Sunday, January 19, 2014

Books ordered for February

Please, LouisePlease, Louise by Toni Morrison, Slade Morrison, Shadra Strickland (Illustrator) (Children's)
Synopsis
A library card unlocks a new life for a young girl in this picture book about the power of imagination, from the Nobel Prize–winning author Toni Morrison.
On one gray afternoon, Louise makes a fateful trip to the library. With the help of a new library card and through the transformative power of books, what started out as a dull day turns into one of surprises, ideas, and fun, fun, fun!
Inspired by Pulitzer Prize–winning author Toni Morrison’s experience working in a library as a young girl, this engaging picture book celebrates the wonders of reading, the enchanting capacity of the imagination, and, of course, the splendor of libraries.

Jay's First Day at SchoolJay's First Day at School by Sharon Bise (Children's)
Synopsis
Do I have to take a nap?
Will Mommy remember to pick me up?
Do I have to go again after the first day?
Will my teacher be nice?

These were some of Jay's questions and fears about starting kindergarten.







The Flight of GabrielleThe Flight of Gabrielle by Linda Munroe (Young Adult)
Synopsis
What if you discovered you were a descendant of a vampire? What would you do? How would you feel? In 1995, Angie May Sears found out-the hard way. Angie inherited her late grandmother Angela's lakeside cabin. She had no idea it also came with its ghostly past.
Alone and isolated in the cabin, far into the mountains, Angie unfurls the mysteries of her family by reading her late grandmother's journal. Instantaneously, she finds herself engulfed in the story of a vampire called Chalice, but only until she nears the end of the journal does she discover there is a connection between Chalice and her family.
A RIVETING... ENTHRALLING VAMPIRE STORY
ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE, CHALICE
Handsome... Alluring...Cruel...A Vampire like no other. Strikingly handsome, cunning yet charming. Chalice creates his world, his way, taking only those who are worthy of his presence. Those who cross the 'master' Chalice suffer the wrath of his dark punishment. Love was a curious emotion to Chalice. An emotion felt only when he crosses paths with a lovely, mortal, Gabrielle. Something stirred deep within Chalice. A need for Gabrielle's exception over powered Chalice, striking an unfamiliar emotion. Those emotions turn to anger and rage when Gabrielle rejects Chalice as her master.
YOU MAY NOT WANT TO CLOSE YOUR EYES AT NIGHT.
Gabrielle roamed the mountains in search of relief from her tortured existence as a vampire. Seeking aid in her plan to kill Chalice, Gabrielle, blinded by Chalice, finds her way to the cabin. Something strangely familiar within her helped guide her to the remote cabin. In the dark of night, during a thunderstorm, Gabrielle appears in the dim corner of the cabin. Gabrielle reaches out to Angie for help. Shocked at the repulsive figure before her, Angie finds difficulty in comprehending reality. It is only when Gabrielle speaks to Angie and explains her dilemma that Angie realizes she is standing before her great-grandmother.

The Tale of The Pumpkin Seed Squad
The Tale of The Pumpkin Seed Squad by Carolyn Mitchell (Children's)
Synopsis
Riley Chester-field Mouse has acquired both a name and some friends in this 2nd book of a series chronicling the life of the little field mouse. Through the same easy-read poetry and captivating caricatures exhibited in The Tale of the Christmas Hero, the author and artist comically relate the imaginative adventures -- and misadventures -- of Riley and his friends.
The tale begins on a crisp, fall morning as Riley hastens to join his friends in their newly-discovered game called football. In a flashback to the previous week, Riley recalls his disastrous introduction to the sport when he tried to interject himself into a people-boys' game and was found to be no match for a football 10 times his size! But his inventive friend, Gus, hatched a plan to scale the game down to their level, promising to bring a mouse-sized ball to their next Saturday play date.
When Gus arrives at the field lugging a HUGE pumpkin, his friends scoff in disbelief until he climbs inside the pumpkin and proudly produces the perfect game ball -- a pumpkin seed! So, then, "with walnut shells for helmets and long toenails for cleats, both teams stood ready to perform amazing football feats!!"
The game and the story play out in clever detail as each mouse team scrambles to conquer the scoreboard before the hungry little Gus devours all the delicious-tasting balls! Through a delightful twist at the end of the tale, the little mice discover friendship to be the real victor in their competition.
The Tale of the Pumpkin Seed Squad is a delightful commentary on competition and sportsmanship that will surely charm even the least of its budding-athlete readers.

