Vinton Public Library Newsletter

Review of 'The Right Call' by Tommy Greenwald

Any book by this author is going to be a great story, in my opinion. Greenwald has written a number of realistic sports fiction books for young people, and each one that I read is better than the last. Other titles include 'Perfect Pitch,' 'Game Changer,' and 'Rivals.'

In 'The Right Call,' we meet a young man whose whole life is baseball. He hasn't always been a great player, but after years of practicing with his best friend, Luis, as his catcher, his hard work has paid off, and the entire town is in awe of Cal Klondike's phenomenal pitching. At the young age of 15, he is getting visits from college scouts and even a few professionals. The pressure of trying to be perfect is getting to be very stressful, not only for Cal, but also for his father, who is turning into a completely different person, unrealistically demanding harder and harder fastballs, and more practice sessions for the teen. When Cal is caught by his dad goofing around with some friends at the fair, things take a dark turn.

Cal has a girlfriend that he wants to spend time with, and his grades are also a concern. Cal's mom intercedes on his behalf and sets up a series of meetings to talk to his school counselor. These meetings really help Cal, especially in dealing with his dad and his coach. You'll want to read this book to see what happens when a couple of poor decisions turn everything upside down.

Goodreads gave this book a 4.25/5 rating. There is also a companion book titled 'Game Changer.' Greenwald has also written several series for children, including 'Crimebiters,' 'Charlie Joe Jackson,' and 'Project X.'

Relax and read!

~Connie, Library Assistant

• 'Partita' by Barbara Kingsolver
• 'Miss Wolcott's Ghost' by Louise Penny
• 'Dive Bar at the End of the Road' by Kelley Armstrong
• 'Whale Harbor' by Mary Beth Keane
• 'Chain Reaction' by Lee Child and Andrew Child
• 'A Married Little Christmas' by Abby Jimenez
• 'The Tarot Trials' by Katee Robert
• 'The Throwaways' by Greta Kelly

• 'Exit Party' by Emily St. John Mandel
• 'Return to the Shack' by Wm. Paul Young
• '18 Days in Heaven' by Gabe Poirot
• 'I Would Walk Five Hundred Miles: A Memoir of Learning You Have Always Been Enough' by Sean Dietrich and Jamie Dietrich

This program is for the comic loving tweens! 3rd-6th graders are invited to Comics and Cookies book club. Join us and share what you're reading while eating a yummy treat.

• Thursday, November 12th, 2026, at 3:30pm
• Thursday, November 12th, 2026, at 5:30pm

This young reader has read 100 books! Keep up the great work!

Pizza, Books & Bedazzling!

These teens had a great time enjoying pizza and spending the evening bedazzling their books! Who doesn’t love adding a little sparkle to their bookshelf?

Thanks to everyone who joined us for a fun night of creativity, good food, and bookish fun!

Be on the lookout for more Teen Book Bedazzling nights on our library calendar!

Agatha Christie's 'And Then There Were None' set the standard for locked-room mysteries, paving the way for modern day writers such as Riley Sager, Lucy Foley, Alice Feeney, Richard Osman and many more.

Part I of the classic penned by the Queen of Crime is now available in manga at our library; why not read both today and attempt to answer the eternal question of 'whodunnit'?!

#agathachristie #LockedRoomMystery #mangastyle

Fans of historical fiction will want to take a look at the Resistance Girl Series by Hannah Byron. This series of 8 books takes readers back to times of World War II, beginning with the first book, 'In Picardy's Fields.' Books 6 through 8 have recently been added to our library collection, and you will find the entire series in regular type.

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Publisher Marketing:

France, 1918. The war has torn the world apart, but for two remarkable women, the battlefields of Picardy become the stage for something history never anticipated.

Agnès de Saint-Aubin is a baroness with a surgeon's steady hands and nerves of steel. In a world where no woman has earned a place at the frontline, she claims one anyway - tending the wounded in a fragile makeshift hospital until German forces break through the doors. A dangerous secret shadows her every step, and only her American colleague can steady the storm rising around her.

Countess Madeleine de Dragoncourt answers to no one's expectations. When occupying forces threaten to swallow her ancestral château whole, she launches a bold plan to reclaim it - part instinct, part audacity, entirely her own. In the process she finds herself entangled with a British officer who unsettles her resolve and awakens something far more perilous than war.

Bound by an unlikely friendship and driven by a courage their world never asked of them, Agnès and Madeleine write their own rules in an age that hadn't yet imagined women like them. Long after the guns fall silent, what they built - in defiance, in love, in sacrifice - will pass to the next generation, when their daughters rise to face a darkness of their own.

'In Picardy's Fields' is the standalone prequel to The Resistance Girl Series - an intergenerational saga of extraordinary women across two world wars, perfect for readers of Kristin Hannah, Kate Quinn, and Martha Hall Kelly.

Henry loves spending his days exploring his home, munching on fresh fruits and vegetables, and practicing his favorite tricks.

After years of determination, Henry mastered an impressive backward somersault—landing on his back and flipping himself right over. He's very proud of his accomplishment!

But Henry wasn't done learning. When no one was watching, he quietly took on a new challenge: climbing onto his sleeping log. He never let a failed attempt stop him. He kept trying, and with patience and persistence, he finally mastered it.

The next time you visit the library, keep an eye out—you might catch Henry showing off his somersaults or climbing his log!

Thanks to a patron for capturing this photo!

With all of the new materials, resources, and programs available at the Vinton Public Library, do you ever feel like you're missing out on something? Look no further than our Vinton Public Library newsletter! Available on our website or via email subscription, our newsletter contains everything you need to know and more!

Subscribe today by email library@vintonia.gov.

Last week as part of Vinton's Big Read 2026, our library led a bus tour visiting Carnegie libraries in Marengo, Grinnell, Colfax and Marshalltown. Additionally, we visited the State Library for the Blind and Print Disabled, and the Iowa Law Library located on the 2nd floor of the State Capital Building, both in Des Moines. Dr. Shana Stuart with the Carnegie Libraries in Iowa Project provided historical details about the Carnegie libraries, and Julie Piper, Vinton Public Library board member and alum of the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School, provided us with historical information on the State Library for the Blind.

Thank you to our presenters, and to the Vinton Community Foundation and the Charles and Helen Yundt Charitable Foundation for your financial support of Vinton's Big Read. Also, thank you to the warm and welcoming staff from the libraries we visited for your kindness and hospitality.

Congratulations to the lucky winners of our book page pumpkin drawing! And once again, thank you Judy H. for donating the pumpkins and for sharing your talents with our community.

Established in 2003, the purpose of All Iowa Reads is to foster a sense of unity through reading. Iowans are encouraged to come together in their communities to read and talk about a single book title in the same calendar year. All Iowa Reads consists of three programs, each with one title chosen per year: adults, teens ages 13-18, and kids ages 8-12.

Libraries, book clubs, schools and other local organizations are encouraged to sponsor discussions of the titles.

Source: State Library of Iowa

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Email: library@vintonia.gov
Website: vinton.lib.ia.us
Location: 510 2nd Avenue, Vinton, IA, USA
Phone: (319) 472-4208
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