Looking for your next great read? See what the Newfields librarians are reading and loving this month…
Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser
Where to begin? I loved loved loved loved LOVED this book. (Have I sold it to you, yet? Okay, fine. I’ll go on…)
Lady Tremaine is a retelling of the classic fairytale Cinderella, told from the “evil” stepmother (Lady Tremaine’s) point of view.
But this story is so much more than a simple flipping of the script. The tale jumps back and forth weaving together Lady Tremaine’s past as a young girl and the current adult widow we see in the original story to piece together a full picture of this complex character.
In her younger years, Lady Tremaine fell in love and married her first husband and for a brief spell had everything she needed in life. Until tragedy struck and her husband died. She was left with two young daughters and no real money to her name. As is the sad reality for so many women of the time, she had to remarry to secure her family’s future.
She found a good match, if not a love match, with her second husband—Cinderella’s (named Ellen in this story) father. Despite her efforts to build a positive relationship with her new stepdaughter, Ellen never fully lets her or her step-sisters in. And, accustomed to a life of luxury that the other women are not, tends to be a little spoiled and aloof. Thus begins a complicated family dynamic as Lady Tremaine works to create a happy family unit.
When tragedy strikes a second time and her second husband dies, Lady Tremaine is once again left destitute. While they have a manor and a title, her late husband left the household in a mountain of debt. The only money set aside is tied up in a trust for Ellen’s dowery—leaving Lady Tremaine and her other two daughters without a penny for their future—and nothing to support them in their desperate present.
Lady Tremaine thus casts all her hopes and efforts into securing the three girls’ futures through marriage. When the royal family announces a great ball where the prince will seek a bride, Lady Tremaine sees their chance. But she must be strategic and resourceful, always careful not to let the townsfolk or suitors realize just how impoverished the great Tremaine house is really is.
When Ellen catches the eye of the young prince, it looks like the family could be saved. But Lady Tremaine isn’t the only person who is hiding secrets. And if she is to protect her family, she will have to risk everything.
This book was masterfully told, touching on themes of love, loss, class, patriarchy, and the lengths a mother will go to protect her children. I was on the edge of my seat for most of the book and couldn’t put it down.
I expect this may be my favorite book of the year.
If you love a classic fairytale, you’ll enjoy this. But even for those who don’t, I think you will find this is something special.
I listened to the audio narration (courtesy of an Advanced Listening Copy from Libro.fm) and the listening experience was stunning. In short: the vibes were immaculate. But whatever format you choose, you can’t go wrong.
I am itching to talk about this one, so if (WHEN) you read this, please come find me at the Library!
📖📲🎧This book is available to check out in our collection and on audiobook and ebook on the Libby app.
-Brittney T.
Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
“All kinds of funny things happen at Wayside School, especially on the thirteenth floor. You’ll meet Mrs. Gorf, the meanest teacher of all, terrible Todd, who always gets sent home early, and John who can read only upside down—along with all the other kids in the crazy mix-up school that came out sideways. But you’ll never guess the truth about Sammy, the new kid, or what’s in store for Wayside School on Halloween!” -LouisSachar.com
From the writer of Holes comes a collection of stories centered around a goofy class of kids. Due to oversights, the school, which was supposed to be a single floor with thirty classrooms, was built to be thirty stories high with a classroom on each floor. The kids that are the main focus of the stories all go to class on the thirtieth floor. Each short story is from the perspective of a different child and you learn more about the culture of Wayside School with each one.
You’ll come to understand their inside jokes, classroom rules, and all the urban legends passed from one grade to the next. Each story is told with a childlike sense of humor that comically depict the trials and struggles of an elementary school child. If you find yourself wanting more by the end, there are three more books in the series!
📖 📲This book series is available in our collection and as an ebook on the hoopla app.
–Andy S.
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Barcelona, 1945: A city slowly heals from its war wounds, and Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer’s son who mourns the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, by one Julian Carax. But when he sets out to find the author’s other works, he makes a shocking discovery: someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. In fact, Daniel may have the last of Carax’s books in existence. Soon Daniel’s seemingly innocent quest opens a door into one of Barcelona’s darkest secrets–an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love. -From the dust jacket
“Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens.”
Another book that defies easy description, but one that stays in my heart. Not only as a love letter to books and reading, but as an astonishingly beautifully written novel…an achievement all the more remarkable because it is a translation. I don’t think I fully appreciated what an art form translating is until I read this book. Yet even as sentences are ones you want to linger over, the force of the narrative keeps you completely engrossed and turning the pages. I just recently learned that Zafón wrote a prequel and two sequels to Shadow of the Wind, with the umbrella title of The Cemetery of Forgotten Books. Yes, please!
🎧📲This book is available in ebook and audiobook formats on the Libby app.
-Susan M.
