For Adults - Fondulac District Library | East Peoria, IL

FDL Reads: Mary Jane

Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau

Reviewer: Deb Alig, Circulation Assistant

Genre: Fiction

Suggested Age: Adult

What is this book about? The year is 1975 and fourteen year old Mary Jane lives in a conservative home in an exclusive neighborhood of Baltimore. Her mother Betsy is a stereotypical Stepford wife who teaches Mary Jane how to cook and keep house and how to behave like a proper young lady. Gerald, her racist and anti-Semitic father, is a lawyer who believes in hard work, family, and patriotism. When Mrs. Cone, the wife of a local doctor, asks Mary Jane to be a nanny for her five year old daughter, Izzy, her parents agree as they feel it is a respectable summer job for their daughter. Or is it? The Cone’s lifestyle is nothing like Mary Jane’s. Their home is cluttered with books, clothes, and toys that are strewn all over the place. Bonnie Cone does not cook for her family. They mostly eat take out. And she doesn’t wash or dress Izzy or put her to bed. Mary Jane is naturally shocked by the lack of structure so she decides to help the Cone family get organized. She bathes and dresses Izzy, prepares breakfast and supper for the family, and helps straighten up whenever she can. But caring for the Cone family soon becomes even more challenging when a drug addicted rock star named Jimmy and his movie star wife named Sheba move into the house so that Dr. Cone can help Jimmy get sober. Jimmy and Sheba are entertaining and affectionate characters, but they are also dysfunctional. Jimmy is addicted to heroin and Sheba is addicted to fame. Though Mary Jane has never met people like them, she soon becomes attached. They literally introduce her to sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll, and by the end of the summer, she questions the sheltered and elitist way in which she is being raised.

My Review: Mary Jane is a fun, coming of age novel that transports the reader back to 1975 when young people lived for sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll. Even the photographic cover of the novel cleverly depicts the absurdly nostalgic story that waits inside. I think that just about anyone who grew up in the 1970’s would enjoy reading this book as much as I did.

Rating: 5/5

Three Words that Describe this Book: nostalgic, far out, coming of age

Give This A Try If You Like: The Trouble with Lexie by, Jessica Anya Blau, The Wonder Bread Summer by, Jessica Anya Blau, The Summer of Naked Swim Parties by, Jessica Anya Blau

Find it at the library!

Susie Rivera2022-08-18T18:18:57-05:00August 18th, 2022|

FDL Reads: Choose Me

Choose Me by Tess Gerritsen and Gary Braver

Reviewed by: Becky Houghton, Reference Assistant

Genre: Mystery; Thriller

What is this book about? Taryn Moore, a young, beautiful and brilliant college student appears to have committed suicide in a plunge from her fifth-floor apartment. Detectives Frankie Loomis and “Mac” MacClellan uncover evidence that may indicate that it was in fact a homicide. As they revisit the circumstances of Taryn’s life and death the details lead to a surprising discovery. Is it the reason for her suicide or a motive for a homicide?

My review: I enjoyed this book very much. Not only are Gerritsen and Braver excellent storytellers, but the use of comparison of Taryn Moore’s life with the subject matter of her literature seminar on star-crossed lovers from Greek mythology (Queen Dido/Aeneas, Heloise/Abelard, Medea/Jason) and Shakespearian literature (Romeo and Juliet) was entertaining and fascinating to me. (Ok, disclaimer, I was an English major myself!) All the evidence seems to point the detectives to a simple conclusion, Taryn committed suicide after a failed romance with a fellow student, but detective Frankie Loomis is certain that the absence of a cell phone in Taryn’s apartment or on her body indicates that there is more involved here. As Frankie and her partner Mac search deeper into her life, Taryn’s personality is revealed to be rather over-reactive and obsessive and her love life a bit more complex. This was definitely not a formula mystery story and the ending was a surprise.

Three words that describe this book: Complex, Fast-Paced, Absorbing

Give this a try if you liked: mysteries by Karin Slaughter, David Baldacci or Lisa Unger

Rating: 5/5

Find it a the library!

