STAFF PICKS: Compulsion

Karyn's pick:  Compulsion, by Heidi Ayarbe (YA)

Synopsis:

Today has to be perfect.
Magic.
I look at the clock.
10:14 am.
Ten fourteen. One plus one is two plus four is six plus ten is sixteen minus one is fifteen minus two is thirteen. OK.
I turn from the clock and walk into the hallway. "Ready.”

Saturday will be the third state soccer champion­ship in a row for Jake Martin. Three. A good number. Prime. With Jake on the field, Carson City High can't lose because Jake has the magic: a self-created protection generated by his obsession with prime numbers. It's the magic that has every top soccer university recruiting Jake, the magic that keeps his family safe, and the magic that suppresses his anxiety attacks. But the magic is Jake's prison, because sustaining it means his compulsions take over nearly every aspect of his life.

Jake's convinced the magic will be permanent after Saturday, the perfect day, when every prime has converged. Once the game is over, he won't have to rely on his sister to concoct excuses for his odd rituals. His dad will stop treating him like he is some freak. Maybe he'll even make a friend other than Luc.

But what if the magic doesn't stay?

What if the numbers never leave?

Acclaimed author Heidi Ayarbe has created an honest and riveting portrait of a teen struggling with obsessive compulsive disorder in this breathtaking and courageous novel.

Karyn says:  Reading this book was almost (not really!) as frustrating as it would be to live with OCD.  However, it is a very realistic look at this disorder that many people live with.

STAFF PICKS--Skulduggery Pleasant

Karyn's Pick:  Skulduggery Pleasant, by Derek Landy (YA)

Synopsis:

Meet Skulduggery Pleasant, Ace Detective Snappy Dresser Razor–tongued Wit Crackerjack Sorcerer and Walking, Talking, Fire-throwing Skeleton—as well as ally, protector, and mentor of Stephanie Edgley, a very unusual and darkly talented twelve-year-old. These two alone must defeat an all-consuming ancient evil. The end of the world?

Over his dead body.

Karyn says:  Action-packed and full of magic, not to mention a walking, talking, fireball-throwing skeleton!  Audio book especially recommended--narrator is great!

What are you reading this weekend?

Here's what some of the Durham Library staff are reading...

Valerie:  Lost in Shangri-La (by Mitchell Zuckoff) and Look at Me (by Jennifer Eagan)

Cyndi:  The Eyre Affair (by Jasper Fforde), The Lock Artist (by Steve Hamilton), Artists in Crime (by Ngaio Marsh), and Big Dig (by Linda Barnes)

Carol:  Teach Us to Sit Still (by Tim Parks)

Karyn:  Teen, Inc. (by Stefan Petrucha)

Diana:  Fall of Giants (by Ken Follet) and The View from Saturday (by E. L. Konigsburg)

Jane:  Pompeii (by Robert Harris) and The Last Days of Pompeii (by Edward Bulwer-Lytton)

Patti:  Lake of Sorrows (by Erin Hart) and The Help (by Kathryn Stockett)

Zack (our Teen worker):  Twilight (by Stephenie Meyer)

What's on your reading list for the weekend?
Happy Reading!

PATRON PICKS--The Informationist

Patty's pick:  The Informationist, by Taylor Stevens

Synopsis:
Vanessa “Michael” Munroe deals in information—expensive information—working for corporations, heads of state, private clients, and anyone else who can pay for her unique brand of expertise. Born to missionary parents in lawless central Africa, Munroe took up with an infamous gunrunner and his mercenary crew when she was just fourteen. As his protégé, she earned the respect of the jungle's most dangerous men, cultivating her own reputation for years until something sent her running. After almost a decade building a new life and lucrative career from her home base in Dallas, she's never looked back.
Until now.

A Texas oil billionaire has hired her to find his daughter who vanished in Africa four years ago. It’s not her usual line of work, but she can’t resist the challenge. Pulled deep into the mystery of the missing girl, Munroe finds herself back in the lands of her childhood, betrayed, cut off from civilization, and left for dead. If she has any hope of escaping the jungle and the demons that drive her, she must come face-to-face with the past that she’s tried for so long to forget.

Patty says:  Exciting--as good as Stieg Larsson!  A fantastic first novel.

STAFF PICKS: The Fox Inheritance

Patti's pick:  The Fox Inheritance, by Mary E. Pearson (YA)

From the book cover:  They say time heals all wounds, but they're wrong.  After a terrible accident destroyed their bodies, the minds of three best friends were kept alive, spinning in a digital netherworld.  Even in that disembodied nightmare, they were still together.  At least at first.  When Jenna disappeared, Locke and Kara had to go on without her.  Decades passed, and then centuries.

Two hundred and sixty years later, they have been released at last.  Given new, perfect bodies, Locke and Kara awaken to a world they know nothing about, where everyone they once knew and loved is long dead.  Everyone...except Jenna Fox.

Patti says:  I loved it!  I was very fortunate to receive an advance copy of The Fox Inheritance.  Its release day is August 30th, but I'm glad I didn't have to wait that long to read it.  I enjoyed the first book in the series, The Adoration of Jenna Fox, so I was interested to find out what happened next in the story.  It picks up 260 years later and is told from the point of view of Locke, one of Jenna's friends. 

The Fox Inheritance is a wonderful blend of mystery, suspense, sci fi, and character development.  I think you could read it without reading Jenna first, but I think you'll enjoy the story more if you read the books in order.

These books are for young adults, but adults will enjoy them, too.  I've also read another book by Mary Pearson, The Miles Between, which is a great story about four teens who leave their boarding school to go on a road trip in search of "one fair day."  Another must-read!

STAFF PICKS--Blind Hope

Valerie's pick is Blind Hope:  An Unwanted Dog and the Woman She Rescued,  by Kim Meeder

Blind Hope, tells the story of Laurie Sacher, who works at a ranch where wounded horses and broken kids are brought together to heal. But Sacher is in need of healing herself. In an attempt to soothe her aching soul, Laurie reached out to save a dog in need. She names the blind, ailing, but courageous dog Mia. Fundamentally this is a love story between Sacher and Mia as human and dog grew to trust one another one day, one bump, and one bruise at a time. ‘My dog is blind… and now I see’ is Laurie’s description of the relationship, which gave her what she needed most: authentic love, unconditional trust, and true acceptance, faults and all. Author Meeder, who operates the ranch, relates this tale without false or sappy sentiment. A book to delight animal lovers, people of faith and all seekers of inspiration.

STAFF PICKS: Where the God of Love Hangs Out

Valerie's Pick:  Where the God of Love Hangs Out, by Amy Bloom

Bloom's latest collection looks at love in many forms through a keenly perceptive lens.  Two sets of stories that read much like novellas form the book's soul; each explores the complicated nature of love, compromise and acceptance, which often comes too late.