Reading - A Wallflower Christmas

 

A Wallflower Christmas by Lisa Kleypas

 

 

Rafe Bowman has just arrived from America for his arranged meeting with Natalie, the very proper and beautiful daughter of Lady and Lord Blandford. His chiseled good looks and imposing physique are sure to impress the lady-in-waiting, and if it weren't for his shocking American ways and wild reputation, her hand would already be guaranteed. Before the courtship can begin, Rafe realizes he must learn the rules of London society. But when four former Wallflowers try their hand at matchmaking, no one knows what will happen…

Winning a bride turns out to be more complicated than Rafe Bowman anticipated, especially for a man accustomed to getting anything he wants. However, Christmas works in the most unexpected ways, changing a cynic to a romantic…and inspiring passion in the most timid of hearts.

Reading - Holes

Holes by Louis Sachar

 

 

Stanley Yelnat'sfamily has a history of bad luch, so he isn't too surprised when a miscarriage of justice sends him to a boys' juvenile detention center, Camp Green Lake.  But there is no lake -  it has been dry for over a hundred years - and it's hardly a camp: as punishment, the boys must each dig a hole a day, five feet deep, five feet across, in the hard earth of the dried-up lake bed.  The warden claims that this pointless labor builds character, nut this's a lie.  Stanley must try to dig up the truth.

Reading - Lethal

Lethal by Sandra Brown

 

 

 

When her four year old daughter informs her a sick man is in their yard, Honor Gillette rushes out to help him. But that "sick" man turns out to be Lee Coburn, the man accused of murdering seven people the night before. Dangerous, desperate, and armed, he promises Honor that she and her daughter won't be hurt as long as she does everything he asks. She has no choice but to accept him at his word.

But Honor soon discovers that even those close to her can't be trusted. Coburn claims that her beloved late husband possessed something extremely valuable that places Honor and her daughter in grave danger. Coburn is there to retrieve it -- at any cost. From FBI offices in Washington, D.C., to a rundown shrimp boat in coastal Louisiana, Coburn and Honor run for their lives from the very people sworn to protect them, and unravel a web of corruption and depravity that threatens not only them, but the fabric of our society.

Reading - Smooth Talking Stranger

 

Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas

 

 

 

Billionaire playboy, and all-around ladies' man, Jake Travis has a reputation as big as the
state of Texas. He drives too fast, lives too hard, and loves too many women to count.

In her advice column, and her love life, Ella Varner is always practical. So when she's left holding her reckless sister's baby, she decides to ask Jake Travis to take a paternity test.

Ella is instantly struck by Jake's bold good looks and easy charm--but she's not falling for his sweet talk. This big sexy tomcat needs to take responsibility for his actions, and Ella's making him stick to his word. Now if she can only ignore the unspoken attraction that smolders between them…

Reading - Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor

 

Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas

 

 

 

One rain-slicked night, six-year-old Holly lost the only parent she knew, her beloved mother Victoria. And since that night, she has never again spoken a word.

The last thing Mark Nolan needs is a six-year-old girl in his life. But he soon realizes that he will do everything he can to make her life whole again. His sister's will gives him the instructions: There's no other choice but you. Just start by loving her. The rest will follow.

Maggie Collins doesn't dare believe in love again, after losing her husband of one year. But she does believe in the magic of imagination. As the owner of a toy shop, she lives what she loves. And when she meets Holly Nolan, she sees a little girl in desperate need of a little magic.
Three lonely people. Three lives at the crossroads. Three people who are about to discover that Christmas is the time of year when anything is possible, and when wishes have a way of finding the path home…

Reading - It's Like This, Cat

 It's Like This, Cat by Emily Neville

 

A Junior Fiction

 

 

My father is always talking about how a dog can be very educational for a boy. This is one reason I got a cat.

Dave Mitchell and his father yell at each other a lot, and whenever the fighting starts, Dave's mother gets an asthma attack. That's when Dave storms out of the house. Then Dave meets Tom, a strange boy who helps him rescue Cat. It isn't long before Cat introduces Dave to Mary, a wonderful girl from Coney Island. Slowly Dave comes to see the complexities in people's lives and to understand himself and his family a little better.

