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A Librarian Reads Blood Wounds

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012

Blood Wounds by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Willa has a very loving family. She has her mother, her step-father, and two older step-sisters. On the surface everything seems to be great. But Willa has a secret. She cuts.

When she can no longer handle her stress she will get up late at night and find her secret place where she keeps razors, bandages, and antiseptic.

Willa doesn’t quite no why she cuts, only that afterwards she feels such a relief. Unfortunately cutting will be the least of Willa’s problems.

Her long forgotten biological father has committed a heinous crime. He has brutally slaughtered his new wife and their three daughters. Now he is on his way to pay Willa and her mother one final visit.

Willa will soon be looking at the past her mother life behind and discovering secrets that effect her existence to this day. Is Willa strong enough to overcome the hardships life has given her? Will she learn from the past’s secrets or is she doomed to a life of violence?

Blood Wounds is a gripping read and highly recommended for anyone looking for a book about growing up under harsh conditions. It is appropriate for ages 14 and up.

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A Librarian Reads 13 Little Blue Envelopes

Thursday, November 17th, 2011

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

Ginny always loved visiting her Aunt Peg in New York when she was younger. Aunt Peg was an artist and would take Ginny on different adventures that would expose her to all the different types of art in the city. Aunt Peg was also the opposite of her sister, Ginny’s mom. So Ginny didn’t grow up in an adventurous home. Ginny was expected to be normal, study hard, and go to college.

But Ginny’s sheltered life is thrown out the window when she gets 13 little blue envelopes from Aunt Peg. Unfortunately these letters are all she has left of her aunt, who died suddenly. Upon opening the first letter Ginny discovers that Aunt Peg has set up one last trip to New York. Upon completing the task in each letter she can open the next. Once in New York she discovers that Aunt Peg plans for her to visit London. Now Ginny is on one last adventure with her Aunt Peg. An adventure that will lead her on a whirlwind tour of Europe and make her question her studious, stodgy life. She may even find a cute boy too! ;)

13 Little Blue Envelopes is a quick, fun read that shows how, sometimes, being pushed out of your comfort zone is okay, and even exciting. Recommended for readers who need a bit of adventure and whimsy. Appropriate for ages 14 and up.

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A Librarian Reads Madman Underground

Monday, October 24th, 2011

Tales of the Madman Underground by John Barnes

Karl Shoemaker has been going to his high school’s group therapy for a long time, but he promises himself this year will be different. Karl plans to be absolutely normal.

The only problem is that it is hard to be normal when your mother steals money from you to party all night. It is hard to be normal when you have to work five different jobs to make ends meet while also going to school. It is hard to be normal when your friends have similar or worse life situations as you.

It is especially hard to be normal when all your friends are in therapy with you and by not going to the group it looks like you are giving up on them.

There is a new girl in school this year and she fits right in with the Madman Underground, which is the name Karl has for the therapy group. Over the course of the next week Karl will relate to her the many exploits of the Madman Underground and how they always have each others’ back. But if they are such good friends why would he ever want to give them up just to be normal? Karl has a lot of thinking to do and since the Madman Underground always have a crisis or two he will definitely get his chance to decide: stay crazy or be friendless and normal?

Tales of the Madman Underground is a good book for anyone interested in how people deal with many different kinds of abuses or bad home lives. The story is told in an episodic fashion as Karl relates the epic adventures his group of friends have had. Sometimes these flashbacks slows the story down or confuses the main plot but it wraps up really enjoyably if you stick with until the end. I would recommend it for those who want a more realistic drama and it is appropriate for ages 16 and up.

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A Librarian Reads Tender Morsels

Monday, September 19th, 2011

Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan

Tender Morsels is a reimagining of a Brothers Grimm fairy tale called Snow-White and Rose-Red. Margo Lanagan takes this short tale and gives it such a breadth and depth that you are bound to the characters and their life journeys. But this new version is just as dark as it is enchanting.

The story starts out with a young girl named Liga. She lives with her father in a run down cabin in the forest near the village. But Liga’s father is not a nice man. He routinely sexually assaults her and goes to the village witch for potions that will cause Liga to miscarry. Liga is young and naive and doesn’t understand what is going on with her body or why her father is so horrendous. Soon she learns that she is pregnant again and decides to hide the fact from her father. When he discovers it he runs to the witch again for stronger potions but on his way back to Liga he is run over by a carriage and dies.

Now Liga is alone except for a new baby daughter. One day she is discovered in the woods by a gang of young men from the village. Liga hides her baby and tries to hide but the boys find her and force themselves upon her. Afterwards she has had too much pain in her life she decides that she and her baby shall leap off a nearby cliff and end it all.

As she is ready to kill her child she is stopped by a glowing magical creature. Liga is given two magic gems, a white one and a red one. The creature instructs her to plant one on either side of her door and she will be troubled no more. Liga does as she is told and on the next morning discovers that her cabin looks brand new and all traces of her father are gone. Everyone in the village likes her and the families of they boys who raped her have vanished as if they were erased from the world.

Liga discovers that she is pregnant again, from the group of boys, and decides to raise her two daughters in the wonderful new world where peace and tranquility reign.

Unfortunately for Liga the world hasn’t changed. She has been unknowingly transported to a magical paradise. The real world still exists and people will find a way to intrude on Liga’s happiness. When that occurs will Liga and her daughters be strong enough to experience the pain and ugliness that only the real world can provide?

Tender Morsels is a superb book and I highly recommend it to everyone. Due to some of the early scenes it is appropriate for ages 14 and up.

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A Librarian Reads Gemini Bites

Tuesday, September 13th, 2011

Gemini Bites by Patrick Ryan

Judy and Kyle Renneker are fraternal twins who live in the middle of a family of nine. Everyone in the family competes against each other just to survive. If you want the biggest helping of dinner you need to make sure you are first in line. If you want an amazing present for Christmas you better start dropping hints in July. That is how life has always been in the Renneker family. But since Judy and Kyle are twins they compete against each other more than any other member of the family and it always seems that Judy wins. When Kyle came out as gay to his family Judy came out as a born again Christian. She is always one-upping her twin.

Then one night Judy and Kyle’s parents make an announcement. The family will have another member soon. Garret Johnson, the son of a friend of their father’s, will be staying with them for the rest of the school year. Garrett’s parents are moving to California but want him to have the stability of staying at one school for his junior year of high school. At first Judy and Kyle are concerned that their home will have one more person squeezed into it, but soon Judy notices that Kyle has an interest in Garret. Now she sees Garret as an opportunity to compete with her brother for a boyfriend.

But Garrett has his own plans. He makes it no secret to Judy and Kyle that he is a vampire. Garrett even has a Van Helsing type stalker at school who has vowed to destroy him. Judy and Kyle aren’t sure what to make of any of this but can’t deny being intrigued. So who will win in this love triangle? Judy? Kyle? Or the vampire?

Gemini Bites is a very funny, yet realistic, story of sibling rivalry gone haywire. Highly recommended for those looking for a quick, fun read about family, romance and vampires. It is appropriate for ages 16 and up due to a few scenes involving physical intimacy.

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