The Villages - March 2022 - 48

AROUND THE VILLAGES
BOOK LOVERS' CORNER
POPULAR IN FICTION
VILLAGES AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT
The Island of
Missing Trees
by Elif Shafak
Two teenagers, a Greek Cypriot and a
Turkish Cypriot, meet at a taverna on the
island they both call home. In the taverna,
hidden beneath garlands of garlic, chili
peppers and creeping honeysuckle,
Kostas and Defne grow in their forbidden
love for each other. A fig tree stretches through a cavity in the
roof, and this tree bears witness to their hushed, happy meetings
and eventually, to their silent, surreptitious departures. The tree
is there when war breaks out, when the capital is reduced to
ashes and rubble, and when the teenagers vanish. Decades later,
Kostas returns. He is a botanist looking for native species, but
really, he's searching for lost love.
Years later a Ficus carica grows in the back garden of a house
in London where Ada Kazantzakis lives. This tree is her only connection
to an island she has never visited -her only connection
to her family's troubled history and her complex identity as she
seeks to untangle years of secrets to find her place in the world.
POPULAR IN NONFICTION
A Woman of
No Importance
by Sonia Purnell
In 1942, the Gestapo sent out an urgent
transmission: " She is the most dangerous
of all Allied spies. We must find and
destroy her. "
The target in their sights was Virginia
Hall, a Baltimore socialite who talked
her way into Special Operations Executive, the spy organization
dubbed Winston Churchill's " Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. "
She became the first Allied woman deployed behind enemy lines
and--despite her prosthetic leg, helped to light the flame of the
French Resistance, revolutionizing secret warfare as we know it.
Virginia established vast spy networks throughout France, called
weapons and explosives down from the skies, and became a
linchpin for the Resistance. Even as her face covered wanted
posters and a bounty was placed on her head, Virginia refused order
after order to evacuate. She finally escaped through a deathdefying
hike over the Pyrenees into Spain, her cover blown. But
she plunged back in, adamant that she had more lives to save,
and led a victorious guerilla campaign, liberating swathes of
France from the Nazis after D-Day.
48
MARCH 2022
THE PENCIL THAT WOULDN'T
DIE, MIDDLE GRADE FICTION
by Sharon K. Solomon, Village of Amelia
Genre: Fiction
Can a pencil really save the summer?
Can twins Abby and Sam Jackson
prove that the average lead pencil
could draw a line 35 miles long? When
summer comes along for the twin
middle school students, boredom sets
in. However, when Abby opens a bottle
of lemonade and reads the fun fact in the lid about pencils,
a boring summer turns into a scientific adventure. Proving its
truth involves plenty of math and scientific experimentation.
Throughout this process, Sam fights off the neighborhood
bully and makes a new friend. I've heard many people say, " I
could write a book about that! " I decided to do just that. The
book was originally intended for my kids and grandkids so
that they would learn things about me that they never knew. I
then decided to publish it for all to see.
Q: WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO WRITE YOUR BOOK?
After personally reading this fun fact about pencils, I made up
a fictitious town and characters, developed the plot, threw in
a bully and was ready to write! The Pencil That Wouldn't Die
includes a map of Jackson City and various fun activities. This
book is the first in the Mad Scientist Club series published by
Newhouse Creative Group. It's perfect for ages 8 through 12.
Q: WHAT DO YOU HOPE READERS TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR BOOK?
Being creative and thinking out of the box can be helpful
when solving problems. That works for math and science as
well as with personal relationships. Don't back down from a
challenge and be persistent!
Q: WHAT CLUBS, ACTIVITIES AND HOBBIES DO YOU ENJOY?
Writers League of The Villages, glass fusion at Colony
Cottage Recreation Center, Writers4Kids, reading, writing,
meditation, swimming and other exercising.
Q: ANYTHING ELSE?
I have been writing for almost 20 years and have 10 published
books for children of all ages.
A VAILABLE ON AMAZON
The Villages - March 2022

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