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Beah, Ishmael
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
This title is also available as an
audiobook.
This title is also available in
Large Print.
In this gripping, true-life tale, a normal 12-year-old boy becomes a refugee
after a bloody civil war destroys his village in Sierra Leone in the 1990s.
Recruited as a child soldier, Beah roams the country with death squads of
children who commit unspeakable acts of violence. Beah is eventually rescued and
rehabilitated by the United Nations and later becomes an outspoken advocate for
children and human rights.
Beer, Edith Hahn
The
Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust
This true account of the Holocaust is told from the
perspective of a young Jewish woman, Edith Hahn Beer, who went into hiding. When
Edith used a Christian friend’s papers to flee to Munich, she met and married a
Nazi officer who kept her identity secret. How was the secret kept, and what did
it cost her? Find out in this intense, gripping tale of survival.
Bohjalian, Chris
The Double Bind
This title is also available as an
audiobook.
This title is also available in
Large Print.
This literary thriller makes references to (and includes characters from)
The Great Gatsby.
Bohjalian takes readers on a haunting journey through one woman's obsession with
uncovering a dark secret.
Draper, Sharon
November Blues
November Blues, the sequel to
The Battle of
Jericho, is a no-holds-barred look at what happens when life doesn't go as
planned. When November Nelson loses her boyfriend Josh to a pledge stunt gone
horribly wrong, she thinks her life can't possibly get any worse. But Josh left
something behind that will change November's life forever, and now she's faced
with the biggest decision she could ever imagine.
Ferguson, Alane
The Christopher Killer: a Forensic Mystery
As the daughter of a Colorado County coroner, 17-year old
Cameryn Mahoney is no stranger to death. In fact, she’s always been fascinated
by the science of it. So she’s thrilled to finally get some hands-on experience
in forensics working as her father’s assistant. But she is in for more than she
bargained for when the second case that she attends turns out to be someone she
knows—the latest victim of a serial killer known as the Christopher Killer.
Gruen, Sara
Water for Elephants
This title is also available as an
audiobook.
This title is also available in
Large Print.
Told in flashback, narrator Jacob Jankowski recounts the wild and wonderful
period he spent with the Benzini Brothers’ Most Spectacular Show on Earth, a
traveling circus he joined during the Great Depression. Jankowski, a Cornell
veterinary school dropout, lands a job with the circus caring for a menagerie of
exotic creatures, including the bull elephant Rosie. While tending
the animals, Jacob falls in love with Marlena, one of the show's star
performers. Their romance is complicated by Marlena's husband, the unbalanced
and sadistic circus boss.
Herr, Michael
Dispatches
Published in 1977, Dispatches was the first
documentary to deal with the Vietnam War head-on. In this book Herr, who covered
the war for Esquire, uses notes from his years of front-line reporting to
capture the feel of the war and to show how it differed from any theater of
combat ever fought.
Hosseini, Khaled
A Thousand Splendid Suns
This title is also available as an
audiobook.
This title is also available in
Large Print.
This novel, by the author of
The Kite Runner,
is a heart-wrenching story about war, friendship, family, and love. The book
deals with the events of Afghanistan's past 30 years: from the Soviet invasion,
to the reign of the Taliban, and finally to the post-Taliban reemergence. It
involves two generations of characters brought together by war, struggles, and
ultimately happiness.
Klass, David
Dark Angel
17-year-old Jeff Hastings plays soccer, has nice friends, a
beautiful girlfriend, and does fairly well at his high school. The church-going
Hastings family looks perfect. However, they have a dark secret: another son,
who is a murderer. Jeff is terrified when Troy is released from prison and
horrified when his parents decide to take him in. Jeff's girlfriend leaves him,
and his friends soon follow. When Jeff's teammate disappears, Troy is assumed
guilty. The witch-hunt that follows ruins what's left of the teen's former life.
Leonard, Mike
The Ride of Our
Lives: Roadside Lessons of an American Family
In The Ride of Our Lives, Mike Leonard takes his
readers on a humorous and nostalgic journey of three generations exploring the
American landscape together in an RV. The snippy, quick wit of his 82-year old
mother collides with his jovial, kind-hearted 87-year old father to create
laughs, pranks, and memories. Along for the ride, his three adult children and
daughter-in-law show us, through stories, how much things have changed in the
world, families, and life.
Lyga, Barry
The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl
This title is also available as an
audiobook.
Author Barry Lyga is a lifelong comic fan who puts his knowledge to work in a
story about a geeky high school student out to impress his hero, comic book
writer Brian Bendis, with his own creation. He's aided (sometimes) by a quirky
and borderline psychotic girl from school, nicknamed "Goth Girl" for her fashion
tendencies. Comic book readers will get all the inside jokes, asides, and
allusions in this novel.
MacHale, D.J.
The Merchant of Death (Pendragon, #1)
Bobby Pendragon is a seemingly normal 14-year-old boy. But there is something
very special about Bobby. He learns he is destined to save the world and not
just Earth as we know it. Before he can object, he is swept off to an alternate
dimension known as Denduron, a territory inhabited by strange beings, ruled by a
magical tyrant, and plagued by dangerous revolution.
McCullers, Carson
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
This title is also available in
Large Print.
This novel, published when McCullers was only 23 years old, has been praised for
its ability to "embrace black and white humanity." The Heart Is a
Lonely Hunter is a haunting story that gives voice to the rejected, the
forgotten, and the mistreated. Set in a Georgia mill town during the
1930s, the story centers around deaf-mute John Singer, who becomes the confidant
for many misfits who yearn to escape from small-town life.
McEwan, Ian
Amsterdam
This title is also available in
Large Print.
In Amsterdam, by
Atonement
author Ian McEwan, two old friends meet in London to pay their last respects to
Molly Lane–a former girlfriend of both. In the days following the funeral, both
make disastrous moral decisions that test their friendship and careers.
