Detroit City is the Place to be

Detroit City is The Place to be : the Afterlife of an American Metropolis
by Mark Binelli 318 pages
A socioeconomic study of life during and after when the bottom fell out of America's worst city. A majority of the book talks about the ruins of this once thriving metropolis. The Brush Park area alone is one of the most depressing urban sprawls in America. Over 70 Victorian and modernist mansions boarded up
and stripped of their copper and bronze by scrappers. Some new age residents have taken a risk and bought these mansions for rehab, hoping to revitalize this
ruined neighborhood. The people daring enough to do this are few and far between though. If you web search "Brush Park Detroit" you will see for yourself these beautiful buildings that have fallen into disrepair. Politics take up a good part of this book as well. Chronicling the rise and eventual fall of sleaze ball mayors like Coleman Young and Kwame Kilpatrick. Who are/were some of the worst people on this planet today. The book was great, well written with comical analogies. The author however,seemed a bit pretentious, and it seems that he is arrogant and a little bit of a  hipster. He did write a pretty good book though, so I'll cut him some slack.
    

Detroit: A Biography

Detroit : A Biography  by Scott Martelle 288 pages
A short but detailed history of America's "joke" city. Depressing but very well written. A good portion of the book catalogs the rise of the city from French and British fort to mega industrial city by the 1920s. With the second half focusing on the downfall  of assembly line productions, white flight in the 1960s and the string of corrupt and terrible mayors. You could go on and on as to why Detroit collapsed so fast, and never come up with a definitive answer. You would need to be allowed three reasons in your explanation. I loved this book, as urban decay has always been a fascinating subject to me. I would recommend this to anyone who reads non fiction. Or anybody who just wants to know why Detroit is so maligned now.   
 

Rasputin: A Short Life

Rasputin: A Short Life, by Frances Welch 201 pages
A fairly short yet detailed biography of the "Mad Monk" who brought down a 400
year old dynasty. Most of the subject matter detailed is of his sexual exploits from his teenage years to his untimely death at age 47. There are countless books written on this polarizing figure, and his interactions with the Romanov family.
I enjoyed this book, it was a quick read, yet very informative for being only two hundred pages, other biographies of the man extend well past 800 pages.  If you like history, give it a shot. 

Iron Gray Sea

Iron Gray Sea by Taylor Anderson, 421 pages

 

This is the seventh book in Anderson's "Destoyermen" Series. This series takes place during World War 2 and involves ships that, by means of super typhoons, have been magically transported into a parallel earth where humans are not the dominant species. There seems to be two dominant non-human species that occur throughout the series. On is the Grik and the other are the Lemurians. The Grik are large reptilian like creatures that kind of look like bigger komodo dragons and walk on two legs. The Lemurians are more of a cross between lemurs and cats with some humanish features.

 The series itself focuses on the struggle that is going on between these two species and the influence that the transported people bring. Iron Gray Sea, like every book in the series is very engaging and presents a very likeable cast. It is very fast paced and plot focused. If you like military novels that have you hanging on every word and rushing to get the next novel then the “Destroyermen” series is for you!

Be Your Own Career Coach

Be Your Own Career Coach by Rus Slater, 206 pages

Just getting started in the workforce and not sure how to get the career you want? Have you spent a long time in a career and are now wondering how to get out of the rut you seem to be stuck in? In Be Your Own Career Coach, Slater offers advice on figuring out how to get what you want out of your career, no matter where you are in your career.

Yes, this review sounds a bit like a late-night infomercial, but I'd argue that this is entirely the right tone to strike when discussing this title. While this is a business book in that it focuses on career development, it's also something of a self-help book that raises plenty of questions about what you, the reader, want out of your career, and life in general. It can be an easy, quick read, or you can do as Slater suggests and write down answers to all of the questions he poses as you read, making this a much more time-intensive, soul-searching read. And while it may not slice or dice, it does offer plenty of appeal to anyone with a job...or anyone who wants one. It's certainly worth at least a skim, though you may find yourself doing a bit more introspection as you go along.

Lord, Teach Us to Pray

Lord, Teach Us to Pray by Paul Claudel, translated by Ruth Bethell, 95 pages

This is a collection of six meditations, each centered to a greater or lesser extent on a painting, whether by Titian, Rembrandt, Delacroix, or the author's daughter.  The painting serves either as an impetus to start the train of thought contained in the essay, or as an example of an insight the author wishes to convey.  Though often rambling, the insights are genuine and striking.  The lack of organization - there are 25 pages (in a 95 page book) of appendices containing additional material he did not have the opportunity to integrate into the main text - tends to conceal the gems, but the gems are valuable enough to be well worth digging for.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, 381 pages

In 1951, a poor black woman, Henrietta Lacks, died of cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Without her knowledge, or the knowledge of her family, the doctor that was treating her took a sample from her tumor to create a cell culture, the first one to thrive ceaselessly. Since 1951, that cell culture has continued to grow, and is now one of the most widely used cell cultures used in medical and scientific research. The HeLa cells have been used for a wide variety of medical breakthroughs, including the polio vaccine and several cancer treatments. Skloot's book explores the immortal life of these cells, as well as the life of Henrietta's family as they attempt to discover whatever they can about Henrietta and her cells.

