We still have some books for sale featuring some of your favorite authors. Pick up Mary Higgins Clark, Danielle Steele, John Grisham, James Patterson, and Robert B. Parker for $2, $3, or $5.

The Webb will be closed Fri., Dec. 31 and Sat., Jan. 1
 

New Materials

Adult

The Finkler Question  by Howard Jacobson 
From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Winner of the 2010 Man Booker Prize, Jacobson's wry, devastating novel examines the complexities of identity and belonging, love, and grief through the lens of contemporary Judaism. Julian Treslove, a former BBC producer who works as a celebrity double, feels out of sync with his longtime friend and sometimes rival Sam Finkler, a popular author of philosophy-themed self-help books and a rabidly anti-Zionist Jewish scholar. The two have reconnected with their elderly professor, Libor Sevcik, following the deaths of Finkler and Libor's wives, leaving Treslove-the bachelor Gentile-even more out of the loop. But after Treslove is mugged-the crime has possible anti-Semitic overtones-he becomes obsessed with what it means to be Jewish, or "a Finkler." Jacobson brilliantly contrasts Treslove's search for a Jewish identity-through food, spurts of research, sex with Jewish women-with Finkler's thorny relationship with his Jewish heritage and fellow Jews. Libor, meanwhile, struggles to find his footing after his wife's death, the intense love he felt for her reminding Treslove of the belonging he so craves. Jacobson's prose is effortless-witty when it needs to be, heartbreaking where it counts-and the Jewish question becomes a metaphor without ever being overdone.

Moonlight Mile  by Dennis Leshane
Amazon Best Books of the Month, November 2010  
From Publishers Weekly

An old case takes on new dimensions in Lehane's sixth crime novel to feature Boston PIs Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro, last seen in 1999's Prayers for Rain. Twelve years earlier, in 1998's Gone, Baby, Gone, Patrick and Angie investigated the kidnapping of four-year-old Amanda McCready. The case drove a temporary wedge between the pair after Patrick returned Amanda to her mother's neglectful care. Now Patrick and Angie are married, the parents of four-year-old Gabriella, and barely making ends meet with Patrick's PI gigs while Angie finishes graduate school. But when Amanda's aunt comes to Patrick and tells him that Amanda, now a 16-year-old honor student, is once again missing, he vows to find the girl, even if it means confronting the consequences of choices he made that have haunted him for years. While Lehane addresses much of the moral ambiguity from Gone, this entry lacks some of the gritty rawness of the early
Kenzie and Gennaro books.

Sunset Park   by Paul Auster 
From Booklist

*Starred Review* Passionately literary, Auster nonetheless publishes as frequently as a genre author, writing poetic and brainy feigned procedurals featuring inadvertent outlaws. In his sixteenth novel, four flat-broke twentysomething searchers end up squatting in a funky abandoned house in Sunset Park, a rough Brooklyn neighborhood. Bing, the “sloppy bear” ringleader, plays drums and runs the Hospital for Broken Things, where he mends “relics” from a thriftier past. Melancholy artist Ellen is beset by erotic visions. Grad student Alice is researching pop-culture depictions of postwar sexual relationships. Miles is a fugitive. Poisoned by guilt over his stepbrother's death, he hasn't communicated with his loving father, a heroic independent publisher; his kind English professor stepmother; or his flamboyant actor mother for seven years. Lately he's been in Florida, “trashing out” foreclosed homes, stunned by what evicted people leave behind in anger and despair. Miles returns to New York after things turn dicey over his love affair with a wise-beyond-her-years Cuban American teenager. As always with the entrancing and ambushing Auster, every element is saturated with implication as each wounded, questing character's story illuminates our tragic flaws and profound need for connection, coherence, and beauty. In a time of daunting crises and change, Auster reminds us of lasting things, of love, art, and “the miraculous strangeness of being alive.”

Young Adult

Virals  by Kathy Reichs 

From School Library Journal

Gr 6-10–Tory Brennan, 14, lives on an island off the coast of South Carolina. Her newly discovered father works in science research for the University of Charleston, which is why she and her friends with similar pedigrees attend the ritzy prep school in town with the local aristocracy. Tory and her three friends, all boys, are science geeks and love to explore the outer islands where monkeys and other wildlife abound. While exploring a supposedly deserted lab complex, they discover the caged offspring of a wolf and German shepherd that has been diagnosed with parvovirus. Tory's concern leads the group to rescue the pup with the notion of curing and saving it from science experiments. Tory knows that parvo cannot infect humans, but once the treatment begins the four teens start to experience symptoms that make them doubt her initial belief. Along the way, they also stumble upon a murder mystery dating back to the Vietnam War era that quickly becomes linked to the mysterious science experiments that are being kept hidden on the islands. What starts as a science mystery thriller takes a sharp right turn into the realm of science fiction with genetically altered DNA and superhuman senses that may cause more savvy readers to scoff. However, the fast-paced thrills, cool science, and great characters will create a flood of fans waiting for the next installment.

