Salvation Lost (The Salvation Sequence)

Enjoy reading about threats from an alien race, journeying to Mars, and a political epic fantasy while you explore this selection of fantasy and science fiction reads that will take you into another world. Check out the sequels to /The Salvation Sequence/ and /Wake the Dragon/, a spin-off from Gregory Maguire that expands the /Wicked/ world, and the next book in the /Court of Thorns and Roses/ series.

Salvation Lost – Peter F. Hamilton

Book two of /The Salvation Sequence/ explores the encounter that utopian earth has with a visiting race of aliens that are quickly discovered to be among the worst threats that mankind dealt with. The Olyix plan to convert the residents of earth into their belief system under their own god. But the aliens didn't expect mankind to fight back. As the Olyix try to take power, humanity is more determined than ever to stop them before they're the ones destroyed.

The Brides of Maracoor – Gregory Maguire

Kicking off a new series, this spin-off from Gregory Maguire features Rain, the green-skinned granddaughter of Elphaba. It was ten years ago when the fourth and final volume of /Out of Oz/ was released. Rain washes ashore on a strange island where she's saved by a women community that uses devotional practices considered more obscure. A mysterious navy attacks the mainland which causes the civil-servant overseer over the island to wonder how an alien could put a whole nation under threat. This new trilogy will follow Rain's journey as it takes her from an outpost on the island to the uncharted Maracoor badlands as she works to find her way home again where she'll return to her family and lover. The beauty and suffering of Oz come to life through the mystery, injustice, and possibility of this story that serves as a reminder of the sacred terrain found in our lives.

A Court of Silver Flames – Sarah J. Maas

Nesta is known for how slow she can be to forgive and how quick she can be toward anger. Ever since she became High Fae by force through the Cauldron, she has worked to fit into her new role. Cassian is the best at making her angry and she can't avoid him thanks to his own role in Rhysand and Feyre's Night Court. The friction between them is just the beginning as the two have an undeniable chemistry that draws them closer when they're near each other. As if this wasn't enough, the human queens have joined forces and this proves to be a threat against every realm. To stop them, Nesta and Cassian each have to confront the pasts that have haunted them which is a journey set against a background of war and uncertainty. Together find healing and acceptance as they battle monsters and inner demons.

Thin Air – Richard K. Morgan

Hakan Veil is a killing machine after he received body tech that's military-grade and once a corporate enforcer, he's now been abandoned by his former employers. He's been left on Mars where overlords that are earth-based engage in a fight for profits and power despite the growing independence movement. Harkan quickly grows tired of life on Mars and searches for a way to return home which leads him to accept a position from the Earth Oversight organization. The job makes him a bodyguard for an EO investigator. It's easy to work until his charge looks into what happened to a lottery winner that suddenly vanished. The deeper he's drawn into this world, the more secrets reveal themselves and push him up against enemies that he must take down – no matter what.

Vengewar – Kevin J. Anderson

The second book in the /Wake the Dragon/ series continues with war unfolding between The Three Kingdoms and Ishara. For over a thousand years, the two sides have been at war until an outside threat made itself known. An ancient race awakened which brought the two continents together and had them put aside their feud to form an alliance against this common enemy. Book one led to the awakening of a dragon which created events that set the two continents against each other. Now in book two, the Three Kingdoms is facing serious consequences thanks to having a king that is inexperienced. The king is receiving encouragement from a regent, with a lot of ambition, to not take threats made by the Wreths seriously and to instead choose a vengewar with Ishara. His brother and uncle spot the danger that lies within the Older Race. Meanwhile, the Ishara queen lies comatose which provides the opportunity for a priest to take power only to fail the country when he doesn't have the experience to effectively it.

The Wood Wife – Terri Windling

Maggie Black has left the fashion of her old life behind on the West Coast in exchange for a new life in the Southwestern desert. She's determined to pursue her dreams even if this means starting over. Her mentor, the poet Davis Cooper, died under mysterious circumstances and left his estate to her. Now it's up to her to figure out the mystery of his life and the cause of his death. Maggie is drawn into this new life she discovers and is captivated by the people she meets – including Fox. He's unlike any man she's met before and he has a deeper understanding of the power the desert possesses. Maggie uses Cooper's letters as a way to understand his life and soon this search draws her to the ancient spirits residing within the desert.

The Blue-Spangled Blue – David Bowles

Over a hundred years ago, the Aknawajin came to a planet called Jitsu where they were forced to serve as workers. Despite their oppression, they've won their independence and have gotten freedom from the corporate owners of the world. The planet has started to allow humankind to enter which allows for an architect, that also serves as a leader to a religious reform group, named Tenshi becomes acquainted with Brando D'Angelo who left earth to work as a teacher on Jitsu. Tenshi shares about her faith in the Path with Brando and guides him on his own journey which inspires him to say goodbye to his identity and to reform under the guidance of Tenshi so he can obtain a soul. Tenshi's enemies create obstacles for the couple while the growing struggles on Jitsu cover up the plans of a dangerous mind. They'll be guided along a new path that will inspire the creation of a movement that will have effects on history.


Cursed

Thomas Wheeler, illustrated by Frank Miller

When it is time for the Sky Folk, a clan of Fey feared by Man Bloods, to choose a new summoner, the person who will lead their clan as dictated by the Hidden, the Arch Druid’s own daughter Nimue is chosen—a choice Nimue at first rejects and that other Sky Folk do not wish to honor. This moment opens a strange and fantastic retelling of the King Arthur legend by Wheeler and Miller.

Nimue’s power comes at a tumultuous time when the Red Paladins are destroying the villages and taking the lives of Fey Kind. They believe in one true god and reject druids, and their expressions of faith are violent and bloody. It is Nimue, in alliance with a young sword-for-hire named Arthur and her best friend Pym, who must root out their evil and protect the Fey. She can only do this if she acquires the Sword of Power and learn the truth of her history from the Red Paladins’ own magician: Merlin.

Frank Miller, of Sin City fame, has created arresting illustrations to accompany an engrossing tale that wonders why the one true king must be male. If the Sword of Power is wielded by a young girl, how might Arthurian legend be changed? For fans of those legends, of Miller’s work, or for anyone looking for a tale of action and intrigue, Cursed should be on your list of must-reads. The book is approved for readers aged fourteen and up. The Netflix series adaptation premieres in 2020.

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers


Saint X

On the last night of a family vacation, seven-year-old Claire’s sister Alison does not return to the hotel room. Days later, after an extensive search, Alison is found dead at a secluded spot on the island. Two suspects are quickly arrested but are released shortly thereafter as the timelines do not fit with the death. The family returns home and tries to put their lives back together while the mystery of what happened to Alison remains unsolved. Almost twenty years later, Claire randomly comes into contact with one of the men suspected of killing her sister and embarks on an all-encompassing search to find the answer to what happened to Alison all those years ago.

This read is not a police procedural, and the mystery of what happened to Alison is not the focus of this book. Saint X is more about Claire’s journey to understand the sister she idolized but barely knew. If you are looking for a Dateline-type murder mystery that will have you turning pages late into the night, this is not the book for you because this is a slow burn read that raises many questions relating to social issues including class, privilege, race, family dynamics, grief, and sexuality. The writing style was very uneven. Many parts were too descriptive with the overuse of parentheses and examples that, after a paragraph, were skimmed by this reader. There were often times the author needed to give the reader more because questions remain unanswered.


On Cussing: Bad Words and Creative Cursing

Swearing is awesome. It's immensely satisfying, it draws attention, it adds emphasis, and it helps you handle pain. But that doesn't mean you can scatter expletives willy-nilly throughout your writing and expect it to be effective each and every time. There's an art to using profanity to maximize its impact in your writing, and Katherine Dunn knows more than most when it comes to curse words and the written word.

On Cussing examines not only a quick history of swearing -- both word origins and the ebbs and flows of swearing in literature -- but how best to employ it to build characters and establish their voices. Citing film and literary quotes, historical texts, and her own expansive experience with swearing in a colorful and thoroughly entertaining fashion, this brief treatise is both informative and an enjoyable read in its own right.

Loaded with advice and examples of new directions in which to take your own swearing endeavors, On Cussing is the perfect hit-and-run look at a complex and valuable topic, giving you what you need to get started and a launchpad from which to do further homework.

Go far beyond the usual four-letter words with On Cussing. By the unblinking red eye of Ra, you're sure to learn something.


A Queen in Hiding (The Nine Realms)

Cressa is nothing like her mother, the former queen. She’s not a strategist, she can’t plot her moves in advance. When her life and the life of her daughter, Cerulia, are threatened, Cressa has no choice but to flee the palace with the Queen’s shields. In order to keep her daughter safe, Cressa takes her to a small village in the middle of nowhere, then sets out to find her husband and rally her navy to reclaim her kingdom. Exiled, alone, and hunted, Cerulia must learn how to use her magic and become the queen she’s destined to be while waiting for her mother to return.

A Queen in Hiding is the first book of the Nine Realms quartet. The world is vast and different, with different cultures and ways of life. The whole book is mostly world building and background. The story could start almost at the end, when Cerulia has grown up, but I found myself loving the story of Cressa and her shields and would have loved to read more about them. The pacing is a little off, sometimes it’s slow and other times its fast, jumping to different times without much warning. There is heavy cussing throughout.


Stalingrad: Letters from the Volga

This graphic history rapidly overviews the Battle of Stalingrad. Each chapter begins with a letter from a German soldier. Each letter is followed by a description of the battle’s development and an illustrated portrayal of the events. It should be noted here that a major issue concerning the book is that the authenticity (or otherwise) of the “letters” from the German soldiers is not made apparent.

