Editor’s note: This review was submitted by a library patron during the 2018 Adult Summer Reading program. We will continue to periodically share some of these reviews throughout the year.
“The Night Circus” is about a mysterious circus that appears at night unannounced. Unbeknownst to the guests, the circus is actually the location of a duel between two young magicians. It’s a battle of imagination and will, and neither knows all the details of the game they’re really playing. I loved the writing. The slow burning romance was fantastic. I really enjoyed the mystery and never minded that it was a little slow at times. I jumped in without reading what it was about beforehand and I’m very glad I did!
Three words that describe this book: Magical, Enchanting, Whimsical
You might want to pick this book up if: You love stories about romance, magic and the circus.
-Jessica
Editor’s note: This review was submitted by a library patron during the 2018 Adult Summer Reading program. We will continue to periodically share some of these reviews throughout the year.
In “Chemistry: A Novel” our protagonist is a bit troubled and carries a lot of baggage, but damn if she doesn’t also create a lively and compelling journey through a rather tumultuous period in her life. She is second-guessing her career choice and her relationship choice and yet she flits from moment to moment in a way that has us (her readers) celebrating all her thoughts. Eric, her longtime boyfriend is an almost flawless (at least in her eyes) partner, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they perfect for each other just now. She has been a science wiz kid all her life, but that doesn’t mean that chemistry is a perfect career path for her. Her parents have worked very hard and sacrificed a lot to provide her with an opportunity at the American Dream, but that doesn’t mean that she owes them everything.
None of these important decisions are easy for a young adult, and that’s on full display here. But what’s also on display is the character’s lively internal life that helps us understand that the “important decisions” don’t really define a life. Can someone be happy being a tutor instead of a PhD? Quite possibly. Does that diminished status make her mind any less active and valuable? I don’t think so.
Three words that describe this book: Introspective, Lively, Compelling
You might want to pick this book up if: You’ve ever questioned your career path and life choices. If you’ve ever had a “quarter-life crises.”
-Xander
Editor’s note: This review was submitted by a library patron during the 2018 Adult Summer Reading program. We will continue to periodically share some of these reviews throughout the year.
“The Hate U Give” is about Starr, a sixteen year old that has to balance two lives: living in her poor black neighborhood, and going to her primarily white suburban high school. She struggles with figuring out how she can be herself at both when something happens: her childhood best friend Khalil is shot by a police officer, and Starr is with him. Being the only witness who knows what really happens, Starr has to decide if she wants to stay quiet and protect herself, or if she should announce the truth. This book opened my eyes to racial discrimination that is happening in today’s society and really challenged me to see events from a perspective I normally wouldn’t.
Three words that describe this book: Empowering, Eye-opening, and Heartbreaking
You might want to pick this book up if: You loved “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
-Anonymous
Editor’s note: This review was submitted by a library patron during the 2018 Adult Summer Reading program. We will continue to periodically share some of these reviews throughout the year.
“The Worst Hard Time” is an engrossing and compelling description of the causes of the Dust Bowl in the 1930s and the seemingly apocalyptic daily existence in the Dust Bowl. It was an incredibly difficult time for the people who lived there, although it was basically caused by farming practices. The reader lives through all of it — wet sheets on windows to keep out the dust that turns to mud; swarms of grasshoppers; mounds of dust at the front door, etc. It was a very hard life, and the book clearly conveys that. It’s an overlooked part of the 20th century.
Three words that describe this book: engrossing; descriptive; demoralizing
You might want to pick this book up if: You want to learn more about a significant but now overlooked part of the 20th century.
-Jeff
I read other books by Ruta Sepetys so I decided I wanted to read “Salt to the Sea” as well. I also wanted to read it since it has been nominated for the Gateway Readers Award.
Well, let me say that this book did not disappoint. I started reading it in the morning and I finished it all in one day — it was that good. I am so glad to know that Sepetys does quite a bit of research when writing her books. I even decided to check out a recommended website once I had finished reading the whole book.
