The Devil in the White City

Author: Eric Larson

Category: Non-Fiction

Reviewer: Anne Smith

Department/Position: Language Arts

Summary:
This true story is set during the World's Fair of 1893 and explores two men who had varying degrees of influence over the spectators and citizens of Chicago. Daniel H. Burnham was the architect in charge of overseeing the construction of the World's Fair that was to put Chicago on the map and demolish all records previously attained by the Paris exhibit which unveiled the Eiffel Tower. This was not an easy undertaking by any means! Weather, unions, deaths all influenced the outcome. H.H. Holmes, a serial killer, is the other main character who preyed on the innocent women that traveled great lengths to see the attractions of the fair. Holmes is a master manipulator who created a crematorium in his own apartment complex to dispose of the bodies. This story was highly intriguing to me especially considering I am not a "big fan" of non-fiction pieces.

Recommended Audience: High school and adult readers

Rating: 5 (high)

This book is available at the AHS library.

The Girl With a Pearl Earring

Author:     Tracy Chevalier

Category:     Fiction     

Reviewer:     Melissa McGarvin-O'melia

Department/Position:     Instructional Coach

Summary: This book is fiction but is about a true artist, Johannes Vermeer, and an actual painting of his called "Girl With A Pearl Earing". The artist is Dutch and did the painting sometime in the middle 1600's. The author writes the book according to who this girl could be. Her name is Griet and she is a 16 year old housekeeper for the artist and his family.  After reading this I actually Googled Vermeer and read more about his life and other paintings. At this time, no one really knows who this girl actually was but through the rich beautiful writing I felt like she really could be Griet.

Recommended Audience:     Recommended for high school to adult readers     

Rating:     4

This book is available in the AHS library.

Time Traveler's Wife

Author:     Audrey Niffenegger

Category:     Fiction     

Reviewer:     Anne Smith

Department/Position:     Language Arts

Summary: A fascinating love story with a strange twist. Henry DeTamble and his wife Clare provide the reader with dual perspectives of their lives as they deal with Henry's "Chronodisplacement" disorder or ability to travel through time.  This disability puts constant strain and distance between the couple. Always it seems that Henry is disappearing and Clare is waiting for her love to return to her. There is no normalcy in this relationship!  The love story is one all can identify with as they try to find their soul mate, explore each other's past, get to know one another over and over again.  An awesome read about love, relationships, and time travel.    

Recommended Audience:     High school students and adults     

Rating:     4

This book is available in the AHS library.

The Mirror

Author: Marlys Millhiser

Category: Fiction

Reviewer: Janelle Weems

Department/Position: Library Clerk

Summary: On the eve of her wedding in 1978, Shay Garrett peers into an antique family mirror and falls unconcious only to wake in the body of her own grandmother Brandy on the eve of her wedding in 1900. In turn Brandy awakes in Shay's body to discover herself pregnant. What follows is a fascinating look at how these two women learn to cope with the situation they have been placed in and how their families strive to deal with the instantanous change this mirror has placed on everyones life.

Recommended Audience: This book is intended for high school and adult readers.

Rating: 4

This books is available in the AHS library.

A Short History of Almost Everything

Author:     Bill Bryson

Category:     Non-Fiction     

Reviewer:     Steve Miles

Department/Position: Language Arts

Summary:  I picked up this book because I'm one of those people who wishes I'd pushed myself in the sciences more when I was in high school and college.  Now I find myself fascinated with the remarkable, often poetic truths of science.  Bryson tells the personal stories of scientific heroes and oddballs with careful research, and has the narrative touch of a good novelist.  His voice is inviting and his language accessible, even for someone as unscientific as me.  I found myself quoting passages to my family dozens of times over the summer as I came upon new startling ideas about my world.  This is a book to peruse slowly, to let it sink in.

Recommended Audience:     Adults, young adults & science nerds     

Rating: 5 (high)

City of the Beast

Author: Isabel Allende

Category: Fiction

Reviewer: Kendra Ackerman

Department/Position: English teacher

Summary: City of the Beasts provides an interesting example of magical realism, incorporating the fantastic along with the everyday. A boy whose mother has cancer is sent to live with his eccentric grandmother. While he stays with her, she takes him on an adventure into the Amazon forest to photograph and research native tribes. There, he discovers the value of friendship and the power of faith. This novel is a must read for anyone who enjoys adventure stories, coming-of-age dilemmas, and extraordinary occurrences.

Recommended Audience: 9th and above

Rating: 4

This book is available in the AHS library.

The Secret Life of Bees

Author: Sue Kidd Monk

Category: Fiction

Reviewer: Kendra Ackerman

Department/Position: English teacher

Summary : What a beautiful book--one of my favorites. Set in the South during the Civil Rights movement, we meet Lily, a white child living with T. Ray, a bitter, abusive father and Rosaleen, her outspoken black housekeeper. Each character is on a quest: Lily searches for redemption and forgiveness--can she ever overcome the fact that she was responsible for her mother's death and her father's hatred? Rosaleen searches for freedom--can she ever be a true member of this society? During this quest, Lily and Rosaleen meet three sisters who pave the road to truth and recovery. This story wrestles with all the traits to define humanity--equality, family, love, acceptance, and forgiveness.

Recommended Audience: 9th and above

Rating: 5 (high)

This book is available in the AHS library.

The Rule of Four

Author: Ian Caldwell

Category: Fiction

Reviewer: Jan Woodcock

Department/Position: Media Specialist

Summary: If you liked The Da Vinci Code, then this is a book you should read. Four brainy roommates at Princeton, two of whom have links to a mysterious 15th-century manuscript, the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, become involved in trying to solve an ancient mystery. This rare manuscript contains embedded codes revealing the location of a buried Roman treasure. It's a complicated, intricate and sometimes difficult read, but that's the point and the pleasure. There are murders, romances, dangers and detection, and by the end the heroes are in a race not only to solve the puzzle, but also to stay alive.

Recommended Audience: Serious teen readers and adults

Rating: 4

This book is available in the AHS library.

The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century

Author: Thomas Friedman

Category: Non-Fiction

Reviewer: Karl Fisch

Department/Position: Director of Technology

Summary: Friedman is the foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times. In this book he talks about how the combination of political and economic reforms in the former Soviet Union, India, and China, combined with advances in technology, have “flattened” the world and made it a more level playing field for people around the world to join the global supply chain. He points to ten events as “flatteners” that have really changed the way the world operates. This book will appeal to anyone who is interested in business, foreign affairs, education or economics, as well as anyone who has someone they care about who will spend quite a few years in the 21st century. It has profound implications not only for business and politics, but for education as well.

Recommended Audience: 14 and up

Rating: 5 (high)

This book is available in the AHS library.

The Kite Runner

Author: Khaled Hosseini

Reviewer: Jan Woodcock

Department/Position: Media Specialist

Summary: The Kite Runner is a novel about friendship, betrayal, and the price of loyalty. It is about the bonds between fathers and sons, and the power of their lies. The Kite Runner follows the story of Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. As children in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early 1970s, the boys are inseparable. They spend idyllic days running kites and telling stories of mystical places and powerful warriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of their relationship forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could have ever predicted. This book gives insight into Afghanistan and the cultural changes that have taken place there in recent times.
Audience: This book is intended for high school and adult readers.
Rating: 4

This book is available in the AHS library.