Friday, August 26, 2016

End of the Perfect 10 by Dvora Meyers


In 1976, Nadia Comaneci did the impossible. She performed on the uneven bars so well, she was awarded a score of 10. This was so revolutionary, the score board did not have the option to show a 10. 40 years later we still remember Nadia's name, yet the "Perfect 10" is no longer a possible Olympic score. In 2016 we see Simone Biles doing impossible routines scoring 15.933, and we wonder it means. What happened in gymnastics that something so iconic was changed, and how do we understand the new scores?

Author Dveora Meyers takes a look at the history of gymnastics through the lens of scoring. From what happened before the 1976 Olympics, to 2016, and what this means for the future. The names of the current Olympians are all mentioned, as well as many international and American gymnasts. The focus is on scoring in woman's gymnastics, however it could easily be read as a primer of Olympic Gymnastics from 1976 to 2016 as well. Beyond Olympic gymnastics, NCAA gymnastics is looked at as well due to the fact that they still use the 10 point scoring system.

From four years fans to full quad followers, The End of the Perfect 10 is something all fans of gymnastics should check out.



Friday, August 19, 2016

Slade House by David Mitchell


By the time young Nathan and his mother have found the mysterious entrance to Slade House, the reader already feels uneasy on their behalf. Nathan is an adolescent, perhaps autistic, and very sensitive to his surroundings. His mother, eager to make a good impression on the mistress of Slade House, Lady Grayer is impatient and bossy. And it is her impatience that puts them both in danger. Nathan can sense that something is not quite right in Slade House but his mother, so concerned with appearances, ignores his apprehension. As a result, they fall victim to Jonah and Norah, the immortal twins who dwell in Slade House. They are Anchorites, malevolent beings who will never die so long as they inhale the souls of others on a regular basis. Every nine years, a vulnerable person is lured to Slade House on one pretext or another. A shape-shifting twin will flatter and intrigue the victim until the trap is spring and there is no escape. Author David Mitchell's story ranges from 1979 to 2015. Each of the five victims is vulnerable in his or her own way and dies accordingly. Slade House is an eerie tale of soul vampires and their victims. Prepare to be frightened.

Friday, August 12, 2016

Ally Hughes Has Sex Sometimes by Jules Moulin


Ally Hughes is a single mom to her ten year old daughter Lizzie. She is a female studies professor at Brown with a heavy course load, has a highly critical mother who refuses to butt out of her daughter's life, and has absolutely no time or desire to date, let alone fall in love. Then she meets Jake, a bright student who has taken nearly every class Ally Hughes has to offer. One weekend, when Ally is supposed to be fixing her house, grading final papers, and not falling in love, she winds up spending the weekend having a fling with Jake.

Fast forward ten years. Ally is still single, tends to interfere with her grown daughter's life, and has recently lost her mom to lung cancer. What Ally doesn't know is that her world is about to change, when her daughter Lizzie brings home her new boyfriend to celebrate her birthday dinner. Imaging Ally's shock when Lizzie's new boyfriend winds up being Jake. Lizzie's birthday dinner is bound to be one awkward family dinner.

Ally Hughes Has Sex Sometimes is a laugh out loud funny book, that reads along the lines of a romantic comedy, with a feminist feel. Will Ally finally realize that she can still embrace her feminist ways and fall in love?

Friday, August 5, 2016

The Evening Spider by Emily Arsenault


Emily Arsenault's The Evening Spider is the perfect blend of psychological thriller inspired by a true crime story from the 1880s. Told in alternating viewpoints and historical time periods, the story focuses on two young mothers.

It's 1885 and Frances Barnett has been sent to Northhampton Lunatic Hospital shortly after the birth of her daughter. Distrusting everyone around her, Frances begins to recount the early days of her pregnancy, as she shares her reluctance towards the possibility of becoming a mother. During the early stages of her pregnancy, Frances can't help but explain how she became enamored with the disturbing, yet captivating murder trial of a young woman at the hands of a local clergy member who was guilty of poisoning the young woman with arsenic. Frances, fascinated with the science behind the trial, admits in her journal that maybe her interest in the trial lead her to have horrible thoughts.

Fast forward to 2014, when young mother Abby Bernacki is slowly transitioning to motherhood. Taking a year sabbatical after giving birth to her daughter, Abby can't help but have odd dreams and hear suspicious sounds across the baby monitor in her daughter's room.Worried she's beginning to lose her mind, Abby begins researching their home. After finding out that the house belonged to the Barnetts, Abby cannot stop thinking about what might have happened in the house 150 years ago.

With a mix of humor, thriller, true crime, and history, Arsenault's book is sure to keep you turning the page.