Searching for Sylvie Lee
by Jean Kwok

Amy and Sylvie are sisters. Amy has always felt overshadowed by her older, more successful sister, but they have remained close nonetheless. Amy is overcome with grief and concern when she learns that her sister is missing, so she hops on a plane to search for her. In the process of this book Amy uncovers new family secrets and even learns a great deal about herself.
 
I have read the first two novels by Jean Kwok and I was eagerly anticipating this one. Like in her other novels, Kwok pays close attention to the Chinese American experience. An interesting dimension comes from the experiences of Sylvie Lee, seven years older than Amy, who lived with family in the Netherlands until age nine. The search for Sylvie requires Amy to travel to a new and strange country to interact with people who she has never met; this also requires her to navigate unspoken barriers and carry on with the belief that she will find her sister.

 

This novel is bound by the relationships of mothers, daughters and sisters and gently unwinds into a very satisfying conclusion. I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to anyone who welcomes a little mystery, familial relations and a book that is really tough to put down. 

 

Vanessa

Audrey Schulman’s Theory of Bastards is a fast-paced novel set in the near-future that tells the story of Frankie Burk, a primatologist who studies social patterns of reproduction in bonobos. The first half of the book moves between Burk’s past and present, detailing her research into sexual selection which is a bedrock tenet of evolutionary theory. Mate selection and species survival, the theory holds, depends on the genetic viability of a given partner; Burk’s research (and personal life) challenges this idea by outlining a distinct role for female desire and sexual preference over and above alpha male virility. The publication of her ideas makes her a scientific celebrity, ultimately landing her a spot at The Foundation, an institute where researchers can study the behavior of different species of primates. Schulman gives Burk depth and specificity, detailing her struggles with endometriosis and an eventual hysterectomy with seriousness and mounting significance as the novel proceeds.  

 

Around the novel’s midpoint, Burk’s work at the Foundation is halted by two crises – a dust storm requiring mass evacuation and the apparent collapse of all internet infrastructures. This leaves Burk and other researchers and staff members to improvise ways to survive and keep the primates alive until the storm clears and communication with the outside world can be restored. I found the story of their survival and the interspecies community formed out of this emergency to be deeply moving and genuinely hopeful. Schulman’s insights into the beauty and contingency of animal life offer a new vision of possibility in a post-disaster landscape.   

 

Joseph

In the fictional world of Scadriel, the slaves, known as Skaa, are ruled with an iron fist by the immortal Lord Ruler and his Final Empire as ash falls from the sky and the few rich and powerful turn their backs on those below them. In this dystopian world, Skaa thief Vin learns that her inherit abilities are not just thief instincts but instead magical metal-based powers, known as Allomancy. She is brought onto an eccentric thief crew led by Kelsier, the only man to ever escape the Lord Ruler’s Pits of Hathsian. Kelsier is a Mistborn, an Allomancer capable of burning every type metal and possessing their individual abilities, and has brought this crew together to bring the Final Empire tumbling down after its thousand years of tyranny. 

 

Brandon Sanderson’s greatest strength is creating a unique world with its own set of rules, whether economical, societal, magical, or even ecological. Everything about Scadriel is well defined and easily digestible making for an enjoyable reader experience. The characters are clever and funny in their own ways, and following their twisting journey towards freedom and a new age makes for a breathless adventure that will have any reader speeding through Mistborn. 

 

Josiah

In 1899 New York City experienced a huge influx of immigrants from around the world. Among them were two individuals who weren’t like the rest of the crowds. On the surface, Chava appears to be a young Jewish woman whose husband died on the trip across the ocean. However, the truth is that she is a golem, a creature made of clay that lives for serving her master. Yet Chava’s master died on the voyage to America and she must figure out what to do in not only a place that is completely foreign to her, but a world that is as well. Unlike Chava, Ahmad is not new to the world. In fact Ahmad may be the oldest living thing on the planet. Ahmad is a jinni (a powerful creature made of fire) and ever since his capture several thousand years ago he has lived in a small copper flask. However, thanks to a freak accident, he is now free to roam the streets of New York in the guise of a young Syrian man.

 

Both Chava and Ahmad are completely new to the bustling streets of New York City, but while attempting to assimilate into a new life there they come across each other and form a friendship unlike any other. Yet while they are beginning to make lives for themselves, Chava’s creator, who is also Ahmad’s mortal enemy, is searching for them, and if he finds them he will destroy everything they have come to hold dear.

 

The Golem and the Jinni was everything I wanted it to be. Helene Wecker’s book drew my attention with its unique cover art and then dragged me in completely with its compelling plot. The novel’s primary strength is that it felt completely unique. By exploring facets of Jewish and Syrian culture through characters that are new to the cultures’ traditions and social cues, Wecker allows her readers to experience these cultures alongside her characters. Not only is it fascinating to read about these cultures through a fantasy lens, but it also gives a good picture of what New York City in 1899 would have felt like with its many different cultures living together for the first time. If you’re looking for a good fantasy book that with stories and characters that stands out from the rest The Golem and the Jinni is the book for you.

