Sarah's Key by Tatiana DeRosnay

This book was riveting! I loved the format and, since I am a "new" history buff, I found that learning more about the time period in which this story took place to be eye-opening. I will not spoil any of the plot. That is all I will say except to mention that we are very fortunate to live in a civil society. How long can that last...?

Well written, heart-felt and thought-provoking. Not for children under 12, some sad realities that they may linger and cause them to feel vulnerable.

I will find the author's name - she is French.

Serial

It was time for a quick fiction read for the beach, so I selected a murder mystery by local author N. E. Castle. The first paragraph describes the protagonist's drive up the Plantation Street on-ramp to 290 and her speeding through the S-curve at Holy Cross (complete with the bumps in the road)--What fun! Unfortunately, I found Castle's descriptions of the setting sun shining on Union Station and the traffic snarled at Kelly Square more believable than her characters and their relationships. Mistakes, beginning with the Chevy "Camero" repeatedly misspelled in the first chapter, also detracted from my enjoyment. Even so, the familiar locations make the story seem so close to home, I'll make a point of checking out any of Castle's future works.

Serial is available in print at the SPL.

Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (And What It Says About Us)

Calling to mind Malcolm Gladwell’s popular non-fiction books (The Tipping Point, Outliers, Blink), Tom Vanderbilt delves into human behavior, engineering principles, and transportation studies to deliver an interesting analysis of how we move from place to place. He includes a brief history, compares traffic around the world, and comments on the often-unintended consequences of attempts to improve safety on the road.

A Library Journal review begins, “If only all traffic proceeded with the ease and flow it does here with Vanderbilt in the driver's seat.” I liked it, too!

Traffic is available in print at the SPL and on CD through interlibrary loan.