Reading - Gathering Blue

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

A Junior Fiction

 

 

Kira, an orphan with a twisted leg, lives in a world where the weak are cast aside.  She fears for her future until she is spared by the all-powerful Council of Guardians.  Kira is a gifted waver and is assigned a task that no other community member can carry out.  Though her talent keeps her alive and brings certain privileges, Kira soon realizes mysteries and secrets surround her.  No one must know of her plans to uncover the truth about her world - and to find out what exists beyond it.

Reading - Queenie

Queenie by Alice Munro

 

When Queenie elopes with a recently widowed neighbour her family are uniformly shocked, and a window on adult life and relationships is opened for her step-sister. A summertime stay with the newlyweds in Toronto yields further insight into the lives of couples, but also causes confusion.

Reading - Gone Girl

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

 

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

Reading - Son

Son by Lois Lowry

A Junior Fiction

 

They called her Water Claire. When she washed up on their shore, no one knew that she came from a society where emotions and colors didn’t exist. That she had become a Vessel at age thirteen. That she had carried a Product at age fourteen. That it had been stolen from her body. Claire had a son. But what became of him she never knew. What was his name? Was he even alive? She was supposed to forget him, but that was impossible. Now Claire will stop at nothing to find her child, even if it means making an unimaginable sacrifice.

Reading - Granny Grabbers' Whizz Bang World

Granny Grabbers' Whizz Bang World by Charlotte Haptie

A Junior Fiction

 

Delilah Smart is just an ordinary child who wants to have a normal childhood, but her parents have other plans. They are determined that she wins the Worldwide Junior Extreme General Knowledge Competition and in order to achieve this Delilah must cram all day and only play with educational toys like the Sir Isaac Newton Brain Building Bear. And because Mr and Mrs Smart are Very Busy People they buy a 'childcare robot' to do the boring stuff like looking after her.

But Robot Granny Grabbers has hidden qualities and her own views on how to raise Deliliah. She let's her eat chocolate cake and play on trampolines. She builds aircrafts out of household objects and orders pets off the internet. And very soon Delilah is learning how to have fun.

Then disaster strikes! ChildCare Solutions learn of Granny Grabbers' errant robot qualities and send a Nanny Deluxe replacement whose circuits are wired to ensure NO IMAGINATION whatsoever. Is Granny Grabbers for the scrapheap? It's instant Action Stations for Delilah Smart and the team ...

Reading - Daisy and the Trouble with Zoos

Daisy and the Trouble with Zoos by Kes Gray

A Junior Fiction

 

It's Daisy's birthday and she's having a special birthday treat! Mum has invited her best friends, Gabby and Dylan, on a trip to the zoo - and, best of all, Mum has arranged for Daisy to go into the actual penguin cage with the actual zoo keeper and FEED actual penguins! REAL ACTUAL PENGUINS! With actual beaks and everything!! Trouble is, Daisy doesn't just feed the penguins, she 'adopts' one to take home and everything . . .

Reading - The Iron, the Switch and the Broom Cupboard (Jiggy McCue)

A Jiggy McCue Story : The Iron, the Switch and the Broom Cupboard by Michael Lawrence

A Junior Fiction

 

Jiggy only jumped into the school broom closet for two minutes to avoid a teacher. So when he emerges from his hasty hiding spot into a parallel universe, he's not impressed! And there's not a lion or a witch in sight. In this new world, Jiggy finds he has swapped places with a boy called Juggy who is about to go on a school trip—a trip to compete in the Extreme Ironing Championships.

Reading - Homeroom Diaries

Homeroom Diaries by James patterson and Lisa Papademetriou

A Junior Fiction

 

 

Margaret "Cuckoo" Clarke recently had a brief stay in a mental institution following an emotional breakdown, but she's turning over a new leaf with her "Operation Happiness". She's determined to beat down the bad vibes of the Haters, the Terror Teachers, and all of the trials and tribulations of high school by writing and drawing in her diary. And when life gets really tough, she works through her own moments of uncertainty through imaginary conversations with her favorite literary characters.