Ripper by Isabel Allende
RipperSynopsis
The Jackson women, Indiana and Amanda, have always had each other. Though their bond is strong, mother and daughter are as different as night and day. Indiana, a beautiful holistic healer, is a free-spirited bohemian. Long divorced from Amanda's father, she's reluctant to settle down with either of the men who want her—Alan, the wealthy scion of one of San Francisco's elite families, and Ryan, an enigmatic, scarred former Navy SEAL.
While her mom looks for the good in people, Amanda is fascinated by the dark side of human nature—as is her father, the SF PD's deputy chief of homicide. Brilliant and introverted, the MIT-bound high school senior Amanda is a natural-born sleuth addicted to crime novels and to Ripper, the online mystery game she plays with her beloved grandfather and friends around the world.
When a string of strange murders occurs across the city, Amanda plunges into her own investigation, probing hints and deductions that elude the police department. But the case becomes all too personal when Indiana suddenly vanishes. Could her mother's disappearance have something to do with the series of deaths? Now, with her mother's life on the line, Amanda must solve the most complex mystery she's ever faced before it's too late.

The Chase: A NovelThe Chase: A Novel by Janet Evanovich, Goldberg Lee
Synopsis
Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg, New York Times bestselling authors of The Heist, return in this action-packed, exciting adventure featuring master con artist Nicolas Fox and die-hard FBI agent Kate O’Hare. And this time around, things go from hot to nuclear when government secrets are on the line.
Internationally renowned thief and con artist Nicolas Fox is famous for running elaborate and daring scams. His greatest con of all: convincing the FBI to team him up with the only person who has ever caught him, and the only woman to ever capture his attention, Special Agent Kate O’Hare. Together they’ll go undercover to swindle and catch the world’s most wanted—and untouchable—criminals.
Their newest target is Carter Grove, a former White House chief of staff and the ruthless leader of a private security agency. Grove has stolen a rare Chinese artifact from the Smithsonian, a crime that will torpedo U.S. relations with China if it ever becomes public. Nick and Kate must work under the radar—and against the clock—to devise a plan to steal the piece back. Confronting Grove’s elite assassins, Nick and Kate rely on the skills of their ragtag crew, including a flamboyant actor, a Geek Squad techie, and a band of AARP-card-carrying mercenaries led by none other than Kate’s dad.
A daring heist and a deadly chase lead Nick and Kate from Washington, D.C., to Shanghai, from the highlands of Scotland to the underbelly of Montreal. But it’ll take more than death threats, trained henchmen, sleepless nights, and the fate of a dynasty’s priceless heirloom to outsmart Fox and O’Hare.

Concealed in Death (In Death Series #38)Concealed in Death (In Death Series #38) by J. D. Robb
Synopsis
The incomparable J. D. Robb presents the latest moving and suspenseful novel in the #1 New York Times–bestselling Eve Dallas series.
In a decrepit, long-empty New York building, Lieutenant Eve Dallas’s husband begins the demolition process by swinging a sledgehammer into a wall. When the dust clears, there are two skeletons wrapped in plastic behind it. He summons his wife immediately—and by the time she’s done with the crime scene, there are twelve murders to be solved.
The place once housed a makeshift shelter for troubled teenagers, back in the mid-2040s, and Eve tracks down the people who ran it. Between their recollections and the work of the force’s new forensic anthropologist, Eve begins to put names and faces to the remains. They are all young girls. A tattooed tough girl who dealt in illegal drugs. The runaway daughter of a pair of well-to-do doctors. They all had their stories. And they all lost their chance for a better life.
Then Eve discovers a connection between the victims and someone she knows. And she grows even more determined to reveal the secrets of the place that was called The Sanctuary—and the evil concealed in one human heart.

Killer (Alex Delaware Series #29) by Jonathan Kellerman
Synopsis
After thirty-five riveting, internationally acclaimed novels of psychological suspense, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman returns with his most stunning thriller to date. Killer is a mesmerizing L.A. noir portrayal of the darkest impulses of human nature carried to shocking extremes.
The City of Angels has more than its share of psychopaths, and no one recognizes that more acutely than the brilliant psychologist and police consultant Dr. Alex Delaware. Despite that, Constance Sykes, a sophisticated, successful physician, hardly seems like someone Alex needs to fear. Then, at the behest of the court, he becomes embroiled in a bizarre child custody dispute initiated by Connie against her sister and begins to realize that there is much about the siblings he has failed to comprehend. And when the court battle between the Sykes sisters erupts into cold, calculating murder and a rapidly growing number of victims, Alex knows he’s been snared in a toxic web of pathology.
Nothing would please Alex more than to be free of the ugly spectacle known as Sykes v. Sykes. But then the little girl at the center of the vicious dispute disappears and Alex knows he must work with longtime friend Detective Milo Sturgis, braving an obstacle course of Hollywood washouts, gangbangers, and self-serving jurists in order to save an innocent life.
Killer is Kellerman—and Delaware—at their finest.

