Alyssa Larue – Page 10 – Derby Public Library's Blog

Visit the StoryWalk at High Park

Last week was an exciting one for us at the library, with the grand opening of the StoryWalk at High Park. You may be wondering what exactly a StoryWalk is (and it’s OK, because I didn’t know either when it first came up). A StoryWalk is just what it sounds like: A way to read a story while walking a path.

The StoryWalk at High Park starts near the playground near the Zimmerman Family Shelter. The story pages are mounted along the walking path that goes around the pond at the south end of the park. Follow the arrows on the sign to the next page of the story. The stories will be changed five times a year, about every 2-3 months, so your family can come back to the park often to enjoy a new story.

Funding for the StoryWalk came from many community organizations, including the library and the Friends of the Derby Public Library.

You can read more about how the StoryWalk came to be in this story from the Derby Informer.

The first frame of the StoryWalk — This is the first stop on the StoryWalk at High Park. It shows you the title of the book and tells you how the StoryWalk works.

Carri Fry and Linda Slack look at the second stop on the StoryWalk — Youth services coordinator Carri Fry shows Linda Slack the first book to be featured on the StoryWalk at High Park.

The Chik-Fil-A cow — The Chick-Fil-A cow stopped in at the StoryWalk grand opening to help the kids celebrate this fun, new way to read while getting some exercise.

Debbie Williams of the Derby Health Collaborative and Carri Fry of the Library talk about the collaboration the two organizations engaged in for the StoryWalk.

Mayor Randy White gets some help from Derby-area kids to cut the ribbon to officially open the StoryWalk.

And the ribbon is cut, so StoryWalk is officially open! Now, let’s go take a walk and read a story!

Early August new releases

It’s nearly time for the kids to be back in school and summer is coming to a close. Those long, lazy days by the pool (did you actually get any of those?) are soon to be a memory, but there are plenty of good books coming out the first two Tuesdays in August, that I wish I could have endless days by the pool to read!

Here are eight (eight!) picks that we think will be satisfying reads for the end of summer. Our next new releases blog post will cover new releases for Aug. 15, 22 and 29. Click on the title of the book to go to the library catalog, where you can see if it’s available and place it on hold.

Aug. 1: The Address by Fiona Barton
From the author of The Dollhouse comes a compelling story, set around New York City’s most famous residence: The Dakota. It’s 1884 and Sara Smythe, who is working her way to head housekeeper at a posh London hotel, has a chance encounter with Theodore Camden, one of the architects of a grand new apartment building in New York. In 1985, Bailey Camden, once an interior designer and huge party girl, finds herself fresh out of rehab, homeless and needing a new start. One hundred years apart, Sara and Bailey face similar struggles, and Bailey’s discovery in the basement of the Dakota could change everything she thought she knew.

Aug. 1: The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor
If you are familiar with the story of two young women who convinced the world through their photographs in 1917 that faeries existed, this novel reimagines their story. But 100 years later, Olivia discovers that her life intertwines with the lives of Frances and Elsie. Olivia finds an old manuscript in her grandfather’s bookshop, but when she also discovers an old photograph, past and present begin to blur and Olivia’s understanding of what is real and what is imagined begins to blur.

Aug. 1: Mrs. Fletcher by Tom Perrotta
Eve Fletcher is 46, divorced and her only child is moving away to attend college, leaving Eve trying to figure out what comes next in her life. One night her phone lights up with an intriguing text from an anonymous number: “U R my MILF!” Over the next several months, she becomes obsessed by the message and a website called MILFateria.com, about the sexual exploits of middle-aged women like herself. Meanwhile, her son is struggling with his own issues at college, where his hard-partying lifestyle isn’t quite as welcomed as he’d hoped.

Aug. 1: The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley
A former East India Company smuggler is stuck at home after an accident leaves him with a broken leg. Then he begins seeing things that shouldn’t be happening and his brother says he must be mad. When presented an opportunity to go to the jungles of South America in search of quinine, he knows he shouldn’t. After all, everyone who has ever gone to Peru on a similar expedition has ended up dead. Despite barely being able to walk, he sets off against his better judgment.