Juvenile 

The Properties of Water  by Hannah Roberts McKinnon 

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Best Books of the Month, November 2010: Though Lace Martin lives in the wake of her older sister Marni—a popular high-school student and star of the varsity swim team—the two are as close as can be both in and out of the water. So when Marni is involved in a tragic diving accident, Lace is suddenly on her own—learning how to tread her way through a summer of changing relationships with new and old friends while adjusting to the presence of Willa Dodge, a seemingly mysterious woman sent to live with the Martins as they adapt to their new reality. While Willa cooks, cleans, and swims in the lake beside the Martin’s house, Lace begins to unravel truth from fiction about Willa’s intentions, why handsome Sully Tanner asked her out, and what exactly happened at Turtle Rock that so profoundly changed everything. Beautifully-written and full of evocative language and poignantly-drawn scenes, Hannah Roberts McKinnon’s second book, The Properties of Water, is a tender look at the bonds between friends and family, and the lessons one learns while growing up, through the eyes of a young woman who nearly learned what it would be like to lose everything.
 
Easy Readers

The Rabbit Problem  by Emily Gravett 
From School Library Journal

Gr 1-5–If a pair of rabbits is put together under certain conditions (“NO Rabbits may leave the field”), how many will there be in one year? This puzzle, posed by Fibonacci in the 13th-century, is the premise for Gravett's latest work. The cover depicts a bemused rabbit calculating at a blackboard. The endpapers cast a wider view, with more of the problem shown visually and verbally. Readers follow a rabbit through an underground tunnel (title page) and emerge from a die-cut hole into a field –at the top of a calendar. As always, Gravett's design choices are perfect for enhancing the narrative. Now viewers turn the book lengthwise and watch the effects of the ever-multiplying bunnies in watercolor scenes on the top, while the hand-lettered notes and novelty items glued to the dates below reveal seasonal challenges. In March, while the stressed parents learn infant care, a baby book showcases a tiny ultrasound of the twins. July depicts bored bunnies watching carrots grow. A miniature newspaper (The Fibber) includes biographical information on the famous mathematician, personals, birth announcements, graphs, and horoscopes. Under an empty, snow-covered field and through the die-cut hole that follows December 31, a peek and a page turn reveal the population explosion leaping, literally, off the page in a sturdy pop-up spread. This hilarious (and accurate) tale can be enjoyed by the numerically challenged and gifted alike.

Old Bear and His Cub  by Oliver Dunrea 
Amazon.com Review

Amazon Best Books of the Month, November 2010: Beautiful wintery illustrations are the perfect background for Old Bear and His Cub. Old Bear and Little Cub love each other with all of their hearts, and their day together revolves around Old Bear ensuring that Little Cub does things that will keep him safe and healthy, like eating his porridge and staying off the rocks. Children will relate to Little Cub’s attempts at independence, while parents will appreciate that Little Cub accepts Old Bear’s authority simply because Old Bear loves him so. The tables are turned when Old Bear catches a cold and it's Little Cub who knows what's best--blackberry tea and books read aloud all through the night. Simple and charming, Old Bear and His Cub is a heart-warming reminder of the joys of caring for one another.

Fri. Dec. 24: Closed for Christmas

Sat. Dec. 25: Closed for Christmas

Fri. Dec. 31: Closed

Sat. Jan. 1: Closed

Easy Readers Christmas Stories

The Remarkable Christmas of the Cobbler's Sons by Ruth Sawyer 
From Booklist

Ages 5-8. First published in 1941, this Tyrolean folktale introduces the legend of King Laurin, who likes to surprise people on Christmas. Fritzl, Franzl, and Hansl, the young sons of a poor cobbler, could use a surprise. There is a war going on, and there is nothing to eat in the cobbler's cottage. On Christmas Eve, their papa is out looking for work when a visitor arrives. The odd little man demands food and a bed. There is no food, but there's a bed, and even though the brothers are sleeping in it, the rude, grumbly man demands the lion's share of the sleeping arrangement. Then he kicks the boys out altogether, but before they can get too cold, he magically sets them doing cartwheels, and, as they twirl, oranges and sweets and gold and silver fall out of their clothes. When their father returns, he tells them that they've been treated to a night of tricks and treasure by King Laurin.
Stories of Santa: a Hallmark Book 
Up on the Housetop / Jolly Old St. Nicholas (A Storybook of Two Beloved Santas)

Christmas on an Island by Gail Gibbons 
From Booklist
Click for Amazon. Ages 4-6. As warm as a holiday greeting card, this seasonal offering introduces the intriguing particulars of island life as they are manifest at Christmas time. Gibbons, who lives part-time on an island off the Maine coast, depicts the ways in which a homogeneous group of islanders, who have "no grand public event to give the feeling of Christmas," draw together and create their own festive occasion. Gibbons' artwork, bright with primary colors, shows vignettes of preparation and celebration, and her signature style has been softened somewhat (the art in her nonfiction is often more formal) to match the more casual flavor of the text.

Adult

Forbidden Places by Penny Vincenzi 
From Booklist

Vincenzi’s latest sprawling saga is set in the WWII-era English countryside and revolves around the ordeals of three young women. Virginal Grace Marchant is just 19 when she meets Charles Bennett, the wealthy, remote man who becomes her husband. Though Grace feels a kinship with Charles’ father, she’s put off by his cold mother and haughty sister, Florence. Florence is married to Robert, whose apparently genial nature masks the cruelty with which he treats his wife. Unaware of Robert’s abusive ways, Grace is shocked and disgusted when she discovers Florence is seeking comfort in the arms of another man. Grace is also thrown when she learns Florence’s best friend, the glamorous and newly married Clarissa, was once engaged to Charles, and she’s perturbed that neither Clarissa nor Charles will reveal to her why their engagement ended. Vincenzi does an admirable job of evoking the bustle and fears of wartime England, and providing plenty of juicy plot twists and turns to keep readers hooked.

