Book reviews of new and old, local, national and international books. Anything goes.
Lise Lunge-Larsen is an award-winning author and certified troll expert with the occasional dragonslayer accolades. Naturally, many of her children’s books are centered around Norse mythology. In Seven Ways to Trick a Troll, the author pulls from authentic troll stories from mythology and folklore to compile seven short stories teaching children how to prevent themselves…
The Magician’s Workshop, Volume Two announces the fate of our anxious young adults from the first book who were just about to find out who is ‘common’ and who has ‘color’. In this high fantasy for young adults (and old adults), people are faced with a determined destiny at a young age and provided labels that…
The Magician’s Workshop, Volume One is the first in a series of young adult fantasy from two authors: Christopher Hansen and J.R. Fehr. Mark Twain once said that there’s no such thing as a new idea and he was talking about the same stories being told over and over using a twist of the kaleidoscope…
Bubby’s Puddle Pond: A Tortuga’s Tale of the Desert is a an adorable book for all future veterinarians and zoologists. It showcases Bubby, a desert tortoise, who lives in a controlled habitat with a loving caretaker. Over the years, Bubby makes friends who play together in his puddle pond and who care greatly for one…
We Live in Water is a collection of short stories by Jess Walter. Though the stories are fictional, each of Walter’s characters feels very real. Characters whose traits you may see in yourself or people that you know. The stories are based in small towns, with everyday people trying to survive. Harper Perennial | February…
Assassination Vacation is a nonfiction discussion on three American presidents and their assassins as told by one with an obsession so great, she actually took a vacation to visit each and every landmark associated with the murders. Lincoln (R) in 1865, Garfield (R) in 1881, and McKinley (R) in 1901 are the three presidents she…
I Love a Book by Joe Rhatigan is a picture book for children that instills the love of reading and books in children. It is the quintessential type of book that bibliophiles (like me) want to read with their kids. MoonDance Press | November 1, 2017 | Illustrated by Olga & Aleksey Ivanov | Hardcover…
A Runtamuffin Tale is a children’s book that showcases a bucolic farm life and relationships between animals with an anthropomorphic flair. Semi-centered on a tiny hen called Runtamuffin (“Runti”), author Melissa Taylor based the story on the adventures of her real-life chickens on the farm. Melissa Taylor | 2017 | Hardcover | Illustrated by Marc…
Thunderstruck by Erik Larson is a work of non-fiction which takes the reader on a thrill ride through history. Larson combines the true stories of two men whose paths seemingly should have had no connection to one another. Each man’s tale highlights important events not only in their own lives but in society as well. Crown | October…
A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab is the third and final book in the Shades of Magic series, a trilogy of magical fantasy set in London – and Red London, and White London, and so on. The first set the stage for our two main characters from different Londons while the second focused on…