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MADreads

Book reviews by library staff and guest contributors

Scary summer thrills and chills

Cover of The Girl in the Lake
A review of The Girl in the Lake by India Hill Brown

Are you looking for a great summer ghost story for middle grades? I highly recommend The Girl in the Lake. Celeste, her younger brother Owen, and their cousins Daisy and Capri are invited to spend several weeks at their grandparents' lake home where the water is murky, the weather is stormy and tensions are high. Without giving too much away, there's a haunted house, a family mystery, a spooky lake and enough summer thunderstorms to send anyone hiding under the covers.

Jul 5, 2022

Through the eyes of love

Cover of I am Golden
A review of I am Golden by Eva Chen

Written and illustrated by Chinese-Americans whose parents came from China and raised them in the United States, I am Golden celebrates the heritage behind the Chinese-American experience. With poetic language and colorful, captivating imagery, Mei's story is shared with us through the eyes of her immigrant parents. This is a loving, encouraging book with additional photographs and backstories about the author and illustrator at the end.

Jul 1, 2022

Star Child

Cover of Star Child
A review of Star Child by Ibi Zoboi

“What if on the day she was born there was a quiet storm of tiny shimmering dust that settled on tree leaves, on flower petals, on rooftops, on the ground, on the shiny work shoes, and glided through open windows to settle on hardwood floors?” 

Jun 24, 2022

Modern day courting like Jane Austen

Cover of That Can Be Arranged: A Mu
A review of That Can Be Arranged: A Muslim Love Story by Huda Fahmy

This is a sweet, authentic, and sublimely nerdy look at popular cartoonist Huda Fahmy's single life, courtship and marriage to the man of her dreams. By her mid-twenties Huda was considered hopelessly over-the-hill by many in her circle of friends and family. She felt pressured and discouraged, but not completely downhearted.

Jun 21, 2022

Donuts and the Devil

Cover of Light from Uncommon Stars
A review of Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

Katrina Nguyen escapes her abusive home with nothing but a few dollars and her violin. A connection within the LGBTQIA community brings her to the San Gabriel Valley in hopes of starting fresh. But the scars (literal and figurative) of her past are not easily erased and she's not sure what she'll do next when her beloved violin is stolen by the "friends" who promised to help. Enter Shizuka Satomi.

Jun 16, 2022

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