Ashley Pohlenz – Page 41 – Derby Public Library's Blog

Book Review: Sisters First

Sisters First: Stories From Our Wild and Wonderful Life by Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush

First line: From the very beginning, before we could walk, before we could talk, Barbara and I were a pair.

Summary: Barbara and Jenna Bush are twin sisters. They are the children and grandchildren of Presidents. As the first daughters, they were in the media spotlight. From being trailed by secret service to dodging the paparazzi they led hectic lives. Through an alternating narrative, the sisters tell stories of their lives. Plus a forward by former First Lady, Laura Bush.

Highlights: I listened to the audio version of this book and I loved it! Barbara and Jenna read it themselves. Hearing their stories from their own mouths was even more interesting. They discuss their most embarrassing moments and their highest triumphs.

The stories of their grandparents and parents were very endearing. I enjoyed hearing that these famous families are still just normal families. I laughed aloud listening to the struggles of Barbara trying to order a pizza. When you have the same name as former First Lady simple things can be a struggle.

My first election I was able to vote in was the 2004 race between George W. Bush and John Kerry. When I first saw this book I knew it had to be one that I wanted to read.

Lowlights: The only lowlight I can think is that by listening to the audio book I cannot see any photos that are included in the book. I have Googled each sister in order to put faces to the stories.

FYI: Listen to the audio book on Libby by Overdrive!

Book Review: One of Us Is Lying

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

First line: A sex tape.

Summary: Five students are in detention. All were put there because they were caught with a phone on them in class. However, when one of the students, Simon, dies during detention the others are all suspects. Simon is the school gossip. He posts all the rumors and secrets of his classmates on the internet making him one of the most hated kids in the school. Each of the “Bayview Four” know that they were being framed but by who?

Highlights: This has been compared to The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars and I think that is spot on. I love both and together they are great. I really enjoyed this debut novel. The mystery is good with little twists. The characters are great representations of teens and the problems that they deal with. Problems with family, friends, relationships, sports, and school. There was the jock, the brain, the popular girl and the burn out. It was a fun fast-paced novel. I will definitely keep a look out for the author’s next book.

Lowlights: Nearing the end I started to guess at the conclusion. It felt like all the likely scenarios were too easy so the better option was the not so obvious one.

FYI: Great for younger readers who want a good thriller.

Book Review: Renegades

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

First line: We were all villains in the beginning.

Summary: Nova is a villain. Adrian is a super hero. Nova was orphaned as a child when the group called the Renegades failed to save her parents from an assassin. Fueled by hate for the group of super heroes she joins a group called the Anarchists. When the plan to kill the leader of the Renegades fails Nova devises a plan to join the super hero force in order to bring them all down from the inside. But she did not intend to like the people she is meant to hate. Or even fall in love with the son of leaders of the Renegades.

Highlights: The cover is amazing. It is truly a cover for a super hero book. The bold colors and design are perfect for the story. This book falls in during the perfect time. Super hero movies and books are on the rise and this one great for readers of this genre. I liked that the characters. My favorite was a minor character, Winston (the Puppeteer). He is creepy and funny at the same time.

Lowlights: Most of the book is an introduction to the world and characters. The beginning is slower moving with most of the action happening at the end of the book.

FYI: This is the first of a trilogy. If you like this check out the author’s series, The Lunar Chronicles, a sci-fi fairy tale adventure.

I was lucky enough to attend an event at Watermark Books in Wichita when Marissa Meyer was promoting this book. She was wonderful! I loved listening to her talk about her ideas and plans for the book. She has a great sense of humor and can tell a great story. I laughed a lot while listening to her stories about writing. I was really excited to get her to sign Cress, the third book in The Lunar Chronicles series.

Book Review: The Girl in the Tower

The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden

First line: A girl rode a bay horse through a forest late at night.

Summary: Vasya has been cast out of her village as a witch. She does not want to spend her life behind a convent walls or trapped in a marriage. She wants freedom and adventure. With the help of the frost demon, Morozko, and her loyal horse, Solovey, she sets out on her own dressed as a boy. When she wanders into a burned village and discovers that bandits are raiding the countryside and stealing young girls she sets out to save the missing children. After her rescue mission, she gains the admiration of the Grand Prince of Moscow. With the help of her elder siblings, she keeps her gender hidden from the elite of Moscow. However, with the mysterious arrival of an unknown lord, Vasya starts to worry that the danger has worked its way into the courts of Grand Prince.

