Happy New Year !!

I hope you are including fun in your New Year's Resolutions! My favorite is spending more time in nature. Another is to post reviews of the wonderful new books I have been reading. So here goes! The Universe Versus Alex Woods is a wonderful story of the adventures of a boy. It begins with a rather sordid arrest and as our hero states "Sometimes when people ask you for a full explanation, you know damn well that's the last thing they want. Really, they want you to give them a paragraph that confirms what they already think they know. They want something that will fit neatly in a box ... And that can never be a full explanations. Full explanations are much messier. They can't be conveyed in five unprepared, stop, start minutes. You have to give them time and space to unfold." Our story unfolds with an extraterrestial accident, our hero gets hit in the head with a meteorite while sitting at his kitchen table. He becomes an instant media hit and is forced to deal with the resultant side effect of epilepsy. Naturally, Alex becomes an expert on astronomy and neuroscience while striving to become a truly delightful, compassionate and genuinely funny young man. He befriends an older neighbor who introduces him to Kurt Vonnegut. With natural curiosity Alex starts a book club called the "Secular Church of Kurt Vonnegut". During the day a struggling middle schooler and at all other times an intelligent, kind and curious boy, the author describes the events that lead to our hero being arrested with pot in the glove compartment, an urn filled with the remains of his cremated neighbor in the front seat and the ability to stay focused during a bizarre police interrogation. For more excerpts check out http://www.alexwoodsbook.com/. The book is available at your local RCLS library. Enjoy!!