PATRON PICKS--By the Kids!

Delaney's Pick:  Arthur's Reading Trick, by Marc Brown (ages 4-8)

Delaney likes it "because Arthur tricked DW."

Katherine's Pick:  The Case of the Barfy Birthday (Doyle & Fossey, Science Detectives), by Michele Torrey (ages 9-12)

Katherine says:  I learned new things from it.

Jordyn's Pick:  The Mysterious Benedict Society, by Trenton Lee Stewart (ages 9-12)

Jordyn says:  Constance is funny.

READ ANY GOOD BOOKS LATELY?

If you'd like to recommend a book, please use the comment box below.  Be sure to include the title & author and tell us why you liked it. 

Thanks!

PATRON PICKS: Sisterhood Everlasting

Erin's Pick:  Sisterhood Everlasting, by Ann Brashares

Synopsis:
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ann Brashares comes the welcome return of the characters whose friendship became a touchstone for a generation. Now Tibby, Lena, Carmen, and Bridget have grown up, starting their lives on their own. And though the jeans they shared are long gone, the sisterhood is everlasting.

Despite having jobs and men that they love, each knows that something is missing: the closeness that once sustained them. Carmen is a successful actress in New York, engaged to be married, but misses her friends. Lena finds solace in her art, teaching in Rhode Island, but still thinks of Kostos and the road she didn’t take. Bridget lives with her longtime boyfriend, Eric, in San Francisco, and though a part of her wants to settle down, a bigger part can’t seem to shed her old restlessness.

Then Tibby reaches out to bridge the distance, sending the others plane tickets for a reunion that they all breathlessly await. And indeed, it will change their lives forever—but in ways that none of them could ever have expected.

As moving and life-changing as an encounter with long-lost best friends, Sisterhood Everlasting is a powerful story about growing up, losing your way, and finding the courage to create a new one.

Erin says:  Since I read the original 4 books, it was very cool to be able to see what happened to the girls after the 4th book ended.  This book made me laugh and cry.

PATRON PICKS--My Dear, I Wanted to Tell You

Susan's Pick:  My Dear, I Wanted to Tell You, by Louisa Young

Synopsis:
The lives of two very different couples are irrevocably intertwined and forever changed in this stunning World War I epic of love and war.

From the day in 1907 that eleven-year-old Riley Purefoy meets Nadine Waveney, daughter of a well-known orchestral conductor, he takes in the difference between their two families: his, working-class; hers, "posh" and artistic. Just a few years later, romance and these differences erupt simultaneously with the war in Europe. In a fit of fury and boyish pride, Riley enlists in the army and finds himself involved in the transformative nightmare of the twentieth century.

While Riley and his commanding officer, Peter Locke, fight for their country and their survival in the trenches of Flanders, Peter's lovely and naive wife, Julia, and his cousin Rose eagerly await his return. But the sullen, distant man who arrives home on leave is not the Peter they knew. Worried that her husband is slipping away, Julia is left alone with her fears when Rose joins the nursing corps to work with a pioneering plastic surgeon treating wounded and disfigured soldiers.

Only eighteen at the outbreak of the war, Nadine and Riley want to make promises to each other—but how can they when their future is out of their hands? Youthful passion is on their side, but then their loyalty is tested by terrible injury, and even more so by the necessarily imperfect rehabilitation that follows.

Moving among Ypres, London, and Paris, this emotionally rich and evocative novel is both a powerful exploration of the lasting effects of war on those who fight—and those who don't—and a poignant testament to the power of enduring love.

Susan says:  WWI novel of a young Englishman who joins the army at the start of the war.  Amazing, horrifying.  True to life recount of our grandfathers' burdens of war.

PATRON PICKS--Les Miserables

Diana's pick:  Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo

 

Synopsis:

In this story of the trials of the peasant Jean Valjean--a man unjustly imprisoned, baffled by destiny, and hounded by his nemesis, the magnificently realized, ambiguously malevolent police detective Javert--Hugo achieves the sort of rare imaginative resonance that allows a work of art to transcend its genre.

 

Diana says:  Even though it's not a modern book, the themes of loss, redemption, love, self-sacrifice, pursuit, mystery, etc. made it an easy read.  Spell-binding and a must-read.

PATRON PICKS -- The Education of Little Tree

Susan's pick:  The Education of Little Tree, by Forrest Carter

Synopsis:

The Education of Little Tree tells of a boy orphaned very young, who is adopted by his Cherokee grandmother and half-Cherokee grandfather in the Appalachian mountains of Tennessee during the Great Depression.

Susan says:  Best book ever.  Deep, educational.

PATRON PICKS--National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders

Michael's Pick:  National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders, by Lorus Johnson Milne and Margery Milne

Spiders, bugs, moths, butterflies, beetles, bees, flies, dragonflies, grasshoppers, and many other insects are detailed in more than 700 full-color photographs visually arranged by shape and color. Descriptive text includes measurements, diagnostic details, and information on habitat, range, feeding habits, sounds or songs, flight period, web construction, life cycle, behaviors, folklore, and environmental impact. An illustrated key to the insect orders and detailed drawings of the parts of insects, spiders, and butterflies supplement this extensive coverage.

Michael says he likes it "because it has lots of bugs and information about them and I love bugs!"

PATRON PICKS: The Gift of Rain

Joanne's Pick:  The Gift of Rain, by Tan Twan Eng

Synopsis:

The recipient of extraordinary acclaim from critics and the bookselling community, Tan Twan Eng's debut novel casts a powerful spell and has garnered comparisons to celebrated wartime storytellers Somerset Maugham and Graham Greene. Set during the tumult of World War II, on the lush Malayan island of Penang

In 1939, sixteen-year-old Philip Hutton-the half-Chinese, half-English youngest
child of the head of one of Penang's great trading families-feels alienated from both the Chinese and British communities. He at last discovers a sense of belonging in his unexpected friendship with Hayato Endo, a Japanese diplomat. Philip proudly shows his new friend around his adored island, and in return Endo teaches him about Japanese language and culture and trains him in the art and discipline of aikido. But such knowledge comes at a terrible price. When the Japanese savagely invade Malaya, Philip realizes that his mentor and sensei-to whom he owes absolute loyalty-is a Japanese spy. Young Philip has been an unwitting traitor, and must now work in secret to save as many lives as possible, even as his own family is brought to its knees.

Joanne says:  Great read!  Descriptive, beautifully written.  Speaks of family, passion, commitment.  Set in WWII era--historical fiction.  I couldn't put it down!

PATRON PICKS--The Maze of Bones (39 Clues #1)

Tati's Pick:  The Maze of Bones (39 Clues #1), by Rick Riordan

Synopsis:

Instead of 39 steps, billionaire Grace Cahill left her heirs 39 clues scattered around the world. At the end of this circuitous trail are the answers to a great family mystery, but Amy and Dan must decide whether any prize can be more important than the rescue of their missing parents. The beginning of an enthralling ten-book arc.

Tati says:  It is an intriguing story of family, rivalries, and mystery/adventure.  First, there is a great challenge that will make you the most powerful being ever, or one million dollars!