Lynn

As a child one of my favorite memories was going book shopping with my Mom as a reward for getting good grades in school. A side effect would be the perpetual tuning-out of crazy family members because I always had my face in a book. For years nobody knew what I looked like…. Naturally, the ideal profession for a book nerd is to become a book seller. I was lucky to do so after working 20 years in health care. I joined McLean and Eakin in August of 2010. When not reading or selling books, I like to spend my time with my hubby/best friend and our kids:  "The Warden”, “Mr. Extreme”, “The Artist”, “The Politician”, and “The Diva”. That said….COME BUY BOOKS! See you there…
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The Rent Collector By Camron Wright Cover Image
$22.99
ISBN: 9781609071226
Availability: Backordered
Published: Shadow Mountain - September 1st, 2012

This lovely novel takes place in Stun Meahchey-a municipal landfill in Cambodia. Ki Lim and her husband eke out a living picking recyclables from other people's waste while raising a chronically ill son who requires medicine that the family cannot afford. To make matters worse, they must give almost all of their earnings to Sopeap, the slovenly, downright mean rent collector.
When Ki Lim brings a colorful children's book home from the dump, Sopeap sees it, snatches the book and runs out the door weeping. In an instant all of their lives are changed as Ki Lim finds a soft place in her heart for Sopeap and endeavors to learn why she would have such a reaction. Ki Lim knows she and her family are destined for a better future and the secrets she unearths about Sopeap will begin her journey.
This is a story of hope and redemption in the most dismal of circumstances. A definite must-read for anyone who knows the transformation of heart that can accompany a good tale.


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Flight Behavior: A Novel By Barbara Kingsolver Cover Image
$28.99
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ISBN: 9780062124265
Published: Harper - November 6th, 2012

I'm pretty sure nobody out there needs me to tell them to read Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver as she is well known and loved by many. However, I had never read any of her books before so she was new to me. Might I say, I am so glad I did!!
At the onset, I grew a bit weary of the process of shearing sheep, but after 60 pages of getting to know Dellarobia, I was hooked. Living under the watchful eye of her overbearing mother-in-law, and about to throw her mundane married life away for the young, strapping telephone man, she hikes up to the family cabin with the thought of beginning a tryst. She suddenly looks up to see a forest filled with vibrant orange "flames" that do not burn. Thinking she is having an epiphany, she returns to her daily life a changed-and still monogamous-- woman. In fact, what she has stumbled upon is a harbinger of global change.
Thousands of butterflies that normally would reside in Mexico during the season have found their way to Dellarobia's fanily's woods. These same woods are about to be clear-cut in order to save the foundering family farm. Dellarobia finds herself awakening to a world far larger than the one she or anyone around her has ever known. Much to the dismay of her husband, family, and town.
Not only a wonderful novel, could Flight Behavior be a quiet warning of our global future? It certainly got me thinking......


Amaryllis in Blueberry By Christina Meldrum Cover Image
$23.99
ISBN: 9781439156896
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Gallery Books - February 8th, 2011

This story is a richly woven account of the Slepy family—Dick, his wife Seena, and his diverse daughters Mary Grace, Mary Tessa, Mary Catherine and Amaryllis (Yllis).
We are flies on the wall of each Slepy’s consciousness as each of them moves through their odd family’s days with their own separate form of reality. The thoughts of stubborn Mary Tessa, beautiful, self absorbed Mary Grace, Mary Catherine the Saint, and oddball Amaryllis are shared with us as the family is uprooted from their Michigan home to join their father in Africa as he “ministers” to the underprivileged .
Each of them will be challenged, broken, and rebuilt by events that, until their arrival on the Dark Continent, have been shrouded from even their own conscious minds. Each character in this story is colorfully painted and shared with the reader. Sometimes the thoughts are not pretty—leading us to realize how fragile and complex all of us truly are.


