Reviews

Staff Review

American Dirt

By Cummins, Jeanine
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by Lisa H
Jan 23, 2020

Listed as one of the top 10 most anticipated books of 2020 by Goodreads members, American Dirt, by Jeanine Cummins tells the fictional story of Lydia and Luca, a mother and her young son, as they flee from Acapulco Mexico and attempt to cross the US border.

Staff Review

My Dark Vanessa

By Kate Elizabeth Russell
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Heather C
Jan 2, 2020

Warning: This book will make you remember things not forgotten.

As a woman and in the wake of the #MeToo movement it was really hard to read My Dark Vanessa. It is very well written and oftentimes, too well written. It was haunting in its realness. Real predators exist. Real victims don't come forward. Real justice oftentimes isn't served.

Staff Review

Middlegame

By Seanan McGuire
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Heather C
Dec 18, 2019

I am not one that is normally drawn to the fantasy genre.  I mean, sure, I read all of the Harry Potter books (because they were fantastic!).  I am a huge fan of the Xanth series and don't even get me started with the Incarnations of Immortality series (if you haven't read that series, I highly highly recommend it) but I find myself drawn more to thrillers or

Staff Review

Tales From The Loop - Your Gateway to Strange Things

By Stålenhag, Simon
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by Andrew E
Dec 16, 2019

You’ve heard of Dungeons and Dragons.  Right?



It’s been around for 45 year and been in everything from Simpsons to Stranger things. 



What is it? 



It’s a pen and paper Roleplaying game.  A set of rules to tell a shared story with friends and family with a backdrop of classic sword and sorcery in the vein of The Lord of the Rings.

 

Teen Review

Trickster's Choice

By Tamora Pierce
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by Anne G
Dec 11, 2019

     I previously read Trickster's Choice with courageous teenage girls a little over a decade ago, and I wanted to revisit it.  I had forgotten just how easy it is to get drawn into Aly’s adventures which cause her to become a slave as a girl, and I am so glad to have revisited because it was similar to visiting with an old friend.  This is the story of Alianne Cooper, who wants to be a girl spy, and is the daughter of Spymaster Cooper and the famous Lioness of Tortall and champion of the thron

Staff Review

New Releases in Fiction - December 2019!

Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Gregg W.
Dec 10, 2019

Hello and welcome to our look at some new releases in the fiction section at the Johnson County Library! Every month we look at five titles making their debut that we think you absolutely need to know about. Give one - or more - of these titles a chance to make it in your hold list. We hope you find something new!

Staff Review

Dark Money

By Kimberly Reed
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Dylan R
Dec 9, 2019

We've all seen attack ads during campaign season; the efforts to deride one candidate's political record while propping up the opposition. It's likely safe to say we've become so numb to their existence, we don't always stop to consider the source behind these messages, we viewers just assuming Candidate A has paid for & approved their ad against Candidate B.

But what are we to make of disclaimers such as this?

     "Paid for by ________Not authorized by any candidate..."