 

Cuckoo's also got a nearly impossible mission: she, along with her misfit band of self-deprecating friends (who call themselves "the Freakshow") decide to bridge the gap between warring cliques and "bring the Nations together". Not everyone is so willing to join hands and get along, but Cuckoo never stops smiling... until one of her closest friends, pushed to desperation by a Hater prank, decides that enough is enough.

Reading - Grave Secret

Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris

 

Lightning-struck sleuth Harper Connelly and her stepbrother Tolliver take a break from looking for the dead to visit the two little girls they both think of as family. But as they travel to Texas, memories of their horrible childhood resurface.

 

To make matters worse,  Tolliver learns from his older brother that his father is out of jail and trying to reestablish contact with other family members.  Tolliver wants nothing to do with the man - but he may not have a choice in the matter.

 

Soon, family secrets ensnare them both, as Harper finally discovers what happened to her missing sister Cameron so many years before.

 

And what she finds will change her world forever.

Reading - Billy the Kid

Billy the Kid by Michael Morpurgo

A Junior Fiction

Billy's no kid—he's 80 today. He's enjoying watching the boys at the park knock a soccer ball around and this afternoon he'll be cheering on his team, Chelsea, as he has done all his life. In 1939, Billy was picked for Chelsea. Not quite 19, and his dreams had come true—"Billy! Billy the Kid!" they shouted as he scored goal after goal. Surely life could get no better. But in 1939 too, World War II began and Billy's life was never to be the same again. With nostalgically vivid illustrations, the story of Billy the Kid reaches across generations and creates a life with a past that will be moving and inspiring for young and old alike.

Reading - A Vintage Affair

A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff

 

Phoebe Swift’s friends are stunned when she abruptly leaves a plum job to open her own vintage clothing shop in London—but to Phoebe, it’s the fulfillment of a dream, and her passion. Digging for finds in attics and wardrobes, Phoebe knows that when you buy a piece of vintage clothing, you’re not just buying fabric and thread—you’re buying a piece of someone’s past. But one particular article of clothing will soon unexpectedly change her life.

Thérèse Bell, an elderly Frenchwoman, has an impressive clothing collection. But among the array of elegant suits and couture gowns, Phoebe finds a child’s sky-blue coat—an item with which Mrs. Bell is stubbornly reluctant to part. As the two women become friends, Phoebe will learn the poignant tale of that little blue coat. And she will discover an astonishing connection between herself and Thérèse Bell—one that will help her heal the pain of her own past and allow her to love again.

Reading - Awful Auntie

Awful Auntie by David Walliams

A Junior Fiction

 

Stella Saxby is the sole heir to Saxby Hall. But awful Aunt Alberta and her giant owl will stop at nothing to get it from her. Luckily Stella has a secret – and slightly spooky – weapon up her sleeve…

Reading - Sure Signs of Crazy

Sure Signs of Crazy by Karen Harrington

A Junior Fiction

 

You've never met anyone exactly like twelve-year-old Sarah Nelson. While most of her friends obsess over Harry Potter, she spends her time writing letters to Atticus Finch. She collects trouble words in her diary. Her best friend is a plant. And she's never known her mother, who left when Sarah was two.

Since then, Sarah and her dad have moved from one small Texas town to another, and not one has felt like home.

 

Everything changes when Sarah launches an investigation into her family's Big Secret. She makes unexpected new friends and has her first real crush, and instead of a "typical boring Sarah Nelson summer," this one might just turn out to be extraordinary.

Reading - Framed

Framed by Frank Cottrell Bouce

A Junior Fiction

 

Dylan Hughes is more interested in the Nnja Turtles than in the Renaissance artists they are named after.   But then Dad leaves home and, overnight, nin-year-old Dylan must become man of the household and boss of the failing family business.  A masterpiece worth a mint might be just what they all need...

Reading - Be First in the Universe

Be First in the Universe by Stephanie Spinner

A Junior Fiction

 

Twins Todd and Tessa don’t always think alike, but there’s one thing they both agree on—Gemini Jack’s is their favorite store in the mall. Where else can you find a remote control that works on people, or a mirror that sees 10 minutes into the future? And Jack is even stranger—he glows in the dark, and gives discounts to Tod and Tessa because they’re twins. Then Jack develops an interest in the other set of twins in Tod and Tessa’s grade—nasty Ned and Nancy. They’re so mean, even their mother is scared of them. Why would Jack want to meet them?

