Reading - The Doll-Master and Other Tales of Terror

The Doll-Master and Other Tales of Terror by Joyce Carol Oates

Bold and haunting, The Doll-Master and Other Tales is a collection of six psychologically daring stories from Joyce Carol Oates. 

In the title story, a boy becomes obsessed with his cousin’s doll after she tragically passes away, and as he grows older, he begins to collect “found dolls” from surrounding neighborhoods. But just what kind of dolls are they? 

In “Gun Accident,” a teenage girl is delighted to house-sit for her favorite teacher, until an intruder forces his way inside the old Colonial—changing more than one life forever. 

A white man shoots dead an unarmed black youth creating a media frenzy.  But could it have been self-defense as he claims ?

A nervous woman tries to escape her husband.  He says he loves her, but she's convinced he wants to kill her ...

These quietly lethal stories reveal the horrors that dwell within us all. 

Reading - Moon Bear

Moon Bear by Gill Lewis

A Junior Fiction

Twelve-year-old Tam, on a dare, ventures into a moon bear den in the mountains of Northern Laos. His goal is to steal the cub and sell it, making a fortune for his family. But the mother bear’s unexpected return upends Tam’s plan, and he barely escapes with his life. And then his life implodes anyway: his entire mountain village is made to relocate to make room for a new highway. Lured by the promise of electricity, running water, and a television, Tam’s people move to an overcrowded village, where Tam’s father is killed by a stray landmine.

Now the family breadwinner, Tam is forced to work hundreds of miles away in the city of Laos, at a moon bear farm where bile from bear gall bladders is used for medicine. It is a cruel, miserable place, and when a familiar face—the very cub he’d seen in the den in Vietnam—is sold to the bear farm, Tam knows he must save this moon bear, no matter what it takes.

Deeply and powerfully moving, Moon Bear is an unforgettable story of compassion, hope, and bravery against overwhelming odds, and brings to light the real-life, heartwrenching plight of Asia’s endangered moon bears.

Reading - May We Be Forgiven

May We Be Forgiven by A. M. Homes

Harold Silver has spent a lifetime watching his more successful younger brother, George, acquire a covetable wife, two kids, and a beautiful home in the suburbs of New York City. When George’s murderous temper results in a shocking act of violence, both men are hurled into entirely new lives.May We Be Forgiven digs deeply into the near biblical intensity of fraternal relationships, our need to make sense of things, and our craving for connection. It is an unnerving tale of unexpected intimacies and of how one deeply fractured family might begin to put itself back together.

Reading - Hesitant Heiress

Hesitant Heiress by Dawn Crandall

After being unjustly expelled from the Boston Conservatory of Music, Amaryllis Brigham sees her dreams of founding a music academy in her hometown of Seattle, Washington, disappearing before her very eyes. Now, the only way to achieve her goal comes with high stakes for someone set on avoiding men as much as possible: Marry within the year to inherit the immense fortune of her estranged grandmother. Amaryllis reluctantly moves in to her aunt's Boston home and rubs shoulders with fashionable society. Despite her own misgivings, she soon finds herself quickly falling in love with the most unlikely of men--Nathan Everstone, the envy of every eligible female, whose father has haunted her dreams for the decade following her mother's tragic death. However, Nathan turns out to be much more than he seems...and everything she never knew she wanted. But just as everything Amaryllis has recently hoped for comes to fruition, it all falls apart when she finds that the real culprit who has been managing her life isn't who she thought at all.

Reading - Middle School: Just My Rotten Luck

Middle School: Just My Rotten Luck by James Patterson

A Junior Fiction

In this seventh Middle School episode, Rafe heads back to the place his misadventures began: the dreaded Hills Village Middle School, where he's now being forced to take "special" classes.. He also finds himself joining the school's football team--alongside his main tormenter, Miller the Killer! But Rafe has grand plans for a better year: First, he decides to start a super-secret art project that's sure to rock the school. Then, if Rafe manages to make a play to save his team, he might have to deal with something completely new: popularity!

Reading - Middle School: Dog's Best Friend

Middle School: Dog's Best Friend by James Patterson

A Junior Fiction

It's a dog-eat-dog world, and Rafe Khatchadorian is just trying to live in it. Life in middle school is finally starting to seem bearable-until Rafe spots his grandmother standing on the free-meal line at the local soup kitchen. In order to help bring in more money, Rafe concocts a brilliant plan-a dog-walking business that soon turns into a huge money-making neighborhood empire. He'll even have extra cash to buy his own WormHole Deluxe Multi-Platform GameBox!

That is, until two terrible twins launch the Great Dog War by sabotaging Rafe's flyers and stealing his customers. Plus, his bratty kid sister Georgia has skipped a grade-so now she's in all of Rafe's classes. Throw a kid a bone!