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: 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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Customer Review - Hope Was Here

Hope Was Here
by Joan Bauer [YA PB Bauer]

Hope. Remember the name. It's important to both the main character and to those whom she meets in the realistic novel Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer. This Newbery Honor book is about sixteen-year-old Hope, who seeks a permanent place to call home. It's also about the townsfolk Hope meets, whot need hope in the face of political corruption. Stories of parent desertion are not uncommon in the world of literature for young people. What sets Hope Was Here apart is the quirky details. For example, Hope is the new legal name chosen by the main character to replace her birth name of Tulip. Hope's mom had seen a movie in which an actress was running happily through a field of tulips. Hope Was Here also contains its own unique twists. For example, after bestowing her daughter with the questionable name of Tulip, Hope's mom made an even more serious choice. She leaves Hope with her older sister, Addie, and then takes off to find her own life. Addie's presence, therefore, provides Hope with a mother figure, something not always seen in the typical parent desertion fare. Political corruption might not seem like an exciting topic. Bauer makes it work because of sympathetic and pivotal characters whom Bauer puts in the campaign arena. Addie has dragged Hope from state-to-state all of her life, seeking stable employment. Now, as Hope turns sixteen, they're headed to a rural diner in Wisconsin where they discover their boss, G.T., is looking for new workers because he's dying of cancer. This medical diagnosis has given G.T. a different perspective on life, including the desire to change his town, which he plans to do by running for mayor. Joan Bauer tends to write about characters who are down on their luck but who serve as positive role models. For example, Hope deliberately chose her name knowing that others would turn to her for a smile and comfort. And she managed to live up to her name even in the face of being deserted and facing job loss. Hope Was Here is a fast-paced and fun story. -- 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 - Under the Mesquite

Under the Mesquite
by Guadalupe Garcia McCall [YA McCall]

An expression that comes to mind about Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall is that "the whole is greater than the sum of all its parts". The main storylines to this verse novel are the immigration of a Mexican family to America and the death of a parent. Thematically, the story is also about family, friendship, and identity. All of these parts interconnect to make an emotional experience that will have long-lasting impact. The immigration experience forms one storyline to Under the Mesquite. However, this verse novel is not about the difficulties which can happen to immigrants in crossing the border or when trying to avoid deportation. Instead, Under the Mesquite is about an altogether different struggle: one which I call dual homesickness. Basically, when she's on the American side Lupita misses her former life in Mexico, but when she's on the Mexican side she eventually finds herself longing for her new home in Texas. Because Lupita looks different and has an accent, naturally she also faces discrimination. And yet to my surprise, its Lupita's Mexican friends who harass her the most, accusing her of talking "like you wanna be white". Because of these different takes on immigration, I found Under the Mesquite to have a fresh approach. The death of a parent forms a second storyline to Under the Mesquite. When Lupita enters her freshman year in high school, her mom is diagnosed with cancer. Despite the rallying times when it felt as if her mom would recover and life would return to normal, Lupita and her sisters receive the dreaded middle-of-the-night call. It's often said that there are no new stories. You could view Under the Mesquite in this way, for death of a parent isn't a new tale. But how McCall develops the relationship between Lupita and her mom, down to the symbolism of the mesquite tree, is original, and therefore makes for a memorable read. A story told through verse has a strong chance of turning ones off who are not accustomed to the format. However, I love the emotional punch McCall creates with her intense visuals. I also appreciate that the poetic form allows her to provide the perfect emotional distance from one of the most painful experiences anyone can face. Which means Under the Mesquite has further sold me on the merits of verse novels. -- 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 - Moon Over Manifest

Moon Over Manifest
by Clare Vanderpool [YA Vanderpool]

