cheshire public library

Author Profile – Sherryl Woods

/ Linda / Leave a comment

sherryl woodsSherryl Woods is one of this library’s most popular romance authors.   Her stories center around enduring friendships and family life in a small town setting

She is a graduate of Ohio State University School of Journalism.  She spent many years as a television critic for newspapers in Ohio and Florida.  She’s been writing novels since 1982 and is the author of over 100 books.  When not reading or writing she enjoys gardening, tennis, theater, ballet and baseball.  She currently lives and divides her time between Key Biscayne, FL and Colonial Beach, VA.

Sherryl has a new series coming out this spring called Ocean Breeze.  It takes place in a small community on the North Carolina Coast and features the tight-knit Castle family.

The first book in the series is Sand Castle Bay and is available now.   It features the story of Emily Castle who’s torn between a successful career in Los Angeles and her old boyfriend in North Carolina.

That book is followed by Wind Chime Point, coming out in April.  It centers around Emily’s sister, Gabriella, and her struggle to fulfill her life-long dream. The third book in the series is Sea Glass Island and is coming out in May.  It features the third sister, Samantha, who is trying to win the heart of her old crush.

Her books are published in both hardcover, located in our Fiction section, and mass market paperback, located in the Romance section.

Sherryl recently published an article in the Huffington Post called “Trash or Treasure – Why More Woman Should Read Romance Novels”.  You can read it here.

Book Review: Tap Out by Eric Devine (Young Adult)

/ Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

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Tap Out

Tap Out by Eric Devine is a book for young adults and adults about how hard reality can be for some young people, and how finding a way out might seem like an impossible dream. This is realistic fiction, and might be just the read some young adults, new adults, and jaded adult readers might be looking for.

Tony Antioch is seventeen, and lives in a trailer park called Pleasant Meadows. Tony dreams of standing up and rescuing his mother from her own drug habits and constant stream of abusive boyfriends. Tony’s friends each have their own troubles to face, and after Rob and school situations bring Tony to a local gym to learn mixed martial arts, Tony thinks he might have found a talent and a way to help him escape from the troubled path that seems set for his future. However, Tony will have to solve some problems of his own before he can help his mother, any of his friends, or himself escape the paths they are on. With everyone around him stuck on a dead end track, can Tony find a way to stay true to himself and face the consequences of the choices he makes along the way?

Tap Out is a hard book to read, because the problems faced by the characters are very real, and very troubling. There are people trapped by their situations with no apparent way out. Tony, Rob, and the people around them feel very real, and I found myself with a racing heart and sweaty palms as the characters faced problems far beyond anything I have ever faced. The book is very gritty, and completely unapologetic in revealing parts of our society that often get overlooked or swept under the rug. I think that is wonderful. I could have done with a few less f-bombs being tossed around, although they were used realistically, but after awhile I did find it a little distracting.

Tap Out is a book I would recommend to older teens and adults. It deals with serious issues, and shows a very harsh reality. It is not an easy read, it is not fun or quick going. In fact there were a few moments in which I had to set it aside for a moment, but then immediately picked it back up because I needed to know what would happen next. Adults who work with teens, regardless of whether or not you think of the teens as at risk for abuse or of getting involved in dangerous situations, would do well to read the book in order to help understand, anticipate, and help teens they encounter deal with some serious issues.

A version of this review was previously posted on Sharon the Librarian.

Enjoyable Assigned Reading

/ Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Tackling books that have been labeled as classics, or are required reading in school, can be a daunting or even dreaded task. However, many of these books are classics because so many people enjoyed reading them, not just because of their literary value or the statements they make about humanity or the time in which they took place. Here are some of the classics, or assigned reading, that I have come to love, either when they were assigned to me or as I picked them up on my own.

Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury was originally published in 1953, and seems to be even more relevant today than we might want to admit. Guy Montag is a book-burning fireman that used to enjoy his job but is beginning to have some doubts. The boring life he leads with his wife contrasts drastically with that of his young neighbor Clarisse. This young girl inspires Guy’s doubts through her interest in books. When Clarisse mysteriously disappears, he decides to make some changes and begins hiding books in his home. When his wife turns him in, he is expected to burn his secret cache of books. Guy runs from authorities and winds up joining a group of outlaw scholars who keep the contents of books in their heads, hoping society will once again desire the wisdom of literature.

To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee was originally published in 1960, and remains on my list of favorite books. We are introduced to the Finch family in the summer before Scout’s first year at school. Scout, her brother Jem, and Dill Harris,spend their days reenacting scenes from Dracula and trying to get a peek at the town bogeyman, Boo Radley. The alleged rape of Mayella Ewell, the daughter of a drunk and violent white farmer, has no impart on the children. But when their father Atticus defends the accused, Tom Robinson, they find themselves caught up in events beyond their understanding. As the trial progresses the good and bad of human nature is clearly exposed with the key aspects being the heroism of Atticus Finch, who stands up for what he knows is right, and in Scout’s learning to see that most people are essentially kind. To Kill a Mockingbird is funny, wise, and heartbreaking, and deserves to be reread often.

