For Teenage Boys

Looking for a book a teenage boy in your life might enjoy? Try one of these, recommended by one of the library's male teen readers, age 14.

Incarceron (series) by Catherine Fisher
Escape From Furnace (series) by Alexander Gordon Smith
The Enemy (series) by Charlie Higson
The Maze Runner (series) by James Dashner
The Thin Executioner by Darren Shan
Havoc by Chris Wooding
Malice by Chris Wooding

The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes

Imagine waking up naked and cold on an abandoned beach. You have no idea how you got there. In fact, you have no idea who you even are.  That is the situation at the start of Marcus Sakey's The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes.  When the man wakes, the only sign of life is an unlocked BMW with clothes that fit, money, a Rolex and papers identifying the car's owner as Daniel Hayes.  With nowhere else to turn, the man decides to try on life as Daniel Hayes. As he tries to figure out where he is, and if he is, in fact, Daniel Hayes the man finds himself compelled to watch a character in a popular TV show. As he is pulled across the country to this woman, is he going home? If so, what is waiting for him when he gets there?

This is Marcus Sakey's newest book and the first that I have read. I found it both suspenseful and unique and will have to add the author's older books to my "to read" list.

eReaders Available for Loan

Are you thinking about getting a Kindle or Nook? The library now has one of each that you can checkout for two weeks. What better way to decide which one you like? Ask the library staff if you would like to reserve one (or both!).

Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey isn’t your ordinary vampire book… Jessica Packwood was your average high school senior until one day a mysterious foreign exchange student showed up at her house. Lucius Vladescu knows her as Anastasia; the biological name that no one has called her since she was a baby. But it gets weirder, Lucius claims Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess and better yet, his fiancé. What a way to ruin her senior year. After much denial, Jessica’s curiosity gets to her. She questions about the family she’s never known, the land she is supposed to rule and her betrothed. As Jessica is searching, a popular girl at school sets her sights on Lucius and Jessica finds herself trying to win the arrogant, handsome man back. Can she find a way get Lucius to come back to her in time to save her Romanian family and perhaps Lucius himself?

Summer Reading

Don't forget Saturday, August 20 is the last day to turn in reading slips for all ages! We've had a great summer and have enjoyed seeing all of our GREAT readers. Special thanks to the Sauk Prairie Community Club, Pizza
Hut, Madison Mallards, Wisconsin Historical Society, Daniel M. Soref Planetarium, Knuckleheads, Mt. Olympus, Wisconsin Ducks/Dells Boats, Chula Vista, Concept Attractions, and Great Wolf Lodge for their donations to our summer program, and to all the local businesses that have supported our library throughout the year!

Flashback

What if you could relive the best days of your life? That's the premise of Flashback by Dan Simmons. Former Denver police detective Nick Bottom lives in a broken America. Set about twenty years in the future, America has only 44 states. Money is almost worthless and the government holds only limited powers. Sports stadiums are used as prisons. After Nick's wife died in a car accident he became addicted to "flashback" and lost his job. His teenage son Val lives in Los Angeles with his grandfather. Nick lives in 1/6 of a former Baby Gap store in what used to be Denver's Cherry Creek mall.

There are still obscenely wealthy people left in the world, however.  Hiroshi Nakamura is one of the nine regional advisors of the United States. He hires Nick to find out who killed his son, Keigo, six years before. Nakamura will pay Nick enough money to keep him in flashback for the rest of Nick's life. Between flashback trips and hunting down a killer, will Nick be able to locate Keigo Nakamura's killer? Will he see his son Val again and find out what really happened to his wife Dara?

Keeping the House

Our August book of the month is Keeping the House by Ellen Baker. When Dolly Magnuson moves to Pine Rapids, Wisconsin in 1950, she discovers all too soon that making marriage work is harder than it looks in the pages of the Ladies' Home Journal. Soon, her loneliness and restless imagination are seized by the beautiful abandoned house on the hill, and she begins to lose herself in piecing together the captivating story of three generations of the family that lived there. Rich in period atmosphere and in 1950s detail, Keeping the House is an unforgettable novel about small town life and big matters of the heart. --summary from www.ellenbakernovels.com.

If you enjoy this novel, don't miss Ellen Baker speaking at the Blue Spoon Tuesday, September 6 at 7:00 p.m.

August Mystery Book Club

The library's mystery book club will meet Thursday, August 11 at 6:45 p.m. to discuss mysteries by Kate Wilhelm. She is the author of the fast-paced and intricately plotted Barbara Holloway mysteries, and other legal thrillers and suspense novels set in the Pacific Northwest. Her first mystery was published in 1963, and she continues to write today. Copies of her books will be available on display in the library. New members are always welcome!

Looking for Alaska

Looking for Alaska by John Green is told from the narration of Miles or “Pudge”, a junior with no friends, no challenges, and no adventures. Ready for a change and on the lookout for his “Great Perhaps”, Pudge ventures to a school halfway across the country. Here he meets a load of interesting characters, from Chip, his genius roommate, to Lara, the Romanian foreign exchange student. But none is more mysterious than Alaska Young. Alaska is beautiful, outspoken and reckless. She helps introduce Pudge to rule breaking, friendship, and in essence, life. But Alaska’s recklessness holds a deeper meaning; one that Pudge is determined to uncover.

Many sensitive issues and a shocking twist will have you asking Alaska’s question, “Can we get out of this labyrinth of suffering?”