Zombie Cat: the Tale of a Decomposing Kitty by Isabel Atherton

Illustrated by Bethany Straker

Have you ever wondered what would happen to the pets in the city if the zombie apocalypse arrives? Well wonder no more. You can find all the answers in this entertaining YA or adult picture book.
Tiddles spends his time romancing female cats, hunting mice, and enjoying other cat hobbies. One day however he is caught up by the end result of a nuclear catastrophe. The mangy looking mouse he is hunting turns on him and bites him. Tiddles is no more and Zombie Cat awakens to find strange new urges have taken over his mind. To find out what happens to Zombie Cat, and to Tiddles' erstwhile owner, read this humorous book.
The illustrations are a delightful complement to the story. The vocabulary is too complex for most children, but if your little darling is precocious then this book may delight you for bedtime reading. It takes a playful tongue-in-cheek look at zombies, cats, zombie cats, and the human-pet bond.

ISBN: 9781616088842 Hardcover ebook
Skyhorse Publishing
October 2012
$12.95

Kingsbury Collection by Karen Kingsbury

ISBN 9781601424273
Trade Paperback
752 pages
$19.99 US
$23.99 CAN
ebook ISBN 9780307562029

This collection of three Christian novels combines drama, mystery and courtroom drama.  The first novel, "Where Yesterday Lives" looks at how secrets from the past can intrude into our lives so much that our present lives can fall apart.  Ellen, a reporter, is forced to revisit the past when her father dies and she is suddenly back with her sisters, brother, and mom.  The family conflicts and hidden secrets along with unresolved feeling Ellen has for a former boyfriend tempt Ellen to make some potentially disastrous choices about herself, her marriage and her family.  The dynamic between Ellen and her sister Jane is heartrendingly realistic.

This strongly Christian novel does confront life's temptations and daily choices but is not 'preachy' in delivery.  The story was well written and skillfully drawn.

The second novel, "When Joy Came to Stay", while also looking at how secrets from the past can and do affect our current lives and mental health, is quite a different story from the first.  This story takes a frank look at the loss a woman feels when she gives up a child for adoption and how the burden of keeping it a complete secret from friends and family can take a toll on her mental health, her day to day functioning, her marriage and her relationship with family. It is also a strong statement on the power of prayer, faith and love. Maggie Stovall, a strong successful woman who appears to have everything is silently struggling with choices from her past and with visions of the child that might have been hers, had she not given her up as a newborn.  She tries to comfort herself by telling herself that her daughter is safe in a better home, but can't convince herself because of the disturbing visions she keeps having of a young blond girl seeking her.  She has never admitted to her husband what happened in her past although she tends to blame him for her current distress.  Meanwhile, there are physical and emotional dangers facing  Maggie, her husband, Ben, and her long lost daughter.   I don't want to spoil the ending so you will just have to read it to find out if everything is safely resolved.

The third novel, "On Every Side"  Joshua Nunn, a lawyer who specializes in defending religious freedom for Christians.  In this intriguing story, we get a peek into both sides of the courtroom drama and into some of the backroom planning.  Joshua has recently lost his  longtime law partner who was a dynamic force for defending freedom.  When Jordan, a former foster child, returns to Bethany to sue for removal of a historical statue of Jesus from the local park, Joshua worries that he is not the force his former partner was, but prays for guidance.  Jordon struggles with his unresolved grief over the boyhood loss of his mother, his unanswered prayers for her healing, and his separation from his sister.  The town struggles over how to save their statue.  Faith, a local news anchor, chooses religious freedom over her job and struggles to help her town through this crisis. 

I recommend this book highly as a moving testament to the complications life holds and the faith that can overcome all.

Ilustrated Guide to Home Forensic Science Experiments by Robert Bruce Thompson & Barbara Fritchman Thompson

 

O'Reilly Media Inc
ISBN: 9781449334512
July 2012
Softcover $34.99 US, $36.99 CAN

A detailed lab workbook introducing forensic techniques for collecting, safeguarding and processing potential evidence. This excellent book covers soil, hair and fiber analysis, forensic examination of glass and plastic specimens, how to develop latent fingerprints and reveal blood traces, how to detect drug and toxic materials/chemicals, gunshot analysis and detecting explosive residues, toolmark impressions, matching pollen and diatom samples, extracting, isolating and visualizing dna samples and many other forensic processes.  Complete materials lists precede each lab. Steps are given in a smooth easily followed order. Processes are designed to preserve the evidence and prevent contamination.

As soon as I opened the package, this colorful attractive book drew my interest.  This is my new favorite non-fiction book.

I highly recommend this book to science teachers looking for an interesting subject matter, to those who home-school, and to anyone who is an avid amateur scientist, a writer of crime/mystery fiction, or a reporter who writes about crime and forensics. Since the book is set up in topical sections and is all lab no lecture, it can easily be used for a 4-H project in science or forensics or a science camp topic stream.

*****.

Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin

ISBN: 978-0-7642-0919-2 hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-7642-0498-2 paperback
Bethany House Publishers

Historical novel

Alice, a non-stop reader, is drifting along working as a librarian and being courted by a young man who is a funeral assistant.  Things seem to be satisfactory since Alice is able to read as much as she likes and still have all the socially expected things in life.  Suddenly she loses both her boyfriend and her job.  In trying to escape the local gossip she puts herself in a real life drama, attempted murder, missing treasure and the tangled mysteries of family and life in a small town called Acorn in Kentucky.  This historical novel looks at the packhorse librarian's life in Kentucky.

*****

Guardian by Heather Burch

An interesting YA paranormal action romance.  The main character, Nikki Youngblood, is struggling with a roller-coaster of intense feelings about the loss of her parents, two intensely attractive male halflings, Mace and Raven who compete for her affections and attention at every turn, and the danger she finds herself and others in due to evil forces from hell.

Meanwhile, Damon Vessler pleads with Nikki to return to him and help wreak vengeance on her parents killer. Nikki must choose her path with not only lives but souls at stake.

This is definitely a good read but I do feel I missed crucial information by not having read the first book in this trilogy.  After reading 'Halflings', I will revisit this review.

I am adding this book to the YA section of my lending library.

*****

Guardian
Reading level: Ages 15 and up
Price: $14.99 (USD)
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Zondervan (October 9, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN 13: 9780310728214
UPC: 025986728212