Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel 

Reviewed by: Susie Rivera, Reference Specialist

Genre: Science Fiction

Suggested Age: Adults

What is the book about?: When Rose Franklin was a little girl, she found a giant metal hand buried in her back yard. Rose becomes a scientist and devotes her career to unlocking the secrets of the hand’s origin and purpose.  She is joined by a team of experts, including Vincent Couture and Kara Resnik. Vincent is a linguist tasked with deciphering glowing symbols that accompany the object.  Kara is military pilot who discovers another giant piece of the mysterious puzzle.  The entire team soon finds themselves in the midst an international race to control the new technology.

My Review: Told in a collection interview transcripts, journal entries, and mission logs, Sleeping Giants tackles big questions like humanity’s place in the universe, weapons of mass destruction, and technological responsibility.  Sylvain Neuvel’s debut novel is engaging and fast-paced. It’s hard to put the book down as chapters often leave the reader on a cliffhanger.  I actually listened to the audiobook and thoroughly enjoyed the full cast production.  It was truly worthy of being nominated for an Audible Award in 2017.

Three Words That Describe This Book: Exciting, Engaging, Thought-provoking

Give This a Try if You Like… Ancient Aliens, Mecha Anime

Rating: 5/5

Find it at the library!

About FDL Reads

Welcome to FDL Reads, weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library.  Librarians (and possibly some other guest reviewers) review all types of books, from children’s picture books, young adult favorites, to the latest adult thriller, and share their thoughts each week at fondulaclibrary.org. If the book is owned by Fondulac District Library (or another local library), you’ll see a direct link to the catalog entry and whether or not it is available.  If it is checked out or at another local library, you will be able to place a hold as long as you have your library card and PIN numbers. As with any book review, these are our opinions…we disagree amongst ourselves about books frequently.  We all have different likes and dislikes, which is what makes the world an interesting place. Please enjoy, and keep on reading!

The Murders of Molly Southbourne by Tade Thompson

Reviewed by: Carey Gibbons, Reference Specialist

Genre: Horror

Suggested Age: Adults

What is the book about?: The book opens with Molly suffering a beating at the hands of… herself? But who is she? Where is she? Why did a woman who looks exactly like her beat her up? And why is she in manacles? The free Molly sits down and proceeds to tell the chained Molly the story of her childhood. Every time Molly bleeds, clones grow from the blood. These clones are benign at first but over time – whether three hours or three days – they become violent and try to kill the original Molly. Growing up wasn’t easy. But how did Molly get this way? And who’s the original Molly now?

My Review: This book is both a creepy account of a hideous, uncontrollable problem and a coming of age story. While the narrative is bookended by one Molly talking to another, the bulk of the story is the account of Molly’s childhood and teenage years. You never really stop to think about how crucial it is to keep all of your blood inside of your body until you’re told that you have to for the sake of your own survival. What I really like about this story is that Thompson tells a compelling horror tale but also a tale of how hard it is to be a girl going through puberty and growing up. We don’t have to fight our own clones every time we get our periods, but puberty is full of plenty of horrors all on its own, and can be very isolating emotionally and mentally, much like the physical isolation Molly grows up in. The story is also a bit open ended, making room for more, which is awesome because my only real complaint about this is that it’s too short (128 pages). I’m looking forward to more cool stuff by Tade Thompson.

Three Words That Describe This Book: Bloody, Coming of age, Survival

Give This a Try if You Like… The X-Files, zombie apocalypse survival stories

Rating: 5/5

Find it at the library!

About FDL Reads

Welcome to FDL Reads, weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library.  Librarians (and possibly some other guest reviewers) review all types of books, from children’s picture books, young adult favorites, to the latest adult thriller, and share their thoughts each week at fondulaclibrary.org. If the book is owned by Fondulac District Library (or another local library), you’ll see a direct link to the catalog entry and whether or not it is available.  If it is checked out or at another local library, you will be able to place a hold as long as you have your library card and PIN numbers. As with any book review, these are our opinions…we disagree amongst ourselves about books frequently.  We all have different likes and dislikes, which is what makes the world an interesting place. Please enjoy, and keep on reading!

