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Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk

9781250113320
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Solvitur Ambulande, solved by walking, could be the motto of this novel. And if you, like me, process the world while strolling through town or the woods, you’ll love this book.

Two alternating stories thread through it. In one, it’s the 1980s, and New York City still has a crime problem, so people fear walking at night.  Most, that is, except for Lillian Boxfish, an octogenarian advertising maven (retired) and a poet. It’s New Year’s 1985, and a ten-mile, round trip walk from upper Manhattan to the Bowery and the Village is no big deal for her.

The second story first-time novelist Kathleen Rooney weaves tells Lillian’s history in the Big Apple. After moving to New York from D.C. in the roaring twenties, Lillian immediately felt at home. She began living in Manhattan in a sheltered rooming house with strict curfews and rules against male visitors.  Lillian and her childhood girlfriend got around these rules by organizing Shakespearean theater pieces to which they invited eligible bachelors.  Later, they’d head out on the town with them, and coming back hours after curvew, they’d tip the front desk person, and steal back to their rooms. Read more about Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk

Posted by Dory L. on March 1, 2017
Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk: A Novel
Fiction
Reviews
Think Library
  • Dory L.'s blog

March: Book 3 by John Lewis

9781603094023
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Winner of the 2017 Michael L. Printz Award, the 2017 Coretta Scott King Author Award, the 2017 Sibert Medal, and several other awards, March: Book 3 by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell is a monumental feat of storytelling that is a must-read. March: Book 3 is the final installment in a graphic novel trilogy that chronicles the Civil Rights Movement in the American South from the perspective of John Lewis. This book follows the Civil Rights Movement from the Selma to Montgomery march to the passage of the Civil Rights Act, chronicling the trials and tribulations the protestors faced during this time. Chock full of text, explanations, and history, March: Book 3 illustrates the human need for freedom and equality. At once deeply personal, as we see much from Lewis’s perspective, and highly detached as the broader frictions in the movement are revealed and the enormous struggle the movement overcame are presented. Read more about March: Book 3 by John Lewis

Posted by Sam O. on February 28, 2017
March: Book Three
African American
History
Award Winner
Staff Picks
Civil Rights
Graphic Novels & Manga
Think Library
Teens
Reviews
  • Sam O.'s blog

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

9781250095251
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Scarlett has been writing to Legend every year for the past 7 years, but this year, she finally got the letter right. Legend is the master of Caraval, a magical, mysterious game where the winner's get fame, glory, and, this time, a wish. Scarlett and her sister Tella have been invited to Caraval, but Scarlett is about to marry a Count and finally take her sister away from their tiny island and their abusive father. If she leaves to play the game, she could ruin everything. Read more about Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Posted by Becky F. on February 14, 2017
Caraval
Think Library
Teens
Reviews
  • Becky F.'s blog

Magnus Chase and the Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan

9781423160922
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Winner of the 2017 Stonewall Book Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature, Magnus Chase and the Hammer of Thor marks Rick Riordan’s return to the world of Asgard. Picking up right after their triumph at the end of the previous story, Magnus Chase and company must now retrieve Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, before the giants invade and destroy Earth. So overall, just your average day really. Filled with Riordan’s trademark research, interpretative genius, and wit, The Hammer of Thor will satisfy die-hard fans and likely make some new ones, as he tackles issues of race, religion, representation, and gender. Read more about Magnus Chase and the Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan

Posted by Sam O. on February 11, 2017
The Hammer of Thor
Adventure
Award Winner
Fantasy
Friendship
LGBTQ
Magic
Think Library
Teens
Kids
Reviews
  • Sam O.'s blog

Birds, Art, Life: a Year of Observation

9781501154201
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If you love the natural world, this little book about birding will entice you.  It’s also about much more: how to be in the world, parenting, partnering, creativity, and friendship. She also explores the first books people fell in love with, celebrity eyebrows, art, and especially how to make peace with the roaring, anxious self inside you.

Maclear, a Canadian author of children’s books, decides after a heavy stint caring for her aged father after suffering two strokes that she needed to take up a hobby for herself. She is also a mom raising two young boys, the younger of which, has the weird propensity for falling, resulting in emergency room visits.

First, she plans to take up drawing again. But the renowned teacher she interviews about lessons seemed too structured for her. As you can see in the beautiful line drawings, she also spent a year with pen and ink.

