A Long Line of Cakes: An Aurora County Novel by Deborah Wiles

Emma Lane Cake belongs to a family of traveling bakers.  They arrive in a new town every few months to set up a bakery and leave after helping the town with their problems.

Now they've arrived in Halleluia.  Emma is afraid to make another best friend that she'll have to leave again soon.  But she soon meets Ruby Lavendar and can't help becoming her friend.

Now Emma and Ruby must come up with a plan to keep the Cakes in Halleluia forever.



This is the fourth book in the Aurora County series by Deborah Wiles.  While it isn't the first book, you don't need to read the others to enjoy it.  This book is filled with family and friends with a hint of the mystical. 

Haunted Tales

As this is the week of Halloween, today I am sharing ghost stories for teens.  Here are a few of my favorites . . . .

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal
When Jeremy Johnson Johnson's strange ability to speak to the ghost of Jacob Grimm draws the interest of his classmate Ginger Boltinghouse, the two find themselves at the center of a series of disappearances in their hometown

The Invisible by Mats Wahl
A Swedish teenager is assaulted and killed, but returns as a ghost to find his killer.

Jade Green: A Ghost Story by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
While living with her uncle in a house haunted by the ghost of a young woman, recently orphaned Judith Sparrow wonders if her one small transgression causes mysterious happenings.


More Ghost Stories --
The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand
The Agony House by Cherie Priest
Bleeding Earth by Kaitlin Ward
The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington
Defriended by Ruth Baron
The Fade by Demetria Lunetta
The Gone Away Place by Christopher Barzak
The House of Dead Maids by Clare B. Dunkle
In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters
Invisible Ghosts by Robyn Schneider
The Lonely Dead by April Henry
Nightspell by Leah Cypess
Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff
Paranormalcy by Kierstin White
Picture the Dead by Adele Griffin
The Poe Estate by Polly Shulman
The Rattled Bones by S.M. Parker
Razorhurst by Justine Larbalestier
Ruined: A Novel by Paula Morris
Spirit and Dust by Rosemary Clement-Moore
The Suffering by Rin Chupeco
Teeth in the Mist by Dawn Kurtagich
The Things She's Seen by Ambelin Kwaymullina
Thirteen Chairs by Dave Shelton
White Moon of the Road by Rachel Neumeier

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through November 15, 2019.

Dare To Be Scared

This week, I'm sharing scary chapter books for kids in grade school.  Here are a few of my favorites . . .

The Seer of Shadows by Avi
In New York City in 1872, fourteen-year-old Horace, a photographer's apprentice, becomes entangled in a plot to create fraudulent spirit photographs, but when Horace accidentally frees the real ghost of a dead girl bent on revenge, his life takes a frightening turn.

Cirque du Freak: A Living Nightmare by Darren Shan
Two boys who are best friends visit an illegal freak show, where an encounter with a vampire and a deadly spider forces them to make life-changing choices.

The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier
Irish orphans Molly, fourteen, and Kip, ten, travel to England to work as servants in a crumbling manor house where nothing is quite what it seems to be, and soon the siblings are confronted by a mysterious stranger and secrets of the cursed house.


More Scary Stories --
The Book of Bad Things by Dan Poblocki
The Boy Who Cried Werewolf by J.H. Reynolds
Case File 13: Zombie Kid by J. Scott Savage
Charlie and the Grandmothers by Katy Towell
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Darkness Creeping: Twenty Twisted Tales by Neal Shusterman
Doll Bones by Holly Black
The Doll Graveyard by Laura Ruby
Guys Read: Terrifying Tales by Jon Scieszka
Literally Disturbed: Tales to Keep You Up at Night by Ben H. Winters
Mothman's Curse by Christine Hayes
Nightbooks by J.A. White
Strange Star by Emma Carroll
Whisper in the Dark by Joseph Bruchac

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through November 8, 2019.

Top Ten by Katie Cortugno

Ryan and Gabby have been best friends since freshman year.  No one really gets their friendship.  They are complete opposites.  Ryan is the popular hockey player which Gabby has crippling social anxiety.  Yet somehow their friendship works. 

Now it is graduation and they are looking back at the top ten moments of their relationship -- both the good moments and the bad . . . .



This book shares the top ten moments that make up Ryan and Gabby's relationship told from both their points of view.  It jumps through time as it shares those moments.  This would be a great book for fans of Jennifer E. Smith or Morgan Matson.

Take Home a Dog (Book)

October is Adopt a Dog Month.  So today, I'm sharing picture books stories featuring dogs.  Here are a few of my favorites . . . .

Ivan the Terrier by Peter Catalanotto
A terrier named Ivan keeps interrupting story hour.

I Got a New Friend by Karl Edwards
A little girl and her new puppy get to know one another.

Dog in Boots by Greg Gormley
After reading "Puss in Boots," an adventurous dog sets out to find the perfect pair of shoes to suit his every need.

Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton
George finds it hard to be a good dog when there are cats to chase, flowers to dig up, and a delicious cake sitting on the kitchen table.

Martha Speaks by Susan Meddaugh
Problems arise when Martha, the family dog, learns to speak after eating alphabet soup.


More Dog Books --
10 Little Hot Dogs by John Himmelman
Bark, George by Jules Feiffer
Be Gentle with the Dog, Dear by Matthew J. Baek
Build, Dogs, Build: A Tall Tail by James Horvath
Charlie the Ranch Dog by Ree Drummond
Circle Dogs by Kevin Henkes
Dog Blue by Polly Dunbar
Dog in Charge by K.L Going
Dog's Colorful Day by Emma Dodd
Dogku by Andrew Clements
Dogs by Emily Gravett
Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio
Good Dog, Fergus! by David Shannon
If Dogs Had Wings by Larry Dane Brimner
My Father, the Dog by Elizabeth Bluemle
Not Afraid of Dogs by Susanna Pitzer
One Two That's My Shoe by Alison Murray
Pug Meets Pig by Sue Gallion
Pugs in a Bug by Carolyn Crimi
Ragweed's Farm Dog Handbook by Anne Vittur Kennedy
Rrralph by Lois Ehlert
Simon's New Bed by Christian Trimmer
Some Dog by Mary Casanova
Stanley's Party by Linda Bailey
That's My Dog! by Rick Walton
Traffic Pups by Michelle Meadows
Wet Dog by Elise Broach
Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats
Wiener Wolf by Jeff Crosby

Check these and more dog books out at the Arnold Branch on display through October 25, 2019.

Boomerang by Helene Dunbar

Michael Sterling disappeared five years ago.  Everything thought he had been kidnapped.  They've been searching for him for five years.

Now he's returned home.

They didn't know that he wasn't kidnapped . . . instead he ran away.  He changed his name to Sean Woodhouse.  He found a new family and a new best friend -- Trip.

They don't know he only returned to get the inheritance from his grandparents.  Then he plans to once again disappear -- this time with Trip.


This was a very interesting book to read.  You grow to care about Sean and his difficulties returning to his past and determining what to do in his future.  This would be a good book for those who enjoy mysteries or suspense.