All Posts – Page 15 – Staff Picks

Under the Jeweled Sky by Alison McQueen

Under the jeweled sky

As the only child of a doctor and his unhappy wife, Sophie Schofield is a lonely child trying to cope with her father’s absence during World War II and her mother’s cold hatred. When her father is demobilized, the family gets a chance to move to India. Sophie and her father hope that a new environment will improve their lives and brighten their hopes for the future. In the Maharaja’s lush palace, Sophie becomes part of a world she could only imagine, but she remains lonely until a chance meeting with young Jagaan Ramakrishnan, the son of one of the king’s bearers. Under the backdrop of India’s independence and partition, the two become fast friends, but Sophie knows that if her parents learn of the growing closeness of these two young people from very different worlds, tragedy will follow.

This is a beautiful story of two very different worlds that collide with devastating consequences. When, as an adult, Sophie returns to India, she finds it difficult to fit into the constricted world of her husband’s colleagues and learns too late that Jag has not forgotten her.

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

The Wee Free Men

Other than the fact that I had to listen to some of the dialogue bits twice to understand what the Wee Free Men were saying in the audiobook (because they speak with a very thick Scottish brogue), I loved this book! Tiffany Aching is a young witch who has to rescue her young brother, Wentworth, from the clutches of the evil Queen of Fairyland. Though Tiffany doesn’t actually know any magic, her teacher/mentor, a witch named Miss Tick, reassures her that having a keen eye and an attention to detail is often more practical than magic. After witnessing her attack on a monster, using only a frying pan, the Wee Free Men [aka the Nac Mac Feegle] decide they would like to help Tiffany on her quest. And, while it sounds awesome for Tiffany to have a band of men to help her out, you have to consider that these particular “men” are six inches tall and best known for their sheep-stealing, drinking, and fighting. If you enjoy fantasies and/or stories that make you laugh out loud, you should definitely check this one out.

What We Found in the Sofa and How it Saved the World by Henry Clark

What We Found in the Sofa

River was orphaned when his parents died in a car crash, and he’s also shorter than he should be because his legs’ growth plates were fractured in the crash. He now lives with his aunt and pretty much only has two friends — Freak and Fiona. Freak has plenty of problems of his own, thanks to his alcoholic father. And Fiona is popular enough that she pretends not to know River and Freak when other people are around. To make matters worse, they live next to a place the local newspaper calls “Hellsboro” — the area surrounding the old Rodmore Chemical plant where an underground coal-seam fire makes the land uninhabitable.

After all of that, I can understand if you’re hesitant to believe that this is a great/often funny middle grade book, but it really is! My son and I actually laughed out loud fairly often as we read this story. How is that possible? Because it doesn’t focus so much on the depressing stuff; that’s all more of a footnote, really. The story centers around all the craziness that happened after they found a rare crayon in a sofa by the curb in front of the Underhill Mansion. If you want a funny story about cell phones, genetically modified foods, flash mobs, and brain control (presented as a nice blend of realistic and science fiction), I suggest you check this one out.

Witness by Nora Roberts

The Witness

Elizabeth Fitch always did exactly what she was supposed to – except for the day that she didn’t, and that changed everything forever. While her mother was out of town at a conference, sixteen-year-old Elizabeth rebelled for once and used fake I.D. to get into a club. One thing led to another . . . and then she witnessed a mob murder and was running for her life.

Twelve years later, Elizabeth goes by another name, works from a super secure home, and minds her own business. The trouble is, the small town she has just moved to is nosey about newcomers, and getting noticed could blow the cover she has cultivated for so long. An engrossing read. One of Nora Roberts better books – which do vary in quality.

Impulse by Steven Gould

Impulse

Cent [short for Millicent] is a 16-year-old girl who, despite being homeschooled in the remote Canadian wilderness, has seen more of the world than many people will see in a lifetime. She sometimes takes off at a moment’s notice to go shopping or surfing halfway around the world, but her parents don’t own a private jet or helicopter. In fact, the helipad on their property is so overgrown with weeds it’s barely recognizable. How do they get there, then? They jump. All they have to do is concentrate on where they want to go and they can teleport themselves. Though unable to jump herself, Cent has always been brought along by one of her parents. Until one day, while snowboarding without permission, when she nearly gets caught in an avalanche and accidentally learns how to jump herself. Cent gets excited by all the possibilities her jumping has opened up to her… but it terrifies her parents. Not only do they have the usual parental worries of their daughter getting hurt in the usual ways, but they’re also worried that Cent could wind up kidnapped by the scientists who once held her father captive in an attempt to discover how jumping actually works.

