Night of Miracles

Night of Miracles by Elizabeth Berg

What a heartwarming story... Lucille, the feisty senior and Arthur's neighbor and friend is a main Character in this new book by Berg. Lucille is still heartbroken over the untimely death of her soon to be husband Frank. She decides to share her love of baking with others by teaching baking classes. Monica, A waitress at the local diner is looking for love. Tiny (who is not) is a big guy looking for love, but his shyness is getting him nowhere. His new neighbor Iris, new to town after a failed marriage finds a mentor in Lucille. And Lucilles new neighbors Abby and Jason have an unexpected tragedy that will change their lives. All these characters come together in friendship and love, reminiscent of the kindness Arthur left behind. Quick read, good feelings.

Amazon Review

The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog

The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog

by

Dave Barry

The story takes place in the year 1960, and is about a typical small town family.  It was written by Dave Barry, who is an award winning humorist.  Christmas is known to be a time of miracles, and for this family, this will be the most miraculous Christmas of all.

I had never read anything by Dave Barry, and he was recommended to me by a library patron, and so I decided to read this book.  This book did make me smile, and cry, and though a bit corny, it was an entertaining fast read for the Christmas season, only a little bit over 100 pages it can be read quickly.

You can find this book in the adult fiction section of the library.

Join us for our Book Club on Thursday!

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Thanksgiving closures...

Book Club....Tonight!

Whether you had a chance to read the book or not, we would love to have you come join us!

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Happy Halloween!

Teen Scene TONIGHT at 6:30

The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate

When Iola Anne Poole passes away in her bed at ninety-one, the struggling young mother in her rental cottage, Tandi Jo Reese, finds herself charged with the task of cleaning out Iola's rambling Victorian house. Running from a messy, dangerous past, Tandi never expects to find more than a temporary hiding place within Iola's walls, but everything changes with the discovery of eighty-one carefully decorated prayer boxes, one for each year, spanning from Iola's youth to her last days. Hidden in the boxes is the story of a lifetime, written on random bits of paper--the hopes and wishes, fears and thoughts of an unassuming but complex woman passing through the seasons of an extraordinary, unsung life filled with journeys of faith, observations on love, and one final lesson that could change everything for Tandi.

This novel is a good character drama. The prayer boxes uncover bits of Iola’s life and her connection to the community, as well as why she was misunderstood. Through it all, Tandi is learning more about her own strength, healing her relationship with her teenage daughter, and trying to believe in her own right to have love and respect in her life. 

Received 4 stars on Goodreads and can be found in the Adult fiction section of the library.

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Fall Break

The 7 1/2 deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

The 71/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle 

By Stuart Turton

 This book is a REALLY cool mystery/sci-fi, it has themes of Agatha Christie and then some time travel elements. Really well done. I can't even imagine the intricate plotting and time it took for this. The author said he had to make an excel spread sheet to keep all the time lines and characters in line. 

A gentleman wakes up in a manor house during a party with several unique guests, and doesn't remember anything about himself, or why he is there. He soon discovers there will be a murder that night, and it is his job to find the killer. Tricky though, because he has to relive the day several times in different host bodies and see the day unfold from their perspective using that specific host body's skills to learn more about the murder. Each time he wakes up he remembers the previous body he was in and what he learned.  A woman named Anna seems to be his ally in all this and carries a book around showing everything they have learned, She tries to find him at different points in each day to talk to him without revealing anything she already knows. She relives the same day too, but in the same body, and I know this sounds super convoluted and hard to keep up with, but I was able to follow it pretty well. A few times I had to flip back through because I got off track. It is an interesting idea, and a plot twist at the ending I did not see coming at all! I couldn't put this book down, I just had to see how it played out at the end! 

This is shelved in our Adult Fiction section of the library.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Madeline Whittier is smart, witty, and imaginative, but she hasn't left her house in seventeen years. She has a rare immunodeficiency disease called SCID that basically makes her allergic to the world. She longs for life outside her home, and when she meets the new boy next door, Olly, she begins to wonder if it's a possibility.  Olly is a risk taker and likes to push the limits. They develop a friendship and budding romance through emails, and eventually question if meeting in person is worth the risk. 

This book is found in the Young Adult section of the library and received 4 stars on Goodreads.

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USU Food Sense

The Peach Keeper

The Peach Keeper

by Sarah Addison Allen

Welcome to Wall of Waters, North Carolina, a small town with many secrets.  The town coffee shop owner, Willa Jackson, has learned that an old classmate, Paxton Osgood, is restoring Willa's old family home, the Blue Ridge Madam to its former glory with plans to turn it into an inn.  A skeleton is found buried beneath the lone peach tree on the property.  Willa and Paxton must work together to try solve the mystery of the skeleton.

This book is about the power of friendship, love and traditions, with a little bit of magic, and mystery thrown in. I was drawn into the story from the very beginning, it was a fun, quick book to read, although I felt the author could have explained the magic a little better.

You can find The Peach Keeper in the adult fiction section of the library.

