Directed Verdict

Directed Verdict by Randy Singer.

Fast paced, twists and turns, mysteries within mysteries, and a dash of romance… I would have to agree with those critics that say Randy Singer is as good as, if not better than, John Grisham in writing legal thrillers. I couldn’t put it down and was racing to read it to the end.

Although it starts out a little slow in building the background for the trial, it quickly turns into a fascinating tale with multiple plot lines that keeps you guessing and at the edge of your seat. The book is about an unprecedented civil rights suit brought against Saudi Arabia and the ruthless head of the Muttawa, religious police, who think nothing of killing those who defy them and the Muslim religion. “A case with David and Goliath odds with one lawyer willing to challenge an entire nation.” Witnesses disappear, jurors are bribed, lives are threatened and the defense team appears to be infiltrated. There is a maze of deception and treachery as the attorney risks his career, his case and his personal life.

I highly recommend this new book and predict this book will be another one that will keep flying off the shelf.

Review by Kathy Stutzman, Community Relations Assistant

So you think you know what happened at Columbine?

Anyone who was alive in America on April 20, 1999 knows how Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shot and killed 12 students, a teacher, wounded 23 others, and then killed themselves. We've all heard the story of the girl who --- seconds before she was shot --- looked the killers in the eye and told them she believed in God. We've heard about the "Trench Coat Mafia" and the violent video games. And we've heard that Harris and Klebold were social outcasts who, angered by continual bullying, decided to get even by staging the biggest massacre ever at an American high school.

You will be shocked to learn that most of what you've heard is wrong. If David Cullen is even slightly correct, Cassie Bernall was not killed because she said yes (Turns out it was another girl), Harris and Klebold weren't outcasts or bullied,(in fact the two of them did more bullying to others than what was done to them). They weren’t targeting jocks or Christians (anyone and everyone was fair game), and they most certainly weren’t “addicted” to violent video games (They enjoyed playing them). Truth be told, "Columbine" presents a much more terrifying story than the one you know.

David Cullen’s “Columbine” let’s us into the lives of Harris and Klebold and what motivated them to kill. For Eric Harris it was raw hatred, a desire to kill as many people as possible-to end the world if he could. For Dylan Klebold, it was the hunger for love. And when he couldn’t find it, an all-consuming desire for death.

We come to know a side of these boys that was never portrayed in the media. Dylan was a secret drunk who was deeply depressed, while Eric, seemingly obedient, was really a psychotic control freak with a messianic-level superiority complex.

But why should we take Cullen’s word for what happened against the media’s and what was widely reported in the first 10 days after the shootings? Cullen was one of the first reporters to arrive on the scene that fateful Tuesday, April 20th 1999. At first he fell for most of the false conclusions, but after investigating the teen killers for 10 years he came to realize that what happened wasn’t because of bullying, Hitler, violent video games, or Marilyn Manson instead it was the pure unadulterated hatred of one rage filled teenager and his bewildered disheartened sidekick.
If indeed this is the case, and there was no motive apart from hatred and rage, then the nationwide reaction to the Columbine massacre has given us no reason to feel secure --- metal detectors and guards can't tell the difference between a kid with a bit of teenage angst and the grinning psychopath with raging violence in his heart. A bit scary don’t you think?


While reading you will ask yourself who in their right mind would dream up a plan like that? Who would spend years planning it? And who, when the plan went haywire, would settle for taking out as many as possible before blowing their brains out? Some really disturbed kids, if you’re charitable you could say, “sick” if not then “evil” might be a better term. If Cullen got it right (and I believe he did) don’t call them “tormented” or “misunderstood” (which is how I viewed them for years) because they weren’t. They gave away clues, they committed some serious crimes prior to their “day of reckoning” and not only did they bamboozle their parents, but they managed to fool everyone.

It is unfortunate to say that each set of parents has remained tight-lipped even after 10 years. So we cannot truly know how really unaware they were about the gun purchasing, the bomb making, the video diaries and the hate filled journals.