One night her husband suggests that she look at some bird photographs taken by the musician who scored his latest film.  These bird pictures wowed Kyo. So much so, that within a few days, she’d contacted the musician and asked if he would be her guide to the world of birding for an entire year. What she liked about her guru, who she simply calls “The Musician” throughout the book was that he was “fervent about birds without being reverential.” Read more about Birds, Art, Life: a Year of Observation

Posted by Dory L. on February 8, 2017
Birds, Art, Life: A Year of Observation
Nonfiction
Reviews
Think Library
  • Dory L.'s blog

Another Brooklyn

9780062359988
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The helplessness and friendships of childhood are topics that many writers have tackled. Fewer have written about African-American girlhood, as Woodson does here. The book centers on August, the intelligent young girl who leaves the lush south for the vibrant and dangerous streets of Bushwick, Brooklyn.

“For a long time my mother wasn’t dead yet.” This sentence opens the novel, which doesn’t proceed chronologically, but follows an inner lyric pulse. Throughout, the whereabouts of August’s missing mother haunt the story.

August’s family lived in Tennessee on a farm called SweetGrove land.  It was inherited from her grandparents. After their uncle, Clyde, a Vietnam soldier dies, her mother begins to unravel. Soon, her father rushes north with August and her little brother to Brooklyn, his home town.

It’s summer--so for safety, August’s father locks her and her little brother, who is only five, inside their third-story apartment. They spend long summer days watching children play on the street: double-Dutch, stick ball games and splashing under open fire hydrants.  A colorful parade of adults wearing dashikis and other colorful outfits weave past. Read more about Another Brooklyn

Posted by Dory L. on January 31, 2017
Another Brooklyn
African American
Fiction
Friendship
Think Library
Reviews
  • Dory L.'s blog

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

9781616205676
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Winner of the 2017 Newberry Medal, The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill is a must read for any fans of fairy tales and fantasy. Barnhill weaves together pieces of many genres, creating a story reminiscent of classic fairy tales, yet at the same time all its own. The many elements this story explores are difficult to adequately explain, but let it suffice to say that at its heart, The Girl Who Drank the Moon is a story about the power of love and family (both born and chosen) and illustrates the very best that fairy tale and fantasy storytelling has to offer. Read more about The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

Posted by Sam O. on January 25, 2017
The Girl Who Drank the Moon
Adventure
Award Winner
Staff Picks
Fantasy
Magic
Think Library
Teens
Kids
Reviews
  • Sam O.'s blog

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

9781442472426
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Death has been defeated and world peace achieved. With the guidance of Artificial Intelligence, humanity has ushered in a utopia…. mostly. In Scythe, Neal Shusterman posits that AI has evolved into an omniscient (and omnibenevolent) force called the Thunderhead, through which the world has achieved a true and lasting peace. The Thunderhead controls everything, but unlike many dystopian works, this is a miraculous and profoundly beneficial event. The only power that the Thunderhead does not possess is the ability to take life. That responsibility is assigned to Scythes, who roam the world utilizing quotas to randomly glean (aka kill) in order to keep earth’s population in check. Read more about Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Posted by Sam O. on January 24, 2017
Scythe
Adventure
Award Winner
Staff Picks
Coming of Age
Sci-Fi
Think Library
Teens
Reviews
  • Sam O.'s blog

The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry

9780451469922
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This morning (1.23.17) the American Library Association announced the winners of the Youth Media Awards for 2017! Check out the full list here. One of the honor books chosen for the Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults was The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry.

The Passion of Dolssa is historical fiction set in 13th century Provence, following the Albigensian Crusade. There is an uneasy peace and the church has now turned it's eye to rooting out the last remaining vestiges of heresy in the region. Dolssa de Stigata is a young woman with deep religious convictions and a very close, personal relationship with Jesus. For this she is considered a heretic and sentenced to death by burning. Read more about The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry

Posted by Becky F. on January 23, 2017
The Passion of Dolssa: A Novel
Think Library
Teens
Reviews
  • Becky F.'s blog

A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

9780062398901
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Sherlock has finally returned to television, so what better time to read a new interpretation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic sleuth? A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro, posits that Holmes and Watson each had families and children who followed in their famous ancestors footsteps all the way to modern times. Cavallaro creates a history for the families of Holmes and Watson, transforming them into semi-dynastic clans that often pursue the ideals set forth by the family founder. Against this backdrop, the reader is introduced to James Watson, the great-great-great grandson of the famous chronicler John Watson, as he moves, unhappily, from England to Connecticut to start his semester on a rugby scholarship at an expensive and elite private school near his estranged father. There he meets the great-great-great granddaughter of Sherlock Holmes, Charlotte, who takes after her famous ancestor to a troubling degree, including his substance abuse issues. Read more about A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

Posted by Sam O. on January 17, 2017
A Study in Charlotte: A Charlotte Holmes Novel
Adventure
Crime
Mystery
Think Library
Teens
Reviews
  • Sam O.'s blog

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303 E. Kirkwood Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47408

Ellettsville Branch |  812-876-1272
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