Customer Review: To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a story about Scout, a young girl in Maycomb, Alabama. Her father, a lawyer, tells his children, “Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird,” as he defends a black man charged with assaulting a white girl. As Scout and her brother, Jem, explore the adult world as life goes on, learning and growing up at the same time, Harper Lee gives us a book that is, above all, a satisfying tale of human courage.

reviewed by Mina L.
customer of the Walt Branch Library
November 28, 2018

[Library Note: In addition to winning the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1961, To Kill a Mockingbird was the winner in the national Great American Read literary popularity poll conducted by PBS during the Summer/Fall of 2018, as "America's Favorite Book".]

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New Customer Reviews appear whenever we receive submissions on the Customer Reviews page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually shortly after they appear on our site.

Customer Review: The Book of Joe by Vincent Price

The Book of Joe
by Vincent Price [electronic formats only]
 
For dog lovers, The Book of Joe is quirky little book with lots of personality. It’s written by Vincent Price of Hollywood fame who starred as a villain in dozens of macabre horror films. Far from being scary, however, The Book of Joe is a light-hearted and humorous account of Price’s life with pets. Not all is perfect about this unusual and touching book with a dog death, frequent digressions, and mature content. Yet it makes a quick and entertaining read for older pet lovers.

reviewed by Allison H.-F.
customer of the Bennett Martin Public Library
May 20, 2017

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New Customer Reviews appear whenever we receive submissions on the Customer Reviews page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually shortly after they appear on our site.

Customer Review: Extraordinary by Miriam Spitzer Franklin

Extraordinary
by Miriam Spitzer Franklin [ebook format only]

 

A delightful debut novel about friendship! The main character of Pansy, who is quiet and fearful but also exuberant and determined, won my affection. I also admire the author for creating a sweet but realistic story about disabilities. Just as what lies at the end of Pansy’s year isn’t exactly what she had expected, so I too was surprised at plot twists in Extra Ordinary, and both are good things. Despite minor flaws, the book reminds me of why I’m such a fan of children’s literature!.

reviewed by Allison H.-F.
customer of the Bennett Martin Public Library
May 20, 2017

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New Customer Reviews appear whenever we receive submissions on the Customer Reviews page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually shortly after they appear on our site.

Customer Review: Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal

Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?
by Frans de Waal [591.513 Waa]

 

While the content proved heavy reading for an unscientific person like myself, Waal did give me renewed respect for animals. It also inspired several conversations between my husband and me: What might happen if society were to view animals as smart as humans, but just in different ways. Would we casually destroy the homes of wild animals? Would we inhumanely treat farm animals? Would we easily view domesticated animals as disposable? The implications are endless, making this an important read.

reviewed by Allison H.-F.
customer of the Bennett Martin Public Library
May 20, 2017

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New Customer Reviews appear whenever we receive submissions on the Customer Reviews page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually shortly after they appear on our site.

Customer Review: The Distance Between us by Reyna Grande

The Distance Between Us
by Reyna Grande [downloadable audio format only]
 
This memoir weaves the universal story of a family’s resolve to reach their goal against all odds. By the same token, her memoir raises the question of how much should one be willing to sacrifice to obtain the impossible dream? Her memoir also makes clear how arduous the road to a better life can be, while at times also offering hope and inspiration. Her memoir tells a story as much about poverty as it does immigration, and should serve as encouragement to press on when life gets tough.

reviewed by Allison H.-F.
customer of the Bennett Martin Public Library
May 20, 2017

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New Customer Reviews appear whenever we receive submissions on the Customer Reviews page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually shortly after they appear on our site.

Customer Review - Shift

Shift
by Jennifer Bradbury [j Bradbury]

Shift is a excellent quick read. It is under 300 pages so it is fast and makes for a great story. The characters show a deep friendship that must be changed in order to grow and it makes you reflect on your own life. The humor and truth to the story is compelling and keeps you hooked because of the mysteries that lie within. Recently making the transition to college from high school my self, I can relate on many levels and it very accurately portrays many of the struggles that comes with moving on and keeping your existing friends. The greatest strength of this book is it doesn't waste any time getting into the story. You're moving as soon as you hit page 2. I highly recommend this title to anyone looking to not get into a new series and have a quick read, especially for young adults getting ready, making, or have recently made the transition to college. -- review submitted by Alex A. - a customer of the Gere Branch Library

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New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site, particularly during the Summer Reading Program. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.

Customer Review - Proof Positive

Proof Positive
by Archer Mayor [Mayor]

Proof Positive is the latest in the Joe Gunther series. This series is about a small elite unit of the VBI (Vermont Bureau of Investigation)that handles special cases. The characters are well developed and seem very real. They have good relationships with each other and are dedicated police officers. I have read the complete series and have enjoyed seeing the development and growth of the characters. This story is about the death of a Viet Nam war veteran that seems to be suspicious. Joe becomes involved because his new love interest (the State's medical examiner) is the cousin of the deceased and she asks him to look into it. The war turns out to be an important part of the story and reminds us of the effect war can have on veterans for their entire lives. The only part I didn't like was that the ending didn't resolve everything for me but left it open to my own imagination. Perhaps a future book will complete the story. -- review submitted by Pat K. - a customer of the Anderson and Bethany Branch libraries.

