MADreads

Wow. Just wow.
A review of The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

 Katherine Applegate was recently awarded the 2013 Newbery Medal for most distinguished contribution to American Literature for Children for her book The One and Only Ivan. I completely agree. This may be one of the best books I've ever read.  Ivan is a silverback gorilla living in a run-down roadside circus mall (I know, I know, but these places really do exist) with Stella, a retired circus ...read more

Reviewed by Molly - Central on March 13, 2013 | 3 comments

How to budget for lamb and strychnine
A review of Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

 It's been a while since I've read a rave-worthy young adult novel. But lately I've hit the bonanza with several titles hitting on all notes. Some of the hits aren't yet published so I'll leave those for a future post, but one of them is out and available and I'm thrilled that I can tell you about it. Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger is set in the same ...read more

Reviewed by Jane J - Central on March 12, 2013 | 0 comments

Dark, disturbing, and totally worth it
A review of Tenth of December: Stories by George Saunders

 I have a feeling that George Saunders is an acquired taste. After reading some ecstatic praise (the New York Times Magazine headline “George Saunders Has Written the Best Book You’ll Read This Year” was pretty blunt), I picked up his latest collection of stories, Tenth of December. Not being one to read stories on a regular basis, nor a subscriber to The New Yorker¸ Harper’s Magazine or McSweeney’s (publications that have featured these stories), I was not at all ...read more

Reviewed by Katie H. on March 11, 2013 | 1 comment

Don't touch
A review of Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

 Juliette has spent the last few years in a mental institution, but she's not crazy. At least, she doesn't think she is. All she knows is that whenever someone touches her, they are injured -- sometimes fatally. The Reestablishment wants to use Juliette's powers to torture resistors. Adam, the one boy who has ever treated Juliette like a human, wants to show her a better life. This exciting story is filled with surprises and romance at every turn. Can love conquer all? ...read more

Reviewed by Krissy on March 8, 2013 | 0 comments

All the books: Dickens
A review of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

 While I admit that my quest to read all the books will (probably) prove futile, I have a solid plan in place for reading all of Charles Dickens: read one title per year. This is the fourth year since I formed my plan, and this year's title was Great Expectations. As I read the book I was reminded of something I recently read in ...read more

Reviewed by Jon - Central Library on March 7, 2013 | 0 comments

Zombie in love
A review of Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

 What will the inevitable zombie apocalypse look like? How will it happen? How will humanity--the Living--survive? How does it feel be be a zombie? And how--in this post-apocalyptic world-- would a zombie find love? That last question has never, in all my feverish wonderings, occurred to me. And yet, I give you...Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion. The main protagonist of our story is a zombie. You got it, a flesh-eating, brain-chomping, reeking member of the undead, or the Dead, in this ...read more

Reviewed by Tina - Central on March 5, 2013 | 1 comment

On the trail of the Storm King
A review of Storm Kings: The Untold History of America’s First Storm Chasers by Lee Sandlin

It is hard to believe now, as snow swirls outside and plows ply the streets (or not), that in a few short weeks the sirens will start again. Every Midwesterner knows its keening sound, a reminder that tornado season is upon us once again. Tornadoes remain something of an enigma today, even as technology and YouTube videos make the prediction and experience of storms more routine. But our knowledge of tornados is a very recent phenomenon, as Lee Sandlin chronicles in Storm Kings: The Untold ...read more

Reviewed by Katie H. on March 4, 2013 | 0 comments

There are no words
A review of Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole

 Very rarely does a title totally sum up a book, but for Henry Cole's Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad, that's the case--literally! When I picked up this picture book, I had no idea that those words would be the only ones I would read until the (fascinating) author's note at the very end. But, far from being disappointed, I was moved and haunted by my time with Unspoken. The gorgeous charcoal illustrations remind me strongly of the wonderful inventions of author and ...read more

Reviewed by Abby on March 1, 2013 | 0 comments

Silent no more
A review of The Perfect Ghost by Linda Barnes

 Though she'd already been writing for while, Linda Barnes broke out in the late 80s when she became part of the wave of women mystery writers that included Marcia Muller, ...read more

Reviewed by Jane J - Central on February 28, 2013 | 0 comments

Don't eat that!
A review of Peanut by Ayun Halliday

 Starting a new high school is not easy. Starting a new high school under false pretenses is even harder. Starting a new high school while faking a peanut allergy? Oh, that's not going to end well. Sadie Wildhack fakes a peanut allergy in order to make friends at her new high school and it totally backfires. Even though peanut allergies may be life threatening, they're just not glamorous enough to sway jaded high school students into providing a)sympathy b)respect c)friendship. Or are they? The ...read more

Reviewed by Molly - Central on February 27, 2013 | 0 comments
Syndicate content

Categories