This 4 volume manga series is a wacky tale of a group of girls who go through high school together.  Downright hilarious and just plain strange at times, this is a must read for graphic novel lovers.

Also read Yotsuba &, by the same author, a funny tale of a strange girl with green hair who has  an irrational fear of air conditioners, among other things.  She lives with her father and makes her neighbors’ lives much more interesting.  Currently up to 5 volumes, with volume 6 coming out in the fall.

Posted by Angie

 ”A Backward Glance” is Edith Wharton’s autobiography beginning with her younger years and ending just before its publication in 1933.  This book is filled with wonderful descriptions of the life and times of one of America’s literary giants during the Guilded Age.  Follow Edith Wharton as she matures amidst the wealth of New York and European Society, rubbing shoulders with many famous personages of that time.

Review by Claudia.

“Testament of Youth” is an autobiographical coming of age story about a young woman, whose idealistic views of life and the future were shattered by the deaths of her fiancee, brother and dear friend during the first world war.  She became a writer, feminist and great supporter of antiwar causes.  “Testament of Youth” is her most well known work.

Review by Claudia.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

“One of my most recent favorite books is Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon.  Diana Gabaldon makes an unbelievable situation believable when a post-World War II married British nurse, Claire Randall, unknowingly slips through “the stones,” a time portal in Scotland. Dumbfounded and alone in a strange time,  Claire struggles to stay safe, warm and fed in the Highlands during a violent time of clan rivalry.  Thrust into a moral dilemma through the act of a forced marriage, she tries to find her way home to her own time while working out the daily necessities of life and relationships in 18^th century Scotland.  At the same time fascinated, repulsed, and homesick, Claire finds herself an “Outsider” because of both her English heritage, and her strange 20^th century customs. Things are further complicated when she finds herself with child.   

For anyone wanting to get lost in a book, this is the one. I would heartily recommend Outlander to anyone with an interest in fantasy, medicine, history, adventure, women’s issues or romance. Mostly what moved me, though, is the fascinating story of how one woman dealt with a situation beyond her control in a circumstance she didn’t understand, making choices she wasn’t always sure about..  On every level, this book hits the mark.  Diana Gabaldon is truly a master storyteller.”

Reviewed by : Barbara

For my first graphic novel review on the blog, I chose Crisis on Infinite Earths by Marv Wolfman because it has such a profound effect on the DC Universe.  This was first written in 1985, and the purpose was to “clean up” the complicated multiverse that existed as various writers took over different characters.  This is a classic GN, one that I built my personal GN collection around, and was one of the first GN’s that we purchased for the library.  Overall, I think the writing was great, the artwork done in the classic Silver Age style, and the plot fantastic.  I actually read this with just a basic understanding of the DC universe at the time (I knew who Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman were but not really much else) and really enjoyed it.  So I think it’s a good jumping on point for beginners, and an excellent re-read for fans of all ages.

Carrie is the ultimate tale of revenge by the outcast teenager.  She’s a sixteen year old who is teased and tormented by classmates, her mother is a religious fanatic who forbids her from doing anything fun, and her teachers misunderstand her.  However, Carrie has the last laugh.  On a particular night when she finally has had enough humiliation, she gets the last laugh by unleashing her terrifying secret telekinetic power upon the unsuspecting community.

“Hugo and Nebula Award winning writer Larry Niven writes his masterwork Ringworld, set in the ‘Known Space’ universe.  A trillion people live in a giant space craft that is created to simulate a planet, which is about to be destroyed.”  Summary provided by John, director of PPL.

Look for other books in the “Known Space” series:

• Ringworld’s Children
• The Ringworld Engineers
• The Ringworld Throne
• Protector
• A Gift from Earth
• The long arm of GIL Hamilton
• Neutron Star
• The Patchwork Girl
• World of Ptavvs

FROM THE PUBLISHER

 ”Way upstairs there are four secrets hidden.

Blond, beautiful, innocent little secrets, struggling to stay alive.

Flowers In the Attic

The four Dollanganger children had such perfect lives — a beautiful mother, a doting father, a lovely home. Then Daddy was killed in a car accident, and Momma could no longer support the family. So she began writing letters to her parents, her millionaire parents, whom the children had never heard of before.

Momma tells the children all about their rich grandparents, and how Chris and Cathy and the twins will live like princes and princesses in their grandparents’ fancy mansion. The children are only too delighted by the prospect. But there are a few things that Momma hasn’t told them.

She hasn’t told them that their grandmother considers them “devil’s spawn” who should never have been born. She hasn’t told them that she has to hide them from their grandfather if she wants to inherit his fortune. She hasn’t told them that they are to be locked away in an abandoned wing of the house with only the dark, airless attic to play in. But, Momma promises, it’s only for a few days….

Then the days stretch into months, and the months into years. Desperately isolated, terrified of their grandmother, and increasingly convinced that their mother no longer cares about them, Chris and Cathy become all things to the twins and to each other. They cling to their love as their only hope, their only strength — a love that is almost stronger than death.”

The other books in the Dollanganger Series:

• Petals on the Wind
• If there be thorns
• Seeds of yesterday
• Garden of shadows

A tale of forbidden love, this is set in the Australian Outback and takes place in early 1900’s through the 1960s.  Ralph de Bricassart is a priest who aspires to Rome and the Vatican.  Meggie is the only daughter of a family who he is sworn to take care of in the will of a rich, spiteful woman.  An attraction grows between them that threatens everything. 

This was the basis for a hugely successful miniseries starring Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward.