THE MAZE RUNNER

If you're looking for another exciting YA series to try, check out the Maze Runner by James Dashner.  It's the first in an exciting thriller series and is a finalist for the Iowa Teen Book Award. 

In the Maze Runner, we meet an unnamed character who wakes up in an elevator.  He has no memories of his previous life, and no idea how he got in the elevator.  When the doors open, he finds himself outdoors crowded by a group of men about his same age, which he guesses is 16.  He slowly learns that all of them are in the same predicament.  Some have been there for several months, but no one really knows where they are or why.  Various supplies and food is sent up in the elevator for them.  They were able to build a farm and a small house but they are enclosed by giant walls.  Every day the walls open to reveal a path that leads to a giant maze.  Several of the boys enlist as maze runners to try to map the maze and see where it goes.  If they get stuck out there at night, they are stung by giant mechanical beasts.

Okay, so it sounds kind of weird but it will really pull you in.  The mystery will keep you turning pages.  The book has two sequels and a prequel, so you won't learn all of the secrets in the first one.  Check this out if you enjoyed Hunger Games!

EBOOKS!

Here is a list of e-books that we have bought exclusively for our patrons!  This means more availability and shorter wait lists.

ADVANTAGE E BOOKS FOR SCOTT COUNTY PATRONS   _______ = Newest additions

4 Bodies and a Funeral by Stephanie Bond

10 Lessons from a Former Fat Girl by Amy Parham (Non-Fiction)

101 Breakfast and Brunch Recipes (Non-Fiction)

101 Soup, Salad, and Sandwich Recipes (Non-Fiction)

1105 Yakima Street by Debbie Macomber

2gether 4ever by Dene Larson

All Summer Long by Susan Mallery

Already Home by Susan Mallery

The Amazing Bible Adventures for Kids by  Josh McDowell (Juvenile)

And Thereby Hangs a Tale: What I Really Know About My Devoted Life I Learned From My Dogs by David Teems  (Non-Fiction)

Angel Falls by Kristin Hannah

Ape House by Sara Gruen

The Aztec Code by Stephen Cole

Bake Sale Murder by Leslie Meier

Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand

Best Bake Sale Ever Cookbook by Barbara Grunes and Susie Cushner (Non-Fiction)

Body of Evidence by Stella Cameron

Boomer’s Big Day by Constance McGeorge (Juvenile)

Cake Pops Holidays by Bakerella (Non-Fiction)

Camel Club by David Baldacci

Carnage of Eagles by William Johnstone

Carrie by Stephen King

Catching Fireflies by Sherryl Woods

Central Park Rendezvous by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Cinderella: Ninja Warrior by Maureen McGowan (Young Adult)

The Collectors by David Baldacci

Comfort and Joy by Kristin Hannah

Cross by James Patterson

Cujo by Stephen King

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Deck Z: The Titanic ( a zombie story) byy Chris Pauls

Deep Down by Lee Child

Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard (Non-Fiction)

Divine by Karen Kingsbury

A Dog is a Dog by Stephen Shaskan (Juvenile)

Double Cross by James Patterson

Ever Running Man by Marcia Muller

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James

Forks Over Knives by Gene Stone (Non-Fiction)

Found by Karen Kingsbury

A Game of Thrones George RR Martin

Girl Meets Boy by Kelly Milner Halls (Young Adult)

The Girl Who Disappeared by Andrea Kane

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Going Organic Can Kill You (mystery) by Staci McLaughlin

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

The Goodbye Quilt by Susan Wiggs

Growing Up Amish by Ira Wagler (Non-Fiction)

The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn

The Haven by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Heartbroken by Lisa Unger

Heartwood by James Lee Burke

Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo (Non-Fiction)

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Heron’s Cove by Carla Neggers

Hide and Seek by James Patterson

Hot Dog and Bob 1-3 by L Bob Rovetch and Dave Whamond (Juvenile)

Imposter by Davis Bunn

In Plain Sight by Tara Taylor Quinn

An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff (Non-Fiction)

Is Everyone Hanging Out without Me? by Mindy Kaling (Non-Fiction)

It Takes a Cowboy by Gina Wilkins

Keeper of the Bride by Tess Gerritsenn

Kiss the Girls by James Patterson

Knitting (Non-Fiction)

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by Countess Fiona Carnarvon (Non-Fiction)

Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Living in Harmony by Mary Ellis

The Lost City of Z by David Grann (Non-Fiction)

The Maze Runner by James Dashner (Young Adult)

The Mist by Stephen King

The Murder of King Tut by James Patterson (Non-Fiction)

MWF Seeking BFF by Rachel Bertsche (Non-Fiction)

Naturally Pain Free by Letha Hadady (Non-Fiction)

Never Say Never by Lisa Wingate

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstein

Presumed Guilty by Tess Gerritsenn

The Quickie by James Patterson

The Racketeer by John Grisham

The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks

Rest in Pizza by Chris Cavender

The River of Doubt by Candice Millard (Non-Fiction)

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen

Season of the Machete by James Patterson

Secret Treasure Box  (Ivy and Bean 1-3) by Annie Barrows (Juvenile)

The Shack by William Paul Young

Sharpshooter by Nadia Gordon

Shoveling Smoke by Austin Davis

Still LoLo by Lauren Scruggs (Non-Fiction)

Strike of the Mountain Man by William Johnstone

Sundays at Tiffany’s by James Patterson

Talk of the Town by Lisa Wingate

A Time to Run by Barbara Boxer

To Love and Cherish by Tracie Petersen

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (Non-Fiction)

Unlikely Friendships: 47 Stories from the Animal Kingdom by Jennifer Holland

Unlikely Friendships for Kids by Jennifer Holland (Juvenile)

The Unspoken by Heather Graham

A Visit from the Goon Squad  by Jennifer Egan

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Werewolves/Zombies by Chris Lane

What to Expect When You’re Expecting by Heidi Murkoff (Non-Fiction)

When Love Comes My Way by Lori Copeland

Where Azaleas Bloom by Sherryl Woods

World War Z by Max Brooks

Worst Case Scenario Survive-O-Pedia by David Borgenicht (Juvenile)

HOLIDAY READS

Several of your favorite authors have published holiday books again this year.  Here's a few you might enjoy.

