The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

The FIve People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

Title: The Five People You Meet in Heaven
Author: Mitch Albom
Publication Date: 2003

Review: The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom was a great book that really helped me realize how much life is important, but after life is important too. Mitch Albom is a descriptive writer which helped me visualize the book better. You could really feel the characters’ emotions. This book was about an older man named Eddie who used to be a soldier in wars. He now works at a seaside amusement park. He helps fix rides. Eddie dies and the book talks about his life in Heaven. The book helped me expand my imagination.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Reviewer: Lisa K.

The Book of Lost Things

The Book of Lost Things by

Title: The Book of Lost Things
Author: John Connolly
Publication Date: 2006

Review: This is an absolutely beautiful book. You can tell that the author really thought about everything, and its symbolism and place in the story. It is one of those books where the young child lives in a sucky environment they’re only vaguely aware of, but have their own personal problems they have to work through in a fantastical world that may or may not be an invention of their mind. I also liked how the author explained a lot of the stories in the back of the book. This is not a novel for the faint of heart, however, there is quite a lot of gore and violence (as a warning).

Rating: 5 out of 5

Reviewer: Marci H.

Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone

It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

Title: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Author: J.K. Rowling
Publication Date: 1997

Review: I thought that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was a very good book and that it took you to a world where there are more than humans: there are wizards. It has a feel of discovery when you learn more about Harry’s background. I liked it.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Reviewer: Michael A.

It’s Kind of a Funny Story

It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

Title: It’s Kind of a Funny Story
Author: Ned Vizzini
Publication Date: 2006

Review: This book is about Greg, a boy who is depressed and seeks refugee at the adult psych ward 3 North. There he meets Bobby, a character all his own. Together they laugh, cry, and have a good time. This book will make you laugh out loud!

Reviewer: Kathrin W.

Eleven Birthdays

Eleven Birthdays by Wendy Mass

Title: Eleven Birthdays
Author: Wendy Mass
Publication Date: 2009

Review: This book is about a girl named Amanda, who is turning eleven, and who hasn’t spoken to her best friend Leo for one year. Leo and Amanda share their birthday, and on their tenth birthday Leo is unkind to Amanda to impress his other friends. One year later, Amanda finds herself stuck in a continuous loop: she keeps re-living her eleventh birthday. Leo has the same predicament, so it is up to them to reunite and put a stop to the repeating day.

Reviewer: Olivia R.

The Hunger Games

Yesterday our Wednesday Afternoon Book Club read The Hunger Games, the first book in a trilogy by Suzanne Collins. In the book, Katniss Everdeen must overcome an unjust system to win a televised fight to the death with 23 other teens. Things become even more complicated as she finds that she has feelings for one of her opponents, someone she must kill in order to survive.

This book is a YA book, but had plenty for the adults to talk about as well. The book resonates with themes of identity, the importance of partnership, and unjust oppression. The book club as discussed violence in teen and youth books as well as the casting for the upcoming movie.

Even though not everyone in our Wednesday Afternoon adult book group liked the book, our teens have loved it. Included here is a video that they made when they read The Hunger Games in our Pizza and Pages book club. For more information about our adult book clubs, click here.

Pulitzer Prize Winners at Baldwin

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

In case you missed the announcement last week, The Pulitzer Prize Award Winners were named last week. Jennifer Egan’s A Visit From the Goon Squad took the big prize in fiction this year.

There were several other notable winners: The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee took home the prize for General Nonfiction and Washington: A Life by Andrew Moore won the Pulitzer in Biography and Autobiography.

If you’d like to get your hands on a copy of these books or the other Pulitzer Prize winners, check out Baldwin’s booklist of Pulitzer Prize Winners 2011. You can also find out more information about the Pulitzer Prize here.

Michigan Notable Books 2011

Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon

Find this year’s Michigan Notable Books at Baldwin! Click here to get our Michigan Notable Books booklist to see the titles and get descriptions.

For more information on the Michigan Notable Books program, click here.

You’ll note that our recent guest, Heather Sellers, is included on this list for her book You Don’t Look Like Anyone I Know: A True Story of Family, Face-Blindness, and Forgiveness. To watch a video of her presentation click here.

Everyone’s Reading 2011

Everyone’s Reading 2011, a set on Flickr.

Check out the pictures of this year’s Everyone’s Reading with Michael Connelly. All pictures are courtesy of Carol DeWeese.

The Truth About Forever

The Cover of "The Truth About Forever"

Title: The Truth About Forever
Author: Sarah Dessen
Publication Date: 2006

Review: This book is about Macy Queen. Macy is getting ditched by her boyfriend Jason while he goes to brain camp. Macy is in charge of Jason’s job at the library and on top of all that Macy keeps getting haunted by her fathers death. This book is helps you learn about family, loss, life, and the way to live yours. This is a great book!!

Reviewer: Kathrin W.