Sunday, August 14, 2011

Another two great Caudill choices!



Various peoples' lives converge in this modern day story of transitions. Aging Aggie Duncan can't keep her Sleepy Time Motel now that her husband Harold is gone. As she realizes that she must sell her little motel in the Smoky Mountains, she and her cat Ugly welcome several families who decide to stay at Sleepy Time. Willow and her dad Clyde who wants to buy the motel; Loretta and her mom and dad looking to find Loretta's birth mother's travels; and Kirby and his mom who is dropping him off at his "last chance" boarding school. Soon, every one's lives are overlapping and affecting each other in ways they did not expect. You will find yourself cheering for everyone in this quiet but satisfying story of family, friendship, loss and new beginnings. Greetings from Nowhere is by Barbara O'Connor.

Knuckle balls are like butterflies. Just ask 8th grader Molly whose ability to throw one lands her a spot on her school's boys baseball team. A great sports novel needs great sports scenes, language and emotion so you feel you are there with the players. A great sports novel also needs a great story with realistic scenes, language and emotion so you feel you are there with the characters. Not many sports novels do this successfully especially with girls as main characters but The Girl Who Threw Butterflies by Mick Cochrane does. Girl or boy, baseball fan or not, this is a story for everyone.