Aug. 8: Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert
Suzette attends boarding school in New England, but when she goes home to L.A., she doesn’t want to go back. Her brother needs her support when he is diagnosed with bipolar disorder. And besides, L.A. is where her family and friends are. She’s settling into her life again, but finds herself confronted with the knowledge that she is falling for the same girl her brother is in love with. As her brother’s illness threatens to overwhelm him, she has to find a way to help her brother and confront her own mistakes.

Aug. 8: The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter
A new thriller from a No. 1 bestselling author. Sisters Samantha and Charlotte Quinn had their lives torn apart 28 years ago, when a brutal attack on their family home left their mother dead and their father devastated. Charlie has followed in her father’s footsteps and become an attorney, when her small town is plunged into terror once again. Charlie find herself besieged by memories that she’s tried to keep buried.

Aug. 8: Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker
Sisters are a theme in this thriller, where two sisters go missing and one comes back. Forensic psychologist Abby Winter looks deeper into the dysfunctional family, and from what she sees, something just doesn’t add up.

Aug. 8: Paper Girls Vol. 3 by Brian K. Vaughan
This is the collection of issues 11 through 15 in the popular graphic novel series. From Goodreads: “The multiple Eisner and Harvey Award-winning series from BRIAN K. VAUGHAN and CLIFF CHIANG continues, as newspaper deliverers Erin, Mac and Tiffany finally reunite with their long-lost friend KJ in an unexpected new era, where the girls must uncover the secret origins of time travel… or risk never returning home to 1988.”

Teen Film Crew Premieres Short Film Finding Sporky

*This post was written by the videographer/unit publicist of Specific Ocean Studios, the Summer 2017 Teen Moviecraft production crew*

Videographer/Unit Publicist Stephanie Bradshaw

My name is Stephanie Bradshaw, and I am the videographer and unit publicist for this summer’s Teen Moviecraft Program. Our team joined together this summer to create a film production crew dubbed Specific Ocean Studios, and together we have worked for seven weeks to create our short film, Finding Sporky. Finding Sporky was written by Carolynn Bradshaw and John Goodner and directed by Leah Khanu and Natalie Knowles. Our film is about a boy named John who throws a party when his little brother Jimmy swallows a spork, and his parents have to take him to the hospital. During the party things go horribly wrong when Steve the Spoon attacks with his army of household items like the Gangster Knives! This film has been a lot of fun to make, and it’s been great getting to see everyone work in their different jobs including set designer, special FX, costume and makeup designer and more.

In between filming behind-the-scenes clips and taking pictures, I had the chance to talk to the co-directors about our film.

What is your expectation for the film?

Directors: Even though we know there may be some bumps in the road, we hope that everything goes smoothly and that our film turns out to be great. We hope that it turns out to be something that we can all be proud of.

I also interviewed the screenwriters of our film, Carolynn Bradshaw and John Goodner.

Joel Hileman, Carolynn Bradshaw, and Sophia Edmonson filming a scene

How did you come up with the story?

Writers: At first we just had a logline (a one-sentence summary of the story), and that gave us a feel of what we were doing. We knew we had this character, John, and he would be attacked by the spoon. Then we collaborated with the team to add other household items attacking people at a party. Once that idea was fleshed out, we had Natalie and Leah bring all of these ideas together into a single vision.

Did you enjoy writing this film?

It was fun! We got together at the writer’s table with the directors, and we wrote this amazing script. We ended up laughing so much that we could barely get anything down at first. It was an experience that we’ll never forget!

How did you come up with the characters?

Grant Bliss, Gia Alicea, Kristen Bradshaw, and Kyle Duggan at the “doctor’s office!”

It just happened. I (Carolynn Bradshaw) always love coming up with characters that have personalities as crazy and different as you can imagine. These kinds of characters really fit in with our hilarious storyline.

