Tulsa Book Review August 2015

Tulsa

event guide

INSIDE! August 2015

Book Review 2 4

VOLUME 4, ISSUE 10 F

R E E

NEW AND OF INTEREST

C H E C K

The Precious One You can go home again. Page 5

I T

Emancipated Real life too soon Page 11

O U T

Stolen Magic A girl, an ogre, a dragon and a mystery Page 12

Alistair Grim’s Odditorium

History gets close

Stella by Starlight By Sharon M. Draper Atheneum Books for Young Readers, $16.99, 320 pages Check this out! Meet author Sharon Draper when she comes to Tulsa Aug. 28 to accept the Zarrow award. See Page 13 for more details. The trouble with capital-H “History” is that it can feel removed, a pillar of datesand-facts marble behind a fence half a mile away. The best writers bring history close, a gathering of family and friends singing and telling stories around a campfire. This is exactly what the remarkable Sharon Draper does in Stella by Starlight.

She puts the problems, feelings and experiences of everyday folks front and center, and “History” becomes the background to something much more intimate. What matters most in this novel for middle-grade readers (that also can be enjoyed by young adult and adult readers) is not the historical signifiers, but how the characters respond and grow as complex people, with fully human hopes and dreams and disappointments. The story to this History focuses on Stella, an 11-year-old girl living with her parents and brother in 1932 Bumblebee, North Carolina. The cruelties of Jim Crow, the Great See Stella, cont’d on page 15

An odd book for an odd boy Page 13

Classic Recipes for Modern People Everything old is new again. Page 15

57 Reviews INSIDE!

Book Reviews Category

Crime Fiction

BESTSELLERS COMING SOON

TO TULSA CITY-COUNTY LIBRARY Search the library’s catalog at www.TulsaLibrary.org to reserve your copies now.

SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

The Prince: A Novel By Vito Bruschini Atria Books, $26.00, 448 pages Check this out! The Prince is a tale that starts with a bloody massacre perpetrated by the Sicilan police in search of a bandit and the cover-up that ensues. The story alternates between 1920-1921 and 1938-1945. The action shifts from a Fascist Italy to New York City and back again detailing the exploits of the title character, Prince Ferdinando Licata. Licata’s power is obvious, his charisma omnipresent. The Prince is about Licata and fellow villager Saro Ragusa, their love of their countrymen and their hatred of Fascism. Their fight against the powers that be leads to a forced exile in New York and their struggle to stay alive amongst the Mafia and gangs prevalent. Bruschini’s tale is vivid, his protagonists compelling, his antagonists just as much. His is a tale of power, love, revenge and survival. A book that is destined to be timeless. Reviewed by Philip Zozzaro The Quantum Deception By Denver Acey Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, $17.99, 288 pages Check this out! The Quantum Deception takes you inside the NSA’s most secret and powerful computer; one that magnitudes more powerful than any other computing device on earth. It has discovered a security hole that lays open the complete U.S. financial system. Tanner Stone is one of two people who know this, the other is killed, and Tanner is spared by a chance sickness. The FBI, Secret Service and local authorities are brought in to find the killer. Their persistent

legwork, the quantum computer and, most especially, Tanner’s disciplined mind give him a fighting chance against a deadly foe. The author has government people working together, mostly harmoniously, for the good of the country, making rational decisions with the given information, using believable police methods and trying to shore up very credible cyber weaknesses. The setting is Salt Lake City and Boise; there are several references to its unique culture. I liked the book. It was fast, entertaining and informative without being verbose. It is a good peek into cyberspace and its current sentinels. Reviewed by Ralph Peterson Elle: Room Two in the Hotelles Trilogy By Emma Mars Harper Perennial, $15.99, 448 pages Check this out! Elle and Louis are left to deal with the fallout from her disastrous wedding with David. Over the course of nearly a year, they have retreated to the Hôtel des Charmes, while the renovations to Mars House are completed. When Louis is arrested for indecency for his involvement in an avant garde art show, it’s not just Elle’s boundaries that continue to be pushed, but also her patience and willingness to continue to be a part of his life without the promise of commitment. Elle soon finds out that the brothers’ secrets run far deeper than she had ever expected. Will the information she finds destroy her relationship with Louis, once and for all? This second book in the series boasts far more intrigue and mystery than the first, mostly stemming from the nature of the relationship between brothers David and Louis. As with the first book, Elle exudes sensuality. It is a testament to well-written literary erotica that engages all of the senses. It is absolutely necessary to have read the first book in the series as so much of this book builds on the events set in motion in the first. Reviewed by Christina Mock

