The library has compiled a large variety of Book Reviews from staff and through programs such as Read It & Rate It. These reviews are available to you to help you make an educated decision on titles you’d like to read.
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The School for Good and Evil book #1 by Soman Chainani Adventure Fantasy Review #1 * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) “The School for Good and Evil” tells the story of Sofie and Agatha. Sofie wishes to be a princess and Agatha wishes to live alone, but when they find themselves at the School for Good and Evil, there seems to be a mistake. Sofie finds herself in the school for Evil and Agatha … Read more
Friendship According to Humphrey According to Humphrey series #2 by Betty G. Birney Fantasy Review #1 * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) “Friendship According to Humphrey” is a must read. The book starts out with Humphrey going back to school and Mrs. Brisbane hinting at a surprise. The surprise turns out to be Og the frog. Humphrey tries to be friendly, but Og is silent. The class in room 26 is writing poems, and … Read more
Trouble According to Humphrey According to Humphrey series #3 by Betty G. Birney Fantasy Review #1 * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) “Trouble According to Humprey” is an enjoyable book. In Room 26, a town called “Humpreyville” is invented and there are also ‘jobs.’ When Humphrey gets out of his cage, he gets Miranda in trouble, and she is ‘fired.’ Humphrey feels awful, because he can get out of his cage and it wasn’t … Read more
The House of Sixty Fathers by Meindert DeJong Historical Fiction Realistic Fiction Review #1 * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) “The House of Sixty Fathers” is a book by Meindert DeJong about a Chinese boy. Tien Pao and his family have to escape from Japanese soldiers who are attacking his village. They are staying in Hengyang, and then Tien Pao meets a ‘Yellow River God.’ He takes him across the river and then loses … Read more
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah Autobiography Biography Non-fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Trevor Noah, comedian and current host (as of 2020) of The Daily Show, was born and raised in South Africa under apartheid. He was literally “born a crime,” as his mother was black and his father was white, and their relationship was deemed illegal, as was Trevor, the result of it. Still, there were … Read more
Ostriches The Superpower Field Guide written by Rachel Poliquin illustrated by Nicholas John Frith Juvenile Non-fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Ostriches really are remarkable animals, and this energetic and engaging field guide is sure to excite and educate readers about all of their “superpowers.” Tall, fast, fierce, powerful, ostriches have evolved to survive in the African savannah, which can be hot, dry, and unforgiving (as well as being the home to a number … Read more
Murder, Magic, and What We Wore by Kelly Jones Fantasy Mystery * * * Stars (Pretty good) Annis Whitworth is a fashion-savvy young society lady living with her aunt Cassia in London in 1818 when they learn of her father’s untimely death. Annis finds evidence supporting her theory that her father was a spy who died in the line of duty and means to make it known to the London War Office. But her information … Read more
Nyxia Unleashed Nyxia #2 by Scott Reintgen Science Fiction * * * Stars (Pretty good) The Babel corporation has misled its young Genesis crews countless times, and now that the teens are on the alien world Eden (Magnia), they have a chance to hear another side of the story – that of Magnia’s inhabitants, the Adamites (as Babel calls them) or the Imago (as they call themselves). As Emmett and Morning and the others on … Read more
Nyxia Nyxia triad #1 by Scott Reintgen Science Fiction Suspense Thriller * * * Stars (Pretty good) When Emmett is chosen, along with 9 other young people, for Babel’s super-secret mission to planet Eden, he can’t believe his luck. The compensation – $50,000/month – will allow him to lift his parents up out of poverty and make possible his mother’s medical treatment. But first he has to survive the training phase, where he will have … Read more
The Toll Arc of a Scythe #3 by Neal Shusterman Science Fiction * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) The fates of Scythes Anastasia and Lucifer seemed sealed when they sank along with the island of Endura, but a salvage mission into those waters retrieved their deadish bodies and they were revived – 3 years later. Meanwhile, the Scythe Goddard proclaimed himself High Blade, holding dominion over all Scythes, and began changing Scythe laws and … Read more