We won this awesome new table and stool from Brodart Supplies & Furnishings! Come take a look! It is a great corner to sit and read or study.
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Nebraska Overdrive
New Materials
Zoo, By James Patterson and Michael Legwidge
Being a librarian has its perks and getting to be one of the first to see the new books is a big one. So, I just got the chance to read the new James Patterson thriller, Zoo! Not at all what I was expecting. I absolutely loved the main characters Jackson Oz and Chloe. Jackson or Oz, as he is called is a rather reluctant hero and has just the right amount of sarcasm and character that make him Awesome. I was a little surprised by the plot, our beloved animals turning on us. Definitely made this an edge of my seat reading experience. The first incident involves lions in the zoo, and is told from both the zookeeper’s and the lion’s perspective, spooky! Had this been a movie, I would have covered my eyes for some of the action/attack scenes. Some were just a bit graphic for me. This was a very fast paced book that even after you set it down, which with 5 kids at home I had to do a few times, you wanted to hurry and see what would happen next. There was an odd five year jump in the midst of it all that surprised me. Some of the what- if’s of their science-fiction, make you wonder, if this happened would it end this way? Not sure I loved the ending or what it said about human nature. This book is still haunting me… I invite you to read this book and see if the ending is as sad to you as it was to me.
Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer
Have you ever felt that the characters in your favorite books were real? Did you ever wonder what happened to them when you weren’t reading? Well, in this brand-new story, we find out. Meet Prince Oliver, the main character in the fairy tale “Between the Lines”. But his life hasn’t had a happy-ever-after, despite the book’s ending.
Turns out that when the book is closed, the characters take on their true personalities and carry on with their lives, only to rush into place and act out their ‘scenes’ every single time the book is read. And the book’s owner, Delilah, reads this story a lot, even though she’s 15 and too old for fairy tales.
Hated by everyone in school and the child of divorced parents, Delilah relates to Oliver, who lost his father in the story. One day, after years of trying, Oliver is heard by a reader: and who else would it be besides Delilah? The adventure that follows is a funny and frustrating one, but a great read the whole way through.
Between the Lines is a wonderful love story with a twist – two star-crossed lovers separated by two different worlds, determined to be together, no matter what. The imagination and creativity behind the fairy tale and the main plot are exquisite and original, and you never know what’s going to happen next. For my first Jodi Picoult book (though she wrote this with her daughter), I was not disappointed!
This book was read and the review was written by Elizabeth Hittle.
Last week when entering books, I came across one that I couldn’t wait to read, The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James. This book is set in 1920s England, I have read many historical mysteries and so was excited to find one set in an era I thought I was familiar with. I was not as familiar as I had thought, I learned a lot about the rebuilding of lives after the war and all of the changes of morals, social customs and economics. This writer really draws you in and the story flows so fast that I was halfway done within a few hours. The main characters are Maddy (The Ghost), Sarah Piper, who answers a temporary assistant position for Allistair Gellis (The Ghost Hunter), and Matthew Ryder (Assistant Ghost Hunter). The “haunting” scenes were very descriptive and you really felt sorry for the ghost and the people she was haunting. I have truly enjoyed this writer’s voice in this story. I read the preview for her next book and I can’t wait until it comes out!!
—Review by Angie Brainard
Whew, we made it through the snow storm! Hope everyone had a good book to read while the snow came down on Saturday morning. This week we have new books by some of your favorite authors, plus some great ones you may not have heard of.
Lunatics by Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel is a crass comedy involving police, soldiers, terrorists, subversives, bears, and a man dressed as Chuck E. Cheese. Also new to our collection: Kristin Hannah Home Front, Vince Flynn Kill Shot, Lisa Gardner Catch Me, J.A. Jance Left for Dead, and Alex George A Good American.
Check out the novel, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
by Jonathan Safran Foer, now a major motion picture
nominated for Best Picture at the 2012 Academy Awards.
My Name is Not Easy by Debby Dahl Edwardson, one of our new juvenile fiction books, follows a group of students, Native and White, in the 1960s at Alaska’s Sacred Heart boarding school. The book pulls historical events into the lives of the students and creates memorable characters and story.
Another new juvenile fiction book on our shelves is My Name is Mina by David Almond, prequel to Skellig. Written as Mina’s journal entries, the book explores the thoughts and beliefs of a young girl trying to make sense of her world.
New large print books this week include Life Studies by Nancy Gotter Gates and The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer.
Robert Crais’ latest book Taken is ready for check out. Two young people are missing and Elvis Cole and Joe Pike must find them in a seedy underworld of human trafficking, guns, and drugs. But the story takes a worse turn when one of the men is taken himself and his partner races against time to find him too.
We have some cute easy readers books on the shelves this week. The House that Jack Built by Jeannette Winter is a retelling of the old story in rebus puzzles to engage young minds. Read to Tiger by S.J. Fore is the story of a boy just trying to read his book but the hyperactive tiger behind his couch just won’t let him! Chilly Milly Moo by Fiona Ross is a funny story about a milk cow that makes ice cream and embraces her quirk.