members that have joined in Joplin Reads Together each year, and the first-timers that join! It is always a joy to see our hope come to life: community members that might otherwise never cross paths excitedly coming together over a shared interest. I’ve been fortunate enough to write about the selected novel in my book reviews for the last three years and I’m excited to once again share about the selected title for 2026: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. 

Published in 2025, The Correspondent is Evans’s debut novel. One reason I am looking forward to meeting Evans in April is she has said she wrote and attempted to get published for years before The Correspondent was finally swept up. What an exciting time this must be for her, as not only did she find her success in getting her writing published, but her book has also become a word-of-mouth hit. It now sits on the New York Times bestseller list and has gained additional acknowledgements such as being longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and the Andrew Carnegie Medal, as well as being named a Best Book of the Year by: NPR, The Washington Post, Boston Globe, Elle, Christian Science Monitor, and She Reads.

A character driven plot, The Correspondent is an epistolary novel (composed entirely of letters and emails) that focuses on main character Sybil. Sybil is a septuagenarian with the routine of sitting down almost daily to read and write letters or emails to her friends, family, and even people she does not know, like authors about their latest books, a university president, and a DNA testing facility. By way of these letters the reader learns about Sybil and her life piece by piece, as well as the secondary characters that are in her life. While I think Sybil could be the type of character that some readers could be slow to like or have mixed feelings about, part of the magic of this book for me was how real she felt, how interestingly Evans revealed her to the reader a little at a time. I say that some readers might have mixed feelings about Sybil because she can be brash and reactionary in her feelings at times. In a way, some parts of Sybil mirror uglier parts of people we don’t always want to look at closely, and I think that is what makes Sybil such a well-crafted character. Don’t get me wrong, while I say Sybil is brash, that exterior covers a caring, loving core; Sybil is just the type of person that doesn’t always know how to express those feelings. As the novel continues Sybil shifts and grows, showing that no matter our age we can always learn and grow within ourselves. As Evans develops Sybil’s character we learn to understand why she approaches life the way she does. The novel spans several years of Sybil’s life, taking the reader along her everyday interactions and relationships by way of her correspondence. 

This novel carries themes of family (both found and biological), aging, relationships, grief, and the continued struggle and growth of loving yourself and others while carrying grief. The epistolary format makes the book really consumable, and if you enjoy audiobooks it has a really great one. The secondary characters shine and are really enjoyable to read; many of the letters in the novel are from them and not just Sybil. I have always enjoyed an epistolary novel, something about the format seems to bring the characters closer, and this one was no exception for me. If you pick up this book, consider meeting the author when she visits on April 28th and check out the other Joplin Reads Together programming in April (whether you read the novel or not, all adults are welcome!).  

Sincerely,

Sarah

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Review by Sarah Turner-Hill, Adult Programming Coordinator