Family Matters

On the first page of Split, by Swati Avasthi, sixteen-year-old Jace Witherspoon stands on his older brother's doorstep. He has $3.84 in his pocket, a broken face, and not much else. And after that last blowup with his dad, he can't go back home.

His brother Christian, who left the family when he couldn't deal with their abusive father anymore, immediately takes him in. Jace wants to build a new life for himself, but he can't stop thinking about his mom, now her husband's only punching bag.

He also can't stop thinking about what he did to his own girlfriend before he left.

We've all read the novels about abusive families, and we've all heard the statistics about abused children growing up to become abusers. In this powerful first novel, Avasthi pulls us into the head of a young man who's struggling with the question: can you ever really escape the person your family has made you into?

Best Books of 2012 Galore!

This is the time of year when I am out in the book stores picking out great reads for my family and friends, especially my nieces and nephews. But which ones? I confess I love love love the "best books of the year" lists that I find all over the internet.

In case you enjoy them too, here is a collection for your perusal. P.S. Unlike the other titles we talk about here, these books aren't necessarily in our catalog.

Here goes:

All Ages
Book Riot's Best Books of 2012
Best Books 2012 (Publisher's Weekly)
Goodreads Choice Awards 2012
Southwest Books of the Year (Pima County Public Library)
25 of the Most Wonderful Book Covers of the Year (Atlantic Wire)

Adults
10 Best Books of 2012 (New York Times Sunday Book Review)
100 Notable Books of 2012 (New York Times Sunday Book Review)
What To Read Awards: The Salon Book Critics’ Poll (Salon Magazine) just added
Notable Books for Adults (ALA/RUSA)
Best Books 2012: Top Ten (Library Journal) just added
Best Books 2012: More of the Best (Library Journal) just added
Librarian Nancy Pearl's Picks For The Omnivorous Reader (NPR Books)
Great Reads In Store: Indie Booksellers Pick 2012's Best (NPR Books) just added
Our Editors Select The Best Books Of 2012 (Huffington Books)
The Slate Book Review Top 10 of 2012 (Slate Magazine)
2012 Books: Slate Staff Picks (Slate Magazine)
Overlooked Books of 2012 (Slate Magazine)
Nerdfighter Book Recommendations (author John Green) just added
The 10 Best Books of 2012 (And 5 Almost Worth Burning) (Hollywood.com)
The Listen List: Outstanding Audiobook Narration (ALA/RUSA)
Best Art Books of 2012 (Brain Pickings)
Best Design Books of 2012 (Brain Pickings)
Best Science Books of 2012 (Brain Pickings)
Best Psychology and Philosophy Books of 2012 (Brain Pickings)
Going Vegan: 5 Favorite Cookbooks from 2012 (Oregon Live)
Favourite Comics, Art Books & More (Drawn blog)

Children and Teens
Best Books 2012 (School Library Journal)
Notable Children’s Books of 2012 (New York Times)
Best Children's Books of 2012 to Give as Gifts (Parenting Magazine)
Children's Books 2012: 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing (NYPL)
Cybils Award Finalists for 2012
The Best Illustrated Children’s Books and Picturebooks of 2012 (Brain Pickings)
My Favorite Nonfiction Books of 2012 (so far) (Abby the Librarian)
Best Young Adult Books of 2012 (Goodreads)
Judy B.'s 2012 Top Teen Fiction Reads (Tattered Cover)
Judy B.'s Favorite 2012 Non-Fiction Teen Reads (Tattered Cover)
Christmas Book Ideas for Teens (YA Nerd blog)
Top 10 Science and Health Books for Youth (Booklist)
Outstanding Science Books for Students K–12 (National Science Teachers Assn)
Children's Books (NPR Books)
Your Favorites: 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels (NPR Books)

--Lisa, your Facebook Librarian

From Fanfiction to Mainstream

The latest SummerQuest is a really fun challenge involving creating a map of an imaginary place. You have to be a true fan to be that inspired by an imaginary world. Some are inspired to make maps, while others are inspired to write stories. So between that, and the fact that the controversial Fifty Shades of Grey continues to be one of our most-requested books, this seems like a good time to recommend some other authors who, like E.L. James, started out writing fanfiction. (You probably know already that that book started out as Twilight fanfiction...le sigh.)

