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Recommend a Book

If you’d like to be featured on our home page in the “Book Recommendations” section or recommend a purchase for the library’s collection, please fill out the form below and a librarian will reach out to you.

All past recommendations featured will be listed below the forms.

Past Book Recommendations


Winter 2022-2023

Have you seen a book on TikTok, or heard your kids talk about a book that you haven’t been able to get your hands on? You can borrow it at RFL! Just click on the book jacket below to see all the ways you can read them.


October 2022

Spook-tacular reads suggested by library staff.


September 2022

These recommendations come from the library staff to promote some of the most banned books of 2021.

Gender Queer : A Memoir by by Maia Kobabe book cover. Click here to borrow this title on our catalog.

Gender Queer : A Memoir by by Maia Kobabe

Banned, challenged, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, and because it was considered to have sexually explicit images

Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez book cover. Click here to borrow this title on our catalog.

Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez

Banned, challenged, and restricted for depictions of abuse and because it was considered to be sexually explicit.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas book cover. Click here to borrow this title on our catalog.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Banned and challenged for profanity, violence, and because it was thought to promote an anti-police message and indoctrination of a social agenda.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl : A Novel by Jesse Andrews book cover. Click here to borrow this title on our catalog.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl : A Novel by Jesse Andrews

Banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and degrading to women.

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison book cover. Click here to borrow this title on our catalog.

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Banned and challenged because it depicts child sexual abuse and was considered sexually explicit.

Beyond Magenta : Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin book cover. Click here to borrow this title on our catalog.

Beyond Magenta : Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin

Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit.

The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones book cover. Click here to borrow this title on our catalog.

The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones

Banned from being taught in Florida, Texas and other states for containing Critical Race Theory ideologies, which are barred by law in those states.

Dear Martin by Nic Stone book cover. Click here to borrow this title on our catalog.

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

Banned and challenged because of the anti-police sentiments expressed in the pages.

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds book cover. Click here to borrow this title on our catalog.

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds

Banned and challenged because of author’s public statements, and because of claims that the book contains “selective storytelling incidents” and does not encompass racism against all people.

The Handmaid's Tale: A Novel by Margaret Atwood book cover. Click here to borrow this title on our catalog.

The Handmaid’s Tale: A Novel by Margaret Atwood

Banned and challenged for profanity, “vulgarity and sexual overtones” portrayed and exhibiting obscene materials to minors.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson book cover. Click here to borrow this title on our catalog.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Banned, challenged, and restricted because it was thought to contain a political viewpoint and it was claimed to be biased against male students, and for the novel’s inclusion of rape and profanity.

To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee book cover. Click here to borrow this title on our catalog.

To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee

Banned and challenged in for the use of racist slurs and their negative effect on students, featuring a “white savior” character, and its perception of the Black experience.


August 2022

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien book cover. Click here to borrow this title on our catalog.

This recommendation comes from Charlotte Burnham! Her favorite book is The Hobbit.

The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien began my fascination with everything about Middle Earth. My older sister was in high school and The Lord of the Rings was the most popular series of books to read. I was in eighth grade, so this was about 1969. I read it quickly and visualized the wild settings from our family camping trips to Baxter State Park and Moosehead Lake in northern Maine. From the moment I read it, I knew exactly what Mirkwood looked like. Smaug, the dragon, must have descendants or cousins in the woods of Maine: the mountains could hide a number of dragons from curious people. Bilbo Baggins was a funny kind of hero but the story of his journey was heroic and the legends surrounding the dwarves were fascinating.

Later, I learned that Tolkien thought that The Hobbit was for children. But when it sold out, in the fall 1937, he wrote the first chapter of what would become the trilogy that everyone was reading, finishing it by December! And all of this led to my learning about Tolkien himself and a group of writers called the “Inklings,” which included C.S. Lewis, who wrote about a place called Narnia. It led me to the Waterville Public Library where I found a first edition of the book! I am so glad that I read this book. It made me think and wonder and dream. I still need to finish The Silmarillion.