Tulsa Book Review • August 2015 • 2

Tulsa

Book Review

IN THIS ISSUE Crime Fiction..................................................2

Tulsa City-County Library 400 Civic Center Tulsa, Oklahoma 74103 Ph. (918) 549-7323

Dear readers,

Bestsellers Coming Soon.................................2

EDITOR IN CHIEF Ross Rojek ross@1776productions.com

Fiction........................................................ 4, 5

Editor/Coordinator Jackie Hill Tulsa City-County Library GRAPHIC DESIGN/LAYOUT

Kids’ Books................................................. 6, 7

Steph Rodriguez COPY EDITORS

Romance.........................................................8

Michael Julian Heather Osborne EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS

“Chapters” Literacy Fundraiser......................8

Christopher Hayden Faith Lewis WEBSITE TulsaBookReview.com

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Biographies & Memoirs..................................9 Picture Books...............................................10

The dog days of summer are upon us and the library’s summer reading programs for children, teens/tweens and adults are coming to a close. All told, nearly 800 events were held to complement the summer reading programs, and it is estimated that by summer’s end approximately 250,000 books will have been read by program participants. As summer wraps up, Tulsa City-County Library will host and honor The New York Times bestselling author Sharon Draper on Friday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. at the Hardesty Regional Library, 8316 E. 93rd St. Ms. Draper will receive the Tulsa Library Trust’s 2015 Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers’ Literature. She also will present awards to winners of the library’s 2015 Young People’s Creative Writing Contest. She is a five-time winner of the prestigious Coretta Scott King Book Awards, given by the American Library Association, and was selected as the National Teacher of the Year in 1997. Her latest book, Stella by Starlight, is the featured book for this month’s Tulsa Book Review. In addition to Ms. Draper’s wonderful new book, this issue also includes reviews for 57 other titles. I am certain you will find one perfect for you or another reader in your life. So sit back, grab a nice cool drink, thank Willis Carrier for inventing air conditioning, and enjoy another great issue of the Tulsa Book Review and some of its highlighted books. See you at the library soon! Sincerely,

Teens............................................................11 Gary Shaffer Tulsa City-County Library CEO

Youth Fiction Coming Soon..........................11 The Tulsa Book Review is published monthly by City Book Review. The opinions expressed in these pages are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Tulsa Book Review or City Book Review advertisers. All images are copyrighted by their respective copyright holders. All words ©2015, City Book Review

Tweens................................................... 12, 13 Nonfiction.............................................. 14, 15

Coming Up! September is National Literacy Awareness Month. Spend an enjoyable evening after hours in the library on Sept. 10 with three favorite authors while helping raise money and awareness for Tulsa CityCounty Library’s Ruth G. Hardman Adult Literacy Service. See Page 8 for more details about the literacy fundraiser “Chapters: A Casual Evening of Books, Bards and Bites.”

