Book Reviews from Deena

Heart shape filled with books on shelvesCheck out these book reviews from Deena.  Deena was a member of the Library’s Patron Service Team who recently retired.  She has generously continued to share book reviews with us.  Thank you, Deena! 

Let us know if you would like any titles added to your booklist or head over to BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) to download the titles now.  Need more information about BARD?  See our BARD Page

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys  DB106794

This carefully researched historical fiction is the story of Romania’s fight for freedom, in the late 1980’s. The author interviewed many people who lived through this period.  At the time, Romania was ruled by communist leader Nicholae Ceausescu. His countrymen lacked food, electricity was intermittent and the people were cold.  To get what they needed they bartered with packages of cigarettes. They were ruled by fear. Many people were made to inform on their neighbors, friends and even their own family.  At the end of the novel, Romania follows East Germany and other countries behind the Iron Curtain and begins a revolution at the cost of many citizens lives. The incidents in this book are true.  The author created the characters for the story.

Kisses From Katie: a story of relentless love and redemption by Katie Davis  DB75591

Katie Davis convinces her parents that she wants to go volunteer in an orphanage over her Christmas break.  Katie and her mother go to Uganda and work with the babies and Katie falls in love with people and the area.  After graduating from high school Katie feels God is calling her back to Uganda.  Katie again, convinces her parents to take a year off from college to return to Uganda. In her year living in Africa, she sets up a ministry to provide food, medical care and schooling for some of the children in the villages where she lives. She also adopts several girls who have no one else to look after them. She leaves her daughters after a year, to return to the United States to keep her promise to her parents to attend college. While in the U. S. she raises money for her ministry and gets people to sponsor a child so they can go to school. After a semester of college, she drops out and returns to Uganda. She adopts more girls and expands her ability to feed additional children and provide medical care. Her most important job is being a mother to fourteen girls.

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins DB98146, Spanish title DB100709

Lydia and her husband, Sebastian live in Acapulco.  Lydia owns a bookstore and Sebastian is a journalist. Sebastian’s writings sometimes oppose the cartels in Mexico and the family has to go into hiding until things cool down. Lydia has befriended a man at the bookstore who shares her passion for good literature. Sebastian has recently written a piece about the head of one of the cartels, including a poem written by him. Lydia’s family is gathered at her mother’s house to celebrate her niece’s birthday.  The cartel that was written about in Sebastian’s article takes its revenge. Lydia, knowing the cartel will continue looking for her and her son pack to leave the country for the United States.  Lydia and Luca suffer a harrowing journey towards the United States.  They meet a lot of characters along their journey some good, some bad.  If you like action and adventure this is the read for you.

Join us at the Des Moines Book Festival!

Image of DSM Book Festival logoJoin the Library at the Des Moines Book Festival this Saturday, March 25th at Capital Square in Downtown Des Moines from 9:00am – 6:00pm.  For more information about the DSM Book Festival: https://www.dsmpartnership.com/dsmbookfestival/

Stop by the library’s tables for fun braille activities and explore the other great festival programs, hear from national and local authors and more!

The DSM Book Festival connects people who love books with the people who create them.

DSM Book Festival

Image of DSM Book Festival logoJoin the Library and the Iowa Department for the Blind at the Des Moines Book Festival on Saturday, March 25th at Capital Square in Downtown Des Moines.  For more information about the DSM Book Festival: https://www.dsmpartnership.com/dsmbookfestival/

The DSM Book Festival connects people who love books with the people who create them.

Book Reviews From Deena

Heart shape filled with books on shelvesCheck out these book reviews from Deena.  Deena was a member of the Library’s Patron Service Team and continues to generously share book reviews with us during her retirement.  Thank you, Deena!

Let us know if you would like any titles added to your booklist or head over to BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) to download the titles available.  Need more information about BARD?  See our BARD Page.

The Witness by Sandra Brown  DB40616

Kendall is put in a witness protection program after witnessing a terrible crime. There is a bad storm on the way back to South Carolina and an accident happens involving the car in which Kendall is riding. One officer is dead and another, John suffers from amnesia.  At the hospital, rather than tell the doctor the truth, Kendall claims John is her husband.  Kendall plans to escape the hospital and go on the run.  John catches up to her and goes with her.  Kendall and John live together as husband and wife (John still has no memory) and a romance begins. Kendall keeps in touch with a friend back home and finds out the perpetrators of the crime, have escaped jail and are looking for her.  She has to leave John and go on the run.

