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At any cost
A review of Siege Winter by Arianna Franklin

 I couldn’t have been more excited when I learned there was a new book coming out by Ariana Franklin. I had been in mourning since hearing of Diana Norman’s death in 2011, as I had so loved her historical mystery series written under her pen name featuring the 12th century medical examiner Adelia Aguilar that began with Mistress of the Art of Death. There had been some rumors of a manuscript but as time passed with no further news I moved on.  So, of course when I spotted her name ...read more

Reviewed by Liz - Alicia Ashman on January 27, 2015 | 0 comments

Thinking outside the box
A review of Going Places by Peter Reynolds

 Each kid in class competes in the annual Going Places contest. Rafael is so excited that when the teacher asks who’d like to get their go-cart kit, he’s the first to raise his hand. But she tells the rest of his jealous classmates not to worry, she’s got enough kits for everyone in class… and they are all exactly the same. As soon as he can, Rafael reads the detailed instructions and starts putting together his go-cart. Maya, his classmate and next-door neighbor, hasn’t even started working on ...read more

Reviewed by Tina - Central on January 23, 2015 | 0 comments

What's not to love?
A review of Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Biography by Neil Patrick Harris

 Who doesn’t love Neil Patrick Harris? Okay, those who raised their hands, go sit in the corner and think about what you’ve done wrong in life. For the rest of you, boy, do I have a treat for you… It’s Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography!! Not your ordinary, everyday autobiography -- which, I have to say, is not my normal thing. Someone talking about ...read more

Reviewed by Tina - Central on January 22, 2015 | 0 comments

A sultry summer read for a cold winter's day
A review of Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

 Prodigal Summer isn’t Kingsolver’s latest, but I was interested in a summer read as a vacation from a cold Wisconsin winter, and it really worked. For anyone who’s already a Kingsolver fan, this book follows her usual welcome pattern with compelling narrative intertwined so expertly with political and environmental commentary that it’s difficult to tease the two apart. In Prodigal Summer we meet a solitary mountain-top park ranger with dueling passions that threaten her ...read more

Reviewed by Carra on January 21, 2015 | 0 comments

The Last Czar
A review of The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion & the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming

 Even though Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicated the throne, he and his family, along with their maid and family dog were executed in July of 1918 after living under house arrest for an extended period of time.  Fleming details the events that led up to that horrible day.  The excesses of the royal family and the great poverty endured by millions of Russian citizens brought about a revolution and unfortunately the Romanov family paid the price.   Fleming gives a very ...read more

Reviewed by Lesley K on January 16, 2015 | 0 comments

Superman versus Clark
A review of Screwdrivered by Alice Clayton

 Viv Franklin hardly knows what to think when she receives word that her reclusive aunt has left her with a Victorian mansion high on the cliffs above the Pacific. A successful software designer, Viv has happily settled into a life with her chrome-and-black-leather Philadelphia apartment, her overactive but loving family and above all, her obsession with bodice ripper romances. Nonetheless, the house in Mendocino has its charms—even if the stately Victorian she remembers, complete with stables ...read more

Reviewed by Katie H. on January 13, 2015 | 0 comments

Girls who dress like boys. Whatever that means.
A review of Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir by Liz Prince

 Liz Prince was a tomboy when she was a kid and it was not easy for her. Boys and girls alternately picked on her or ostracized her. Adults didn't know what to make of her and there were a lot of rules that made things tough for her, like a school requirement that boys wear shirts and ties and girls wear dresses on certain school days.  This autobiographical graphic novel shares her story. It's a really important one. But it got me thinking about tomboys. I am wondering if today's world is ...read more

Reviewed by Molly - Central on January 12, 2015 | 0 comments

Hats for All!
A review of Hooray For Hat by Brian Won

 When Elephant wakes up on the wrong side of the bed one morning, he is in no mood to hear his doorbell ring.  But after stomping down the stairs, he is surprised by a beribboned box on his doorstep.  Inside he discovers a tower of hats.  “HOORAY FOR HAT!”  Then Elephant goes off to show his friends who each have their own case of the grumps, and who each cheer for the hat Elephant offers them.  With minimal text and deceptively simple yet fully expressive illustrations ...read more

Reviewed by Karen on January 9, 2015 | 0 comments

A neutron star bullet, a mole of moles and one interplanetary Cessna…
A review of What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe

 Have you ever wondered just what might happen if…you shot an arrow in space? Or what would happen if a thunderstorm dropped all of its rain in one single gigantic drop? Randall Munroe, author of the web comic xkcd and its spin off site What If? has both the time, knowledge and insanity sanity to pursue answers to the unlikely scenarios that faithful readers submit, digging down to the scientific details to reveal some ...read more

Reviewed by Katie H. on January 8, 2015 | 0 comments

A smart, entertaining Girl
A review of Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's "Learned" by Lena Dunham

 Much has been written about this book already, and it's been on the New York Times Best Sellers list for several months. It seems as though everybody has an opinion about Lena Dunham, her HBO television series Girls and this book. Why read another review? Maybe you're already waiting for this book and I want to cement that choice for you. Maybe you are looking for post- ...read more

Reviewed by Molly - Central on January 5, 2015 | 0 comments
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on A Great Summer Read for fans of Gone Girl and Pretty Little Liars
I watched the film Gone girl
Tina - Central on This network is more like "The Firm"
It took me half a year to get
Molly - Central on Wrapping it up
Thanks for this review,
Elizabeth @Lakeview on Wrapping it up
Bonus, the author is now

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