Nemesis by Phillip Roth 
From Booklist

*Starred Review* The fourth in the great and undiminished Roth’s recent cycle of short novels follows Everyman (2006), Indignation (2008), and The Humbug (2009), and as exceptional as those novels are, this latest in the series far exceeds its predecessors in both emotion and intellect. In general terms, the novel is a staggering visit to a time and place when a monumental health crisis dominated the way people led their day-to-day lives. Newark, New Jersey, in the early 1940s (a common setting for this author) experienced, as the war in Europe was looking better for the Allies, a scare as deadly as warfare. The city has been hit by an epidemic of polio. Of course, at that time, how the disease spread and its cure were unknown. The city is in a panic, with residents so suspicious of other individuals and ethnic groups that emotions quickly escalate into hostility and even rage. Our hero, and he proves truly heroic, is Bucky Canter, playground director in the Jewish neighborhood of Newark. As the summer progresses, Bucky sees more and more of his teenage charges succumb to the disease. When an opportunity presents itself to leave the city for work in a Catskills summer camp, Bucky is torn between personal safety and personal duty. What happens is heartbreaking, but the joy of having met Bucky redeems any residual sadness.

Young Adult

Once in a Full Moon by Ellen Schreiber

Celeste Parker is used to hearing scary stories about werewolves—Legend's Run is famous for them. She's used to everything in the small town until Brandon Maddox moves to Legend's Run and Celeste finds herself immediately drawn to the handsome new student. But when, after an unnerving visit with a psychic, she encounters a pack of wolves and gorgeous, enigmatic Brandon, she must discover whether his transformation is more than legend or just a trick of the shadows in the moonlight.
Her best friends may never forgive her if she gives up her perfect boyfriend, Nash, for Brandon, who's from the wrong side of town. But she can't deny her attraction or the strong pull he has on her. Brandon may be Celeste's hero, or he may be the most dangerous creature she could encounter in the woods of Legend's Run.
Psychic predictions, generations-old secrets, a town divided, and the possibility of falling in love with a hot and heroic werewolf are the perfect formula for what happens . . . once in a full moon.

Firelight by Sophie Jordan 
From School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up–Jacinda is extraordinary–even for a draki (descendants of dragons who can shift into human form): she is a fire-breather. Unique and invaluable to her “pride,” the 16-year-old is kept on a short leash, and it has already been ordained that she will mate with the alpha male, Cassian. Jacinda's determination to do things her own way finds her nearly captured by dragon hunters, but a surprisingly kind young hunter named Will allows her to escape. Rather than suffer the pride's punishment for her daughter's risky behavior, Jacinda's mother decides the family should flee to live among regular humans. Masquerading as a typical high school student would bury Jacinda's draki nature until it died out. When Will turns out to be a classmate, Jacinda finds that her inexplicable attraction to him keeps her feel of fire and flight alive. Being near a hunter is the most dangerous choice Jacinda can make, yet her desire for him–and need to preserve her inner dragon–cannot be ignored. This distinctive twist on the popular supernatural romance theme will appeal to fans of the genre, even if a lack of resolution at this story's culmination may frustrate some readers.

JF

The Underneath by Kathi Appelt 
From School Library Journal

Grade 4–8—Appelt brings Southern Gothic to the middle grade set. Three separate but eventually entwined stories are told piecemeal. There is the tale of an abandoned, pregnant calico cat who finds shelter and friendship with the bloodhound, Ranger. He is the abused and neglected pet of Gar Face, a broken-jawed recluse who lives in the Texas bayou, where he fled 25 years previously to escape an abusive father. And finally there is the story of Grandmother Moccasin, a shape-shifting water snake who has lain dormant in a jar for a thousand years, buried beneath a loblolly pine tree. The threads are brought together when Puck, one of the newborn kittens, breaks the rule of straying from the safety of The Underneath, the sliver of space beneath Gar Face's porch where Ranger is chained and the cats live. The pace of this book is meandering, and there is a clear effort by the dominant third-person narrator to create a lyrical, ancient tone. However, the constant shift of focus from one story line to the next is distracting and often leads to lost threads. Small's black-and-white illustrations add a certain languid moodiness to the text. Themes of betrayal, hope, and love are reflected in the three stories, but this is a leisurely, often discouraging journey to what is ultimately an appropriate ending.

Blockade Billy by Stephen King 
From Publishers Weekly

A quirky baseball player with a past shrouded in secrecy is the tragic hero of this macabre tale from the dark side of the all-American sport. In the voice of George Granny Grantham, retired third-base coach of the New Jersey Titans, King (Under the Dome) recalls the spring of 1957, when Billy Blakely, a catcher called up from the Titans' Iowa farm system, helped to boost the team out of the basement and add some excitement to the national pastime. Billy hits with such power and guards the plate with such determination (hence his eponymous nickname) that teammates are willing to forgive such eccentricities as his frequently addressing himself in the third person, or bloodying runners who collide with him. Of course, these kinks are clues to a shocking pathology that King coaxes out in a narrative steeped so perfectly in the argot of the game and the behavior of its players and fans that readers will willingly suspend their disbelief. As King's fiction goes, this suspenseful short is a deftly executed suicide squeeze, with sharp spikes hoisted high and aimed at the jugular on the slide home.

