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Son of a serial killer
A review of Game by Barry Lyga

 Fair warning: This may be the goriest novel I've ever read, adult or YA. If you have a weak stomach, steer clear! I loved I Hunt Killers, which is the first book in this series. Jazz, son of infamous serial killer Billy Dent, was complicated and kind, a good friend and a manipulative weasel, terrifying and screwed up and real and I loved him. He’s struggling to be a ...read more

Reviewed by Erinn - Alicia Ashman on July 22, 2014 | 0 comments

Tapas and wine for everyone!
A review of The Vacationers by Emma Straub

 Who am I to argue with The Washington Post, The New York Times, NPR, and E! Online and ...read more

Reviewed by Molly - Central on July 21, 2014 | 0 comments

Look for the sounds
A review of Cat Says Meow and other an-i-mal-o-poe-ia by Michael Arndt

 There’s no shortage of books available to the very young describing animal sounds, but Cat Says Meow stands out as a book that both the very young and their slightly older siblings might enjoy. Arndt cleverly illustrates his animals with the very sounds they make, using the o’s of the owl’s hooo as eyes. Lower-case g’s form the scales of fish as they glub along, and a lazy looping h makes for a perfect donkey ear. A clean design and very basic text makes Cat Says Meow great ...read more

Reviewed by Katie H. on July 18, 2014 | 0 comments

LEGO Assassination
A review of Assassination! : The Brick Chronicle Presents Attempts on the Lives of Twelve US Presidents by Brendan Powell Smith

 What do presidential assassinations and LEGOs have in common? Well, this book. On first glance, it might seem a morbidly cruel trick on a lately exploding population of juvenile enthusiasts of all-things-LEGO. It is NOT for kids. Even though it’s packed with full-color, impressively detailed and original LEGO tableaus, it is really NOT for kids. As the title indicates, this book is “the brick chronicle of attempts on the lives of twelve US presidents”. What inspired Smith to combine these two ...read more

Reviewed by Carra on July 17, 2014 | 0 comments

Kindergarten moms gone wild
A review of Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

 "That doesn't sound like a school triva night," said Mrs. Patty Ponder to Marie Antoinette [her cat]. "That sounds like a riot." So opens Liane Moriarty's new novel, Big Little Lies. The melee is happening at the Pirriwee Public School in a suburban Australian town, and before the night is over the police will be called to investigate.  Flash back six months to orientation day for the new kindergartners and their moms. Madeline is a confident woman celebrating (mostly) ...read more

Reviewed by Jane J - Central on July 16, 2014 | 2 comments

Ole? Not quite.
A review of Only in Spain: A Foot-Stomping, Firecracker of a Memoir about Food, Flamenco, and Falling in Love by Nellie Bennett

 I was quite enthusiastic at the prospect of picking up Nellie Bennett’s memoir of her experiences learning flamenco in Spain. The prospect of escaping a dead-end job and jetting off to Seville on a whim like Bennett did has its romantic appeal, but I was hoping for an honest account of what it’s like, as a foreigner, to learn the demanding art of flamenco in its birthplace. Unfortunately, Only in Spain: A Foot-Stomping, Firecracker of a Memoir about Food, Flamenco and Falling in Love ...read more

Reviewed by Katie H. on July 15, 2014 | 0 comments

Now I get it (sort of)
A review of The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr

 I'll admit that Sara Zarr has disappointed me in the past-- I didn't really get why Story of a Girl was so beloved (or why it was a National Book Award finalist), why Sweethearts was a novel and not a short ...read more

Reviewed by Erinn - Alicia Ashman on July 14, 2014 | 0 comments

A top choice
A review of Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

 Check out one of our 2014 Teen's Choice books! Evie works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency. Her best friend is a mermaid, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only one who can see through glamours of the many paranormals on the earth. But now Evie’s dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies, and the paranormals are dying. White adds more than a dash of humor in this novel, where Evie is the only one who can protect the paranormals from ...read more

Reviewed by Karen on July 11, 2014 | 0 comments

Revisiting some American short fiction classics
A review of 21 Essential American Short Stories edited by Leslie Pockell

 When the Walter Mitty movie came out I decided I needed to brush up and re-read the original (what I remembered as a book, but what is actually a very short story). Searching in the library catalog brought me to this book: 21 American Short Stories, edited by Leslie M. Pockell. I was going to flip straight to Walter Mitty, but found myself nostalgic for high school and college lit courses as I paged through, and wound up reading all twenty-one stories. I have to say it was ...read more

Reviewed by Carra on July 10, 2014 | 0 comments

Wonders of nature’s laboratory
A review of The Galapagos: A Natural History by Henry Nicholls

 If a list were compiled of the few places on Earth as epicenters of scientific revolution, the Galapagos Archipelago would be at or near the top. The chain of about thirteen islands of varying size, nearly a thousand kilometers off the west coast of South America, has had an impact on modern science belying its small area. The Galapagos are, of course, most famous for Charles Darwin’s 1835 visit and subsequent role in forming his theory of evolution.  But Henry Nicholls, a British-based ...read more

Reviewed by Katie H. on July 9, 2014 | 0 comments
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Jane J - Central on Kindergarten moms gone wild
Yes the shattered lollipop is
Molly on Kindergarten moms gone wild
Wow. Love the cover of this
on Mother Hook is going to get you
A few to have Deadly" may be
Jess on Please do open that little book
We bought this book for our

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