This book is incredibly well written, presenting scientific facts clearly and mixing them with historical accounts, interviews and conversations with the Lacks family, and some first-person accounts of Skloot's research process to create a compelling narrative. I particularly appreciated the portions of the book dedicated to Henrietta's family, especially her daughter Debra, who seemed to be the most interested in learning about her mother and making sure that the world knows just who Henrietta Lacks is. This was a great book, and will appeal to those who have an interest in medical research, history, and biographies.

An additional note: I listened to the downloadable audiobook of this, and the narrator was superb. Cassandra Campbell also did the narration for Orange is the New Black, which I've also listened to, and in both, characters of various races and economic situations were presented well; they were easily distinguishable, but nobody became a stereotype, which would have been an easy trap to fall into. I may have to seek out more of Campbell's narrations.

Habibi

Habibi by Craig Thomas, 655 pages

Sprawling across an epic landscape of deserts, harems, and modern industrial clutter, Habibi is the tale of two child slaves bound to each other by chance, and by the love. Throughout the book we see the two as they grow together and as they grow apart. Together they struggle to make a place for themselves in a world that is fueled by fear, lust, and greed. 
Once again Craig Thomas delivers an absolutely gorgeous book. In addition to the richly detailed story Thompson includes gorgeous Arabic ornamental calligraphy making pages into their own beautiful pieces of art.

Slaves of Socorro

Slaves of Socorro by John Flanagan, 462 pages

John Flanagan's  Brotherband series which is a companion series to hi Ranger’s Apprentice series, This series is set in Skandia follows Hal and his crew of misfits on their adventures. The fourth book in this sees them off to protect the shores of Araluen, as part of their treaty with Araluen. Shortly after their arrival though Hal's old rival turned slaver Tursgard raids an Araluen village taking several villagers captive. Hal and his crew set off after them, accompanied by one of Araluen's finest Ranger.While this book could stand alone it is better if you have read the other three books in the series, as well as his other series. Flanagan's books have just the right amount of drama, action and humor. Anyone who enjoys adventure would probably enjoy either of the two series that he's written

Sincerity and Authenticity

Sincerity and Authenticity by Lionel Trilling, 158 pages

 

The death of God having severed Western man from his traditional understanding of himself as a being in some state of objective harmony or disharmony with the cosmos, there arose the Enlightenment ideal of authenticity, which posited modern man as a being in some state of subjective harmony or disharmony with himself.  In this series of lectures, Trilling traces the development of this ideal through the writings of Diderot, Austen, Conrad, and Freud.

 

Unfortunately, Trilling is unable to provide a clear exposition of authenticity, describing it only in the most oblique terms.  Perhaps this is necessary in tracing the evolution of the idea, but in the end, his nebulous concept of authenticity seems nothing more than an empty exertion of self-will against the external world.

Conquest: The Chronicles of the Invaders

Conquest: The Chronicles of the Invaders by John Connolly & Jennifer Ridyard
435 Pages


Earth has been conquered by an alien species  known as the Illyri.  While there is still resistance, the war has been lost.  Syl is the daughter of the Illyri leader overseeing Europe and she finds herself, along with her best friend Ali joining with resistance brothers Paul and Sam Kerr when a schism among the Illyri threatens the status quo.

Classified as science fiction, the book read more as young adult fiction. For fans of The Fifth Wave and I am Number Four.

Bone Clocks

The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
624 Pages


The character of Holly Sykes finds herself the center of a war between two small groups of people who have a magical ability.  One group is able to reincarnate into new bodies as they die, keeping their past memories.  The other group leaches off the physic abilities of others to extend their lives.  However the book isn't really about this struggle which fades into the background for the majority of the books.  Instead it is a series of different parts, with different narrators, all of whom touch on Holly's life.  Some narrators/parts are unsympathetic and it was difficult to get through them.  Other parts were better and I wish they would have been longer.  There were several times when I was tempted to put the book down and give up but overall it was a good book and I'm happy I finished.

Saving Baby Doe

Saving Baby Doe by Danette Vigilante    230 pages

Best friends and neighbors Lionel Perez and Anisa Torres are running an errand when they are derailed by an empty construction site. Lionel wants to see the big machinery up close. It’s a good thing, too. When they hear the cries of what they think is a hurt animal, they find an abandoned newborn baby girl in the Porta-Potti.

The 13-year olds aren’t sure exactly what to do, but they know the baby needs help PDQ. Together, they take the baby to a hospital where the two fall under suspicion that the baby is theirs. Once their mother’s arrive, Anisa’s mother forces her to undergo a physical examination to prove that the baby is not hers.

Lionel isn’t cleared right away, and everyone has suspicions. The baby opens up a deep, old wound for Lionel, who was abandoned by his father.  As the older of the three children, Lionel felt the most pain. Unable to stand for the baby to go into foster care, Lionel hatches a plan to kidnap the child. 

To fund his plan, Lionel gets mixed up with a group of drug-dealing teenagers, slightly older than he.

Vigilante creates strong and interesting characters. The mixed-races Brooklyn neighborhood lends authenticity to urban youth. They grow up long before they should.

 The story is well-crafted but stereotypical. A happy ending is surely guaranteed. I give this novel 3 out of 5 stars.

