Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell
Recommended by Jeff in Technical Services…
Jeff’s synopsis:
16 year old Ree Dolly is caught between caring for her mother who is mentally ill and her two brothers while hunting down her father who skipped out on bail after putting their house up for collateral. We follow Ree through the world of crystal meth labs, tight knit family and friends who take care of their own in their own way and the bleak Ozark winter.
He says:
Warning: this is not the Ozark’s that everyone wants to retire to. First there were moonshiners and now meth labs in a place where some folks are just try to survive anyway they think they can. This is a bleak raw story of a young girl forced to take on adult responsibilities while holding onto her dream to escape the life she is forced to live.
Mr. Peanut by Adam Ross
Recommended by Jeff in Technical Services…
Jeff’s synopsis:
David Pepin is a computer game designer, Alfred Hitchcock devotee, and a wanna be novelist. He is content, if not happy, with his marriage to Alice who is an overweight teacher and suffers from depression. David obsessively imagines Alice’s death and after she is found dead finds himself being investigated by Sam Sheppard and Ward Hastroll who have had their own relationship problems.
He says:
This is my favorite kind of novel, contemporary fiction by a first time author. There are actually three interesting stories that show the dark side of love and marriage. I really enjoyed how the author works in David’s novel the films of Alfred Hitchcock, the works of M. C. Escher, and the real life case of Sam Sheppard while presenting a great story on the dark side of marriage and relationships.
A Hope in the Unseen by Ron Suskind
Recommended by Colleen in Outreach Services…
Colleen’s synopsis:
The true story of an inner-city black youth who dreams of attending an Ivy League college and actually does.
She says:
I found this book both fascinating and insightful. Ron Suskind had written a magazine piece on this young man which is the basis for this book. It gives a glimpse into the world of a truly poor and under-served but gifted student who is trying to better himself and succeed in a world that is totally alien to the world he knows.
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Recommended by Colleen in Outreach Services…
Colleen’s synopsis:
This is the story of twin brothers who are adopted by an Indian doctor and her husband after their mother dies in childbirth and their father abandons them. The brothers grow up in the shadow of their birth parents and struggle to find their identities.
She says:
I listened to this book on CD and found the different accents really enhanced the telling of the story. I thought the story was a little overly long but I learned so much about the history of Ethiopia and the struggles within its government in the 1970s.
Iron Heart by Brian Boyle
Recommended by Tuki in Adult Services…
Tuki’s synopsis:
This is an amazing story about the indomitable human spirit and the resilience and inner strength of one young man. Brian Boyle, a star athlete had just graduated high school on his way to college when tragedy stuck. He was involved in a head on collision with a dump truck that should have killed him. Instead it left him in a vegetative state with severe injuries. This book is about his determination to fight back and take control of his life and come back strong. He not only survives his ordeal but three and a half years later crosses the finish line at the Ironman Triathlon in Kona, Hawaii.
She says:
Amazingly inspirational and makes you marvel at the strength of the human spirit.
