Reviews

Wishful Drinking

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Wishful Drinking

Wishful Drinking (2010 HBO Documentary)

By and Starring Carrie Fisher

Review by Stephanie Bragg

Actress Carrie Fisher, yes Princess Leia herself, has led a wildly interesting life.  The daughter of actress Debbie Reynolds and late singer Eddie Fisher, Carrie brings her unique sense of humor and wit to the facts of her life in her one woman stage production.  Fisher chronicles her life, from her parents’ separation and complicated family tree to becoming a cultural icon at age 19 and how that has affected her life and relationships. The one woman show was so popular, she developed it into her biography, also called Wishful Drinking

I really never knew Carrie Fisher had such a bold sense of humor, but I guess with all her trials in life you have to try to laugh about it.  My favorite section is talking about her family tree.  Fisher has a big board with everyone’s pictures from her parents to her spouses to her children.  The whole 76 minutes are hilarious and not without a healthy dose of “Star Wars” talk and paraphernalia.

Check availability on the documentary Wishful Drinking

Check availability on the biography Wishful Drinking

About the reviewer: Stephanie Bragg loves all things geek and tries to hit ComicCon each year.

Nervous Conditions

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Nervous ConditionsNervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga

Book review by Sam Sørensen

“Quietly, unobtrusively and extremely fitfully, something in my mind began to assert itself, to question things and refuse to be brainwashed, bringing me to this time when I can set down this story. It was a long and painful process for me, that process of expansion.” 

Dangarembga’s semi-autobiographical novel Nervous Conditions presents Tambu’s experiences coming of age in post-colonial Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). The novel begins on Tambu’s jarring, unrepentant confession:  “I was not sorry when my brother died.” Immediately, Tambu immerses her audience in one of several tragedies that drive the narrative. Tambu navigates power structures, difficult relationships, and sexism, which are all competing with the main goal of her own emancipation. The novel proves compelling and timeless by engaging the interwoven oppressions of race, gender, and socioeconomic status. Unfortunately, a lot of the same injustices Tambu encounters in post-colonial Rhodesia, we still see today in various countries. Dangarembga published a sequel, The Book of Not, in 2006, but that requires a review of its own!

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Are you participating in our YA Reading Excellence Award? Nervous Conditions would be perfect for it!

About the reviewer: Sam S. has worked as a Circulation Assistant for the Tredyffrin Public Library since 2013. She loves writing, reading, teaching, playing with her cat (Gigi!), and finding the perfect cup of coffee.

A Reliable Wife

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A Reliable WifeA Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

 

Review by Kate Shaw 

A fascinating, unexpected debut novel that examines the dark nature of humanity in the face of illness and loneliness. The book describes the rich landscape of 1907 Wisconsin and delves into how the harsh winters can affect the people of a small isolated town. Imagine Ralph Truitt’s surprise when Catherine Land steps off the train. Ralph, the wealthiest man in town, has placed an ad in the newspaper for “A Reliable Wife” and Catherine does not match the photograph she sent.

The book chronicles the uneasy start of Catherine and Ralph’s marriage. The reader comes to find that Catherine’s certainly not the pure, faithful woman she claims to be. Ralph, too, proves more than he appeared at first sight and encourages Catherine to help him locate his estranged son. The story escalates when Catherine begins to slowly poison her husband, allowing the reader to gain insight to the tortured thoughts of a conflicted woman. Continue reading →

The Paris Architect

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The Paris ArchitectThe Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure

Review by Susan Williams

The Paris Architect follows Lucien, an up-and-coming architect in 1942. In Nazi occupied Paris, a wealthy industrialist offers the architect a lucrative commission to design a secret hiding place for a Jewish client. Initially, Lucien must decide whether or not to risk his own life in an attempt to help save a group that he has little empathy with. He finally decides to undertake the commission. This job leads to many more opportunities for Lucien to devise elaborate hiding places to outwit the German police.

The discovery of one of Lucien’s hiding places leads to tragic consequences. Of course, this makes the book all the more suspenseful. Lucien begins to empathize with the suffering Jews as he never had before.

As a World War II buff, this story kept me riveted to the last page!

This is the author’s first novel; he is himself an architect and historian.

If this isn’t enough to whet your whistle, check out the book trailer for The Paris Architect on youtube.

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About the reviewer: Susan Williams enoys reading, traveling, gardening, my baby granddaughters, and working at Tredyffrin library (since 2001).

