This One Has Everything

One of the most interesting books I read this summer is Daniel Ehrenhaft's Drawing a Blank, or How I Tried to Solve a Mystery, End a Feud, and Land the Girl of My Dreams. Besides having one of the long titles in the IMC, this book combines a narrative story about a boarding school boy, Carlton Dunne IV, with episodes from Carlton's graphic novel. Through his novel Carlton lives his dreams of high adventure and romance until the day his father is kidnapped. Now Carlton is teamed up with a beautiful Scottish girl Aileen who wants to be an American police officer as they try to locate an ancient Scottish dagger and rescue Carlton's father. Many pages of the book contain footnotes with Carlton's comments, historical facts and fictional details, and even a recipe for bannocks. Like I said this one has eveything! Join Carlton and Aileen as they roam the Scottish countryside with adventure and mystery.

This book and many other new books are displayed in the New Book Section found along the Non-fiction wall.

Deep within the Earth

If you have a yen for digging in the earth, take a look at Roderick Gordon's new fiction book Tunnels. In this book the only common ground for Will and his father is an obsession with archeological digs.When they discover an abandoned tunnel beneath modern-day London, they believe they have the discovery of the century. But then Will's dad vanishes. Now Will with the help of his friend Chester begin a dangerous, possibly deadly, journey under the ground to look for him. You will be amazed at what they find.
You can find this book and many other new books in the New Book section along the Nonfiction wall of the IMC.

Disaster in Pompeii

I have always been fascinated by the history of the Roman city of Pompeii and the destruction caused that city by the eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius. Kathryn Lasky's book, The Last Girls of Pompeii, tells the story of two young girls living in Pompeii just before the eruption. Julia is the daughter of a wealthy family and Sura is her beautiful slave. Julia's life would be perfect except she bears the Curse of Venus - a withered arm. She has little hope for the future because no family would want their son to marry a girl with this curse. Sura's beauty makes her a desireable property who may be sold away from Julia. For both girls the eruption of the volcano causes a major change in their lives.

The IMC has another fiction book about Pompeii - The Shadow of Vesuvius, by Ellis Dillon. In this story the eruption catches an artist and his slave in Pompeii a few days before disaster strikes. Both books give an intimate picture of what life was like in the city of Pompeii and how the disaster affected the lives of individuals.

Beyond the Shadow Children

Margaret Peterson Haddix is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. Because of the science fiction theme of Among the Hidden, I was fascinated by her Shadow Children series which she concluded in the seventh book Among the Free. From that book I was lead to Double Identity and The House on the Gulf, both great suspense books. Now the IMC has another her books added to the collection - Escape from Memory. In this suspense-filled story, Kira and her friends experiment with hypnosis at a sleepover. When hypnotized, Kira remembers that she spoke another language, that she was born in another country, that her eccentric mother has been telling her lies about how they came to live in small-town Ohio. As Kira tries to recover more of her memory of who she is and where she is really from, she learns many things that will surprise you. A fascinating adventure story with twists and cliffhangers, Escape from Memory will keep reading reading from beginning to end. To get a complete list of the all the Haddix we have in the IMC, please access the online catalog (I.P.A.C.) from the Lakeview library webpage.