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Headquarters Staff Picks September 2018
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The Darkest Part of the Forestby Holly Black “Once, there was a girl who vowed she would save everyone in the world, but forgot herself.” This is a dark and creepy fairy tale told by none other than the queen of faerie stories herself, Holly Black. In the town of Fairfold, everyone knows that faeries exist. Everyone knows that you can make wishes and bargain with them, but for a price that will most often make you wish you hadn't. They're mischievous, but not evil, although they do delight in causing trouble. They mostly leave the townspeople alone, but tourists are fair game. Why would tourists want to visit a sleepy little town in the middle of nowhere? It could be to try and catch a glimpse of the handsome, mysterious horned boy asleep in the glass coffin. The story follows Hazel, a girl who makes a pact with the faeries in exchange for seven years of her life. In exchange for helping her brother get a scholarship to a music school, she unknowingly serves the Forest King's bidding every night while she's asleep. Then all hell breaks loose when the horned boy finally wakes from his slumber and Hazel has to decide whose side she's really on. Filled with romance, magic, and twists you'll never see coming, this is Holly Black at her finest. Taylor
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August 21st, 2017 is a day that will be remembered by many for years to come. It was the day of the Great American Eclipse, labeled so by the media because it spanned from the east coast to the west coast of the United States. For most of us, myself included, it was our first time experiencing a total solar eclipse. For Clemson University adjunct professor Dr. Liebenberg, it was his 27th viewing of such a cosmic phenomenon! Along with plenty of other voices from various departments on campus, his first-hand account of the eclipse is documented in this commemorative book. Clemson University served as one of the largest gathering places for people from all over the country and world to watch the total solar eclipse last summer. In the book, readers will get a glimpse at what the free, highly publicized “Eclipse Over Clemson” event was like. Featuring over 100 stunning images, quotes from guests, and even a poem from local author Ron Rash, it will forever remind us of the Great American Eclipse that graced Clemson University, our state, and our country with its presence on August 21st, 2017.
Isabel
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Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A.by Luis J. Rodriguez Luis may have only been twelve years old, but he had seen things that would cause some grown men to shake in their boots. After emigrating from Mexico with his family to east L.A. Luis thought joining a gang would help him survive and find a sense of belonging in his life. However, as he got older and watched friend after friend get killed by gang violence he realized that if he did not escape the gang life he would be the next one to die. Yet leaving a gang behind is easier said than done. Luis will have to throw away everything he’s ever known just for the chance to escape the life he once embraced. So to be quite frank the only reason I read Always Running was to complete a summer reading challenge, but man this book was amazing. One of the primary things that make this story so compelling is that not only is it a true story about gang life, but it is the memoir of the author’s own life. Therefore, this story was incredibly important to the author, and it shows. The writing is raw and realistic. It never minces words, tries to justify the things Luis did, or sugarcoats anything, it simply tells the story of Luis growing up in the gangs of east Los Angles and how he escaped that life. Turns out that story was more than enough to capture my undivided attention and I believe it can capture yours too if you give it a try. Seth
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You Should Have Leftby Daniel Kehlmann This is a screenwriter’s account of a family vacation that is also supposed to function as a creative retreat for him. He rents a beautiful cabin, newly renovated, minimalistic, in the center of a pine tree filled forest. But terrible dreams, strange optical illusions, and architectural peculiarities of the house all contribute to this bizarre account of what happens to this family in the seven very strange days they vacation here. Looking for a dark creepy little tale? Some psychological horror? For me, it’s almost reminiscent of a Twilight Zone episode. Maybe even a little Stephen King-esque. But it is a novella; a one-sitting read. And well worth it. It will leave you scratching your head and scared to check your reflection in the window. Crystal
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The Last Time I Liedby Riley SagerAfter reading and enjoying Riley Sager's debut thriller Final Girls last year, I was ecstatic when I found out he was releasing another novel this summer. The Last Time I Lied was even better than I expected! I devoured the Goosebumps series when I was a kid and reading The Last Time I Lied was like reading Goosebumps for adults...needless to say, I loved it!