Book Reviews Category

Fiction SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

Defiant: Towers Trilogy Book Two By Karina Sumner-Smith Talos, $15.99, 400 pages Check this out! Two months after she rescued the Radiant ghost Shai, Xhea is barely getting by in the Lower City skyscraper of Edren. The bruises on her body are not healing, and magical, and even surgical, attempts to fix her knee have failed time and again. And Shai’s very presence is throwing off the balance of the Lower City, pouring unprecedented amounts of magic into Edren’s coffers. The other towers want Shai, and Xhea is the key to “controlling” her. But, Xhea is becoming a powerful force of her own; her dark magic has returned and is getting stronger, and she is beginning to learn how to truly use it. Tensions are mounting and war is brewing, and Xhea and Shai are the only ones who have a chance of stopping it. The sequel to Karina Sumner-Smith’s Radiant, Defiant picks up right where its predecessor leaves off. This world continues to grow more complex and fascinating, and readers will be drawn deeply into the struggles of Xhea and Shai. This novel is just as well-written as the first one, and once the plot picks up, it careens to an explosive conclusion that will leave readers hungry for more. It’s an excellent novel that is hard to put down. Reviewed by Holly Scudero The Border By Robert McCammon Subterranean, $26.95, 456 pages Check this out! April 3, the day the world ends. The boy who calls himself Ethan Gaines can’t remember who he was before the aliens known as the Gorgons and the Cyphers unleashed hell on earth, decimating the population and poisoning the atmosphere with their massive, terrifying weapons of war. But he knows that he’s changed, that he’s slowly becoming something both more than and less than human. And he knows that if humanity has any chance to survive, he’ll need to brave a

treacherous journey with a new-found band of allies in order to reach the one place where he might be able to stop the war. Robert McGammon has written a decent enough tale, but the story feels overused: A hero makes a dangerous journey accompanied by a ragtag group of people who don’t all work well together, in order to do That Thing That Saves Everybody. The background of the three alien races involved is enough to support the plot, but not enough to satisfy the reader’s curiosity, and the ending, while believable, was crafted in such a way as to reduce the solution to an almost laughable convenience. Reviewed by Heather Clawson You Could Be Home by Now By Tracy Manaster Tyrus Books, $24.99, 288 pages Check this out! After spending months struggling with the loss of their baby, Seth and Alison Collier leave their teaching jobs and move to a retirement community in Arizona, where they hope to make a fresh start. The couple unknowingly reflects the environment around them, projecting a sense of calmness and togetherness, but with strong tensions lurking just beneath the sur- face. When it is discovered that one of the residents of the community, The Commons, secretly has had her grandson living with her for months due to a combination of family problems and financial hardship, other community members are torn. The story gets nationwide attention, thanks to the well-meaning efforts of some neighbors.

No one could have predicted what would happen from there. With a novel like You Could Be Home by Now, which delves into such a wide variety of topics, it’s hard to narrow down the plot into such a short summary; this book is so much more than readers possibly could anticipate. It explores the twisted emotions of loss and grief in depth, talks about the way we deceive ourselves in order to keep going, and touches on our innate need to belong somewhere, among other things. Some parts are so straightforward and real that readers will want to cry, while other parts are laced with a wry sense of humor. This novel is a fantastic read and one that will stay with readers long after they’ve finished the final page. Reviewed by Holly Scudero Single, Carefree, Mellow: Stories By Katherine Heiny Knopf, $23.95, 224 pages Check this out! In these stories, the characters are not moral. They don’t even ponder the choices they make to have adulterous affairs as much as Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw did. They want what they want and proceed, damn the consequences. In contrast to the title of these

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u bu z z z z i n

stories, the characters are often not single or carefree, let alone mellow. Heiny’s characters are narcissistic at best and a little sociopathic at times. They seek out sensation for its own sake, with little worry about their partners or their lover’s partners. Through this device, the reader is left to worry about them. In “The Rhett Butlers,” the reader inordinately will worry about the 17-year-old girl having an affair with Mr. Eagleton, her teacher. Mr. Eagleton is such a user that he demotes her grade to a B so that no one will suspect his favoritism. In the title story, when Maya’s dog is dying, she lusts after the veterinarian even though she has been with Rhodes for five years. These are not admirable characters, but they are, in fact, interesting and well-written. This is a perfect beach book. Reviewed by Julia McMichael

