Review: The Ashford Affair by Lauren Willig

Title: The Ashford Affair

Author: Lauren Willig

Genre:  Family History and Secrets

Pages: 358 (listened to audiobook)

Published: 2013

Clementine (Clemmie) Evans is a Manhattan lawyer up for partnership in her firm. She has put in long hours towards achieving the partnership, she thinks she wants. But relationships have suffered along the way; her fiancé ended their engagement and  she hasn’t kept in touch with her family as much as she would like. That’s why Clemmie is startled to see her grandmother Addie’s  condition at her 99^th birthday party.  At the party, a relative lets slip about a long-buried family secret, Clemmie goes on a journey into the past.  

Addie never quite belonged, when her parents die and she is taken in by her aristocratic aunt and uncle in the early twentieth century, she is raised with her cousin Bea. They are as different as night and day and become closer than sisters.  Addie and Bea’s journey goes from the inner circles of British society to the bustle of Manhattan and the red-dirt hills of Kenya. 

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Reviewed by Cathy

As always, feel free to call us to check on an item's availability at 720-4106, or try our Barnard Crossing Branch at 663-3357. You can also check our online catalog 24/7 at http://greecepubliclibrary.org/. Click on the title above to link directly to the item in our catalog!

Review: The Wind is Not a River by Brian Payton

Title: The Wind is Not a River

Author: Brian Payton

Genre: Historical fiction

Pages: 308

Published: 2014

In 1942, Japanese forces seized the islands of Attu and Kiska in the Aleutians.  Few people remember this episode of the war because U.S. censors speedily ordered a news embargo to hide the invasion from the public. There were also immediate orders to evacuate press and civilian personnel, including the Aleut people. Would the Japanese turn these islands into strategic air bases?  Would the fighting spread to the lower 48 states?  This little-known part of Alaska’s history provides the background for Brian Payton’s second novel, The Wind is not a River.

As the novel opens, John Easley, a National Geographic reporter, has lost his brother to antiaircraft fire over the  island of Attu.  Hoping to find meaning in his loss and also report on the Alaska campaign, John disregards the press blackout and slips into the Aleutians. Ultimately, he finds his way onto a bombing run and is shot down and marooned with the only other survivor of the crash, an airman from Texas.  The two of them battle the elements and the threat of starvation while evading capture by Japanese patrols.  Here, Payton is at his best.  He creates a raw, unforgiving time and place against which Easley and his companion struggle to stay alive.  This struggle grips the reader and dominates the first part of the novel.

Back in Seattle, Helen, John’s wife, has stayed behind to look after her father. She’s particularly unhappy because she and John parted on bad terms.  When it begins to appear that John is missing, Helen takes a desperate gamble in an effort to find him.  She joins a U.S.O. troupe that’s traveling to Alaska to entertain servicemen.  Helen has only a little experience singing and dancing, but is willing to do whatever is necessary to find out what has happened to her husband.  Her heartbreaking journey, like John’s, suggests that love sometimes compels each of us to do extraordinary things. 

Paton writes, “Rivers flow throughout the seasons — under bright summer sun, plates of winter ice — morning, noon and night. Wind rises up and fades away, but a river flows endlessly. And our suffering? This too shall pass.” As they say in the Aleutians, “The wind is not a river.”

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Reviewed by Ann

As always, feel free to call us to check on an item's availability at 720-4106, or try our Barnard Crossing Branch at 663-3357. You can also check our online catalog 24/7 at http://greecepubliclibrary.org/. Click on the title above to link directly to the item in our catalog!

Review: Term Limits by Vince Flynn

Title: Term Limits

Author: Vince Flynn

Genre: Thriller, political

Pages: 403

Published: 1998

Working in the library, I obviously have checked out a ton of Vince Flynn's books to library patrons, but have never read one myself. I have admired his handsome author picture many times and last year was saddened to hear that he had passed away due to cancer. So I decided to go old school and check out his first book, Term Limits. If you are a fan of David Baldacci, you would definitely like this one. It's full of political intrigue and dirty secrets, but with a couple of good, honest political types fighting against the bad guys. I will definitely read more of his work and am sorry he will not be around to entertain us any more.
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Reviewed by Kim

As always, feel free to call us to check on an item's availability at 720-4106, or try our Barnard Crossing Branch at 663-3357. You can also check our online catalog 24/7 at http://greecepubliclibrary.org/. Click on the title above to link directly to the item in our catalog!

Our Downton Abbey Tea!

We recently held a Downton Abbey tea party at the library! Scones, tea, and other period related snacks were enjoyed, and guests were encouraged to don hats and gloves! Everyone had a magnificent time. Thank you to Red Bird Tea Shoppe and everyone who attended. To see the rest of the photos from the event, check out our Facebook album here.

Review: Exposure by Therese Fowler

Title: Exposure

Author: Therese Fowler

Genre: Contemporary fiction, drama

Publication: 2011

Pages: 366

Anthony, 18, and Amelia, 17, two high school seniors, are deeply in love. They have big plans for the future that all include each other. However, their world comes crashing down when Harlan Wilkes, Amelia’s overprotective and wealthy father, discovers nude "sexting" photos of Anthony on Amelia’s computer, and immediately contacts the authorities. Within days, Anthony has been arrested and accused of being a sexual predator. He has become a pariah to everyone around him, except for Amelia, who remains faithful and loving. Then, things take a turn for the worse when photos of Amelia are discovered as well, and she too is arrested. Life has become a disaster for both teens and their families, and nothing will be the same ever again. Desperate to be together, and afraid to spend life in prison, Amelia and Anthony take drastic measures to escape what their lives have become.

