Book Review: Gilded Cage

Gilded Cage by Vic James

First Line: She heard the motorbike first, then the galloping horse—two distant points of noise in the darkness, converging on her as she ran.

Summary: England is being ruled by the Equals, people with powers called Skill.  They overthrew King Charles and have ruled ever since.  When the Equals took power they invoked new laws including the 10-year period of slavery for all the commoners.  When the Hadley family decides to start their slave days they are hoping to all be sent to the manor house of Kyneston to work for one of the leading Skilled families.  However, Luke, the teenage son, is sent to a slave town instead.  As each member of the family works their slave days, they each begin to learn about the Skilled and the world that they live in.

Highlights: Good dystopian storyline.  I still cannot figure out what to make of the Jardine brothers.  The Hadley family is the straightforward characters of dystopian fiction but the brothers are a little more complex.  Are they good?  Are they bad?  I cannot wait to find out.

Lowlights: Nothing to complain about except that it ended at a cliffhanger.  What is going to happen?  How are they going to continue?

FYI: Great for readers of Hunger Games and Harry Potter!

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).

Book Review: The Other Einstein

The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict

First Line: The end is near.

Summary: We all know who Albert Einstein is.  But do you know the other Einstein?  Mileva Maric is a young Serbian woman with a lame leg and a mind for math and science.  She always expected to live a life alone in the pursuit of a degree and job in physics.  While attending the university in Zurich she meets a young man, Albert Einstein, and her plans for her life change.

Highlights: I had never heard of Mileva Maric until I read a YA novel by Margaret Peterson Haddix.  She sounds like a fascinating woman that has been forgotten by history.  Married to one of the greatest minds in history and working alongside him there is great controversy about if she was a contributor to the theories and breakthroughs of her husband.  I like that the author has fleshed out and brought this woman to life.  I understood her plight with herself about giving up her dream to marry.  As a reader I could feel her pain and struggle as I read.

Lowlights: Unfortunately when reading historical fiction and learning about a person there are elaborations or stretches.  But there are also truths.  It is always hard to see a well-known figure made human and see the faults that lie within them.  Benedict presents Albert’s faults and it tarnishes him a little.

FYI: Very informative about the early life of Albert Einstein.

Book Review: Salt to the Sea

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

This review was written by our new Youth Services Assistant, Kayley Ramsey! Kayley has been living in the Wichita/Derby area for about eight years and teaches photography classes at Wichita City Arts. She’s a lover of historical fiction, fantasy, and anything with a great adventure. Feel free to come back to the Youth Services desk to meet her and get some great book recommendations!

Salt to the Sea Book Review by Kayley Ramsey

First Line: Guilt is a hunter.

Summary: On January 30th, 1945, three Russian torpedoes sunk the Wilhelm Gustolff, a German ship carrying 10,582 passengers, the majority being refugees hailing from all parts of Europe escaping war torn territory. Over 9,000 of those passengers died that night in the Baltic Sea, a tragic 5,000 at least of those were children. It is by far, the most deadly maritime disaster to have ever occurred dwarfing the infamous Titanic and yet it is often overlooked by history books and World War II accounts. Salt to the Sea tells the fictional account of a traveling group of refugees, each with their own secrets and goals braving war-torn Europe to make their way to the fateful Wilhelm Gustolff and toward freedom.

Highlights: Salt to the Sea is beautifully written from multiple perspectives, illuminating a charming, brave, and lovable band of characters that you really don’t want to drown in the Baltic Sea. Sepetys makes a point of shedding light on the suffering on all sides of a war. She seeks to tell the history of people groups that suffered during World War II, yet aren’t often talked about or remembered. In this, Salt to the Sea is an eye opener, reminding us all of the totality and the span of war and hatred. The book is as educational as it is moving.

Lowlights: This book is not for the faint of heart. It speaks realistically of the horrors people faced in wartime, both at the hands of human hatred and by the forces of nature. Several times, I had to slam my book shut and rant to my husband about the horrible injustice of it all but then of course, I quickly picked it back up because Salt to the Sea is a page turner and against your better judgment, you are going to get attached and want everyone to live happily ever after.

FYI: I am already biased toward Ruta Sepetys’ work. Her other two novels, Between Shades of Gray and Out of the Easy are riveting reads. Between Shades of Gray also takes place during World War II and has some overlapping characters from Salt to the Sea.

Early June new releases

Aaahhhh. Summer is finally here! The kids are out of school, the pools are open and the sun is (we hope!) shining. Summer just screams at me to pick up a new book — or several! — and climb into the hammock under the tree and ignore everything else for a while as I lose myself in the pages. When I was a teenager, we lived just a couple blocks from the local public library, so I would ride my bike over, pick up a few novels, come home and jump in the hammock to read. My family always knew where to find me in the backyard.

