FDL Reads: Stars and Bones
Stars and Bones by Gareth Powell
Reviewed By: Jeremy Zentner, Reference Assistant
Genre: Science fiction
Suggested Age: Adults
What is this book about? The world is on the run. Quite literally. Seventy-five years ago, humanity engaged in a nuclear war between the United States, Russia, and China, but when the bombs were about to drop, a benevolent creature of cosmic power saved humanity. This being was often referred to as the ‘angel’ and has been observing humanity for our entire existence. When it saw that nuclear war was about to occur, it decided to rescue humankind thanks to one scientist who managed to create wormhole technology. This advancement in what would become the key to faster-than-light travel was seen as reason enough to save humans from themselves. This salvation from nuclear fire came at a price, however. Humanity was evicted from earth so the remaining species could evolve without human dominion. Humanity left aboard nation-sized starships provided by the angel itself.
Fast forward seventy-five years and there’s a new threat on the verge of annihilating humanity and the fleet of starships they call home. This time the threat is not from within, but from outside the bounds of known space. Eryn is a navigator for a scout ship and when she and her crew look for her sister who went missing on mission, she discovers that an atrocious organism has killed her sister and everyone else caught in its sight. The creature follows her back to humanities’ fleet of arks and her home-ship is infected as the creature attempts to spread throughout the fleet, fixated on absorbing the billions of star-faring humans into a species of drone-like zombie puppets. Eryn and her rag-tag crew must find a way to stop this seemingly unstoppable menace. Their only hope is finding the one person who is known to directly speak with the “angel,” the scientist who discovered wormhole technology seventy-five years ago.
My Review: Well, this was quite a fun space adventure. Stars and Bones incorporates a great deal of sci-fi tropes, such as mysterious alien creatures like in 2001: A Space Odyssey as well as rag-tag space crew adventures that are akin to Guardians of the Galaxy. It also pushes some interesting questions on the totality of humankind when the ‘angel’ suddenly strips humans of their home planet. The descriptions of the evil organism makes for great horror that you may find in films like The Thing and Event Horizon. But don’t worry, the more terrifying scenes are just long enough to impose the gravity of the threat, not a saturation of blood and gore.
With witty banter and striking plot twists, I must say that I was consistently surprised where the author took me. What I especially enjoyed about the novel was Eryn’s journey through each massive starship of the fleet as she and her crew searched for the scientist who may be able to commune with the angel. They enter ships populated by Australians and talking robot sharks, to ships that are populated by human dissidents who don’t wish to obey the angel and their eviction from earth. What I also like about the book is that each starship has an AI that interacts with the crew via robots. These are beloved android characters that in many instances reminds me of Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
There is a wealth of imagery and philosophy to feast your mind in this sci-fi epic.
Three Words that Describe this Book: funny, sci-fi, thriller
Give This A Try if You Like… Old Man’s War, The Expanse Series, Childhood’s End, Orion, The Watchmen, Mickey7, Fallen Dragon, 2001: A Space Odyssey
Rating: 5/5
Library Card Sign-Up Month: Fine Free + Fare Free!
Fondulac District Library is excited to partner with Greater Peoria Mass Transit District/CityLink, Peoria Public Library, Pekin Public Library, and Peoria Heights Public Library to celebrate National Library Card Sign-Up Month and our two year anniversary of going Fine Free! September 1-30, show your library card from FDL, Peoria Public Library, Pekin Public Library, or Peoria Heights Public Library to ride CityLink’s fixed bus routes for FREE! Services like public transportation and fine-free access to media, technology, resources, and educational programming are essential to connecting and sustaining vibrant communities. This partnership aims to encourage more people to sign up for a library card, visit their local libraries, and ride CityLink when possible!
Beyond our community, Library Card Sign-Up Month is celebrated in September by the American Library Association and libraries nationwide to remind everyone that a library card is the first step towards academic achievement and lifelong learning. So this September, sign up for a new FDL card, renew your expired card, or replace your lost card to be entered into a prize drawing for an Amazon HD 8 tablet! Already have an FDL card in good standing? Use it to check out materials from FDL in September, and you could win an Amazon HD 8 tablet, too! Encourage your friends and neighbors to get their library cards, and discover all of the great resources and programs available at FDL!
For more information about how to sign up for your library card, visit fondulaclibrary.org/library-cards/. To learn about FDL’s fine free policies, visit fondulaclibrary.org/fine-free-faq/. Check out ridecitylink.org to find CityLink’s routes and schedules, or see below for routes directly to the libraries.
Peoria Public Libraries
- Main: #10 Forrest Hill, #11 Western, #12 Heights, #14 Wisconsin
- Lincoln: #15 Lincoln
- McClure: #10 Forrest Hill
- Lakeview: #1 University
- North: #1 University
Fondulac District Library
Peoria Heights Public Library
Pekin Public Library
#FDL: Popular Audiobooks Available on Hoopla
These are some of the most popular audiobooks available on Hoopla. Use your Fondulac District Library card to check one out now!
