Thursday, February 2, 2017

Books to Beat the Winter Blues

There's nothing better than curling up with a good book on a cold day and the groundhog says there are 6 more weeks of winter, so let me tell you about some books will keep you entertained through these last few weeks of cold and drear.

First up is Falling Over Sideways, by Jordan Sonnenblick.  In this story, we meet Claire who is struggling through her 8th grade year dealing with mean girls and falling behind her best friends in her dance class.  On a particularly difficult night, when her dad tries to joke around with her about her problems, she tells him that maybe he needs to struggle more.  The next morning at breakfast, Claire is home alone with her dad when he falls over and is unable to communicate.  It turns out, her father, a writer, has had a stroke and is left unable to communicate through words.  Talk about struggling.  Claire struggles with feelings of guilt for what happens with her father and is determined to do everything she can to make things right for her family once again.  This book is a heartwarming story, but has lots of laughs throughout to keep you entertained.  You can find this book at MCPL or in our CMS Media Center.

If you're more into a dystopian suspense story, you might try The Darkest Minds, by Alexandra Bracken.  This is the first book in a series about kids who survived a deadly disease that gave them mind control powers.  The kids who don't immediately die are gathered into camps that promise to rehabilitate these kids, but they're really collection centers to do away with the problems these kids cause.  The kids are grouped into different color groups based on their abilities.  Blues and greens are relatively harmless, but yellows, oranges, and reds can use their powers in dangerous ways.  Ruby is an orange, but is passing herself off as a green to keep safe in her camp.  When her status as an orange is exposed, Ruby gets unexpected help to escape the camp.  When her "help" is exposed as a dangerous group that wants to use her for her abilities, she escapes again and joins with other kids on the run who are looking for the mythical East River sanctuary where kids with mind abilities are safe...but is it really a safe place, or will Ruby and her new friends find even more danger?  This book is full of action and adventure.  You can find this book at MCPL, on MCPL's Overdrive and in our Congress Media Center.

Another great new dystopian novel is The Scourge, by Jennifer A. Nielsen. In this story, we meet Ani Mells and her best friend, Weevil, who are "River Rats" or the poorest of the poor in their society.  Their families are struggling to survive on a day-to-day basis when a dangerous plague, called "The Scourge" begins to sweep across their country.  Though none of the river people have come down with the scourge, Ani and Weevil are picked up by the governor's soldiers to be tested.  When Ani is found to have the scourge, she and Weevil are sent to Attic Island, a former prison where people who are sick with the scourge are now quarantined.  Once on Attic Island, Ani and Weevil become very suspicious that something much darker and more sinister than the scourge is going on in their country.  Can Ani and Weevil save themselves and others from the scourge?  You can find copies of this novel at MCPL and in our Congress Media Center.

Another great realistic fiction story you might like is If You're Reading This, by Trent Reedy.  In this story we meet Mike, who is beginning his sophomore year in high school and is a few weeks away from turning 16.  Mike's dad died fighting as a soldier in Afghanistan 8 years ago and life has been tough for Mike, his sister Mary, and his mom ever since.  His mom works 2 jobs and Mike is also spending a lot of his own time working to help support his family.  Mike really wants to play football, but his mom is way overprotective since his father's death and won't sign the permission form.  When Mike receives a letter from his late father that encourages him to play a sport, Mike decides to follow his dad's advice.  More letters come from his late father that give Mike advice and encourage him to try different things.  Mike wants to do what his father advises, but doesn't always go about it in the right way and he really wants to know - who is sending these letters?  You can find out when you read this great story about growing up and learning to make the right choices.

If you'd rather read a historical fiction novel, you might try Hattie Big Sky, by Kirby Larson.  After her parents death when she was 5, the main character in this story, Hattie, has been moved around from relative to relative to the point that she calls herself "Hattie Here-and-There" because she's never really felt like she had an actual place to call home. When an uncle that she's never even met leaves Hattie his claim in Montana, Hattie decides to leave Iowa to "prove" her uncle's claim and make a home of her own despite the fact that she is only 16 years old.  Hattie finds herself in a shack in Montana where she has to farm and produce results that will allow her to keep her new home.  Not only that, World War I is going on in Europe causing everyone to make sacrifices in an already difficult time.  This is also causing a lot of anti-German sentiments around the country and Hattie is torn between her friendship with her German neighbor and trying to be "patriotic" to her country.  This is a story of growing up and not giving up when faced with huge obstacles in order to find your place in the world.  I absolutely loved Hattie Big Sky, which was actually based on the author's great-grandmother's real life.  You can find copies of this story at MCPL, on MCPL's Overdrive, and in our CMS Media Center.

If you're more in the mood for a fun romance, you might try Love & Gelato, by Jenna Evans Welch. Lina is spending her summer in Tuscany, Italy fulfilling her mom's dying wish that she get to know her father, whom she's never met and didn't even really know anything about until her mother was diagnosed with cancer.  Lina reluctantly spends the summer with Howard, her father, but plans to go home as soon as she can.  When she's given a journal her mother wrote while she studied photography in Italy before Lina's birth, Lina is intrigued by what her mom wrote in the cover of the journal: "I made the wrong choice."  Lina decides to follow in her mother's footsteps with the help of a cute neighbor boy, Ren, to figure out what wrong choice her mother made and to help her along on her own journey of grief and getting to know her father.  This was a touching and fun story that will make you want to laugh and cry.  You can find copies at MCPL or on MCPL's Overdrive.

My final recommendation is Stacey Lee's newest novel called Secret of a Heart Note.  In this story, Mim and her mother are aroma experts who are hired to help people fall in love by making elixirs based on scents.  When Mim makes a mistake and doses the wrong woman, she has to figure out a way to fix her mistake without her mother finding out, because her mother might take away the new freedoms that Mim is just receiving - like going to a real school instead of being home-schooled.  To try to fix her mistake, she enlists the help of the son of the woman she mistakenly dosed, but she has to work to keep herself from falling for him, because if she falls in love, she'll lose her ability to use scents to help others.  This was a unique new romance and I really enjoyed it!  You can find copies of this book at MCPL.

There you have it - seven new books that will help you stay warm in these last days of winter!



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