 

Seth

Millicent and her husband (the author never reveals his name) have been married for fifteen years and have two teenagers, Rory and Jenna. Millicent is a successful realtor and her husband is a well sought after tennis instructor at the local country club. They have a beautiful home in the suburbs, attend Rory’s golf tournaments and Jenna’s soccer games, have dinner together every night, as well as, regular family movie nights. On the surface, this married couple seems to have it all; however, appearances can be deceiving. Their relationship has gotten a little bland and they decide to liven things up by having “date nights.” BUT this couple has date nights like no other because these dates do not include dinner, drinks, movies, etc… oh no, these dates take place in the garage and consist of planning murder. Isn’t that how all couples keep their marriages alive?!

 

My Lovely Wife is a unique and disturbing read that is like nothing I have read before. Told from the husband’s point of view, My Lovely Wife had me hooked from the first page. Full of secrets, deceptions, and astonishing twists, My Lovely Wife is devious, masterfully plotted, and wildly entertaining. I was shocked when I found out My Lovely Wife is Samantha Downing’s debut novel. I cannot wait to see what she writes next! 

 

Brandi

About My Mother: True Stories of a Horse-Crazy Daughter and Her Baseball-Obsessed Mother
by Peggy Rowe

A patron recommended that I read About My Mother and I’m so glad I did. You might have heard of Peggy Rowe if you are a fan of the TV show Dirty Jobs. Peggy is the mother of Mike Rowe and usually posts stories on his Facebook page. Peggy is a great storyteller. The stories she shares of her and her mother are very entertaining and hilarious. I especially loved the one of her mother getting undressed in the middle of a department store to try on an Orioles shirt instead of going into a changing room. It sounded like something my grandmother would have done! About My Mother is a sweet story of family and love. Definitely a must read!

 

Shannon

I Capture the Castle
by Dodie Smith

Cassandra Mortmain dreams of becoming a writer, like her father, and for practice starts keeping a journal of her life. She carefully observes and details the eccentricities of her impoverished family and their home, a rundown castle in the English countryside. When the castle’s landlord passes away after years of not collecting rent, the family begins to worry about their future with the unknown American who has inherited the property. However, upon his arrival, seeds of hope are planted in the members of the household as they each begin to explore new ways out of poverty.
 
Cassandra is a delightful narrator. She approaches her writing with youthful enthusiasm as she explores and seeks to understand her world. Her naiveté and at times histrionic reactions give her a convincing and believable voice as a young woman coming of age. I heartily recommend this read to anyone looking for a lighthearted, comical historical drama with a touch of romantic intrigue.

 

Alaina

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna
by Juliet Grames

Two sisters in the Fortuna family, Stella and Tina, share important details from their lives and the ups and down of their relationship. They are led by their mother, Assunta, who raises her children with strength and tenacity and manages to raise her girls, especially Stella, to be strong and determined. This is a sweeping story of the Fortuna family told by one of their descendants, a granddaughter. The narrator is unobtrusive, and manages to hold back on telling a few important details until they are important to the story. 
 
This book is about family, Italy, and the blind faith that anyone needs to leave it all behind and go to a new place. Stella’s father (Assunta’s husband) is adamant that the family joins him in America as soon as possible. Their experience is not favorable, but the entire family works hard and somehow they make it through.
Every struggle Stella faces helps her toughen her skin and sharpen her teeth. Stella struggles with bad luck and misfortune throughout her life; some may say that she was brave and strong, but I don’t think there is any other way for her to be.
 
Clocking eighteen hours and eight minutes and over four hundred pages this book is an investment. The debut novel and family drama and the powerful descriptions of place and setting definitely kept me going. There are some uncomfortable moments, including strong sexual themes, but Stella is a powerful example of overcoming impeccable odds. In the course of this novel, the seven or eight deaths were certainly eclipsed by many more triumphs. After the title captured my attention and I listened to the first twenty minutes to the audiobook on Hoopla, I was completely and totally hooked! 

 

Vanessa

In the 2018 film The Old Man & the Gun, Robert Redford plays real life bank robber Forrest Tucker. As he begins to edge into his 70s, the multiple prison escapee has trouble settling down even as he meets a woman who might be his salvation from a life of crime. Pursuing him on his bought of robberies across the country is detective John Hunt, played by Casey Affleck, whose pursuit edges into obsession that might match that of Forrest Tucker himself. As their pursuits converge, the question becomes whether this time will change Tucker and his criminal undertakings or if the cycle will simply begin again. 

