Review of “Crossing the Tracks” by Barbara Stuber

For those of you who, like me, love the character of Mattie in A Northern Light and Anne (“with an e”) of Anne of Green Gables, I think you will also love fifteen-year-old Iris in this lovely coming-of-age story set in 1926 Missouri. Iris Baldwin’s mother died when she was 5. She barely remembers her, [...]

Review of “The Somme” by Peter Hart

Note: This review is by my husband Jim. The combined British and French offensive in the Somme River Valley of 1916 was one of the deadliest battles in the history of warfare. It lasted from July 1 until the middle of November when winter weather compelled a relaxation of hostilities. The British suffered 419,654 casualties, [...]

Review of “Ship Breaker” by Paolo Bacigalupi

This combination YA dystopia and adventure story is a rip-roaring good read, as well as a sober look at a post-apocalyptic world resulting from environmental havoc that doesn’t sound far-fetched. Nailer, the protagonist, is 15 or so (he isn’t sure) and is a ship breaker on a scavange gang. In brutal and dangerous work conditions, [...]

Review of “When the Stars Go Blue” by Caridad Ferrer

This modern retelling of Carmen is full of sultry sensuality, color, and rhythm. And uniquely from other adaptations of Carmen, it has a bittersweet coming-of-age young love theme layered into the mix. Soledad is a teenage Latina in Miami, being brought up by her Cuban grandmother (“Mamacita”). Soledad is single-mindedly dedicated to dance, and dreams [...]

TLC Book Tour Review of “Triumph of the City” by Edward Glaeser

Note: This book is reviewed as part of TLC Tours. This book, full of interesting statistics and fun trivia about cities, also has a more serious message to convey. Glaeser maintains that cities are absolutely essential for the elevation of civilization. They “magnify humanity’s strengths” by virtue of putting people and ideas in close proximity [...]

Review of “Pull” by B. A. Binns

Don’t let either the non-informative title or the cover of this powerful book dissuade you from considering reading it. Both are misleading. The cute guy on the cover, on the other hand, is not totally unrelated, since the protagonist happens to be one. David Albacore is a seventeen-year-old high school senior at a new school, [...]

Graphic Novels versus Comic Books versus Manga

Even though some distinctions seem intuitive, I investigated the differences so I could be sure. What is a graphic novel? Graphic novels are a book in which the narrative is conveyed with sequential art (which is the term used to indicate multiple images (often combined with text) arranged in sequence next to each other in [...]

Sunday Salon – Review of “Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty” by G. Neri; Illustrated by Randy DuBurke

This small book based on a horrifying true story packs a huge punch. I was devastated for days after reading it. It also has some of the most expressive drawings I’ve ever seen in a graphic novel. (Some of the picture examples I was able to find do not include all of the text that [...]

Review of “Moonlight Mile” by Dennis Lehane”

Moonlight Mile is written as a sequel to Gone, Baby, Gone, but the author does a great job of filling you in on the background of the story, so you can enjoy this book regardless of whether you read the previous one. In Gone, Baby, Gone, four-year-old Amanda McCready was kidnapped, and private investigators Patrick [...]

Review of “Delirium” by Lauren Oliver

Delirium is Book One of a coming trilogy about a dystopia in which love – all kinds of love – is forbidden after the age of eighteen. Love has been identified as a “disease” called amor deliria nervosa that is invariably fatal. And to ensure this “disease” does not “kill” the population, all citizens must [...]