Red Glove

The Curse Worker's series is perfect! I just finished Red Glove, and NEED the third book! NOW!
Holly Black created a world where curse workers can manipulate, kill, transform, or hurt you with a single touch. Cassel Sharpe happens to be the only non-worker in a family of mobster workers. He's an outcast with a murderous and confusing past, yet tries to make up for it with his con-man finesse. When he starts being lead in his dreams to see that his past was a con in itself, he can no longer lead the normal life he was trying for and may have to go against the only people he thought he could trust.
It's a thrill-ride that will keep you guessing, a love story that will make you want to throw the book against the wall, and a fabulously original idea that will leave you aching for more!

Reviewed by Erin Reifsnider
Young Adult Coordinator

The Swiss Courier by Tricia Goyer and Mike Yorkey

I have a confession to make. I normally avoid historical fiction like a passion. Usually, the authors put so many historical details in the books that it detracts from the story line and plot. I am so glad I checked out this book!

It is a gripping story about WWII with fascinating disclosures and background information that most people don’t know about. The book is a fast-paced thriller reminiscent of the highly popular 24 television series with plot twists and pulsating action and the plot KEPT ME RIVETED.

The authors have the right combination of history and intrique. It was fascinating to learn more about Switzerland’s role in WWII, the newly formed American Office of Strategic Services in that country which was the forerunner to the CIA. If only history teachers would weave tales like this, more students would become history lovers.

Kathy Stutzman
Public Relations Manager

Ship Breaker

I am always looking for the next book to put into someone's hands who can't get over the fast-paced, adventure of The Hunger Games. Similar plot lines have been written, female archer fighting to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. Yet, it is not one of these books which I put into the hands of these book lovers, but rather the 2010 Printz winning novel, Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi. With a dose of Treasure Island like adventure/survival, a dash of Hunger Games apocalyptic intrigue, a pinch of Dickens coming-of-age, and a whole lot of originality, Ship Breaker is a timeless story.

On the American Gulf coast, Nailer lives in a ship-breaking beach community. From a young age, children are trained in how to strip an old ship of all of its useful materials. It's dirty, risky and dangerously competitive. Nailers luck seems to have changed when he finds a “swank” boat washed up after a huge storm. Inside the boat, however, is a girl- A girl who could get in the way of his fortune if kept alive. This book sparks questions of ethical “what would you do's?” in a future world not un-like our own. Teens will be interested to find that ship-breaking is occurring in some impoverished coastal communities!

Reviewed by Erin Reifsnider
Young Adult Coordinator

Pegasus National Bestselling Author: Robin McKinley

YA SF MCK

I enjoy reading fantasy fiction written for all ages. Robin Mckinley is one of my favorite writers. In the past I have read the 1998 Phoenix Award honor book, Beauty: a Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast, the 1985 Newbery Medal winner The Hero and the Crown and a 1983 Newbery Honor book, The Blue Sword, both about the magical country of Damar. Just recently I bought and quickly devoured Robin McKinley’s novel, Sunshine, that had won the 2004 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature. I then placed on hold Pegasus at my library when I realized we had a copy here.

I have discovered that Robin McKinley always excels at creating a well-developed fantasy realm. In her Wikipedia biography Robin grew up as an only child with a father in the United State Navy. She moved around frequently and read copiously. She remembers events, places, and time periods by what books she read where. She read the Chronicles of Narnia for the first time in New York and the Lord of the Rings for the first time in Japan.

Many of her strong heroines reflect qualities that the she saw in herself as a young woman: clumsiness, plainness, bookishness, and disinterest in the usual social games that involve flirting and dating. She believes that most girls go through a time growing up when they believe they are in fact lost princesses, switched at birth. Biographer Marilyn H. Karrenbrock stated, “McKinley’s females do not simper, they do not betray their own nature to win a man’s approval. But neither do they take love lightly or put their own desires before anything else. In McKinley’s books, the romance, like the adventure, is based upon ideals of faithfulness, duty, and honor.” I found her animal characters to be memorable well-detailed, intelligent individuals.

In this novel, Pegasus, Princess Sylvi is ceremonially bound to Ebon, her own Pegasus, on her twelfth birthday as part of a thousand-year-old alliance between humans and pegasi. Amazingly, Sylvi and Ebon are able to communicate and truly understand each other, without relying on specially trained “speaker” magicians to translate. Secretly, Ebon introduced petite Sylvi to the joys of flying at night on his back. He also arranged for Sylvi to visit his homeland and to see the pegasi caves as a special 16th birthday gift. Alliance rules normally only allow the pegasi to visit the humans country. As a result of the rare three-week life-changing visit, Sylvi becomes her nation’s pegasi expert. But she is unsure of how to share what she has experienced and learned as the unique closeness of the bond between Sylvi and Ebon seems to threaten the peaceful status quo--and possibly the future safety of their two nations.

