The Crowning Glory of Calla Lilly Ponder Rebecca Wells Calla Lilly Ponder grew up in Louisianna, living with her loving parents. She spent her childhood helping her mother in her mother's hair salon. Her mother's unexpected death prompts Calla to follow in her mother's footsteps, so she heads to beauty school in New Orleans. While there, she meets and marries the man of her dreams. She and her new husband return to her hometown to reopen her mother's salon. Tragedy strikes again, but Calla proves to be a strong woman, even as an old friend from her past comes back into her life. I loved this book. The author writes in a way that makes you feel as if she is telling the story while sitting across the table from you. The characters are all very likeable, and you find yourself laughing and crying right along with them.  Amanda England  Remove content | Delete | Spam

Amanda

on 6/25/12

Harvesting the Heart
Jodi Picoult

A young girl, fresh out of high school, runs away from her home in Chicago. She can no longer face her father after an act that she commmitted, and her mother left her when she was just five-years-old. She finds herself moving east, working in a diner, when she meets a man finishing medical school, and from a world entirely different from her own. The two marry and the marriage is less than perfect. The new addition to the family does not help, and the young girl leaves her new family in search of the mother who left her behind.

This was not my favorite Picoult book. So many times I wanted to throw it across the room. It wasn't because it was poorly written, or a horrible plot, but the two main characters were very unlikable.

The Tenth Circle
by Jodi Picoult

Trixie is a 14 year old girl who seems to have everything going for her. Then one night her whole world shatters, at the hands of who she believes is her boyfriend. A series of twists and turns and even death lead her to her father's boyhood home, a place he hasn't returned to in years due to his own secrets.

This is one of Picoult's better books, written with just enough twists and turns to make it a true page turner, but not enough to make the reader confused. It was a pretty quick read.

Amanda England

A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz
This starts out as a retelling of the Hansel and Gretel story, and then goes beyond that into what happened after-and before- and woven between.  The author takes a number of tales by the Grimm brothers and links them together in a previously unseen way.  The writing is well thought out and makes you think about "fairy tales" in a different than in the norm.  If you don't mind realizing exactly how dark some of these tales actually are, i highly recommend this book.
Not for the easily frightened or those who prefer thin fairy-tales free of sadness, death, and hard choices.
I give this book 5 stars.
Rosha C.

Without You

Without You by Anthony Rapp
Anthony Rapp played the character of Mark in the Broadway musical and movie RRent.  this book tells of his life experiences and the impact that Rent played in them.  This book is forward, honest, identifiable, and an open tale of Anthony Rapp.
A great read!
5 stars.
Jenni Passig

A Parfait Murder by Wendy Lyn Watson

A Parfait Murder by Wendy Lyn Watson
A portrait murder is a "sweet mystery." It involves a woman named Sally, her love interest Finn, her cousin Bree and Bree's daughter Alice. Bree gets tangled in a love triangle and the other woman wants her dead. Bree escapes a narrow hit! A fun and cute, but somewhat predictable mystery.
3 1/2 stars.
Jenni Passig

A bit behind in the times, but I just finished Stephen King's "It." I decided to read this book after finishing King's "10/23/63," in which he mentioned the town of Derry, where "It" takes place.

Five friends join the sixth friend back in their hometown of Derry. The disappearances and deaths that plagued the town during their childhood have started up again, and it's up to this group of friends to stop the evil and mysterious It.

I wasn't a fan of this book. It took about 100 pages for me to really get in to it, only for it to drag the last 100 or so pages. It was hard to follow, between characters with similar names and the past and present time changes. It's very rare that I wish I would have just rented the movie!
Amanda England

Dragon Wytch by Yasmine Gulenorn
If you like Twilight you'll love this!
This book delivers non-stop action, romance, and suspense.  This book features vampires, were wolves, and dragons as well as a witch.  A must read.
Maria Cherrington

Hello Everyone and welcome to Summer Reading 2012.