 

Slaves of Socorro

Slaves of Socorro by John Flanagan, 462 pages

This is the fourth book in the Brotherband series.  Se in the same world, but different country, as the Ranger’s Apprentice series, this series follows Hal of Skandia and his crew on their adventures.  In this book they are off to have a stint protecting the shores of Araluen, as part of the treaty between Skandia and Araluen.  Soon after they arrive, they discover that a party led by one of their countrymen, Tursgud, has raided an Araluen village and taken several captives as slaves.  Knowing that they will be headed for Socorro to sell them, Hall and his crew, accompanied by the Ranger, Gilan, set off after them, hoping to catch them in route, but planning to free the Araluens from the slave pens, if not.  As always, Flanagan pens a great read with this book.  Any teen who enjoys adventure stories will love this series and this addition to it.

Where The Stars Still Shine

Where The Stars Still Shine by Trish Doller, 339 pages

Callie has been with her mother since she was four years old.  Now she is sixteen and her mother has been arrested for kidnapping her.  She is going back to live with her father, and is meeting a huge Greek family of cousins, grandparents, and even two little brothers.  Callie doesn’t know how to act with all of this family, but she does her best to get along.  She even meets a boy, who turns out to be her stepmother’s brother.  Callie likes her family and the clearly love her but she worries what will happen if her mother gets out of prison and also worries that she will never fit in with this bog family anyway.  Since she and her mother have always been on the run, Callie has been on her own a lot and doesn’t really understand how to be a friend, much less a family.  This is a really good story that includes a romance that a lot of teens, especially girls, will like.

Love In The Time Of Global Warming

Love In The Time Of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block, 230 pages

I have really liked a few of her books, but I don’t like all of Block’s stories.  This was one I didn’t like as well.  This is a kind of modern retelling of the Odyssey.  Pen has seen everything destroyed by the Earth Shaker.  She doesn’t know what has happened to her family and sets out on a journey to find them.  Along the way she meets companions who journey with her and they encounter monsters, sorceresses, giants and much more.  Everything in this story was just so odd it was hard for me to keep track of what was really happening.  It read pretty quickly, so I did finish it, and I felt the end redeemed the rest of the story a little bit, anyway.  Teens that like her other books will probably like this one.  Science fiction/fantasy lovers might give this book a try.

The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone

The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone by Adele Griffin, 241 pages

The book starts with us knowing that Addison Stone has died, either in a tragic accident or in a suicide.  The story is supposed to be a documentary of sorts, chronicling Addison’s life through her family and friends.  It focuses mostly on her mother, agent, brother, best friend from high school, and two ex-boyfriends, although many other people are included.  Through their eyes, we get a pretty decent picture of what Addison was probably like.  She was an artist and a rebel, desperate to get away from her small hometown but very loyal to her friends.  She also suffered from mental illness of some sort and was on medication that she was deliberately not taking at the time of her death.  She also claimed to see a ghost, Ida, which may have been responsible for an earlier suicide attempt.  This was a really unusual book and I think it was well done, but I didn’t really like this style, personally.  It felt too disjointed to me and I didn’t feel like I got a well-rounded picture of what was going on.  This was probably deliberate because it illustrates that we don’t ever really know another person but it’s not what I look for in a young adult book.  I do think that there are teens out there who like true life-type stories that would enjoy this book, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

The Boy Who Swam With Piranhas

The Boy Who Swam With Piranhas by David Almond, 234 pages

When Stan’s Uncle Ernie lost his job he decided to run his own fish canning business.  Since then, Stan hasn’t been to school because he and his Aunt Annie have been working for the business.  Although he’d rather be at school, Stan doesn’t mind working too much, until his birthday, when he gets the day off.  There is a fair in town and Stan comes back from the fair with a bunch of goldfish he rescued from the Hook-a-Duck stall.  That night his uncle cooks and cans all but one of the goldfish so Stan runs away with the fair.  There, he meets the famous Pancho Pirelli, who swims with piranhas.  Pancho thinks that Stan has what it takes to join him.  Although the story is kind of odd, because a lot of the adults in this book don’t act the way adults are expected to act, it ends up being a really good story, mostly true to life, but with just a hint of fantasy, since Stan seems to have the ability to talk to fish.  A lot of kids would like this book, especially since it is a pretty quick read and has pictures.

Goodbye Rebel Blue

Goodbye Rebel Blue by Shelley Coriell, 299 pages

Rebecca Blue, known as Rebel, talks to Kennedy Green during detention, even though they’ve never really talked before.  Their assignment was to create a bucket list.  That night, Kennedy is killed in a car accident and Rebel feels compelled to do the things on Kennedy’s bucket list.  Despite the fact that she is not a joiner and doesn’t fit in, even with her family, Rebel starts to complete the list, which is mostly do-gooder things, like adopting leatherback turtles and donating her hair or things that require participating with other people, like being part of a flash mob or riding a tandem bike.  While working on the list, rebel begins to see other people a little differently and also begins to understand herself a little more, and possibly, starts to deal with her own mother’s death.  A really good story about a high school student dealing with life and death, I think that a lot of teens would enjoy this book.

Coldest Girl In Coldtown

Coldest Girl In Coldtown by Holly Black, 419 pages

Tana wakes up one morning after a party to find that almost all of her friends were killed in a vampire attack.  The only one left alive is Aiden, her ex-boyfriend, and he has been bitten.  If he drinks any human blood he will become a vampire.  Tana also discovers a vampire, Gavriel.  Together, the three of them escape the house and the other vampires that are still there and head for the nearest coldtown, a place where vampires and infected people are required to live, although many humans who want to be vampires also live there.  Tana’s world has been like this since she was a young girl and a huge outbreak occurred and the whole world became aware that vampires were real.  This is one of the best vampire stories I’ve read in a long time.  These vampires are dangerous and the book definitely has some scary moments but there’s also a glamour and fascination with vampires that makes the book just a little bit scarier.  Definitely a book for teens who like horror, I think a lot of vampire fans will like this book.

