Hilda C. Landers Library & Archives

Melanie Gilkerson has won the monthly prize drawing for June.

Submit a review in July to be eligible for the our next drawing. Don’t forget prizes are available for all participants who submit a review between June 3 and August 16.

Let me start by saying that this is the first book I’ve read of Hosseini’s. This perhaps is an advantage for me as I don’t have anything to compare it to — unbiased, if you will. That being said, I absolutely loved it. I fell in love with its many characters but found myself angered by them as well: their decisions, their lives, how things didn’t go the way they were supposed to. I found myself getting upset with Hosseini for robbing me of my picturesque image of how their lives should have played out.

Though, now that I have just finished it, I understand that life doesn’t always work out the way its supposed to. Rarely does it play out the way you had imagined. At times, the characters will placidly accept their fates or their lives for what they were or have become. I think there is a strong sense of realism seen in his portrayal of this — albeit frustrating at times.

I’ve read in other reviews that some were frustrated that Hosseini bounced so much between characters and POV, but I thought that he did it very effectively. The characters decisions and their lives do seem to echo in each others lives — I think this ties back into the title. He even at times commenting on it throughout the narrative as if he anticipates his readers questions or restlessness.

Overall, I loved reading the book. It has been a while since I couldn’t put a book down and this definitely held my attention. I think I will read his other two novels next!

Availability: COSMOS
Review Submitted by: Melanie Gilkerson
Rating: Highly recommended

Picoult will have you on the edge of your seat guessing what will come next as what appears to be an open and shut case takes many unexpected twists and turns. This book explores to what lengths someone is willing to go for their loved ones. It will also have you questioning how well you know yourself and others.                                                                                     ..        

Availability: COSMOS
Review Submitted by: Lisa Williams
Rating: Recommended with reservations because it contains triggering topics.

This book chronicles the rule of King Leopold II of Belgium over the Congo during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Hochschild reveals the atrocities that took place during this period including a forced labor system. Hochschild also details the efforts of men like E.D. Morel who revealed to the world all that was going on in the Congo. Finally, the book ends by drawing parallels of Leopold’s rule to the rule Joseph Mobutu who ruled the Congo for over three decades after the end of Belgian rule in the 1960s. Both regimes ruthlessly exploited the Congolese people for monetary gain. Overall, the book is very well written and offer an eye-opening account into one man’s rule during the scramble for Africa.

Availability: USMAI Catalog
Review Submitted by: Carson Fehner
Rating:  Highly Recommended.

Mary Beth Lantham is an average mother of three teenaged kids and the wife of a respected ophthalmologist. She also owns her own landscaping business, where she carefully designs gardens for people in her town. Her biggest concerns entail getting her daughter Ruby through her Senior year of high school and helping her twin sons Alex and Max transition into high school, while dealing with Max’s depression.  That is, until an unexpected tragedy changes her life forever, leaving  her to pick up the pieces after her carefully constructed life shatters.

I personally disliked this book. The first half was mundane. It’s filled with details about  Mary Beth’s perfect life and her inability to deal with anything that detracts from that. She ignored Ruby’s eating disorder until it was almost too late. She was in denial that Max was depressed, even though teachers repeatedly told her something was wrong. She also ignores the fact that her daughter has a stalker. Yes, her 17 year old daughter is being stalked by an ex boyfriend who constantly sends her pictures that he took of her and she doesn’t think to do anything about it. When the stalker is not being welcomed into the home by Mary Beth, he sneaks into Ruby’s room. Unfortunately, she refuses to believe that Ruby is being stalked, even when the evidence is laid out in front of her. So, she’s already not likable since you’ll be yelling at the book for her to do something. Or maybe that’s just me. Her inaction winds up being her downfall.

Seemingly to make up for the tediousness, Quindlen makes the second half overly tragic. The event  comes out of nowhere, and was completely avoidable. Once again Mary Beth can’t deal with it, while she ignores the fact that her own family is affected until it is almost too late. I can go on, but I don’t want to give too much away, other than the fact that it’s not well-written.

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Marissa Parlock
Rating: Not Recommended.

A comprehensive history and examination of North Korea’s politics and culture in the 20th and 21st century by one of the USA’s lead scholars on the region, and George W. Bush’s adviser on North Korean affairs. Well written and an easy read despite the subject matter, very in-depth without being wordy or overly academic. Cha uses his experience to make what could otherwise be a dry and depressing account a colorful and insightful read.

Availability: COSMOS, USMAI
Review Submitted by: Jean Drzyzgula
Rating: Highly Recommended.