Cullen beseeches us to remember there are psychopaths in every city and small town and that what happened at Columbine can happen anywhere. Most psychopaths are nonviolent, and very few are as diabolical as Eric Harris, but when they are beware, because there are plenty of despondent teens like Dylan Klebold for them to snare.

I would recommend you read “Columbine” for the stunning reportage and the heroism of the students and teachers. And at the end instead of letting out a sigh of relief that this nightmare didn’t happen to our town, you should ask yourself a variation of the infamous question, “Do you know who your children are?”

Double minds

Double Minds by Terry Blackstock

Terry Blackstock is one of my favorite authors. In fact, I wait anxiously for any new books authored by her. As a result, I was excited to see that WCPL had the latest release of hers now on the shelves, Double Minds.

The plot centers around singer/songwriter Parker James who is struggling to make her mark on the Nashville music scene amidst fierce competition,
Parker gets drawn into a murder mystery when a young woman is killed at the recording studio where Parker works. Putting her own life at risk, she attempts to uncover high-level industry corruption and unmask the murderer.
I earnestly plowed through the book, hoping it would pick up speed. It never did. I couldn’t quite put my finger on why I couldn’t seem to get engaged in the story. Was it too much focus on character development and not enough focus on the plot? Perhaps.

Admittedly, it was difficult to figure out who the murderer was. So in that respect, the book succeeded. However, the book bogged down in the long, detailed description of the heroine, Parker James, to the degree that it sapped the energy from the book’s story.

Sooooo… Sad to say, I can’t recommend the book. Perhaps you might think differently, but that’s my say on it.

Review by Kathy Stutzman Community Relations Assistant

Bread Alone

BREAD ALONE


"[Bread baking is] one of those almost hypnotic businesses, like a dance from some ancient ceremony. It leaves you filled with one of the world's sweetest smells...there is no chiropractic treatment, no Yoga exercise, no hour of meditation in a music-throbbing chapel that will leave you emptier of bad thoughts than this homely ceremony of making bread."
M. F. K. Fisher, The Art of Eating

I first read Bread Alone in 2002. The cover art intrigued me, and I turned it over to read the back; before I'd finished reading, I was already pulling out my money to take it home. I read it in a single night, the first of many such times I would do that, always wanting more when I reached the final page.
Justine Wynter Franklin knows her marriage isn't very happy just now, and nothing seems to symbolize that more to her than taking a 'cube' of bread from the bread machine, a gift from her husband. David has never understood that making bread, for Wyn, is not just about the end product, but the entire creative process. This is a woman who has studied in a Paris bakery for an entire summer, and learned how to really feel the dough come alive, in a way that only true bakers know. (And yes, I know this feeling very well.)
As her marriage crumbles, Wyn leaves California for Seattle, where her best friend CM lives. She's come there just to get away and ponder through the situation, but when she returns home she finds her possessions outside the house, the locks changed, and life--as she knew it—over. She returns to CM's place, and makes a loaf of bread, and if you think that's too simple a sentence, it doesn't begin to show the depths of this woman; that loaf of bread lands her a job.
Judith Ryan Hendricks is a writer of such skill that every one of her characters come alive in this book, become people you recognize, identify with, love or pity or hate. There was so much of my own life at the time that mirrored Wyn's, and I wanted to see how she would come through the fire, better on the other side. I wanted to know how Wyn had come to lose so much of herself in her marriage, and when she would realize that who she had become was someone she'd never meant to be. I wanted to know more about CM, and Mac, and Wyn's own mother Johanna, and the father Wyn still missed and mourned. I loved watching what had been a loving but distant relationship between mother and daughter bloom into something based on more similarities than Wyn could ever have imagined.
Ultimately, I wanted to live in the small house she found, decorate cakes with Diane, sling espresso with Ellen. I wanted to hang out at the bar where Mac worked, listen to the mixed tapes he made for her. I loved the way Wyn began creating new bread recipes, because that's something I do, myself, and it is a wonderful feeling when something no one ever dreamed of—until you—turns out to be something delicious. Most of all what I loved was watching this woman emerge from a feeling of victimized hopelessness into someone who knew with all surety who she was, and is, and will be. I liked the woman she became, and I learned a lot from her, fictional though she is.
Anyone who loves baking will love this book. Anyone who is a fan of someone making something good for herself, when everything she thought was hers is taken, will love this book. And it is not a 'chick lit' book by any means; my husband read it, and was as drawn into it as I was. I have read this book so many times that I now own it in paperback—my copy to lend—and hardcover, which is my copy to keep. I was delighted to find a sequel a few years later (The Baker's Apprentice) and to read in an author interview just yesterday that a third book is in the works:
“I think my next project is going to be the third part of Bread Alone. I’m kind of interested in finding out what those characters are up to about 15 years down the road.”
Apparently a lot of other readers have found Wyn and Mac unforgettable, too.