Founding of Christendom

The Founding of Christendom by Warren H Carroll, 543 pages

This is volume 1 of Carroll's six volume History of Christendom series, which traces the development of Christendom, that is, the social manifestation of Christianity.  The Founding of Christendom begins with prehistory and ends with Constantine, with a focus on the history of ancient Israel and early Christianity.  Carroll is forthright that his perspective is that of an orthodox Catholic, but he insists that this perspective is just as rational as unbelief, whether explicit or implicit.

Although it is not likely to convince the skeptic, this is an anti-skeptical work in the best sense, in that it represents a solid counter to the corrosive effect of the hermeneutic of suspicion.  Moreover, constructing an irrefutable case for a Christian interpretation of history is not Carroll's aim - rather, he wants to establish (or, more properly, re-establish) that a rational case for a firm historical narrative for believers exists which is just as strong, if not stronger, than the secular alternatives.  He largely succeeds here, although his knowledge of some matters is a bit thin, and, in this volume especially, there is a certain amount of speculation, those matters tend to be ones away from the central thrust of his narrative.

It is precisely that narrative thrust which is the greatest strength of the book.  Our era tends to be suspicious of grand narratives, yet as "storytelling animals" we need narratives to understand ourselves and our world.  Will and Ariel Durant famously wrote in Caesar and Christ, the third volume of their monumental Story of Civilization, "There is no greater drama in human record than the sight of a few Christians, scorned or oppressed by a succession of emperors, bearing all trials with a fierce tenacity, multiplying quietly, building order while their enemies generated chaos, fighting the sword with the word, brutality with hope, and at last defeating the strongest state that history has known."  It is difficult to imagine a major historian writing such a passage today.  Carroll conveys that drama, and its seeds in the history of Israel, as well as the pivot of the "greatest story ever told", in a compelling and intriguing way.

Station Eleven

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
333 Pages



The book opens as Arthur,  the main actor in a King Lear production collapses and dies on stage of a heart attack.  While this is happening the beginnings of a major epidemic are stirring in the city of Toronto, an epidemic that will kill the majority of the population. 

Yet this is not a disaster story in a dyfunctional future.  In fact the epidemic is only a minor part of the story. Instead the book is structured to bridge the past and the future by telling the stories of people who interacted with Arthur before he died and who continue to be affected by having known him. 

A Sudden Light

A Sudden Light by Garth Stein
396 Pages

Trevor Riddell is a fourteen-year-old boy whose parents are undergoing a trial separation.  His mother goes to England and Trevor and his father travel to Seattle to prepare for the selling of the family house.  Trevor soon finds that his father's side of the family has a great many secrets and he must uncover those secrets and the family's past to grow closer to his father and break the curse of the family.

Partly historical fiction, partly ghost story,  Stein creates a fascinating portrait of a dysfunctional family.  The only criticism is that Trevor doesn't talk like a 14 year old boy, but instead like a very precocious adult.  

Curtsies and Conspiracies

Curtsies and Conspiracies by Gail Carriger
310 Pages


Mildly entertaining, this series deals with the world Carriger created in her Parasol Protectorate series, only set 25 years earlier.  If you have read the earlier series you will recognize some of the immortal characters .  In the second book of this series, Sophronia has finished her first year at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality which is really training her to be a spy.
 

Under Wildwood

Under Wildwood by Colin Meloy, 559 pages

Under Wildwood is the second book in Meloy's Wildwood trilogy, and finds the first book's protagonists, Prue and Curtis, back in the Impassable Wilderness, once again attempting to thwart an evil takeover of the people of the woods. At the same time, Curtis's sisters, Elsie and Rachel, have been temporarily put in an orphanage while their parents hunt for their missing brother. But the orphanage is not at all what it seems, and Elsie and Rachel soon find themselves in their own fight against a power-hungry titan of industry.

This book, and the series as a whole, is a hipster kid's dream. It's set in Portland, Oregon (which is a pretty hipster-y location to begin with), and has plenty of talking animals wearing military coats complete with epaulets. In fact, at times the tale veers a bit too far into the land of hipsters--you know you've gone too far when even the villain has the A Prairie Home Companion joke-a-day calendar--but considering that the author is the lead singer of hipster-friendly band The Decemberists, that's probably to be expected. That said, Meloy does create a compelling story with plenty of fun twists and enjoyable characters, even if a few of his literary allusions are a bit too on-the-nose. Oh, and the illustrations (done by acclaimed artist Carson Ellis) are fantastic, and set off the story perfectly.

Recommended for kids with an off-beat sense of adventure and fans of the Pacific Northwest and all of its quirks.

Confederacy of Dunces

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy O'Toole, 394 pages

Poor Ignatius Reilly is everywhere surrounded by "pitfalls like Abelman, the insipid Crusaders for Moorish Dignity, the Mancuso cretin, Dorian Greene, newspaper reporters, stripteasers, birds, photography, juvenile delinquents, Nazi pornographers.  And especially Myra Minkoff.  The consumer products.  And especially Myra Minkoff."