With this film being half animated, it took a bit more time and patience to do the stop motion and puppetry. With only two hours a week for seven weeks, we at Specific Ocean Studios definitely had a lot to do, but it was so worth it to finally have our film come together. I can’t wait for you to see Finding Sporky at our Red Carpet Premiere this Friday, July 28 at 6:30PM. All community members are welcome to come watch our film, snack on some popcorn, and talk with us about our project. I hope to see you there!

Specific Ocean Studios Logo designed by our awesome graphic artists Chloe Brown, Kaia Briggs, and Kaleb Trujillo!

Late July new releases

July is more than half over, and school starts in about a month. How is summer flying by so fast? Could it be that the time I spend reading makes the days go by faster? If so, I don’t want to have to stop reading to get summer to slow down. I love finding new books to read and being one of the first patrons at the library to read a new book. And there are some great ones coming out the last two weeks of this month!

Here are a few of our picks:

Cover of the book The Breakdown by B.A. Paris — “The Breakdown” is a chilling new thriller by B.A. Paris.

July 18: The Breakdown by B.A. Paris
Cass took the shortcut home, the one she promised her husband she wouldn’t. She saw a woman sitting in a car, the woman who was murdered. Now, she’s having a hard time. She’s forgetting everything: whether she took her medication, where she left the car, why she ordered a baby pram when she doesn’t even have a baby. The one thing she can’t forget? The woman who was murdered. A murder she might have been able to prevent.

July 18: The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell
Modern day New York: Magic is pretty much extinct. Pretty much, but not completely. There are a few, the Mageus, who have an affinity for magic, but must keep who they are a secret. And if any of them cross into Manhattan, they will never leave. It’s sealed by the Brink, a dark energy barrier that locks them on the island. But the Order, which created the Brink, didn’t count on Esta, a talented thief who steals magical artifacts from the Order. Esta can steal from the past, but can she steal the item she needs from 1902 before it is destroyed by the Magician?

Cover of The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond — “The Marriage Pact” by Michelle Richmond explores what happens when a young, newlywed couple join a secret group committed to making marriages last, at a significant price.

July 25: The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond
Alice is a rock-and-roller turned successful lawyer. Jake is a therapist for kids and teens and is breaking into marriage counseling. They are getting married, and Alice ends up inviting one of her clients, a famous musician, to their wedding. Finnegan invites them to join a group that promotes healthy marriages, and Jake and Alice can’t see why it wouldn’t work, as they are both wholly committed to making their marriage successful. However, The Pact has some rules and the consequences for breaking any of the rules can be pretty severe.

July 25: The Lying Game by Ruth Ware
Isa spent the most significant years of her life at a boarding school near the marshes at Salten. Now she has received a simple three-word text message: I need you. Isa drops everything and, with her baby daughter, heads to Salten. Something terrible has been found on the beach, which will force Isa and her three best friends, whom she hasn’t seen in years, to confront their past.

Cover of Gather the Daughters by Jennie Melamed — Goodreads describes this debut novel as “‘Never Let Me Go’ meets ‘The Giver’.”

July 25: Gather the Daughters by Jennie Melamed
An isolated island, settled by ten men and their families just before the country was left uninhabitable by incineration. Only chosen male descendants of the original 10 colonists, known as Wanderers, are t allowed to cross to the still-smoldering wasteland. The daughters are wives-in-training. Only in the summer do the children run free, and one summer Caitlin Jacob witnesses something so terrifying and against everything she’s been taught, that she has to share it with the other children. 17-year-old Janey Solomon, who is slowly starving herself to prevent entering puberty, takes on the task of learning the truth, and encourages an uprising of the girls on the island.

Click on any of the titles above to see the book in our catalog.

Book review: A Talent for Murder

A Talent for Murder by Andrew Wilson

This book actually gets 4.5 stars from me. Click on the title above the cover to get to the book in our catalog.

