50th anniversary book challenge

A Canticle for Leibowitz

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A Canticle for Leibowitz

by Walter M. Miller, Jr.

Review by Sarah Reisert

In Miller’s version of the future, humanity practically destroyed itself with the advent of nuclear weapons in the twentieth century.  This book is comprised of three separate jumps in time (each about six hundred years apart, starting about six hundred years from the nuclear holocaust) in the company of the Albertian Order of Leibowitz, brothers in the southwestern United States devoted to preserving knowledge in a world that now doesn’t trust it.

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City of Brick and Shadow

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City of Brick and Shadow

by Tim Wirkus

Review by Angela DeMott

 

City of Brick and Shadow is original, thoughtful, funny, and asks more questions than it attempts to answer. I loved how Tim Wirkus throws the reader into the Mormon missionaries’ world without much explanation – you pick up on the vocabulary and norms of their lifestyle by osmosis and it’s a different and fascinating approach to a somewhat unfamiliar landscape. Continue reading →

When She Woke

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When She Woke

by Hillary Jordan

Review by Rebecca Hoetger

This novel was a huge disappointment for me. I thought When She Woke had so much potential, but didn’t really deliver in the execution; it never made it past the “meh” stage, really. For me, this novel was all about the tease. You’re given a little bit of information, but not enough to be truly satisfied, though there were some really good parts—the futuristic world, its technology, the morality laws, etc. While I thought the America created by Hillary Jordan was interesting and thought-provoking, again I didn’t get quite enough of the backstory to really be a part of that world. Continue reading →

I Shall be Near to You

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I Shall be Near to You

By Erin Lindsay McCabe

Review by Angela DeMott

I Shall Be Near to You is one of the rare cases where the novel itself lives up to the author reviews and jacket cover blurbs. While primarily a love story (a moving and realistic one at that), I Shall Be Near to You surprised me with its terrifying and riveting portrayal of 19th century life during war. The two main characters (Rosetta and Jeremiah) were extremely well-drawn, and Rosetta’s narrative voice was every bit as unique, engaging, and believable as any in the literary canon. Throughout the novel, I kept thinking, “I really wish Rosetta could somehow share a meal and conversation with Ada Monroe.” Continue reading →

Kristy’s Great Idea

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The Babysitters Club: Kristy’s Great Idea

by Ann M. Martin and Raina Telgemeier

Review by Angela DeMott

It took me a chapter or two to get used to the graphic novel format, but once I trained my eye to follow the sequences of the drawings and stopped roaming the page, I really enjoyed this version of the BSC. I love the details Raina Telgemeier puts into her artwork – her faces are so expressive! Continue reading →

Dr. Mütter’s Marvels

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Dr. Mutter's MarvelsDr. Mütter’s Marvels

By Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz

Review by Sarah Reisert

I can’t say if I’ve ever noticed the portrait of Thomas Dent Mütter hanging in his namesake museum on any of my previous visits.  Even if I had glanced at it amongst the walls of skulls and bottled tumors, I wouldn’t have known much about the man. I wouldn’t knowa bout the new plastic surgery method Dr. Mütter developed to help burn victims lead more normal lives. Nor how he was the first surgeon in Philadelphia to use ethyl ether anesthesia. I wouldn’t know about his weakness for splashy clothes that matched the color of his carriage, or how his students positively adored him until his untimely death at age 48.  Continue reading →

Founding Brothers

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Founding BrothersFounding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation

by Joseph J. Ellis

Review by Angela DeMott 

Joseph Ellis’ Founding Brothers has a lot to say about the Revolutionary era. In addition, it is a commentary on our current political, economic, and social situation. By way of analyzing six significant moments in U.S. history, Ellis argues that there were as many, if not more, interpretations of the revolutionary spirit of 1776 (and what that actually entailed for the growing nation) as there are beliefs on what it means to be an American today; Ellis also argues that our first political leaders didn’t really know what they were doing (How could they have? There was no precedent!) yet their gut instincts and passion still lead us, eventually, to green pastures.  Continue reading →

Valley of the Dolls

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Valley of the DollsValley of the Dolls

by Jacqueline Susann

Review by Rebecca Hoetger

Valley of the Dolls fulfilled two separate book challenges: the Rory Gilmore Challenge and a book published in 1966 for TPL’s 50th Anniversary Book Challenge. I have to say, although 50 years old, it still seems very relevant today, considering the pressures of extreme fame that many celebrities face. I liked that the story is told from the perspectives of three strong women: Anne, Neely, and Jennifer. All rise in wealth and fame and deal with life’s pressures differently. Even with the novel’s depressing undertones—a very Mad Men feel—I couldn’t put it down. Continue reading →

The Explorer’s Guild Volume One

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The Explorer's Guild Volume OneThe Explorer’s Guild, Vol. I: A Passage to Shambhala

By Jon Baird & Kevin Costner, with illustrations by Rick Ross

Review by Sarah Reisert

A wealthy member of the Explorer’s Guild accepts a challenge to find the Northwest Passage, but on the way he stumbles across a figure of legend: the city of Shambhala. He escapes with his life but falls terribly ill, and enlists his brother (and the rough-and-tumble regiment his brother commands) to help him figure out where on Earth the city will appear next. At least, I think that’s the story. Continue reading →