Winter 2011/2012 Staff Picks

From Marie Clark, Library Clerk —
A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny
“Hearts are broken,” Lillian Dyson carefully underlined in a book. “Sweet relationships are dead.” But now Lillian herself is dead. Found among the bleeding hearts and lilacs of Clara Morrow’s garden in Three Pines, shattering the celebrations of Clara’s solo show at the famed Musée in Montreal. Chief Inspector Gamache, the head of homicide at the Sûreté du Québec, is called to the tiny Quebec village and there he finds the art world gathered, and with it a world of shading and nuance, a world of shadow and light. Where nothing is as it seems.

From Eileen Kieva, Library Clerk —
(Audio Book) The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian
In a dusty corner of a basement in a rambling Victorian house in northern New Hampshire, a door has long been sealed shut with 39 six-inch-long carriage bolts. The home’s new owners are Chip and Emily Linton and their twin ten-year-old daughters. Together they hope to rebuild their lives there after Chip, an airline pilot, has to ditch his 70-seat regional jet in Lake Champlain after double engine failure. Unlike the Miracle on the Hudson, however, most of the passengers aboard Flight 1611 die on impact or drown. The body count? Thirty-nine – a coincidence not lost on Chip when he discovers the number of bolts in that basement door. Meanwhile, Emily finds herself wondering about the women in this sparsely populated White Mountain village – self-proclaimed herbalists – and their interest in her fifth-grade daughters. Are the women mad? Or is it her husband, in the wake of the tragedy, whose grip on sanity has become desperately tenuous?
When She Woke by Hillary Jordan
Hannah Payne’s life has been devoted to church and family. But after she’s convicted of murder, she awakens in a new body to a nightmarish new life. She finds herself lying on a table in a bare room, covered only by a paper gown, with cameras broadcasting her every move to millions at home, for whom observing new Chromes--criminals whose skin color has been genetically altered to match the class of their crime--is a sinister form of entertainment. Hannah is a Red for the crime of murder. The victim, says the State of Texas, was her unborn child, and Hannah is determined to protect the identity of the father, a public figure with whom she shared a fierce and forbidden love.

From Beth Texter, Public Relations —
(MYSTERY) Treachery in Death by J.D. Robb (Audio Book on MP3-CD)
Catching criminals is difficult enough; convicting them when they’re cops sometimes seems nearly impossible. After Detective Eve Dallas’s young partner Peabody overhears a deeply incriminating locker room argument between two corrupt officers, she knows that she can’t just shower and forget it. Convinced that the pair aren’t just crooked, they’re murderers, she takes her problem to the street-wise Dallas who, with the timely help of her husband Roarke, gets on this case of policemen traipsing over the thin blue line.

From Karen LaRocca-Fels, Library Director —
(MYSTERY) A Sight for Sore Eyes by Ruth Rendell
Teddy was born in squalor. Now he is a craftsman determined to banish ugliness from his life. Harriet is a beautiful, bored trophy wife who employs a series of repairmen for her sexual satisfaction. And Francine is a college student who witnessed her mother's murder and now must free herself from her father's manipulative second wife. Connected by strands of chance, their lives intersecting in the strangest of ways, these three people are on a journey that will bring them to each other--and to a beautiful ivy-covered home with at least one dead body in the basement....
(MYSTERY) The Vault (Chief Inspector Wexford Series #23) by Ruth Rendell
In the stunning climax to Rendell’s classic A Sight for Sore Eyes, three bodies are entombed in an underground chamber beneath a picturesque London house. Twelve years later, when a manhole cover is pulled back, the house’s new owner makes a grisly discovery. Only now, the number of bodies is four. How did somebody else end up in the chamber? And who knew of its existence? With their own detectives at an impasse, police call on former Chief Inspector Wexford, now retired and living with his wife in London, to advise them on the unsolved murders.

From Lauren Moccio, Circulation Clerk —
Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut: Essays and Observations by Jill Kargman
Demonstrating Woody Allen’s magical math equation, comedy = tragedy + time, a sensational collection of witty essays about life, love, hate, kids, work, school, and more from the author of The Ex-Mrs. Hedgefund and Arm Candy. Jill Kargman is a mother, wife, and writer living the life in New York City . . . a life that includes camping out in a one-bedroom apartment with some unfortunate (and furry) roommates, battling the Momzillas of Manhattan, and coming to terms with her desire for gay men.
Momzillas by Jill Kargman
The mothers on Manhattan’s chic Upper East Side are highly educated, extremely wealthy, and very competitive. They throw themselves and all of their energy and resources into full-time child rearing, turning their kids into the unwitting pawns in a game where success is measured in precocious achievements, jam-packed schedules, and elite private-school pedigrees. Hannah Allen has recently moved to the neighborhood with her New York City–bred investment banker husband and their two-year-old daughter, Violet. She’s immediately inundated by an outpouring of advice from her not-so-well-intentioned new friends and her overbearing, socially conscious mother-in-law, who coach her on matters ranging from where to buy the must-have $300 baby dress to how to get into the only pre-pre-preschool that counts. Despite her better instincts and common sense, Hannah soon finds herself caught up in the competitive whirl of high-stakes mothering.

