Books for Now & Later

I am behind on telling you about the books I've been reading.  I've read 35 books so far this year (I set a goal for myself to read 180).  I figured since we're about to go through another sleet/snow event, you might want something to do!  Let me give you a variety of titles to choose from.  MCPL closes at 5:00 tonight if you want to stock up on books to read.  Remember - if you have an e-reader (Nook, Kindle, etc), you can also access e-books through their Overdrive site.

Let's start with The Tyrant's Daughter, by J.C. Carleson.  This was a fascinating look at a 15-year old girl named Laila, whose father, the "king" of a fictional Middle Eastern country has just been assassinated and she, her mother, and younger brother are forced to flee to the United States for safety.  When they get to the U.S., everything is completely different for Laila, especially the fact that instead of a palace, they are stuck in a small apartment without the many luxuries they enjoyed in their previous life.  But there are also good things - like freedom to do things she would never be allowed to do in her home country.  Laila also learns that the life she was living before was a lie - her father was a dictator and the people of her country were oppressed under his rule.  Her mom is very secretive and Laila knows she is working with a CIA agent, but doesn't understand why, even though they need the money this provides.  This story was incredibly fascinating and different.  There is suspense and intrigue and you'll make an incredible connection to Laila and the life she is being forced into living.  I highly recommend this one!

I recently finished book 6 of the Gallagher Girls series, by Ally Carter, so I wanted to put in a plug for the Heist Society series too.  She's working on a new series, called Embassy Row & I am already anticipating it!
entire series.  If you haven't read any of the series, you can get books 1-4 as ebooks on Overdrive.   In this series, you meet Cammie Morgan, who starts off in 10th grade at the Gallagher School for Girls, which is actually a school training girls to be spies.  Cammie and her friends Bex, Liz, & Macey are already masters at the games, but they're also still growing up.  This series is full of suspense, friendship, & a little romance too.  If you haven't read the titles, check them out.  If you like them, you'll also like Carter's

I've also recently read The Giant, by Jonathan Mary-Todd.  This book is actually being released today, so you might not be able to find it at the library right away, but keep it in mind for the future.  This is a short, 100 page story of a boxer named Luc.  Luc doesn't really want to be a boxer, but because of his huge size, he's been taken in by Mr. Chilton, who has brought him to New York to fight anyone who wants to take a chance that they can beat Luc.  Most can't because of his sheer size, and this makes Mr. Chilton money because of the betting that goes on during the matches.  Another boxing manager, starts bringing in a kangaroo to fight in the boxing matches and Luc can't stand seeing the animal being forced to fight when he knows how much he hates it.  Luc has to figure out - does he allow himself to continue to be forced into a life he doesn't want, or does he do something about it?

If you're more up for an adventurous science fiction story, you'll enjoy Fire & Flood, by Victoria Scott.  This book was just released earlier this week, so you might not find it at the library yet either.  This is the first book in what will be a series about a girl named Tella, who will do anything to help her brother, Cody.  Cody is sick with some kind of illness - no one knows what, so there's no real cure or treatment for it.  Her parents moved their family from Boston to Montana to try to help him, but that doesn't seem to be working either.  So when Tella gets an unusual communication that if she competes in something called the "Brimstone Bleed", she could win a cure for a loved one who has an illness, she has no doubt - she must compete.  She leaves home in the middle of the night and sets off on an adventure and challenge that will completely change her life.  She'll face things she never even knew existed and ends up risking her life to save the brother she loves.  Since this is the first book, you'll finish ready for the next installment and the next leg of the Brimstone Bleed.

Some of you will start reading The Boy in the Striped Pajamas next week as we begin our new book club.  If you like that, you'll also enjoy author John Boyne's newest novel, Stay Where You Are & Then Leave.  In this story, you'll meet Alfie Summerfield, a 9-year old boy who lives in London, England.  On his 5th birthday, World War I broke out, and this changed his life forever.  His father signed up to fight in the war and left home shortly after.  Four years have passed and Alfie fears that his father is dead...they haven't had a letter from him in nearly 2 years.  Alfie's mother tries to tell him that his father is on a secret mission and can't communicate with them, but Alfie doesn't really believe it.  To help his mother, Alfie only goes to school around 2 days a week and spend the other 3 at a busy train station working as a shoeshine boy.  One day, while shining a doctor's shoes, he inadvertently sees his father's name on some papers that belong to the doctor.  Alfie realizes that his father is alive - and he knows that it is up to him to find his father and bring him home where he belongs.  This story, like The Boy in the Striped Pajamas touches the heart.  You'll love Alfie and be rooting for him right from the start.

