Library Loot ~ January 25-31

Inside Out and Back Again ~ by Thanhha Lai, 2011, children's (Alabama)

"No one would believe me but at times I would choose wartime in Saigon over peacetime in Alabama."  For all the ten years of her life, Hà has only known Saigon:  the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by, and the beauty of her very own papaya tree.  But now the Vietnam War has reached her home.  Hà and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope.  In America, Hà discovers the foreign world of Alabama:  the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape, and the strength of her very own family.  This is the moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another, one life to the next.  Winner of the 2011 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.

The Knife of Never Letting Go ~ by Patrick Ness, 2008, YA fiction

Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men.  Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks.  Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him — something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too.  With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature:  a girl.  Who is she?  Why wasn't she killed by the germ like all the females on New World?  Propelled by Todd's gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.

Library Loot is a weekly meme co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.  Marg has the Mister Linky this week, if you'd like to share the loot you brought home.  You may submit your link any time during the week.