The Girl Who Fell from the Sky

Heidi Durow's book is a story of despair and hope. It is the story of a 14 year old girl in the 1980s trying to figure out who she is and what she is. Rachel, the daughter of a black serviceman and a Dutch mother, lives in Chicago with her mother. After her mother's and sibling's shocking death, Rachel moves to Portland OR to live with her black paternal grandmother. Race now becomes apparent to her. "I learn that black people don't have blue eyes. I learn that I am black. I have blue eyes". The story progress as Rachel matures and grapples with the question "What are you? while at the same time Durrow gradually reveals what really happened to Rachel's mother and siblings on the rooftop.

I really enjoyed the fact that most of the story takes place in Portland, naming familiar sites like Laurelhurst and Oaks Park.

Reveiw by Denise R

This book can be found at http://www.newberglibrary.org/

Outlander

Gil Adamson's first novel is the story of outcasts. The story takes place in 1903 when Mary Boulton, at 19, is fleeing from the twin brothers of her husband who she has just murdered. She runs to the mountains, responding to little more than a primitive instinct to survive at any cost. Retreating ever deeper into the wilderness she meets up with other "outcasts" who have found life in the wild. An absorbing tale of betrayal and honor.

This revew by Denise R

This book can be found at our web page http://www.newberglibrary.org/

Moonlight Mile

In Moonlight Mile, Dennis Lehane brings back the detective team of Angie Gennaro and Patrick Kenzie after twelve long years away from the series. While revisiting the people and consequences from the previous book Gone Baby Gone, Angie and Patrick are dragged into the violent world of the Russian mob. This is one of my all time favorite series and I’m glad Lehane has returned to it after writing four other books including Mystic River and Shutter Island.

Also Lehane himself praised Nic Pizzolatto’s Galveston by calling it “the coolest noir I’ve read in a decade.” It doesn’t get much better than that.

This review written by Jean S.

These books can be found at our web page (http://www.newberglibrary.org/)

The Hundred-Foot Journey

Fantastic food which is lovingly described in faraway locations by Richard C Moralis drew me into this book. Narrator Hassan Haji has a rare culinary gift evident from childhood. He and his colorful Muslim family are driven from Bombay, to London, to the French Alps, where they run afoul of their neighbor, the famous chef Madame Mallory. The “hundred-foot journey” refers to the cultural gulf between his family’s Indian restaurant and Mallory’s Michelin-starred restaurant across the street where Hassan is eventually apprenticed. Warm hearted and funny, this is a light look at the Paris restaurant scene and the first novel by journalist Morais.

Review written by Jean S

This book can be found at our web site: http://www.newberglibrary.org/

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Two and a half years after it was first published in the U.S., the audience for "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson continues to grow. The book’s popularity is partly due to the release of the movie, but the combined force of the three novels in the trilogy has people talking. (The three books were published posthumously, following Larsson’s death in 2005.)

Lisbeth Salander is a brilliant social-misfit computer-hacker. She’s been abused by individuals, as well the system, yet is anything but a victim. Mikael Blomkvist is a disgraced journalist, hired to investigate the disappearance of a girl 40 years in the past. Although the two characters spend very little time in the same place at the same time, and often have different objectives, they make a formidable team, whether battling serial killers or government corruption.

The first book stands alone, but it also sets the stage for the complex and satisfying books that follow, "The Girl who Played with Fire" and "The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest".

This reveiw by Jean S

This book can be found at www.newberglibrary.org

Cutting for Stone

Abraham Verghese's book takes place in Ethiopia, a country of intrigue, beauty and coups. The story is told in the voice of Marion, one of the twin boys born to an unlikely couple in a mission hospital. The twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution. But it is the love of a woman that forces Marion to leave his home country and go to America. When the past catches up with him, he must entrust his life to the two men he thought he trusted the least in the world. This is an unforgettable journey into one man's remarkable life and an epic story about power, intimacy and the beauty of the work of healing others.

