Best Teen Reads of 2011
Just a few of the best from 2011.
Divergent – Veronica Roth
Daughter of Smoke & Bone – Laini Taylor
Clockwork Prince – Cassandra Clare
This Dark Endeavour – Kenneth Oppel
Beauty Queens – Libba Bray
Great Reading Over the Holidays
The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay
Ami McKay’s newest novel The Virgin Cure is sure to please fans of her 2006 novel The Birth House. While the subject matter is completely different, they are both captivating stories that make the book hard to put down. McKay’s newest novel centres around 12 year old Moth, a poor young girl living in the slums ofNew York Cityin 1871. Moth’s life with her gypsy mystic mother has been filled with nothing but hardships. One night Moth finds out that her own mother has sold her into service as a maid. Soon after she begins service, she realizes she must escape this new abusive home. Back on the streets, doing the best she can to survive, Moth meets a young girl who seems to have the world on a string. Thinking that any life is better than the one she is living, Moth tags along to be introduced to Miss Everett and her training home for young prostitutes. Groomed to have her virginity sold off to the highest bidder, Moth soon finds out how far she is willing to go to keep a roof over her head, and food in her stomach.
Place your holds today!
Jane by April Lindner
Forced to drop out of an esteemed East Coast college after the sudden death of her parents, Jane Moore takes a nanny job at Thornfield Park, the estate of Nico Rathburn, a world-famous rock star on the brink of a huge comeback. Practical and independent, Jane reluctantly becomes entranced by her magnetic and brooding employer and finds herself in the midst of a forbidden romance.
But there’s a mystery at Thornfield, and Jane’s much-envied relationship with Nico is soon tested by an agonizing secret from his past. Torn between her feelings for Nico and his fateful secret, Jane must decide: Does being true to herself mean giving up on true love?
An irresistible romance interwoven with a darkly engrossing mystery, this contemporary retelling of the beloved classic Jane Eyre promises to enchant a new generation of readers. www.amazon.ca
Hot Fall Books
11/23/63: A Novel by Stephen King
On November 23, 1963 the world was turned upside down when President Kennedy was assassinated. In King’s newest page-turner we meet a man who will change all of history by travelling back in time to prevent Kennedy’s death.
1Q84 – Haruki Murakami
A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery, a dystopia to rival George Orwell’s—1Q84 is Haruki Murakami’s most ambitious undertaking yet: an instant best seller in his nativeJapan, and a tremendous feat of imagination from one of our most revered contemporary writers.
The Marriage Plot – Jeffery Eugenides
In his first book since Pulitzer Prize winning Middlesex in 2002, Eugenides is back with thoughtful look at love relationships. In 1982 threeBrownUniversitygrads embark on the beginning of a very tumultuous young adulthood. Intelligent and insightful, Eugenides fans will not be disappointed.
Now You See Her
The perfect life
A successful lawyer and loving mother, Nina Bloom would do anything to protect the life she’s built in New York–including lying to everyone, even her daughter, about her past. But when an innocent man is framed for murder, she knows that she can’t let him pay for the real killer’s crimes.
The perfect lie
Nina’s secret life began 18 years ago. She had looks to die for, a handsome police-officer husband, and a carefree life in Key West. When she learned she was pregnant with their first child, her happiness was almost overwhelming. But Nina’s world is shattered when she unearths a terrible secret that causes her to run for her life and change her identity.
The perfect way to die
Now, years later, Nina risks everything she’s earned to return to Florida and confront the murderous evil she fled. In a story of wrenching suspense, James Patterson gives us his most head-spinning, action filled story yet–a Hitchcock-like blend of unquenchable drama and pleasure.
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/l/michael-ledwidge/now-you-see-her.htm
October is Library Month
This October we are celebrating Canadian Library Month. Every fall we celebrate the importance of public libraries in our communities. Libraries promote literacy, life-long learning and enrich the lives of our community members. With hundreds of visitors a day, the Belleville Public Library welcomes everyone who walks through the doors.
This month we will be hosting a few special events to help celebrate our vibrant library. Join us for the following free author visits. On Wednesday October 12th at 6:30 pm, County author Hilary Macleod will be reading from her newest book, “Mind Over Mussels”. Then on Thursday October 20th at 6:30 pm, Madawaska author Brenda Missen will be reading from her chilling true-crime novel, “Tell Anna She’s Safe.” Then on Thursday October 27th at 6:30 pm, Canadian author Peter Behrens will discuss his latest novel “The O’Briens”.
Bring your kids out on October 22nd at 2:00 pm, because author Patricia Storms will be presenting a children’s play based on her book “The Pirate and the Penguin” followed by a drawing workshop.
Finally, stop in anytime during the month of October to fill out a ballot telling us your favourite book and/or genre and we’ll enter your name into our draw for an e-reader. We will be drawing one lucky library user’s name in November.
The Help
Be prepared to meet three unforgettable women:
Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.
Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.
Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.
Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.
In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women – mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends – view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t.
Books To Look For This Fall
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – One day a mysterious circus comes to town. It opens at dusk, closes at dawn and is filled with inexplicable illusions. A rival between two magicians and their pupils sets the stage for what turns out being a test of survival skills. Full of magic, love and good old fashioned rivalry, The Night Circus will make you believe in magic.
The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka – This novel tells the story of a group of young women brought over fromJapan toSan Francisco as ‘picture brides’ nearly a century ago. The novel traces these Japanese women from their arrival in the U.S., the life they lead as migrant workers, the children they bear and the war that leads to their internment. A powerful read that will stick with you long after you finish the last page.
The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta –The Rapture actually occurs on earth and millions of people go missing without a trace. While millions disappear, there are still some who are left behind. This is the story of those few and how they scramble to find their way after catastrophe strikes. This is a thought provoking novel about love, loss and the power of human connection.
Back to School
Is your 4 year-old a bit nervous about starting kindergarten? Well, we have some great picture books at the library all about the first day of school to ease those worries.
Here are a few recommendations:
For more books, on this subject click here, or visit us at the Reader’s Advisory, Youth and Children’s Services.
Beastly
Beastly by Alex Flinn
This is your modern-day version of Beauty and the Beast. Kyle Kingsbury was the most popular boy in school. He had it all, looks, money and a bad attitude. A witch in his english class decided it was time he learned a lesson about inner beauty and cast a spell on him. He was transformed into a hideous beast and the only way to break the spell is to get a girl to fall in love with him, and her kiss will break the spell. Will he find a girl who will look past the beast and love him for who he truly is?
I really enjoyed this young adult novel, and would recommend it to readers of all ages. I enjoyed the movie as well, but the book is definitely better!
