Enjoy the Intensity in Historical Fiction

All I can say is that reading "Code Name Verity" takes you back in time to World War II and it is an emotional and intense ride from the start. You get to read the story through written pages and notes. One side of the story is of Queenie the British spy who has been captured by the Nazi's in Nazi occupied France in 1943 after she made the crucial mistake of looking the wrong way while crossing a busy street in the town of Ormaie, France. The Gestapo orders Queenie to unravel the tale of how she met her best friend Maddie and how they went down in the plane Maddie was flying over France. Queenie manages to stay alive in prison as long as she's writing what the Gestapo approves of. Otherwise, she is horribly tortured. The second half is the story of Maddie and how she has to hide and survive in France after crashing the plane. The two stories woven together are totally compelling and the courage that these two young women possessed was amazing. I felt as if these were real people and I was reading about their lives as if it really happened all those year ago. "Code Name Verity" is definitely a tribute to women and has resonant themes of friendship and courage throughout the book.

Nominated for the YALSA Teens Top Ten Award for 2013

Sweetest Thing Indeed

The Sweetest Thing
by Christina Mandeleski
336 Pages
May 2011

The Sweetest Thing is an adorable story about a teenage girl Sheridan who loves to bake. Her nickname is Cake Girl and all she wants is to make cakes and have a boyfriend like any normal high school girl. Then her dad gets a new gig as a television chef star and her whole world bursts into chaos. On the other hand, she has been searching for her mom who left her several years before. She's just about to find her mom, but who knows what will happen if and when they see each other again? Will Sheridan find her mom? Will she find that perfect boyfriend who likes her for who she is? Read this book to find out!

Happy Reading to You!

Mrs. Librarian Lady

Passion Beyond the Grave

I just finished "Such Wicked Intent" the second book in the Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein and it was just as good as the first book! I highly recommend these books if you like secrets, mysterious creatures, and love triangles.

What's Behind the Zombie Phenomenom

A recent article in the Tween Tribune called, "In hard times, zombies make us feel better" it was noted that zombies seem to be everywhere these days. I just posted on Facebook about the amazing and terrifying movie trailer I saw last night for the upcoming World War Z movie based on the ever famous book by Max Brooks and also starring the one and only Brad Pitt! Zombies are also hitting hard on the popular TV series "The Walking Dead," where every week humans have to try and escape from a pack of hungry flesh eating zombies! The article also talked about "prank alerts that have warned of a zombie apocalypse on radio stations in a handful of states and across the country, zombie wannabes in tattered clothes occasionally fill local parks, gurgling moans of the undead." Whoa that sounds pretty crazy all right.

I've got a question for you - do you think that these types of strange events are created by people that just happen to have unhealthy obsessions with the dead and the decayed? According to professor Sarah Lauro, "the phenomenon isn't harmful or a random fad, but part of a historical trend that mirrors a level of cultural dissatisfaction and economic upheaval. We are more interested in the zombie at times when as a culture we feel disempowered, and watching a show like 'Walking Dead' provides a great variety of outlets for people."

Lauro talks a lot about the idea of having a "zombie walk," where a mass wannabe zombies get together dressed up in tattered clothes and zombiesque makeup with the traditional marks of the undead and then drag their feet around and try to do the zombie dance."

Here's the question that the Tween Tribune asked: "Do you agree with the author’s belief, that zombies make us feel better in hard times?" Well, I'm not sure but I sure do have a few zombie themed books that I can recommend to cure the zombie brain drain.

Here are my suggestions:

Rot & Ruin by Jonathon Maberry


The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan


Enclave by Ann Aguirre


Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter


Check these out and let me know if you think they equal up to the vim and vigor of Max Brooks' World War Z!

Happy Reading to you!

All my best, Mrs. Librarian Lady

- article Posted on Tween Tribune on March 11, 2013

Looks A Lot Like Love :)

Source: bleubirdvintage.typepad.com via Michael on Pinterest

Love Stinks - Mrs. Librarian Lady's top twenty Anti Love Songs

Madness - Muse
I knew you were trouble - Taylor Swift
Try - Pink
One more night - Maroon 5
We are never getting back together - Taylor Swift
Not over you - Gavin DeGraw
Love & Memories - OAR
Jar of hearts - Christina Perri
When i was your Man - Bruno Mars
I cry - Flo Rida
Part of me - Katy Perry
Catch my breath - Kelly Clarkson
Numb - Usher
50 Ways - Train
More than this - One Direction
Hard to love - Lee Brice
Somebody that i used to know - Goyte
Wide Awake - Katy Perry
Feel again - One Republic
Caught myself - Paramore