Ferndale Library Staff Recommends: Dar's Summer Reading List

This story was written by Jeff Milo and Darlene Hellenberg.

Jeff: Hey, thanks for checking-in to our regular column (here on Patch Reads) featuring various recommendations (books, movies, music albums) from the staff at the Ferndale Public Library. Take 'er away, Dar ...

Adult Services Librarian Darlene Hellenberg: It’s summer reading time! These are the books I plan to read between now and September.

“On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born to an English banker and his wife. She dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be ... unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in a variety of ways, while the young century marches on towards its second cataclysmic world war.” – book jacket

To me, this sounds amazing. I love books that jump all over and have lots of characters. I hope it lives up to my expectations.

This is the Ferndale Book Party selection for July (7/18/2013 @ The Emory, 7:30 - 9:30 pm). I’ve been looking forward to reading it for quite some time. Young Bee, Bernadette’s daughter, aces her report card and claims her prize: a family trip to Antarctica. Sounds fun right? Well, Bee’s mom is a huge agoraphobic and doesn’t want to go to Antarctica. Suddenly, Bernadette is missing and it’s up to Bee to find her. I’m hoping it will be funny and well written.

Divergent has been on my list for awhile. Beatrice is coming of age in a futuristic Chicago. At 16 all teens must decide which faction of the city they’d like to continue to live in. Of course, Beatrice has her own opinions about the world she lives in and make some surprising decisions which label her as a Divergent.  This book is recommended for fans of The Hunger Games. I’m also a huge fan of dystopian fiction. So basically, I need to quit wasting time and get my hands on a copy before it’s checked out all over the system.

This book is about a lot of things I really love (magic, book clubs, libraries) and a few things I’m trying to get into (Science Fiction novels).  Morweena and Morganna stop their mother’s abusive magic spell with disastrous results. Morganna is killed and Morweena must seek refuge with her estranged father. Mori attends a boarding school and hides in the pages of science fiction novels that she loves. 

I’ve been working my way through Margaret Atwood’s work for the past few years. I try to read one every summer. This year’s selection is The Robber Bride. Inspired by a grisly Grimm Brother’s story, “The Robber Bridegroom” in which a monster lures three maidens into his lair and devours them. Atwood recasts the monster as Zenia, a woman who’s made the lives of three friends miserable. If I don’t end up reading this book I’ll be eagerly awaiting the release of MaddAddam the follow-up to Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood (two of my absolute favorites).