Juliette Gordon Low: The Remarkable Founder of the Girl Scouts by Stacy Cordery

From Library Journal: "While all Girl Scouts are taught the name of the organization's founder, Juliette Gordon "Daisy" Low, few people know the details of her intriguing life. Cordery paints a vivid portrait of the woman who, despite physical challenges, romantic disappointment, and having no children of her own, founded the largest educational organization in the world for girls. Born in Savannah, Daisy Low mixed Southern belle etiquette with an interest in the arts and outdoor activities that would later inspire her vision for the Girl Scouts. The book's best chapters detail Low's involvement with Sir Robert Baden-Powell, the British war hero and Boy Scouts founder who inspired her to bring a similar organization to the girls of America and also to explore how her enthusiasm and dedication helped bring girl scouting to life."

Book sale!

The semi-annual Friends of the Red Wing Public Library's used book sale will be this Saturday, March 31 from 9:00 am until 2:00 pm. There is a members only pre-sale from 1-5 today. It's a great opportunity to pick up great books at rock bottom prices, and all for a good cause. Come by and see!

If you like The Hunger Games

Read the books? Seen the movie? Looking for something new to read? Well, look no further! We've put together a list of 25 books to try if you enjoyed The Hunger Games. Some are quite similar: stories of teenage rebels struggling against a dystopian society. Others have less in common, but are great books featuring a dystopian or post-apocalyptic setting. The list is worth a look - you're sure to find something good!

Stay Close by Harlan Coben

From Publishers Weekly: "Edgar-winner Coben continues to mine rich veins of terror in his New Jersey novels of domestic suspense, exploring both the reality and the ideal of family ties and the ease with which evil can destroy both. In this masterful stand-alone, three people are haunted by the disappearance of Stewart Green 17 years earlier in Atlantic City: photographer Ray Levine; housewife Megan Pierce; and Detective Broome, who investigated the disappearance and befriended Green's wife and kids. The disappearance of Carlton Flynn on February 18, the same date Green went missing, helps reignite the smoldering case, pointing the way to other victims and a strange pattern. Flynn's case also results in a pair of preppie, very scary sadists calling themselves Ken and Barbie entering the scene. Coben writes with wit and irony, and his flair for exposing the frail balance point between order and chaos in our lives has never been stronger than in this suspenseful outing."

Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo

From Publishers Weekly: "A Mumbai slum offers rare insight into the lives and socioeconomic and political realities for some of the disadvantaged riding the coattails (or not) of India's economic miracle in this deeply researched and brilliantly written account by New Yorker writer and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Boo. Divided into four parts, the narrative brings vividly to the page life as it is led today in Annawadi, a squalid and overcrowded migrant settlement of some 3,000 people squatting since 1991 on a half-acre of land owned by the Sahar International Airport. (Boo derives her title from a richly ironic real-world image: a brightly colored ad for floor tiles repeating "Beautiful Forever" across a wall shutting out Annawadi from the view of travelers leaving the airport.) ...[H]er account excels at integrating the party politics and policy strategies behind eruptions of deep-seated religious, caste, and gender divides. Boo's rigorous inquiry and transcendent prose leave an indelible impression of human beings behind the shibboleths of the New India."

Harbor by John Ajvide Lindqvist

From Kirkus Reviews: "Scandinavian writers dominate the police-procedural genre. Are they now bent on taking over horror? Swedish creepmeister Lindqvist is hot on the case. The author of one of the scariest vampire novels to have come out in years, Let Me In, Lindqvist drifts squarely into Stephen King territory with his latest. Domarö [is] an island not far from the Swedish capital where hoary old fishermen mend their nets and rough-edged yokels sharpen their knives, even as smart urbanites zip about in their fine cars and well-made clothes. One of those city slickers, a pensive fellow named Anders, suffers a terrible blow when his daughter, Maja, sees something mysterious, goes to have a look and disappears. [O]thers on this island have gone missing, too—boatloads of them, with cases of schnapps as a gift to the critters that dwell in the spectral Baltic waters.Will Anders ever find his daughter? Perhaps, perhaps not—and therein hangs the tale. Perhaps not a book to read by the seashore, if you're literal-minded. A spooky pleasure, expertly told."

