Town Books

I read Gossip Girl and A-list, but when I found Platinum Prom, I thought it sounded really cool, and decided to try it. Turns out it was a non-stop page turner, and one of the best books I've read in a while. It's about a popular clique of rich girls in Beverly Hills who plan the prom of their lives and fight over dresses, boys, and winning prom queen.

The book is a countdown to senior prom, and just like My Super Sweet 16. Claire hires a big time wedding planner, April's dad arranges for a private Chanel runway fashion show of prom dresses, Tawny sends her personal stylist to NYC vintage shops, and Shayna gets a dress with real rubies and emeralds all over it.

I have to say Platinum Prom really surprised me, because I loved it as much as my favorite series A-List. The anticipation for prom night kept building up, and then delivered in a big way. But I also really enjoyed all the chapters leading up to prom, including their jetting off to Las Vegas to go dress shopping. I liked April the most, because she was the most glamorous and confident. It ended with a hint of a sequel, so I'll definitely be looking for that. I highly recommend this book, especially if you like Gossip Girl or It Girl or A-List. Also great for Clique and Meg Cabot fans too.

I loved Platinum Prom. As soon as I opened it, I couldn't stop reading it. It's about four rich girls who live in Beverly Hills and are planning their senior prom. But they're not just going to prom. They're competing with each other to win prom queen, and to throw the biggest post-prom party. The girls go wild and hire planners, stylists, and spare no expense on their designer dresses, custom limos, and after-parties that are bigger than weddings! The book is a countdown to prom and follows the group first to Saks to pick out prom dresses, then around Beverly Hills with their prom planners, then to Las Vegas for even more prom dress shopping, and of course to prom, where lots of awesome surprises happen.

The clique is Claire, April, Tawny, and Shayna. Claire's the tall, thin, beautiful blonde type, but she surprisingly isn't as self confident as she seems. She practically starves herself to fit into her tiny designer prom dress. April's the "old money," classic deb in the group, who has a big secret she's keeping from her friends. Tawny's the fun-loving beach bum who's like a guy magnet and attracts boys all over the world. Last there's Shayna, and she's the feisty brunette who's not as "perfect" as the others, and is always trying to keep up with them. It's very funny and some of the best scenes are with the girls going back and forth dissing each other.

I really recommend Platinum Prom and definitely give it five stars. It was a great time and so much fun, especially with prom coming up. Any girl in high school should check out Platinum Prom!

- Lil' Deb

As an environmental history, this book rates five stars because the author so skillfully and comprehensively weaves together the many different threads that form the actual experience of environmental protection. At the most basic level, the book is a history of pollution in Philadelphia, a surprisingly good choice since it was an important colonial city, a major manufacturing center during the industrial revolution, and a typical troubled post-industrial metropolis of the 20th century. At the same time the book is a history of environmental management and ecomomics. And it discusses the trajectories of pollution-control technologies and the politics of pollution as well. Able to quote authoritatively from environmental regulations and quantitative risk assessments in one chapter, and from philosophers like Isiah Berlin and Lewis Mumford in others, the author provides readers with as detailed, comprehensive, and engaging a story as one can find in the literature on environmental history.

Dr. Raufer introduces the reader to the multifaceted environmental history of one of America's most unique urban environments. From the early privies to modern waste facilities, Raufer chronicles the city's solutions to problems and the problems that resulted. Following the history is an in-depth and informative section on current environmental regulations and how they came about. I highly recommend this for anybody interested in environmental issues or even Philadelphia history. I actually found the book hard to put down at times.

This book is a really good tool for anyone doing or thinking about doing this kind of work. Good practical information.

Collaboratively compiled and edited by Lana Temple-Plotz, Ted P. Stricklett, Christena B. Baker, and Michael N. Sterba, Practical Tools For Foster Parents: Foster Care Solutions is a straightforward and "foster parent friendly" guide to creating a safe environment, building a positive relationship with a foster child, working with the foster child's parents (even when they are uncooperative or hostile), teaching a foster child decision-making skills, how to handling transitions, and much, much more. Practical Tools Forfoster Parents is very highly recommended reading for anyone looking into the challenges and rewards of foster care.