I will admit that it was a little hard to start the book since it kept jumping around between different character points of view, but once I got into the story I started imagining what the characters looked like. My favorite character was Joana since she was leading a group of refugees across the war torn land. I empathized with other characters, but she seemed like the strongest of them all.
I think the character I didn’t like was Alfred, the boy soldier/sailor. He seemed to full of himself and thought more highly of himself than others did. He was so focused on daydreaming about his girl that he often did not get any work done. He was only thinking of himself when Florian asked for help. Alfred only was concerned with getting a medal or getting more recognition than he deserved. Continue reading “Reader Review: Salt to the Sea”
“Persepolis” is a graphic novel about a girl coming of age during the Islamic Revolution in Iran. The author introduces the book as her firsthand account of living in Iran, saying that she wrote it because she doesn’t want people to forget what happened, nor judge all of Iran on the bad things that happened there.
The book is a heartbreaking combination of humor and horrible, an unspeakable reality of the events that transpired in Iran. I learned a lot about the progression of events that led this somewhat progressive, educated society into a repressive theocracy. Seeing it through the eyes of a young girl helped me to understand not only the historical aspects, but also made it personal.
Three words that describe this book: Historical, heartbreaking, humorous
You might want to pick this book up if: You want to try out a graphic novel! This is a great one.
-Anonymous
“Twain’s End” will change its reader’s concept of Samuel Clemens. From his privileged upbringing to his pampered later life, he was not the Mark Twain from rural Missouri he tried to present. His interactions with women throughout his life are the heart of this story, from his relationship with his slave nanny to his complicated love of his secretary/companion Isabel. His treatment of Isabel during their seven year relationship is infuriating at times, yet fascinating. The author had access to the diaries of Isabel and thoroughly describes the limited options of an educated but poor woman at the turn of the 20th century. There is even a side plot regarding Helen Keller and her teacher, which was also disturbing.
Three words that describe this book: Mind-changing, disturbing, well-researched
You might want to pick this book up if: you have been a Mark Twain fan and enjoy historical fiction.
-Janet
“Lost Signals” is a collection of short horror/suspense stories that all include radio transmissions or other forms of electronic communication as a theme. I really liked it because I like short stories and almost every story included was tightly woven. I am fascinated with numbers stations and other unsolved mysteries of this nature. The theme did get a little repetitive when reading three or four stories in a row, so I recommend this as an occasional read (with a cup of coffee or when you have a 10 minute block of time to kill), rather than a one-sitting book.
Three words that describe this book: Unsettling, Suspenseful, Eerie
You might want to pick this book up if: You like urban legends, unsolved mysteries and abandoned buildings.
-Carolyn
“The Best We Could Do” is a memoir written as a graphic novel. I read this to fulfill a requirement in the Read Harder Challenge and loved it. Graphic novels don’t do much for me, but it really worked for her memoir. I loved so much about this book. The story of her family and coming to terms with her relationship with her parents.
Three words that describe this book: Enlightening, heartfelt, and memorable.
You might want to pick this book up if: You like to read about other cultures.
-Stacy
I re-read “A Confederacy of Dunces” by John Kennedy Toole as part of my Adult Summer Reading Program checklist (re-read a book you loved). It was a favorite among my friends in college, and re-reading confirmed why we loved it. It’s absolutely brilliant — laugh out loud hilarious, magnificent in its detail, timeless in its character portrayals and so good that you just don’t want to put it down. Not a word in the book is wasted. Ignatius Reilly is one of the all-time great characters in fiction. The tragedy, of course, is that John Kennedy Toole committed suicide never knowing that his manuscript — and now classic work of fiction — would be published.
Three words that describe this book: Hilarious, Brilliant, Timeless
You might want to pick this book up if: You want to laugh, and you appreciate clever writing.
-Jeff