Tod and Tessa are about to learn what happens when you introduce your worst enemies to the coolest guy in the universe.
.

Reading - Little Wolf's Diary of Daring Deeds

Little Wolf's Diary of Daring Deeds by Ian Whybrow

 

A Junior Fiction

 

 

 

In letters home to Mom and Dad, Little Wolf describes his journey to rescue his little brother, Smellybreff, from a crafty cubnapper, Mister Twister the Fox.

Reading - Demon Dentist

Demon Dentist by David Walliams

 

A Junior Fiction

 

 

 

Darkness had come to the town.  Strange things were happening in the dead of night.  Children would put a tooth under their pillow for the tooth fairy, but in the morning they would wake up to find ..... a dead slug; a live spider; hundreds of earwigns creeping and crawling beneath their pillow. 

 

Evil was at work.  But who or what was behind it ?

Reading - Gangsta Granny

Gangsta Granny by David Walliams

A Junior Fiction

 

Our hero Ben is bored beyond belief after he is made to stay at his grandma’s house. She’s the boringest grandma ever: all she wants to do is to play Scrabble, and eat cabbage soup. But there are two things Ben doesn’t know about his grandma.
1) She was once an international jewel thief.
2) All her life, she has been plotting to steal the Crown Jewels, and now she needs Ben’s help…

Reading - God Help The Child

God Help The Child by Toni Morrison

 

 

 

At the center: a young woman who calls herself Bride, whose stunning blue-black skin is only one element of her beauty, her boldness and confidence, her success in life, but which caused her light-skinned mother to deny her even the simplest forms of love. There is Booker, the man Bride loves, and loses to anger. Rain, the mysterious white child with whom she crosses paths. And finally, Bride’s mother herself, Sweetness, who takes a lifetime to come to understand that “what you do to children matters. And they might never forget.”

Reading - Big Little Lies

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

 

 

 

A murder…A tragic accident…Or just parents behaving badly? What’s indisputable is that someone is dead.

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny, biting, and passionate; she remembers everything and forgives no one. Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare but she is paying a price for the illusion of perfection. New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for a nanny. She comes with a mysterious past and a sadness beyond her years. These three women are at different crossroads, but they will all wind up in the same shocking place.

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.

Reading - The Kites are Flying

The Kites are Flying by Michael Morpurgo

 

A Junior Fiction

 

 

 

Travelling to the West Bank to witness first hand what life is like for Palestinians and Jews living in the shadow of a dividing wall, journalist Max strikes up a friendship with an enigmatic Palestinian boy, Said. Together the two sit under an ancient olive tree while Said makes another of his kites. When Said takes Max home, the reporter learns of the terrible events in the family’s past and begins to understand why Said does not speak. Told from both Max’s and Said’s points of view, Morpurgo has created a beautiful tale of tragedy and hope with an ending that rings with joy.

Reading - Meeting Cezanne

Meeting Cezanne by Michael Morpurgo

 

A Junior Fiction

 

 

 

When Yannick learns that he is to stay with his aunt Mathilde and her family in the South of France, he cannot believe his luck. He has rarely been out of Paris, and if the paintings in his mother’s beloved Cézanne book are to be believed, surely Provence is paradise itself. So begins an idyllic month for the young city boy: roaming the gentle hills and rolling valleys and daydreaming about his beautiful cousin Amandine; helping at his aunt and uncle’s bustling village inn; feeling that he has come to the most wonderful place in the world. But one evening the spell is broken when an important local comes for dinner and Yannick accidentally destroys a precious drawing the man leaves behind. How can the devastated Yannick make things right again — and what surprising discoveries might come of it?

Reading - Little Manfred

 

Little Manfred by Michael Morpurgo

 

A Junior Fiction

 

 

It is the summer of 1966, and Charley and her little brother, Alex, are walking their dog Manfred on the beach when they notice two old men, staring out to sea.  A chance encounter brings them together and slowly Charley and Alex learn of their mother's past and the frendships that can be formed in the most difficult of circumstances.  For in 1945, their farmstead home was a posting for German prisoners of war, and their mother Grace was just a littlt girl .....

