People of the Book

People of the Book
by Geraldine Brooks

I have a fascination with history and enjoy when a book combines history with mystery. This book is based on a true account. It is the story of the creation of an illumined Haggadah and its travels down through the centuries to its final resting place in Sarajevo. Hanna Heath, a rare book expert, is offered the job of a lifetime. She is hired to analyze and conserve a mysterious illumined Hebrew manuscript. As she inspects the book, she discovers a series of tiny artifacts in the book’s ancient binding. These lead her on a journey into the book’s past to the people who created it and protected it over hundreds of years.

It is a story of courage and perseverance. With her wonderful storytelling gift Ms. Brooks takes you from the present to the past and back again.

-Pat Hauser

Sister's Choice

Sister's Choice
by Emilie Richards

Jamie Dunkirk knows how much her sister and brother-in-law, Kendra and Isaac, long for a baby of their own, so she offers a very special gift . . . to become a surrogate. Jamie is also hoping this will mend her relationship with Kendra and she will be forgiven.

This book was very touching and held my interest from the very beginning. I am looking forward to reading other Shenandoah Album novels by Emilie Richards.

- Rose

A Cedar Cove Christmas

A Cedar Cove Christmas

by Debbie Macomber

It's the holiday season and Mary Jo Wyse is single and pregnant. The baby's father, David Rhodes, has not contacted Mary Jo but she remembered he was spending Christmas with his father and stepmother is Cedar Cove. Mary Jo goes to Cedar Cove to find David, but instead finds comfort with strangers who open their hearts and homes to her. This is a delightful Christmas story that will warm your heart.

- Rose

My Stroke of Insight

My Stroke of Insight

by Jill Bolte Taylor Ph.D.

I read this book on the recommendation from one of our library patrons. I'm so glad that I did. The author is a Harvard-trained brain scientist who experienced a massive brain stroke in 1996. The story is fascinating told from her point of view along with her knowledge of how the brain works. Very insightful and helpful for anyone dealing with a brain-injured patient.

- Dixie

The Hiding Place

The Hiding Place

by Corrie Ten Boom

Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch watchmaker who became a heroine of the Resistance during World War II and a survivor of one of Hitler's concentration camps. This is a very riveting story of how she and her family risked their lives to help Jewish people and underground workers escape from the Nazis. Only Corrie among her family survived to tell the story of how faith ultimately triumphs over evil. This unforgettable and inspirational story was also made into a movie, of which I look forward to watching!

- Ann

Year of Wonders

Year of Wonders
by Geraldine Brooks

Geraldine Brooks' Year of Wonders is some of the best historical fiction I've read in a long while. It describes the events that take place in a small English village in the 17th century during an outbreak of the plague. Told through the eyes of 18-year-old Anna Frith in the language of the time as she struggles to survive, a year of tragedy becomes instead annus mirabilis, or a "year of wonders". It is a compelling and honest look at human nature. Brooks is an extremely talented writer, and I look forward to reading more of her work.

- Lynn

Wedding Belles

Wedding Belles
by Haywood Smith

This story is about five southern women, all friends since high school, who support each other through life's ups and downs. Out of the blue, one daughter announces her engagement but her choice of fiance is a shocker to all. It's going to take a lot of southern charm (and these five women have it) to get through the planning of this wedding and other problems that crop up along the way.

I enjoyed the author's wit and wisdom and her ability to weave the past into the present in such a way that the reader does not lose interest. Looking forward to reading the author's other books.

- Rose

On My Journey Now: Looking at African-American History through the Spirituals

On My Journey Now: Looking at African-American History through the Spirituals

by Nikki Giovanni (juvenile book)

Author and poet Nikki Giovanni has always loved the spirituals and has visited various slave ports in Africa, trying to learn as much as she can about the people brought to our shores as slaves. In this book, she talks to American young people about the first Africans in America - what their lives were like and why the spirituals were so important and evolved the way they did. This is a touching narrative that made me want to learn more.

-Linda

Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf

Middle School Is Worse Than Meatloaf
by Jennifer L. Holm

Did you realize your refrigerator can tell a story? This is a story about seventh grade Ginny told through the use of 'stuff' such as notes on the refrigerator, memos, to do lists, school passes etc. From the frustrations of hair turned pink to the discovery of a new talent, the well designed book touchingly chronicles a year of middle school in a refreshing and totally different manner.
-Sue

Sleeping Arrangements

Sleeping Arrangements
by Madeleine Wickham

This book was so different than anything I've experienced lately. Funny and lighthearted, it is set in a Spanish villa. Two families, who don't know each other at all, end up there at the same time with no warning from the the villa's owner.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to be entertained. Delightful.

-Beckie

Collateral Damage

Collateral Damage
by Fern Michaels

Fern Michaels' Collateral Damage is fifth in the series of the Sisterhood: Rules of the Game. Collateral Damage is the continuing saga of seven women vigilantes and how they bring about truth and justice. We cannot forget Charles who is head of the operation and presents the "projects" to the group. The current project is a trap to catch the vigilantes but these young women caught on quickly and just in the nick of time. Now it is time for payback!

- Rose

Cellist of Sarajevo

The Cellist of Sarajevo
by Steven Galloway

This novel follows the lives of 3 people living in Sarajevo while it was under siege in the early 1990's. A shell lands in a bread line killing 22 people. To mourn the senseless killing, a professional cellist plays Albinoni's Adagio everyday for 22 days at the bomb site. Each of the main characters are directly or indirectly effected by this act of mourning as they go about their daily duties in order to survive.

Based on true stories of the siege of Sarajevo, this is a haunting tale of the ways people coped during the siege. Steven Galloway puts a human face on the inhuman act of war.
-Holly

Christmas After All: The Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift

Christmas After All: The Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift
by Kathryn Lasky
(for ages 9-14)

It’s late November 1932 and everybody is feeling the effects of the Great Depression. Eleven-year-old Minnie Swift in Indianapolis, Indiana writes about her fears and changes in her diary. Her father loses his job and her cousin from Texas comes to live with them. Read about how the love of a family can help make the worst of times bearable.

- Ann

Made in the U.S.A.

Made in the U.S.A.
by Billie Letts

Life is dismal for 15-year-old Lutie McFee and her younger brother Fate. They live in the "godforsaken" town of Spearfish, South Dakota with their father's ex-girlfriend, Floy. Their mother is long dead and their father took off for Las Vegas to find his fortune. One day in Wal-Mart, Floy keels over with an apparent heart attack and the kids high-tail it out of town. They head to Las Vegas in search of their dad. In Las Vegas the kids find out what a cruel world it is. Just trying to survive is difficult - then help comes - from where? Could they have a guardian angel?

- Dixie

Perfect Paragon

The Perfect Paragon
By M.C. Beaton

An entertaining 16^th Agatha Raisin mystery sent in Carsely, a charming Cotswolds village. Follow Agatha, a modern-day Miss Marple, as she connects the two murders of a teenage girl and a jealous husband. The reader will be kept hanging until the final pages.

- Ann