Welcome to Aurora Public Library’s blog. A place where our library staff share their thoughts, insider knowledge and overall love of all things book and community.
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Votes have been counted and it's time for this month's Three on a Theme recommendations!
This month's options were FICTION vs. POETRY/ESSAYS celebrating Native American Heritage Month in November and the winner was...FICTION! Check out our staff’s recommendations below!
Have book recommendation that we missed? Tell us about it in the comments!
ADULTS:
 "The Round House" by Louise Erdrich
"The Round House" won the National Book Award for fiction. One of the most revered novelists of our time-a brilliant chronicler of Native-American life-Louise Erdrich returns to the territory of her bestselling, Pulitzer Prize finalist The Plague of Doves with The Round House, transporting readers to the Ojibwe reservation in North Dakota. It is an exquisitely told story of a boy on the cusp of manhood who seeks justice and understanding in the wake of a terrible crime that upends and forever transforms his family. Riveting and suspenseful, arguably the most accessible novel to date from the creator of Love Medicine, The Beet Queen, and The Bingo Palace, Erdrich's The Round House is a page-turning masterpiece of literary fiction-at once a powerful coming-of-age story, a mystery, and a tender, moving novel of family, history, and culture.
 YOUNG ADULTS:
"Elatsoe" by Darcie Little Badger
Imagine an America very similar to our own. It's got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream. There are some differences. This America has been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not. Some of these forces are charmingly everyday, like the ability to make an orb of light appear or travel across the world through rings of fungi. But other forces are less charming and should never see the light of day. Seventeen-year-old Elatsoe ("Ellie" for short) lives in this slightly stranger America. She can raise the ghosts of dead animals, a skill passed down through generations of her Lipan Apache family. Her beloved cousin has just been murdered, in a town that wants no prying eyes. But she is going to do more than pry. The picture-perfect facade of Willowbee masks gruesome secrets, and she will rely on her wits, skills, and friends to tear off the mask and protect her family.
 KIDS:
"Race to the Sun" by Rebecca Roanhorse
Guided by her Navajo ancestors, seventh-grader Nizhoni Begay discovers she is descended from a holy woman and destined to become a monsterslayer, starting with the evil businessman who kidnapped her father. Includes glossary of Navajo terms.
Join us for virtual NaNoWriMo workshops to help you reach your writing goal this November! Play fun games to get your creativity flowing and chat with other writers!
- Tuesday, Nov. 16, 6:30 - 8 p.m., WebEx - Writing Workshop
- Tuesday, Nov. 30, 6:30 - 8 p.m., WebEx - NaNoWriMo Celebration & Reflection
Email [email protected] to register.
Facing writer's block? Use our idea dice to inspire new ideas! Download and print the dice here.
Mental Health Spotlight: Abuse
Resources listed are for informational purposes only and should not be used to diagnose or treat a condition without the guidance of a mental health professional. If you or someone you know is having a mental health emergency, please call 911 or Colorado Crisis Services at 1.844.493.TALK.
Hey teens! Interested in mental health?
Each month the Aurora Public Library focuses on a different topic related to mental health. Swing by the Aurora Central Library's teen area to browse Young Adult novels and nonfiction related to the monthly topic. Whether you or someone you know is facing a mental health issue, or you are just interested in the topic, APL has information, resources and reading materials for you.
Remember, your mental health matters.
This month’s Mental Health Spotlight is on abuse.
The definition of abuse is: “a pattern of behavior used by one person to gain and maintain power and control over another.” Abuse can take a number of forms and it is important to note that abuse is a pattern of behavior, not a single incident.
Types of Abuse:
1. Physical: any non-accidental act or behavior causing injury, trauma, or other physical suffering or bodily harm.
2. Sexual: abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. Often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another.
3. Verbal: type of mental abuse through the use of language. It is an act of abuse where the abuser attacks the self-concept of the victim, decreasing their self-confidence and making them feel powerless. Examples include: harassing, labeling, insulting, scolding, excessive yelling, derogatory terms, delivery of statements intended to fright, humiliate, denigrate, or belittle.
4. Mental/Emotional: any kind of abuse that is emotional rather than physical. It can include anything from verbal abuse and constant criticism to more subtle tactics such as intimidation, manipulation, and refusal to ever be pleased. Emotional abuse can take several forms. Three general patterns of abusive behavior include aggressing, denying, and minimizing.
5. Neglect: either through action or inaction, an abuser deprives a vulnerable person of the care necessary to maintain their physical or mental health. Examples include: not providing basic items such as food, water, clothing, a safe place to live, medicine, or health care.
6. Financial: control over the other person’s access to economic resources, which diminishes the victim's capacity to support themselves and forces them to depend on the perpetrator financially. Examples include: Preventing someone from obtaining education, restricting their ability to find employment, maintain, or advance their careers, spending their money without their consent, or creating debt.