FDL Reads

Susie Rivera2022-08-16T10:37:55-05:00August 16th, 2022|

FDL Reads: We

We: A Novel by Yevgeny Zamyatin

Reviewed by: Melissa Friedlund, Reference Specialist

Genre: Dystopian Science Fiction

Suggested Age: Adult

What is the book about? Hundreds of years into the future, after war and turmoil, humans live regimented lives “safe” from the outside world surrounded by a green glass wall. People don’t have names, they have numerical designations. D503 is the lead builder of an ambitious project to send a flying craft, the Integral, to other worlds to spread the peace and happiness of this society where individual freedom is quashed and imagination is threat. D503 is writing a log to be included in the items sent on the Integral. Initially, he extols the magnificence of his life, but after an encounter with a mysterious woman, D503 descends into a dizzying world of self-doubt, paranoia, and frenetic rationalizations…all because she awakened his imagination. Is this a turning point for him? Will he find true happiness by rejecting all that he has ever known and embracing individual freedom?

My Review: This book was written in 1920 by a Russian author who didn’t live to see his work published in his native language, which didn’t happen until 1988. I listened to the audiobook of a new translation of this book, with a forward by Margaret Atwood and contributions from George Orwell and Ursula K. Le Guin. I liked the format of a log being written by the main character. It was clear that D503 was coming unhinged after being confronted with ideas that went against how he was taught to think. This is a cautionary tale about the dangers of suppressed individuality and a totalitarian society. It was an intriguing read that deserves a wider audience. George Orwell wrote his well-known dystopian novel 1984 after reading a French translation of We in the 1940s. His review of this book from 1946, included after the story, compares it to Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World from 1932.

Three Words That Describe This Book: Provocative, Unsettling, Cautionary

Give This a Try if You Like…1984 by George Orwell, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Rating: 5/5

Find it at the library!

FDL Reads

Susie Rivera2022-08-04T16:23:48-05:00August 4th, 2022|

FDL Reads: Unmasked

Unmasked: My Life Solving America’s Cold Cases by Paul Holes

Reviewed by: Beth Weimer, Communications Specialist

Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir

Suggested Age: Adults

What is the Book About?: Retired criminalist investigator Paul Holes recounts his remarkable career solving cases and catching criminals in Contra Costa County in the San Francisco Bay area in this true crime memoir. Holes started out as a forensic toxicologist and worked his way up through the next 27 years, specializing in cold cases and serial predators. Some of his notable cases include Laci Peterson, Jaycee Dugard, and Philip Joseph Hughes, but he dedicated just as much effort to the unnamed or overlooked victims. Holes is most famous for ingeniously using genetic genealogy to identify Joseph DeAngelo as the brutal Golden State Killer 2018, and this story reveals the science and the obsession behind the relentless pursuit that began when he opened a forgotten East Area Rapist file on his first day as a deputy.

My Review: If you’re interested in true crime, you’re probably aware of Paul Holes because of the GSK case, his podcast, or his investigative shows on Oxygen. Aside from his Contra Costa career and media presence, Holes’ idea to utilize DNA and genealogy technology to solve cold cases has truly revolutionized the investigative field, and will continue to have an evolving impact. As a bit of a fan and someone already familiar with his private, straight-shooting tendencies, I was surprised at how much personal info and case details he includes in the book. I assume everyone who regularly encounters violence through their work takes on trauma, but I was staggered by how just deeply that trauma has impacted him (maybe because he conducts himself so professionally and ethically). He’s especially frank about how his obsessiveness and ability to detach emotionally have ruined his relationships with his family, but those qualities – and his devotion the science and empathetic connection to victims and their families – make him so singularly effective at solving these cold cases. It’s heartbreaking how much he’s sacrificed, and yet he still can’t stop, continuing to work as investigator and consultant to help victim’s families find closure. (I also appreciated the chapter about his relationship with Michelle McNamara, who tragically died before they could catch GSK together.)

Three Words That Describe This Book: Driven, Unflinching, Fascinating

Give This a Try if You Like… I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara, Chase Darkness with Me by Billy Jensen, Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

Rating: 4/5

Find it at the library!

FDL Reads

Susie Rivera2022-07-30T11:51:24-05:00July 30th, 2022|

#FDL: Book-to-Screen Adaptations

Read these books now before you see the movie or series!

Where the Crawdads Sing

For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet fishing village. Kya Clark is barefoot and wild; unfit for polite society. So in late 1969, when the popular Chase Andrews is found dead, locals immediately suspect her.

