By Cornelia Funke
What would happen if the characters in a
book could come to life and join our world? In Inkheart, that’s exactly what happens and because most of the
characters from the book are villains, things get interesting and exciting! When
you’ve finished, you’ll want to jump right into Inkspell, the sequel. Both books are available in the library. I
haven’t gotten to read Inkspell yet, so don’t reveal any details to me, please!
Also in our library by Cornelia Funke:
The Thief Lord
Dragon Rider
By Kazuo Ishiguro
Kathy, Ruth and Tommy went to a protective
private school in the English countryside called Hailsham.
The book is set in the present, but reads like science fiction in many ways.
The three friends meet up again in their thirties, so a lot of the book is
flashbacks of their Hailsham years and the unraveling
of the truth and dark secrets of their school as it really was. They also have
to come to grips with the realities of the present and what must happen in
their lives.
By Joanne Harris
(author of Chocolat which
was made into a movie with Johnny Depp)
This is a gripping mystery with many
surprises. It is set up in alternating chapters between two main characters.
One is a teacher who has been at the private school for many years and the
other is a new teacher with a grudge against the school planning revenge for
difficulties in the past. The entire story is cleverly
set up like a chess match and it kept me guessing until the last moment.
I have been following the adventures of
the Baudelaire orphans and their many unfortunate events since Lemony Snicket
first began writing the books. What began as an alternative to the usual
children’s book has developed into a set of tales for all ages, much like J. K.
Rowling’s Harry Potter success story.
The sense of humor in these books may have moved past the understanding
level of a younger child because of the high vocabulary level and clever
sarcasm and plays on words. The Penultimate Peril is the second to last book in
the series and it takes place in the Hotel Denouement in which the rooms are
numbered and the floors are arranged according to the Dewey Decimal System, so
I’m sure that added to my overall enjoyment of this newest book in the series. I think it’s the best of the series so far,
and that’s saying a lot!
By Elizabeth Kostova
This book traces the dark powers of Vlad the Impaler, the medieval
ruler who inspired the legends of Dracula. Traveling on the trains of Europe
through
