Hilda C. Landers Library & Archives

This is the 12th book in “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” series, which I love. Smith’s books are such a breath of fresh air—charming and interesting. And, in a strange way, calming. I find myself physically reading these books more slowly, savoring them.

The series takes place in Botswana and features Precious Ramotswe, the proprietor of the detective agency, and the people and events surrounding her life in and out of the business. I recommend the books if you want a quick, peaceful read!

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Jordan Gaines, Alum ’11
Rating:  Highly recommended

See reviews of Tea Time for the Traditionally Built and The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith.

This book starts out with the introduction of the main characters: Gemma, Pauline and Lallie. Gemma is a privileged child in a semi-broken home, whose life spirals from fairly normal to very odd in a short period of time. Pauline is from a terrible home, with no consistent parental figures, and lives in abject poverty. She occasionally engages in prostitution for money, but this fact is presented as a nonchalant, everyday occurrence. Lallie is a child movie star, on the brink of stardom in America. Lallie represents the dream life for a pre-adolescent, but her adult chaperons are mostly concerned with living through the vicarious experiences she provides, and she is rather alone. Her movie role is that of a child being molested, somewhat knowingly, by a pedophile.

As most books featuring young adults, the subjects are speaking in their own voice, which is pleasant. Amanda Coe is clearly a good writer, but there were elements within that failed to make this book worth a recommendation.

The story proceeds with some ancillary character details, some of which make sense (such as the scenes involving Lallie, the child star whose movie is shooting in Gemma and Pauline’s hometown). Other characters, like Lallie’s agent, also make sense. But the inclusion of the sexual encounters and drug abuse of the producer, Quentin, is odd and not useful to plot development. Presumably she represents the potential future of these three young girls – “desensitized to violence and sex at a young age, young woman becomes apathetic and addicted.” But it serves no purpose other than to be annoying.

You start to think you know what will happen, but then the ending takes a very dark, unexpected and not too agreeable turn in the last twenty or so pages. I felt the ending was hard to follow and unpleasantly discordant with the rest of the book. The subject of the abuse, Cynthia, is only minimally mentioned throughout the novel, and while Gemma appears to be sympathetic to her, this is lost in the last scene as Gemma and Pauline take bullying to the extreme.  It felt like the author beat around the bush about the action, by using dialogue to convey the horror of what’s going on, to the point that you aren’t sure what’s even happening. I had to re-read it twice – cringing all the while – to feel I followed the action. Then I wanted to scrub my brain with Lysol and forget I read it. I’m still not sure what the theme of this book was supposed to be. “Men are perverts and secret child molesters. But young girls can be too?” It was just plain weird and I would NOT recommend this book, especially to anyone under the age of twenty. Not for younger audiences or anyone looking for happy endings.

Availability: COSMOS
Review Submitted by: Emily Clifton Stump, former SMCM student in Physics
Rating:  Not Recommended

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck is the story of the family of Wang Lung, a Chinese man living in the time before World War II. There is very little dialogue; the story is told through the thoughts of Wang Lung instead of conversations with other characters. However, the descriptions never felt boring, as can be the case with books with little dialogue. I really enjoyed the glimpse into everyday life in China at that time, but parts concerning the treatment of women were sometimes difficult to read.

Availability: SMCM Library
Review Submitted by: Rebecca Thayer
Rating:  Recommended

Goliath is the last volume in the steampunk trilogy, Leviathan by the author of the The Uglies. Recommended after reading the other books in the series.

A great ending to the series!!

Availability: COSMOS
Review Submitted by: Lisa Williams
Rating:  Recommended

Behemoth is a great continuation of the Leviathan series. Recommended after reading Leviathan by the same author.

Availability: COSMOS
Review Submitted by: Lisa Williams
Rating:  Recommended

Leviathan is an interesting twist on World War I. It is an alternate history that brings up some interesting political questions very subtly. I like the fact that it has more plot than some of his other books that I have read.

Availability: COSMOS
Review Submitted by: Lisa Williams
Rating:  Highly recommended

Learning about the neurobiology of Parkinson’s disease (P.D.) in one of my graduate classes—coupled with my re-discovery of the Back to the Future trilogy—compelled me to pick up Michael J. Fox’s memoir Lucky Man at the library. The book begins with Fox emerging from a hangover (a common occurrence) when he notices his left pinkie trembling uncontrollably. He tries shutting it in a drawer; it stops for a few seconds, then commences beating against the wood. This “resting tremor,” one of the first signs of P.D., already marks 70% of disease progression. The book goes back to Fox’s childhood up until the time of his writing (late ’90s), detailing the peak of his career, his self-described downfall, where P.D. fit into his timeline—and how it actually “saved” him, in a way. Michael J. Fox’s writing is excellent, and he had a fascinating story to tell. I recommend this book for Fox fans, those curious about P.D., or anyone who’s interested in reading good writing (that should cover about all the bases)!

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Jordan Gaines, Alum ’11
Rating:  Highly recommended

This is hands down the best book I have ever read about writing. Lamott writes with clarity, humor, and style–I laughed out loud on every page, and also came away feeling better about my writing, the writing process, and being a writer generally. A must read for any English major, or really anyone who thinks of themselves as someone who is or would like to be a writer.

Availability: SMCM Library
Review Submitted by: Tiko Mason, Class of 2013
Rating:  Must Read

This play by David Henry Hwang (author of M. Butterfly) grapples with the issues of racial performativity, mistaken identity, community, and American culture. Hwang writes himself into this play as a character and engages with events from his personal life as well as fictional representations and characters in order to question the Asian American identity in the United States. A quick read that will leave you thinking about its implications long after the curtain falls.

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Tiko Mason, Class of 2013
Rating:  Highly Recommended

Julie Otsuka’s The Buddha in the Attic explores the Japanese-American experience from the perspective of Issei ‘picture brides’ who came to this country in the early 20th century. Their stories are beautifully interwoven and evocatively portray the experience of both cultural assimilation and ultimately Japanese internment during World War 2. The entire book is written from the perspective of “we” which makes the reading more literarily engaging although the reader has less of a relationship with a single protagonist.

Availability: SMCM Library
Review Submitted by: Tiko Mason, Class of 2013
Rating:  Highly recommended