FDL Reads: By Any Other Name
By Any Other Name by Lauren Kate
Reviewed by: Dawn Dickey
Genre: Romance
Suggested Age: Adults
What is the book about?: Editorial assistant Lanie Bloom’s world changes when she is promoted to be the youngest editor ever at Peony Press. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime, but the job is hers only “provisionally.” Retaining her new job depends on getting Peony’s megastar romance writer, Noa Callaway, to deliver Noa’s latest manuscript, which is already four months late. And Noa, it seems, has writer’s block. As for her personal life, Lanie is juggling a long-distance relationship with her fiancé, Ryan, an up-and-coming politician who meets every criteria on Lanie’s 99-point list of qualities for the perfect husband.
My Review: I loved this book! It’s sad at times but funny at other times. The characters are relatable: Lanie, for example, struggles to balance her satisfying work life with the demands of her long-distance romance with Ryan. The characters are also people that you would like to have as friends; you understand their faults and but love them despite their failings. The creative plot has some interesting twists and poses questions about well-known authors and privacy. This is a tale that you will want to read all in one weekend! I hope you will check it out soon!
Three Words That Describe This Book: funny, romantic, warm-hearted
Give This a Try if You Like… Feel-good romances like People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry or Meant to Be Mine by Hannah Orenstein
Rating: 5/5
FDL Reads: Mary Jane
Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau
Reviewer: Deb Alig, Circulation Assistant
Genre: Fiction
Suggested Age: Adult
What is this book about? The year is 1975 and fourteen year old Mary Jane lives in a conservative home in an exclusive neighborhood of Baltimore. Her mother Betsy is a stereotypical Stepford wife who teaches Mary Jane how to cook and keep house and how to behave like a proper young lady. Gerald, her racist and anti-Semitic father, is a lawyer who believes in hard work, family, and patriotism. When Mrs. Cone, the wife of a local doctor, asks Mary Jane to be a nanny for her five year old daughter, Izzy, her parents agree as they feel it is a respectable summer job for their daughter. Or is it? The Cone’s lifestyle is nothing like Mary Jane’s. Their home is cluttered with books, clothes, and toys that are strewn all over the place. Bonnie Cone does not cook for her family. They mostly eat take out. And she doesn’t wash or dress Izzy or put her to bed. Mary Jane is naturally shocked by the lack of structure so she decides to help the Cone family get organized. She bathes and dresses Izzy, prepares breakfast and supper for the family, and helps straighten up whenever she can. But caring for the Cone family soon becomes even more challenging when a drug addicted rock star named Jimmy and his movie star wife named Sheba move into the house so that Dr. Cone can help Jimmy get sober. Jimmy and Sheba are entertaining and affectionate characters, but they are also dysfunctional. Jimmy is addicted to heroin and Sheba is addicted to fame. Though Mary Jane has never met people like them, she soon becomes attached. They literally introduce her to sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll, and by the end of the summer, she questions the sheltered and elitist way in which she is being raised.
My Review: Mary Jane is a fun, coming of age novel that transports the reader back to 1975 when young people lived for sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll. Even the photographic cover of the novel cleverly depicts the absurdly nostalgic story that waits inside. I think that just about anyone who grew up in the 1970’s would enjoy reading this book as much as I did.
Rating: 5/5
Three Words that Describe this Book: nostalgic, far out, coming of age
Give This A Try If You Like: The Trouble with Lexie by, Jessica Anya Blau, The Wonder Bread Summer by, Jessica Anya Blau, The Summer of Naked Swim Parties by, Jessica Anya Blau
FDL Reads: Choose Me
Choose Me by Tess Gerritsen and Gary Braver
Reviewed by: Becky Houghton, Reference Assistant
Genre: Mystery; Thriller
What is this book about? Taryn Moore, a young, beautiful and brilliant college student appears to have committed suicide in a plunge from her fifth-floor apartment. Detectives Frankie Loomis and “Mac” MacClellan uncover evidence that may indicate that it was in fact a homicide. As they revisit the circumstances of Taryn’s life and death the details lead to a surprising discovery. Is it the reason for her suicide or a motive for a homicide?
My review: I enjoyed this book very much. Not only are Gerritsen and Braver excellent storytellers, but the use of comparison of Taryn Moore’s life with the subject matter of her literature seminar on star-crossed lovers from Greek mythology (Queen Dido/Aeneas, Heloise/Abelard, Medea/Jason) and Shakespearian literature (Romeo and Juliet) was entertaining and fascinating to me. (Ok, disclaimer, I was an English major myself!) All the evidence seems to point the detectives to a simple conclusion, Taryn committed suicide after a failed romance with a fellow student, but detective Frankie Loomis is certain that the absence of a cell phone in Taryn’s apartment or on her body indicates that there is more involved here. As Frankie and her partner Mac search deeper into her life, Taryn’s personality is revealed to be rather over-reactive and obsessive and her love life a bit more complex. This was definitely not a formula mystery story and the ending was a surprise.
Three words that describe this book: Complex, Fast-Paced, Absorbing
Give this a try if you liked: mysteries by Karin Slaughter, David Baldacci or Lisa Unger
Rating: 5/5