The Birthday Ball by Lois Lowry

Princess Patricia Priscilla is bored with her royal life and the excitement surrounding her sixteenth birthday ball. Doomed to endure courtship by three grotesquely unappealing noblemen, she escapes her fate--for a week. Disguised as a peasant, she attends the village school as the smart new girl, "Pat," and attracts friends and the attention of the handsome schoolmaster. Disgusting suitors, lovable peasants, and the clueless king and queen collide at the ball, where Princess Patricia Priscilla calls the shots. What began as a cure for boredom becomes a chance for Princess Patricia Priscilla to break the rules and marry the man she loves.

Children's Audio Books: Exciting news for parents! Now, in our children's section, we have audio books on CD. There are some all-time favorites for a more enjoyable car ride. See the new materials section below for titles. You can find these CD's on the movie shelf in the Children's Room.

Online Catalog: We  have been working on the online catalog and it appears that all bugs have been corrected and the catalog is working correctly. Browse our titles or check our authors to find an interesting read. Access the catalog at http://connect.collectorz.com/users/webblibrary/books/view?viewFilterPanel=0

NEW MATERIALS

Children's Audio Books

Brown Bear and Friends by Bill Martin

Bill Martin Jr and Eric Carle’s classic Bear books have been a hit with children for many generations, and have sold more than eleven million copies. This wonderful compilation CD brings together the beloved first three Bear books—Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?; Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?; and Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?—and includes the newest addition, Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See? The stories are read with warmth and humor by Academy Award-winning actress and mother Gwyneth Paltrow.

Mouse Tales by Arnold Lobel

Two classic stories by Arnold Lobel!
Mouse Tales: "Papa, please tell us a tale."
When Papa's seven little mouse boys ask for a bedtime story, Papa does even better than that -- he tells seven stories, one for each boy!
Mouse Soup: Mouse is in a jam -- soon he'll be weasel soup!
Weasel is ready for his dinner. And poor mouse is it. Just in time, he thinks up a clever and entertaining way to distract weasel from serving up mouse soup for supper.



Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel

Frog and Toad, those famous pals, are beloved by generations of children. Their every adventure is filled with the magic of true friendship, whether they're telling ghost stories, searching for a lost button, or eating too many cookies. This captivating audio collection features all four of the Frog and Toad books, read with humor and charm by award-winning author Arnold Lobel.
This collection contains:
Frog and Toad Are Friends
Frog and Toad All Year
Frog and Toad Together
Days with Frog and Toad


Olivia by Ian Falconer

Finally available on audio, all five Olivia titles in one collection, gloriously read by Dame Edna Everage. 
 Olivia

Olivia...and the Missing Toy
Olivia Forms a Band
Olivia Saves the Circus
Olivia Helps with Christmas
Share in the antics and adventures of Olivia, everyone's favorite hyperactive piglet, as she spins tall tales about lion taming and tightrope walking, plays amateur detective, starts her own one-pig band, saves Santa from being cooked in the fireplace, and creates more than her fair share of havoc that will amuse and delight listeners of all ages.


Lilly's Big Day and other stories by Kevin Henken 
From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2–The well-loved texts of nine picture books by Kevin Henkes are brought to life in these readings by Richard Thomas and Christine Ebersole. The titles include: A Weekend with Wendell (1986), Sheila Rae, the Brave (1987), Chester's Way (1988); Julius, the Baby of the World (1990), Chrysanthemum (1991), Owen (1993), Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse (1996), Wemberly Worried (2000), and Lilly's Big Day (2006, all Greenwillow). Thomas reads three of the picture books in a warm baritone voice, using vocal inflections flawlessly. Ebersole's crisp enunciation is perfect and her vocal intonations are on-target as she reads six titles.

The Cat in the Hat and other Dr. Seuss Favorites by Dr. Seuss 

9 complete stories at a great price!

Featuring:
The Cat in the Hat read by Kelsey Grammer
Horton Hears a Who read by Dustin Hoffman
How the Grinch Stole Christmas read by Walter Matthau
Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? read by John Cleese
The Lorax read by Ted Danson
Yertle the Turtle, Gertrude McFuzz, and The Big Brag read by John Lithgow
Thidwick, the Big-Hearted Moose read by Mercedes McCambridge
Horton Hatches the Egg read by Billy Crystal
The Cat in the Hat Comes Back read by Kelsey Grammer  

Adults

Hell's Corner by David Baldacci 
From Publishers Weekly

Baldacci's implausible fifth Camel Club novel (after Divine Justice) disappoints with cartoonish plotting and characterization. The night after the U.S. president persuades former assassin Oliver Stone (aka John Carr) to re-enter government employment to tackle the growing threat of Russian drug gangs, Stone finds himself in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House, when gunfire breaks out and a bomb explodes. Apparently, the intended target was the visiting British prime minister, who was scheduled to walk across the park before an ankle injury modified his plans. Taken off his original mission, Stone seeks to identify the forces behind the assassination attempt. Stone's old Camel Club allies involve themselves in his search, which includes the de rigueur mole hunt and the McGuffin of choice these days, a lead on Osama bin Laden's whereabouts. Those who prefer intelligence in their political thrillers will have to look elsewhere.

Valley Forge by Newt Gingrich  
From Booklist

Writing team Gingrich and Forstchen follow up the success of To Try Men’s Souls (2009) with another novelization of a seminal episode in the history of Revolutionary-era America. Once again, George Washington provides both the narrative focal point and the moral core of the story, as he and his fledgling Continental Army struggle to survive the bitter winter of 1777 at Valley Forge. Undernourished, ill-clothed, and utterly dispirited by the lack of organized support from Congress, Washington and his ragtag band of brothers nevertheless persevere under the most trying of circumstances, transforming themselves—with a bit of timely assistance from Baron von Steuben—into a more disciplined and determined fighting force. The dialogue tends to get a little long-winded, and the authors are unabashed cheerleaders for GW—but, really, who can blame them? American readers can’t get enough of Valley Forge, so expect high demand for this fair-to-middling fictional adaptation.

