If you see a kitten

If you see a kitten by John Butler

This was a feature book during the "cat and mouse" theme this week in story time. The toddlers loved being able to play along and make the various sounds on each page. If you see a spider...say "eek." If you see an elephant...say "wow."

Sliding into home

Sliding into home by Joanne Rock

I read so-called "trashy romance" on a regular basis and normally have no problem admitting to that. However, this particular book has a very buff and shirtless baseball player on the cover. It happened to be in my purse during a rain delay at a baseball game when I was sitting behind the dugout. I enjoyed the four short stories very much, but felt the need to read with the cover flat against my knees for a good twenty pages.

The Pact by Jodi Picoult

Recently we interviewed high school students for part-time jobs at the library, and nearly half of the applicants told us their favorite author was Jodi Picoult. This is the second book of hers I've read, and I think I'm starting to see why they're so popular with teens: she writes extremely well from a teen point of view, and her themes are always ripped immediately from today's headlines.
This book deals with teen lovers and a suicide pact: she's dead, he's not, and now he's being tried for murder.

The angle that makes this story unusual is the relationship between the two families involved. They have been neighbors and best friends for 18 years. The kids grew up together as best friends and confidants. Both sets of parents had always hoped their children would grow into a couple and marry.

Picoult enjoys allowing her story's details to bloom and unfurl slowly as the book progresses. This technique keeps you reading, and keeps you guessing. You're always waiting for the twist or the reveal. And somehow, you're never let down.

Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey

Throwing aside Oprah's whole fiasco - fiction or nonfiction, I don't care. Frey knows how to write an engrossing story. This is the story of Los Angeles - its past, it people, its flavor.

This book is supposedly fiction. But you'll recognize many of the characters as not-so-made-up. Each chapter stands alone. Some of the people we meet in the story chapters reappear in later, other characters appear once then disappear forever. Between the story chapters are "fact" chapters: some are brief factoids of just a sentence or a paragraph, others are tourism propaganda, yet others are reminiscent of John Stewart's smarmy "fake news" stories.

Frey is the prince of the king of maybe the tzar of run-on stream-of-consciousness sentences that would have made your uptight wound-too-tight tight-assed high school English teacher weep into her Strunk & White.

I really enjoyed this book and its unconventional structure. But I also really enjoyed Frey's other books. But by all means ... form your own opinion. Don't let me (or Oprah) tell you what to think.

Urchin of the Riding Stars by M.I. McAllister

I'm not sure where I found this book - I'm pretty sure it must have been a pre-release notice about the 4th book in the series, to be released in August. It must have sounded good, because I went back and placed a hold on the first in the Mistmantle Chronicles series: "Urchin of the Riding Stars."

This is a renaissance-style story, full of kings and ladies, castles and the court. The twist is that Mistmantle is an island of animals: hedgehogs, otters, moles and squirrels. Animals act and relate in a human way, with quirks and characteristics influenced by their animal species. For the most part, they interact and get along despite their differences.

I loved this book, and no small part of that should be attributed to the excellent audio reader, Andrew Sachs. From the whispered elegance of Lady Aspen to the snarls of evil Captain Husk or the desolate growls of King Brushen, Sachs' performance was flawless. Unfortunately, I've discovered this is the only book in the series currently available on audio. I will read the rest, but I would have been happier to listen.

The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney

The bookclub chose this one for July - a murder mystery set in the trapper-trader days. It was an unusually "guy" choice for our bookclub ladies, and we all really enjoyed it.

I'm not sure I'd pitch it to prospective readers as a murder story. Rather, it's a great historical fiction set in upper Minnesota right on the Canadian border. There's a conflict between the Company and the trappers, as always erupts when big corporations try to "own" independent, strong men like these solitary wilderness adventurers. Oh, and there is a murder.

Bookclub decided it was a well-written book, with lyrical descriptions of place and conditions. We all enjoyed it, and I have recommended it several times already.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

I'd been telling people I was reading a great middle-school book about a boy who's family was murdered and so he was raised by the ghosts in the graveyard. Never fails: adults give you the cynical, distrusting head-tilt and say acerbically, "For kids?"

Yes. For kids. But as is true with all great books, really ... for anyone.

I really enjoyed Bod's story. It was dark and full of suspense without being too frightening or depressing. I listened to the audiobook (read by the author!) and found myself wishing for more necessary travel.

It's really a tale of growing up and finding oneself. And even if you have the best parents in the world - or the graveyard - eventually you've got to set out on your own and find out what the real world is like.