Whispers from the Dead / Joan Lowery Nixon . 180 pages / October Challenge Banned Books

Sarah Darnell and her parents used to live in Springdale, Missouri where Sam almost drowned.  A friend gave her CPR and saved her life, but she feels a connection to another world and a presence following her around.  When she shares her experiences with her friends they abandon her.  Her Mom seeks professional help for her.  Her father receives a promotion and the family moves to Houston.  Her father has procured an awesome house in a great neighborhood at below market price.  Sarah immediately senses unrest in the house and the family soon learns that it was the scene of a gruesome murder.  Great suspense, a developing romance, and ghostly visits make Whispers a most satisfying read.  Whispers for the Dead was withdrawn from The Lackawanna, NY middle school library because of concerns that it dealt with the occult.  It was later restored following accusations of censorship from some parents and teachers.

"Evil is often fascinating.  It has to be or it wouldn't exist."

Where the Sidewalk Ends / Shel Silverstein / 166 pages / October Challenge Banned Books

Where the Sidewalk Ends was banned from West Allis Milwaukee School library in 1986 because it "promotes drug use, occult, suicide, death, violence and rebellion against parents."  It was also challenged in Bloomsburg, PA for cannibalism, Vedia, Ohio (1983) and Minot, ND (1986).  Although I can understand this challenges and objections, I love Shel Silverstein, as do the kids.  Do the poems give them ideas?...probably.  Perhaps parents/teachers/librarians should read them aloud...or listen to the audio recorded by the author himself and has music and sound effects...and then discuss!

Cut / Patricia McCormick / 168 pages / October Challenge Banned Books

Callie has been sent to Sea Pines because she is a cutter.  Her roommate calls her S. T. for Silent Treatment because she refuses to talk.  She even sits in her counseling sessions silently.  She believes she is responsible for her family's woes - her brother Sam's asthma, her mother's tiredness, and her father's job troubles and absenteeism.  Her counselor helps her to see that she actually saved her brother's life.  The interactions with other residents and staff at Sick Minds, the inmate name for Sea Pines, in informative, heartbreaking, and, in most cases, hopeful.  Cut was #86 on the Top 100 Banned/Challenged Book list 2000-2009.  Critics argued that Cut "glamorizes self-mutilation and could actually encourage readers to try and capture the feelings described by Callie when she cuts herself."

Tilt/ Ellen Hopkins/ 603 pages

Written in verse, I really enjoyed this book.  It's not as dark as some of her other books, which was kind of nice.  There are still heavy issues, teen pregnancy, hiv, 14 year old girls getting taken advantage of by scumbags, but not as heavy drug use.  Ellen Hopkins is always eye opening and the multiperson viewpoint (including minor characters) brings depth to the story.  This book is also a companion to the adult book "Triangles", which I must now read...

Murder on the Orient Express/ Agatha Christie/ 322 pages

I have read Agatha Christie in the past and enjoyed her books, but for some reason I didn't have high hopes for Murder on the Orient Express.  I was pleasantly surprised.  This was a fun read, with interesting characters and a surprising ending.  Highly recommended to mystery fans that don't want a lot of violence or language issues in their books. 

Heart of a Samurai / Margi Preus / 301 pages

In 1841 Manjiro, a 14 year old Japanese boy, and his fishing companions were stranded on a deserted island and near death before being rescued by an American whaling ship.  This is a story, based on a real person who helped to bridge the culture gaps of two very different countries.  Manjiro, who became known as John Mung, was an extraordinary person who spent nearly 12 years away from his country asking questions, wondering how he could change the world, serving six years on a whaling ship and missing his family.   He was finally able to return to Japan where he was imprisoned for two years as a spy before finally being re-united with his family.  In the end he became a samurai and helped his country to understand what was beyond Japan.  Well worth the reading and still very relevant today as we all are finding out more about each other.  The author includes historical notes and suggestions for more reading.

The Shoemaker's Wife/Adriana Trigiani/475 pages

Enza and Ciro live on the same mountain in Italy but in separate villages. Their first meeting is when Ciro is called upon to dig a grave for Enza's treasured youngest sibling, Stella. While Enza has always known the security and warmth of a big family and loving home, Ciro and his brother were raised by the nuns in the covent where their mother took them after their father died. For different reasons, they both end up going to America either to start a new life or make money for their families. Of course, they have never forgotten each other and over the course of years, they reconnect time and time again until they finally marry.

This was my book club selection for November. I can see how my tastes have changed over the years because this is a book that would have appealed to me when I was much younger. Now, the abundance of description and slow-moving storyline isn't my cup of tea. Fans of historical fiction will enjoy it.

Gone Girl / Gillian Flynn / 416 pages

I too read Gone Girl and Loved it!  The characters in the story are as crazy as they come and they make their home lives dysfunctional with a capital D!  The book's narration alternated back and forth between two characters, who are both so mentally and socially damaged, you wonder how they function in their day to day lives.  I really enjoyed seeing their view of the world more than the actual story.  The story, which is a suspense, helps move you along, but don't look to closely at the details because this story really could not happen in real life.  If you start picking the story apart you are just going to disappoint yourself when you see how improbable it all is.  Still, its a great read, if you are okay with dark themes then pick this one up.

Identical/Ellen Hopkins/565 pages

Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical twins, the daughters of a judge and a politician mom who is never at home. On the surface, they are the all-American family, but look a little closer and they have some deep issues. This book is disturbing, as most Ellen Hopkins books are, and I can't say I really enjoyed it, but the author tackles so many issues that teens face and does not sugarcoat anything. One of the twins is sexually abused by her father, while the other has tried to come terms with why Daddy didn't pick her. This book is twisted, the girls face almost every teen issue out there -- drug and alcohol abuse, cutting, eating disorders, casual sexual encounters -- with not much hope of anything getting resolve. Once again, Hopkins has written this novel in verse and the outcome is very powerful, yet disturbing. Only for mature teens.

Gone Girl/Gillian Flynn/416 pages

“I picked up Gone Girl because the novel is set along the Mississippi River in Missouri and the plot sounded intriguing. I put it down two days later, bleary-eyed and oh-so-satisfied after reading a story that left me surprised, disgusted, and riveted by its twists and turns… A good story presents a reader with a problem that has to be resolved and a few surprises along the way. A great story gives a reader a problem and leads you along a path, then dumps you off a cliff and into a jungle of plot twists, character revelations and back stories that you could not have imagined. Gone Girl does just that.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Bitterblue / Kristin Cashore / 539 pages

In this sequel to Graceling and companion to Fire, we learn about the beginning of the reign of 18 year old Lady Queen Bitterblue, daughter of the evil and mind-controlling King Leck.  I think the book stands on its own and will be enjoyed by readers of character-driven fantasy.  For teens who have read the other two books, they will revel in the further tales of their favorite characters Katsa, Po, Giddon, Rand, Raffin and the others.  Cashore does a great job of showing how Bitterblue overcomes her past, comes to know her people and grows into her role as queen.  After finishing the book, I just thought...I want more, more, more stories with these characters. 

Cheaper by the Dozen / Frank B. Gilbreth 207 p.

Frank B. Gilbreth, master bricklayer, industrial engineer, pioneer of motion study, with his wife, Lillian, apply their considerable skills with scientific management to the rearing of their 12 children (6 boys, 6 girls) with hilarity, unexpected happenings, and normal sibling relations.

Decade Books: 1950

Appeal terms: Character driven; fast paced; funny; heartwarming; conversational; engaging, upbeat.

A delightful movie, more true to the book than the 2002 version, is the original, Cheaper by the Dozen (with Jeanne Crain, Myrna Loy) and its sequel, Belles on Their Toes.

