Library Tip of the Week

We've got a three-day weekend approaching. Swing by the library and check out some books to pass the time!

BoTW: North of Beautiful

In Justina Headley's North of Beautiful, the book's main character Terra is a pretty, artistic, and intellectual young woman with a socially crippling birthmark covering one side of her face. Terra describes herself at the very start of the novel, saying "Not to brag or anything, but if you saw me from behind, you'd probably think I was perfect. I'm tall, but not too tall, with a ballerina's long legs and longish neck. My hair is naturally platinum blond, the kind that curls when I want it to and cascades behind my back in one sleek line when I don't."

On the other hand, Terra goes on to say, "Please don't get me wrong; I've got all the requisite parts -- and in all the right numbers, too: one nose, two eyes, and twenty-four teeth that add up to not a bad smile. But who notices pearly whites when a red-stained birthmark stretches across the broad plain of my right cheek?"

To make matters worse, Terra's father is a controlling, verbally abusive figure in her life. At the start of the book, Terra's sense of self-worth is at it's lowest ebb.

When Terra and her mother get into a car accident, Terra meets Jacob, an Asian teenager born with a cleft palette. They quickly become good friends and through Jacob, Terra better deals with her birthmark and learn her own worth beyond physical appearance.

North of Beautiful is a 2010 Lonestar book.

New Arrival!

The Year of the Bomb by Ronald Kidd takes place in 1950s United States at the height of communist and nuclear holocaust paranoia. Arnie and his friends face off against a government agent who is vigorously hunting communist spies at the local university and a nearby movie set.

Library Tip of the Week

Check out this video by the faculty and students of Ocoee Middle School!

BotW: The Red Blazer Girls

The Red Blazer Girls by Michael Beil, a Lonestar 2010 award recipient, is a mystery story in the truest sense of the word. The novel begins with Sophie sitting in class listening to her teacher talk about a particularly creepy scene from the classic Great Expectations. When she happens to look out her classroom window and sees a strange face looking back at from a high window across the school, Sophie screams! Afterwards, Sophie teams up with her best friends, Margaret and Rebecca, and together the three agree to investigate the mysterious identity of the person in the church.

I proclaim The Red Blazer Girls to be mystery's mystery book because the book reminds me of the classic Scooby Doo cartoons I watched when I was a kid. Full of clues, mysterious villains, creepy locations, and great plots twists, the Red Blazer Girls isn't scary, but puzzling. Like Scooby, Shaggy, and the rest of the gang, the Red Blazer Girls stumble upon a case, gather clues, hide under tables, meet a strange boy, and endeavor to solve a mystery.

Intrigued? Check out The Red Blazer Girls today!

New Arrival!

The Girl Who Threw Butterflies by Mick Cockrane is about a gifted pitcher who uses baseball to help her cope with the recent death of her father.

New Arrival!

Here's the Destiny summary for Somebody by Nancy Springer:

"At the age of fifteen, a girl who has spent most of her life moving around the country with her father and brother, filling the emptiness inside her with chocolate, remembers her real name, Sherica, and searches the Internet to learn the truth about her mother and her own past."