First Lines: Wherever I turned my head, I thought I saw her: a woman people described as striking, beautiful even. That would never have been my choice of words.

Summary: One of Agatha Christie’s most famous mysteries has never been solved: her mysterious disappearance for 11 days in December 1926. She left her home on a Friday evening and one of the largest missing person hunts in history was launched. This novel imagines what might have happened during those days. It begins as she leaves her literary agent and is preparing to board a train in London. She feels a hand at her back that pushes her as an oncoming train is arriving, and pulls her back just before she falls in front of the train. Her rescuer, however, is no hero. Rather, he insists that she is going to commit a murder.

Highlights: I have loved Agatha Christie’s books since I first read What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw when I was in seventh grade. This book is gutsy in taking on telling a story of what may have happened to Dame Agatha during those days she was missing. The story is cleanly told, from varying points of view. Don’t gloss over the “Editor’s Note” before the first chapter, and then go back and read it again after you’ve finished the book. It will be that much more enlightening. This book has a truly vile villain, other interesting characters, and a plot line that completely works for me.

Lowlights: I had just a little difficulty getting into the first dozen pages or so. Honestly, that could have been me rather than the writing. I fully expected a Chrsitie-esque unraveling at the end of the book of how the whole story went down, but that doesn’t happen. However, that didn’t hurt the story at all for me. And there’s a little information that isn’t completely cleared up at the end, so if you like every little thing all tied up in a neat little bow, you won’t get that here.

Just a little more: This is a great imagining of what could have happened during Agatha Christie’s disappearance. I recommend it for anyone who loves a good mystery, and especially for fans of Dame Agatha. I received an advance e-copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Book review: The Family Plot

The Family Plot by Cherie Priest

First line: “Yeah, send her on back. She has an appointment.”

Summary: Music City Salvage in Tennessee is on the cusp of going broke, and then Augusta Withrow comes in with an offer Chuck Dutton can’t refuse. Augusta just wants to be rid of her family’s more-than-a-century-old home and all the property. Chuck sees a goldmine in the house and property, so he sends a four-person crew headed by his daughter Dahlia on the project. Super creepy things start happening, and when the members of the crew start comparing notes, they know something is definitely up. Something angry still lives in the vacant house, and it seems bent on making one member of the crew its permanent company.

Highlights: This book has all the atmosphere, creepiness, and strangeness a really excellent Gothic ghost story needs to be interesting. It’s a page-turner and you probably don’t want to read it late at night when you are all alone in your house and start hearing strange noises. Oh, and that ending. DO NOT READ THE LAST PAGE FIRST! If you do, you will ruin the whole book!

Lowlights (or what could have been better): I felt like this book was just a little bit slow to get started, but I’m glad I stuck with it (and it really didn’t take that long) because it builds to a can’t-put-it-down-but-I-have-to-stop-reading-or-I’ll-have-scary-dreams pitch.

FYI: There is some cursing and references to violence, but nothing gory, gross or descriptive.

Early July new releases

Wow, it’s almost Independence Day, and the year is already half over! Where has the time gone? My reading list has been dented pretty well this year, and I’m staying on track with my Goodreads goal. How about you? Are getting as much reading time in this year as you would like? Let us know how your reading goals are going in the comments below.

And if you need some help finding something new to read, here are a few books that will be released this week and next. Click on the title of the book to find it in the library catalog.

July 4: The Lightkeeper’s Daughter by Jean Pendziwol
This story explores the relationship between an elderly woman, Elizabeth, and a teenager, Morgan, as they explore journals of a lightkeeper written decades before. The journals were written by Elizabeth’s father, and while the discovery sheds light on Morgan’s family mysteries, it makes Elizabeth question who she really is.

Cover of The Reason You're Alive by Matthew Quick — “The Reason You’re Alive” tells the story of a Vietnam veteran trying to return something he stole from a fellow soldier.

