Spring Break

We Should Hang Out Sometime

We Should Hang Out Sometime: Embarrassingly, A True Story

By Josh Sundquist

An autobiographical account of coming of age as an amputee cancer survivor, Paralympic ski racer, YouTube star, and motivational speaker.

Josh Sundquist only ever had one girlfriend, for twenty-three hours, in eighth grade.  Why was Josh single?  To find out he tracked down the girls he had tried to date and asked them straight up: What went wrong?  The results of Josh's semi-scientific investigation are captured here.

This is a realistic, yet awkward, story of Josh's experiences.  I did enjoy his use of graphs and illustrations, but the whole premise of the book is based on a grown man hunting down his ex-girlfriends and demanding to know why they broke up with him. I thought that was a little bit creepy.

Josh has been through some hard experiences in his life, cancer as a young boy, having to lose his leg all the way to his hip joint, also being home schooled until ninth grade seems to have contributed to his awkward social skills. On the plus side you can tell, through his writing, that Josh does care deeply for others and is very aware of their feelings. I kept wondering why a popular motivational speaker was so awkward in his social life.

This is a fast read and it did make me laugh a couple of times. We Should Hang Out Sometime can be found in the non-fiction section of the library.

Library Fine?

The Girl Who Drank the Moon

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

Every year, the people of the protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest.  They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town.  But Xan, the witch in the forest, is kind and gentle.  Xan doesn't know why the town leaves a baby in the forest every year on the same day, but she rescues the abandoned children and gives them to loving families on the other side of the forest.  Xan nourishes the babies with starlight on their journey through the forest, and so they are called star children.

One year, Xan feeds a baby girl moonlight and starlight, filling the child with extraordinary magic.  Xan decides she must raise this magical girl, whom she names Luna, as her own.  Loving her and raising her in the forest with other magical creatures, Luna grows up believing that Xan is her grandmother.

This is an amazing fantasy story, complete with magic, witches, monsters, dragons, and even some paper birds; a complex story with unforgettable characters.  The writing is crisp and clear, and the story is about the power of love, friendship and sorrow.  I started reading this book and had trouble putting it down.  The cover is beautiful, and the story inside does not disappoint!

The Girl who Drank the Moon can be found in the intermediate section of the library.

Come Color With Us! TONIGHT!

The Old Man

The Old Man by Thomas Perry

Thirty years ago, Dan Chase made a decision that changed the course his life would take and once again, that decision has come back to haunt him. Dan's favorite past time is taking his dogs for a walk, but on this one particular day while he is out walking, his senses kick it when a car slows down and follows him across the bridge. His worst fear has become reality and his enemies have finally found him.

This is an action packed novel that keeps you on the edge of your seat as Chase evades his pursuers. I enjoyed reading this book, except towards the end when Perry throws in a backstory on one of the characters that seemed totally unnecessary and unbelievable and then suddenly the story was over. Still a book worth reading.

The Six

The Six by Mark Alpert

Adam is a teenager who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a disease that will take his life in a few short years.  Virtual reality games are Adam's only escape from his wheelchair.  In his alternate world, he can run, jump, and defeat anyone, he is always the hero.  Adam's father, a computer genius, has developed an artificial intelligence program, Sigma, that has hacked into Adams game and gone rogue, threatening Adam's life and the world.

Adam and five other terminally ill teenagers have been chosen to sacrifice their bodies and upload their minds into weaponized robots capable of battling Sigma.  Together these six teens must learn to manipulate their new mechanical forms and work together to train for combat to destroy Sigma before Sigma destroys humanity.

This is a sci-fi book with plenty of action, adventure and thrill.  This is also a story that will make you think hard about life and the choices we make, a well written book with interesting, and unique characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel with all its twists and turns, it is science fiction at its best!

You can find this book in the Young Adult section of the library.

Landscaping Class Tonight!

The Princess Diarist

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher

When Carrie Fisher discovered the journals she kept during the filming of the first Star Wars movie, she was astonished to see what they preserved.  An intimate, hilarious and revealing recollection of what happened behind the scenes on one of the most famous film sets of all time.  Fisher also ponders the joys and insanity of celebrity, and the absurdity of a life spawned by Hollywood royalty.  Today, her fame as an author, actress, and pop-culture icon is indisputable, but in 1977, Carrie Fisher was, sort of, a regular teenager.

This is the book that Carrie was promoting in England, after which she flew home and suffered cardiac arrest, which led to her death.  This is not a play by play of the filming of Star Wars, but more her rantings and ravings, her journals, and a brief overview of the filming of Star Wars.  Carrie also reveals her intense feelings (then and now) about her affair with Harrison Ford.  She talks about her introduction to conventions, which she did not like at first, and only did for money. 

The Princess Diarist is full of interesting quotes, here are a couple of my favorites:

"If anyone reads this when I have passed to the big bad beyond I shall be posthumously embarrassed.  I shall spend my entire afterlife blushing."

"The hairstyle that was chosen would impact how everyone--every film going human--would envision me for the rest of my life.  (And probably even beyond--it's hard to imagine any TV obituary not using a photo of that cute little round-faced girl with goofy buns on either side of her inexperienced head)."

"I had never been Princess Leia before and now I would be her forever.  I would never not be Princess Leia.  I had no idea how profoundly true that was and how long forever was."

RIP funny princess. You can find this book in the nonfiction section of the library.

Chat Night Tomorrow Night!

Not a Word

Not a Word by Stephanie Black

Natalie Marsh is a psychologist in a small town, who is trying to figure out how to let go of a hurtful past while trying to help her patients and friends deal with their current fears and dilemmas. This is a story of stalking, money, power and greed and how one small deed can lead to dramatic endings.

The story involves a lot of characters and many of them are a just a little unstable, which leads to story that is a little extreme. There are plenty of twists and turns that will keep the reader engaged, but the characters could be a little better developed which would enhance the story line. Overall, it's a fairly good, quick read.

And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer

And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer 

by Fredrik Backman

An exquisitely moving portrait of an elderly man's struggle to hold on to his most precious memories, and his family's efforts to care for him, even as they must find a way to let go.  Grandpa and Noah are sitting on a bench in a square that keeps getting smaller every day.  The square is strange yet familiar, full of the odds and ends that have made up their lives.

As they sit together on the bench, they discuss their past, their relationships, they tell jokes, and discuss their love of mathematics.  Sometimes Grandpa and his son Ted, Noah's father, are sitting on the bench together, their relationship is not as strong as the relationship between Noah and his grandpa, but their love for Noah gives them a common bond.

This is a beautiful story.  Fredrik Backman has a wonderful way of presenting elderly characters in his stories. There is a striking relationship between an aging, senile grandfather and his young grandson.  This is a story full of life, love and loss, and it is told with caring and empathy.

I am amazed at the authors ability to make me laugh and cry in his stories, he has a way of presenting relationships that are insightful and caring, he is a gifted author. This really is a little story with a big heart.  This book can be found in an electronic format on the online library, or in the adult fiction section of the library.

Come Learn How to Wrap!