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New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site, particularly during the Summer Reading Program. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.

Customer Review: Our Man in Havana

Our Man in Havana: An Entertainment
by Graham Greene [Greene]

This a wonderful book for a lazy summer day. In order to earn more money, a vacuum cleaner salesman in pre-Castro Cuba starts reporting to MI-6 non-existant military bases and fictional agents. The powers-that-be have their doubts. Mr. Wormold, after having created the deception, finds selling vacuum cleaners the least of his worries when his fiction becomes reality and imaginary people start to die. The narrative of the story appears to spring from the Cold War, yet the humor mimicks "Who's on first". The humor is quick and simple. As simple as the humor may be, though, the reader needs to keep their eye open to sudden and abrupt developments that form. This novel is fantastic if all you are looking for is a quick and enjoyable read with a bit of mystery to spice the mixture. -- review submitted by Brandon R. - a customer of the Anderson and Bethany Branch Libraries

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New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site, particularly during the Summer Reading Program. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.

Customer Review: Games Creatures Play

Games Creatures Play
edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. Kelner [813.08 Har]

A fun collection of supernatural story telling! The stories follow the same thread in that they all revolve around games. The variety of play makes them all stand out on their own. A few authors that I?ve read before and really enjoyed in this book were Charlaine Harris, Scott Sigler and Laura Lippman. Harris brings Sookie Stackhouse into this short story not as the main character, but with a supporting role that helps create a really cool story. Sigler's "The Case of the Haunted Safeway" was a great piece of storytelling where the characters were made alive, even though some of them were ghosts. My favorite story of the bunch was "Jammed" by Seanan McGuire, which creatively combined roller derby and a chimera. The last tale of the bunch was also a favorite, "Bell, Book, and Candlepin" by Toni L. P. Kelner, which mixed together a werewolf, witch, and bowling alley. Overall, an engaging group of stories. -- review submitted by Liz H. - a customer of the Gere Branch Library

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New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site, particularly during the Summer Reading Program. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.

Customer Review: The Skin Collector

The Skin Collector
by Jeffrey Deaver [Deaver]

Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are on the case of a tattoo artist killing citizens in New York. Lots of interesting information about the tattoo culture as well as a great mystery. If you think you have solved the case, keep reading! Nothing fully revealed until the end. -- review submitted by Mary D. - a customer of the South Branch Library

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New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site, particularly during the Summer Reading Program. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.

Customer Review: The Secret Servant

The Secret Servant
by Daniel Silva [Silva]

Gabriel Allon comes to Great Britain to stop a terrorist plot. He fails and Elizabeth Halton, daughter of the ambassador is kidnapped. The search keeps you reading with lots of twist and turns. Violent. Those who have been following Gabriel and Mikel won't be disappointed with this story. Great summer read. -- review submitted by Mary D. - a customer of the South Branch Library

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New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site, particularly during the Summer Reading Program. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.

Customer Review: Chasing the Dime

Chasing the Dime
by Michael Connelly [Connelly]

Henry Pierce receives many messages on his brand new phone, leading him on a chase for a missing girl. Realistic, if you've ever had a new phone number. Interesting twists and turns and a good ending.
-- review submitted by Mary D. - a customer of the South Branch Library

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New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site, particularly during the Summer Reading Program. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.

Customer Review: Water Balloon

Water Balloon
by Audrey Vernick [j Vernick]

Some novels are so powerful in their style that one must cleanse their reading palette before tackling the next book. This is the case with Water Balloon. Marley is an observant seventh-grader. When Marley surprises her friends with a balloon blitz during a Monopoly game, she takes pleasure in her friends having no idea how they could be sitting outside playing a game on a hot spring day and the next moment being bombed with water and balloons. Marley is also a self-aware teen. When her mom drops her off to stay with her dad for the summer, Marley is poignantly aware that all she really wants to do is wrap herself around her mom and not let go. Even when Marley is confused, I love how carefully she tries to sort through those emotions. Some novels are also so dramatic in their events that it's hard returning to reality after closing the last page. This is not the case with Water Balloon, but that's a reason why I like it. I never lose touch with the heart of Water Balloon. Everything in Water Balloon is about how complicated relationships are. The relationships almost always remain real to me, because of how normal the interactions are. Nothing really extraordinary happens to help Marley to realize that she needs to open up her life to new traditions and friends, but that again goes back to how real her life feels, and why Water Balloon is a quiet gem. There were a couple of problems. When Marley finds herself deserted, Marley compares herself to a loner at school. Maybe readers are supposed to feel sympathy for the solitary, but the comparison bothered me because of how Marley always negatively viewed the girl. As the summer progresses, Marley encounters the boy next door. Yes, they do have one quarrel, but otherwise he reads like every girl's dream date. In reality, relationships with guys are just as complicated as those with girls. Those quibbles aside, I found Water Balloon as a beautiful, calming novel. Marley is someone I'd love to meet in real life. And Water Balloon is the type of quiet fiction that leaves me clamoring for more of its kind. -- review submitted by Allison H.-F. - a customer of the Bennett Martin Public Library

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New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site, particularly during the Summer Reading Program. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.