The account is fairly engaging and covers the chronology of the battle, and the book’s value lies in its utility as an introduction to the subject. However, the storytelling can be confusing at times and the plot should not be considered a reliable historical account. Additionally, the author’s target audience is unclear. The graphic portions could easily be aimed at children and teens, while the historical prose seems made for amateur war historians. These sections also seem to be in conflict with each other in terms of tone.

That said, it is a book in translation, which may explain the odd sentence structure. While I try to read generously, especially with translated works, this book has other issues that detract from its potential power to interest young readers in history. For instance, the objectivity of the work is questionable. At times, the Germans appear sympathetic while the Russians are presented as cruel killers. This effect is heightened by the fact the Russians’ words often appear in Cyrillic, meaning they are unintelligible to most readers. The German soldiers are thus given a voice while the Russians are denied one.

In the end, I found that whatever utility the book has as a historic introduction is trumped by authorial bias and flaws in the book’s structure.


We Speak in Storms

The novel We Speak In Storms is about three people who find themselves near where a tornado touched the ground. This story switches through three characters' minds: Callie, whose mother has a very serious illness, Joshua, who came out as gay and everyone started avoiding even more, and Brenna, who has been trying to fit in and started hanging out with the emo people at school. Callie, Joshua, and Brenna meet each other where the tornado touched down. Callie hears whispers and sees a face when she and her dad are investigating a car in the ditch and soon tells Brenna and Joshua about it. When they all first meet each other Brenna offers a ride to Joshua, and they both discover a car in a field. Brenna thinks it is more than just a coincidence for a tornado to touch down on its anniversary and for two older cars to be thrown because of it. I really enjoyed this book and I would definitely read it again.


Pirate Women: The Princesses, Prostitutes, and Privateers Who Ruled the Seven Seas by Laura Sook Duncombe is a thrilling read all on its own, whether or not you enjoy history or biography. It’s especially entertaining because the author is an enthusiast of pirate women and not a historian. Places in the book are laugh-out-loud funny and as such may get you strange looks from your kids once they realize pirates are more grisly than Jake in Neverland. Nonetheless, this book is filled with notorious female pirates that readers know—such as Mary Reed and Anne Bonny—as well as less well-known characters such as Lady Elizabeth and Lady Mary Killigrew, Queen Teuta, Cheng I Sao, and many others. From the earliest pirates of Greece to the modern Hollywood depiction of women on the high seas, Duncombe offers an amazingly researched volume that is highly readable, informative, and captures the je ne sais quois that pirate enthusiasts enjoy, while not shying away from brutal reality. Pirate Women is a can’t-miss book in the genre.


The Holy Trinity - Three In One: Unveiling God's Presence In The Bible

God is an enigma that, for many people, can either be very easy or very difficult to process. The fact that we are expected to acknowledge that there are actually three persons in the same God can, and is, mind-boggling to both non-believers and believers. Rest assured, even to devout Christians, this concept does not come naturally and can take some interpreting from the scriptures. However, the truth remains that there is sufficient evidence in the Bible that the Trinity does in fact exist.

In The Holy Trinity- Three in One: Unveiling God’s Presence in the Bible, Tommy C. Seay, Sr., has combined three volumes of his work on the holy trinity into one solid piece of evidence, based on passages and events that are recorded in God’s Word to us. The Bible was given to us all by God with the purpose of studying it to learn more about Him until he comes back once more for Judgement Day, to take the believers back to their true home. The Bible does not contradict itself, but yes, you will have to take some of its events in light of the ancient traditions, customs, and way of life in the past to fully understand them; many people get confused because they were interpreting the events and actions based on our current era, when our way of thinking and living would have been completely foreign to the time of the writings. Other factors that would sway our understanding of the scriptures include the different translations over the years and the origin of the words they contain, such as how to understand the text in the original languages they were written in, Hebrew or Greek.

Seay begins in his first two sections of the book describing God through the aid of various passages, specifically how he is referred to as an “Angel.” The ways God revealed himself to the people in the past, usually as the “Angel of the Lord,” and the “duties” or characters of angels are discussed. With passages referenced from the King James version, they may differ slightly in their exact wordage from newer translations, but the overall point of the passage will/should not have changed. Seay continues to explain the passages that show the truth of Jesus Christ, which some people dismiss, and how God came and presented himself through the second Person of the Trinity, in the human form in the eyes of men such as Abraham and Lot in Genesis. The study of literally amazing people should be high on people’s to-do list, and Seay makes the study process that much easier through his research and presentation.


Toxic Femininity in the Workplace: Office Gender Politics Are a Battlefield

It can be immensely difficult to navigate the turbulent waters of both professional and casual interactions at work. How can you offer criticism without offending someone? Make your point without coming off combative or unreasonable? Deal with the chronic stupidity that comes with outdated stereotypes and suffocating gender roles?

First, take a deep breath. Second, get this book.

Toxic Femininity in the Workplace is a hilariously acidic mix of sarcasm, tongue-in-cheek condescension, and artful juxtaposition that points out the insane hypocrisies that define so many daily interactions in business and the social world when it comes to gender. Whether it's explaining how free tampons aren't the same as equal pay or exploring a world where women aren't interrupted in meetings, this book is packed with inventive, entertaining, and engaging ways of confronting the horsesh*t women deal with every single day.

Toxic Femininity in the Workplace is brilliant for several reasons. One, it's hysterical, and that counts. Two, it manages to take a truckload of incredibly serious issues that are worth discussing openly and absolutely slaughter any sacred cows standing in the way of those discussions by inverting, twisting, and otherwise cleverly subverting the norm.

And, hopefully, amidst the laughs, it serves as recognition that these aren't problems to be swept under the rug... they're ones to be faced head-on.


Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design

If you wanted to design your own board game, where would you start? Would you base it on an existing game you already know and like? Would you create a new mechanic in order to facilitate gameplay? Would it require luck or skill? How would the pieces move?

A thousand and one questions immediately leap to mind. But although there are plenty of resources out there for the aspiring game designer, there has never been a one-stop-shop for the actual bits and pieces that make up the rules of board gaming.

That is, until now.

Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design is the industry's first true lexicon, an encyclopedic look at board game mechanics. From piece movement and card manipulation to offering clues, forging contracts, and communicating with other players, a staggering number of techniques employed by board game designers are chronicled within these pages, as well as examples of effective and not-always-effective implementation from well-known board games.

You immediately feel like you're in good hands when you read this book. The designers come off as incredibly knowledgable about games themselves as well as enthusiastic fans of board games, meaning that you're getting not only mechanical effectiveness but aesthetic input on how to build a game to fit your concept or narrative.

Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design is a mind-blowing undertaking, one that belongs on the desk of every game designer, no matter how experienced.


Raising Animals for Fiber: Producing Wool from Sheep, Goats, Alpacas, and Rabbits in Your Backyard

Classy-appearing reference trade book, glossy in and out.

A species comparison of sizes, life spans, average purchase prices, personality, the minimum required space, difficulty level, and environmental hardiness follows a foreword embracing the hopeful fiber farmer. The introductory chapter combs into fiber micron sizes, purchasing quality animals, and the social intricacies of finding reputable breeders to deal with. It also explains the author’s restricting her book to sheep, angora goats, alpacas, and angora rabbits. We are gifted with an introduction to the removal and processing of fibers, how to seek medical help, the beauty of attending shows…or perhaps not… in the interest of biosecurity. There are a richness and depth to the presentation, examinations of the often obsessive engagement of fiber folk with the infinite possibilities of the field. Photographic illustrations are omnipresent and excellently selected.||Each chapter/treatment offers lingo specific to the beastie, the mechanics of harvesting their fiber, necessities of feeding and maintenance. (Alpaca males need to have fighting teeth trimmed; their fleeces should not be combed whilst still on the animal). Sheep must be shorn. Breeding is described in good detail.

There is some obvious boiler plating in each treatment. Not surprising, as many considerations are similar across species. Ms. McClaughlin is an experienced and adroit writer.


Pavi Sharma's Guide to Going Home

Pavi Sharma has been in foster care for awhile and also spent time in Crossroads, a group home for kids awaiting placement. She has learned a lot about the system and how foster kids can make it easier for themselves moving through. She teaches other kids how to make a good impression with the Front Door Face — puppy-dog eyes and a lemonade smile — and she researches the backgrounds of their families and schools to help them acclimate. She has quite a business going. When she visits Crossroads and discovers a sweet five-year-old about to be placed in the worst home Pavi had ever experienced, she pulls out all the stops to avert that. What could go wrong?

Author Bridget Farr seems to have a great deal of knowledge about the foster care system, although this book focuses on the better parts of it rather than on the really dark things that happen. The writing is crisp and the characters are fully-developed and very engaging. One can’t help but cheer for Pavi and her small posse. This is a great introduction for middle-graders to the foster care system and will engender compassion for foster kids.


The Illuminati Ball

Five people receive invitations to a ball held by one of the most secretive and infamous organizations in history. Their hosts are masked, their promises unreal, their motivations unknown. At the Illuminati Ball, nothing is what it seems, and the guests find themselves plunged into a world they don't understand . . . one where the rules of life and death are not what they seem.

The Illuminati Ball is a curious read, more akin to a play or the script for a murder mystery dinner than your usual graphic novel fare. Combining elements of science fiction, historical drama, and stagecraft, the story is loaded with twists and turns, and for a while, the reader feels as off-kilter as the guests.

The art is sumptuous, lavishing details on masks, clothing, and different elements of performance to make the world feel both lived-in and painstakingly assembled. The more time you spend immersing yourself in the decor, the art style, and the conscious choices made by both the host of the ball Pig King and his author Cynthia von Buhler, the more you get out of the story. This isn't a one-read tale, this is a bath you must luxuriate in.

Driven by misunderstandings, preconceived notions, baser instincts, and acts of both distrust and honesty, this is a dinner party none of the guests, or the reader, will ever forget.