Fallen Angels / Walter Dean Myers / 309 pages / October Challenge Banned Books

Fallen Angels was challenged on the Accelerated Reader list at Chinquapin Elementary School in Duplin County, North Carolina (2008) because the book is littered with expletives including racial epithets and slang terms for homosexuals.  It was also challenged in Coeur D'Alene Idaho school district (2007).  There is no doubt that the language is shocking, objectionable, and inappropriate, however, it sounds realistic.  Fallen Angels is a graphic depiction of young soldiers facing a nebulous enemy in the fields and villages of Viet Nam.  Mr. Myers does an excellent job of making the war, and soldiers' reactions to it and each other, memorable.  Why can't these Viet Nam veterans receive the respect we afford other vets?

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian / Sherman Alexie / 230 pages / October Challenge Banned Books

Neil Gaiman said The Absolutely True Diary of a Parttime Indian is "excellent in every way, poignant, really finny, and heartwarming and honest and wise and smart..I have no doubt that in a year or so it'll both be winning awards and being banned."  His prediction was correct.  In 2010, it was #2 on ALA's Banned/Challenged list.  In 2011, it was #5.  Objections include:  offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence, and unsuited to age group.  This is a semi-autobiographical novel of a poor Indian born hydrocephalic, who suffers stutters and seizures and constant teasing on the Spokane Indian reservation.  Arnold "Junior" Spirit decides to leave the reservation school and enroll in Reardon High, an all-white school 22 miles away.  Often he has to walk the entire way because his parents are too drunk to take him.  Narrated by the author, the audio should be inspiring and hopeful.  Instead, I found it to be depressing.

Harris and Me / Gary Paulsen / 157 pages / October Challenge Banned Books

Harris and Me was #73 on the ALA Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books 2000-2009.  There certainly is a great deal of inappropriate language, some "dourty peectures," alcoholic parents, and shenanigans none of us would want our children to be a part of, but I certainly don't think this merits a book banning.  Harris and Me is at times quite funny, although it is heartbreaking to realize the lack of stability in the protagonist's life.  One teacher who professes herself to be against book banning, said she encountered difficulty when reading the book aloud the year she had a Japanese-American boy in her class.  The characters have been likened to Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.  They are just as picturesque, just as irreverent, and perhaps, just as shocking.

Lush / Natahsa Friend / 184 pages / October Challenge Banned Books

According to ALA, Lush was challenged because "it deals with drugs, contains offensive language, is sexually explicit, and is unsuited to the age group for which it was intended."  I must wholeheartedly disagree!  Sam develops early and is teased mercilessly by the boys and girls in her 8th grade class.  Her father is an alcoholic and makes this admission half way through the book.  She leaves notes between pages 32 and 33 in a book on whaling in the library and receives note in return.  AJK gives advice and ultimately helps tremendously with Sam's problems.  Perhaps the party scene could be considered sexually explicit, but perhaps it could be viewed as a teachable moment or a precautionary tale.  Although I wouldn't put this book in an elementary school library (It is catalogued YA.), but I would recommend it.

Forever / Judy Blulme / 199 pages / October Challenge Banned Books

In Rib Lake, Wisconsin in 2005, a school district principal had Forever removed from the library after confiscating a copy from a student in the lunch room, finding "graphic descriptions of the sex act."  It was #2 on ALA's Top Banned/ Challenged Books list the same year.  Forever was the first book Judy Blume wrote for adults.  It should be catalogued and shelved as such.  The packaging appeals to younger readers and the book is inappropriate for them.  The how-to novel is about young love with no thought to abstinence or lifelong commitment.

Of Mice and Men / John Steinbeck 105 p.

During the Depression, migrant workers George Milton and Lennie Small, his simple-minded friend, dream of a place of their own while working on a ranch in the Salinas Valley, just as it is in their grasp, tragedy comes as Lennie follows his child-like instincts into deep trouble.



Decade Books: 1930

Banned Books

Banned in Ireland (1953); Syracuse, IN (1974); Oil City, PA (I977); Grand Blanc, MI (1979);Continental, OH (1980) and other communities.  Challenged through this decade.
For profanity and using God's name in vain; racial slurs; violent and contains obscenities; does not represent traditional values; derogatory towards African Americans, women, and the developmentally disabled.

Thousand Splendid Suns / Khaled Hosseini 372 p.

Set in Afghanistan during the past 30 years, Mariam and Laila story is told against the turbulent times of war from the Soviets to the Taliban. The plight of these and other Afghan women is sad. They depend totally upon the men of the family, their fathers, brothers and husbands for their very lives. Mariam is illegitimate daughter of a businessman who is forced into marriage at 15 to a much older man, Rasheed--a man who couldn't find a wife in his town and the why is revealed in detail--brutality that is hard to read. The story turns to Laila, the daughter of a teacher, raised by progressive parents at the time of Soviet rule. She fals in love with neighbor Tariq. It is a good time for women...education, modern medical care, freedom of movement. With the Taliban, the bombing escalates. Women's roles revert to very controlled old ways. Tariq and his parents flee the war; her parents wait too late and are killed. Laila marries neighbor, Rasheed, for protection. At first Mariam is cold and distant to Laila. Gradually a love builds between the two women. This love becomes the central point of the story. Rasheed's temper, bullisness, brutality force the two to try to escape but the plot is foiled. Laila gets a respite when she delivers a son--a son who rules the roost. Hosseini interweaves the history and culture of Afghanistan with the story of these women.

Appeal factors: Bleak, haunting--not an easy story to read and images that will remain, intricately plotted, strong sense of place, disturbing, sobering.

Continents Books: Asia
Award Winner

Gone Girl/Gillian Flynn/415 pgs.

Oh. My. Gosh! Now I understand why there are so many library reserves for this book. If you like psychological "stories" that mess with your mind, this is the book for you! Nick and Amy Dunne, both writers living in New York, lose their jobs, resulting in them moving to Nick's hometown--Carthage, Missouri. On the day of their 5th wedding anniversary, Amy disappears--and the "fun" begins. I'm not going to reveal anything else--you'll just have to read the book. Just be prepared for the roller coaster ride of your life!

Fake Mustache / Tom Angleberger / 196 pages

7th grader Lenny Flem Jr and his soon to be sweetheart, Jodie O'Rodeo star of the cancelled Jodie O'Rodeo Showdeo TV program, save the country and the world. It all starts when Lenny and his friend Casper Bengue buy special novelties from Sven's Fair Price Store.  Casper purchases a "real" fake mustache, the Heidelberg Handlebar #7 which is made from the mustache of an assassin.  He begins a life of crime and his new powers of persuasion get him elected as President of the United States.  It's up to Lenny and Jodie to save the day which they do in hilarious fashion.   A great funny book sure to be enjoyed by grades 4-7...especially the boys who love those gooey rubbery hands, snot-shooting noses, and whoopee cushions.  Read aloud for your family.

Cottage at Glass Beach / Heather Barbieri / 302 pages

Nora Cunningham escapes to Burke's Island, the charming isolated locale where she was born and lived until age 5, with her two daughters Ella (12) and Annie (7) after her Attorney General husband Malcolm, takes up with a younger woman.  That part of the story could have been ripped from today's headlines.  The other part of the story has more of a mysterious mythical cast.  Here we have a woman trying to find out about her past, decide who she is, and choose the path for her future.  The people on the Island are intriguing, Nora's past in which her charismatic mother disappears without a trace is mysterious, and what Nora encounters on the island seems magical.  It's chick lit at it's finest.  You will read it in a day and want to take a trip to Burke's Island yourself.

Purgatory Chasm / Steve Ulfelder / 292 pages / R. T. Reviewer's Choice Award

Conway Sax is a recovered alcoholic.  He is also an ex-con, having served a stint for manslaughter.  He belongs to a most unusual club, The Barnburners, a group of recovered alcoholics who have meetings after the meetings where they look after each other.  When Tander Phigg asks Conway to help him recover his vintage Mercedes from shop that has had it much too long, Conway agrees to help and is drawn into a net of murder, drug-running, race car driving, secrets, and developing and unraveling relationships.  This is a great, suspenseful read which evokes sympathy, respect and empathy for it characters.