Private L.A.Private L.A. by James Patterson, Mark Sullivan
Synopsis
Private Jack Morgan investigates the disappearance of the biggest superstar couple in Hollywood.
Thom and Jennifer Harlow are the perfect couple, with three perfect children. They maybe two of the biggest mega movie stars in the world, but they're also great parents, philanthropists and just all-around good people.
When they disappear without a word from their ranch, facts are hard to find. They live behind such a high wall of security and image control that even world-renowned Private Investigator Jack Morgan can't get to the truth. But as Jack keeps probing, secrets sprout thick and fast--and the world's golden couple may emerge as hiding behind a world of desperation and deception that the wildest reality show couldn't begin to unveil. Murder is only the opening scene.


The Headmaster's WifeThe Headmaster's Wife by Thomas Christopher Greene
Synopsis
An immensely talented writer whose work has been described as “incandescent” (Kirkus) and “poetic” (Booklist), Thomas Christopher Greene pens a haunting and deeply affecting portrait of one couple at their best and worst.
Inspired by a personal loss, Greene explores the way that tragedy and time assail one man’s memories of his life and loves. Like his father before him, Arthur Winthrop is the Headmaster of Vermont’s elite Lancaster School. It is the place he feels has given him his life, but is also the site of his undoing as events spiral out of his control. Found wandering naked in Central Park, he begins to tell his story to the police, but his memories collide into one another, and the true nature of things, a narrative of of love, of marriage, of family and of a tragedy Arthur does not know how to address emerges. Luminous and atmospheric, bringing to life the tight-knit enclave of a quintessential New England boarding school, the novel is part mystery, part love story and an exploration of the ties of place and family. Beautifully written and compulsively readable, The Headmaster’s Wife stands as a moving elegy to the power of love as an antidote to grief.

Confessions of a Wild Child by Jackie Collins
Synopsis
Lucky Santangelo. A fifteen-year-old wild child ready to discover life, love and independence. Daughter of the notorious Gino, Lucky discovers her mother's murdered body floating in the family swimming pool at the tender age of four. Since then Gino has kept her protected from life closeted in their Bel Air mansion. But in Jackie Collins' Confessions of a Wild Child, Lucky finally breaks free, and running away from boarding school the adventures begin. Boys, sex, drugs and rock n' roll - Lucky explores it all in preparation for the strong, kick-ass woman she eventually becomes. Delve into the world that Lucky rules!






A Constellation of Vital PhenomenaA Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
Synopsis
A Washington Post Top Ten Book of the Year *A New York Times Notable Book of the Year
In a small rural village in Chechnya, eight-year-old Havaa watches from the woods as Russian soldiers abduct her father in the middle of the night and then set fire to her home. When their lifelong neighbor Akhmed finds Havaa hiding in the forest with a strange blue suitcase, he makes a decision that will forever change their lives. He will seek refuge at the abandoned hospital where the sole remaining doctor, Sonja Rabina, treats the wounded.
For Sonja, the arrival of Akhmed and Havaa is an unwelcome surprise. Weary and overburdened, she has no desire to take on additional risk and responsibility. But over the course of five extraordinary days, Sonja’s world will shift on its axis and reveal the intricate pattern of connections that weaves together the pasts of these three unlikely companions and unexpectedly decides their fate. A story of the transcendent power of love in wartime, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is a work of sweeping breadth, profound compassion, and lasting significance.
Now with Extra Libris material, including a reader’s guide and bonus content from the author.
Winner of the 2013 National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize for Outstanding First Book

