For Readers: Emily

Pockets is a historical pursuit to detail the different facets of the simple pocket. Historian Hannah Carlson starts us off in the medieval era, where pockets were not included on clothing. Instead, external pouches and purses were attached to belts and hung around the hip to carry a variety of objects that may be needed in daily life. As fashion and life evolved, so too did the way we carried things. Readers will be fascinated to hear about the development of pockets, from detachable pockets hung beneath skirts with slits that allowed access all the way up to avant garde haute couture elemental pockets seen on the runways of today. In addition to the fashion history about how pockets game to be, Carlson also examines the ways that pockets (and purses) split and became much more gendered than they were originally. Size, orientation, placement, functionality, and use are all elements of pockets that have shifted drastically for gendered clothing within the last 150 years. If you're at all interested in dress history or like to look at the micro-historical aspects of daily life, this one is a must-read.

Not your average love story! Shesheshen, a shapeshifting bog monster, is our loveable protagonist in this quirky fantasy tale. She lives by herself in an abandoned mansion in a secluded forest, venturing out largely only to hunt humans and hang out with her pet bear. When her hibernation is interrupted by an arrogant knight and a couple of monster hunters, she has no choice but to kill the knight and drive the hunters from her home. Utilizing the bones from the knight to craft a human disguise, she sets out to the nearby town to figure out who is out to get her. While there, she meets and falls in love with Homily, the kind daughter of the local lady. Too bad it seems that that is the family intent on wiping her out. But whoever said falling in love was easy? Told with humor and sensitivity, this is a wonderful debut. If you like Terry Prachett, this is one you should check out.

Don't you just hate when your birthday bash ends with you becoming a vampire? UGH! Sloane's husband plans a weekend getaway trip for her on her birthday with her best friend. Though she does have suspicions that this is so he can continue cheating on her—even though he swears he'll never do that again—Sloane is excited to spend time with Naomi. And she's looking forward to relaxing while also avoiding her problems. But when Naomi accepts an invitation to a mysterious party from a handsome man in a bar, the two of them end up with birthday surprises they could never have anticipated. Endearing, touching, and utterly goofy, So Thirsty is a great horror-comedy about female friendship and finding yourself. In order to be truly happy, Sloane had to die first.

I love heists, I love the medieval era, I love a monk. Nicked has got them all—and more! When the coastal town of Bari is ravaged by plague, a monk named Nicephorus has a dream about Saint Nicholas. He believes that it signifies that his order should take to the streets to aid the ill. But when a treasure hunter specializing in relics comes to town, the leaders of the monastery believe that Nicephorus's dream means that they should "liberate" Saint Nicholas's body from its current residence. Rumor has it that his skeleton leaks an ichor that has the power to heal, which would both solve their plague problem and bring notoriety to their monastery. Nicephorus and Tyun (plus his band of definitely-not-pirates) head off towards Myra in search of the saint's relics.

When Marra was 15, her mother—the Queen—sent her to the convent of Our Lady of Grackles to shelter her from the prince of the Northern Kingdom. See, her eldest sister, Damia, married him and then died under mysterious circumstances. Now, her second sister, Kania, has been married off to him and is hiding bruises. Fearing the worst for her sister's fate, Marra sets off on a quest to gather the necessary magic to kill the prince. She teams up with a witch of the dead, a fae-bound knight, an absent-minded godmother, and a dog of bones in order to free her sister from the clutches of the abusive prince. An absolutely charming read. Plus, it fulfills the Lost & Found category of our Branch Out Reading Challenge!

Set deep in the woods of Montana, this graphic novel follows Charity on her path from girl to young woman to wolf. As a girl, Charity befriended a wolf in the woods near her home. Daily, she visits the creature she dubbed Silver Slash and they play together. As she nears adulthood, she becomes betrothed to a young veteran recently home from the Civil War. At first, their marriage seems idyllic. However, soon things start to fall apart. But Silver Slash is there to support Charity. The artwork is ethereal, and I looked at the pages long after I finished reading the words on them. This is a deeply personal creation from Dailen Ogden, and it shows. There is such emotion in this artistic endeavor. If you are at all interested in folklore, werewolves, or stories of women finding inner strength—you'll love this.