We welcome your book reviews as comment posts.  Once a week Miss Wenche or Miss Ryan will take the comment posts and make them sparkle by adding graphics, catalog, and eBook links.

Happy Reading Everyone!

Lisa Anne Walker

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (eAudiobook). I had seen several of the old film noir movies--some the best know were originally written by Chandler and starred Humphrey Bogart. This one had Bogart and Bacall. The movies are so over the top acting, almost corny, so I was curious about the books. The books are even better. The movies back then couldn't really portray the main ideas and actions in this short novel. It centers on the work of Marlowe, a private detective hired by a very rich old man with two very very wild young daughters. The daughters have a habit of getting into deep trouble such as gambling debts, relationships with grifters, porn (this was before porn magazines such as playboy, so the porn racket involved revolving pornographic books, like a library), and more. Marlowe starts with one job but soon finds he is actually looking into a different crime. The best part of the book besides the well plotted and paced story is the language. The metaphors are fun, more suited for Marlowe's time and life style. The dialogue is about as corny as it is in the films. I say corny, but this doesn't mean bad, just perfect for this particular genre. The novel is a good, fast read. After reading, watch the movie!

Lisa Anne Walker

Being Dead by Jim Crace. The novel centers on the murder of a couple. But instead of using the murder as the focal point, the author uses the decomposition of the bodies. Celice and Joseph are a middle aged couple who return to the dunes where they had met years and years ago. They had been grad students studying the flora and fauna around the beach. Years later, they return in the hopes of reliving the moments they fell in love. However, the dunes are isolated and they have a look of having some money. A drifter takes advantage of the situation. He kills them there on the isolated dune, robs them, then disappears from the novel. He is not important. The book shifts between the couple's first meeting, their return, their decomposition, and their daughter's strange renewal at being left an adult orphan. The best part of the novel is the decomposition. Crace details the stages that the bodies would go through as they lay on the beach unfound for five days. It may seem morbid, but the writing actually makes it peaceful and natural, and times poetic. There are dry spots in the book. I personally didn't care for the inclusion of the daughter in the story. And sometimes the author rehashes areas/times. But all in all the novel is well written, interesting, and, in a peculiar way, comforting.

Lisa Anne Walker

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing (eAudiobook). (This is the book I happened to read, but there are a couple other books that are also very good accountings of this true story.) The story, non-fiction, is about Ernest Shackleton who in 1914 attempted a navigation of the South Pole, the Antarctic continent. He had made an attempt several years before but had fallen short of his goal. So he raised the money, ship, and crew to try again. Unfortunately, this second attempt turned out horrendously. The boat got trapped in the ice earlier than they anticipated. The crew expected that this may happen, so they were prepared to winter in the ship: a very dull wait for spring. But then the ice cracked the ship. And then everything that could go wrong did and things they never expected began. This account by Lansing is particularly interesting because he was able to interview a few survivors and he did extensive research. This is not a novel, but it is written in such a way that it is hard to put down. It is an incredible tale of survival, but more importantly it is a story of a man determined to save his men from despair and death against the seemingly impossible elements.

Lisa Anne Walker

Beloved by Toni Morrison (eAudiobook). This novel was made into a movie several years back in which Oprah played the main character, Setha. The movie was pretty good, but the book, as usual, is much much better. However, word of advice, it is not an easy book to read. The narrative is not straightforward, but instead skips back and forth in time: Setha's time as a slave on a cruel plantation and her time later after Beloved's death. To help readers, one of the main ideas is that Setha must learn to live in her present not her past. So each time we hear of the past, this is a way to help Setha move on. The story is about Setha. She killed one of her four children, Beloved, when she believed the plantation owner was coming to bring her and the kids back into slavery after her escape. Sixteen years or so later, another slave from that plantation visits. His visit brings all of her memories to life (including Beloved now as a young woman). This is a powerful book about memory and forgiveness. The writing is astoundingly beautiful. I highly recommend trying Morrison's Bluest Eye first if you would like to get used to her writing style before jumping into this novel, which I personally believe is her best after Sula.