The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje

From Publishers Weekly: "In Ondaatje's best novel since his Booker Prize-winning The English Patient, an 11-year-old boy sets off on a voyage from Ceylon to London, where his mother awaits. Though Ondaatje tells us firmly in the "Author's Note" that the story is "pure invention," the young boy is also called Michael, was also born in Ceylon, and also grows up to become a writer. This air of the meta adds a gorgeous, modern twist to the timeless story of boys having an awfully big adventure: young Michael meets two children of a similar age on the Oronsay, Cassius and Ramadhin, and together the threesome gets up to all kinds of mischief on the ship, with, and at the expense of, an eccentric set of passengers. But it is Michael's older, beguiling cousin, Emily, also onboard, who allows him glimpses of the man he is to become. As always, Ondaatje's prose is lyrical, but here it is tempered; the result is clean and full of grace."

Kevin Zraly's Complete Wine Course

From the Barnes & Noble Review: "The 2012 edition of Kevin Zraly's Complete Wine Course refreshes our sense of its quality. This new version of the most popular U.S. wine course contains update information on vineyards in Austria, New Zealand, Greece, Argentina, Hungary, South Africa, and other emergent wine cultures. This well-organized Sterling paperback also contains sections on Wine Basics, Tasting Wine, Matching Wine and Food, FAQ About Wine, and a Selected Glossary."

When I Fell From the Sky by Juliane Koepecke

From Publishers Weekly: "On Christmas Eve, 1971, 17-year-old Koepcke and her mother were flying from Lima to Pucallpa when their plane was struck by lightning during a freak storm. Catapulted from the plane two miles above the Peruvian rain forest, she landed in the jungle and miraculously survived. After regaining consciousness, she found herself alone and hurt, with a broken collarbone and a gash in her leg. Having spent a few years in the jungle during her youth, she was able to use the knowledge she had accumulated to survive, and, after an 11-day trek, she stumbled into the camp of three forest workers and was saved. Koepcke later followed in her parents' footsteps to become a zoologist, dedicating her life to realizing their dream of creating a nature preserve in Panguana. Her memoir is a gripping account of a harrowing adventure and an inspiring life."

Ghost in the Wires by Kevin Mitnick

From Publishers Weekly: 'It's the piquant human element that really animates this rollicking memoir of high-tech skullduggery. Mitnick recounts his epic illegal computer hacks of Sun Microsystems, Digital Equipment Corporation, and any number of cellphone makers; his exploits triggered a manhunt that made headlines. He insists he did it not for money but for the transgressive thrill of looking at big, secret computer programs-otherwise he apparently lived a threadbare existence on the lam-and the claim rings true; there's something obsessive and pure about his need to hack and brag about it to others, habits which eventually brought about his downfall. Mitnick's hacking narratives are lucid to neophytes and catnip to people who love code, but the book's heart is his "social engineering"-his preternatural ability to schmooze and manipulate. By learning their procedures and mimicking their lingo, he gets cops, technicians, DMV functionaries, and other mandarins-his control over telephone companies is almost godlike-to divulge their secrets and do his bidding. The considerable charm of this nonstop caper saga lies in seeing the giant, faceless bureaucracies that rule and regulate us unmasked as assemblages of hapless people dancing to a plucky con man's tune."

The Uncertain Places by Lisa Goldstein

From Library Journal: "Accompanying his roommate Ben to the home of Ben's girlfriend, Maddie, Berkeley student Will Taylor falls in love with the Feierabend women. When Will begins dating Livvy, the middle sister, he believes he has found the direction of his life. One morning, however, Livvy fails to wake up, and Will discovers the secret pact at the heart of the family's apparent streak of good luck, a secret with its roots in the forgotten fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. [Goldstein] has written an exquisitely beautiful, eerily compelling modern fairy tale. Graceful storytelling and a knack for making the fantastic all-too-believable make Goldstein's latest novel a treat for fantasy lovers and folk/fairy tale enthusiasts alike."

