Blog Entries

Gather the Fortunes by Bryan Camp (Book 2 in the Crescent City series)

Renaissance Raines is a supernatural being known as a psychopomp, one of many who usher the recently deceased through the Seven Gates of the Underworld before they arrive at their final destination. But when she is assigned to help Ramses St. Cyr, she can’t find him. He has somehow avoided his moment of death, and that simply does not happen.

What follows is a wild journey that takes you from the darkest haunts of New Orleans through all the gates of the underworld and back again. With the help of a f...

Saving Meghan by D. J. Palmer

Saving Meghan is a page turning suspense novel that will have the reader trying to anticipate the truth only to have another twist thrown at them as the plot thickens. Meghan was a bright active 15 year old, but suddenly that changes. She starts experiencing a whole host of symptoms that medical specialists are unable to find a definitive diagnosis. The stress of not having an answer takes a toll on her parents and the mom turns to social media for support. After exhausting all the medical possibilities another specialist wonders if Meghan is truly si...

Sweet Dreamers by Isabelle Simler

Recommended for ages 4-8

A perfect bedtime cuddle book! This book has been brilliantly translated from French to English and is a complete delight for young and old. The illustrations have been created digitally and are exquisite with extraordinary color contrasts. The art is reminiscent of scratchboard art at its finest. Each double page spread contains a short poem about how each animal sleeps and dreams and there may even be some surprising information and facts. Dolphins, giraffes, sloths, and koalas are just a few of the s...

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid         

Daisy Jones and the Six is the perfect beach read this summer.  It oozes rock and roll from every page and I loved it.  Told in the style of a rock documentary (ala Behind the Music) it tells the story of a talented and tempestuous female singer song writer breaking into the 1970’s rock scene.  Daisy Jones is just an emerging star when she hooks up the established classic rock bank The Six.  Their meteoric rise to the top of the music world is accompanied b...

I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall

A great summer read for fans of survival fiction like Gary Paulsen’s Hatchett. 

Following a tragic auto accident in which she was severely injured and her mother was killed, Jess is sent to live with her father in Alaska - but he’s not really in Alaska.  He’s hiding out in a cabin deep in the Canadian forest in an area so remote it is only reachable by air. 

After just a few short weeks, another tragedy occurs and Jess is left alone in this strange wilderness still reeling from loss and injury.  She kn...

A Story Like the Wind written by Gill Lewis and illustrated by Jo Weaver

Recommended for ages 9 to 14
 
On a lonely raft in the middle of the ocean, a group of refugees huddles together, awaiting their fate. What starts as a story of despair quickly turns into a story of hope as each of the refugees shares what they can with the others. The only thing Rami, our main character, has to share is his violin and the story it tells through music. And what a story it is! It's a story about a beautiful wild stallion, a cruel ruler, and the power of freedom.
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A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult
 
No author can capture real world problems quite like Jodi Picoult can. In her latest novel, A Spark of Light, Picoult tackles the popular debate of pro-choice versus pro-life. The majority of the novel takes place within the walls of Mississippi's one and only abortion clinic, the Center. Within the first few pages, readers learn that the staff and patients of the Center are being held hostage by a gunman, while the police, SWAT team, and lead negotiator, Hugh McElroy, work from outside.  The situation intensifies when Hugh discover...

The Trial of Lizzie Borden by Cara Robertson

Take a step back into the gilded age with The Trial of Lizzie Borden.  We all know the story of the murder of Andrew and Abby Borden, an elderly couple hacked to death in their home in Fall River, Massachusetts in August 1892.  This book goes beyond the murders and takes a deep dive into the arrest and trial of Lizzie Borden.

Cara Robertson gives the reader a front row seat in the courtroom for one of the most sensational murder trials in American history. We get to know lawyers for the prosecution and defense. The a...

The Bridge Home by Padma Venketraman

Recommended for ages 10 and up

Viji and Rukku are running away from their physically abusive father to the streets of Chennai, India. Alone and afraid with very little money and personal belongings, the girls soon find out how uncaring and dangerous the world can be. The girls take shelter on an abandoned bridge, which is also home to two homeless boys named Muthi and Arul. Together they form a family sharing the money they make scavenging the city’s trash heaps for metal, glass and fabric. These kids share a special bond and find the...

The Center of the Universe by Ria Voros

Grace is in High School and she really loves astrophysics. Her mother, GG, is a well-known local reporter who always looks “put together.” Grace doesn’t think the two of them have much in common. For one thing, her mother spends a lot of time at work. When she is at home, she is often on her cell phone and not really paying attention. Grace resents that complete strangers act as if they know GG, but they only know the side she shows the camera. One afternoon, GG disappears. At first, it seems she is working...

Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear

Haimey Dz works on the “tugboat” Singer, a sentient AI spaceship, along with her shipmate Connla and their two cats. What should have been another routine job towing a derelict spacecraft turns out to be something much stranger. They discover a giant artifact belonging to a long-dead race of aliens called the Koregoi. Deciding to dock with the artifact and investigate, Haimey inadvertently becomes infected with a virus. She soon realizes that the virus allows her to feel the contours of space-time and dark matter, allowing her to navigate thr...

The Tattooist of Auschwitz, written by Heather Morris, is a testament to the strength that the human spirit can endure during times of tragedy. Lale Sokolov is an educated, multi-lingual, Jewish Slovakian man who loves his family. In 1942, he is told that if he wants to keep the rest of his family safe, he must board a train and head for a work camp. He would do anything for his family so he does as he is told and ends up in the concentration camp known as Auschwitz-Birkenau. He is immediately sent to work to help raise other buildings in the camp so that they can house more prisoners and e...

Heartwood Hotel: Home Again by Kallie George

Recommended for ages 7-10

I recently discovered a wonderful book series called Heartwood Hotel. The one I enjoyed most was the recent one, Home Again, by Kallie George.

Mona mouse has had quite a few adventures with the hotel staff where she now resides. She’s a kind and gentle soul with a penchant for bravery. Though the staff has become her family, she still longs for some kind of knowledge of the one she’s never known. During a dry summer, a wedding, and a hotel full of guests, dangerous conditions ...

Her One Mistake
By Heidi Perks

What should have been a fun-filled, carefree day takes a tragic turn for Charlotte when her best friend Harriet’s child goes missing while in her care. Harriet is so devastated that she can’t even look at Charlotte. The police are practically living with Harriet and her husband Brian while they search for any leads on the little girl who seemingly disappeared into thin air. But, as the plot unfolds, dark secrets come to light and things may not be as they seem for Charlotte or Harriet. Harriet may soon need to turn to ...

Stuck in Manistique By Dennis Cuesta

A reluctant innkeeper keeps acquiring guests he just can’t get rid of in this warm and funny story set in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

When Mark inherits his estranged aunt’s Victorian home in Manistique, he takes what he thinks will be a quick trip north to make arrangements to sell it – but no sooner does he arrive, than people start turning up on his porch looking for rooms for the night.

Unbeknownst to Mark, Aunt Vivian ran her home as a bed and breakfast – and she had booked a season full of guests. Mark knows nothing ab...