Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: A Thrilling, New Mystery Novel: The Edge of Normal by Carla Norton

To those who don't know her, Reeve LeClaire looks like a typical twenty-two year old girl - she’s lives on her own in San Fransisco, waitresses to pay the bills, and tends to be shy around new people, however, the truth is, Reeve is anything but normal.

Ten years ago, Reeve was kidnapped and held captive for four years. After escaping, she spent the next six years trying to rebuild her life with the help of her therapist, Dr. Ezra Lerner. Things are going okay, until Dr. Lerner asks Reeve to help another kidnapping victim.

Will Reeve find the strength to help Dr. Lerner's new patient?

"Winner of a Royal Palm Literary Award for best unpublished mystery, this nail-bitingly delicious tale will be a treat for psychological thriller fans." - Library Journal Reviews

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Genre: Adult Non-Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5

"Being Mortal is about the limitations of what modern medicine can provide for people as their lives draw to a close. Gawande argues that the objective of medicine should not merely be treatment and survival; medical care should also ensure dignity in death and having control over one's final moments. He argues that instead of aggressively fighting the inescapable realities of aging, we should ask the hard questions of ourselves and our loved ones -- What makes life worth living? When should we try to extend our lives, and when should we choose a better quality of our remaining days over extending their quantity?

This book is difficult to read. Not because of the way Gawande writes -- his style is highly engaging, and he never lapses into excessively scientific jargon or overly simplistic explanations -- but because of the tough subject matter. Gawande draws on his own experiences as a doctor and peppers his book with honest and humane stories of his patients, friends, and family; the stories he tells make the book more accessible, and also more heartbreaking. (And that's not a bad thing.)

No one likes to think about their loved ones', or their own, impending mortality. But it's important to have these hard conversations, because as Gawande says, "endings matter." - Amanda

A Thrilling, New Mystery Novel: The Edge of Normal by Carla Norton

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