Emma Davis returns to the mysterious yet intriguing Camp Nightingale 15 years after she last stepped foot there and she is immediately struck with a sense of creepy déjà vu. For starters, she has been asked to bunk with three teenage girls at Dogwood Cabin...the same cabin where her roommates disappeared from the last time she was there. The crack in the wall on one of the latrine showers from which she did her fair share of spying back in the day is still there, only now someone has been spying on her. As if that wasn't enough, she keeps seeing visions of her former roommate Vivian after finding her old diary. Is it all in her head or could Vivian's ghost actually be haunting her? As Emma struggles to uncover the secrets held by Camp Nightingale, she finds that it gets harder and harder to distinguish truth from falsehood.
I loved everything about this book, from the teasing cliffhangers at the end of various chapters to the past/present format it was written in. I enjoyed being absolutely astonished by the big twist near the middle of the book and again by the conclusion. I liked that Emma's character was extremely likable, which is not always the case in unreliable narrators. The Last Time I Lied makes a fine and memorable addition to the psychological thriller genre. Isabel
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Imagine flying in a plane with your husband, on your way to the beautiful island of Hawaii, when all of the sudden your husband loses his vision and goes unconscious. The plane has to make an emergency landing in North Dakota and your husband is being rushed to the hospital. This was Allison’s reality. While celebrating her baby moon, her life changed in a blink of an eye. Her young healthy husband Dave suffered a stroke and woke with no memory. Beauty In the Broken Places is Allison’s story of love, faith, and strength. This was a very touching memoir. I would highly recommend this book to anyone you know who has a family member who has suffered a stroke. Shannon
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Sweet Tea and Sympathyby Molly Harper As an event planner, Margot can handle just about anything. But when an elite Chicago event goes outrageously awry, she finds herself unemployed and unemployable due to a real life angry bird situation involving flamingoes and shrimp. When Margot is contacted by a relative she’s never heard from and asked to come home to Georgia and help run the family business, Margot is wary. But with nowhere else to go, Margot heads to Lake Sackett, a place she has no memory of. Upon arriving, she discovers she has dozens of relatives, a father who abandoned her as a child, and the family business is the McCready Family Funeral Home and Bait Shop. Can an upscale event planner from the big city survive in a southern town while running a mortuary/bait shop? Margot is way out of her comfort zone but with the help of the local school principal and her crazy family, she gradually finds a place to call home. Sweet Tea and Sympathy is the first book in the Southern Eclectic contemporary romance series. This novel called to me when I saw the sweet tea cover, and like the cover, it is fun and full of southern charm. If you love small town tales featuring family, humor, and a bit of romance, then grab yourself a glass of sweet tea and enjoy Sweet Tea and Sympathy. Brandi
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They All Fall Downby Tammy Cohen Blimey! They All Fall Down is without a doubt the twistiest book I’ve read in a while, maybe even in my whole life! It has a complicated cast of characters and a hugely intricate plot, so it is easy to get lost in all the details. However, Tammy Cohen does an excellent job of keeping the reader up-to-date on what’s what by alternating the perspective between three main characters: Hannah, Corinne, and Laura. Hannah is a new patient at The Meadows, a female only, high-risk psychiatric facility in London managed by the renowned Dr. Oliver Roberts. Her mother, Corinne, is looking out for her daughter’s wellbeing by delving into Dr. Roberts’ shady past. Laura, on the other hand, is one of the most preferred therapists treating the individuals at The Meadows. At first, I thought things were developing a bit slowly…but boy I tell you, once the ball started rolling, it never let up. When a string of apparent double suicides shakes things up at The Meadows, Hannah becomes worried that someone is lurking around threatening the women at their facility. But who could it be? And why does it seem like everyone is hiding something? The more Corinne researches, the stranger things get. It all comes down to an epic showdown that is literally to die for. I absolutely loved this smart thriller! Just when you think things couldn’t get any more twisted, Cohen strikes with yet another chilling revelation. At the very end, a pair of new voices shines even more light on this total funhouse of madness. If that sounds like your cup of tea, then what are you bloody waiting for? Check it out today! Isabel
