Unique Critiques
|
|
|
|
|
At BCPL Newsletters | Book Lists | Book Lovers' Corner | Collections | Hot Titles | Unique Critiques |
||
|
Unique Critiques: Staff Reviews for 2012
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012
|
||
 |
By Laura Wilson
In war-torn London in 1940, the apparent suicide of a former silent screen star raises disturbing questions in the mind of Inspector Ted Stratton. Going against protocol and quietly conducting his own investigation, his inquiries bring him to the attention of the MI5. Meanwhile, nascent spy and socialite Diana Calthrop suspects her boss of espionage and the two investigations begin to converge. Brilliantly evoking the manners of the time as well as life during wartime – children being sent to the country, nightly air raids and living with the very real threat of invasion – The Innocent Spy is a well written and atmospheric historical police procedural. – Lisa (WO)
|
 |
By Richard Paul Evans
This coming-of-age novel is rather short (as are most books by this author) but has a powerful message. Luke, a college graduate, is the son of a multi-millionaire. When he graduates from college, he naturally assumes he will take over the family copy store business, which happens to be ranked as a Fortune 500 company. But first, his father tells him that he should go to grad school to make sure that’s what he really wants to do. So Luke gets his MBA at Wharton and hangs out with a group of friends who are primarily interested in having a good time and taking it easy. Instead of returning to work, Luke announces to his dad’s dismay that he will travel to Europe, using a million dollars that was left in a trust fund to him by his deceased mother. Needless to say, everything goes downhill for Luke from there. He must pull himself out of the deep hole he has made for himself. This is a retelling of the “Prodigal Son” story found in the Bible. (It is not religious, however, except for the inherent morals of the story.) I was entranced with this from beginning to end. – Debbie (WO)
|
 |
By Veronica Roth
Divergent, Veronica Roth’s first book, is easy to recommend to teens who liked the Twilight and The Hunger Games series, which became heavily requested reading beyond the teen scene. This book is about choices, being vulnerable and fierce at the same time and dealing with others in society. Not unlike many teens today who are asked to choose college, work or military, once Divergent’s characters reach 16 they must choose one of five factions to live in and devote the rest of their lives to its ideals. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and answering the need to be someone else. So she makes a choice and learns along the way that she needs to be strong, using what she knew and what she has learned. The book has electrifying decisions, betrayals, stunning consequences and romance found in unusual places. Ms. Roth not only writes for teens but is a huge advocate of teen fiction. Be sure to check out her website for some great reader’s advisory. Her sequel Insurgent is due out May 2012. – Nancy (WO)
|
 |
I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution By Craig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum
Though it appears dense at over 600 pages, this collective oral history of MTV’s unlikely rise from laughable experiment to pop-culture kingmaker is a surprisingly light and amusing read. Spanning MTV’s first 10 years, everyone from Billy Idol to Weird Al Yankovich reflects on the good, bad, ugly and improbable in the early years of MTV. So much was done without a plan, a budget or sense of what was happening that the fledgling channel had to rely on Rod Stewart and unknown British New Wave artists for enough content to stay on the air. After growing into itself, the station evolved quickly from an experimental showcase of obscure talent into a massive teen-marketing juggernaut, eventually (and oddly) abandoning music altogether after the introduction of The Real World in 1992. This is a recommended read for lovers of pop-culture history as well as guilty consumers of celebrity gossip. – Brad (WO)
|
 |
By Octavia Butler
Dana Franklin is a 26-year-old black woman living in 1970s Los Angeles. While moving into her new apartment with her equally new husband Kevin she becomes dizzy and suddenly finds herself in early 19th century Maryland. Before she has any time to process what has happened she sees a young white boy drowning in a river. She wades in and saves the boy who she will come to find is her ancestor and future slaveholder Rufus Weylin. Throughout the novel, Rufus summons Dana from her time to his whenever he is in immediate danger. Dana must ensure his survival so that he can father a child with Alice, a free black woman who, through a series of misfortunes, comes to live on the Weylin plantation as a slave. As Dana spends more and more time in antebellum Maryland she tries to reconcile her 20th century ideals and identity and is met with disastrous and oftentimes violent outcomes. Kindred is a complex novel where the lines between good and evil are as blurry as the passage of time. – Shani (WO)
|
 |
How the States Got Their Shapes By Mark Stein
