Spring Break Recommendations

Spring break is coming...and you've probably already started making lists of the things you want to read, right?  Surely that's not just me! ;)  If you are looking for some new titles to read, you might want to check out some of the books I've read recently.

First up, I'll review a couple of recommendations I made in class.  I recently recommended Ally Carter's newest title, All Fall Down, which is book 1 of her new Embassy Row series.  If you haven't read anything by Ally Carter, you're missing out.  Her Gallagher Girls and Heist Society  series are both excellent and fun reads.  All Fall Down is a little darker than the other two series, but it was also very good.  In this story, Grace returns to the Embassy in a fictional European country where her grandfather is an ambassador.  She once visited and stayed on Embassy Row every summer, but she hasn't been there for 3 years...since the death of her mother.  Grace is convinced her mother was murdered, but no one seems to believe her.  In fact, they think she's downright crazy - and sometimes Grace thinks their right.  However, when she sees the man she knows murdered her mother at an event, she knows it's up to her to finally solve the mystery of her mother's death.  Can Grace solve the puzzle that has been locked inside her for the past 3 years?  You'll have to read All Fall Down to find out.  You can pick up a copy at MCPL or see me to get on the list for my copy.  If you like audiobooks, it's available in that form from MCPL's Overdrive.

I also recently recommended Jennifer Nielsen's newest book, Mark of the Thief, which is the first book in her new series by the same name.  If you haven't read Nielsen's False Prince series, that's another one you need to check out.  The False Prince is one of this year's Truman Nominees and is one of my two favorites in this year's bunch.  Mark of the Thief takes place during the Roman Empire.  Nic is a slave of the empire and has been working in the mines.  One day, it is believed that the lost treasure of Emperor Julius Caesar has been found and Nic is forced to go into the cavern where the treasure supposedly is, despite the fact that the previous people who went there are either dead or now crazy.  What Nic finds is something called a bulla that bonds to him and gives him magic.  Now that he possesses magic, everyone wants to use him.  This is an action-packed story that goes from the mines to gladiator events in the Coliseum.  You won't want to put it down!  You can either borrow this one from me or from MCPL.  I think we'll have it in our Congress library soon, but it's not there yet.

If you're not looking for an action story, but something more emotionally gripping, you might want to read Makiia Lucier's A Death-Struck Year.  I love historical fiction and this book did not disappoint.  It's 1918 and Cleo Berry is a 17-year old trying to figure out what she wants to do with her future as she finishes her last year of school.  The Spanish Influenza epidemic is racing across the Eastern U.S. and no one expects it to make it all the way to the West Coast, but of course, it does.  Cleo's only family, her brother and his wife, are in San Francisco when the epidemic reaches Portland and Cleo doesn't want to stay at her boarding school with people getting sick.  She returns to her home and realizes that she needs to do something, so she joins the Red Cross efforts to help find infected people and get them medical care despite the dangers of catching the Spanish Influenza herself.  This was a fascinating look at a time that many of us don't really know a whole lot about.  I highly recommend this title.  You can find it at MCPL or through MCPL's Overdrive.

Just published today was Dead to Me, by Mary McCoy.  This story takes place in 1950 during the "Golden Age" of Hollywood.  When Alice's sister Annie disappeared 4 years ago when Alice was 12, Annie's last words to her were "Don't believe anything they say."  Four years have passed by without any word from Annie when Alice receives a call that Annie is unconscious in the hospital after being badly beaten.  Alice goes on a journey to uncover the clues in the dark side of show business to find out what happened to Annie, but it's not an easy thing to figure out when the clues are few and far between and you have no idea who you can trust.  This was a really different mystery since we have a very inexperienced "detective" in Alice, and the setting of old-time Hollywood made for a fascinating story.  I received an advanced copy of this book thanks to Net Galley, but MCPL has it on order, so you can get this title from them in the near future.

If you're looking for an adventure-mystery, you might like Greenglass House, by Kate Milford.  In this story, the protagonist, Milo lives with his parents in a smuggler's inn.  All the smugglers traveling through the area stay with Milo's family in their inn where they promise to keep their guests' secrets.  Milo is looking forward to a period of quiet over his Christmas vacation, because they normally don't have a lot of boarders at that time, but on his first night of vacation, the bell that announces a visitor rings...and then rings again...and again.  Guest after guest arrive and it's clear to Milo from the start that these guests have more on their agenda than a nice get-away.  Milo and the cook's daughter, Meddy are determined to figure out the guests' secrets and uncover the mystery that surrounds Greenglass House.  This story will keep you guessing throughout the whole story and is a lot of fun to read.  You can get a copy at MCPL or the e-book through MCPL's Overdrive if you're interested in this one.

Another historical fiction book I recently enjoyed was Revolution, by Deborah Wiles.  This is the second book in Wiles' Sixties Trilogy.  Don't worry, though, because these books don't need to be read in order.  They have a different cast of characters in the backdrop of big happenings from the 1960's.  Countdown, which is book #1 in the series is currently on my shelf and I'll update you when I've read that one.  In Revolution, the backdrop of the story is "Freedom Summer" in 1964.  College students, both white and black, from the North came down to the South to help register the black community to vote.  Sunny is a white girl in the midst of a very racist community and she starts to see the ugliness of racism unfold over the course of the summer.  One thing that made this book really interesting is that the author includes lots of historical documents and true information from freedom summer and 1964 in the town where the book takes place and in the U.S. in general.  If you're interested in learning more about the Civil Rights Movement, this might be a book for you.  I got a copy from MCPL, and I also have a copy on my shelf you're welcome to borrow.  It's in our Congress library, as well.  If you like audiobooks, MCPL has a copy through their Overdrive system, but I think you'd miss out by not seeing the pictures and other historical documents included in the written work.

If you want a murder mystery with a lot of sarcasm and dry humor, you might enjoy Buzz Kill, by Beth Fantaskey.  In this story, Millie finds the dead body of much-disliked Coach Hank Kildare.  She decides that she needs to try to uncover the mystery of who killed the coach, especially when it becomes clear that her father is the main suspect in the murder.  This puts her on the trail of mysterious Chase Albright, whom she discovers had a bigger connection to the late coach than anyone ever suspected.  The only problem is that she is starting to develop quite the crush on the seemingly-perfect-yet-suspicious Chase.  This book was a lot of fun to read.  It had a lot of funny parts, and honestly, I had predicted who the killer was at the beginning of the story, but I enjoy a good predictable story every once in awhile if it proves to be entertaining, and Buzz Kill definitely was that.  I got  a copy of this book from MCPL.

I will finally leave you with a recommendation to all my Wonder readers.  I know most of you really enjoyed that book, and if that is you, you might want to check out The Julian Chapter.  Nowhere in Wonder do we get Julian's perspective on what was going on.  Now you find out what Julian was thinking in this novella by R.J. Palacio.  It is only available in e-book form, but you can find it on both MCPL's and Park Hill's Overdrive.  Also be on the lookout for Pluto, another novella just released a couple weeks ago that tells about Auggie before he ever attended Beecher Prep through the eyes of his friend Christopher, who moved away before the story of Wonder ever began.

That's it for now.  Hopefully, you can find something truly wonderful to read over spring break.  I know I can't wait to spend my days reading! :)