Young Adult Fiction with Appeal for Adult Readers

At yesterday's meeting we heard from the lovely and talented Chandra Sparks Taylor, author of YA novels Spin It Like That, The Pledge, and the recently published The Promise. She shared with us her very inspiring story of the road to publication. Chandra is a freelance copy editor in addition to writing and shared that she is also available for teen writing workshops. Visit her website and book a speaking engagement with her today!

www.chandrasparkstaylor.com

Our blog is doing fairly well with 47 visits and 71 total page views in the past 30 days but we aren't stopping there! The JCLC Reader's Advisory Roundtable will soon have a presence on Facebook!

April found a provocative article discussing the idea of book ratings for children's and teen materials. In this article a passage from John Green and David Levithan's book, Will Grayson, Will Grayson, is mentioned out of context and used as an example to make the author's case.


On to the list! There is truly something for every reader, serious to silly, on this list so have a look and consider a display of these materials at YOUR library!

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Mondretta Williams, Leeds Library

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Sometime in the future , a 16-year old girl names Katniss Everdeen lives with her older sister and mother in North America in a place called District 12. People in District 12 are poor, and since her father’s death in a coal-mining accident , Katniss has had to hunt game with a bow and arrow to supplement her family’s meager supplies. District 12 is far from the Capitol City, Panem, a place Katniss never expects to visit .

Then comes the day of “reaping” when her beloved sister Prim is randomly chosen to represent District 12 in the annual Hunger Games. Immediately, Katniss steps forward and volunteers to take her sister’s place in the Games, which are held each year in the capitol. The Hunger Games have elements in common with the Olympics (coaches, training, and a spectacular opening ceremony) and with reality TV shows (constant cameras, obstacles, a manipulated environment in the arena.)

The purpose of these games is far more gruesome and terrifying. Of the 24 young people who compete, only one will survive. To win at the Hunger Games you must kill all your opponents, even if they become your friends.

Young adults and older adults will be riveted by Collins’ novel. The Hunger Games combines elements of an intense survival adventure with a story of friendship and love. But the book is more than a page-turner with a strong appealing heroine. The Hunger Games is a powerful and often disturbing story that is sure to spark intense discussion not just about Katniss Everdeen’s world, but about our own.
Mondretta Williams, Leeds Library

Jason Baker, Trussville Library

If I Grow Up by Todd Strasser
This story begins with a 12 year old boy, who lives in the projects surrounded by guns, drugs and violence. Readers will find themselves drawn to DeShawn’s story and hoping for a positive outcome by the end of the book.
April Wallace, Irondale Library

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Wintergirls is a gut-wrenching story that I highly recommend to anyone who knows someone who has/is struggling with an eating disorder. While reading this book you will live life through the eyes of an anorexic teenager whose thoughts and body image are so deluded she is on the road to permanently destroying her body.
April Wallace, Irondale Library

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
Elizabeth Scott’s previous books are much lighter reads – this book takes is a disturbing look at a broken girl. It will haunt you, reading the story of “Alice,” a 15 year old girl who was abducted at the age of ten and has been living with her abusive captor even since.
April Wallace, Irondale Library

Looking for Alaska by John Green
Miles arrives to an Alabama boarding school (based on Pelham, AL’s Indian Springs school that John Green attended as a teen) looking for something to shake up his boring existence. Miles’ life is indeed changed when he meets Alaska Young, an adventurous, beautiful, charismatic yet somewhat self-destructive girl. John Green’s books are very clever and sophisticated; older teens may strongly relate to the stories, but adults can appreciate his writing, too.
April Wallace, Irondale Library

After Tupac & D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson
This is a great story of a three 11 year old girls who become close friends in the Bronx in the mid 1990s. This title is a lovely story about friendship that will appeal to adults who themselves grew up in the 90s.
April Wallace, Irondale Library

The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell
Sex & the City fans will be thrilled to get their hands on this! This is a YA book that tells about Carrie Bradshaw’s teenage years growing up in a small town. It is a cute story that fans of the show will love but non-SATC viewers would enjoy, too.
April Wallace, Irondale Library

Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
Gina Robertson, Gardendale Library
Jason Baker, Trussville Library

100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson
Gina Robertson, Gardendale Library

The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney
Gina Robertson, Gardendale Library

Vampirates series by Justin Somper
Gina Robertson, Gardendale Library

Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud
Gina Robertson, Gardendale Library

Dragonback Adventures series by Timothy Zahn
Fourteen year old Jack Morgan has been on his own for years and is now on the run after being framed for a crime he did not commit. During his escape attempt, he comes across a crashed spacecraft. Unbeknown to Jack, the only survivor is the K'da warrior Draycos. Draycos can only survive if he finds another host IMMEDIATELY and Jack becomes that host. He agrees to help Jack clear his name if Jack will help him find out who betrayed Draycos' people. Excitement, adventure, and great world building!
Holley Wesley, Emmet O'Neal Library

C.S.I. Intern At Your Own Risk manga series by Sekou Hamilton
Maya Jones, BPL West End Library

Vampire Knight manga series by Matsuri Hiro
Maya Jones, BPL West End Library

Maximum Ride manga series by James Patterson
Maya Jones, BPL West End Library

Dragon Jouster series by Mercedes Lackey
Maya Jones, BPL West End Library

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
To the outside world, Ed is not much to look at. He is 19 (though his employer thinks he’s 20), unathletic, ambivalent, unmotivated, and drives a taxi for a living. He has three good friends (Marv, Richie, and Audrey) with whom he plays cards occasionally. He has one exceptionally smelly dog, The Doorman. His more successful siblings have all moved out of this tiny Australian town, leaving him to the very strained relationship he maintains with their mother. He works, he sleeps, and he drinks coffee with The Doorman. That’s about it…until the first ace arrives in his mailbox. Three addresses are written on the playing card. Four aces equal twelve mysteries and Ed will find the answer to his questions only after he visits each one. This book, along with all Markus Zusak’s novels, is in our young adult collection but, for this one especially, I would recommend for mature readers only (language, sexual situations, violence, mature theme...does that sound too much like the MPAA?). I have avowed since my first reading of this book that I would place an "I Love Ed Kennedy" bumper sticker on my car just to see who got the reference. A perfect blend of reality and magical realism, I am the Messenger is a feel-good book though the ending does seem a bit forced, like Zusak got all the way to the last couple of pages and just wasn't sure what to do with it. Until that point, I was mesmerized. The language is gorgeous, even the angry bits, and littered with Australian...lingo? Colloquialisms? Whatever the word is. There are beautiful turns on phrase like "their voices slammed and the door shouted shut". I'm pulling that from memory so please allow for mistakes :-) Anyway, imagine a virtual standing ovation sound effect overlaying this discussion and you'll have my opinion!
Holley Wesley, Emmet O'Neal Library

Marie, Dancing by Carolyn Meyer
Fourteen-year-old Marie van Goethem is only truly happy on the ballet stage. Her family is starving because of her mother's constant drinking and her older sister's chronic selfishness while Marie works herself to the bone to make a living as a dancer. With her little sister coming up the ballet ranks behind her, Marie is desperate to provide both a better example than her older sister AND some income for the family. Her luck just may be changing now that she is posing for a sculpture for Edgar Degas. As she stands before him, Marie dreams of all that she desires from the world: a life without poverty, of being with her one true love, and of becoming a star of the ballet. Will Marie be able to overcome the obstacles before her and rise to fame and fortune on the ballet stage? This wonderful book tackles many of life's toughest choices while still leaving room for hope and dreams. Meyer also brings 19th century Paris to life for her readers, making this an apt choice for fans of Tracy Chevalier and Susan Vreeland.
Holley Wesley, Emmet O'Neal Library

