Friday, November 22, 2013

And the winners are...



Congratulations Reading Games Winners!





Student Winners:
1st Racquel Nassor submitted 21 book reviews and wins a $50 gift card!
2nd: Robyn Pirie submitted 14 book reviews and wins a $25 gift card!
3rd Jade Fiorilla submitted 6 book reviews and wins a $15 gift card!

Faculty/Staff:
1st place (two-way tie)- Chris Robinson and Diane DesRoches submitted 8 book reviews and each wins a $50 gift card!
2nd Marianne McGraw submitted 6 reviews and wins a $25 gift card!
3rd Andrea Thon submitted 5 reviews and wins a $15 gift card!


Thanks to all who participated in the games: Sara Cook, Wyatt Cole, Alvaro Martinez, Khyli Brown, Jeffery Ding (for his enthusiasm and comic book summaries), Jeff Kelly, Dionne Kelly, Holly O’Donohue, Bert McLain, Patsy Sharkey, Tracy Stickney, Andrew Currier, Heather Shows, and Lynda Fitzgerald!

We had a very successful first run of our reading games!  In summary we had:
8 students participants
48 student reviews
13 faculty/staff participants
42 faculty/staff reviews

For our winners, please visit the library and let us know your choice of gift certificate: Amazon, iTunes, or Governor’s Bookstore. 

As always, reviews for books not currently in our library collection can be found below.  If you would like to see any of these titles on the shelves, please email us!  The remainder of our book reviews can be found on our Twitter and Facebook feeds.



Giving the Baby Back by Daffodil Campbell reviewed by Marianne, Faculty
Giving the Baby Back (Finding Motherhood through Infertility, Foster Care, and Adoption) by Daffodil Campbell -- The title and sub-title basically say it all.  This book details the true story of a young woman’s trials and tribulations with infertility, foster care, and adoption.  It was written by the daughter of one of my best friends and appears to have been published through a “vanity press.”  It’s well written, but I’ve noticed a few typos and mechanical errors, possibly due to typesetting.  The story is a compelling read.  The author’s first child was conceived with great difficulty and expense through IVF, and her second child was adopted following a string of foster babies (and in one case, a teenaged mother and her baby who both needed foster care).  Despite the inherent difficulties of caring for foster children and ultimately giving them back, the author is still taking in babies.  I’d call this book a cross between a story and a how-to manual.  Most names were changed to protect anonymity. 

Coming Clean by Kimberly Rae Miller reviewed by Diane DesRoches
This book is a true story.  It describes the strange lifestyle in which the author grew up in.  She was the only child of parents that adored her, and they lived in a house on Long Island.  I thought it was a very emotional story that must have taken so much courage to write.  I loved this book from the first page.  Kimberly tells us about their home that was completely filled with newspapers, junk, boxes, piles of anything and everything that you can imagine.  There was no room to walk in any room, no room to sit on the couch.  Sometimes there was no room to get into bed.  This was normal for her parents, but even as a young child, Kimberly knew something wasn’t right.  She felt so much shame.  She would never let friends know where she lived.  This all took place in a time where the word “HOARDER” did not yet exist.  She grew up with many secrets.  She has always had lots of love for her parents and has grown into a lovely woman that seems to have found peace in her life.  What an extraordinary book this is.  It’s one of those books that I can’t stop thinking about.

The Walk by Richard Paul Evans reviewed by Diane DesRoches
It’s hard to believe that this book is fictional, it is all so believable.  The book is in the form of a diary.  Alan seems to have all life’s heartaches all at once.  His beautiful loving wife has just died, his business is gone, his money is gone, and he has lost his home.  Talk about tragedy.  This little book has it all.  Alan has decided that since he has lost everything that mattered to him, why bother staying in Seattle any longer, so he decides to start walking….all the way to Key West in Florida.  And he writes this diary as he travels.  It’s a great book, and when I finished, I realized that this book is the first of a series, and there are three more books to follow that take us further on his walk.  I read them all and enjoyed them.

Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison reviewed by Diane DesRoches
This book introduces us to a couple that seem to have it all.  Jodi and Todd live in a beautiful condo, where Jodi keeps it immaculate.  You will soon learn that everything in her life has to be immaculate, perfect looking.  And when things don’t go perfectly, she can’t handle it, but remains silent.  This book takes you inside the mind of both Jodi and Todd, and how they deal with problems so differently.  Some may compare this book to Gone Girl, but I enjoyed it much more.  Be prepared for following this crazy silent wife as she tries to deal with her problems.

Jan’s Story by Barry Peterson reviewed by Diane DesRoches
Jan’s Story is the true story of a beautiful woman who develops Early Alzheimer’s.  Jan is married to a CBS newsman, and together they have traveled all over the world and enjoyed a wonderful life together.  And they love each other so much.  But life changes for them when Jan reaches her mid-fifties.  That is when the changes start happening to Jan.  It’s very sad because she is aware that she is losing her memory, and things aren’t making sense to her anymore.  Before long, she can’t be left alone.  This book is a very emotional read.  One moment you’re reading about their glamorous life and then one day it’s like somebody cast a bad spell, and their life is changed forever.  As sad as this story is, I enjoyed it very much.