I picked up Shadow & Bone, by Leigh Bardugo on Overdrive, because it's a Truman nominee for next year. It's book one of the Grisha trilogy.  If you read Shadow & Bone, you'll also want to pick up book #2 Siege & Storm.  It's not on Overdrive, but it is at MCPL.  In Shadow & Bone, we meet Alina and Mal, two orphans growing up in the war-torn country of Ravka.  In Ravka, there are normal folks and there are Grisha.  Grisha are people who have unusual gifts, like being able to make wind or fire out of nothing.  They have been powerful in Ravka for hundreds of years and one Grisha, known as The Black Heretic, created something called the Shadow Fold, which splits Ravka.  It's an area of complete darkness filled with human-hunting volcra.  When attempting to cross the Shadow Fold for their jobs, Alina and Mal and their group are attacked by Volcra and to save Mal's life, Alina somehow throws off light and scares off the volcra.  All children are tested at a young age to see if they are Grisha and Alina gave no sign of this being so at that time, but it turns out, she's been hiding her power away for years and years - even from herself.  It turns out she might be Ravka's way to beat the Shadow Fold.  This story is a page-turner...I'm already thinking it will be a front-runner to win the Truman award next year.  I highly recommend this one!  This book did not disappoint!

Another Truman nominee for next year is See You at Harry's, by Jo Knowles, which I picked up on Overdrive.  This is Fern's story.  Her family owns Harry's Diner and her father always has incredibly embarrassing ideas for how they can promote the diner.  This time it's a TV ad with the whole family in embarrassing T-shirts.  Fern's 3-year old brother just happens to say, "See you at Hawee's!" at the end and this, unfortunately for Fern, makes the commercial memorable to everyone who sees it.  She is about to start middle school and she doesn't want to draw unwanted attention in anyway, but everyone has seen the commercial.  When tragedy strikes Fern's family, she feels that what happens was completely her fault and she doesn't know how to deal with it.  Fern has to find her way back to her family and find a way to forgive herself that wasn't completely her fault in the first place.  This is a touching realistic fiction story.

If you enjoyed seeing Afflicted: The Daughters of Salem at the Coterie a few weeks ago, you might enjoy  The Book of Maggie Bradstreet, by Gretchen Gibbs.  This is a historical fiction novel based on the life of an actual girl, who lived during the Salem Witch Trials named Maggie Bradstreet.  In this story, Maggie tells of the events that occur in her town, Andover, where anyone could be accused of being a witch.  Maggie records what is happening in her journal and expresses her fear of witches and her concerns that none of this might actually be real.  When people she cares about are accused, she has to figure out what she can do to stand up for them and help them in a time when no one wanted to listen to what a young girl had to say.

I finally got around to reading Liar & Spy, by Rebecca Stead.  This is another book I picked up on Overdrive.  In this story, we meet Georges (pronounced George), who has just had to move into an apartment, since his family could no longer afford their house after his dad lost his job.  Georges is in 7th grade and is struggling.  His best friend deserted him for the "cool" table and Georges just doesn't feel like he belongs.  In his new apartment building, Georges meets Safer, a self-proclaimed spy, who wants Georges to join him in finding out more about the mysterious Mr. X, who lives one floor above Georges.  Georges plays along at first, but when Safer wants to start doing things, like breaking and entering, Georges starts to feel out of his comfort zone, but he has to decide - how far is too far to go for your only friend?


I will end this post with a couple of titles I've been given the privilege of reading before their release.  These are titles that you'll want to check out in a few weeks!

First, releasing on March 18th is Providence, by Lisa Colozza Cocca.  In this story, we meet Becky, who is the oldest of 10 children.  When she makes a big mistake that gets her in big trouble with her family, she decides she needs to get out of dodge for a while.  She jumps into an empty train car that will take her away and is shocked to find an abandoned baby left in a duffle bag in the train car.  As the oldest of so many children, Becky has a lot of experience with babies and knows she has to help this child.  When the train passes into Georgia, Becky gets off with the baby and they enter a small town that will change Becky's life.  Becky decides to pass the baby off as her own while there and ends up with a job at the local second-hand store.  She scours the papers to see if she can find where the baby came from, but just continues to get deeper and deeper into her lies about who she really is.  This story was incredibly heartwarming.  Despite her dishonesty, Becky has a heart of gold and you will fall in love with her folksy voice as she tells you her story.

And finally, releasing on April 1st is Sekret, by Lindsay Smith.  This book is the first in what will be a series.  You will want to get your hands on this one.  This book is set in the 1960's in the Soviet Union where the KGB struck fear into the hearts of the Soviet people.  The race to the moon was on.  Yulia has been living in hiding with her mother and younger brother since her father disappeared.  Yulia has known for a while that she has the unusual ability to read other people's thoughts and uses this to her advantage while trading for supplies on the black market.  One day when she returns home, she discovers her mother and brother are gone and she is captured by the KGB, who want her to join with their other teenage spies who have similar abilities and use them to try to undermine the US space program.  I. absolutely. loved. this. book.  I loved Yulia and her desire to find her father and rescue her mother and brother who are basically being held hostage, so Yulia will do what they want.  Her strength and her heart make this historical/science fiction story a winner!  I am already anxiously anticipating book 2.

That's probably enough for now, huh?