Nonfiction Pick of the Week!

Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity by Andrew Solomon

Solomon's startling proposition is that diversity is what unites us all. He writes about families coping with deafness, dwarfism, Down syndrome, autism, schizophrenia, multiple severe disabilities, with children who are prodigies, who are conceived in rape, who become criminals, who transgender. While each of these characteristics is potentially isolating, the experience of difference within families is universal, as are the triumphs of love Solomon documents in every chapter. All parenting turns on a crucial question: to what extent parents should accept their children for who they are, and to what extent they should help them become their best selves. Drawing on forty thousand pages of interview transcripts with more than three hundred families, Solomon mines the eloquence of ordinary people facing extreme challenges. Whether considering prenatal screening for genetic disorders, cochlear implants for the deaf, or gender reassignment surgery for transgender people, Solomon narrates a universal struggle toward compassion.

Art & Books

One for the Books by Joe Queenan
Since Gutenberg first began moving type around five centuries ago, the book--one of the great achievements of human culture--has been subjected to any number of indignities, from being banned to being burned to being turned into a breathtaking quantity of unspeakably appalling movies. It has managed to survive all of these, only to find itself at the dawn of the twenty-first century facing the most radical challenge to its existence from the digital tsunami that has already left the tattered remains of the music business in its wake. As bookstores disappear and readers, apparently, along with them, alarmed bibliophiles everywhere can't help but wonder: Whither the book?

The Lost Battles: Leonardo, Michelangelo, and the Artistic Duel that Defined the Renaissance by Jonathan Jones
This is the galvanizing story of a sixteenth-century clash of titans, the two greatest minds of the Renaissance, working side by side in the same room in a fierce competition: the master Leonardo da Vinci, commissioned by the Florentine Republic to paint a narrative fresco depicting a famous military victory on a wall of the newly built Great Council Hall in the Palazzo Vecchio, and his implacable young rival, the thirty-year-old Michelangelo.

The Art of the Epigraph: How Great Books Begin by Rosemary Ahern
For many book lovers, there is no more pleasing start to a book than a well-chosen epitaph. These intriguing quotations, sayings, and snippets of songs and poems do more than set the tone for the experience ahead: the epigraph informs us about the author's sensibility. Are we in the hands of a literalist or a wit? A cynic or a romantic? A writer of great ambition or a miniaturist? The epigraph hints at hidden stories and frequently comes with one of its own.

New Pick of the Week!

Playing with Books: The Art of Upcycling, Deconstructing, and Reimagining the Book by Jason Thompson
In these pages, Jason Thompson has curated an extensive and artistic range of both achievable upcycled crafts made from books and book pages and an amazing gallery that contains thought-provoking and beautiful works that transform books into art. The content encompasses a wide range of techniques and step-by-step projects that deconstruct and rebuild books and their parts into unique upcycled objects. The book combines in equal measure bookbinding, woodworking, paper crafting, origami, and textiles and decorative arts techniques, along with a healthy dose of experimentation and fun. The beautiful high-end presentation and stunning photography make this book a delightful, must-have volume for any book-loving artist or art-loving book collector.

About the Author:  Jason Thompson is the founder of Rag & Bone Bindery in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, a bookbinding studio dedicated to creating unique hand-bound books and albums for gift and stationery industries.

July Display: Celebrate with Cake!

Check out some books from our July display: Celebrate July with Cake!

Cake Pops: Tips, Tricks, and Recipes for More than 40 Irresistible Mini Treats by Bakerella
What's cuter than a cupcake? A Cake Pop, of course!
Wildly popular blogger Bakerella (a.k.a. Angie Dudley) has turned cake pops into an international sensation! Cute little cakes on a stick--from decorated balls to more ambitious shapes such as baby chicks, ice cream cones, and even cupcakes--these adorable creatures are the perfect alternative to cake at any party or get-together. Angie makes it easy and fun to re-create these amazing treats right at home with clear step-by-step instructions and photos of more than 40 featured project, as well as tips for presenting, decorating, dipping, coloring, and melting candy coating.

