by Carol Plum-Ucci
Chris Creed grew up as the class freak--the bullies' punching bag. After he vanished, the weirdness that had once surrounded him began spreading. It was as if a darkness reached out of his void to grab at the most normal, happy people--like some twisted joke or demented form of justice. It tore the town apart. Torey, his classmate, with a seemingly perfect life struggles with doubts and questions surrounding the mysterious disappearance of the class outcast. His search for answers opens his eyes to the lies, the pain, and the need to blame when tragedy strikes, and his once-safe world comes crashing down around him.
One review calls this “...a complex, credible look at alienation, compassion, loyalty, and cruelty among young and other adults.” Another calls this both “a journey of understanding …” as well as ”…a taut mystery-thriller.” “The open-ended conclusion will have readers talking and discussing long after reading. The book would be a great way to inspire debate about how preconceived notions can color the manner in which people relate to each other, and … help challenge prejudices [we are] often unaware exist (VOYA).”
by Firooza Dumas
In 1972, when she was seven, Firoozeh Dumas and her family moved from Iran to California. This story chronicles the American journey her family: her engineer father, a dreamer who first sought riches on Bowling for Dollars and in Las Vegas, and later lost his job during the Iranian revolution; her elegant mother, who never fully mastered English (nor cared to); her uncle, who combated the effects of American fast food with miraculous American weight-loss gadgets; and Firoozeh herself, who as a girl changed her name to Julie, and who encountered a second wave of culture shock when she met and married a Frenchman, becoming part of a one-couple melting pot.
In a series of deftly drawn scenes, we watch the family grapple with American English (hot dogs and hush puppies? - a complete mystery). American traditions (Thanksgiving turkey?- an even greater mystery, since it tastes like nothing), and American culture (Firoozeh's parents laugh uproariously at Bob Hope on television, although they don't get the jokes even when she translates them into Farsi).
by David Nevin
Publishers’ Weekly states that, “The central conflict of the tale is … a struggle between Burr and James Madison for the soul of the new country, with Madison's wife Dolley (who was introduced to Madison by Burr) providing the human element as Burr loses the race for governor of New York, kills Alexander Hamilton in a duel and conspires to take over New Orleans and use it to conquer Florida, Mexico and the West.”
According to Booklist, “Nevin continues his superb American Story series with a fascinating fictional account of the still unresolved Burr conspiracy to steal the Louisiana Purchase.” This book is, “…grounded in historical fact and chock-full of intrigue and action …”
The Curious Incident
of the Dog in the
Night-time
by Mark Haddon
Narrated by a 15 year-old autistic savant obsessed with Sherlock Holmes, this dazzling novel weaves together an old-fashioned mystery, a contemporary coming-of-age story, and a fascinating excursion into a mind incapable of processing emotions. Christopher Boone has Asperger's, a form of autism. He knows a great deal about math and very little about human beings. Despite his overwhelming fear of interacting with people, he decides to investigate the murder of a neighbor's dog and uncovers secret information about his mother.
And herein lies the key to the brilliance of Mark Haddon’s choice of narrator: The most wrenching of emotional moments are chronicled by a boy who cannot fathom emotions. The effect is dazzling, making for one of the freshest debut in years: a comedy, a tearjerker, a mystery story, a novel of exceptional literary merit that is great fun to read. London Financial Times calls it, “Extraordinarily moving, often blackly funny. . . . It is hard to think of anyone who would not be moved and delighted by this book.”