A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb
Helen has drifted around for the last 150 years haunting various humans for the length of their lives, yet never really bothering them. Today, for the first time in the great span, she feels someone looking at her. No one has EVER seen her since she died and the sensation of his eyes upon her is uncomfortable and disturbing. Helen - terrified, but intrigued - is drawn to the young man. The fact that he is in a body and she is not presents this unlikely couple with their first challenge. But as the lovers struggle to find a way to be together, they begin to discover the secrets of their former lives and of the young people they come to possess. Dark, heartbreaking, gothic, and sexy...this is a great book for older teens and any adult reader, AT ALL, who enjoyed the Twilight books or Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse books.
Holley Wesley, Emmet O'Neal Library

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Sally Sizemore, Hoover Library

Eli the Good by Silas House
Eli, 10, spends the summer of 1976 riding bikes with his friend Edie, reading Anne Frank's diary, talking with his Aunt Nell, and watching his Vietnam-vet father experience flashbacks. He observes his mother trying to ride out various storms: 16-year-old Josie's rebellious attitude; the anger between her husband and his sister, Nell (who protested the war); and the flashes of violence and despair that wrack her spouse. Eli is curious, thoughtful, and not above eavesdropping or snooping through personal letters to find out things that his family would prefer to keep private. He learns that Nell came home with cancer; that he and Josie do not share a biological father; and how his father felt after killing a man in the war. Nell nicknames him Eli the Good, and he is. He is a decent kid, just trying to understand his family and the world around him. He makes mistakes, but he learns from them, and simply wants the best for those he loves. Silas House writes as beautifully and evocatively as he did in earlier adult novels. Atmosphere is lovingly described, the sights and sounds of the summers you experienced in your youth abound. He puts you there physically into the setting of each and every story. He lays out Eli's world in exquisite detail. A Bicentennial celebration, along with mentions of pop songs and clothing styles, sets the stage,and the story flows along, carrying readers and Eli to the end of summer and beyond, into a brief glimpse of his life as an adult.
Leslie West, Vestavia Library

House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
Theresa Davis, Hoover Library

Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare
Theresa Davis, Hoover Library

Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Theresa Davis, Hoover Library

Angels Trilogy by Lurlene McDaniel
The Angels Trilogy is three stories (Angels Watching Over Me, Lifted Up By Angels, Until Angels Close My Eyes) in one volume by one author. Each story has angels, life issues, English and Amish.

Leah was very alone in her hospital room. Her mother and Leah's new step dad were in Japan on their honeymoon. Even though she just had a broken finger, Leah's doctor admitted her to the hospital. While there sixteen year old Leah met five year old Rebekah, her sister Charity and teenage brother Ethan. Her new friends were Amish -people she had heard of and maybe had seen but did not know. This "chance" meeting would change her world. To them, Leah was "English." Rebekah and Leah were roomies in the hospital and supported each other through difficult times. Both also met Molly and Gabriella. Molly was the nurse who cared and listened to her patients. Gabriella came to them at night and was with them when needed. But no one else knew her. She just was and they liked her. Leah liked Ethan very much as soon as she met him. He was also there when Leah had no family present during medical testing and trying news. Ethan was trying on the English ways but yet knew he was Amish. His identity was blurred and yet not. Leah was unsure of her identity, too, with divorce and abandonment family problems. They were from two very different worlds but both were having similar crises in their lives. When Leah spent a summer visiting Ethan's world she understood even more about being on the edge of Amish and English. Where did she belong? Where did he belong? Could they be together in one world or the other? Cancer appeared in two lives in these stories. This was a truly scary prospect for both and for those who loved them. Plans made were suddenly on hold. Lives were turned upside down. Ethan was there in the English world being a good worker and a calm voice of love and caring. And he must decide where he belongs and what he wants to do with his life. Ethan and Leah are two people very much in love and both searching for meaning and belonging.
Beth Hutcheson, Homewood Library

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
According to our narrator, Death, Liesl first became a book thief at the gravesite of her younger brother. On the way to the home of her fosterfamily, her brother dies and is buried. Liesl spots a book on the ground in the cemetery and steals it. Life with her foster family in Nazi Germany is certainly not easy. With all the deprivations war brings, not to mention the added drama of a young Jewish man hiding in their basement and her father already not in good standing with the Nazi party, Liesl must continually face challenges. Ultimately, this is a story of human survival amidst very difficult circumstances and a reminder thoughout of the power of words.
Marylin Sessions, Springville Road Library