But Kya is not what they say. A born naturalist with just one day of school, she takes life’s lessons from the land, learning the real ways of the world from the dishonest signals of fireflies. But while she has the skills to live in solitude forever, the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. Drawn to two young men from town, who are each intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new and startling world—until the unthinkable happens. – Now in Theaters

Fire and Blood (HBO’s House of the Dragon)

Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen—the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria—took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire and Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart.

What really happened during the Dance of the Dragons? Why did it become so deadly to visit Valyria after the Doom? What is the origin of Daenerys’s three dragon eggs? These are but a few of the questions answered in this essential chronicle, as related by a learned maester of the Citadel and featuring more than eighty all-new black-and-white illustrations by artist Doug Wheatley. Readers have glimpsed small parts of this narrative in such volumes as The World of Ice & Fire, but now, for the first time, the full tapestry of Targaryen history is revealed. – Release date: August 21, 2022 on HBO

The Sandman

The Sandman is a comic book series written by Neil Gaiman and drawn by Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, Jill Thompson, Shawn McManus, Marc Hempel and Michael Zulli and more, with covers by Dave McKean. Beginning with issue #47, it was placed under the imprint Vertigo. It chronicles the adventures of Dream (of the Endless), who rules over the world of dreams. – Release date: August 5, 2022 on Netflix

The Silmarillion (Rings of Power series)

The Silmarillion is an account of the Elder Days, of the First Age of Tolkien’s world. It is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back, and in whose events some of them such as Elrond and Galadriel took part. The tales of The Silmarillion are set in an age when Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in Middle-Earth, and the High Elves made war upon him for the recovery of the Silmarils, the jewels containing the pure light of Valinor. – Release date: September 2, 2022 on Amazon Prime

-Annotations from the publishers

Posted by Susie Rivera, Reference Specialist

#FDL is an update on all things Fondulac District Library and books.

Susie Rivera2023-01-17T14:28:37-06:00July 21st, 2022|

#FDL: Mystery, Suspense, & the Paranormal – July Giveaway

Are you craving some thrills and chills? These titles are sure to deliver.

6:20 Man by David Baldacci

Every day without fail, Travis Devine puts on a cheap suit, grabs his faux-leather briefcase, and boards the 6:20 commuter train to Manhattan, where he works as an entry-level analyst at the city’s most prestigious investment firm. In the mornings, he gazes out the train window at the lavish homes of the uberwealthy, dreaming about joining their ranks. In the evenings, he listens to the fiscal news on his phone, already preparing for the next grueling day in the cutthroat realm of finance.

Then one morning Devine’s tedious routine is shattered by an anonymous email: She is dead.

Sara Ewes, Devine’s coworker and former girlfriend, has been found hanging in a storage room of his office building—presumably a suicide, prompting the NYPD to come calling on him. If that wasn’t enough, Devine receives another ominous visit, a confrontation that threatens to dredge up grim secrets from his past in the Army unless he participates in a clandestine investigation into his firm.

This treacherous role will take Travis from the impossibly glittering lives he once saw only through a train window, to the darkest corners of the country’s economic halls of power…where something rotten lurks. And apart from this high-stakes conspiracy, there’s a killer out there with their own agenda, and Devine is the bullseye.

Ghost Eaters by Clay McLeod Chapman

Ever since their on-again, off-again college romance, Erin hasn’t been able to set a single boundary with charismatic but reckless Silas, who’s been chasing the next big high since graduation. When he texts her to spring him out of rehab, she knows enough is enough. She’s ready to start a career, make new friends, and meet a great guy—even if that means cutting Silas off. But when Silas turns up dead from an overdose, Erin’s world falls apart.

When Erin learns that Silas discovered a drug that allowed him to see the dead, she doesn’t believe it’s real but agrees to a pill-popping “séance” to ease her guilt and pain. When she steps back into the real world, she starts to see ghosts from her Southern hometown’s bloody and brutal past everywhere. Are the effects pharmacological or something more sinister? And will Erin be able to shut the Pandora’s box of horrors she’s opened?

With propulsive momentum, bone-chilling scares, and dark meditations on the weight of history, this Southern horror will make you think twice about opening doors to the unknown.

Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner

Helen’s idyllic life—handsome architect husband, gorgeous Victorian house, and cherished baby on the way (after years of trying)—begins to change the day she attends her first prenatal class and meets Rachel, an unpredictable single mother-to-be. Rachel doesn’t seem very maternal: she smokes, drinks, and professes little interest in parenthood. Still, Helen is drawn to her. Maybe Rachel just needs a friend. And to be honest, Helen’s a bit lonely herself. At least Rachel is fun to be with. She makes Helen laugh, invites her confidences, and distracts her from her fears.

