STAFF PICKS -- THE SCIENCE OF SKINNY

Diana's staff pick is The Science of Skinny: Start Understanding Your Body's Chemistry--and Stop Dieting Forever, by Dee McCaffrey

About the book:
The Science of Skinny aims to educate and enlighten readers on the value of proper nutrition so that they can find a healthier and more life-affirming relationship with their bodies and the food they eat. Offering serial dieters a healthy and lifelong way to shed pounds--and keep them off-- The Science of Skinny includes: kick-start plans; guidelines for family and kid-friendly meals; quick and delicious menus and more than 50 recipes; shopping lists and eating-on-the-go tips; easy fitness routines; and more. (from Goodreads)

Diana says:  This is a must-read book for anyone who wants to know what to put in your mouth and what not to put there.

PATRON PICKS -- CITY OF WOMEN

Louise's pick is City of Women, by David R. Gillham

About the book:

It is 1943—the height of the Second World War. With the men away at the front, Berlin has become a city of women.

On the surface, Sigrid Schröder is the model German soldier’s wife: She goes to work every day, does as much with her rations as she can, and dutifully cares for her meddling mother-in-law, all the while ignoring the horrific immoralities of the regime.

But behind this façade is an entirely different Sigrid, a woman of passion who dreams of her former Jewish lover, now lost in the chaos of the war. But Sigrid is not the only one with secrets—she soon finds herself caught between what is right and what is wrong, and what falls somewhere in the shadows between the two...

Louise says:  This novel was set in WWII era Berlin and focused on the experiences of women involved in hiding Jews from the Gestapo.  It was an extremely engrossing and thought-provoking read.  I loved it.

STAFF PICKS -- A WALK ACROSS THE SUN

Diana's staff pick is A Walk Across the Sun, by Corban Addison

About the book:

When a tsunami rages through their coastal town in India, 17-year-old Ahalya Ghai and her 15-year-old sister Sita are left orphaned and homeless.  With almost everyone they know suddenly erased from the face of the earth, the girls set out for the convent where they attend school.  They are abducted almost immediately and sold to a Mumbai brothel owner, beginning a hellish descent into the bowels of the sex trade.

Halfway across the world, Washington DC attorney Thomas Clarke faces his own personal and professional crisis--and makes the fateful decision to pursue a pro bono sabbatical working in India for an NGO that prosecutes the subcontinent's human traffickers.  There, his conscience awakens as he sees firsthand the horrors of the trade in human flesh, and the corrupt judicial system that fosters it.  Learning of the fate of Ahalya and Sita, Clarke makes it his personal mission to rescue them, setting the stage for a riveting showdown with an international network of ruthless criminals. (Goodreads)

Diana says:  This book was Gripping, Exciting, a Page Turner.  Once you start reading this book, you can't put it down until the end when you finally know what happens.  So scary and sad to think that the things that happen to the main characters are probably taking place right now across the globe.  Horrific, yet riveting story.

STAFF PICKS -- ENCHANTED, BY ALETHEA KONTIS

Karyn's pick is Enchanted, by Alethea Kontis...

About the book:

It isn't easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week.  Sunday's only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true.

When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends.  Soon that friendship deepens into something magical.  One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown price of Arilland -- and a man Sunday's family despises.

The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was.  But Sunday is not so easy to woo.  How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction for this prince she barely knows?  And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past -- and hers?

Karyn says:  A magical blending of all your favorite fairy tales into one story.  Full of interesting characters and lush settings.  This award-winning novel will have you up late to finish it. (A Young Adult novel.)

PATRON PICKS -- SOME KIND OF PEACE

Corrie's pick is Some Kind of Peace, by Camilla Grebe & Asa Traff

About the book:
34-year-old psychotherapist Siri Bergman is terrified of the dark.  Living alone in a picturesque, but isolated area east of Stockholm, she has tried hard to convince herself that she has moved on since her husband Stefan, died in a diving accident several years ago.  But when she goes to bed, Siri leaves all the lights on, unable to shake the feeling that someone is watching her at night.

So when one night she wakes up to find that the house is pitch black, and the flashlight she keeps by her bed for back-up is not where she thought she'd left it, it seems that Siri's worst fears have been realized.

And when the lifeless body of Sara Matteus, one of her patients, is found floating in the water near Siri's house, events quickly spiral.  It is clear that Siri is in great danger, and she is thrown headlong into the center of a murder investigation which will put each of her closest friends under the spotlight.  With suspense building toward a dramatic conclusion, Siri is forced to relive her troubled past, and finally achieve some kind of peace.

Corrie says:  Very well-written storyline that I couldn't wait to read every night!