Feed by M.T. Anderson
Set in the future, Anderson’s novel follows a group of teens in a world where almost everyone has been implanted with a computer chip at birth, a feed, which links their brains to the Internet; along with its constant advertisement-information barrage. The book’s two main characters are Titus, whose personality is like vanilla ice cream – he is easy-going and follows mainstream culture. Then he meets Violet, a home-schooled girl who shows Titus that “the feed” is watching him and he should analyze the feed, his life, and be much more critical of the media and consumerism. Adults will appreciate Feed’s satire, and its Orwellian (Big Brother) and Brave New World (Cloning) overtones. Anderson does a very good job mimicking teen dialogue and inventing his own, futuristic slang (unit = dude, mal = bad, really = meg, a pretty girl is "youch"). As the story progresses, Titus must reconcile his old perceptions of the “truth” and his world views with what he sees as Violet’s reality. The audio book version does an excellent job of re-creating the feed’s “broadcasts” in the character’s brains. The story is plausible enough that the possibility of some of its aspects becoming reality is quite unsettling, highly recommended for mature teens and adults.
Chris Roddy, East Ensley Library

The Navigator by Eoin McNamee
Leigh Wilson, North Birmingham Library

Meeting Reminder!

Just a reminder that we will be meeting next week Wednesday April 28th at 9am at the Emmet O'Neal Library in the Community Meeting Room right off the lobby!

We'll be discussing young adult fiction with appeal to adult readers PLUS we'll hear from special guest, young adult author Chandra Sparks Taylor!

I hope you can join us!

Happy reading!

Holley

the Alex Awards, in reverse!

YALSA has a wonderful award for books published for adults which have appeal for young adult readers, the Alex Awards. At our next meeting, April 28, 2010 at 9am at the Emmet O'Neal Library, the RA Roundtable will be turning the Alex Awards upside down and discussing books published for young adults that have appeal for adult readers.

Look to J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer if you don't believe this crossover takes place!

If you'd like a bit of assistance in finding a suitable title, here are a couple of lists!

Publisher's Weekly online, "Adult Readers in the Kids' Section"

About.com: Bestsellers, "Top 7 Young Adult Books for Adults"

Amazon.com, "YA Books that Adults Can Appreciate"

SF Signal: MINDMELD, "Young Adult SF/F Books That Adults Will Like Too"

I'm having a hard time narrowing down my selections! A lot of these I've already read, but I love a good reread! Have you read any of the titles on these lists?

Happy reading!

Holley

Fiction of Choice

The Roundtable met yesterday morning to talk about fiction of choice and the discussion was brisk and varied! The few housekeeping matters brought up included using Encore's community tagging feature to add your library book group's name to the books that they have read, are reading, and will read so that patrons can see library book group selections when searching the catalog.

Also, remember that the April meeting was moved back to the 28th to avoid conflict with the Alabama Library Association conference in Huntsville AND that the venue will change to the meeting room of the Emmet O'Neal Library.

Thrillers, cozies, historical sagas, contemporary explorations of character, and genre-bending award winners are just a few of the great books read and/or talked about by roundtable members. See how many you've read!

Searching for Tina Turner by Jacqueline Luckett

Push by Sapphire

Total Eclipse of the Heart by Zane

I, Alex Cross by James Patterson

Alex Cross's Trial by James Patterson
Fans of Patterson's serial-killer hunting detective, Alex Cross, expecting another cat-and-mouse thriller based on this book's title, will find Cross's appearance limited to a two-page preface in which the fictional character explains why he's written a book called Trial. Abraham Cross, a great uncle who lived in Eudora, Miss., at the beginning of the 20th century, helps liberal lawyer Ben Corbett to expose the truth about a wave of lynchings near that town, an assignment undertaken at the request of Corbett's friend, President Theodore Roosevelt. When Corbett arrives in Eudora, where he was born and raised, he receives a frosty reception from many unhappy with his record of representing African-Americans accused of murder, including a cold shoulder from his father, a judge. Soon, Corbett finds evidence that racism is alive and well, and that brutal murders of blacks, often for the most trivial of reasons, are endemic. Ben aims to break the reign of terror--but the truth of who is really behind it could break his heart. Written in the fearless voice of Detective Alex Cross, Alex Cross's Trial is a tale of murder, love, and, above all, bravery.
Leslie West, Vestavia Hills Library