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Book Reviews Perdido: A Fragment By Peter Straub Subterranean, $20.00, 72 pages Check this out! Imagine a vacation spot within everyone’s reach, but that only a few are invited to. A place where anything is possible, and fantasies you didn’t even realize you harbored can be realized. This is Perdido, and it will change one family forever. When unhappily wedded couple Margie and Carver visit Perdido, they return transformed, each wreaking havoc on the life of their troubled son. I would love to summarize more, but unfortunately Perdido is a snippet, a fragment that Straub abandoned in place to work on other things. It’s exceedingly rare to see an uncompleted work by a living author, especially one as tantalizing as Perdido. I genuinely didn’t know where it was heading next, or whether it intended to be more of a psychological thriller or a musing on midlife and quarter-life crises with a mystical twist. But that very potential made for a curious reading experience, because half the time I was imagining what might have been cut in a later version. Letting us know the work is a fragment makes it almost amorphous, allowing him to guide us with a narrative while letting us write it. Perdido, like its namesake, is possibility and tease all at once. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas Esperanza Street By Niyati Keni And Other Stories, $15.95, 320 pages Check this out! Esperanza Street by Niyati Keni is set in the 1980s in a small port town in the Phillipines. It is the story of Joseph Santos, who works as a houseboy in a boarding house. The reader watches Joseph grow up from a little boy to a young man, with his own girl problems and family issues and all the other things teenagers deal with, all against the backdrop of a community that is about to be replaced by a shopping mall. Joseph is the perfect narrator for this story. He’s less cynical than many of the other members of the community, and his innocence leads to him not quite grasping things that seem obvious to the reader. At the beginning, a lot of characters were introduced very quickly, but it didn’t take

Fiction long for them to become distinct and easily recognizable. The writing was fantastic, and the story was moving and believable. The only thing that would’ve made it better would be a map of the town. Overall, Esperanza Street was a wonderful book. I highly recommend it, and I can’t wait to see what Niyati Keni comes out with next. Reviewed by Elise Ramsey Traitor’s Gate By Charlie Newton Thomas & Mercer, $15.95, 636 pages Check this out! Traitor’s Gate begins with the traumatic origins of a rebel warrior named Saba Houssaneh, who emerges from war-torn Palestine with no family, and her honor ripped from her. She is saved by a warrior, who trains and educates her in the ways to survive. Cut to Eddie Owen, a brilliant Okie Roughneck trying to keep his family from getting buried by the depression and suffocated by the Dust Bowl. After working for a gangster leads to a tragic accident, Owen is shipped off to Chicago to put his engineer knowledge to use for Big Oil. This leads to further intrigue, as Owen is then shipped overseas to help find a way to fuel fighter jets for the coming global conflagration that will be World War II. Saba and Eddie’s paths are destined to cross as a Nazi bigwig named Erich Schroeder has plans on becoming the next leader of the Mid-East by utilizing Eddie’s acumen and Saba’s war plans. But could Schroder’s plans be derailed by an unlikely relationship between Saba and Eddie? Charlie Newton’s work is inspiring. You know that certain events are predestined, but how the reader is taken on a long winding journey with dangerous curves is the better way to arrive. Highly recommend for a good read. Reviewed by Philip Zozzaro The Precious One By Marisa de los Santos William Morrow, $25.99, 359 pages Check this out! Meet Marisa de los Santos on Sept. 10 at Hardesty Regional Library at “Chapters” literacy fundraiser. See Page 8 for more details. Thirty-something Taisy Cleary and her twin brother, Marcus, have been estranged from their heartless, pompous, brilliant father, Wilson, for most of their adult lives. Having abandoned them and their mother many years ago, Wilson has created a new family; a much younger wife, Caro, and their beloved 16-yearold daughter, Willow, on whom Wilson pours all of the affection he so cruelly withheld from his first two children. After suffering a heart attack, Wilson invites Taisy to return to her childhood home and ghostwrite his “intellectual autobiography.” Re-