Toys for Tots: The Webb supports The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation and serves as a collection point for toys and books. Please help make some child's Christmas a little better.

TumbleBooks are animated, talking picture books which teach kids the joy of reading in a format they'll love. TumbleBooks are created by adding animation, sound, music and narration to existing picture books in order to produce an electronic picture book which you can read, or have read to you.
This is a free service available by visiting OCPL online at www.onslowcountync.gov/library. Simply click on the TumbleBookLibrary icon.
The TumbleBookLibrary also has a selection of children's favorite story books such as The Paper Bag Princess, Jack and the Beanstalk, Old Mother Hubbard, Diary of a Worm, How I Became a Pirate, One Duck Stuck and Tops and Bottoms that come to life in an educational and interactive way.
Older students or more accomplished readers can read a growing collection of chapter books including a growing collection of read-along titles which feature narration, sentence highlighting, and automatic page turning.
A collection of puzzles and games accompany each book and reinforce concepts from the books, allowing for a fun and educational learning experience.
This free, online collection of eBooks include many more interactive, educational and fun features that encourage children to read by making reading fun! You can access TumbleBooks anytime, anywhere, from any computer with an internet connection!


NEW MATERIALS

Adults

All Facts Considered: The Essential Library of Inessential Knowledge  by Kee Malesky
From the Back Cover

How much junk is in space? What are the lost plays of Shakespeare?
When was the Sack of Rome? How long is a New York minute?
What building did Elvis last leave?
Get the answers to these and countless other vexing questions in All Facts Considered. Noted NPR librarian Kee Malesky presents a compendium of fascinating facts on intriguing subjects ranging from history and science to the arts, packing every page with valuable nuggets of information mined over her twenty-six-year career—everything from the useful to the downright bizarre.

The O'Bama Nation  by Jerome R. Corsi

THE BOOK THAT TELLS THE WHOLE STORY!#1 New York Times bestselling author Jerome Corsi predicts that an Obama presidency will leave the United States weakened, diminished, and divided. Barack Obama stepped onto the national political stage when the then-Illinois state senator addressed the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Soon after Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate, author Jerome Corsi began researching Obama’s personal and political background. Tracing Obama’s career and influences from his early years in Hawaii and Indonesia, the beginnings of his political career in Chicago, his voting record in the Illinois legislature, his religious training and his adoption of Christianity through to his involvement in Kenyan politics, his political advisors and fund-raising associates, and his meteoric campaign for president, Jerome Corsi demonstrates that an Obama presidency will continue to be a repeat of the failed extremist politics that have characterized and plagued Democratic Party politics since the late 1960s.

Crossfire by Dick Francis and Felix Francis
From Publishers Weekly

In the enjoyable fourth and final collaboration between Francis (1920–2010) and son Felix (after Even Money), the army career of Capt. Thomas Forsyth abruptly ends when an IED in Afghanistan blows off one of his feet, leaving him with a prosthetic replacement (like another Francis lead, Sid Halley). Upon discharge from National Health Service care, Forsyth makes his way home to Lambourn, where he gets a less-than-warm welcome from his mother, Josephine Kauri, a horse trainer. After learning that her stable has had a series of mishaps, Forsyth discovers that Kauri has been sabotaging her own animals in response to a blackmailer's threats to reveal her tax evasion to the authorities. With nothing else to occupy him, he turns detective to identify the extortionist.


Young Adult

Vesper  by Jeff Sampson

“Jeff Sampson’s debut delivers the goods-it’s exciting, witty, and impossible to put down. The best kind of page-turner.” (Michael Grant,
“Emily is smart, funny, fierce, and just generally kicks ass. The otherworldly mysteries she uncovers will keep you guessing all the way to the final page.” (K.A. Applegate,




Daniel X: Demons and Druids by James Patterson

Daniel X's hunt to eliminate each and every intergalactic criminal on Earth is always relentless, but this time, it's getting personal. Number Three on the List of Alien Outlaws takes the form of raging, soul-possessing fire. And fire transports Daniel back to the most traumatic event of his life-the death of his parents.
In the face of his "kryptonite", Daniel struggles with his extraordinary powers like never before, and more than ever is at stake: his best friends are in grave peril. The only way to save them is to travel back-through a hole in time-to the demon's arrival during the Dark Ages. Rip-roaring action and humor sets the pages afire in this gripping time-travel adventure with an Arthurian cast-and countless other surprises!

Juvenile and Children 

Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein by Don Brown 
From School Library Journal

Grade 2-5–This well-crafted picture-book biography focuses on Einstein's hard-to-classify brilliance, which led to awesome scientific discoveries, but all too often left him a misunderstood outsider. Brown describes his subject's loving, cultured parents who were frequently nonplussed by their son's behavior and temper. He found himself the "odd boy" at school, and as the only Jewish student, was sometimes taunted by other children. He puzzled his instructors as well; though clearly gifted in science, math, and music, he was an indifferent student in most subjects. Brown's pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations, rendered in a palette of dusky mauve and earthy brown, portray a doubtful, somewhat unhappy-looking child, except for a picture in which he gazes fondly at a compass, a gift that astonishes him as he ponders its mysteries. In many scenes he is marginalized on the sidelines, set apart by color and shading

Bear's First Christmas by Robert Kinerk

In the dark of winter, deep in the woods, a lone bear is awakened from his winter sleep by a soft and mysterious sound. Under the stars the bear finds his way step by step through the snowy forest, making friends along his route. Then the bear discovers a place in the woods that glows magically with something he and his friends could never have imagined -- their first Christmas.
Robert Kinerk's inspired story and Jim LaMarche's glimmering illustrations combine in a picture book that captures the joy and spirit of Christmas. Come along with bear and his friends and see the magical light of Bear's First Christmas.