Creed (2015)

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CreedDVDCreed

Starring Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone

Review by Stephanie Bragg

Everyone’s favorite Philadelphian boxer is back! Sylvester Stallone (Academy Award nominated) as Rocky Balboa returns but this time to train a new fighter, and not just any fighter, the son of his opponent and friend Apollo Creed.  Adonis “Donnie” Johnson wants to be a fighter but does not want to trade in on his father’s name.  Making his way up from boxing in Tijuana, Donnie is given a shot at a fight with undefeated champion “Pretty” Ricky Conlan, but only if he fights under the Creed name. Rocky decides to train Donnie for the biggest fight of his life. Continue reading →

The Tragical Comedy or Comedic Tragedy of Mr. Punch

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Mr. PunchThe Tragical Comedy or Comedic Tragedy of Mr. Punch

By Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Dave McKean

Review by Anna Yardney

Enter the world of Mr. Punch. Master storyteller Neil Gaiman and standout graphic artist David McKean team up in this eerie graphic novel.  Enter into a realm filled with family secrets. See the way they play themselves out in the most unexpected ways. In a seaside vacation  town, a young boy encounters a strange and threatening puppet show. Furthermore, the arrival begins to stir up uncomfortable memories for his grandfather. Through a series of accidental revelations and half-understood conversations, the narrator begins to see the parallels of the puppet show within his own family.

McKean’s beautiful artwork really highlights Gaiman’s universe. Wonderfully creepy and subtle enough to keep you thinking, despite it’s age of more than 20 years. I would recommend this graphic novel to anyone who has enjoyed Sandman, Fun Home, or the comics of Alan Moore. Mr. Punch is an exciting precursor to Gaiman’s 2002 classic Coraline.

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About the Reviewer: Anna has worked at Tredyffrin for over five years and has a personal goal of reading all of Neil Gaiman’s graphic novels.

When the Killing’s Done

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When the Killing's DoneWhen the Killing’s Done by T.C. Boyle

Review by Gretchen Chamberlin

Serendipitously perfect for summer, the locale of T. C. Boyle’s book is the Channel Islands off the coast of California–a very real place that has been the site of countless assaults over time on the islands’ unique animal and plant populations. Ranching, farming, rogue species hitching rides on seafaring ships, which landed on the islands, all wreaked havoc on  the ecology of these isolated bits of land. In 1980, the islands became a national park. These are the facts.
Boyle’s contemporary novel pits Dave LaJoy, a fiery and fanatical animal rights champion against the cool minded academic, Alma Takesue, PhD, a National Park Service spokesperson and protector of the islands’ indigenous species. Her agenda includes killing the invasive species, including rats and feral pigs, which are threatening the ecosystem. And, this is where the fun begins.  Continue reading →

Pretty Girls

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Pretty GirlsPretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

Review by Angie Andre

“When you first disappeared, your mother warned me that finding out exactly what happened to you would be worse than never knowing.”

There are three sisters; Claire, Lydia, and Julia. Twenty years ago, 19 year old Julia went missing. Not knowing what happened to her destroys her family. The two surviving sisters, Claire and Lydia, have been estranged for most of the past 20 years, but come together for the fight of their lives. Continue reading →

The War that Saved My Life

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The War that Saved My Life

The War that Saved My Life

By Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Review by Kelly Shea

With amazing depth and insight, The War that Saved My Life tells the wartime story of nine-year-old Ada and her little brother, Jamie.  Ada has spent her entire childhood inside her mother’s apartment, with only the view from her window and her little brother’s stories to help her understand the outside world.  Her mother is verbally and physically abusive and blames Ada for her clubfoot.  However, the Second World War brings new and exciting changes to Ada’s life.  When the opportunity arrives, Ada learns to walk as best she can.   She sneaks away from her imprisonment with Jamie in tow.  The pair end up joining many other children evacuating London to travel to the countryside.

Continue reading →

Clue

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Clue the MovieClue: The Movie (1985)

Review by Kate Shaw

 

“Let’s make a movie based on a board game!” Yeah, cause that’s a good idea. Except it was. At least it was a good idea in 1985 when Paramount Pictures released this gem. Of course, that being said, Clue didn’t do terribly well when it was released, scrapping the production company’s plans for a series of board game movies. Alas, we’ll never know what a . . . delight? Monopoly would have been. Aside: Hollywood seemed to have figured that since Clue became such a cult classic that they would try again. Battleship did so poorly in 2013, Hasbro’s toy sales declined (possibly due to economic recession . . . or that movie). Continue reading →