Braille Book Review

January-February 2009

Books for Adults

Fiction

The Better Angels of Our Nature BR 17226
by S.C. Gylanders
4 volumes
April, 1862. At the Battle of Shiloh, General William Tecumseh Sherman discovers a young teenaged orphan, Jesse Davis, on the scene. Believing Jesse brought him good luck, Sherman gives him work as an orderly and trains him in warfare--even after discovering that Jesse's a girl. Some violence. 2006.

The Three Musketeers BR 17264
by Alexandre Dumas
6 volumes
Seventeenth-century France. D'Artagnan arrives in Paris, determined to join the king's bodyguards. He duels with each of the three musketeers--Athos, Porthos, and Aramis--and becomes their close friend. Their swashbuckling escapades occur amid court intrigues dominated by Cardinal Richelieu. A 2006 translation by Richard Pevear. 1844.

Blaze BR 17266
by Richard Bachman
2 volumes
Maine. Clayton "Blaze" Blaisdell, a petty criminal left mentally disabled by parental abuse, partners with George Rackley to commit crimes. After George dies, Blaze continues with their plot to kidnap a wealthy family's baby and finds himself in danger. Violence, strong language, and some descriptions of sex. Bestseller 2007.

Peony in Love BR 17273
by Lisa See
3 volumes
Seventeenth-century China. Already promised in marriage, sheltered and educated fifteen-year-old Peony becomes enamored of the opera The Peony Pavilion. After her untimely death, Peony returns as a ghost to pursue her interest in the opera and haunt the new family of her betrothed. Bestseller 2007.

The Short Novels of Jack Schaefer BR 17305
by Jack Schaefer
5 volumes
Five works depicting life on the western frontier from the Civil War to the twentieth century. Homesteaders, Native Americans, and drifters find courage, tragedy, and romance in First Blood, The Canyon, Company of Cowards, The Kean Land, and the classic Shane. Introduction by Dorothy M. Johnson. 1949.

The Inheritance of Loss BR 17319
by Kiran Desai
3 volumes
Himalayas, 1986. Retired judge Jemubhai Patel lives with his cook and sixteen-year-old granddaughter, Sai. An Indian-Nepalese insurgency makes Jemubhai confront his past and interrupts Sai's romance with her Nepali tutor. Meanwhile, the cook worries about his son in America. Strong language, some explicit descriptions of sex, and some violence. Booker Prize. 2006.

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and Related Readings BR 17394
by Ernest J. Gaines
3 volumes
A Louisiana ex-slave recounts her life from the end of the Civil War to the mid-twentieth-century civil rights movement. Also includes a speech by Sojourner Truth, a short story by Pearl S. Buck, and related memoirs, poems, and essays. Some strong language. 1971.

While I Live: The Ellie Chronicles, Book 1 BR 17399
by John Marsden
2 volumes
Follows the Tomorrow Series. After the war, Australia is partitioned and Ellie returns to her family farm with friends Homer and Gavin. When Ellie's parents are murdered, Homer joins a vigilante group called Liberation. Meanwhile Ellie struggles to keep her land. Some violence. For junior and senior high readers. 2007.

The West of Owen Wister: Selected Short Stories BR 17403
by Owen Wister
2 volumes
Six stories by author of The Virginian (BR 16196) depicting cowboys, soldiers, Indians, and priests in various geographic settings. Includes Wister's first published western, "Hank's Woman" (1892), as well as "Little Big Horn Medicine," "The Second Missouri Compromise," and "Padre Ignazio." 1972 introduction by Robert L. Hough. 1892.

Tattoo BR 17411
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
2 volumes
After fifteen-year-old friends Delia, Annabelle, Bailey, and Zo get temporary tattoos at the mall, each develops a psychic power. The girls need their new talents to fight an evil fairy who plans to wreak havoc at their school dance. For senior high readers. 2007.

Stone Cold BR 17421
by David Baldacci
3 volumes
Ex-CIA agent Oliver Stone gathers Camel Club members, last seen in The Collectors (BR 16877), to help con artist Annabelle Conroy escape an enemy. But Stone soon learns that he, too, is on a hit list--comprised of those involved in a long-ago assassination. Violence and strong language. 2007.