The Fault in Our Stars By John Green Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9780525478812
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Dutton Books for Young Readers - January 10th, 2012

Admittedly, I have read a bunch of REALLY GOOD BOOKS lately. Also admittedly, I tend to shy away from young adult books in general. But the buzz about this book—and then hearing the subject matter—”cancer kids”—drew me in. Now, many of us find the subject of cancer off-putting and depressing. As if our own struggles aren’t enough to deal with, am I correct? Yet, after working in the field of cancer care myself for many years, I was interested in the approach the author would take. I am so glad I read this book, because John Green did the subject justice.
Hazel and Augustus, two teens going through very different cancers, meet in a support group that neither of them is thrilled to be attending. Augustus is in “remission” and Hazel knows she is terminal—her lungs struggling with metastatic tumors from thyroid cancer. Both of them find themselves tired of the experience of their disease defining them in the eyes of others. Their story is much the same as any teenager struggling with regular issues, falling in love, peer pressures, etc. But it is with the added facet of having cancer as well. Using the typically sarcastic, intelligent teenage voice, Mr. Green “Nails it” for many people (not just kids) who have to deal with cancer on a daily basis. Those folks are not defined by the disease (the only thing we outsiders seem to see). Instead, it becomes part of their daily pattern albeit a dreary part. So, those folks wish to be greeted with normalcy rather than pity and sorrow.
Hazel and Augustus approach their day-to-day lives as well as their relationship with a maturity that we don’t find in typical teenage situations. Or do we? Are teens more than vampire romances, mean girls, and zombies? Read this book about two super-cool, intelligent teens who just happen to have cancer. And yes—you will cry.


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The Kitchen Daughter By Jael McHenry Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9781451648508
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Gallery Books - December 20th, 2011

Welcome to Ginny Selvaggio’s world. Hers is one in which dealing with people is frightening and she retreats into closets and other small spaces when things get too overwhelming. To calm herself, Ginny immerses her thoughts in the processes involved in cooking. It is in the structure of following a recipe that Ginny can find safety and order.
With the deaths of Ginny and her sister Amanda’s parents, the protected world in which Ginny survives is gone. No longer can she find refuge in routine and in her parents presence. In her twenties, Ginny finds herself living alone in her parents house, having to deal with the day-to-day business of dealing with other people. Her sister wants to get rid of the house and with it the only safety Ginny had ever known.
During their parents’ wake, Ginny finds comfort in cooking one of her Nonna’s favorite dishes. In doing so, she is able to conjure Nonna herself who brings a message for Ginny. “Don’t let her do it”, Nonna says. Who? Do what? As Ginny struggles through her Asperger’s syndrome to decipher what message Nonna is trying to send from beyond the grave, she also struggles against her sister to keep the family home.
Cook along with Ginny as she tries to overcome her many obstacles and in doing so, gain an opportunity at a somewhat “normal” life.


The Teen's Guide to World Domination: Advice on Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Awesomeness By Josh Shipp Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9780312641542
Availability: Special Order
Published: St. Martin's Griffin - August 17th, 2010

This is a teen’s book and I LOVED it. Upon
opening, I was reading the weird dialog of my own teenager, Nate.
I loved it because as parents, we
struggle with trying to keep the lines of communication open with our kids in a
dangerous world. Unfortunately, the
albatross of parenthood is that we are perpetually uncool.
The author, Josh, is a twenty-something
who candidly shares his own life of sometimes poor choices and struggles that
come with being passed between several foster homes. And through his story, our kids can see that
it’s ok to remain YOU and not compromise your identity.
Josh reinforces the message we try to
tattoo onto our childrens’ hearts but he does so in a way cooler way that we
parents can. So step outside your comfort
zone, parents. Share this book with your kid. He just might throw you a bone and say “Wow, that’s what you’ve said,
Mom.”


The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady By Elizabeth Stuckey-French Cover Image
$25.95
ISBN: 9780385510646
Availability: Special Order
Published: Doubleday - February 8th, 2011

Marylou is in her sunset years and she is irate and snarky. Why? Because back in the 1960’s while pregnant with her first and only child, she was part of a study of 800 pregnant women. They were asked to swallow a pink fizzy “vitamin drink” that would ensure a healthy baby. As a result, after having eight years with Helen, her daughter succumbed to cancer. Marylou begins a life that revolves around her quest to find Dr. Wilson Spriggs—the man in charge of the study—and kill him.
Fast-forward to present day. Marylou is now known as Nance. She has found Dr. Spriggs and has begun to slowly infiltrate his life like the cancer that took her daughter. As she creeps into the marrow of the family, she begins to doubt whether she can fulfill her quest, having formed ties to the evil doctor’s grandchild.
I love the biting inner dialogue Nance has as she argues with herself over which way to kill Dr. Spriggs. The candy-coated exterior she displays to Dr. Spriggs’ family hides an inner bitter shrew hell-bent on revenge. The question is, will she….?


Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother By Amy Chua Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780143120582
Availability: Special Order
Published: Penguin Books - December 27th, 2011

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua

I need to open by saying how much I enjoyed this book. I learned much about the chasm there is between the parenting styles of "Chinese mothers" versus the diverse parenting styles of the West. The "Chinese mother" doesn't allow play dates, video games, sleepovers, or complaints about any of those things. Her children should be practicing their instrument for 3 hours a day-after homework. Her children should be the best at all of their studies-often grades ahead of their peers. But, alas, as Ms. Chua has so poignantly shared, that sort of discipline when used alone, comes at a price. This book caused me to examine my own parenting style as well. We in the West hold "understanding and support" very high on the parents list of priorities. But-as with Eastern disciple as well-it cannot stand alone. We get too soft and afraid to tune-up our kids when they need it. Parents-read this book. You will find it biting, eye-opening, hilarious and moving. And hopefully-we will all learn to examine our relationships with our kids as honestly.


I Had a Favorite Dress By Boni Ashburn, Julia Denos (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Boni Ashburn, Julia Denos (Illustrator)
$17.99
ISBN: 9781419700163
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Harry N. Abrams - August 1st, 2011

In contrast to Ms. Chua's book-this colorful children's tale by Boni Ashburn follows a little girl who "makes a mountain out of a molehill" when she finds she has outgrown her favorite dress. Her understanding and creative mother encourages to relax-it's not the end of the world. As she grows, the beloved dress becomes a shirt, a skirt, a pair of socks-it keeps morphing into something new and useful, thanks to the artful sewing of her mother. Until one day...but I won't spoil the ending. This is a clever story of creativity, growing more mature, and repurposing all rolled into one delightful read-aloud. Maybe a bit "soft" for the Tiger Mother....but a fun read. Share it with your little diva who trends toward the dramatic.


The Tin Ticket: The Heroic Journey of Australia's Convict Women By Deborah J. Swiss Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780425243077
Availability: Special Order
Published: Berkley - November 1st, 2011

This is a fascinating true account of three early nineteenth century women arrested by the British government for petty crimes. These women (and children as well) were tagged with a “tin ticket” and herded like cattle to board slave ships bound for Australian and Tasmanian penal colonies. This overlooked portion of history is resurrected as we follow them to the other side of the world and into lives of slavery and torture. In the event of being born female and poor in Britain, oftentimes women were forced to decide between the “relief” of selling their bodies or steal to survive. Those caught stealing were deported. 12 year old Agnes McMillan is the girl whose journey we follow after being captured for stealing scraps of food. She and her friend Janet somehow stay together through the four month journey overseas to the island called Van Dieman’s Land—later named Tasmania. These girls meet their fates with an ingenuity, humor and strength that are still exhibited by their descendants to this day. Stay with Agnes and Janet as they survive their amazing journey as well as Elizabeth Gurney Frey—the Quaker reformer who fought to make the lives of female convicts more bearable. Originally published in 2010, this book is due for paperback release in November of 2011. Truly amazing.


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Extra Yarn: A Caldecott Honor Award Winner By Mac Barnett, Jon Klassen (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Mac Barnett, Jon Klassen (Illustrator)
$17.99
ISBN: 9780061953385
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Balzer + Bray - January 17th, 2012

This latest book by one of McLean and Eakin's favorite kid's authors brings us a magical tale of generosity versus greed. Annabelle lives in a dismal, wintery town void of cheer. Until one day she happens along a box filled with beautifully colored yarn and knits herself a sweater. Finding she has "extra yarn", she begins knitting sweaters for her family, pets, and all of the townsfolk who have begun to admire her colorful knitted creations. Enter the clothes-mongering archduke-who, upon being denied purchase of this wondrous box of yarn, sends his minions to steal it from Annabelle. Alas, for now I will tell you no more-so please see for yourself how this tale ends-oh yes, and if you have read I Want My Hat Back-- you may recognize a cameo appearance by one of Jon Klassen's other delightful characters.....