Over-educated, under-experienced, aware of everything that is wrong with the world and nothing of what is wrong with himself, a grotesque in a world of grotesques, Ignatius is truly a hero for our time.  Which, depending on your viewpoint, is either hilarious, or tragic, or both, exactly like this brilliant novel.

Passive Aggressive Notes

Passive Aggressive Notes: Painfully Polite and Hilariously Hostile Writings, and just Plain Aggressive by Kerry Miller, 161 pages

This is a collection of notes left for people, and as the title suggests they are passive aggressive. The book is set up as a note per page, with the occasional comment from the person who received it. While there were some notes that weren't as funny or interesting, there were just as many that were funny if not hilarious. If you are looking for a quick funny read, or just a break between your regular reading material go ahead and pick this book up.

The Paper Magician

The Paper Magician by Charlie Holmberg, 214 Pages

Due to the shortage Folders newly graduated Magician Ceony Twill doesn't get to choose what magic she studies, she is stuck with paper magic. Apprenticed under the strange but kind Magician Emery Thane she discovers that paper magic isn't as dreadful as she thought. Her training is disrupted though when a practitioner of the forbidden blood magic shows up and tears the heart out of he teacher. To save his life Ceony must track down and face the evil magician, and return Thane's heart. This was an enjoyable story which I'm hoping is leading us into an enjoyable fantasy series.

How to tell if your cat is plotting to kill you

 How to tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You by Matthew Inman, 130 pages


How to tell if your cat is plotting to kill you is a collection of TheOatmeal.com's numerous cat jokes. Inman the writer, illustrator, and web designer for the site delivers a funny array of cat comics including guides on how to pet your cat and how you and your cat view each other. How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You is pretty funny, especially if you happen to own a cat who may or may not be trying to kill you.

P.S. Another "how to" book, although I think this one is slightly more useful than some of the others I've read.

Dialectic of Enlightenment

Dialectic of Enlightenment: Philosophical Fragments by Max Horkheimer and Theodor W Adorno, edited by Gunzelin Schmid Noerr, translated by Edmund Jephcott, 252 pages

 

Originally published in 1947, republished as part of the Cultural Memory in the Present series, this book was the product of discussions between the German expatriate philosophers Horkheimer and Adorno on the subject of progress and Enlightenment, which they see as simultaneously producing "cruelty and liberation."  Unalloyed reason tends by its very nature to organize people more and more restrictively, while the dogma of private judgement leads to social atomism.  With reason unable to conquer the old atavism of the human animal, the default psychic disorder becomes that of a paranoid combination of narcissism and impotence.

 

There are seeds here of other, better books: the analysis of the roots of modern anti-semitism foreshadows Arendt, that of mass media McLuhan, that of psychological displacement Christopher Lasch and Philip Rieff.  Unfortunately, especially compared to those authors, this book seems rather dated, especially in its reliance on now-out-of-fashion psychoanalytic developments and a binary "either communist or fascist" political outlook.  Finally, their materialism ends, as it must, in a bleak nihilism where even marriage becomes a sullen power struggle papered over with shallow sentimentality.

 

The authors seem to diagnose some problems well, but their own relativistic presuppositions close them up inside a logical box from which they cannot escape.  Instead, their supposed dialectic is revealed as a closed circle, leading them back to the same position from which they began.

Blankets

Blankets by Craig Thompson, 582 pages

In this graphic novel Craig Thompson recreates the pain and confusion of the his rigidly Christian childhood. Growing up Craig is skinny and naive, and struggles to get along with his younger brother. Despite their differences though the two escape from their overly strict parents through flights of childhood fancy and their mutual love of drawing. Craig's love of drawing however is looked upon by his parents and religious community as a distraction and a dangerous temptation to sin. In high school, He meets Raina who is beautiful, open, and flexible about her beliefs. The two eventually fall in love, an experience which pushes Craig into adulthood and figuring out who he is. 
Thompson beautifully illustrates the social yearnings of young adults as well the complexities of young love in this semi-autobiographical work. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys graphic novels.

All I Need

All I Need by Susane Colasanti, 212 pages

All Skye wants is to meet “The One”.  She sees what her parents have and that’s the kind of relationship she wants to have.  But all of the boys she’s met don’t have whatever quality it is she’s looking for.  Then, two weeks before her family is set to leave the beach for the summer, she meets Seth.  Seth is everything she has been looking for.  They spend the rest of that evening together and make plans to meet the next day.  Unfortunately, Seth doesn’t show up and Skye is left wondering what happened.  Actually, Seth was forced to leave early by circumstances beyond his control and since they had not exchanged contact information, he had no way to let Skye know.  Cue a long school year for both of them and a return to the beach next summer, when Seth has just finished his freshman year of college and Skye is about to begin her senior year of high school.  This story follows the two through the ups and downs of a long distance relationship.  This is a nice little story that a lot of teens girls will probably like.

Every Day After

Every Day After by Laura Golden, 216 pages

This is a short, sweet little story about a little girl growing up during the Great Depression.  Lizzie’s father has been gone a month.  He left after he lost his job.  Lizzie is convinced that he is looking for work and they will hear from him any day but since he left her mother has withdrawn into herself and doesn’t speak or move, unless Lizzie moves her.  Lizzie has been doing all of the housework and the mending that her mother had been taking in to earn some money.  Unfortunately, this means that Lizzie hasn’t been able to spend as much time on schoolwork and her grades have begun to slip.  Erin, her rival, is thrilled that she may come in first instead of Lizzie and mocks Lizzie about it every chance she gets.  She also threatens to tell that Lizzie’s mom isn’t well because then her mom may go into an institution and Lizzie into an orphanage.  Then, a foreclosure notice comes from the bank.  Even though Lizzie is only 11, she is determined to hold things together until her father returns.  Even kids who don’t usually like historical fiction might like this book because Lizzie is such a likable, determined person.  