Fudge Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke
Bakery owner Hannah Swenson just can't keep her hands out of the batter when murder stirs things up in Lake Eden, Minnesota, leaving the sheriff dead, an innocent deputy accused, and a killer still on the loose!

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
On the eve of her ninth birthday, unassuming Rose Edelstein, a girl at the periphery of schoolyard games and her distracted parents' attention, bites into her mother's homemade lemon-chocolate cake and discovers she has a magical gift: she can taste her mother's emotions in the slice.

Biographies, Lyrics, and America

Along the Way: The Journey of a Father and Son by Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez
In this remarkable dual memoir, film legend Martin Sheen and accomplished actor/filmmaker Emilio Estevez recount their lives as father and son. In alternating chapters--and in voices that are as eloquent as they are different--they tell stories spanning more than fifty years of family history, and reflect on their journeys into two different kinds of faith.

Honky Tonk Girl: My Life in Lyrics by Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn is one of the most beloved country music stars of all time. A pioneer for women in music, she was the first woman to be named Entertainer of the Year by the Country Music Association, and she continues to play to packed houses across the country. Now, for the first time, this "Honky Tonk Girl" collects her lyrics and in her own words tells the stories that inspired her most popular songs.

The World America Made by Robert Kagan
What would the world look like if American were to reduce its role as a global leader in order to focus all its energies on solving its problems at home? And is America really in decline? Robert Kagan, New York Times bestselling author and one of the country's most influential strategic thinkers, paints a vivid, alarming picture of what the world might look like if the United States were truly to let its influence wane.

New audiobooks this week!

The Litigators by John Grisham
The partners at Finley & Figg--all two of them--often refer to themselves as "a boutique law firm." Boutique, as in chic, selective, and prosperous. They are, of course, none of these things. What they are is a two-bit operation always in search of big breaks, ambulance chasers who've been in the trenches much too long making way too little. And then change comes their way. More accurately, it stumbles in. David Zinc, a young but already burned-out attorney, walks away from his fast-track career at a fancy downtown firm, goes on a serious bender, and finds himself literally at the doorstep of our boutique firm. Once David sobers up and comes to grips with the fact that he's suddenly unemployed, any job--even one with Finley & Figg--looks okay to him. With their new associate on board, F&F is ready to tackle a really big case, a case that could make their partners rich without requiring them to actually practice much law.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
In this book, Hillenbrand captures the remarkable life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner and World War II veteran. Zamperini left the Berlin Olympics in 1936 determined to return in the 1940 Olympics for a gold. Instead, Zamperini joined the Army Air Corps and miraculously survived 47 days adrift in the Pacific after his plane was shot down, only to then be captured by the Japanese and subjected to cruel imprisonment in a POW camp before being released in 1945.

Flourish: A Visionary New Understand of Happiness and Well-Being by Martin E. P. Seligman
Traditionally, the goal of psychology has been to relieve human suffering, but the goal of the Positive Psychology movement, which internationally esteemed psychologist Dr. Martin Seligman has led for fifteen years, is different--it's about actually raising the bar for the human condition. This book builds on Dr. Seligman's game-changing work on optimism, motivation, and character to show how to get the most out of life, unveiling an electrifying new theory of what makes a good life--for individuals, for communities, and for nations.

NY Times Bestselling Nonfiction

The Art of Intelligence: Lessons from a Life in the CIA's Clandestine Service by Henry A. Crumpton: Number 3 on the bestseller list
For a crucial period, Henry Crumpton led the CIA's global covert operations against America's terrorist enemies, including al Qaeda. In the days after 9/11, the CIA tasked Crumpton to organize and lead the Afghanistan campaign. With Crumpton's strategic initiative and bold leadership, from the battlefield to the Oval Office, U.S. and Afghan allies routed al Qaeda and the Taliban in less than ninety days after the Twin Towers fell. At the height of combat against the Taliban in late 2001, there were fewer than five hundred Americans on the ground in Afghanistan, a dynamic blend of CIA and Special Forces. The campaign changed the way America wages war.