If your heart beats with love for the lost, but you've grown discouraged by the increasing lawlessness in our cities, this is the book for you. This is a follow-up to Silvoso's other book, That None Should Perish. The two books are a double-barrel shotgun aimed at the enemy, and I recommend you buy both. As you read, you'll see the manner in which the early apostles reached every person in Asia with the Gospel. It's not only possible, but it's happening in various cities around the world. Your faith will rise and your heart will fill with a new understanding of God's grace and love for the lost. My life has not been the same since I read about prayer evangelism. Already I have begun to see fruit in my life by applying the concepts Silvoso has clearly (and simply) laid out.

This book will turn your world around - the way you relate to the lost, the way you understand church, the way you build your faith on the power of God, and the way you witness to those within your reach. Ed Silvoso's book not only ignites a passion for the lost inside your heart and prepares you to become a vessel of the love of Jesus, but is also a practical guide for every single step that imparts the faith, the extremely necessary paradigm changes and the tools it takes to reach your targeted people for Christ. A must read for every Christian and the most useful and complete book on evangelism for the whole body of Christ ever written.

The life of Susan Pringle Frost, the Mother of Historic Preservation in Charleston, is explored with perception and sensitivity by Dr. Sidney R. Bland, whom I had the honor of assisting with a small portion of his research. Her father, Dr. Francis L. Frost, a brave Confederate surgeon, spent an angonizing and wholly fruitless decade after the end of the Civil War trying to re-start rice planting on his family's rice plantations on South Carolina's North Santee River. After his failure (and none of his neighbors fared any better), he turned to several other occupations, each of which proved equally fruitless. "Miss Sue," as she was called, along with her two sisters, rose above the limitations of her aristocratic breeding and lent a shoulder to the wheel, taking outside jobs to provide the failed family with an income. Southern gentlewomen that they were, they gave all their earnings to their father, in order that he might remain the titular head of the family. Miss Sue's rise from martyr to the Lost Cause to court stenographer to Charleston's leading Suffragette to the city's first real estate agent to its pioneer historic preservationist blazed the trail for many women both in Charleston and outside the Palmetto State. Sidney Bland's unblinking yet compassionate study of Miss Sue and her era is a precious insight into the rapidly-changing face of the South in the early twentieth century. -- Richard N. Cote', author of Mary's World: Love, War, and Family Ties in Nineteenth-century Charleston (Corinthian Books, 2001).

Preserving Charleston's Past, Shaping its Future: The Life and Times of Susan Pringle Frost is a small book that packs a big punch. Weighing in at 110 pages (171 counting index, sources, and notes), this book is a fascinating account of Susan Pringle Frost and her firm hand in the creation of the preservation movement in Charleston, South Carolina. To understand this story, one must know a little history of Charleston. Once one of the richest and most beautiful cities in the country, Charleston took a devastating downturn after the Civil War. So when ravaged by fire, hurricanes and even a destructive earthquake, Charlestonians did not have the money to raze and rebuild like many others cities (including Richmond and Atlanta). Instead, they had to restore. As a result, the turn of the century saw many of Charleston's historic buildings still intact but needing lots of work.

Enter Miss Susan Pringle Frost. Born in 1873 to a very old Charleston family that became impoverished after the Civil War, Pringle Frost was a woman way ahead of her time. She was able break away from the ties that bound traditional Victorian women and to move into a more modern age. Having never married, she first went to work as a court stenographer in 1901--a time when women weren't accepted into the workplace. She eventually went into real estate and became the first woman realtor in Charleston. She was a firm believer in civil rights when it was an unpopular stand in the south. She got involved in the suffrage movement, and hitched her star to Alice Paul. The skills that she learned during the suffrage battles, she used to great effect to get the preservation movement started. She badgered public officials, she recruited followers, she begged loans from bankers, and she was the key motivator in founding the Preservation Society of Charleston--still the premier preservation society in the city. Even before the PSC was founded, she single-handedly contributed to preservation efforts by purchasing run down homes in once properous neighborhoods and restoring them at her own expense. When the city wanted to tear down the homes that make up the now famous Rainbow Row and build something modern, Miss Susan purchased six of them and saved the entire block from the wrecking ball. Without Pringle Frost, Charleston would not be the charming city that attracts millions of tourists each year. Her contributions to the city of Charleston are so very impressive and author Sidney Bland does a fine job of bringing this story to life.