And now that I am, well, let’s just say not a teenager any longer, and my summers aren’t nearly as free as they were when I was 14, my heart still yearns for the hammock, a light breeze and a stack of good books. Luckily, with all the new releases to look forward to this month, my stack will stay nice and tall.

Here are a few titles we are looking forward to that will be released the first couple of weeks of June.

June 6: Once and For All by Sarah Dessen
This, the 13th novel from Sarah Dessen, takes place in the world of wedding planning, so a crisis is just about guaranteed. Louna is the daughter of a famous wedding planner, so she has seen weddings at beaches, hotels, and fancy clubs. After her first love ended tragically, Louna is pretty cynical about happy endings. So when she meets Ambrose, she works to keep her distance. However, now that he’s met a girl he really wants, Ambrose is hard to discourage.

“The Alice Network” is the newest historical novel by Kate Quinn.

June 6: The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
This new historical novel by Kate Quinn brings together the stories of a 1915 woman, Eve Gardiner, recruited as a spy in France, and a 1947 unconventional American socialite, Charlie St. Clair.  Charlie is sent to Europe to have a “little problem” taken care of, but while there she goes on the hunt for her cousin Rose, who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France during the war. There, Charlie meets Eve, who, desperate to fight against the Germans, is trained by the “Queen of Spies” and sent into enemy-occupied France during the World War I.

June 6: Camino Island by John Grisham
A daring heist from a vault deep below an Ivy League university’s library. A dealer in rare books, who also occasionally dabbles in the black market of stolen books and manuscripts. A young female novelist who goes undercover. Eventually, people learn too much. Suspense as only Grisham can deliver.

June 13: Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay
From the author of Bad Feminist comes an emotionally raw memoir of food, weight, self-image, and self-care. From Goodreads: “As a woman who describes her own body as ‘wildly undisciplined,’ Roxane understands the tension between desire and denial, between self-comfort and self-care. In Hunger, she explores her own past—including the devastating act of violence that acted as a turning point in her young life—and brings readers along on her journey to understand and ultimately save herself.”

Take a trip to Old Hollywood in this story of one actress’s story of her life, secrets, and all seven husbands.

June 13: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Evelyn Hugo, one of the most glamorous actresses of Old Hollywood, has decided the time has come to tell her story, and the truth, about her scandalous life. To do so, she chooses unknown magazine report Monique Gray, who is not exactly at the top of her own world, but is determined to use this chance to jump start her career. As Evelyn’s life unfolds, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s surprisingly in tragic and irreversible ways.

June 13: The Lost Letter by Jillian Cantor
Kristoff, an apprentice stamp engraver in Austria, is forced to work for the Germans after his teacher, a master stamp engraver, disappears during the Kristallnacht. Fifty years later, Katie Nelson discovers a stamp collection of her father’s, which includes an unusual stamp from World War II Austria. The discovery leads Katie and Benjamin, an appraiser, on a journey to find the origins of the stamp.

Book Review: The Shadow Land

The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova

First Line: Sofia, the year 2008.

Summary: When Alexandra takes a summer job in Sofia, Bulgaria she thinks that it will be the perfect way to heal the loss of her brother who disappeared on a hiking trip.  But things do not turn out the way she had planned.  She meets a group of three people outside a hotel but when they go their separate ways she notices that she has kept one of their bags.  Inside are human ashes.  With the help of the friendly taxi driver, Bobby, she is determined to find the group and return the remains.  Everything is not as easy as she expected when threats and warnings start to appear as they dig deeper into whose ashes are in the urn.

Highlights: I love the pieces near the end when you get to look into the life of Stoyan Lazarov.  He details his time after the war and living in Communist controlled Bulgaria.  The strength that he possesses is astounding.  I have read a lot about prisoners during the Holocaust and it always scares me plus amazes me the will power and strength these people have.

Lowlights: The middle is slow moving as they are traveling around Bulgaria looking for the relatives of Stoyan.  It was a lot of detail gathering and talking that leads up till the ending but it got long.

FYI: Read her other book, The Historian! Amazing read.  But make sure you keep the lights on.

Summer Reading Scavenger Hunt

Summer Reading is in full swing! The Youth Services staff is so excited to see all the readers signing up for the reading program.

We truly have something for everyone. In addition to the reading program, we also have several events that patrons can attend at the library from weekly storytimes, school age programs, teen programs, and our big performers.

We also have a weekly scavenger hunt that is celebrating its fifth year this summer!

In 2013, Miss Hannah had a wild idea to do away with the weekly goody bag prizes and pool that money for one BIG prize. She sat down and brainstormed different ideas that would still encourage weekly visits to the library. Digging for Treasure was born!

