I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara

     This book was so well researched and written! Having grown up during the time of the Golden State Killer, I often heard stories of his latest victims on the radio.  It was especially interesting to learn details of the years-long investigations into these tragic events.
     The author spent years of her life investigating, collecting information, working with detectives, pouring over notes from past investigations, interviewing victims, and following up on theories to collect the material for this book. She was a "true crime journalist". Michelle even created the website: TrueCrimeDiary.com.
     Though Michelle spent years writing this book, she was not quite finished when she died unexpectantly, at the age of 46, in her sleep. Her husband, Patton Oswalt, worked along with two other men she worked with; Billy Jensen and Paul Haynes, to complete the book. The book was published in February of 2018, almost two years after Michelle's death.  I wish the author could have been alive to see this crime solved.     
     At the time of her death, the killer had not yet been caught. He was charged in August of 2018. He was a U.S. Navy veteran and a former police officer.
     If you like real-life mysteries, you will find this book interesting.
   
   

Let Me Go by Helga Schneider

     This book is available on HOOPLA from Christian County Library. You can sign in with your Christian County Library.  They have a large collection of teen audiobooks.
     This book takes place during WWII. It is about a girl whose mother joins the German SS. The mother abandons her young children with hopes of serving in one of the concentration camps. She actually wants to help eliminate Jewish people from the face of the earth.
     The story is told from the point of view of the daughter who has not seen her mother in over 30 years. She received a message about her mother's condition and feels forced by her cousin to visit her mother.  Some of the content is quite disturbing in places as the mother recounts the gas chambers and her job of sending people to the gas chambers.
     The book has a lot of repetition of various events. Though wrongs were done to the daughter as a young girl, it seems she became a bitter old woman.  This was not one of my favorite books.

The Tatooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

This a beautifully written story of love, hate, war, the struggle to survive, the worst of humanity, and the best of humanity. It is the story of Lale Sokolov who was a Jewish man from Slovak. He was imprisoned by the Germans and assigned the job of tattooing each prisoner who comes to the camp.  The book tells the story of everything that happened to him during this time and introduces the reader to the love of his life, Gita.  

He requested that the author come and visit with him so he could tell his story before he died.  The author did a wonderful job of honoring Lale and all the others Lale told about by writing this moving story of their lives.

This is a must read! 

Losing Brave by Bailee Madison & Stefne Miller

     This is a must read mystery! It is a hard to put down book! The story of identical twin sisters. One missing and one trying to remember what had happened that had led to her sister disappearing. Where was here twin? Was there any chance she might still be found...alive? With every passing day, the hope began to dwindle, until there was none.  

     The authors do a great job of weaving this story, however there are some inconsistencies. For example, if everyone in town is concerned that there might be a killer on the loose, one who is taking girls who look like the main character, why would her parents allow here to spend so much time in her camper? Also, why don't the police investigate the things that Poe, the main character, follows up on? They should be way ahead of a teenage girl in solving the case. Especially with the gossip in town, one would think they would have made a list of possible suspects, with motive, which would have included the actual guilty person. 

     Overall a great read with an ending you will probably not be anticipating.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

This is an incredible story told in such a powerful way. You must read it!

This is a well written, well researched, book about four people's experiences during WWII. The story is told from each character's viewpoint with alternating chapters. (Not always my favorite format, but easy enough to follow.)  Most of the story is about each character's struggle to survive while interacting with other humans who are in the same struggle.

It is one of those stories that had me wondering what was happening to my friends in the story, each time I had to put the book down. I kept hoping that each of them would survive.

One highlight of the story is when so many people attempt to board the ship, The Wilhelm Gustloff. This ship was sent by the Germans to get people out of the region because the Germans were about to lose the war. The ship was built to carry 1,000 people. All furnishings and everything that could be removed was taken out. They even drained the water from the pool in an effort to be able to carry more people.  They took 10,000 passengers, 5,000 of them children, boarded the ship in hopes of freedom and survival. Some people were so disappointed to have missed this ship. They had to wait for the next ship, that might not come. 

The author, who herself is the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee, did extensive research. She talked with members of her Lithuanian family and survivors.  She actually went to some of the main locations to better understand what it was like at that time.  She discovered that many victims put a paper with their story into a glass bottle and threw it into the water in hopes that someone would one day learn their story and share it with others. Ruta granted this requests.

Thanksgiving Thoughts

     With Thanksgiving just a week behind us, I am ever thankful for the many blessings in my life. One thing I'm most grateful for is the privilege of working with so many wonderful students, here at Ozark High School. It has been fun getting to know you all. It is exciting to read your posts every time one of you writes about a book you've just finished.  
     Though it is more and more difficult for many of you to find the time to read, the rewards are worth it.  Keep reading and posting. We only have three weeks until Christmas vacation and you'll have lots of time to read some of those books you've got on your list to read!

Welcome to the 2018-19 School Year

Come join our reading club! It's easy to do. Just see Mrs. Christensen or Mrs. Muns and we will get you all set up!

We look forward to sharing some great books this year! The OHS Library Media Center once again has an exciting year planned.

You can choose any book to share in our blog. If you want to focus on the Gateway nominees, we still post the quizzes, response logs, and blog posts. We will have a reading club reward at the end of the year for those who fulfill the requirements listed in this blog.  It's a fun way to connect with other story lovers!

Share your thoughts today about what you read this summer! We'd love to hear what you recommend!