Book of the week
The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag Date Alan Bradley 2010, 364 pages Setting: English country village of Bishop’s Lacey, 1950 From the author of “Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie” comes a second book featuring Flavia de Luce. Who is Flavia de Luce? She's an engaging and intriguing 11-year-old aspiring chemist with a passion for poison and a knack for solving murders who travels the countryside on her trusty...
Book of the week
Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat David Dosa 2010, 225 pages Nonfiction Why does Oscar, one of several cats in the Alzheimer's wing at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, essentially ignore the patients and then suddenly decide to curl up with a patient on their bed? Does he have an uncanny ability to sense when a patient is at death's door? Dr. Dosa scoffs at the idea that...
Book of the week
Ragtag Karl Wolf-Morgenlander 2009, 225 pages Juvenile Fiction Sound the alarm! Boston is under attack! Boston had been a peaceful city since the formation of the Feathered Alliance, the governing body of city birds that kept it so. But the city is being threatened by the Talon Empire, raptors moving to the city after their forest homes are lost to human land developers. The Talon Empire is not interested in peace but plans to take...
Book of the week
Romancing Miss Bronte Juliet Gael 2010, 416 pages Setting: Victorian England Juliet Gael has created a remarkable fictional work based on the life of Charlotte Bronte. Using scholarly sources, and Charlotte's own letters, the author brings Charlotte and her family to life. Gael skillfully creates the sisters' personalities using insights provided by the characters from Charlotte's novels and imagining the impact of...
Book of the week
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand Helen Simonson 2010, 358 pages Setting: Village of Edgecombe St. Mary, present day When he hears of his brother's sudden death, Major Pettigrew is helped by Mrs. Ali, the Pakistani village shopkeeper who happened to come to his door that morning on an errand. Major Pettigrew is a widower, and Mrs. Ali's husband died a year ago. They begin spending some time together, and their improbable...
