Author: Patterson, James
Call #: FIC Patterson, J 2012
Summary: All over the world, brutal attacks are crippling entire cities. Jackson Oz, a young biologist, watches the escalating events with an increasing sense of dread. When he witnesses a coordinated lion ambush in Africa, the enormity of the impending violence becomes terrifyingly clear.
With the help of ecologist Chloe Tousignant, Oz races to warn world leaders before it's too late. The attacks are growing in ferocity, cunning, and planning, and soon there will be no place left for humans to hide.--summary from Goodreads.com
Staff Member's Thoughts on This Book: I read this book because they have decided to make a TV series based on it that starts this week. I enjoyed the book although it's not going to make it on my favorites list. There are several graphic animal attack scenes, it's so not for the weak of stomach. (Mattie, South Branch)
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Author: Blackwell, Juliet
Call #: MYS Blackwell, J 200.4 2012
Summary: Lily Ivory is living her dream of owning a vintage clothing store—and practicing magic on the side. But when she encounters a sinister sleeping spell, Lily comes face-to-face with a nightmarish evil…
Taking a night off from running her successful San Francisco clothing store, Lily attends a local art deco ball where vintage fashions steal the show. But when a young woman at the event falls under a mysterious sleeping sickness, Lily senses that a curse was placed on the woman’s corsage.
Before Lily can solve the woman’s magical ailment, she’s asked to assist in investigating a string of poisonings in the Bay Area witchcraft community. She’s gained the trust of the local covens by supporting women’s charities through her clothing store. But soon, Lily suspects that one of her new acquaintances might not be so well intentioned and could be dabbling in dark magic and deadly botany… --summary from Goodreads.com
Staff Member's Thoughts on This Book: This is the 4th book in the Witchcraft Mystery series and I really liked it. The series is fun and easy to read--there's even a pig!
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Author: Niven, Jennifer
Call #: YA FIC Niven, J 2015
Summary: Told in alternating voices, when Theodore Finch and Violet Markey meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school--both teetering on the edge--it's the beginning of an unlikely relationship, a journey to discover the "natural wonders" of the state of Indiana, and two teens' desperate desire to heal and save one another.--Provided by publisher
Staff Member's Thoughts on This Book: Interesting story about depression and suicide. Two high school students meet while standing at the top of the school bell tower thinking about jumping. The two form a friendship which saves one of them. (Lori, South Branch)
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Author: Rawl, Paige
Call #: YA BIO, Rawl, P, 2014
Summary: In this astonishing memoir, Paige tells a story that is both deeply personal and completely universal—one that will resonate deeply with the thousands of children and adults whose lives have been touched by bullying.
Paige Rawl has been HIV positive since birth…but growing up, she never felt like her illness defined her. It never prevented her from entering beauty pageants or playing soccer or making the honor role.
On an unremarkable day in middle school, while attempting to console a friend, Paige disclosed her HIV-positive status—and within hours the bullying began. She was called "PAIDS," first in whispers, then out in the open. Her soccer coach joked that she was an asset because opposing team members would be too afraid to touch her. Her guidance counselor told her to stop all the “drama,” and her principal said she couldn’t protect her. One night, desperate for escape, Paige swallowed fifteen sleeping pills—one for each year of her life to date. That could have been the end of her story. Instead, it was only the beginning.
The gripping first-person account of Paige’s life will pull in even the most reluctant readers of nonfiction, and her call to action to choose compassion over cruelty will stay with them long after they turn the last page.--summary from Goodreads.com
Staff Member's Thoughts on This Book: Powerful story about a young girl born HIV positive. Positive is more of a survival story about bullying than about HIV/AIDS. Every middle school and high school student should read this story. (Lori, South Branch)
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Staff Member's Thoughts on This Book: Positive tells of one Indiana teen's struggle with bullying after casually mentioning that she is HIV positive. Her "normal" life is turned upside down with pseudo seizures and a suicide attempt.
Still a few friends stand by her and she ultimately finds peace as an advocate for HIV awareness and anti-bullying. I have a mixed feelings on the reading experience. While I feel compassion for Paige, I wish there had been a more fluid narrative, less interrupted by HIV/Aids education and some discussion of her mother's struggle as an adult, infected and abandoned by her husband who died of full blown AIDS. (Medora, Adult and Teen Department)
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Author: Durango, Julia
Call #: YA FIC Durango, J 2015
Summary: Nixy Bauer is a self-made Leveller. Her job? Dragging kids out of virtual reality and back to their parents in the real world. It’s normally easy cash, but Nixy’s latest mission is fraught with real danger, intrigue, and romance.
