Here are few of my favorite recent reads. Library staff would be happy to help you place requests on these or any other titles. If you’d like to place your own request, visit www.newulmlibrary.org and choose Library Catalog.

Lyla’s boyfriend, Nico, is a struggling actor who believes that an appearance on a new reality dating competition could offer him the exposure he needs to get his big break. Lyla reluctantly agrees to appear on the show with him. At least it will be a free vacation to an island paradise. She’ll find a way to get eliminated early, and Nico can go on to win the game while she heads back to work. But their plans quickly go awry when Nico is eliminated first and a tropical storm hits the remote island just after his departure. The nine remaining contestants are stranded with just three weeks’ worth of food and water. When contestants start to die one by one, Lyla must figure out a way to save those she trusts and survive until they are rescued. “One Perfect Couple” is another fast-paced and gripping thriller from Ruth Ware.

Karlie Richards was murdered in 1999 in her campus apartment. Everyone who knew her was rocked by the loss; Karlie was beautiful, charismatic, and magnetic. Twenty years later, Karlie’s freshman roommate finds an old letter from Karlie that might shed new light on her murder and possibly provide evidence that an innocent man has gone to prison. Joanna Pearson’s “Bright and Tender Dark,” a literary mystery told through the many lives Karlie touched, is beautiful and tragic.

Zanne is poised to be promoted to personal assistant to Ted Stabler, famed director and head of Stabler Studios. As preparations for the Stablers’ charity gala escalate, Zanne learns that Ted might have played more than a passing role in the blacklisting of multiple women in Hollywood in the post-Me Too era. Zanne will have to decide if she can live with this new information in order to advance her career. “The Work Wife” by Alison B. Hart is an interesting look at the rampant gender inequality that persists in Hollywood.

After the heavy themes of these first three books, I was in need of something much lighter. “Every Night at Midnight” by Peter Cheong is a charming picture book that tells the tale of a young boy whose midnight transformations make it hard for him to make friendships at school – until he makes a mysterious friend during one of his midnight prowls. The beautiful illustrations gave life to this gentle tale of friendship.

If you’d like to request these or any other titles, visit www.newulmlibrary.org and choose Library Catalog, or call the library at 507-359-8331.

New Ulm Public Library is located at 17 North Broadway and is open from 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. on Monday-Thursday and 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. on Friday-Saturday.