Reviewed by Trevor Jones

Branch Manager, Scripps Miramar Ranch Library

San Diego Union-Tribune, April 15, 2018

 

Angela Nagle’s “Kill All Normies” is not for the faint of heart, queasy stomach or the righteously self-censorious. Nagle maps an eerie and awful genealogy of growing online vitriol, sarcasm and hate from the late 2000s to the recent 2016 election, from days of innocent meme-posting to the crazed days of the 2016 election when Hillary Clinton delivered her famous speech about the “alt-right” phenomenon. The serious import from the book, however, cannot be understated and unfortunately might be too casually dismissed by those not privy to Internet forums, Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms. The cultural and political battle lines of the 21st century are being radically redrawn, and few understand what is at stake.

 

Reviewed by Melissa Giffen

Youth Services Librarian, San Ysidro Branch Library

San Diego Union-Tribune, April 1, 2018

 

“Strange the Dreamer” is a beautiful young-adult fantasy for mature readers that charms and devastates. The titular character, Lazlo Strange, is a librarian caught up in the pursuit of any knowledge of a mysterious lost city believed to be the stuff of mythology. Lazlo is convinced that the city is real and determined in his pursuit to find it and discover answers as to why it disappeared and no one remembers its true name. Lazlo makes an interesting and compelling protagonist in a tale full of the strange (pun intended) and heartbreaking.

 

Reviewed by Bobbie Xuereb

Librarian II, Kensington-Normal Heights Library

San Diego Union-Tribune, March 18, 2018

 

An inside view of juvenile justice and “baby jail:” the place Mary B. Addison was sent for allegedly killing a baby that her mother was babysitting, before she was transferred to the group home where she now lives. Mary narrates her story, and we learn about what is happening at her group home, with glimpses into how she got here. Is she a reliable narrator? Will she ever be free of the shadow of what allegedly happened when she was 9 years old? This story is tense and tender. A youngadult book that will leave the reader with many questions.

 

Reviewed by Julie K. Wong

Library Assistant, Carmel Valley Branch Library

San Diego Union-Tribune, March 4, 2018

 

A charming novel with Nina, a librarian, who purchases a van to open a traveling bookstore, in which she goes each day to sell books at food markets in the countryside of Scotland. Her friend, Surinder, encourages Nina to pursue romance as if she was looking to find a good book for her customers. Nina is the bookmatcher for her customers as she tries to find the best book that would fit their interests. Nina finds it easier to suggest books for customers than matching up herself for the prospect of romance. Nina provides kindness to everyone she meets. Now it is Nina’s turn to look for love beyond books.

 

Reviewed by Virginia C. Hire Damrauer

Information Systems Technician, San Diego Central Library

San Diego Union-Tribune, Feb. 18, 2018

 

With themes of trust, freedom and privacy, the authors share stories from people in the digital money community. Within these pages, you will meet technology innovators who hope to change the world, entrepreneurs, employees who are paid only in digital money, miners, firm doubters and true believers. Within and around these real-life examples, the authors illuminate the benefits and drawbacks of modern efforts to provide a worldwide form of digital money.

 

Reviewed by Alice Yao

Librarian II, San Diego Central Library

San Diego Union-Tribune, Feb. 4, 2018

 

How does breath become air? Paul, a neurosurgeon, answers with his personal and medical point of view. He didn’t believe that anything, especially health, could go wrong since he was at the height of his career, but everything was threatened by a devastating diagnosis. With poignant perspectives, this story can move your heart.

 

 

Reviewed by Phil Gunderson

Integrated Library System Coordinator, San Diego Central Library

San Diego Union-Tribune, Jan. 21, 2018

 

Graedon envisions a near-future dystopia in which people have become so dependent on personal digital devices (called Memes) that they pay to use an online “word exchange” to access the meanings of even common words. This is great for Synchronic, the corporation that owns the Word Exchange and has a near-monopoly on the English dictionary. The last holdout is the North American Dictionary of the English Language, whose chief lexicographer Douglas Johnson has gone missing. As Douglas’ daughter Anana begins investigating his disappearance, the social fabric starts to unravel as “word flu,” a highly contagious virus capable of leaping from Meme to brain, spreads through the population, causing aphasia in its victims and sometimes even death. The clues to both her father’s disappearance and the rise of word flu point in the same direction: Synchronic. A thrilling extrapolation from Socrates’ original misgivings about writing’s effects on memory.

 

Reviewed by Kristina Garcia

Librarian II, San Diego Central Library

San Diego Union-Tribune, Jan. 7, 2018

 

Jennifer Latson, a journalist, spent three years with Gayle and Eli D'Angelo in order to accurately tell their story of living with the effects of the genetic disorder Williams Syndrome. Williams Syndrome affects learning, socialization, and physical development in very specific ways, but is not as well-known as other disorders such as autism. This highly informative yet readable book sharply illustrates Eli's unmodulated love of others and how his gregarious personality is both a joy and a burden to his mother as she tries to guide him to a fulfilling, happy, and safe adulthood. This book provides an engaging narrative that weaves themes of medical science with social science and keeps you rooting for Gayle and Eli all the way.