But her increasingly erratic behavior is unsettling. And Helen’s not the only one who’s noticed. Her friends and family begin to suspect that her strange new friend may be linked to their shared history in unexpected ways. When Rachel threatens to expose a past crime that could destroy all of their lives, it becomes clear that there are more than a few secrets laying beneath the broad-leaved trees and warm lamplight of Greenwich Park.

-Annotations from the publishers

–Post by Melissa Friedlund, Reference Specialist

Giveaway

Enter your name here for a chance to win ARCs of the books mentioned in this post.

One entry per person. Drawing to be held approximately 7 days after this post.

ARCs are “advanced reading copies.” These are free copies of a new books given by a publisher to librarians and other reviewers before the book is printed for mass distribution.

#FDL is a weekly update on all things Fondulac District Library and East Peoria.

Susie Rivera2022-07-15T16:57:14-05:00July 15th, 2022|

Flash Fiction Writing Contest Winners!

We’re excited to announce the winners for the Flash Fiction Writing Contest!

1^st Place – A Sunny Day by Hilary Vissering

2^nd Place – The Ghosts of Us by Daniela Barzallo

3^rd Places – Pro(An)tagonist by Kylie

Congratulations to each of them, and thanks to everyone who submitted an entry! Follow the links below to read the winning stories. Our judges panel had a hard time selecting from the 20 submissions we received, so keep writing and stay tuned for more contests!

A Sunny Day by Hilary Vissering

The Ghosts of Us by Daniela Barzallo

Pro(An)tagonist by Kylie

Beth Weimer2022-07-06T13:51:48-05:00July 6th, 2022|

We’re Hiring!

The library currently has two employment opportunities available. We’re seeking a part-time Reference Assistant as well as a part-time Youth Services Assistant to join our team. Please visit fondulaclibrary.org/about-us/jobs for more information, including job descriptions and qualifications.

Beth Weimer2022-10-06T14:09:54-05:00July 6th, 2022|

FDL Reads: Winter’s Orbit

Winter’s Orbit

Reviewed By: Jeremy Zentner, Reference Assistant

Genre: Science Fiction/ Romance

Suggested Age: Adults

What is This Book About? The Iskat Empire hangs on by a thread as a member of an intergalactic super power known as the Resolution. Every twenty years, the Resolution auditors visit and judge if the Iskat Empire is worthy enough to have interstellar protection and trading rights in the known universe. Without the Resolution, any number of intergalactic “Megapowers” would topple Iskat like a house of cards. The Empire’s newest province world, Thea, was represented by the married couple Count Jainan and General Taam. Jainan being a Thean diplomat and Taam an Iskat military man. Things for Iskat are thrown into a loop, however, when General Taam is killed in an aircraft “accident,” leaving the Emperor to figure out a way to keep good relations between the two planets and to keep their precious membership within the Resolution. Thus, the Emperor’s dead-weight, playboy of a grandson, Kiem, is arranged into marrying Jainan for the sake of the Empire. Little do either of them know, is that there’s a murder investigation of General Taam. Jainan and Kiem will have to pull tooth and nail to get the answers behind this investigation and what it means for the future of the Empire.

My Review: Phew, what an intense book! I must say, there are very few science fiction novels quite like Winter’s Orbit. Most science fiction revolves around the depravity of new technology or straight-up action scenes. This book has some of these elements, but it also has more! Winter’s Orbit almost reads like a mystery/romance novel with heavy bouts of political intrigue. It follows some traditions found in Red, White and Royal Blue, and yes, The Duke and I. It also follows some traditions found in Dune and Lois McMaster Bujold books like Shards of Honor. There are two characters who are placed together by fate, and their families, an obstacle they must overcome together, and along the way love blossoms between the two aristocrats. All in a space opera future!

There are cultural nuances between Kiem and Jainan, being from two different planets, which flavors the story with a degree of believability. Kiem is constantly on the go and looking for the newest and greatest adventure to conquer, even if he isn’t good at it. A typical spoiled prince, Kiem is also the most rebellious individual in the entire book. Jainan, on the other hand, is obsessed with duty to the empire and duty to his people. Having studied astronomical engineering at university, he has a laser-focused mind but can be quite awkward when introduced to social affairs. With Kiem’s bravado and Jainan’s perfectionist persona, the two are perfectly matched to unravel the universe’s greatest conspiracy.