 

In the Imperial War Museum is a wooden Dachshund, carved by a German prisoner of war who was working on a British farm after the fighting ended.  This is the story of how it got there.

Reading - Can You Whistle, Johanna?

Can You Whistle, Johanna? by Ulf Stark

 

A Junior Fiction

 

 

 

 

Why doesn't Berra have a grandfather ?

 

How can he get one ?

 

There are plenty of old men at the retirement home. Ulf suggests.  They go there together to find one - ideally one who eats pig's trotters, invites you to tea and can teach you to whistle.

 



Reading - North

North by Peter Suart

 

A Junior Fiction

 

 

 

To escape the unwelcome attentions of the world's media, Tik and Tok flee into the empty wastes of the north, where cold and lonely winds howl over frozen seas.  But they're not alone up there : the virgin snow is criss-crossed by other travellers with secret purposes.  And who can say which of them may be trusted?  Bewitched by the glittering needle of their compass, Tik and Tok push ever deeper into the arctic fastness, towards a distant and awesome mystery : the Place With No North.

Reading - Smoke

Smoke by Peter Suart

 

A Junior Fiction

 

 

 

Tik and Tok have become famous.  Very famous. Someone has been writing books about them and their fame has spread around the world.  Their home is besieged by reporters and they flee into the forest where they find refuge in a walled garden.  Here they meet a gentle man, an old man, a thin man and an airman tending a rose.  The four wise men pass the time telling stories, but the reporters are never far behind and Tik and Tok must find the Author who is the cause of all their troubles.

Reading - Inspector Ghote : Trusts the Heart

Inspector Ghote : Trusts the Heart by H.R.F. Keating

A Junior Fiction

Some crooks have tried to snatch the plump son of a business tycoon, and have accidentally made off with his playmate instead. But they're not changing their plan: a payment is to be delivered to them or a small corpse is to be delivered to Inspector Ghote.

But what kind of ransom can a mere tailor's boy demand? And, as something more unpleasant than just a ransom note arrives from the kidnappers, are the police helping keep the boy in one piece?

Reading - Bottled Up

Bottled Up by Jaye Murray

 

A Junior Fiction

 



 

Pip’s desperate to escape his life—he’s been skipping classes, drinking, getting high. Anything and everything to avoid his smug teachers, his sweet but needy little brother, his difficult home life. Now he’s been busted by Principal Giraldi and given an ultimatum: either he shows up for all his classes and sees a counselor after school, or he’s expelled. Pip’s freaked out; not because he might get kicked out of school, but by the thought that Giraldi might call his father. Because Pip will do anything to avoid his father.

Reading - The Brilliant World of Tom Gates

The Brilliant World of Tom Gates by L. Pichon

 

A Junior Fiction

 

 

 

Meet Tom Gates. When his teachers don’t have their beady eyes on him, he likes to draw pictures and write about stuff, like last summer’s worst camping vacation ever (five merits!), or how much he hates sitting next to nosy Marcus Meldrew, the most annoying boy at school. All Tom really wants is to score tickets to see the best band ever, Dude3, when they come to town, and to impress Amy Porter, who is very nice and smart (but is currently ignoring him). Tom’s teachers think he is easily distracted and "lacks focus," but that’s a bit harsh — can he help it if his grumpy big sister, Delia, made him late for school (again), or that last night’s homework had to be sacrificed to stave off a vicious dog attack? Master of excuses, creative storyteller, and middle-school comedian extraordinaire, Tom Gates is guaranteed to get kids turning the pages — and keep them laughing.

Reading - Annika Riz, Math Whiz



Annika Riz, Math Whiz by Claudia Mills

 

A Junior Fiction

 

 

 

 

Annika Riz loves math more than anything, so when she hears about a sudoku contest at the local public library, she is determined to win it--maybe then her friends Kelsey Green and Izzy Barr will see that math is just as cool as reading and running. When the school carnival, the biggest fundraiser of the year, comes around, Annika realizes her class booth is losing money by selling their lemonade too cheaply. Annika embraces her math skills, saves the day, and shows her friends that math can be useful and even a bit of fun, too,

 

Reading - The Day My Butt Went Psycho

The Day My Butt Went Psycho by Andy Griffiths

 

A Junior Fiction

 

 

 

 

A story that you and your butt will never forget!

