Howard County Library announces a new initiative, Pass the Book. During Teen Read Week 2009, the Library will distribute copies of  The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfeld to teen readers throughout the community.

The Secret Hour follows Jessica Day as she arrives in Bixby, Oklahoma, only to discover she’s at the center of a strange convergence of mystical energy. Sharing "the secret hour" between midnight and 12:01 with four of her classmates, Day finds herself on the front lines of a battle for the future of humanity; primeval "slithers" and "darklings" are using the secret hour to find their way back into our reality, intent on reclaiming the planet. The Midnighters must harness the unique properties of the secret hour to fight back using their own special abilities.

The Secret Hour is a great book to share, and with Pass the Book you’ll have the chance to introduce this title to readers in Howard County and beyond. Teens receiving a specially labeled copy of The Secret Hour are encouraged to read the book, track the book (by registering their copy at hclibrary.org/passthebook) and pass the book to another teen reader. Readers can return to the web site to see where their books have traveled. Throughout the year they will have the opportunity to participate in online discussions and challenges based on events in the novel. A display in each branch features read-a-like titles and the other books in the Midnighters series — Touching Darkness and Blue Noon. A number of Midnighter-themed events are also planned in connection with this initiative, including Midnighter Lore at Central Library, Slither Repellant at Elkridge Branch, and Triskaidekamania at Savage Branch.

Copies of The Secret Hour will be available on Monday, October 19. Join us online and in-person throughout the year for quizzes, reviews, and Midnighter-themed events as we pass this exceptional teen adventure around Howard County and beyond.

John Jewitt – Savage Branch

Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton is a novel I feel I should have read years ago. The plot is essentially a very simple one — Stephen Kumalo, an aging black Anglican priest from the small South African village of Ndotsheni, embarks on a mission to recover his son Absalom from the perils of the more modernized (dehumanized?) Johannesburg. Without having much information, he enlists the companionship of a fellow priest named Msimangu, and immerses himself in a world in which he and his people have no place.

Other characters, both black and white, are introduced along the way who share their own struggles with Kumalo, and a theme begins to emerge. Truly this is a story of not only a prodigal son, but of the yearning of an entire people for the return of dignity, hope, and justice.

I found Paton’s writing style to be jarring at first, but I was quickly able to adapt to his unique sentence structure. Along the journey, you will become familiar with new words and names in this thoroughly literate and profound account of soon-to-be apartheid South Africa. It is also worth noting that this edition contains a series of very interesting and informative introductions pertaining to the history of the book.

Dan Curry – Savage Branch

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith easily wins my "guilty-pleasure-of-the-year" award. I serendipitously happened upon this book in my Google news feed many months before it actually hit the shelves. After reading the article announcing its impending arrival, I immediately recommended the title be added to our collection.

Before I say anything about this book, I must make clear that, yes, I have read the original Pride and Prejudice. It is a masterpiece. I clearly see what has kept it in the annals of English literature for generations, and surely, generations to come. Austen’s tale of love flowering and surviving through social misgivings, however, is strangely amplified by the added pressures associated with hordes of the undead wreaking havoc upon the citizens of Hertfordshire.

I was skeptical. I was also abundantly hopeful. This is the book I had longed for all these years, albeit unaware. My first thoughts were that the title would sell millions of copies on concept alone, and that the pages between the covers wouldn’t matter much. This is why I was also surprised…and, pleasantly so. While naysayers may decry Grahame-Smith’s adaption as a mockery, I see it rather as an homage to the timelessness of the themes explored by Austen. Whatever obstacles in life we face, be they pride, prejudice, economic turbulence, or thousands of brain-starved zombies, we are assured that love truly does conquer all.

Over 85% of Austen’s original text remains, and Grahame-Smith’s additions/alterations occur seamlessly throughout. The new elements were actually done very thoughtfully and literately, often following Austen’s own style. At times certain jokes and references do become stale with overuse, but the antidote is provided in unhealthy doses of the unexpected. More than once, I forgot that I wasn’t reading the original novel, when suddenly a lunging “unmentionable” would meet it’s eternal doom at the behest of Elizabeth Bennet’s freshly sharpened katana blade or the musket of one of her four sisters. Particularly impressive is that certain minor storylines are changed altogether, leaving plenty to the imagination for those who read this before the original. You can be assured that Grahame-Smith’s rendition doesn’t, by any means, replace Austen’s version.

The verdict — an immensely entertaining and absurd concept, well-executed, that satisfied the place in my heart longing for a good old decapitation or disembowelment.

Dan Curry – Savage Branch

The title of this book definitely prompted me to pick it up and read the back cover. I’m so happy I did! I was looking for something uplifting — a change from what I had recently been reading.

The Man Who Ate the 747 is a love story, but different from all others. Wally Chubb, who has loved Willa Wyatt since the age of 10, decides to eat a 747 — yes, a real, honest-to-goodness airplane! — to demonstrate his commitment to her. The problem is, Willa doesn’t know about his plan.

J .J. Smith, a record keeper for The Book of Records, hears about Wally and travels to Superior, Nebraska, for what promises to be a unique story. He has clocked all kinds of records worldwide (the longest kiss, the longest fingernails), but never a love as great as this.

