Cheshire Library

Sharon Reads: Will in Scarlet by Matthew Cody

/ Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Will in Scarlet by Matthew Cody is a new look at the time of Robin Hood, from a completely new angle. Thirteen year old Will Shakley is the son of a lord, and has led a fairly charmed life. However, when his father is off at war fighting beside King Richard the winds change and treason is in the air. Will ends up in the forest struggling to survive. It is there that we all met up with a group of bandits. Through their trials and adventures young Will is a part of Robin Hood’s rise to power and fame.

This is an exciting tale that will keep boys and girls from around 9 through high school interested. The story follows a thirteen year old struggling with his own identity and values. He faces challenges many of us cannot directly relate too, like fights with wolves, crazy chases through the woods, facing off with a bandit leader, and quite the fire. However the story also brings up things anyone today could face, such as dealing with an over protective mother, coping with an absentee father, and trying to live up with the exceptions others have for him. The adventures of Will and the unlikely crew of comrades he acquires has moments that made me want to hold my breath to see how things turned out, while others just had me reading faster so that I discover how everything would turn out in the end. Cody certainly offered a fan of the Robin Hood legends a fresh look at Rob, Little John, Sir Guy, the Sheriff, and the rest. I also appreciated the addition of Much, who really pulled through and saved the day on more than one occasion. I think readers new to the legend might find this a great motivator to take a look at other versions of the story.

I highly recommend Will in Scarlet to all middle grade readers. The book had serious elements, excitement, and humor. Above all else, Cody does not dumb anything down just because he is writing for children and young adults. It is intelligently written, with a authentic feel in the dialogue. The details and politics of the day are well described, because they are central to the plot, but in a way that might inspire further research or reading more historical fiction rather than feeling educational. I gave this book four stars on Goodreads.  (This review was originally published on Sharon the Librarian.)

Ten Great Books Becoming Movies in 2014

/ Louise / Leave a comment

2014 is shaping up to be an exciting year for books and movies! Whether you want to get ahead of the game and read the books before the films come out,  or just want to know what you can expect to see hitting the cinema this year, here are our top picks for upcoming movies being adapted from books.

In March:

Divergent by Veronica Roth.  In a future Chicago, sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomoly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all.

In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick.  In 1819, the Essex left Nantucket for the South Pacific with twenty crew members aboard. In the middle of the South Pacific the ship was rammed and sunk by an angry sperm whale. The crew drifted for more than ninety days in three tiny whaleboats, succumbing to weather, hunger, disease, and ultimately turning to drastic measures in the fight for survival.

A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby.  Four people come together on New Year’s Eve: a former TV talk show host, a musician, a teenage girl, and a mother. Three are British, one is American. They encounter one another on the roof of Topper’s House, a London destination famous as the last stop for those ready to end their lives. This is a tale of connections made and missed, punishing regrets, and the grace of second chances.

In June:

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.  In John Green’s mega-bestselling novel, 16-year-old Hazel, a stage IV thyroid cancer patient, has accepted her terminal diagnosis until a chance meeting with a boy at cancer support group forces her to reexamine her perspective on love, loss, and life.

In August:

The Giver by Lois Lowry.  Jonas’s world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear of pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the community. When Jonas turns 12 he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

In September:

The Maze Runner by James Dashner.  Sixteen-year-old Thomas wakes up with no memory in the middle of a maze and realizes he must work with the community in which he finds himself if he is to escape.

In October:

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  On the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick’s wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police immediately suspect Nick. Amy’s friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn’t true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they aren’t his. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone. So what really did happen to Nick’s beautiful wife?

In November:

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.  The final book in the Hunger Games trilogy. Katniss Everdeen’s having survived the Hunger games twice makes her a target of the Capitol and President Snow, as well as a hero to the rebels who will succeed only if Katniss is willing to put aside her personal feelings and serve as their pawn.