Wake: A NovelWake: A Novel by Anna Hope
Synopsis
Anna Hope’s brilliant debut unfolds over the course of five days, as three women must deal with the aftershocks of World War I and its impact on the men in their lives.
Wake: 1) Emerge or cause to emerge from sleep. 2) Ritual for the dead. 3) Consequence or aftermath.
London, 1920. The city prepares to observe the two-year anniversary of Armistice Day with the burial of the unknown soldier. Many are still haunted by the war: Hettie, a dance instructress, lives at home with her mother and her brother, who is mute after his return from combat. One night Hettie meets a wealthy, educated man and finds herself smitten with him. But there is something distracted about him, something she cannot reach. . . . Evelyn works at the Pensions Exchange, through which thousands of men have claimed benefits from wounds or debilitating distress. Embittered by her own loss, she looks for solace in her adored brother, who has not been the same since he returned from the front. . . . Ada is beset by visions of her son on every street, convinced he is still alive. Helpless, her loving husband has withdrawn from her. Then one day a young man appears at her door, seemingly with notions to peddle, like hundreds of out-of-work veterans. But when he utters the name of her son, Ada is jolted to the core.
The lives of these three women are braided together, their stories gathering tremendous power as the ties that bind them become clear, and the body of the unknown soldier moves closer and closer to its final resting place.

The Flight of the Silvers by Daniel Price
The Flight of the SilversSynopsis
A thrilling genre-bending saga about six extraordinary people whose fates become intertwined on an Earth far different from their own.
Without warning, the world comes to an end for Hannah and Amanda Given. The sky looms frigid white. The electricity falters. Airplanes everywhere crash to the ground. But the Givens are saved by mysterious strangers, three fearsome and beautiful beings who force a plain silver bracelet onto each sister’s wrist. Within moments, the sky comes down in a crushing sheet of light and everything around them is gone.
Shielded from the devastation by their silver adornments, the Givens suddenly find themselves elsewhere, a strange new Earth where restaurants move through the air like flying saucers and the fabric of time is manipulated by common household appliances.
Soon Hannah and Amanda are joined by four other survivors from their world—a mordant cartoonist, a shy teenage girl, a brilliant young Australian, and a troubled ex-prodigy. Hunted by enemies they never knew they had and afflicted with temporal abilities they never wanted, the sisters and their companions begin a cross-country journey to find the one man who can save them—before time runs out.
Brilliantly imagined and electrifying from the first page, The Flight of the Silvers is the thrilling first book in a genre-bending new series.

Do or Die: Reluctant HeroesDo or Die: Reluctant Heroes by Suzanne Brockmann
Synopsis
Suzanne Brockmann’s seamless blend of heroic military action and intense passion inspired USA Today to call her “a superstar of romantic suspense”—and for years her award-winning Troubleshooters books have been must-reads for fans of sizzling stories of action and adventure. Now the New York Times bestselling author shoots to thrill again with Do or Die, an electrifying new novel that is certain to win Brockmann new readers and delight devotees.
Navy SEAL Ian Dunn went rogue in a big way when he turned his talents to a lawless life of jewel heists and con jobs. Or so the world has been led to believe. In reality, the former Special Ops warrior is still fighting for good, leading a small band of freelance covert operatives who take care of high-stakes business in highly unofficial ways. That makes Ian the hands-down choice when the U.S. government must breach a heavily guarded embassy and rescue a pair of children kidnapped by their own father, a sinister foreign national willing to turn his kids into casualties. Shockingly, Ian passes on the mission for reasons he will not—or cannot—reveal.
But saying no is not an option. Especially not for Phoebe Kruger, Ian’s beautiful and unexpectedly brash new attorney. Determined to see the abducted children set free, Phoebe not only gets Ian on board but insists on riding shotgun on his Mission: Impossible–style operation, whether he likes it or not.
Though Phoebe has a valuable knack for getting out of tight spots, there’s no denying the intensely intimate feelings growing between Ian and Phoebe as the team gears up for combat. But these are feelings they both must fight to control as they face an array of cold-blooded adversaries, including a vindictive mob boss who’s got Ian at the top of his hit list and a wealthy psychopath who loves murder as much as he loves money. As they dodge death squads and play lethal games of deception, Ian and Phoebe will do whatever it takes to save the innocent and vanquish the guilty—or die trying.

The Fault in Our StarsThe Fault in Our Stars by John Green (Young Adult)
Synopsis
TIME Magazine’s #1 Fiction Book of 2012!
The Fault in Our Stars is a love story, one of the most genuine and moving ones in recent American fiction, but it’s also an existential tragedy of tremendous intelligence and courage and sadness.” —Lev Grossman, TIME Magazine
Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.
Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning-author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.
Winner of the 2013 Children's Choice Teen Book of the Year Award