Writing Basics

Do you have a story in your head that you need 
to get out? Are you curious how to get started?

Seasoned NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) winner Richelle LeFluer will discuss some basics on writing, what NaNoWriMo is, and tips to be successful at it.

This program is open to teens and adults. There is no charge for attendance.

Rebecca Caudill Nominees for 2017

Patron Book Review ~ Hollow City

Hollow City (Miss Peregrine #2) by Ransom Riggs
Published: 2014
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal,
Description:
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was the surprise best seller of 2011 - an unprecedented mix of YA fantasy and vintage photography that enthralled audiences and critics alike. Publishers Weekly called it "an enjoyable, eccentric read, distinguished by well-developed characters, a believable Welsh setting, and some very creepy monsters."

This second novel begins in 1940, immediately after the first book ended. Having escaped Miss Peregrine's island by the skin of their teeth, Jacob and his new friends must journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. Along the way, they encounter new allies, a menagerie of peculiar animals, and other surprises.

Complete with dozens of newly discovered (and thoroughly creepy) vintage photographs, this new adventure will delight fantasy fans of all ages.

Review by patron, Anonymous:   
The book is creative and original. It is an intense and gripping story that can be difficult to understand at times.

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Have you been to a library program or read a book you'd like to review? Send it to kwill@lmelibrary.org and it may get published!

First names only are used in all reviews for privacy. Inappropriate or defamatory reviews or comments will not be posted.

Reviews are typed exactly as patrons submitted them. The LME Library is not responsible for any incorrect or misspelled information contained in reviews by patrons.

Patron Book Review ~ All Shook Up

All Shook Up by Shelley Pearsall
Published: 2008
Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Humor
Description:
The King of Rock 'n'™ Roll lives! And he's Josh's dad.

When 13-year-old Josh finds out that he has to stay with his dad in Chicago for a few months, he's not too thrilled. But when he arrives at the airport, he's simply devastated. His father - who used to be a scatterbrained but pretty normal shoe salesman - has become . . . Elvis. Well, a sideburnwearing, hip-twisting, utterly-embarrassing Elvis impersonator.

Josh is determined to keep his dad's identity a secret, but on his very first day at his new school, a note appears on his locker. It's signed Elvisly Yours, and instead of a name, a sneering purple smiley face. The secret is out, and when his dad is invited to perform at a special 50s concert at his school, Josh is forced to take drastic action. From award-winning author Shelley Pearsall comes a hilarious novel about discovering the important (and sometimes painful) difference between who you want to be - and who you really are.

Review by patron, Anonymous:   
The book was original, easy to understand, and the characters were unique, but easy to understand.

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Have you been to a library program or read a book you'd like to review? Send it to kwill@lmelibrary.org and it may get published!

First names only are used in all reviews for privacy. Inappropriate or defamatory reviews or comments will not be posted.

Reviews are typed exactly as patrons submitted them. The LME Library is not responsible for any incorrect or misspelled information contained in reviews by patrons.

Patron Book Reveiw ~ Nevermore

Never-More [Nevermore] (Maximum Ride #8) by James Patterson
Published: 2011
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Description:
One last chance... for Max, Fang, and Dylan... before it all ends.

Are you ready for the final chapter? Are you ready for the ultimate flight? Because THIS IS IT. One last incredible, explosive adventure with an astonishing ending that no one could have seen coming.

Review by patron, Isabelle:
This book is very good and contains a lot of action. Be prepared because its ends on a cliff hanger. It can get intense.

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Have you been to a library program or read a book you'd like to review? Send it to kwill@lmelibrary.org and it may get published!

First names only are used in all reviews for privacy. Inappropriate or defamatory reviews or comments will not be posted.

Reviews are typed exactly as patrons submitted them. The LME Library is not responsible for any incorrect or misspelled information contained in reviews by patrons.

