Book Buzz Book Reviews

Reviewed by Marisa Carlson-Flores

Library Assistant II, Serra Mesa-Kearny Mesa Branch

San Diego Union-Tribune, October 25, 2020

 

Like waking from a half-remembered nightmare, the vague endings to each short story in After the People Lights Have Gone Off leave a lasting, if not disconcerting, impression. Each story is casually narrated as though being told by an old friend, lending a campfire-like quality. Ranging from stories of a tattoo apprentice for the dead, a ghoulish and impossible nighttime excursion, a loss-turned-metamorphosis, and a construction job so shoddy it can summon spiders and raise the dead, the contents promise a good thrill for fans of the type of horror that leave the worst parts up to the reader’s own imagination.

Reviewed by Anne Defazio

Branch Manager, Mountain View/Beckwourth Branch Library

San Diego Union-Tribune, October 11, 2020

 

Lovers of Rock and Roll history will enjoy Elton John’s autobiography. Candidly, he narrates from his humble beginnings, his entry into music, and his rise to fame. Songwriting seems to come easily, and he credits his lifelong friendship with co-collaborator, Bernie Taupin, a poet, who provided many lyrics. He doesn’t leave out details of his sexual journey or his addictions (cocaine, alcohol, and food), or his struggles with his unpredictable mother and his angry biological father. John has enjoyed a glamorous life as a performer, songwriter, humanitarian, collector, and sports team owner. The book ends happily as he describes his life today as something he could never have predicted: As a happy (despite some serious health issues), married, family man and father of two, that gives him profound joy. Also interesting was the mention of various music industry notables and their influences.

Reviewed by Miguel Covarrubias

Bookseller, The Library Shop, San Diego Public Library Foundation

San Diego Union-Tribune, September 27, 2020

 

In the first published account of astronomer Frank Kameny’s fight against the Government’s systematic persecution of homosexual federal employees during McCarthy’s Lavender Scare, Cervini masterfully weaves an enthralling narrative based on first-hand accounts, declassified FBI records, and 40,000 personal documents. Focusing on multiple legal battles and activism in the 1960s that birthed the Gay Liberation Movement, the book flows between the personal and intimate to the public and chaotic battle for civil rights. With the recent Supreme Court ruling that gay, lesbian and transgender employees are protected by the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the monumental significance of this book is felt now and will be noted for ages as it covers LGBTQ+ history without judgment, emphasizes the intersectionality between Gay Liberation and the Black Freedom Movement, highlights the historical figures who fought for the rights the LGBTQ+ community has now and, most importantly, reminds us that Gay is Good.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Davis

Branch Manager, Linda Vista Branch Library

San Diego Union-Tribune, September 13, 2020

 

In Golden Gates: Fighting for Housing in America, Conor Dougherty, a former Union-Tribune journalist, walks us through the tangle of California's housing crisis. Alongside social history and policy detail, there are stories of activists, investors, builders, and tenants. San Diego's tragic outbreak of hepatitis A is recounted in a portion on 'literal homelessness', the formerly novel condition to which we've grown accustomed. Today, the cost to all of us of families spending most of their income on rent, tripling up in overcrowded homes, or super commuting from fire-prone fringes, is felt even more acutely. Golden Gates is an engaging and unpolemical exploration of how we got here and the ongoing fights over how we move forward.

Reviewed by Margaret Lindner

Access Services Manager, San Diego Public Library

San Diego Union-Tribune, August 30, 2020

 

Dear Edward is a powerful, thought provoking, and ultimately uplifting work that brings Edward Adler and his coming-of-age search for home to living color. Edward is the sole survivor of an Airbus A321 commercial airplane crash on its way from New Jersey to Los Angeles. In mixed storylines, we follow his journey in alternating chapters through narratives that paint subtle insights as he progresses from traumatized tween to a mature young adult. The passengers we meet via “day of” sketches are brought to life through inner speech and conversations while aboard the jet, then cleverly woven into letters written by their loved ones to Edward. His gradual connections with these new, key people in his life usher Edward toward life-affirming discoveries. If you’re on the lookout for a story that reassures our shared humanity where hope shines brightly, this one delivers!

Reviewed by Kathryn Johnson

Branch Manager, Allied Gardens/Benjamin Library

San Diego Union-Tribune, August 16, 2020

 

Author Elaine Weiss steeps readers in the history of the suffrage movement by beginning the book in Tennessee in August 1920. This well researched work effortlessly weaves in the stories of people and places that led up to the momentous and nerve-racking vote of August 18th. Even those who are well versed in the suffrage movement are sure to learn something new while gaining insights into both sides of the debate. In fact, Weiss' writing not only educates readers but provides extensive insight into why the movement took over 70 years to be successful. Overall, “The Woman's Hour” is an informative work that conveys the hard-fought struggle for women's suffrage while keeping readers engaged in this fascinating history.