It was wildly successful. Kids had a blast finding little Gnomington the Gnome all over the library. Miss Hannah lost count of the number of entry forms she copied, but it was well into the 1000s. One lucky family took home a WiiU.

In 2014, Derby kids hunted for Adam the Atom. In 2015, they searched for Read the SuperOwl. And last year they searched for ninjas colored by the rainbow. Three more WiiUs found happy homes with their new families.

This year, there’s puzzle pieces hiding. The Youth Services staff is asking kids to “Build a Better World” and find all 8 missing puzzle pieces. One lucky kiddo and family will go home with a new Nintendo Switch!

Miss Hannah is a nostalgic librarian and keeps all past years’ scavenger hunt subjects on her desk. She looks forward to many future years of summer reading library scavenger hunts. What will hide next year?

Book Review: Caraval

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

First Line: It took seven years to get the letter right.

Summary: Scarlett is a young woman who lives on an island with her sister and cruel father.  She is engaged to be married to a man she has never met but has high hopes of him taking her away from her father and the life she has known.  But she has dreams of visiting Caraval, the mysterious carnival/game that is filled with magic and wonder.  Her grandmother raised her on stories of Grand Master Legend and his amazing magical world.  When she suddenly receives an invitation for her, her sister and her fiancé, she is thrust into a game she does not know how to win.  Her father forbids her to leave but when her sister goes missing she has to believe that she has left for Caraval and it is up to Scarlett and the arrogant seaman, Julian to find Tella and bring her back before her father discovers them missing.

Highlights: The world of Caraval is beautiful.  The descriptions of the island and its inhabitants are as detailed as a painting.  I wanted to live in this world apart from the terrors and trials that Scarlett had to endure.  I love how strong and passionate Scarlett was about finding her sister.  It is great to see relationships like that with strong female characters.  And the twist at the end was fulfilling for the whole story.

Lowlights: Some pieces of the story were a little predictable.  I was able to guess things before they happened but other pieces I thought I had figured out and was not even close.

FYI: I listened to this on audio while taking the long drive to Colorado and really enjoyed it.  It made the dreariness of I-70 fly by.

Book Review: Siracusa

Siracusa by Delia Ephron

First Line: I have a snapshot of me standing on Finn’s shoulders when I was twenty-nine, a trick we’d perfected.

Summary: A vacation to Italy sounds like a great idea until you take one with another couple.  Lizzie and Michael along with Finn and Taylor plus their daughter, Snow, decide to take a summer vacation.  Tensions are high between the couples who each have secrets.  As time together puts more and more tension on the group the secrets start to reveal themselves but the biggest shock comes when they start their stay on the small island of Siracusa.

Highlights: The beachy but twisted read makes the book worthwhile.  The characters all have issues and you get to see each person’s point of view throughout their trip.  It gives more perspective and doesn’t leave you wondering what someone was thinking.

Lowlights: I almost stopped reading this in the first 30 pages.  The sentences are very choppy and to the point.  There are 4 different character viewpoints.  This makes it very hard at the beginning when you are still trying to learn character names and keep them straight.  Once you are in the story I was waiting to get to certain characters so that I knew what was happening or how they were feeling.

FYI: A little dark at the end but worth the read.

 

Creating Great Summer Memories

I don’t know how you feel about summer, but my daughters and I start counting down the days shortly after Christmas. There are so many things to look forward to! Not having to hit the ground running every morning as soon as the alarm goes off. The almost transformative way laying in the sunshine by the pool makes you feel like a new person. The excitement of planning a summer vacation (with or without family). Most of all, at least for me, it’s the idea of making great memories that will keep us remembering the warmth even through the dead of winter.

I’ve found that when I’ve gone overboard to create the “perfect” summertime memory, those are never really the ones we remember. I’m usually stressed from trying too hard and it never lives up to the idea I had in my head. No, the times we end up talking about well into the next summer are the little things that don’t require much effort at all. Playing games outside and then staying out until dark eating dinner and watching them catch fireflies. Allowing them to have cheesy tots and pop at the pool. Letting them play outside in a summer rainstorm.  Going to Riverside Park with a picnic they choose themselves and telling them about when we were actually allowed to go down the rocket ship slide.

Going to the park is still as cool to my girls as it was to me when I was young and in this day and age I think that’s really saying something. It must be the same for a lot of kids and their families because every time I drive by Madison Avenue Central Park here in Derby it is always buzzing with activity.

So in honor of “Creating Great Summer Memories” the Derby Public Library is hosting a free outdoor concert at the Madison Avenue Central Park on Monday, June 12 at 7:00 p.m., featuring the group Hungrytown. Worried about dinner? The food truck B.S. Sandwich Press will be in the parking lot serving up some  delicious treats! We will also be collecting non-perishable food items to donate to the Derby Community Food Pantry.

 

To find out more about Hungrytown visit www.hungrytown.net

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