Creepy Vampire tale by Marcus Sedgwick

The cover of My Swordhand Is Singing is a little reminiscent of Poe's "Tell-Tale Heart" - a red eye stares in fright beyond the reader, while the face is spattered with drops of blood. The novel is appealingly creepy, and a little gory as well. Peter has been roaming from town to town with his alcoholic, ne'er do well woodcutter father, always going farther from civilization and deeper into the forest. When they finally settle in a tiny village, something starts bringing the dead back to life, and Peter's father's mysterious past is finally catching up to him. *** Sedgewick is an understated and fine writer - this reads like a retelling of a folktale, which is close to what it is. *** Other great Gothic tales include, well, anything by Edgar Allan Poe, Phillip Pullman's Count Karlstein, the novels of Chris Wooding (The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray, Poison), and Neil Gaiman's Coraline. Or try Cynthia Leitich Smith's website for other recommendations.

Book Club, Jeanne DuPrau

We are kicking off this year's book club by reading (well, mostly re-reading) Menlo Park author Jeanne DuPrau's City of Ember. Lina and Doon were born in a city entirely illuminated by artificial light. They've never held a flashlight, never lit a fire, never even seen the sun. When the generators that power their city start to fail, Lina and Doon discover a long-forgotten clue that just might help them escape their dying world. *** Read (or re-read!) the book before the movie comes out in October. *** Sign up in the library to join us for a book discussion at lunch on September 26. *** Read the fourth book in the series, The Diamond of Darkhold! I really liked it - it was the one most likely to remind you of the first novel. *** Come hear DuPrau discuss her new book at The Menlo Park Public Library on October 3 at 7:00 p.m. ***