Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
Title: Legendborn
Author: Tracy Deonn
Review:
Bree Matthews can’t wait to get out of her small town in rural North Carolina. She hopes the University of North Carolina’s Early College Program will be her ticket out. However after the sudden death of her mother, Bree struggles to manage her class schedule and homework load while grieving the passing of her mother. To make matters worse, she begins to see strange things happening on campus, things that remind her of the night of her mother’s death. What are the strange creatures and simmering lights she sees? Who are the Lengendborn and how are they connected to her mother’s death?
Review by: Alex
You Be Mommy by Karla Clark
Title: You Be Mommy
Author: Karla Clark
Review:
You Be Mommy is a sweet story about a tired, working mom interacting with her young daughter. With fun rhymes and adorable illustrations, it’s one of my favorite new children’s books!
Review by: Bethany
The Loop by Ben Oliver
Title: The Loop
Author: Ben Oliver
Review:
Luka Kane has been falsely imprisoned in the Loop for just over 2 years. The Loop is the perfect prison system. It is run by Artificial Intelligence, requires only one human staff member and is impossible to escape. Then Luka receives a hand-written message from the warden: “Luka, you have to get out…” What follows brings to light what has been happening outside and causes Luka to wonder if escaping was a mistake. This is an excellent dystopian young adult novel. Loved it!
Review by: Jannelle
When we were young and brave by Hazel Gaynor
Title: When we were young and brave
Author: Hazel Gaynor
Review:
This book takes you on a emotional roller coaster. A story that most people are not aware that happened during World War II. The story takes place in a occupied china in a missionary boarding school. It tells of what children and teachers and had to endure. Truly a nightmare and horrific time in history that we should never forget. This was a gut wrenching story, but well researched and you could feel as if you were almost there.
Review by: Julie
Rough House by Tina Ontiveros
Title: Rough House
Author: Tina Ontiveros
Review:
Tina uses short snippets of her childhood memories to build a picture of life with Lloyd (her father) and how their relationship has shaped who she has become and, ultimately, how she is to love. Great book!
Review by: Jannelle
Original Wisdom by Robert Wolff
Title: Original Wisdom
Author: Robert Wolff
Review:
Sometimes a book comes along that really lets you see the world from a different point of view. This is such a book. The author spent time among aboriginal people of Malaysia, and he recounts his experiences in this book. There is such a contrast between traditional "hunter-gatherer" societies and the developed world. These stories gave me a new appreciation of the natural world and our place in it.
Review by: Ben
Learn the Bible in 24 Hours by Chuck Missler
Title: Learn the Bible in 24 Hours
Author: Dr. Chuck Missler
Review:
This is one of the best overviews of the Bible I have found. Chuck uses 24 chapters to explain how the Bible works together as a whole. To quote Chuck “It is absolutely astonishing how many controversies about the Bible evaporate once you recognize two things: the Bible is designed as a whole, not just in broad terms but down to the very letter, and time is not linear and absolute but a physical property that varies with mass, acceleration, and gravity.” How does Quantum Physics fit into an introduction to the Bible? You’ll have to read this to find out!
Review by: Jannelle
Storm and Fury by Jennifer L Armentrout
Title: Storm and Fury
Author: Jennifer L Armentrout
Review:
This is a steamy YA. Armentrout weaves a tail with Wardens, demons and angels.
Trinity lives among the a clan wardens, protected and trained by them. Strange things are afoot. Leaders of the clan from DC shows up with news, there has been killings of demons, and wardens. Trinity's Protector then gets taken by demons, she must then depend on the DC warden Zayne for help.. This is spicy wild book!
Review by: Julie
The Woman in the Dark by Vanessa Savage
Title: The Woman in the Dark
Author: Vanessa Savage
Review:
Sarah and her husband Patrick move back to his family home. Patrick has fond memories of his childhood and hopes that Sarah and their kids will fall in love with the house and small town. But much has transpired in the house since Patrick left and Sarah and the kids discover long hidden secrets. Great twisty mystery!
Review by: Jannelle
Angel Mage by Garth Nix
Title: Angel Mage
Author: Garth Nix
Review:
Garth Nix paints a world where certain humans are blessed with the ability to summon angels to do their bidding.
Unfortunately, a summoning goes horribly wrong in the angel Palleniel's country. Many of the citizens are turned into horrifying creatures. What was the trigger for the Ash Blood Plague? Can it be reversed?
Review by: Aly
How Innovation Works by Matt Ridley
Title: How Innovation Works
Author: Matt Ridley
Review:
Sometimes we think that breakthrough progress arrives with the brilliant idea of a lone inventor. But this is rarely the case. Most of the time it comes from the accumulation of many improvements and refinements on previous knowledge or methods.
