"The Help" by K. Stockett

This is a first novel by Jackson, Mississippi native, Kathryn Stockett. The author sets her story in her hometown but moves the timeline to 1962. She uses the voices of 3 women, one white 22 year old, and two black women who courageously set about to change racial and gender attitudes in their community through their collaboration to write a book revealing the truth about relations between employers and the women they hire to serve in their homes. Readers of this well-written fiction will discover or perhaps recall how things were in the South of this decade of turmoil and emotion. Stockett unleashes humor, tension and hope to entertain and inspire us from the first page to the last.

Judy Shirley

Refuge by Dot Jackson

Dot Jackson’s Refuge resonates with anyone who has ever suffered loss, experienced joy tinged with grief, or longed to break free of social expectations. Jackson, a former journalist and columnist for The Charlotte Observer, has written a splendid first novel which depicts the spontaneous escape of Mary Seneca Steele and her children from a life of falseness and unhappiness in Charleston, SC. Set in the early part of the 20th century, it is a vivid tale of love, intimacy, and mystery.

Steele seeks refuge in the North Carolina mountains, homesick for a past and a place she doesn’t even know exists. Jackson allows Steele’s “refuge” to unfold in an unhurried plot that takes its time to unwind, slowing the reader to its lingering pace. Along the way, the reader savors the language of the storytelling, the haunting descriptions, and the insightful passages, often rereading along the way.

Ultimately, Mary Senena learns that family ties are the most important of all, that blood runs true, and that a place to belong to can be at the heart of living and loving.

Rufuge has rated numerous five star reviews and the reader feels a sense of loss when the last page is turned. It is a beautiful, wonderful love story. Reviewed by Helen Fowler

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Sarah’s Key is a compelling historical novel that is both a gripping modern-day tale and an indictment of the Vichy government against the French Jews in WWII.

One story tells of Sarah, a ten year old Jewish girl, and her family. They are wrenched from their beds by the French Police during a Gestapo ordered roundup that sent families with children to the Ve’lodrome d’Hiver, a huge indoor sports stadium. This shameful event which took place on July 16, 1942, eventually sent 13,000 men, women, and children to concentration camps and ultimately to their death.

The other story, which is told in alternate chapters, describes Julia, an American journalist, and her quest for answers to the questions she encounters during her time France. While living there during 2002, she is covering the anniversary of the Ver d’Hiv for her paper when she stumbles on some chilling here-to-for unknown facts. It is this discovery that starts the interweaving of Sarah’s story and Julia’s story and changes Julia’s life forever.

This is a well-written book, (now found in the CVL) that will stay with you long after you finish it. Reviewed by Beth Whicker

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

This book is actually a dual biography of Daniel Burnham, the architect of the 1893 World's Fair and of Dr. H. H. Holmes, the diabolical killer who had his own horror chamber next door to the fairgrounds.

There is plenty of colorful back drop for the main story, including fascinating anecdotes vividly describing harsh life in 19th Century Chicago. The lasting impact the Fair had on America include the Ferris Wheel, Cracker Jacks, Shredded Wheat and many more. The author's description of the Herculean effort put forth by numerous architects, builders, politicians, etc. lead the reader to a true appreciation of these "can do" spirited individuals.

Then there is the darker story - told in alternating chapters - of Dr. Holmes, a charismatic young doctor with blood-curdling obsessions. His house of horrors stood in the shadows of the great triumphs of the Fair and contained its own killing chamber. The Holme's murders and the investigation that finally brought him to justice provide the perfect companion to the architectural accomplishment going on next door.

The author is such a diligent researcher in addition to being an excellent storyteller that you will feel like you are reading highly imaginative fiction but everything is True. Found by Becky Simpson

"A Perfect Day" by Richard Paul Evans

Have you ever made a promise and wondered later how you could keep it? Maybe you didn't want to keep it or maybe you wanted to but too many things got in the way?

This is a story of what begins as a perfect situation, goes through difficulties and temptations. But, like all good stories; there is a happy ending. This is the kind of book you want to read for relaxing and turning off your own problems for a while. You may learn something, but, if you do, that is just an extra bonus. Reviewed by Peggy Duncan

"Blue" by Joyce Moyer Hostetter

Joyce Moyer Hostetter, Catawba County author, delivers in her novel "Blue" a warm and moving story set in 1940's Hickory, through the words of a 13 year old girl, Ann Fay. It was a time of war and crippling disease that could easily have broken the spirits of our community and neighbors but in her historical fiction, Mrs. Hostetter relates tha truth of how the courage and strength and caring hearts of our people gave rise to a miracle here on Lake Hickory.

Ann Fay's life is turned upside down with the departure of her father who is off to fight in the war and she is left with much hard work to help her mother with the home and family. The situation is made even worse when one of her siblings falls gravely ill with polio. She is then mother and father to her sisters, as her mother has to stay at the makeshift emergency hospital with the sick child. Her story is entertaining and delightful at the same time as it is touching and poignant.

Mrs. Hostetter's faith and wisdom (not to mention her superior literary talent) shines through in her writing, making us proud of those who came before us but also showing us the strength that lies within us all to rise above adversity and fear to victory over chaos. Reviewed by Judy Shirley

Comfort by Joyce Moyer Hostetter

There's no sequel let down when you read "Comfort" the heartfelt continuing encounter with "Blue"s Ann Fay as she struggles with polio, her father's return, segregation and even a burgeoning interest in boys. Add to that a naive country girl's intimidating adventure into the Warm Springs, Ga. hospital scene made famous by President Franklin Roosevelt.

"Comfort" confirms that Ms. Hostetter can observe and research the human condition and events and then skillfully personalize them into the lives of her characters. Each one, even minor characters like the "strange" Otis, becomes alive and resonates in the reader's heart. The frustration generated by her father's post traumatic stress disorder is intensified by our knowledge that such a thing was unheard of before WWll.

The author - sometimes gently, sometimes "in your face" - takes us into Ann Fay's life as her boundaries expand and intensify. "Comfort" is more than a sequel; it is the stand alone examination of a young teenager's life on many levels. Reviewed by Shirley Cunningham