Weekend Reads

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

Sometimes the characters you read about seem so exceptional and perfect. This novel, the newest by Patrick Ness, is about everyone else. The kids who aren't hunting the vampires, the kids who aren't trying to stop the impending apocalypse, the kids who are just busy leading every day lives with every day problems. The story is told by Mikey, an 18-year-old boy who is riddled with tics brought on by the anxiety of graduation and unrequited love. He has four people in the world who he loves: his sisters Mel and Meredith, his friend Jared and Henna, who is his both his friend and the object of his affection. What is a little confusing about this book is that each chapter begins with a (very brief) synopsis of what the "indie" kids are doing (the ones who are fighting vampires/preventing the apocalypse).

While I really enjoyed the main plot of the book, I felt like the whole indie kids subplot was very slow-starting and, because of this, confusing. Something was clearly going on but it wasn't until the middle of the book that it was really clearly addressed. Have you ever listened to books on CD and skipped one of the discs? So you know the names of everyone and kind of get the plot but it all seems so off? That's how I felt at the beginning of the book. Though Ness brought it all together by the end, I definitely spent the first few chapters trying to figure out what I'd missed. Despite that, I have to reiterate that I really liked the main plot, the characters and the "realness" that Ness captured and portrayed. 

Find it in Fiction under F NES

The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patients' Lives by Theresa Brown, RN

Nurses have hard jobs. They work long hours, have immense responsibility for the lives of their patients, and have to make a million decisions each and every time they walk through the doors of their facility. Brown takes her readers through one shift, but focuses not only on the experience of the nurse but also on the lives of the patients the nurse is treating. The resulting story is harrowing and uplifting at the same time, filled with the successes and set backs that a nurse and her patients experience all in one day.

Find it in Nonfiction under 616 BRO

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard by Rick Riordan

For a long time, the world has been focused on Greek and Roman mythology - I can remember learning about Zeus and Hera and Diana and Ceres as a young student and being fascinated by the stories. Rick Riordan capitalized on that through the two Percy Jackson series, which led Percy and his friends first through and exploration of the Greek mythology in Percy Jackson & The Olympians and then did a Greek/Roman mashup in The Heros of Olympus. 

As far as ancient mythologies go, though, it seems that the fervor for Greco-Roman stories are fading and the Norse legends are coming to the forefront. Riordan adds his contribution to the new wave of Northern Germanic-inspired tales with Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. Expect the same light-hearted, fast-paced and humorous escapades that appeared throughout both Percy Jackson series. 

Find it in Fiction under F RIO