The Golden Key

Helena Walton-Cisneros claims she’s a medium in post-Victorian England, but she’s actually a detective. Her current job is tracking down three girls who went missing in the fens years ago. Her job will lead her to a mysterious fungus, as well as a man named Samuel Moncrieff who can’t remember pieces of his life.

The Golden Key takes a while to get into, and it’s unclear whether it’s entirely worth the time. It doesn’t matter who the characters are— they could be anybody— because the focus of the book is not on character development, but on the resolution of the mystery. I really wanted to know more about Helena, who passes herself off as a medium because men wouldn’t take a female detective seriously in England at the time, but the focus is more on the subjects of Helena’s pursuit, who were also unmemorable. The supernatural elements in The Golden Key were actually red herrings to something more real and sinister. As a reader, I expected more than I got from this story.


Ice Cold Heart: A Monkeewrench Novel

In the tenth installment of the Monkeywrench series, P.J. Tracy gives us another exciting and unexpected mystery to solve. All of the same characters in the series are back to endure another frigid and brutal January in Minnesota. Thankfully, the weather must be on the police’s side, as there have been no homicides in at least a month – too cold! Unfortunately, this all changes when Magozzi and Gino get a call that there has been a very unusual murder take place. The victim is an unhappy housewife who suffered a painful and almost satanic death. Based on the findings in this murder, an old murder has resurfaced that has similar findings and might be connected somehow. It’s up to Magozzi, Gino, and the entire Monkeywrench crew to solve these murders before any more might happen.

Traci has produced another page-turner in Ice Cold Heart. After every chapter, I had to check myself if I had time at the moment to keep reading because I would keep going until the end. The descriptions of everything, from the murders to the scenery are spot-on and make for a realistic story for the reader to imagine exactly what’s happening. P.J. Tracy is an author to keep around!


Passionate Spirit: The Life of Alma Mahler

She was one of the most beautiful women in all of Vienna, Austria, coming of age at the end of the 19th Century. Initially married to the composer Gustav Mahler who was nearly twice her age, she had an affair with Walter Gropius and ended up marrying him after Mahler died. Even the marriage with Gropius was troubled as she had an affair with Franz Werfel, whom she also married after separating from Gropius. She eventually settled in New York where she lived out the rest of her days.

It can be hard to write a book about someone who was not directly powerful. Most of her impact was her affairs and loves with men other than her husband. At times, it just feels like not much is happening, and the entries from her journals and letters, especially the affairs that ended on a sour note, are about the only interesting parts. She was involved with many men and wanted to become a composer herself, but her lack of support and her mindset of always needing love led to bouts of depression.


Into the Fairy Forest

Pippa’s life is turned upside down after a house fire kills her mother and strips away her life in California. By starting over in New York, she hoped to put the tragedy behind her, only for her new life to become even stranger. When trying to save her friend, she’s drawn into a magical and dangerous world that sends her stumbling into a family secret, into a shocking romance with the handsome Pan and serving as the savior of two worlds. She must catch a dangerous monster in the human world that is behind the fires and missing girls.

The new relationships Pippa forms help ground her in her attempts to start over, only for a new friendship to sweep her into another world where fairies and magic exist. She’s drawn into the middle of a world under oppressive rule that finds citizens locked away when trying to flee to the human world. Pippa faces the fate of two worlds in a story that is riddled with humor, an emotional journey, and a magical romance that finds Pippa connecting with the alluring Pan. As she delves further into the world, she discovers more about herself and her family origins.

Into the Fairy Forest is a magical adventure that weaves a delightful twist on fairies, the lady of the lake, and Pan.


Seven Sides of Self

Seven Sides of Self includes seven stories that overall left me with a disappointing feeling. Perhaps the main blame should be put on its categorization as a sci-fi short stories collection. Only two out of seven of them weren’t heavily religious and/or spiritual. A more appropriate genre label would be Christian sci-fi.

One of the best stories that did stand out were "There Once Was a Man," which is the very first one in the volume. It's about a man to whom an idea to become an author is more intriguing than actually the work that has to be put in. It’s nothing for him to spend all the time and money to create the ‘’perfect’’ writing corner, but then when it’s time to start to work, he isn’t in the right mood or his muse isn’t there.

But the best story out of all seven is "Microwave Man," in which an unnamed character in his senior years decides to visit a small town through which he has driven through many times and has seen this mysterious sign that says Microwave Man, but he hasn’t once stopped to check the place out. In this story’s case the best part was the mystery of the identity of the place’s owner rather than any tiny sci-fi detail in it.

It can’t be denied that there is an overreaching theme throughout Seven Sides of Self, but the other five stories didn’t jell at all with "Microwave Man" and "There Once Was a Man."


The Humanist's Devotional: 366 Daily Meditations from Some of the World's Greatest Thinkers

Author and illustrator Jessica Hagy has extracted famous sayings from the Yale Book of Quotations and the Forbes Book of Quotations and selectively paired them together to form themes of thoughts. Filling a leap year's quota of three hundred sixty-six days, that number of pages contains paired phrases from different eras that connect to a common image. Using squiggles, arrows, circles, loops, and other selected markers, the bold-faced aphorisms are highlighted to stimulate thoughts about the vagaries of the world and how we relate to one another. Tidbits from Whitman, Glen Gould, Comte, Disraeli, Michelangelo, Erica Jong and so many other personalities from the past and present have something to say that will cause the reader to stop and reflect on the variety of experiences. Each source cleverly links with another along this chain of thoughtful adages, smoothing the continuity of the meditations. While the book may appeal to contemplative readers, its format is more closely that of a daily calendar, each page holding thoughtful ideas. I would prefer to see it as a spiral bound version with easily flippable pages accompanied by an array of colored markers to match the hue of the mood with the tone of the message.


Green Lantern: Legacy

There has been a growing trend of Marvel and DC getting into the teen/young adult market with graphic novels, where things are not too complicated and feature stories with kids the readers' own age, so the kids can identify with the main character and keep reading comics, as that can be the age when they fall out of it. This book is a fairly simple story about the legacy of one's family and honoring that legacy, no matter if a seemingly better offer comes up. Tai Pham lives in an apartment with his family above their grocery store. He dreams of a better life for himself, with racial hatred a thing of the past. What he does not know is that his grandmother was a Green Lantern, and she passes the legacy onto him. Pham must learn to control this new power and to use it for good, while an offer from a friend turns out to be a red herring.

This is more for the younger readers, as it really breaks down who is good and who is bad. While leaving a little bit for a gray area, with overly philosophical argument towards the end with the bad guy.


The Forest

One day, while taking a walk in the forest, twin brothers River and Terran accidentally stumble through a portal. They soon find themselves trapped in the world of Arbore, a strange land full of monsters, magic, and mystery. They discover they can control the elements of water and earth, and when united with the other two elements, they possess the power to save all of Arbore. They set out on an epic quest to find the elements of air and fire, meeting both friend and foe along the way. But if they decide to save this new mysterious world, will they ever make it back to their own?

I love this book, and I think you will too. There are several strange metaphors, such as “as you slide down the banister of your next adventure, may the splinters never point in the wrong direction”. I personally find them very funny. However, several characters die, and it is pretty gory sometimes. Because of this, I would not recommend it for younger kids. But if you can handle that, it is a wonderful book. This is an amazing, hilarious, and exciting book full of adventure and magic. If you like fantasy, you must read it. I know you will love it.


Diana: Princess of the Amazons

Nobody would expect that something the hero Wonder Woman made could be so evil. Of course, she wasn't Wonder Woman at the time. She was Princess Diana of the Amazons. But there is one thing: her mom didn't really treat her like an Amazon. It was probably because she was made from clay. I didn't really know anything about Wonder Woman except that she is a hero. This book told me her origins, and for that, the book deserves five stars.


The Andromeda Evolution

Decades after  The Andromeda Strain wiped out Piedmont, Arizona, people have forgotten the danger. All but Eternal Vigilance, a military operation put in place to monitor for evidence Andromeda has returned. Now the remnants of a crashed ship in the Amazon have triggered alerts. Andromeda is back. A new Wildfire team is selected to investigate the reports.

Continuing in the vein of Crichton's classic, Daniel Wilson's The Andromeda Evolution introduces a whole new generation of readers to the deadly organism. This time it is out in the wild, not contained in a lab. This new team faces untold dangers not just from the organism, which is rapidly constructing something in the depths of the Amazonian rainforest, but from the jungle itself and the uncontacted tribes living within.

I enjoyed this story immensely! This Wildfire team is far more diverse, including an anthropologist, and a roboticist who has a small flock of "canary" drones. At one point, they convert a canary drone into a universal translator to communicate with a native person. Another member is an astronaut from the ISS. There's definitely more action and diversity in this story. The ending was neat too, though it does stretch the imagination. Andromeda continues to evolve. It's here to stay. I hope there's a sequel! I'd love to see further evolutions.


Heartwood Box

This is a fast-paced, suspenseful, paranormal book with a teen romance thrown in. Araceli has moved to a new town and is living with her aunt. What seems like a dull small town turns into a mysterious place where strange lights appear in the woods and people keep disappearing. It also seems that the disappeared are haunting the townspeople. To add to the mystery, Araceli finds a box that allows her to travel across time and speak with a soldier from World War I. The book is well written, although not always well developed. The romance is not really very interesting and takes away from the suspense and mystery of the story. Araceli is a likable character most of the time, but she lacks depth. There are several side characters that are not well developed beyond their role in helping us see that Araceli is an “outsider.” They generally seem very one-dimensional. Ultimately the story is less about the suspense and mystery and more about the romance, which did not interest me. I would recommend this book for people over the age of sixteen who like teen romance with a little time travel thrown in, but it is not for anyone looking for suspense.


