Braille Book Review

November-December 2009

Books for Adults

Fiction

Book Thief         BR 17409
by Markus Zusak
4 volumes
Death narrates the tale of nine-year-old Liesel from 1939 to 1943 in Nazi Germany. Liesel copes with a foster family, air raids, her friend Rudy, and a hidden Jew, sustained by the books she steals. Some strong language. For senior high and older readers. Printz Honor. 2006.

Borders of Infinity: A Vorkosigan Adventure         BR 17542
by Lois McMaster Bujold
3 volumes
Contains three novellas previously published separately: The Mountains of Mourning (1989), Labyrinth (1989), and The Borders of Infinity (1987), which feature the interplanetary adventures of Miles Vorkosigan. 1989.

Diplomatic Immunity: A Vorkosigan Adventure         BR 17544
by Lois McMaster Bujold
3 volumes
Diplomatic troubleshooter Miles Vorkosigan interrupts his honeymoon with Ekaterin to solve a crisis at the Graf Station in Quaddiespace. The suspicious impoundment of a trade fleet quickly escalates into kidnapping and murder and threatens war. Sequel to A Civil Campaign (BR 17543). 2002.

Last Cattle Drive         BR 17605
by Robert Day
2 volumes
Mid-twentieth century. To avoid trucking charges, cattleman Spangler Tukle attempts to drive 250 steers over highways, parking lots, and cloverleafs to the Kansas City stockyards. Aiding him are his wife Opal, aging ranch hand Jed, schoolteacher Leo, and Leo's persistent girlfriend Heather. Strong language and some descriptions of sex. 1977.

Easy Prey         BR 17834
by John Sandford
3 volumes
Minneapolis police detective Lucas Davenport investigates the murder of supermodel Alie'e Maison, which has eclipsed a second murder that occurred at the same party. Suddenly, others in Maison's life are dying--in quick succession. While Davenport sorts through his suspects, his love life develops complications. Violence and strong language. 2000.

Shining On: Eleven Star Authors' Illuminating Stories         BR 17617
by
1 volume
Collection of stories about teenagers and their abilities to triumph over life's challenges. In "Humming through My Fingers," a blind girl teaches a sighted boy a lesson about seeing. Other pieces cover divorce, illness, and romantic disasters. Foreword by Lois Lowry. For junior and senior high readers. 2007.

Crime Writer         BR 17611
by Gregg Hurwitz
3 volumes
L.A. crime novelist Drew Danner may have murdered his ex-fiancée, but he has no memory of it and only knows he's had a brain tumor removed. Danner is acquitted of the crime but continues to investigate his involvement. And then a copycat killing occurs. Violence and strong language. 2007.

Eclipse         BR 18180
by Stephenie Meyer
4 volumes
After befriending werewolf Jacob in New Moon (BR 18147), Bella must choose between him and her former vampire boyfriend Edward, from Twilight (BR 18146). Meanwhile vicious killings occur in nearby Seattle as a female vampire seeks revenge--putting Bella in danger and stirring old enmities. For senior high readers. 2007.

Peaches         BR 17608
by Jodi Lynn Anderson
2 volumes
Three teenage girls become friends when homeschooled Birdie's wealthy cousin Leeda begins a summer job in Birdie's dad's peach orchard. Joining them is Murphy, who's been assigned community service. The three bond over chores and boys, even when they don't see eye to eye. For senior high readers. 2005.

Secrets of Peaches         BR 17609
by Jodi Lynn Anderson
2 volumes
After the summer in Peaches (BR 17608), Murphy, Leeda, and Birdie begin their senior year. Murphy hopes to escape to NYU, Birdie wants to remain on her Georgia farm, and wealthy Leeda tries to connect with her mother. But romance intrudes on the teens' lives. For senior high readers. 2007.

Sign of the Four; or, The Problem of the Sholtos         BR 17618
by Arthur Conan Doyle
1 volume
Mary Morstan receives one pearl anonymously every year following the disappearance of her father, an Indian regiment captain. Investigating the father's fate, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson meet Mary's benefactor. Inquiries reveal murder, missing treasure, and a villain with a wooden leg. Meanwhile Watson finds romance. Contains 2001 introduction. 1890.

Beverly Hills Dead: A Rick Barron Book         BR 17802
by Stuart Woods
2 volumes
Hollywood, California; late 1940s. Former L.A. detective Rick Barron is a director at Centurion Studios. After Rick commissions a script from Sidney Brooks, Sidney is subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee and Rick discovers that his wife may be a communist. Some violence and some strong language. Bestseller. 2008.