BETTER THAN CHOCOLATE by SHEILA ROBERTS

The Sterling Family of Icicle Falls, Washington has owned Sweet Dreams for 4 generations. Currently, 30-something Samantha Sterling is in charge after her stepfather pilfered away profits and died, leaving her with quite a mess on her hands. The new bank manager Blake Preston is refusing to give her anytime to catch up on her back payments, so she is desperate for a way to make a lot of cash, fast.
The book mainly follows Samantha, but you also get the story of her 2 sisters and her grieving mother who are helping out with the business situation. Of course, all three girls are single but meet some romantic prospects, including Samantha who is inexplicably attracted to her worst enemy, Blake. Their mother is in a deep depression and none of the girls seem to be able to pull her out of it. Samantha is too stressed and angry at her deceased stepfather to have much sympathy for her mother.
The family does pull together long enough to plan a chocolate festival that they hope will earn them enough money to get the bank, and Blake off their backs. I was eager to see if they could do it and see how their relationships changed in the process.
The author described their quaint little town and all of it's characters in a very realistic manner. This helped pull me into the story and created a fun and engaging scene for the plot. While the plot was predictable, it was fun and the dialogue was smart. Some parts were a little unbelievable, but I willing to suspend belief to make the story work. I recommend this to fans of cozy mysteries and light romances. There was nothing explicit, but it's not a totally clean romance. 

THE FALLBACK PLAN by LEIGH STEIN

The Fallback Plan began on a high note. It introduces us to Esther, who recently graduated from college with a degree in theatre. Esther moves back in with her parents and has no plans or prospects for her future. This certainly was a familiar situation for me and for many college graduates. Esther was a very real, raw character and her friends were as well. They hung out smoking and watching TV, doing silly mundane things that 20 yr olds with no responsibility do. I enjoyed their dialogue, for it rang very true to life.

Esther's parents tell her she must pay rent if she wants to live there. Her mother ends up securing her a babysitting job for a 4 yr old neighbor named May. She enjoys playing with her, but ends up getting sucked into her family's drama. May's parents, Amy and Nate, lost their baby earlier that year. The nursery, behind a closed door, is a mess and Amy stays at home and nervously smokes while Esther watches May. Nate and Amy have a lot of tension between them, undoubtedly caused by the loss of their daughter. As Esther becomes entwined in this mess, she starts to realize that she needs to move on with her life and start making things happen or she too will end up with her life in a mess.

I truly loved the characters and their dialogue, but I did not enjoy the story. I wanted things to turn out differently than they did, but maybe that wouldn't be true to life. I am not a fan of sad novels and I really wanted to read a humorous story about Esther and her friends figuring out their post college lives. This had a tad too much sadness and drama for my taste, but I do think others will enjoy this story and its characters.      

IF YOU LIVE HERE, YOU'D BE HOME NOW

If You Lived Here You'd be Home by Now by Claire LaZebnik is a great funny novel about growing up. It's not about being a child, but finding yourself at 25 and still not "grown up" yet. The main character, 25 year old Rickie, lives in her parents house in LA with her 6 yr old son Noah. Rickie hasn't done much of anything since becoming pregnant and dropping out of college. She is tattooed, pierced, and frequently butts heads with her mother. She is constantly worrying about Noah because he has an autoimmune disease, is small, unathletic, and gets picked on at his ritzy private school.

 Rickie generally avoids all the other parents from school because she thinks they look down on her for being so young and different looking. After Noah is bullied in gym class, Rickie approaches the gym teacher with her trademark sarcasm and wit. Though he is a "dumb jock" and total optimist, he and pessimistic Rickie begin an unlikely friendship. Soon her sister is dragging her to school events and she finds herself making friends with the very parents she thought she hated.

Rickie is a very real character who made me laugh out loud at some of her sarcastic comments. She didn't sugarcoat motherhood and often expressed frustration with her son that many people try to hide. Her relationships with those around her were interesting and realistic portrayals of family dynamics. It was frustrating to see her so stagnant in her life and the whole time I wanted her to finally get up and do something with her life.

This is a great realistic chick-lit book that will appeal to women in their 20s and 30s.      

DESTINATION TRUTH by JOSH GATES

Destination Truth: Memoirs of a Monster Hunter is written by TV personality/world explorer Josh Gates.  Josh hosts the popular SyFy series, Destination Truth.  If you've never seen the show, it follows Josh and his crew as they travel to remote parts of the world searching for creatures, ghosts, and monsters that supposedly reside there.  Many times, they find alternative explanations for what locals have been seeing, however, sometimes they are able to catch evidence of paranormal activity that leaves them scratching their heads. 
Josh's memoirs begin by describing how he got the hosting job at SyFy, his first sloppily planned investigations and the hijinks, fun, and danger that subsequently ensues.  He also includes details about the cryptids they have investigated and what his conclusions are on whether or not they really exist.  It is interesting insight from someone who has traveled, investigated, and met with many witnesses around the world. 
Even if you have never seen the show before, this is a fun read.  Josh is witty, honest, and not afraid to poke fun at himself.  Reading about the cultures and the stories they have passed down from generation to generation appeals to many readers.  This would also be a good book for teens with an interest in the paranormal.