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luctant, but hopeful, she takes up residence in his pool house where she is welcomed by Caro, but clearly resented by Willow, whom she has only seen once before. Willow is just learning to navigate high school after being homeschooled and severely sheltered by Wilson, and she views Taisy as a threat. However, Taisy becomes fiercely protective of Willow, especially after she learns that Willow is flirting dangerously with her predatory English teacher, and the two gradually warm to each other. The story unfolds from the alternating perspectives of Taisy and Willow. The parallel narratives reveal contradictory perceptions of Wilson and nicely mirror and contrast the sisters’ experiences with each other, their father and their love interests. Taisy is desperate to repair and renew her shattered relationship with her high-school sweetheart Ben, whom she still believes is her soulmate. Willow is struggling with her inappropriate feelings for her teacher and at the same time finds her friendship with classmate Luka becoming something more. De los Santos creates believable, sympathetic char-

Tulsa Book Review • August 2015 • 5

acters and snappy, fresh dialog. Her characters ache for love and belonging, and in spite of the fact that Wilson remains prickly, she brings her story to a satisfying close that will appeal to both adults and teens. Reviewed by Cindy Hulsey, adult services coordinator, Tulsa City-County Library A Memory of Violets: A Novel of London’s Flower Sellers By Hazel Gaynor William Morrow Paperbacks, $14.99, 386 pages Check this out! Florrie Flynn is an Irish flower seller in 1876 London. Tilly Harper is running from her past and takes a job as assistant housemother at Shaw’s Training Homes for Flower Girls in 1912 London. When Tilly finds Florrie’s journal, she takes an interest in Florrie’s decades-long search for her sister Rosie, who mysteriously disappeared. The story alternates between Tilly and Florrie, and though Tilly’s story is explored in more depth, it is Florrie’s character, with her lovable rhetoric that captures hearts. While Tilly works to solve the mystery of Rosie’s disappearance, she gets to know the flower girls of Violet House, and their work making silk flowers to support themselves. Hazel Gaynor’s skill at delineating character is illustrated in the intricately woven Memory cont’d on page 8

Book Reviews Category

Kids’ Books SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

Family Tree Book 4: Home Is the Place By Ann M. Martin Scholastic Press, $16.99, 224 pages Check this out! This book starts out on Georgia’s sixth birthday. She wants to be independent in her life in the city, but her mother won’t even let her go next door by herself. The chapters change as Georgia grows older. She moves into a beach home and meets lots of new friends. Georgia also discovers her great-great-grandmother’s journals and realizes how upsetting her great-great-grandmother’s life must have been. She doesn’t share this with her greatgrandmother, though, because she doesn’t want her to be sad about her mother’s life. It was fun to read how Georgia grew with every chapter, about her discovering her ancestry and how she is like her great-grandmother. She got along with everybody, but occasionally had a few fights with her mother. This is the fourth book, and Georgia is the fourth generation. This book talks mostly about Georgia’s growing up and different exciting events that happened in her life, but it also talks about her ancestors. You don’t have to have read the other books to understand and like this one, but this makes me want to go read the first books to see what life was like for the rest of Georgia’s family. Reviewed by Miriam, age 11 The 39 Clues: Doublecross Book 1: Mission Titanic By Jude Watson Scholastic Inc., $12.99, 240 pages Check this out! Ian Kabra is the leader of the Cahills, an incredibly rich and powerful family. The villain he needs to stop is a Cahill also and calls himself the Outcast. The Outcast has a diabolical plot to wreak havoc. He’s going to recreate four huge disasters from history (great history lesson!). Ian, Amy, Dan and their friends are in a race to decipher the clues in time to stop the Outcast. Will they do it? Or will thousands of