Lunatics by Dave Barry & Alan Zweibel (audio – read by the authors)

Lunatics

Lunatics is the story of two men bound together by the forces of fate, a mutual dislike for each other, and soccer. Author Alan Zweibel is the voice of Philip Horkman, who is a syrupy, overwhelmingly politically correct pet shop owner and occasional referee for a 10-year-olds’ soccer league. Dave Barry’s Jeffrey Peckerman is an obnoxious, egotistical, and self-centered plumber whose daughter was called offsides in a game officiated by Horkman. Peckerman confronts Horkman, and the two begin a wild chase from New Jersey into New York City where their actions cause the police to believe they might be terrorists. They stow onto a cruise ship and begin a voyage which will thrust them into separate conflicts involving Cuba, China, Mogadishu, Israel, and Palestine.

Their unintentional intervention into world events turns them from wanted criminals into cult heroes in a matter of weeks. An eventual loss in a run for the Presidency ends their brief period of fame, and both characters return home to try and restore themselves to their former lives. At the end of the book, we find Peckerman going to an eleven-year-olds’ soccer game that his daughter is playing in. Peckerman will not like the referee.

I’m a fan of authors reading their own works. I think they can add nuance to their characters that a hired reader may not impart. In Lunatics, Barry and Zweibel punctuate each syllable with gusto. A great book for a long car ride.

A Very Grimm Series [A Tale Dark & Grimm, In a Glass Grimmly, and The Grimm Conclusion] by Adam Gidwitz

A Tale Dark & Grimm

It’s no secret that I read to my children all the time… I’m a former teacher who became a librarian, so books and reading are kind of my thing! When I report that my son loved a book or a book series, some people take it with a grain of salt. They say, “But he loves everything!” Well, he kinda does… And that’s OK. For the people out there who haven’t yet convinced their children how awesome books and reading can be, though, THESE BOOKS might be a breakthrough! Not only does Adam Gidwitz trust that many kids can handle the gory old versions of the Grimm fairy tales, but he also understands just how often to give little reassurances and asides [as the narrator] to take the edge off for kids who might get a little nervous about what is going on in the story.

Here are a few things you need to know before reading these books:

1) You don’t necessarily have to read them in order, since each book has different main characters — though you may want to read A Tale Dark and Grimm before The Grimm Conclusion, because the latter references the Hansel and Gretel’s stories in the former.

2) If you plan to read these stories out loud, you may want to establish a separate “narrator” voice, so the listeners can tell when the narrator is interjecting without you having to say so every time. (Especially because it happens A LOT!)

3) These books are HILARIOUS… in a dark and disturbing way. My son has inherited my sick sense of humor, so he and I often found ourselves cracking up so hard that we had to put the book down and just laugh [or risk losing our place]. We were even scolded a few times because my daughter was trying to sleep and we were being too loud! 😉

Inferno by Dan Brown

Inferno

This review will be short and sweet – I was very disappointed with this book as I have read and enjoyed Dante’s Inferno. I listened to it as an audiobook and stopped listening halfway through as I found the book to be too tedious to continue. Life is too short to read/listen to a book I don’t like anymore! PS – In my estimation Angels and Demons was his best book!

Winger by Andrew Smith

Winger

I took part in the Summer Reading program at the library this summer and one of the choices to be made was because we liked a book cover and I picked this book up. This was a really pleasant surprise to me as I’m fairly new to YA books. It was cool to me that there were illustrations interspersed through the book adding to the enjoyment. The main character is a genius and a full 2 years younger than most of his classmates, making his days somewhat challenging. However, he’s a great rugby player and gains the respect of the boys on his team for the prowess he shows on the field. it follows him through school and sports and his budding relationship with a girl he really likes. He also becomes friends with a boy on his team who is gay and gains quite a bit of insight into what his days are like as well. I wasn’t thrilled with the ending but I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to the YA crowd as well as Adults.

Crap Kingdom by DC Pierson

Crap KIngdom

Tom always wished that he was special enough to be a Chosen One who would get whisked off to an alternate reality in which he was the only one who could save the day. The way he saw it, though, he just wasn’t “unspecial” enough… Until the night someone named Gark showed up and told him he WAS foretold in a prophecy and that he needed to enter a portal to another world to help save a kingdom! Although it initially seemed like a dream come true, it soon became apparent that the unnamed kingdom [which Tom dubbed “Crap Kingdom”] was full of pessimistic people who couldn’t really care less about whether or not Tom saved them. And Gark, who was the only one actually excited about Tom’s arrival, kept calling him “Tim.” Yeah. Being the chosen one wasn’t necessarily so great after all.

Despite the fact that this is a fantasy book, a great deal of it takes place on Earth and could easily be mistaken for contemporary fiction. Original, funny, and well-written. What’s not to like?!? I would highly recommend this book to fantasy readers who want a break from books that require a glossary and pronunciation guide and/or fans of humorous books who wouldn’t mind a little reality bending. People who enjoyed The True Meaning of Smekday should probably pick this one up, too!

N0S4A2 by Joe Hill

NOS4A2

NOS4A2 tells the story of Vic, a girl who has a special ability to find lost things using her red bicycle and a covered bridge that leads her to whatever’s lost. Her gift works great until she encounters a man with a similar ability, Charles Manx, who uses his “gift” to kidnap children.

