The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs

by Jack Gantos

Of all the genres and types of literature there are, I have to say that horror/gothic is my very least favorite. Therefore, The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs didn't have much of a chance with me. It probably is the strangest, quirkiest, creepiest YA novel I've ever read, certainly in a long time. To tell the truth, I kept waiting for the punch line. I thought this plot had to be a joke. But it never came, leading me to believe that the author was trying to write a serious novel and I just didn't get it. To be fair, I've read lots of positive reviews of Love Curse so I assume many young people and adults are having a great time with this book.

To give you the highlights, Ivy, a seven-year-old girl, finds the preserved body of the Twins' mother down in their basement on Easter Sunday morning. The Twins were the elderly brothers who ran the pharmacy across the street. Ivy usually stays with them after school each day until her mother comes home from work. They looked so much alike that no one could tell them apart. In fact, they were absolutely identical in every way. Needless to say, the creepy discovery had a profound effect on Ivy. It occurs to her for the first time that in all likelihood, her own mother will die before she does. This is a terrifying thought for Ivy because she loves her mother above all else. For reasons that I can't begin to understand, Ivy deals with the fear of her mother's death by learning taxidermy. Yes, that's right, she begins to learn how to stuff and preserve small animals. This just happens to be the hobby of the Twins as well, and they teach her all they know. From this point on, the story just becomes stranger. Gantos does pose some interesting questions about nature vs. nurture. Do the genes or the environment exert the greater influence on a person's character? All I can say is that if you like weird in your reading material, this is the book for you.

--review by Dail Sams

The Book Thief

by Markus Zusak

A new book in the library not to be missed is The Book Thief, a gripping story of war and human suffering in Nazi Germany and of the young girl who transcends it all. Liesel herself is a character who would keep most people reading the book, but perhaps even more charismatic is the narrator of the story, Death. This Death is no creepy skeleton dressed in black carrying a scythe. This Death is a compassionate, engaging being with a golden tongue, which is appropriate since a central theme of this book is the healing power of words. In the first chapter Death introduces himself by saying, "I could introduce myself properly, but it's not really necessary. You will know me well enough and soon enough, depending on a diverse range of variables. It suffices to say that at some point in time, I will be standing over you, as genially as possible. Your soul will be in my arms. A color will be perched on my shoulder. I will carry you gently away." The structure of this novel takes a little getting used to, but after a while, it was a relief to be told ahead of time what was coming, and it was nice having the little definition breaks in the story. Don't expect a happy ending to a book about WW II in Germany, but neither will all hope be obliterated. With characters like Liesel, and her best friend Rudy who idolizes Jesse Owens, and Leisel's foster parents, Hans the accordian player and Rosa the loving name-caller, and Max, the Jew being hidden in the basement, and Ilsa, the mayor's wife who allows Liesel to steal her books, it's impossible not to be touched by Zusak's story in The Book Thief. Come by the library and check it out.

--Reviewed by Mrs. Sams

Express Yourself! How can we make the LHS Library better?

Take the following survey.

1. What is your favorite type of books? fantasy? sci fi? realism? non-fiction? romance? sports? adventure? historical?

2. Does the LHS library have enough of your kind of books?

3. Are you willing to try something different when you read?

4. What magazines, book titles, or authors do you wish LHS library had?

5. Name 1 or 2 books that you read and loved in the last six months. (They don't have to be from the LHS library.)

6. What changes of any kind would you like to see made in our library?

Eragon the movie
The movie came out to less than stellar reviews. I didn't think it was terrible.

What did you think?

Still no word on the publication date
of the 3rd installment of the Inheritance Trilogy.

Top Check-outs for the School year!!

A Child Called It by Pelzer--most checked out book so far this year

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Johnson

What My MOther Doesn't Know by Sones

A Walk to Remember by Sparks

Cirque du Freak series by Shan

24 girls in 7 days by Bradley

Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Brashares

Twilight by Meyer (best book a lot of students have read recently!)

Don't Look Behind You by Duncan

Just Ask: the diary of a teenage girl by Carlson

Seer and the Sword by Hanley

The Truth about Forever by Dessen

Peaches by Anderson