Review by Beth Anne Cox
Children's Services

Vivacious Reading: Very Valentine

After filling my head with DNA templates and shark intestines all week (yes, I've been studying for finals...), I must say that this book was exactly what I needed! Set in modern day Manhattan it follows the ups and downs of an Italian family desperately trying to maintain their history, while keeping up with the times.

Valentine, the middle, only un-married child, is turning 34, and obviously will soon be destined to spinsterhood if she doesn't find herself a beau immediately. However, the real love of Valentine's life is her grandmother, and the family shoe shop. The shop has been in the family since they came to America from Italy over a hundred years ago, and despite the impending financial crisis, Valentine is determined to keep the shop up and running.

If you're familiar at all with the author, you know that Adriana Trigiani ("The Big Stone Gap" series, and "Lucia Lucia") weaves excellant stories, full of cultural flavor in a very unique voice. I really think she came into her element with this book though. Her style is light, and pulls you in the same way "SALE" signs in front of a shoe shop do. The dialogue is witty, and a little reminenscent of "Gilmore Girls," yet it is still full of rich Italian culture and history.

If you've had as stressful a week as I have, I suggest you treat yourself to a few hours with this book. It just might be the refreshment you need!

Play It Again, SAHM

Play It Again, SAHM by Meredith Efken

Like creative approaches? Tired of the cut and dried themes? Get ready for a truly innovative way of writing. The author manages to tackle serious topics but with just enough light-hearted humor to keep you reading. I discovered it by accident at the library and wasn’t sure I would really like it. However, it deals realistically with issues moms deal with and in an entertaining way. It’s based on a friendship between 7 ladies who have never met before. A friendship forged in emails, no less.

They finally meet and like a blind date, all sorts of unknown things come to the surface. Personalities clash, belief systems collide, and attitudes surface. Yet, amazingly the friendships survive, strengthened by the disasters and trouble encountered together.

If you are a stay at home mom, you will quickly relate to this book and the different struggles they all face, both alone and together. It’s so realistic, that it’s scary. Chances are you will see yourself in one of these dynamic women.

Review by Kathy Stutzman Community Relations Assistant

Book Thief

It is a strange thing for a librarian to admit she doesn’t want to return a book, that she would like it to make a book be part of the “extremely overdue” collection. However strange the feeling, The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, is such a book for me.

I’ve just finished reading it and am now trying to put into words how this book moved me.

It’s the story of Liesel Meminger who is the book thief. It follows her life as a foster child in Molching, Germany, a small working class town outside of Munich, from 1939 to 1943. She is a girl with a dead brother and mother, and no father. She moves in with Mama and Papa, her foster parents. She can’t read or write yet, but she can steal. She makes friends and enemies and helps her parents keep a secret that will change all their lives. She goes from a little girl to an almost women while the world around her deals with the insanity of war torn Nazi Germany.

The complex nature of this book surprised me. But the first surprise comes early in the book. Should I tell you? I will. The books narrator is Death. And he is an excellent narrator, at that. As he says often in the book, he is always surprised at how much humans can take and still survive and still want to live.

If you’d like to read a book about the power of the human spirit that is real, that doesn’t sugar coat the darkest aspects of human nature and that recognizes that ordinary people can turn the smallest glimpse of hope into “a yellow raining sun,” then you’ll like the book thief.

For now, I may have to buy a copy for myself, or possibly at least donate one to the library to replace the “extremely overdue” copy.

Review by Childrens Librarian Patricia Schroader