Patron Book Review ~ All Shook Up

All Shook Up by Shelley Pearsall
Published: 2008
Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Humor
Description:
The King of Rock 'n'™ Roll lives! And he's Josh's dad.

When 13-year-old Josh finds out that he has to stay with his dad in Chicago for a few months, he's not too thrilled. But when he arrives at the airport, he's simply devastated. His father - who used to be a scatterbrained but pretty normal shoe salesman - has become . . . Elvis. Well, a sideburnwearing, hip-twisting, utterly-embarrassing Elvis impersonator.

Josh is determined to keep his dad's identity a secret, but on his very first day at his new school, a note appears on his locker. It's signed Elvisly Yours, and instead of a name, a sneering purple smiley face. The secret is out, and when his dad is invited to perform at a special 50s concert at his school, Josh is forced to take drastic action. From award-winning author Shelley Pearsall comes a hilarious novel about discovering the important (and sometimes painful) difference between who you want to be - and who you really are.

Review by patron, Anonymous:   
The book was original, easy to understand, and the characters were unique, but easy to understand.

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Have you been to a library program or read a book you'd like to review? Send it to kwill@lmelibrary.org and it may get published!

First names only are used in all reviews for privacy. Inappropriate or defamatory reviews or comments will not be posted.

Reviews are typed exactly as patrons submitted them. The LME Library is not responsible for any incorrect or misspelled information contained in reviews by patrons.

Patron Book Review ~ Bluestem

Bluestem by Frances Arrington
Published: 2000
Genre: Historical fiction, family, prairie frontier

Description:
With their father away and their mother traumatized by some unknown event, eleven-year-old Polly and her younger sister are left to take care of themselves and their prairie homestead.

Polly and Jessie are young pioneer girls who live with their family on the prairie. One day, their mama disappears. The girls find her and bring her home to the family soddy, but Mama doesn't seem to know who or where she is. Polly and Jessie have to care for her until Papa returns from across the prairie. But the girls are afraid. Ruthless neighbors want to seize the family's land, and Mama is getting worse. Can Polly and Jessie manage alone? "A well-characterized and beautifully written historical novel." (School Library Journal)

"Readers will be quickly turning pages to discover the fate of these stalwart heroines. . . ." (Publishers Weekly)
Review by patron, Lindsey: 
(No stars noted)
It was great about be patient and have stick-to-itevness.

Have you been to a library program or read a book you'd like to review? Send it to kwill@lmelibrary.org and it may be published!

First names only are used in all reviews for privacy. Inappropriate or defamatory reviews or comments will not be posted.

Reviews are typed exactly as patrons submitted them. The LME Library is not responsible for any incorrect or misspelled information contained in reviews by patrons.

Patron Book Review ~ I, Emma Freke

I, Emma Freke by Elizabeth Atkinson
Published: 2010
Genre: Family, friendship, realistic fiction

Description:
"I, Emma Freke, am not a freak. Or maybe I am. I just don't know."

What's in a name? I, Emma Freke is a charming search-for-identity story about Emma - the only "normal" member of her quirky family. Her flighty, New Age mom seems to barely have time for a daughter, especially one who annoyingly spoils her mom's youthful façade. Emma's well-meaning grandpa is clueless. And her only friends are the local librarian and a precocious 10-year old adopted by the two old ladies next door.

Smart, shy, and nearly six feet tall, Emma struggles to fit in at school, so she jumps at the opportunity to "home school" until that too turns into another of mom's half-baked ideas.

The real crisis comes when she gets an invitation to The Freke Family Reunion, and her fellow Frekes aren't at all what she expects. While Emma desperately tries to find her niche, she discovers that perhaps it's better to be her own "freak" than someone else's Freke.
Review by patron, Lindsey: 



About you gotta be who you are. Don't pretend to be somebody you aren't. Pretty good overall.

Have you been to a library program or read a book you'd like to review? Send it to kwill@lmelibrary.org and it may be published!

First names only are used in all reviews for privacy. Inappropriate or defamatory reviews or comments will not be posted.

Reviews are typed exactly as patrons submitted them. The LME Library is not responsible for any incorrect or misspelled information contained in reviews by patrons.

Patron Book Review ~ In Front of God and Everybody

In Front of God and Everybody (Confessions of April Grace, bk #1) by K.D. McCrite
Published: 2011
Genre: Christian Fiction

Description:
In the summer of 1986, eleven-year-old April Grace, who lives on a rural Arkansas farm with her family, across a field from her grandmother, has her sense of Christian charity tested when a snooty couple from San Francisco moves into a dilapidated house down the road and her grandmother takes up with a loud, obnoxious, and suspicious-acting Texan.

Review by patron, Lindsey:  
It was a great teen Christian book for girls. I love it tons! She was herself, and a funny character.