Angelina Ice Skates by Katherine Holabird 
From Publishers Weekly

The heroine of Angelina Ballerina , it turns out, is as deft an entertainer twirling on ice as she is performing an onstage pas de deux. Here the spunky, diminutive mouse organizes a New Year's Eve figure skating show. With characteristic aplomb she overcomes a number of obstacles, including two pesky young hockey players who repeatedly interrupt her rehearsals. A confrontation between these "big boys" and Angelina erupts into a pond-wide snowball fight, vividly portrayed by Craig in a motion-filled, double-page illustration. This spectacle--as well as captivating depictions of both indoor scenes and the ice extravaganza--more than justifies the artist's top billing on the book's cover. But Holabird's narrative percolates steadily, and words and pictures culminate in a jubilant final scenario replete with well-deserved fireworks. Ages 3-7.

Amnesty:  Only two more days (29th and 30th) to return overdues with no overdue fee. We urge you to take advantage of this opportunity.


Toys for Tots: The Webb supports The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation and serves as a collection point for toys and books. Please help make some child's Christmas a little better.

A Reminder: There will be no Adult Discussion Group meeting this week or in December. The next meeting will be January 5 and the book to discuss will be "The Hour I First Believed" by Wally Lamb.

NEW MATERIALS

Adults

The Reversal  by  Michael Connelly

Longtime defense attorney Mickey Haller is recruited to change stripes and prosecute the high-profile retrial of a brutal child murder. After 24 years in prison, convicted killer Jason Jessup has been exonerated by new DNA evidence. Haller is convinced Jessup is guilty, and he takes the case on the condition that he gets to choose his investigator, LAPD Detective Harry Bosch. Together, Bosch and Haller set off on a case fraught with political and personal danger. Opposing them is Jessup, now out on bail, a defense attorney who excels at manipulating the media, and a runaway eyewitness reluctant to testify after so many years. With the odds and the evidence against them, Bosch and Haller must nail a sadistic killer once and for all. If Bosch is sure of anything, it is that Jason Jessup plans to kill again.

Worth Dying For by Lee Child 
From Publishers Weekly
In Child's exciting 15th thriller featuring one-man army Jack Reacher (after 61 Hours), Reacher happens into a situation tailor-made for his blend of morality and against-the-odds heroics. While passing through an isolated Nebraska town, the ex-military cop persuades the alcoholic local doctor to treat Eleanor Duncan, who's married to the abusive Seth, for a "nosebleed." Reacher later breaking Seth's nose prompts members of the Duncan clan, who are involved in an illegal trafficking scheme, to seek revenge. Reacher, who easily disposes of two hit men sent to get him, winds up trying to solve a decades-old case concerning a missing eight-year-old girl.

Young Adult

Stranded  by J T Dutton 
From School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up–Narrated in Kelly Louise's often-breezy, 15-year-old voice, this story is set into motion when a newborn is found dead in a cornfield. Kelly Louise and her mother move to rural Heaven, IA, to support the teen's grandmother and her deeply religious, uncommonly beautiful cousin. Natalie, it turns out, is the mother of Baby Grace, though it is never clear why she chooses to confide in her aunt. The girls have little in common: as Kelly Louise texts her hip friend back in Des Moines, Natalie makes signs for her youth group vigil in memory of the infant. The tone of the story varies from funny (rule-bound Nana is described as “the old S.S. Unpack This Second”) to serious (a baby has died, after all) to descriptions of school events and musings on conservation and ecology.

Incarceron  by Catherine Fisher 
From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 7 Up—Catherine Fisher's intelligent, genre-bending tale (Dial, 2010) will fascinate teens looking for something new and different. Finn is a 17-year old prisoner of Incarceron. His memories begin and end there. He knows nothing about his heritage except for vague memories that tease at his mind. The teen is determined to escape the prison fashioned centuries ago as a solution to the chaos created by man. Now Incarceron is self-sustaining and self-perpetuating—prisoners are born there and they die there. Legend claims only one man has ever escaped, Sapphique, and Finn is determined to follow in his steps. Claudia, the warden's daughter, lives sequestered in a castle surrounded by servants. But she, too, longs for escape—
JF
  
Monstrumologist  by Rick Yancey 
From Booklist
With a roaring sense of adventure and enough viscera to gag the hardiest of gore hounds, Yancey’s series starter might just be the best horror novel of the year. Will Henry is the 12-year-old apprentice to Pellinore Warthrop, a brilliant and self-absorbed monstrumologist--a scientist who studies (and when necessary, kills) monsters in late-1800s New England. The newest threat is the Anthropophagi, a pack of headless, shark-toothed bipeds, one of whom’s corpse is delivered to Warthrop’s lab courtesy of a grave robber. As the action moves from the dissecting table to the cemetery to an asylum to underground catacombs, Yancey keeps the shocks frequent and shrouded in a splattery miasma of blood, bone, pus, and maggots.

