New! Graveminder

Graveminder by Melissa Marr

About: Rebekkah Barrow never forgot the tender attention her grandmother, Maylene, bestowed upon the dead of Claysville, the town where Bek spent her adolescence. There wasn't a funeral that Maylene didn't attend, and at each Rebekkah watched as Maylene performed the same unusual ritual: three sips from a small silver flask followed by the words "Sleep well, and stay where I put you."

Now Maylene is dead and Bek must go back to the place--and the man--she left a decade ago. But what she soon discovers is that Maylene was murdered and that there was good reason for her odd traditions. It turns out that in placid Claysville, the worlds of the living and the dead are dangerously connected. Beneath the town lies a shadowy, lawless land ruled by the enigmatic Charles, aka Mr. D--a place from which the dead will return if their graves are not properly minded. Only the Graveminder, a Barrow woman, and the current Undertaker, Byron, can set things to right once the dead begin to walk

Goosebumps? Ya I got them too. This book sounds so amazing and fun. One I need to read right away. And now I am leaving to the Library to do just that.

New! The Help

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

About: Four peerless actors render an array of sharply defined black and white characters in the nascent years of the civil rights movement. They each handle a variety of Southern accents with aplomb and draw out the daily humiliation and pain the maids are subject to, as well as their abiding affection for their white charges. The actors handle the narration and dialogue so well that no character is ever stereotyped, the humor is always delightful, and the listener is led through the multilayered stories of maids and mistresses. The novel is a superb intertwining of personal and political history in Jackson, Miss., in the early 1960s, but this reading gives it a deeper and fuller power. (from amazon.com)

My sister and mom both read this book and enjoyed it a lot. They are very much wanting to see the movie when it comes out and dragging me along. So I need to quickly read this book before we all venture to the theaters.

Review: Castle in the Air

Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones

About: Abdullah the rug merchant leaves his humdrum life far behind when he purchases a threadbare magic carpet from a mysterious stranger. Almost immediately, Abdullah is whisked off on a series of adventures that bear an uncanny resemblance to his own daydreams. He meets the love of his life only to have her kidnapped by a fierce djinn. With the help of the magic carpet--and an ornery genie--Abdullah sets out to rescue his bride-to-be. His travels take him to the fairy tale land of Ingary.

Review: I just have to say, I absolutely love Jones' writing. I've read Howl's Moving Castle, and House of Many Ways, both sequels like Castle in the Air. I enjoy her books so much, they are fun fantasy books with witches and djinns and castles and princesses. This book had a very Aladdin feel to it, with a genie and magic carpet too. Her books are easy reads but so full of adventure and comedy. If you're a fan of Jones other books then you'll appreciate that Howl and Sophie are in this book as well. I did feel myself slightly rushing through the end. I'm not sure if I just wanted it to get done, or I was just a smidgen bored, or that I needed to return it to the library.  I have to admit I enjoyed House of Many Ways more than Castle in the Air, I liked the characters just a bit more. Abdullah, Flower-in-the-Night and the Soldier were all really good character's I just didn't feel more of a connection than I would have lived. The book keeps a good pace, as something is always happening, so it is fun. But despite cramming the last 70 pages in a few breaks at work, I highly recommend this book for any avid readers or fantasy lovers. It was a nice break after reading Candy which was very different also.