At the end of Pegasus I was left with many questions. A disgraced, power hungry “speaker” magician, Fthoom, uncovers an historical parchment document about the reign of King Ascur II, during which there was an invasion of enemy forces made up of taralians, norindours, ladons and wyverns, led by rocs. Supposedly, rocs speak truth when dying. The parchment recorded that a dying roc was overheard crying out, “the blood and breath of each [race] is poisonous to the other” over time, and the bodies of your two races “are dying of it” as the ties grow closer together. Was Fthoom lying? Many in the king’s Court fear that the two nations may not survive the escalating violent, border attacks by these old enemies again --especially if the growing bond between Sylvi and Ebon and other human-pegasi partnerships are allowed to flourish. Are the magicians holding back key information or doing things that hold back and/or jeopardize a closer, more equitable relationship between the two nations?

Regrettably I must wait almost a year for the publication of Pegasus II in 2012 to discover if the friendship of Sylvi and Ebon will end or survive in the face of the impending crisis facing their nations.

Meanwhile, I plan to read some of Robin McKinley’s other titles. I’ve got her books, Chalice and Dragonhaven, on my “to read” list. She is married to author Peter Dickinson. I may also explore the two short story collections they wrote together, Fire and Water. I look forward to many more hours of great fantasy reading.

What authors have you enjoyed reading over the years? Who has always produced a good read time and again? I plan to explore a few of my favorites with you soon. Until then, enjoy reading.

Ann Zydek
Library Director

Conspiracy in Kiev

Conspiracy in Kiev, marks Noel Hynd venture into Christian fiction. This fast-paced international espionage thriller will keep you guessing. Full of twists and turns, any Ludlum and Clancy fans will enjoy this first book of a Russian Trilogy. You can tell the author is knowledgeable of the ins and outs of Washington agencies and the book is well researched. In fact, some of the practices revealed will certainly make readers wary, especially in light of the recent headlines about Russian espionage in this country. From double-crosses to unexpected help from the enemy, this book won’t disappoint you.

There is a lot of violence in this action-packed story and a number of people die. However, the events aren’t that much different than newspaper headlines today. This only serves to make the book more realistic.

Although categorized as inspirational fiction, faith is very subtlety woven through the pages making it entertaining for all crowds. In fact, it could just as easily be categorized as just mystery fiction. The female lead character, Alex DaLuca, does grow stronger in her faith but it is not a main focus point. Occasionally, the story gets bogged down when the author goes into a lot of historical background to explain situations. However, it doesn’t occur often enough to warrant putting the book down.

A tight storyline with thrilling action sequences makes this a good read.

Kathy Stutzman
Public Relations Manager

The Devil's Rooming House

   Ok, first of all, I guess I read some rather morbid books at times! This book, authored by M. Williams Phelps, is a non-fiction book about Amy Archer-Gilligan, America's Deadliest Female Serial Killer.
   In running one of the U.S.'s first nursing homes from her own home, Amy was accused of murdering over 40 patients with arsenic. Between 1908 and 1916, sixty-six "inmates" as they were called, died in her care. She was only convicted of a few, including her second husband, within months of their marriage. The movie: Arsenic and Old Lace was written based on this period in history.
   Although the book was interesting, I still found myself just skimming pages instead of intently reading them. At times the book tended to drag with too much back story of other participants. But overall, if you are interested in this type of reading, it really was a fascinating story.

As Young as We Feel

As Young As We Feel by Melody Carlson

This is the first book of a new series: The Four Lindas. It is a compelling journey of four friends in their fifties brought back together at a 35 year class reunion during a crossroads in their lives. Coming from four very different lifestyles and facing different crises, they find they have something in common, a desire to reinvent their lives…together.

It’s easy to relate to the story line of friends losing touch with each other and reconnecting later. Many of us have gone through the same situation. It’s also a written reminder that we all need friends in our lives.

Although, it starts out a little slow, it does pick up speed with characters so realistic that the reader begins to identify with one or more of the Lindas. With the unique life challenges of the Boomer generation: marriages in trouble, widowhood, depression, relationships with estranged children, and taking care of parents with long-term care needs, there is something for any woman of Boomer age to identify with. At the same time, those of other ages will enjoy this book also as it explores reevaluating one’s life, of taking chances, and possibly choosing a new path.

As one reviewer wrote, “This is a book for and about women -- about their trials, their strengths and their friendships. It's a book you won't want to miss, especially if you're a Boomer woman.”

Kathy Stutzman
Public Relations Manager