Title: Between Shades of Gray

Author: Ruta Sepetys

Publisher: Philomel, March 2011 

Summary: This is the heart wrenching story of one family’s deportation from Lithuania to Siberia by the Soviet secret police during World War II.

Lina Vilkas is just 15 years old when the secret police burst into her Lithuanian home and take her, her mother, and younger brother Jonas away. Thrust onto a train meant for carrying livestock, Lina and her family join others from their neighborhood on a harrowing six week long trek to Siberia. Unsure of what has happened to her father but hoping they will be reunited with him soon, Lina and her family concentrate on surviving the horrific conditions they are forced to endure. A gifted artist, Lina uses her drawings to leave clues for her father as to their whereabouts, hoping against hope that he will receive her messages and find his family.

  This is more than a fictionalized account of one family’s suffering at the hands of Josef Stalin. It is a glimpse into the lesser known history of violence and genocide directed at the Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian people by the Soviet government during and after World War II. I found this to be a very moving story of family and community, and most of all hope. 

Who Might Like This?: Teens and adults interested in historical fiction.

Recommended by: Sue B, Circulation Coordinator

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Author: David Baldacci

Title: Caribou Island

Author: David Vann

Publisher: HarperCollins, January 2011

Summary: While trying to find the love that has slipped away, a couple sets out to build a cabin on Caribou Island. Irene and Gary have drifted apart over the years, both blaming the other for their unfulfilled lives. In an attempt to recapture the ideal that drew them to Alaska in the first place, Gary and Irene begin construction on an isolated, rustic cabin on Caribou Island. For Gary, this is a chance to finally live his life the way he always intended to live it. Irene sees the cabin as Gary’s way of leaving her behind, knowing full well that secluded cabin life is Gary’s dream and not hers. The cabin becomes a representation of their marriage; built without proper planning, materials, or foundation, and morphing into something uglier than either had ever envisioned. Like a psychological game of chicken, Gary and Irene forge ahead with construction, neither one wanting to be the first to give up on it or their marriage.
Caught in the middle is their adult daughter Rhoda. Watching her parents’ marriage fall apart before her eyes, Rhoda tries unsuccessfully to play peacemaker without much support from her brother or boyfriend. Rhoda’s own life seems stagnant and she must decide what kind of life she wants for herself.
Imagery abounds in this powerful novel of a husband and wife fighting the elements and each other as they speed toward ruin.

Who Might Like This?: If you are into family drama that is not your own, this is the book for you.

Recommended by: Sue B, Circulation Coordinator

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Title: Before I go to Sleep

Author: SJ Watson

Publisher: HarperCollins, June 2011

Summary: Christine is a brain trauma patient who suffers from amnesia. Each morning  she has no idea who she is, where she is, or how she got there- most days still thinking she is a 20-something. Each day, she must be reminded by her husband Ben about her life. After working closely with a young doctor, Christine feels as though she may be making progress- until she finds her own hand-written journal with the words “DO NOT TRUST BEN” written firmly on the front. As she struggles to piece together her life each day, she now must figure out whose version of her life is truth.

Before I Go to Sleep is a fast-paced psychological thriller- a great read with both depth and action. The reader is pulled in all directions as Christine questions not only everyone around her, but herself- and maybe most importantly, how she got this way. Eventually, the reader will too. Unpredictable, sensational, and emotionally charged, Watson’s debut is a sure hit.

Who will like this book?: Anyone with the slightest interest in psychology. Those who wants  a quick-paced book that you won’t be able to put down. Anyone interested in mysteries with tons of twists and turns

Recommended by: LB, Library Assistant

Review 2: I seem to be drawn to psychological thrillers and this debut novel by British writer S.J. Watson hits the mark.  We all live on our memories, happy, sad or fleeting but imagine losing them every time you went to bed.  Your name, your identity, the people you love – all forgotten in the morning.  This is what happens to Christine, a 47 year old woman who is married and has a son.

She wakes up every day with no knowledge of whom she is or who the man sleeping next to her might be. The novel follows her as she tries to reconstruct her life through a journal.  How does she remember she has a journal, her psychiatrist calls her every morning to remind her, on a phone he purchased for her. Why doesn’t her husband remind her, well, he has no knowledge of the journal or the psychiatrist?  As her journal grows, it begins to cast doubts on the truth behind her memory loss and her life.  Her husband, the only person she thinks she can trust, may not be telling her everything she needs to know.

