Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

Have you ever wanted a book that the library doesn't own? I know I have many times. If the item is new you can send in a Purchase Request form to see if the library will purchase it. Titles not yet published or released will only be accepted within one month of availability. We can't always fulfill each request due to reviews or budget restraints but we do look forward to your suggestions. Now for the books that are two years old or older we can Interlibrary Loan them from other libraries around the country. This is a free service to our resident library card holders. If the book is out there and available then we will find it. The Interlibrary Loan staff is awesome.

Leaving Paradise is a book I wanted to read that the library did not own so they were able to get it through Interlibrary Loan for me. I'm glad that they did because this was a really good book. I wasn't thrilled with the ending but got over it when I turned the last page and read that their will be a sequel continuing Caleb and Maggie's story due out sometime this summer. I can't wait.

What happens when the person who damaged you for life becomes the person you trust the most? (off of the back cover). One fateful night Maggie Armstrong is hit by a drunk driver and Caleb Becker confesses to the crime and gets sentenced to juvenile detention. For the past year Maggie has endured several surgeries on her leg and painful physical therapy. Caleb has endured being behind bars and praying for freedom. When Caleb is released he heads back to Paradise and encounters Maggie. Maggie hates Caleb but they seemed to be drawn to each other. Elkeles has written a story that sticks with you and leaves you wanting more. Throw in a few twists and turns and you are so ready for the sequel. And according to Amazon the sequel is called Return to Paradise and will be out September 1, 2010.

Encyclopedia of Extreame Sports by Kelly Boyer Sagert

Extreme sport enthusiasts are fearless. You would have to be to fling yourself off of a cliff, jump out of a perfectly good airplane, water ski barefoot, or do twisted jumps in the air and land on your snow board. I'll stick to watching and let the professionals do the crazy tricks. It's way to extreme for a wuss like me. I applaud those people for what they can do because it is Amazing to watch and a little scary because I hold my breath the whole time until they land safely and I know they haven't broken their necks. This encyclopedia is really cool. It is full of extreme sport information not only about the different sports but also about the people doing them.

Are you a fan of Shaun White? He's in here.
Love Wake Boarding? That's in here too along with Kite Surfing, Adventure Racing, Lava Sledding (I'll pass, Thank You) and those are just to name a few.

How the book is broken down: Alphabetical List of Entries, Guide to Related Topics, Introduction, Acknowledgments, Timeline of Extreme Sports, Body of Information, and Index.

I recommend reading the introduction because it talks about the difference between extreme and traditional sports, it gives a history, reasons for popularity, the future of extreme sports, and gives you an overview of the encyclopedia. Really interesting book.

You can find it on the New Reference Book shelf.

Tasting Fear by Shannon McKenna

Reading Level: Adult
(3 out of 5)

This book was my companion when I waited in line for four hours with my husband at Dark Lord. Would have gone crazy without it. I had never read Shannon McKenna before and I'm glad I read some excerpts in another book because I discovered Tasting Fear. I knew I had to read it and I'm glad I did. Very good.

This book has three stories in one. Nancy, Nell, and Vivi are adopted sisters who come together when their mother dies. What they soon find out is that their mother was murdered and they are determined to find the killer.

In the first book Nancy meets Liam and passion flares between them. Will Nancy let Liam protect her against the man who murdered her mother?

In the second book Nell has had a crush on the steak sandwich guy from the diner for what seems like forever. When Nell goes on a job interview she's very surprised to find the sandwich guy as the interviewer. Duncan is an expert in computers and wants to help Nell find her mothers killer and offer his protection. Will Nell give in to temptation?

The third book is about Vivi. Vivi needed a place to stay to lay low from the maniac killer and is sent to Oregon to stay with Jack. Vivi's not what Jack expected but he finds himself wanting to protect her. Will these two realize in time that all they need is each other?

Romance and mystery with a little action all rolled into one. I'm already looking into her other books.

Instant Series by Jill Shalvis

Reading Level: Adult
(4 out of 5)

If I ever wanted to go on an adventure (skiing, moonlight hiking, rock climbing, trip to Alaska) I would want it to be lead by on of the Wilder brothers. T.J, Stone, and Cameron are bad boys with hearts of gold. Rugged good looks and smoldering sex appeal I wouldn't mind following them somewhere.

In Wishful, California you can find Wilder Adventures run by T.J., Stone, Cameron, their Aunt Annie and her husband Nick. In the first book Instant Attraction Katie Kramer is looking to find herself and she ends up taking a job as a temp at Wilder Adventures. Cameron, the golden boy of extreme sports, had lost his way for awhile but made it back to his home only to find a beautiful woman in his bed. Can these two help each other heal and realize before it's too late that they are meant for each other?



In Instant Gratification Stone meets Dr. Emma Sinclair and sparks fly. Emma is only in town for a short while taking care of her ailing estranged father's clinic. Once he's able to take back over she is out of here. Stone loves what he does but he's looking for more. Soon they find themselves in a mind blowing affair that shakes them both to the core. Will Emma stay or will it all be over for them?

These books are so good. T.J's story is in Instant Temptation and I'm impatiently waiting for it on my holds list. Check these books out. You won't be disappointed.

Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer

Reading Level: Young Adult
4 out of 5

So my wonderful husband, Will, loves to read like I do and the light bulb went on over my head. I'm like you could write a review for the blog and he so nicely agreed. I didn't get a picture of the first book in the series so here is a picture of the second (Ninth Grade Slays) and the third book (Tenth Grade Bleeds).

I've enjoyed vampire novels for a long time. Every author of vampire novels has a different set of rules for vampires they decide to follow, or in some cases, throw out the window (I'm talking about you Stephenie Meyer and your glittery vampires!). This book has chosen to go sort of the Blade theory that with enough sunblock, any vampire can be in the daylight. Now what i really like about this book is that the pretty boy isn't the vampire. I feel as if she lifted part of the formula of a good middle schooler dork trying to get the pretty girl with a vampire novel, which i think works well. It's not a completely original book in the genre, but i found it very entertaining for the time it took to read, and I'm looking forward to the next books in the series.

Check out her website: http://www.heatherbrewer.com/ The fourth book in the series is Eleventh Grade Burns and Twelfth Grade Kills comes out in September of this year.

Louder Than Words by Jenny McCarthy

Reading level: Adult
4 out of 5

One morning Jenny sensed something was wrong with her son and she ran to his room. Evan was having a seizure in his crib. 911 was called and Jenny and Evan's medical journey began. Evan was diagnosed with epilepsy even though it didn't run in the family and he hadn't suffered an injury to the head. The seizure medication helped the seizures but Evan wasn't responding. He was in his own world. Jenny was relentless to find out what was really wrong. Finally after going to a different doctor Evan was diagnosed with Autism. Then began Jenny's journey to pull her son out of his world of Autism. She did that by researching, talking to other parents, getting Evan enrolled in a school that helped Autistic children, and just never giving up. Then finally she discovered an intense combination of behavioral therapy, diet, and supplements that became the key to saving Evan from Autism. This book is very inspiring. Jenny didn't just accept that her son had Autism she became a detective and found what would help heal her son.

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Reading Level: Young Adult
4 out of 5


What happens when you put together the head cheerleader and a gang member? Love of course. I'm not making fun I really enjoyed this book and I like when opposites attract. At Fairfield High School, in the outskirts of Chicago, the south siders and the north siders don't mix well. So when Brittany Ellis (head cheerleader) and Alex Fuentes (gang member) get paired up in chemistry sparks start to fly and they are not generated from lab experiments. Brittany thinks that she has Alex all figured out and Alex thinks the same of Brittany but in reality they don't know anything.