December Picks
The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
Shy San Francisco teenager Mia Thermopolis is thrown for a loop when, from out of the blue, she learns the astonishing news that she's a real-life princess! As the heir apparent to the crown of the small European principality of Genovia, Mia begins a comical journey toward the throne when her strict and formidable grandmother, Queen Clarisse Renaldi , shows up to give her "princess lessons."
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
In what was once North America, the Capitol of Panem maintains its hold on its 12 districts by forcing them each to select a boy and a girl, called Tributes, to compete in a nationally televised event called the Hunger Games. Every citizen must watch as the youths fight to the death until only one remains. District 12 Tribute Katniss Everdeen has little to rely on, other than her hunting skills and sharp instincts, in an arena where she must weigh survival against love.
His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman
Following the coming of age of two children, Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry, the two children wander through a series of parallel universes. The novels have won a number of awards, including the Carnegie Medal in 1995 for Northern Lights and the 2001 Whitbread Book of the Year for The Amber Spyglass.
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in the Bastille in Paris and his release to live in London with his daughter Lucie, whom he had never met. The story is set against the conditions that led up to the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror.
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
British aristocrat Sir Percy Blakeney appears to be a vain and shallow man, but, in the guise of his alter ego, the Scarlet Pimpernel, he is a courageous swordsman. As the Pimpernel, Blakeney works to free Gallic nobility from death during the fervor of the French Revolution. However, Blakeney's life of luxury with his beautiful bride, Marguerite , is threatened when the French send sinister operative Chauvelin to stop the Pimpernel at any cost.
