The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai

This delightfully written tale includes, among other things, the Russian ‘mafia’, a road trip (including numerous dodgy budget hotels and one gin induced hangover), a bunch of lies and a very precocious ten-year-old boy.

Children’s librarian, Lucy Hull, begins to worry about one of her regular young patrons, Ian Drake, at for a number of reasons:

1. Ian’s mother suggests to Lucy that he should only read books with “the breath of God in them”,
2. Lucy inadvertently finds out Ian has been attending anti-gay classes run by an organisation called Glad Heart in a town two hours drive away, and
3. She finds Ian camped out in the library one morning when she opens up – Ian has run away, and he is taking Lucy with him!

Unsure of whether Lucy has kidnapped Ian, or whether he has kidnapped her, this story is about running away, being true to yourself and realising being a kid isn’t always easy, but is often a lot of fun!

The enjoyment in reading The Borrower was that the plot was unpredictable, I was never sure of how the book would end, but I enjoyed the trip along with Ian and Lucy immensely and was sad when it finished.

Heartfelt characters and a lot of silliness makes this story burst at the seams with loveliness… you don’t have to be a librarian to enjoy this story – just enjoy sharing the joy of reading.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games has the complete package, likeable characters and a well written, engaging plot… with the movie due out in 23 March for Australia, read it before everyone else has!

Dystopian, yet realistic, the novel is written for the youth market, but also holds plenty of appeal for adult readers as well.

Suzanne Collins makes you believe in another world, an eerily familiar world which parallels our own in many ways.

The heroine of the story is Katniss Everdeen, a sixteen-year-old girl who volunteers for The Hunger Games tournament when her twelve-year-old sister Prim is drawn in the ballot.

Katniss is a survivor, she has spent many years providing for her family after the death of her father in a mining accident. She knows how to hunt, set a snare and shoot a bow and arrow, so her odds of survival are in her favor.

Through Katniss’ eyes we see the country of Panem, its major city ‘Capitol’ and the injustice she sees in the situation she is thrust into.

In the edition I read there was a short interview with Collins which talked about her inspiration for the novel. In it she said, “...on one channel there’s a group of people competing for, I don’t know, money maybe? And on the next there’s people fighting an actual war.”

This book will make you think twice about what society sees as ‘entertaining’….

Find The Hunger Games in the Youth and Adult Fiction section of the library.
Read The Hunger Games? Continue the series with Catching Fire and Mockingjay.

Ruby Blues by Jessica Rudd

Ruby Blues is one book that you don’t want to judge by the cover!

In this second novel by Jessica Rudd, she once again lets us delve into the life of Ruby Stanhope. If you haven’t read Campaign Ruby yet, while it is not crucial to understanding the plot of Ruby Blues -- it may aid in your enjoyment!

Ruby Blues takes place two years after Campaign Ruby leaves off, Ruby is now working for the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), and it is easy to believe that Rudd has some insight into what takes place in this office, given her father’s profession.

As the book’s title suggests, Ruby is in a different place mentally and emotionally in this book, but that doesn’t make her any less loveable as a character.

Throughout the book she sails from one government gaffe to the next all the while throwing herself into her work to avoid the problems in her personal life, of which there are a few – she even gets the power cut off from her house at one stage!

This novel is well-structured and easily read, with characters that ring true. Ruby’s niece Clementine easily steals the show with her child-like seriousness: “I really, really hate green, pacifically neon green and car key green. Car keys aren’t even green so it’s a silly name.”

This is easily one of the best written books in the chick-lit genre that I have read in awhile.

The Association of Foreign Spouses by Marilyn Heward Mills

The Association of Foreign Spouses is set in Ghana around the 1980s. It is the story of an English woman who met a Ghanian man in London, married him and moved to Ghana. Along with three other women (from England, Germany and Russia) she struggles to adapt to the culture, what is expected of her and the difficult political landscape.
I have a friend from Ghana so was very keen to read a book aet in that country, being more familiar with novels such as Half of a Yellow Sun, set in Nigeria. In the end, the setting is what kept me going through this novel. I found the characters less than appealing at times and found the situations a little melodramatic. I did get a  feel for the oppressive heat, beauty and contradictions of Ghana, but Ghana itself was a minor character as the women's relationships dominated.
The Association of Foreign Spouses is available from the adult fiction area of Wagga Wagga City Library.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Kazuo Ishiguro wrote The Remains of the Day, you know, that movie with Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson? So, I was expecting an old country house in England and got something quite different. Never Let Me Go is set in England in the 1990s but you soon come to realise that it isn't quite life as we know it. If you like a technical label, Never Let Me Go is dystopian science fiction but there aren't any robots and it isn't your typical science fiction at all.
This is one of the RRL Book Club books and my club had mixed reactions to it. Mind you, my club has had mixed reactions to every book we have done, that's one of the many joys of a book club! I really enjoyed Never Let Me Go and have gone on to read When We Were Orphans and The Remains of the Day, both available at the library.

Sharp Turn by Marianne Delacourt

This is the second book in the Tara Sharp series. The first book in the series is Sharp Shooter. I definitely recommend that you read the books in order as the first book describes how Tara ends up with an unorthodox PI business, or rather a "Paralanguage and Kinesics Agency". Tara sees auras and this helps her determine whether people are lying and how they will behave. I know it sounds a bit flakey but its a fast paced, fun series that you will not be able to put down. It comes with some interesting characters like Nick Tozzi who lines her up with some jobs and narcoleptic Wal Grominsky, former client, current bodyguard and a couple of pet galahs named Hoo and Brains. With more luck and determination, rather than skill, Tara solves a couple of cases.

If you like Janet Evanovich you will love this series. It is set in Perth and Australian author Marianne Delacourt keeps you entertained. I love the Perth setting and I love the Australianisms like 'tracky daks', though it took me a while to figure out that 'LBD' was Little Black Dress. I can't wait for the next book!

Violent Exposure by Katherine Howell

Just finished this crime novel by Australian author Katherine Howell, a former NSW ambulance officer. This is her fourth novel featuring Detective Ella Marconi. I really enjoyed this book and will have to go back and read the previous three!

The story opens with ambulance officers responding to a posssible domestic violence incident. Shortly afterwards Suzanne Crawford is found stabbed to death and her missing husband is suspected. Eventually Ella solves the case with some assistance from the ambulance officers. Katherine Howell's experience as an ambulance officer really comes through, making this an interesting read.