Home to Holly Springs: A Father Tim Novel, Book 1 BR 17423
by Jan Karon
3 volumes
Nearly forty years after leaving his childhood home, retired Episcopalian priest Father Tim Kavanagh of Mitford, North Carolina, is beckoned back to Holly Springs, Mississippi. While reuniting with old friends and acquaintances, Father Tim uncovers family secrets and discovers who sent for him. Some strong language. Bestseller 2007.

What They Found: Love on 145th Street BR 17425
by Walter Dean Myers
2 volumes
Fifteen stories set in Harlem centering around different aspects of love. In the first tale a dying man asks that his memorial service be held at the grand opening of his family's beauty salon. Companion to 145th Street (BR 13133). Some strong language. For senior high readers. 2007.

Anything but Ordinary BR 17427
by Valerie Hobbs
1 volume
New Jersey social misfits Bernie and Winifred have been best friends since eighth grade. Bernie abandons the idea of college after his mother dies, while Winifred attends a university in California. Even after Bernie follows her, they both realize they have to forge separate identities. For senior high readers. 2007.

Shark Girl BR 17429
by Kelly Bingham
2 volumes
After a shark attack causes the amputation of her right arm, fifteen-year-old Jane, a talented artist, struggles to come to terms with her loss and the changes in her plans for the future. Told in conversations, letters, and prose poems. For junior and senior high readers. 2007.

The Christmas Pearl BR 17434
by Dorothea Benton Frank
1 volume
Charleston, South Carolina. Ninety-three-year-old matriarch Theodora lives in her ancestral house, where her malcontented family gathers for the holidays. Theodora longs for a peaceful celebration similar to the events in her 1920s childhood that the family's Gullah housekeeper Pearl created. But then Pearl's ghost returns and restores harmony. 2007.

Simple Gifts BR 17503
by Lori Copeland
3 volumes
Forty-three-year-old single mom Marlene Queens returns to Parnass Springs, Missouri, to settle her late aunt's affairs. Marlene's stay is complicated by eccentric townsfolk, the presence of her childhood sweetheart, and a long-held secret she hopes God will help her keep. 2007.

The Black Sheep and the Princess BR 17504
by Donna Kauffman
3 volumes
Ex-cop Donovan MacLeod learns that Kate Sutherland--whom he secretly lusted after as a teenager--is in trouble. Kate, who now owns the Catskills camp where they met, is tormented by vandals. Unaware of Kate's own hidden desires, Mac returns to protect her. Explicit descriptions of sex and strong language. 2007.

The Buenos Aires Broken Hearts Club BR 17505
by Jessica Morrison
3 volumes
Seattle webmaster Cassie Moore's life spirals out of control after her fiancé dumps her and she loses her job. She impulsively books a six-month holiday in Buenos Aires, Argentina. There Cassie befriends locals and foreigners alike, starts a business, and falls in love. Some strong language. 2007.

Right Livelihoods: Three Novellas BR 17549
by Rick Moody
2 volumes
Three novellas about post-9/11 life. In The Omega Force a retired government employee becomes obsessed with the thought of foreigners invading. In K and K a manager receives threatening notes in the office suggestion box. In The Albertine Notes survivors in a bombed-out Manhattan become drug addicts. Strong language. 2007.

Petticoat Ranch BR 17550
by Mary Connealy
3 volumes
Texas, 1867. When Ranger deputy Clay McClellen discovers that his long-lost twin brother, Cliff, was murdered, he vows to marry Cliff's widow, Sophie, and care for her daughters. The unlikely newlyweds work together, with God, to bring Cliff's killer to justice, save their land, and forge a new love. 2006.

Darcy and Elizabeth: Nights and Days at Pemberley; Pride and Prejudice Continues BR 17551
by Linda Berdoll
6 volumes
Derbyshire, England; 1815. Following Fitzwilliam Darcy's successful rescue of his sister in France in Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife (BR 17461), Darcy returns home to his wife Elizabeth and newborn twins. The return of Darcy's nemesis George Wickham mars his contentment. Some descriptions of sex and some strong language. 2006.

Blind Faith BR 17556
by Ellen Wittlinger
2 volumes
After fifteen-year-old Liz loses her grandmother, Liz's mother joins a spiritualist church to communicate with the dead and alienates her atheist husband. New neighbors sixteen-year-old Nathan and his younger sister live with their grandmother while their mother is dying. Liz and Nathan console each other. For senior high readers. 2006.

