Fresh Finds: Newly Published Books
Mary's Review:
(4
out of 5 stars) One of the better holocaust memoirs I've read. Very
detailed descriptions of camps and conditions, but also concentrates on
the father-son bond that proved stronger than the machine that sought to
break them both.
Kaylee's Review:
(5
out of 5 stars) I loved this book because it explores a character
discovering how to use her voice to effect a change in the world around
her and come back from realizing she was unintentionally promoting
harmful changes, harnessing her special powers along the way. This book
is the fourth installment in The Darkest Minds world, and while it is
set several years after the third book and explores the world through
the view of a different main character, it is still helpful to the
reader to be familiar with the overall story before starting The Darkest
Legacy.
Dawn's Review:
(4
out of 5 stars)This is a new biography of the actress that tries to
look at Marilyn as a person of her times. I liked this approach and
learned some new things about her. I've read 3 or 4 other bios and this
one stood out.
Katherine's Review:
(5 out of 5 stars) Amazing world-building,
fantastic characters, and a book that is nearly impossible to put down! I
really liked this creative and well-written book. Somehow Foundryside
is the first book I have read by Robert Jackson Bennett, but after
reading this one, I'm adding City of Stairs to my queue immediately.
Everyone who loves richly imagined fantasy should read this book.
Jason's Review:
(4
out of 5 stars) This is a fantasy novel about a young woman named Tam
who joins Fable, a band of famous mercenaries, as their new lute-playing
bard. Bloody Rose has great fantasy action scenes, but also manages to
strike an emotional chord as a family drama. I also found it to be far
funnier than expected.
Kaylee's Review:
For someone who enjoys pirates and female empowerment, Seafire was a
fantastic book. Caledonia is the captain of an all-female crew who fight
back against Aric Athair, leader of the Bullets, who ruthlessly rules
the sea by kidnapping and brainwashing children into serving him. She
has to learn how to overcome her blanket distrust of all males in order
to rescue her brother from the Bullets and deal with the loss of people
she holds dear. This is the first book in the trilogy so it ends on a
cliffhanger, and there is a romance thrown in that I felt was a bit
rushed, but I would still give it 4.5/5 stars.
Tirzah's Review:
(4 out of 5 stars) Writing historical fiction based on the Holocaust has to be difficult. Author Jennifer Nielsen showed her talent to effectively research and write historical fiction in her 2015 A Night Divided. She does the same wonderful job with Resistance. Readers will immediately be swept up in the story of Chaya, a brave Jewish courier for a resistance group. There are horrors, injustices, and grief as can only be expected in books such as these; however, there are great moments of love, loyalty, sacrifice, and the list goes on. Evil will always be in this world, but so will love and love will always win – even if it doesn’t feel or look like it did. This message is clearly told throughout the book. As with other similar books I have read, Resistance will stay with me for some time.
Joyce's Review:
First
of all I need to say I didn’t watch Mr. Rogers when I was a child
because I had already aged out. As an adult, I saw bits and pieces of
the show when children I was taking care of would call me over to watch.
I soon found myself drawn into the imaginary world signaled by the
trolley and loved watching the visits to neighborhood businesses to see
how thing were made. Mr. Rogers’ calm personality, his measured
transitions from one activity to another entranced the children. I
checked out this biography intending just to look at the pictures and
learn a bit about how the show was created and Fred Rogers himself. To
my surprise and delight I found myself drawn into his personal story,
his educational background and values and how they came together to
create the iconic show. Even if you’ve never seen the show this book is
well worth reading as the portrait of a man, his values and his vision
of what children’s television could be.
Joyce's Review:
(4 out of 5 stars) This is the latest book in her William Monk series and it meets all the high standards of the earlier books in the series. The characters are well developed and the themes of loyalty and how past actions can affect the present are certainly thoughtful.
Tirzah's Review:
(3.5
out of 5 stars) This was a fun, action-filled story with a mix of time
travel and clue hunting. There is a theme of strong family bonds and how
important it is for family to stick together no matter what. Along the
way, readers learn facts from different points in history. This is the
first of a planned series and I am looking forward to reading about the
next exciting time travel adventure. I recommend especially to middle
school and up who enjoy adventure stories.
Rock Critic Law: 101 Unbreakable Rules for Writing Badly about Music by Michael Azerrad (publication date: October 23)
Mason's Review:
Azzerad is an established music journalist, and in his most recent book he vents about rock journalism. Every page is a "rule;" and every rule is a cliche that will provoke an groan or an eye roll from anybody who reads record reviews "(If two guitars play a melodic line in harmony, you MUST say they are 'twin lead guitars'"). Four stars. I'm deducting one star because, at 224 illustrated pages, you can read the entire book in about forty-five minutes. And that includes the time it takes to read the really funny bits out loud to whoever is in earshot.
For someone who enjoys pirates and female empowerment, Seafire was a
fantastic book. Caledonia is the captain of an all-female crew who fight
back against Aric Athair, leader of the Bullets, who ruthlessly rules
the sea by kidnapping and brainwashing children into serving him. She
has to learn how to overcome her blanket distrust of all males in order
to rescue her brother from the Bullets and deal with the loss of people
she holds dear. This is the first book in the trilogy so it ends on a
cliffhanger, and there is a romance thrown in that I felt was a bit
rushed, but I would still give it 4.5/5 stars.
First
of all I need to say I didn’t watch Mr. Rogers when I was a child
because I had already aged out. As an adult, I saw bits and pieces of
the show when children I was taking care of would call me over to watch.
I soon found myself drawn into the imaginary world signaled by the
trolley and loved watching the visits to neighborhood businesses to see
how thing were made. Mr. Rogers’ calm personality, his measured
transitions from one activity to another entranced the children. I
checked out this biography intending just to look at the pictures and
learn a bit about how the show was created and Fred Rogers himself. To
my surprise and delight I found myself drawn into his personal story,
his educational background and values and how they came together to
create the iconic show. Even if you’ve never seen the show this book is
well worth reading as the portrait of a man, his values and his vision
of what children’s television could be. 
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