July 4: The Reason You’re Alive by Matthew Quick
The newest novel from the best-selling author of The Sliver Linings Playbook is the story of Vietnam veteran David Granger. After Davis crashes his BMW, he learns he has a brain tumor, which he attributes to his exposure to agent orange during the war. After surgery, he decides to return something to one of his fellow soldiers, and the journey takes some challenging turns.

July 11: Where the Light Falls by Allison Pataki and Owen Pataki
Paris during the French Revolution, and the lives of Sophie, a young, aristocratic widow; Jean-Luc, a young lawyer; and Andre, a nobleman’s son, become intertwined in this period of hope and freedom. The story moves from the battlefields to the courtrooms and even into the alleyways of Paris, three years after the storming of the Bastille.

Cover of the book Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson — “Almost Sisters” is the latest novel from best-selling author Joshilyn Jackson.

July 11: The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson
Leia comes from a conventional Southern family, with everything that entails, and when she finds herself pregnant at 38 after a one-night affair, she is faced with telling her family not only about being pregnant, but that the baby is biracial. On top of that, her sister’s marriage is falling apart and her grandmother has been hiding dementia. When Leia goes home to help put her grandmother’s affairs in order, she learns of a dangerous secret that dates back to the Civil War.

July 11: Watch Me Disappear by Janelle Brown
Billie Flanagan disappeared a year ago in the Desolation Wilderness a year ago, and her husband, Jonathan, and daughter, Olive, are coping as best they can. Then Olive starts having waking dreams that her mother is still alive. Jonathan is worried about Olive’s mental health, until he learns some secrets about Billie that have him questioning if he ever really knew her.

Traveling librarian: Apache Junction, AZ

I don’t know about you, but when I am traveling, I love to visit libraries in the area where I am traveling. I recently had the opportunity to spend a few days with my parents who live in the Phoenix-Mesa area of Arizona, in Apache Junction. We made time to head over to their pretty fantastic library. I snapped a few photos to share with our readers.

Exterior signage for Apache Junction, Arizona, library — I know I’ve arrived at the library!

From the outside the library looks like your average library, then you walk inside. Eh, still nothing spectacular, except the Friends of the library book sale right in the lobby! However, once I entered the library proper, it was so much fun!

The entrance to the children's area is between sculptures of books. — Entrance to the children’s area of the library, where you get to walk right through some stacks of books.

There are some fun titles on these books!

And once you’re inside the children’s area, there is more fun waiting. Want to read in a castle? You can! Watch out, or the dragon may catch you from above. Find a huge book to sit on or tuck yourself away in a rock cave to enjoy your book.

This castle has lots of little spaces for someone to tuck themselves into and read.

I even found a house elf in the castle. Has anyone given him a sock yet?

This dragon is pretty sneaky, watching the goings on in its library from up above.

Or you can tuck yourself into the little cave in the corner, or sit on a book-shaped seat.

Do you visit other libraries in your travels? Share a picture in the comments!

Late June new releases

Register for the adult reading program, log your books, and be eligible for great prizes.

Are you participating in our adult summer reading program? If not, you ought to consider it. If you think you will read four books of at least 100 pages each, sign up! You will be entered to win some great prizes with every four books you read and log. Every week there will be a randon drawing for a book bag filled with books and swag. At the end of the program, three lucky random winners will receive a new Kindle HD tablet and a $50 Amazon gift card. Click here to register and log your books through July 23.

If you are looking for some new books to read this summer (then log them as part of summer reading!), here are some new releases scheduled for the second half of June.

June 20: The Silent Corner by Dean Koontz
This first book in the new Jane Hawk series promises a new series loaded with the signature suspense of Dean Koontz. Jane Hawk, the widow of a man who committed suicide, does everything in her power, despite her grief and anguish, to learn the truth behind his death. Jane’s husband was just one among a surprising number of people who are happy, talented, accomplished, and of sound mind who are killing themselves. As Jane seeks to learn why so many people are committing suicide, she becomes the most-wanted fugitive in America.

