Kandy's Picks

Kandy - Phenomenal Party Planner 

Bio 

Kandy Jess-Conrad hails from Pateros, WA.  She has lived in Spokane for several years now with her husband, 4 children, and numerous cats.  Besides working at Auntie’s, she works at an elementary school.  Between the two jobs, there is always a story to be told.  She loves working with children and adults alike.


 
$7.99
ISBN-13: 9780375845161
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 9/2008
There is another series that Philip Pullman wrote besides His Dark Materials ( The Golden Compass, etc.) These are the Sally Lockhart Mysteries. The first book, The Ruby in the Smoke, is set in 1870's London. Sally is 16 when she loses her father and is set on a path that brings her in contact with some wonderful eclectic friends to seamy underhanded villains. She soon becomes embroiled with the opium trade and a certain ruby that is her fate. This book is for more mature young readers as it does bring up the opium drug and its uses. The Shadow in the North, The Tiger in the Well and The Tin Princess round out this series.

$24.99
ISBN-13: 9781595825605
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Dark Horse Comics, 9/2011
There have been many books written about the Green River Killer, but this non-fiction graphic novel brings it into the best focus. The author writes about his father, Tom Jensen, who spent twenty years chasing the Green River Killer. Though the artwork can be graphic, the interplay between dialogue and drawings make the story honest. This graphic novel is an effective way to understand an otherwise complex crime spree that lasted far too long.

Crank (Paperback)

$10.99
ISBN-13: 9780689865190
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 10/2004

Ellen Hopkins writes books for teens yet adults can benefit much from reading them. She has written many books but Crank starts a series of teen conflict/struggle books that are meant to be read. Crank  is based on Hopkins’ daughter who became addicted to meth. After Crank comes Glass and Fallout in that series. Each book that she writes shows a different angst that teens face. She writes in a style called “verse” which makes the reading interesting.


$15.00
ISBN-13: 9780385343497
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Bantam, 1/2010

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley is a good book along with The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag. My favorite though is the third book in the series, A Red Herring Without Mustard. Flavia de Luce (age 11) is the main character in this 1950’s English setting. Throw in a dysfunctional family, chemistry lab, amateur detective, and Inspector Hewitt, well, the fun goes from there.


$26.99
ISBN-13: 9781416544609
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Free Press, 5/2010

Reading true crime books is a must for me and thus, I started my reading relationship with Ann Rule. In The Still Of The Night is her latest writing that tells the story of Ronda Reynolds. Ronda’s death is ruled a mystery from the beginning. First ruled as “undetermined”, it was soon changed to “suicide”. Then back to “undetermined” and back to “suicide”. This story tells of the quest of Ronda’s mother to find out the truth. Ann Rule never lets a reader down!


Independence Hall (Paperback)

$8.95
ISBN-13: 9781585363254
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Sleeping Bear Press, 8/2008

My young person pick would be the IQ series by Roland Smith. IQ 1 Independence Hall and IQ 2 The White House are somewhat like 39 Clues. I liked the style of writing in the IQ series and the amount of action should keep one reading. The third book in the series is set to come out in March 2012. Enjoy!