Reviews

If you are looking for an inspirational story to read this holiday season and you are short on time, I suggest Donna VanLiere's beautifully written and illustrated book, The Christmas Journey.

This book could be called a modern science mystery.  It follows the story of Louis XVII, son of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, and his older sister.  While his sister survived her imprisonment, remarried and continued her life as part of European royalt

What is it about the tale of Snow White that keeps coming back? The story is hundreds of years old, but 2012 will bring two new (and drastically different) movie adaptations of the tale. In preparation, you might want to check out these novel adaptations of the story.

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

In a land where beauty and singing are valued above all else, Aza eventually comes to reconcile her unconventional appearance and her magical voice, and learns to accept herself for who she truly is.

Percy Darling is a 70-year-old widower settling into retirement.  He lives in a historic home near Boston.  He has given the adjoining barn to a pre-school with the proviso that his daughter will work there.  This tale of family complications is told from the point

Ellen Hopkins is one of the most frequently challenged young adult authors of the 21 century. She is known for not being afraid to tackle controversial issues and taking on topics such as drug addiction, sexual abuse or teen prostitution. Her novels have been very popular among teens and adults alike.

In my reviews I often write such things as “not just for dog-lovers” and “you don’t have to own a dog to enjoy this book”. In the case of NPR’s Dog Tales, however, I suspect you probably do have to belong to a dog to appreciate these stories.

This book takes us to the early 1900s when male Japanese immigrant field workers were requesting so called mail order brides, where both parties were known to each other only via letters and pictures exchanged through the mail.  In many instances the groom’s pi

My husband recently took our daughter to Science City.  I was pleased to hear she loved it, but I had to set my husband straight when he proclaimed, “Everybody loves science.”  Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.  Who is my husband kidding?  Most kids I know graduate from high school without knowing how to spell t

Rules of Civility is the highly acclaimed debut novel by New Yorker Amor Towles.  The cover of the August issue of Oprah magazine referred to this book as “the one we couldn’t put down.”  The first portion does take off with gusto, but loses steam (or

“Luce’s new stranger children were small and beautiful and violent.” Thus begins this novel, which takes place in rural North Carolina in the early 1960s. The central character, Luce, inherits her murdered sister’s deeply disturbed children. This changes Luce’s isolated and independent living arrangement in both fearful and hopeful ways.