Nixy Bauer is used to her classmates being very, very unhappy to see her. After all, she’s a bounty hunter in a virtual reality gaming world. Kids in the MEEP, as they call it, play entirely with their minds, while their bodies languish in a sleeplike state on the couch. Irritated parents, looking to wrench their kids back to reality, hire Nixy to jump into the game and retrieve them.
But when the game’s billionaire developer loses track of his own son in the MEEP, Nixy is in for the biggest challenge of her bounty-hunting career. Wyn Salvador isn’t some lazy kid looking to escape his homework: Wyn does not want to be found. And he’s left behind a suicide note. Nixy takes the job but quickly discovers that Wyn’s not hiding—he’s being held inside the game against his will. But who is holding him captive, and why?
Nixy and Wyn attempt to fight their way out of a mind game unlike any they’ve encountered, and the battle brings them closer than either could have imagined. But when the whole world is virtual, how can Nixy possibly know if her feelings are real?
Gamers and action fans of all types will dive straight into the MEEP, thanks to Julia Durango’s cinematic storytelling. A touch of romance adds some heart to Nixy’s vivid, multidimensional journey through Wyn’s tricked-out virtual city, and constant twists keep readers flying through to the breathtaking end.--summary from Goodreads.com
Staff Member's Thoughts on This Book: I’m not a big gamer girl myself, I had a Gameboy Advance when I was little and I play Just Dance every once in a while, and that’s pretty much the extent of my gaming knowledge, but I still enjoyed this book. It was pretty easy to follow and there wasn’t a lot of gaming jargon that left me confused.
There was a bit of romance in this book, but it definitely was not what the story was focused on. It was an enjoyable story and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book. Especially with what is discovered at the end. (Kaitlynne, South Branch)
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Author: Robb, J. D.
Call #: MYS Robb, J 100.28 2009
Summary: Amarylis Coltraine had recently transferred to the New York City police force from Atlanta, but she's been a cop long enough to know how to defend herself against an assailant. When she's taken down just steps away from her apartment, disarmed, and killed with her own weapon, for Eve Dallas, the victim isn't just one of us.
Staff Member's Thoughts on This Book: This police procedural set some time in the future in New York City has suspense, red herrings, great characters, and evokes a range of emotions. I have continued to think about the characters and to come back to their stories repeatedly after finishing the book. Not only was it a hard-to-put-down read but it also gave me food for thought. (Faith, Administration Department)
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Author: McLain, Paula
Call #: FIC McLain, P 2011
Summary: Meeting through mutual friends in Chicago, Hadley is intrigued by brash "beautiful boy" Ernest Hemingway, and after a brief courtship and small wedding, they take off for Paris, where Hadley makes a convincing transformation from an overprotected child to a game and brave young woman who puts up with impoverished living conditions and shattering loneliness to prop up her husband's career.
Staff Member's Thoughts on This Book: I highly recommend this book, especially if you like historical fiction and Ernest Hemingway. This is the story of Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley Richardson. It is based on their lives with a little fiction thrown in. This is officially one of my favorite books and you can see why so many women fell in love with Hemingway. (Stephanie, Adult and Teen Department)
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Author: Brown, Daniel
Call #: 797.123 Brown, 2013
Summary: Daniel James Brown’s robust book tells the story of the University of Washington’s 1936 eight-oar crew and their epic quest for an Olympic gold medal, a team that transformed the sport and grabbed the attention of millions of Americans. The sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the boys defeated elite rivals first from eastern and British universities and finally the German crew rowing for Adolf Hitler in the Olympic games in Berlin, 1936.--summary from Goodreads.com
Staff Member's Thoughts on This Book: I do not like sports but I got so excited about this 1936 Olympic 8 rower race that I could hardly stand it! So well written, I could feel the wind on my face. The author painstakingly researched the story including interviews with family and surviving participants, but kept the notes to the back of the book, so that the narrative is uninterrupted. The book provides just the right amount of irony regarding Germany's literal whitewashing of Berlin at the time of the Olympics, and foreshadowing of future atrocities. (Medora, Adult and Teen Department)
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Staff Member's Thoughts on This Book: I knew nothing about rowing or crew before starting this book. Of course I had seen them during the Olympics, but I never really took much notice of the sport--there are others I prefer to watch. I think I will be watching crew a lot more carefully during the next Olympics. Given my lack of interest in the subject, this book had the potential to be a slow read for me, but surprisingly I found myself fully invested in the story; laughing at the funny moments, lamenting the problems with the team, and on the edge of my seat cheering them on to the finish. I love how the author humanized the story and made these young men real people to the reader. It is a great book that I highly recommend! (Melissa, South Branch)
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