Amber Hollow

Weird things happen in Amber Hollow. Most recently, a fire destroyed the entire town killing all but five of its 600 residents. Detectives are called in to investigate this odd occurrence and question the survivors. Yet every one of the survivors tells a different story. The more the detectives examine this case, the stranger it becomes. But nothing could compare to the horror of the truth. An evil deed has been committed, and a force beyond comprehension will have its revenge. Nothing will get in the way of justice finally being served.

The premise of this story drew me in and held my attention pretty well. The characters, as well as the plot, were interesting. While this is a horror story and you might be expecting it, there is quite a bit of gore and there are some very dark elements to this story. There is often what seems to be cruel and unusual punishment. As I finished the story, I had some questions relating to the plot, but overall it was easy to understand and read. It was not the greatest book I’ve ever read, but still interesting, and I think fans of the supernatural or horror genre will enjoy it.


Trampled Blossoms: What They Stole from Grandma

World War II “comfort women” are unfamiliar to many Western readers – especially young adults. Trampled Blossoms spotlights these victims and their little-known history through the story of Chun-ja, a thirteen-year-old Korean girl who is kidnapped by Japanese soldiers and forced to work as a sex slave.

The novel explores Chun-ja’s story through the eyes of Yu-ri, her preteen granddaughter who lives in modern-day Seoul. Yu-ri is exasperated by her over-protective grandmother, but when Chun-ja vanishes after her middle school graduation, Yu-ri determines to uncover her grandmother’s mysterious past. She discovers a book about comfort women and learns Chun-ja was forced to work as a comfort woman until she was freed by Americans at the end of WWII. After she finishes the book, Yu-ri wonders if Chun-ja’s erratic behavior was a type of PTSD, even though her grandmother was too embarrassed to admit the truth.

Some authors might detail the horrors of WWII sex slavery too explicitly for young adult readers, but Moon Young-sook maintains historical accuracy while remaining age-appropriate. She also sheds light on trauma’s relational consequences with poignancy and dignity. Trampled Blossoms is an engaging, insightful read sure to satisfy both teens and their parents.


Bodega Cat

Bodega cat is about a cat that lived in a bodega which is another name for a shop, the cat’s name is Chip. Chip is telling the story about his shop like he is the owner. Chip likes to think he runs the shop.  All of the customers that come into the bodega love Chip, he says that all the customers are his fans. In the story, Chip shows the readers all of the different things that are in his shop and all the reasons that he likes living in the bodega. Throughout the book, he explains all of the things that happen in a day at the bodega.

I loved the illustrations in this book, the illustrator used bright colors that really showed what a bodega looks like. I liked how sometimes the illustration was from Chip’s point of view and sometimes you had to search the picture to see what Chip was up to. You can tell the Chip really loves his home and his owners, he enjoys being the Bodega Cat.


Frozen: Conceal, Don't Feel: A Twisted Tale

This book asks the question, “What if Anna and Elsa never knew each other?” It takes characters from Frozen and puts them in different situations. I enjoy reading stories like this, where I know the characters but not the plot. This book is exciting because Elsa has to journey and find a missing princess! I thought the adventure part of the story was very interesting, and it kept me wanting to read more and find out what happened. There are also new characters, such as Freya, who is like Anna’s aunt.  I have seen both of the Frozen movies, so I was already familiar with the characters, but anyone could enjoy this story—the reader doesn’t have to see the movies before reading the book (although that would be okay too!). There is a mystery about a curse that is thrilling to discover also. I liked how the author used some flashbacks (“thirteen years earlier”) to reveal information about the characters and their backgrounds. Readers who are interested in Frozen will find this book a good choice!


Santa: My Life & Times - An Illustrated Autobiography

Jared Green, with illustrations by Bill Sienkiewicz

Every child knows about Santa Claus. They know his beard and his reindeer, his magical powers and his workshop home. They know he's jolly and married and prone to booming exclamations and bending the laws of physics to his will. But, despite all that, no one really seems to know how he came to be Santa.

Well, jolly ol' Saint Nick is rectifying that problem himself, sharing the surprising and heartwarming origins of his unique position in history in Santa: My Life & Times. The reader meets the young Nicholas, his loving parents, and his encounters with a world steeped in magic and mythos, a world with grand plans for a kind young boy pure of heart.

Building a new mythology for not only Santa but also his powers and those characters most associated with him is no easy feat. Green cherrypicks elements from other mythologies, yet manages to weave a tale that feels wholly his. Elves and reindeer, sorcerers and hobgoblins... it all somehow fits in Green's capable hands.

But what truly brings this story to life is the artwork by Bill Sienkiewicz. Every image feels like a Christmas card, or like art you'd associate with Currier and Ives or Norman Rockwell. Awash in warm colors, even the coldest winds and snowiest nights are bright and eye-catching.

Santa: My Life & Times may not be everyone's cup of Christmas cocoa, but it is wonderfully unique, bringing Santa in your home in an inventive, magical, and optimistic way.


Tidelands: A Novel

I have been a fan of Philippa Gregory’s work for many years beginning with her novel The Other Boleyn Girl and continuing through to her 2016 novel Three Sisters, Three Queens. It has always been a joy to read about female characters which generally never see the light of day except as a set piece or accessory to the main character. I was very excited to start Gregory’s Tidelands having read the short synopsis. What could be more interesting than a woman living outside of history? We are given Alinor, a poor healer, living in the tidelands, a woman truly “other.” She is not part of the village but is often called upon to take care of their sick or deliver their children. She knows, however, no matter how much good she does, her life is always teetering on a precarious edge. At any moment that goodwill can turn and the word “witch” will be spoken aloud with dire consequences.

Unfortunately, Gregory decides to veer away from the well-researched historical fiction she does so well and bogs the storyline down with quickly developed romance, followed by a historically unbelievable ending. If I didn’t know she plans this to be a series, I would be very worried.


Ducks, Newburyport: A Novel

The unnamed narrator of this epic doorstop of a novel is an Ohio mother of four, married twice, a pie-baker by trade. Over the course of nearly a thousand pages, she free-associates as she bakes her pies, delivers them, deals with a flat tire, manages her children and spouse, and confronts endlessly appearing news stories, the stream of consciousness constant and dizzying. Climate change, motherhood, history, nature, politics—no subject goes untouched, and no connotation is too random. Wordplay and lists show a mind uneasy and at work, never still as it chews through the tasks of the day. Contrasting the narrator’s stream of consciousness are occasional short sections that feature a lioness and her cubs. Terse and specific, these more traditional scenes are a relief from the constant mental chatter but not separate from it.

The narrator separates her thoughts with the phrase “the fact that,” and grammatical resolution is never offered. There is enlightenment in the melee, and heartbreak, too, as separations of all kinds—expected and unexpected, willing and unwilling—challenge mothers of all species. Love, parenthood, survival, and loss are the dominant notes, and readers who give themselves over to the dense pages will find themselves moved.


The Secrets We Kept: A Novel

Author Boris Pasternak knows the novel he’s writing, Doctor Zhivago, is a masterpiece. However, since the novel is critical of Russia, he also knows that the Russian government will do anything to prevent its publication. The costs are steep: Pasternak’s mistress, Olga, is sent to the gulag as punishment for aiding and protecting him. But Pasternak perseveres, and the CIA comes to see that his novel might be a powerful weapon in the Cold War. Typists-slash-spies Sally and Irina find themselves playing a pivotal role in the book’s journey to publication, and its winding path back into Russia.

Told from multiple viewpoints including Pasternak, Olga, Irina, and Sally, The Secrets We Kept spans over a decade of political turmoil and crosses from East to West again and again as the CIA’s plan is conceived and executed. Sally and Irina are all but hidden from the world in their innocuous secretarial roles, yet their skill and savvy are crucial to the covert American actions. At the heart of the intrigue and espionage, always, are the women and men who find their professional, artistic, and familial roles heightened with international significance. All involved in Doctor Zhivago’s birth know it is far more than one man’s creative triumph. Nothing less than freedom is at stake.


The Secret Life of Pets: Pet Tails

This book is a collection of funny short comics based on the characters from the movie The Secret Life of Pets.  Chloe is my favorite character from this story. She is an extremely sarcastic cat who can be a little mean sometimes.

In one comic strip, Norman the hamster is trying to solve the mystery of the hamster wheel. Norman keeps running on the wheel every night, trying to reach “the end.” Although Chloe knows it is just a wheel, she won’t tell Norman because she is amused by his wasted effort.

Another of my favorite comic strips is where Max finds Duke chewing on his owner’s shoe. In order to escape detection, Duke suggests they chew ALL the shoes. If there are teeth marks in all the shoes, the owner won’t notice that only one shoe had been chewed!

I like this book because it is funny! It is great if you just need a laugh. What is not to love about a book that makes you laugh with every single page you read?

Each of the characters is lovable or relatable in his or her own way.  This book is a must-have for any age of reader!


The Colorful Family Table: Seasonal Plant-Based Recipes for the Whole Family

As plant-based eating grows in popularity, vegans, meat-eaters, and everyone in between are on the lookout for more vegetarian options to feed themselves and their families. Children especially can be pickier eaters, and many of the dishes that appeal to adults may not be quite so kid-friendly. Fortunately, there are new cookbooks coming out all the time that deal with this issue, and blogger and recipe developer Ilene Godofsky Moreno’s newest cookbook is packed with great ideas. The Colorful Family Table is meant for families, and the recipes inside will surely appeal to a wide range of tastebuds, from the pickiest of children (and adults!) to those with a wider palate. Moreno is a big fan of eating seasonally, and consequently, her book is divided into four seasonal sections. In the fall, enjoy cozy, filling dishes like kabocha squash & lentil stew or easy stewed apples. Winter recipes include options like balsamic cabbage “steaks” and brownie blizzard balls. In the spring, enjoy fresh flavors in dishes like veggie quiche or roasted garlic pesto. And in the summer, home chefs will be eager to try BBQ lentil burgers or watermelon & tofu feta salad. Beautiful pictures make the meals even more appealing, and readers will appreciate no-fuss instructions and easy-to-find ingredients.