In December:

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.   Bilbo Baggins, a respectable, well-to-do hobbit, lives comfortably in his hobbit-hole until the day the wandering wizard Gandalf chooses him to take part in an adventure from which he may never return. Peter Jackson turned Tolkien’s novel into 3 films, the final one hits theaters in December.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.  In 1943, while World War II raged on in the Pacific Theater, Lieutenant Louis Zamperini was the only survivor of a deadly plane crash in the middle of the ocean. Zamperini had a troubled youth, yet honed his athletic skills and made it all the way to the 1934 Olympics in Berlin. However, what lay before him was a physical gauntlet unlike anything he had encountered before: thousands of miles of open ocean, a small raft, and no food or water.

It’s Spring! Great Time for Outdoor Projects

/ Linda / Leave a comment

The snow is melting, the days are getting longer, it’s a little warmer outside and …wait!  That deck is looking a little weary.  Maybe you want to add a deck or patio.  Or how about a nice shed to store all your miscellaneous stuff?  The Cheshire Library has a great selection of books that will help you plan and execute your ideas for great decks, patios and sheds.

Decks

Deck Planner: 25 outstanding decks you can build –Scott Millard

The Complete Guide to Building Decks: a step-by-step manual for building basic and advanced decks

Deck Ideas That Work – Peter Jeswald

Decks: plan, design and build – Steve Corey

For additional titles, look in our non-fiction department under 690.893.

Patios

The Complete Guide to Patios: plan, build and maintain –Philip Schmidt

Patios and Walkways

The Complete Guide to Patios and Walkways: money saving do-it-yourself projects for improving outdoor living space

Walls, Walks & Patios: plan, design, build

For additional titles, look in our non-fiction department under 690.892.

Sheds

The Versatile Shed: how to build, renovate, customize

Building A Shed: expert advice from beginning to end –Joseph Truini

Shed Nation: design, build and customize the perfect shed for your yard – Dan Eckstein

Sheds: the do-it-yourself guide for backyard builders –David Stiles

For additional titles, look in our non-fiction department under 690.892.

And for a smaller project, try building a birdhouse/feeder.

Build Your Own Birdhouses and Feeders – John Perkins

How To Build Birdhouses and Feeders –Stephen Moss

For additional titles, look in our non-fiction department under 690.8927.

Young Adult Road Trip Books

/ Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

As we are all hiding indoors because of the cold weather it is a perfect time to read something different. In particular, I think it is a great time to read about road trips and grand adventures that we could only hope to take once the thaw comes. Here are some of the best young adult books about road trips that I have seen in the last year or so. Readers that just happen to be a decade (or more) past the ‘young adult’ years (like myself) should not be afraid to venture into the teen stacks to pick one of these up. You will thank us later.

Helen and Troy’s Epic Road Quest by A. Lee Martinez.
On a road trip across an enchanted America, Helen and Troy will discover all this and more. If the curse placed upon them by an ancient god doesn’t kill them or the pack of reluctant orc assassins don’t catch up to them, Helen and Troy might reach the end their journey in one piece, where they might just end up destroying the world. Or at least a state or two. A minotaur girl, an all-American boy, a three-legged dog, and a classic car are on the road to adventure, where every exit leads to adventure.

Finding Somewhere by Joseph Monninger
Sixteen-year-old Hattie and eighteen-year-old Delores set off on a road trip that takes unexpected turns as they discover the healing power of friendship and confront what each of them is fleeing from.

Chasing the Skip by Janci Patterson.
When fifteen-year-old Rick’s mother finally leaves for good, Ricki’s absentee father steps in, taking Ricki with him as he chases bail “skips” across the country, but their fledgling relationship is tested as they pursue attractive, manipulative, seventeen-year-old Ian Burnham.

How my Summer Went up in Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski.
Placed under a temporary restraining order for torching her former boyfriend’s car, seventeen-year-old Rosie embarks on a cross-country car trip from New Jersey to Arizona while waiting for her court appearance.