Snow Falling on Cedars / David Guterson / 718 pages / October Challenge Banned Books

Snow Falling on Cedars was restricted in South Kitsap, Washington after complaints regarding the book's sexual content and profanity.  In 2011, it was challenged and retained in college level classes at Richland, Washington High School.  Teachers supported its addition to the curriculum 12 years prior to the challenge because it deals with prejudice against Japanese-Americans in the Pacific during and shortly after World War II.  It was also challenged in 2008 in Idaho, and 2004 in California.
Snow Falling on Cedars is a fascinating account of the American jurisprudence system, prejudice, relationships, and injustice as they interrelate and impact each other.  A Japanese-American is accused of murder when a fellow fisherman is found dead tangled in his nets with a head wound.  We are treated to flashback detailing the backgrounds of the participants involved in the trial held during a snowstorm which cuts power to the town.

The Witches / Roald Dahl / 201 pages / October Challenge Banned Books

In the 1990's  The Witches was #22 on ALA's 100 Most Frequently Challenged/Banned Books List.  Reasons for the challenges/bans include:  "Might this book make people think poorly of WICCA, a real religion?"; "The children misbehave and take retribution on the adults and there's never, ever a consequence for their actions."; "The Witches is satanic."; and "The book might entice impressionable children into becoming involved in the occult."  Despite these criticisms, The Witches would be an excellent read aloud this time of year.  Yes, we have a cigar-smoking grandmother who seems to know everything about witches.  Luckily, she shares this information with her grandson who stumbles across an entire convention of witches.  Because he has listened and remembered well, he recognizes them, uncovers their dastardly plan and with his grandmother's help fearlessly thwarts it.

Daughters of Eve / Lois Duncan / 252 pages / October Challenge Banned Books

Daughters of  Eve was challenged in 2005 at the Lowell Indiana Middle School because of the book's profanity and sexual content; and was banned from Fairfax County, Virginia middle school libraries because it promotes risky behavior and violence and seeks to prejudice young vulnerable minds on several issues.  Concerns expressed about Lois Duncan's Daughters of Eve include inappropriate language and plot which features young people plotting murder and revenge.  The high school's most exclusive club is open to ten girls and by invitation only.  The club sponsor has an agenda and frightening, escalating actions.  Focusing on feminist issues such as wife-beating, inequality on the job, unfairness in high school athletics, the sexist dimension of male/female relationships, and abortion, Daughters of Eve addresses issues which continue to impact relationships, families, and society today.  It's a suspenseful read intended for high school aged teens, not middle schoolers.

Blindsighted / Karin Slaughter / 310 pages

This is Karin Slaughter's first novel in the Grant County series featuring Dr. Sara Linton (pediatrician & coroner) and her former husband & Chief of Police Jeffrey Tolliver.  The setting is a small town in Georgia.  The murders are brutal.  The villain as psycho as they come.  This is my first Karin Slaughter book and I've been wanting to get started on her books ever since she visited the library.  Wow...I'm glad I did.  Now it's on to #2 Kisscut.  Interesting characters, great at establishing the flavor of the South, suspense, action, and some meat to the story.  Rather read these than some others.

Saga vol. 1 / Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples / 160 pgs

I am so excited about this series!!  First, its written by Brian K. Vaughan, who created the series "Y: The Last Man", which I also highly recommend; and second the artwork is by Fiona Staples and it is absolutely gorgeous.  I caught myself a few times just staring at the character's faces and wondering how the artist is able to create so many realistic expressions.  I mean just look at the cover of the book, that girl is Fierce! 

The story is about two soldiers from opposite sides of an intergalactic war fall in love, and risk everything to protect their newborn baby and create a life for themselves.  It's a mixture of genres: Science-Fiction, Dystopian, War, Action Adventure, Romance. 

Now as much as I rant and rave about this book it is not intended for Children or the faint of heart.  It does contain: sex, nudity, graphic violence, vulgar language, implied child abuse, etc. You get the idea - for adults or very Mature teens.

Major Pettigrew's last stand : a novel / Helen Simonson / 358 pgs.

Major Ernest Pettigrew leads a quiet life in the village of St. Mary, England, until his brother's death sparks an unexpected friendship with Mrs. Jasmina Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper from the village. Drawn together by their shared love of books and the loss of their spouses, the Major and Mrs. Ali soon find their friendship blossoming into something more.  Unfortunately, this unlikely union does not set well with others.

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand is a beautifully crafted novel that lets you believe you are reading a simple story of two lonely people finding each other.  But, in fact, it is anything but simply.  The Major is faced with, not only the prejudice of the village, but his own staunch attitude towards what is proper.  He must deal with an adult son who has yet to grow up.  And he must make a decision to what is most important in his life.

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand will convince you to never give up on love, and anxiously await Helen Simonson’s next book

Have a Little Faith / Mitch Albom / 254 pgs.

Mitch Albom gives us an inspirational story of two men, with different starting points but the same finish.

Albom is asked by his childhood Rabbi to give the eulogy at the Rabbi’s funeral.  After the decision to grant the request, in order to do the Rabbi justice, he feels he needs to understand, not just the Rabbi, but the man.  What begins as a favor for the Rabbi, evolves into Albom finding a part of himself he has forgotten. 

Henry, a former drug-dealer and convict, becomes involved in Mitch Albom’s life by accident.  Out of curiosity, Albom enters a derelict church near his home, and to his surprised finds Henry preaching to a unconventional congregation.  Albom is made to face his prejudice and cynicism, but in return is given the opportunity to grow in his faith.

It is a true story of how it is never too late to find faith in yourself and other.

Judy Moody: Around the World in 8 1/2 Days / Megan McDonald / 157 p.

Judy is a third grader who has a large imagination, and a bit hyperactive (like Ramona).  In this book, Judy makes a new friend Amy Namey.  However, she starts spending all of her time with Amy and is neglecting her older friends Ricky and Frank.  Of course everything comes to a head and Judy must find a way to make new friends without alienating her old friends.

Cute series, Judy is a bit self-absorbed and full of bad ideas, like making Pickle chewing gum; but in the end she does try to always do the right thing.  As a media tie-in there is a Judy Moody movie, "Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer".  This movie is my kids' favorite go-to for the month, and they will watch the movie 3x a day if I would let them.  I'm just glad that I was able to roll that movie obsession into a great reading experience!

Charlotte's Web / E.B. White 182 p.

Wilbur, the radiant pig, enjoys each and every day, in the barn where he take pleasure in visits from Fern, the little girl who saved his life, hanging with Charlotte A. Cavatica, a most resourceful spider, and his other barnyard friends; until an old sheep tells him what happens to pigs in December, which propels Charlotte to spin a grand plan to save him and makes him the most celebrated pig on the farm and perhaps in the county.

E.B. White said he wanted to write about the barn and entertain his children and himself...and this does it along with information about spiders, webs, weaving, and other farm animals.

Appeal factors: plot-driven, amusing, sweet, whimsical, conversational, fantasy

Newbery Honor Book

Decades Book: 1950

A Light in the Attic / Shel Silverstein / 167 pages / October Challenge Banned Books

A Light in the Attic was challenged at the Fruitland Park Elementary School library in Lake County, Florida because the book allegedly "promotes disrespect, horror, and violence."  Other schools followed suit and it became one of the most banned books of the 1990's.  Despite this negativism, A Light in the Attic is a fun read universally enjoyed by children perhaps because of it unexpected, but well-intentioned, disrespect.  Great audio recorded by the author himself!!