Reveiw by Denise R

This book can be found in our catalog at www.newberglibrary.org

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

In Jamie Ford's debut novel, we meet Henry Lee shortly after his wife's death. As he walks past Seattle's famous "Panama Hotel" ,which is being refurbished , he spots a Japanese parasol. Could it belong to Keiko ? The book then flips back forty years earlier where Henry, of Chinese heritage and Keiko, of Japanese heritage become close friends as the two foreign students in the all white school. World War II is in full swing and soon the government rounds up all the Japanese, sending them to internment camps.

As the story unfolds, the reader, Henry's son and Henry himself learn about what made him the man he is today. Henry's father and mother, Keiko and her family, his friend Sheldon, the black saxophonist, and the decisions Henry had to make; all determining his character. Sometimes decisions can be bitter sweet.

Reveiw written by Denise R

This book can be found at http://www.newberglibrary.org/

The Cradle by Patrick Somerville

At the start of The Cradle, Matt’s wife sends him to find the long lost antique cradle that she slept in as a baby. This turns into a quest that requires Matt to be brave, true and honest as he performs tasks along the way. We learn a lot about Matt and his past as he rises to each challenge.

The story takes place about eight years ago. In addition, another story set today is interwoven throughout the book. By the end of the book the two stories come together in a satisfying way.

I really enjoyed this first novel by Patrick Somerville. I highly recommend it to people who liked "Love Walked In" by Marisa de los Santos.

Review by Jean S

This book can be found at our website: http://www.newberglibrary.org/

Born to Run

Journalist and avid runner, Christopher McDougall, writes about the bare foot running tribe located in Chihuahua, Mexico. The Tarahumara are legendary for their ability to run extreme distances in inhospitable conditions without breaking a sweat or getting injured. They would be considered among the elite runners of the developed world even though their society and technology are 500 years behind it. McDougall has managed to take a nonfiction subject and energize it with situations which may fool the reader into thinking this is fiction. "Born to Run" is a story of sport, an allegory of cross-cultural understanding and a catalogue of philosophies of living.

Flygirl (a young adult book)

WWII was in full swing & women were desperately needed to fill formerly "men only" jobs. The Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) were formed to fill the void of men male flyers who had been drafted and sent overseas. Flygirl, by Sherrie L Smith, tells the story of Ida Mae Jones a young African American lady who wants to be more than another housemaid. Ida Mae's father taught her to fly before he passed away, so she applies for the white only WASP organization and because she was light skinned "passes". ("Passing" was a term for African Americans who lived as if they were white, often forsaking their friends and family. ) Ida Mae studies hard and overcomes many obstacles. She makes new friends and loses some along the way. This is an excellent read for anyone wishing to learn more about the WASP. I am an afficionado of World War II, but I still learned several new things about the WASP that I hadn't known!

This review is by Lori B.

This book can be found in our catalog: http://www.newberglibrary.org/

Wild Ride

This book, co-authored by Jennifer Cruise and Bob Mayer is so much fun. I like scary stories that don't take themselves too seriously and Wild Ride is certainly in that category. Mab Brannigan is restoring Dreamland when she discovers that it is much more than a theme park- it is a prison for five ancient demons secured by The Gaurdia, a motley human crew with a few supernatural tricks up their sleeves. Soon Mab becomes entwined in the inner-workings of the park and restoring the park may just become her last job.This rollicking adventure is full of chaos, humor, sarcasm and steamy romance. A perfect read for taking a break from reality.

Review by Korie B

This book can be found at our web: www.newberglibrary.org

A Thousand Cuts

This novel by Simon Lelic, is very well done, but there's no one I can recommend it to because it's so upsetting. It opens after a school shooting at a secondary school in England that left two students and a teacher dead, as well as the shooter. Every other chapter is a different monologue from a different speaker talking to Detective Inspector Lucia May about some aspect of the tragedy. The alternate chapters portray what is happening in May's life as she pieces together what led to the shooting. May's own life parallels the shooter's as she is bullied unmercifully in her workplace as the shooter was in his. This is Lelic's first novel and he does a great job. The different characters speak in different voices and are quickly and compellingly fleshed out. I will definitely be on the lookout for his next book.