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
Sittenfeld presents a fictional portrait of First Lady Laura Bush, although she changes some important details. In a memoir told entirely in the first person, Alice Blackwell relays her unlikely ascent to the White House from her humble Wisconsin beginnings. She conveys in convincing, thoroughly riveting detail a life far more complicated than it appears on the surface—the moment she discovered that her beloved grandmother was a lesbian; a tragic, life-changing car accident she had as a teenager; the friendship she willingly sacrificed with her best friend when she started dating the good-humored, athletic Charlie Blackwell; and her uncomfortable initiation into the tight-knit, immensely wealthy Blackwell family, run with unflappable authority by its formidable matriarch. No one is more surprised than Alice when her hard-drinking, sports-team-owning husband morphs into a born-again Christian with political ambitions. Suddenly, Alice’s life is no longer her own as her every move is scrutinized for its political implications. Sittenfeld is sure to come under fire for presuming to so methodically blur the lines between fiction and reality and for timing her novel’s publication to an election year for maximum publicity. Yet what she does here, is winning and very confident ; she manages to craft out of the first-person narration a compelling, very human voice, full of kindness and decency. And, as if making the Bush-like couple entirely sympathetic is not enough of a feat in itself, she also provides many rich insights into the emotional ebb and flow of a long-term marriage.
Leslie West, Vestavia Hills Library

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
Michael Berg is 15 when he begins a long, obsessive affair with Hanna, an enigmatic older woman. He never learns very much about her, and when she disappears one day, he expects never to see her again. But, to his horror, he does. Hanna is a defendant in a trial related to Germany's Nazi past, and it soon becomes clear that she is guilty of an unspeakable crime. As Michael follows the trial, he struggles with an overwhelming question: What should his generation do with its knowledge of the Holocaust? What does it mean to love those people--parents, grandparents, even lovers--who committed the worst atrocities the world has ever known? And is any atonement possible through literature? Schlink has written an austerely beautiful narrative in the attempt to breach the gap between Germany's pre- and postwar generations, between those guilty and those innocent, and between words and silence. Thought provoking. An excellent choice for books clubs.
Leslie West, Vestavia Hills Library

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
This dense, complex novel won the 2009 Man Book Prize, awarded to the best novel of the year written by a citizen of the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland. Many books have chronicled the life and many loves of Henry VIII, and this one does as well, but from the viewpoint of Thomas Cromwell, who rose from obscurity to become one of the most powerful men of the day. The perspective from which the book is written takes some time to get used to, the descriptive detail is exhausting, the cast of characters is a few rungs of the ladder above extensive, but this book is so worth the time and trouble. This book is like the very darkest chocolate, not at all meant to be devoured in large portions, but to be savored in tiny nibbles. I was sad when it was over and I greatly anticipate the next in the series.
Holley Wesley, Emmet O'Neal Library

Do you enjoy a good detective novel, but are sometimes overwhelmed with the superabundance of characters that writers like Agatha Christie can throw at you? The Big Sleep and Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler introduces Private Detective Philip Marlowe to readers. Marlowe is a cynical, hard-boiled character who sees himself as an average guy who just happens to solve crimes. Chandler’s lasting appeal can be attributed to his unmatched skill at describing his settings with rich textures and exacting detail. As you read Chandler, it is important to remember that his main interest was in human drama, character and emotion, not plotting.
Chris Roddy, East Ensley Library

Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler
Farewell, My Lovely has Marlowe ensnared in murder from the beginning. As an ex-con thug proves that he is very willing to kill to find his old girlfriend, Velma. The plot takes several twists and turns, with more than one false lead. If the reader is able to sit back and enjoy the narrative, rather than the plot’s believability. He or she should find that the novel’s conclusion, while far from perfect, is a reflection that real life crimes hardly ever end well.
Chris Roddy, East Ensley Library

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
In The Big Sleep, what starts out as a blackmail case quickly escalates to include sex and murder. The fast pacing and short chapters make this a hard book to put down, I found myself staying up late at night to find out what happens next. Put your sleuthing skills to the test and see if you can solve the case before it is revealed at the end of the novel.

