Book of the Month. FEBRUARY BOOKS REVIEW
KIDS
MIXED FEELINGS by Liana Finck
This exploration of mixed and wide-ranging emotions is presented in illustrated vignettes and beautifully articulate text. Each spread portrays a specific scenario involving a child and a phrase that reminds readers (young and old) that not all feelings can be summed up in a single word, or occur singularly. The text “Mostly happy but a little sad” accompanies a child leaving for the beach, but waving goodbye to his dog. “Like I’m trying hard to have fun” shows a child at a loud party, covering their ears.In her trademark style and funny-because-it’s-real approach, Finck has created a deeply insightful book on feelings that validates the way we all experience the world.
JUVENILE
OUR COUNTRY’S PRESIDENTS
Revised and updated to include the winner of the 2024 presidential election, this photo-filled and fact-packed book is a timely must-have reference. National Geographic presents the 45 individuals who have led the U.S. in this up-to-date, authoritative, and lavishly illustrated family, school, and library reference.
YOUNG ADULT
SINISTER SISTERS by Roseanne A. Brown
Izzy’s sister has been acting strange. Izzy knows that something is going on with her twin, Grace; hurrying off to hang with other kids, avoiding her at school, and going to bed earlier than usual. When Izzy learns that her twin sister has been sneaking off at night to hang out with the mysterious Midnight Society, she surprises them at their night of storytelling and threatens to tell their parents about Grace’s new hobby. But in order to prevent Izzy from telling on her, the Midnight Society proposes a scare-off! If Izzy wins, Grace is booted from the Midnight Society. If Grace wins, Izzy won’t tell anyone about the Midnight Society. What follows are three terrifying tales that may determine the fate of not only the Midnight Society, but also the twins’ relationship. In “The Tale of the Bushwalkers,” a girl who cheats in school discovers that monsters may be prowling her campus, ready to eat cheating students. In “The Tale of the Spirit Drum,” a young boy tests his luck when he comes into possession of a drum that can make his dreams come true.
ADULT
THE QUIET LIBRARIAN by Allen Eskens
Hana Babic is a quiet, middle-aged librarian in Minnesota who wants nothing more than to be left alone. But when a detective arrives with the news that her best friend has been murdered, Hana knows that something evil has come for her, a dark remnant of the past she and her friend had shared. Thirty years before, Hana was someone else: Nura Divjak, a teenager growing up in the mountains of war-torn Bosnia—until Serbian soldiers arrived to slaughter her entire family before her eyes. The events of that day thrust Nura into the war, leading her to join a band of militia fighters, where she became not only a fierce warrior but a legend—the deadly Night Mora. But a shattering final act forced Nura to flee to the United States with a bounty on her head. Now, someone is hunting Hana, and her friend has paid the price, leaving her eight-year-old grandson in Hana’s care. To protect the child without revealing her secret, Hana must again become the Night Mora—and hope she can find the killer before the past comes for them, too.
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