Happy Thanskgiving!

We're taking the week off from book reviews! We'll be back on Tuesday, December 3rd with more books the staff at the West Allis Public Library has been reading!

Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot

Heather Wells is a former pop idol whose mom ran off with her fortune.  She now works at a private New York college as an assistant dorm director.  Her dorm is soon nicknamed “Death Dorm” because of the many suspicious deaths that have taken place in it.  She triumphs over cheating boys, bad luck, and her so called imperfections to solve mysteries and keep her students safe.  This funny and entertaining series, now including five titles, features memorable characters and is an enjoyable light read.  

Checkout Size 12 is Not Fat @ the library!

Children of the Jacaranda Tree by Sahar Delijani

The opening chapters of this compelling book, describing the callous treatment of a political prisoner, can rival any scene in any dystopian science fiction novel. But this is not a book about a cruel future. The political prisoner in this book is a woman in post-revolutionary Iran, a woman who is about to give birth. In 1980’s Iran, many young men and women who disagreed with the Islamic Republic were swept off the streets and out of their homes and into prisons. Young children were left behind and had to be cared for by extended family.  In one such family, these children became the CHILDREN OF THE JACARANDA TREE, referring to a tree in their grandparent’s garden. While the grandparents and aunt struggled to care for them, imprisoned parents turned their thoughts to their children to comfort them through their most difficult times which included poor living conditions, isolation, torture and execution. Life outside of prison was also not easy. The theocratic government interfered in every aspect of private life, imposing dress codes, rationing and curfews. An eight year war with Iraq brought fear of bombing raids and the death of many young men.  Sahar Delijani, who was herself born while her mother was in prison, follows this extended family for nearly thirty years.  When, in 2009, political strife in Iran leads to protests in the streets and results in beatings and arrests and killing of young men and women, history appears to be repeating itself. The children of the Jacaranda tree and their own children are drawn into the same fight their parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles fought. 

Check out Children of the Jacaranda Tree @ the library!

Pretty in Plaid by Jen Lancaster

Jen Lancaster's life is easy to trace. In fact you need look no further than her closet to trace her East Coast roots to her Mid-western childhood to her further exploits in the Greek system and settling in the real world work place. Life isn't all green sashes and Gucci purses, but sometimes those little things give extra character to our stories. And it's not just the sashes and purses, it's the stories that those items tell, whether it's learning that cheaters don't really win in the end or that sometimes money can't buy friendship.

If you are looking for a light, funny read, and have an interest in fashion, Jen Lancaster's Pretty in Plaid will keep you laughing, and considering your own fashion past.

Check out Pretty in Plaid @ the library!

Letting it Go by Mieiam Katin

In this book, graphic artist Miriam Katin explores hatred and resentment and the difficulty of Letting it Go. Katin was born a Hungarian Jew during World War II. She and her mother endured much hardship trying to survive. For this reason, she has hated Germany and particularly Berlin nearly all her life. Eventually she immigrated to the United States, married and had a son. When her son informs her of his intention to live Berlin, she must struggle between two emotions: her love for her son and her hatred of Berlin. After two visits to Berlin, she finally realizes that Germany and Berlin have changed and she must do so as well. She observes that just as the evil of the past must be acknowledged, so must the changes brought about by a new generation and new attitudes. Graphic books are not only for children and teens. Many are thoughtful examinations of adult experiences.  Letting it Go is a graphic memoir in which the author uses skillful pencil drawings as well as words to explain her struggle to leave the past behind. 

Check out Letting it Go @ the library!

Elsewhere by Richard Russo

Richard Russo is the author of many popular novels about upstate New York and the failing economy of its small towns. But Elsewhere is a memoir in which he recounts his life with his mother, a rather difficult woman. Russo grew up in Gloversville, New York, a blue-collar town built around the glove making industry, including the tanning of hides to make leather gloves. Having divorced Richard’s father, Jean Russo was a single mother in the 1950’s, a time when such a life style was rare. During his childhood the presence of his grandparents and other relatives helped to blunt the effect his mother’s strange personality (black moods, fits of anger, ingratitude, anxiety and compulsions) had on him.

At the age of eighteen, Richard left New York to attend college in Arizona and his mother, seeking a new life, accompanied him. Unfortunately, she brought her problems with her. She did not find the new life to be a better life and the new surroundings did not improve her mental health. In Arizona he alone dealt with his mother’s crises and compulsions. A pattern was set. She would try a new job or new apartment. Something would go wrong, forcing her to quit or move. She would return to New York, then back to Arizona. Whenever things went wrong, she could not cope and expected her son to help her pick up the pieces of her life. Richard Russo is a successful man. He earned a PhD and became a college professor. He married an understanding woman and started a family. He became a very successful author whose books were made into movies. But his mother’s unreasonable needs were always in the background of his life. She moved wherever he moved. She had exacting requirements for job, apartment and home furnishings and could tolerate nothing less. She relied on him from his boyhood until her death when he was in his sixties. After her death, he realized that she had probably suffered from an actual mental illness, obsessive-compulsive disorder. Russo’s book expresses the frustration those living with difficult family members feel. His observations are not a guide on how to deal with a mentally ill relative but rather an explanation of the difficulties a family in such a situation faces.

Check out Elsewhere @ the library!

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

Jordan Smith’s estranged mom is accused of murdering her polygamous husband.  He goes to visit her in jail and realizes she’s innocent.  He was kicked out of the community of Firsts in Mesadale where she lives when he was a teen but must go back to free his mom.  In addition to Jordan’s story the author tells the tale of Ann Eliza Young, Brigham Young’s so called “19^th wife”.  She did exist and helped eliminate polygamy from the Mormon religion in the late nineteenth century.  Rich with history and interesting relationships, this book raises emotional and ethical questions that don’t have easy answers. 

Check out the The 19th Wife @ the library!

The Cuckoo's Calling By Robert Galbraith

In THE CUCKOO’S CALLING, author Robert Galbraith (a pseudonym for the famous J.K. Rowling) creates an old-fashioned detective novel, one that, despite being set in 21^st century London, could easily fit in 1930’s Los Angeles.  In  1944,  mystery writer Raymond Chandler defined the American private detective: “Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid…He is the hero… a man of honor…He is a relatively poor man. He is a common man…He is a lonely man…” In this book, private detective Cormoran Strike embodies these characteristics. A former British soldier who saw action in Afghanistan, he is down on his luck. Broke and forced to live in his seedy office, unable to pay his rent or the temporary secretary he is too kind to dismiss, he cannot see a way out of his current troubles. Fortune, in the form of a wealthy client, arrives at his door on the same day as his new secretary, Robin. Strike is asked to investigate the death of a supermodel who fell from the balcony of her third story luxury apartment. The death had been ruled suicide by the London police three months earlier, but the client, the model’s brother, is not satisfied with the finding.  Strike’s investigation leads him across class lines, from nouveau riche musicians, designers and film producers to old money families to immigrants and drug addicts. His ability to talk to all types of people, retain their information, sort through lies and truth and organize it all into a logical progression are the skills Strike uses to solve this mystery.  There are no surprising twists, no gimmicks and no improbable strokes of luck in this book. Strike solves the mystery with straight-forward hard detective work: interviews, deductive reasoning and paying attention to seemingly unimportant details. THE CUCKOO’S CALLING will appeal to the reader who appreciates a well-written, realistic mystery.

Check out The Cuckoo's Calling at the library!