The information in this book should be mandatory reading for every women. Men buy this book for your wife, daughter, girlfriend or any women you care about. The techniques Angie Trelstad teaches in this book are State Of The Art and something every women can learn no matter their age or skill level. This book truly could save your life!

Angie Trelstad's courage and grace are overwhelming in this book. She not only sets an example of how to get through the worst of situations, she does this by revealing the most personal facts in her life. If you are a victim, this book lets you know that you will never be alone unless you choose to be, and that fighting back truly begins when the attack ends. This is a great inspirational book to share with the women in your life.

I have read the book by Bernie Bomba, and enjoyed it very much. I am over thirteen however could not figure out how to access the form to write an adult review. I found everything about the book enjoyable. It was easy to read, and hard to put down. I would recomend this book to any of my friend or colleagues. Judy Howes

Bomba is rare breed in such a realm as this, of intellectual degradation and the systematic desensualization of an entire society to the importance of an artistic and spiritual recognition of being. Bomba is a reminder for the distressed in such an unexpressionate world of the creative and artistic passions that burrow somewhere deep in them with no outlet. He leads you by hand through the wilderness of his existence in a sort of zen circle, that makes a comfort of uncertainty. Never by nature of a single word has such spiritual music been beautifully expressed.

The autors present a superb choice of classical texts on the field of urban planning. I recommend it to all of those who want a good reference on some of the most important ideas that have shaped this field until now.

This book is a very good beginning for a student interested in urban and regional planning. The selections are great, one example is the classic article from Lindblom "The science of muddling through", with several arguments in favor to 'incrementalism'. Another classic is Davidoff's "Advocacy and pluralism in planning", and the text from Beauregard, Krumholz, Healy and Harvey.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, so much so that I found it hard to put down. The romance between Lynn and Zeke was well grounded and had me sympathizing with both characters, rooting them on and hoping (knowing) that all will end well. It is, after all, a romance. Charlene Tess does a wonderful job with characterization and settings as well, and the plot made this a most enjoyable read. I heartily recommend it to anyone who has ever been in love and had a secret...

Have you ever read a book and long after you put the book away, the characters stay with you? Such is the case with Charlene Tess' The Rebecca Bride. Handsome Zeke Milligan has a hidden past that prevents him from giving his all to his true love, Lynn. Unable to understand why Zeke holds back, Lynn gives up hope and moves away. Will Zeke resolve his problems and win back the love of his life? Just as he seems to, other burdens fall on him until he can't seem to escape the burden of his past.
This roller-coaster romance will keep you turning the pages
as you root for Zeke and Lynn. It's a great read.

A book about dancing rats. Doesn't sound like a sure-fire winner, does it? But this tale of perserverance and determination makes a wonderful and gripping read. The fantasy rat world is only half the story--the other half is the fascinating account of the hard work, training, and innovation of the dance troupe. By the time the Rattoons get to Rat Hollow, you know how very hard they've worked, and you're rooting for their success. Not only was this a fun read, but it was an interesting and eye-opening look at the work that professional dancers put in before they're ready for the Boom-Boom Room.

... uncommon, because the valor is demonstrated by a group of five rat siblings. Each lives out his/her own quirks, qualities, and weaknesses, but more importantly, as a whole, they demonstrate the power of a group united by a dream. Along with all of *that,* it is a rollicking good read, full of adventures and mishaps, with eventual victory, though a surprising one! A terrific book for fourth through seventh graders.