Christina Combs

The Gathering by K. Armstrong. The author had me intrigued in the first chapter and I had to figure the story out. An adopted girl wants to know more about her heritage but the answers aren't exactly what she was hoping for. Halfway through I had a feeling this was part of a series since the story was moving very slow. Sure enough, I flipped back to the title page to find "Book 1". Not sure I will pursue the following books but I enjoyed this read.

Christina Combs

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (eAudiobook, eBook). Wow! I was hooked on page 2! A very exciting read involving a post-apocalyptic village surrounded by zombie-like creatures. The story is filled with a sense of doom but also hope. I put myself in the main characters shoes & how I would handle this small village and found myself crying and rejoicing with her. She is desperate to find more than this village and forest but has no idea how to achieve this. Definitely a book I will read again and an amazing story to keep you intrigued!

Christina Combs

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare. If you are unfamiliar with the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, it is a must read and this book, Clockwork Angel, is the start of a series of prequels. The author suggests reading them in the order released (City of bones, City of ashes, City of glass, Clockwork angel, City of fallen angels)but I feel that the stories are well-written and complete without mixing the 2 series so far. For those that are fans of the Mortal Instruments series this was a great read giving us a bigger glimpse into the shadowhunter world and meeting some characters from the past. The main character is a downworlder of some type and the dynamics between Tessa and the shadowhunters is different than what we've seen with Clary & Jace in the other series, but Clare keeps us hooked with a similar relationship blossoming. I will warn you that this is very much a stepping stone book, meaning it feels like it is valuable information to get you to the next book but the plot doesn't move very far. I can't wait for the next book this fall and the following Mortal Instruments in spring of 2012!

Lisa Anne Walker

Sabriel by Garth Nix (eBook). This is the first book in a trilogy called: Abhorsen Trilogy. This is aimed at teen readers, but like many books on the teen list, this is a great read for adults. The writing is good, fast paced, and always interesting--no long dull passages. The story is about a teen girl in her last year of boarding school. She is on one side of a special country. The side with her school is much like our modern world about 80 years ago. The other side, where she is from and her father still lives, is a dark world of magic. To keep her safe, her father sent her to the other side, through a special wall that divides the two realms. He is a necromancer, and Sabriel is also. But when her father dies, she is pushed into the position much sooner than either had planned. Both have the ability to go into the world of the dead that is divided into 9 gates. They also have special bells whose individual ringings are like weapons. This fantasy is full of interesting characters and happenings. Nix incorporated many new fantasy ideas as well as made good use of overlapping ideas from other fantasy novels. It has the typical bad guy-good guy theme, but does a great job of making it awesome. The main character is a girl, but this is a book anyone male/female young/older will enjoy.

Lisa Anne Walker

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (eBook). Normally I don't read Gaiman's work because it often includes racy and violent elements. But I tried this book on a recommendation from a friend, and I really liked it. It is most often on the reading lists for younger readers, but it is a great fun read for adults too. It is the story of a boy who grows up in a graveyard. His parents are murdered by a shadowy figure known only as the Jack-of-all-trades. We don't know at first why he has killed the family, but we soon find out that the baby was his target. Unfortunately for him, that baby crawled away during the mayhem. Jack cannot enter the graveyard, so he must wait for his chance. In the meantime, the baby grows. His family is now made up of the ghosts that inhabit the graveyard. They have named him Nobody, Bod for short. They teach him to become ghostlike and other ghost tricks. And a caretaker of the graveyard, Silas, remains ever diligent in protecting the boy. The story is a combination of horror and funny. The boy is always in danger from Jack. But the characters who raised Bod are often eccentric. They range in times from recent dead to long dead ghosts.

