SAXTON B. LITTLE FREE LIBRARY
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Saxton Reads! & Reviews

We invite the public to post reviews to our catalog by logging into our online catalog. Reviews will then be posted to this blog. Comments can be added to existing posts or may be added as separate reviews on our catalog
JULY 29, 2010
Still Missing ~ Chevy Stevens

****
CarolK

Still Missing

I really liked the Chevy Stevens presented this debut. Sounds like a simple story. Real Estate Agent, Annie O'Sullivan is abducted at the closing of an open house. She coins this person "The Freak", though some of us may have other names for this type of predator. We learn of Annie's harrowing fight for survival through gut wrenching, often angry, therapy sessions. It's a good way to unfold Annie's story, a session at a time. The title summed it up for me.

A debut, Still Missing is a fast paced read, certain to appeal to thriller lovers but also those liking a psychological story told well. Annie, damaged though she is, is a great character. Curl those toes in the sand and be prepared for a good summer read.

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JULY 26, 2010
Crunch ~ Leslie Connor
***mercedes

Crunch by Leslie Connor

I was very excited to read this book because I had enjoyed Connor's first book, Waiting for Normal, so much. Crunch was interesting and the premise of the story was very believable, especially in this time of rising gas prices and oil spills, but I didn't enjoy the characters as much as in Waiting. While they were well-written, they annoyed me, in their decisions and the way they approached problems. I felt myself constantly rolling my eyes. Still, I wouldn't tell anyone to not read it. Characters can be a difficult thing to assess, what annoys me, might not annoy you, so I would say give Crunch a read for the answer to what if there were no gas....

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JULY 25, 2010
This is Dedicated

American Junk
Mary Randolph Carter
Penguin Group, C.1994
0140244050


For my mother and father,
who have always looked beyond appearances for true worth

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JULY 19, 2010
The 2010 Pritzker Military Library Literature Award

The Pritzker Military Library Literature Award was established to honor a living author for a body of work that has profoundly enriched the understanding of American military history

The 2010 recipient of the award is Rick Atkinson for his book

An army at dawn : the war in North Africa, 1942-1943

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JULY 18, 2010
This is Dedicated

The God of Small Things
Arundhati Roy
Harper Perennial, C.1997, 0060977493

 

For Mary Roy,
who grew me up.
Who taught me to say "excuse me"
before interrupting her in Public.
Who loved me enought to let me go.

For LKC, who, like me, survived.

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JULY 14, 2010
Girl in Translation ~ Jean Kwok
posted for bas bleu...

I recently read one of the library's new novels, Girl in Translation, by Jean Kwok, and really fell in love with it. I had intended to write a five-star review, but happened upon this youtube video of the author discussing the book and her motivation for writing it.  She speaks so movingly and eloquently that I am certain other readers will want to read the book after watching the video.

Add a comment  (1 comment) posted by CarolK

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JULY 11, 2010
This is Dedicated
Given the subject it may seem strange to dedicate this book to my wife,
Judith, but I think she'll understand.

Wicked Conduct: the minister, the mill girl and the murder that captivated Old Rhode Island
Rory Raven
History Press, c2009,9781596298026

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JULY 9, 2010
Indies Choice Book Awards
The American Booksellers Association (ABA) announced the Indies Choice Book Awards at Bookexpo America this past May. The winners:

Adult Fiction: Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese (Knopf)
Adult Nonfiction: The Lost City of Z, by David Grann (Doubleday)
Adult Debut: The Help, by Kathryn Stockett (Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam)
Young Adult: Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
Middle Reader: When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead (Wendy Lamb Books)

New Picture Book: The Lion and the Mouse, by Jerry Pinkney (Little, Brown)

Most Engaging Author: Kate DiCamillo

 Picture Book Hall of Fame Inductees: 

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst and Ray Cruz (Atheneum)
Madeline, by Ludwig Bemelmans (Viking)
The Story of Ferdinand, by Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson (Viking)

Perhaps you'll read one of these over the summer. 2009 winners and inductees can be viewed on the ABA webpage. Prior to 2009, the American Booksellers Association awarded the Book Sense Book of the Year.

Go to Book Sense Book of the Year.

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JULY 6, 2010
I Thought You Were Dead ~ Pete Nelson
****
reviewed by CarolK

I was reading The Passage by Justin Cronin and needed a break from it's intensity so I picked up I Thought You Were Dead by Pete Nelson. It's a one sitting read and really, just a nice story, great for a hot Sunday afternoon. If you're looking for something sweet and non-threatening this book will fill the bill. It's a love story, written by a male author, which in in itself is a bit unusual. Nelson competes well with his female competition and can be proud of his effort in this genre.

Paul Gustavson is a divorced writer, author of a series of books called "for morons". His father has suffered a stroke and Paul doesn't know how to deal with this. He still hasn't come to terms with family issues, particularly rivalry with his older brother. He's met a woman who is seeing him and another guy, not helping his ego. The only thing really going for him is his love and poignant relationship with his dog, Stella. She is his one true friend, loyal to a fault. Stella is a remarkable character and you can't help loving her too. This is a story of losing oneself and then finding that self once again. It's an easy read but not benign. I liked it.

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JULY 5, 2010
This is Dedicated...

For my sons, Jay and Ross
The best things that ever happened to me in Connecticut


It Happened in Connecticut
Diana Ross McCain
Mosrris Book Publishing, LLC, c2008,9780762746439

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JULY 1, 2010
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress ~ Rhoda Janzen
****reviewed by Mercedes

The title is what first caught my attention...Mennonite in a black dress    ? It sounded like an oxymoron. I told our librarian about it and she graciously purchased it for the library. I was the fabulous first to check it out and I zipped through it. I was sucked in by the premise - a woman who grew up as a mennonite, but as an adult had done her own thing (wasn't really religious at all), returns home after her husband of fifteen years leaves her for a man named Bob he met on gay.com. Crazy way to start a story, so I read on. The book vasillates between her sixth month stay with her parents and other siblings and reminiscences of her childhood. Much of it was hilarious, some was thought-provoking. I especially enjoyed her stories about her parents. She spent more time talking about her mother but she also discussed her father. It was fascinating to see how, though she disagrees with her parents theological beliefs, she can respect and appreciate them, and who they are. A wonderful book, my only complaint is that the ending sort of fizzled. There was no real conclusion, no neat little packing of an ending, mostly because the author is living this life and there can be no neat little endings to real life. But even if the ending isn't full of pizzazz, this book is definitely still worth a read.

Add a comment  (1 comment) posted by CarolK

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