The pacing is intense so beware; once you start this thriller it is hard to put down. If you love trying to put all the clues together and figuring out mysteries you will love this book.

Recommended by: Nancy, Deputy Town Librarian

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Title: The Diviner’s Tale

Author: Bradford Morrow

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, January 2011

Summary: Cassandra Brooks wants an interesting but ordinary life, but her gifts of divining and fore-vision are getting in the way. As a child, Cassandra was taught the art of divining by her father Nep, who was taught by his father, who was taught by his father and so on. She was soon able to divine the future as well, being able to predict future events even as a small child. The power of these visions was tragically demonstrated when her older brother, Christopher, failed to heed her warning and was killed in an accident.
As an adult, Cassandra is a part time teacher and lives a simple life with her twin boys, Morgan and Jonah. While dowsing for water for a new development, Cass discovers a young girl hanged from a tree. She must leave the area in order to call the police, who then scour the area but cannot find any trace of the girl. Cassandra’s integrity is questioned until the police find a young girl, Laura Bryant, very much alive but dazed and disheveled and living in a makeshift hovel. Credited with leading authorities to Laura, Cass regains her reputation, shaky as it was, but continues to be plagued by visions of the young girl she saw hanging in the woods. When Cassandra begins to receive threatening letters and confusing visions, she is forced to revisit an event from her childhood that she has kept hidden for years.
A different kind of ghost story, “The Diviner’s Tale” begins at a leisurely pace, allowing you to really get to know Cassandra and her family. The story gradually picks up speed until you find yourself flying through the pages to find out exactly who is haunting Cassandra. Fun read, not scary but definitely creepy.

Who Might Like This?: Readers who like a few ghosts with their mystery.

Recommended by: Sue B, Circulation Coordinator

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Title: These Things Hidden

Author: Heather Gudenkauf

Publisher: Mira, January 2011

Summary: Though Allison Glenn’s parents considered her their golden child, they soon learned that no one is perfect. Allison deviated from the plan-she fell in love, had a secret affair, and started to enjoy life-until her grades slipped and her parents stepped up the pressure. That was six years ago. Nine months after ending that affair and hiding her pregnancy, Allison was accused and convicted of drowning her newborn daughter. Allison has spent the last five years paying for that crime in Cravenville prison. Released early for good behavior, Allison is now 21 years old, living in a halfway house, and working part time at Bookends, a local bookstore owned by Claire and Jonathan Kelby. It is clear to Allison that her parents want nothing to do with her; her younger sister Brynn isn’t taking her calls either. Brynn just wants to forget that awful night when she helped her sister give birth on the bedroom floor. She thinks of that baby all the time-being taken away by the swift current of the Druid River.
Twenty one year old Charm Tullia is a nursing student who frequents the Kelby’s bookstore. She has been taking care of her beloved stepfather, Gus, who is dying of cancer. Claire sees how difficult it is for Charm and the two have become friends over the past few years. Charm always asks about the Kelby’s five year old adopted son Joshua when she visits the store. As an infant, Joshua had been abandoned at a local fire station under the “Safe Haven” law and Claire and Jonathan adopted him soon after. Charm has a special interest in Joshua that the Kelby’s don’t know about.
This is a cautionary tale of the danger that comes with expecting perfection, from yourself or others, and leaving no room for failure. It is a riveting and fast paced story in which the greatest parental love has nothing to do with biology (the biological parents here leave much to be desired), but with the character and heart of the people who step in to take over where others have failed.

Who Might Like This?: If you like characters that stay with you after you’ve finished the book, and if you liked Heather’s last novel “The Weight of Silence”, I think you’ll like this one as well.

Recommended by: Sue B, Circulation Coordinator

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Title: The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey

Author: Walter Mosley

Publisher: Riverhead Books/Penguin Audio, 2010

 Summary: Ninety-one-year-old Ptolemy Grey is struggling putting his thoughts into words, functioning in daily life, and remembering his past. He knows that he has something to offer his family, if only he can recall what needs to be done. After his great-nephew Reggie, the only one who looked after him dies from a drive-by shooting, Ptolemy spirals further downward. He meets Robyn, a seventeen-year-old family friend (more mature than her years) who not only cleans up his cluttered house and takes care of Ptolemy, but provides light in his tunnel of darkness. Unsure of her agenda at first, she proves more trustworthy than his family. Their bond is that of two lost souls that have found each other. After Ptolemy makes a deal with the Devil (a doctor who supplies him with experimental medicine that helps him regain his memory in exchange for his life), he starts to resemble the man he used to be. Ptolemy has always lived his life through the words and advice of his deceased childhood friend and mentor Coydog; their times together now become more vivid. We see how friendship, love, family, race, and aging affected his life. By stirring up many painful memories, Ptolemy starts reconnecting pieces of his past to the tasks he needs to fulfill. There were moments in Ptolemy’s life when he regretted that he did not do something else, but in the end, he was able to take matters into his own hands. For those who enjoy audiobooks, Dominic Hoffman lends a strong voice to this story.