White Flights: Race, Fiction, and the American Imagination

The rise of multicultural, ethnic, and gender studies in recent times has cast its shadow on literature and the role literature plays in modern society and in education. In his new book, Professor Jess Row examines how literature by white authors has changed, been challenged, and often struggles in the modern world to still act as a voice. Professor Row examines whether white authors can write about anything else other than their own experiences, such as other cultures or nationalities. While there are no easy answers to this question and ideas, Professor Row does raise important questions that deserve to be debated in academia and talked about. There is a role white authors have to play in the conversation it just depends on whether anyone will listen.

This book is designed for academic audiences, either professors or students in college. These essays will help literature majors explore these larger conversations about race and literature. Professor Row does not claim to be the last word on this topic but instead wants to start the conversation and keep it going.


Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Beyond The Bizarre (16) (ANNUAL)

There are two big books full of weirdness and wonder that I look forward to every year. One is the Guinness Book of World Records. The other, which is weirder and more wonderful, is the next volume of Ripley's Believe It Or Not!.

Jam-packed with peculiarities, coincidences, amazing moments, and brain-melting feats, every edition of Ripley's opens your eyes to the magic, mystery, and madcap nature of existence all around the world. Beyond the Bizarre is a perfect example.

From insane natural phenomena like orange snow and bog bodies to cultural traditions from around the world (like coming-of-age ceremonies involving tooth-sharpening), from daredevil acts like those of Evel Knievel to strange and marvelous works of art (some involving Etch-a-Sketch, butter sculpting, and painting while skydiving), it's impossible to encapsulate how wide a swathe a single edition of Ripley's cuts across life on Earth.

The photography is top-notch, bringing all of these outlandish and unlikely things into stark reality, be it a zipline ride over lava or a lion that rides shotgun in a stunt car. Complete with interviews, featurettes, and historical explorations of oddities past and present, every edition of Ripley's is a treat, and Beyond the Bizarre is no exception.


River of Fire

Death penalty activist and perhaps the most well-known nun in the world, Sister Helen Prejean recounts her origin story and the passions that drive her in her latest book, River of Fire: On Becoming an Activist.

The most welcome surprise of this book was the deep and sustained humor in it. Despite her fame and the difficult work of her life, Prejean does not take herself all that seriously. The early chapters, which recount her entry into the life of a nun, are filled with small episodes of her silliness and joy—two emotions often viewed as inappropriate for sister of the cloth. And the level of honesty in the book—about her own early feelings of racism and a rejection of the idea that a woman must be with only one man for life—is revolutionary.

If you’ve seen the film Dead Man Walking, in which Susan Sarandon plays Prejean, you may know something about this writer. But reading River of Fire is a far better window into the soul of the full woman. While the title suggests the book is about Prejean’s rise to activism, I’d argue it’s also about becoming your full self by acknowledging who you are, what you want, and what you don’t. It is a brilliant book—the kind you read and mark up in the margins and share with friends for years to come.


Girl on the Block

These young adult novels offer something for everyone from a memoir about women in the meat industry to a moving story about family and foster care to a re-imagining of /Oliver Twist/ with much more to be discovered! Check out captivating, thought-provoking, and stunning stories that range from the genres of graphic novel to memoir to fantasy to a heist thriller.

Long Distance – Whitney Gardner

This graphic novel comes from the creator of /Fake Blood/. Summer is meant to be a time where you have no responsibilities and have fun with your closest friends, but for Vega, it's a time of change. Things take a turn for the worst when she's not only forced to spend her vacation without her best friend, but she learns that her parents have made the dreadful decision of moving them to Seattle. Now she's leaving her hometown behind, along with her best friend. In a plot to help her adjust to her new life and make some friends, Vega's parents decide that she should go to Summer Camp. Vega has made her own decision to find a way to return to Portland, but when weird things start happening, her only option is to work with her fellow campers to uncover the camp's secrets.

Girl on the Block – Jessica Wragg

In this memoir, Jessica is a determined female butcher that fights for her place in the meat industry. At sixteen years old, Jessica received a job at a local shop that sent her behind the butcher's counter, typically run by men, and plunges her into a world where butchers used a secret language but are hesitant to share their secrets with her. A decade later and Jessica is navigating this male-dominated world while taking on the whole industry and proving herself. She finds herself facing challenges similar to her female counterparts fighting to prove themselves in the restaurant industry. She's had to earn every ounce of recognition, memorize every aspect of the meat, and face off against ageism and sexism. The graphic novel blends personal experience, craft, and delves into an honest look at the industry.

The Risk of Us – Rachel Howard

A story that tackles the honesty of adoption and the foster system, /The Risk of Us/ is about a couple stepping into the role of fostering a child. After taking in a child, the three face hurdles in their journey to become a family. Maresa is seven years old and has a history filled with abuse with multiple failed foster families and outbursts induced by anger and panic attacks. The story explores the struggle of two parents and one child trying to understand what it means to be a family while a mother struggles with her own traumatic history and a father faces a worsening heart condition. The three of them long to become a real family but don't know how to take the first steps forward. /The Risk of Us/ takes place over the course of a year as Maresa enters the age that makes it harder for children in the system to find homes. Will the three learn how to be a family or is this an adoption that's meant to crumble? The story has a thought-provoking style that explores how children bring challenges into a relationship, the uncertainties surrounding building a family, and how empathy can bring down defenses.

Twist – Tom Grass

A re-imagining of /Oliver Twist/, this thrilling heist adventure that delivers a tale of love, betrayal, and plenty of danger. Twist is eighteen and has no money, family, or home with all he has being his reputation as one of London's most infamous street artists and abilities that have made him well-known as an urban climber. His luck starts to run out when the police set off after him and he realizes his freedom is at stake. After the mysterious Dodge saves him, he introduces him to con artist Cornelius Faginescu and is drawn into a world of stealing and danger. The further Twist is pulled within Cornelius' group, the closer he becomes to the charming Red and the more he understands about the truth behind Cornelius' plan for them. He soon learns that this world is more dangerous than he realized and now he must figure out how to stay alive.

A Choir of Lies – Alexandra Rowland

This is the follow-up to /A Conspiracy of Youth/ and takes place three years since Yfling's master-Chant ripped apart a nation with just the power of his words. Yfling has started over in a new realm but his heart is still broken and he continues to grieve what he lost. He has received employment from a wealthy merchant as a translator. Sterre de Waeyer has offered Yfling a second chance, but Yfling still struggles with events of his past, the feeling of alienation, and his fear of telling stories. Everything changes after his new employer discover the truth about him and are forced to tell stories that send the city into mania over getting shipments for an exotic flower. Disaster pushes him into crossroads where he's forced to decide if he wants to be like his former master and let the city destroy itself, or use the power of his stories to save everyone?


Here and Now

Here and Now is about becoming. Maybe everyone who reads the book is becoming something different. The book is about how whatever we’re doing and wherever we are, there are other things happening all around us. The illustrations are creative. The story is different from anything I have read before. It seems like it might be more interesting to older kids even though there aren’t many words. It’s the kind of book I would read once in a while. Maybe it would be better if you listen to yoga music while reading it.


The Companion

Lucy Blunt has been condemned to be hanged for the murder of two people. Lucy came into the Burton household as a maid, but managed to catch the eye of her employer and rose to become The Companion of the title. However, the current companion is not happy with this situation and will do anything to bring Lucy down. As Lucy awaits her fate, she reflects on the circumstances that led her to the Burton house and what went on once she got there. Things aren’t always what they seem and it can be hard to know who to trust when everyone has their secrets.

I thought there would be more of a mystery to this story, but it was more about spurned lovers and things turning out differently than we plan. There were no likable characters in this book, with maybe the exception of Cook, but even then, that’s pushing it. I’m not even sure what the genre of this book would be. There was some attempt at mystery and historical fiction, but it felt more like a romance novel turned bad. Since I sincerely dislike romance novels, this was not a book I enjoyed. I don’t know that I would even recommend it to someone who does like romance novels. Overall, it wasn’t really worth the short amount of time it took to read.


Groundhog's Runaway Shadow

Groundhog's Runaway Shadow is about a groundhog named Phil and his shadow. Phil's shadow is always with him to have fun or help him out with something. The story starts with Phil being young, but then, like us, Phil grows up to become an adult groundhog. When he's grown up, Phil likes different things than his shadow does. This starts to frustrate Phil because he wants to do his own thing but he can't when his shadow messes it up. One day, Phil tells his shadow to leave! His shadow does that and travels around the world. Phil starts to miss his shadow, and even though he is afraid of traveling, he does it anyway to get his shadow back. He ends up finding his shadow, and they learn to live together with their differences.

I like this story because the pictures are colorful. I like the meaning of the story, that even though we don't all like the same things we should learn to get along anyway. I just got done learning about Groundhog's Day at school, so this was fun to read about since I understand now why his shadow isn't with him absolutely every day of the year.


