Last Day of Summer Puppet Shows at the library!

The Alphabet House

The Alphabet House by Jussi Adler-Olsen

Two young British pilots are shot down while they are flying a reconnaissance mission near Dresdan, Germany. Once they are on the ground, the Germans are quick to send a patrol to eliminate the downed pilots. The pilots are not exactly sure where they've landed, but they do know they have to find a way to save themselves from their two worst enemies, the freezing cold temperatures and the Germans. When they stumble upon a train loaded down with senior SS officers who have been wounded on the Eastern Front, they decide to take the place of two of the officers. After pitching their bodies through the window of the train, they climb into the dirty, stinking beds, hoping that they will live through the train ride.

When the train finally reaches its destination, these two young pilots find themselves in a remote village in Germany in a hospital for the mentally insane. Somehow they need to convince the Germans that they are indeed insane until they can find a way to escape. With each day they are imprisoned in the hospital, the daily rounds of shock treatments and experimental drugs make their dreams of escape more distant.

The atrocities of WWII are incomprehensible at times and this stories just brings to light more of the terrible injustices that were inflicted in that terrible war.

Summer Puppet Show

The Spy's Son

The Spy's Son:  The True Story of the Highest-Ranking CIA Officer Ever Convicted of Espionage and the Son He Trained to Spy for Russia

This is an incredible story about a man who first betrayed his country and then his youngest son. Jim Nicholson had spent his life serving his country first in the military and then in the CIA, so how does he turn from a dedicated CIA agent to selling out his country for money? Author, Bryan Denson delves into his life and tells a story of greed and ego that brings down Nicholson and even more incomprehensible, how he lures his youngest son into helping him hand over secrets to the Russians.

Denson does a good job laying out the facts and creating a timeline of this real life betrayal of Nicholson's country and family.

Teen Scene

Memory Man

Memory Man by David Baldacci

David Baldacci's latest offering, Memory Man, introduces yet another character who is unlike anything you’ve read before. Amos Decker is an ex-football star and a highly decorated ex-cop. Life has a way of dealing cruel and harsh blows. Decker was a promising footballer, but it was cut short by an accident he met as a twenty-two year-old NFL rookie. The injury opened a new chapter in his life, resulting in a condition of possessing an extremely detailed autobiographical memory wherein he forgets nothing. The grisly murders of his loved ones left him directionless. But the chance arrest of Sebastian Leopold who was suspected of being involved in a mass shooting at the local high school brought the cold case back to life, and reunited Decker with his former partner, detective Mary Lancaster, and they had to dig deep to bring the two cases to its logical conclusion.

Memory Man by David Baldacci is an exciting, fast-paced thriller which fans of Baldacci’s other series will enjoy. There is enough suspense in the book which will keep you going all the way to the end. In Amos Decker, Baldacci has created a fascinating character while Mary Lancaster is as wonderful. The plot is wonderfully conceived, and the ending will leave you delightfully satisfied. I wonder how the character of Amos Decker will evolve in the next book in the series. Though he's not your ideal hero I'm sure you'll still root for him!

Amazon Review

Tribute to our Veterans

Due to inclement weather, this event has been moved to the

 Legacy Center North Gym

 

A Man of Good Hope

A Man of Good Hope by Jonny Steinberg

Asad Abdullahi is an eight year old boy when armed militias attack his home in Mogadishu and he begins a journey that most of us cannot comprehend. His father is missing and his mother is killed by the invading militia men, so Asad is left in the care of an uncle. As he and his uncle flee Mogadishu, they are attacked again and he is separated from his uncle.  Asad is shuffled between refugee camps in Somalia and Ethiopia and cities like Nairobi where he lives with distant relatives and is eventually abandoned at the age of about seventeen.

Asad becomes quite resourceful in finding ways to survive and eventually ends up in the Capital of Ethiopia, Addis, where he becomes quite successful as a broker between thousands of Somalia refugees and the businessman there. Eventually, the search for a better life leads him to South Africa, where there are opportunities to make money, but it is very dangerous to be a Somalia refugee.

This is an amazing story of survival and ingenuity. It is hard to imagine the life of a refugee in Samalia and Asid's instinct to survive and continue forward in this journey of life is inspiring.  

USU Extension Class

Come and join us for the USU Extension class on making better beverage choices!