Reviews

Staff Review

The French Girl

By Lexie Elliott
Star Rating
★★★

Rated by Hilary S.
Jun 18, 2018

As and initial suspense thriller from this author, The French Girl is pretty well done. It follows the typical plot points used by many others: there's been a murder and our main character can't remember exactly what happened. Or she thinks she might remember, but she is constantly questioning herself and her memories based on what other 'friends' tell her and say. 

Staff Review

Star Wars, the Last Jedi (film novelization)

By Fry, Jason
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Dylan R
Jun 12, 2018

Picking up right where Star Wars, the Force Awakens' story left off, The Last Jedi continues the adventures of Rey, Finn, and Poe following their triumph over the First Order forces on Starkiller Base. Though the Resistance scored a huge victory, we are still faced with many questions: How can the Resistance possibly hope to stand against such an obviously superior foe?

Staff Review

I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer

By Michelle McNamara
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by Jesseca B.
Jun 10, 2018

"You’ll be silent forever, and I’ll be gone in the dark."

Michelle McNamara’s book investigating the Golden State Killer is a truly masterful work. The author explains her obsession with this case and her hopes of discovering the identity of the killer. She presents a staggering amount of research and information in such an engaging and organized way, while her clarity of writing and ever-present empathy enhance the reading experience.

Staff Review

Only Child

By Rhiannon Navin
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by Colleen O.
Jun 3, 2018

Only Child is told by six-year-old Zach Taylor, whose world is turned upside down when a gunman enters his school and kills nineteen children, including his older brother. The author has an uncanny ability to enter the mind of a small child and describe events as only a small child is able.

Staff Review

Hillbilly Elegy : A Memoir

By J.D. Vance

Rated by Library Staff (not verified)
May 26, 2018

Hillbilly Elegy is unlike anything I've ever listened to. J.D. Vance grew up in the rust belt of America and was the first from his nuclear family to graduate from college. He speaks about growing up there and tells you extensively about the journey his family (grandparents and mother) made before today. 

Staff Review

Time Writing Contest Winner

By Kaleah Petersen
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by Helen H.
May 24, 2018

Johnson County Library and The Writers Place are pleased to announce that Kaleah Petersen has won the open category of our writing contest on the theme of TIME with "A Matter of Time".

Kaleah Petersen is in eighth grade at Indian Woods Middle School and is taking a Creative Writing class. She enjoys writing poetry and fiction in her free time.

 

Staff Review

Love and Trouble

By Claire Dederer
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Michelle H.
May 24, 2018

As a raggedy child of the 1970s in the liberal northwest, author Claire Dederer found herself steering life by way of drifting, a method using random hazard and profound reflection as the tools for guidance. In Love and Trouble she writes about her life at middle age and compares it with herself as a young woman with the repeated observation that she is reverting back to the craptastic – her word – girl she was. She had a few vices, and she wants them back.