Featured Library Item Staff Review
This is a beautiful book about a kindhearted country girl who can fly. From the time she was born, Piper McCloud could float a few inches off the ground. Hovering, though, is not enough for this curious and courageous girl. Soon she is soaring.
After an incident in her small hometown Piper moves to a government facility where she is promised her flying will be encouraged and perfected. At the I.N.S.A.N.E. Institute, Piper makes her very first real friend and enemy in her classmates, all of whom...
This is a charming story set in England just after the German occupation has ended on the small island of Guernsey. Juliet Ashton, a writer, receives an unexpected query from Dawsey Adams, a native of that island, regarding a book tha once belonged to her. Written as a series of letters between Juliet, Dawsey, and other colorful island inhabitants, Juliet begins to unravel on of their most compelling stories of the occupation. Each person who writes to Juliet unfolds another chapter in this...
I picked up the book because I loved the title. We reread it because it is original and has wonderful characters - including hair with a mind of its own!
The Help takes place in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962 where there are lines that are not crossed. The civil rights movement is getting started and three women start a movement of their own. Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan has just graduated from college and decides to write a book that will include the stories of the black maids of Jackson. There is a lot of fear on the parts of the maids, but they do begin to tell their stories to Skeeter.
As someone who grew up in Colorado in the 60's, I...
Of all the books I have read, “The House at Pooh Corner” is still my favorite. Most readers consider it a book written for very young children, but it is full of humor and wisdom. Everyone knows Winnie the Pooh and Piglet and Eeyore. Pooh Bear is the eternal optimist. Piglet is unsure of himself and Eeyore is full of gloom. Rabbit is sure he is always right, but Owl usually is. The characters and adventures they share with Christopher Robin never cease to delight and teach...
This is a debut spy novel about a woman who specializes in finding information. She is hired as a last resort to find a young woman who has been missing in Africa for four years. Munroe is a woman who has demons in her past that haunt her to this day. This journey back to Africa stirs those demons. Will Munroe be able to tame the demons and find the missing woman? Read this book to find out!
The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World
By: A.J. Jacobs
Review by: Amy S.
This nonfiction book was pulished in 2004, but it has been on my reading list until just recently when I was finally able to check it off the list. It is the autobiographical tale of A.J. Jacobs' endeavor to read the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica from A to Z.
Jacobs' self deprecating humor provided frequent laughs, and the topics he chose to address in his book were obscure enough to spark my curiosity, yet presented with a humor and levity that kept my interest going. I almost feel as though...
A state attorney battles with a cold for several months and finally breaks down and visits a homeopathic care provider just weeks before another of her patients unexpectedly goes into a coma. The mystery is whether the homeopath's cure killed the patient, and also whether the state attorney and the homeopath will find love together. Chris Bohjalian is a great writer of stand alone stories that are suspenseful without being too intense. The characters are interesting and the...
The Magicians is the coming-of-age story of Quentin Coldwater, a self-described nerd who, as a high school senior, is still obsessed with the magical world described in his favorite childhood books. Quentin unexpectedly finds himself at a mysterious college where he discovers that magic is real and there is more to the world than meets the eye.
The Magicians, published in 2009, was followed in 2011 by The Magician King, which continues Quentin’s story and is another good read. A third...
When I want a relaxing read, I turn to Alexander McCall Smith and his series about a female private detective who owns her own business in Botswana. I’m currently enjoying the twelfth and latest book, “The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party”, but I recommend taking these in order, starting with the first: “The Number One Ladies’ Detective Agency” (which is also the name of the series). These are wholesome books intertwined with mystery and set against a backdrop...