Mark Stein takes you on an adventure 200 years in the making in this book on the geography and cartography of the American landscape. Did you know that the last of the original 13 colonies to have its boundary settled was Maryland? And that it was only in 1910? Did you know that the border of New York encompasses all of the water of the Hudson River but only half of the river bed itself? Were you aware that Maryland has lost every fight over its border lines it’s ever been in since the formation of the United States? This is a history of our nation from a whole different perspective, giving readers a feeling for all the troubles those who went before us went through to establish that which we are so familiar with today. A fun, engaging and truly unique read for everyone, whether they are map-makers or not! – Sean (WO) |
|
|
By Kathy Reichs “Ever since Tory Brennan and her friends rescued Cooper, a kidnapped wolf pup with a rare strain of canine parvovirus, they’ve turned from regular kids into a crime-solving pack! But now the very place that brought them together – the Loggerhead Island Research Institute – is out of funding and will have to shut down. That is, unless the Virals can figure out a way to save it!” Reichs, the author of The New York Times bestselling Temperance Brennan novels, introduced us to Tempe’s niece Tory in Virals, Reichs’ first teen novel. Seizure, the second book featuring Tory and her friends, will appeal to teens and adults alike with its combination of action, suspense and humor. My only complaint is that one section of the story where the kids were being chased by the bad guys was very Gooniesesque. Otherwise I found it to be a fun story and look forward to the group’s next adventure. – Tina (AR) |
|
|
By Roger Ebert Arguably the premiere film reviewer of his generation, Ebert has penned an open, honest and detailed autobiography. He includes memories of his classic American childhood, his parent’s marriage (strife included), his struggle with alcoholism, stories of his many friends (some famous, some not) and his remarkable interviews and experiences. He ends with his marriage with Chaz, the love of his life, the challenges presented by his illness and surgeries and his philosophical views on religion and the hereafter. Most absorbing is Ebert’s sharing of the relationship between himself and Gene Siskel. Argumentative, sibling-like in intensity, full of love and laughter…their 23-year partnership was television magic. And there is so much more, such as his surprising, close relationship with Russ Meyer … who knew Roger Ebert wrote the screenplay for Beyond the Valley of the Dolls?. Interviews with Lee Marvin and John Wayne are included as well as an intimate profile of the one-of-a-kind writer Studs Turkel. Unable to speak after a bout with thyroid cancer and three surgeries, Ebert has found an inner voice that is strong, thoughtful and wise. Not unlike the heightened senses of the newly blind or deaf, having lost his spoken voice, his written words as he recalls his personal experiences are thoughtful and intense. He conjures for us his childhood in the ’50s and his part in the idealism of the ’60s and contemporary American cinema in subsequent decades. Narrated by Edward Herrmann, the listener initially longs for the sound of Ebert’s familiar voice. But as the book progresses the pitch perfect reading by Edward Herrmann becomes an authentic alternative. – Gail (AR) |
|
|
By Kate Morton On a lonely dock in Australia a small child waits for the lady. She never arrives …Years later the same child discovers the family she thought was hers isn’t. So begins a search for personal history that spans several generations and two countries. With just a small suitcase containing a few items a grandmother and granddaughter piece together their history and heritage. – Constance (AR)
|
|
|
By Jack Gantos Jack Gantos is a 12-yearold version of himself in this dark comedy set in 1960s Pennsylvania. Jack, a nervous boy who suffers from an obscene amount of nose bleeds, is unjustly grounded for the entire summer and can only leave the premises to help Miss Volker, the town’s medical examiner. Volker, a septuagenarian obsessed with being the last original citizen of Norvelt, is busy writing the obituaries of her neighbors who are dying with suspicious frequency. Jack’s tasks include typing and delivering the obits, defending Miss Volker from the amorous advances of the town’s elderly constable, Mr. Spizz, and checking on the life status of various older residents – once while dressed as the Grim Reaper! For any fan of weird and funny, Jack Gantos is like Chuck Palahniuk for the middle school set. – Erin (AR) |
|
|
The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer By Philip Carlo Meet Richard Kuklinski. He was a family man and a coldblooded serial killer. Once he was captured and sentenced, he decided to tell all. Philip Carlo compiled hours of interviews with the man who confessed to over 200 murders to bring the story to you about this giant man with equal parts of compassion, understanding and terror. Carlo describes a character clearly influenced by his upbringing. Learn about Richard’s troubled adolescence and abusive family and how this translated directly into a life of crime. Along with the cold-blooded stories of murder, you learn how the Mafia works and how Richard and the Mafia took advantage of him being Polish, not Italian. Carlo is brutal and honest in his treatment of each crime that Richard commits. You’ll also read about his curious courtship of his wife and the odd relationship they had. He was a caring, devoted father but at the same time emotionally abusive to his wife and children. Phillip Carlo’s storytelling reads like a great suspense novel, then splashes your face with a reminder that the story is real. The movieis expected in 2013 with Michael Shannon playing “The Big Guy.” – Richard (AR) |
|
|
|