Pure in Heart: A Simon Serrailler Mystery         BR 17836
by Susan Hill
3 volumes
Detective chief inspector Simon Serrailler investigates a schoolboy's abduction that has the town of Lafferton on edge. Meanwhile, Simon's handicapped sister battles illness, his other sister gives birth, his former lover keeps bothering him, and a Laffertonian recently released from prison runs into trouble. Some strong language. 2005.

On Kingdom Mountain         BR 17753
by Howard Frank Mosher
2 volumes
Vermont, 1930. Bookwoman and bird carver, Miss Jane Hubbell Kinneson disputes the township's proposed highway through her property on Kingdom Mountain. Momentous changes occur during her fiftieth year after she offers refuge to aviator Henry Satterfield when his biplane crashes. Companion to A Stranger in the Kingdom (BR 8349). 2007.

Shooting Star: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery         BR 17849
by Cynthia Riggs
2 volumes The island's community theater prepares for the opening night of a stage adaptation of Frankenstein, written by ninety-two-year-old playwright (and sleuth) Victoria Trumbull. The production is marred by tragedy when a young actor disappears and an actress is murdered. Victoria investigates while the show goes on. Some strong language. 2007.

Endless Things: A Part of Ægypt         BR 17743
by John Crowley
3 volumes
Pierce Moffett goes to Europe to search for the mythical realm of Ægypt. Guided by the writings of late novelist Fellowes Kraft, Pierce finds traces of the mysteries of Ægypt interwoven into the histories of philosopher-martyr Giordano Bruno and others. Sequel to Daemonomania (BR 13512). 2007.

Thinner         BR 17601
by Richard Bachman
3 volumes
Overweight lawyer Billy Halleck accidentally kills a gypsy woman. Her father, Lemke, places a curse on Halleck. When the spell causes Halleck to lose weight in an alarming fashion, he tries to find Lemke and plead for his life. Violence, some descriptions of sex, and some strong language. 1984.

Jumper: Griffin's Story         BR 17850
by Steven Gould
2 volumes
Nine-year-old Griff O'Conner causes his parents' murders in San Diego when he teleports himself to avoid a bully. Griff hides with friends until, at sixteen, he is ready to confront the killers. Sequel to Jumper (BR 9548). Violence and strong language. For junior and senior high readers. 2007.

Underground         BR 17854
by Jean Ferris
1 volume
1839. Sixteen-year-old Charlotte Brown is sold as a maid to the owner of Mammoth Cave Hotel in Kentucky. She is attracted to another slave, eighteen-year-old Stephen, who is head tour guide, but can she trust him to help with the Underground Railroad? For junior and senior high readers. 2007.

Firstborn: A Time Odyssey, Book 3         BR 17855
by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter
3 volumes
2069. The Firstborn, a hostile alien race determined to annihilate humanity, send an asteroid-sized object called a Q-bomb to obliterate Earth. Former British soldier Bisesa Dutt, freshly awakened from hibernation, journeys to Mir--an alternate, temporally disturbed Earth--to find a solution. Sequel to Sunstorm (BR 15986). 2007.

Blue Star         BR 18205
by Tony Earley
2 volumes
North Carolina, 1941. Jim Glass, now a high school senior, falls in love with a part-Cherokee girl, Chrissie Steppe. But Chrissie is claimed by her landlord's son Bucky, who is stationed with the Navy at Pearl Harbor. Sequel to Jim the Boy (BR 12831). 2008.

Morning Light: The Harrigan Family, Book 1         BR 17697
by Catherine Anderson
3 volumes
Catholic clairvoyant Loni MacEwen moves to Crystal Falls, Oregon, and meets the cowboy of her dreams. Clint Harrigan doesn't believe Loni's visions of his son lost in the wilderness--especially since he doesn't have a son--until Loni's premonition become reality. Some strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex. Bestseller. 2008.

Girl Who Stopped Swimming         BR 18194
by Joshilyn Jackson
3 volumes
Laurel Hawthorne wakes to see the ghost of her daughter's friend Molly, who drowned in the Hawthorne pool that night. Molly's ghost helps Laurel discover what happened. Laurel also unravels the mystery surrounding another ghost who haunts her. Some descriptions of sex, some violence, and some strong language. 2008.

Icecore: A Carl Hobbes Thriller         BR 18198
by Matt Whyman
2 volumes
Seventeen-year-old Briton Carl Hobbes hacks into Fort Knox's security system on a dare. But U.S. authorities believe Carl is part of a gold-stealing conspiracy and send him to a detention center in the Arctic Circle, where he is tortured. Some violence and some strong language. For senior high readers. 2007.

Man Within         BR 18186
by Graham Greene
2 volumes
Greene's first novel. Young Francis Andrews betrays his fellow smugglers and flees from them. He finds refuge in the cottage of a woman named Elizabeth, who persuades him to testify in court. Francis falls in love even as he is consumed by fear. Includes 2005 introduction by Jonathan Yardley. 1929.