Chris Roddy, East Ensley Library

The Unbearable Lightness of Scones by Alexander McCall Smith
As in most of McCall-Smith’s books the major activity is in the relationships between and among the characters as they go about their everyday activities. This fifth book in the 44 SCOTLAND STREET series brings the reader up to date on the lives of the characters from the address and the neighborhood. Matthew, owner of a small art gallery marries a young teacher. Narcissistic Bruce is engaged to a vacuous young beauty. Six year old Bertie’s parents wage a struggle over Bertie’s desire to join the cub scouts Angus Lordie’s Cyril fathers six pups who are dumped on his doorstep. Reading this series is like returning to one’s old neighborhood to catch up on the news and gossip. The reader can so easily identify with the feelings and dilemmas of this endearing set of quirky characters.
Mary Donlevy, Emmet O'Neal Library

La's Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander McCall Smith
A quiet story about a young woman, La (short for Lavender) Stone, whose philandering husband leaves her for another woman and then is killed in a freak accident. Trying to reassemble her life, she moves to a small cottage in the country near Suffolk. After the outbreak of WWII, she joins the Women’s Land Army and is assigned to work on a neighboring farm. Also assigned to the farm is an attractive young Polish aviator shot down over England. Despite suspicions about his past, she is attracted to him, and he becomes a member of an amateur local orchestra which La organizes to boost morale. This brings the members of the community together with each other and also with some of the soldiers from a nearby air base.
Mary Donlevy, Emmet O'Neal Library

Stone's Fall by Ian Pears
By the author of An Instance of the Fingerpost, Stone’s Fall is a murder mystery, as well as a love story. The cover of the audio edition summarizes the story well. “John Stone, financier and arms dealer, was a man so wealthy that in the years before World War I he was able to manipulate markets, industries and entire countries and continents. Stone’s Fall seeks to discover why John Stone died, falling out of a window at his London home. Chronologically the story moves backward—from London in 1909 to Paris in 1890and finally to Venice in 1867—and the attempts to uncover the truth play out against the backdrop of the evolution of high-stakes international finance, Europe’s first great age of espionage and the start of the twentieth century’s arms race."
Mary Donlevy, Emmet O'Neal Library

The Lumby Lines by Gail Fraser

This is the first of the Lumby novels. As in the Jan Karon Mitford books, we get to know the inhabitants of a special place on earth and soon feel at home with them. Mark and Pam lived in Virginia but mainly just existed there with each other. When visiting Lumby on vacation they "met" Hank and others who lived in and around Lumby. They also discovered the long abandoned and burned Montis Abbey. As they walked over the grounds, which included seven buildings, orchards and bee hives, they decided they could restore all this and open it as an inn. So began their new lives doing what they wanted to be happy, not just to have the money to have things. After they bought the Abbey some of the former monks came by to help by answering questions about the buildings and the orchards, and even how to care for the bees. The owner of the local newspaper wrote an editorial soon after those East Coast outsiders bought the Abbey. For some reason he did not like these people he had never met. He was very definite in his opinion that they should not rebuild the Abbey or open it as an inn for tourists. Most of the people in Lumby were helpful and eventually accepting. Mostly, Pam and her husband found a new way of life for themselves and others in this little town just off the highway and overlooking a beautiful lake. Visit Lumby and meet Hank the flamingo. A moose might also cross your path. Or a drunk cow.
Beth Hutchinson, Homewood Library

