Learning To Swear In America

Learning to Swear in America by Katie Kennedy

A huge asteroid is heading toward earth, Yuri, a physicist from Russia , has been called by NASA to come to California to help save the earth.  Yuri thinks he knows how to stop the asteroid, because of the research he has been doing on antimatter.  The problem is Yuri is only 17, even though he's a genius it is hard for him to get the other physicists to listen to his plan.  Then Yuri meets Dovie, a normal California teenager who becomes Yuri's friend, and introduces him to a whole different kind of life.

Yuri Strelnikov comes from Russia to the United States, somewhat suddenly, he didn't even tell his mother he was leaving, which is a bit weird, remembering he is only 17. Yuri is lonely here in the USA, although it seems he might have been lonely in Russia too, because he's never had a real friend.  Dovie, and her family befriend Yuri, and introduce him to California culture.  I was prepared for some swear words in this book, because of the title, but I wasn't prepared for the weird sex-related topics that seemed forced and didn't fit with Yuri's personality.

This book had some awkward and funny moments. I did enjoy the science portions of the story, with Yuri having the weight of the world on his shoulders, as he tries to save earth from extinction.

You can find Learning to Swear in America in the Young Adult section of the library.

Puppet Show This Week!

The Women In the Castle

“The Women in the Castle”, by Jessica Shattuck, is a mind-altering historical fiction novel about Marianne, Benita, and Ania, who are surviving wives of resisters and mothers who struggle to overcome the harsh realities brought forth by WWII, while living in a Bavarian castle. The women support and guide each other as they struggle to move forward as changed women. However, love, trust, and family, play a role in the secrets and betrayal that will bring these women together and tear them apart.

It is the plot that alters these women’s lives by one decision that causes a significant impact in the story. It was fascinating to see how the events force an exchange of power between these women and the men involved. This book is an enjoyable story and it offers perspective and a genuine appreciation for our historical heroes. I commend the author for her creative approach. Jessica Shattuck did a fantastic job alternating between the different perspectives of the characters and making their stories very distinguished from one another. The story reads authentic by showing readers realistic cultural changes and how tough life can be when you have no idea where it will take you.

Amazon Review

A Cowboy Melodrama

Just A Reminder...Today between 4 and 6

Lehi Round-Up Week at the Library

This week at the library...

All At Sea

All At Sea by Decca Aitkenhead

On a hot still morning on a beautiful beach in Jamaica, Decca Aitkenhead's life changed forever. Decca's four-year-old son was paddling at the waters edge when a wave pulled him out to sea.  Tony, Decca's partner, swam out and saved her son's life, and then drowned before her eyes.

"The thing to remember about this story is that every word is true.  If I never told it to a soul, and this book did not exist, it would not cease to be true.  I don't mind at all if you forget this."

Decca and Tony met 10 years earlier, in London.  She was an award winning journalist, he was a dread locked criminal with a history of drug dealing and violence.  No one thought the romance would last, but it did.

This is an open, honest, and inspirational story of life in the aftermath of a life-altering loss.  A poignant and beautifully written memoir by a celebrated British journalist.  The reader is taken on a journey of life, love, unthinkable tragedy and finally to a point of healing and peace.  Written with unflinching candor, All At Sea is a fascinating account of one woman's life changing experience, heartbreaking, brilliant and profound.

All At Sea can be found in the adult non-fiction section of the library.

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Summer Programming Kick-Off Party Tonight!

His Bloody Project

His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet

Presented in the fashion of a true crime case, His Bloody Project is in fact a fictional, historical, mystery novel. A brutal triple murder in a small Scottish farming community in 1869, leads to the arrest of seventeen year old Roderick Macrae. A memoir written by the accused makes it clear he is guilty, its up to the country's finest legal minds to figure out what caused him to do such a horrible crime.

The structure of this book gives the illusion of a true story, because the narrative is modeled as a research project.  Everything about this book feels like non-fiction, but it is a work of fiction.  It is a clever psychological thriller.

The story sounded so interesting, a novel masquerading as "found documents" around a murder trial.  Unfortunately, I found the book to be rather boring its entire second half, the part during the trial.  We learn through the documents that the murderer denies nothing, and is unreliable as a narrator, making the reader wonder "what is really going on?"  If only there was an answer to that question!

Go ahead and read this story to see what you think, it has gotten some excellent reviews.  You can find His Bloody Project in the adult fiction section of the library and also in the large print section.