Rat Life         BR 18190
by Tedd Arnold
2 volumes
Upstate New York, 1972. Fourteen-year-old Todd, an aspiring writer, befriends Rat, a young Vietnam War veteran, while they work at the local drive-in. After a body is found in the river, Todd suspects Rat has committed murder. Some violence and some strong language. For senior high readers. Edgar Award. 2007.

Chasing Harry Winston         BR 17803
by Lauren Weisberger
3 volumes
New Yorkers Leigh, Emmy, and Adriana, friends since college, seek changes in their lives as they near thirty. Newly dumped Emmy wants to date lots of men, gorgeous Brazilian Adriana decides to pick a man to marry, and editor Leigh meets a brilliant author. Strong language. Bestseller. 2008.

Sunrise over Fallujah         BR 17795
by Walter Dean Myers
2 volumes
Iraq, 2003. Robin "Birdy" Perry joins the army after high school and becomes involved in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Birdy writes about his experiences to his uncle Richie, a Vietnam War veteran, from Fallen Angels (BR 17796). Violence and strong language. For senior high and older readers. 2008.

Rogue         BR 17804
by Danielle Steel
2 volumes
Maxine Williams, Manhattan child psychiatrist and mother of three, is divorced from billionaire Blake when she meets Dr. Charles West. Blake continues his hedonistic lifestyle--until he funds an orphanage in Morocco. But when Maxine decides to remarry, Blake realizes he wants his family back. Some strong language. Bestseller. 2008.

Breaking Dawn         BR 18181
by Stephenie Meyer
5 volumes
Eighteen-year-old Bella Swan marries vampire Edward Cullen after she graduates from high school and must decide whether to become immortal. But her pregnancy threatens both her life and peace between her werewolf friend Jacob and the vampire Volturi coven. Sequel to Eclipse (BR 18180). For senior high readers. 2008.

Breaking Free         BR 18185
by Lauraine Snelling
2 volumes
Prison inmate Maggie Roberts is given an opportunity to rehabilitate retired racehorses while serving her time. Divorced businessman Gil Winters, raising a son with spina bifida, buys a horse Maggie trained and, when Maggie is paroled, hires her to care for it. Over time the three become a family. 2007.

Bound         BR 18184
by Sally Gunning
2 volumes
Colonial Massachusetts. Indentured servant Alice Cole runs away from her abusive master to Cape Cod and finds refuge with widow Lyddie Berry. When legal troubles mount, Lyddie and lawyer Ebenezer Freeman fight for Alice's freedom. Sequel to The Widow's War (BR 16684). Some violence and some descriptions of sex. 2008.

Rustler: A Stone Creek Novel         BR 18196
by Linda Lael Miller
3 volumes
Arizona territory, 1907. Ex-con Wyatt Yarbro joins his lawman brother Rowdy in Stone Creek. Wyatt falls in love with Sarah Tamlin, a career woman who runs a bank for her ailing father while hiding her previous indiscretions. Some strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex. 2008.

Little Bee         BR 18183
by Chris Cleave
3 volumes
Fourteen-year-old Little Bee flees Nigeria and spends two years in a British immigration detention center. Upon her release, Little Bee seeks out Andrew and Sarah O'Rourke, a couple she and her sister had previously encountered--with dire consequences--on an African beach. Violence and strong language. Bestseller. 2008.

Just Take My Heart         BR 18182
by Mary Higgins Clark
2 volumes
Broadway actress Natalie Raines is murdered after discovering who killed her former roommate. Two years later, police arrest Natalie's estranged husband Gregg Aldrich for the crime. New Jersey assistant prosecutor Emily Wallace, a heart-transplant survivor, is assigned the case but develops doubts about Gregg's guilt during the trial. Bestseller. 2009.

Whole New Light         BR 17619
by Sandra Brown
2 volumes
Cyn McCall's husband died two years ago, but Cyn still spends all of her leisure time at home with her four-year-old son. Depressed, Cyn visits Worth Lansing, her late husband's friend and business partner. Worth suggests they take the trip to Acapulco that he had planned with his girlfriend, who has just cancelled. Neither Cyn nor Worth is prepared for the results of that trip. Explicit descriptions of sex and some strong language. 1989.

Ghost         BR 18193
by Danielle Steel
3 volumes
After a ten-year marriage ends, all Charlie Waterston has now is the future. He is leaving his architectural job in London and returning to New York. Too devastated to work, Charlie takes a leave of absence to go skiing in Vermont. But a snow storm leaves him stranded in Massachusetts, where a stay at a bed and breakfast changes his life forever. Bestseller. 1997.

 


Next section of Braille Book Review | Previous section of Braille Book Review | Braille Book Review Home Page


Go to the NLS Home Page