Patron Book Review ~ Angel

Angel (Maximum Ride #7) by James Patterson
Published: 2011
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Description:
In the seventh book in the bestselling series, evil scientists are still trying to convince Max that she needs to save the world, this time by providing the genetic link in speeding up the pace of evolution. Worse, they're trying to convince her that her perfect mate is Dylan, the newest addition to the flock. The problem is that, despite herself, Max is starting to believe it.

Fang travels the country collecting his own gang of evolved humans, but the two separate flocks must unite to defeat a frightening doomsday cult whose motto isSave the Planet: Kill the Humans. And this time, the true heroine, for once, might just be little Angel.

Review by patron, Isabelle:
This book is very good and very detailed. With the great details you could picture everything happening. The book is very sad at the end and I don't understand how James Patterson can write this stuff.

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Have you been to a library program or read a book you'd like to review? Send it to kwill@lmelibrary.org and it may get published!

First names only are used in all reviews for privacy. Inappropriate or defamatory reviews or comments will not be posted.

Reviews are typed exactly as patrons submitted them. The LME Library is not responsible for any incorrect or misspelled information contained in reviews by patrons.

Patron Book Review ~ Fang

Fang (Maximum Ride #6) by James Patterson
Published: 2010
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Description:
Being a kid with wings--constantly on the run--has never been easy, and Max and her flock are getting tenser than ever. First, on a trip to Africa, they meet a mysterious billionaire whose intense scrutiny of the Flock makes her fear the worst. Then, a cryptic message from a young girl arrives, warning them "The sky will fall." And as if an impending apocalypse weren't bad enough, canny birdkid Angel makes a dire prophecy about Max's soul mate: Fang will be the first to die. Max's desperate desire to protect Fang brings the two closer than ever. But can the team weather the storm, or will the turmoil rip them apart for the last time?

Review by patron, Isabelle:
This book is very good and filled with action. Also, prepare to cry.

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Have you been to a library program or read a book you'd like to review? Send it to kwill@lmelibrary.org and it may get published!

First names only are used in all reviews for privacy. Inappropriate or defamatory reviews or comments will not be posted.

Reviews are typed exactly as patrons submitted them. The LME Library is not responsible for any incorrect or misspelled information contained in reviews by patrons.

Patron Review ~ Fever 1793

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
Published: 2000
Genre: Young Adult, Historic Fiction,
Description:
On the heels of her acclaimed contemporary teen novel Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson surprises her fans with a riveting and well-researched historical fiction. Fever 1793 is based on an actual epidemic of yellow fever in Philadelphia that wiped out 5,000 people--or 10 percent of the city's population--in three months. At the close of the 18th century, Philadelphia was the bustling capital of the United States, with Washington and Jefferson in residence. During the hot mosquito-infested summer of 1793, the dreaded yellow fever spread like wildfire, killing people overnight. Like specters from the Middle Ages, gravediggers drew carts through the streets crying "Bring out your dead!" The rich fled to the country, abandoning the city to looters, forsaken corpses, and frightened survivors.

In the foreground of this story is 16-year-old Mattie Cook, whose mother and grandfather own a popular coffee house on High Street. Mattie's comfortable and interesting life is shattered by the epidemic, as her mother is felled and the girl and her grandfather must flee for their lives. Later, after much hardship and terror, they return to the deserted town to find their former cook, a freed slave, working with the African Free Society, an actual group who undertook to visit and assist the sick and saved many lives. As first frost arrives and the epidemic ends, Mattie's sufferings have changed her from a willful child to a strong, capable young woman able to manage her family's business on her own. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell

Review by patron, Isabelle:
It was very informative about when yellow fever first broke out. It was very good.

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Have you been to a library program or read a book you'd like to review? Send it to kwill@lmelibrary.org and it may get published!

First names only are used in all reviews for privacy. Inappropriate or defamatory reviews or comments will not be posted.

Reviews are typed exactly as patrons submitted them. The LME Library is not responsible for any incorrect or misspelled information contained in reviews by patrons.