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool is not the type of book one should fit into a busy schedule. It isn't an easy read, but should have a select audience. The first reason that Moon Over Manifest makes for a difficult read is the huge cast of characters. In fact, before you even get to the title page, you're going to encounter a character list. This alone should serve as warning that this is a different type of book. If that's not bad enough, you'll notice most of these characters aren't twelve-year-olds like Abilene but instead are adults. At times, I felt not only overwhelmed but bored. The second reason that Moon Over Manifest makes for a difficult read is the multiple subplots. Soon after the storyteller Miss Sadie is introduced, the typeface temporarily changes to signal the start of a second story. This story is about Jinx, whose father set him up him to take the blame for the murder of a man. Actually, there's yet another font change, because there's a third story about Ned, who sets off to war because of Jinx but ends up getting killed in battle. With all these stories going on, it might come as no surprise that Moon Over Manifest is over 300 pages long. At times, reading Moon Over Manifest felt akin to scaling a mountain of infinite height. If you can get to the heart of its story, Moon Over Manifest has a lot to offer. I enjoyed the adventures of Jinx, the boy who felt as if he cursed everyone he touched. The adult side of me at least also gained an appreciation for how townsfolk overcame their fears and differences to stand up against corruption. However, Moon Over Manifest is like a stew, which needs time to simmer in your thoughts. Young people who enjoy classics might enjoy plummeting into its depths. Beyond that, Vanderpool will probably find her biggest appeal among mature readers. -- 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 - Seeing Red

Seeing Red
by Kathryn Erskine [YA Erskine]

Seeing Red by Kathryn Erskine is deserving of multiple literary awards. It's that good. First, Seeing Red is about relationships, ones between families and ones with neighbors. Red's dad has just died. Erskine has effectively explored reactions to death in her previous novels. Having even myself grieved in different ways, I appreciated that in Seeing Red each family member is handling grief in their own way and learning to respect their differences. Because Red's dad ran a business, the family also has a lot of dealings with neighbors. Some are good, some are not so good. Of the novels I've read by Erskine, Seeing Red has the most complex range of characters. Seeing Red is also about bullies and racism. Bullies come in different forms. As a teacher, I have read and watched enough about bullying to know there aren't any simple answers. Erskine recognizes this, while also making clear that the solution lies within each of us. As for racism, I also respected Erskine's exploration of it. When Red tried to walk away from a gang, and they threatened him, he backed down. He agreed to hit the schoolmate. And immediately regretted it. But also had to live with it, because that schoolmate had been a friend. Later, when Red started to dig through his dad's desk in preparation to move, he discovered a land claim that led to his realization that one of his ancestors had murdered a black person. He didn't want to acknowledge this fact. Yet to deny it would mean being dishonest in his history report to his teacher. And losing an opportunity to right a sin from the past. In earlier novels by Erskine, I've criticized her almost too perfect endings. In Seeing Red, yes, there are some wonderful changes. We expect this both in novels and in life. But reality also remains wholly present. Last, Seeing Red is about history and bringing about change. Red thinks history is stupid. Why care about something that's in the past and unchangeable? But everyone has the ability to make a difference, if only they would try. And history isn't just something to read about. We can make history daily with our actions. Interviews with Erskine often bring out her strong belief that change is something that young people can invoke. Seeing Red is a remarkable example of how hard it can be, but also how important it is, to make a difference. I can't stress enough how realistic yet hopeful this book is. There is so much depth to Seeing Red. It also has the positive of being told from the viewpoint of a male protagonist, still a rare find and feat in literature for young people. Read it today. And expect to hear news of awards in the upcoming months. -- 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 - Story of a Girl

Story of a Girl
by Sara Zarr [j Zarr or jPB Zarr]

Winner of the 2007 National Book Award, Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr is the sympathetic story of a teenage girl caught having sex in the back of a car by her father. Deanna longs to escape a life defined by that one mistake. Her former friends refuse to associate with her. Most boys now view her as a sex object; waiting in line for Chinese take-out, an older boy puts his hands between her legs from behind. What is perhaps most heart-breaking is that Deanna's dad hasn't talked to her or looked at her since that night. As I reread Story of a Girl, I tried to figure out why Sara Zarr is one of my favorite authors. An obvious answer is that Zarr creates interesting stories populated with realistic characters. I appreciated how Zarr dangled a hope in front of readers that Deanna could escape her life by renting an apartment with Darren and Stacey. It's a realistic goal, and potentially life-changing. I also appreciated how well Zarr understands relationships. One of my favorite scenes is between Deanna and her brother. Darren is trying to figure out why Stacey left. Deanna suggests perhaps it's because he didn't have the right reaction to Stacey's dyed hair. When he pushes for an explanation, Deanna says that with Stacey's new hair style, she could have become anyone. A less obvious answer to the question of why Zarr is one of my favorite authors is that she writes about faith in her books. Zarr never preaches, and none of her stories are salvation ones, but her positive view of God shines through. Compared to many other young adult books, Story of a Girl is shorter in length and quieter in tone. In some ways, therefore, it's less suspenseful. And yet perhaps it's that very essence, its everyday realism, that makes it resonate so strongly. -- 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 - Freeze Frame

