Westfield Announcements

~November 7 from 11-1 PM~ Judy Mandel Judy Mandel Replacement Child: A Memoir A plane crash and then the impossible choice a mother must make-the death of a child that leaves a hole in the family that threatens to tear it apart. In a great act of hope, the parents give birth to a "replacement child," born to heal wounds and provide a "salve for the burns." This child was Judy Mandel, and this is the story behind the 1952 plane crash in Elizabeth, New Jersey. 
 
When Judy finally learns of this story, years later, she begins to uncover the complex and painful layers of her family and the relationships with her parents, and sister. It isn't until Judy has a child of her own that she truly understands the sacrifice, the pain, and the truth.
 
A story of love and transformation, Replacement Child reveals the everyday realities behind so many tragic headlines, as you follow one woman's brave path to recovery-sometimes through laughter, sometimes through tears-as she embraces the love that allows her to finally forgive. Replacement Child is not only a story of heartbreak, and survival, but a lesson to us all about the brevity of life and the power of love. 
  
        ~November 14 from 11-1 PM~  Ann Tufariello   The Breakthrough This young adult book begins with thirteen-year old Jack being plucked from the clutches of a riptide by his older brother, Michael. When Michael slides into a coma, Jack can't live with the guilt. He wanders to a carnival and sneaks into a hot air balloon basket. Without warning, the balloon lifts into the air, transporting Jack to the fourth dimensional planet of Venus. When a Venusian gives Jack a magic crystal to heal his brother, Jack thinks his problems are solved-but they are just beginning! Soon, Jack finds himself trapped on Pluto, a planet controlled by the tyrant Danko. Danko learns of the crystal and will stop at nothing to seize it and ultimately control Earth. 

          ~November 14 from 2-4 PM~  Jeannette Hopkins The Ladybug Waltz  This signing will wrap up a week of readings and workshops, Ms. Hopkins will have conducted in the Westfield school system. Capture the magic of a ladybug's ball with crimson colored gowns and antennae tiaras and all the starlight your child can imagine. The Ladybug Waltz is a charming story told in the form of a waltz that allows music, art and writing to connect.
~November 21 from 2-4 PM~ Jeff Markowitz It is Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder   At odds with her new boss, tabloid reporter Cassie O'Malley finds herself covering the shopping mall at Christmas, an assignment she wants nothing to do with. When Big Mack, a loan shark, turns up dead in the men's room, his throat slit, mall security guard, Oliver Berryhill senses an opportunity for fifteen minutes of fame and spins a heroic tale of their confrontation in the men's room. The police are skeptical, but Big Mack's son is determined to avenge his father's murder. 

Barely a week later, a second body turns up in the employee break room and Cassie finds herself covering a double homicide. In a race against time, Cassie must solve the double murder before a third victim is killed in this wildly funny mystery.