My Cross to Bear by Gregg Allman with Allan Light: Number 4 on the bestseller list
As one of the greatest rock icons of all time, Gregg Allman has lived it all and then some. For almost fifty years, he's been creating some of the most recognizable songs in American rock, but never before has he paused to reflect on the long road he's traveled. Now, he tells the unflinching story of his life, laying bare the unvarnished truth about his wild ride that has spanned across the years. 

Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard: Number 6 on the bestseller list
The anchor of The O'Reilly Factor recounts one of the most dramatic stories in American history—how one gunshot changed the country forever. In the spring of 1865, the bloody saga of America's Civil War finally comes to an end after a series of increasingly harrowing battles. President Abraham Lincoln's generous terms for Robert E. Lee's surrender are devised to fulfill Lincoln's dream of healing a divided nation, with the former Confederates allowed to reintegrate into American society. But one man and his band of murderous accomplices, perhaps reaching into the highest ranks of the U.S. government, are not appeased.

Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anna Quindlen: Number 7 on the bestseller list
In this irresistible memoir, the New York Times bestselling author and winner of the Pulitzer Prize Anna Quindlen writes about looking back and ahead—and celebrating it all—as she considers marriage, girlfriends, our mothers, faith, loss, all the stuff in our closets, and more. From childhood memories to manic motherhood to middle age, Quindlen uses the events of her own life to illuminate our own. Along with the downsides of age, she says, can come wisdom, a perspective on life that makes it satisfying and even joyful. Candid, funny, moving, Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake is filled with the sharp insights and revealing observations that have long confirmed Quindlen’s status as America’s laureate of real life.

Fathers, Elephants, Music & Medicine

Father's Day: A Journey into the Mind and Heart of My Extraordinary Son by Buzz Bissinger
Buzz Bissinger's twins were born three minutes--and a world--apart. Gerry, the older one, is a graduate student at Penn, preparing to become a teacher. His brother Zach has spent his life attending special schools. He'll never drive a car, or kiss a girl, or live by himself. He is a savant, challenged by serious intellectual deficits but also blessed with rare talents; an astonishing memory, a dazzling knack for navigation, and a reflexive honesty that can make him both socially awkward and surprisingly wise. Buzz realized that while he had always been an attentive father; he didn't really know what it was like to be Zach. So one summer night Buzz and Zach hit the road to revisit all the places they have lived together during Zach's twenty-four years.

Love, Life, and Elephants: An African Love Story by Dame Daphne Sheldrick
Daphne Sheldrick, whose family arrived in Africa from Scotland in the 1820s, is the first person ever to have successfully hand-reared newborn elephants. In this heartwarming memoir, Daphne shares her amazing relationships with a host of orphans, including her first love, Bushy, a liquid-eyed antelope; Ricky-Ticky-Tavey, a little dwarf mongoose; Gregory Peck, a busy buffalo weaver bird; Huppety, a mischievous zebra, and the majestic elephant Eleanor, with whom Daphne has shared more than forty years of great friendship. But this is also a magical and heartbreaking human love story between Daphne and David Sheldrick, the famous Tsavo National Park warden.

Scales to Scalpels: Doctors Who Practice the Healing Arts of Music and Medicine by Lisa Wong
The Longwood Symphony Orchestra is not just any orchestra. Founded in 1982 by a group of talented Boston-area physicans, medical students, and health-care professionals, the orchestra has grown into a proud, extraordinary group of musicians with fans around the globe, from El Sistema in Venezuela to other medical-musician groups inspired by L.S.O's work. In this book, Dr. Wong shows how the musical acumen of these physicans affects the way they administer healing and, in turn, how their medical work affects their music.

