Staff Recommendations
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European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman
by Goss, Theodora,
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryNovember 27, 2018
Call Number: M
When we last saw the members of The Athena Club (Mary Jekyll, Diana Hyde, Beatrice Rappaccini, Catherine Moreau and Justine Frankenstein) at the end of The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, they were gathered in the parlor and had just received two letters: one from Mary’s former governess, Mina Murray; the other from Lucinda Van Helsing. Both are asking for assistance and The Athena Club decides that they must help. And so begins the new... Read Full Review
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The Night Crossing
by Masello, Robert, 1952-
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryNovember 19, 2018
Dracula, Bram Stoker’s masterpiece, has been a cornerstone of literary horror since its publication in 1897. In the intervening 121 years, Stoker’s novel has inspired plays, motion pictures, television series, and other novels and short stories. But what was Stoker’s inspiration for the book? That is the intriguing question addressed in Robert Masello’s new novel The Night Crossing.
In 1895, Bram Stoker was working for actor Henry Irving and managing the Lyceum Theatre in London’s West End. He enjoyed his work, but continued to pursue writing. He dreamt of writing a... Read Full Review
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Trail of Lightning
by Roanhorse, Rebecca,
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryNovember 13, 2018
The world we know is gone, remade by climate change. The Diné, who we formerly referred to as the Navajo, saw the end of the world approaching and protected themselves. They constructed four 50-foot walls: one turquoise, one white shell, one pearlescent abalone, and one of jet to surround the Dinétah, and what was once their reservation. Now it is their world, and within those walls magic has returned, along with the Diné gods and monsters. And when there are monsters, you need a monster slayer. You need Maggie Hoskie.
Maggie, a young orphan who was forced to watch as her grandmother... Read Full Review
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There There
by Orange, Tommy
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryNovember 5, 2018
A postal worker, a young teenage boy, a documentary filmmaker, a scholar with a Masters degree in Native American literature, and a woman struggling with alcohol addiction are individuals who have three things in common: they are all Native Americans, they all live in Oakland, California, and they are all attending the Big Oakland Powwow. These five disparate individuals are only part of the cast of twelve characters, who also share those common attributes, in Tommy Orange’s stunning debut novel,There There.
The author, who was born and raised in Oakland, California, uses... Read Full Review
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Vengeful
by Schwab, V. E., 1987-
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryOctober 29, 2018
Eli Cardale and Victor Vale are ExtraOrdinaries (or EOs): people who have survived a near-death experience, and as a result of the trauma developed a special power or ability. Eli’s ability is regenerative: nearly any wound inflicted on him heals almost instantly; and he does not age and may very well be immortal. Victor can control pain, both his own and that of others. At the end of the events chronicled in V.E. Schwab’s Vicious, Eli had been arrested for Victor’s murder, and Victor had just been resurrected. What happens next is chronicled in Schwab’s latest novel, ... Read Full Review
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Don't Stop the Presses!: Truth, Justice, and the American Newspaper
by Morrison, Patt
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionOctober 24, 2018
Call Number: 071.09 M881
“Like any other reader, presidents tend to like newspapers when they think they side with them, and fume when they don’t. They may hate the press, but they know they need the press--and then they hate the fact that they do," states Patt Morrison in her new book. She knows what she is talking about, having an unassailable knowledge about newspapers and journalism, and as an experienced journalist for several decades.
Some 20 years ago newspapers struggled economically to survive, and re-examined assignments for journalists and photojournalists, especially those who covered... Read Full Review
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The Dinner List
by Serle, Rebecca
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryOctober 15, 2018
It’s a psychological exercise. It’s also a way to find out more about another person, or simply a jumping off point for a discussion among friends. But even if you’ve never created a list, almost everyone, at some point, has been asked to name the five people, living or dead, who they would invite to dinner if they could invite anyone. In her latest novel, Rebecca Serle follows Sabrina Nielsen, a young woman who shows up for her 30th birthday dinner and finds the people on her list seated at the table. It makes for an interesting evening and a marvelous read.
Sabrina made the list... Read Full Review
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The Black God's Drums
by Clark, P. Djeli.
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryOctober 7, 2018
Call Number: SF
Creeper has lived on the streets of New Orleans since her mother died when Creeper was eight years-old. At thirteen, she does OK for herself, although life is always hard and there is never enough to eat. And then she hears a group of Confederates plotting about kidnapping a Haitian scientist and stealing his mysterious weapon called the Black God’s Drums. This information could be valuable--valuable enough to get Creeper what she really desires: a position on the airship Midnight Robber and a chance to leave New Orleans and start a new life. But this will only happen if Creeper can... Read Full Review
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The Anchoress
by Cadwallader, Robyn,
Reviewed by: Julia G, Librarian, Frances Howard Goldwyn - Hollywood Regional Branch LibraryOctober 1, 2018
At age seventeen, Sarah asks to be sealed into a windowless cell for the rest of her life. Why would someone do such a thing, especially at such a young age?
Sarah is an anchoress, a holy woman who spends her days in prayer and gives spiritual advice to the women of her 11th century English village. Sarah hopes to follow in the footsteps of the previous anchoress, who the villagers claim was so holy that she didn’t even need food or water to survive. As soon as the door is nailed shut, Sarah swallows her fear and throws herself into the life of an ascetic, denying herself any... Read Full Review -
A Study in Honor
by O'Dell, Claire,
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibrarySeptember 24, 2018
Sherlock Holmes is the world’s best known, and possibly most popular, detective. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published the first Sherlock Holmes story, “A Study in Scarlet,” in 1887. Over the next forty years, Doyle went on to write fifty-five additional short stories and four novels about Holmes and his faithful companion, Dr. John Watson.
Holmes and Watson have become icons for both Great Britain and the mystery genre, and their adventures did not end when Doyle stopped writing. The characters have provided a type of playground for other writers shortly after the publication of the... Read Full Review
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Never Anyone but You
by Thomson, Rupert,
Reviewed by: Robert Anderson, Librarian, Literature & Fiction DepartmentSeptember 17, 2018
Paris in the 1920s: for Americans this phrase tends to evoke the U.S. expatriates who spent time there, including Gertrude Stein, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald. But most of the people who created the magical atmosphere that attracted all those foreigners were, of course, French natives. Rupert Thomson's tenth novel is a fictionalized portrait of two real-life Frenchwomen who participated in the artistic life of that place and time, and went on to play an equally significant part in the resistance to Nazi occupation.
The central characters of this story--Lucie Schwob and... Read Full Review -
The Philosopher's Flight
by Miller, Tom, 1980-
Reviewed by: Andrea Borchert, Librarian, Koreatown Media LabSeptember 4, 2018
Is there any magic power more wished for than flight? Robert “Boober” Weekes dreams of it. Not just of flying, but of being one of the bravest, best flyers in the world; a member of the Rescue and Evacuation Department of the U.S.Sigirly Corps. These flyers use magic sigils (inscribed or painted symbols that may have magical powers) to swoop into dangerous situations and save people. But no man has ever flown with Rescue and Evacuation. Even with a war going on, almost everyone is certain that neither Robert, nor any other man, will ever be strong enough for the job... Read Full Review