It is with mixed emotions that we announce library staff member, Deena’s retirement. It is difficult if not impossible, to sum up, Deena’s achievements over her years of dedicated service to the Library and the Iowa Department for the Blind. Her vast knowledge of our collection and experience helping patrons find the books they are looking for has been such an asset. You will be hearing from Deena through blog posts in the future because she has generously provided us with book reviews for later blog posts. Please help us in thanking Deena for her service and wishing her all the best.
Check out these book reviews from Deena, a member of the Library’s Patron Service Team. Let us know if you would like any titles added to your booklist or head over to BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) to download the titles now. Need more information about BARD? See our BARD Page.
Plainsong by Kent Haraf DB49056, LT 7463
A young high school girl, Victoria becomes pregnant and her mother kicks her out of the house. She gets help from one of her teachers who arranges for Victoria to live with two old bachelor ranchers. They come to care about Victoria and her child. Some of the other interesting characters living in Holt, Colorado are; Maggie Jones, who lives with her elderly father suffering from dementia, Tom Guthrie, a teacher who helps to support Victoria, Tom’s sons Ike and Bobby learning to live without their mother, and Tom’s wife is depressed and gone to live elsewhere.
March Forward Girl by Melba Beals DB90630
Childhood memoir of growing up in the hostile Jim Crow South that led to Beals’s activism and desire for equality. Melba grows up in Little Rock, Arkansas in the 1940’s and longs for freedom and equal treatment. Her grandmother is the guiding force in her life and raises Melba and her brother while her mother works. Melba eventually volunteered to be one of nine black students to enroll in Little Rock’s all-white Central High School in 1957.
Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell DB93135
This is a psychological thriller about a young seventeen-year-old woman, Ellie who was kidnapped by someone she knew and held captive in a basement. The reader learns how each of her family members deals with Ellie’s disappearance. Her mother, Laurel, after a number of years moves on and falls in love with Floyd who has a young daughter, Poppy aged nine who looks a lot like, Ellie. Laurel adores Poppy but believes Floyd is keeping things from her. This book will keep you guessing until the end.
Camino Winds by John Grisham DB99615
Bruce Cable, bookstore owner from the book Camino Island returns. Camino Island has a hurricane and many houses and businesses on the island are destroyed or badly damaged. Nelson Kerr, author and a friend of Bruce’s appears to have been killed during the storm, but his death is suspicious. Bruce and his friends investigate and find it was related to the book he was writing.