‘The Graveyard Book’

By Neil Gaiman

(For grades 4-8)

Neil Gaiman’s latest addition to children’s literature is the story of a boy whose family is stabbed to death in the opening scene by a “man named Jack.”

During the attack, the 18-month-old baby makes his way up the street to a graveyard where the ghosts adopt him and bestow upon him the name of Nobody (“Bod”) Owens. In addition to his new parents, Silas, a member of the Honour Guard, agrees to be his guardian until Bod is grown. As such, he supplies Bod with food and makes sure that Bod is schooled in the ways of the dead and the living.

It is these life lessons that Gaiman spotlights as he narrates Bod’s growth from a baby to a teenager. And while Bod’s freedom of the graveyard allows him to navigate the dangers within, he knows that the dangerous “man named Jack” is still looking to finish the job he started when Bod was a baby.

Gaiman’s fantastical tale, which is modeled after Kipling’s “The Jungle Book” and won this year’s prestigious Newbery Medal, is sure to be enjoyed by children, teens and adults.

‘Waiting for Normal’

By Leslie Connor

(For grades 4-8)

Twelve-year-old Addie has been “waiting for normal” her entire life. Her Mommers’ “all-or-nothing” approach to life makes having a normal life difficult, but Addie’s optimistic attitude never waivers.

Even after her ex-stepfather, Dwight, takes custody of her two half sisters, because of Mommers’ neglect, and she and Mommers have to move into a funny looking trailer on a busy street corner in Schenectady, New York. Addie finds ways to make the best of a bad situation. It is with the support of Dwight, her grandfather, Jack, her new neighbors Soula, Elliot, and Rick, and her new school friends that Addie is able to survive being practically abandoned after Mommers’ meets Pete and only sporadically comes home.

The characters in Connor’s novel will tug at readers’ hearts. While the story is a dead-on portrayal of parental neglect, it is also a heartwarming look at a positive father/daughter relationship. While Addie’s family may have their quirks, her relationship with Dwight is believable, honest and one that every child should be so lucky to enjoy. This is a must read.

~Jeana- Children's Librarian

Food of a Younger Land

“The Food of a Younger Land.”

By Mark Kurlansky

During the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt’s WPA (Works Progress Administration) employed millions of people who were otherwise hard pressed to find jobs.

Many people are familiar with the building projects, ranging from bridges and roads and dams and recreation areas (including the Lake of the Ozarks) to theaters and hospitals, but mostly forgotten are the arts programs including art and theater projects and (we arrive at our destination) the work of the Federal Writers’ Project.

In addition to the completed guides to the states and other geographic regions and works of general historic interest (the Joplin Public Library owns the Missouri guide book written at that time as well as a couple of other FWP books), work was done on a project about the regional foodways of the United States to be called “America Eats.” Sadly, the project was abandoned shortly after our entrance into World War II when the WPA began to shut down as the war reinvigorated the economy and ended the need for the subsidized employment the WPA was created to provide. Even during its lifetime, it was not the best organized project ever undertaken, and some groups never submitted any reports, Missouri among them.

Mark Kurlansky has now selected some of the more interesting submissions and compiled them into “The Food of a Younger Land.” The book is divided into sections, according to the geographic divisions the Writers’ Project imposed, so we have the Northeast, the South, the Middle West, the Far West and the Southwest.

In the Northeast, there’s a lovely piece on the Automat (and what I wouldn’t give to have been able to eat at one at least once in my life) where you inserted coins and a little door (one among hundreds, if not thousands) opened so that you could retrieve your tasty prize. There’s also a piece on lunch-counter slang (like “axle grease” for butter or “burn one” for an order of toast). I suppose one can still get oyster stew supreme at the Oyster Bar at the Grand Central Terminal in New York City, but many of the foods and folkways have waned or vanished entirely. Of course, in the case of squirrel mulligan, that may not be an altogether bad thing.

