DCL Book Chat

Imagine a not too distant future where robots make up a very important part of our lives: they clean our houses, work in our factories, watch our children and even fight our wars. It seems possible, doesn’t it? But then imagine that one very smart computer tries to take over our world and begins destroying cities and eliminating humans. What would the human race do when their very existence is in jeopardy?

Told from multiple points of view in interviews, first person accounts and even videos, Robopocalypse is fast paced, fun and frightening to anyone with an electronic device. A Steven Spielberg film is already in the works and the best part of all is that a 10 year old girl plays a huge part in attempting to save the human race from extinction. You go, Mathilda!

Dedra

Come on, admit it, didn’t we all have a terrible, wonderful, all-consuming crush on a teen pop sensation sometime during our youth? Author Allison Pearson has taken that premise (a deeply personal one for the author) and turned it into a winning, engaging and sweet novel. In I Think I Love You, we meet Petra, a 13-year-old Welsh teenager. She and her friends are obsessed with David Cassidy, who in 1974 is the teen sensation of the world. Petra and her friends read The Essential David Cassidy fan magazine with religious fervor and take each and every word as the ultimate truth. If only it were true, but no. Unfortunately for recent journalism graduate Bill those pearls of pop wisdom are crafted, much to his unending embarrassment, by him. The story unfolds and each chapter tells us more about these two likeable characters in both 1974 and then in 1998 when Petra, now grown with her own daughter and a troubled marriage is attending her mother’s funeral. She discovers that her mother hid her prize-winning ticket to meet David all those many years ago. Pearson does a great job of capturing the essence of teen self-discovery, and delving into the real meaning of love and relationships. The introspection of the two characters is honest and truthful and the story intertwines into a sweet ending.

Laura J.

Newly divorced, and without custody of her children, Barb Barrett fills her days answering complaint letters for the local dairy. She’s just purchased a house in upstate New York once owned by Vladimir Nabokov and one of the many funny scenes in this surprisingly wry look at pulling your life together has Barb reflecting on her status as dairy-trouble mollifier in the same spot where Nabokov created his iconic Lolita. When Barb happens upon what might be Nabokovian notes on a baseball love story her life begins to take on a whole new shape, including the entrepreneurial leap to day-spa/cum brothel owner. What starts out as a seemingly serious divorce story ends up being a witty and somewhat crazy little romance where Barb meets a hunky carpenter (could he really have been anything else?) and falls in love with “the ex-person’s” dog. Author Leslie Daniels brings a bit of a twisted eye to all that Barb reflects upon, adding sardonic wit to the language and plot of this upbeat and original story.

Laura J.

I love time travel books and those written by Connie Willis are the best. These two titles focus on the lives of three Oxford historians from 2060 who travel back in time to observe the events of World War II in England. Blackout and All Clear follow the basic story line started in earlier titles Fire Watch, The Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog. Unfortunately in this outing, the time travelers end up getting trapped in London during the Blitz when their means of transportation back to 2060 fails.

**You must read Blackout first and then read All Clear. You have to read both books but they are both worth your time. Willis, who was recently inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame has wonderfully researched the history of the Blitz and England during the war and it shows in her writing. She captures the sense of place and the impact the war had on everyday people. She is also able to instill humor into situations that were deadly serious.
Allison