The imagery and world-building in this book are also feats to marvel. There is no shortage of details, no imagery too bland, and no dialogue too tedious. Winter’s Orbit is a bouquet of descriptions and valued subtleties that spans worlds.

Three Words that Describe this Book: romance, sci-fi, political intrigue

Give This A Try if You Like… Dune, Collapsing Empire, Red, White and Royal Blue, Shards of Honor (by Lois McMaster Bujold), Jupiter Ascending (film)

Rating: 4/5

Find it at the library!

Susie Rivera2022-06-28T10:48:16-05:00June 29th, 2022|

Books for Pride Month

Gain historical context and empathetic perspectives by reading about LGTBQ experiences with these selections for Pride Month – or any time.

We Are Everywhere by Matthew Riemer and Leighton Brown

A rich and sweeping photographic history of the queer liberation movement from the creators of the massively popular Instagram account @lgbt_history, released in time for the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.

Fairest by Meredith Talusan

Fairest is a memoir about a precocious boy with albinism, a “sun child” from a rural Philippine village, who would grow up to become a woman in America. Coping with the strain of parental neglect and the elusive promise of U.S. citizenship, Talusan found childhood comfort from her devoted grandmother, a grounding force as she was treated by others with special preference or public curiosity.

As an immigrant to the United States, Talusan came to be perceived as white. An academic scholarship to Harvard provided access to elite circles of privilege but required Talusan to navigate through the complex spheres of race, class, sexuality, and her place within the gay community. She emerged as an artist and an activist questioning the boundaries of gender.

Leaving Isn’t the Hardest Thing by Lauren Hough

As an adult, Lauren Hough has had many identities: an airman in the U.S. Air Force, a cable guy, a bouncer at a gay club. As a child, however, she had none. Growing up as a member of the infamous cult The Children of God, Hough had her own self robbed from her. The cult took her all over the globe–to Germany, Japan, Texas, Ecuador–but it wasn’t until her mother finally walked away that Lauren understood she could have a life beyond “The Family.”

Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality by Sarah McBride

Sarah McBride is on a mission to fight for transgender rights around the world. But before she was a prominent activist, and before she became the first transgender person to speak at the Democratic National Convention in 2016, she was a teenager struggling with her identity.

With emotional depth and unparalleled honesty, Sarah shares her personal struggle with gender identity, coming out to her supportive but distraught parents, and finding her way as a woman. She inspires readers with her barrier-breaking political journey that took her, in just four years, from a frightened, closeted college student to one of the nation’s most prominent transgender activists walking the halls of the White House, passing laws, and addressing the country in the midst of a heated presidential election. She also details the heartbreaking romance with her first love and future husband Andy, a trans man and activist, who passed away from cancer in 2014 just days after they were married.

Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera

Juliet Milagros Palante is leaving the Bronx and headed to Portland, Oregon. She just came out to her family and isn’t sure if her mom will ever speak to her again. But Juliet has a plan, sort of, one that’s going to help her figure out this whole “Puerto Rican lesbian” thing. She’s interning with the author of her favorite book: Harlowe Brisbane, the ultimate authority on feminism, women’s bodies, and other gay-sounding stuff.

Will Juliet be able to figure out her life over the course of one magical summer? Is that even possible? Or is she running away from all the problems that seem too big to handle? With more questions than answers, Juliet takes on Portland, Harlowe, and most importantly, herself.

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

Baldwin’s haunting and controversial second novel is his most sustained treatment of sexuality, and a classic of gay literature. In a 1950s Paris swarming with expatriates and characterized by dangerous liaisons and hidden violence, an American finds himself unable to repress his impulses, despite his determination to live the conventional life he envisions for himself. After meeting and proposing to a young woman, he falls into a lengthy affair with an Italian bartender and is confounded and tortured by his sexual identity as he oscillates between the two.

Examining the mystery of love and passion in an intensely imagined narrative, Baldwin creates a moving and complex story of death and desire that is revelatory in its insight.

-Annotations from the publishers

Posted by Susie Rivera, Reference Specialist

#FDL is an update on all things Fondulac District Library and books.

Susie Rivera2022-06-27T12:55:21-05:00June 20th, 2022|