Rating: 
This book comes with a warning. About not picking it up if you have places to be. Believe it. And add to the list: sleep. If you are at all insomnia-prone, do not get into bed and pick up this book. You’re not going to want to put it down. You might not be able to put it down.
Clay Jensen is having a bad week. Which is a massive understatement. But I don’t think he’d have accurate words to tell you how he feels, so I’m certainly not going to try.
It started when Hannah Baker failed to show up for school. It continued in the whispers and looks. The reactions, some of which seemed random, some which almost maybe made sense. It culminated in the package left at his front door. The one with his name on it. No return address. The brief excitement ended when he found a cassette player and popped in the first tape. And out came Hannah’s voice.
Hannah Baker lost control of her life. At least, she couldn’t seem to gain control of her life. Even once she realized what was going on. As it got worse, and oblivion seemed to be spiraling her way, she took it upon herself to document what had happened. From the beginning. Which in this case was her move to town. The fresh start that got off on the wrong foot, through no fault of her own, and never ceased to misstep.
She wrote a list. After a specific and yet random night which caused it all to collide, she wrote a list. All the connections. The events and the people. From that list she narrowed it down to 13. Thirteen key players. Thirteen people whose lives, in one way or another, will never be the same. Not just because Hannah Baker didn’t come to school. She also left them a message. A message they and 12 others will know. If they follow the rules. No tellling who could end up knowing if they don’t.
There’s another set of tapes. And a follower, making sure the first set gets around.
Clay, for his part, can hardly take it all in. From the first time he saw Hannah, he liked her. But for varied reasons, not the least of which were the rumors that began it all, he never tried. He was afraid to find out he might be wrong, he thought she’d never give him a chance. And then he nearly had one…only to lose it. And then he really lost it, because Hannah took it all away. No second chances.
As he makes his way through the tapes, there’s an incredible amount of disbelief. A lot of inability to process. And yet he perseveres. He plays all the tapes, beginning to end, in one sitting. Trying to understand. Shuddering at every new piece to slide into place. Trying to imagine how he can go back to school and face these people, whose reactions now make sense.
It’s as much because of Clay, as because of Hannah, that you won’t be able to stop reading. And while it might seem you could never be left feeling anything but despairing…it’s not true.
This about awareness. This is about change. And most of all, this is about hope.
Find it in the Catalog
View it at Amazon
Rating: 
When the world learns that the moon is going to be hit by an asteroid, the reaction is excitement. Finally, everyone alive will get to see something that’s happened throughout history but never truly been witnessed. On Miranda’s road, like many others, families come out to the street for a better view of the event. But soon after her brother announces he can see the asteroid coming through the telescope, things go from spectacular to disaster.
After the hit, everyone on the ground is left with a disturbing sight: the moon, asked, more visible, and far too close. Soon after, the flooding begins. Entire coasts are wiped out. Earthquakes follow. And eventually, fires.
When Miranda’s mother shows up at school soaking wet during a storm, she doesn’t know what to think. When they’re racing around the supermarket stocking up on everything they can, she thinks her mother is definitely over reacting. But as life grows less and less normal, she begins to understand that it was her mother’s quick thinking and foresight that’s enabling them to survive.
Unsure why she’s keeping a diary, Miranda nevertheless writes nearly every day, documenting the good times, the exciting days, and the trauma. Everything.
Quite often, while reading, I’d pause, look up, and be quite surprised to see the HDTV playing on, realize the lights were working, and that there was a fridge full of food. While I certainly hope this creative tale never turns into reality, I have to think it’s a possibility, which makes it all the more gripping.
Miranda and her family suffer through what sometimes seems more than their fair share of ups and downs, but through it all they stick together, showing us that love and perseverance can help you through even the most unimaginable times.
Find it in the Catalog
Sixteen-year-old Miranda Evans has a pretty normal life. She’s a swimmer and an ice-skater; she has two brothers - one older and one younger; she has two best friends and is an average student.
But then everything changes.
When an asteroid hits the moon and knocks it out of orbit everything on Earth is affected. The moon’s control over the tides causes massive tsunamis, destroying many coastal areas. Then the earthquakes start. Then the volcanoes start erupting.
Miranda’s family must now learn to survive in a new world–one without electricity, Internet, heating oil, running water or telephones. This is her story, told in journal entries about how her life has changed. Gripping, well-written and fast paced, Life As We Knew It is a book that will stay with its reader long after they’ve finished it.
Rating:
A quick read, packed with laughs, Storky tells the story of a gaingly, couch-potato nerd who wants little more than to leave his nickname behind.
A freshman in High School, Mike Pomerantz can’t quite seem to get a handle on life. His sister seems to have split personalities, he’s not sure how to relate to girls, he can’t see past his love for his friend Gina, and he thinks his sour relationship with his father is his fault.
When he starts to accompany his mother now and again to the local Seniors’ home, and plays games of Scrabble with an old man named Duke, he feels like he’s hit a new low. But after a fight, he comes to realize he’s grown to like his time with Duke, and that it’s about a lot more than Scrabble.
When his mother starts dating his dentist, he can only hope the relationship with “Dr. Vermin” won’t last, yet the more time he spends with Berm, the more he gets to like it. He even joins his bowling league.
Though he keeps trying with his father, he can’t seem to please him. Nor can he make him understand he’d like to see him alone, without his babe of the month. When good old dad refuses to teach him to drive after promising to do so, Mike starts to see the light.
And such is the life of a high school Freshman—full of trials and some more trials. But Mike prevails, and comes out much better for it on the other side.
Find it in the Catalog
Goshen Public Library & Historical Society | 203 Main St Goshen, NY 10924 | Phone: 845.294.6606 | Fax: 845.294.7158 | RCLS Member