Fashion, Divas, and Knitting

Roots of Style: Weaving Together Life, Love, and Fashion by Isabel Toledo
This is a rare look into the mind, life, and journey of one of our generation's most coveted fashion designers, Isabel Toledo. From the nostalgic and permanent influence of her upbringing in Cuba and the serendipitous love that materialized her vision and fueled her conviction, to the timeless mark she continues to make on the fashion industry, Isabel weaves together all of her impressions to express her true inspiration and authenticity. Isabel's words -- interpreted by artwork from her husband, one of fashion's most prolific illustrators, Ruben Toledo-- tell an eloquent and visually stunning story about how fashion gave a form of communication to a curious girl who was fascinated by design, craftsmanship, and sewing.

Redefining Diva: Lessons from the Original Dreamgirl by Sheryl Lee Ralph
Sheryl Lee Ralph's superstar performance as the original Deena in Broadway's groundbreaking musical Dreamgirls didn't happen overnight. First came a grueling Hollywood apprenticeship, where roles for young black women at the time were often offensive and demeaning. Sheryl Lee, however, held stubbornly to the values of her mother and grandmother: she wouldn't take any part she couldn't be proud of. Even after joining Dreamgirls--where she helped create a role that grew from her own life story--she wouldn't invest years of sweat and tears before the play finally opened to instant acclaim.

The Knitter's Life List: To Do; To Know; To Explore; To Make by Gwen Steege
Gwen W. Steege has been a fiber fanatic for nearly 50 years, and she hasn't tired yet of spending late nights with her knitting needles and a good ball of yarn, sometimes spun from the fleece of her own sheep. By day, she is an editor who has worked on dozens of books about knitting and other fiber craft. She lives in western Massachusetts.

Teen Pick of the Week: Twilight Director's Notebook

Twilight Director's Notebook: The Story of How We Made the Movie based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer by Catherine Hardwicke
This is the inside story from the director, "In this book, you'll follow me through the creative process that went into making Stephenie Meyer's hypnotic novel come alive on-screen. Get the inside scoop on the wardrobe, storyboard sketches, behind-the-scenes photographs, and personal notes about making my favorite scenes."

Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

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India, Food, and James Brown

India Becoming: A Portrait of Life in Modern India by Akash Kapur
The son of an Indian father and an American mother, Akash Kapur spent his formative years in India and his early adulthood in the United States. In 2003, having established a life in the West, he returned to his birth country for good, eager to be part of its exciting growth and modernization. What he found was a nation even more transformed than he imagined, where the changes were fundamentally altering Indian society, for better and sometimes for worse. To further understand these changes, he sought out the Indians experiencing them firsthand--young and old, across classes, in cities, and in the countryside. The result is a rich tapestry of live being altered by economic development, and a fascinating insider's look at many of the most important forces shaping our world today.

Taste What You're Missing: The Passionate Eater's Guide to Why Good Food Tastes Good by Barb Stuckey
Whether it's a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup, maple-cured bacon sizzling hot from the pan, or a salted caramel coated in dark chocolate, you know when food tastes good to you. But you many not know the amazing story behind why you love some foods and can't tolerate others. Now, in Taste What You're Missing, the first book that demystifies the science of taste, you'll learn how your individual biology, genetics, and brain create a personal experience of everything you taste--and how you can make the most of it.

The One: The Life and Music of James Brown by RJ Smith
Forget Elvis Presley. Forget Bob Dylan. Forget the Beatles. The most important musician of the twentieth century was James Brown. Full of unprecedented research and never-before-heard interviews, The One is a portrait of a man whose fascinating life helps us understand the music he made. The musical genius, who all but created funk and dominated R & B and pop, was born into abject poverty in South Carolina and raised in rural Georgia amid violent racial tensions. He grew up in a brothel owned by his aunt, landed in juvenile prison at age sixteen, and upon his release met his first bandmates, members of the group that would become the Famous Flames. From the Chitlin' Circuit to the Apollo Theater, Brown amassed fourty-four Billboard Top 40 hit singles, played up to 350 shows a year at his peak, and was a showman like no other.