Customer Review: How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy

How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy
by Crystal Allen [j Allen]

Thirteen-year-old Lamar is the maddest, baddest, most spectacular bowler at Striker's Bowling Paradise. Or so Lamar describes himself. The problem is that bowling isn't what counts with Lamar's friends, his family, or even his town of Coffin. Lamar sets out to improve his life. For starters, he tries again with the girls, this time with a soccer goddess. When Makeda reminds Lamar that he used to know her and prank her, he doesn't walk away but instead gallantly apologizes. So far, so good. Lamar also tries to become the "most athletic, smoothest, baddest dude" in Coffin and gets some unexpected help. Courtesy of the best bowler in the world, Bubba Saunders, Striker's Bowling Paradise hosts a contest with the grand prize of Pro Thunder Bowling Gear. At the same time, Lamar meets Billy Jenks, who invites Lamar to team up with him to earn money through bowling. One of these choices is worse than the other. What makes How Lamar's Bad Prank Won A Bubba-Sized Trophy to shine as a mad, bad, spectacular example of fiction is how Allen handles the aftermath of Lamar's ultimate bad choice. First, while both his dad and the town impose some pretty serious consequences, they aren't so punitive that Lamar has no ability to recover. Second, Lamar has opportunity to show his true colors, when faced with other negative consequences of his actions. Third, through the intertwining of other story lines, Allen shows the complexity of how bad choices are made. She also succeeds in pointing out that everyone makes mistakes. While some may be worse than others, nonetheless we all have our errors in judgment to overcome and choices to make about how we want to live. Allen has written a page-turning novel about bowling and about relationships. In a light-hearted way, she has also introduced romance. How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy will be a humorous and heart-warming addition to any middle grade fiction collection. -- review submitted by Allison H.-F. - a customer of the Bennett Martin Public Library

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New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site, particularly during the Summer Reading Program. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.

Customer Review: Fangirl

Fangirl
by Rainbow Rowell [YA Rowell]

I enjoyed this book. At first I couldn't figure out what the point of it was, but I started to enjoy it in the middle. I don't think that it lived up to what was described on the blurb, but it was still enjoyable. I expected an accurate depiction of fandom and its trials and tribulations,and ended up with a romance. I think that Rowell needs to step away from misfit romance. It has a beautiful cover. A good book. -- review submitted by Esme K. - a customer of the Gere Branch Library

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New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site, particularly during the Summer Reading Program. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.

Customer Review: Out of My Mind

Out of My Mind
by Sharon Draper [j Draper]

This book is an amazing story as you get to know the main character who struggles with talking, walking, and eating. Even though she has many set back, she always knows how to deal with them. As she takes her journey, she meets people who are nice and friendly to her, and people who are just out to get her. This amazing read will leave you at the edge of your seat, reading twists after twists. -- review submitted by Maggie C. - a customer of the Gere Branch Library

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New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site, particularly during the Summer Reading Program. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.

Customer Review: The Colossus Rises

The Colossus Rises
by Peter Lerangis [j Lerangis]

What do the seven wonders of the ancient world, the lost city of Atlantis, and a basketball jock have in common? They're all found in Peter Lerangis's book The Colossus Rises. The first book in a new series, it is full of fantasy, magic, and wild humor. The adventure starts on the first page and doesn't let up until the end. Overall a great story. -- review submitted by Amanda R. - a customer of the Gere Branch Library

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New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site, particularly during the Summer Reading Program. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.

Customer Review: Wonder

Wonder
by R.J. Palacio [j Palacio]

This book is a touching story that never leaves you guessing to what is going to happen next. You see how August deals with his life and takes his problems by the horns. At first, you feel very sorry him, then you realize that he loves his life no matter how difficult it is. Although it takes an effort, Auggie always gets through the toughest of times and knows how to deal with everything that comes his way. -- review submitted by Maggie C. - a customer of the Gere Branch Library

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New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site, particularly during the Summer Reading Program. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.

Customer Review: The Wanderer

The Wanderer
by Sharon Creech [j Creech]

This book is one of Creech's best works. The story takes place in the perspective of all the main characters. This story takes place out in the open ocean, with all the adventure anyone could possible want. there is pure family love and trial, tests of trust, and mystery. I recommend this book to anyone who has the spirit to do anything they want, even against the people who criticize their very hopes and dreams. -- review submitted by Felicity N. - a customer of the Gere Branch Library

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New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site, particularly during the Summer Reading Program. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.

Customer Review: Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park
by Michael Crichton [Crichton]

I thought this book was amazing because the story just kept on going and there was no part in this book where it was boring. The characters feel so real to the reader, you don't ever want to forget them. The dinosaurs themselves are so terrifying, you feel like they've been brought back from the dead. Once you close that book, you feel like your putting the dinosaurs back into ancient time. I recommend this book to anyone who has a love and appreciation for science and adventure. -- review submitted by Felicity N. - a customer of the Gere Branch Library

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New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site, particularly during the Summer Reading Program. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.