If the Creek Don’t Rise by Leah Weiss  DB91901

Sadie is seventeen and pregnant, living in the hills of North Carolina.  She marries the father of her baby who is abusive. A new teacher, Kate Shaw, has come to hills, she finds the area backward and full of quirky characters such as Birdie Rocas, who has a crow for a pet. Then there is Prudence Perkins, sister to Rev. Eli Perkins, who brought Kate to the area.  Prudence is unhappy that her brother is so welcoming to Kate Shaw.  She is so much against her brother’s happiness with the schoolteacher that she steals one of Kate’s letters from the post office. She hopes to get the dirt on Miss Shaw. Join these characters as each tells the story of the Appalachian town of Baines Creek from their point of view.

The President’s Daughter by James Patterson  DB103817

President Matt Keating orders Navy SEALS to kill Asim Al-Sheed and collect evidence against him. A building explodes while the SEALS are on the mission and Asim Al-Sheed’s wife and children are killed. Asim avenges this act by kidnapping Matt Keating’s daughter. Matt Keating is no longer president, so he and several others set out to rescue his daughter.  This is a fast-paced thriller with plenty of action.

Find Your Next Read Using Our Online Catalogs

A set of books with headphonesNLS’s New Catalog

Finding your next great read is easier than ever with the new National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) Catalog search features! NLS Catalog boasts a new, clean design and advanced search functionality, direct links to BARD from catalog listings for quick downloads, and for the first time, patrons can directly request books to add to our collection! Patrons will also find links to contact a librarian and other resources to get the most out of NLS. Start exploring the catalog here: https://nlscatalog.loc.gov.

Our Online Catalog

Patrons can also search our library’s Online Catalog by author, title and subject.  Patrons can search by author, title and subject and place holds on items.  When you put a book on hold through the online catalog, that book will go on your request list and will be downloaded to the next cartridge you send back, or if it is a Braille or large print book, it will be sent out to you when it is available.  To place a hold on a book, search for the book you are interested in.  Once you have found what you are looking for, there will be an icon that is labeled “Hold.”  The icon looks like a piece of paper with a green arrow circling around it.  Click that icon to place the hold.  If you are not signed in, it will prompt you to sign in.  Once you are signed in, just click the “hold” button one more time.  The book is now on hold for you!

Book Reviews by Deena

Heart shape filled with books on shelvesCheck out these book reviews from Deena.  Deena was a member of the Library’s Patron Service Team and continues to generously share book reviews with us during her retirement.  Thank you, Deena!

Let us know if you would like any titles added to your booklist or head over to BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) to download the titles available.  Need more information about BARD?  See our BARD Page.

Unwilling by John Hart DB103829
John French is a policeman in North Carolina.  He has three sons. One son was killed in Vietnam.  Jason, also served in Vietnam, came back and went to prison. He is now out of prison and the younger son Gibson “Gibby” wants to reestablish a relationship with his brother.  Jason takes Gibby out with several women.  One of the women ends up murdered and Jason is arrested.  Gibby sets out to prove Jason had nothing to do with the murder.  Meanwhile, Jason is back in the prison where he was before and one of inmates runs the prison and is very brutal.  He has is out for Jason.

Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris DB97024
Cilka was in Auschwitz for three years. When she is released, she is told she is going to another camp for fifteen years in Siberia because of her actions in Auschwitz.  In the new camp, near the Arctic Circle, there are only two months of summer, and the rest of the time is very cold and dark. The life is harsh. Cilka’s first job is collecting coal. She later works in the hospital and eventually becomes a nurse. At the beginning, she lives in a hut with other women and the women don’t always get along. Once Cilka starts working in the hospital she receives more food which she shares with the other women in her hut. While in camp, Cilka finds the love she was longing for at the most unexpected time.

Secret School by Avi DB53789
This is a great book for kids.
1925:  The teacher Miss Fletcher leaves for a family emergency in April.  The school board says they will not replace her this late in the term. The two oldest students Ida and Tom must take exams at the end of the school year in order to go on to high school. They put their heads together and decide that since Ida is the smartest student in the class, she should take over the teaching duties.  They swear the other students to secrecy and all students continue to come to school so they won’t have to repeat the work next year. The school board eventually gets wind of the “secret school” and the children’s plan is threatened.
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