Join Zack on his epic journey across the Great Windy Desert and through the Brown Forest, to reclaim his runaway butt.

 

 

Zack Freeman'sbottom has run away to join the great bum rebellion but Zack's not taking such bare-faced cheek lying down.  He joins with Eleanor the Bum Hunter to track down his badly-behaved behind.  But the united bottoms, led by the evil Great White Bum, get wind of their plan.  A full-scale butt battle begins and both sides know that whoever wins will one day rule the world.

Reading - The Family From One End Street

The Family From One End Street by Eve Garnett

A Junior Fiction

 

This is the story of everyday life in the big, happy Ruggles family who live in the small town of Otwell. The father is a dustman and the mother a washerwoman, but because they are poor the children find even greater opportunities for adventure in their ordinary lives. There's practical Lily Rose, the oldest who is full of 'Big Ideas', then Kate who is plain but extremely bright, next are the twins James and John, who get into all kinds of mischief, followed by Jo, who loves films, little Peg and finally baby William.

Reading - Fortunately, The Milk

Fortunately, The Milk by Neil Gaiman

 

A Junior Fiction

 

 

 

"I bought the milk," said my father. "I walked out of the corner shop, and heard a noise like this: t h u m m t h u m m. I looked up and saw a huge silver disc hovering in the air above Marshall Road."

"Hullo," I said to myself. "That's not something you see every day. And then something odd happened."

Find out just how odd things get in this hilarious story.

Reading - Schooling Around #3: Mascot Madness!

Schooling Around #3: Mascot Madness! by Andy Griffiths

 

A Junior Fiction

 

 

 

Northwest Southeast Central School is facing its biggest challenge yet - a fierce athletic faceoff against the menacing Northwest West has an attack dog mascot, a coach who used to be a pro wrestler, and a desire to wipe the field with its opponents.  Meanwhile, Northwest Southeast Central  has ...... a banana.

 

Yes, a banana.

 

But this is no ordinary banana.  And this isn't going to be an ordinary sporting event.  No, this is going to go down as the silliest, craziest, wackiest, and funniest competition in all of sports history!

 

Reading - Mr Norris Changes Trains

Mr Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood

 

After a chance encounter on a train the English teacher, William Bradshaw, starts a close friendshop with the mildly sinister Arthur Norris. Norris is a man of contradictions; lavish but heavily in debt, excessively polite but sexually deviant.

First published in 1933 Mr. Norris Changes Trains piquantly evokes the atmosphere of Berlin during the rise of the Nazis.

Reading - The Faber Book of Nursery Stories

The Faber Book of Nursery Stories by Various Authors

A Junior Fiction

 

Featuring The Ugly Duckling, Three Billy Goats Gruff and other childhook favourites, this edition includes over forty beloved stories to be enjoyed at bedtime.

Reading - The Secret of Indigo Moon (The Dopple Ganger Chronicles)

The Secret of Indigo Moon (The Dopple Ganger Chronicles) by G.P. Taylor

 

A Junior Fiction

 

 

 

Erik Morissey Ganger, famed explorer and detective (well, in his dreams), and his mischief-making sidekicks, twins Sadie and Saskia Dopple, didn’t go looking for a secret tunnel beneath the school. They never intended to make the acquaintance of a shifty private eye with a nose for trouble. It wasn’t part of the plan to come face to face with an old enemy, one with an agenda of his own that could destroy them all. And unraveling the “secret of indigo moon” was the farthest thing from their minds.

At Isambard Dunstan’s School for Wayward Children, these things just seem to happen.

Reading - The House of Special Purpose

The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne

 

 

 

Eighty-year-old Georgy Jachmenev is haunted by his past—a past of death, suffering, and scandal that will stay with him until the end of his days. Living in England with his beloved wife, Zoya, Georgy prepares to make one final journey back to the Russia he once knew and loved, the Russia that both destroyed and defined him. As Georgy remembers days gone by, we are transported to St. Petersburg, to the Winter Palace of the czar, in the early twentieth century—a time of change, threat, and bloody revolution. As Georgy overturns the most painful stone of all, we uncover the story of the house of special purpose.

