Library Loot ~ March 14-20

Happily Ever After ~ by Anna Quindlen, 1997, children's

One day, while holding her treasured baseball mitt, Kate makes a wish.  And poof! — she turns into a princess in a fairy tale.  But being a princess isn't at all what Kate imagined. Before long, she's fighting off dragons, entertaining witches, and teaching the ladies-in-waiting how to play baseball. With Kate around, fairy tale land will never be the same again! Transported back to medieval times, Kate finds that the life of a princess in a castle is less fun than she imagined.

All Mortal Flesh ~ by Julia Spencer-Fleming, 2006, mystery

Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne's first encounter with Clare Fergusson was in the hospital emergency room on a freezing December night.  A newborn infant had been abandoned on the town's Episcopal church steps.  If Russ had known that the church had a new priest, he certainly would never have guessed that it would be a woman.  Not a woman like Clare. That night in the hospital was the beginning of an attraction so fierce, so forbidden, that the only thing that could keep them safe from compromising their every belief was distance — but in a small town like Millers Kill, distance is hard to find.  Russ Van Alstyne figures his wife kicking him out of their house is nobody's business but his own.   Until a neighbor pays a friendly visit to Linda Van Alstyne — and finds the woman's body, gruesomely butchered, on the kitchen floor.  To the state police, it's an open-and-shut case of a disaffected husband, silencing first his wife, then the murder investigation he controls.  To the townspeople, it's proof that the whispered gossip about the police chief and the priest was true.  To the powers-that-be in the church hierarchy, it's a chance to control their wayward cleric once and for all.

I read the first in the series last summer — In the Bleak Midwinter — and now I see this is #5.  Should I read them in order?  Or does each book stand alone?

Betsy Red Hoodie ~ by Gail Carson Levine, 2010, children's

Betsy is finally old enough to take cupcakes to Grandma all by herself — with the company of her faithful sheep, of course.  And although wolves aren't good for grandmas, Betsy lets her best friend, Zimmo, come along too.  But will Zimmo's wolfish instincts make Grandma the tasty treat instead?  In her second picture book starring the feisty young shepherd Betsy, Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine teams up once again with Scott Nash to put a hilarious twist on an old favorite.  This reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood is sure to delight readers from little lambs to cupcake-loving grandmas.

Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived ~ by Rob Bell, 2011, religion

Bell addresses one of the most controversial issues of faith — the afterlife — arguing, would a loving God send people to eternal torment forever?  With searing insight, Bell puts hell on trial, and his message is decidedly hopeful — eternal life doesn’t start when we die; it starts right now.  And ultimately, Love Wins.

This one, believe it or not, was suggested by my doctor when I went in for lab work to make sure my meds are doing the job.  She and I often talk about our books, and she recently studied this with a church group.  I thought I'd check it out.

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.  Claire 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.