Fict - The 100-Year-Old man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

What a surprisingly quirky, laugh-out-loud, fun book!  Think Carl Hiaasen meets Forrest Gump in Sweden.  Spry centenarian escapes a nursing home hours before his 100th birthday and with nothing to lose, goes on an absurdly hilarious adventure, meeting a variety of characters & getting accused of burglary & murder.

No spoilers here, but through flashbacks, we find out about his exciting and unusual life - traveling and meeting world leaders in unusual situations - all the way to the point where he enters the nursing home.   A simple man with common sense but no formal schooling, Allan Karlsson hates politics and religion, and only wants to practice his trade and drink as many kinds of vodka as possible.

With undercurrents of absurdity, irony and satire, this book makes history come alive in a fun way. If I were a teacher, I would use this as a textbook - kids from middle school upwards would love it, and I guarantee they would learn and remember.  Each event could be analyzed and discussed for a complete history of the 20th century.

Fict - The Ploughmen by Kim Zupan

A literary masterpiece debut novel - shades of Cormack McCarthy & Jim Harrison. 

This is a psychological study of the bond which develops between a hardened serial killer and a young sheriff.  Set in present day Montana, the story unfolds in profoundly disturbing detail. Several plotlines weave together.  The writing is lyrically beautiful, bleak as the landscape.

Allegorical & dark, not a fuzzy warm chick read, The Ploughmen won't be for everyone.

YA - we all looked up by tommy wallach

we all looked up by tommy wallach is the modern day Breakfast Club in a pressure cooker.  An asteroid is on a collision course with Earth, and based on the science, The Jock, The Princess, The Slut, The Stoner, The Outcast and The Criminal have less than two months to live. As all of their lives begin to intersect, they realize that theirs is a "karass", bound to be together until the final moments.  How this plays out is the story.
I was speaking to a co-worker the other day about how much fun it is to write reviews filled with snark when you really dislike a book.  It just seems more fun.  This is not one of those reviews.  we all looked up is a stellar debut by tommy wallach and I wouldn't be surprised if his name becomes very familiar to us all.  This book was so much fun to read.  The chapters flip back and forth between the different character's POVs.  They're all flawed in ways that ring true - self conscious, dependent, lost, confused - especially so in high school. I highly recommend you give this book a try BEFORE it becomes the next hot title.

YA - The Evil Librarian by Michelle Knudsen

Cyn has a major thing for Ryan, but her best friend Annie has a HUGE thing for the new librarian Mr. Gabriel.  Cyn's problems with this are many.  First, he's like 30 and second, Cyn's pretty sure that he's a demon.  As Annie falls deeper in love with Mr. Gabriel, Cyn sees him for what he is.  He is slowly sucking the life out of everyone at their high school.  With all of this going on Cyn is still focused on being the best Tech Manager she can be for the school's upcoming production of Sweeney Todd.  After a little while, Mr. Gabriel can no longer be ignored.  People are dying!  Worst of all, Annie is completely under his spell.

Honestly, I picked up this book because of the title, I mean, I am a librarian after all.  I'm so happy I did.  The characters are well developed.  We have a strong female heroine, and while she is a tad bit boy crazy (for Ryan only), she never loses sight of her missions - putting on the best school play in history and saving her best friend from a demon's clutches.  This book was really fun.  Lots of twists and turns, and quite a few laugh out loud moments.  Michelle Knudsen has quite a few children's books under her belt, but I wouldn't be surprised if we see some really good YA from her in the future.

Fict - In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

Amazing fictional account of real-life heros - the Mirabel sisters -  in the Dominican Republic of the 1960's.  Their code name was "las mariposas",  Spanish for butterflies.

The communist movement was sweeping 3rd world countries, Fidel Castro was mobilizing rebels in Cuba, private property and businesses were being confiscated, and people were disappearing in the night. 

Told from the perspective of the lone surviving sister, it's a  moving story of  family ties and relationships during the rise of the brutal Trujillo dictatorship.  Families everywhere had hard choices to make for themselves, their businesses, and their futures.

 Perfect blend of history and drama.

Fict - The Vacationers by Emma Straub

I almost stopped reading after the first few pages after finding out that Sylvia (frustrated 17 yr old virgin) is upset about HAVING to go to Spain with her family before heading off to the Ivy Leagues.  Boo Hoo! Then we meet mother Franny (famous journalist who thinks cooking fabulous gourmet meals cures anything); father Jim (serious NY editor who has just been caught cheating on his wife with a summer intern); Bobby (lazy, suntanned prodigal son dabbling in real estate in Florida; and Carmen (Bobby's Latino gym-rat Lucite-heeled cougar girlfriend). Add a middle-aged gay married couple contemplating adoption, then mix well and bake for 2 weeks in a gorgeous vacation home in the hills on the Spanish island of Malorca.  We are non-discriminatory here with our stereotypes: the aging, scowling, handsome continental tennis pro; a seductive, tan Adonis Spanish tutor with rippling muscles; a reed-thin JetSet English land lady popping in; and a puzzling person named Terry who recklessly whizzes around dirt roads on a motorcycle. The only thing missing is the Mafia hit man I hoped would show up to make all these self-absorbed, annoying people go away. (Except for Carmen - I think he would have liked her.)

Fict - "The Martian" by Andy Weir

So good! This book had my attention from the first sentence to the last. The science was interesting and I appreciated that the author assumed you could follow along and didn't repeat the details over and over. I know nothing about Mars and space travel, but the author certainly made me believe that all of this was possible. I was on the edge of my seat at the end waiting to find out what happened to Mark. Fingers were crossed!

This is currently being made into a movie starring Matt Damon. I don't go to a lot of movies, but I'll definitely go see this one.