FDL Reads: Elsewhere
Elsewhere by Alexis Schaitkin
Reviewed by: Beth Weimer, Communications Specialist
Genre: Literary Fiction
Suggested Age: Adults
What is the Book About?: Somewhere, an idyllic but isolated community lives amongst the clouds in a remote mountain valley. Growing up, young girls like Vera experience a lifestyle that is wholesome and traditional, except for the ‘affliction’ that marks their community: the regular, unexplained disappearance of young mothers. It’s a burden they bear collectively because it makes them special, unlike towns Elsewhere; something strangers like Ruth will never understand. But the constant speculation of who will go next takes on different depths when Vera becomes a mother and begins to feel herself slipping away, like her own mother did long ago…
My Review: There’s not a whole lot I can say without spilling this story’s secrets. I was left with a lot of questions, but I really enjoyed Schaitkin’s atmospheric style, framing, and peripheral insights. Obviously, the novel explores the all-consuming nature of motherhood, and there’s much to unpack within the role’s mythological layers of love, status, sacrifice, and darkness. The story also exposes our capacity for cruelty, obsession, and self-inflicted realities, as well as the inescapable impact of place. The vagueness of time and other elements leaves a lot open to the reader’s interpretation, and I realized the twist long before Vera did, but still enjoyed the unfolding. This book is sometimes categorized as dystopian or speculative, but I can’t imagine our own Elsewheres don’t actually exist.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Provocative, Broody, Memorable
Give This a Try if You Like… Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
Rating: 4/5
Spooky Stories for Kids
October’s not the only time to enjoy spooky stories! Whether you like ghastly ghosts, creepy houses, horrifying creatures, or stories that aren’t so scary at all, the library will have a book perfect for you to take home. But be careful – you might have to sleep with the light on after reading some of these!
Young Readers
Creepy Carrots, Creepy Pair of Underwear, and Creepy Crayon by Aaron Reynolds
The Dark by Lemony Snicket
Monsters 101 by Cale Atkinson
Hardly Haunted by Jessie Sima
In a Dark, Dark Room by Alvin Schwartz
Looking for a Jumbie by Tracey Baptiste
Wolfboy by Andy Harkness
Vampire Vacation by Laura Lavoie
Jampires by Sarah McIntyre
Zombie in Love by Kelly DiPucchio
Older Readers
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz
The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud
Bone-Chilling Myths by Tim O’Shei
The Ghoul Next Door by Cullen Bunn
Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh
The Stone Child by Dan Poblocki
Beware Vader’s Castle by Cavan Scott
Small Spaces by Katherine Arden
Stranger Things: Zombie Boys by Greg Pak
Terrifying Tales (Guys Read book 6) by Jon Scieszka
– Alice Mitchell, Youth Services Manager
Snow! Snow! Snow! – Books for Kids
Snow is one of the best things about winter, if you’re a kid. From building a snowman, making a snow angel, sledding, snowball fights, and no school – if there’s enough snow! While you’re waiting for those frosty flakes, FDL has just the book to take kids on a snowy adventure.
A few of our favorites to get you started:
EZ Reader
Biscuit’s Snow Day Race by Alyssa Capucilli (also on hoopla)
Captain Awesome Has the Best Snow Day Ever? by Stan Kirby (also on Libby & hoopla)
Henry Heckelbeck Chills Out by Wanda Coven
I Can’t Feel My Feet by Tom Watson
Penny and Her Sled by Kevin Henkes
Sabrina Sue Loves the Snow by Priscila Burris
Snow Day by Lester Laminack
Snow Day by Mercer Mayer
Picture Books
Blizzard by John Rocco
The Mitten by Jan Brett
Once upon a Winter Day by Liza Woodruff
Snow Friends by Margery Cuyler
You can search our online catalog and our digital collections for more!
– Sharon, Youth Services Specialist
FDL Reads: Beyond the Wand
Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton
Reviewed By: Rebecca Cox, Business Manager
Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir
Suggested Age: Adults
What is This Book About? Tom Felton, known best for playing Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter series, reminisces about his life before and after being cast in one of the most successful franchises of all time.
My Review: With a self-deprecating humor and insight beyond his years, Felton’s honest recounting of his childhood and adolescence spent in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is an entertaining and easy read. As a Harry Potter fan I especially loved reading of Felton’s interactions and relationships with the other actors on the film, but also seeing how he was able to balance his wizard and muggle lives and still have some semblance of normalcy was interesting to read about.
What I enjoyed most was that Felton did not sugarcoat anything. While the book was mostly lighthearted and funny (I found myself laughing out loud at his descriptions of different events), he also shares times that he got into trouble as well as his struggles with alcohol as an adult. The whole book is written like a conversation with a friend which kept me intrigued in a way that many autobiographical books generally fail to.
After reading this book I am really looking forward to revisiting the movies from a Slytherin perspective (I am what Felton refers to in the book as a “Gryffindork”).
Three Words that Describe this Book: Funny, Lighthearted, Honest
Give this a try if you like… The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman by Alan Rickman, Number One is Walking: My Life in the Movies and Other Diversions by Steve Martin
Rating: 5/5
#FDL: International Settings – January Giveaway
International Settings – January Giveaway
Books can transport us to far-off places. Whether it’s learning about somewhere new or reading a tale about a place we’ve been, stories with international settings give readers a chance to travel within their imagination. Enter the giveaway below to win copies of these books and travel to Wales, Poland, Sudan, India, and England!
The Snow Hare by Paula Lichtarowicz
Location: Wales & Poland
Is it possible to fall in love at the edge of life?
Lena has lived a long, quiet life on her farm in Wales, alongside her husband and child. But as her end approaches, buried memories begin to return. Of her childhood in Poland, and her passion for science. Of the early days of her marriage, reluctant wife to an army officer. Of the birth of her daughter, whose arrival changed everything.