Trail of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz

From Publishers Weekly: "Three cases, all surveillance operations, start out routinely enough but prove anything but in Lutz’s engaging fifth novel featuring San Francisco PI Isabel “Izzy” Spellman and her eccentric family of investigators. A wife wants her husband followed; a brother wants his sister observed; and parents hire the Spellmans to keep tabs on their Berkeley freshman daughter. Things soon become more complicated as unexpected connections crop up among the initially unrelated cases. Meanwhile, siblings Rae and David are at war over an incident neither will discuss; mother Olivia is overbooked with strange new hobby classes; father Albert makes a major decision without informing his children; and Izzy, loathe to discuss her personal life, refuses to define her relationship with boyfriend Henry Stone. Lutz’s dry, biting humor is in full force, yet there’s more than a hint of melancholy to be found in Izzy’s increasingly solitary pursuits."

Death of the Mantis by Michael Stanley

From Library Journal: "When his childhood friend Khumanego, a member of the nomadic first peoples of Botswana, begs for his help, Detective David "Kubu" Bengu responds eagerly. A local park ranger has been killed in the Kalahari, and three nomads are being held for the murder. Kubu convinces the local authorities to free the trio, but he wonders what he's missing when a second murder-this one involving a Namibian PI-is discovered in the same region. As the secret lives of the victims are revealed, the variety of possible motives expands at a dizzying pace. Impossible to put down, this immensely readable third entry from the duo of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip delivers the goods. Kubu's painstaking detecting skills make him a sort of Hercule Poirot of the desert. Grimmer than Alexander McCall Smith's Precious Ramotswe mysteries but not oppressively violent, this series can be recommended to a wide gamut of readers."

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson

Come and get the book that got starred reviews from Booklist, Library Journal and Publishers Weekly; that was called "a daring and remarkable novel" by the New York Times; and of which the Daily Beast said"The year is young, but The Orphan Master’s Son has an early lead on best novel of 2012." From the publishers description: "An epic novel and a thrilling literary discovery, The Orphan Master's Son follows a young man's journey through the icy waters, dark tunnels, and eerie spy chambers of the world's most mysterious dictatorship, North Korea. Part breathless thriller, part story of innocence lost, part story of romantic love, The Orphan Master's Son is also a riveting portrait of a world heretofore hidden from view: a North Korea rife with hunger, corruption, and casual cruelty but also camaraderie, stolen moments of beauty, and love." Check it out!

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens

From Publishers Weekly: "This promising first volume in debut author Stephens's Books of Beginning trilogy concerns siblings Kate, Michael, and Emma, who, when very young, were taken from their parents to protect them from unspecified forces of darkness. They have since spent 10 years in a series of unpleasant orphanages; the last of these-which, oddly enough, houses no children but themselves-is run by the eccentric Dr. Pym. While exploring their palatial yet decrepit new home tucked away in the Adirondacks, the children discover a magical green book, which transports them into the recent past. There they do battle with a beautiful witch who has terrorized and enslaved the local people in her unsuccessful search for the very book the children possess. Adventures follow, featuring murderous zombielike Screechers, time travel paradoxes, and multiple revelations about Dr. Pym. This fast-paced, fully imagined fantasy is by turns frightening and funny, and the siblings are well-crafted and empathetic heroes. Highly enjoyable, it should find many readers. Ages 8-12."

Wild Thing by Josh Bazell

From Library Journal: "It's hard to mistake Peter Brown. He has a hypodermic in one fist and a Colt Commander handgun in the other, and he can use them both. Introduced in 2009's Beat the Reaper, Peter's story (hit man-turned-physician) plus Bazell's frenetic, scattershot style left an indelible impression in a crowded crime fiction field. Here, Peter has been sent to White Lake, MN, in the company of a sexy paleontologist. There have been four mysterious deaths in the area, and a local entrepreneur mounts what is billed as "the adventure of a lifetime," with entrance fees of $1 million and up, to investigate. Participation by a "high government official" is promised. Is there really a Bigfoot-type creature loose? Are the deaths the result of a local feud? Or are they an attempt to rejuvenate a flagging local economy? Is this novel better than Bazell's debut? It's as good as and more. In addition to the mayhem and madness of the original, there's an element of ecoconsciousness and political satire (the long-delayed appearance of the government official is worth the purchase price) that will leave readers wanting still more. Bazell makes being smart sexy and footnotes fun."