Lisa Anne Walker

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (eAudiobook, eBook). This book is most often recommended to teen readers, but I believe it is a book that adults should read as well. The writing is fluid and uncomplicated, but not simple. It is the story about Liesel, the child of socialists who is taken in by a German couple living in the heart of Germany during Hitler's reign. Her brother died on the way and she doesn't know what has happened to her parents. She often has nightmares. The couple is good to Liesel, especially her foster father who is quiet but understands the pain she feels. He teaches her to read and she comes to love books. But as a poor family, they cannot afford to buy her books, so she finds ways to steal them. Death narrates the story, so while we watch Liesel grow, we are always reminded of the war raging, the Hitler Youth, the hunt for Jews, and the desolation war brings. We see how Liesel lives through all this trying to understand it though she is just a child. The book is not an apology for Germans from that era, but a chance to see into the life of those who were not Nazis and did not care for the Nazi policies, but who had no power to stop it.

Lisa Anne Walker

The Known World by Edward Jones (eAudiobook). This was a surprise for me. I was unaware that there had been a number of blacks who owned slaves before the Civil War. The novel is about one particular man and his wife who own a smallish plantation and about a dozen slaves. In a style reminiscent of Toni Morrison and William Faulkner, Jones has constructed a very book that combines excellent writing with a compelling story. Most of the story is set a couple decades before the war. Henry, whose own parents had been slaves who bought their freedom and his, are shocked when he buys a slave. He continues to build up his plantation in the style of neighboring white Virginians. But then he dies and his wife is left the farm. Everyone believes she will set the slaves free and sell the farm, but she instead continues. But she also crosses the line Henry had developed between slave and master. The novel follows the minds/lives of several characters, all of which reveal how they feel about slavery and the seeming contradiction in human affairs of an ex-slave owning slaves. Some readers may find the style jumpy or confusing as it switches between characters and times. However, most should find this an extremely worthwhile effort.

Lisa Anne Walker

The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue. This is a beautifully written book. It is about changeling. Children who are unsatisfied somehow in their time and place are targeted by 'goblins.' They are kidnapped and changelings take their places and live their lives. The child in the meantime lives on for years, decades, even centuries until his/her turn to take the place of another dissatisfied child arises. This is the basis for a story that is often lyrical, poetic. The story centers on two Henrys: the real Henry and the changeling, who himself was once a dissatisfied child in the past century Germany, who takes his place. We see how each learns to fit into his new life, one in an ideal American family and the other in the rugged forgotten life living in the forest. The changelings never age physically (they do grow somewhat grotesque so they hide from people), but they age internally. So when they take the place of a child, they are no longer truly children. Both Henrys experience painful feelings of loss of their pasts and of their identities. The writing is gorgeous. I found it hard to put the book down. There are no car crashes or mysteries or serial killings; the writing and the story themselves are mesmerizing.

Lisa Anne Walker

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (eAudiobook). This is a mystery. Vida Winter is a famous writer who has stopped writing now that she is old. She chooses a book seller's daughter, Margaret, to tell her life story, something that in her long career no one knows anything about before she became famous. The story begins with a large estate house that held strange secrets. A brother and sister illicitly have twins. And as the product of incest, the twins exhibit very serious problems. In combination with their mental problems, the girls are left nearly alone to grow up with only the guidance of a few house servants. But Vida doesn't intend to tell a straight forward story, so Margaret has to do some poking around in old records, the village, etc to fill in the blanks Vida leaves open. The story is wonderfully written very much in the style of older books of the same genre. The mystery unfolds slowly and carefully. It switches cleanly between the time when Margaret is hearing and investigating the story and in the past when Vida was a child. This switching gives the story a good atmospheric effect that deepens the mystery and in many ways makes its unraveling sadder since nothing can be done now to change the past.