Deception (The Dark Matter Trilogy)

This is a fast-paced, futuristic science fiction story about a terrible epidemic that is affecting the world after some scientists mess around with dark matter. This is Book 2 in the series and follows three teenagers: Callie, her sister Shay, and Kai as they try to uncover what is behind this terrible contagion. Shay thinks she is a carrier of the disease, so she leaves her friends and turns herself in to a government facility for survivors. Kai and Callie are searching for Shay and the scientist they think started the disease. The book is well written in clear language that keeps a nice fast pace of action and plot twists. The chapters are narrated from different perspectives which also helps us get to know different characters better. The main characters are well developed and have grown a bit since the first book. They are likable and believable even though one of them is technically a ghost. The other characters could have been developed more so that we get to know they better. Some of the romantic relationships seem unneeded. This is a good book for people over the age of fifteen who like apocalyptic, futuristic action stories with characters you can stand behind and surprising plot twists.


Mario and the Hole in the Sky: How a Chemist Saved Our Planet

This book talks about a boy named Mario who lived in Mexico City and who received a microscope for his eighth birthday. He was so intrigued by chemistry that his family eventually allowed him to convert their unused bathroom into a laboratory.

As he grew up, Mario remained interested in science, took extra classes in school, and conducted his own experiments. Mario discovered that the CFCs, or chlorofluorocarbons, used in refrigerators, insulation, and hairspray cans did not dissolve in rain or break down in sunlight. They actually go into the ozone layer, or the sunscreen of the Earth, and break it up. This was a terrifying discovery because the human race would die out if the ozone layer was destroyed.

Mario told the media about his discovery, but no one believed him until a British scientist took measurements of the ozone in the atmosphere and found an enormous hole over the Antarctic. It was a hole the size of the United States.

I don’t want to ruin the ending for you, but it is a happy one! The illustrations are really fun and add to the story to help tell it. I recommend this book for science nerds like myself aged 7 and up.


The Magical Language of Others: A Memoir

In The Magical Language of Others, E.J. Koh takes her readers on a wonderfully written, if sobering, journey through the history of the women of her family and her own journey to being the author of this memoir. Born in Milpitas, California to Korean immigrant parents, Koh’s mother and father start out humbly but move up in society rapidly after her father makes some dedicated business maneuvers in the tech industry. When her mother and father decide to move back to Korea temporarily for her father’s work, they leave Koh to live with her older brother in Davis.

The familial tales of stark trauma are paced between translated letters from her mother, passionately and consistently sent off from Korea while Koh grew up with her brother. Each story is a patchwork of isolated devotion, and over time Koh sews them delicately together to create a quilted spread of familial feminine pain. But Koh does not pity herself or her family. In fact, she is economical enough with her prose to waste little time reflecting on the grand scheme of raw deals the women of her family have faced, but rather reckons these events in an empathetic but ultimately detached tone. Koh’s writing does not err on the side of the histrionic, and therein lies her genius; she leaves space for the reader to feel all those feelings on her behalf. The effect is a quiet and brief memoir that immediately pulls you in and leaves your heart wrenched by imagined grief and love.


How Much of These Hills Is Gold: A Novel

Twelve-year-old Lucy and eleven-year-old Sam are orphaned sisters embarking on a gruesome quest to bury their father. His body is in a trunk that they strap to their horse, and though his body is actively decomposing, they can’t find a burial place that feels right. Once they find a resting place, their path forward is far from clear. Born into a family of gold prospectors, they meet hardship at every turn, as their rights to the land and its riches are relentlessly questioned. They’ve spent their whole lives in the American West, but they are treated as outsiders. Sam, who is impulsive and quick-tempered where Lucy is measured and cautious, believes a better home for them lies across the ocean; Lucy goes along with the planning, though she isn’t so sure Sam is right. When the sisters are separated, each must forge her own way. The sisters will be forced to face their deepest fears as they confront new truths about their family and themselves.

This riveting novel is full of myth and also rooted in a raw, harsh landscape. Children bear the burden of tradition, but family rituals also provide solace and even freedom. The capable flintiness of Lucy and Sam enables their physical survival, but all the toughness in the world won’t numb their wrenching discovery about their own mother’s sacrifices and selfishness. Only their love for each other will help make a place for them in a changing world.


Darling Rose Gold

Suffering from Munchausen syndrome by proxy, Patty Watts abused her daughter, Rose Gold, and deceived the community. Now, after serving five years in prison, Patty has been released and is determined to show everyone, especially Rose Gold (who seems to have forgiven her mother), that she has changed and no longer poses a threat. As the chapters alternate between mother and daughter, we learn about Patty’s childhood as well as what happened to Rose Gold in the five years her mother was locked up.

Do not let the beautiful cover of this book fool you - Darling Rose Gold is a psychological suspense novel where people and things are not always what they seem. While readers familiar with the case of Gypsy Rose Blanchard will recognize several similarities, Darling Rose Gold is ultimately a story about revenge and retribution. The reader will surely enjoy the cat-and-mouse game between Rose Gold and Patty as they try to figure out who has the upper hand. Written by first-time author Stephanie Wrobel, this is an enjoyable binge read that will have the reader continually questioning the motives of both mother and daughter as each tries to regain control over their lives.


Wink

Seventh grade is a tough time for any kid, but Ross has special issues. He’s been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in his eye. He has to go through surgery followed by eight weeks of radiation. The medical people are upfront with him, and he knows he might lose his vision or maybe even his life. But Ross puts on his big-boy pants and does what he has to do. One of his two best friends totally ignores Ross and the other will shortly move away. But one of the radiation techs becomes a friend and teaches Ross a LOT about music and even how to play. Some mean kids do some terrible things to Ross as he goes through radiation burn, hair loss, and more that almost bring him to his breaking point.

Author Rob Harrell tapped into his own experience with cancer for this incredibly well-written story. The first-person point of view is perfect for this story because Harrell absolutely nails the language and feelings of a prepubescent boy facing both cancer and seventh grade. This book is filled with heart and humor wrapped in a most compelling story. This is a winner!


Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future

Paul Krugman is one of the most famous economists in the United States, and his writing has reached millions of readers as he often writes for the average reader in his columns for The New York Times, The New Yorker, and other publications. This book brings together a collection of his writings that date all the way back to 2004. The writings are arranged by theme and then proceed chronologically as Krugman looks at different themes that have had an impact on society.

This feels like traveling back through time in a way, though there is a little bit of new writing at the beginning of each section. This honestly feels more like a remembrance of the past including how things were when George W. Bush won a second term, the fight over the privatization of Social Security, the crash of the housing bubble, Obama's presidential terms, and the early days of Trump. This book will be interesting for those people who were too young to really know what was happening back then and to help those that did know what was happening to recognize how things can oftentimes travel in full circle.


Apeirogon: A Novel

Israeli Rami Elhanan and Palestinian Bassam Aramin are grieving fathers brought together by losses that unite them across cultural and spiritual divides in National Book Award-winner Colum McCann’s latest novel, Apeirogon.

The title, a geometrical term expressing a polygon with an infinite number of countable sides, conveys the structure of the book. Written in 1001 sections, counting up to 500 and back down to one, the novel is a hybrid of interlocking narratives, historical accounts, metaphorical explorations, photographs, and philosophical musings. The structure is demanding and can be difficult to follow—particularly the core stories of Rami and Bassam—if the book is read over a long stretch. I recommend committing to it in a shorter time frame so the narrative threads don’t unravel.

For those interested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or history and art enthusiasts looking to be mesmerized by McCann’s vast and seemingly endless allusions, the novel is a home run. Fans of more traditional, linear narratives, however, may find his latest offering a struggle.

At its core, Apeirogon is a complex, at times heartbreakingly beautiful reminder that shared humanity trumps hatred, violence, war, difference, and time. There is nothing more necessary to remember as we navigate the world, each of us in our individual spheres desperately seeking connection.


Always Home: A Daughter's Recipes & Stories: Foreword by Alice Waters

Lest you think that the author, Fanny Singer, trades on the celebrity of her very famous mother, think again. She is a very good writer and has filled this memoir with charming stories, recipes, family traditions, and pictures. In all, reading this book is like cozying up to a warm Berkeley hearth and reveling in a comfortable yet unconventional family. In this family, there are godparents, uncles, family friends, and chefs galore. Singer tells family stories about food and provides the recipes for an at-home re-creation. This reader was dismayed by the abundance of cilantro recipes in the final chapters, but I’m sure there are enough cilantro lovers in the world who will welcome these dishes.

From these stories, Alice Waters, the proprietor of the famous restaurant Chez Panisse and the innovator of the farm-to-fork movement emerges as someone we would all want to know and a mother who could pack our lunchboxes anytime she wants. This is an enjoyable and unusual memoir.


Writers & Lovers

Casey is a thirty-one-year-old waitress who is trying to get her life together. She’s incurred massive student loan debt, but she has traveled the world and has an extensive education in English. She’s been working on her novel for the past six years. She’s recovering from a brief romance gone bad, and her mother has recently, and unexpectedly, died. In short, Casey is trying her best not to spiral out of control.

For the first quarter of this book, I was contemplating whether or not I should just put it down. It felt a little stream-of-consciousness-like and the threads weren’t coming together for me. However, I persevered and I’m so glad I did. I couldn’t put the book down after a while. I wanted to know how Casey’s love life was going to work out and what would happen with her novel. In short, I wanted to see how the author was going to wrap up Casey’s story and if she was going to be OK.

This ended up being a poignant and heartfelt novel about the effects of grief and the paths people take to get through life.


Boys & Sex: Young Men on Hookups, Love, Porn, Consent, and Navigating the New Masculinity

She first wrote about girls and their sexual experiences, agency, and how they experience sexual pleasure. Now she looks at boys, especially young men who are growing into adulthood in a world that still prides itself on the manly ideal of fitting into a crowd, not showing emotion, and “locker room” talk. Peggy Orenstein uses interviews she had with a select number of boys of different age groups, along with psychologists and academics about how access to pornography and other sexual material is changing the way boys interact with girls, and how age-old stereotypes of how men should act have not changed. This is a fairly frank book, so people easily offended by frank descriptions or the use of language should avoid it. But it covers ground that other, more academic books have not covered. What would be considered groundbreaking is that Orenstein is writing this for a more general audience than other academics. Instead targeting parents, and young boys themselves. She covers different topics in each chapter and moves on a thematic scale, with some of her interview subjects finding a sense of redemption and others still struggling to find out what it means to be a man.


