Reviews

Staff Review

The Song of Achilles

By Madeline Miller
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by Jo F.
Jul 17, 2014

This is a coming-of-age story, a love story, and a retelling of the Iliad all in one masterfully told epic. Miller at once succeeds in adding depth and substance to Achilles and Patroclus and also preserving the dramatic feel of the war that is the backdrop to their relationship.

Teen Review

No Summit out of Sight

By Jordan Romero with Linda LeBlanc

Rated by Library Staff (not verified)
Jul 16, 2014

Jordan Romero was fascinated by a poster in his elementary school of the Seven Summits, the highest mountain peaks on each of the seven continents. When he was nine years old, he announced to his parents that he wanted to climb the Seven Summits and he wanted to start training immediately. Jordan was familiar with what training involved; his father and stepmother were adventure racers.

Teen Review

We Were Liars

By e. lockhart

Rated by Library Staff (not verified)
Jul 16, 2014

I am generous with 4 star ratings, but I don't give out a lot of 5 stars; I reserve those for the most exceptional books. This was an exceptional book!



Staff Review

Remember Me Like This

By Bret Anthony Johnston
Star Rating
★★★

Rated by Bryan V.
Jul 16, 2014

Despite the blurbs on the back cover, Bret Anthony Johnston’s debut novel, Remember Me Like This, is not a thriller in the traditional sense. The elements are all here: a kidnapping, a possible murder, a family in turmoil. But to Johnston’s credit,  his novel is partly about  thwarting expectations—mostly the reader’s, and not always in ways that we’re accustomed to.

Staff Review

Life in a Day

By DVD - 2001
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by Megan C.
Jul 15, 2014

This film is the perfect antidote to the evening news. Rather than dwelling on the grim or sensational, it magnifies the beauty of the quotidian as it follows a single day in the life of people all over the world. Not only visually stunning, it is also emotionally impacting to see the human race in all its variety and realize how different, and how very much the same, people can be.

Staff Review

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker

By Jennifer Chiaverini

Rated by Library Staff (not verified)
Jul 15, 2014

Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley may have been born a slave, but she was not destined to remain one.  Her exceptional skill as a seamstress won for her both freedom and the acquaintance of many of society's elite, the most notable of these, Mrs. Mary Todd Lincoln.  The focus of Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker is on Elizabeth's life and that of her family, then turns to the relationship between she and Mrs.

Staff Review

Waiting on You

By Kristan Higgins
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Rachel N.
Jul 14, 2014

Things are going pretty well for Colleen O'Rourke:  she co-owns a tavern with her twin brother, Conner; has made more than a few love matches between the good people of Manningsport, NY; and is great at giving advice. Well, things were going well until Lucas Campbell comes back to Manningsport to see his dying uncle. Ten years ago they were in love—​Lucas living in Chicago gearing up to go to law school, Colleen in Manningsport to be close to her family while becoming a nurse.

Staff Review Jul 12, 2014

In The Bully PulpitDoris Kearns Goodwin discusses the Progressive Movement through the eyes of three principal actors—Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Samuel S. McClure—along with the remarkable contributors to McClure’s Magazine, notably Ida Tarbell, Ray Stannard Baker, Lincoln Steffens, and William Allen White.

Staff Review

Babies

By Thomas Balmès
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Becky C.
Jul 10, 2014

Looking for a feel-good movie? Babies is a must-see documentary. Watch as four newborn babies from around the globe grow, learn, and love during their first year of life on this planet.

Each baby is born into a world full of different customs and opportunities, yet their universal humanity busts through cultural boundaries. Follow Ponijao from Namibia, Bayarjargal from Mongolia, Hattie from San Francisco, and Mari from Tokyo as each baby navigates his or her place in the world.