Local Souls by Allan Gurganus reviewed by Chris, staff
Allan Gurganus is a wonderful Southern writer. His new book , Local Souls  consists of three novellas that take place in the fictional Southern town-Falls.  My favorite one is called-“Saints Have Mothers”. It is a tale of a mother trying to cope and live with  a daughter who is just unbelievably good.  For example, the daughter takes  all the families shoes to give to the needy leaving her own family shoeless. She  gives money away all the time, hands notes of encouragement to all,  leaves the front door open so anyone can come in, and is always giving of herself to any cause since she was 3 years old.  She is beloved by the town.  The mom has some very funny and sad moments interacting with the town and her daughter. The three novellas are really about individuals trying to fit in and be accepted for who they are.

Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley reviewed by Robyn, Class of 2017
In this book Corrine's family is hit by the recession and the father is forced to move away to get a job and the family sells their Manhattan house and moves to live with the grandparents. There is a lot of cliché in this book and it seems similar to most love/comedy books for teens but it was well written.


The Heist Society by Ally Carter reviewed by Jade, Class of 2017
This past week I was feeling like a action packed or a real-world fiction, so I decided to go with "The Heist Society" by Ally Carter. The main concept behind "The Heist Society" is art thievery, pick pocketing, and the issues of a family business. Katarina Bishop is a fifteen year old who, from the age of 2 I believe, has been a part of some of the biggest crimes in the world. Her father is one of the world's most infamous thief and her great uncle is a very connected Russian man. However, in this story Katarina is without these two experienced family members, only her cousin and some friends as her crew. Their goal: to steal five paintings, all that haven't been seen, until now, since the Nazis formed in Germany. The writing wasn't spectacular, but the plot was well thought out and there weren't any huge gaps of action or parts that didn't make sense. Overall I found the perfect book to fit what I was looking for.

Where the Stars Still Shine by Trish Doller reviewed by Robyn, Class of 2017
Where the Stars Still Shine by Trish Doller: The author did a really good job at placing us in the life of the main character Callie very early in the story. Callie's mom kidnaps her and takes her away from her father and what should have been her life in town in Florida. When Callie is finally returned to her life with her father in Florida she tries to figure how to be a part of a family.

Stolen by Lucy Christopher reviewed by Robyn, Class of 2017
Stolen by Lucy Christopher: This story was written as a sort of diary from the main character Gemma to her 20 something year old Ty who is Australian. Ty abducts Gemma who is 16 in a Bangkok airport by drugging her drink. The way to story is written makes it seem like Gemma has escaped. I liked the way this story was written and it was an interesting way to portray what happened. 

One Whole and Perfect Day by Judith Clark reviewed by Robyn, Class of 2017
The main character is a teenager who is "reliable" and does not want to be. Her mom and brother depend on her. Her grandfather's 80th birthday is coming up and she knows that something will go wrong because her relatives are coming together and it does. This book is a little random at times and I was slightly confused because a lot of random strangers seem to become important throughout the story. 

Champion by Marie Lu reviewed by Racquel, Class of 2015
Champion by Marie Lu is the third book in the legend trilogy and was simply brilliant. In a dystopian feature novel set in one of America’s haves, the republic, June and Day navigate their relationship and a war with America’s other half, the colonies. As the brightest of their generation, the two 16 year olds have the ability to determine the feature of the republic. Marie Lu elegantly finished her series in a way i haven't seen done. She closed all plot points in ways that made sense according to the plot and character arches presented in earlier stories. This dystopian thriller also had the coolest cover i've ever seen. This may be my favorite book of the year. 
 


Young Adult Book of the Week




Young Adult Book of the Week:
Spotlight:
Revisiting YA Fiction
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare


Not sure about the rest of you, but after reading Veronica Roth’s final installment of the Divergent trilogy, Allegiant, I was almost done with young adult fiction (at least for a while). Must there always be so much death? So much sadness? I stood quite firm in my belief that it was time for a break from YA—we had a good run, but it was time for a trial separation. I was venting this to family and coworkers alike, when my cousin suggested picking up Cassandra Clare’s Clockwork Angel. “You won’t be disappointed,” she said. “But isn’t it the one with the demons and tattoos?” I replied. “Yes, but there’s happiness and it’s fabulous”. I relented—curious how a book about nineteenth century steampunk London filled with Shadowhunters (people who kill demons and warlocks) running about could be both happy and fabulous.
But it is. Tessa Gray begins the novel landing in London after journeying from America. In search of her brother, she is kidnapped and dropped into a world of demons and Shadowhunters—left to carve her own path.  The characters Clare creates are soulful and self-deprecating.

Added bonus: for those of you are travelling over break—the audio book is fabulous and read by Jennifer Ehle (Elizabeth Bennett from the BBC Pride & Prejudice with Colin Firth!).