 Recommended by: Sharyn, Circulation

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Title: Night Road 

Author: Kristin Hannah

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, March 2011

 Summary:As a self-described helicopter mom, Jude is involved in every aspect of her children’s lives. Her husband Miles, and twins Mia and Zach would say she is too involved. Jude is especially concerned with Mia and her inability to make friends and fit in with her classmates. Popularity comes easily for Zach, however, which makes Mia feel even worse about herself. On the first day of school at Pine Island High, Mia finally makes a friend. Lexi is a new student and struggling with problems of her own when the two girls meet. Although Mia warns it will be “social suicide” for Lexi if she were to be seen with Mia, Lexi disregards the warning and the two become best friends. Lexi is welcomed into the Farraday family by Jude who sees the wonderful changes in Mia since she and Lexi became friends. As Mia, Zach, and Lexi go through high school, Jude wonders what she’ll do with herself once the twins go off to college. She has been so wrapped up in the lives of her children that she has forgotten who she is. When an unthinkable tragedy occurs, Jude’s love for her children and her ability to separate herself from their lives is put to the test.

  Gripping and realistic, this novel was hard to put down. It is fast paced and well written and will resonate with adults and teen alike. Kristin Hannah is a fantastic story teller.

Who would like this book: Fans of Kristin Hannah; anyone who likes fiction with great characters. Teen and adults will enjoy this.

 Recommended by: Sue B, circulation coordinator

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Title: Pretty Little Things

Author: Jilliane Hoffman

Publisher: Vanguard Press, September 2010

Summary: Author Jilliane Hoffman does it again with her newest thriller “Pretty Little Things”.

When 13 year old Lainey Emerson fails to return home from a sleepover, the police are called in. Detectives wonder why Lainey’s mother waited 2 days to call, and why she doesn’t remember the name of the friend Lainey was supposed to be with. FDLE special agent Bobby Dees, however, has seen this kind of neglect too many times before. Parents too busy or self-absorbed to give their children the attention and supervision they need. Many times these children run away; some are “thrown away”. As head of the Crimes Against Children Squad for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Bobby has developed a talent for finding these missing children and bringing them home. This talent has earned him the nickname The Shepherd among his colleagues. It is a nickname that has made him bristle since his own daughter went missing several months ago.

Bobby’s investigation into Lainey’s disappearance leads him to believe that she is the victim of an online predator. When a local television reporter claims that he has proof of several similar disappearances that the police have written off as runaways, Bobby fears that a serial killer could be at work, preying on these vulnerable children.

This is a thriller from first page to last. Making it even more chilling is the realization that the events portrayed in this novel could very well happen for real.

 Who will like this book: Readers of thrillers and suspense, and anyone who has enjoyed Jilliane Hoffman’s previous novels.

 Recommended by: Sue B, circulation coordinator

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Title: A Friend of the Family

Author:  Lauren Grodstein

Publisher: Algonquin Books, November 2009

Summary:  Dr. Peter Dizinoff seemingly has everything anyone could hope for.  He has a successful practice, a beautiful, loving wife and an adopted son who he adores.  Peter is devoted to his son Alec, now 20 years old, and has pinned all his hopes and dreams on his son’s future.  Unfortunately, Alec drops out of college after just 3 semesters and moves into an apartment above his parents’ garage hoping to pursue his passion which is art.  

The drama starts when Alec becomes infatuated with the older daughter of his father’s best friend.  The problem is, when Laura Stern was a teenager, she was accused of murdering her newborn baby upon birth.  

Peter Dizinoff becomes so distracted with his son’s relationship with Laura that his personal life, as well as his practice, begin to spin out of control. 

 This is a compelling story which shows how far a parent will go to protect his child.  But…Dr. Peter Dizinoff suffers the consequences in the end.

Recommended by: Beverly, Circulation Coordinator

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