Stealing Lumby by Gail Fraser
This is the sequel to Lumby Lines, Gail Fraser's book introducing us to a Northwest small town with quirky characters and seemingly normal people who sometimes enjoy peculiar behavior. Such as the Midnight Moo Doo Iditarod. This Lumby tradition involves a team of two people, a sled and two bovines pulling the sled. The people of Lumby are proud of their town and traditions and care for each other. Especially when someone has special need. In this second book about Lumby the town experiences thievery. At stake is not just the object stolen but also the town's collective pride. When sickness, grief or financial troubles strike, the town pulls together to help and comfort their member or members involved. In Stealing Lumby when Katie needs help, people volunteer their time, labor and resources. As always Hank, the flamingo, stands ready to help, dressed appropriately for each occasion. look at www.lumbybooks.com to learn more about these fun books, the characters and the author.
Beth Hutchinson, Homewood Library

Maid for Murder: A Squeaky Clean Charlotte LaRue Mystery by Barbara Colley
Charlotte LaRue has owned a cleaning business for thirty years serving the Garden District in New Orleans. During this time she has acquired a reputation for excellent cleaning, punctuality and not sharing the family secrets of many of her wealthy clients. One of those families is the Dubuissons who own an amazing mansion and have employed Charlotte for years. She has seen their daughter, Anna-Maria, into a lovely young woman with a fiance and Jeanne Dubuisson's mother, Clarice St. Martin, grow old and show signs of senility. Needless to say, Charlotte was distressed when one evening Jeanne called Charlotte to come clean the room where her husband, Jackson, had been murdered. Of course, Charlotte did as requested for such a good friend and client. Then after she had done her usual excellent job of cleaning, the police informed her that they were not done with the crime scene and in fact had left crime scene tape around it. The tape was gone when Charlotte arrived. Why had Jeanne removed it and had the area cleaned? Charlotte had conflicting emotions about helping the police, including her detective niece, find Jackson's killer. Because the evidence might point at some of her clients.
Beth Hutchinson, Homewood Library

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
This is a lovely story about a young woman, Eilis Lacey, who leaves Ireland behind for a better life in America. Reading about life through the eyes of a newly immigrated person in the 1950s was very interesting. She has to deal with intense loneliness while working and establishing a new life in the US. The story moves along at a very slow pace but it is a good kind of slow - intriguing, not boring. It is a beautifully written story that feels very real with characters that you can relate to.
April Wallace, Irondale Library

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

I would categorize this novel as true-crimish fiction. Is this a real genre? Not really, but it describes this book perfectly. It is set in a small-town in Iowa where a seven year old selectively mute girl and her best friend go missing. Who took the girls? Is it the older brother? One of the fathers? Or a stranger? Each chapter is told from a different character's point of view which gives the reader a lot of insight as to what is going through their minds. It was easy to get sucked into the fast-paced plot and trying to figure out who was involved and if the girls will be found alive. This is a debut work by the author; I look forward to reading more from her in the future.
April Wallace, Irondale Library

The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields

What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
So i read the hotel on the corner of bitter and sweet by jamie ford for our book group. the consensus - we loved it! it would be a great read for parent/child book groups or for teens as the tale is told both by a man in his 50s AND the same man when he was 13 - we get the story from both perspectives. the main character is a chinese american growing up during the 2nd world war. his parents are very much patriots, but have strong ties to "the old country" and still consider themselves chinese. The problem for their son is that they want him to be both - he must speak english at home and go to an american (not all chinese) school. he is bullied there and teased and is, in general, miserable. the bright spots are his friend sheldon who is a30 something african american jazz musician and a girl named keiko okabe, who, although a 2nd generation american, is also of japanese descent, which leaves henry (our narrator) in a REALLLLLY bad situation. his father hates the japanese and basically disowns henry for befriending keiko. when keiko's family is rounded up with other japanese americans and sent to an internment camp, henry wonders if he will ever see her again. our book group loved this book not only for the sweet friendship and love story between henry and keiko, but also for the relationship between henry and sheldon, the jazz musician. also? it was a GREAT way to find out more about this period in american history - the panama hotel DOES exist and many of the plot points are true. also? the chapters are brief and it was easy to breeze through this book. i would highly recommend this to someone looking for a book one step above a light read - maybe something nice for a long weekend at the beach or lake. it's not a tough story to read, there is a redemptive quality to the story, and it is basically free of angst. also? you CAN recommend this to someone who likes a "clean" read. i give at an A+++++++

