Counting by 7s

By Holly Goldberg Sloan

This is a tween novel that I couldn't put down even though it is, at times,  heart-wrenching.  Twelve-year-old Willow Chance is an adopted mixed-race girl with loving white parents.  Willow is the child who is super-smart yet friendless - very mature and engrossed in her interests in lieu of hanging out with friends.  She takes an achievement test, aces it, is accused of cheating and is required to have sessions with less-than-competent school counselor Dell Duke.  While waiting for one of her sessions, she makes a friend in Mai Nguyen.  When the unthinkable happens, Mai and her brother and mother, and even Dell Duke come together and save the day for Willow even as she saves them back.    

~ Linda

Lord of Opium

By Nancy Farmer

El Patron is dead and Matt, his young clone, is now expected to take over the corrupt drug empire   Opium which is located between the USA and Mexico. Opium also holds the cure for the world’s ecological devastation. With the borders closed upon El Patron’s death, the stockpile of drugs has grown huge and the rest of the world is clamoring for their drugs. Can Matt outwit the other drug lords who want to take over his country? Can he find a way to fulfil his dreams of stopping the drug trade and returning to food crops, and of returning the microchipped robotic ejits to their original human condition?

~ Sue

The Cuckoo's Calling

By J. K. Rowling, published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith

Private Investigator Cormoran Strike is living out of his shabby London office after a feud with his wealthy girlfriend. Penniless, a new, hard-working temp named Robin appears on his doorstep. Strike's luck continues to improve  when a childhood acquaintance hires him to investigate his supermodel sister's apparent suicide. With money in his pocket, Strike finds himself unraveling the twisted life of Lula Landry and her drug-addicted social circle, dysfunctional family, and troubled birth mother. 

An unlikely pair, Strike and Robin turn out to be a capable team.This mystery is well-written and unpredictable. 

~ Paula

Borgen (Danish TV series on DVD)

I have become captivated by the Danish TV series Borgen.  It is the story of Birgitte Nyborg the lovely cabinet minister who accidentally becomes Prime Minister following a controversial election.  With the help of her spin doctor adviser and a senior cabinet minister, she learns how to be Prime Minister.

Birgitte’s family life suffers from her political aspirations and at times it is heartbreaking to watch.  However, it is some of the finest television being written.  This series has become popular in Europe and in the US and it is easy to see why.

I can’t recommend it enough.  If you want an excellent TV series on a cold snowy weekend, try Borgen.  With a cup of hot tea, entertainment doesn't get better.
~Holly

This Song Will Save Your Life

By Leila Sales

Elise’s latest big project is to become popular and have friends next school year. Her projects are always big, in-depth and successful. This one fails. On fact, it fails so badly that she decides to try suicide but that fails also. It does point out that she does want to live. On one of her late night walks she discovers an underground dance club which opens up a whole new world, where she begins to understand what it means to be a friend and where she becomes the hottest new DJ. Meanwhile, on the school scene, someone is writes a blog in her name about wanting to commit suicide and she starts hanging around with the two other most unpopular girls.

 ~ Sue

Dark Justice

By Brandilyn Collins

This is the first book I have read by this author and I really liked it.

Hanna Shire and her senile mother decide to take the scenic route as they return from a get away weekend. They come across a car accident and stop to help, like many people would. Soon their world starts to spin out of control.

The victim of the accident whispers mysterious words to Hannah. Now someone wants her and her mother out of the picture because of what they “know”. Hannah’s daughter becomes involved too and they begin to understand that the whole country’s electrical grid is at risk. Now they have to figure out who they can trust and who can stop this terrorist attack?

~ Dixie

Dream Thieves

By Maggie Steifvater

In this sequel to The Raven Boys , the search for the legendary Welsh king Glendower is overpowered by the weakening of the ley lines(invisible channels of energy that connect sacred places of the world) that underlie their small town in Virginia, and the disappearance of Cabeswater, the mystical forest. Ronan’s ability to pull things into this world from his dreams is out of control. He discovers that the school bully shares this ability and can teach him how to control it and bring back exactly what he wants. The Grey Man and others are searching for an object called the Greywaren which allows the owner to steal from dreams, unaware the Ronan is it. 

~ Sue

The Thinking Woman’s Guide to Real Magic

By Emily Croy Barker

Nora Fischer is definitely having a bad week.  She is struggling with the final pieces of her dissertation; her boyfriend of four years has just announced that he is marrying another woman; and, to top it off, she has just spent a miserable weekend at a friend’s wedding in the mountains.  In an attempt to shake she wanders up the mountain  for an early morning walk, gets lost, and walks through  a portal into another world.  Nora is transformed from an average looking grad student into a stunning beauty with fabulous new friends and is married to a handsome prince.  Or is she? 