Unbreakable

Unbreakable by Kami Garcia, 305 pages

Kennedy’s mother dies of a heart attack one night while Kennedy is out with friends.  The plan is for her to go to boarding school, because she doesn’t want to live with her aunt.  However, right before she is due to leave, she is attacked by a ghost in her home and two boys, Lukas and Jared, show up to save her.  They explain that they, along with two other teens, form a group called the Legion of the Black Dove, formed centuries ago to protect the world from a demon.  They are the newest members, because the last group, mostly their parents or grandparents, were killed the same night as Kennedy’s mother.  They believe Kennedy is the fifth member of the group.  Kennedy, somewhat disbelieving, goes along with the group and helps to get rid of many vengeful ghosts in their quest to find something they believe will destroy the demon once and for all.  However, Kennedy doesn’t really think she is the last member of the group even as she finds herself hoping that she is.  This is a pretty good story that fans of the Beautiful Creatures series will definitely want to read.  Teens who like advebture ghost stories will enjoy this book.

Only Ever Always

Only Ever Always by Penni Russon, 157 pages

This was a very odd book.  There are two stories, one about Claire, whose uncle, Charlie, has just been in a very bad accident.  Her family, including his pregnant wife, are waiting to hear if he will survive.  The other story is about Clara, whose brother, Andrew, is deathly ill and is likely to die without antibiotics.  Claire’s world is pretty much the world we live in, but Clara lives in a broken world, ruled by Bosses and Raiders, who own everyone and control everything.  The two girls’ worlds collide, and while both of them are aware of the other, it isn’t clear if they both are real or if one is dreaming.  It’s an interesting premise but I felt like Clara’s world needed more building.  I had a hard time following everything that was happening and never got a clear picture of her world.  Maybe that was purposeful, but I didn’t care for it.  Teens that like fantasy may like this story, but I probably won’t be recommending it.

Falcon In The Glass

Falcon In The Glass by Susan Fletcher, 300 pages

Since his father was killed Renzo has only been able to work as a drudge in another master’s glassworks, instead of being an apprentice in his father’s shop.  However, he does have a chance to prove himself and gain status as an apprentice, if he can only get in enough practice.  Meanwhile, a group og young children, who all seem to have bird companions, have come to town.  They have been earning some money doing tricks and shows, but some people are concerned that they are witches.  Renzo meets Letta, one of the girls, one night in the shop when he is practicing and the whole group of children end up there every night, keeping warm, while Letta assists Renzo, even helping him create birds from the glass, a brand new skill.  The arrangement works well, but Renzo worries what will happen if they are caught, especially with the rumors of witchcraft.  Set in Murano, near Venice, during the Renaissance, the book has captured a lot of historical detail.  However, the book is more of an adventure with just a hint of fantasy thrown in and it will appeal more to kids who like those books than those who like history, I think.

Skink No Surrender

Skink No Surrender by Carl Hiaasen, 281 pages

This has been my favorite of Hiaasen’s books for kids so far.  Malley, a 14 year old girl, runs away from home with a guy she met online.  Her cousin, Richard, is worried about her and when Malley finally starts contacting him he just gets more worried.  With the help of the former governor of Florida, now known as Skink to the few people who know he’s even alive, Richard sets out on a trip to find Malley and bring her home.  Richard believes that by this time Malley is being held against her will.  Despite many dangerous snags, such as Skink having his foot crushed by a truck while trying to rescue a baby skink, the pair persevere through all of the dangers they encounter.  A really fun adventure story with just enough fear factor, a lot of kids will enjoy this book.

Son Of No One

Son Of No One by Sherrilyn Kenyon, 420 pages

This is one of the Dark-Hunter novels.  Josette does not believe in the supernatural, except maybe in her own bad luck.  She is recently divorced from a cheating husband and broke because of the costs of the divorce.  Luckily her family is always there for her, even if they are crazy, fortune-telling, paranormal-seeking psychics.  Her cousin offers her a job filming a group of her friends trying to do a ghost hunting type show.  Even though Jo doesn’t believe in any of it, the pay is incredible so she takes the job.  While in the house, Jo is sucked into a mirror where she meets Cadegan, who is trapped in this world.  At first, Jo thinks that she has hit her head and is dreaming all of this, but after a while she is forced to believe that everything she is experiencing is real.  She also realizes that she is falling in love with Cadegan and vows to do whatever it takes to free him.  What she doesn’t know, and may not care about anyway, truth told, is that Cadegan is also a demon and has the power to destroy the world.  A good addition to the series, Kenyon’s fans will enjoy this, as will lovers of fantasy romance. 