Lisa Anne Walker

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. Jackson is a writer that many readers either really like or don't get. This book like many of her works is hard to classify. In some ways it can fit into horror, though the story isn't actually scary. It can be a type of thriller without fast paced action. It can be a mystery, yet often the 'mystery' is revealed early and no solid answers are given. The story involves two sisters living in with their uncle in the family estate. The rest of the family died years ago of arsenic poisoning in which the older sister was accused of but then acquitted. The village hates the young women. They, however, like the secluded life they have established for themselves. But their peace is ruined with the arrival of a cousin. He doesn't like the seeming oddity of their lives.  So he takes it upon himself to start changes, with disastrous effects. The story i told from the younger sister's point of view. Though both sisters like the seclusion, it is this sister who works to keep their lives exactly like she wants. She hates the new cousin and his interference. This is a story about characters, so the action is often slow. We are always looking into the mind of the narrator, who is highly unreliable.

Amanda England

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (eBook) is the first in a series by Ransom Riggs. My only complaint is that this books is fairly new, and the second likely won’t be out for another year! Jacob is a teenage boy, who for years, has been entertained by stories from his grandfather. His grandfather grew up in an orphanage during World War II and tells Jacob stories of the other children who lived there; children who could levitate, squeeze into bottles, and just plain disappear. Even though there are photographs, Jacob is certain they are pure fantasy, the stuff of dreams and even nightmares. Then, Jacob’s grandfather dies unexpectedly and turns Jacob’s world upside down. His grandfather’s last words lead Jacob to the mysterious island, home of the orphanage. But when he arrives, he learns the orphanage was destroyed in the war, along with its occupants and the mysterious headmistress “The Bird.” In searching the ruins, Jacob discovers the truth in his grandfather’s stories, the lives of the other children, and a lot about himself. The best part of this book is the use of vintage photographs, which the author uses to describe various characters. Many of the photographs are eerie, which makes this a book to read during daylight hours.

Lisa Anne Walker

Ten Seconds From the Sun by Russell Celyn. Jones Mark Swain has a dreadful secret to hide. He committed a murder when he was twelve. In England, if the state feels a minor offender, even a murderer, is rehabilitated by the time they get to twenty-one, then they are set free. But to avoid vigilantes and to try to start anew, he changes his name and is given a new identity to assume. Mark chooses to start over completely by not revealing his past to his wife and eventual children. But the past can't stay buried forever. It eventually catches up with him. The novel is how Mark deals with this new threat to his fragile security. It is a credit to the extremely good writing of the author that the reader sympathizes with Mark. No matter how you feel about murder and how the perpetrator should be punished, it is fascinating to find yourself hoping that Mark's secret stays secret. It is an interesting glimpse into the mind of someone who feels he made a huge mistake and won't forget it, but he wants to be good now. He spends his life grateful for the opportunity he is given, but also wary of losing it and how to hold on to it at all costs if necessary.

Amanda England

Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy (eAudiobook, eBook) is a heart-warming book that centers around the life of a little girl and the huge range of people who help care for her, showing that it really does take a village to raise a child. The leading character, Noel, is contacted early on by a former girlfriend, who is dying. Her wish is for Noel to raise their daughter, Frankie, whom she is carrying. Noel steps up to the job of being a new, single father by making numerous changes in his life, but also knows he will not be able to raise this child on his own. In comes a cast of unforgettable characters who all play an important role in Frankie’s young life. Her grandparents, who are busy trying to raise money to erect a statue in the community’s namesake’s honor; a visiting cousin from America who’s take-charge attitude opens doors for all who meet her; a young doctor and his wife who are raising their son, who happens to share a birthday with young Frankie; a set of twins whose dreams of going to America are cut short when their beloved adopted grandfather becomes critically ill; and last but not least, a nosey social worker determined to find something, anything, to remove Frankie from her father’s care. While each character has their own story, Binchy manages to weave it all back around to the main character. Binchy fans will be pleased to know that she brings back characters from past books, such as “Heart and Soul,” “Scarlet Feather” and “Quentins.” However, do not feel like you must have read these previous books to understand what is going. This book is one you can pick up and read without needing to read the others…although the others are all very good and I do highly recommend them!