Vic was the only child ever to escape from Manx and his Wraith, the car he uses to travel to his own special realm, an awful place called Christmasland. As an adult, she puts aside the whole awful memory of what happened with Manx until her own son is in danger.

I loved this book. I thought it was very well written. Not only was there great character development, but the plot reeled me in from the very beginning. What an amazing concept, that these characters are able to travel to a realm beyond our own. Hill creates quite the villain with Charles Manx. Whenever I see one of those classic cars that Manx drives, I get a little bit of a chill. Vic is a spunky, loveable and at times stubborn protagonist. I also have to note that Joe Hill is Stephen King’s son. I think he definitely inherited his father’s talent.

Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

Once a Witch

When Tamsin was born, her grandmother predicted that she would be one of the most Talented witches in their family. Now that she is 17 years old, it seems pretty clear that Tamsin has no Talent and her grandmother must have been mistaken. She is really embarrassed by her lack of Talent and frequently wishes to be more like her older, more beautiful, and extremely Talented sister, Rowena. While working for her family’s bookstore/magic shop, Tamsin is approached by a handsome young professor who would like help locating a family heirloom cuckoo clock. Unfortunately, Tamsin has no idea that locating this clock could upset the balance of good and evil. So, when he mistakenly calls her Rowena [who is fairly well known for her ability to locate lost items], she chooses not to correct him and, instead, tries to use this as an opportunity to prove herself.

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

Out of the Easy

To say that Josie Moraine has a very unusual life would be an understatement and a half! Though she is only in high school, she already lives on her own and works two jobs — as a clerk at a local bookstore and as a maid of sorts for the brothel where her mother works. That’s right… Josie’s mother is a prostitute. Not to mention a cold, calculating, unloving woman who only ever seems to think of herself. And, as if that isn’t bad enough, Josie’s mother also happens to be in love with an abusive gangster-type. So, when her mom disappears from the French Quarter the very same morning that a man turns up dead, Josie isn’t sure what to do or what to believe. She has never wanted anything so much as a chance to get out of the “Big Easy” and to get a good education, but her mother and her mother’s foolishness always seem to get in the way.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this story was how the entire cast of characters was so well fleshed-out. I get annoyed when authors skimp on developing the supporting characters, but Sepetys did not disappoint! My favorite was Willie — the brothel madam who knew Josie was bound for bigger and better things, regardless of the fact that many people assumed/hoped she would simply follow in her mother’s footsteps. I loved that Willie did her best to support Josie and to encourage her to want more from life instead of being upset that Josie didn’t want to join the [ahem] family business. If you like historical fiction and/or mysteries, this is a book you won’t want to miss.

Rapture Practice: My One-Way Ticket to Salvation [a true story] by Aaron Hartzler

Rapture Practice

Aaron Hartzler credits his acting ability to all the practice he got at home. After all, having questions about his faith and his sexuality weren’t exactly encouraged by his strict, Christian parents. If he wanted to stay out of trouble, he had to pretend to believe what they believed and to behave as they thought he should. As a child, he found it easy to get swept up in the excitement over the thought that Jesus might come down and take them all away to heaven at a moment’s notice. As a teen, though, Aaron had begun to enjoy his time on Earth too much to hope for the rapture. He also began to question many of the strict rules his parents upheld in the name of religion — especially the rules against listening to popular music and going to the movies. He began sneaking around and breaking rules and, what started off as smaller/more innocent lies, soon became intricately planned deceptions and full-fledged rebellion. Though I grew up attending church, my Presbyterian upbringing was very liberal and I found it fascinating [and sometimes horrifying] to see how vastly different it could have been even though his religion was based on the same holy book as mine.

The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex

The True Meaning of Smekday

This has got to be one of the funniest audiobooks I have ever listened to. Seriously! Adam Rex wrote a hilarious story and Bahni Turpin’s narration was absolutely fantastic. It’s no wonder this book received the Odyssey Award! My son and I listened to it together, and we loved it so much that we harassed my husband until he agreed to listen to it too. After we all finished listening, we started talking to each other like the Boov (alien) named J. Lo — and it’s gone on long enough that even my 3-year-old has talks like a Boov! I’m pretty sure it won’t matter how many times I hear it; I will always laugh when I hear my son shout, “SHOOT FORTH THE LASERS … FROM MY EYEBALLS!” Priceless family bonding. 😉

You may be wondering, “What’s this story about?” Well… When an alien race [the Boov] took over Earth and claimed it as their own planet, they renamed Christmas as Smekday and forced all the humans in North America to relocate to Florida. Later, after the Boov were vanquished, students across the US were given the chance to explain the true meaning of Smekday in an essay. This story is Gratuity “Tip” Tucci’s story/essay.

P.S. Random House has an excerpt on their website if you want to check it out for yourself — http://www.randomhouse.com/book/202129/the-true-meaning-of-smekday-by-adam-rex