Author Spotlight
If you liked “Catcher in the Rye” read John Green’s “Looking for Alaska.”
With all the usual teenage angst of a young adult novel played out in all the right ways, the essence of a modern day and refreshingly more decisive Holden Caulfield lives on in Miles “Pudge” Halter, the nobody from Orlando who sentences himself to Culver Creek boarding school in hopes of finding something bigger than himself—and, sure enough, he does. Enter Alaska Young, the beautiful and mysterious wreck of a book lover, who captures Pudge’s heart and mind from the first cigarette they share together on a sticky summer night.
The parallels drawn from everyday life here in Prairie Village and that in sweltering Alabama are uncanny; the messages conveyed in the book are universal. The ever-talented author John Green dives into the many ways that teenagers and adults alike deal with death, friendship, religion, sex and so much more in this two-part novel divided into “Before” and “After.”
Before and after what, you ask? Read it and find out.
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If you liked “The Help” read Sara Gruen’s “Water for Elephants.”
Although “The Help” and “Water For Elephants” tell two entirely different stories, both appeal to everyone-from high school students to Johnson County moms. The “Water For Elephants” journey begins in a nursing home, where the cranky narrator, Jacob Jankowski, lives out his days. About a quarter of the book is about Jacob’s life in the nursing home, while the other three quarters are an extended flashback of Jacob’s younger years.
As a smart, young man almost ready to graduate college with a degree in veterinarian medicine, tragedy strikes and Jacob can’t cope. He crazily gives up everything he’s worked for and jumps on a train—a circus train. As you read about Jacob’s circus adventure, you’ll be pleased to find this circus story isn’t at all a pathetic, silly one. It’s just the opposite. The completely unique and gritty story of Jacob’s young life in the circus combined with the untold tale of time in a nursing home make this book a sensational read that you don’t want to miss.
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If you liked “Eat, Pray, Love” read Nuala O’Faolain’s “Almost There.”
Just as “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert follows the author’s voyages to Italy, India and Bali to find herself, “Almost There: The Onward Journey of a Dublin Woman” by Nuala O’Faolain also chronicles self-discovery. But for O’Faolain the journey isn’t a literal one, but one through words.
O’Faolain’s book began as a response to the letters she received from readers of her column in The Irish Times, but it evolved into a full memoir. She tells the story of her life with a focus on her relationships with people and with words. O’Faolain writes that what drew her from County Monaghan to Dublin was that there were words everywhere in cities and she was fascinated by them. In that same section, O’Faolain said that letters from readers convinced her that people are more alike than different.
“Almost There” isn’t quite as uplifting a read as “Eat, Pray, Love.” It doesn’t have the intrigue of exotic locations or the tidy ending of finding love. What it does have is a blunt and expressive author describing her connections to communication, and that makes it well worth reading.
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If you liked “Empire Falls” read Michael Chabon’s “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.”
The 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s sprouted many things: pop culture, color television and of course, comic books. However, to most people, the history of how comic books really got into their swing is a mystery. The award-winning author Michael Chabon places two vivid, pop-off-the-page characters, into a historical situation. Chabon tells the story of how comic books originated through the eyes of Joe (Kavalier), a young man from Prague who recently escaped to America, and Sammy (Clay), a talented artist living in Brooklyn. The two have a chance encounter and discover that they have unique talents of writing and drawing. Combine those two and BOOM! You get a fantastic comic book. The story begins with small beginnings outside of Brooklyn and ends in none other than the Empire State Building. Fantastically surprising plot twists and interesting characters litter the book. You have to read this book to appreciate the subtle detail that Chabon weaves into his work. The book did win a Pulitzer Prize so you can’t really go wrong here.
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If you liked “Ender’s Game” read “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins.
“The Hunger Games” series is a book about a post-apocalyptic society in which the country of Panem is divided into 12 different districts along with the all powerful and flamboyant Capitol. The Capitol puts on the “Hunger Games” every year with two children from each district in order to prove they are in control. They drop the 24 children into an arena which has different terrain every year. The last living child is crowned the victor and goes home to their district living in an extravagant house in a separated section from the rest of their district.
The main character, Katniss Everdeen, sacrifices herself to go to the games instead of her younger sister. After this televised sacrifice she won the support of the people of the districts and the Capitol. She was taken to the Capitol to prepare for the games and the story continues.
This series is an quick and easy read yet it maintains exciting twists throughout the novels. Similar to Ender’s Game, this series is about children having to fight through the struggles of an adult world.
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If you liked “Remember the Titans” read H.G. Bissinger’s “Friday Night Lights.”
Set in the small West Texas town of Odessa in 1988, “Friday Night Lights” tells the story of the Permian Panthers football team and their journey to win their sixth state championship. The book shows the passion for football shared by many small Texas towns. Every girl wanted to become a cheerleader for the team and every guy wanted to play for the team. Local stores would close on game days so everyone could make it to the game. Bissinger also shows the negative side of small town football. Odessa condemned anything that got in the way of football. African Americans and Hispanics in the town faced extreme racism, even the best players. Some of the players became obsessed with being on top, and eventually lost sight of what was important, like Boobie Miles, the star of the team whose arrogance turned many people away. Miles’ career was eventually ended when he tore his ACL during a game.
“Friday Night Lights” is a brutally honest portrayal of how high school football affects its players, fans and communities. While the scenes of racism and cruelty are somewhat harsh, you can truly feel the passion for the game shared by every member of the community.
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