Amanda England

Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult is a page turner that will keep you guessing until the very absolute end. It is a story of faith, family and the search for justice. Katie is a young, unwed Amish girl who gives birth to a baby in secret, and the baby is later found dead on her family’s farm. All fingers point to Katie, who does not remember anything about giving birth to the child. It doesn’t help matters that Katie was also witness to a death much earlier on the farm. The family, we learn is no stranger to heartache, but continue living life knowing that it was all “God’s will.” Attorney Ellie plans to have a relaxing vacation on her aunt’s farm, far away from her complicated, busy life in the city, but then comes face to face with Katie’s case, and shocking herself, takes on Katie as her client as well as “babysitter” until the trial. While living with the family, Ellie not only learns the secrets of her client, but about the strength of the Amish faith, a mother’s love, the forgiveness of others and finds a love that she has been looking for all along. This is a good book if you are looking for a mystery that deals with law, ethics and faith.

Lisa Anne Walker

The Ghost by Robert Harris. This is not a ghost story but the story of a ghost writer. It is a wonderfully taut political thriller. A ghost writer agrees to continue the memoirs of an unnamed recently retired British prime minister. The first writer has disappeared and is believed to have drowned falling overboard of the ferry that goes back and forth to the private island off the coast of New England. However, the new ghost writer soon learns that the disappearance may not have been an unfortunate accident. It seems someone doesn't want the memoirs written or doesn't want them written the way the prime minister wants them written. There appears to be an inconstancy in the way the PM tells his story and the information the ghost writer digs up. The ghost writer finds himself not only writing the memoirs dictated to him, but find that he needs to solve the reason why the first writer was killed and what damning information he had discovered about the prime minister and his politics. The inconsistencies begin to point to a strange political cover-up, but the writer is not quite sure what is being covered-up and by who. He ultimately discovers the reason, and it is not what it seemed to be. The writing is crisp and clear, the plot sufficiently twisty to stay interesting but not confusing, and a good ending.

Lisa Anne Walker

The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger This is the second book that I always recommend when people ask me to suggest a good book to read. This book is a non-fiction account of the Andrea Gale, a fishing boat that has the unfortunate bad luck to wind up smack in the middle of a rare type of storm off the coast of New England, USA. The book was made into a movie starring George Clooney, but the movie only entails the story of the boat and crew. The book, however, is filled to the brim with very interesting information surrounding the storm. The story of the Andrea Gale is the center point the rest of the book revolves around. For example, Junger did extensive research on the making of this type of storm. He goes into great detail about the meteorology. He also talks about deep-sea rescuers: their training and the work they do. He talks about others caught out in the storm. How a ship can survive the waves caused and how a wave can destroy. There is a lot of information in this book. Junger did a great deal of homework to present every angle of a storm of this magnitude. He even discusses the science adn experience of drowning. Yet the writing is so compelling, never dull, that even die-hard fiction fans will enjoy the read.

Lisa Anne Walker

Life of Pi by Yan Martel (eAudiobook). When people ask me to recommend a book, this is one of the first that I suggest. I love this book. The basic story involves a boy and a tiger stuck on a life raft. The idea may seem absurd, but their attempts to learn to live with each other in a type of harmony is a metaphor for life. Pi is a teen living in India when his life is changed dramatically when his father decides to move the family and the family zoo to Canada. Pi is very curious and observant. In the zoo he finds meaning in the lives of the animals. He is also a seeker. Though he is young, he wonders about the truth of belief, of religion. So he searches out believers to hear what they have to say. The story is never about fast action, mysteries, or romance. Instead it is a quiet book about what it means to not just survive life but to learn to live it and begin to understand it. Martel's prose always borders on poetic while conveying a strange story of acceptance. I have found that people either are bored with this book because of the lack of fast paced action or they absolutely fall in love with it.

