Check out these book reviews from Deena. Deena was a member of the Library’s Patron Service Team who recently retired. She has generously continued to share book reviews with us. Thank you, Deena!
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Cemetery Girl by David Bell DB80299
Tom and Abby’s daughter, Caitlyn has disappeared. They are still holding out hope of finding her four years later and Caitlyn is returned to them at the age of 16. Tom is bent on finding the man who took her and punishing him, but Caitlyn says she is in love with her kidnapper. Tom finds the kidnapper and negotiates to return Caitlyn to him in return for finding out what happened to Caitlyn.
Auggie & Me: three Wonder stories by R. J. Palacio DB93356
This is the companion book to Wonder (DB74228). Wonder is about Auggie, a middle schooler with a facial deformity, who is going to a new school, Beecher Prep, for the first time. He meets those who accept him and those who bully him. The companion book, Auggie & Me, takes a look at three of the characters and their relationship to Auggie. The first section is Julian, the bully. Julian spent the summer with his grandmother who tells him a story of growing up in France during World War II. Through the story, Julian realizes how he was wrong in his treatment of Auggie and he feels remorse. The second story is about Auggie’s best friend, Chris. Chris lives in another city and they are not together as much as they used to be. They become closer again while doing homework and remembering past times. The third story is about Charlotte, who was Auggie’s friend when he first came to the school. Charlotte has lost her best friend to another more popular group of girls. This is a great book for kids and adults alike.
Nora Bonesteel’s Christmas Past by Sharyn McCrumb DB80354
Nora Bonesteel is an elderly woman living in the mountains of Tennessee. Nora has the “sight”, which means she knows things before they happen and she also sees ghosts. Nora is pleased the Havertys from Florida have bought the old Honeycutt place and are fixing it up. The Havertys are “summer people”, but decided to stay for Christmas. The Havertys have put up a Christmas tree, but the tree has been mysteriously knocked over several times. Nora is invited into the old home where she has not been since she was a girl and she remembers attending Christmas parties in the home. Nora is able to solve the mystery of the tree being tipped over. In a parallel story the sheriff and his deputy go out on Christmas Eve to arrest an older man for a minor traffic accident. The old gentleman is not quite ready to be taken to jail.