Memories less welcome return, too. Her Polish village, transformed overnight by the Soviets, and the war that doomed her entire family to the frigid work camps of the Siberian tundra. And buried in that blinding snow, amongst the darkness of survival, the most haunting memory of all: that of an extraordinary new love.
Exploring motherhood, marriage, consequences, and our incredible human capacity for hope, The Snow Hare is the story of a woman who dares to love and to dream in the face of impossible odds, and of the peace we each must make with our choices, even long after the years have gone by.
Location: Sudan, Africa
A mysterious burnt corpse appears one morning in Saraaya, a remote border town between northern and southern Sudan. For five strangers on an NGO compound, the discovery foreshadows trouble to come. South Sudanese translator William connects the corpse to the sudden disappearance of cook Layla, a northern nomad with whom he’s fallen in love. Meanwhile, Sudanese American filmmaker Dena struggles to connect to her unfamiliar homeland, and white midwestern aid worker Alex finds his plans thwarted by a changing climate and looming civil war. Dancing between the adults is Mustafa, a clever, endearing twelve-year-old, whose schemes to rise out of poverty set off cataclysmic events on the compound.
Amid the paradoxes of identity, art, humanitarian aid, and a territory riven by conflict, William, Layla, Dena, Alex, and Mustafa must forge bonds stronger than blood or identity. Weaving a sweeping history of the breakup of Sudan into the lives of these captivating characters, Fatin Abbas explores the porous and perilous nature of borders—whether they be national, ethnic, or religious—and the profound consequences for those who cross them. Ghost Season is a gripping, vivid debut that announces Abbas as a powerful new voice in fiction.
The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
Location: India
Geeta’s no-good husband disappeared five years ago. She didn’t kill him, but everyone thinks she did–no matter how much she protests.
But she soon discovers that being known as a “self-made” widow has some surprising perks. No one messes with her, no one threatens her, and no one tries to control (ahem, marry) her. It’s even been good for her business; no one wants to risk getting on her bad side by not buying her jewelry.
Freedom must look good on Geeta, because other women in the village have started asking for her help to get rid of their own no-good husbands…but not all of them are asking nicely.
Now that Geeta’s fearsome reputation has become a double-edged sword, she must decide how far to go to protect it, along with the life she’s built. Because even the best-laid plans of would-be widows tend to go awry.
Location: Bath, England
The cast and crew of a hit British TV show is rumored to be cursed—but are these spooky deaths coincidences or murder? It’s up to Bath detective Peter Diamond to find out.
Since the start of the hit TV show Swift in 2013, its cast and crew have been plagued by misfortune. First, a star actress pulls out of the show before it begins—and by 2019, there have been multiple injuries by fall, fire, or drowning; two deaths; and two missing persons cases.
The popular media around Bath, England, quickly decides it’s a curse, but is it as simple as that? Is someone behind these fishy incidents? Peter Diamond, Chief Superintendent of the Avon and Somerset Murder Squad, is on the case, and he’ll start by looking for the two currently missing men. But while the investigation is underway, the producer of the show goes missing, complicating already complex matters even further.
Unfortunately, Peter’s boss, Georgina, is pushing retirement on him; he may be forced to retire if he can’t solve the case. Will this be the end for Peter Diamond?
MWA Grand Master Peter Lovesey’s 21st installment in the award-winning series delivers an enticing, fast-paced murder mystery that will leave readers guessing at every turn.
Annotations from the publishers
–Post by Melissa Friedlund, Reference Specialist
Giveaway
Enter your name here for a chance to win ARCs of the books mentioned in this post. One entry per person. Drawing will be held approximately 7 days after this post.
ARCs are “advanced reading copies.” These are free copies of a new books given by a publisher to librarians and other reviewers before the book is printed for mass distribution.
#FDL is a weekly update on all things Fondulac District Library and books.
FDL Reads: World of Glass
World of Glass: The Art of Dale Chihuly by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan
Reviewed By: Alice Mitchell, Youth Services Manager
Genre: Nonfiction
Suggested Age: Kids (Ages 7-12)
What is This Book About? “To this day, I have never gotten over the excitement of molten glass…” (p. 14)
Dale Chihuly started his life in Washington drawing with crayons, exploring gardens with his mom, and searching for sea glass on the beach, and grew up to be one of the most notable glass blowers in the world. He is notable not just for his non-traditional techniques but also the color and texture he puts into his work as he finds inspiration from organic materials and gardens. His work has been displayed in cities and gardens across the country and as far as Israel and Japan. This book walks kids through his life’s story, telling them about how he struggled at points until he found his passion in blowing glass, and pivoted whenever he experienced a set-back in his art. There are lots of photos of his colorful and expressive work, and the back matter has a list of places you can visit to see his art in person.
My Review: My parents took me to see one of Chihuly’s installations at the Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago as a kid, and I’ve been in love with his glass work ever since. When I first picked up this book, all I did was page through it looking at the photos of his amazing glass sculptures. From the first page, Greenberg and Jordan paint Chihuly as an artist who genuinely cares about his work, gains inspiration from the natural environment, and wants to learn from artists around the world. I learned a lot about his early life and his personal struggles – most people are familiar with him and his eyepatch as a result of a car accident, but I didn’t know that he also has bipolar disorder. He decided to come forward about it because seeing a person with bipolar disorder be so successful “might be helpful for other people.” (p. 49) This book did a great job of teaching me about how unique Chihuly’s art is, and encouraging me to look at the environment differently (and maybe to go visit the Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle).
Three Words that Describe this Book: nature, glass blowing, inspirational
Give This A Try if You Like… Netflix’s Blown Away, books about creative gardening, crafts using objects found in nature, artist biographies
Rating: 5/5