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: 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: One Good Dog

Author:  Susan Wilson

Publisher:  St. Martin’s Press, March 2010                       

Summary: “One Good Dog” is One Good Book!! If you enjoyed “Racing in the Rain” by Garth Stein, then you will really enjoy this book. The story begins with Adam. Adam is a very rich and powerful executive that has it all, including 3 houses and a beautiful wife and daughter.  Adam is not a very nice man to the people that work for him or those that he feels are beneath him. One day he receives a message from his assistant Sophie to call his sister.  Unbeknownst to his staff, Adam’s sister has been missing for years. When he tries to ask her about the message, Sophie ignores him which sends Adam into such a rage that he strikes her. He is then escorted out of the building and fired.  Adam’s court appointed punishment is a year of community service at a men’s homeless shelter.  He is appalled to have to do this!! It only gets worse from there, as his wife divorces him and his daughter refuses to have anything to do with him.

On the other end of town, there is a group of boys who organize illegal dog fights in the basement of their house. This were we first meet Chance. Chance tells his story about life as a fighting dog confined in a cage in a cold dark cellar, only to be let out to fight to the death. This is all he knows. When police raid the house and all the dogs are taken, Chance gets away for a little while only to be caught again and taken to a shelter and caged again. At least the shelter is warm and light, but fighting dogs are rarely adopted and most are eventually put to sleep        

As time goes on Adam starts to enjoy going to the homeless shelter every day and begins to realize that all people deserve to be treated with respect. He befriends one man named Jupe who owns a dog named Benny. One day Jupe is taken to the hospital and Benny goes to the animal shelter, where he meets Chance. Benny becomes Chance’s mentor. When Adam visits Jupe in the hospital all the man cares about is his dog. He asks Adam to find Benny and take care of him until he gets out of the hospital. Adam’s visit to the animal shelter leads him to the dog he names Chance. He and Chance become the best of friends and Chance eventually helps Adam come to terms with his difficult childhood-they are both fighters who have had to overcome tragedy and abandonment in their lives. Even if you are not an animal lover, you will enjoy this book. “One Good Dog” depicts the lives of two fighters, one human and one dog, and the challenges they are forced to overcome to live better lives.

 Recommended by: Virginia, circulation assistant

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The White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America’s Deadliest Avalanche

Author: Gary Krist

Publisher: Henry Holt, 2008

Summary: It never occurred to me to read this fascinating book until I met the author. In 1910, in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State, two Great Northern Railway trains, one carrying mail and one carrying passengers, became trapped in a blizzard never before seen in these mountains. Parked precariously between a mountainside and a steep ravine and under constant threat of avalanches, the terrified passengers watched as 30 feet of snow fell burying the trains in drifts. Despite desperate attempts to clear the tracks of snow slides, no help arrived in time. After nearly a week, on March 1 at 1am, while most passengers and railroad employees slept, an avalanche swept nearly 100 of them to their deaths. Gary Krist, a historian, meticulously researched the tragedy through telegrams, journals, letters, and court records. He intersperses the personal stories with details of snow clearing capabilities in those days and railroad history. Even though, we know the outcome from the beginning, the personal stories and the monumental attempts at rescue held my interest throughout.

 If you like this, try this: Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson 

Recommended by: Paula, Reference Librarian

Title: Room

Author:  Emma Donoghue

Publisher:  Little, Brown and Company, September 2010

Summary:  This is a raw, astonishing story of a boy and his mother who live as prisoners in a single, small room. It may be a reminder of headline grabbing kidnapping cases, but as narrated by the child, it is a testament to a mother’s love and resiliency. Sometimes very disturbing, the horror is darkly beautiful as Ma creates a life for her son. Jack’s innocence and curiosity builds as Ma’s desperation forces them both to confront a certain reality. Very inventive and poignant, Jack is so endearing, that his voice will stay with you for a long time.

 Recommended by : Cindy B., Children’s Department

Title: Intimacy After Breast Cancer: Dealing with Your Body, Relationships and Sex

Author:  Gina M. Maisano

Publisher: Square One Publishers, May 2010

Summary: This book is misnamed – more appropriately it is about LIFE after breast cancer.  You finish all your surgeries and treatments and then the doctors leave you alone – very alone.  Ms Maisano is a two-time breast cancer survivor who is wonderfully upbeat about telling other survivors to LIVE their lives, not to remain in “cancerland”.  She offers tips on lymphedema, skin care, dealing with side effects of various medications, adjusting to the physical new ‘you’, and how to prepare yourself physically and emotionally for intimacy.