Fenway, Tao Song, and Rock N Roll

Fenway 1912: The Birth of a Ballpark, a Championship Seaons, and Fenway's Remarkable First Year by Glenn Stout

In anticipation of the one hundredth anniversary of America's most beloved ballpark, Fenway 1912 is the untold story of how Fenway Park came to be and its remarkable first season. 1912 was a leap year, the year the Titanic sank, and it was also the year baseball's original shrine was born. While the point was still drying and the infield grass still coming in, the Red Sox embarked on an unlikely season that culminated in a World Series battle against the Giants that stands as one of the greatest ever played.

Tao Song and Tao Dance: Sacred Sound, Movement, and Power from the Source for Healing, Rejuvenation, Longevity, and Transformation of All Life by Dr. & Master Zhi Gang Sha
Master Sha reveals new sacred Tao Song mantras that carry Tao frequency and vibration, which can transform the frequency and vibration of life. Sacred Tao Song mantras and Tao Dance carry Tao love, which melts all blockages and Tao light, which heals, prevents sickness, purifies and rejuvenates soul, heart, mind, and body, and transforms relationships, finances, and every aspect of life.

Every Night's a Saturday Night: The Rock 'N' Roll Life of Legendary Sax Man Bobby Keys by Bobby Keys
Born in Slaton, Texas, some fifteen miles southeast of Lubbock, Bobby Keys has lived the kind of life that qualifies as a rock 'n' roll folktale. In his early teens, Keys bribed his way into neighbor Buddy Holly's garage band rehearsals, then took up the saxophone because it was the only instrument left unclaimed in the school band. While still in his teens, he convinced his grandfather to sign his guardianship over to Crickets drummer J.I. Allison so that Keys could go on tour.

Paris, Birdwatching, and Heart Defects

The Most Beautiful Walk in the World: A Pedestrian in Paris by John Baxter
In this enchanting memoir, acclaimed author and long-time Paris resident John Baxter remember his yearlong experience of giving "literary walking tours" through the city. Baxter sets off with unsuspecting tourists in tow on the trail of Paris's legendary artists and writers of the past. Along the way, he tells the history of Paris through a brilliant cast of characters: the favorite cafes of Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and James Joyce; Pablo Picasso's underground Montmartre haunts; the bustling boulevards of the late-nineteenth century fianeurs; the secluded "Little Luxembourg" gardens beloved by Gertrude Stein; the alleys where revolutionaries plotted; and finally Baxter's own favorite walk near his home in Saint-Germain-des-Pres.

The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession by Mark Obmascik
Every January 1, a quirky crowd storms out across North America for a spectacularly competitive event called a Big Year--a grand, expensive, and occasionally vicious 365-day marathon of birdwatching. For three men in particular, 1998 would become a grueling battle for a new North American birding record. Bouncing from coast to coast on frenetic pilgrimages for once-in-a-lifettime rarities, they brave broiling deserts, bug-infested swamps, and some of the lumpiest motel mattresses known to man.

Immortal Bird: A Family Memoir by Doron Weber
A family's love lies at the heart of this gifted boy's fight to survive. Born with a congenital heart defect that required surgery when he was a baby, Damon Weber lives a big life with spirit and independence that have always been a source of pride to his parents, Doron and Shealagh. But when Damon is diagnosed with a new illness as a teenager, his triumphant coming-of-age tale turns into a darker and more dramatic quest: his family's race against time and a flawed health care system.