Trouble at Table 5 #1: The Candy Caper (HarperChapters)

I really liked this book! I was confused about why she wants to count the skittles so badly. When I read the cover, I saw that it was the author of Stick Dog! He is one of my favorite authors! I knew I would like the book just because of the author! I think that the book is for third graders, not second graders. I liked the fact that it had pictures to separate the words and keep me interested. I like the progress bar; sometimes I have a hard time get through chapter books because I don't know how much farther until the end. I also like that it is long but not too long. Long chapter books are hard for me to follow. The fun and games at the end are actually fun! Even my little sister liked those!


Havenfall

There is nothing worse than spending summer interning at an insurance company. Maddie boards the bus to the mountains of Colorado instead, to Havenfall. It is her family’s legacy, on her mother’s side, an inn run by her uncle for the different magical realms that converge there in a safe place. However, the Solarians, a dangerous group cast out and sealed off from the inn, have found a way back, and this promises danger.  After Maddie’s uncle is hurt and falls unconscious, Maddie steps into the innkeeper’s position way sooner than she had expected. She had hoped to take over the inn after years of learning, but now she just hopes she won’t ruin everything he has worked so hard to maintain.

This tale is reminiscent of the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull, or the Trylle series by Amanda Hocking. There is so much adventure and suspense with the turn of every page. Maddie’s determination to save everything she loves even as she questions her capability makes her real in the midst of a make-believe world. The pacing is quick and the surprises many, and readers will be disappointed only to learn that the sequel is not expected until 2021.


Maya and the Rising Dark

This is an action-packed, fast-paced story about magic, family, and friendship, and it has lots of twists and turns.

Strange things are happening in Maya’s hometown of Chicago, as dark shadows appear in her neighborhood and her dreams are filled with the Lord of the Shadows. Twelve-year-old Maya is half Orisha. She is also caring, funny, and loving, and she is on a mission to save her missing father, who is a powerful Orisha. As she and her friends embark on their mission to rescue Papa, they encounter exciting adventures and learn a great deal about themselves.

Maya and her friends, Eli and Frankie, are engaging, diverse characters. They, along with all the side characters, are realistic, likable, and multi-dimensional. This story incorporates West African culture in a fun and informative way. It also has a caring family that is supportive of one another, which is a refreshing change from the usual orphan-or-child-with-terrible-parents theme that is more common in books for kids.

This story has lots of adventure and magic, and it has a hero you will love everything about and want to see in more stories. It's a great book for anyone over the age of ten.


Beyond the Shadowed Earth

Eda has fought her way to becoming Empress and fights daily to keep her throne against shady advisors trying to run the empire over her. As her vow to a god that helped her achieve her reign begins to crumble, she receives a visit from a prince and his sister from a warring whose arrival sparks conversation to sign a peace treaty that Eda doesn’t want. She doesn’t expect to discover a connection with Prince Ileem or the way he challenges her.

Meyer captures this amazing world through rich details that bring this adventure to life to deliver a sensational journey that is complex, powerful, and emotional. Meyer weaves a suspenseful journey of power and strength as Eda makes one bold move after another as she journeys to confront powerful gods. Eda is an incredible character with a strong will and a bold personality that helped her claw her way into power and into a life she will do anything to keep. The story has flashbacks woven throughout that depict Eda’s life before and chronicles her journey into becoming the Empress. These memories are poignant and give the story a reflective tone that centers on the theme of origins which explores Eda as she was and as the Empress. Beyond the Shadowed Earth is an exhilarating adventure that breathes new life into the fantasy genre that delivers an epic fight for an empire with action-packed moments that will leave you breathless.


My Pet Slime (My Pet Slime Book 1)

I really liked the book My Pet Slime! I feel bad for Piper because she can’t have a pet because she is allergic to so many things. I also felt bad that she doesn’t have anyone to play with at home and has to play alone. Piper sounds a lot like me. I LOVE art. I LOVE slime, but I am not supposed to make it without my parents. I was so happy when she made it purple because that is my favorite color. I wish, when I made slime, I had some space dust to make my slime come alive! Piper takes her slime to school and then it gets lost! She has a fight with her friend, which makes me feel sad. When the girls have to stay late for their punishment at school but find Cosmo and then he comes alive for Claire, that made me happy!

I liked that there were pictures in the book, it sort of broke up the words and gave my eyes a break. I think it is a good book for kids who are learning to read chapter books. I am very excited that this is a series of books. I like it when books connect and I can keep reading about the same characters. I also LOVED that there is a recipe for slime in the back of the book because again, I LOVE SLIME! This book is great for slime-loving kids!


The Burglar in Short Order

In The Burglar in Short Order, readers will meet their newest favorite New York City burglar (I didn't think I'd ever be saying that!). Lawrence Block has been writing short stories and novels about burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr for four decades now. You can find the stories included in this volume in magazines such as Playboy and Cosmopolitan, and one as a movie starring Whoopi Goldberg!

Most of the stories in this book are chapters from individual books told from Bernie's point of view, with additional essays included by Block about his experiences writing the stories. Bernie runs a bookstore by day but is a burglar by night. The reader will enjoy learning about his adventures at night and the people he comes to befriend in his line of work.

I thought the book was enjoyable and unlike most that I've read. Reading and comparing Block's first story from 1977 to his most recent shows that his writing is still as enjoyable as it always was, but the material is updated. It is fun to read about a comical and realistic burglar, as those are few and far between. Future writings from Block will be a must, most definitely if they include Bernie Rhodenbarr.


Enchanter's Child, Book One: Twilight

This is a funny and entertaining fantasy story filled with magic and adventure. Alex, age eleven, doesn’t know who her parents are.  After the monarch banned enchanters her parents gave her to a woman, Miriam, when she was a baby. Since then Alex has lived with her foster family even though she doesn't always feel like a part of their family. To make extra money she uses her enchanted cards to do secret readings about the future for people at the marketplace. Her foster sister, Zerra, reports her and Miriam, and Alex is now is the run, facing danger and in hiding as she tries to figure out who she really is. The story is exciting, funny and well written. The setting is an interesting and complex world with magical characters. The author creates a world where magic is against the law, though oracles and wizards are everywhere. The characters are strong, funny, interesting and make you root for them. This is a story that is mostly appropriate for eight to thirteen-year-olds, although the vocabulary and detailed descriptions might be a little challenging for younger kids. Everyone who likes fantasies and magical kingdom stories will enjoy this book.


Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor

This is a fast-paced story filled with action, adventure, mystery, and suspense.

April is in foster care and waiting for her mom to come back and get her. The only clue she has to her past is a key with the Winterborne family crest on it. When she and four other orphans get sent to live at Winterborne, she has the chance to find out where she comes from. In the process she meets the heir to Winterborne, who is believed to be dead but is actually living in a hidden room in the mansion. Now she is going to try and help the Winterborne heir get his rightful place back.

April is an energetic, smart, and self-reliant twelve year old who just wants to find the treasure her key will open. The rest of the characters, Sadie, Colin, Tim, and Violet, are lovable and interesting kids you would want to have as your friends. This story is well written and told in a funny and interesting way. Once you pick it up, it is hard to put this book down.

This story is good for readers aged nine to thirteen who like suspense and mystery.


Ink in the Blood (Ink in the Blood Duology)

Celia and Anya have long since stopped believing in the Divine they are forced to serve. They spend their days tattooing followers with her will to guide their actions, but they know the truth: Profeta is built on lies and they want out. Their chance comes with the Rabble Mob, a traveling theatre troupe. Celia and Anya only have one chance to impress the troupe’s leader. Using their inking abilities to perform, the friends are content for the first time. Until they find out the Divine is very real, very angry, and threatening the family they’ve found.

Ink in the Blood has taken tattoo magic, religion, lies, and theatre somewhere new. Sometimes the writing is confusing and hard to follow, but otherwise well written. I absolutely love the way the troupe is portrayed, each one having two faces: the one they are and the character they play. This is especially true for some characters more than others, adding another layer to the already high pile of lies and half-truths.


Choosing to Care: A Century of Childcare and Social Reform in San Diego, 1850-1950

Today’s families fret continuously about resolving family childcare and economic stress. Kyle Ciani’s saga describes a century’s progress in these concerns, zoning in on San Diego, representative of a city that underwent a substantial change in a growing, diverse population between  1850-1950. The need of ‘a resource needed by unstable families’ barely understates the situation when American Indians could become indentured servants in 1850, Mexicans came in to escape the Revolution in the early 20th century, and Chinese railroad workers, as well as African-Americans, were in need of homes and a means of supporting their families, protecting their children. Those living in the city coped as best they could until later court-appointed and professional assistance began to serve and, despite unwillingness to hand over their children to the care of others, provided a substantial measure of relief.

When psychologist G. Stanley Hall introduced the term and concept of adolescence in 1904 as a new stage of life, this was a milestone. Troubled and troublesome twelve to eighteen-year-olds who needed discrete attention were no longer viewed or punished as adults. Teenage boys who were labeled incorrigible, vicious, and uncontrollable and girls who were seen as rebellious and sexually promiscuous received much-needed guidance.

Subsequently, settlement homes were introduced, following a pattern already familiar in Chicago and Boston, and well-to-do ‘white’ women stepped up to fund, organize, and volunteer or take leadership staff positions.

Besides detailing the formal progression of social reform and childcare, Ciani has included case studies of individual children and families transforming an academic study into sympathetically readable urban history.