7. Cultural/Identity: use aspects of a victim’s particular cultural identity to inflict suffering, or as a means of control. Examples include: Not letting someone observe the dietary or dress customs of their faith, using racial slurs, threatening to ‘out’ someone as LGBTQA+ if their friends and family don’t know, or isolating someone who doesn’t speak the dominant language where they.
8. Online: any type of abuse that happens on the internet. It can happen across any device that's connected to the web, like computers, tablets and mobile phones.
Articles Regarding Abuse:
- Abusive Relationships
- What Is Emotional Abuse?
- What a Flashback Feels Like as a Survivor of Sexual Abuse
- 10 Common Patterns Of Verbal Abuse
- How to Recognize the Signs of Mental and Emotional Abuse
- 5 Actionable Steps Towards Healing After an Abusive Relationship
- What Are the Short- and Long-Term Effects of Emotional Abuse?
- The Connection Between Verbal Abuse And Anxiety (That No One Talks About)
- How To Help A Friend Who May Be In An Abusive Relationship
- Online Abuse
Find Support:
There is support for you. Calling an anonymous hotline can provide support, answer questions, and help connect you to additional resources.
- National Domestic Violence Hotline - 800-799-7233
- National Sexual Assault Hotline - 800-656-4673
- Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline - 800-422-4453
- National Runaway Safeline - 800-786-2929
Explore Young Adult novels & nonfiction that address abuse:
For more resources for all ages, visit the nonfiction department at your local library. Resources are also available at Aurora Mental Health.
Check back in December for our next Mental Health Spotlight!
Votes have been counted and it's time for October’s Three on a Theme recommendations!
October’s options were DOUBLE DOUBLE, TOIL & TROUBLE vs. FALL IN LOVE and the winner was... DOUBLE DOUBLE, TOIL & TROUBLE! Halloween may be over, but that doesn’t mean the magical fun has to end! Check out our below recommendations for books featuring witches, wizards and magic!
Let us know in the comments which ones you've read, which are your favorites and what's on your to-read list!
Adults
 “Bait and Witch” by Angela M. Sanders (Witch Way Librarian Mystery Series)
Librarian Josie Way moved to small-town Oregon to lay low. Instead, thanks to newfound magic abilities-and a killer on the loose-she's leapt out of the frying pan and into a cauldron of trouble ... Josie Way loved working among the Library of Congress's leather-scented stacks-until she uncovered corruption and made herself a target. As Wilfred, Oregon's new librarian, Josie can stay undercover until the case goes to court. But life in this little town isn't as subdued as she expected. The library, housed in a Victorian mansion, is slated to be bulldozed. Still digesting the news that her safe haven is about to become scrap lumber, Josie discovers a body in the woods ... Almost as shocking, Josie learns that she's descended from a long line of witches-and her powers have suddenly sprung to life. With help from a spoiled alley cat who just may be her familiar, Josie's thumbing through a catalog of suspects, hoping she can conjure a way to save her library-and her life! Check out the whole series here.
Young Adults
 “The Scapegracers” by Hannah Abigail Clarke
An outcast teenage lesbian witch finds her coven hidden amongst the popular girls in her school, and performs some seriously badass magic in the process. Skulking near the bottom of West High's social pyramid, Sideways Pike lurks under the bleachers doing magic tricks for Coke bottles. As a witch, lesbian, and lifelong outsider, she's had a hard time making friends. But when the three most popular girls pay her $40 to cast a spell at their Halloween party, Sideways gets swept into a new clique. The unholy trinity are dangerous angels, sugar-coated rattlesnakes, and now-unbelievably-Sideways' best friends. Together, the four bond to form a ferocious and powerful coven. They plan parties, cast curses on dudebros, try to find Sideways a girlfriend, and elude the fundamentalist witch hunters hellbent stealing their magic. But for Sideways, the hardest part is the whole 'having friends' thing. Who knew that balancing human interaction with supernatural peril could be so complicated? Rich with the urgency of feral youth, The Scapegracers explores growing up and complex female friendship with all the rage of a teenage girl. It subverts the trope of competitive mean girls and instead portrays a mercilessly supportive clique of diverse and vivid characters. It is an atmospheric, voice-driven novel of the occult, and the first of a three-book series.
Kids
 “The Worst Witch” by Jill Murphy
Catch up on Mildred Hubble's magical adventures at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches with these reissued editions featuring energetic new covers. Mildred Hubble is starting her first year at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches—and making a mess of it! She can't ride her broomstick without crashing, she's always getting her spells mixed up, and worst of all, the teacher's pet, Ethel, has just become her sworn enemy. Check out the whole series here.
The book is usually better – but what’s scarier? Check out these horror titles that made their way to the silver screen!
Which one is your favorite?
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