Freeze Frame
by Heidi Araybe [YA Ayarbe]

Impressive. This is the adjective that keeps popping into my mind when thinking about how to describe Freeze Frame by Heidi Ayarbe.Freeze Frame is about a teenage boy who kills his best friend with a gun. It's disturbing that Freeze Frame is about a tragedy caused by the main character. Furthermore, for the bulk of the book we don't even know if the death was intentional. Yet we still have to care for Kyle because we're constantly in his head. That Ayarbe is able to pull off such a novel is impressive. That isn't all. For example, how did Ayarbe write over one hundred pages about just one week in Kyle's life? Even if those chapters centered around the aftermath of the shooting — which includes Kyle's arrest, trial, and initial meetings with his probation officer — it still blew me away how masterfully Ayarbe stretched such a short timeframe into so many pages. Just as amazingly, once Kyle returns to school and tries to settle back into routine, how does Ayarbe keep up the momentum? Consider that Kyle frequently escapes to his friend's grave, thinks about ways to die, and relives that fateful day at the shed. Freeze Frame could have easily become a depressing and wallowing mess. Instead, Ayarbe introduces school bullies, an adult mentor in the form of a librarian, and Kyle's new goal of becoming a protector of his best friend's younger brother. Ah-ha, but here again Freeze Frame could have become another movie-of-the-week, wrought with heavy-handedness over its topic of teen violence. But it never did. In fact, even though Kyle's mind regularly revisits the shooting, Freeze Frame felt to be just as much about family, fitting in, books, movies, moving forward, choices, and a thousand other things. Eventually Kyle also starts talking to a school outcast who likes to take photos of everyday sights, believing each one has a story. Finally, how did Ayarbe write about such a disturbing topic and yet manage to so intensely pull the reader into Kyle's world? Whenever anything interrupted me during my reading of Freeze Frame, I felt a jolt — as if Kyle's reality had become mine own. Even when the truth of that tragic day is finally revealed, I had no compulsion to shut the book. Because Freeze Frame is about more than that single life-changing moment. It's also about the life that follows. Freeze Frame is a stellar novel about the mental anguish one can face during tragedy. Ayarbe never hurries her story, but at the same time she keeps the pace quick, making for an addicting read. As such, she is a novelist to be watched. -- 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 - After

After
by Amy Efaw [j Efaw or YA PB Efaw]

After by Amy Efaw is a disturbing story which deals with the phenomenon of "dumpster babies". It has the feel of an uneven musical composition. Sometimes the style turned me off. Other times, the character portrayal felt wrong. And, once in a while, the plot felt overloaded. Yet within the bulk of its pages is a story that I enjoyed. I'll get back to the parts I enjoyed later, but first let me address the style. The first several chapters with their rapid-fire sentences felt like the incessant tap-tap-tap of a staccato beat. Interspersed within those chapters were occasional scenes of frenzy, as if the composer were stumbling over notes in a panicked attempt to find the right rhythm. However, just when I felt ready to walk away, the melody evened out. From that moment forward, despite the occasional wrong note, the composition was pleasant. Efaw picked a challenging character in Devon Davenport. On the one hand, Devon is a teenage girl who vowed to never become her mom. She intended to first attend college and to establish a career. Then and only then would she allow herself to date, get married, have sex, and become a mom. But then Devon has a vulnerable moment. Allows herself to fall in love. And have sex. On the other hand, Devon is a young woman who denies even to herself that she has gotten pregnant and has given birth to a baby, and so she dumps her child. No matter how one frames it, Devon will be a tough character to understand. When Devon finally started showing herself as vulnerable, After became extremely moving and Efaw gave me many reasons to feel sympathy. She works hard to become a model prisoner. She builds new relationships. And she begins to search her soul for the truth of who she really is and wants to be. For these reasons, I ended up liking After. -- 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 - Kit's Wilderness