Innovation is all around us, and its history is far more interesting than you might first expect.
Review by: Ben
Murder at the Mena House by Erica Ruth Neubauer
Title: Murder at the Mena House
Author: Erica Ruth Neubauer
Review:
Jane Wunderly, is a young widow in 1926 accompanying her aunt Millie on adventure to Egypt. They are staying at the wonderful Mena House taking in the wonders of Egypt. The worst Jane would have to deal with, she thought, was her aunt trying to set her up with a available rich man. This will soon to be the least of her problems when she is accused of murder. This romp of a mystery harks back to the golden era with a little of Agatha Christie mixed in. I could not put it down. Looking forward to the next in this series!!
Review by: Julie
Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow
Title: Ten Thousand Doors of January
Author: Alix E Harrow
Review
“When I was seven, I found a Door.” Thus begins January Scaller’s account of feeling out of place and alone and discovering other worlds that ultimately help her find where she belongs. This is a beautifully written story of bravery and perseverance.
Review by: Jannelle
Devolution by Max Brooks
Title: Devolution
Author: Max Brooks
Review: Kate Holland has moved into a new experimental sustainable community called Greenloop. Located south of Mt Rainier, the homes in Greenloop are built from 100% recycled materials and have all the latest technology for energy efficiency and communication with the outside world. Best of all, the community is surrounded by miles and miles of forest. Shortly after Kate and her husband move in, Mt. Rainier erupts. They are cut off physically and electronically from the rest of the world. When the world finally remembers Greenloop, all they find is Kate’s journal chronicling the events of the weeks following the eruption. It centers around one major fact: Bigfoot is real.
Review by: Jannelle
Simon, The Fiddler by Paulette Jiles
Title: Simon, The Fiddler
Author: Paulette Jiles
Review: A poignant, hopeful story of a young man, a fiddler, who had successfully avoided being conscripted into the Confederate Army until the very end of the Civil War. He and a few others formed a musical group to play at Army functions as required. This small group is at the center of the entire story. At one of these functions, Simon spots a young Irish immigrant serving as governess to the daughter of a Union officer. There the story begins. His determination to find her after the war and the music as the essence of who he is makes an engaging read. I recommend this book as a good summer read.
Review by: Dianne
Projekt 1065 by Alan Gratz
Title: Projekt 1065: A Novel of World War II
Author: Alan Gratz
Review:
Projeckt 1065 is an exciting, action packed story that takes place in 1943, Nazi Germany.
Michael O’Shaunessey, son of the Irish ambassador to Germany, lives in the heart of Berlin with his parents. Much like the other kids at Michael’s school he has been recruited for the Hitler Youth. But Michael has a huge secret; He and his parents are spies.
This is one of my all time favorite books.
Review by: Zachary
The Girl and the Stars by Mark Lawrence
Title: The Girl and the Stars
Author: Mark Lawrence
Review:
The Girl and the Stars by Mark Lawrence is a brilliant and unique read. Living on an ice planet, the citizens must adopt strict rules to enable their race to survive. When Yaz's brother is deemed unfit to survive, he is thrown into the pit of the missing children. The adventure begins when Yaz jumps in to save him. And interesting magic system makes itself known under the ice. Can Yaz find her brother and survive her new reality?
Review by: Aly
How We Learn by Benedict Carey
Title: How We Learn
Author: Benedict Carey
Review:
Quite a bit of research has gone into understanding how we learn. This book lays out some of the most effective strategies. From spaced review, to changing your environment while studying. If you want to learn how to learn, start here.
Review by: Ben
Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate
Title: Book of Lost Friends
Author: Lisa Wingate
Review:
This is the new book by the author of Before We Were Yours. Inspired by the "Lost Friends" advertisements in the South after the Civil War, this is the story of two women, Hannie Gossett and Benny Silva. Although they are separated by 100 years, their stories come together in such a beautiful way. I loved this book!
Review by: Jannelle
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St James
Title: The Sun Down Motel
Author: Simone St James
Review: This was a page turner from the get-go! A nail- biter and heart thumping ride of a book. Carly Kirk was always curious about what happened to her aunt Viv who disappeared 35 years ago. She goes to the last place that aunt Viv was, the Sundial Motel, a throwback from the 60s. She takes up the post that her aunt Viv had before she disappeared, a night office clerk. Soon things started happening, The smell of cigarette smoke when she was around a little boy by the pool, lights flashing, doors opening... It’s an amazing and creepy read!
Review by: Julie