City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare

Welcome to a New York City you've never before experienced. Behind the glamour, you will find a world you thought only existed in fantasies and other tales.

Vampires, werewolves, and fairies are only a few of the Downworlders who inhabit the city. Shadowhunters are nephilim, children born of angel and human. The Shadowhunters protect the mundanes (regular humans) of city by killing demons and keeping the Downworlders under control.

Clary Fray is spending the evening at Club Pandemonium with her bff, Simon, when she witnesses three tattooed teens attack and kill another. When she goes to investigate, the body of the murdered teen disappears into thin air. It is then that Clary discovers the tattooed ones are Shadowhunters and she, a mundane, should not be able to see them.

What Clary discovers next will lead her to question everything she's ever known about her life and her world.

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The Cape and Other Stories From the Japanese Ghetto, by Kenji Nakagami

"The Burakumin are the largest minority group in Japan they have been distinguished from them by their origins in the lowest castes of traditional Japanese society." Even though the feudal system in Japan has long since ended, Burakumin people continue to be discriminated against and even shunned by the majority of Japanese societies. These are their stories. The Cape and Other Stories From the Japanese Ghetto, by Kenji Nakagami include three nonfiction stories pertaining to the hardships and social discrimination the Buraku people endure everyday. Heart wrenching, eye opening, violent, powerful and shocking, these stories will give a new perspective on Japan's "lowest class" of people. Some material may not be suitable for all readers.

P:4 Q:4

Bad Connection: Melody Carlson

Bad Connection, another book by my favorite author Melody Carlson; a novel with a strange new twist on life.

Samantha McGregor at age 16 has been aware of her prophetic visions since childhood. Through her visions and dreams God has used her to help other people in sticky situations. It is a gift she never really liked or wanted, but when she starts receiving visions concerning her missing friend Kayla, she can't ignore it anymore. Samantha seems to be struggling with her family when the first vision is seen about her friend Kayla. Mountains. Heat, and a horror striken face of her friend she realizes that she has to do something, she has to respond to the vision and find her friend Kayla regardless of what circumstances put her in that position. Unlike most 16 year old teenage girls today worry Samantha wishes she could worry about about what to wear to prom, and the latest boy issues, instead of having these strange visions. Embark on the mission with Samantha and her deceased father's former police partner to get to the bottom of the case with her friend Kayla before it's too late.

"If God gave you a vision,"

"would you trust it?"

Ratings:

4P

5Q

Wicked Plants

"Wicked Weeds: The weed that killed Lincoln's mother and other botanical atrocities," by Amy Stewart. This strangely fun book, regardless that it's all about plants, was actually very entertaining to read. Inside the cover, this book contains a daunting amount of facts and statistics, all about dangerous plants that can kill you. And if they don't kill you, there are also many plants listing that are known to cause a great many displeasing side-affects. This includes but is not limited to: rashes, vomiting, hallucinations, and even a plant that is said to reek of corpses. Now why would anyone ever get remotely close to such greenery? Surprisingly, many people like to have killer plants as a part of their garden. As a matter of fact, many household plants can be toxic to children or pets, but people buy them as decorations because they don't know what they are. Or, which has been proven an all too common scenario, perhaps there happen to be some interesting plants they come across while camping that they have the urge to touch or eat. This book talks about all hazardous plants, from things as commonly known as Marijuana, to plants that only exist in the most remote tropics of the rain forest. While the book is based greatly on facts, it does not become disinteresting due to the interesting drawings on almost every page. Some illustrations range from simple drawings of the plants, to utterly bizarre depictions of what happens to the unfortunate person to touch Monkshood. So if you take an interest in nature, or even if you have a fascination with murderous plants, this books is great fun to read on a rainy day.

Q4

P3

Pakistani Bride, written by Bapsi Sidwhwa, is a novel about a woman's role in rural Pakistan.

A father who lost his children and wife, a girl who loses her parents, are both brought together to share the joys and sorrows of life. 15 years later, after an immense fortune has been made, Zaitoon makes no objections when her father decides to go back to his home in northern Pakistan. After all, she imagines a loving and romantic relationship. When they arrive, her father promises her in marriage on a whim. Zaitoon is then thrust into a relationship that is not at all what she envisioned, and she realizes that escaping her new and harsh life is nearly impossible.

4Q, 4P

The Compound by S.A. Bodeen

What has your family done to prepare for the threat of nuclear war? Probably nothing. Your grandparents may remember the hype of fallout shelters in the 1940s and 1950s.

Eli and his family are ready. So ready in fact that they are currently living in a high tech underground compound, replicated to look and feel like their Seattle mansion. Unfortunately Eli's twin brother and his grandma are not with them. They were separated from the rest of the family and didn't make it to the shelter in time.

Why are they living in a nuclear fallout shelter, you ask? Eli's father is a billionaire and has spent years and billions of dollars planning for his family's safety. So when he received word of a nuclear attack, they were safely sealed away from the radiation and fallout for 15 years. But not everything appears to have gone according to plann. Six year in, food supplies are dwindling. Dad is acting strange and Eli is beginning to question what he is willing to do in order to secure his family's survival.

Would you be able to survive in The Compound?

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Heat by Mike Lupica

Michael (Miguel) and his Papi have spent years preparing for the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Even before escaping to the United States from their native Cuba, Papi knew Michael had the arm. They would play catch in their yard when they weren't watching American baseball on the television. It was really Papi's dream but it has now become Michael's.

But life sometimes throws you more curveballs than baseball. The other coaches in the league don't believe that someone with Michael's pitching talent is only twelve years old. The Little League has suspended him from pitching in the playoffs until a birth certificate is found. His older brother Carlos is doing his best to track it down, all while trying to avoid Social Services discovering the secret that could tear their family apart.

Will Michael find a way to make his dreams come true this summer? Or will the heat destroy what he has worked so hard to achieve?

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Make sure to stop by your library between November 12, 2009 & January 15, 2010 to check out the traveling exhibit, "Pride & Passion: The African American Baseball Experience".