Junie B. Jones Collection (Books 1 - 4) / Barbara Park / 276 pages / October Challenge Banned Books

The Junie B. Jones series was challenged at my school when the kindergarten teacher read them aloud to the class.  Apparently the kids were to impressed by Junie B's spontaneity,  independence, and problem-solving (trouble-making) abilities that they shared the stories with their parents.  There is not doubt that the stories are humorous and they are especially delightful on audio as they are recounted in a sweet, childlike voice.  However, they are definitely  stories that call for discussion.  Who would want their child to emulate Junie B's behavior?  In 2004, Barbara Park was selected as one the ALA's "Most Frequently Challenged Authors."  She wrote the series at the request of her publisher, Random House.  They wanted her to make children laugh.  She wrote  "of Junie B. making mistakes in every area of her life, socially and grammatically...The term perfect child is an oxymoron."  Ms. Parks "stopped reading about her books on the Internet because it's too hurtful."  Comments like, "I am going to throw them out.  I wouldn't give them away because I don't want anyone else to read them."  & "I find this the mental equivalent of toxic waste." were posted.  Although misspellings are frequent and Junie B's grammar and behavior are indubitably questionable, the Junie B Jones series remains a staple in most elementary libraries.

Anastasia Krupnik / Lois Lowry / 113 pages / October Challenge Banned Books

Ten year old Anastasia has two lists "Thing I Love" and "Things I Hate."  She references these lists throughout the book, including deletions and additions that reflect her current crisis.  Anastasia is plucky, to say the least, and her decision to become a Catholic; her dread of the arrival of her new baby brother - One-Eye/Sam; and her romance with Washburn Cummings are entertaining and intriguing - especially to ten year old girls.  The Anastasia series continues on ALA's Top 100 Banned Books list "but much of the outrage around Anastasia has mellowed."  For the  1990-2000 list, the series was in the top 30.  In the latest list from the last decade, they've  been bumped to #75.  Some overprotective parents object "to the rare instances of risque language and references to preteen pressure, and adolescent mischief."

Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space and Subsequent Assault of the Equally Evil Lunch Room Zombie Nerds / Dav Pilkey / 142 pages / October Challenge Banned Books

(Note:  Please shake this book back and forth uncontrollably when you read the following word.  Also, shout it out as loud as you can.  Don't worry, you won't get in trouble.")  "KA-BLOOOOOSH!"  This note is from author.  Imagine a child really doing this!  Funny!!  KaBloosh is the sound made by the volcanic Krupcakes prepared by the lunch ladies, Miss Creant & Mrs. DePoint (Think about these names.), after George and Harold left the recipe there.  They tell Principal Krupp, aka Captain Underpants, that George and Harold are always playing tricks on them.  "Every day, they change the letters around on our lunch sign.  They put pepper in the napkin dispensers, and unscrew the caps on the salt shaker...They start food fights...They go sledding on our lunch trays...They make everybody laugh so much milk squirts out their noses...And they're constantly creating these awful comic books about us!!!"  Do fourth grade boys really need graphic How-to suggestions for disrupting, or a misspelling manual?  Well, if they do, Davy Pilkey has provided it.  "There's not time to argue the physical improbabilities of this story."  Suffice it to say, the Captain Underpants series has made multiple appearances on ALA's 100 Most Frequently Banned/Challenged list - 2002 = #6; 2004 = #4; 2005= #8 - for anti- family, offensive language, sexually explicit, violence, unsuited to age group.  I had never read a Captain Underpants before, nor did I buy them for my library.  I wouldn't read another nor would I recommend them.

Like Water for Chocolate / Laura Esquirel / 246 pages / October Challenge Banned Books

Like Water for Chocolate was the #1 bestseller in Mexico in 1990.  Tita De la Garza was not meant for a loser's role.  One day when she had played hooky from school with some boys from the village, tired of her sister's games, Tita beat all the boys swimming across the Rio Grande.  When she was 14 and firecrackers startled the team of horses and caused them to stampede with the wagon filled with her sisters, Tita brought the horses back under control when the driver could not.  She was hailed as a hero.  Imagine her chagrin, then, when her true love, Pedro, asks for her hand in marriage and Mama Elena, her mother, refuses.  Instead she insists Pedro marry the older daughter, Rosaura.  Tita is devastated, but must help Nacha, the cook, prepare the wedding feast.  Nacha empathizes with Tita's sorrow and comforts her as her tears fall into the wedding cake batter and meringue icing.  When all the guests at the reception, including the bride, begin prodigious vomiting, Mama Elena blames Tita and beats her so badly she must spend 2 weeks in bed recovering.  Nacha is found dead in the kitchen and Tita takes over her role as cook.  Like Water for Chocolate is narrated by Great-Aunt Tita who recounts her early birth on the kitchen table; the Mexican tradition among well-born families that dictates that the youngest daughter not marry, but remain home to care for her mother; and her experiences the years following the fateful year her wedding did not occur.  Each chapter begins with one of Tita's recipes and her careful instructions.  Tita was often "like water for chocolate" - on the verge of boiling over.

Shine / Lauren Myracle / 359 pages / October Challenge Banned Books

I've just struggled through two books that were a real chore to read.  Shine was the exact opposite!  I found myself resenting the fact that I couldn't read it straight through.  It was captivating, thought-provoking, inspiring, and challenging.  Cat's characterization truly made this book qualify for inclusion for the National Book Award.  (Unfortunately, this was s mistake and the author was asked to withdraw her book from this list.)  Lauren Myracle's Internet Girls series is included on ALA's Most Frequently Banned/Challenged List and Shine has also been challenged for offensive language, sexually explicit scenes, and homosexuality.  It probably won't make the list because it is clearly a YA read and not intended for the younger kids for whom it would be inappropriate.  Cat's best friend, Patrick, who is gay, is badly beaten at the Come 'N Go where he works.  He is in a coma and is unable to identify his attackers.  The local law enforcement officers are getting nowhere in their investigation and determine that it was probably some out-of-towners.  Cat decides to investigate on her own and discovers secrets, lies, and life lessons.  I loved the chapter introduction illustrations.  They reiterated the mood of this excellent tome.  Beware of some inappropriate language and, of course, previously mentioned objections.

"God loves you even on your darkest days, and He will always, always be there to guide you home.  All you have to do is look for the light of His love."

"We all mess up.  It's what we learn from our mistakes that matters."

"It was unfair how the kids who were starving for attention tended to be so annoying that people had no inclination to give it to them."

"Knowledge was powerful than fear.  Love was more powerful than hate."

"...sometimes the pieces of who you thought you were didn't add up to who you really were..."

"Why would you even try a drug like that?"  "Because it wipes you clean and fills your up again...Whatever you don't have in here - he thumped his chest -  meth gives it to you.  You're...Superman.  You can do anything."

"Pastor Paul talked about how sometimes bad things happened and we couldn't see the bigger picture, because only God saw the bigger picture.  He said that grief had the power to transform us, because when our hearts were hurting, we often let God in.  We were imperfect, every one of us, but through God's love we could be healed."

"I decided that looking only at people's outsides...wasn't good enough.  I needed to think about their insides, too.  I needed to remember there was a difference.  For a while there, I think I forgot there was one, and so I spent a lot of time comparing my insides to other people's outsides, which made me feel broken and didn't get me anywhere."

Gateway Award Preliminary Award 2013-14

  

Seconds Away/Harlan Coben/338 pages

Mickey Bolitar is back. He's still trying to learn to trust his uncle, Myron. He's also impatiently waiting for tryouts for the high school basketball team. But mostly, he's trying to figure out the all the puzzles in his life. What exactly is the Abeona Shelter and how is the Bat Lady involved? Why does she insist that his father isn't dead? But when one of his newfound friends is involved in a tragedy, he tries to figure out why someone would want to harm his friend and whether or not they are all in danger.

It's so nice to read a Young Adult book that doesn't involve vampires, suicide, rape or all of the above. This is a well-written series with lots of relatable characters.

Manhunting / Jennifer Crusie 250 p.

Kate Svenson, thrice engaged, successful businesswoman, single, thirty-something, is miserable because she wants a husband and family when she formulates a plan that sends her to The Cabins resort where bachelors vacation and many set their sights on her, except for Jake Templeton who has sworn off romance and especially marriage and work; that is until Kate strikes.

appeal factors: romance genre, funny, plot-driven, fast-paced, steamy, conversational.