The Curse of the Wendico  by Rick Yancey 
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Examples of literary horror don’t come much finer than The Monstrumologist (2009), and Yancey’s second volume sustains that high bar with lush prose, devilish characterizations, and more honest emotion than any book involving copious de-facings (yes, you read that right) ought to have. The new case: lepto luranis, aka the Wendigo, a vampiric creature whose mythic origins have monstrumologists divided. If they accept the existence of mystic shape-shifters, is not their “science” balderdash? Dr. Pellinore Warthrop has no interest until his former true love appears and begs him to find her husband—once Warthrop’s best friend—who has gone missing in search of the creature. Yes, female characters have arrived to the series and smashingly so, none better than Lilly, the talkative 13-year-old scientist who gives Warthrop’s faithful assistant, Will, his first kiss.
Easy Readers

Santa's Reindeer  by Rod Green

Shh!Have you ever heard a reindeer's sleigh bells in the sky on Christmas Eve?
Have you ever heard a reindeer's hoofbeat on the roof of your house?
Or listened to the clatter of antlers outside in the darkness?
Of course you haven't!
Santa's reindeer are so skillful that they can fly in and out of your neighborhood without anyone hearing a thing. But how do they learn to fly in the first place?
What are the reindeer really like?
What do the reindeer do for the rest of the year when they're not flying Santa around the world?
Find out all about how Santa and his Sleigh Master train the Sleigh Team at the North Pole.
Discover just what reindeer games the team likes to play and what they love to eat. Learn everything you ever wanted to know in this beautifully illustrated look at the North Pole's most magical inhabitants.
Then watch out on Christmas Eve.
Once you know all about Santa's reindeer, you just might be able to spot them stopping somewhere near your house!

THANKSGIVING: The library will close at 2 pm Wednesday, November 24 and will be closed on the 25th for the Thanksgiving Holiday. A Great Thanksgiving to Everyone!!!

Amnesty:  In an attempt to retrieve overdue books and in the spirit of the season the Webb will pardon all overdue fees for the remainder of November (22nd thru 30th). This is an excellent time to return those long overdue books.


NEW MATERIALS

Adults

Everything by Kevin Canty 
From Publishers Weekly

The disaffection from a purposeless life unites the characters in Canty's painstakingly crafted novel of backcountry Montana. When longtime friends RL and June memorialize the 11th anniversary of June's husband's death, they're confronted with the emptiness of their lives. RL seeks new beginnings with an old acquaintance undergoing treatment for cancer, while June contemplates selling her house. Into the mix is added RL's sweet but depressive college-age daughter, who engages in an ill-advised affair with an older man beleaguered by a dull marriage.
 

'Poor Carolina': Politics and Society in Colonial North Carolina 1729-1776 by A. Rpger Ekirch

This is an excellent resource for the study of colonial NC, esp. since very little has been written on the subject. "Poor Carolina" is well written, well-researched and painstakingly documented. Having been through most of the records the author used to write this study, I can attest to his great ability to analize and contextualize the raw materials of NC before the Revolution.

Secrets She Left Behind  by Diane Chamberlain 
From Booklist

Keith Weston is having a rough year. After finding out that his biological father is the deceased husband of his mother’s best friend, he got caught in a fire started by his newly discovered half-sister Maggie. Now, badly scarred and very angry, Keith has no one but his mother, Sara, to lean on. Until she mysteriously disappears one afternoon without a word. Chamberlain offers a follow-up to Before the Storm (2008) that can stand alone as a fast-paced read that, through the alternating perspectives of the children and a diary kept by the still-missing Sara, explores the psychological complexity of a family pushed to its limits.

Young Adult

Love and Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Together for another juicy summer, carefree Murphy, perfect Leeda, and big-hearted Birdie return to the place that allowed them to bloom. Brimming with all the charm, humor, and heart of Peaches and The Secrets of Peaches, this satisfying conclusion to the series reunites three unlikely best friends for a final sweet farewell.

The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong

Out of My Mind  by Sharon M. Draper

Eleven-year-old Melody has a photographic memory. Her head is like a video camera that is always recording. Always. And there's no delete button. She's the smartest kid in her whole school—but no one knows it. Most people--her teachers and doctors included--don't think she's capable of learning, and up until recently her school days consisted of listening to the same preschool-level alphabet lessons again and again and again. If only she could speak up, if only she could tell people what she thinks and knows . . . but she can't, because Melody can't talk. She can't walk. She can't write.

Pre-Teen  

The 39 Clues: Book 3: The Sword Thief  by Peter LeRangis 
From School Library Journal

Grade 4–7—Amy and Dan Cahill are now on their way to Japan. In the dramatic opening chapter, while boarding a flight to Tokyo, they are outfoxed by two of their cousins, also in search of the Cahill family secrets. Separated from their au pair, Nellie, and cat, Saladin, they are forced to find alternate transportation in their Uncle Alistair's private jet. Though they never fully trust him, Amy and Dan must rely on his knowledge of Japan and of their Cahill ancestor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a famous warrior whose stronghold may harbor their next clue.