Recommended by: Lauren, Reference Dept.

Title: The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride

Author:  Daniel James Brown

Publisher: William Morrow, April 2009

Summary:    Upon hearing the words “Donner Party,”  it’s likely that most people remember the most sordid and sensational details of this tragedy. This new account of the Donner party tries to bring the reader past the taboo subject of cannibalism that has been associated with this ill-fated journey for so long. Yes, the facts remain the same, but our interpretation and understanding will be changed by reading this book. The author has gone to great lengths to shine a new light on the emigrants and their reasons for making certain decisions. He focuses his attention on one member of the party, Sarah Graves Fosdick, recently married and traveling with her family and new husband.

 Using our current knowledge of the physical and psychological effects of trauma, Daniel Brown has set out to answer many of the questions surrounding the Donner Party tragedy. For example, why did the single men in the group fare so much worse than people traveling with their families? Why did the emigrants suffer the effects of starvation so quickly? In our recent past we have seen protesters on hunger strikes that lasted weeks longer without food than did Sarah and her companions. What psychological effects did the survivors suffer as a result of being on the brink of death for so long? Brown helps us to understand why certain choices were made and the impact these choices had on everyone involved. Imagine being on a camping trip without a tent, lantern, flashlight, stove, bug repellent, sleeping bag, toiletries, or any other amenity. Imagine you cannot bathe, brush your teeth, or wash you clothes and bedding for several months. Now imagine you are surrounded by mountains and several feet of snow and are surviving on leather shoe straps and boiled bones as your only source of food. It’s unfathomable to me. It’s no surprise to find that the Donner party’s fate was sealed by a man so greedy he was willing to divert these poor people from their original trail to Oregon to an uncharted (unbeknownst to them) path across a treacherous mountain range to his fledgling town in California. This is not a dry historical account but a moving and informative tale about brave Americans and their search for a better life.

Who will like this book?: Readers who like American history and adventure stories.

Recommended by: Sue, Circulation Coordinator

Title: The Survivor’s Club: The Secrets and Science That Could Save Your Life

Author: Ben Sherwood

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, January 2009

Summary: Ben Sherwood, a fiction author (The Man Who Ate the 747) hits a home run with this piece of general non-fiction. He asks a very simple, engrossing question: Who survives when the unthinkable occurs? When you fall off a cruise ship in shark infested waters or your plane crashes and goes on fire? When a jar of acid is dropped on your head or a knitting needle gets lodged in your heart? When a mountain lion attacks or you contract a flesh-eating virus?  Why do some people survive (and thrive) when most others would succumb?

Sherwood spends equal time discussing the science of these scenarios with experts and talking with the unforgettable survivors themselves. It is a fast-paced read suitable for everybody, and is a book you will likely want to own. Or at least, take notes on!

Who will like this book?: It’s hard to think of who wouldn’t like this book – but it is especially good for fans of survival stories and people who like to be really, really prepared for everything.

If you like this, try this: Just in Case: How to be Self-Sufficient When the Unexpected Happens by Kathy Harrison. Brain Rules by John Medina.

Recommended by: Nicole, Teen Librarian

Title:   A Pearl in the Storm: How I Found My Heart in the Middle of the Ocean

Author:   Tori Murden McClure

Publisher: Harper Collins, April 2009

Summary:  Sometimes when you start a book by a new author it is important to give the story a chance to win you over. This is one of those books.   I picked up this book because I had done some rowing in a former life. I also am fascinated by the idea of people doing extraordinary physical things that most armchair  “explorers”  can only dream of. 

And true to form there are plenty of exciting moments where the reader holds their breath and cheers Tori on through some horrible storms including a hurricane. However, the most appealing quality of this book is the realistic way Tori reveals her story while she reflects upon the pivotal moments and people of her life as she rows across the Atlantic Ocean.  Each life is unique and Tori’s tale does not disappoint.  Her physical prowess is impressive to be sure however her humanity is even more so. She invites the reader to share her zig-zag road to contentment, or maybe even happiness. 

Who will like this book:   Anyone who enjoys an adventure, a tale of extreme physical challenge or perhaps someone who is at a crossroads in their life.

If you like this, try this:  Books by Bruce Chatwin and Paul Theroux.

Recommended by:  Karen, Deputy Town Librarian