Great tearjerker you may have missed

There are many books about teenagers dealing with a terminal illness; it's a popular subgenre of teen fiction. Very few of them will have as great an impact on you as Before I Die by Jenny Downham. Critics loved it: A Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book of the Year A Booklist Editors’ Choice A Book Sense Children’s Pick A Kirkus Reviews Editors’ Choice and an ALA-YALSA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults. But I think the New York Times Review of Books captured it best: "a book, a first novel no less, about a 16-year-old girl dying of leukemia. This may sound too depressing for words, but it is only one indication of the inspired originality of Before I Die, by Jenny Downham, that the reader can finish its last pages feeling thrillingly alive…All the way through, Downham gives Tessa the power to tell her own truth, to represent her imperfect, all-too-human self, as well as the imperfect, all-too-human selves of those around her, without regard to the opinions and values of others. The result is as honest and indelible a portrait of a young adult at risk—no, beyond risk—as one is likely to find in recent literature. One of the more surprising revelations to be found in Before I Die is that it's a "young adult novel" only in the sense that readers Tessa's age are perhaps the ideal audience for a true story about death. I don't care how old you are. This book will not leave you.."

American Dervish by Ayad Akhtar

From Kirkus Reviews (starred review): ""a compelling debut with a family drama centered on questions of religious and ethnic identity.... Akhtar, himself a first-generation Pakistani-American from Milwaukee, perfectly balances a moving exploration of the understanding and serenity Islam imparts to an unhappy preteen with an unsparing portrait of fundamentalist bigotry and cruelty.... His well-written, strongly plotted narrative is essentially a conventional tale of family conflict and adolescent angst, strikingly individualized by its Muslim fabric. [The story's] warm tone and traditional but heartfelt coming-of-age lesson will appeal to a broad readership. Engaging and accessible, thoughtful without being daunting: This may be the novel that brings Muslim-American fiction into the commercial mainstream."

The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust by Diana B. Henriques

From The New York Times review: "How had so ordinary a man pulled off the largest swindle in history? How had he gotten away with it for so long?…what sort of man lay behind that sphinxlike smile, and how had he coped for so many years with the psychological pressure of living with such a gigantic falsehood? The Wizard of Lies…makes for riveting reading because it covers all these dimensions. And although there is much that we can never know, this book comes closer than others have to answering at least some of our questions."

The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol

From Publishers Weekly: "In this riveting first in a new Danish crime series, hard-working Copenhagen nurse Nina Borg can't say no to nursing school friend Karin's cryptic request to pick up a package at the train station. There, stuffed in a suitcase inside a locker, Nina finds a three-year-old boy, drugged but alive. A near altercation with a violent man, who arrives at the locker soon after and is furious to find the suitcase empty, quashes Nina's instincts to call the police. Child in tow, she tries to track down Karin to understand her involvement and discover whether the boy, Mikas, who speaks only Lithuanian, is a victim of sex trafficking. Meanwhile, others are searching frantically for Mikas, from his mother in Vilnius to the men who'll stop at nothing to recover their "cargo."

Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

From Library Journal: "Luke Warren has spent decades learning the inner workings of wolf packs. Yet his relationship with his own family is strained. Divorced from his wife and estranged from his son, Edward, Luke remains close to his daughter, Cara. When the two are involved in a car accident that leaves Luke in a coma, Edward must return home to make important medical decisions regarding life-sustaining measures. With facts that aren't always clear and emotional baggage getting in the way, Cara and Edward find themselves on opposite sides regarding what is best for their father. Picoult once again has written a compelling story involving current issues and family drama with a unique twist. The inclusion of Luke's relationship with wolves adds an element of depth, and details like these are why readers find Picoult's books impossible to put down. Her many fans won't be disappointed."