By Graham Salisbury

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japanese American soldiers were treated with less respect than the white soldiers. This powerful book is a fictional account of a real mission the Japanese American soldiers were forced to complete on an island off the coast of Mississippi called Cat Island. It is a moving account of the forms prejudice can take and the history that has shaped our country. It’s also hard to put down. Don’t miss reading this one!

By Gregory Maguire

Gregory Maguire is a wonderful writer who has taken familiar stories and fairy tales and fleshed them out into full length novels. In addition, he writes as if these tales were real-life, even though the genre is still fantasy. His first novel, Wicked, follows the witch Elphaba through the Land of Oz. It took him ten years, but the sequel to the book, Son of a Witch has just been published. Wicked is now a major Broadway musical. Son of a Witch begins about 4 days after Wicked ends (in Oz time) and follows the story of Liir, who my or may not be Elphaba’s son. These books were written with adult readers in mind, so there is adult content.

By David James Duncan

If you are a nature lover and/or love to fish, you will enjoy this coming of age story by David James Duncan. Not only does he tell a great story with lots of insight about moving out into the world on your own, but a touch of humor runs throughout the book. I have only fished a couple of times in my life, so you don’t have to know a lot about fishing to read this book. I had the opportunity to meet David James Duncan, the author of this book and The Brothers K in Seattle last week, so look for our signed copy of The River Why on the “Signed by the Author” shelf

By Jasper Fforde

The Eyre Affair

Lost in a Good Book

The Well of Lost Plots

Something Rotten

In this series, Thursday Next is a literary detective. She therefore literally gets lost in good books. In The Eyre Affair, she must find the missing heroine Jane Eyre and must go live inside the book to do so. Hamlet is a featured character in the newest book in the series, Something Rotten. Thursday’s father is a member of the Chronoguard and time travel is a common occurrence for him. I know it sounds strange, but all of these books are great fun to read, even if you are not familiar with the classic literature in the stories. Why is there a picture of a dodo bird by the book? Read this series and you’ll find out! Jasper Fforde’s newest series, The Nursery Crimes Series begins with a look at solving the crime that occurred when Humpty Dumpty fell from the wall. It’s called The Big Over Easy. Take a look at Jasper Fforde’s extensive website for more information on his popular series:

http://www.jasperfforde.com/index2.html

by Mark Spragg

Mark Spragg’s book, An Unfinished Life, takes place in an imaginary town in Wyoming. It is a story about the meaning of family and the courage to change attitudes and opinions and face great challenges. The bear is important to the story, but you’ll have to read it to find out why. This book was recently made into a movie starring Robert Redford, Jennifer Lopez, and Morgan Freeman. Look for it on DVD soon, and look for our signed copy of the book in the library! I had the chance to meet Mark Spragg at an author event last weekend. One of the things he said was that he gets so involved in the lives of his characters that he sometimes writes checks and signs them with a character’s name. His bank in the small town where he lives asks him for a list of the character’s names, so they know what to expect!