It is spring break season, which means some are leaving for the warmth of the beach while others are staying home. No matter what you’re doing this spring break, you can take a trip anywhere and to any time period with a good book.

The Howe Library has several recommendations for books to read:

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

Take a trip to Maine in ​​July 1962 with The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters. The story begins with a Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia who arrives in Maine to pick blueberries for the summer. Weeks later, four-year-old Ruthie, the family’s youngest child, vanishes.

Also in Maine, “a young girl named Norma grows up as the only child of an affluent family. Her father is emotionally distant, her mother frustratingly overprotective. Norma is often troubled by recurring dreams and visions that seem more like memories than imagination. As she grows older, Norma slowly comes to realize there is something her parents aren’t telling her. Unwilling to abandon her intuition, she will spend decades trying to uncover this family secret,” Penguin Random House’s website said.

The Ferryman by Justin Cronin

Take a trip to the islands of Prospera where everyone lives in isolation from the rest of humanity… or whatever is left of it with The Ferryman by Justin Cronin.

For the Prosperans, life is perfect. They are taken care of by support staff who live on a cramped nearby island, where there are whispers of a revolt. When the end of life draws near, when the end of life approaches, they’re sent to a mysterious third island. There their bodies are refreshed, memories are wiped away, and they return to start life all over again.

“Proctor Bennett is a ferryman, whose job it is to enforce the retirement process when necessary. He never questions his work, until the day he receives a cryptic message: The world is not the world,” Penguin Random House’s website says.

The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd Jones

For the teens, try The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones. This fantasy novel is inspired by Welch folklore. Eighteen-year-old Mererid “Mer” is the last living water diviner and has spent years running from the prince who bound her into his service. While under the prince's orders, she found his enemies’ wells and poisoned them without her knowledge causing hundreds of deaths. 

After discovering what the prince had done, Mer tries to disappear but decides to use her powers to bring down the prince.

“The best way to do that is to destroy the magical well that keeps the prince's lands safe. With a motley crew of allies, including a fae-cursed young man, the lady of thieves, and a corgi that may or may not be a spy, Mer may finally be able to steal precious freedom and peace for herself. After all, a person with a knife is one thing...but a person with a cause can topple kingdoms,” the author’s website says.

View more book recommendations here.