Ten-year-old Ha’s life is about to drastically change. She is living in Saigon in 1975 during the Vietnam War and it is no longer safe. She lives with her mother and her three older brothers. Her father was captured and has been missing for the past nine years. With the help of her father’s best… Read More
Read of the Week: The Cuckoo’s Calling
By now, most people are aware that “Robert Galbraith” is J.K. Rowling, but this book does not need a famous name attached to it in order to prove its worth: it does that all on its own! The Cuckoo’s Calling is the first in a series of detective novels that follow Cormoran Strike, a private… Read More
Read of the Week: Listen, Slowly
Thanhhà Lại, author of National Book Award-winning and Newbery Honor Book Inside Out & Back Again, introduces readers to 12-year-old Mai in her new middle grade novel, Listen, Slowly. Mai, a California beach girl, is not happy when her parents tell her this summer she must travel to Vietnam with her grandmother, who is going… Read More
Read of the Week: Without You, There Is No Us
Suki Kim’s fascinating memoir, “Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea’s Elite”, takes us through the author’s year spent in North Korea as an English teacher in 2011. Kim is a journalist who was interested in learning more about life in North Korea. She gets a job at… Read More
Read of the Week: The Last Town on Earth
This winter the Library held a Cozy Blanket Bingo contest, which was a great hit with patrons and staff. It challenged participants to read something they might not normally read. My goal was to finish every square on the Bingo card, which I did and it helped me cross a number of books off my… Read More
Read of the Week: Bellweather Rhapsody
Oh, to be stuck in a gigantic and creepy old hotel with a bunch of teenage musicians, a murderer, and the bloody legend of room 712. Sounds like a dream come true, right? For lovers of Ellen Raskin (The Westing Game), classic murder mystery scenarios, and basically any creepy horror movie, Bellweather Rhapsody by Kate Racculia… Read More
Read of the Week: The Girl on the Train
Ever since the explosion of Gone Girl in 2012, people have been searching for the next big thing- the next wild ride that will suck them in and keep them on their toes. Gillian Flynn introduced an unreliable narrator and a story that kept you guessing until the end. Each page was exciting and nerve… Read More
Read of the Week: The Martian
If you are turned off by The Martian because you have heard it has science-fiction tendencies, I urge you to reconsider. The Martian by Andy Weir is an amazing novel; I could not put it down and already have plans to re-read it. The story is pretty simple: Mark Watney, astronaut, botanist, and mechanical engineer,… Read More
Read of the Week: Half a World Away
Twelve-year-old Jaden was adopted from Russia when he was eight years old. He feels abandoned by his biological mother and blames his adoptive parents. Although his parents have shown nothing but unconditional love, Jaden doesn’t believe them. He steals, lights fires, hoards food, has anger issues and feels nothing toward those who love and want… Read More
Read of the Week: As You Wish
If I had to make a list of the most influential movies of my childhood, The Princess Bride would be at least top three, if not number one. It had everything – to quote the posters: “Heroes. Giants. Villains. Wizards. True Love. Not just your basic, average, everyday, ordinary, run-of-the-mill, ho-hum fairy tale.” My sister… Read More
