Staff Picks: Monique Sterling’s Favorites
Hi there! I’m Monique Sterling, Senior Designer at Philomel Books. In my role within the Penguin Young Readers division, I design charming books for children and older kids that celebrate the potential in all of us. When choosing my next read, I’m open to most genres, but I especially love to get lost in books about phenomenal women, inspiring or hilarious memoirs, and griping fantasy adventures with occasional reads that focus on self-love and resilience.
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Add to BookshelfBecoming
by Michelle Obama
After reading this book, I truly felt like there’s nothing I can’t do. Why? Because Michelle Obama shares her amazing story of growing up as an ordinary Black girl—like myself—to becoming a powerful lawyer, mother and First Lady of the United States. It’s an absolute must-read to get an in-depth glimpse of life in the White House, the struggles and triumphs of being First Lady and the resiliency of a woman people around the world have come to admire.
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$18.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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The Rabbit Listened
by Cori Doerrfeld
As a picture book designer, I truly enjoy not only creating children’s books, but reading them as well. And as a person who lives with anxiety and depression, sometimes it’s hard to find the words to express how you feel. This short and sweet book always reminds me that it’s okay not to immediately have all the right words, as long as I have someone by my side who’s prepared to listen when I’m ready. A great read for young readers and adults alike.
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$18.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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The Water Dancer
by Ta-Nehisi Coates
This book was equal parts heartbreaking and revolutionary. Ta-Nehisi Coates gets to the core of slavery in America with the devastating and cruel effects it has on the enslaved, but adds an element of magic that gives Black people a fighting chance to finally be free. It’s an incredible fantastical twist on real-life events like I’ve never read before.
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$19.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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This Is Where I Leave You
by Jonathan Tropper
I rarely like to read books or watch movies more than once (mostly because I know what’ll happen next), but I could never get tired of this read. This Is Where I Leave You gave me a surprising and hilarious look into a male mind and it dives into deep rooted family issues, while everyone processes a major death. It shares the struggles of marriage, grief and family in an always blunt and funny package, which I absolutely love.
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$19.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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Born a Crime
by Trevor Noah
The chronicles of Trevor Noah’s young life wasn’t to digest, but he delivers it in such a clever and humorous way that it’s hard not to laugh your way through it. I cried and laughed. Cried some more, but mostly laughed. It’s a raw and honest story about growing up during Apartheid in South Africa as a biracial child and getting into heaps of trouble along the way.
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$18.00Buy from Other Retailers:
