Author: Clare, Cassandra
Call #: YA FIC Clare, C 100.2 2008
Summary: Sixteen-year-old Clary continues trying to make sense of the swiftly changing events and relationships in her life as she becomes further involved with the Shadowhunters and their pursuit of demons and discovers some terrifying truths about her parents, her brother Jace, and her boyfriend Simon.
Staff Member's Thoughts on This Book: City of Ashes is the second book in the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. It is a fast-paced, supernatural drama. It has lots of fight scenes and some bizarre love scenes. I'm planning on finishing the rest of the series this summer. I'll have to choose a favorite book from the series when I'm done. (Courtney, South Branch)
Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down: Thumbs Up
Author: Ewell, Katherine
Call #: YA FIC Ewell, K 2014
Summary: "Kit, a seventeen-year-old moral nihilist serial killer, chooses who to kill based on anonymous letters left in a secret mailbox, while simultaneously maintaining a close relationship with the young detective in charge of the murder cases."-- Provided by publisher
Staff Member's Thoughts on This Book: An interesting thriller with a very interesting narrator. This novel takes you inside the mind of a teenage serial killer who is known throughout London as the "Perfect Killer." It was an unusual story, and incredibly well written. (Melissa, South Branch)
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Author: Robert M. Edsel; with Bret Witter
Call #: 940.531 Edsel, 2009
Summary: At the same time Adolf Hitler was attempting to take over the western world, his armies were methodically seeking and hoarding the finest art treasures in Europe. The Fuehrer had begun cataloguing the art he planned to collect as well as the art he would destroy: "degenerate" works he despised.
In a race against time, behind enemy lines, often unarmed, a special force of American and British museum directors, curators, art historians, and others, called the Momuments Men, risked their lives scouring Europe to prevent the destruction of thousands of years of culture. Focusing on the eleven-month period between D-Day and V-E Day, this fascinating account follows six Monuments Men and their impossible mission to save the world's great art from the Nazis.
Staff Member's Thoughts on This Book: A little known story about the brave men who tried to save the cultural history of Europe during WWII. It was a fascinating story. A little long, but well worth the read. (Melissa, South Branch)
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Staff Member's Thoughts on This Book: I found the topic very interesting and inspiring. I am not sure if it was because I had seen the movie first (which I really liked) or if it was the reader (I did the audio verison). I just had trouble getting into it. But that was probably just me. (Tonya, Adult and Teen Department)
Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down: Thumbs Up
Author: Hemon, Aleksandar
Call #: FIC Hemon, A 2008
Summary: On March 2, 1908, nineteen-year-old Lazarus Averbuch, an Eastern European Jewish immigrant, was shot to death on the doorstep of the Chicago chief of police and cast as a would-be anarchist assassin.
A century later, a young Eastern European writer in Chicago named Brik becomes obsessed with Lazarus's story. Brik enlists his friend Rora -- a war photographer from Sarajevo -- to join him in retracing Averbuch's path.
Through a history of pogroms and poverty, and a prism of a present-day landscape of cheap mafiosi and even cheaper prostitutes, the stories of Averbuch and Brik become inextricably intertwined, creating a truly original, provocative, and entertaining novel that confirms Aleksandar Hemon as one of the most dynamic and essential literary voices of our time.
Staff Member's Thoughts on This Book: Lazarus Averbuch is murdered in 1908 Chicago as he attempts to deliver a letter to the police chief. The immigrant history of him and his sister Olga is later researched by Brik, a Bosnian refugee in this century who wishes to be a great writer. His trip back to Eastern Europe helps to bring meaning to the lives of both families. The author tells a good story, and finds humor even in difficult situations. (Medora, Adult and Teen Department)
Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down: Thumbs Up
Author: Woodson, Jacqueline
Call #: JUV BIO Woodson, J, 2014
Summary: "Jacqueline Woodson, one of today's finest writers, tells the moving story of her childhood in mesmerizing verse. Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child's soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson's eloquent poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. Her love of stories inspired her and stayed with her, creating the first sparks of the gifted writer she was to become. Praise for Jacqueline Woodson: Ms. Woodson writes with a sure understanding of the thoughts of young people, offering a poetic, eloquent narrative that is not simply a story. but a mature exploration of grown-up issues and self-discovery"-The New York Times Book Review"-"The author shares her childhood memories and reveals the first sparks that ignited her writing career in free-verse poems about growing up in the North and South."- Provided by publisher
Staff Member's Thoughts on This Book: This novel in verse describes the author's life growing up and events that encouraged her to become the person and writer she is now. It is amazing. The language is so lyrical and she conveys so much meaning in her poetry. A beautiful biography. (Melissa, South Branch)
Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down: Thumbs Up
Author: Flagg, Fannie
Call #: FIC Flagg, F 2006
Summary: Strange things begin to happen when Mrs. Shimfessle, an eighty-year-old woman, falls out of a fig tree in her own front yard, in a novel about one woman's offbeat experiences in the hereafter
Staff Member's Thoughts on This Book: I picked this up as an audio cd for some humorous travelling entertainment, because I know that Fannie Flagg is a never miss in this category. I was not disappointed. When 80 something Eleanor falls out of a tree she is pronounced DOA. While her shocked community mourns, she is transported to a heavenly place. Even in a close knit community, things are not always what they seem. Why was there a loaded gun in Eleanor's laundry basket? (Medora, Adult and Teen Department)
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Author: Hinton, S. E
Call #: YA FIC Hinton, S 1997
Summary: The struggle of three brothers to stay together after their parent's death and their quest for identity among the conflicting values of their adolescent society.
Staff Member's Thoughts on This Book: This books is a timeless classic, it is for all ages. I recommend it for all. (Stephanie, Adult and Teen Department)
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Author: Showalter, Gena
Call #: YA FIC Showalter, G 700.1 2012
Summary: Alice Bell must learn to fight the undead to avenge her family and learn to trust Cole Holland who has secrets of his own.
Staff Member's Thoughts on This Book: Alice in Zombieland was a very good book to read, I listened to the audiobook as I worked and it made work go by so much faster! It is very well written and I'd definitely recommend this to any teen girl who likes zombies, sass and cute boys. (Hannah, South Branch)
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Author: Dunkle, Elena
Call #: YA 616.85262092, Dunkle, 2015
Summary: "Seventeen-year-old Elena is vanishing. Every day means renewed determination, so every day means fewer calories. This is the story of a girl whose armor against anxiety becomes artillery against herself as she battles on both sides of a lose-lose war in a struggle with anorexia."--Amazon.com
Staff Member's Thoughts on This Book: I would recommend Elena Vanishing to anyone who can handle eating disorders and mental disorders well, it was a very well written book and a true story. I really enjoyed it because the girl was my age and it really hit home in some spots. (Hannah, South Branch)
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Author: DK Publishing, Inc. editor
Call #: 636.8 Cat, 2014
Summary: More than 86 million Americans own at least one cat (that's 10+ million more than own a dog). Cats are truly Americans' favorite pets.
Offering everything you need to know about cats in one easy-reference volume, The Cat Encyclopedia features stunning photographs of cat breeds from around the world combined with expert advice on kitten and cat care, and a celebration of cats in art and culture.
The Cat Encyclopedia is packed with information on the characteristics, origins, and behaviors of each type of cat, and includes beautifully photographed profiles of the world's cat breeds.--from Goodreads.com
Staff Member's Thoughts on This Book: This is a must for all cat parents and cat lovers. With three cat children of my own, this is a very informative book on breeds, temperaments and general caring for cats. (Stephanie, Adult and Teen Department)
Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down: Thumbs Up
Author: Bender, Aimee
Call #: FIC Bender, A 2010
Summary: Being able to taste people's emotions in food may at first be horrifying. But young, unassuming Rose Edelstein grows up learning to harness her gift as she becomes aware that there are secrets even her taste buds cannot discern.
Staff Member's Thoughts on This Book: I was intrigued by the storyline involving Rose, who at age 9 discovers that she can sense the origin of the ingredients, and the emotions of the people who create food items when she bites into the food, especially baked goods. While Rose learns to deal with this very mixed blessing, she discovers that strange talents run in her father's side of the family and other family members don't deal with them as well. Her grandfather could not deal with people's smells, her father avoids hospitals because he knows he should be doing something there, and her brother can turn into furniture and finally disappears forever. Besides the general oddness of the narrative, the author's failure to use quotation marks throughout the book leads me to give the book an overall thumbs down. (Medora, Adult and Teen Department)
Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down: Thumbs Down
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