The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner

by Khaled Hosseini

“It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime.”

Amir is the son of a wealthy Kabul merchant, a member of the ruling caste of Pashtuns. Hassan, his servant and constant companion, is a Hazara, a despised and impoverished caste. Their uncommon bond is torn by Amir’s choice to abandon his friend amidst the increasing ethnic, religious, and political tensions of the dying years of the Afghan monarchy, wrenching them far apart. But so strong is the bond between the two boys that Amir journeys back to a distant world, to try to right past wrongs against the only true friend he ever had.

The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption; and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.

A sweeping story of family, love, and friendship told against the devastating backdrop of the history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful novel that has become a beloved, one-of-a-kind classic.

Ratings and Reviews from the Librarians

Lorna rated it ★★★★★.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Me Before You

by Jojo Moyes

Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn’t know is she’s about to lose her job or that knowing what’s coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he’s going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn’t know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they’re going to change the other for all time.

Ratings and Reviews from the Librarians

Bekka rated it ★★★★ and said, “This was a very emotional book! I always like a good cry. I liked this twist on the romance genre, with an unconventional plot. Even with the differences, however, there are a lot of typical elements of a good romance. I very much liked the main character, and thought she was quite well done. I also like the main romance interest, not quite as much as the girl, but he was an interesting change from the typical ‘boyfriend’ character. The plot was well done, if a bit predictable. The only thing I didn’t like were the short chapters told from a completely different character’s point of view—the way they were added to the story threw me out of the flow of the narrative. Other than that, this was an enjoyable read. It’s definitely a Girl Book! I would be interested to hear what readers of more conventional romances think of this one.”

Life of Pi

Life of Pi

Life of Pi

by Yann Martel

After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, one solitary lifeboat remains bobbling on the wild, blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orangutan…and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger.

The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary works of fiction in recent years.

Ratings and Reviews from the Librarians

Bekka rated it ★★★★★ and said, “Wow—this is one fantastic book! Incredible story, but so infused with depth and nuance that it takes on a life of its own. It’s definitely one that will hold up to repeated readings, with new things being discovered with each reading. The ending is completely satisfying! I have no idea how they can possibly put this into a film, but I’m really curious to see now! At any rate, I can’t recommend the book highly enough. This is a fantastic read, and will leave you with much to think about.”

Lorna rated it ★★★★★ and said, “At times it seemed bogged down somewhat with details, but overall I have to give this book 5 stars for character development, theme, language usage and the story. Amazing!”

Cathy rated it ★★★★★.

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Time Traveler's Wife

by Audrey Niffenegger

Audrey Niffenegger’s dazzling debut is the story of Clare, a beautiful, strong-minded art student, and Henry, an adventuresome librarian, who have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-three and Henry thirty-one. Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: his genetic clock randomly resets and he finds himself misplaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous and unpredictable, and lend a spectacular urgency to Clare and Henry’s unconventional love story. That their attempt to live normal lives together is threatened by something they can neither prevent nor control makes their story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.

Ratings and Reviews from the Librarians

Bekka rated it ★★★★ and said, “A nice grown-up book.”

Miranda rated it ★★★★★.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

The Help

by Kathryn Stockett

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step…

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women–mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends–view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t.

Ratings and Reviews from the Librarians

Bekka rated it ★★★★ and said, “A little slow to start—the dialect threw me off a bit—but very good once you get into it. Quite an inspiring story.”

Rachel rated it ★★★★★.

Emma rated it ★★★★★.

Betsy rated it ★★★★★.

Valerie rated it ★★★★★.

Cathy rated it ★★★★★.

Lorna rated it ★★★.

Rebekah rated it ★★★★★.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus

by Erin Morgenstern

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it, no paper notices plastered on lampposts and billboards. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.

Within these nocturnal black-and-white striped tents awaits an utterly unique, a feast for the senses, where one can get lost in a maze of clouds, meander through a lush garden made of ice, stare in wonderment as the tattooed contortionist folds herself into a small glass box, and become deliciously tipsy from the scents of caramel and cinnamon that waft through the air.

Welcome to Le Cirque des Rêves.

Beyond the smoke and mirrors, however, a fierce competition is under way–a contest between two young illusionists, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood to compete in a “game” to which they have been irrevocably bound by their mercurial masters. Unbeknownst to the players, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will.

As the circus travels around the world, the feats of magic gain fantastical new heights with every stop. The game is well under way and the lives of all those involved–the eccentric circus owner, the elusive contortionist, the mystical fortune-teller, and a pair of red-headed twins born backstage among them–are swept up in a wake of spells and charms.