people be killed or injured? If you liked the first 39 Clues series, you’ll love this book as well. It was one of my top-three favorite 39 Clues books. I would strongly advise reading the previous series first before starting this one. Some mystery books give you very obvious clues and you know exactly where the story is going (boring!), but not with the 39 Clues. It keeps you thinking and guessing for the entire book, and there is always more to discover in the next book. There is also a cool online game that goes with the series. Reviewed by Cole, age 9 Platypus Police Squad: Last Panda Standing By Jarrett J. Krosoczka Walden Pond Press, $12.99, 256 pages Check this out! Platypus Police Squad: Last Panda Standing is the third book in the series. It is about how one of the mayor candidates of Kalamazoo City got mysteriously attacked a few times. The Platypus Police Squad is on the case, and there is a new detective named Jo Cooper. She is a very good detective, and is partnered up with O’Malley to work on the case, meanwhile Zengo is on security for Pandini. Even though Zengo is on guard duty for Pandini, he still tries to work on the case. He finds out some useful information and gives it to the O’Malley Cooper partnership. The other candidate, McGovern, is making really mean commercials, and their suspicion is McGovern who is coordinating the attacks. The help from Zengo really comes in handy when trying to solve this case.

This book is a good mix between comedy and mystery. It was a funny book, but it also came with some Aha moments. I think this book would be good for anyone who likes fun stories and good mystery. Reviewed by Luke, age 11 Gargoyles Gone AWOL: A Sesame Seade Mystery #2 By Clementine Beauvais, Sarah Horne (illustrator) Holiday House, $16.95, 208 pages Check this out! I like this series because I like mysteries, and I really like Sesame Seade. She notices that gargoyles have gone missing from roofs around the town, and she needs to find the gargoyle thief before all the gargoyles are gone! Sesame sets a security camera near where the first gargoyle got stolen, but that doesn’t really help. Then, she finds out that a koala is missing, too. There is something hidden in one of the gargoyles, which is why they are being stolen. Sesame has to figure out where the gargoyles are, and find the koala too! Sesame worked well with her friends, and they helped each other solve problems and get out of trouble. I like the pictures in this book, and the koala is funny because it only sleeps. I really like Sesame, although I don’t know why an 11-year-old is a mystery solver. She climbs on the roof a lot, and she’s only 11! But, I really liked trying to solve the mystery with her. Other children who like mysteries will like it too! Reviewed by Rachel, age 8 A Pig Called Heather By Harry Oulton Holiday House, $16.95, 128 pages Check this out! A pig named Heather and her best friend Isla, a human, live on a farm, but they are very unlucky. The barn burns down, and they have to sell the farm to a man named Busby, and Isla has to move to London. Heather wants to go with her, but she can’t. One day, a picture man came to the farm, taking pictures for an advertisement for Busby’s birds. But the man said the picture was not original enough. Then, he spots Heather feeding the chickens, and so he took pictures of her. Then, Heather became famous. Nikki heard about Heather and took her to London to make a video. But