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So-called “conversion therapy”, which attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation from anything otherwise to heterosexuality, is currently under the microscope in a America, and it is either outlawed or in the process in at least 13 states. The ex-gay ministry is considered a subsection of conversion therapy, and the goal in the ex-gay movement is that those with homosexual urges will ultimately put them aside and commit to a heterosexual lifestyle. It’s with that background that I introduce Garrard Conley’s memoir, Boy Erased, to you. Conley’s life as the Arkansan son of a Baptist pastor and his wife was upended in 2004, when a college classmate raped Conley, then called his parents to notify them that Conley was gay. Conley’s father issued him an ultimatum: he either entered conversion therapy to “fix” him, or he was no longer part of the family. Conley agreed, and he and his mother spent two weeks in Memphis at the church-supported Love in Action conversion facility, meant to cure all sexual deviancy. Boy Erased is equal parts heartbreaking explanation of Conley’s time with LIA and heartrending story of a relationship between a mother and son that is cracked but not shattered by Conley’s inappropriate outing. I’m the same age as Conley, and thought over and over as I read this book--if only he’d come to my school instead, if only he’d lived elsewhere, if only this that and the other, but Conley’s final point is clear: we are the sum of our experiences. He wouldn’t be where he was today without the weight of conversion therapy placed upon him. The film adaptation of Boy Erased, starring Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe as Conley’s parents, will be released in September. This memoir isn’t for everyone, but Conley’s beautiful writing that details his relationship with his mother and friends is a gift to anyone who reads it. Jess
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An Honorable Seductionby Brenda Jackson Navy SEAL David “Flipper” Holloway is given an assignment by the Admiral Norris Martin and Commanding Officer Shields that involves espionage. The Admiral is trusting David to complete the job without a hitch because of who the primary suspect is. After being given the task, David travels to the crime scene location, the Florida Keys, to begin his mission. Unexpectedly, David encounters a Jamaican beauty (Swan Jamison) who just happens to be the suspect. From that moment on David realizes this assignment is going to be more difficult than what he expects. I usually do not read romance novels, but I decided to give Brenda Jackson’s An Honorable Seduction a try. Needless to say I was not disappointed. What kept me interested in Jackson’s novel was her descriptive military story line and romantic escapades that took place between David and Swan. The suspense that builds during David’s mission was a real attention grabber because of David’s undeniable love for Swan. Although David’s emotions interfered with government business, his feelings fueled his fire to help save his country and protect the woman he loves. This hot and steamy rendezvous was an honorable seduction indeed! Bernadette
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Bird Boxby Josh Malerman “In a world where you can’t open your eyes, isn’t a blindfold all you could ever hope for?”
Looking for something fast-paced and compulsively readable? What would happen if there was something out there, that when you looked at it, you were immediately driven into madness and suicide? How far would it go? How would people cope?
This horrifying scenario becomes a reality for Mallory. She's just found out that she's pregnant, and now she is trapped in her home, afraid to look outside, and slowly losing contact with her friends, family, and the entire world outside her. The book flashes back between this time, and 4 years later, when Mallory and her two children struggle to survive in a world that never learned to adapt to this new reality.
Told at a blisteringly fast pace and filled with plot twists, this book will have you guessing and flipping pages late into the night. This is absolutely a story you will not be able to put down. Check it out before the release of the Netflix original film starring Sandra Bullock and Sarah Paulson, coming December 2018! Taylor
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Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the Worldby Pénélope BagieuBrazen is an awesome graphic novel depicting the lives of amazing women who set out to change the world. The artwork is beautifully done as well as the short stories. Brazen is very informing and educational. Most of the women Pénélope Bagieu writes about, I had never heard of. One woman that I never heard of but liked reading about, was Frances Glessner Lee, who was a crime miniaturist. She made miniature replicas of real crime scenes to teach policemen and doctors how to examine a crime scene. What I liked best is she was the inspiration for the character Jessica Fletcher in Murder She Wrote. Which is one of my favorite shows. I really enjoyed reading this graphic novel. I hope Bagieu continues to write about other awesome women, who helped change society. Brazen is definitely a must read! Shannon
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Shutter IslandAs the island became visible, U.S. Marshall Ted Daniels and his partner knew they were about to face a challenging investigation. Located on the the Boston Harbor Islands is Shutter Island. Shutter Island is the home of a secluded insane asylum where some of the most violent patients reside to receive medical care. Marshall Daniels has come to the island to inquire about a patient name Rachel Solando who has escaped the institution. No one knows where Rachel has disappeared to, but Daniels is determined to find out where Rachel is and what is so mysterious about Shutter Island. Shutter Island is a very peculiar residence. There is definitely something mysterious about the facility, but it's not what you think. At first, Ted’s investigation starts out strong, but when he begins to experience migraines, confusing dreams, hallucinations, and flashbacks, his investigation becomes less authentic. The more Ted explores the island, the more he discovers about himself and why Shutter Island is a place for the erratic.