June 20: The Force by Don Winslow
A dirty cop that everyone thinks of as a hero, because he is the highly decorated leader of a special unit that has been given carte blanche to fight gangs, drugs and guns. What he really is has him caught in a trap, trying to avoid getting caught by the Feds while trying to protect his crew, his family and the woman he loves, all while the city is teetering on the brink of a disaster.

Cover image of "Every Last Lie" by Mary Kubica — “Every Last Lie” is the newest thriller by Mary Kubica.

June 27: Every Last Lie by Mary Kubica
Clara’s husband, Nick, and daughter are in a car accident and Nick is killed. When her daughter, Maisie, starts having night terrors following the accident, Clara starts to wonder if there’s a lot more at play than a simple accident. Driven by a desire to know what really happened, Clara will stop at nothing to learn the truth in this thriller that is told in the alternating voices of Nick in the months leading up to the crash and Clara’s investigation following it.

June 27: The Impossible Vastness of Us by Samantha Young
This young adult novel explores the life and relationships of India, Eloise and Finn. India’s mom is engaged to Eloise’s father, and when India tried to befriend Eloise and become friends with Finn, it becomes apparent that what is visible to the outside world often hides the real truth.

June 27: Cocoa Beach by Beatriz Williams
A young American woman, Virginia, flees a family secret and becomes an ambulance driver in World War I France. A charming British army surgeon (Simon) pursues her, and they eventually marry. Five years later, the young widow and her daughter, the daughter whose father never met her, are in Florida to settle Simon’s estate. Simon’s brother and sister welcome Virginia to the lovely oasis of Cocoa Beach, but Virginia is determined to find out what really happened to Simon, because she is not convinced he died in the house fire that destroyed the seaside home he built for her.

Cover of the book "The Sisters Chase" — “The Sisters Chase” promises a whirlwind adventure with the Chase sisters as they cross country looking for a better life.

June 27: The Sisters Chase by Sarah Healy
Mary, Hannah, and their mother Diane run a seaside motel. When Diane is killed in a car accident, the daughters find out the value of the motel is less than the back taxes they owe on it. They set out across the country in the hopes of finding a new and better life, while the secrets Hannah carries threaten an even greater loss.

Book Review: The End of Temperance Dare

If you like classic Gothic novels/ghost stories and haven’t read anything by Wendy Webb, you should! Here is a review of her latest novel, “The End of Temperance Dare.”

Cover of The End of Temperance Dare by Wendy Webb

First line: They gave her the bed by the window, the one closest to the toy box.

Summary: Former reporter Eleanor Harper becomes the director of a famous artists’ retreat near Lake Superior, Cliffside Manor. Not long after Eleanor’s arrival, she finds the kindly old woman who is the daughter of the founder and who has been director of the retreat dead in her room. Lots of wonderful spookiness ensues. Strange things happen to the artists in residence, and Eleanor herself finds that she has experiences that she can’t explain. Not all those who live at the retreat are as they seem as this story unfolds.

Highlights: Wendy Webb is a master at setting a scene, and creating a wonderful Gothic atmosphere, and she is as good at doing so for Cliffside Manor as in any of her other novels. I love the way she develops her characters in this book, making it difficult to discern a person’s true character. As I was reading I thought I knew exactly what was happening, then she would reveal some small nugget of information and I would begins to second-guess myself. A few or a few dozen pages later the story would take a new twist that would leave me guessing again. I really enjoyed the suspense and the mystery of the characters in this book.

Lowlights (or what could have been better): To be honest, I pretty much never read a book looking for holes, problems or other weaknesses, and I didn’t find any in this book. My greatest critique would be in the setting in the actual building. I could clearly see in my mind the grounds around the building, and the outside of the building, but I had a difficult time imagining what the interior of the building looked like.

FYI: I don’t think there’s anything significant to be aware of about this book. It’s a slightly different feel than Webb’s other books, but I found it satisfying. It has a classic Gothic ghost story feel, but doesn’t cross the line to horror (at least by my definition).