Book Review

In Broken Places
By Michele Phoenix

I was so please to have had the opportunity to read In Broken Places by Michele Phoenix. I had not read her previous title, but look forward to picking it up shortly. In Broken Places was such a gratifying read. Phoenix’s writing style and her ability to craft a truly compelling story kept me reading and has me now recommending it to everyone looking for a new literary voice.

I really liked how each character brought a new depth to the story Phoenix tells. Like a main character should, Shelby guides you deeper and deeper as you meet her broken spirit. She truly has a shaded perspective of who she is and what she has to offer. This damaged vantage point is because of her abusive father and her dysfunctional childhood which she shared with her older brother. As a reader you sincerely feel Shelby’s hardships as she struggled to find herself worthy of giving and receiving love. Her need for sarcasm when feelings got to close is a true defense mechanism and her own personal character flaw; thus, making Shelby’s character even more believable. Through the story you witness Shelby’s self-destruction as she internally battles to change for her daughter. As Shelby realized her burdens aren’t as heavy as she believes them to be, she hooks you and from then on you cannot help but rooting for her. If you try and put the book down, you're at a loss, you have no choice but to finish. In Broken Places is a unique story of an all too well feeling many individuals feel all too often. With insight and clarity, Michele Phoenix tells an absorbing tale of genuine, unconditional love, the strength to overcome one's past and the tenderness of wounds that we all carry with us. It’s a hard read not to enjoy.

Click on the image link above to view a book trailer of In Broken Places. Book trailer provided by YouTube.com

Banned Books Challenge

Calling All Readers!!!

What a wonderful event Hachette, Reading Group Guide and McNally Jackson Books have planned for reader.  On Saturday, September 7th bask in literary heaven while you meet authors and experience an opportunity to mingle with other book lovers.  Tickets are $50 and include lunch and book bag. Visit http://www.mcnallyjackson.com/hachette-reading-group-day for registration info.

WellRead Reader's Pick

Above All Things

by Tanis Rideout

Set in 1924 in post-World War I Cambridge and on the cliffs of Mount Everest, Above All Things is a truly adventurous tale of one's love.  Written in alternating perspectives, George and Ruth Mallory, retell the story of their love and the devastation on their family, which George causes due to his obsession with conquering Mount Everest.  This debut novel is a gripping, historical tale composed of two interlocking themes - love and extraordinary adventure.

For George and Ruth Mallory will there be redemption amid their divided devotions? George is a husband and father of three.  He leaves his wife and children in Cambridge to fuel his passion, a third attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest, and be known to the world as the first to surmount its high peaks. While his wife and children are a world away, at home awaiting his fate.

This story is not just about the relationship between a husband and his wife nor is it about just a mountain or one's failure or even one's loyalty. Above All Things is about what two people can endure for each other, it's about faith and honor, it's about one's duty, and the guilt or shame one feels.  Tanis Rideout's debut novel has a air of timelessness woven though its words.  It is clear that Rideout's characters are driven by their deepest desires and need to be loved,regardless of their successes and short comings.  Read Above All Things with an open mind and you'll be sure to look at the world a little differently when you've finished.

Thank you Pat B. for your WellRead Reader's Pick.

Click on the links below to view other titles you may like if you enjoy this pick.

Books About Wives of the Famous

Mount Everest

Win an "Author's First"

For those readers who have visited the reference desk and have been inquiring about the Author's Firsts display titles; here is a list, with covers, of the titles available to win if you join our Westhampton Free Library Adult Summer Reading Club.  The more you read the more chances you have to win. Happy reading!!

Fakebook by Dave Cicirelli

(Pub date: September 2013)

The Affairs of Others by Amy Grace Loyd

(Pub Date: August 2013)

Hammett Unwritten by Owen Fitzstephen

(Pub Date: February 2013)

The Center of the World by Thomas van Essen

(Pub Date: June 2013)

Naked by Betsy Franco

(Pub Date: November 2013)

Mother, Mother by Koren Zailckas

(Pub Date: September 2013)

The Residue Years by Mitchell S. Jackson

(Pub Date: August 2013)

The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane

(Pub Date: October 2013)

Knocking on Heaven's Door by Kathy Butler

(Pub Date: September 2013)

Loteria by Mario Alberto Zambrano

(Pub Date: July 2013)

Teatime for the Firefly by Shona Patel

(Pub Date: September 2013)

The Blood of Heaven by Kent Wascom

(Pub Date: May 2013)

The Returned by Jason Mott

(Pub Date: August 2013)

The Grammarian by Annapurna Potluri

(Pub Date: February 2013)

Appletopia by Brett T. Robinson

(Pub Date: August 2013)

The Lion Seeker by Kenneth Bonert

(Pub Date: October 2013)

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

(Pub Date: October 2013)

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

(Pub Date: September 2013)

Wash by Margaret Wrinkle

(Pub Date: February 2013)

The Gravity of Birds by Tracy Guzeman

(Pub Date: August 2013)

The Hope Factory by Lavanya Sankaran

(Pub Date: April 2013)

Queen's Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle

(Pub Date: June 2013)

The Cartographer of No Man's Land by P.S. Duffy

(Pub date: October 2013)

Tomorrow-Land by Joseph Tirella

(Pub Date: January 2014)

*P.S. These titles have also been ordered for the collection so check the New titles shelf or ask a librarian next time you visit.

Local Author Debuts!

Looking for a great book to read. Our local author section is a great place to start.   Bursting with "Author's Firsts" picks you'll be happily reading in no time.

Here are a few local "Author's Firsts" we recommend.

Never Have Your Dog Stuffed by Alan Alda

Girl's guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Banks

Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby by Tom Wolfe

Lab 257 by Michael Christopher Carroll

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Close Relations by Susan Isaacs

Life with an Accent by Marilyn Gottlieb

An Impressive List of "Author's Firsts"

Here is a list of a few (well I may have gotten carried away) Author's Firsts!!!

And don't forget to log your books for a chance to win your very own autographed or advanced copy of an "Author's First".

Happy reading!!!!

Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson

The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

Year of Wonder by Geraldine Brooks

The Opposite of Love by Julie Buxaum

April & Oliver by Tess Callahan

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon

Because I Said So by Birdie Clark
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

A World Made of Fire by Mark Childress

Nicholas Cooke by Stephanie Cowell

The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox

The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean

The Big Love by Sarah Dunn

The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow

Blind Submission by Debra Ginsberg

Three June by Julia Glass

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

The Vanishing of Katharina Linden by Helen Grant

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

Ordinary People by Judith Guest

We are all Fine Here by Mary Guterson

Tinkers by Paul Harding

Bread Alone by Judith Ryan Hendricks

Ursula Under by Ingrid Hill

The Center of Winter by Marya Hornbacher

Setting Free the Bears by John Irving

Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

The Ha-Ha by Dave King

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolover

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb

Patty Jane's House of Curl by Lorna Landvik

Then She Found Me by Elinor Lipman

In the Lap of the Gods by Li Miao Lovett

Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight

Rainlight by Alison McGhee

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Astrid & Veronika by Linda Olsson

The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer

The Dive From Clausen's Pier by Ann Parker

Strange as this Weather Has Been by Ann Pancake

Consumption by Kevin Patterson


Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson

The Department of Lost & Found by Allison Winn Scotch

Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

When We Get There by Shauna Seliy

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead

Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots by Jessica Soffer

Torch by Cheryl Strayed

Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Juliet in August by Dianne Warren

Overseas by Beatriz Williams

When God was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman

Good Grief by Lolly Winston