 There's a good chance that you've seen the multitude of pink, sparkly books we have by popular child, teen, and adult author Meg Cabot. But did you know that she started out writing fanfiction, and is still an active member of that online community? Find out what the heck fanfiction is, and check out some more popular authors who started out writing it, after the jump!

Jack Gantos - A New Favorite

So I may be a bit late to the party...but I never read anything by Jack Gantos before. Not his popular Rotten Ralph picture books, not his Jack Henry series, not even his Joey Pigza series. Somehow, this award winning author was never on my radar. However, after reading Dead End in Norvelt, Jack Gantos is a new favorite. Even if you don't often read children's books, I urge you to pick up a copy of this one. Read it or listen to the audiobook, read by the author himself. Either way, the voice of 12 year old Jack Gantos will stay with you long after you finish.

The town of Norvelt, Pennslyvania doesn't offer much excitement for Jack Gantos in the summer of 1962. The school holidays look bleak when Jack is grounded for accidently shooting off his father's WWII rifle. The only way Jack can escape the house is by helping his arthritic elderly neighbor, Miss Volker. What follows is a hilarious mix of mysterious events, hijinks and small town zaniness.

Time, Still Wrinkling, 50 Years Later

Quick, identify this first line: "It was a dark and stormy night."

Several of you probably said, "Oh! Snoopy's never-finished novel!" Some of you really brainy types might have said, "Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Paul Clifford!" But if you were a book lover growing up anytime in the past fifty years, you thought of Madeleine L'Engle's Newbery Award winner, A Wrinkle in Time.

Your mind immediately went to a prickly and bad-tempered thirteen-year-old girl with glasses and braces, and to all that lies ahead of her. She's about to leave her attic bedroom and go downstairs to sit with her genius little brother, Charles Wallace. She's about to meet Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which, three mysterious old ladies who are far more than old ladies. She's about to discover a new side to classmate Calvin O'Keefe. She's about to undertake a harrowing journey across the universe and into her own heart to find her long-lost father.

And if that's not what you thought of, well, brace yourself. You're about to meet Meg Murray.

- Maureen K.

Finnikin of the Rock

My favorite fantasy is that which manages to reflect the real world back in on itself. Although I enjoy good versus evil, and humor, and supernatural creatures, I really admire the fantasy that leaves you a little solemn and thoughtful.

"Finnikin of the Rock" by Melina Marchetta is fantasy, but at its heart, it is a refugee story. When Finnikin was a child, the royal family of Lumatere was murdered. The assassination triggered a civil war, with some factions fleeing the country. With half the people seeking refuge outside the city, and the rest of the population in conflict, a curse in the form of an impenetrable barrier descended around the country, preventing anybody from leaving or re-entering.

Liar, Liar

There are many things to love about Megan Whalen Turner's books. For starters, there's her lovingly built world, which draws heavily on ancient Greece and Rome. There's her twisty-turny plots, which deal with the fates of nations and surprise you at every page turn. There's her grand themes, about love and fate and the terrible choices a king or queen must make. But for me, the thing that keeps bringing me back, and actually drove me to purchase my own copies of all four books, is Eugenides. He's the star of three books, The Thief, The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia, and a major character in another, A Conspiracy of Kings.

Eugenides of Eddis is a thief, a liar, and a scoundrel. You really can't trust a word that comes out of his mouth. And yet, you can trust him.

Summer Reading Is Here!

It's that time of year again, when school lets out, vacation begins, and readers across the country crack open their books to get through the long hot months.

This year, as you're thinking about summer reading, remember that it's not just for kids and teens. We're encouraging adults to participate as well - keep an eye out on our public homepage for our summer reading sign up, or ask your local friendly librarian for details.

Without further ado, here are three titles to start out your summer reading.