1984

1984 was written by George Orwell in 1948, and still stands as chilling prophecy about the future. This novel is set in a future world which is dominated by three warring totalitarian police states. Winston Smith’s longing for truth and decency leads him to secretly rebel against the government. Smith has a love affair with a like-minded woman, but they are both arrested by the Thought Police. The resulting imprisonment, torture, and reeducation of Smith are intended not merely to break him physically or make him submit but to destroy independent thought and spiritual dignity.

Dracula, Silas Marner, War of the Worlds, Pride and Prejudice, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Stranger in a Strange Land are some of my other favorite classic or assigned reads. Do you have a favorite book that you were required to read in school, or one you read afterwards that you wished you had been assigned to read?

Historical Fiction for Middle School Students

/ Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

As someone that has spent time in the children’s room, I have witnessed more than one panicked student, or parent, as a reading assignment for a particular kind of book comes due. Sometimes it is biographies, or sports fiction, or realistic fiction. It can be hard to know what to choose when assigned a book far outside your normal reading preferences, or when the student in question does not read much on their own anyway.  Here are some options for Middle School age students assigned to read historical fiction, and have no idea where to start.

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Nobody’s Princess

Nobody’s Princess by Esther Friesner is likely appeal more to girls because it is about the Spartan princess Helen as she disguises herself as a boy. She learns to fight and has adventures to prove that she should be able to make decisions about her own life. On one level, the story is about a  spoiled princess using her mind and status to get her own way, but larger issues of women’s rights, slavery, choice, and individual destiny play their part as well. The era is well portrayed and the book is entertaining while leaving the reader looking for more. Thankfully, if this book sparks interest, there is a sequel, Nobody’s Prize, in which Helen manages to join the quest for the Golden Fleece on the Argo.

Fever 1793

Fever 1793

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson takes place as Philadelphia becomes overwhelmed with mosquitoes and rumors of fever.  Many have taken ill near the docks, and the number of deaths is growing. Mattie Cook is just 14, and has just lost a friend to the fever, but she has no time to mourn. New patrons overrun her family’s coffee shop and Mattie’s fears about the fever are all but overshadowed by dreams of business success. However, the fever begins to strike closer to home and Mattie’s work to build a new life must give way to a new fight-the fight to stay alive. An accurate and compelling look at the times, and the lives of young people of the era.

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City of Orphans

City of Orphans, written by Avi and illustrated by Greg Ruth takes place on the streets of New York City in 1893. Newsboys like thirteen-year- old Maks Geless need to watch out for gang leaders like Bruno,  and tier plots to take control of all the newsies on the lower East Side. While on the run Maks meets Willa, a strange girl who lives alone in an alley but has spunk and skills. Maks must find a way to free his sister Emma from the city jail where she has been imprisoned after being accused of stealing a watch. Bartleby Donck, an eccentric lawyer guides Maks and Willa in the the search for the truth. The novel offers readers action, mystery, a look at historic New York,  and a story about the love of family.

This is just a sampling of the available titles that might fit the bill. If these books appeal to you and your young readers I also suggest browsing our books by Markus Zusak, Henry Aubin, Ross Collins, Margaret Peterson Haddix, Susan Fletcher, Julius Lester, Lois Lowry, Gill Harvey, and Christopher Paul Curtis. Do not forget that our librarians are always available to help you find these books, or to make further suggestions.

Book Review: Candide by Voltaire

/ Jenn / 1 Comment

Our March pick for the Cheshire Cats Classics Book Club was Candide by

Candide, by Voltaire

Voltaire. This is the oldest classics we have read thus far, and perhaps the shortest! Candide comes in at a slim 97 pages and is jam-packed with adventures, peril, and romance.

Candide was first published in 1759 by the well-known Age of Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire. Candide was brought up in the house of a wealthy baron and early in the book exemplifies the subtitle of the book, optimism. The novel takes a turn when Candide’s love for baron’s daughter is discovered and Candide is thrown out into the world to fend for himself.

The fast-moving plot takes us through wars, and earthquake, a brush with the Inquisition, and we journey with Candide to South America, Asia, and back home to Europe. Candide’s optimism is tested with all of the trials he experiences.

I listened to this book, which was just three audio cds. The reader, Tom Whitworth, was unknown to me, and his reading of Voltaire’s magnus opus was average. His voice was lively enough to keep me moderately entertained and focused on the book, but I found I often drifted away.

The book itself reminded me of how difficult life was during the 18th century. Not only in our own history, but across the globe, great changes were happening politically through wars and words. There were several scenes of war violence and torture, along with details of slavery resulting from war.

Candide ended almost abruptly. I found the ending to be rather ridiculous and far-fetched for a book that was not like that throughout the story. No one is truly happy at the end and Candide is not the bright-eyed, optimistic youth we encounter in the beginning.