Book of the Week Feb 4, 2008

The Chaos Code by Justin Richards

Matt Stribling is stuck spending another vacation with his brilliant, yet scatterbrained archaeologist father. His dad’s house is often a mess, so when Matt arrives to find the place turned upside down and his father missing, he’s not immediately worried. But a cryptic message and some strange sandy footprints quickly persuade Matt that all is not right. With the help of some unusual family friends, Matt discovers that his father had been searching for an ancient code, one rumored to have brought down the Mayans, and maybe even the fabled civilization of Atlantis. Now in the hands of a madman using high tech computers to decipher it, the code is being readied for new and sinister uses. Matt and his friend, Robin, will traverse the globe, battling terrifying sand creatures and mercenaries alike in their efforts to stop the chaos code from being fully reactivated—and dooming the modern world to a catastrophe not seen since the days of Atlantis.

Book of the Week - Jan 28, 2008

I Am Rembrandt's Daughter by Lynn Cullen


With her mother dead of the plague, and her beloved brother newly married and moved away, Cornelia van Rijn finds herself without a friend or confidante—save her difficult father. Out of favor with Amsterdam’s elite, and considered brash and unreasonable by his patrons, Rembrandt van Rijn, once revered, is now teetering on the brink of madness. Cornelia alone must care for him, though she herself is haunted by secrets and scandal. Her only happiness comes in chance meetings with Carel, the son of a wealthy shipping magnate whose passion for art stirs Cornelia. And then there is Neel, her father’s last remaining pupil, whose steadfast devotion to Rembrandt both baffles and touches her. Based on historical fact, and filled with family dramas and a love triangle that would make Jane Austen proud, I Am Rembrandt’s Daughter is a powerful account of a young woman’s struggle to come of age within the shadow of one of the world’s most brilliant and complicated artists.

Book Of the Week Jan 16,2008

MIMUS
written by Lilli Thal translated by John Brownjohn

Will peace come to Moltovia after years of battling with neighboring kingdom Vinland? The Moltovians are eager to believe so, and when the mistrusted Count Tillo brings a sealed message from the King, asking for Prince Florin to join him at Vinland's court for the signing of the Peace Treaty, even the suspicious Councillor agrees. Betrayal by Vinland forces Florin into the jester's hands, where he becomes just another performing "monkey" kept in the king's stable. Or does he? And is the jester just a trickster, or is he a trickster with a heart? Young Prince Florin learns to navigate a court riddled with betrayal and deception. He makes friends in odd places—including the scullery and the torture chamber—and discovers what true honor and friendship, as well as evil, are. This exciting epic, set in a mediaeval world rich in complexity, is both hilarious and touching. A great read for a rainy day or the quiet hour before sleep.