A Grown-up Kind of Pretty / Joshilyn Jackson .322 pages

In this character driven story, three generations of females struggle to conquer whatever life throws at them.  Big, now 45, gets pregnant at 15 and without support from her Bible-thumping family & exclusive church, raises her child,, Liza, on her own.  Liza, age 30, also has her daughter Mosey at age 15 and gets caught up in men, drugs and the seedier side of life.  Now Mosey is almost 15 and her grandmother and mother are doing everything in their power to prevent history  from recurring.  Life throws them a curve ball when Liza suffers a stroke and the bones of an infant are found in the backyard.  This is a story about family and love and what it takes to survive.  Each chapter of the book is the voice of one of the characters and the author does a great job of bringing the reader into the mind of a stroke victim.  Well worth reading with characters you care about, plotline that keeps you engaged, and strong emotional themes. 

Lucky Dog Matchmaking Service / Beth Kendrick / 320 pages

A light romance about Lara Madigan who has the gift of matching people with their doggie soulmates.  Naturally, the dog makes all the difference in the person's life.  Lara struggles with her almost fiance Evan who is not sure he's really a dog lover with all that entails...chewing, drooling, vet bills, and destruction and her type A single mom who tries to turn Lara into someone different.  It's a romance so all ends well!  Great for dog lovers and animal rescue.  You end up liking the dogs almost more than the people.

Some Kind of Peace/Camilla Grebe & Asa Traff/315 pgs.

This book is the American debut for Swedish sisters Camilla Grebe an Asa Traff. What I didn't realize was that it is also the first book in a series. Strange events begin happening to Siri Bergman, a 34 year old psychologist, who shares a practice in Stockholm with her best friend, Aina Davidson, and Sven Widelius. The story is told in Siri's voice, and in the voice of her enemy. The authors have created a psychological thriller that leaves the reader with an uncomfortable feeling throughout the book--on several levels. There is a melancholy tone to the book; I'm not sure exactly how I feel about this book. I will probably read the next in the series just to see where the authors go with their main character.

Nickel and dimed : on (not) getting by in America / Barbara Ehrenreich 221 p.

Writer Barbara Ehrenreich went undercover for three months to work low paying jobs in three different locals where she finds out how non-skilled workers work to make ends meet; it's tough to find housing on her salary and each job took concentration-- keeping to the maids' schedule difficult.

Banned for Reasons: drugs, inaccurate, offensive language, political viewpoint, and religious viewpoint

Killing Floor / Lee Child 359 p.

A discharged solder, Jack Reacher, drifts into sleepy Margrave, Georgia, where he is arrested for killing a man along with a bank executive who does a skip when they are released, starting an investigation where Reacher unravels the mystery of his brother’s death along with the town’s deep secret.  

Fast-paced, action-packed, disturbing, suspenseful, violent, gritty.

Haven/Kay Hooper/326 pages

Jessie Rayburn is a psychic investigator with Haven, a privately run investigative service with ties to the FBI's Special Crimes Unit.  She's sent back to her hometown to deal with a trauma in her past that made her leave town for good at age 17. Her sister, Emma, has turned their family home into a inn that just happens to be haunted. Emma herself started having nightmares two years ago after suffering a head injury after a fall, but are they nightmares or visions of kidnapped and tortured women? The two sisters were never close, but now they need to trust each other to face the past and the evil that hides in their hometown.

Thanks to Mizzou77 who alerted me that another book in this series was available. I'll return the favor by telling you a new series called The Bishop Files will debut next month with The First Prophet. The Bishop/Special Crimes Unit series is always a good read but because of the subject can be pretty violent. This one leaves most of the violence to the imagination, and I appreciate that. Good twist and satisfying story all around. 

The Handmaid's Tale / Margaret Atwood / 311 pages / October Challenge Banned Books

This is an excellent audio recording with a plethora of actors/actresses and is in stereo so that conversing voices actually come from different directions.  In this dystopian novel, right-wing religious zealots have overthrown the United States government.  America is now a fundamentalist police state wherein young women are forced to serve an handmaids - basically breeding machines for the barren elite.  Offred writes to tell her tale of love, lost family, vile servitude, harsh repercussions, and rebellion.  Although The Handmaid's Tale won the Governor General Award for Fiction and was runner-up for the Booker Prize, it appears on the ALA 100 Most Banned/Challenged Books llist for its explicit sexual scenes and religious viewpoint.

Blood and Chocolate / Annette Curt Klause / 264 pages / October Challenge Banned Books

Vivian Gandalon is a teenage werewolf who has fallen in love with a human (meat man), Aiden.  This is, of course, considered a taboo in her pack.  Her father was pack leader before he was killed in a fire.  She is the undisputed princess of the pack after she defeated a rival who threatened her mom.  Vivian believes that love can overcome all, and is heartbroken when Aiden is terrorized by her transformation.  Several vicious murders occur.  Is Vivian responsible?  Great suspense, believable (believe it or not) characters, and romance (Gabriel, the new pack leader, loves and supports Vivian.) make this novel a worthy read.  Like chocolate, it satisfies and soothes.  Blood and Chocolate was challenged in Greenville, South Carolina and La Porte, Texas.  It was pulled from the shelves of the middle school in Greenville, and from the middle and high schools in La Porte for offensive language.

The Terrorist / Caroline B. Cooney / 198 pages / October Challenge Banned Books

The cover art for this book is very apropos.  The book looks like a brown paper wrapped parcel tied with string, reminiscent of the package handed to eleven year old Billy Williams by a stranger in the London subway.  The package exploded and killed him.  Why Billy? - "the most interesting kid in the world," according to his older sister, Laura. Billy kept a notebook recording his collections - bricks, toilet paper, empty English candy bar wrappers, train and travel tickets, beer coasters, newspapers in foreign languages, his food trades, and his bank records. He was a rounder, but was loved by everyone.  He had saved the life of a baby and its mother by wrapping himself around the bomb.  Laura cannot get over that her friends cannot see "the gaping, shrieking hole of rage that Billy's death had ripped in her heart."  They were "still thinking of boy-girl activities, while she...was thinking of revenge. " This book, written prior to 9/11, portrays an accurate view of terrorism and its aftermath.  "The point is to terrify.  To show power.  To prove they can do whatever they want and hurt whomever they want whenever they want to do it."  The Terrorist had been challenged for its negative portrayal of Arabs and Muslims.

"What value did any cause have, if it made people murder each other."

"Our job, as good people, is to try to stop evil where we see it."

What My Mother Doesn't Know / Sonya Sones / 259 pages / October Challenge Banned Books

This book was banned in 2008 in Spring Hill, Wisconsin.  It was made available only to seventh and eighth graders at the Spring Hill school library after a parent wanted the book, which "deals with masturbation, groping, and sexual fantasies, among other themes", to be removed from the library and the Accelerated Reader Program.  The book's cover shows a rather young - much younger than seventh grade - girl hiding behind her hands, which together with the title would surely attract young girls.  It is quite humorous in parts, but imparts too much information too soon.

Olive's Ocean / Kevin Henkes / 217 pages / October Challenge Banned Books

Perhaps you've read and loved Lily's Purple Purse or Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes.  His picture books are must-haves for any well-stocked library.  His novel, Olive's Ocean, however, was banned in 2008 because of objectionable gestures, profanity, and bullying, and (believe it,or not,) because "the story revolves around curses/witchcraft/the occult."   What?!  Did the person/s who challenged this book really read it?  Olive Barstow was hit by a car while riding her bike on Monroe Street in July and killed.  Although she had just moved to Martha Boyle's school around Valentine's Day and Martha didn't really know her, Martha believes they had things in common and might they might have been friends.  Martha's dad is an attorney who had taken time off work to write a novel.  Olive had said in her journal that she wanted to write a novel and go to the ocean.  Martha is going to the ocean to visit her 82 year old grandmother and she, too, wants to write.  Martha and her grandmother share secrets.  Martha suffers embarrassment at the hands of an amateur videographer, Jimmy Manning.  She gives Olive her ocean and learns that the world can change in a minute.

Small Damages/Beth Kephart/304 pages

Kenzie and her friends are seniors, all with plans of doing big and wonderful things and having fun for the summer.  Kenzie has recently lost her father, she's fighting with her mother, trying to deal with her losses and  she discovers that she is pregnant. Kenzie's boyfriend, Kevin who has been supportive and loving since her father's death, suddenly becomes distant and doesn't want to deal with the problem. Her mom decides to send her off to Spain to live with a family that has found a couple to adopt her baby. This book is basically a conversation between Kenzie and her unborn baby. There is not a lot of action, it is a "quiet", beautifully written book.  The author describes her characters, her setting, the smells and visions with such great clarity, it feels like you are walking through the city of Seville or sitting in Estela's kitchen watching her cook. The author lets the reader fill in some of details, she introduces the characters, gives them a story and it is up to the reader to imagine what might have happened. A good book for teens that like realistic fiction.

Fall from Grace / Richard North Patterson / 278 pgs.

Richard North Patterson is one of today’s best contemporary writers, and where this novel is not his crowning glory, “Fall from Grace” definitely keeps us entertained.

Adam Blaine, has been estranged from his father, Benjamin, a famous author. Now, after years apart, he returns for his father's funeral.

Adam is shocked to learn that his father has recently changed his will so that his home and most of his estate go to a young actress, Carla Pacelli, his father’s current lover, and  Jenny Leigh, a former girlfriend of Adam’s. Benjamin's wife, who is Adam's mother, Clarice, and Adam's brother, Teddy, who is gay, are left out of the will. 

Adam finds himself in a precarious position.  He is the executor of his father’s will, and faces being true to his father, or doing justice for his mother and brother.

A major complication is added when the police determine that Benjamin did not die accidentally, but murdered.

Patterson, who is usually a master at character development, misses the boat with Adam Blaine.  There are hints at a more complete man, but we are never allowed to see behind the wall.  This makes me question if this is the beginning of a character to be used a following novel.

Gone Girl / Gillian Flynn / 419 pgs.

I always wonder after reading a book like this, where the author draws her material from.  This is the second title I’ve read of Gillian Flynn (Sharp Objects), and both books are full of dark, greatly flawed, and unique characters set upon paths of total self-destruction.  I love them.

“Gone Girl” takes the old cliché that “you never really know a person” and gives it steroids.  She introduces us to Nick and Amy Dunne, the typical husband and wife with the same husband and wife complaints that inhabit every marriage.  Flynn lolls you into their everyday lives, and then BAM!  Nick and Amy’s world is turned upside down and you’re left wondering if you’ve picked up a different book.

Flynn’s writing is pure.  She finds no need for extra prose, or contrived dialogue, even when she is dealing with complex characters and plots.  Flynn sugar-coats nothing, yet we don’t seem to mind because everything she gives us seems so real.

The Cutting Season / Attica Locke / 374 pgs.

I wanted to love “The Cutting Season” by Attica Locke.  It had so much of the criteria found in a good mystery: 

We are given a great setting; in the past, a sugar plantation, Belle Vie, that was owned by a questionable family; the unsolved disappearance of a slave, Jason, after disobeying his master, and disembodied singing near the slave quarters in the depths of the night.

In the present, the plantation has become a center for the upper crust of Baton Rouge society, mostly operated by the decedents of the slaves originally held at Belle Vie, and our protagonist an ancestor of Jason, who was never found.

Ms. Locke weaves the past and present extraordinarily well, connecting the crimes and the characters with dynamic prose.

Then why did I not love this book.  Maybe Ms. Locke needs to tell us more.  Maybe she needs to tell me why Caron, her protagonist, does the things she does, and feels the way she feels.  You want to know Caron, but Locke holds her at bay and uses Caron to move the plot along rather than explore it.

This book was had a lot going for it, and although I didn’t fall in love, I’m looking forward to the next date.

October's Reading Challenge:

This past week was "Banned Books Week" !  This year ALA is celebrating it's 30th year in celebrating the freedom to read ANYTHING and EVERYTHING we want!
So, to continue the fun, this month's challenge is to read a "banned" book.  A banned book is any book that has been removed from the shelves of a Library or Classroom due to its content.  I am awarding "2" points for every subversive book you read, and for some added fun, please include where/when the book was banned.  Enjoy reading dangerously!!

Need help finding a book?...Try these links:

ALA's Top 10 books challenged by year 2001 - 2011:
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/21stcenturychallenged

OR. Top 100 banned/challenged books: 2000 - 2009:
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedbydecade/2000_2009

For those that are visual there is a pinterest board of recent challenged books:
http://pinterest.com/BannedBooksWeek/banned-challenged-books/

Boy Meets Boy/ David Levithan/ 185 pages

Well, the title pretty much tells what the book is about.  A highschool boy runs into a new boy in town and falls in love at first sight.  It's a sweet story, with high school drama.  But, the craziest part was the town and the people in the high school.  It's sad that it seems like such a fantasy land for people to be so accepting of other people's lifestyles.  But, it was a fun & refreshing read. 

Envy/Gregg Olsen/285 pages

Fifteen-year-old twins Hayley and Taylor Ryan live in the small historic town of Port Gamble, WA. Everyone knows everyone and everyone's business, or so they think. When the town is stunned by their former friend and neighbor's Christmas evening death, the twins work to find out if it was truly accidental or a suicide. When they discover that someone was first flirting with her and then dumping her online, something more evil comes to light.

If the storyline sounds familiar, there is a reason. This is the first in a new series using "ripped-from-the-headlines stories" via Law and Order. The local cyber-bullying case of Megan Meier was the inspiration, although this novel strays away from that story. Olsen is a best-selling adult true crime author trying his hand at Young Adult fiction. He's also added a touch of the paranormal with the characters of the twins. They have a connection and sense that goes beyond the traditional twin-sense. They also have a back story that is slowly being revealed. I'm looking forward to the next book.

Five Children and it / E. Nesbit 237 p.

While digging a hole to Australia, three British children unearth a sand fairy that grants them their deepest wishes—wishes that last only till sunset and backfire with humorous results, making them realize that they must exercise care in their desires.

Stood the passage of time very, very well.

Plot driven, amusing, feel-good, conversational, whimsical

Readalikes: For those who enjoy the adventure in Lemony Snicket series about the Baudelaire orphans without dark element. Decades book: 1900

Gone Missing / Linda Castillo / 277 pages

This is another title in the series about Chief Kate Burkholder, former Amish and now Chief of Police in a small town in Amish country, Painters Mill, Ohio.  In this addition, Kate and Ohio Bureau of Investigation officer John Tomasetti work together to solve the mystery of missing Amish teens.  Castillo shares a good deal of the Amish culture and strained relationships with the Englishers.  Burkholder's relationship with Tomasetti also heats up.  Lots of action to keep you turning the pages and the conclusion leaves you hanging.

Carnet de Voyage / Craig Thompson 224 p.

Graphic novel artist, Craig Thompson, travels through Europe and Morocco for two months drawing in his travel diary his experiences as the caboose in a camel caravan in the Sahara, interesting buildings, trees, cats, people he meets, and even food.

Continents Books: Africa

Appeal factors: graphic novel, first person narrative, off-beat, engaging, travelogue, autobiographical

Hologram for the King / Dave Eggers / 312 pages

     This is a contemporary novel set in Saudi Arabia.  An aging businessman, Alan, is sent to sell a holographic IT system to the King Abdullah for his economic city known as KAEC.
Whether the city will actually be built, whether Alan and his team will actually get to make their presentation, and whether Alan will ever use his time to find himself is all part of this engaging story. 
     First, I really am glad that I was never in business.  Second, watching Alan go through his time there made me wince  . . . repeatedly.  It was difficult at times to listen to because I so wanted to sit the guy down to discuss his issues.  Then there is Saudi Arabia.  I chose this book to take a peek into that culture clash.  All those forbidding rules (ie: no alcohol) and yet, all the ways people work around it. 
     I live in an insular bubble here in St. Charles county and I like to hear about the big world outside.  This was an interesting book.