Patron Book Review ~ Light From Heaven

Light From Heaven by Christmas Carol Kauffman
Published: 1948
Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction

Description:
Joseph Armstrong's father showed more concern for his farms and horses than he did for his wife and children. Work was first, Mishaps were dealt with harshly. Praise was a foreign language. The family suffered cruel scorn, rejection, and deprivation. All the while, Bennet Armstrong hypocritically portrayed himself to others as flawlessly pious.Thankfully, a devout mother bridged the gap, loving her children, telling them Bible stories, teaching them to respect their father, and praying fervently for their safety and salvation.Annie Armstrong's prayers were heard.Joseph came to trust his kind heavenly Father who helped him love and forgive and rise above his circumstances to a life of purpose and peace.This story, sometimes heartrending, sometimes heartening, points to the one true hope for all man's miseries -- Jesus Christ, the true...
Review by patron, Anonymous:  
I thought it was very interesting and detailed.

Have you been to a library program or read a book you'd like to review? Send it to kwill@lmelibrary.org and it may be published!

First names only are used in all reviews for privacy. Inappropriate or defamatory reviews or comments will not be posted.

Reviews are typed exactly as patrons submitted them. The LME Library is not responsible for any incorrect or misspelled information contained in reviews by patrons.

Patron Book Review ~ Fudge-a-Mania

Fudge-a-Mania (Fudge, bk #3) by Judy Blume
Published: 1990
Genre: Children's Literature, Realistic Fiction, Humor

Description:
Peter Hatcher can't get a break. His little brother, Fudge-the five-year-old human hurricane-has big plans to marry Peter's sworn enemy, Sheila Tubman. That alone would be enough to ruin his whole summer, but now Peter's parents have decided to rent a summer home next door to Sheila the Cootie Queen's house for three whole weeks!
Review by patron, Allyson: 

Have you been to a library program or read a book you'd like to review? Send it to kwill@lmelibrary.org and it may be published!

First names only are used in all reviews for privacy. Inappropriate or defamatory reviews or comments will not be posted.

Reviews are typed exactly as patrons submitted them. The LME Library is not responsible for any incorrect or misspelled information contained in reviews by patrons.

Patron Book Review ~ Rules of the Road

Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer
Published: 2006
Genre: Young Adult,
Description:
Sixteen-year-old Jenna gets a job driving the elderly owner of a chain of successful shoe stores from Chicago to Texas to confront the son who is trying to force her to retire, and along the way Jenna hones her talents as a saleswoman and finds the strength to face her alcoholic father.

Review by patron, Peyton:

Jenna describes how she changes with her family and her social skills. She takes you all the way to texas. This is a good book I request.

Have you been to a library program or read a book you'd like to review? Send it to kwill@lmelibrary.org and it may be published!

First names only are used in all reviews for privacy. Inappropriate or defamatory reviews will not be posted.

Reviews are typed exactly as patrons submitted them. The LME Library is not responsible for any incorrect or misspelled information contained in reviews by patrons.

Patron Book Review ~ The Cupcake Queen

The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler
Published: 2010
Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction
Description:
Penny's mother has moved to Hog's Hollow, has opened a bakery that sells only cupcakes, and she has brought Penny with her. Penny is woebegone: all her friends and her dad are in New York City; she has to help her mother in the bakery; and Hog's Hollow's resident mean girl is making her life a misery.

Review by patron, Peyton:

This book wasn't my favorite. It was about a girl who always moves and her parents are split up. She has to make a choice to stay with her mom or dad.

Have you been to a library program or read a book you'd like to review? Send it to kwill@lmelibrary.org and it may be published!

First names only are used in all reviews for privacy. Inappropriate or defamatory reviews will not be posted.

Reviews are typed exactly as patrons submitted them. The LME Library is not responsible for any incorrect or misspelled information contained in reviews by patrons.

Patron Book Review ~ Buddy is a Stupid Name For a Girl

Buddy is a Stupid Name For a Girl by Willo Davis Roberts
Published: 2001
Genre: Young Adult, Mystery
Description:
That's all Buddy wants -- a normal family. But with her mother dead, her father missing, and her brother on the road searching for him, Buddy has a hard time believing it will ever happen. Instead she's living with relatives she hardly knows who resent her for reasons she can't figure out. They think everything about her is strange, especially her name. Buddy can't give up hope -- that her father is out there, somewhere, and that her brother will find him so they can be a family again. But until then can Buddy find some way to accept her new life? Or will she always feel different?

Review by patron, Lindsey:

It's sad.

Have you been to a library program or read a book you'd like to review? Send it to kwill@lmelibrary.org and it may be published!

First names only are used in all reviews for privacy. Inappropriate or defamatory reviews will not be posted.

Reviews are typed exactly as patrons submitted them. The LME Library is not responsible for any incorrect or misspelled information contained in reviews by patrons.