Book reveiw by Jean

This book can be found at www.newberglibrary.org

The Swan Thieves

If you loved The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, you might enjoy The Swan Thieves. Like her first novel, Kostova’s second book is big, dense, and character-driven. It alternates between the present and the past with alternating narrators converging into a single mystery. Somehow I found the story of Dracula more believable and compelling than the story of an obsessed psychiatrist. Though rather long I did think The Swan Thieves was fun to read.

Reviewed by Jean

Another reviewer writes:

Though starting slow, The Swan Thieves is a wild exploration of the artist's universe, a journey deep into the heart of French Impressionism. The book crosses centuries & countries in its attempt to solve a present day mystery. Painter Robert Oliver attacks a canvas in the National Gallery of Art. Dr. Marlow, assigned to Oliver, becomes frustrated with Oliver for his actions and his odd explanation. Dr Marlow embarks on an unconventional search for answers, however, the journey may reveal truths for Marlow as well as for Oliver. While The Swan Thieves is less accomplished than The Historian, it is a story worth reading and mystery worth solving.

Reviewed by Sue E

This book can be found on our web site: http://www.newberglibrary.org/

The Lace Reader

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry is a mystery with a bit of thriller thrown in. The book starts with the quote, "My name is Towner Whitney....... Never believe me. I lie all the time." Throughout the book, the reader tries to figure out what is true and what is thought to be true. The setting is in Salem Mass. where the local "witches" have opened many tourist attractions and where a sect, the "Calvinists" has set up camp to defy the "witches". The friction of the two groups is intertwined into the story of Towner and why she didn't want to leave Califronia to return home. She said she never would, but now......

This book can be found at the Newberg Public Library www. newberglibrary.org

Book reviewed by Denise R

Jane Bites Back

Jane Austen never died- she was turned into a vampire. Yep, that's the premise of Michael Thomas Ford's new novel, Jane Bites Back. I was intrigued by the idea, but I figured I would be putting it down after the first 20 pages. Instead I found myself sucked into this sarcastic, witty and humorous story about Jane Austen, an old rival, an old flame, a new flame, publishing in modern times and running a small business.
Despite the vampires the story was not gory, unlike Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith (which I never finished). You could enjoy this story without being a Jane Austen fan, although you will miss some of the nuances. If you are a Jane Austen fan and you take yourself very seriously, this book is not for you. If you are a Jane Austen fan who sometimes likes vampires and sometimes likes romance more than you like to admit, this book might be just your cup of tea.

This book reviewed by Korie

This book can be found at our web page www.newberglibrary.org

Firmin by Sam Savage

Firmin is distraught. One of 13 children, he resides in an old book store in Boston's Scollay Square. His days are filled with reading everything and anything and watching old movies at the run down movie house (where the flicks become x rated after midnight). His only friend Jerry has died and the city is bulldozing down Scollay Square . What is a rat to do? Yes, Fermin is a rat and the narrator of this witty lit story. A fun and short read: only 164 pages.

Reviewed by Denise

This book can be found in our catalog: http://www.newberglibrary.org/

The Ginseng Hunter

Jeff Talarigo, author of The Pearl Diver, has written another evocative tale. The stories of a lone ginseng hunter who harvests one ginseng root a day and a North Korean mother and daughter who are forcibly separated during a famine are intertwined. Unaware of the larger world and the tragedy happening in his own country, the hunter listens to the tales the young Korean girl shares as he makes his monthly trip to Yanji. Her stories reveal the sad truth of what is happening across the river. Sparsely and eloquently written, the book is well worth every minute you spend reading it.

This book is available at the Newberg Library (www.newberglibrary.org)

Review by Denise and Rea

A Separate Country

Robert Hicks follows his best seller "Widow of the South" with another historical novel. Set in New Orleans shortly after the end of the civil war, General Hood arrives trying to forget the atrocities of the war and the part he played in it. He marries a beautiful and alluring woman, starts a business, hoping to move on. But yellow fever and poverty, lust and greed fill the city and Hood has to make some difficult decisions regarding his life and his family's.

This book can be found at our library www.newberglibrary.org

Review by Denise R