What We're Reading

A selection of adult, teen and children's books that VPL staff have been reading recently.

The Help - Kathryn Stockett

Location:  Adult Fiction - Sto

Downloadable ebook in OverDrive

Jackson, Mississippi, 1962. White ladies playing bridge and sipping ice tea. Colored maids cooking, cleaning, and loving the white babies. The separate, intertwined paths of these worlds are going to collide. Three ordinary 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.

Read by Michelle W.

An inspiring story reflecting on the boundaries of society in 1962. You will be pulled in as women from two different parts of society work together to take a stance and bring light to the racist attitudes of the times.  This is a wonderful read full of compassion and humor.

Starcrossed - Elizabeth C. Bunce

Location:  New - Young Adult Fiction

Sixteen-year-old Digger thrives as a spy and sneak-thief among the feuding religious factions of Llyvraneth, dodging the Greenmen who have banned all magic from the city. But when a routine job goes horribly wrong and her partner and lover Tegen is killed, she has to get out of the land, fast, and hides herself in a merry group of nobles to do so. Combines the richness of fantasy with the twists and turns of the best spy stories.

Read by Erica L.

This was a book that I couldn’t put down. Digger, a talented thief whose survival instinct gets her out of many scrapes, is a strong, complicated and unique character. Not only are the characters relatable and complex but the setting itself, a fantastical country where religious persecution rages, is fresh and tangible. A wonderful fantasy read that is full of intrigue, suspense, hope and friendship.

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother - Amy Chua

Location:  Biography - Chua

Downloadable ebook in OverDrive

Traces the rewards and pitfalls of a Chinese mother's exercise in extreme parenting, describing the exacting standards applied to grades, music lessons, and avoidance of Western cultural practices.

Read by Dayna

A different perspective on raising children. Is the Chinese way of parenting better, are American parents just too laid back? Depending on your own confidence in your parenting style you will either be offended, angry, laugh, feel like you should be pushing your kids to do more or just be intrigued with the insight into another family’s way of raising children. This would be an excellent discussion book for a parenting group.

Blackstone Chronicles - John Saul

Location:  Downloadable ebook in OverDrive

From atop Blackstone's highest hill, the old Asylum casts its shadow over the village. Built in the 1890s to house the insane, the Asylum has stood vacant for decades. But now, the wrecker's ball is about to strike--and unleash an ominous evil. Strange gifts begin to appear on the doorsteps of Blackstone's finest citizens. Each bears a mysterious history. Each brings a horrifying power to harm. Each reveals another thread in the suspensefully woven web of . . .

Read by Catherine M.

River Marked - Patricia Briggs

Location:  New - Adult Fiction - Briggs

Downloadable ebook in OverDrive

Car mechanic and shapeshifter Mercy Thompson has never known any others of her kind. Until now. As Mercy comes to terms with this new information, an evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River--and if Mercy and her mate, the Alpha werewolf Adam, are to have any hope of surviving, they will need all the resources the shifters can offer.

Read by Kim S.  A very enjoyable read.

Marfa Shadows - John DeMers

Location:  Adult Fiction - DeMers

Brett Baldwin is a Texas chef who keeps his life, his emotions, and especially his restaurant under careful control. He arranges most of the things that matter to him in color-coded folders in his office. That control lasts only as long as it takes Meridyth Morgan, high school love interest and now Hollywood star--to walk into his dining room and beg him to help locate her missing brother.

Read by Jo Ann O.

The story is set in deep west Texas -- Marfa (best known for the Marfa Lights). It is a debut novel. Good premise. OK start but tries to be all things for all readers and gets lost. If he writes another will give a chance but not expecting a second chance from the publisher.

Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver

Location:  Young Adult Fiction Award - Oliver

Downloadable ebook in OverDrive

Beautiful, popular Samantha and her three best friends are the ruthless queen bees of their high school. But Samantha is living a nightmare: after she dies in a car crash, teenaged Samantha relives the day of her death over and over again until, on the seventh day, she finally discovers a way to save herself.

Read by Michelle W.

Teens will relate to this book as it provides insight to choices and pressures that they are faced with.  It's an interesting read that is hard to put down as you wonder what choices will Samantha make differently as she relives each day.  The ending may not be what you expect or want, but it does make you think about life and the choices you make.

The Bread Bible - Rose Levy Beranbaum

Location:  Adult Nonfiction - 641.815 Ber

The Bread Bible gives bread bakers 150 of the meticulous, foolproof recipes that are Rose Levy Beranbaum's trademark. Her knowledge of the chemistry of baking, the accessibility of her recipes, and the incomparable taste of her creations make this book invaluable for home cooks and professional bakers alike.

Read by Erica L.

Really straight forward recipes that come out perfectly. Delicious and informative, a great recipe book for anyone wanting to make any kind of bread (the zucchini bread was to die for). However, it is important to follow the recipes. She has perfected each one to make it the best possible result, adjusting or adding ingredients does not work....trust me, I tried.

Treason at Lisson Grove:

A Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Novel - Anne Perry

Location:  Adult Fiction - Perry

Special Branch officer Thomas Pitt, hastening to rendezvous with a secret informant, arrives a second too late, preceded by a knife-wielding assassin. As he pursues the killer and the information he needs to stop a devastating plot against the British government, his clever wife Charlotte heads to Dublin to investigate a case involving Pitt's supervisor, Victor Narraway.

Read by Catherine M.

A Tale Dark and Grimm - Adam Gidwitz

Location:  Juvenile Fiction - Gidwitz

In this mischievous and utterly original debut, Hansel and Gretel walk out of their own story and into eight other classic Grimm-inspired tales. As readers follow the siblings through a forest brimming with menacing foes, they learn the true story behind the bread crumbs, edible houses, and outwitted witches.

Read by Erica L.
If you like scary, dark and twisty stories this book is for you. These are the true tales of Grimm told through the fearless eyes of Hansel and Gretel. These stories are not for the weak of heart, but if you like funny or scary books, you will definitely like this one too.