This book is breathtaking, heart-pounding, and gripping – impossible to put down. It is raw, shocking, scandalous, and unforgettable. I became immediately entranced by this story, and delved into the characters lives as if they were my own.

At the core of this story is the true and intimate love between Amelia and Anthony. Their love is real, palpable, and heartbreaking when they are forbidden, by both law and Amelia’s parents, to see, or even contact, each other. Despite how out of control their lives have become, they are desperate for each other and never once relinquished their love. Even though this book is about the scandal that envelopes their lives, the love makes this story real and enchanting. So touching and true is their love that I, as a mere reader and spectator, became all the more invested in their story.

The story fascinated me and the writing was exceptional, almost poetic and lyrical, despite the dark and troubling aspects. Fowler managed to make beautiful a story that seems nothing but controversial and desolate. An interesting aspect of the book is that the perspective shifts between the characters, giving us glimpses and insights into the thoughts of all the main players, including Amelia, Anthony, Harlan Wilkes, and Kim Winter, Anthony’s mother, who also becomes deeply entwined in the trouble, despite her lack of involvement or prior knowledge of the photos.

This story is shocking and unforgettable. Truly. This is by far one of my favorite books, warranting a rare 5 star rating! I will be reading Fowler’s two previous books, Souvenir and Reunion just as soon as I can get my hands on some copies. I promise you will love this book! It is explosive!

My Rating: 5/5

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Reviewed by Stephanie

As always, feel free to call us to check on an item's availability at 720-4106, or try our Barnard Crossing Branch at 663-3357. You can also check our online catalog 24/7 at http://greecepubliclibrary.org/. Click on the title above to link directly to the item in our catalog!

DVD Review: Call the Midwife, Season One

I absolutely loved Downton Abbey, despite my thinking I would not, so I thought I'd give another British series a try. Call the Midwife is based on a memoir written by a midwife who worked in the poor section of East London during the 1950's. It took a little bit to get into it, but I really enjoyed the characters, the stories, and the time setting. The midwives are generally fresh out of nursing school and are living in a convent with nuns, who are also midwives, so it's a contrast between the strict lifestyle of the nuns and the young girls who are making their way, usually as their first time out on their own. This season is only six episodes, so I was just starting to really get into it and then it ended. I'm really looking forward to Season two!!!
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Reviewed by Kim

As always, feel free to call us to check on an item's availability at 720-4106, or try our Barnard Crossing Branch at 663-3357. You can also check our online catalog 24/7 at http://greecepubliclibrary.org/. Click on the title above to link directly to the item in our catalog!

Review: Before We Met by Lucie Whitehouse

Title: Before We Met

Author: Lucie Whitehouse

Genre: Suspense

Pages: 276

Published: 2014

Hannah and Mark are newlyweds and she thinks life is finally perfect, until he does not return home from a business trip. His excuses don't check out and there seems to be some misunderstanding at the company he owns as to where he really went. Hannah begins to doubt herself and the wisdom of marrying him as she investigates his whereabouts.

This had a lot of twists and turns as Hannah questions how well she really knew Mark when they got married, as she discovers secrets he kept from her. It really kept me on the edge of my seat waiting to find out how it turned out. I think anyone could relate to this, since when you meet people that you haven't known all your life, how sure can you be of the truth of how they are presenting themselves.  

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Reviewed by Kim

As always, feel free to call us to check on an item's availability at 720-4106, or try our Barnard Crossing Branch at 663-3357. You can also check our online catalog 24/7 at http://greecepubliclibrary.org/. Click on the title above to link directly to the item in our catalog!

Revew: Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan

Title: Dad is Fat

Author: Jim Gaffigan

Genre: Memoir, humor, nonfiction

Pages: 274

Published: 2013

I am quite a big fan of Jim Gaffigan's. My family and I watch his specials on Netflix and bust out laughing. Needless to say, when I found out he had a book out, I was pretty excited.

I went into this book with high expectations that were perhaps a bit too high. I pictured it to be similar to one of his shows, which in a way it was, but my disappointment lied in the fact that it was basically a comedic book about parenting and being a dad. While I had a few chuckles here and there, and could completely hear him saying all of these things in his whacky voices, I simply couldn't relate. Not being a parent yet, I could understand the points he was making but I just didn't appreciate them as much as a parent could and would.

Nevertheless, Jim Gaffigan is pretty interesting and funny. He talks about what it's like raising five kids in his two bedroom apartment in NYC. Yes, CRAZY! There are also photos and drawings included, which were quite funny. I was pleasantly surprised to find a couple of his sketches that I've seen on his specials included towards the end of the book too. 

Jim Gaffigan's delivery is hilarious, regardless of the topic, but I just couldn't get all that enthused about this particular topic. I enjoyed the short essay format because I could easily pick up and put down the book, even if I just had a few minutes to read. All in all though, I'd say this book is really targeted more towards parents who are fans of his, rather than all of his fans. If you're currently childless, you may not enjoy this one as much. This is not to say it's a bad book - it certainly is not... it just wasn't up my alley at this particular stage in my life!

My Rating: 3/5 

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Reviewed by Stephanie

As always, feel free to call us to check on an item's availability at 720-4106, or try our Barnard Crossing Branch at 663-3357. You can also check our online catalog 24/7 at http://greecepubliclibrary.org/. Click on the title above to link directly to the item in our catalog!