Reviews

Staff Review

L'Amour Fou (DVD)


Rated by Library Staff (not verified)
Feb 21, 2012

This movie is a documentary and a biography of Yves Saint Laurent, one of the most influential fashion designers. L'Amour Fou was made shortly after YSL’s death in 2008, for the occasion of Christie’s long awaited auction of YSL’s spectacular estates and his priceless ar

Staff Review

Death Cloud by Andrew Lane


Rated by Julie T.
Feb 19, 2012

Death Cloud is the first in Andrew Lane’s excellent new series about young Sherlock Holmes.  Lane, a Brit who has written fan fiction for Doctor Who and James Bond, explains in his afterword that, “Arthur Conan Doyle gave little away about Sherlock’s early years… That has gi

Staff Review

The Inner Circle by Brad Melzer


Rated by Library Staff (not verified)
Feb 17, 2012

The Inner Circle is a wonderful political thriller.  Beecher White is an archivist at the National Archives in Washington DC.  Clementine Kaye is a woman from Beecher’s past who asks him to help her find his father, a man who attempted to murder the current presid

Staff Review Feb 17, 2012

It’s Passover and Laurel, a junior in high school, her little brother and parents celebrate at their neighbor’s home.  Following the meal everyone decides to go to the ice cream shop for dessert.  Laurel and David, the neighbor’s son, both decide to forego the ice cream—Laurel to do homework and David to do whatever it is David does these days.  W

Staff Review

Wild Things by Clay Carmichael


Rated by Library Staff (not verified)
Feb 17, 2012

Wild Things by Clay Carmichael is the story of an 11-year-old girl named Zoe, whose first-person narrative—tough and knowing but also full of humor and curiosity—grabbed me after the first page.

Staff Review

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Star Rating

Rated by Jennifer R.
Feb 15, 2012

Juliette has not been touched for over three years. She has not seen a single soul, except for the hand that brings her food once a day, if she is lucky. Juliette can never be touched. It is her curse that she has borne since her infancy, and it is the cursed ability that landed her in an asylum and torn away from a life where she was shunned by everyone, including her parents.

Staff Review

Unlikely Friendships: 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom

By Jennifer S. Holland
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by Helen H.
Feb 13, 2012

No one loves anthropomorphisization more than me. So Unlikely Friendships is just the kind of book I like to savor over a warm mug of cocoa. Holland describes “friendships” between species, sometimes even predators with prey. Everyone knows about the gorilla Koko and her kittens, which are included here.

Staff Review

The Toss of a Lemon


Rated by Library Staff (not verified)
Feb 11, 2012

This fictional story takes us to an Indian Brahman household of the 1800s.  The book tells a story of a Sivakami a woman who was married at 10 and widowed at 18 (just as her husband, the village healer, predicted).

Staff Review Feb 7, 2012

This popular title presents an interesting view into the upper echelons of French society.  Told in two voices, one of the building concierge and the other of a twelve year old girl who lives in the building with her family, this story unfolds slowly as we get to know the minds of the two characters.  Each character has her own issues reveal

Staff Review

Once a Runner

By John L. Parker, Jr.
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Helen H.
Feb 5, 2012

Published in 1978, Once a Runner is dated; but charmingly so. While there is a noticeable absence of iPods, cell phones, and cable television, exclamations of “Great God in Heaven” and “they don’t know a flying you-know-what about spring sports” are the most notable indicators. Quentin Cassidy is a collegiate “miler”. After he is expelled from the fictional Southeastern University, fellow runner, friend and former Olympian Bruce Denton mentors him as he prepares to break the four minute mile.