Kit's Wilderness
by David Almond [j Almond]

It's been a long time since I have read a book as unique in plot and style as Kit's Wilderness by David Almond. The story is set in an old mining town, where many stories abound about those who were trapped during cave-ins and other disasters. The theme revolves around memories, those which Kit is told by his grandfather, and those which help Kit's grandfather hold onto the present in his old age. Kit's Wilderness is a beautifully-woven tale which deservedly won the Michael Printz award for literary excellence. Kit's Wilderness is hard to classify, beyond calling it realistic fiction. Kit and his family have recently moved to the neighborhood to care for Kit's grandfather. Kit is troubled only in the sense that many of us are, in that he's haunted by the changes happening to someone he loves. Kit and his grandfather share a bond through stories. His grandfather tells him ones of the old mining town and Kit then writes them down and shares them at school. Through these stories, Kit earns admiration from both his teachers and his peers. One of those is Askew, who invites him to play his game of Death because the two can see into the spiritual world. When taking his turn in the abandoned den, Kit begins to see faces of those from the olden days. Another of these is Allie, who calls herself a bad kid but it's really more of a role than reality, as she reveals in her explanation about why she likes the theater: "Who's Allie Keenan? This almost-nice one or this truly bad one? It's like magic. I don't have to be me." Almond connects the mystical element to the theme of memories, because eventually Kit's grandfather must learn to sort through his past and his present (and figure out which is which) to stay grounded in reality. As part of this process, Kit's grandfather also has his own glimpses of the dead. In an interview with Teaching Books, Almond admits that when writing Kit's Wilderness he felt perhaps it was a bit too dark to write and maybe a bit too difficult for young readers. Indeed, death is an intense subject, but Almond masterfully handles it with many overlapping subplots involving Kit, Askew, and Kit's grandfather. Almond's reflective style hails back to the old classics, which means the writing may require a greater time commitment from readers. I am certain a reread of Kit's Wilderness is in my future, as I suspect it will feel richer each time it's read. -- 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 - Harmless

Harmless
by Dana Reinhardt [YA Reinhardt]

Harmless by Dana Reinhardt is about three adolescent girls who try to avoid being caught in a lie by telling a bigger one. The difference in the two lies is that being caught in the first would have only resulted in their own suffering, while the success of the second brought suffering mostly to an innocent vagrant, but also to the girls' families, school, and even their community. As a result of the second lie, the girls are forced to face questions not only about who they want to be but also about the fuzzy lines that exist between right and wrong. Harmless is a somewhat slow-moving story that raises disturbing issues. The latter is what I most appreciate about Harmless. While certainly being caught at a guy's party would have resulted in unpleasant consequences, the act itself is not uncommon for teens and could have been easily forgiven. Saying instead that they were attacked at the riverfront, the girls' lie has a much greater impact. For starters, the police are called. While the three girls expected this to happen, none of them are prepared for being cast in the role of heroes. In becoming heroes, the girls are bombarded with questions — questions that might have been tolerable if they had really been attacked. Or if the police had allowed the case to grow cold. Or if no one had been charged with the crime. On top of all of these mounting repercussions there's the issue of why Emma isn't happy with the attention, which is because something bad really did happen to her when the girls were sneaking off to parties. Yes, there's a lot going on in a book of only two-hundred pages, but Reinhardt masterfully weaves the subplots together to make a suspenseful and cohesive story. Before getting caught up in their web of lies, Anna and Emma were just your average smart, quiet, and obedient girls. Their parents never had reason to question them, nor did their teachers. And their classmates never took much notice of them. What I found interesting is how this changes after the lie. Just as intriguing is the reaction of the three girls when faced with the choice of telling the truth or allowing an innocent vagrant to be jailed for a crime that never happened. Although I guessed Emma's secret early in the story, Reinhardt did surprise me somewhat with how her confession plays out. And through it, she explores those fuzzy lines between right and wrong. The story only gains momentum when the lying begins, the story is perhaps too focused on that pivotal point. What this means is that I suspect I would not have any problem in reading it again in a few years. But the book is certainly worth reading once. It borders on being creepy, which is a compliment. Harmless will also stimulate much thought, because of the questions it raises about the lines between good and bad. -- 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 - Hate List

