Area X is a black zone where human civilization has been reclaimed by nature and the normal rules of physics are bent and broken. The unnamed protagonist (no names are used throughout the entire book) is a part of the twelfth expedition sent in to explore and report back on the unique conditions of Area… Read More
Read of the Week: Everything, Everything
Debut author Nicola Yoon delivers a knockout hit sure to please fans of YA contemporaries with her book, “Everything, Everything.” Maddy suffers from SCID, a disease that renders her allergic to nearly everything. She cannot leave her house and everything around her must be extremely sanitized. Her life consists of reading books, doing homework for… Read More
Read of the Week: Between the World and Me
Like many Americans, I have read many articles in the past year about the Black Lives Matter movement. I, however, am just a middle-class white American librarian who is very far removed from the realities of life that many African-Americans face. Ta-Nehisi Coates has emerged as one of the most important and eloquent voices in… Read More
Read of the Week: My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry
If you are unfamiliar with the Swedish author Fredrik Backman, I highly recommend him. His first novel, “A Man Called Ove,” debuted in Sweden in 2012 (released in the U.S. in 2014) and is a wonderful read. His second novel, “My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry,” was released in Sweden in 2013… Read More
Read of the Week: I am Princess X
In Cherie Priest’s I am Princess X, we are introduced to middle-schooler May, and her first true friend, Libby. The two girls quickly bond over a love of writing and drawing, and combined, they create Princess X, a fearless comic hero who slays dragons and goes on the boldest adventures. When Libby and her mom… Read More
Read of the Week: We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
There have been countless books devoted to the story of families. Families who look perfect on the surface and only show their cracks behind closed doors. Families that couldn’t hide their dysfunction if they wanted to. And those consisting of pretty average people dealing with an extraordinary situation. In Karen Joy Fowler’s We Are All… Read More
Read of the Week: The Fifth Season
You know a book is going to be good when it starts with the end of the world. In this amazing first installment of a new fantasy series from N.K. Jemisin, the world is occasionally wracked by horrific natural disasters called ‘Seasons’, during which humanity must struggle to survive against all odds. The Fifth Season… Read More
Read of the Week: Baba Yaga’s Assistant
In Baba Yaga’s Assistant, a middle grade graphic novel by Marika McCoola, everyone tells horrible stories about the evil and terrifying witch, Baba Yaga. Parents threaten their children with visits from Baba Yaga to get their children to behave. Masha knows there is more to Baba Yaga than what the tales tell about her though.… Read More
Read of the Week: Game Change
It’s that special season again! It only comes every four years. Of course, I’m talking about the Presidential primary election season. One of the best and most interesting books ever written about this distinctive season is Game Change by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin. It was written during the historic 2008 election when Barack Obama… Read More
Read of the Week: The Underwriting
Described as “The Social Network meets The Wolf of Wall Street”, Michelle Miller’s debut novel The Underwriting, sounded like the perfect summer read. I really have no understanding of how things work on Wall Street, so I thought I might gain a little insight while enjoying a juicy read. I still understand little of Wall… Read More