Patron Book Review ~ Bamboo People

Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins
Published: 2010
Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction
Description:
Bang! A side door bursts open.

Soldiers pour into the room. They're shouting and waving rifles.

I shield my head with my arms. It was a lie! I think, my mind racing.

Girls and boys alike are screaming. The soldiers prod and herd some of us together and push the rest apart as if we're cows or goats.

Their leader, though, is a middle-aged man. He's moving slowly, intently, not dashing around like the others. "Take the boys only, Win Min," I overhear him telling a tall, gangly soldier. "Make them obey."

Chiko isn't a fighter by nature. He's a book-loving Burmese boy whose father, a doctor, is in prison for resisting the government. Tu Reh, on the other hand, wants to fight for freedom after watching Burmese soldiers destroy his Karenni family's home and bamboo fields. Timidity becomes courage and anger becomes compassion as each boy is changed by unlikely friendships formed under extreme circumstances.

This coming-of-age novel takes place against the political and military backdrop of modern-day Burma. Narrated by two teenagers on opposing sides of the conflict between the Burmese government and the Karenni, one of the many ethnic minorities in Burma, Bamboo People explores the nature of violence, power, and prejudice.

Review by patron, Anonymous:   
Easy to understand, likeable characters, Easy to follow. A plot that is slow paced, but engaging.

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Have you been to a library program or read a book you'd like to review? Send it to kwill@lmelibrary.org and it may get published!

First names only are used in all reviews for privacy. Inappropriate or defamatory reviews or comments will not be posted.

Reviews are typed exactly as patrons submitted them. The LME Library is not responsible for any incorrect or misspelled information contained in reviews by patrons.

Patron Review ~ As Easy as Falling Off of the Face of the Earth

As Easy as Falling Off the Face of the Earth by Lynne Rae Perkins
Published: 2010
Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Adventure
Description:
A teenaged boy encounters one comedic calamity after another when his train strands him in the middle of nowhere, and everything comes down to luck.

Review by patron, Anonymous:   
It was creative and funny and it was one problem after another. The characters were unique and funny and the situations were unique.

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Have you been to a library program or read a book you'd like to review? Send it to kwill@lmelibrary.org and it may get published!

First names only are used in all reviews for privacy. Inappropriate or defamatory reviews or comments will not be posted.

Reviews are typed exactly as patrons submitted them. The LME Library is not responsible for any incorrect or misspelled information contained in reviews by patrons.

Patron Review ~ Island's End

Island's End by Padma Venkatraman
Published: 2011
Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction
Description:
From the acclaimed author of Climbing the Stairs comes a fascinating story set on a remote island untouched by time. Uido is ecstatic about becoming her tribe's spiritual leader, but her new position brings her older brother's jealousy and her best friend's mistrust. And looming above these troubles are the recent visits of strangers from the mainland who have little regard for nature or the spirits, and tempt the tribe members with gifts, making them curious about modern life. When Uido's little brother falls deathly ill, she must cross the ocean and seek their help. Having now seen so many new things, will Uido have the strength to believe in herself and the old ways? And will her people trust her to lead them to safety when a catastrophic tsunami threatens? Uido must overcome everyone's doubts, including her own, if she is to keep her people safe and preserve the spirituality that has defined them.

Drawing on firsthand experience from her travels to the Andaman Islands, Padma Venkatraman was inspired to write this story after meeting natives who survived the 2004 tsunami and have been able to preserve their unique way of life. Uido's transformation from a young girl to tribal leader will touch both your heart and mind.

Review by patron, Anonymous:   
This book is heartwarming and a little sad. The problems are a bid unusual and things we take for granted every day are shown in a different and unique light.

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Have you been to a library program or read a book you'd like to review? Send it to kwill@lmelibrary.org and it may get published!

First names only are used in all reviews for privacy. Inappropriate or defamatory reviews or comments will not be posted.