Clean / Amy Reed / 272 pages

"I don't feel great, but I don't feel terrible either, and I guess that's how normal people feel most of the time.  They live in the space between black and white, and their ups and downs are various shades of gray, not the extremes highs and lows I've always thought of as normal.  I think that's one of the major differences between us and them, between addicts and normies..."  "There was always something not quite right, like this anxiety under every good feeling, a yearning for something else, a tight ache that would keep me on edge..." "We're all a lot more complicated than any of us probably think we are..."  "I think that's what finally makes us adults.  It's when we stop blaming our parents for everything and realize we're making our own choices..."  So say Olivia, Kelly, Chris, Jase, and Eva, teens who are in a drug rehabilitation center.  We learn their heartbreaking stories through first person alternating narratives.  Clean certainly enlightens one's understanding of the disease called addiction.  Although I would recommend this book, be advised that it contains bad language, sexual promiscuity, homosexuality, eating disorders, and Down syndroM.

Gateway Award Preliminary Nominee 2013-14

Drama / Raina Telgemeier / 233 pages

This graphic novel is appealingly illustrated and is a most attractive package.  Although it appears in comic format, the issues/themes are anything but.  Callie loves the theater and is willing to contribute in any way she can to make the Eucalyptus Middle School production of Moon Over Mississippi a success.  The story deals with crushes, homosexuality, friendship, and, of course, drama.

Between the Lines / Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer / 352 pages

"Did you really think that a story exists only when you are reading it?"  What if the characters are free to do whatever they like as long as they are ready to resume their proper place in the narrative as the reader resumes reading?  What if one of the characters decides he wants to escape from the story?  What if one particular reader can hear this character and attempts to help him escape from the book?  Written by Jodi Picoult and her daughter (It was her daughter's idea.), Between the Lines is a clever, happily-ever-after modern fairy tale, scribed in three different ink colors, and features a surprisingly pleasant resolution.

"Once a story is told to someone it can't be erased."

"Home is not a place, but rather the people who love you."

"Sometimes the key to happiness is just expecting a little bit less."

"Just because it's fiction doesn't mean it's any less true."

"The act of reading is a partnership.  The author builds the house but the reader makes it a home."

Daughter of Smoke and Bone / Laini Taylor / 418 pages

Karou is an art student in Prague.  She runs errands at odd hours for Brimstone.  She speaks many languages and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color.  Brimstone has always taken care of her, but who is she?  She collects teeth for Brimstone, but doesn't know the purpose of her trades.  This is a modern fantasy about forbidden love, an ancient and epic battle between good and evil (but who is good and who evil?), and hope for a world remade.  (Are angels always good?)

Gatweay Award Preliminary Nominee 2013-14

Match Me If You Can / Susan Elizabeth Phillips / 386 pages

Annabelle Granger has inherited her grandmother's match-making business, Perfect for You.  She is competing with a rival to find a match for Heath Champion.  None of her candidates meet his approval.  Heath insists that Anabelle be present at each introduction and stay during the meet if he so desires.  Heath is wealthy, driven and gorgeous...and he wants the perfect wife.  He gets his wish.  He just doesn't know it.  Match Me If You Can is delightfully humorous!  Do not, however, listen on audio while young children are present.  This could prove to be most embarrassing.

The Hangman's Daughter / Oliver Potzsch / 435 pages

More than sixty women were burned in the last witch hunt 70 years ago in Schongau.  Now three children have been murdered and two more are missing.  The three murdered children bore the witch's mark and the midwife, Martha, was arrested and imprisoned as the witch.  She is to be tortured by the hangman for her confession...before the elder arrives and demands more than one witch.  The hangman believes Martha to be innocent and with the doctor's son, Simon, and the hangman's daughter, Magdalena, they search for the true culprits.  The year is 1659.  The devil the call Braunschwieiger is responsible for the killings and much more...  This is an excellent piece of investigative inquisition set in a most interesting time period.

"Genealogy gives us a feeling of immortality.  The individual dies; the family lives on."

The family is a safe refuge, a link binding [us] to many people whom [we] love and who love [us]."

"Everyone on this earth is related to everyone else."

Kapitoil / Teddy Wayne / 295 pages

This was a most unusual, interesting book.  A young Muslim has come to the U.S. to work on the Y2K problem.  He works in the World Trade Center and develops a program called Kapitoil that predicts changes in oil prices based on the occurrence of trigger words in the press.  His success enables him to experience America as the wealthy see it.  His attempts to assimilate into American culture were a disappointment to me.  I had hoped that his Muslim faith would cause him to withstand temptations and remain moral.  He does suffer guilt after the fact.  His struggles to gain mastery of the American idiom and interpersonal relationships are at once humorous, endearing, and heartbreaking.

Bloodline / Janes Rollins / 702 pages

As always, James Rollins has produced a story that "causes you to: sit on the edge of your seat when you're not actually jumping out of it; learn about cutting edge modern medicine, genetics, and technology; discover surprising historical events that have profound impact today; and be immersed in the seemingly impossible, heroic feats of the Sigma Force Team."  In this novel, the president's daughter has been kidnapped by Somali pirates.  We learn they are after her baby and the plot involves The Guild and can be traced back to Galilee, 1025 and the Bachal Isu - the staff of Jesus Christ.  I highly recommend all of James Rollins' books!!

If You See Her / Shiloh Walker / 391 pages

This is the continuation of the story started in If You Hear Her.  Hope's ex-husband, cop Joe Carson, wants her back.  He beat her and had her hospitalized and convinced everyone that she was mentally ill.  She was arrested in Ash, Kentucky for beating her best friend nearly to death and for killing a deputy.  Evidence and Laws Reilly's testimony prove her innocent and she becomes romantically attached to lawyer Remy Jennings.  When Joe Carson sees this he runs her car off the road and snatches her.  Several deaths ensue...  This book has great suspense, romance, and continues in If You Know Her.

Heading Out to Wonderful / Robert Goolrick / 296 pages

It's 1948 and Charlie Beale is a charming young man home from the war who is wandering the country with a suitcase full of money in search of some place wonderful.  He thinks he has found it in Brownsburg, a small Virginia town, and starts to settle down until he meets the meanest, richest man in town's wife, Sylvan Glass and becomes completely possessed by his desire for her.  Sylvan is a lonely, starstruck, backwoods teenage girl, who Boaty Glass buys from her father for cash and a tractor.  This is a book rich in characters, history, setting, and emotion.  The passionate relationship of Charlie & Sylvan destroys them, warps an innocent young boy, and changes the entire town.  Great choice for a book discussion group.  I wonder sometimes what authors would do if they couldn't write about life in small towns!

The Snow Empress / Laura Joh Rowland / 293 pgs. / Asia

It is 1699 and in the northern-most region of Japan on the island of Ezogashima the mistress of a powerful, but crazed ruler is murdered.  In order to "persuade" famous detective Sano Ichiro to investigate the crime, Sano's son is kidnapped and held hostage.  It is a race against time as Sano, his wife Reiko, and his band of loyal detectives to uncover the murder without boiling over the tensions that are already bubbling in the region. 

This is book # 12 in Rowland's 17th Century feudal Japan mystery series featuring Samurai and detective, Sano Ichiro.  Even though I have not read any of the other titles in the series I was still able to jump right in and enjoy the story.  It is a great "who-done-it" mystery, with the added bonus that the detective work is based more on guesswork and interviewing the suspects instead of hard forensic evidence.

Haven/Kay Hooper/326 pgs.

