Book of the Day, Week 2

Every day on Facebook we’ll be posting a short description of novels that aren’t very well-known. Be sure you check them out daily on our Facebook page or get the compiled list every Saturday here. 

Jan. 11th, 2013

Ahmek, by Patrick Watson. When I was six, my grandparents went on a trip to Brazil. Mama got me this book before hand, and wrote a note at the beginning saying it would keep me company. It did; I loved the book then, and I love it now. Ahmek is a little beaver whose lodge is ruined, and he sets out on his own to start a new one, starting a family along the way. The book has occasional human characters as well, most notably Tom Thompson, honorary member of the Group of Seven, who add to the story without Watson delving into fantasy and having the beavers talk with them. Ahmek is a great story for anyone interested in animals.

Jan. 10th, 2013

Plain Kate, by Erin Bow. Kate is a carver who’s good — too good. She gets called “witch blade”, not a good name in a land where witches are feared. When a plague sweeps through her country and her town turns on her, Kate trades her shadow to escape, but soon learns this might not have been a good choice. It’s a cute book with a bit of a ghost story to it, heavily inspired by Russian culture, and needs far more love.

Jan. 9th, 2013

Inside Out Girl, by Tish Cohen. It’s not the sort of book I typically read, but I found it cute nonetheless. It follows Rachel Berman, a single mother of two, who starts dating Len, single father of Olivia, a girl with Non-Verbal Learning Disaborder, a condition similar to autism. Over time, Olivia’s quirks bring her family and Rachel’s together, with self-discovery along the way. The characters go through realistic problems, grow in realistic ways, and delight the reader with their quirks and charms.

Jan. 8th, 2013

This one is fairly well known, however as today saw the release of the 14th (and final) novel in the series, it seemed fitting.
Eye of the World is the first book in the Wheel of Time series — with a Tolkienesque storyline, it follows the tale of some of the villagers from the Two Rivers as they flee from their homes to escape from an evil that’s hunting them. The Wheel of Time series is an epic one, in every sense of the word… While the size can be daunting, it’s filled with beautiful and poetic descriptions, hundreds of great characters, and many interweaving plots.

Jan. 7th,  2013

The Hungry Year, by Connie Brummel Cook. This was one of the only books I’ve ever had to read in school that I actually liked. I was nine years old, and we were learning Canadian history. This book follows Kate, a twelve-year-old Loyalist girl, through her first year in Canada during “The Hungry Year”, a time of famine when a particularly hard winter rolled around. Kate has to take care of her twin brothers in the midst of the worst snowstorm they had ever seen while her dad is out hunting, and learns a lot about herself in the process. It makes history fun and gives the reader a perspective on eighteenth century frontier life.

Jan. 6th, 2013

Ex-heroes by Peter Clines: This is a pretty silly book, picture Joss Whedon’s Avengers meet the Walking Dead. Zombies vs. Superheroes. It was first released back in 2010, however it’s being re-released next month.
It’s kind of cheesy, yes.. Some of the superheroes do parallel familiar ones that we all know, but they do have their own identities as well. It’s fun, action-packed, and pretty well written.