Bernadette
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The Miracle Season The Miracle Season is based on the true story of Iowa City West High School’s volleyball team, The Women of Troy, after the death of team captain, Caroline Found, in 2011. Caroline Found was the heart of the team and after her death, The Women of Troy struggle to put aside their grief and come together as a team. With many obstacles to overcome, the team, along with Coach Kathy Bresnahan, commits to winning their second consecutive state title, something no other school has accomplished, in honor of their teammate and friend. While there are already plenty of inspirational sports movies out there, The Miracle Season still manages to stand out. The Miracle Season illustrates the triumph of the human spirit and I can’t remember the last time I was so moved by a movie. Be warned: this is a very emotional story, but it is portrayed so well that you will feel like you are a part of the team. Even for those not into volleyball, The Miracle Season is a film you don’t want to miss. Brandi
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Imagine for a moment how you would feel if someone broke into your house took you by surprise and knocked you unconscious. Just about anyone would be pretty mad at that person right? What if that same person also stole your brand new car after knocking you out? Most people would probably even want some revenge on anyone who would do that. Well now imagine how you would feel if that same person killed your puppy right in front of your eyes before they knocked you out and stole your car. Now THAT is bad. Therefore, when this all happens to John Wick and he wakes up and wants to kill absolutely everyone that had anything to do with what happened to him, it makes perfect sense. Wouldn’t you feel the same way? However, the thing about John Wick is that he is not your average person like you and me, he is a retired assassin. In addition, he is infamous for never failing to kill one of his marks. In other words someone killed the wrong person’s dog. The premise of John Wick is so simple, but wow does it ever work. There is just something so evil about killing a puppy that when Mr. Wick begins to take his revenge you can’t help but feel some immense satisfaction. However, the simple and satisfying plot was not the only reason I thought the movie was brilliant. Perhaps my favorite thing in the movie was that besides the man who killed his dog absolutely everyone knew who John Wick was and what he was capable of. In fact, when the main antagonist, who is a crime lord and the father of the man who killed John’s dog, finds out what his son did to Mr. Wick, he goes pale. I have never seen a movie where the main bad guy is scared of the protagonist, but it definitely created a really cool and unique atmosphere. That alone would make the movie completely worth watching, so when you add all the amazing action scenes to that, it makes John Wick an action movie you don’t want to miss. Trust me. Seth
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Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle 14 years ago, I sat in the movie theater with my best friend and watched what became one of my favorite movies: Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. The film--which spawned two equally good sequels--stars and John Cho and Kal Penn as two Asian best friends who get high one night and decide that the only proper way to deal with a case of the munchies is to (surprise!) go to White Castle. What follow is a litany of misadventures, from smoking weed with a cheetah in the woods to pulling bullets out of a guy’s torso in a hospital, as the two trek across north Jersey in hopes of finding the elusive sliders they so badly want. Rewatching it now, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle maintains its hilarity, but in the very racially charged world of 2018, it also serves as a study in how Asian Americans are systematically stereotyped and denied certain allowances afforded to white people. Even now, 14 years later, every time I cross against a traffic light, I think of when Harold takes one step in the road in the dead of night against a red light, and a cop zips up out of nowhere to write him a ticket. But lest you think it too serious, the lessons are cut with the chemistry between Cho & Penn, who crash a party at Princeton, run into Neil Patrick Harris, get creeped out by both Christopher Meloni and Ryan Reynolds, and have a major Wilson Phillips jam sesh in a stolen car. I appreciate smart comedy, and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle is high on my list: it may have been made in 2004, but it suits 2018 just fine. Jess
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A Quiet Place The Abbott family lives by a pretty simple premise… silence equals survival. We get no back story as to what has happened to earth but we know there are monsters roaming that are triggered by sound. And within the first 10 minutes of the film, we see the consequence of what happens if you make noise. The Abbotts use an elaborate system to survive this new hostile environment and have done a decent job for a while. But as we all know, children make noise, and so do women who are in labor. And it becomes a fight to the end for survival. John Krasinski (The Office) wrote, directed and stars in this film alongside his wife, Emily Blunt. Both excellent actors, they do an amazing job at portraying a seemingly impossible plot. And the silence for the majority of the film really ratchets up the suspense. So let go of all the reasons why you thought you’d skip this one, check it out from the library, and sit back and enjoy the film for the horror/thriller that it is! Crystal
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