STAFF PICKS--Fall On Your Knees

Carol's Pick:  Fall on Your Knees, by Ann-Marie MacDonald

Synopsis: 

They are the Pipers of Cape Breton Island -- a family steeped in lies and unspoken truths that reach out from the past, forever mindful of the tragic secret that could shatter the family to its foundations.

Chronicling five generations of this eccentric clan, Fall On Your Knees follows four remarkable sisters whose lives are filled with driving ambition, inescapable family bonds, and forbidden love. Their experiences will take them from their stormswept homeland, across the battlefields of World War I, to the freedom and independence of Jazz-era New York City.
 
Compellingly written, running the literary gamut from menacingly dark to hilariously funny, this is an epic saga of one family's trials and triumphs in a world of sin, guilt, and redemption.

Carol says:  This book was a wonderful commentary on how a really dysfunctional family can come together to create a real family despite themselves.  Full of mystery and surprises.

PATRON PICKS--The American Heiress

Noel's Pick:  The American Heiress, by Daisy Goodwin

Synopsis:  Traveling abroad with her mother at the turn of the twentieth century to seek a titled husband, beautiful, vivacious Cora Cash, whose family mansion in Newport dwarfs the Vanderbilts’, suddenly finds herself Duchess of Wareham, married to Ivo, the most eligible bachelor in England. Nothing is quite as it seems, however: Ivo is withdrawn and secretive, and the English social scene is full of traps and betrayals. Money, Cora soon learns, cannot buy everything, as she must decide what is truly worth the price in her life and her marriage.

Noel says:  It gave an inside view of the customs and culture of the wealthy in America and in England at the turn of the century.  Lots of strong characters and plot twists.

PATRON PICKS--by the Kids!

Jordyn's Pick:  Tango, The Tale of an Island Dog, by Eileen Beha

Jordyn says:  It was exciting!

Chris' Pick:  Horowitz Horror, by Anthony Horowitz

Chris says:  Awesome!

Jessica's Pick:  Unfriendly Competition, by Jessica Burkhart

Jessica says:  It's for horse lovers!

READ ANY GOOD BOOKS THIS SUMMER?

What's your favorite book so far this summer?

If you'd like to recommend a book, please use the comment box below.  Be sure to include the title & author and tell us why you liked it. 

Thanks!

STAFF PICKS--Sarah's Key

Valerie's Pick:  Sarah's Key, by Tatiana de Rosnay

The story travels from modern Paris to the 1942 Paris roundups and deportations of Jews.  Julia, an American married to a haughty Frenchman, is drawn to the story of Sarah, the only member of one particular family to survive.  It beautifully conveys Julia's conflicting loyalties, and makes Sarah's trials so riveting, her innocence so absorbing, that the book is hard to put down.

STAFF PICKS--A Discovery of Witches

Elizabeth's Pick:  A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness

Synopsis:

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism.

Elizabeth says:  A fun summer read.  First of a trilogy.

PATRON PICKS--Of Flesh and Blood

Cheryl's Pick:  Of Flesh and Blood, by Daniel Kalla

Synopsis:
A hundred years ago, Dr. Evan McGrath realized his dream of establishing a hospital in the Pacific Northwest, a hospital that would never turn away a patient in need. But the personal cost was steep: Evan lost the love of his life while making a powerful enemy of the hospital’s financier, Marshall Alfredson.

Today, the Alfredson Medical Center is internationally renowned for its care. The two founding families remain faithful to Evan’s vision, but their history is clouded by forbidden love, conflict, and betrayal. Crisis is besieging the Alfredson. A decision by Dr. Tyler McGrath, a child cancer specialist, leaves a young patient’s family shattered. Dr. Jill Laidlaw, Tyler’s wife, is a researcher poised to offer fresh hope to multiple sclerosis victims—including a former presidential frontrunner—until rumors of research fraud endanger her career. And in the face of temptation and career demands, Tyler and Jill are drifting apart.

Devastating family secrets, doomed relationships, and present-day medical disasters threaten not only the Alfredsons and McGraths but the legendary hospital itself.

Cheryl says:  The author has combined a view of medical history with current day problems facing patients and caregivers to create a page turner.