Meyer, Stephenie
New Moon
This title is also available as an
audiobook.
In New Moon, the sequel to
Twilight,
Stephenie Meyer delivers another irresistible combination of romance and
suspense with a supernatural twist. The "star-crossed" lovers theme continues as
Bella and Edward find themselves facing new obstacles, including a devastating
separation, the mysterious appearance of dangerous wolves roaming the forest in
Forks, a threat of revenge from a female vampire, and a sinister encounter with
Italy's reigning royal family of vampires.
Niffenegger, Audrey
The Time Traveler's Wife
This title is also available as an
audiobook.
This title is also available as a
Playaway.
Henry De Tamble is a Chicago librarian with "Chrono Displacement" disorder: at
random times, he suddenly disappears without warning and finds himself in the
past or future, usually at a time or place of importance in his life. The novel
follows the unique life of Henry and his wife Claire as they as they deal with
Henry's "travels."
Picoult, Jodi
Nineteen Minutes
This title is also available as an
audiobook.
This title is also available in
Large Print.
In Nineteen Minutes, the author of
My Sister’s Keeper
deals with the truth and consequences of a small town high-school shooting. In
the aftermath, the town’s residents must not only seek justice but also come to
terms with the role they played in the tragedy. How do we treat those who are
different? Is it ever okay for a victim to strike back? The answers to these
questions are never black and white, and Picoult shows us all sides of the
issue.
Pollan, Michael
The Omnivore's Dilemma: a Natural History of Four Meals
This title is also available in
Large Print.
Pollan examines "our national eating disorder" (the Atkins craze, the rise in
obesity) in this remarkably clearheaded book. It's a fascinating journey up and
down the food chain. As Publishers Weekly reviewer Pamela Kaufman
observes, "You'll certainly never look at a Chicken McNugget the same way
again."
Rand, Ayn
Atlas Shrugged
This title is also available as an
audiobook.
Atlas Shrugged is the story of a man who said that he would stop the
motor of the world—and did. This novel will stretch the boundaries further than
any book you have ever read. It is a mystery, not about the murder of a man's
body, but about the murder—and rebirth—of man's spirit.
Salvatore, R.A.
Homeland (Forgotten
Realms: The Dark Elf trilogy, #1)
This novel begins the Drizzt Do'Urden tales. Rescued as a baby from certain
death, Drizzt is raised in the vile world of the dark elves. But Drizzt has
morals and honor, illegal traits in the drow society. Can he survive in a world
as evil as Menzoberranzan?
Shakespeare, William
The Tempest
The Tempest, by William Shakespeare, incorporates themes of temperance,
forgiveness and repentance. The play begins with the King of Naples and his
entourage sailing home for Italy after the wedding of his daughter in Africa.
Their journey comes to a halt when a violent storm washes the travelers ashore
on an island inhabited by a magician.
Sones, Sonya
One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies
After the death of her mother, high-schooler Ruby is sent
from Boston to L.A. to live with the father she has never met. This novel,
written in free-verse, follows Ruby through her first few months in her new
home, a mansion where her every desire is granted—except what she longs for
most: her best friend, her boyfriend, and of course, her mother.
Staples, Suzanne Fisher
Haveli
Haveli, the sequel to
Shabanu, is the
story of a young Pakistani woman's heartbreaking struggle against the tyranny of
custom and ancient law. Shabanu, a mother at 18, faces daily challenges to her
position in her husband's household, even as she plans for her young daughter's
education and uncertain future. During a visit to the haveli, their home in the
city of Lahore, Shabanu falls in love with Omar, in spite of traditions that
forbid their union.
Strasser, Todd
Boot Camp
This novel by the author of
Give a Boy a Gun
explores an extreme punishment used to change the behavior of juvenile
delinquents. In the middle of the night, 15-year-old Garrett is “kidnapped” and
transported to a boot camp where he is subjected to physical and psychological
abuse. The aim is to get him to conform to the camp’s standards. But how can he
change if he shouldn’t have been sent there in the first place?
Swanson, Julie
Going for the Record
Leah is looking forward to a perfect senior year. She made
the regional Olympic Development Team and is a sure recruit for the best women's
college soccer programs in the country. But her life comes crashing down when
she learns that her ever-present, always-upbeat father has pancreatic cancer and
only a few months to live. From the initial denial, through the anger at life,
to the strength and support of a loving family in crisis, this book finds hope
in tragedy.
Toobin, Jeffrey
The Nine: Inside
the Secret World of the Supreme Court
This title is also available as an
audiobook.
Toobin's informative and authoritative book draws on exclusive interviews with
the justices and offers colorful anecdotes about the members of the Court. The
most important parts of the book explore Sandra Day O'Connor's critical swing
votes, Clinton's impeachment hearings, and the Court's role in Bush v. Gore.
Walls, Jeannette
The Glass Castle
This title is also available as an
audiobook.
The Glass Castle, by MSNBC contributor Jeannette Walls, is a memoir
illustrating the author's life with her deeply dysfunctional family. Her father,
when sober, taught his children to embrace life fearlessly; when he drank, he
was extremely destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of
domesticity. The Walls children learned to feed, clothe, and protect one another
as they found their way to New York while their parents chose to be homeless.
Williams, Lance and Mark Fainaru-Wada
Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, Balco, and the Steroids Scandal That Rocked
Professional Sports
This title is also available as an
audiobook.
Williams and Fainaru-Wada detail how a small nutritional supplement company, a
host of sports superstars (and superstar-wannabes), and an international web of
coaches and trainers rocked the sports world. The book explores the world of
steroids, human growth hormone, and other performance-enhancing drugs from
shadowy rumor to international conspiracy to public investigation.
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