Wauconda Area Library - Staff Picks

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

This is one of my favorite books ever.  If you have a passion for literature you'll find this epic story filled with mystery, love, hate, courage, humor and intrigue.  The writing is exceptional, poetic and moving.  The characters are described so vividly they will stay imprinted in your mind forever. 

This story begins in 1945 Barcelona when a 10-year-old boy, Daniel, is taken by his bookseller father to the Cemetary of Forgotten Books, which is a massive sanctuary where books are guarded from oblivion.  He is told to choose only one book to protect and guard.  He chooses The Shadow of the Wind by an obscure author.  He loves and is so fascinated by this very rare and valuable book that he is determined  to find and read all the books this author has ever written.  In his search he finds that all the author's books have been destroyed and burned.

Check the library catalog or go to Amazon.com to read more about the title.

Recommended by Irene, Circulation Services

The Help by Kathyrn Stockett

Set in the early 1960's in Jackson, Mississippi, this is the story about and narrated by one Caucasian young socialite and two African-American maids. 

Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan has just graduated from Ole Miss and is now home at her parents' farm in Jackson, Mississippi with the hopes of becoming a journalist.  Aibileen is a wise and regal black woman who has been devoted to the lives of the 17 white children she raised over years.  Minny is Aibileen's best friend, a sassy woman, who is an excellent cook when she can keep from being fired from yet another white family.

Given the opportunity to write something "of importance," Skeeter talks Aibeleen and Minny (and other maids) into telling her their stories of experiences and mistreatments with working for white families.  The book is scornful and shocking, but brings pride and hope to the black community, and allows Skeeter to pursue her goals. 

I LOVED this book and would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone!  I would also recommend listening to the audiobook version as there are readers for each of the characters.

Check the library catalog or go to Amazon.com to read more about the title.

Recommended by Amanda, Children's Services

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

This book is an absolute "must read."  I absolutely loved this incredible debut novel by Kathryn Stockett.  This story will certainly become a classic that will stand the test of time.  It's on par with The Secret Life of Bees and A Thousand Splendid Suns.  It's a story about suffering, mistreatment, and fear as well as love, devotion and courage.  A story with a message of redemption that is thought-provoking, touching, funny, and compelling. I wouldn't be surprised if it was made into a movie.

This story takes place in the early 1960's during the Civil Rights period in the Deep South of Jackson, Mississippi.  It deals with the race relations between the colored maids ("the help") and the white families who hired them.  A young white woman returns to her hometown wanting to be a journalist and decides to write a risky book about the plight of the maids and their mistreatment, abuse, heartbreaks and devotion to their employers.  She risks the life of the black women, as well as her own, to tell the story of their experiences.  I can go on and on raving about this book so all I will say is just read it!

Check the library catalog or go to Amazon.com to read more about the title.

Recommended by Irene, Circulation Services

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (Audiobook)

This amazing and ambitious first novel, the story of the “sweet but disastrously overweight ghetto nerd” Oscar, held me captive!  Told in the two voices (read by Jonathan Davis and Staci Snell) of Oscar and his sister Lola, the story simply shines. The story of Oscar and the history of his Dominican family is told with honest warmth, dazzling energy, humor and a keen insight into the Dominican/American experience. This amazing story has been praised as a “true literary triumph,” its author as being one of the best and exciting voices of our time.  I couldn’t agree more, and highly recommend this epic story.  If you’re taking a road trip this summer and find yourself in need of a good audio book to pass the miles away, take Oscar along for the ride.  This is a story that won’t disappoint!

Check the library catalog or go to Amazon.com to read more about the title.

Recommended by Terri, Adult Services

Gardens of Water by Alan Drew

Powerful, affecting, masterfully written . . . Gardens of Water is by far one of the best books I've read this year.  The story takes place in Istanbul, Turkey following the 1998 Marmara earthquake.  At its center is the tale of two families in stark contrast - one Kurdish, one American – and the sacrifice and love that join the two families together.  This is a stunning, beautifully written story, one I found hard to put down.  Gardens of Water is a book that makes you think . . . about your life, about how one finds the will to go on despite immense hardship and strife, about what you’d do if you lost everything in a moment.  My opinion is that if you read and enjoyed The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, you’re bound to revel in this memorable novel.

Check the library catalog or go to Amazon.com to read more about the title.

Recommended by Terri, Adult Services

Maximum Ride Series by James Patterson

Book One:  The Angel Experiment; Book Two:  School's Out  -- Forever; Book Three:  Saving the World; Book Four:  The Final Warning; Book Five:  Max

James Patterson's Maximum Ride series is an excellent blend of sci-fi and thriller, without the overkill for those of us who are leery of the genre.  In the first book in the series, we are introduced to the Flock, six genetically engineered bird-kids with a dark past and an uncertain future.  When the Flock is ambushed by Erasers and the youngest member abducted, Max leads the rest on a rescue mission that threatens to overwhelm their family.  Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman and Angel each discover new mutations or "skills" as they begin a quest to find out more about their pasts . . . oh, and save the world.

It's a fast-paced gripping read.  The characters are a hoot and you have to love the witty banter.  The series also sends important messages about environmental responsibility and empowers young people to take action.

Check the library catalog or go to Amazon.com to read more about the title.

 

Recommended by Christen, Children's Services

The White Giraffe by Lauren St. John

After her parents are killed in a fire, 11-year-old Martine is sent to live on a game reserve in South Africa with a grandmother she has never known.  She immediately becomes intrigued by a local legend that states that the child who is able to ride a white giraffe will have power over the animals.  After Martine discovers and befriends a white giraffe, only rumored to exist, she learns of her magical destiny.

Check the library catalog or go to Amazon.com to read more about the title.

 

Recommended by Amanda, Children's Services

Memory, Sorrow and Thorn Trilogy by Tad Williams

Book One:  The Dragonbone Chair;  Book Two:  The Stone of Farewell; Book Three:  To Green Angel Tower

I personally deeply enjoyed this trilogy as it illustrated exactly what was occurring in the world, and readers could sympathize with the main characters because they aren't stereotypical, but are still identified through thoughts and actions.  In summary, I could envision the world and "knew" the characters -- and loved it.

Check the library catalog or go to Amazon.com to read more about the title.

Recommended by Derek, Library Page

The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King

This series contains seven books:  The Gunslinger, The Drawing of the Three, The Waste Lands, Wizard and Glass, Wolves of the Calla, Song of Susannah and The Dark Tower.  I would recommend the entire series. 

Check the library catalog or go to Amazon.com to read more about the title.

 

Recommended by Erik, Circulation Services

Coraline by Neil Gaiman (Audiobook)

This audiobook is performed by the author and original music by Gothic Archies.  It is a young adult book with many twists and turns as Coraline ventures through a door that opens into a world almost the same as hers but then finds it is very different.  My interest was held to the complete end and the descriptions of the supernatural world were in such detail that it was easy to picture the world.

Check the library catalog or go to Amazon.com to read more about the title.

Recommended by Heidi, Circulation Services