Tulsa Book Review • August 2015 • 6

then Heather escaped, and went to look for Isla. This book is full of adventure! Even though there weren’t any pictures, I felt like I was Heather and was in Heather’s position. It is fun to think about this story, because it really could happen that a pig could be loose in a city. Heather helped her friends a lot, and they helped her too. The book also had a really good ending. If you like adventure stories, especially about animals, you will like this book too! Reviewed by Rachel, age 8 Puppy Love: True Stories of Doggie Devotion By Lisa M. Gerry National Geographic Children’s Books, $12.99, 160 pages Check this out! Puppy Love: True Stories of Doggie Devotion by Lisa M. Gerry is divided into five sections: Loyal, Wise, Caring, Strong and Inspiring. In each section, the stories of four or five dogs are told, in which each dog shows the characteristic of that section. Each story is only about three or four pages long. There is also a picture of each dog, and sometimes of the owner as well, at the beginning of each story. There is also information in each section about different breeds of dogs and the things they do. I liked the pictures and the stories. The pictures are really good, like we would expect from National Geographic. The stories are written well, with just the right amount of information to let you know about important parts of the story. The stories are not just about the dogs, but about their owners, as well. Sometimes, the story about the people is just as interesting as the story about the dog. This book would be good for ages 7 to 13, and would be a nice gift for someone who loves dogs. Reviewed by Hannah, age 9 Untamed: The Wild Life of Jane Goodall By Anita Silvey, Jane Goodall (foreword) National Geographic Children’s Books, $18.99, 96 pages Check this out! I like this book because I want to do a presentation on Jane Goodall. She is a woman who studies chimpanzees. This book has “Jane’s Tips For Kids Who Want to Work With Animals,” like, “watch animals and see what they do,” “keep a notebook and write down observations” and “come up with ideas about why animals are behaving the way they are.” I enjoyed reading about how Jane Goodall talked to chimpanzees in Africa. She said that they would have a “conversation of ‘chimp—chimp—and more chimp.’” I smiled when I read that part! Did you know there is new technology for photographing wild animals called

Book Reviews “camera traps?” There are many beautiful photographs through this whole book. I also enjoyed the timeline of Jane Goodall’s life near the end of this book. When she was 5 years old, Jane hid in a henhouse for a long time to learn about chickens laying eggs! That’s the funny part. She spent her life learning about animals and finding ways to help them. I think that this book would be good for kids and grownups. Reviewed by Susan Faith, age 7 A Dragon’s Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans By Laurence Yep, Joanne Ryder, Mary GrandPre (illustrator) Crown Books for Young Readers, $15.99, 160 pages Check this out! This book is from the dragon’s point of view: Miss Drake. She is 1,000 years old. Aunt Amelia (Fluffy) dies and leaves her house to Winnie and her mom. The dragon thinks the girl is her pet. When the dragon cries, her tears turn into jewels, but the dragon almost never cries. The dragon is serious. Winnie is mostly happy, but she misses her daddy. Winnie likes to draw. Miss Drake buys her a notebook. She doesn’t think there is anything special about the notebook, but there is. The notebook is magical, and makes drawings come alive. Miss Drake and Winnie have to catch them and put them back in the book or San Francisco will be destroyed. Will they find them in time? Read the book to find out. I loved this book! My favorite magical creature was the lavender lemur (he likes to steal stuff and eat raisins). I learned about a lot of new magical creatures. I looked up pictures of them. The dragon was my favorite character. She isn’t so grumpy. I loved the pictures at the beginning of each chapter. I’ll read this book again, and again, and again, and again! Reviewed by Nishaant, age 6 Jack: The True Story of Jack & the Beanstalk By Liesl Shurtliff Knopf Books for Young Readers, $16.99, 304 pages Check this out! Jack: The True Story of Jack & The Beanstalk is a great book. It is about a boy named Jack,

Kids’ Books who goes out to find his papa after he was taken by giants! The giants jumped down from the giant world and took every bit and piece that they could grab. The giants took the whole village, including Papa, so Jabber, a one-legged tinker, gives Jack some magic beans. Jack plants the magic beans. Soon, they start growing. After a while, the beanstalk grows so high that Jack can’t see the top of it! Then, he knows it is time to climb. He climbs, and climbs, and climbs for what seems like hours, until he finally reaches the top. He discovers a whole new world, a GIANT world! He tries to find his way through the crowd, but soon he finds himself wandering through a giant kitchen. Then, he meets Martha, a giant cook, and Tom Thumb, a person just like him. Jack and Tom become best friends. Then, Jack tells Tom about his papa. Tom says that Jack should not go, but Jack says that he has to find his papa. As Jack heads towards the beanstalk, it starts to shake. Jack knows that something is there. He looks under a leaf and finds his little sister, Annabella. Jack does not want her to come, but she really wants to go so Jack lets her come. Together, they face a giant toad, pixies, and defeat a giant king! In the end, they find Papa, and they all go home. Jack: The True Story of Jack & the Beanstalk is a great book, and I recommend it to adventurous kids ages 8-12. Reviewed by Farrah, age 9