Tiera Aubrey

The Husband by Dean Koontz (eAudiobook). I have always been a huge fan of Dean Koontz’ writing and I’m happy to say he didn’t let me down with this novel. The story takes place in California and centers around a man named Mitch who gets a mysterious phone call that tells him his wife (Holly) has been kidnapped. And if that isn’t enough to draw you in, they want her ransomed for two million dollars and he only has a few days to comply – and here’s the kicker… his profession is a gardener. He even goes so far as to state this obvious glitch to the kidnappers – how can a gardener come up with that kind of money in that short amount of time? The reason behind this seemingly impossible demand comes to light throughout the story as well as how Mitch, motivated by his intense love for his wife, tries desperately to keep the kidnappers happy. As a typical Dean Koontz novel – there are several twists and turns as well as his wonderful sarcastic humor. The only thing that would have made this book more enjoyable for me is if Mitch’s childhood wasn’t so dark. The upside of the slow revelations of his past is that it really makes me feel like I had a golden childhood and that I’m the best mother in the world!

Lisa Anne Walker

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russel.  This is a sci-fi novel but not quite in the same vain as most sci-fi. Set only a slightly in the future, it is the story of a Jesuit priest, Sandoz, who with a small crew travels to a far away planet. They originally learned of the planet when a beautiful 'song' is picked up on the massive scientific radios of Earth. Sandoz believes the song is of God and that it is his mission to go to this planet (he is a good man who loves to help people). Once the small crew gets to the planet, they meet some inhabitants, but not the ones who sing. So they befriend these. They spend a lot of time working with these and learning the language. They also find these people are oppressed, so they try to help them. Later the crew meets a singer and they are introduced to the city. But nothing is what they thought it would be. The writing is very good and addictive. I found myself reading for long stretches at a time. This is a sci-fi with many deep questions such as faith, oppression, etc. There is no happy ending. This is an excellent book whether you like sci-fi or not.

Reviews turned in by 6/13/11.

Titles are linked to the library catalog, the eBook catalog, and the eAudiobook catalog when possible.

Lisa Ann Walker


The Other by Thomas Tryon This is an older book, 1971, that I recently read. Several horror writers such as Stephen King commented that they believed this book to be a rare gem of truly good horror fiction. Normally, I don't read much in the horror genre, but I was curious. I am glad I did. The book centers on a set of about 11 year old twins Niles and Holland. The two boys have just begun their summer vacation from school in 30s New England. They are often bored and seeking things to do. Unfortunately, one of the twins has a nasty cruel streak that leads the two boys into serious trouble. The family of the boys is struck down several times in the summer by the tragic loss of loved ones and pets. No one understands why this one family suffers so many accidents and deaths. The boys know something, but they won't tell, not even their beloved grandmother who now lives with them because their mother has had a mysterious nervous breakdown and never leaves her bedroom. Like all good horror/thrillers, this story has a good twist--twice! The author has written a wonderful good read minus the literary porn, no graphic violence, and profanity that litters too much of today's books.

Lisa Ann Walker

Twisted Tree by Kent Meyers I was pleasantly surprised by the beauty of this novel. The description on the book leads you to believe that it is a story about a serial killer and one of his victims, this is actually a small part of the story. The murder acts as the center point of the compass: each chapter is inside the mind of one of the people from the vicitim's hometown. Their connection to her may be direct but more often it is distant and indirect. Each person's inner thoughts/dreams/failures are revealed to show how easy it is to misunderstand each other. The town is in North Dakota, a nearly isolated part of the country near the Badlands. Meyers' writing brings this area to life so that the setting becomes another character of the novel. The desolation of the world around them becomes a part of the desolation that many of them feel inside, not necessarily because of where they live, but how their lives have unfolded. This is not a who-done-it or CSI type investigation of the crime, instead it is a beautifully written testament of those left behind, the living, that the victim was once part of. We do get to see inside the killer's head, but not for the reason of attempting to solve the crime, but a chance to see the eerily his thoughts are not that much different from the thoughts of the others. He has hopes and dreams and questions too. The novel is not sentimental, it makes no attempts to apologize or seek pity for any of the characters. Instead it is simply a quiet, non-intrusive peek into the joys and disappointments of regular people.