Fall Programming

Book Club at the Library

Come join our discussion on the the book "The Women in the Castle"! Whether you have read the book or not, we would love to have you join us tonight at 7:00pm in the programming room.

Bubonic Panic

Bubonic Panic by Gail Jarrow

This is a non-fiction account of the plague, mostly focusing on the outbreaks that happened in California in the early 1900s.

This book was so delightful to read! I learned a lot about the plague and all the facts were so well incorporated that I felt like I was reading a novel.

I wish there were more details about the early plague, though it was clear from the start that that wasn't going to be the focus.

This is a a book I would recommend!

Extraordinary Means

Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider

     Lane lived a pretty predictable life, until he finds himself at Latham House, a sanatorium for an untreatable strain of tuberculosis. he finds a insular world full of paradoxical rules, med sensors, and a girl named Sadie that becomes his utterly compelling, confidant, friend. And his life will never be the same
     Loved that the whole untreatable tuberculosis was completely made up. there is no such thing as total drug resistant tuberculosis. The story was about living your life while you still have time to. It can relate to so many people.
     This was an amazing story and I would definitely recommend it.

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An Ember in the Ashes

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Laia lives with her grandparents and brother in a medieval world where they barely eek out an existence until her grandparents are slaughtered by the Martials and her brother is captured by the Empire. Laia must find a way to survive on her own and free her brother from prison.

Elias is one of the best soldiers in the Empire, but he is yearning to be free of their tyrannical reign. His only goal is to escape and live a life where fighting and killing are not mandatory.

Their story is told in alternating views between Laia and Elias. Sometimes the violence and brutality were a little hard to take, so I ended up skipping some of it. The story captures your attention quickly and never slows down. There always seems to be a love triangle in the young adult books, but this one has a love "square"and it did grow a little tiresome.

Overall, I did enjoy the book and plan on reading the sequel.

USU Foods Class

Come join us TONIGHT for some yummy samples and helpful hints!

Ashes on the Moor

Ashes on the Moor by Sarah M. Eden

Evangeline is raised in a high-class Victorian family. She is sent to live in a small mill town in Northern England where she is faced with sudden poverty and a heart-breaking separation from her sister. She desperately tries to prove herself able to be reunited with her sister, but is met with constant challenges, one of which is her unfeeling aunt who is determined to see Evangeline fail. Her only friend is her neighbor Dermot, an Irish immigrant who feels just as out of place as she does.

The author does a good job immersing the reader in the culture and environment of an English factory town in the late 1800s, including the Yorkshire vernacular that the locals used.  The story is a bit slow moving at first, but is a pleasant read with well developed characters and an enjoyable "proper romance".

received 4 stars on Goodreads

Surface Tension

Surface Tension by Mike Mullin

I really enjoyed the first half of this book. It was exciting and there was lots of fast paced action and Mullin did a great job with the writing. We know that there is some sort of terrorist group whose members speak Arabic and dress up as Muslims, but are just trying to place the blame of the attack onto Muslims. You always had enough information to be interested in the mystery, without the author giving too much away. The story is told in the style of alternating chapters between Jake and Betsy’s point of view and I found that it worked really well. The characters were well developed and you were invested in their well being.

And then, about two thirds of the way through, the book took a sudden shift. I don’t want to reveal any spoilers but the whole thing just became so unrealistic. The actions didn’t seem true to character, there were too many unbelievable things happening, almost like the author decided that the storyline wasn’t enough and he had to add in a bunch of extra stuff in to keep it exciting. I didn’t really respond to the ending and how the whole storyline resolved itself.

Overall I enjoyed the book, except for the wild turn and some parts of the ending. I think that YA’s might enjoy it. One thing I got out of it - Jake made me take out my bike and go for a spin!

Amazon Review

Melodrama

Help us celebrate Lehi Round-Up Week by joining us for our Melodrama this Wed or Thurs!

Teen Scene on Thursday night

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Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia

Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia

This book was well written and I found the book was insightful into the plight of women in the Muslim culture, insight into how excessive wealth can affect behavior and abuse by Muslims outside of their own culture as well. It deserves 4-stars but readers will find it disturbing on how females are valued and treated in the Muslim culture and there are many examples in which the abuse is truly criminal. This continues to haunt me and I believe it is very important that the world know and understand the plight of women in many of the Muslim cultures. Both the individual within Saudi Arabia and Jean Sasson put their lives at risk to inform the world as to the plight of women in the Muslim culture which is so courageous. This abuse as it is so foreign to any culture that I have experienced and I cannot fathom that slavery, devaluation and abuse of females still exists in this century. It is truly medieval and needs to be addressed by the world now, not later.

Amazon Review

Anime Your Way

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Book Club Tommorrow Night!

Okay for Now

Okay for Now

by Gary D. Schmidt

A coming of age story about a young boy named Doug Swieteck. He moves with his family from New York City to "stupid Marysville". He is faced with many obstacles from an abusive father to his brother who comes home from the Vietnam War after getting injured. He finds in the library a book with these amazing drawings of birds. The librarian starts teaching him about art and through the drawings learns a lot about life. There is humor, drama, and parts that will make you shriek "like an insane woman who has been locked in an attic for a great many years". 

