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
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.
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