Staff Recommendations
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The Legend of Charlie Fish
by Rountree, Josh
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryAugust 14, 2023
Floyd Betts is a bit of a loner. He lives a solitary existence in Galveston, Texas. He works construction on local building projects and rents a room at Abigail Elder’s boarding house. It’s a quiet life, and Floyd likes it. But all of that is about to change.
When Floyd returns to Old Cypress, Texas, for his father’s funeral, he encounters Nellie and Hank. Nellie is 12 years old and Hank is 9. They were recently orphaned under mysterious circumstances as their family was preparing to leave Old Cypress. Nellie’s mother was accused of being a witch. It is very, very... Read Full Review
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I'll stop the world : a novel
by Thoman, Lauren
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryAugust 7, 2023
Time travel is a staple of fiction. For well over a century writers have imagined different ways to propel their protagonists backwards and forwards through time. Sometimes they are merely observers, allowing the author to speculate on past motivations or future developments. But just as often, the protagonist is sent to the past to correct something affecting the future. Often, HOW the time traveler got to the past is unimportant compared to WHY they were sent, and what they need to fix. In her debut novel Lauren Thoman tells a tim-travelling story of discovery in which a young... Read Full Review
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Hell Bent
by Bardugo, Leigh
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryJuly 31, 2023
At the end of Ninth House, Galaxy “Alex” Stern solved the mystery of who killed Tara Hutchins and why, uncovering a conspiracy that involved some of the highest offices of Yale University and several of their “secret societies.” At the end of the novel, Darlington, Alex’s advisor in Lethe, the “ninth house” which oversees the magical practices of Yale’s secret societies, was still missing – presumably sent to hell as part of the cover-up of Tara’s murder. It was quite the freshman year for Alex Stern at Yale!
As Alex begins her sophomore year, she is... Read Full Review
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The London Séance Society
by Penner, Sarah
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryJuly 24, 2023
Lenna Wickes, and her younger sister Evie, are very different people. Lenna is interested in the world and how it works. She has an interest in science, even though she knows that a young lady in Victorian London is not supposed to be interested in such things. Evie, on the other hand, is interested in the spirit world. She is interested in spirits, séances, and the world a step removed from our own. The two sisters regularly taunt and challenge each other on their interests and perspectives of the world.
And then, suddenly, Evie is gone. She is murdered and the... Read Full Review
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Piecing Together Los Angeles: An Esther McCoy Reader
by McCoy, Esther
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionJuly 18, 2023
Call Number: 720.910941 M131
For the most part, Los Angeles architecture has made its mark and numerous international and domestic architects will compete for an opportunity to design a residence, a public, or a commercial building. This was not always the case. There was someone who recognized the value, quality, originality and importance of the West and its architecture, at a time when it was not considered worth evaluating, predominantly by those in the East. In an interview Esther McCoy said, “ … Los Angeles has always been open to new ideas. Los Angeles is not rigid at all. It’s a plunger city.... Read Full Review
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Sex, death, and God in L.A.
by
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionJuly 12, 2023
Call Number: 979.41 L881Sex 1994
This essay collection about Los Angeles includes the works of Eve Babitz, Alexander Cockburn, Mike Davis, Lynell George, Thomas S. Hines, Jeremy Larner, Rubén Martínez, David Reid, Carolyn See and David Thomson.This is an updated version (1994) of the previous edition (1992). The preface to this edition by David Reid offers a substantial analysis of Los Angeles. The preface and the essays are not at all dated and provide insights that are still wise and relevant. David Reid's comments state, “The plan of this book is to consider the character and customs of Los Angeles in relation to... Read Full Review
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Final Cut
by McCown, Marjorie
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryJuly 3, 2023
Joey Jessup is very good at her job. And it is a job that she really enjoys. Joey is a key costumer and over her career she has worked on almost every type of film, with a number of A-list actors and directors, along with some of the most talented costume designers in the industry. Joey knows how to get the job done without drawing unnecessary attention to herself.
Joey’s current job is on the next big-budget Hollywood superhero epic. This is a huge production, with a budget to match. And it is being directed by Marcus Pray, a director with an ego that makes the... Read Full Review
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The Wishing Game
by Shaffer, Meg
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryJune 26, 2023
How many of us have books, or series of books, that provided an escape for us as children and, because of that, we continue to love them as adults? How many of us longed to receive an owl-delivered letter from Hogwarts; find a secret entrance at the back of the closet/wardrobe; tumble down a rabbit hole; be transported by a tornado; or receive a visit from the local, beloved wizard challenging us to take a trip through Middle-Earth? For Lucy Hart, a girl whose childhood was defined by neglect and apathy from her parents, it was the Clock Island series by Jack Masterson.
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Our Hideous Progeny
by Mcgill, C. E.
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryJune 20, 2023
In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley tells the tale of how Victor Frankenstein challenges the “natural order” and explores the secrets of life itself by creating a being made from the pieces of other men. But what if Victor had chosen another direction for his research? What if, instead of choosing to reanimate a human, Victor had chosen to experiment on something else? What if Victor had chosen to re-create a dinosaur?
Mary Sutherland has been fascinated by science since her childhood discovery of an unusual stone on the beach that turned out to be a fossil.... Read Full Review
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Paradise now : the extraordinary life of Karl Lagerfeld
by Middleton, William, 1802-
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionJune 13, 2023
Call Number: 746.52 L174Mi
It is not necessary to be interested in the world of haute couture to find this biography of Karl Largerfeld compelling and engrossing. The creative genius of Karl Lagerfeld is the magnetic star that will captivate you. His childhood interests were drawing and painting until a fateful December, 1949 when, "The house of Christian Dior traveled from Paris to the still-destroyed city of Hamburg to stage a series of fashion shows," and the teenage Karl declared, "I am leaving to become a fashion designer in Paris." So began his career as a fashion designer, but that was not the only... Read Full Review
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Into the riverlands
by Vo, Nghi
Reviewed by: Andrea Borchert, Librarian, Koreatown Media LabJune 5, 2023
Into the Riverlands is the third in the Singing Hills Cycle series of novellas. But you can read them in any order, and the characters in this installment are delightful.
The Singing Hills series follows the journey of Chih, a wandering cleric of the Singing Hills Monastery and their companion, a talking Hoopoe with a perfect memory, called Almost Brilliant. The clerics of the Singing Hills Monastery and their Hoopoe companions travel collecting and recording... Read Full Review
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Empress of the Nile : the daredevil archaeologist who saved Egypt's ancient temples from destruction
by Olson, Lynne
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionMay 30, 2023
Call Number: 932 O51
Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt was born in Paris, France, November 17, 1913, and her lifelong passion for Egypt began as a toddler when her grandfather took her to see the Luxor Obelisk in the Place de la Concorde. He told her about its history and connection with France. As a child the history did not interest her as much as the hieroglyphs. “Those images spoke to me.” A few years later, she became fascinated with the Egyptian antiquities at the Louvre. Eventually she became the world’s leading expert on ancient Egypt; a trained, experienced archaeologist; and... Read Full Review