Book Review for Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

I was super drawn to the sequel to The Shining because I couldn’t wait to see what became of little Danny Torrence after the infamous events that took place at the Overlook Hotel. Dr. Sleep is largely Danny’s story, but we do get some snippets of information about what became of Wendy, Dick Hallorann, and even some of the nasty ghosts. We quickly find out that Danny’s life has been far from spectacular.

Danny has fallen into the footsteps of his father; he is an alcoholic. He can’t hold down a job and ends up being particularly haunted by events that took place during a drunken escapade and a one night stand. Luckily he starts attending AA, lands a job at a nursing home where he uses his shining abilities to help dying patients cross over, and eventually stays sober. I expected that Danny’s life would not be picture perfect considering his nightmarish childhood, but was completely surprised and fascinated about the introduction of new characters!

Abra is a young girl who begins showing signs of especially strong shining at a very young age. The True Knot is a group of ghouls who feed off of shining powers. King’s ghouls are obsessed with Abra and will do anything to get to her. Once King adds Danny into the mix as a mentor and protector things become action packed. Dr. Sleep provides a deeper understanding and back story of the shining power and has readers scared of a whole new set of creeps! It is definitely worth the read!

Book Review for The Shining by Stephen King

The film version of The Shining is definitely eerie and quite a horror classic, but the book is well worth reading even if you have seen the film already. In the movie version there is less emphasis placed on important aspects of the plot that King laid out in the novel. Growing up watching the movie, I always thought Jack Torrence went crazy just because of cabin fever. I recognized Danny Torrence’s shining capabilities, but was not entirely sold on their significance to the story, or at least did not see them as significant enough to warrant naming the story after them. It all makes much more sense now that I read the novel

Jack gets a job taking care of the historic Overlook Hotel in Colorado during the bitter cold and snow covered winter months. He and his family are virtually trapped in the hotel once the snow sets in. Yes Jack develops cabin fever, but his eventual insanity and desire to kill his entire family also stems from some serious deep rooted personality flaws. He is a recovered alcoholic with serious anger problems. Drinking destroyed his career and nearly destroyed his family.

Danny shines, or has psychic/telepathic abilities. This capability also allows ghosts to connect with and torment him. The Overlook is chocked full of ghosts from various eras with some really tragic and sometimes criminal background stories. The ghosts take a special liking to Danny and go out of their way to get to him. The family’s struggles and Jack’s eventual drinking binge and insanity largely revolve around the ghosts and their need for Danny. The Shining has a little bit of everything in it. It has drama, it is thrilling, and it is also downright creepy!

If you are looking to read the sequel, Dr. Sleep, I recommend reading The Shining first because some of the original’s lesser known characters make appearances in it.

Kelly's Review: My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf

Backderf tells us the story of Jeffrey Dahmer’s high school years as seen through the eyes of him and his friends in this graphic novel. Backderf attended high school with Dahmer and while he was not good friends with him, he socialized with him from time to time. He draws from these personal experiences as well as other sources to portray what Jeff was like as a teenager. Largely it seems that Jeff was troubled long before his serial killing of young men began. He spent most of his days drinking to help stifle his urges to kill and as a way to cope with the turmoil of his mother and father’s divorce. He also had an extreme fascination in dismembering dead animals he found in the woods surrounding his home.

This fascination of course leads to far worse acts. While we get glimpses of the troubled person Jeff was, we also see that although he was no social butterfly in school, kids did take interest in him. They especially liked it when he would approach strangers and suddenly contort his face and offer a barrage of strange noises. They found this funny and they tried to engage Jeff, but his drinking took priority.

Sometimes the art work seems extremely comical, and other times it takes on a serious tone. It was neat that Backderf could create pictures that showed us the fun side of his own high school experience alongside the darkness surrounding Jeffrey’s. An underlying theme Backderf seems to relate to readers is that it may have been possible for Dahmer’s life to have gone in a more positive direction if the adults surrounding him in his teen years had stepped up and took notice to his absences from school, and his drinking. Regardless of whether Jeff could have been helped or not, we all know what eventually became of him. A quick and informative read it is!

If you'd like to read this book, you can call the Information Desk at (856) 794-4244 ext. 4243 to put it on hold.