Highlights: Atmospheric. I can feel the cold of a Russian winter while reading the adventures of Vasya. Vasya is a wonderful heroine. She is not beautiful. She wants more out of life than the traditional trappings of her gender. I love the frost demon, Morozko. He is complicated and intriguing. I am glad that we got to see more of his relationship with Vasya. The writing is poetic and beautiful. I love that the author provides a glossary at the end to help the reader understand the terminology and characters. This one was filled with action and danger. I loved the first book and the second did not disappoint.

Lowlights: Nothing.

FYI: The second book in The Winternight Trilogy.

Book Review: Hunger

Hunger by Roxane Gay

First line: Every body has a story and a history.

Summary: A memoir told by Roxane Gay. It is a letter to and about her body. She looks back over her childhood and young adult life to see what led her to love her body. As an overweight woman in a culture that sees beauty in being skinny, she tells her story and how she has coped with the invisibility that is incorporated with it.

Highlights: The author’s writing style is very simple and easy to follow. She is very candid about her life and the tragic events that have happened to her. She is comfortable in who she is and she portrays this in her writing. She is unapologetic and outspoken. The chapters are very short and the book is a quick read but not always and easy one.

Lowlights: Many points that she makes become repetitive. And I had a tough time listening to her read and talk. You feel terrible for her but at the same time applaud her for being true to who she is. I have mixed feelings about this book. I understand being comfortable in your body but at the same time being healthy and taking care of yourself is important too. I liked that she was very upfront about her life and struggles.

FYI: Very open. Some language. All the feels.

Book Review: Leia, Princess of Alderaan

Leia: Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray

First line: The Day of Demand had been announced months before.

Summary: Leia Organa, the princess of Alderaan, has just turned sixteen. In order to be named heir to the throne she must complete three challenges. One for the body, the mind and the heart. As she sets off on humanitarian missions or working in the Apprentice Legislature or climbing mountains her mind is still on her homeland and her parents. Things have not been the same between herself and her family in last few months and she wants to know why. As her life in politics continues to expand, she is seeing the galaxy is fracturing and she has to decide which side she will be on.

Highlights: I have been a big fan of Star Wars since I was a child. Leia has always been a favorite of mine because she is a strong and independent woman. She fights her own battles. This look into her years before the start of the saga gives insight into where this princess learned how to shoot blasters and learned the politics of the Empire. There are many easter eggs and name drops that tie into the all the movies. It is easy to see the time that it takes place in the timeline. It was nice to be introduced to Leia’s mother The author did an amazing job of bringing to life the back story of one of the greatest female characters.

Lowlights: It is very much YA. There is romance between teens. Conflict with parents. Teenage angst.

FYI: Perfect for any Star Wars fan.

Harry Potter

2017 marks the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter! As a person who loves all things Harry Potter this is a big year. But this has not always been the case.

When the books were first released my dad bought them in the hope that they would get my younger sister interested in reading. She has never been a reader and he had heard that this was something that was getting kids to read more. But try as he might he never got her to pick one up. He read the first four in quick succession. I can remember listening to him laugh while he read the scene where Mad-Eye Moody turned Malfoy into a ferret and bounced him around the halls of Hogwarts.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at Universal Studios Orlando

I was not very interested in the stories of a young wizard because I preferred historical fiction. They seemed silly to me until the day that one of my friends started reading them. She started telling me how much she liked them and I decided to break down and try them out. I was hooked from the first page. I was a sophomore in high school when I started Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and the first movie was coming out in November. In a month I had read books 1-4 and then the wait began for book 5 (in which I cried my eyes out at the end). Then 6. Then 7. But the wait was worth it.