When the elegant veneer shatters, her magical world becomes a dark and dangerous place.  Saved from a horrifying fate by a reluctant, mysterious magician with a troubling past, Nora must learn “real magic” to survive.

I loved this story, and the writing flows beautifully from the first few pages.  This unreal world feels very real, and is populated by such deeply imagined characters that I stayed up for several nights reading.  I can’t wait for the sequel, which is in process.

~ Sally

This Town : two parties and a funeral-plus plenty of parking!-in America's Gilded Capital

by Mark Leibovich

"This Town" is a political narrative about life in Washington D.C.  Mark Leibovich is the Chief National Correspondent for New York Times Magazine.   He is in some ways an insider and his insights about the state of national politics can be blistering.

The book begins with the funeral of Tim Russert and ends 4 years later with Obama winning a second term of office.   He recounts the events along the way including many parties and the colorful characters that are part of the political machine.  The transition of politicians becoming lobbyists is eye-opening and disturbing.  This book is a must read for anyone interested in national politics.

-Holly

Somebody Up There Hates You

By Hollis Seamon - YA

 

Ritchie may be in the hospice ward dying of cancer but he is still a teenager and determined to make his final days memorable.  He is aided and abetted by his ‘crazy’ uncle and Sylvie, the only other teen in the ward, who does not want to die a virgin and accompanies him on one of his escapes. This story, told by Ritchie, made me both laugh and cry.

 

~ Sue

Storm Front

By John Sandford

College professor, pastor, and part-time archeologist Elijah Jones discovers an ancient inscribed stone during a dig in Israel. This stone has the potential to rewrite the history of the Jewish and Christian people as well as the Bible itself. Fearing the implications of this discovery, Jones smuggles the artifact back home to Minnesota. Jones faces many serious problems: people on the dig are aware that Jones is the person who took the stone, there are many unsavory people who are willing to kill him for it, and Jones is in the final stages of cancer and is in a great deal of pain.

Criminal Investigations agent Virgil Flowers becomes involved in tracking Jones down in order to recover the stone to return to the Israeli authorities. A series of errors, some comical , and a colorful cast of characters (the Turks, and "Ma" Nobles and her many illegitimate children) adds a touch of humor to this mystery/thriller.



I am a fan of John Sandford's Lucas Davenport series, but this is the first Virgil Flowers novel that I have read and it is #7 in this series. Davenport is Flowers' boss in both series and, as such, many of the characters intersect. Fortunately, enough background information is provided that I didn't feel lost. I've really enjoyed the plot and characterization in this story and I look forward to reading more books in this series.


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~ Paula

Welcome to Last Chance

by Cathleen Armstrong

Lainie Davis needs to get away from the life of drugs she has found herself in. She uses all she has to buy a used car and starts to run as far as she can go. When her car breaks down, she finds herself near the little town of Last Chance and has no choice but to stay there until she can figure out a way to keep running.

The people in this town are way too friendly, too accommodating and too interested in her life. As she gets to know the people in this little town, she starts to feel like she belongs. But will her past catch up to her – even here in the middle of nowhere?

~ Dixie

One Summer: America, 1927

by Bill Bryson

One Summer is a great read! Bill Bryson gives us a taste of one of the most eventful summers in American History.  Some of the key events and people he covers in some detail include : Charles Lindbergh's Atlantic flight, prohibition, Babe Ruth (this was the year he hit 60 home runs) , Henry Ford, and the first talking motion pictures.  

Bryson mixes all this up in  a narrative that is interesting, informative, and easy to read.  He makes history fun!

~ Kathy

The Little Book of Big Decorating Ideas

287 Clever Tips, Tricks, and Solutions
By Country Living

I was busy re-shelving some of our new titles when this tiny hardcover book caught my attention. As the subtitle mentions, there are 287 decorating tips presented as full color photos, many with instructions, for every room in your home. Some outdoor ideas may have to wait till after the spring thaw, but others would be perfect winter projects to update and beautify your home.

I am a huge fan of all of the Country Living publications and this book did not disappoint.


Love this book!
~ Paula

Stress Test

By Richard L. Mabry, M.D

Dr. Matt Newman wants to leave his high stress job as a surgeon and start a new career in academic medicine. Someone has other plans for him and attacks him in the parking garage at 2 AM while he is leaving his shift at the hospital. He escapes his attackers but ends up in the hospital as a patient with a head injury and a charge of murder against him. Matt calls Sandra Murray, a lawyer to defend him. The police are convinced Matt is a killer and the kidnappers are trying to finish what they started. This turns into the toughest stress test Matt has ever endured.

~ Dixie