I don’t know if they still have booya cookouts in Minnesota (I’m familiar with — but have never eaten — the regional specialty of lutefisk), but there’s a recipe for booya if you can lay your hands on 30 pounds of oxtails and a peck each of kohlrabi and rutabagas, as well as some other things). I suspect that Washington state smelt fries are pretty much a thing of the past, along with Rhode Island May breakfasts. Pity. Some of these events sound like a lot of fun, not to mention some of the food sounds tasty.

There are recipes of all sorts in the book, many of which are impossible to follow for a modern cook, since most of us are used to very detailed recipes. These are mostly of the “goodly bit of this, chunk of that, enough of whatever” variety of recipe. One that gives lots of detail (aside from the booya above) is for Kow Kanyon potatoes, which sounds good, but starts with 25 pounds of potatoes. I don’t have that many people to cook for! If you do, you might like to try it.

Speaking of potatoes, there is a good bit of material about Oklahoma here, including the fact that the Suzi-Q potato was created in Oklahoma City in 1938. My favorite piece in the book has to be the bit about mashed potatoes (spuds again) titled “An Oregon Protest against Mashed Potatoes” by Claire Warner Churchill. She wasn’t actually opposed to mashed potatoes, just what some people (mostly restaurant cooks) did to them. You might think it would be hard to get four typeset pages out of a rant about mashed potatoes, but dear Claire got four beautiful pages out of it.

It’s sad to think about the books that might have come out of this abandoned project but didn’t, but I’m glad that Kurlansky rescued the bits he did. An interesting and informative read.

~ Linda- circulation supervisor/collection development librarian.

Zombies add new twist to old problem

‘Generation Dead’

By Daniel Waters

“Zombie” is not a polite term to use when referring to the Differently Biotic (DB) teens who inexplicably come back from death. Even more inexplicable is that this only happens to teenagers living in America. Could it be from all the preservatives in fast food? Too many video games? Aliens? No one knows.

Most of the alive, or Traditionally Biotic (TB), teens at Oakvale High are pretty freaked out by the DB kids in their classes and the new “DB Friendly” label that Oakvale just received. More than freaked out, Phoebe is curious. Specifically, she’s curious about Tommy Williams, a rather handsome DB guy in her class who seems to be able to function better than most of his DB counterparts. He even goes out for the football team and holds his own against giants like Phoebe’s best friend and neighbor, Adam.

Cue Teen Book Love Triangle. Phoebe is developing a crush on Tommy while Adam is discovering his undying love for Phoebe. At the same time, Pete, one of Adam’s teammates and the definite “bad guy” in the book, is determined to rid Oakvale of all zombies and isn’t afraid to hurt anyone, alive or not, who gets in his way.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, but after reading the first chapter, it was hard to tear myself away. The action is nicely paced and the characters are quirky and well developed, which was a surprise to me. I’m not sure how you make zombies sympathetic, but Waters did it. He also developed the villainous Pete well. Even though Pete’s actions and intentions are based on ignorance and fear, he is believable and even a little understandable.

Waters is a talented world-builder and reveals just enough of the answers to the burning questions in the novel to keep pages turning. I had a couple of problems with this book, however. The novel itself had some grammatical errors that could have easily been fixed before publication, and a stronger editor would have realized that referring to characters by both their first and their last names, but not together, is confusing.

My main issue with “Generation Dead,” however, is one of focus. Waters builds the conflict of prejudice and acceptance using the relationship between Phoebe and Tommy as a way to set up the most extreme reactions … at least, that’s how I interpreted the Teen Book Love Triangle aspect of the plot. I was pretty excited that Waters wasn’t relying on the prolific formula: Supernatural Being and Human Romance + Action and Near Death Experiences = No. 1 Bestseller. Instead, he seemed to be focusing on good vs. evil and the very “teen” issue of finding acceptance within yourself and in your high school. I was giddy with excitement at the new twist to this age-old problem. Therefore, I was willing to overlook some of the weaknesses of the writing and grammar.