Reunited by Hilary Weisman Graham.
Alice, Summer, and Tiernan were best friends who broke up at the same time as their favorite band, but four years later, just before they are preparing to go off to college, the girls reluctantly come back together, each with her own motives, for a road trip from Massachusetts to Austin, Texas, for the band’s one-time-only reunion concert.

Of course I cannot end a list at just five, so here are some more great young adult books about amazing road trips.  Going Bovine by Libba Bray, In Honor by Jessi Kirby, Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown, Paper Towns by John Green, Catch and Release by Blythe Woolstone,
The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour, Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson, 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson, Saving June by Hannah Harrington, Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard, and Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer.

Get Your Irish On – 11 Movies Set in Ireland

/ Louise / 1 Comment

I know many people look forward to celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in a crowded pub, but I prefer to mark the occasion a little more quietly. This year, a night at home with an Irish-themed movie (and maybe a glass of Bailey’s!) is the plan, but which film to choose? I’ve narrowed the choices down to these 11 movies set on the Emerald Isle:

1. The Quiet Man. An American prizefighter returns to Ireland in order to forget the past and live peacefully in his village birthplace. He falls in love with the hot-tempered sister of a belligerent neighbor, and trouble ensues over the payment of her dowry.

2. My Left Foot. Born with cerebral palsy, the 10th of 22 children of a Dublin bricklayer and his wife, Christy Brown was doomed to life as a vegetable by physicians in 1932. His strong-willed mother’s love and faith encouraged him to overcome this label. An astounding story of an artist who defeated a physical disability, degrading stereotypes, and poverty to fulfill his dreams.

3. The Commitments. Fueled by raw talent and driven by dreams of glory, a dozen dead-enders from Dublin’s gritty North side share a passion for soul music that takes their band on a wild roller-coaster ride from the streets to the stage.

4. Michael Collins. The life of an Irish man whose dreams inspired hope, whose words ignited passion, and whose courage forged a nation’s destiny. His powerful gifts sparked the fierce battles that led to the Irish Republic that exists today, but his unshaken confidence in those gifts led him to become a victim of the very men he inspired to fight by his side.

5. Leap Year. When Anna’s four-year anniversary to her boyfriend passes without an engagement ring, she decides to take matters into her own hands. Inspired by an Irish tradition that allows women to propose to men on Leap Day, Anna follows Jeremy to Dublin to propose to him. But after landing on the wrong side of Ireland, she must enlist the help of Declan, a handsome and carefree local man, to get her across the country.

6. In the Name of the Father. Fact-based film about Gerry Conlon, a young Irish punk who is caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and forced to confess to a terrorist bombing. He and his father, along with friends of Gerry, are found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. There, his father shows his true strength, and Gerry works to prove their innocence and clear his father’s name.

7. Albert Nobbs. A woman (Glenn Close) passes as a man in order to work and survive in 19th century Ireland. Some thirty years after donning men’s clothing, she finds herself trapped in a prison of her own making.

8. The Crying Game. A 1992 film about a man’s experiences as a member of the IRA, his brief but meaningful encounter with a British prisoner of the group, and his unexpected romantic relationship with the prisoner’s girlfriend, whom he promised he would protect.

9. The Wind That Shakes the Barley. Set during the Irish War of Independence (1919–1922) and the Irish Civil War (1922–1923), this drama tells the fictional story of two County Cork brothers who join the Irish Republican Army to fight for Irish independence from the United Kingdom. It takes its title from the Robert Dwyer Joyce song “The Wind That Shakes the Barley”, a song set during the 1798 rebellion in Ireland and featured early in the film.

10. The Secret of Roan Inish. In this 1994 family film, a young Irish girl longs for the good old days she often hears about, back when the family lived on Roan Inish and had plenty to eat, and back before her younger brother so mysteriously disappeared.

11. Once. A modern-day musical set on the streets of Dublin, this film tells the story of an Irish street musician and a Czech immigrant during an eventful week as they write, rehearse and record songs that reveal their unique love story.