I don't know how I missed that Kay Hooper had a new Bishop/Special Crimes Unit novel out! I'm not really big into paranormal mysteries, romances, etc., but I really like this series by Kay Hooper. Jessie Rayburn is a psychic investigator who decides to return to her hometown of Baron Hollow, North Carolina, to put to rest an incident that happened to her 15 years ago.  Her sister, Emma, has remained in Baron Hollow, and has turned the family home into a bed and breakfast. Jessie and Emma were never close, but the "event" from the past impacted both of them. Add to that, it appears a serial murderer has been on the loose for years. There is murder, suspense, etc. I highly recommend this book and series!

One In a Million/Susan Mallery/504 pgs.

This book contains two books: Susan Mallery's One in a Million, and Tanya Michaels' A Dad for Her Twins. One in a Million is one of Susan Mallery's older books, and is the story of Stephanie Wynne who owns a bed and breakfast, and Nash Harmon, an FBI negotiator. Nash ends up at Stephanie's bed and breakfast because he has learned that he has an extended family he was unaware of. Sparks fly between Stephanie and him, but they have "issues" to work through before they can cement their relationship. A Dad for Her Twins is Kenzie Green and Jonathan Trelauney's story. Kenzie is a single mother with 9-year-old twins,  Leslie and Drew.  Jonathan (JT) is an artist, and their apartment neighbor. Kenzie and JT are attracted to each other, but again, they each have "issues." It resolves in a happily-ever-after situation. The book was an enjoyable read.

It's all too much / Peter Walsh / 230 pages

Is your house cluttered?  Can't you throw out those stacks of magazines and books that you have been meaning to read since 2008?  Can you walk through your family room without tripping over toys and craft items?  This was a useful cd for self-help on clutter and household organization. 

Peter Walsh is very organized and presents a complete "how to" book on what to do to make your house and your life more manageable.  He even provides websites.   However, before he helps people decllutter, he starts with their dream or idea for each room in question.  After discovering the desired purpose of the room, the people can then throw away, donate, or organize their stuff until it works.

He does get a bit preachy, but he has probably seen it all.  He is also somewhat repetetive, but it doesn't hurt to hear it again.  He does offer some great ideas and tips.  Tip #1 zones for different parts of the room.  Tip #2  Don't buy new storage boxes before you do the work.  You'll not get anywhere that way.

I would say that this book is best for those who just have cluttered, junky houses.  True hoarders need more help and should read Stuff by Randy Frost as well.

The Big Cat Nap / Rita Mae Brown / 215 pages

If you're an animal lover, you will enjoy these cozy mysteries that feature pets who help their owner, Mary Minor "Harry" Hairsteen solve mysteries and protect her from the bad guys.  It all takes place in the beautiful Abermarle County Virginia nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  It's the conversation of the two cats, Pewter & Mrs. Murphy, & the adorable Corgi, Tucker, that brings me back to the books.  This is the 20th in the series.  You also get  to catch up with familiar characters, their reactions to current issues, and their long-enduring friendships.  The mystery is usually pretty tame. 

Winnie-the-Pooh / A.A. Milne 161 p.

Winnie-the-Pooh, with Piglet, Eeyore, and Christopher Robin experience adventures like nearly catching a woozle, meet a heffalump, explore the North Pole, and rescue Piglet who is entirely surrounded by water.

Read most delightfully by Peter Dennis who is everything Pooh Bear should be.

Appeal factors: Plot driven, amusing, feel-good, conversational.

Decades Books: 1920

Dark Inside / Jeyn Roberts / 333 pages

Be sure you have both Dark Inside and Rage Within before you begin this one.  It's a quick read and you'll want to know what happens right away.  This post apocalyptic book is about the emptyness/evil inherent in the human race.  The bad times start with an earthquake, progress to humans turned baggers - or killing machines, and continue as high school age survivors flee in search of safety. 

Everybody Sees the Ants / A. S. King / 282 pages / September Challenge 1970's

When Lucky Linderman's gramdma died of colon cancer, her last words were "Lucky, you have to rescue my Harry!  He's still in the jungle being tortured by those___ Gooks!"  His grandfather never returned from Viet Nam.  He is MIA and the familly displays the POW/MIA flag and symbols proudly.  Lucky has nightmares attempting to rescue his grandpa and throughout elementary school every time his went to the library he would open the World Book Encyclopedia U-V Volume to page 372 "The Viet Nam War."  Throughout middle school he read other Viet Nam related books and learned that "Charlie" was just a nickname for the enemy, the Viet Kong, or the VC, the communist soldiers fighting for North Viet Nam to take over our allies in South Viet Nam.  He read all the articles and letters in the attic and believes that his grandmother's activities in the POW/MIA  movement made her as much a hero as his grandpa.  Lucky has been bullied by Nader McMillan for 8 long years, since he was 7.  The bullying has escalated.  After an incident at the pool, Lucky's mom takes Lucky to Arizona to spend several weeks with her brother and his wife.  His dad is a turtle and his mom is a squid, and Lucky sees and hears ants.  The ANTics provide outstanding comic relief to this insightful story of bullying, family dynamics, respect, and the horrors of war.
Caution:  inappropriate language!

9 million U. S. soldiers served in Viet Nam.
58,000 U. S. service men and women were killed in Viet Nam.
300, 000 were wounded.
2,300 were missing.

Gateway Award Preliminary Nominee 2013-14

The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree / Susan Wittig Albert / 447 pages / September Challenge - 1930's

The Darling Dahlias are a garden club in depression-era Alabama.  These spunky ladies are sleuths in the Nancy Drew tradition.  There are multiple mysteries to solve.  Who buried something on the Dahlia Club grounds?  Where is the escaped convict?  Who stole the car?  Who killed Bunny?  Who stole the money from the bank?  What happened to the missing drug store clerk?  The intrepid sleuths use all avenues to unearth the answers to these questions...the party line, the beauty parlor, gossip...This is a most entertaining look at depression era America through the antics of inestimably admirable heroines.

Meet Me at the Ferris Wheel / Joy Dawson / 164 pages / September Challenge - 1900's

The Louisiana Purchase Exposition - the St. Louis 1904 World's Fair - came about because thousands of people here and abroad had an interest in human welfare.  Meet Me at the the Ferris Wheel is "an adventure at the St. Louis World's Fair with 75 authentic pictures."  It recounts the history of the Parker family from 1900-1904; the hardships of the farm in Kinder, MO; the death of Rudy and Frank's mother; the hard work, ingenuity, and commitment to family exhibited by Henderson Cooper Parker and his last two sons; Cooper's development of a hybrid corn that won a silver medal at the fair; and the unbelievable sights, sounds, and experiences at the Fair made possible by the forward thinking and sacrifices of Cooper Parker, the author's grandfather.

The Storm / Clive Cussler & Graham Brown / 404 pages

You want to read a suspense, action novel where you must totally disband belief but can't put the book down?  Pick up a Cussler any Cussler.  The Storm features Kurt Austin and his sidekick friend Joe Zavala.  They save the world again in fine fashion, staring down the bad guys, and doing what's right.  The good thing about Cussler's books is that you feel like his characters are old friends and very reliable.  I just want to thank science for inventing the nano bots or micronic robots.  Authors are having lots of fun with them.  Here's another story of science used for evil that puts the entire world at risk. 

People of the Book / Geraldine Brooks 372 p.

While conserving the famous illuminated Sarajevo Haggada, Australian rare book expert, Hanna Heath, finds tiny artifacts that drive her to trace the book’s journey from its recent salvation in war torn Sarajevo, hidden by a Muslim from the Nazis, nearly destroyed by Catholics during the Inquisition-era in Venice, and to the woman illuminator in 1480’s in Seville.

Narrative, based on a true story, moving, richly detailed, historical fiction, first person narrative, character driven, intricately plotted, and Austrialian fiction.

Continents Books: Australia
Award Winner