 

Filmed as the last movie before Robert Redford’s retirement, The Old Man & the Gun feels like an elegy of sorts. Despite having cops pursuing robbers, bank heists, and vehicle pursuits the movie is always content with feeling a little world weary, even sleepy, as it follows these aging characters and their search for meaning. Redford and Affleck are both great as usual, and their matched by other fantastic performances by the likes of Sissy Spacek and Danny Glover. Directed by David Lowery, the film is a gorgeously shot and slow-paced meditation on growing old, and feels more like a movie from the 1970s or 1980s and less like a modern picture.

 

Josiah

A puzzle box invitation brings together six strangers to participate in an escape room with the winner receiving $10,000. The participants: Zoey, a shy physics student; Jason, a slick finance executive; Ben, a slacker; Mike, a trucker; Danny, an escape room addict; and Amanda, an Iraq war veteran with PTSD, soon realize they are not just participating in an escape room challenge, but rather a sadistic game of life and death. These six strangers have to work together to find the clues needed to escape a series of booby-trapped rooms if they want to make it out alive.

 

Escape Room is a thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat with its brilliant plot, nail-biting scenes, and extraordinarily crafted production design. The elaborately constructed rooms, with their own thematic brands of tortuous trickery, become their own memorable characters. My personal favorite is the upside down pool hall. I have never done an escape room and after watching Escape Room, I doubt I ever will!

 

Brandi

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a coming of age movie based on the bestselling novel by Anne Brashares. Having spent many summers together, four best friends will be spending their first summer apart. Being apart won’t be as hard for them because they will find comfort in these magical secondhand jeans that they will be mailing back and forth between them. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a great movie with an all star cast. My daughter and I really enjoyed it and look forward to watching part 2!

 

Shannon

“The fact is that animals that don’t seem to have a purpose really do have a purpose.” – Duchess the Cat

 

When Farmer Hogget wins a piglet at the fair, the other farm animals are hesitant to grow too attached to the little one, knowing his fate come Christmas time.  A kind sheepdog, Fly, becomes a surrogate mother for the little pig and Babe begins to think of himself as a dog. Babe struggles to find his place in the prejudiced and rigid social order of the farm and accept that things are the way things are.

 

Although it is a film featuring talking animals, it is not merely a flick for the kiddos. An award-winning, technically brilliant film, Babe is a great choice for the film buff and family alike. Heartwarming and thought provoking, I can’t recommend it enough.

 

Alaina

BTTM FDRS is a new horror graphic novel written by Ezra Claytan Daniels and Ben Passmore that narrates the story of Darla, a young black artist who moves in to an ominous apartment building in a gentrifying Chicago neighborhood called the Bottomyards. Like some of the best horror narratives, BTTM FDRS uses the metaphor of a monster to examine a social problem; however, this might be one of the first horror narratives to offer a radical critique of the landlord-tenant relationship with a dripping combination of viscera, glands, and coaxial cable. Darla’s building is a living organism originally engineered for sustainability by a black resident from a previous generation, though it is now used by a white landlord to spy on and consume its younger residents; as a creature, the building is an investment that only gains in value through the dispossession and bodily consumption of its tenants.  

Being a hitman is easy, you just point and shoot. Figuring out how to be in a relationship is not quite as simple. However, even being a hitman becomes complicated when your client asks you to use his time machine to go kill Adolf Hitler. Not only that, but when the plan goes wrong and Hitler escapes into the future, the only way to kill him relies on your ex-girlfriend...who may have just tried to have you killed.

 

I Killed Adolf Hitler is a perfect example of a graphic novel where less is sometimes more. Jason’s story is only 46 pages of comic strips, but he still manages to fill it with everything I want out of a graphic novel. For example, Jason’s crisp dry humor made me laugh on nearly every page, yet the relationship in the book was also relatable enough that it made me think about the dynamics and complexity of relationships. If you’re looking for a quick read that can make you laugh and think at the same time, this is the book for you.

 

Seth

 

One day, in the land of Here, Dave finds a hair on his face. No bother, he must've missing it with the morning shave--he'll just remove it. But then the hair comes back, it brings friends, and then Dave's beard consumes his face, then his house, then his neighborhood. As the community of Here wonders what to do about Dave and his beard, Dave wonders what to do about himself.

 

The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil seems, on the surface, like a pretty silly premise: here's a guy with a giant beard that takes over the town! But at its heart, this graphic novel is about how we accept ourselves and how others can accept us when we're not the same as everyone else. Stephen Collins' pencil-drawn artwork is charming and moody at the same time, allowing the story to plunge to greater depths than a full color graphic novel would. The Gigantic Beard The Was Evil is a quick read and a nice treat for anyone who has ever felt a little different.

 

Jess