Beowulf: A Hero's Tale Retold by James Rumford

An illustrated retelling of the ancient epic hero poem, this is the story of Beowulf. Grendel, an ogre, had been terrorizing the Danish kingdom for 12 years and no one, not even King Hrothgar, had been able to stop him. Long ago a young child named Beowulf, a Geat, had sworn an oath to help the king. He was bold, strong-willed, and fire-hearted and it was rumored he had the strength of 30 men. Beowulf and his men arrived in Denmark and the people believed them to be sent from Heaven. That night when Grendel came for his nightly meal, Beowulf was ready. He fought the ogre and cut off his arm. The kingdom rejoiced but Grendel’s mother was more evil than Grendel and hungered for revenge. Beowulf follows her into the depths of the swamp. Will he be able to defeat her and save the Hrothgar’s kingdom? If he does survive, will Beowulf be the greatest hero to ever live?

"Stephenie Meyer: The Next J.K. Rowling?"

For those of us that can't wait until August 2nd for the next dose of vampire romance Meyer style, take a look at this article from Time Magazine. (This image is part of the article.)

Stephenie's next novel, The Host, is due out May 6th and will be available at NCPL. While its not vampire romance, it might be science-fiction for those of us who don't read sci-fi.

Don't forget to check out Stephenie Meyer's website for all the details on Breaking Dawn, The Host, and the Twilight movie.

Carrie's Review: Missing in Tokyo by Graham Marks

Upon receiving a life-altering phone call which brings news of his missing sister, Adam Grey embarks on a terrifying journey on the other side of the world in order to do whatever it takes to find her. His older sister and been traveling across Asia with her best friend and her friend's shady boyfriend. However when Alice calls from Tokyo, Japan with the terrifying news that her friend has been kidnapped, Adam weighs his options and hops a plane to Japan. Once he gets there he must take on the busy, hectic, and largely populated city in order to discover the mystery of what has happened to his sister. This book is fairly slow in the beginning and doesn't start to pick up until quite a ways into Adam's Tokyo adventure. It does give the readers an interesting look into Japanese culture but the climax didn't live up to expectations.
Rating: 2Q 3P

Jessica's Review: The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

Metamorphosis written by Franz Kafka is an entertaining, but surreal book. The imagination couples with magical realism combines to create an image both startling and intriguing, almost horrifically so. The story centers around Gregor and his family. Gregor has woken up into what some would call a nightmare but unfortunately for him is reality. He and his family suffer through his trauma in which time we learn how strong or weak his relationships with each member of the family are and how the family views Gregor. Overall the book was decent and I would only suggest it to those interested in broadening their horizons of literature which may or may not be likeable in the end but at the very least something has been learned.
Rating: 3Q, 2P

Mary's Review: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

A warning: This is not a happy book. Nor is it a particularly child-friendly book; quite simply put, it is the slow descent of a young girl's self loathing and her eventual descent into madness. Pecola Breedlove has always hated her looks and her dark skin, wanting nothing more than a pair of beautiful blue eyes like child star darling Shirley Temple. To say more would be impossible without spoiling something, interwoven as it is like poetry. The story is told not from Pecola's point of view but by those around her; alternately in first person by a girl who befriended her, and in third person concerning Pecola's mother and father, as well as an old 'miracle worker' whom Pecola's wishes for her eyes from and a young boy whom she meets. In this way the reader views Pecola from all sides but never really "knows" her. This works to and against the book's advantage. It is less sympathy and more a true understanding that the reader achieves, but it nonetheless keeps them at a distance from the child. The ending is confusing; something, it is clear, has happened to Pecola, but the details are rather sketchy as to what exactly has occurred. These arguments don't detract from the poetic nature of the writing and puzzle-like story-telling that blessedly forces the reader to think rather than forcing things down their throat. For a first novel particularly, it is a spectacular effort.
Final Verdict: 4Q, 2P

Watch This!

If you are looking for a good read, check out this book trailer for Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles.

You might also try How to Ruin My Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles or Blue is For Nightmares by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Sold by Patricia McCormick

“My name is Lakshmi.
I am from Nepal.
I am thirteen years old.”
That much she is sure of. Lakshmi’s and her family live in a small mountain village in Nepal and are incredibly poor. She is innocent, enjoys the simple things in life and isn’t afraid of a little hard work.
However, when the harsh monsoons destroy the family crop, their only lifeline, her life is also devastated. Lakshmi believes that she is being sent away to work as a maid in the city, but it isn’t long before she realizes she is trapped, sold into the world of prostitution.
Does she have the strength to survive in this cruel world? What choice does she have?

Oggie Cooder by Sarah Weeks

Fourth grader Oggie Cooder is someone you might call “one-of-a-kid”, “unique”, or “unusual” and he likes those descriptions. His parents own a second hand clothing store, which explains his eccentric wardrobe. Oggie also crochets his own shoelaces. But the most interesting thing about Oggie is his talent—CHARVING. What is charving, you ask? It’s what Oggie does to a piece of processed American cheese –he CHEWS and CARVES the cheese into shapes, namely the shapes of the States.
Oggie is disappointed when he learns that his entry into the Bakestuff Company’s name-the-new-bagel contest is rejected. His submission “Raisin’ the Roof” is SO much better than the winning name “Sunshine”. Which would you rather eat?
So while bagels aren’t the food that will make Oggie famous, his weird charving ability is about to propel him from weirdo to Mr. Popular. Can Oggie Cooder handle being the Big Cheese?

