Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Released August 1, 2009

Shiver was recommended by a library staff member, who got the advanced reader’s copy at ALA.  She said it was quick-paced like Twilight, and also featured a supernatural boy and a down-to-earth girl who fall in love.  It is fairly a fast read, especially the beginning and the end.  It drags slightly in the middle, but not too bad.  The story is set in Minnesota and is about Grace, a 17-year-old who, as a child, was attacked by wolves in her backyard.  She would have died, except for the gentle, yellow-eyed wolf who rescued her and got her back to safety.  Grace never forgot that wolf, and through her encounters with him in the woods behind her house, Grace realized that maybe her wolf wasn’t just a wolf.  She was right of course; Sam is werewolf, human in the summer and wolf in the winter.  He has the same yellow eyes as a human, and the same love for Grace as he did several years ago when he rescued her.  But in Shiver, wolves only change into summer humans for so long, and this is most likely Sam’s last year.  What can he and Grace do to stay together now that they’ve found each other?  –Becky Fermanich, Youth Services Librarian

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister

Released January 2009

I read the blurb on the back of this book as saying “Fans of Laura Esquivel are going to fall in love with Erica Bauermeister’s beautiful story.” After finishing the book, I flipped it back over and re-read the sentence, which actually reads: “Fans of Maeve Binchy and Laura Esquivel are going to fall in love with Erica Bauermeister’s beautiful story.” Ahh. That explains a lot.

I read the blurb on the back of this book as saying “Fans of Laura Esquivel are going to fall in love with Erica Bauermeister’s beautiful story.” After finishing the book, I flipped it back over and re-read the sentence, which actually reads: “Fans of Maeve Binchy and Laura Esquivel are going to fall in love with Erica Bauermeister’s beautiful story.” Ahh. That explains a lot.

This book centers on the power of food and the existence of an incredible, mystical relationship with cooking. There are gorgeous descriptions of ingredients, of sauce-making, of perfect desserts. It’s a big love letter to gastronomy and an appreciation of taste and smell.

It’s also, well, a tad sappy. The characters are extremely sensitive – and each can communicate with others through only the most understanding of glances, or the kindest half-smile. In the same chapters where I scoffed at the sentimentality, I found myself next to tears in just a few pages. Even if I wasn’t crazy about what Bauermeister was doing with her characters, the language she used to make it happen was wonderfully moving.

“The School of Essential Ingredients” is really a place where everything works out, where the people are wholeheartedly good and the eating is divine. My final reaction was, so what if it’s romanticized to within an inch of it’s life? It’s delicious.  – Sara Wedell, Adult Services Librarian

Nothing But A Smile by Steve Amick

Release date: March 10, 2009

Reading this book was like watching a movie from the 1940s, with lots of screwball moments and a good love story developing throughout. And the pinup photo shoot scenes would be hilarious.

Reading this book was like watching a movie from the 1940s, with lots of screwball moments and a good love story developing throughout. And the pinup photo shoot scenes would be hilarious.

The characters were perfectly portrayed, Sal with her mix of spunk and business sense and Wink’s easy-going nature and corny jokes. I thought the dialogue was dead on, never sounding forced, never unrealistic, even with the hearty helping of 1940s slang. The romance and humor was balanced by the lousy treatment of women in the workplace and the challenges of housing and employment for returning GIs. It put the reader in a snapshot of the time and place, exactly as a novel should.

Overall, it was light and funny and captivating without being consuming. A very nice break from required reading. — Sara Wedell, Adult Services Librarian

Moon Shell Beach by Nancy Thayer

Released: May 20, 2008

“Two best friends reconcile 11 years after high school, wondering if they can trust each other again. Clare and Lexi made bad man choices back in the day, and now that their biological clocks are ticking, well, anything can happen in Nantucket in the summer. Thayer (“Hot Flash Club” series) easily switches to younger characters in this quick and romantic getaway read.” Library Journal

Death Angel by Linda Howard

Released: July 1, 2008

Drea Rousseau used to live a life of luxury and sin as the professional escort of a dangerous crime lord. After stealing his cash and making a dash for it, Drea has a second chance at life, and an opportunity to live it better. But after partnering and sharing information with the FBI, she finds herself in more danger, physically and romantically, than she ever could have expected.