Everlasting BR 17562
by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss
3 volumes
England, 1135. Lady Abrielle marries the lecherous Desmond de Marlé to save her family from poverty and disgrace after King Henry denies her stepfather a title and lands. But Abrielle is in love with Scottish Raven Seabern and hopes for a miracle. Some explicit descriptions of sex. 2007.

Girl at Sea BR 17564
by Maureen Johnson
2 volumes
Seventeen-year-old Clio resents having to spend the summer with her divorced dad, who is searching for sunken treasure near Italy--especially when her father's archaeologist girlfriend is along. But Clio meets a cute Yale student and has a chance to dive for artifacts. For senior high readers. 2007.

Guyaholic: A Story of Finding, Flirting, Forgetting--and the Boy Who Changes Everything BR 17652
by Carolyn Mackler
1 volume
"V" from Vegan Virgin Valentine (BR 15649) falls in love with Sam but destroys their relationship by cheating. V drives to Texas to reconnect with her neglectful mother and to gain insight into her own behavior. Strong language and some descriptions of sex. For senior high readers. 2007.

Imposture BR 17653
by Benjamin Markovits
2 volumes
Eliza Esmond mistakes Lord Byron's former private physician for the poet himself and the young doctor, John Polidori, does not enlighten her. Believing that her dreams have come true, she eagerly accepts his attentions. 2007.

The Accidental Mother BR 17655
by Rowan Coleman
3 volumes
British events planner Sophie is unprepared for the news that her old friend Carrie has died. Since Carrie's estranged husband Louis has not been found, Sophie must step up as the legal guardian of Carrie's two young daughters. Some descriptions of sex and some strong language. 2007.

Last Night at the Lobster BR 17662
by Stewart O'Nan
1 volume
The New Britain Red Lobster restaurant will close for good on December 20. Manager Manny DeLeon wants to make that day special for his staff, including the waitress he used to date and the disgruntled employees who will not be transferred to the Olive Garden with Manny. Strong language. 2007.

Z for Zachariah BR 17663
by Robert C. O'Brien
2 volumes
Sixteen-year-old Ann Burden, seemingly the sole survivor of a nuclear war, is tending her family farm when she sees smoke from a campfire--a stranger is in the valley. She takes precautions to hide her presence, realizing there are worse things than being alone. For junior and senior high readers. 1974.

Paper Hearts BR 17667
by Debrah Williamson
3 volumes
Wenonah, Oklahoma. Widowed professor Max Boyle is about to take his own life to avoid assisted living when he encounters Chancy Deel, a teenaged runaway who is hiding in his garage. Max hires Chancy as his caregiver--an arrangement that gives both of them a new chance at life. 2007.

Indian Pipes: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery BR 17669
by Cynthia Riggs
2 volumes
Victoria Trumbull, the ninety-two-year-old deputy police officer of Martha's Vineyard spots a man in trouble halfway down a cliff. After he dies, Victoria's investigation of the possible murder looks at the victim's connection to the blackmail of a gay man, a disruptive motorcycle rally, and gambling. Some strong language. 2006.

The Hearts of Horses BR 17672
by Molly Gloss
2 volumes
Eastern Oregon, 1917. Twenty-year-old Martha Lessen, along with her three horses, finds work on the Bliss family ranch when all the men are off at war. Martha travels from homestead to homestead as a horse whisperer and carries messages among the diverse folk who include immigrants, drunks, and spinsters. 2007.

Fools Rush In: A Sam McCain Mystery BR 17678
by Ed Gorman
2 volumes
Black River Falls, Iowa; 1963. Attorney Sam McCain discovers the bodies of Richie Neville, a white blackmailer, and David Leeds, an African American college student who was dating the daughter of a white senator. Suspects include a biker gang and the daughter's ex-boyfriend. Strong language and some violence. 2007.

Fast Track: Redline Racing, Book 1 BR 17679
by Anthony Hampshire
1 volume
Eddie and his friends sink their savings into a Trans-Am Mustang and enter their first pro race. They soon learn that it takes more than skill to win when some of the drivers race by their own set of rules. For senior high readers. 2005.

On the Limit: Redline Racing, Book 3 BR 17681
by Anthony Hampshire
1 volume
Eddie's future as a racing driver looks bright when a sponsor signs on--then someone tampers with his racecar. Eddie and his crew must test the limits of their talent and teamwork to make it to the winner's circle. For senior high readers. 2006.


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