Then the book ended. It ended with quite a cliffhanger, in fact. But instead of ending with the epic battle of good (Phoebe, Tommy and Adam) vs. evil (Pete), it ended with the epic drama of Teen Book Love Triangle. I’ve read that story before and while zombies are new on the scene, the love triangle between a supernatural being and a human is certainly not.

Despite the ending, “Generation Dead” is worth the read. For those who love the Teen Book Love Triangle storylines, especially ones with supernatural characters, this book is well worth the read. I, apparently, wasn’t in the mood.

“Generation Dead” is appropriate for teens and adults.

~Cari - Teen Librarian

Surprise ending caps fast-paced ‘Blue Zone’

‘The Blue Zone’

By Andrew Gross

(compact disc audiobook)

Kate Raab leads a perfect life. She is smart and beautiful, has a boyfriend named Greg, a close-knit family and she enjoys her job as a medical researcher at a New York lab. Her father, Benjamin Raab, runs a very successful diamond and gold business in New York; the family — Raab’s wife, Sharon, and Kate and her younger brother and sister — has always led an extremely comfortable existence. However, everything changes when the FBI arrests Raab for conspiracy and money laundering for a Colombian drug cartel.

The sound of gunshots peppering their house startles the family on the evening that Benjamin Raab is released from jail. Raab decides to place himself and his family in the Witness Protection Program (WITSEC). The family members receive new identities and are relocated to the West Coast — with the exception of Kate. Kate and Greg are about to marry; consequently Kate insists on continuing with her life in New York.

Kate does not believe the charges leveled against her father and vows to clear his name and get to the truth. She becomes increasingly distrustful of the protection provided to her family and she begins to wonder if she can trust anyone, even Greg. When a co-worker gets shot, Kate is sure the bullet was intended for her. Kate is panic-stricken when her father disappears from WITSEC and his case agent is murdered. He is in the “blue zone,” the FBI’s name for the point where he no longer has contact with the program. His identity may have been exposed and he could even be dead. In her pursuit of the truth, Kate uncovers disturbing secrets that connect her family to the Mercado drug cartel in Colombia.

This fast-paced, intense thriller contains twists and turns that keep you guessing to the surprise ending. Ilyana Kadushin provides a fine narration of the audiobook. The author, Andrew Gross, has co-authored novels with James Patterson but this was his solo debut, which was published in 2007. I cannot compare their writing styles having never read any of Patterson’s novels. However, I am eager to read “The Dark Tide” and, “Don’t Look Twice,” novels Gross has written since the publication of “The Blue Zone.”

‘Gold of Kings’

By T. Davis Bunn

(compact disc audiobook)

Sean Syrrell, a dealer in rare antiquities, dies from an apparent heart attack soon after firing his granddaughter, Storm, from his business. Storm almost immediately learns that her grandfather left the business in grim financial straits. She is also surprised and saddened to learn that her grandfather did not mention her in his will.

Harry Bennett, a treasure hunter, was in a Barbados prison for illegal treasure hunting when he was suddenly released. Before his death, Sean had arranged for Harry’s release from prison with the instructions that Harry is to protect Storm from danger. Harry and Storm conclude that her grandfather was likely murdered, but fortunately, not all of his secrets follow him to the grave. Storm discovers some interesting items in Sean’s safe including a frayed leather journal.

Following clues from the journal, Storm and Harry embark on a treasure hunt, and federal agent Emma Webb soon joins them. Emma has been working on uncovering secrets between the world of treasure hunting and the antiquities and art houses. The quest for ancient treasure from Herod the Great’s Second Temple in Jerusalem sends the trio to London, France, Istanbul and Cyprus while thwarting several attempts on their lives.

Bunn’s thriller has it all — believable characters, numerous adventures, historical archaeology and mysterious murders — with a little romance tossed in the mix. The descriptive historical background about the places they traveled and the treasure they hunted added to the action-packed plot. Phil Gigante provides excellent narration for “Gold of Kings.”

Phyllis- Technical Services Librarian