Hate List
by Jennifer Brown [YA PB Brown]

With school shootings occurring on a regular basis these days, Hate List by Jennifer Brown is timely. Because it is told from the viewpoint of the shooter's girlfriend, it's also daring. Winner of many awards, Hate List works on some levels and doesn't work on others, but overall it's an interesting and thought-provoking read.

What works well is Brown's exploration of the question of what makes a person bad or good, which she does not only through her main character, Valerie, but also through the shooter, his friends, and the bullies whose names were on the hate list. Let's start with Valerie. On one hand, Valerie's list helped set in motion the plan to kill half the population of her school. On the other hand, when she realized what was happening, she tried to stop the slaughter and got shot while trying to save another student's life. Is she a villain or a hero? And what about Nick, the shooter? On one hand, he was the one who took the hate list too far by opening fire on fellow teachers and friends, including some who weren't on the list but were simply protecting those who were. On the other hand, bullies made Nick's life both in and out of school a constant hell. Is Nick a bad kid destined for trouble? These are questions that Hate List raises and no doubt everyone will have their own answer, which is what makes a novel like Hate List so valuable.

In interviews, Brown indicates that for her, Hate List was never about a school shooting, but instead was about how Valerie (and everyone else) faced life in the wake of that tragic day. What worked less well for me is the portrayal of Valerie. On a large scale, while I understand that Valerie faced dilemmas of her own that arose from the tragedy, her struggle with guilt seemed to overshadow any kind of remorse for the victims of Nick's rampage. Her regular expressions of love for Nick also seemed inappropriate. Yet perhaps this isn't a fair judgment. Feelings aren't purely ones of hate and love, any more than people are completely good or bad. On a lesser scale, I don't even know why Brown brought up the psychiatric ward, because Valerie gained nothing from her time there, and that part of the story felt lacking in research.

Hate List isn't the first novel about a school shooting, and undoubtedly it won't be the last. But it's a good place for those interested in the subject to start. -- 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 - Everfound

Everfound
by Neil Shusterman [j Shusterman/YA Shusterman]

As I finished each book in The Skinjacker Trilogy, my husband would ask me, "Are you planning to buy the set?" To that question, I always responded, "I won't know until I read the third book." He suggested it shouldn't matter given that I liked the first two, but far too many trilogies have let me down with their concluding volume. Thankfully, Everfound did not. As often happens with the final book, Everfound is the darkest and most complicated in the set. Nick and Mary are both building armies to destroy one another. Allie has not only discovered the ability to skinjack (hijack a body of a living person), but also what that means and how to use it to help or destroy the living. Having been stripped of his monstrous shape by Mary, Mikey McGill falls in love with her and is quickly rejected, which awakens a new power within him. He can use this power for good or for bad — and it's anyone guess which he will do. There are also new characters introduced, such as a scar wraith who can permanently extinguish the souls in Everlost. And then there are familiar character who take on larger roles, such as Jackin' Jill, who used to be a love interest of Milos, who himself took a fancy to Allie until she rejected him. Oh, and by the way, the reason Nick wants to destroy Mary is because she wants to destroy our living world. Did I mention that Everfound is dark and complicated? Indeed, sometimes it felt a little too much like our own world, whereas I read fantasies to escape into a fanciful and imaginative place. Over all, though, I still feel Shusterman has successfully created a well-written and memorable trilogy. -- 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 - Everwild

Everwild
by Neil Shusterman [j Shusterman/YA Shusterman]

