New Kid, by Jerry Craft, 2010

August 29, 2020

This book was so much fun! I hope it’s ok to say that. Much of it is told through a sketch book journal. Main character and budding cartoonist, Jordan faces the usual challenges of being . . . read more »

Category: Book Reviews - Kids, Reviews Graphic Novels, Reviews Juvenile Books

A Home For Goddesses and Dogs, by Leslie Connor, 2020

August 29, 2020

A down to earth story with lots of sweetness, depth and heart. I wanted to stay in it; and live there for awhile with the women who are all about healing stray creatures. At 13, . . . read more »

Category: Book Reviews - Kids, Reviews Juvenile Books

Symphony for the City of the Dead Dimitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad

August 29, 2020

by M. T. Anderson 2015 This biography is stunning; it is so compellingly told that I couldn’t put it down.The story will stay with me for a long time. I’m finding it hard to start . . . read more »

Category: Book Reviews - Kids, Reviews Young Adult Books

Praire Lotus by Linda Sue Parks 2020

August 29, 2020

I feel lucky to have been guided to these books about the Asian American experience. Downstairs Girl, A Place to Belong, When you Trap A Tiger, and Prairie Lotus, all chronicle the abuse, prejudice, virtual . . . read more »

Category: Book Reviews - Kids, Reviews Juvenile Books

When You Trap a Tiger

August 29, 2020

by Tae Keller 2020 A quick enchanting read that manages to tackle the pain of growing up in a another culture and the loss of the family matriarch. The Korean grandmother has told her granddaughters . . . read more »

Category: Reviews Juvenile Books

The Boy and Girl Who Broke the World by Amy Reed 2019

August 29, 2020

The setting is the near future in a downtrodden small town suffering the effects of global warming and economic  disaster following the loss of the surrounding forests. It’s intentionally ugly and depressing with surreal fantasy . . . read more »

Category: Book Reviews - Kids, Reviews Young Adult Books

The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee 2019

July 29, 2020

Although it is written with a light touch, this book hit me hard.   I had not remembered that the southern suffragettes did not include formerly enslaved black women and certainly not Chinese women.They were not even . . . read more »

Category: Book Reviews - Kids, Reviews Young Adult Books

With the Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo 2019

July 29, 2020

I loved this book about a feisty young woman who succeeds against so many odds. She is an Afro Latinx senior in high school, living in racially challenging Philadelphia with her  3 yr old daughter and . . . read more »

Category: Book Reviews - Kids, Reviews Young Adult Books

JULY Reading

July 17, 2020

If you would like to put one of these books on hold, please visit the library website and browse the MINERVA catalog or call the library at 207-244-7065 and speak with one of us and . . . read more »

Category: Book Reviews

The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu 2020

July 16, 2020

The book goes back and forth between reality and fantasy. The telling is inspired with crystalline images from the fantasy world and interesting historical details of Mozart’s time.  I was fascinated by the main characters, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . . . read more »

Category: Book Reviews - Kids, Reviews Juvenile Books