                                                                

Come TONIGHT!

The Story of Diva and Flea

The Story of Diva and Flea
by

 Mo Willems and Tony DiTerlizzi

In the city of Paris, a small dog named Diva, and a curious, adventurous cat named Flea, become two unlikely friends. As long as Diva can remember she has lived at 11 Avenue Le Play in Paris, France.

Flea has also lived in Paris for as long as he can remember, but has no fixed address.

This is an entertaining story about a friendship between a large wandering cat and a small house dog who live in two different worlds in the same city.

I was not aware that Mo Willems had written a children's fiction chapter book, I love his books, so I was excited to read it.  This book is targeted for children ages 6-8, and is  a wonderful story about the power of friendship.  The illustrations are delightful, and were done by Tony DiTerlizzi.  It has been said that Mo Willems based this story on an actual cat and dog that he met while in Paris.

The Story of Diva and Flea can be found in the intermediate fiction section of the library.

A River In Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea

A River In Darkness by Masaji Ishikawa

This is one of those books that punches you right in the gut. Having a nebulous idea that "things are tough" in North Korea is one thing, but reading someone's harrowing first-hand account of just HOW horrible it is takes that understanding to a whole new level. The appalling and dehumanizing conditions under which people have been living in this isolated country will break your heart, and this memoir of one man's 36-year ordeal and eventual escape from that country will make you wonder: how many more people are still suffering there?

I highly recommend this eye-opening book.

Amazon Review

No Programs During Spring Break

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It's Gardening Time!

Free Cooking Class! Tonight!

The Guy's Guide to God, Girls, and the Phone in Your Pocket

The Guy's Guide to God, Girls, and the Phone in Your Pocket: 101 Real-World Tips for Teenage Guys is written by Jonathan McKee, a Christian youth minister, speaker, writer, and blogger. It has 101 "real-world" tips for teenage boys. From light-hearted topics about video games, personal hygiene, and learning a skill that would "help you survive a zombie apocalypse", to heavier topics like pornography, lust, and controlling your temper. This would be a great read for not only teenage boys, but also teenage girls and for parents. It is easy to pick up and read a few tips even when you don't have a lot of time to sit down and read. The book is written from a conservative Christian perspective and has passages and scriptures from the Bible throughout. It received 4.25 stars on Goodreads.

The Woman in the Window

The Woman in the Window

By A.J. Finn

There is a new sub-genre that seems to be gaining popularity. Domestic thrillers. Recent titles that would fit this description are The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl, and The Woman in Cabin 10.  Add to that list-

The Woman in the Window. (there seems to be a feminine theme with the titles here.)  :) The main character has severe agoraphobia. This is defined as a disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives the environment to be unsafe with no easy way to get away. These situations can include open spaces, public transit, shopping malls, or simply being outside the home. 

After a traumatic incident,which I won't spoil for you here, Anna spends her days inside watching her neighbors, watching her collection of Hitchcock DVDs, taking pills,  and drinking wine. A new neighbor helps her out and comes inside to spend some time. This one night only friendship ends quickly when Anna witnesses something horrible while looking in her neighbors house. Her new friend is murdered, but is it really what she thought she saw? A meeting the next day has her being called crazy, and introduced to someone who says she is "that" woman, but Anna knows the lady is obviously an imposter. She does have a fascination with film noir, so did she imagine everything? The P.O.V. character goes back and forth between present day, and describing the incident from the past which all becomes clear at the end. This book is filled with a cast of neighbors, her tenant in the basement, and all of the people who assist her in her day to day life. So, lots of suspects.  It was suspenseful and felt like the Alfred Hitchcock movies, and I could not put it down!! I loved the old thriller movie references and the quotes! I did not guess the ending (which is always an awesome surprise in books like these) This was a great read! This book is found in the Adult Fiction section at the library. 

Need To Know

 Need to Know by Karen Cleveland

Before you hit the third page of this book, you know something is not right. Not at all. Viv, who works for the CIA, seems to have it all. A loving husband, happy marriage, four kids. Her days are long and hard, but she works hard for her family and furthermore, for her country. She is loyal and true. Her job is to work the Russian spectrum, looking for cells and spies here in America. And then, and then --

To say more would spoil this book and the excitement, suspense, and surprises for others. The writing is superb. Yes, at times you can almost tell what is going to happen next, but even if you may figure out a thing or two, there are still plenty of shockers in this book. I could not put this book down. At times I was on the edge of my seat while reading. Viv isn't perfect and that what makes this story even more authentic. But this is a fun, nerve-wracking, edgy book.

This is a debut novel for author Karen Cleveland. Cleveland knows her stuff as she was a CIA analyst, just like Viv. If you were put in Viv's shoes, I wonder what YOU would do?

Find out for yourself -- if you enjoy intrigue, mystery, Russian spies, CIA workings, the whole spy versus spy thing, and just a plain good story, this is a book you would enjoy. I know I did.

Amazon Review

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