MADreads

Book reviews by library staff and guest contributors

The rich, they are different

Cover of The Other Half
A review of The Other Half by Charlotte Vassell

There has to be something very satisfying about killing off a rich person. The mystery genre’s very foundations rests on the corpses of the well-to-do; that any hereditary titles survived the Golden Age is astonishing. Those plump inheritances, the isolated country houses and silently judgmental domestic staff, often coupled with a victim and cadre of suspects that usually don’t generate too much sympathy (they did have a pretty comfy existence before the fatally poisoned claret, after all)—the mystery basically writes itself.

Posted by Katie H on Apr 3, 2024

I wouldn't trust any of the teachers at this school

Cover of The Teacher
A review of The Teacher by Frieda McFadden

I felt like shrieking more than a few times while reading The Teacher. Here's the deal: there's a student at Caseham High who was involved with a teacher last year in a way that drew suspicion from parents, other teachers, and administrators at the school. Nobody seems to know what happened, but the teacher resigned in disgrace and the student, Addie, earned a reputation for being troubled. It's not clear if Addie is truly troubled or if she's a victim of circumstance. What is clear is that she's a school pariah and being bullied by mean girls.

Posted by Molly W on Mar 28, 2024

With a little heart

Cover of When Grumpy Met Sunshine
A review of When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein

I have mentioned in the past how I enjoy the grumpy/sunshine trope in romances (or really any genre), so how could I resist a book titled When Grumpy Met Sunshine? It's all right there in the title. Add to that the hero is an ornery ex-footballer (soccer player on our side of the pond) who bears more than a bit of a resemblance to Roy on Ted Lasso (looks and personality) and the heroine is a sunny, but competent, ghostwriter? I'm in. And I'm so glad I was. This is a heartwarming read with likable protagonists in a funny, sometimes bittersweet, story.

Posted by Jane J on Mar 26, 2024

Being the biggest girl

Cover of Wish Soup: A Celebration o
A review of Wish Soup: A Celebration of Seollal by Junghwa Park

It's Seollal (Lunar New Year), and Sohee can't wait to prove how much of an eonni (big girl) she is! To celebrate Seollal, everyone eats tteokguk, a delicious soup. For every bowl one eats, they get a year older, and Sohee wants to eat as many bowls as she can! But as she helps prepare for the celebration, responsibilities keep getting in the way of eating her delicious tteokguk. This fun book includes a recipe at the end for how to make tteokguk.

Posted by Janelle C on Mar 22, 2024

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