MADreads Reviews

What a discussion this book makes. One mention of the Maine Hermit and people are either outraged or enthralled. I'm relatively enthralled, not with the Maine Hermit per se, but with the details shared in this book. There is great investigative writing here, and interesting historical research. The story and details of a man who hid out in the Maine woods for more than 27 years without getting caught or sick or eaten by a bear is a compelling one, to say the least. 

It's fall! And Bella, like so many four and five year olds, CANNOT sit still. All she wants to do is be outside. She whirls and twirls and crinkles and crackles in the leaves, she stretches and reaches, picks and plucks fall apples, but her favorite fall coat is becoming too small. Thanks goodness for grandmas. This beautifully illustrated picture book will have your toddler whirling and twirling with it's vivid language, but also might help start a conversation about how sadly, not all things like favorite coats and seasons last for ever.

Fall is almost here and there are a bunch of new upcoming mysteries that I am looking forward to reading. There are some new characters that I want to meet and some old friends with whom I'll be catching up.

September saw the start of the fall publishing season, and October sees the industry hitting its stride. The theme this month is big:  big names, big print runs and big hype. For readers, it’s a bounty of options across genres and ages. So make room on your holds lists, set aside some reading time, and prepare to settle down with your pumpkin spice latte, because there’s bound to be something for everyone this month. 

Sharon M. Draper did an outstanding job reminding and educating us about slavery in the United States by crafting this one of a kind story about a 15 year old girl named Amari. Based on Amari’s struggles with being an young African American women in the early 1700’s, Copper Sun gives you the raw and unfiltered look at slavery. It gives the readers the brutal truth in which should never be forgotten. Amari who once lived a beloved life in her peace filled African village, Ziari, got tore apart and forced to live a nightmare that never seemed to find morning.

Newsprints by Ru Xu features girls as newsboys, strained race relations and a serious look at robot civil rights in what I would describe as a steampunk variation on Annie! The story is beautifully drawn with complicated gender roles and a somewhat mysterious locale and setting.

The Duke of Ashbury needs a wife—any wife, really. Terribly disfigured on the battlefield, the once handsome duke has retreated to his own solitude and never appears in the light of day. But he needs an heir, and the prospect of venturing into London’s brutal social scene with a face that makes children weep doesn’t appeal. So when seamstress Emma Gladstone shows up on his doorstep one evening—in a wedding dress, no less—he does the logical thing and immediately proposes marriage.

On September 23rd, the Pinney Library will hold it's fourth annual Pinney Mini Book Festival connecting local authors and patrons. In addition to a local author presentation of 5-10 authors, Pinney will host a panel session comprised of 3 successful authors, editors, and/or publishers. We hope this will further foster community and collaboration among local budding authors who are honing their skills and marketing their work.

In Be Quiet! Rupert, a mouse, wants to create his very own wordless book. His friends are game, but unfortunately, they won't stop talking about it, filling the book with more and more words and making Rupert more and more frustrated. This book is hilarious, introduces some wonderful vocabulary, and takes advantage of every part of the book, from the cover to the endpapers. It's perfect for elementary school-aged children.

Each year Madison Public Library partners with UW-Madison to extend the perennially popular Go Big Read program into the broader community with book discussion groups and programs at our libraries.

There will be a keynote event at the Memorial Union Theater featuring a panel of UW-Madison faculty members. But you can also read it for yourself, join a book discussion, or do some deeper exploration of the topic by delving into suggested further reading titles curated by library staff.

This book gave me a glimpse of new and different experiences - while also being very relate-able. It brought up topics that most teens experience - issues of friendship and homework - which helped me further connect to the story and drew me in. I also enjoyed the fact that it wasn’t annoyingly predictable. You didn’t always know what was coming! Other books by Cynthia Kadohata include Outside Beauty, The Floating World, A Million Shades of Gray, and many more.

Written by Victoria Lenius an eighth grade Girl Scout.

"When she woke she was red. Not flushed, not sunburned, but the solid, declaritive red of a stop sign."

So opens Hillary Jordan's sophomore novel (after Mudbound).

Summer comes to a close and it feels like there just isn’t anything NEW to do before school starts.  How about revisiting something from the past?  August is a great time to slow down and seek out older books that may have been overlooked.   The Relatives Came  by Cynthia Rylant, 1985, Bradbury Press, New York is an exuberant celebration of summer, gardens, travel and most of all….Relatives!  A family drives a long distance to attend a reunion.   The excitement of the journey grows until finally they reach their destination.  And then the hugging begins, as well as the fun of sharing summer

I used to read Jane Feather but haven't picked up anything of hers in a while. So I decided to dip back in and read one I hadn't yet. And boy am I glad I did. The Widow’s Kiss starts off with a bang, or maybe that’s a thud, when Lady Guinevere Mallory has a hand in the death of her drunken, abusive husband. He comes at her while she is standing on a balcony and ends up falling to the stones below. Whether or not Guinevere intended his death is unclear. Even her longtime servants are a little leery since this is the fourth husband she’ll be burying.

If you missed this morning's lunar eclipse, I've got just the thing for you - and it doesn't require being up at 2 am or special glasses. He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly is more than just a mystery novel: it stars a pair of eclipse chasers!

The Wisconsin Book Festival just announced the line-up for their 15th Anniversary event, November 2-5, 2017. You won't want to miss this.

Check out the event schedule at: wisconsinbookfestival.org.

In November 1954 Marilyn Monroe escaped from Hollywood, leaving behind the very public end of her marriage to Joe DiMaggio and the humiliations forced on her by Zanuck and Fox Studios. Leaving with her friend and photographer Milton Greene, Marilyn was determined to recreate herself in New York City as something more than a blonde bombshell.

A young female intern bowled over by the charms of a worldly politician, unhappy in his marriage. Assignations in the office after hours, futile attempts to end the affair, a scandalous revelation in the press during the election cycle. A political career in the balance, a woman branded a tart and worse. Unceasing press. The political sex scandal is nothing new, the outcome for the pol limited to one of two options: immediate political suicide and obscurity, or a show of contrition and a photo-op with the Mrs. before the news cycle turns its attention to the next scandal.

How about some light-hearted fun and mayhem? This mystery series dates from the mid 20^th century, and begins with The Norths Meet Murder. The Norths are a couple living in New York City who inadvertently get involved in homicide. Of the two, Pam North is easily the more interesting character in that her thought process appears to jump from A to G and back to B but somehow she is almost always correct in her assessments and since she also leaps before she looks this is a concern for her publisher husband Jerry.