Girl Scouts, Kidnapping, and Romney

First Girl Scout: The Life of Juliette Gordon Low by Ginger Wadsworth
When Juliette Gordon was growing up in the late 1800s, she climbed trees, swam in rivers, and hiked on tall cliffs. With her cousins and friends, she sewed costumes and put on plays, sketched and painted, and reached out to help other kids who were less fortunate. Juliette, or Daisy, as her friends and family called her--knew that most girls her age weren't so lucky; they didn't have the opportunities to play, create, and enjoy outdoor activities the way she did. And when Daisy became an adult, she out to do something to change that.

We Is Got Him: The Kidnapping that Changed America by Carrie Hagen
in 1874, a little boy named Charley Ross was snatched from his family's front yard in Philadelphia. A ransom note arrived the next day, demanding $20,000 for Charley's return. The city was about to host America's centennial celebration, and the mass panic surrounding the Charley Ross case jeopardized city politics and plunged the nation into hysteria. The desperate search led the Philadelphia and New York police departments to inspect every building in Philadelphia, set up saloon surveillance in New York's notorious Five Points neighborhood, and elicit citizens' participation in a national manhunt.

The Real Romney by Michael Kranish and Scott Helman
Mitt Romney has masterfully positioned himself as front-runner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Even though he's become a household name, the former Massachusetts governor remains an enigma to many in America, his character and core convictions elusive, his record little known. Who is the man behind the sweep of dark hair, distinguished white sideburns, and high-wattage smile? He often seems to be two people at once: a savvy politician, and someone who will simply say anything to win. A business visionary, and a calculating dealmaker. A man comfortable in his faith and with family, and one who can have trouble connecting with average voters.

Miracles, Buddhists, and Equality

The Translation of the Bones by Francesca Kay
When word gets out that Mary-Margaret O'Reilly, a somewhat slow-witted but harmless young woman, may have been witness to a miracles, religious mania descends on the Church of the Sacred Heart in Battersea, London. The consequences are devastating, not only for Mary-Margaret but for others, including Father Diamond, the parish priest, who is in the midst of his own lonely crisis of faith, and Stella Morrison, adrift in a loveless marriage and aching for her ten-year-old son, away at boarding school. Another mother, Alice Armitage, counts the days until her soldier son comes home from Afghanistan, while Mary-Margaret's mother, Fidelma, imprisoned in her tower block, stares out over the city through her window for hour after hour with nothing but her thoughts for company. It is Mary-Margaret's desperate attempt to prove that Jesus loves her that will change all of these lives in a shocking way.

Vulture Peak by John Burdett
Nobody knows Bangkok like Royal Thai Police Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep, and there is no one quite like Sonchai: a police officer who has kept his Buddhist soul intact--more or less--despite the fact that his job shoves him face-to-face with some of the most vile and outrageous crimes and criminals in Bangkok. But for his newest assignment, everything he knows about his city--and himself--will be a mere starting point. He's put in charge of the highest-profile criminal case in Thailand--an attempt to bring an end to trafficking human organs. He sets in motion a massive sting operation and stays at its center, traveling to Phuket, Hong Kong, Dubai, Shanghai, and Monte Carlo. He draws in a host of unwitting players. And yet, it's closer to home that Sonchai will discover things getting really dicey.

Reimagining Equality: Stories of Gender, Race, and Finding Home by Anita Hill
In 1991, Anita Hill's courageous testimony during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings sparked a national conversation on sexual harassment and women's equality in politics and the workplace. Today, she turns her attention to another potent and enduring symbol of economic success and equality--the home. Hill details how the current housing crisis, resulting in the devastation of so many families, so many communities, and even whole cities, imperils every American's ability to achieve the American Dream.

Recipes, Rwanda, and Romany

The Sexy Forever Recipe Bible by Suzanne Somers
She is known by her family and friends as a world-class cook, but you would never guess Suzanne Somer's delicious recipes and desserts can also be used as part of her phenomenally successful weight loss plan, Sexy Forever. The Sexy Forever Recipe Bible provides a stunning compilation of more than 400 delicious classics, updated and coded for those with preferences for gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, vegetarian, or vegan options.

Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron
Running the Rift follows the progress of Jean Patrick Nkuba from the day he knows that running will be his life to the moment he must run to save his life. A naturally gifted athlete, he sprints over the thousand hills of Rwanda and dreams of becoming his country's first Olympic medal winner in track. But Jean Patrick is a Tutsi in a world that has become increasingly restrictive and violent for his people. As tensions mount between the Hutu and Tutsi, he holds fast to his dream that running might deliver him, and his people, from the brutality around them.

The Invisible Ones by Stef Penney
Small-time private investigator Ray Lovell veers between paralysis and delirium in a hospital bed. But before the accident that landed him there, he'd been hired to find Rose Janko, the wife of a charismatic son of a traveling Gypsy family, who went missing seven years earlier. Half Romany himself, Ray is well aware that he's been chosen more for his blood than for his investigative skills. Still, he's surprised by the intense hostilities he encounters from the Jankos, who haven't had an easy past. Touched by tragedy, they're either cursed or hiding a terrible secret--the discovery of which Ray can't help suspecting is connected to Rose's disappearance.

Teen Pick of the Week: Chicken Soup

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul on Tough Stuff: Stories of Tough Times and Lessons Learned by Jack Canfield
Many of these stories were written by teens and provide comfort and support to their peer readers. Tough Stuff was a chapter in the previous series Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul and includes more challenging issues and experiences of being a teenager, such as drugs and alcohol, rejection, loss of friendships and relationships, death, suicide, divorce, physical and emotional abuse, and eating disorders. Although the content of these stories is often disturbing and sometimes tragic, the potential for insight, learning and "growing up" is enormous.

Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Read a great teen book recently? Want to recommend it as Teen Pick of the Week? Email me!

Bridal Shops and CSI

The Magic Room: A Story about the Love We Wish for Our Daughters by Jeffrey Zaslow
Thousands of women have stepped inside Becker's Bridal in Fowler, Michigan, to try on their dream dresses in the Magic Room, a special space with soft lighting, a circular pedestal, and mirrors that carry a bride's reflection into infinity. The women bring with them their most precious expectations about romance, love, fidelity, permanence, and tradition. Each bride who passes through has a story to tell--one that carried her there, to that dress, that room, that moment. Illuminating the poignant aspects of a woman's journey to the altar, The Magic Room, tells the stories of memorable women on the brink of commitment.

Mr. CSI: How a Vegas Dreamer Made a Killing in Hollywood, One Body at a Time by Anthony Zuiker
In 1990, Anthony Zuiker was just another Hollywood wannabe--a balding, overweight guy driving a tram in Las Vegas for eight bucks an hour, telling his friends about the screenplay he was writing, dreaming of fame. He'd grown up in Vegas, where his mother worked the blackjack table at a casino, while his father flitted back and forth from investment schemes that didn't seem to go anywhere. His friends figured Anthony wouldn't either. But twenty years later, Zuiker stands as the mastermind behind the most popular television show in history, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and its spin-offs: CSI: Miami and CSI: NY. How he got there--a remarkable rise from nothing to something--is the narrative lifeblood of Mr. CSI.

Teen Pick of the Week: Dear Bully

Dear Bully: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories edited by Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones
Discover how Lauren Kate transformed the feeling of that one mean girl getting under her skin into her first novel, how Lauren Oliver learned to celebrate ambiguity in her classmates and in herself, and how R.L. Stine turned being the "funny guy" into the best defense against the bullies in his class. Today's top authors for teens come together to share their stories about bullying--as silent observers on the sidelines of high school, as victims, and as perpetrators--in a collection at turns moving and self-effacing, but always deeply personal.


Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Read a great teen book recently? Want to recommend it as Teen Pick of the Week? Email me!