Reading - Driftwood Summer

Driftwood Summer by Patti Callahan Henry

 

 

 

Three sisters- responsible Riley, vivacious Maisy, and fun-loving Adalee-reunite to save the family's beach-community bookstore. But summer also marks the return of Mack Logan, whose choice of Maisy over Riley years ago destroyed the special closeness between the sisters...

Now Riley, a single mom, is hiding a shattering secret about their mother. Maisy, a California designer, still blames Riley for ruining her one true love. And Adalee resents the family's intrusion into her summer plans. All three will be forced to confront the conflicts that tore them apart and the bounds of love and loyalty that still draw them together...

 

 

Reading - The Honey Queen

The Honey Queen by Cathy Kelly

 

 

Can she find the strength to help the family she never knew she had? Vibrant and warm, Frankie manages people as a career - so her husband's silence on redundancy comes as a shock. Suddenly both their dream house project in pretty Redstone and their marriage are under terrible strain.

Only twenty-seven, Peggy is opening her own knitting shop in town but her past threatens to unravel any prospect of love and a family of her own.

Lillie is the friend they both need. Newly arrived in the small Irish town from Australia, she's no stranger to secrets and heartache. Wrapped in the warmth of the community, Lillie must help herself and her new friends rediscover the joy in life...

Reading - The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

 

Sitting quietly in his room in an old people's home, Allan Karlsson is waiting for a party he doesn't want to begin. His one-hundredth birthday party to be precise. The Major will be there. The press will be there. But, as it turns out, Allan will not ....

Escaping (in his slippers) through his bedroom window, into the flowerbed, Allan makes his getaway.  And do begins his picaresque and unlikely journey involving criminals, several murders, a suitcase full of cash, and incompetent police.   As his escapades unfold, Allan's earlier life is revealed.  A life in which - remarkably - he played a key role behind the scenes in some of the mementous events of the twentieth century.

Reading - The First Escape

The First Escape (The Dopple Ganger Chronicles) by G.P. Taylor

A Junior Fiction

 

 

Sadie and Saskia are mischievous identical twins living at an orphanage, where Erik is their only friend. They are separated when Saskia is adopted by Muzz Elliott, a wealthy woman searching for her long-lost family treasure. While Saskia stumbles into the center of a crime only she can stop, Sadie and Erik embark on a quest to find her.

Reading - Found: A Mickey Bolitar Novel

Found: A Mickey Bolitar Novel by Harlan Coben

A Junior Fiction

 

It’s been eight months since Mickey Bolitar witnessed the shocking, tragic death of his father. Eight months of lies, dark secrets, and unanswered questions. While he desperately wants answers, Mickey’s sophomore year of high school brings on a whole new set of troubles. Spoon is in the hospital, Rachel won’t tell him where he stands, his basketball teammates hate him . . . and then there’s Ema’s surprise announcement: She has an online boyfriend, and he’s vanished.

As he’s searching for Ema’s missing boyfriend (who may not even exist!), Mickey also gets roped into helping his nemesis, Troy Taylor, with a big problem. All the while, Mickey and his friends are pulled deeper into the mysteries surrounding the Abeona Shelter, risking their lives to find the answers—until the shocking climax, where Mickey finally comes face-to-face with the truth about his father.

Reading - Undercover in High Heels

Undercover in High Heels by Gemma Halliday

 

Secret affairs, hunky gardeners, and housewives desperate enough to bare it all... welcome to Magnolia Lane, TV's hottest new prime time show. A place where L.A. shoe designer Maddie Springer should be in fashion heaven. That is until the body of a rising young starlet is found dead on the show's set. Now it's up to Maddie to sift through a leading lady with a secret, an actor on the verge of a nervous breakdown, a sexy cyber scandal, and one tabloid reporter who'll stop at nothing to get the story of the century. Not to mention Maddie's hot-cold relationship with the case's familiar lead detective, Jack Ramirez. In a world where secrets, lies, and deception can earn you an Oscar, Maddie plays the role of a lifetime to catch Hollywood's hottest killer. But if she doesn't watch her step, Maddie's fifteen minutes of fame just may be her last.