Patron Book Review ~ Where the Red Fern Grows

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

Published: 1961
Genre: Children's Literature, Historical Fiction, Classic

Description:
First published in 1961, a modern-day classic for children follows the friendship between a boy and his two dogs as they search out adventure along the dark hills and river bottoms of Cherokee country.

Review by patron, Isabelle:
It is a book with a ton of detail. Be ready to start Bawling. If you haven't watched the movie I highly recommend it.

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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 ~ Hollow City

Hollow City (Miss Peregrine #2) by Ransom Riggs
Published: 2014
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal,
Description:
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was the surprise best seller of 2011 - an unprecedented mix of YA fantasy and vintage photography that enthralled audiences and critics alike. Publishers Weekly called it "an enjoyable, eccentric read, distinguished by well-developed characters, a believable Welsh setting, and some very creepy monsters."

This second novel begins in 1940, immediately after the first book ended. Having escaped Miss Peregrine's island by the skin of their teeth, Jacob and his new friends must journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. Along the way, they encounter new allies, a menagerie of peculiar animals, and other surprises.

Complete with dozens of newly discovered (and thoroughly creepy) vintage photographs, this new adventure will delight fantasy fans of all ages.

Review by patron, Anonymous:   
The book is creative and original. It is an intense and gripping story that can be difficult to understand at times.

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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 Review ~ Fever 1793

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
Published: 2000
Genre: Young Adult, Historic Fiction,
Description:
On the heels of her acclaimed contemporary teen novel Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson surprises her fans with a riveting and well-researched historical fiction. Fever 1793 is based on an actual epidemic of yellow fever in Philadelphia that wiped out 5,000 people--or 10 percent of the city's population--in three months. At the close of the 18th century, Philadelphia was the bustling capital of the United States, with Washington and Jefferson in residence. During the hot mosquito-infested summer of 1793, the dreaded yellow fever spread like wildfire, killing people overnight. Like specters from the Middle Ages, gravediggers drew carts through the streets crying "Bring out your dead!" The rich fled to the country, abandoning the city to looters, forsaken corpses, and frightened survivors.

In the foreground of this story is 16-year-old Mattie Cook, whose mother and grandfather own a popular coffee house on High Street. Mattie's comfortable and interesting life is shattered by the epidemic, as her mother is felled and the girl and her grandfather must flee for their lives. Later, after much hardship and terror, they return to the deserted town to find their former cook, a freed slave, working with the African Free Society, an actual group who undertook to visit and assist the sick and saved many lives. As first frost arrives and the epidemic ends, Mattie's sufferings have changed her from a willful child to a strong, capable young woman able to manage her family's business on her own. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell

Review by patron, Isabelle:
It was very informative about when yellow fever first broke out. It was very good.

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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 ~ 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 ~ Where the Red Fern Grows

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Published: 1961
Genre: Children's Literature, Historical Fiction, Classic

Description:
First published in 1961, a modern-day classic for children follows the friendship between a boy and his two dogs as they search out adventure along the dark hills and river bottoms of Cherokee country.

Review by patron, Anonymous:  
I really liked this book because Billy saved his $ for 2 years just to get two hound dogs who he loves.

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 ~ Children of the River

Children of the River by Linda Crew
Published: 1989
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction,

Description:
Sundara fled Cambodia with her aunt's family to escape the Khmer Rouge army when she was thirteen, leaving behind her parents, her brother and sister, and the boy she had loved since she was a child.

Now, four years later, she struggles to fit in at her Oregon high school and to be "a good Cambodian girl" at home. A good Cambodian girl never dates; she waits for her family to arrange her marriage to a Cambodian boy. Yet Sundara and Jonathan, an extraordinary American boy, are powerfully drawn to each other. Haunted by grief for her lost family and for the life left behind, Sundara longs to be with him. At the same time she wonders, Are her hopes for happiness and new life in America disloyal to her past and her people?
Review by patron, Anonymous: 

I liked this book because Sundara travels to America when her family is attacked an army in Cambodia.

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 ~ Fly Girl

Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
Published: 2009
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction,
Description:
Ida Mae Jones dreams of flight. Her daddy was a pilot and being black didn't stop him from fulfilling his dreams. But her daddy's gone now, and being a woman, and being black, are two strikes against her.

When America enters the war with Germany and Japan, the Army creates the WASP, the Women's Airforce Service Pilots - and Ida suddenly sees a way to fly as well as do something significant to help her brother stationed in the Pacific. But even the WASP won't accept her as a black woman, forcing Ida Mae to make a difficult choice of 'passing,' of pretending to be white to be accepted into the program. Hiding one's racial heritage, denying one's family, denying one's self is a heavy burden. And while Ida Mae chases her dream, she must also decide who it is she really wants to be.
Review by patron, Anonymous:

The girl is Spanish and they didn't want Spanish people flying planes in war. She looks white so she sneaks in and flys. Very suspenseful.

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.

Book Review ~ A Great and Terrible Beauty

A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle, book 1) by Libba Bray
Published: Sept. 2007
Genre: Fantasy/Historical Fiction

Description:
A Victorian boarding school story, a Gothic mansion mystery, a gossipy romp about a clique of girlfriends, and a dark other-worldly fantasy--jumble them all together and you have this complicated and unusual first novel.

Gemma, 16, has had an unconventional upbringing in India, until the day she foresees her mother's death in a black, swirling vision that turns out to be true. Sent back to England, she is enrolled at Spence, a girls' academy with a mysterious burned-out East Wing. There Gemma is snubbed by powerful Felicity, beautiful Pippa, and even her own dumpy roommate Ann, until she blackmails herself and Ann into the treacherous clique. Gemma is distressed to find that she has been followed from India by Kartik, a beautiful young man who warns her to fight off the visions. Nevertheless, they continue, and one night she is led by a child-spirit to find a diary that reveals the secrets of a mystical Order. The clique soon finds a way to accompany Gemma to the other-world realms of her visions "for a bit of fun" and to taste the power they will never have as Victorian wives, but they discover that the delights of the realms are overwhelmed by a menace they cannot control. Gemma is left with the knowledge that her role as the link between worlds leaves her with a mission to seek out the "others" and rebuild the Order. A Great and Terrible Beauty is an impressive first book in what should prove to be a fascinating trilogy. (Ages 12 up) -Patty Campbell

YA Staff Review:
I really enjoyed this book. There are parts that make me think of Harry Potter (discovering you’re something more than you thought you were), Mean Girls (new girl dislikes the main clique of girls and the way they treat others but joins them to try), and Ghost Whisperer but is enough different to not be annoyingly copycat.