Reviews

Staff Review

Please Look After Mom

By Kyung-Sook Shin
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by Megan C.
Jan 18, 2015

This best-selling novel by South Korean author Kyung-Sook Shin takes a piercing look at how we treat those closest to us, and what it means to be a wife and mother. Told from four perspectives, the story examines the aftermath of the disappearance of “mom”. Some of the narrators speak in the unusual voice of second person, which serves to make the narrative more personal.

Staff Review

Mine is the Night

By Liz Curtis Higgs

Rated by Library Staff (not verified)
Jan 17, 2015

In 1746 Scotland, Elizabeth Kerr and her mother-in-law, Marjory Kerr, are labeled traitors to the crown.  They’ve lost everything—their husbands and sons, their estate, titles, and fortunes.  All that is left to them is to beg mercy and refuge from Marjory’s distant cousin, a woman who has lived her entire life with only the barest of resources.  They must do what they can to survive and avoid being noticed by those who would turn them in to the authorities.  Elizabeth chances employment as a dressmaker for the staff of Lord Jack Buchanan, a retired admiral of

Staff Review

Darkness Visible

By William Styron
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by Becky C.
Jan 14, 2015

William Styron was already an accomplished, award-winning author by the mid-1980s when he suffered a devastating episode of clinical depression.

Staff Review

Two Serpents Rise

By Max Gladstone
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Josh N.
Jan 13, 2015

Two Serpents Rise, the second book in Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence, can be read independently of the other books, although I'm glad I read this after the first, Three Parts Dead. Both are great, but I liked Two Serpents Rise a wee bit more. I found the characters a little more developed and the plot a little more complex than Three Parts Dead.

Staff Review

Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography

By Laura Ingalls Wilder
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Diane H.
Jan 12, 2015

Having read all the Little House books many, many times, I was very excited when I heard about Pioneer Girl: the Annotated Autobiography. I would get to read the true story behind the beloved fictional narrative.

Teen Review
Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Seconds

By Bryan Lee O'Malley
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Kate M.
Jan 9, 2015

Katie is the talented young chef running the kitchen in a critically acclaimed restaurant. But she is ready for the next adventure...starting her own restaurant. She has a partner, she has the building, now she just needs to make her dream a reality. But things just keep getting messed up! A delay from the contractor renovating the building throws a wrench in the works, overdue bills and collectors calling, her partner not picking up his phone! Everything begins to fall apart until Katie is visited by a house spirit who offers her a chance to change the past.

Teen Review

Falling Into Place

By Amy Zhang

Rated by Library Staff (not verified)
Jan 7, 2015

Falling into Place is the story of Liz Emerson. Liz has just driven her car off an icy road and tumbled down a cliff. Everyone believes it was accidental. It wasn't. Liz planned her suicide in such a way that no one would know that she actually wanted to die. Even her best friends didn't know how unhappy she was, how much she loathed herself and her life. Liz is the pinnacle of popular at her high school. She is THE beautiful, mean girl. Liz has left immeasurable ruined reputations, relationships and lives in her wake.

Staff Review

My Dog An Unconditional Love Story

By DVD
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Hannah Jane W.
Jan 4, 2015

My Dog is a sweet exploration of the relationship between man and dog.  You will be delighted to see a spunky Isaac Mizrahi rave about his pooches, listen to Richard Gere’s brief philosophical tidbits about his dog and get a peek into the beautiful connections between dogs and their humans. 

I really appreciated how the film gracefully skips from one interview to the next, constructing an exciting collage of poignant moments and revelations and giving ample opportunities to see my favorite people and their dogs.