Ultimately, J.J. realizes that true love can’t be measured. But Sherwood’s characters (like the sheriff named "Shrimp" and Wally’s dog "Arf") plus the whimsy of small-town life hooked me and wouldn’t let go.

I can’t wait to hear what you think after you read The Man Who Ate the 747.

Michele Happel – Miller Branch

In so many ways Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury reminds me of the feelings and events of my childhood. Set in 1928 Illinois, it is an admittedly semi-autobiographical novel. Composed of a series of stories, Dandelion Wine centers around 12-year-old Douglas Spaulding, and the friends, families, and folk tales in which they all seem to play, at least, peripheral roles. Every facet of a childhood summer is touched upon…the joys, ponderings, mysteries, tragedies, questions, fears, anticipations, sights, smells, and of course, the taste of dandelion wine.

Each story (some of which weave throughout the book, while others stand alone and have a singular moment of glory) serves as a visceral snapshot of some sort of universal human experience. I found myself sympathizing with different characters at different times: Leo, the creator (and eventual destroyer) of the Happiness Machine; Grandpa, aghast at the idea of a self-cutting lawn; Colonel Freeleigh, the human Time Machine; and of course, The Lonely One, who may or may not be right behind you waiting for his moment to strike.

There is not one particular emotion that monopolizes this book. It quite often takes you into deep sadness and fear, only to bring you to the top of a mountain laughing hysterically, as in the tellings of the Green Machine (owned and “operated” by Miss Fern and Miss Roberts), and my personal favorite, the banishment of Aunt Rose.

Better yet was reading the book aloud to a loved one, just as the summer warmth was beginning to take hold. And like the final days of summer, inaugurated by the display of school supplies in the shop windows, I mourned the passing of the last page.

Dan Curry – Savage Branch

What do Daphne du Maurier, the Brontë family, a museum curator, and a contemporary British doctoral student have in common? In this literary mystery, their stories intersect like clues in a crossword puzzle.

As Daphne — set in 1957 — begins, the popular acclaim for the novel Rebecca has lessened and Daphne is coping with a depressed, withdrawn husband who may or may not be having an affair. She’s also anxious to revitalize her waning career by writing a biography of Branwell Brontë, the ne’er-do-well brother of the Brontë sisters. In pursuit of original documents, she corresponds with the curmudgeonly curator of the Brontë Museum, Mr Symington, whose cover-ups and conniving have misled generations of researchers.

The novel’s point of view eventually shifts. Decades later, a young London-based Ph.D. student, herself in a shaky second marriage, discovers the exchange of letters between du Maurier and Mr. Symington, as she attempts a biography of her favorite author Daphne du Maurier.

Justine Picardie has cooked up a spicy mixture of mystery and psychological intrigue. If you loved du Maurier’s Rebecca or remember Hitchcock’s film version with Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine, you’ll be entertained by this tale of literary forgeries; wives lonely and betrayed; and a frustrated, bumbling curator hoping to profit from his illicit bargaining.

Ginny Leslie – Miller Branch

Peter Straub’s Ghost Story tells the tale of the Chowder Society and the horrific events taking place in the small upstate New York town of Milburn. The Chowder Society is a group of four elderly men — Ricky Hawthorne, Sears James, Lewis Beneditk, and John Jaffrey  — who meet often to sip a glass of whiskey, smoke cigars, and tell stories about the worst and most frightening things they have ever seen or done.

As the men begin sharing the same dream, farm animals are slaughtered by an unknown intruder in the middle of the night; a beautiful young girl from New York City moves into the local hotel; and a terrible blizzard blankets the town in gray isolation. Something sinister is happening to the town of Milburn and the men of the Chowder Society believe they know the cause. As the story progresses, the town itself becomes consumed by so much fear and dread that it begins to act like one of the story’s antagonists. The town quarantines its inhabitants from the rest of the world, as they are helplessly toyed by whatever unexplainable force is menacing them.

With Ghost Story Peter Straub has written one of the scariest and most effective horror novels I have ever read. He exploits a fear that anyone of any age can understand. Imagine looking out of your window at a dimly lit street, filled with snow-covered, Victorian-style homes. Now imagine that you see something looking back at you. That idea of being watched and hunted by a presence you cannot understand is at the heart of what makes Ghost Story so terrifying. It deserves a spot next to such classics of modern horror as Salem’s Lot, The Exorcist, and Rosemary’s Baby.

Mike Dwyre – East Columbia Branch

Frank Peretti is known for his Christian-themed supernatural thrillers, and Ted Dekker, for his Christian suspense novels. In House, the two authors combine their talents to tell a gripping tale about a couple who spends the night in a haunted house. Another couple joins them, but the four are not alone. There is the weird family who resides in the dwelling and the serial killer on the outside trying to get in. Will they survive the night?

While House’s themes of hidden sin and redemption aren’t forced on the reader, one can certainly spot them. Peretti and Dekker wrap up their story with a moral and a surprise. If you enjoy reading Christian fiction and also appreciate an exciting page-turner, then check this one out.

Robert Bates – Glenwood Branch