Reviews are typed exactly as patrons submitted them. The LME Library is not responsible for any incorrect or misspelled information contained in reviews by patrons.

Patron Book Review ~ In Front of God and Everybody

In Front of God and Everybody (Confessions of April Grace, bk #1) by K.D. McCrite
Published: 2011
Genre: Christian Fiction

Description:
In the summer of 1986, eleven-year-old April Grace, who lives on a rural Arkansas farm with her family, across a field from her grandmother, has her sense of Christian charity tested when a snooty couple from San Francisco moves into a dilapidated house down the road and her grandmother takes up with a loud, obnoxious, and suspicious-acting Texan.

Review by patron, Lindsey:  
It was a great teen Christian book for girls. I love it tons! She was herself, and a funny character.

Patron Book Review ~ Dragon Keeper

Dragon Keeper (Dragonkeeper, bk #1) by Carole Wilkinson
Published: 2003
Genre: Fantasy Fiction

Description:
An orphan slave girl becomes a Dragon Keeper when she heroically comes to the aid of an aging dragon and both go on a dangerous journey across China to protect a mysterious stone vital to the dragon's legacy.


Review by patron, Anonymous:  
I liked how a slave girl in the beginning changed into a hero at the end of the book.

Friday the 13th Lock-In...Coming Soon!

Patron Book Review ~ Children of the River

Children of the River by Linda Crew
Published: 1989
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction,

Description:
Sundara fled Cambodia with her aunt's family to escape the Khmer Rouge army when she was thirteen, leaving behind her parents, her brother and sister, and the boy she had loved since she was a child.

Now, four years later, she struggles to fit in at her Oregon high school and to be "a good Cambodian girl" at home. A good Cambodian girl never dates; she waits for her family to arrange her marriage to a Cambodian boy. Yet Sundara and Jonathan, an extraordinary American boy, are powerfully drawn to each other. Haunted by grief for her lost family and for the life left behind, Sundara longs to be with him. At the same time she wonders, Are her hopes for happiness and new life in America disloyal to her past and her people?
Review by patron, Anonymous: 

I liked this book because Sundara travels to America when her family is attacked an army in Cambodia.

Have you been to a library program or read a book you'd like to review? Send it to kwill@lmelibrary.org and it may be published!

First names only are used in all reviews for privacy. Inappropriate or defamatory reviews or comments will not be posted.

Reviews are typed exactly as patrons submitted them. The LME Library is not responsible for any incorrect or misspelled information contained in reviews by patrons.

Patron Book Review ~ The Call of the Wild

The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Published: 1900
Genre: Classic, Fiction, Adventure

Description:
The adventures of an unusual dog, part St.Bernard, part Scotch shepherd, forcibly taken to the Klondike gold fields where he eventually becomes the leader of a wolf pack.
Review by patron, Allyson: 

Have you been to a library program or read a book you'd like to review? Send it to kwill@lmelibrary.org and it may be published!

First names only are used in all reviews for privacy. Inappropriate or defamatory reviews or comments will not be posted.

Reviews are typed exactly as patrons submitted them. The LME Library is not responsible for any incorrect or misspelled information contained in reviews by patrons.

Patron Book Review ~ Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables (Anne Shirley, bk 1) by LM Montgomery
Published: 1908
Genre: Young Adult, Classic, Canadian Literature