From Lisa SinClair, Children’s Services —
(BIOGRAPHY) Mermaid Queen: The Spectacular True Story Of Annette Kellerman, Who Swam Her Way To Fame, Fortune & Swimsuit History! by Shana Corey, Edwin Fotheringham (Illustrator)
As a child growing up in Australia, Annette Kellerman was a frail ugly duckling who dreamed of becoming a graceful ballerina. With pluck and courage, she confronted a crippling illness -- and countless naysayers -- to become an internationally known record-setting athlete who revolutioned the sport of swimming for women, a movie star who invented water ballet, and a fashion revolutionary who modernized the swimsuit.
(BIOGRAPHY) Different Like Coco by Elizabeth Matthews
The rags-to-riches story of Coco Chanel plays out in a wonderful picture-book biography as full of style and spirit as its heroine. Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel was always different. And she vowed to prove that being different was an advantage! Poor, skinny, and orphaned, Coco stubbornly believed that she was as good as the wealthier girls of Paris. Tapping into her creativity and her sewing skills, she began making clothes that suited her (and her pocketbook) — and soon a new generation of independent working women craved her sleek, comfortable, and practical designs. Now an icon of fashion and culture, Coco Chanel continues to inspire young readers, showing just how far a person can come with spunk, determination, and flair.

STAFF PICKS — YA (Young Adult) & CHILDREN’S

From Charlotte Dunaief, Reference/Adult Services Librarian -
(YA = Young Adult) Chime by Frannie Billingsley
Before Briony’s stepmother died, she made sure Briony blamed herself for all the family’s hardships. Now Briony has worn her guilt for so long it’s become a second skin. She often escapes to the swamp, where she tells stories to the Old Ones, the spirits who haunt the marshes. But only witches can see the Old Ones, and in her village, witches are sentenced to death. Briony lives in fear her secret will be found out, even as she believes she deserves the worst kind of punishment. Then Eldric comes along with his golden lion eyes and mane of tawny hair. He’s as natural as the sun, and treats her as if she’s extraordinary. And everything starts to change. As many secrets as Briony has been holding, there are secrets even she doesn’t know.
(YA) Beyonders: A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull
Jason Walker is used to feeling like an afterthought--in school, with his friends, with cute girls, and even with his family. The one thing Jason really enjoys is volunteering at the local zoo, where life is always a bit less predictable. Boredom becomes Jason’s last concern, however, after a routine cleaning of the hippo tank sends him falling through a tunnel into a whole other world . . . a world without heroes.
(YA) Protector of the Small — A Quartet Series by Tamora Pierce
In the medieval and fantastic realm of Tortall, Keladry of Mindelan is the first girl to take advantage of the decree that permits females to train for knighthood. #1: First Test; #2: Page; #3: Squire; #4: Lady Knight
(YA) Falcondance — The Kiesha’ra Series #3 by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Nicias has never felt completely at home among the avians and serpiente in Wyvern’s Court, despite his loyalty to Oliza Shardae Cobriana, the heir to both thrones. He is a falcon, the son of two exiles from Anhmik–and images of this distant island have always haunted his dreams. But when Nicias’s visions become more like reality, his parents have no choice but to send him back to the homeland–and a royal falcon–they’ve tried their best to forget. If Araceli won’t bind Nicias’s newfound magic, it could destroy him. In a place where everyone is a pawn, only one other woman has the potential to save Nicias. But she holds the keys to a dangerouspower struggle that will force Nicias to choose between his duty–and his destiny. (#1: Hawksong; #2: Snakecharm; #4: Wolfcry; #5: Wyvernhail

From Lisa SinClair, Children’s Services
(PICTURE BOOK) Can You Make a Scary Face by Jan Thomas
What kind of a face would you make if a tickly green bug were sitting on your nose? Or if it were—eek!—inside your shirt? Could you make a scary face to frighten it away? Or, even better, stand up and do the chicken dance? Yes? Then better get to it! This exuberant, interactive picture book starring a bossy little ladybug and a GIANT hungry frog will have kids leaping up and down and out of their seats to dance and make silly scary faces of their own.
(PICTURE BOOK) Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas
Bug! Rug! Mug! Hug! These dust bunnies love to rhyme. Well, except for Bob. Much to the other bunnies’ frustration, Bob can never get the rhythm right. Then he saves everyone from a big, scary monster wielding—gasp!—a broom, and they all breathe a sigh of relief. But can Bob save them from the big, scary monster’s next attack? Vrrrrrroooommm . . .

From Linda Israel, Children’s Services
(CHAPTER BOOK) We the Children
(Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School Series #1) by Andrew Clements
Sixth grader Ben Pratt’s life is full of changes that he does not like - - his parents’ separation and the plan to demolish his seaside school to build an amusement park – but when the school janitor gives him a tarnished coin with some old engravings and then he dies, Ben is drawn into an effort to keep the school from being destroyed.
(CHAPTER BOOK) The Shadows (Books of Elsewhere Series #1) by Jacqueline West
When eleven-year-old Olive and her distracted parents move into an old Victorian mansion, Olive finds herself ensnarled in a dark plan involving some mysterious paintings, a trapped and angry nine-year-old boy, and three talking cats.