Pepperoni Pizza Can Be Murder by Chris Cavender

Reviewed by: Sarah Baker, Circulation Assistant

Genre: Mystery

Suggested Age: Adults

What is the book about?: Eleanor Swift runs the Slice of Delight Pizzeria in Timber Ridge, North Carolina. It’s a business she stared with her late husband and now runs with her sister Maddy. She looks out for her two other employees in a combination manager/big sister role too. And now her delivery driver Greg is accused of murdering his brother. In her shop! And with her favorite rolling pin! Eleanor knows Greg isn’t capable of murder, no matter how rocky his relationship with his brother was. And she’s not going to let Sheriff (and ex-boyfriend) Kevin Hurley railroad him for a crime he didn’t commit. But Eleanor’s investigation might make her the next victim…

My Review: This is book 2 of the “Pizza Lovers” series. You do not have to have read book 1 (A Slice Of Murder) in order to read this book. I make it a point to give any series 2-3 books to prove themselves, but I think I’ll be done after this one. This book was trying, in every sense of the word. Despite its best efforts, it just left me flat. The characters seem quite different than in the previous volume – the sisters go from lovingly argumentative to catty, and Eleanor herself now acts rather rude and ill-tempered – which takes away some of the overall charm. The sisters continue to insist on butting in where they have no business, pushing others to do things that they aren’t comfortable with (Bob Lemon, I’m looking at you), making them more unlikable. And I won’t get started on the whole Eleanor-Kevin thing; I’ll let you judge that for yourself.

The pacing was good and the events flowed in a reasonable path. The added touches of small-town living (neighborly chats that border on gossip, small business owners looking out for each other, etc.) gave a good sense of what the town is like in normal circumstances. In the end, it’s a bit like pineapple on pizza. Maybe not right for me, but it might be just right for you.

Three Words That Describe This Book: Trying, Touching, Cheesy

Give This a Try if You Like… Cozy mysteries, pizza

Rating: 3/5

Find it at the library!

About FDL Reads

Welcome to FDL Reads, weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library.  Librarians (and possibly some other guest reviewers) review all types of books, from children’s picture books, young adult favorites, to the latest adult thriller, and share their thoughts each week at fondulaclibrary.org. If the book is owned by Fondulac District Library (or another local library), you’ll see a direct link to the catalog entry and whether or not it is available.  If it is checked out or at another local library, you will be able to place a hold as long as you have your library card and PIN numbers. As with any book review, these are our opinions…we disagree amongst ourselves about books frequently.  We all have different likes and dislikes, which is what makes the world an interesting place. Please enjoy, and keep on reading!

The Spirits of Christmas by Sylvia Shults

Reviewed by: Sylvia Shults, Circulation

Genre: Non-fiction

Suggested Age: Adults

What is the book about?: ‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring … but are you sure​ about that? Ghost stories don’t stop when the calendar page turns from October 31 to November 1 — as a matter of fact, the long, dark, cold nights of winter are the perfect time to cuddle up with a good ghost story. Sylvia Shults has collected over 120 true stories of Christmas catastrophes, midwinter madness, and ghoulish tales for the ghostly-minded. The book is divided up into several sections for ease in reading. “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” takes a look at the Victorians and why they popularized the telling of ghost tales at Christmas. “We Wish You A Merry Christmas — Or Else!” looks at the bizarre traditions and celebrations of Christmas Past. “He Sees You When You’re Sleeping” is a rogues’ gallery of the demons and monsters of Christmas around the world. “In The Bleak Midwinter” is a look at creepy stories that happened in the depths of the biting cold. “The Darkest Midnight in December” tells the stories of December tragedies. ” ‘Tis the Season” is a collection of true ghost stories of December, and “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” focuses on ghost stories of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. You’ll find plenty of true tales, both spooky and touching, in this collection.

My Review: I had so much fun writing this book! There were plenty of Christmas- and December- and winter-themed ghost stories out there that I’d never heard of, and I’m so pleased to be able to bring you guys these tales. The part about December tragedies was not easy to write — I’m not gonna lie. And some of the stories in here even creeped ME out! But all of them were just so wonderful that I had to share them.

Three Words That Describe This Book: Creepy, informative, FUN!

Give This a Try if You Like… anything by Troy Taylor, or collections of true ghost stories, or books that explore folklore.

Rating: 5/5

Find it at the library!

About FDL Reads

Welcome to FDL Reads, weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library.  Librarians (and possibly some other guest reviewers) review all types of books, from children’s picture books, young adult favorites, to the latest adult thriller, and share their thoughts each week at fondulaclibrary.org. If the book is owned by Fondulac District Library (or another local library), you’ll see a direct link to the catalog entry and whether or not it is available.  If it is checked out or at another local library, you will be able to place a hold as long as you have your library card and PIN numbers. As with any book review, these are our opinions…we disagree amongst ourselves about books frequently.  We all have different likes and dislikes, which is what makes the world an interesting place. Please enjoy, and keep on reading!