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Book reviews by library staff and guest contributors
The Cardboard Kingdom is a middle grade graphic novel about a group of kids that transform their backyards one summer to create an entire kingdom complete with dwellings, costumes, personas and the best adventures of their lives.
This is the book I'm going to be recommending to everyone in 2019- it's the delightful, funny, and very relevant story of Alex, the First Son of the US, and Henry, Prince of England and their journey from having a PR driven "friendship" to a real relationship and love. The story takes place a kind of alternate reality where a progressive female with biracial children has won the presidency. Her son, Alex, believes that he's meant to go into politics, and behind his seemingly party lifestyle, he works tirelessly to campaign and research in preparation for his mother's hopeful reelection.
Nonfiction readers will see much to like this April, as the publishing world swings into spring. After a 2018 mostly dominated by politics-related titles, April 2019 sees the return of some favorite authors to nonfiction shelves in general and the memoir genre in particular. On to the highlights:
A wonderfully illustrated book about going to bed! Owen Davey has given us a great little story about a boy who imagines he is a knight as he is doing his nightly, or should we say knightly routine. This fun mix of dragons, castles, baths, and beds makes for a great nighttime tale.
Bowlaway is a community saga set in Salford, Massachusetts centered on a candlepin* bowling alley. For those of you not familiar with candlepin, it is a variation of bowling played in New England with pins that have a cylindrical shape that taper toward each end similar to a candle. Scoring is different from tenpin and the balls are smaller, with no finger holes.
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Big reader of mysteries? You're covered. Someone who'd rather listen than read a print book? We've got your back.
I read Stradal's debut, Kitchens of the Great Midwest, almost in one sitting (literally, as I was in my seat on an airplane) and loved every moment of it. So I was thrilled to see that Stradal's second book was finally here and I dove right in when a pre-pub copy came my way.
Stella Lane sees the world in math and economics. There is no room for error and there's a formula for everything. So when she's ready for a serious relationship she creates a to-do list and gets ready to start checking off boxes! The only problem is, romantic chemistry is not a formula she can predict.
A biography of Thomas Beckett is not exactly something I'd pick up every day. This was actually a jumping off point from an article I was reading that pushed me into a deeper dive. I'm glad for the push as John Guy's detailed account of the martyr is both history and page-turning suspense.
Alafair Burke just keeps 'em coming. The Better Sister is another solid hit from an author who has become an auto-read for me.
