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Borrow Anywhere, Return Anywhere

From the Government of Nova Scotia website:

A new library program gives Nova Scotians free access to more than 100 libraries in the province, regardless of where they live.

Under the initiative, a Nova Scotian can visit any public, university or college library in the province and borrow or return library items.

They don't need to be living in the area or attending the university.

This is an incredible program, and you can view the list of participating libraries here. Take advantage of it by getting a free library card from the public library (students need parental consent if under the age of 14)!

New books!

A large box of new books arrived late last week, and all are now circulating (except the reference volumes, of course). There is already a lengthy waiting list for Catching Fire.

Fiction

Thirteen reasons why by Jay Asher.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore.

Catching fire by Suzanne Collins.

An abundance of Katherines by John Green.

Meridian by Amber Kizer.

Boy meets boy by David Levithan.

So punk rock: and other ways to disappoint your mother by Micol Ostow

Dead is the new black, Dead is a state of mind, and Dead is so last year by Marlene Perez.

The forest of hands and teeth by Carrie Ryan.

Hell phone by William Sleator.

The arrival by Shaun Tan.

Skinned by Robin Wasserman.

Wake by Lisa McMann.

Nonfiction

Bodies from the ice: melting glaciers and the rediscovery of the past by James M. Deem.

Three cups of tea by Greg Mortenson.

The stuff of life: a graphic guide to genetics and DNA by Mark Schultz.

Reference

30,000 years of art by the editors of Phaidon.

The way we work: getting to know the amazing human body by David Macaulay.

Rainforest by Thomas Marent.

Review: Graceling

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Katsa lives in a land of seven kingdoms and is the orphaned niece of King Randa. She lives freely and comfortably in the castle but must do as Randa demands. It wouldn’t be such an awful trade-off but Randa demands that she does horrible things to other people, for Katsa is Graced with an exceptional ability to kill. She is tired of Randa’s bullying and has started the Council, which uses a network of informants and spies to help people in need.

On one of her rescue missions Katsa encounters Po, a foreign prince Graced with fighting who is trying to unravel the mystery of his kidnapped grandfather. When Katsa and Po eventually discover that they are trying to solve the same problem, they team together to take care of it (and a problematic king) once and for all.

Graceling had been getting rave reviews from tons of blogs and starred reviews from major book review publications, so I decided I had to read it. It has quickly become one of my favourite books and one that I will re-read gladly. There are so many things I loved about this book: Katsa kicks butt but is also hilarious and empathetic, the plot never stops for a moment, and there are twists at every turn. One thing that really impressed me is that the moment I figured something out, the characters figured it out too. Nothing irks me more than knowing something integral to the plot and the characters haven’t a clue until 100 pages later. It drives me crazy! This book is smart, funny (I laughed out loud several times), action-packed, thrilling, and devastatingly romantic. In one word: wow.

Thankfully, Graceling is the first in a series.

5 stars out of 5 for Graceling.

Kristin Cashore’s blog.

An interview with Kristin Cashore.