The front inside flap of Everwild reveals that the limbo world is now at war, accounts of which are certainly engrossing. But there are other aspects of the second book in Shusteman's series that captivated my heart. For example, because in Everlost "all things that have earned immortality remain forever in glory", Shusterman puts himself in the enviable position of being able to offer recognition to real tragedies. Perhaps the most notable instance is that of the twin towers, whch are held forever in Everlost "by the memories of a mourning world, and by the dignity of the souls" who died that day. I'm struck by the number of historical events to which Shusterman pays homage. The most prevalent is that of the Hindenhurg, a German passenger airship that infamously exploded on May 6, 1937, while attempting to dock in New Jersey. Another is that of the space shuttle Challenger, about which Shusterman writes, "Ask anyone who was alive at the time, and they will still remember where they were the moment that the shuttle Challenger blew up just thirty-three seconds after lifting off from Cape Canaveral". (Indeed I do. On that dreadful day, I stood in the student union at Judson College, unopened mail forgotten in my hand as I stared aghast at the horrifying television images.) Other tributes are less tragic. The Grand Ole Opry, a weekly country music concert in Nashville that made country music famous, takes center stage in a few chapters. One of the quirks of the Everlost world is that its inhabitants soon start to forget who they are. The first memory to go is of one's name. Most other memories are eventually lost too, which may or may not be so bad except that one becomes whatever memory survives. When Nick wages war against Mary Hightower, his strongest memory is of the chocolate bar which he'd smeared on his face just before the accident, and soon it becomes his dominant memory and thereby endangers his very existence. As it turns out, it's hard to stay alive when one is slowly melting into a pool of chocolate! When another character, Mickey, finds himself sinking into the ground, his anger is what allows him to be successful where others fail. Unfortunately, his anger is what also causes him to develop claws and other monstrous features, until his very nature is corrupted and twisted. While no one can be killed (again) in Everlost, feel pain, or even get injured, one can be tied up, imprisoned, and made to endure other tortures from monsters such as The McGill. -- 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 - Everlost

Everlost
by Neil Shusterman [j Shusterman/YA Shusterman]

The front inside flap of Everlost describes it as an imaginative novel that explores questions of life, death, and what might lie in between. As such, and especially because this is a book by Neal Shusterman, who likes to pose grand questions, I read Everlost with the afterlife on my mind. Meet Nick and Allie, whose families' cars crash head-on one fateful day, sending our hero and heroine hurtling down a tunnel towards a light. But instead of reaching that light, Nick and Allie bump into one another and awake in a forest clearing. Soon, Nick and Allie are introduced to the concept of inter-life, or that space between life and death. It isn't purgatory or Nirvana, but is rather a completely new kind of limbo. As the tale continues to unravel, we learn that God hears prayers in Everlost and that there are also evil spirits. While Shusterman doesn't, as I initially expected him to, pose questions about the specifics of heaven or hell or various recognized states of limbo, he does explore the BIG question about what happens after we die. -- 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 - Queenie Peavy

Queenie Peavy
by Robert Burch [j Burch]

When we first meet Queenie Peavy, we learn that she's the only girl in Cotton Junction who could chew and spit tobacco. That however isn't what lands Queenie in the principal's office in the first chapter. Rather, her action of throwing rocks at the boiler room door does. If you expect Queenie to feel fear or remorse at being in trouble, she acts just the opposite. She boasts of her deadly aim. And when Mr. Handley recites a long list of misdemeanors, Queenie simply informs him that he's left out a few. Until she's told that the judge wants to see her, nothing fazes Queenie. Yet deep inside exists another side to Queenie, one that is sorry that Queenie told the principal that she didn't care what happened to her. The problem is that Queenie has said "I don't care" for so long that now sometimes she actually believed it. We soon learn other harsh realities about Queenie, such as that she doesn't seem to feel bad for throwing rocks at kids who tease her or killing a squirrel for food. Life might have continued like this for Queenie if not for two incidents. One happens when she hurts a student in an act of revenge. The other happens when she's accused of breaking the window in the church bell tower. Both of these land her one step closer to jail or towards following in her other's footsteps, which Queenie initially thinks just might be fine by her. Except then her dad is released from jail, allowing Queenie to see an unexpected side to her dad. Then Queenie faces choices about who she will become. In Queenie Peavy, Robert Burch has created a troublemaker whom we grow to love despite Queenie's penchant for making bad choices. -- review submitted by Allison H.-F. - a customer of the Bennett Martin Public Library

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

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.