Reviewed by Dustin Vogel

Librarian II, Central Library

San Diego Union-Tribune, August 2, 2020

 

“All American Boys” is a novel told from the alternating perspectives of teenage boys Rashad Butler and Quinn Collins. Rashad is an African American teen enrolled in ROTC at Springfield High, while Quinn is a white teen who plays basketball at the same school. What should have been a simple trip to the local liquor store for Rashad, becomes an incident of police brutality that Quinn witnesses. Although Quinn wishes to forget the incident, he cannot extract the violence Rashad experienced from his mind. A video of the event is released, sides are chosen, and Quinn realizes he can no longer be a bystander. “All American Boys,” displays the complexity of racism and how easy it is to ignore or overlook when it isn’t directly happening to you. More importantly, it focuses on Rashad and how he copes with what was done to him and its ties to the overarching issue of police brutality.

Reviewed by David Cederholm

Library Assistant II, Allied Gardens/Benjamin Branch Library

San Diego Union-Tribune, July 19, 2020

 

In 1940 Joe Kavalier and Samuel Clay take the comic book world by storm in Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel. It is an incredible saga of how a young Jew, with dreams of becoming the next Houdini, escapes from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia and unites with his American cousin in New York City. Together they embark upon an “amazing adventure” in the nascent comic book industry. Set against a backdrop of the United States’ entry into WWII and swirling rumors of concentration camps in Europe, the duo team up to create captivating superheroes who burst from the page with provocative detail, symbolically coming to life and destroying the Nazi menace. This was a “golden era” and this book - part adventure, part love story, part family saga - captures it eloquently. This work is a triumph and the best that this humble reviewer has read in quite some time.

Reviewed by Peggy Goings

Library Assistant III, University Heights Branch Library

San Diego Union-Tribune, July 5, 2020

 

This timely and instructive volume by antiracist educator Robin J. DiAngelo expertly cuts through the defensive moves that white people routinely employ when challenged racially, such as being argumentative or maintaining silence. The usual tropes of “reverse racism” and the notion that only “bad” people are racist are quickly disavowed. The author shows that defensiveness is the point, that these innocuous seeming behaviors serve to maintain the racial status quo, thus cementing white supremacy. Initially drawn in by the title and slim size of the book, I quickly appreciated that the author does not waste our time, nor does she suffer fools. If you would like lessons in how to get past the usual pitfalls when it comes to discussing race in America, are willing to try discomfort instead of comfort, and listening in order for dialogue to begin, then you would do well to read this book.

Reviewed by Kristin Tillquist

Chief of Innovation and Engagement, San Diego Public Library

San Diego Union-Tribune, June 21, 2020

 

Maeve and Danny stay chained to their past through their inability to let go of all that the Dutch House symbolizes. The gaudy, elegant and thoroughly overwhelming Dutch House is not only a massive, intimidating and oddly configured historical house; it is a constant backdrop for the turbulent life of Danny and his older sister Maeve. From poor to rich to disinherited, from loved to abandoned, Danny and Maeve are an impenetrable force of two. But when their long-lost mother reappears, the author deftly introduces forgiveness and how we want to define ourselves into the siblings’ — and the reader’s — lives. The reader will be mesmerized by how the Dutch House, as a physical structure, manages to provide a sort of stage on which the characters of this compelling novel play out their lives and learn the hardest lessons, and the most beautiful lessons full of grace.

Reviewed by Evan Fickling

Library Assistant III, Pacific Beach/Taylor Branch Library

San Diego Union-Tribune, June 7, 2020

 

Lord Highfire might be the last dragon in existence. After seeing his kind hunted for millennia, he prefers the company of alligators in the Bayou and tries to avoid humans. These days he goes by the nickname ‘Vern,’ short for Wyvern. Squib Moreau is a 15-year-old Cajun kid. He picks up odd jobs (sometimes legal, sometimes not) to supplement the income brought in by his single mother. Squib and Vern encounter each other by chance when they both get too close to a crooked cop carrying out a hit for the local crime family. Now, they must form an uneasy alliance to stay alive and out of the public eye. Colfer has a talent for humorous prose and this new adult novel, from the author of the Artemis Fowl series, is filled with salty, amusing dialogue.

Reviewed by Dennis Donley

Librarian II, City Heights/Weingart Library

San Diego Union-Tribune, May 24, 2020

 

Canine researcher Horowitz examines our relationships with dogs from a variety of angles, including why we name them (because they are one of us) to why pure breeding is a horrible idea, with the inevitable inbreeding involved shortening their lives and resulting in some horrific disabilities, among other things. At times controversial, she examines whether spaying and neutering is a good idea. Why do we spend so much money on our dogs? Horowitz looks at the dog “furnishings” market and the huge business it has become, with Americans spending over $75 billion in 2019 on taking care of and outfitting their animals. You will never believe where the idea of kibble originated. She examines the contradiction that although we see dogs as family, they are still legally something to be owned. In the end, Horowitz concludes, “Who we are with dogs is who we are as people.”