APL top picks
May 2012 new and notable titles
Fiction
Cat's Claw by Susan Wittig Albert. Pecan Spring's computer guru Larry Kirk is found dead and Police Chief Sheila Dawson at first believes it to be a suicide. Further investigation reveals it was murder and that the victim had been dealing with a stalker. Secrets are revealed that could drive almost anyone to murder. |
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No Time Like the Present: a novel by Nadine Gordimer. Nobel winner Gordimer tells the story of an interracial couple in post-apartheid South Africa. Steve becomes a lecturer at a university and Jabulili trains to become a lawyer. Their family grows and their story and that of their friends symbolizes South Africa as it struggles to redefine itself. This is Gordimer at the peak of her literary power. |
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Death Comes Silently by Carolyn Hart. It's the off-season at Annie Darling's bookstore so she jumps at the chance to host a book signing. During the signing Gretchen Burkholdt, a volunteer at the local thrift shop, leaves several voice mails about scandalous news she's dying to share. After the event Annie heads over to the thrift shop where she discovers Gretchen dead on the floor and an axe at her side. |
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Folded Earth: a novel by Anuradha Roy. In this beautifully written and moving tale a young woman leaves her old life behind to begin anew in a small village in the foothills of the Himalayas where people co- exist peacefully with nature. But she soon learns that no place is remote enough to keep out the modern world as greedy politicians threaten her village and her new way of life. |
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The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Tigiani. The Italian Alps is the setting for the first meeting of Enza and Ciro, teenagers who live only villages apart. Love blooms but fate intervenes when Ciro is sent to America. Later, Enza's family also emigrates. Separated, they build their lives, he as a shoemaker and she as a seamstress. By chance they are reunited only to be separated again by his enlistment in World War I. Eventually love triumphs as it did with the author's forbears on which this novel is based. |
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Nonfiction
Lone Survivors: How we came to be the only humans on earth by Chris Stringer When an author challenges not only every other theory on a subject, but also his own you know it’s going to get interesting. Renowned paleoanthropologist Chris Stringer explains his new theory on humanity’s origin. He explains the new archeological and genetic evidence, and how different groups of humans coexisted across Africa. |
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Shadow of the Titanic: The extraordinary stories of those who survived by Andrew Wilson Shadow of the Titanic tells the tales of those 705 survivors of the disaster, and how their lives went on after that most terrible night. Gathered from letters, memoirs, and diaries the author tells the tales of those who lived through the greatest ship disaster of its age. |
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2-Hour Job Search: Using technology to get the right job faster by Steve Dalton. Work smarter not harder is a very old saying. This book teaches how to use that technique when it comes to modern day job searching. From using the ever present Google, to career networking site LinkedIn, and even utilizing alumni databases Mr. Dalton explains it all in an easy to follow style. |
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Barefoot Bandit: The true tale of Colton Harris-Moore, new American outlaw by Bob Friel. From his troubled youth to his dramatic captures, yes both of them, Barefoot Bandit tells the story of Colton Harris-Moore’s escapades. From eluding authorities in the pacific-northwest then taking flight across the country, as well as the adventures Bob Friel had reporting on this modern age outlaw. |
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Blood Sugar Solution: the ultra healthy program for losing
weight, preventing disease, and feeling great now
by Mark Hyman.
With Americas national crises of obesity leading to
an even more devastating diabetes crisis this book couldn’t
arrive sooner.
Dr. Hyman gives all the information anyone needs to combat
being over weight and diabetic.
If your doctor’s warned you that your blood sugar is
becoming a health concern this is the book for you.
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Teens
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Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton. Balancing real life with the responsibility of being Heaven’s warrior is a challenge for Ellie, Her relationship with Will has become all business, though they both long for each other. And now that the secret of who she really is has come out, so have Hell’s strongest reapers. Grown bold and more vicious, the demonic threaten her in the light of day and stalk her in the night. |
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The Wood Queen by Karen Mahoney. To keep her best friend, Navin, from being killed at the hands of vicious wood elves, Donna Underwood stole the elixir of life. Now she’s facing an alchemist tribunal while her mother lies dying, succumbing to the elven curse that shattered her mind. If Donna can use her strange and burgeoning powers to help the wood elves, Aliette will free her mother from the curse. |
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Arcadia Awakens by Kai Meyer.
To New Yorker Rosa Alcantara, the exotic world of
Sicily, with its network of Mafia families and its
reputation for murder and intrigue, is just that – exotic,
and wholly unknown. But when tragedy strikes, she must
travel there, to her family’s ancestral home, where her
sister and aunt have built their lives and where centuries
of family secrets await her.
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The Nightmare Garden by Caitlin Kittredge. Everything Aoife Grayson thought she knew about the world is a lie. Her brother isn’t at Ravenhouse. Her best friend isn’t who she thought he was. And there’s no such thing as the necrovirus. Her mother didn’t go mad from a dormant strain; she’s simply allergic to iron. As is Aoife. Because Aoife is no ordinary girl. Like her brother, Conrad, she is half human and half Fae, from the land of Thorn. And now she’s a fugitive. |
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Lightbringer by K.D. McEntire. Wendy has the ability to see souls that have not moved on – but she does not seek them out. They seek her. They yearn for her…. Or what she can do for them. Without Wendy’s powers, the Lost – the souls of those who have died unnaturally young – are doomed to wander forever in the Never, and Wendy knows she is the only one who can set them free by sending them into the Light. |
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Children's
Remarkable by Lizzie Foley. In her debut novel for young readers Lizzie Foley shows us all that even ordinary people can do extraordinary things. This mystery will have readers cheering for Jane Doe, a very average 10 year old in the town of Remarkable. Can she save the day when the evil Grimlet twins and a pirate captain come to town? A great read for kids in grades 4 through 6. |
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Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart. Fans of the Mysterious Benedict Society will enjoy learning all about the boy who started it all. 9 year old Nicholas Benedict, a narcoleptic orphan with a rather unfortunate nose is sent to a new orphanage where bullies and peril await. Fortunately for Nicholas-he is a genius. Trying to solve a mystery he meets both enemies and friends along the way with lots of with danger and adventure in this wonderful novel for kids in grades 3 through 6. |
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The Dunderheads Behind Bars by Paul Fleischman. Those lovable underdogs the Dunderheads are back for a fun filled summer vacation adventure. When school lets out for the summer the Dunderheads are happy to be rid of their awful teacher Miss Breakbone. Or are they? When a new movie comes to town with teen star Ashley Throbb-Hartt, the kids become extras on the movie set. Imagine their horror as they discover that Miss Breakbone is going to be in the movie too! Will the Dunderheads survive the summer or wind up in jail? A delightful sequel to the Dunderheads, this funny picture book will delight kids in 1st through 3rd grade. |
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Magritte’s Marvelous Hat by D.B. Johnson.
In a picture book that is a visual delight, D.B.
Johnson has created a wonderful introduction for children to
the Belgian surrealist painter Rene Magritte. "Everything we
see hides another thing, we always want to see what is
hidden by what we see."
Through the use of transparent pages and reversible
images, Johnson manages to capture the spirit of Magritte’s
paintings. |
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How to Babysit a Grandpa by Jean Reagan. What happens when a little boy must babysit his grandpa? This charming picture book will have kids laughing out loud as they learn all about the right way to babysit their grandpa. This how-to book is a must read for all pre-schoolers. Filled with warmth and humor this book will be reassuring to any youngster worried about mom and dad leaving as well as a fun read for grandpas everywhere. |
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