Isla And The Happily Ever After

Isla And The Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins, 339 pages

Isla has been in love with Josh since she was a freshman but the few times they’ve interacted she’s never been able to talk to him and looks like a fool.  Finally, senior year, everything falls in place and the two of them become an item.  Isla is bright and studious, on track to being valedictorian at their exclusive American boarding school in Paris while Josh is bright but unmotivated except for his art.  He is also a little bit of a troublemaker, skipping class and breaking rules.  When he and Isla leave town overnight, something expressly forbidden, they get caught and Josh, having been in trouble so often before, is expelled.  Isla isn’t sure how she can stand to be apart but also doesn’t completely trust that his love for her will stand this test.  This is a really sweet but typical teen romance.  Although it’s kind of formulaic, it is a fun little story and I liked it.  Fans of teen romance and definitely people who have read Perkins’s other books in the series will like this addition.

The Screaming Staircase

The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud, 390 pages

This is the first book in the new series, Lockwood & Co.  In a world plagued by ghosts whose touch can kill people and where only children can see and hear the apparitions, kids have started working as psychic investigators, finding and eradicating ghosts.  Although most agencies have adults as supervisors, at Lockwood & Co., where Lucy is recently employed, only children work, specifically George, and the head of the agency, Anthony Lockwood.  Lockwood and Lucy both have very strong psychic abilities, and George, with less psychic abilities, is a great researcher.  The three actually make a really good team but after burning down a house during a job, Lockwood finds himself with debts he can’t afford.  When someone offers the agency a job that will cover more than all of the debt they accept, but if they aren’t careful, it could be their last job ever.  Stroud is a fantastic author.  I have loved all of his books and this was no exception.  I’m looking forward to the sequel and hope that this series will be more than just a trilogy.  Fans of paranormal action adventure stories will definitely like this.

The Court of the Last Tsar

The Court of the Last Tsar by Greg King 476 Pages
Essentially talks about the extravagance that Tsar Nicholas II and his family lived in from when he took power in 1894 to their untimely deaths in 1917 at the hands of the Bolsheviks. The wealth accumulated and inherited by the Russian Empire before and during his reign was unheard of in any other part of the world. The summer palace at Livadia, the only palace Nicholas II built during his reign had 116 rooms, virtually every one of them overlooking the beautiful Crimean landscape. The royal family usually resided at Tsarkoye Selo, translated as Tsar's Village. Here the family stayed in the 300+ room Alexander Palace.
Royal Balls, Seasonal Balls and Pageants were held monthly, sometimes twice a month. A standard table setting may include up to 1,100 pieces of monogrammed silverware and china just to serve less than 100 people. Food dishes included caviar (beluga and sturgeon), smoked salmon, grouse, pheasant, leek soup,
grilled sturgeon, etc... While the book may seem a bore to many, as the opulence and pomp become repetitive and make you jealous of the family's wealth. It does help you understand how the gap in wealth between the autocracy and the millions of peasants created such turmoil and civil unrest. Overall, a good read, a bit repetitive but if you like history and the Romanov Dynasty give it a shot.   

Fool's Fate

Fool's Fate by Robin Hobb, 631 pages.

Robin Hobb has crafted an extensive world with heroic Farseer, and Liveship  Traders trilogies, and now continuing to build on her world with her Tawny Man trilogy. Concluding the Tawny Man trilogy is Fool's Fate where we see FitzChivalry Farseer's journey come to a very satisfying end, or at least pause since Hobb has recently started another trilogy starring every one's favorite Farseer. I really don't want to write too much about what happens in this book as it is the last book of the trilogy, and a lot of the plot deals with things from the previous books and series. Filled with adventure, intrigue, and unforgettable characters, Hobb's previous books could be considered as classics of the fantasy genre, and Fool's Fate is no exception. I would highly recommend any of Robin Hobb's books to those who love a good fantasy adventure, as well as reading them in order.

October totals!

Our trophy is way cooler.

Congratulations once again to all of the members of the award-winning SLPL Book Challenge team! The beautiful, shiny trophy is currently holding down a display of blogger-reviewed books in Central's Center for the Reader, but it will begin making its rounds to the branches in December. While the trophy has never been won by the same team twice, if October's totals are any indication, we may be breaking that tradition in 2015.

Congratulations to Krista R, who won for both pages and points in October, with a whopping 10,705 pages and 34 points. And a further congratulations to Steve J, who won the random drawing. We'll be contacting both of you about prizes soon. Check out the rest of the results below:

Blogger	Books	Pages	Points
Krista R	31	10,705	34
Ed W	21	6,858	22
Jason S	16	5,008	17
Dennis M	16	4,476	17
Molly P	11	3,213	16
Kara K	7	2,328	12
Tiger R	8	2,270	8
Jeff S	6	1,828	11
Julie E-C	4	1,268	4
Terra S	4	1,050	4
Karen Y	2	512	3
Steve J	1	343	1
TOTALS	127	39,859	149

Early Christianity and Greek Paideia

Early Christianity and Greek Paideia by Werner Jaeger, 102 pages

 

A short coda to his masterpiece Paideia, this book is an adaptation of a series of lectures by Jaeger on the subject of the ideals of Greek pedagogy in the writings of the early Church fathers.  With a careful, scholarly approach Jaeger reveals both the continuities and discontinuities between Hellenistic culture and the patristic Christianity which replaced it.  It is Jaeger's central contention that the concept of paideia served as a common denominator between Greek learning and Christian theology.

 

After a brief survey of the first two centuries, Jaeger focuses on two intersections of classicism and Christianity - Origen and Platonic philosophy, and the Cappadocian fathers and Athenian rhetoric.  Unfortunately (but understandably), this lacks the thoroughness with which he covered his topic in Paideia.  Equally unfortunately, Jaeger lacked access to research conducted subsequently on early Christianity, particularly on Gnosticism.

