Tag Archives: Tallulah Stievers

On the shelf: ‘The World’s Strongest Librarian…’ by Joshua Hanagarne

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By Tallulah Stievers

Oh, I loved The World’s Strongest Librarian: A Memoir of Tourette’s, Faith, Strength, and the Power of Family — it’s so touching and funny, even as the author describes what could have been a total disaster of a life. Working in a library, I was naturally attracted to a memoir with “librarian” in the title, but I didn’t expect it to be such a cliff-hanger. It has all the necessary elements: a mystery, a challenge, eccentric characters, a boy who manages to overcome extreme trials and adventures to grow up and become a good man.

Josh Hanagarne has the literary talent to take the stuff of life and turn it into a wild ride with the Mormons, women, strength training, (and libraries). Complicated at every step by a severe expression of Tourette Syndrome, which manifested very early in his life.

On the shelf: Two novellas

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By Tallulah Stievers

 

Somewhere between a short story and a full novel comfortably sits the novella. This is the short, sharp, and often brilliantly paced story that can be experienced in one or two sittings. Crystalline in structure, these stories sink in with intensity, revealing characters or situations that resonate long after the story is over.  These are two of my favorites.

 

Mr. Summer’s Story by Patrick Suskind, illustrated by Sempe

 

This is the delightfully illustrated story of a boy profoundly affected by a few brief encounters with an enigmatic neighbor. The unnamed narrator tells of his experiences growing up in a small German village after World War II.  While much of the story focuses on the joyful exuberance of youth and the frustrations of growing up, it is through the boy’s observation of the town’s most mysterious character, Mr. Summer, that we are told a much more compelling tale.

 

Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville

 

A comment on capitalism, obsession, and social norms, Bartleby is certainly one of literature’s most perplexing characters. Bartleby is hired as a copyist at a law firm on Wall Street in the 1850s. Through his polite and passive denials when asked anything from inquiries about his personal life to direct orders of the job, always replying with the allusive “I prefer not to,” Bartleby becomes increasingly exasperating to his colleagues. A character not easily forgotten.

On the shelf: Good reads for teens

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By Tallulah Stievers

 

The Kayla Chronicles
by Sherri Winston

 

This just in: Kayla Dean, budding feminist and future journalist, is about to break the story of a lifetime. Egged on by her best friend, Kayla has decided to try out for her high school’s notorious dance team, the Lady Lions, in order to expose their unfair selection process. But when she actually makes the team, the true investigation begins! Now a Lady Lion, Kayla is transformed into a dance diva. But does looking good and having fun mean turning her back on the cause? Soon Kayla is forced to challenge her views, coming to terms with who she is and what girl power really means.

 

Saving Juliet
by Suzanne Selfors

 

Mimi Wallingford has a life most girls can only dream of — complete with the starring role in her family’s production of Romeo and Juliet. But acting is not her dream, and she’s fighting for the right to become a doctor. During the play’s final performance, Mimi’s wish to get away actually comes true when she and her costar are magically transported into Shakespeare’s Verona. Now that she knows the real Juliet, Mimi doesn’t want to stand by and allow the play to reach its tragic end. But if saving her new friend means changing the ending, will she and Troy ever make it back to Broadway?

 

Vampire Kisses 1: Blood Relatives
by Ellen Schreiber, Art by rem

 

The absolute last thing goth-girl Raven and her vampire boyfriend, Alexander, need is another hitch in their nighttime — only romance — but dark trouble hovers on the horizon. When a crew of sketchy vampires takes up residence in Dullsville’s lonely graveyard, Alexander finds this motley bunch led by his very own blood-sucking cousin, Claude Sterling. Claude and his creepy crew can only spell out more problems for the pair, especially when Raven finds them in daylight in the very last place she could ever imagine. What could Claude and his invaders be doing — or searching for — in Dullsville?

 

The American Muslim Teenager’s Handbook
by Dilara Hafiz, Imran Hafiz, and Yasmine Hafiz

 

What does it mean to be a Muslim? Ask ten people, and you’ll probably receive ten different answers. The American Muslim Teenager’s Handbook is a positive, informative guide to Islam in America. Timely and engaging, it conveys the basics of the fastest-growing, most stereotyped and misunderstood religion in America from a progressive, teen perspective. Whether struggling to define themselves as Muslims in American society or simply curious about Islam, teens will find much to love about this entertaining book.

 

Bunker 10
by J. A. Henderson

 

At eight o’clock in the evening, 24 December 2007, Pinewood Military Installation exploded. The blast ripped apart acres of forest and devastated the remote highland valley where the base was located. No official cause was given for the incident. Inside Pinewood were 185 male and female military personnel — a mixture of scientists and soldiers. There were also seven teenagers. This is the story of their last day.

 

 

On the shelf: ‘The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt’ by Caroline Preston

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By Tallulah Stievers

 

In 1920, Frankie Pratt graduates from high school and receives a scrapbook as a gift. Intent on becoming a writer, she attends Vassar College, and finds work in New York and Paris. Told through Frankie’s eyes, the life of a young woman trying to find her place in the world comes to life. The remarkable thing about this book, however, is the way the story is told.

 

The entire book is formatted as Frankie’s scrapbook. It is filled with ephemera such as post cards, letters, magazine ads and more. The story of her life is told through her scrapbook entries and the style of the 1920s is vivid. The reader wants to be able to touch the items in the scrapbook, to ask Frankie questions, and to see the story from the viewpoint of other characters. But this is Frankie’s story and we see her world only from her perspective through what she shares in her scrapbook.

 

This is a fun book and a quick read, but you will linger, looking at the beautiful and detailed layout of each page.