The Seventh Sun (The Age of the Seventh Sun Series)

The Chicome people are living in the age of The Seventh Sun. The world has ended six times before and only the blood of the emperor can cause the sun to rise each day. Unfortunately, the emperor has just passed away, so his son Ahkin must now rise to the task. However, he cannot become emperor until he has chosen a wife. Each of the six city-states must send one of their princesses to compete to be his bride. While Ahkin's blood controls the sun and light, each of these princesses possesses their own powers. Mayana can control water, but it might not be enough to save her. Only one can be chosen as empress, while the rest will be sacrificed to ensure a long reign for the couple. Mayana will have to decide how far she’ll go to save herself and those she loves.

Reading this book is like time-traveling to the Inca and Mayan empire. You are completely immersed in the culture with historical accuracy. Every moment puts you on the edge of your seat as you wait to see what the fate of Mayana and the other princesses will be as well as the Chicome people as their sun appears to be fading. I can’t wait for the next book!


Don't Leave Me Breathless

Don’t Leave Me Breathless begins with one of the most intense prologues I’ve seen in any work. Joseph Russo is in a hospital, anxious about Summer, his fiancée, who has been badly injured in a fight. He and his daughter watch over her, worried but nevertheless certain she will be all right. They have the doctor’s assurance she will pull through, after all, and besides that, they know the one thing anyone going into this book must know: Summer is a fighter.

From there, the book skips back over ten years to Summer’s adolescence to show us various formative events in her life. We see how she became a fighter, the beginnings of her work as a lawyer, and a disastrous marriage that both sends her fleeing across Australia and gives the title its power. We also see a few moments in Joseph’s life, but for the most part, the book focuses on Summer, as well it should. She is a powerful, complex character caught in a storm partially of her own making, and how (or even if) she will weather the storm is an exciting journey I was eager to take.

I did, however, find myself wishing for more. The book is a quick read, but at times that quickness made me feel as though I had lost something. I wanted to see more of the gaps between Summer’s chapters and to know more about her legal career, which is mentioned but rarely discussed. While at times the gaps served the story well, for the most part, I found myself wishing they could be filled in to keep the first part of the book from feeling like a prologue.

That said, the parts of Summer’s life that are presented are intense. Summer is a woman of powerful feelings, many of which pop up simultaneously. Love, hatred, lust, regret… all are presented, and all turn the book from just a story into a rollercoaster. In the end, the book did leave me breathless for how much is covered in its few pages.

While it didn’t quite blow me away, I thoroughly enjoyed Don’t Leave Me Breathless and would recommend it for anyone needing an escape from the winter blahs. And for those, like me, who finish the book wanting to see more of Summer, it’s the first in a series, so keep your eyes open for more from A. Kelly.


The Burning Maze (Trials of Apollo, The Book Three)

Apollo's trials and tribulations continue in The Burning Maze. He and Meg head to California. The southern part of the state is withering away thanks to the trapped primordial energy. Along the way, they recruit the assistance of Jason, Piper, and Gleeson Hedge. We also meet several dryads from succulents, including a male dryad! I adored all of these dryads. They have such personalities that really fit with the plants they inhabit. Aloe, for instance, is all about healing. They have several confrontations with the last emperor (whose identity I correctly guessed!), that end in terrible losses for the group, losses I really wasn't expecting, and they hit pretty hard. They hit Apollo pretty hard, too. I'm so glad he's slowly changing for the better!


Sea Wife: A Novel

Michael Partlow has a dream: to live on a boat with his wife, Juliet, and young children, Sybil and George, for at least a year, sailing around the Caribbean if not around the world. Juliet is reluctant, but their marriage is already in trouble; a drastic change might be exactly what they need. Michael finds the perfect sailboat, coming up with the funds thanks to a loan from his new friend Harry, and names the boat Juliet. For a while, life is good: the family is a cohesive, supportive unit, which it hasn’t been for a while, and, thrilling Michael, Juliet’s sailing skills improve. Their marriage strengthens. Their children thrive. They’re self-sufficient and removed from the usual cares of the world. But when stormy weather, boat repairs, and illness shatter the dream, they’re far away from everything but one another—and, this time, more is required to save them.

We know from the start that tragedy will strike the Partlows as the story is told in retrospect, with Juliet reading and reflecting on a journal Michael wrote at sea. When two detectives arrive at Juliet’s house to question her about the disappearance of Harry, Juliet wonders how well she really knew her husband, and how much she owes him. Gaige’s novel captures the tensions that arise in the Partlows’ life of seafaring—both the freedom and the claustrophobia, the beauty and the harrowing dangers. For readers stuck at home, Sea Wife provides a raw, intimate glimpse of hopeful survival.


Mister Rogers and Philosophy (Popular Culture and Philosophy)

These days, we're enjoying a bit of a Mr. Rogers renaissance. With the man being brought to life in big screen form (both biographical and documentary-style), a childhood icon is being introduced and re-introduced to the world at large, and he's never been needed more. So it's only natural that the Popular Culture and Philosophy series would turn their curious lens toward the beloved besweatered moral figure who invited us all into his home so often.

And honestly, they've created their most enjoyable essay collection yet. Here, the great philosophers (via their knowledgable avatars) don't nitpick or tear down a cherished property (as has happened in previous editions in the series). Instead, they explore how he engaged children through make-believe, using puppets and objects as bridges to discuss larger issues. They luxuriate in how Mr. Rogers taught us the value of quiet and contemplation and how by treating children as thinking, capable beings, he elevated all of us to a higher level of discourse.

Also, thankfully, they gleefully dispel the idiotic notion that Mr. Rogers "harmed" a generation of kids by teaching them that they're special, a narrative parroted by morons who see empathy as weakness instead of a valuable trait to be cultivated.

Although there aren't the laughs you'd find in editions covering Deadpool or the gang from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, this is by far my favorite entry in the series. It analyzes and poses questions, but never seeks to deflate or attack the subject at hand. This is scholarly work that embraces an icon. What more could you ask for?


The Murderous Macaron

"French patisserie owner Julie puts on her detective hat in this whimsical mystery. Fun characters and an unexpected plot twist make this story a delightful read. Perfect for fans of mystery and suspense without any blood and gore." — Manhattan Book Review


Escape from Hat

Everyone in the world has their own personal black cat and lucky rabbit.  These two magical animals determine whether you have good or bad luck.  But what would happen if somebody were to lose their good luck rabbit?  That’s what poor Cecil Bean finds out. After a few days of nothing but bad luck, he realizes what is going on. Meanwhile, his lucky rabbit, Leek, after getting sucked into a magician’s hat, finds himself in the dangerous world of Hat, home of the black cats. Now, both of them, rabbit and boy, set out on a quest to get back to each other. But Hat is a dangerous place. Can Cecil find Leek before it’s too late?

This book is awesome!  It is action-packed and hilarious! I think that it would be good for all ages because there is lots of action, but also humor and fun illustrations. The good luck vs. bad luck idea is fun. The colorful, whimsical illustrations help bring the story alive. Read it. I guarantee you will like it.


Heart of Junk

A group of wildly different characters populate the booths of the Wichita, KS, Heart of America Antique Mall in Luke Geddes’s debut novel, Heart of Junk. Each person carries a secret, some small and personal and sad, some strange and terrifying, and those secrets all congeal in this hilarious and exceptional book.

Little Lindy Bobo, a pageant princess of some renown, has disappeared in Wichita, and the members of the Heart of America set out to search for her just days before Mark and Grant, hosts of the popular program Pickin’ Treasures, are set to film an episode at the long-suffering antique mall. Newcomers to the mall Seymour and Lee join the old guard, including batty Barbie doll collector Delores and postcard aficionado Ronald, to search for the young girl. The mall’s owner Keith is convinced that the discovery of Lindy will be a great human interest angle for Mark and Grant’s show, but Keith will have to navigate his wife’s addiction to purchasing pottery online and his daughter Ellie’s deep disdain for Wichita as a whole before he can even think about making the Heart of America the star it deserves to be.

Equal parts commentary on what it takes to make us happy and how far we will go to protect ourselves from the things that break our hearts, Geddes’ Heart of Junk is a bit like a carnival ride: twisted, a bit dangerous, and a whole hell of a lot of fun.


Oh, what fun it is to set new goals for the year! This workbook specifically tackles business goals and is designed in such a way that it will make you happy to fill out the pages. Designed with colorful, quirky pictures and plenty of room to doodle and write, 2020 My Shining Year Business Goals Workbook is the perfect companion to your daily planner. This workbook has ideas on not just how to grow your business but also how to break down each section of your business and work within them to figure out strengths and weaknesses. It takes the user back in time to 2019 to find out what types of changes need to be made to push your business forward. It breaks down the return on investment of social media and email and asks the user for insights, thus evoking the creative process. It even has a place to reflect on gratitude. This is a whole big book of writing prompts specific to growing your business and really making this year amazing. A must-have for anyone who wants to bring their business to the next level in 2020.


Tell Me Another Story: Poems of You and Me

Tell me another story is a collection of poetry that spans a variety of human experiences. From the death of a cherished loved one to dating, human relationships, and more, this collection has a little something for everyone.  Emmy Marucci really shines in the poems that delve into the pain of losing her beloved grandfather. She taps into the universal feelings of loss and grief to deliver very poignant and heartbreaking poems. To set off some of the poems, she includes photographs of the subjects of her poems. Reading her raw feelings about people in her family and then turning the page to see their photo was a powerful touch bridging the gap between poetry, imagination, and reality.

Not only were the poems very moving and accessible, but the quality of the book was also very high. Thick, glossy, pages enhanced the reading experience. This is an excellent selection for even casual poetry lovers, or readers who are strapped for time.