How to Be Bad by E. Lockhart, Sarah Mlynowski, & Lauren Myracle

Three acclaimed teen authors have joined forces to create a tale of the ultimate girl power road trip. Jesse, Vicks, & Mel take a break from summer jobs at the Awful Waffle in Niceville, FL and hit the road on a journey complete with hurricanes, hungry crocodiles, and an ugly station wagon. The girls learn that no matter how rich, poor, happy or miserable you are, sometimes you need to learn how to be bad in order to finally be good with what life throws your way.

*This book will be published in May 2008.*

Find out more about the book and authors on their myspace page http://www.myspace.com/how_to_be_bad

Mary's Review: xxxHolic by Clamp

Chances are good that if you've ever picked up a manga, you're familiar with CLAMP. Chances are good that if you know CLAMP you're familiar with their opus, Tsubasa. Perhaps less famous but just as, if not more, excellent is Tsubasa's periodic crossover series xxxHolic (most often pronounced as 'Holic'). Be not afraid, dear reader; one need not follow Tsubasa in order to enjoy this bizzare gothic/horror/romantic drama, though it does add an interesting layer to the story. Ignoring the intertwining elements, the basic story of Holic can be related thusly; 15 year old Watanuki Kimihiro (last name first) is an emotional young man (almost overly so; his spastic mood swings are a highlight of the comedic scenes) who lives alone, having lost both his parents to an accident at an early age. On top of that, he is cursed with the ability to see spirits who in turn follow him relentlessly. One day Watanuki passes a peculiar house which dispels the spirits once he steps inside. From there he is drawn against his will inside and meets a mysterious woman named Yuko. She claims to run a shop that grants wishes, for an appropriate price of course. That includes ridding Watanuki of his cursed spirit vision. And so, almost unwittingly, Watanuki becomes a part time worker at the shop in order to have his wish granted by hard work. This setup places Holic into a comfortably episodic scene similar to Petshop of Horrors; customers are drawn to the shop for whatever reason, taking away an object or instrument that could help them if only they could realize their flaw. As the series progresses it introduces the cheerful Himawari, on whom Watanuki nurses a crush, and the taciturn Doumeki, a young man with whom Watanuki bickers constantly but seems to be connected to by fate. As interesting as the customer episodes are, it is when the trio comes together that Holic truly shines. Luckily the series trends towards this, using the relationship of the three characters as well as the mysterious relationship between Yuko and Watanuki to form a solid basis for the episodic stories. The limitation of the series is that the stories themselves recall gothic horror using old myths and legends, calling on a love or at least tolerance of horror from the reader. And of course an acceptance of CLAMP's art; that is to say, many attractive young men and women whose slender frames and long limbs could only have been acheived by putting the victim into a taffy puller. That aside, the pacing and subtlety of the story have a way of hopelessly addicting the reader. CLAMP has not been one of the most popular artist groups in Japan for the past 15 years for nothing.

Final Verdict: 5Q, 3P

*This series is not owned by NCPL but can be requested through InterLibrary Loan**

Carrie's Review: Deception Point by Dan Brown

After a NASA satellite discovers a rare meteorite buried far down in the Arctic Ice, the White House calls upon Rachel Sexton, a intelligence analyst who works for the NRO, the National Reconnaissance Office. The President knows that this discovery will not only save NASA's falling reputation but will guarantee his victory in the upcoming election. Rachel Sexton travels to the Arctic where she teams up with the charming Michael Toland and a number of other scientific experts. This is where they uncover a mind blowing conspiracy which indicates the meteorite, which contains bug-like specimen, to have not come from Outer Space, but which was instead inserted from underneath the ice shelf. Before the scientists can learn more about this treachery, a highly skilled team of assassins that branch off of the U.S. Army attacks their camp and kills most of the scientists. Michael Toland and Rachel Sexton barely escape and now must find a way to survive the harsh environment of the Northern Arctic. However, the only way to truly save not only themselves but the entire Nation as well is to uncover the greatest deception of them all. This is an action-packed and fast paced read, full of intense plot twist sand shocking surprises it will have readers begging for more.
Rating: 5Q, 5P

Jessica's Review: The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand is the well-renowned philosopher and author of Atlas Shrugged as well as The Fountainhead. The Fountainhead is a story of humanity and what many would consider the corruption fueling it. What one would believe as corruption is in fact the fine divide between the two types of society: the creators and the second handers. The entire novel is a story of humanity's struggle against individuality and the true meaning of ego. The ego being assumed as the sacrifice of others for oneself and the opposing "ideal" of altruism which believes we must sacrifice ourselves for others and yet in sacrificing ourselves for others aren't we all still looking for something in return? Some accolade? The key characters of this story stress the very ends of the spectrum and ideals commonly or uncommonly held in our society. Howard Roark, architect, is the ultimate egoist. He does not sacrifice others for himself as one might believe, but sacrifices himself for himself, his creations. He is an individual who lives for no one but himself, he does not require the social attitudes of those around him. Ellseworth Toohey is a columnist who knows that there are creators like Roark and he is of the belief that such individuality should be looked down on by society. He uses his column to turn society on Roark's ideals but in the end Roark's character finds the purest way to live.
I would suggest this book to anyone who is interested in a more humanistic/deeper view of life. I know at first it seems strange that the entire book is based around architecture but that is merely a metaphor for the construction of life and different ideals.
Rating: 5Q, 2P