Yippee Skippy; New Fiction at JCPL!

Raccoons are smart animals. They can scout out a meal or a snack with very little effort. A recent news story in the Post Tribune recounted the tale of one raccoon that came pretty close to living his life out in the dark recesses of a peanut butter jar. The peanut butter must have been good to the last drop; in an effort ot get every last scrap of peanut butter, the raccoon put his head in the jar and promptly got it stuck. Resourceful to the very end, the raccoon sat on a post with the jar on his head until some kindhearted passerby stopped and relieved him of his temporary head-gear. He has been affectionately nick-named "Skippy" by the locals, and is presumably living happily ever after. Not to be outdone by a raccoon, in "Skippy Dies" by Paul Murray, Daniel "Skippy" Juster falls in love with Frisbee-playing siren, Lori, a girl who is just about as unattainable for Skippy as the hope of getting an empty jar of peanut butter off of the head of a hungry raccoon. Lots of crazy things have been done in the name of love, and Skippy Juster's situation is no exception. He's heading for a showdown; a fatal doughnut race which will leave only one man standing, and that one man will be the lone survivor. "Skippy Dies" is just one in a long line of new fiction titles available at the Jasper County Public Library. Read on!

In the days just prior to the Civil War, two women from very different backgrounds embark on a journey, risking everything for the sake of freedom. Hannelore Blessing is a plantation mistress who befriends Livie, a slave girl. The two women learn the meaning of trust, love, and friendship as, aided by Hannah's suitor, Colt, they move ever closer to the secret of the Underground Railroad and the freedom, but also the unimaginable danger, that lurks along the way in "Promise Bridge" by Eileen Clymer Schwab.

Former homicide detective, Mike Wire, has had enough of the violence of the big city and finds refuge on a Montana ranch. Trouble seems to follow him, however, and peace is hard to find in the badlands, where, beneath the calm surface, lie the bones of a dinosaur family; bones that are very valuable and much sought after in "The Dinosaur Hunter" by Homer Hickam.

After serving five years in prison for shooting, but not killing, her husband, Sunny has been released. Jackson is an anthropology professor who only wants to return to Africa, but meets Sunny and is mesmerized by her instantly. As the two begin a relationship, Jackson finds himself entranced by Sunny's past involvement with a snake-handling church, and follows her to the Church of the Burning Bush with Signs Following to do fieldwork. "Snakewoman of Little Egypt" by Robert Hellenga is the vivid portrait of intimacy between Sunny and Jackson as they dance between the "safe harbor" of their lives and the "wider sea of courage, risk, and adventure," that is the inspiration for this melancholy but uplifting story.

Little Guadalajara is a trailer park inhabited by illegal laborers. The park manager has been hired by a financial syndicate with intentions of developing the property, but a teenage girl living in Little Guadalajara stands in the way of their plans. The residents there believe that she has a gift, and when she is the only witness to a murder, she runs for her life, and the only person who can possibly save her from certain death is Doc Ford in "Night Vision" by Randy Wayne White.

That raccoon with a jar of peanut butter stuck on his head inspired some good Samaritan to stop and do the good deed of saving him. To that and to the great, new fiction titles on the shelves of the Jasper County Public Library, I say, "Yippee Skippy!"