More Great Selections for Summer Reading

The King's Agent by Donna Russo Morin (2012)
Since my mother's name was Aurelia and my middle name is Aurelia, I had to read this book because the heroine's name is Aurelia. The story is similar to The Di Vinci Code; a search for clues to an artifact that possesses great power.   Aurelia and Barista, an outlaw in service to the King of France, go through Dante's Heaven, Hell and Purgatory to find clues to where the artifact is. They discover where it is, but Aurelia has a different idea on what to do with it.   Very detailed, and kind of difficult slogging through it, but good.  ~ Recommended by Michele

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys (2013)
Josie is the 17 year old daughter of a New Orleans prostitute in the 1950’s.  She works as a cleaning person in the brothel where her mother works and as a bookstore clerk, where she has an apartment above the store.  She has made family around herself.  Josie works hard and is applying to Smith College to get out of New Orleans when she gets caught up in a murder investigation.  Although this is a written for a Teen audience, adults will enjoy the story of an adventurous girl pulling herself up by her bootstraps to get what she wants.  It was a great story.  ~ Recommended by Sue

Under Tower Peak: a Western Thriller by Bart Paul (2013)
A small plane crash in the Sierra Nevada range is discovered by cowboys Tommy Smith and his partner Lester while on trail-clearing duty. They soon learn that the dead pilot is a famed billionaire who has been missing for many months. Unbeknownst to Tommy, Lester hatches a clumsy plan to wrangle money out of either the widow or the surviving son by taking a watch and some money from the plane site. Tommy convinces Lester that this is not a good idea and commences to try to put everything right again. But wouldn't you know, this is not how it goes. Murder and mayhem ensue, and Tommy utilizes his special forces training to try to get everybody out alive from this mess.  Maybe.  ~ Recommended by Connie

Gordie Howe: My Hockey Memories by Gordie Howe with Frank Condron (1999)
This autobiography recounts the life and career of one of the best players the National Hockey League has ever seen—Gordie Howe.  It takes you from his boyhood in Saskatchewan, through his career with the Detroit Red Wings, all the way to when he played for the Hartford Whalers with two of his sons.  With stories about his personal life as well as his professional career, this book holds something for everyone interested in hockey.  The abundance of photographs makes an already good autobiography great.  This book is a must read for any hockey enthusiast, whether you are a Gordie Howe fan or not.  ~ Recommended by Jennifer

The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier (2013)
A sympathetic  portrait of a woman’s life on an Ohio farm in the 1850s and of the Underground Railroad as seen through the eyes of Honor Bright, a Quaker from England.  She immigrates to Ohio hoping to recover from a broken romance by starting life anew.  However, she is unprepared for the hard and difficult life on a Quaker dairy farm.   We see the world through Honor’s eyes and sympathize with her dilemma of having to make choices that no Quaker should have to make.  How can she obey the new fugitive slave laws which treat humans as property when she has always been taught to come to the aid of anyone in need of food and clothing?  How fortunate she is to have two woman role models to be her guides in this new world.   ~ Recommended by Regina