New for Children
The Great Cake Mystery
by Alexander McCall Smith
Have you ever said to yourself, “Wouldn’t it be nice to be a detective?” This is the story of an African girl who says just that. Her name is Precious. When a piece of cake goes missing from her classroom, a young boy is tagged as the culprit. Precious, however, is not convinced. She sets out to find the real thief. Along the way she learns that your first guess isn’t always right. She also learns how to be a detective.
The Paradise Trap
by Catherine Jinks
A boy…a witch…and a totally sinister paradise: that’s what Marcus gets when his mom rents a scuzzy trailer and parks it near a dirty, noisy beach. Some vacation! Marcus would rather play video games anyway, but when he discovers a staircase underneath the trailer, it looks as if he may be in for some kind of multilevel, multiplayer experience controlled by a complete nightmare of a witch. It’s just like a game, except it’s all too real. The author of “Evil Genius” spins a brilliantly compelling yarn of a journey into a dark and twisted land.
New for Young Adults
White Crow
by Marcus Sedgwick
This is one of School Library Journal’s Best Fiction Books of 2011. Sixteen-year-old Rebecca moves with her father from London to a small, seaside village, where she befriends another motherless girl, and they spend the summer together exploring the village’s sinister history. “White Crow” is as beautifully written as it is horrifically gripping.
New for Adults
The Admirals: Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy, and King — The Five-Star Admirals Who Won the War at Sea
by Walter R. Borneman
How history’s only five-star admirals triumphed in World War II and made the United States the world’s dominant sea power. Only four men in American history have been promoted to the five-star rank of Admiral of the Fleet: William Leahy, Ernest King, Chester Nimitz, and William Halsey. These four men were the best and the brightest the navy produced, and together they led the U.S. Navy to victory in World War II, establishing the United States as the world’s greatest fleet. In “The Admirals,” award-winning historian Walter R. Borneman tells their story in full detail for the first time. Drawing upon journals, ship logs, and other primary sources, he brings an incredible historical moment to life, showing how the four admirals revolutionized naval warfare forever with submarines and aircraft carriers, and how these men—who were both friends and rivals—worked together to ensure that the Axis fleets lay destroyed on the ocean floor at the end of World War II.
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake
by Anna Quindlen
In this irresistible memoir, the bestselling author and winner of the Pulitzer Prize Anna Quindlen writes about looking back and ahead—and celebrating it all—as she considers marriage, girlfriends, mothers, faith, loss, all the stuff in our closets, and more.
