Friday, February 14, 2014

Friday Finds for February 14, 2014

This is a sometimes weekly blog post featuring what the Dorris Van Doren staff members are reading, watching, playing, making, or listening to. Share your finds with us here in the comments or on twitter (@elpasolibrary) and we'll retweet you!


This week, we have two book recommendations!

Paola: Tandem by Anna Jarzab 
I was captivated by this book not only because of the new perspective on parallel worlds but also because it was entertaining and fun to read. I enjoyed the relationship between the main characters and although there is romance throughout the book, it didn’t overpower the conversations or chapters in the book. This book also included some action and mystery scenes making it a well rounded book. Overall I found this book to be refreshing and I would recommend you to check it out and give it a try.

This is a book that I would've never picked up on my own if it wasn't for the Hub Reading Challenge that I'm participating in. The Young Adult Services Library Association has a YA literature blog that hosts a Reading Challenge every year after the Youth Media Awards (Newbery, Caldecott, Printz, etc.) are announced. The goal is to read 25 books by June 22 from a list of award winners and book lists. For details on how you can participate and the list of titles, visit this blog post.

The title and book cover of Far Far Away did not appeal to me, but I did like the premise. Jeremy can hear voices of dead people in his head from time to time. One ghost hears of Jeremy's gift and is told that harm will eventually befall Jeremy. That ghost is the narrator and happens to be the famous Jacob Grimm. Jacob finds Jeremy and is determined to protect him from the "Finder of Occasions," which could be anyone in the small town of Never Better. 

I really liked this book and the way the story unfolded. It had a dark and foreboding tone. There are plenty of fairy tale references, but the book stays realistic, never making it a fantasy or paranormal novel, with the exception of Jacob's ghost of course. This book also made me want to learn more about the Grimms. 

Far Far Away is a National Book Award Finalist and on YALSA's 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults list. 

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