MADreads

Book reviews by library staff and guest contributors

Kent State more than 50 years later

Cover of Kent State
A review of Kent State by Deborah Wiles

To this day there is argument about what happened at Kent State on May 4, 1970. What's certain is that tensions were high. America was at war in Vietnam, the nation was divided in their support of President Nixon, young men were living in fear of the draft, and students were protesting the bombing of Cambodia by United States military forces. Many students at Kent State thought the bombing escalated a war that the United States was supposedly withdrawing from and were peacefully protesting on Friday, May 1 on the Commons, a large grassy area in the middle of campus.

Posted by Molly W on Nov 17, 2021

Who gets to decide?

Cover of Borders
A review of Borders by Thomas King

If you heard that someone got stuck when trying to cross the border, would you think of San Ysidro, El Paso or maybe Laredo? I admit, I did. But this story takes place at the Canadian-American border. This graphic novel, illustrated by Natasha Donovan, is an adaptation of Thomas King's 1993 short story. A Blackfoot boy in Alberta tells how when he was about twelve years old, his seventeen year old sister moved to Salt Lake City. The tension between Laetitia and her mother feels very real.

Posted by Jennifer on Nov 12, 2021

Buddha and bharal

Cover of The Snow Leopard
A review of The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen

The Snow Leopard, Peter Matthiessen’s melancholic and metaphor-laden Himalayan travelogue, a true story, is an essential, definitional work of 1970s American literature. It is also one of my favorite books of all time.

Posted by Tyler F on Nov 11, 2021

The rain brings more than water

Cover of After the Rain
A review of After the Rain by John Jennings and illustrated by David Brame

The graphic novel adaptation of Nnedi Okorafor's short story "On the Road" takes the reader on a journey that connects the mind and body with an infinite past of cultural heritage. Chioma, a young Nigerian-American police officer from New York City, visits family in a small, rural Nigerian village during a terrible storm and unleashes an unidentified power. Chioma's western sensibilities try to reconcile what's happening but she struggles, even with the help of her family.

Posted by Molly W on Nov 9, 2021

Something for the long nights

Cover of The Starless Crown
A review of The Starless Crown by James Rollins

From what I hear from other readers I'm not alone in, more often then I'd like, struggling with my ability to really sink into a book. I don't know if the attention deficit comes from work, too many devices, or the general stressiness of life, but often I find that I have to work to stick to a book, even if I was sure I'd love it. But one genre lately has really been working for me and that is fantasy fiction. Something about entering a completely different world has just been easier.

Posted by Jane J on Nov 8, 2021

Escape from Hollywood

Cover of Marilyn in Manhattan: Her
A review of Marilyn in Manhattan: Her Year of Joy by Elizabeth Winter

In November 1954 Marilyn Monroe escaped from Hollywood, leaving behind the very public end of her marriage to Joe DiMaggio and the humiliations forced on her by Zanuck and Fox Studios. Leaving with her friend and photographer Milton Greene, Marilyn was determined to recreate herself in New York City as something more than a blonde bombshell.

Posted by Liz C on Nov 4, 2021

More data needed

Cover of The Mother-in-Law
A review of The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth

The Lakeview Mystery Book Group had been meeting in person over the last few months but decided to go back to meeting on Zoom now that the nights are longer and are getting colder. Last week was our return to Zoom and given how the online platform can change the shape of meetings, I was wondering if our talk would be as comfortable and free-wheeling as it had been for our in-person meetings. The answer? It certainly was a relaxed, energetic discussion. But was that the group or the book?

Posted by Jane J on Nov 2, 2021

Strange and wild songs

Cover of Matrix
A review of Matrix by Lauren Groff

Early in Matrix, Lauren Groff’s stunning new novel, Marie of France recalls a nightingale that Queen Eleanor had raised by hand, caged among the ladies of the English court. She despises this bird, which sings the same song, unlike the wild birds that Marie knew from her days when her mother and aunts were alive, free and fierce to pursue a life away from the strictures of court and the stringent roles of the ladies there. Marie herself defies easy categorization, as both bastard and royal, the product of rape from the lanky Plantagenet king and her Amazonian French mother.

Posted by Katie H on Nov 1, 2021

Bedtime beats

Cover of Hip-Hop Lollipop
A review of Hip-Hop Lollipop by Susan McElroy Montanari

Two girls, Lollipop and her sister Tasha are both dancing to their favorite tunes as their parents remind them it is time to slow down, settle and get ready for bed. The language of Montanari’s Hip-Hop lullaby dances across the page in perfect meter. Pinkney’s soft, fluid illustrations provide pitch perfect movement as he depicts this warm family moment as simultaneously universal (how to get energetic youngsters to bed) and unique (to hip-hop, techno and dance fans). This is a wonderful read-aloud for any time of day including tuck-in time.

Posted by on Oct 29, 2021

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