 

Excellent, but not comparable to his other work.

Grand Cru Heist

Grand Cru Heist by Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noel Balen   149 pages

 Book 2 in the Winemaker Detective Series

The Winemaker Detective Series has been adapted for television and is a HUGE hit in France, Belgium, and Switzerland. The premise for the books (and the show) follows master winemaker Benjamin Cooker and his assistant Virgile Lanssien as they solve mysteries in vineyards throughout France.

In this episode, Cooper gets mugged and his car stolen one night in Paris. He is quite shaken about the incident and retreats to the region around Tours (France) to recover. There he meets a man who is driving a classic Morgan with a voluptuous woman on his arm and seems to know almost as much as Cooper about wines.

 Then the woman turns up in shallow grave, the bartender is found hanging nearby, and the man with the Morgan has disappeared. On top of all that, someone has been breaking into nearby wineries and stealing only the Grand Cru Classe bottles.

There’s not much to this novel.  It lacks tension. However, the authors do know their wineries and their wines. Cooper and Lanssien are more interested in  who’s stealing the wines thatn they are about the two deaths.

 I give this novel 2 out of 5 stars.

Cross and Scepter

Cross and Scepter: The Rise of the Scandinavian Kingdoms from the Vikings to the Reformation by Sverre Bagge, 299 pages

This is a history of the development of the nations of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, from the formation of the first kingdoms in the late first millennium to the final failure of the medieval attempts at unity with the final dissolution of the Union of Kalmar.  Finland, Iceland, Greenland, and the Orkneys are only briefly mentioned, and only considered in any detail when evidence there sheds light on contemporary conditions in the central kingdoms.

This might have made a dramatic story of conversion and ambition, feuds and assassinations, but instead it comes across here as merely a dry compilation of facts.  Bagge presents a thorough exposition of current scholarship on medieval Scandinavia and state formation, but it is a chore to read.

Heart-Shaped Box

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill, 376 pages

Judas Coyne is an aging shock rocker, quietly settled on a farm in New York, when an odd opportunity comes his way: Coyne chooses to buy a dead man's ghost, which is attached to the man's favorite suit. If that wasn't weird and spooky enough, when the suit arrives in a large black heart-shaped box, Coyne learns there's a lot more to this suit than he originally thought. This ghost is no Casper, that's for sure.

This is, by all means, a scary book. Hill has a great premise here, and there are definitely some heart-thumping scenes. But I was warned (by multiple people) about the nightmares this book has induced, and so chose to read this during daylight hours only. For that reason, and probably that reason only, I didn't find it nearly as scary as I expected. I also thought that Hill showed us the monster a little too soon; the scariest parts for me were at the beginning, when Coyne was frozen with terror, and not sure what was going to happen. That terror ended too soon for me. Otherwise, I thought this was a well-written spooky ghost story. I've enjoyed Hill's other books, and this one didn't really disappoint; I just wish I could go back in time and try reading it at night to get the full effect of the terror.

Good for fans of horror, ghost stories, Stephen King.

Lock In

Lock In by John Scalzi
336 Pages

In the future a flu epidemic known as Hayden's has killed over 40 million and left millions in a condition where they cannot move or communicate or a locked in state.  This caused the United States government to spend billions finding a way to alleviate or make life more bearable for these victims of Hayden's disease.  Now they can hold jobs and interact with society by using androids, (known as threeps) controlled by their human bodies.  
On the dawn of new legislation to curtail the amount of money being spent by the federal government on Haydens FBI agent Chris Shane, a Hayden sufferer himself himself investigating a series of crimes where integrators (people who were infected by Hayden's but not locked in but experience a brain remapping) are committing crimes.

Scalzi has created a world that is interesting and well thought out.  Definitely recommended.

The 13th Gift: A True Story of a Christmas Miracle

The 13th Gift: A True Story of a Christmas Miracle by Joanne Huist Smith    204 pages

The holiday season starts at Halloween at my house. It’s time to get busy and get everything done. So when this little book crossed my lap, I thought I’d get a jump on getting in the spirit. I like uplifting holiday stories, and this is one to tug at the heart strings.

In September 1999, Joanne’s husband Rick was having heart problems. He needed surgery. But he decided that he wanted to wait until closer to the holidays so that he could recuperate while the kids were on holiday break. Unfortunately, Rick’s heart had other ideas, and on October 8, he died at home.

The story starts twelve days before Christmas.  Jo and the kids---Ben, seventeen; Nick, twelve, and Megan, ten---aren’t doing too well.  They don’t want to face the holidays. It’s twelve days before Christmas and Jo hasn’t given it a single thought, other than pulling the covers over her head and hope it passes quickly.

 On evening, a poinsettia arrives on their doorstep. No one saw anyone out it there, but there was a card:

On the first day of Christmas
Your true friends give to you
One poinsettia for all of you.
It seemed to help, some. The flower’s arrival gave Megan the courage to hint about a tree and presents.

What follows is Secret Santa in the best sense of the word. Little gifts began arriving, anonymously of course, and no one can catch the giver in the act. None of the gifts are expensive, but they are life-changing. Soon, the shattered family starts wo work their way out of their crippling grief.

 Grab a box of tissues with this one!

 I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.