But when Celia discovers that Marco is her adversary, they begin to think of the game not as a competition but as a wonderful collaboration. With no knowledge of how the game must end, they innocently tumble headfirst into love. A deep, passionate, and magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

Their masters still pull the strings, however, and this unforeseen occurrence forces them to intervene with dangerous consequences, leaving the lives of everyone from the performers to the patrons hanging in the balance.

Both playful and seductive, The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern’s spell-casting debut, is a mesmerizing love story for the ages.

Ratings and Reviews from the Librarians

Bekka rated it ★★★ and said, “I really don’t know how to rate this book! It’s very strange, and I can’t quite put my finger on why. I don’t know if I actually like it or not, thus the 3 stars – right in the middle. It’s definitely interesting, and compelling enough to read through ’til the end. But its not a typical novel. Its fairly well written and the character development is fairly good. Its just a very DIFFERENT book. I will be very interested to see what this author does in the future.”

Lorna rated it ★★★★ and said, “4 1/2 stars…This was a nice change from everything I’ve read lately. It stands apart from other books. The plot is quite intricate and the writing is so elegant. The circus and the characters all spring to life on the written page. The only thing that kept it from 5 stars was that the story seemed too drawn out in many places.”

Miranda rated it ★★★★ and said, “This was very close to getting five stars. I felt a little slighted at the end, but maybe because I just always want more than there is to a story. I really want to have my own Midnight Dinner. It sounds really fun!”

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Attachments

by Rainbow Rowell

“Hi, I’m the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you…”

Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It’s company policy.) But they can’t quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.

Meanwhile, Lincoln O’Neill can’t believe this is his job now- reading other people’s e-mail. When he applied to be “internet security officer,” he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.

When Lincoln comes across Beth’s and Jennifer’s messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can’t help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.

By the time Lincoln realizes he’s falling for Beth, it’s way too late to introduce himself.

What would he say…?

Ratings and Reviews from the Librarians

Betsy rated it ★★★★★ and said, “This was great! It was like You’ve Got Mail with a non-creepy stalker twist.”

Bekka rated it ★★★★★.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

A Tale of Two Cities

by Charles Dickens

A Library Book Club meeting for this book was held January 21, 2016.

It was the time of the French Revolution—a time of great change and great danger. It was a time when injustice was met by a lust for vengeance, and rarely was a distinction made between the innocent and the guilty. Against this tumultuous historical backdrop, Dickens’ great story of unsurpassed adventure and courage unfolds.

Unjustly imprisoned for 18 years in the Bastille, Dr. Alexandre Manette is reunited with his daughter, Lucie, and safely transported from France to England. It would seem that they could take up the threads of their lives in peace. As fate would have it though, the pair are summoned to the Old Bailey to testify against a young Frenchman—Charles Darnay—falsely accused of treason. Strangely enough, Darnay bears an uncanny resemblance to another man in the courtroom, the dissolute lawyer’s clerk Sydney Carton. It is a coincidence that saves Darnay from certain doom more than once. Brilliantly plotted, the novel is rich in drama, romance, and heroics that culminate in a daring prison escape in the shadow of the guillotine.

Ratings and Reviews from the Librarians

Cathy rated it ★★★★★.

Rebekah rated it ★★★★★.

The Castle Behind Thorns by Merrie Haskell

The Castle Behind Thorns by Merrie Haskell

The Castle Behind Thorns

by Merrie Haskell

Stories don’t know everything.

When Sand wakes up alone in a long-abandoned castle, he has no idea how he got there. The stories all said the place was ruined by an earthquake, and Sand did not expect to find everything inside torn in half or slashed to bits. Nothing lives here and nothing grows, except the vicious, thorny bramble that prevents Sand from leaving. Why wasn’t this in the stories?

To survive, Sand does what he knows best—he fires up the castle’s forge to mend what he needs. But the things he fixes work somehow better than they ought to. Is there magic in the mending? Or have the saints who once guarded this place returned?

When Sand finds the castle’s lost heir, Perrotte, they begin to untwine the dark secrets that caused the destruction. Putting together the pieces—of stone and iron, and of a broken life—is harder than Sand ever imagined, but it’s the only way to regain their freedom.

With gorgeous language and breathtaking magic, Merrie Haskell’s The Castle Behind Thorns tells of the power of memory, story, forgiveness, and the true gifts of craft and imagination.

Ratings and Reviews from the Librarians

Lorna rated it ★★★.

Rebekah rated it ★★★★.