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Book reviews by library staff and guest contributors
Don’t let the mounds of crusty snow or the frigid blasts of winter’s winds fool you: spring is nigh. Much like a cranky groundhog roused from his winter den, the publishing industry is waking up to some of the more anticipated titles of 2020, and a fine crop of them can be found landing on shelves in March. On to the notable offerings:
Veronica Speedwell and Stoker are back and faced with an unwanted assignment, one that will help to shield the monarchy from a massive scandal. And struggle as they may to avoid the task, events (including being kidnapped with a prince) force them to resolve the issue and save the world, again.
Moth discovers she's a witch for the first time when she's thirteen and being bullied at school. To be more precise, Moth performs magic for the first time when she's being bullied at school. She doesn't find out she's a witch until later when she's talking with her mom about what happened. Moth's mom does not practice magic and forbids Moth from doing the same. This just makes the 13-year-old want to know more immediately. Coincidentally, at this same time, Moth meets a cat who happens to be possessed by the spirit of Mr. Lazlo, the former owner of the secondhand shop her mom now owns.
Browsing for ebooks in Overdrive just became a lot easier! Wisconsin’s Digital Library introduces its’ new Lucky Day ebook collection February 14, just in time for readers to find a book they love among the offerings of high demand, popular titles. Featuring over 2,400 in-demand titles across all age levels, Lucky Day books can be borrowed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Author Marlon James will be at the Central Library tonight at 7 pm to talk about his novel, Black Leopard, Red Wolf.
The epic novel, an African Game of Thrones, from the Man Booker Prize-winning author of A Brief History of Seven Killings. In the stunning first novel in Marlon James's Dark Star trilogy, a Finalist for the 2019 National Book Award, myth, fantasy, and history come together to explore what happens when a mercenary is hired to find a missing child.
As with the first book in this series, Stars Uncharted (definitely start with that one first), this newest space opera from the Dunstall writing duo is a slow build. It requires the reader to settle into the universe and the science part of the science fiction being presented here, but the journey to the action-packed conclusion is worth it.
Prince was working on THE rock memoir of all time with journalist Dan Piepenbring when he unexpectedly died in April of 2016. Random House held the rights to the book but there wasn't enough content to complete it at that time. After a number of years and change in direction, the book was finally published under the prestigious Spiegel and Grau imprint this past October. The book is a stunning tribute but not the rock memoir it could have been.
New Kid by Jerry Craft is the first graphic novel to win the Newbery Award. Craft also won the Coretta Scott King Author award. He stated in a Publisher’s Weekly article that he wrote books he wished a 10-year-old Jerry Craft could have had that might have made him read at an early age. At that young age, there weren’t any books that were right for him or had a character that looked like him.
Cat and Nat are best friends and mothers with seven kids between the two of them. They are urban Canadians and have husbands named Mark and Marc. They've created a massive online community of moms of which I am not a part and quite frankly, know nothing about, but I regularly listen to comedy books while commuting to and from work and this book on audio fit that bill perfectly. Cat and Nat narrate and they are hilarious. You can tell this by the book cover that features a wine glass with an upside down Barbie doll in it.