Kelly's Review: Butter by Erin Jade Lange

Butter is a morbidly obese high school student who introduces readers to his world in this young adult fiction novel. Butter seems to want the same things other kids his age want, but it is harder for him to attain them because of his weight. He is often taunted, but for the most part is the invisible kid at school. He longs for a relationship with his classmate Anna, and he sort of has one with her. Butter pretends to be a kid who attends a nearby high school over the internet to win Anna’s heart. Butter’s discontent with life reaches a boiling point and he proclaims via a blog that on New Year’s Eve he will stream live footage of him eating himself to death. Soon thereafter Butter becomes the most popular kid at school.

It is the aftermath of Butter’s proclamation that makes the story most interesting. Why would anyone think what Butter was doing cool? Do they really want to watch him die? Do they really like him once they get to know him? I asked myself these questions often, and found some answers by the ending. Lange shows us how cruel kids can be to each other, and how blinding the incentives of popularity can be.  

         

If you'd like to read this book, you can call the Information Desk at (856) 794-4244 ext. 4243 to put it on hold.

Kelly's Review: The Tommyknockers by Stephen King

          Imagine tripping over a small piece of metal as you walk through the woods. On closer inspection you find that it is embedded in the forest floor. Most of us would be annoyed and perhaps grabbing at our stubbed toe, but inevitably we would walk away and likely forget about it. This scenario plays out early on in King’s novel for Roberta “Bobbi” Anderson. Bobbi can’t simply walk away. Bobbi investigates the metal and soon finds that she must unearth whatever it is. Curiosity turns to obsession, and the obsession soon rubs off on others throughout town. Strange mind reading powers start to possess the people, and they begin to manipulate small devices/electronics and change them into inventions unheard of.

          The Tommyknockers will appeal to King fans as well as fans of aliens. While I am a King fan and did enjoy the book, I would not say it was my favorite. The ending seemed quite drawn out and I felt the book would have been a bit more enticing had the altered machines had a bigger role. Perhaps what makes the book most interesting is Bobbi’s eventual realization that her obsession and complete change of self was all for something that was not nearly as wonderful as she pictured it to be. 

To put this book on hold, please call the Information Desk: (856) 794-4244 ext. 4243.

Kelly's Book Review: I'll See you Again by Jackie Hance

I’ll See You Again by Jackie Hance

In July of 2009 a horrific car accident took place on the Taconic State Parkway in New York. Anyone watching the news reports would be shocked and appalled at the heartbreaking tragedy. Lost in the accident were four children, and three adults. Three of the children were sisters and they were also the author’s, Jackie Hance’s, only children. The girls, Emma, Alyson and Katie, were eight, seven and five when they lost their lives.  What was a sad and devastating news report for most of us was Jackie’s ultimate nightmare.  We learn from Jackie’s memoir how an ordinary woman lived through and reacted to what can only be unimaginable for so many of us. 

Jackie’s story is not sugarcoated, nor does it contain superhuman details on how to recover from tragedy.  It is just an honest look at what the writer went through. She questioned her faith, her marriage, and her will to live. Friends and family helped out, but at the end of the day nothing made her feel better. Happy gatherings plagued her with guilt, trips to the grocery store bombarded her with lost memories; and birthdays and holidays became cruel.

Ultimately, I kept waiting for the happy ending. I wanted so badly for Jackie to say her daughters returned.  Of course they don’t, but we get to see Jackie begin to shape a new life for herself that still keeps her daughters’ memories alive. Many will find Jackie’s story comforting in that it reminds us that we are capable of moving on from tragedy even when it seems there could never be a way

If you want to reserve this book, please call the Information Desk: (856) 794-4244 ext. 4243.

Kelly’s Book Review: Grace, Gold, and Glory: My Leap of Faith by Gabby Douglas

Gabby Douglas, the reigning Olympic All Around Gymnastics gold champion, is such an inspiring young woman. Even though gymnastics is something I have been interested in since my childhood, her story will still impact those who are not as interested in the sport.

She tells her life story in a young voice and will attract teenage readers with her text lingo (i.e. lol), and her love for current pop culture (i.e. tv show, Vampire Diaries). Her story especially will resonate with young teenage girls because her desires and difficulties closely mirror those of any average teenager.

Yes, training for the Olympics is something very few teenage girls have the opportunity or desire to do, but all of us have dreams and goals that require persistence to achieve.

If you'd like to read this book, you can call the Information Desk (856) 794-4244 ext. 4243.