Description:
As soon as Anne Shirley arrived at the snug, white farmhouse called Green Gables, she knew she wanted to stay forever. But would the Cuthberts send her back to the orphanage? Anne knows she's not what they expected -- a skinny girl with decidedly red hair and a temper to match. If only she could convince them to let her stay, she'd try very hard not to keep rushing headlong into scrapes or blurt out the very first thing she had to say. Anne was not like anybody else, everyone at Green Gables agreed; she was special -- a girl with an enormous imagination. This orphan girl dreamed of the day when she could call herself Anne of Green Gables. Annotation. As soon as Anne Shirley arrived at the snug, white farmhouse called Green Gables, she knew she wanted to stay forever... but would the Cuthberts send her back to the orphanage? Anne knows she's not what they expected -- a skinny girl with decidedly red hair and a temper to match. If only she could convince them to let her stay, she'd try very hard not to keep rushing headlong into scrapes or blurt out the very first thing she had to say. Anne was not like anybody else, everyone at Green Gables agreed; she was special -- a girl with an enormous imagination. This orphan girl dreamed of the day when she could call herself Anne of Green Gables.
Review by patron, Allyson: 

It was a great book about an orphan who moves to green gables. She is a really talktive troublemaker.

Have you been to a library program or read a book you'd like to review? Send it to kwill@lmelibrary.org and it may be published!

First names only are used in all reviews for privacy. Inappropriate or defamatory reviews or comments will not be posted.

Reviews are typed exactly as patrons submitted them. The LME Library is not responsible for any incorrect or misspelled information contained in reviews by patrons.

Patron Book Review ~ Fly Girl

Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
Published: 2009
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction,
Description:
Ida Mae Jones dreams of flight. Her daddy was a pilot and being black didn't stop him from fulfilling his dreams. But her daddy's gone now, and being a woman, and being black, are two strikes against her.

When America enters the war with Germany and Japan, the Army creates the WASP, the Women's Airforce Service Pilots - and Ida suddenly sees a way to fly as well as do something significant to help her brother stationed in the Pacific. But even the WASP won't accept her as a black woman, forcing Ida Mae to make a difficult choice of 'passing,' of pretending to be white to be accepted into the program. Hiding one's racial heritage, denying one's family, denying one's self is a heavy burden. And while Ida Mae chases her dream, she must also decide who it is she really wants to be.
Review by patron, Anonymous:

The girl is Spanish and they didn't want Spanish people flying planes in war. She looks white so she sneaks in and flys. Very suspenseful.

Have you been to a library program or read a book you'd like to review? Send it to kwill@lmelibrary.org and it may be published!

First names only are used in all reviews for privacy. Inappropriate or defamatory reviews or comments will not be posted.

Reviews are typed exactly as patrons submitted them. The LME Library is not responsible for any incorrect or misspelled information contained in reviews by patrons.

Patron Book Review ~ Secrets of My Hollywood Life

Secrets of My Hollywood Life by Jen Calonita
Published: 1998
Genre: Young Adult,
Description:
Longing to experience the life of a "normal" teenager, sixteen-year-old actress Kaitlin Burke assumes a false identity to attend a local high school.

Review by patron, Peyton:

This book was really good. Kaitlin, hollywood star, wants a normal life, but also wants to be a star. She's the next Hannah Montana living two lives!

Have you been to a library program or read a book you'd like to review? Send it to kwill@lmelibrary.org and it may be published!

First names only are used in all reviews for privacy. Inappropriate or defamatory reviews will not be posted.

Reviews are typed exactly as patrons submitted them. The LME Library is not responsible for any incorrect or misspelled information contained in reviews by patrons.

Patron Book Review ~ Rules of the Road

Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer
Published: 2006
Genre: Young Adult,
Description:
Sixteen-year-old Jenna gets a job driving the elderly owner of a chain of successful shoe stores from Chicago to Texas to confront the son who is trying to force her to retire, and along the way Jenna hones her talents as a saleswoman and finds the strength to face her alcoholic father.

Review by patron, Peyton:

Jenna describes how she changes with her family and her social skills. She takes you all the way to texas. This is a good book I request.

Have you been to a library program or read a book you'd like to review? Send it to kwill@lmelibrary.org and it may be published!

First names only are used in all reviews for privacy. Inappropriate or defamatory reviews will not be posted.

Reviews are typed exactly as patrons submitted them. The LME Library is not responsible for any incorrect or misspelled information contained in reviews by patrons.