Fire breathing dragon above Gringotts at Universal Studios Orlando

Ever since I picked up that first book I have been a devoted fan. I have pre-ordered all the books, went to the theaters for all the movies and visited the theme parks in Orlando. When I visited the Wizarding World of Harry Potter I was instantly transported into the books. The shops, actors and rides were breathtaking. I spent Thanksgiving morning eating an English breakfast at The Three Broomsticks. I downed multiple glasses of butter beer outside the Hog’s Head Inn. I rode the Hogwarts Express. I battled dragons, escaped from Gringotts and flew on a broom through the grounds at Hogwarts. I even got myself a wand. This is every Harry Potter reader’s dream!

Ashley in front of the Knight Bus at Universal Studios Orlando

I thank my dad (and my friend) every day for introducing me to the world of Harry Potter. I found something that made me even more passionate about reading and expanded my world. I love that still today I have kids come into the library looking for the books I read and love. They are experiencing them for the first time and I envy them. I re-read/re-listen to the books regularly and each time find something I missed before.

And now I have to go to London to visit the Harry Potter Studio Tour and see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on stage at the Palace Theater.

Book Review: Origins

Origins by Dan Brown

First line: As the ancient cogwheel train clawed its way up the dizzying incline, Edmond Kirsch surveyed the jagged mountaintop above him.

Summary: Robert Langdon is back in his newest adventure. While attending a special screening at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, he witnesses the murder of his former student and friend, Edmond Kirsch. Kirsch, an outspoken atheist and billionaire scientist, is unveiling his most recent discovery that is going to rattle the religious communities around the world. Before he is able to reveal his research, he is shot on live television. With the help of the future Queen of Spain, Ambra Vidal, Robert has to evade the police and find out how to release Kirsch’s presentation before the killer finds him.

Highlights: As with all the Robert Langdon books this one is fast paced and filled with codes and twists. I would love to have his eidetic memory and knowledge. My favorite parts of Dan Brown’s novels are that he takes you to real places and uses facts for his story. I was constantly Googling the locations and facts to find out more and to see pictures. I have never visited or studied much about Spain but now I am very interested. I love the way the suspense builds throughout the novel. He keeps the reader invested and itching to learn more.

Lowlights: I struggled at the end when the science behind everything is explained. I skipped around during this chapter in order to keep myself interested. Since I have read all the other Robert Langdon books, I was looking for the shocking ending. I was able to guess some of the twists because I look for them. However, I was satisfied.

FYI: Book 5 in the Robert Langdon series.

Book Review: Mr. Dickens and His Carol

Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva

First line: On that unseasonably warm November day at One Devonshire Terrace, Christmas was not in his head at all.

Summary: Charles Dickens had instant success with his first books but his most recent one was a flop. When the publishing firm begins to lose money, they devise an ultimatum. Write a Christmas story or pay back the advance. With less than six weeks left between the notification and Christmas Eve, Dickens has very little time to figure out his biggest success, A Christmas Carol.

Highlights: This was a very cozy little novel about one of my favorite stories. I have watched many adaptations of Dickens’ novel with my favorites being The Muppet Christmas Carol and Scrooge (with Albert Finney). The fact that this story was written in such a short period is shocking. I liked the Easter eggs in the story that tie in with A Christmas Carol. While reading I wanted it to be Christmas time and have a cup of tea. Very good debut novel!

Lowlights: There was a lot of buildup but not enough bang at the end. It was cozy and not as gripping as I hoped.

FYI: Spoilers! I have not read all of Dickens work but now I know how some of them end. Its okay. I guess after 150+ years everyone should know the stories and their endings.

Drag Queen Story Time

On my most recent trip to Denver I was lucky enough to visit a small bookstore, Second Star to the Right. It is an older home converted into a children’s book store. The walls and tables are covered with toys, books and activities for all ages. The staff was knowledgeable and welcoming to all visitors. The place is truly magical. I think I was having just as much fun as the kids.

However, the main draw of the day was the Drag Queen Story Time! Out behind the book store was a lawn covered in blankets and pillows for the kids to sit down on. Spots were quickly filling up as we waited for the presentation to start. When the queens, Maleficent and Pocahontas, arrived the crowd cheered and clapped. Each of the queens read several books to the children and performed a song from their respective movies. Every kid was in awe of them and were excited to take pictures with them after the show.

The money raised from the performance was given to The Center in Denver, an LGBT community center. This is a monthly program run by this little book store. As a librarian it is fun to see different ways to interest kids in reading and to see love of literacy spread to all ages.