Katie Moellering, Emmet O'Neal Library

The Exception by Christian Jungersen
here's the blurb from amazon: Starred Review. The slow burn of office politics can be just as riveting as international intrigue, as shown in Jungersen's second novel, his first to be translated into English. Iben, Malene and Camilla work in Copenhagen for the Danish Center for Information on Genocide. Even before Iben and Malene receive death threats with Nazi overtones, the three friends had been ostracizing the new librarian, Anne-Lise. Though evidence suggests Serbian war criminal Mirko Zigic has been sending the death threats, the paranoia and fear of the three friends converge to make Anne-Lise the target of rising suspicion. Victimizing is part of human nature, Anne-Lise's doctor tells her when she seeks advice, and the novel hauntingly pursues this idea to its deepest implications. Can people fighting genocide display the same traits as war criminals? What does it mean to be evil? Jungersen (Thickets) explores these questions and others on a very personal level. A complex understanding of people turns what could have been pace-slowing conversations and reproductions of essays on genocide into fuel for a sometimes cruel but always intense page-turner. this book got a starred review for a reason - there are so many ambiguities in plot and character, so many places to wonder what really happened and what the characters are really thinking. i loved this one as well, it's a GREAT thriller. i would recommend this to patrons who like The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo . also? it's another book that teaches you a lot about history (in this case genocide all over the world) without you even realizing it. i STRONGLY recommend this title!
Katie Moellering, Emmet O'Neal Library

The Hours by Michael Cunningham
This sad, yet exquisite, little novel chronicles the last few days of Virginia Woolf’s life before she committed suicide in 1941. Juxtaposed with Woolf’s downward spiral are the lives of two more modern women, Mrs. Brown in 1949 and Clarissa in a contemporary setting described merely as “the end of the twentieth century (pg. 9).” Cunningham draws these three women and their struggles with everyday life together in an effortless homage to Woolf’s novel, Mrs. Dalloway. While sad and introspective, the writing is beautiful and evocative. The Hours was made into a movie in about 2002 starring Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, and Julianne Moore.
Holley Wesley, Emmet O'Neal Library

Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett

Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon

The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

Angela's Ashes by Franck McCourt

The Bottoms by Joe R. Lansdale

Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

The Second Opinion by Michael Palmer

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

It was another great Roundtable meeting and I hope you'll make plans to join us Wednesday, April 28, 2010 at 9am in the Emmet O'Neal Library meeting room to discuss Young Adult Novels with Appeal for Adult Readers AND hear from guest speaker and young adult fiction author Chandra Sparks Taylor! Visit her website at www.chandrasparkstaylor.com!

Online paranormal romance roundtable!

Random House's Suvudu science fiction/fantasy blog has announced the perfect event to warm those winter blues away!

From their website:

Are you worried about post-Valentine’s day blues? Tired of the cold, gray winter? Well, Suvudu has the cure for you! On February 17 (at 4pm EST), we’re bringing in some of the hottest voices in Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy for a round-table discussion and we’re going to be bringing it live!

Participants include Kelley Armstrong (New York Times bestselling author of the Women of the Otherworld series), Diana Rowland, Jenna Black, Lucy A. Snyder, and Carolyn Crane. There is a quickform to get an email reminder and this also functions as your sign up. This is an outside webinar and is not connected with the Public Libraries of Jefferson County so if you have technical questions, please direct them to the Suvudu site.

Happy reading!

Holley

Fiction of Choice Next Week!

The Reader's Advisory Roundtable will meet at the HOMEWOOD LIBRARY next Wednesday, February 10th at 9am to discuss Fiction of Choice! I'm bringing refreshments this go around, everyone else bring a book (or books) of fiction to recommend!

Happy reading!

Holley