Amanda England

I just finished “Dead Reckoning,”  (ebook) the latest installment of the “Sookie Stackhouse” series by Charlaine Harris. Sookie finds herself learning more about her fae history and how she ended up with her special talent. An unwelcome visitor from her past also comes back to stir up some trouble for Sam’s bar, and of course, Sookie herself. Sookie learns that Eric is keeping a secret from her, one of which Pam is forbidden to share. Even Bubba comes back for a rare performance, sequined jump suit and all. More family secrets are unlocked, new characters are introduced and of course, someone (ok, multiple someones) die. In an interesting twist, Harris brings two characters from a different series of hers into the world of Sookie. These characters have been in past Sookie books, but having recently read this “new” series, it was relevant to me. I really love when authors do that! There was no cliffhanger ending, so I am content in waiting a year for the next book. All in all, this was a good book, but not the most exciting in the series. In fact, it’s quite a bit tamer. The series is fantastic and one that is best read one book after another, with the exception of these later installments. I think now would be a good time for a reader to start this series. Be warned, however, if you watch HBO’s True Blood. The books appear to be a springboard for the show and there are very few similarities between the two. Do not expect the two to be identical.

Amy Hall

Barbossa's lip curled disapprovingly. "Now this is the last straw, " he said. "Girls and zombies are one thing, but escaped slaves?" From "Legends of the Bretheren Court: The Caribbean" by Rob Kidd As a fan of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, I thought that the book that I found for a buck at a summer book sale last year could be good-after all, how could the further adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow be all that bad? Well-Jack and Barbossa were true to the movies and were good, but the author kept throwing in all of these other characters. (There were even Incas involved!)So, I would have to agree with Barbossa's assessment-it is the last straw. Not sure that I care to read any of the other books in the series, but it was OK for a quick summer read and OK for a buck.

Carol Bopp

The Snowman (ebook, eAudiobook) by Jo Nesbo This thriller was translated into English from Norwegian. The names and places are unfamiliar to the American reader, but the prose is crisp, dialogue terse, and the story is compelling. I enjoyed this and would recommend this book for a reader who enjoys fiction from other countries.

Sheryl Richey

It is the 4th book in the Mortal Instruments Series, "City of Fallen Angels". I have read the previous three in the series, and I highly recommend to the reader that he or she start with Book One. I believe that if I had not done so, I would have been pretty well lost in the scheme of things, and would have not finished what is a very good book. The author is Cassandra Clare, and the books are, in order, "City of Bones", "City of Ashes", "City of Glass". The main characters are modern day teenagers, living (well, residing) in New York City. The focus of the book is Clary, a teen living with her widowed mother. Clary is almost immediately introduced to the world of Shadowhunters, mortal beings who hunt and destroy demons, along with other undesirables, as needed. The book is full of the trials and tribulations of the average teenager, most of whom are also dealing with powers of the supernatural. We find love, hate, battle, revenge, mystery, and some rather shocking twists along the way. While there is no explicit sex, there is a lot of violence, and some very disturbing subject matter. This series is definately NOT for the young teen reader. Along with Shadowhunters, we encounter demons of all shapes and sizes, vampires, faeries, werewolves, and wizards. I may have forgotten to mention a creature or two, and if not, they will probably appear in a future book. The next book is due out in May 2012. There is also a prequel series, "Infernal Devices", that I am anxious to begin. A very good read, I have passed it on to my family and friends. Enjoy.

         

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