Reviews

Bethany Hamilton loves surfing. Her biography, Soul Surfer, is the  story of how she became “the bearer of hope for those who have been handed a bad deal in the card game of life.” When she was only thirteen years old she was attacked by a shark and lost her right arm.

She not only escaped death, she came back as strong and faithful as ever to become a champion surfer.

The title of Cheryl Dumesnil's latest collection, Showtime at the Ministry of Lost Causes, is like an irresistible flashing light, letting readers know that there's dark humor to be found inside. And yes, her poems twinkle with dark humor, but they are also candidly soulful, colorful and even sweetly sexy at times. Her poem, The Gospel According to Sky, explores cloud shapes, and how "the immutable blue holds those&n

Did you like Ico?  How about Journey?  Robot Dreams?  Do you like wordless stories that pack an emotional punch?  How about creative use of game controls?

Have I got a game for you.

Jan Duncan-O’Neal was born and raised in Kansas City, has lived most of her adult years around the Midwest and in southern Colorado. She majored in English and theater in college and received a Master’s Degree in Library Science at the University of Iowa, where she later taught storytelling and children’s literature classes. She has authored 11 professional books (published by Libraries Unlimited) and conducted workshops nationally for teachers and librarians.

Hello, welcome, and join us - won’t you? - for this month’s look at some new releases that you might want to keep on your radar. 

This book was extremely hard to read, but also hard to put down.

Don’t let Twenty-eight and a Half Wishes mystery classification fool you. This book is a perfect blend of mystery and romance with just a touch of fantasy.

Mary Anna King’s first six years of life are anything but stable.

I Will Send Rain is both bleak and hopeful. You will feel a lot of things while reading this perfectly crafted, emotional story of an Oklahoma farm family living through the Dust Bowl.

Lilac Girls is a World War II historical fiction book focusing on Ravensbruck, a women's concentration camp where some prisoners endured cruel experimental surgeries. Chapters alternate between the perspectives of three different women: former actress and wealthy American, Catherine Ferriday, who sends care packages to orphaned children overseas; Kasia, a Polish teenager and Ravensbruck prisoner; and Herta Oberhauser, a German doctor performing experiments in Ravensbruck.