Can I play Too? An Elephant and Piggie Book  by Mo Willens 
From School Library Journal

K-Gr 2–This beginning reader focuses on differently abled animals as Elephant and Piggy get ready for a game of catch. Before they begin, Snake asks to join them. Simple gestures and facial expressions convey Elephant's embarrassment at Snake's inability to catch a ball. Piggy breaks the silence stating, “You don't have arms!” and Snake dejectedly slithers away. On the next page, Snake diffuses his rejection by saying, “Hee-hee! Ha-ha! Hee-hee! Ha-ha! Hee-hee! I know I do not have arms./I am a snake.” Elephant asks, “But can a snake play catch?” The story moves from clever to cruel as Elephant throws the ball and hits Snake on the head, and the reptile's expressions indicate distress. Piggy follows suit, with the same result.

Lizette's Green Sock  by Catherine Valckx 
From School Library Journal

Starred Review. PreSchool-Grade 2–What is the use of one green sock? That is the central question asked (and very satisfactorily answered) here. When an intrepid young bird finds and sports her verdant treasure, she is teased by the nefarious feline brothers, Tom and Tim. Their limited imaginations can only conceive of socks in pairs. Lizette's rodent pal, Bert, envisions another use for the footwear, proudly modeling the cap concept. More teasing, a caring mother, and a fishy friend add interest to this celebration of the ordinary–and of friendship.

Strega Nona's Harvest  by Tomie de Paola 
From School Library Journal

Grade 2–4—While its characters are familiar and their actions predictable, this tale adds a second dimension, instructing young readers on how to grow vegetables. Strega Nona saves her seeds from last year's garden, rotates her crops to keep the soil "happy and strong," and, much to Big Anthony's chagrin, explains the importance of compost and manure in the planting process. But most importantly, she stresses the need to sow seeds in orderly rows, a step Big Anthony chooses to ignore.


 

THANKSGIVING: The library will close at 2 pm Wednesday, November 24 and be closed on the 25th for the Thanksgiving Holiday.

NEW MATERIALS

Adults

The Scandal Plan  by Bill Folman 
From Publishers Weekly

An earnest presidential hopeful's campaign staff invents a sex scandal in Folman's slick debut. After Machiavellian campaign manager Thomas Campman hears a voice telling him that sin will make his struggling candidate, Sen. Ben Phillips, human, Campman convinces Ben and his fellow advisers that having the candidate admit to a made-up, decades-old affair will endear him to the masses. Though the plan energizes the campaign and boosts Ben's image, it also puts a strain on Ben's marriage, and after other women begin claiming in the press to have had affairs with Ben, the ruse threatens to end in ruin.

Marta's Legacy: Her Daughter's Dream  by Francine Rivers 
From Booklist
Best-seller Rivers completes the five-generation Christian family saga she began in Her Mother’s Hope (2010). It’s 1951, and Hildemara is back in the hospital with recurring tuberculosis, so her mother Marta moves in to care for her grandchildren Charlie and Carolyn. Charlie is the light of their lives while Carolyn is neglected, with unfortunate consequences in her college years, including alcoholism and pregnancy. Single, unemployed, and with a baby to raise, Carolyn moves back home, where the past repeats itself. Her mother lays down the law for her daughter and takes over her granddaughter Dawn’s care, selfishly arranging matters to suit herself and pushing Carolyn away, much as her mother had abused her.

Santa Cruise  by Mary Higgis Clark 
From Booklist
If you want substance in your crime fiction, look elsewhere; if you want intrigue that keeps you guessing, keep looking; but if you want a frothy, holiday-themed whodunit starring the affable PI Regan Reilly, her D.A. husband, and mystery-writing mother--all aboard a luxury liner's three-day maiden cruise--then this is your ticket. The Clarks, mother and daughter, stick to formula, but they deliver predictable entertainment for the easily entertained. Expect their latest effort to please the target audience.

Young Adult

Witch and Wizard  by James Patterson
From School Library Journal
Grade 5–9—Wisty and Whit Allgood have magical powers, but they don't know it. At least they don't know until they are arrested by the guards of the New Order, which has just come to power. Their parents have always been into herbs and plants and predictions; they don't send their kids to typical schools, and when the teens are allowed to take only one item each to jail with them, they send a drumstick and a book with no words that are visible to the naked eye. The kids start to get an inkling of what they can do when Wisty bursts into flames when she gets angry, and before long she is turning people into creatures and conjuring tornadoes, and lightning bolts shoot from her hands. The bulk of the book takes place when Whit and Wisty are locked up in a reformatory where they are bullied by the guards.

Space Between Trees  by Katie Williams 
From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up—Sixteen-year-old Evie is an outsider with a vivid imagination. She makes up stories for herself and others to make life in her small Midwestern town tolerable. When a childhood friend, Zabet McCabe, is murdered, Evie is thrust into a story beyond her wildest imaginings. Her little habitual deceptions, usually so harmless, get her entangled with grieving Mr. McCabe and Zabet's emotionally unstable and reckless best friend, Hadley Smith. Hadley is obsessed with finding Zabet's killer, and Evie lets herself get dragged into her increasingly paranoid and dangerous investigation.

The Reckoning  by Kelley Armstrong  
From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up Fifteen-year-old Chloe Saunders and her friends Tori, Simon, and Derek are genetically altered supernaturals on the run from the evil corporation that created them. Hiding out with a family friend, they are trying to make sense of their predicament and discover what sinister plans the Edison Group has in store for them. As a powerful necromancer who can raise the dead in her sleep, Chloe struggles to control her abilities and figure out how to best use them to keep everyone safe. To further complicate matters (as if running for your life were not enough), Chloe wrestles with her feelings for Simon, a good-natured sorcerer, and Derek, a misunderstood werewolf.