MADreads

Book reviews by library staff and guest contributors

Personal demons

Cover of Dark Music
A review of Dark Music by David Lagercrantz

Micaela Vargas is a police officer in Stockholm. She struggles to gain respect from her mostly white, male colleagues. First because she's a woman, second because she's a Chilean immigrant whose family came to Sweden as political refugees, and third because she grew up in the projects and has a brother who is operating on the other side of the law. None of that stops her from trying. She's determined to move up in the ranks and thus is happy to be assigned to the team investigating the death of an Afghani asylum-seeker who had become a popular youth soccer coach.

Posted by Jane J on Nov 17, 2022

Fathers and their kids

Cover of Juna and Appa
A review of Juna and Appa by Jane Park

Juna has a big imagination, and it runs wild, even while she's helping her Appa (father) at his dry cleaning business on Saturdays. While searching for one of her Appa's clients' lost jackets, her imagination takes her on a journey through nature where she meets animals who are also fathers that are spending time with their children.

Posted by Janelle C on Nov 11, 2022

Eyes that rise to the skies and speak to the stars

Cover of Eyes that Speak to the Sta
A review of Eyes that Speak to the Stars by Joanna Ho

A boy returns from school hurt that a friend drew a picture of their group and he has eyes like two lines stretched across his face. The others have big, round eyes with green, blue, brown or black irises. His Baba stood him in front of a mirror and said, “Your eyes rise to the skies and speak to the stars. The comets and constellations show you their secrets, and your eyes can foresee the future.

Posted by Molly W on Oct 26, 2022

Racing to space

Cover of The Apollo Murders
A review of The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield

What if instead of canceling NASA's Apollo 18 mission, Nixon had instead turned the funding question over to the military? And what if that military had decided that the mission was critical in order to prevent Russia from beating the US? Not just to control of the moon, but to getting the first spy stations and satellite's into the skies above earth? Those are the questions former astronaut Chris Hadfield uses as a jumping off point for his debut thriller, The Apollo Murders.

Posted by Jane J on Oct 25, 2022

We could all use a little more tuba in life

Cover of I’m Possible: A Story o
A review of I’m Possible: A Story of Survival, A Tuba, and the Small Miracle of a Big Dream by Richard Antoine White

It’s no secret that it takes extraordinary effort and preternatural talent to achieve coveted, competitive positions at top universities, internships, or sports leagues. (Who you know and how much money you have certainly doesn’t hurt either.) Now consider a job that makes the task of getting into Harvard, or the NFL draft, or an internship at Vogue seem like a walk in the park. Give up? Try winning a seat as a professional tuba player in one of America’s full-time or part-time professional orchestras.

Posted by Katie H on Oct 18, 2022

Sweet and cozy

Cover of Bright Brown Baby: A Treas
A review of Bright Brown Baby: A Treasury by Andrea David Pinkney and illustrated by Brian Pinkney

Find all the joy of the Bright Brown Baby board books in this beautiful picture book treasury! Bright Brown Baby: A Treasury by Andrea David Pinkney and Brian Pinkney is bursting with warmth & bounce. These mini stories about peek-a-boo, counting-to-love, and baby stars all shine so bright. They read like mini love songs to little ones.

Posted by Tracy on Oct 14, 2022

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