From the Library 11/1

From the Library is my Saturday Sunday (for this week) listing of what I checked out from the library this week.

 Rampant - Diana Peterfreund

(I actually won a copy but there was a mix-up or something so I haven't got it in yet so, oh well, the library copy gets a little circulation.)

The sparkly, innocent creatures of lore are a myth. Real unicorns are venomous, man-eating monsters with huge fangs and razor-sharp horns. And they can only be killed by virgin descendants of Alexander the Great.

Fortunately, unicorns have been extinct for a hundred and fifty years.

Or not.

Astrid Llewelyn has always scoffed at her eccentric mother's stories about killer unicorns. But when one of the monsters attacks her boyfriend in the woods — thereby ruining any chance of him taking her to prom — Astrid learns that unicorns are real and dangerous, and she has a family legacy to uphold. Her mother packs her off to Rome to train as a unicorn hunter at the ancient cloisters the hunters have used for centuries.

However, at the cloisters, all is not what it seems. Outside, the unicorns wait to attack. And within, Astrid faces other, unexpected threats: from crumbling, bone-covered walls that vibrate with a terrible power to the hidden agendas of her fellow hunters to — perhaps most dangerously of all — her growing attraction to a handsome art student... and a relationship that could jeopardize everything.

After - Amy Kefaw
(Amanda at the Zen Leaf had a favorable review so I'm going to give it a try even though I'm not usually one for "serious" realistic modern books.  But it's good to read out of your comfort zone.)
An infant left in the trash to die. A teenage mother who never knew she was pregnant . . .
Before That Morning, these were the words most often used to describe straight-A student and star soccer player Devon Davenport: responsible, hardworking, mature. But all that changes when the police find Devon home sick from school as they investigate the case of an abandoned baby. Soon the connection is made—Devon has just given birth; the baby in the trash is hers. After That Morning, there’s only one way to define Devon: attempted murderer.
And yet gifted author Amy Efaw does the impossible— she turns Devon into an empathetic character, a girl who was in such deep denial that she refused to believe she was pregnant. Through airtight writing and fast-paced, gripping storytelling, Ms. Efaw takes the reader on Devon’s unforgettable journey toward clarity, acceptance, and redemption.

And Another Thing - Eoin Colfer
(I'm a HUGE Douglas Adams fan but I will admit that Mostly Harmless is a bit of downer so I'm excited to see what Colfer does with it.)
Arthur Dent's accidental association with that wholly remarkable book, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, has not been entirely without incident.
Arthur has traveled the length, breadth, and depth of known, and unknown, space. He has stumbled forward and backward through time. He has been blown up, reassembled, cruelly imprisoned, horribly released, and colorfully insulted more than is strictly necessary. And of course Arthur Dent has comprehensively failed to grasp the meaning of life, the universe, and everything.
Arthur has finally made it home to Earth, but that does not mean he has escaped his fate.
Arthur's chances of getting his hands on a decent cuppa have evaporated rapidly, along with all the world's oceans. For no sooner has he touched down on the planet Earth than he finds out that it is about to be blown up . . . again.
And Another Thing . . . is the rather unexpected, but very welcome, sixth installment of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. It features a pantheon of unemployed gods, everyone's favorite renegade Galactic President, a lovestruck green alien, an irritating computer, and at least one very large slab of cheese.

The Blonde of the Joke - Bennett Madison (I loved his Lulu Dark books so will try this.)
It’s like the set-up for the perfect blonde joke: the blonde is Francie—big earrings, bigger heels, large ambition. The brunette is Val—mousy, quiet, always the obedient one. But when Francie befriends Val one day at the mall, the two girls become inexorably linked in a tangled web of friendship and love, lies and betrayal that begins and ends in the thrilling victory of stealing as much as they possibly can from the larger-than-life mall.





The Adoration of Jenna Fox - Mary E. Pearson
(Sounds like Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac but more sinister maybe?)
Seventeen-year-old Jenna has been told that is her name. She has just awoken from a year-long coma, and she's still recovering from the terrible accident that caused it. Her parents show her home movies of her life, her memories, but she has no recollection. Is she really the same girl she sees on the screen?

Little by little, Jenna begins to remember. Along with the memories come questions—questions no one wants to answer for her. What really happened after the accident?

Kiss of Life - Daniel Waters (sequel to Generation Dead which I surprisingly liked)

The phenomenon that's been sweeping the country seems to be here to stay.  Not only are the teenagers who have come back from their graves still here, but newlydeads are being unearthed all the time.  While scientists look for answers and politicians take their stands, the undead population of Oakville have banded together in a group they're calling the Sons of Romero, hoping to find solidarity in segregation.

Phoebe Kendall may be alive, but she feels just as lost and alone as her dead friends.  Just when she reconciled herself to having feelings for a zombie -- her Homecoming date Tommy Williams -- her friend Adam is murdered taking a bullet that was meant for her.  Things get even more confusing when Adam comes back from the grave.  Now she has romantic interest in two dead boys; one who saved her life, and one she can't seem to live without.

Sir Thursday (audio) - Garth Nix, read by Alan Corduner (my continuation in this series)

On the fourth day there was war... Following their adventures in the Border Sea, Arthur and Leaf head for home. But only Leaf gets through the Front Door. Arthur is blocked because someone . . . or something . . . has assumed his identity and is taking over his life. Before Arthur can take action, he is drafted by Sir Thursday and forced to join the Glorious Army of the Architect. While Leaf tries to banish Arthur's doppleganger on earth, Arthur must survive his basic training, avoid getting posted to the Front and work out how he can free Part Four of the Will....