quest to find the Great Moodler, the only one who can save the Realm of Possibility and cure Penelope’s writer’s block. While the book did have some interesting and original puns, it was too similar to Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth. For example, the quest to find the Great Moodler resembles Milo’s quest for the princesses of Rhyme and Reason. The similarities between Tollbooth’s “Which” on wasting words and Chronos on wasting time is evident. This book, with its many illustrations and large type/margins, would be best suited for readers who are not ready for Phantom Tollbooth but find the same content interesting. Reviewed by Faith, age 11 The Octopus Scientists (Scientists in the Field Series): Exploring the Mind of a Mollusk By Sy Montgomery, Keith Ellenbogen (illustrator) HMH Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 80 pages Check this out! The team is researching what octopuses eat and why. The octopus’ brain is around its neck. Its mouth is in its armpit. Can it taste with its eyeballs, because an eyeball has skin? My favorite octopus defense is

squirting acid. It can squirt ink, acid and venom. They find lots of sea cucumbers at the first site, so they don’t think they’ll find octopuses there, because they don’t eat sea cucumbers. Sea cucumbers are cute. Then, they find octopuses! They are very neat eaters – unlike the squirrels I saw earlier today. I’d rather try to touch octopuses with a soft stick than my hand. Ah! A stonefish! Cut my arm off! What is a blue chromis? They need a picture. The photographs are awesome! They find a lot of octopuses. They learn what they eat. They find answers and questions. I learned a lot about octopuses. I only knew they shot ink and had jet propulsion, but nothing else. Seeing an octopus hunting – I want to do that someday. I’m becoming a marine biologist! They get to do cool stuff! This is a good book for a library, but I’m not sending my copy to the library. I want to read it again. I love this book! Reviewed by Nishaant, age 6

, CHILDREN S NONFICTION NEW AND COMING SOON

TO TULSA CITY-COUNTY LIBRARY Search the library’s catalog at www.TulsaLibrary.org to reserve your copies now.

The Lost Track of Time By Paige Britt, Lee White (illustrator) Scholastic Press, $17.99, 320 pages Check this out! Penelope doesn’t see any sense in having a schedule every day. She’d rather fill her notebooks with exciting story concepts. Her parents, however, are more interested in ensuring Penelope’s acceptance to Ivy League schools. So Penelope sets out to publish an amazing story, and prove that writing isn’t a waste of time. Unfortunately, Penelope’s just developed an extreme case of writer’s block. One day, Penelope falls into a hole in her schedule, and arrives in the magical Realm of Possibility, where the evil Chronos has decreed that everything he deems “impossible” illegal. Suddenly, Penelope falls into a Tulsa Book Review • August 2015 • 7

Splish, Splash, ZooBorns! by Andrew Bleiman How do adorable baby zoo animals handle the summer heat? Baby hippos splish and splash; baby elephants take baths; and baby dolphins dive in the water! Cool off with the ZooBorn babies in this sweet book that’s perfect for even the youngest animal lover!

Dirtmeister’s Nitty Gritty Planet Earth

by Steve Tomecek • Come and explore the world under your feet with the Dirtmeister and friends! Part graphic novel, part fun guidebook, this very cool, rocky journey introduces both eager and reluctant readers to the basic geologic processes that shape our Earth. Clear and concise explanations of the various geologic processes reveal the comprehensive science behind each fascinating topic. Fun facts and simple DIY experiments reinforce the concepts while short biographies of important scientists inspire future geoscientists.

I’m Trying to Love Spiders by Bethany Barton I’m Trying to Love Spiders will help you see these amazing arachnids in a whole new light, from their awesomely excessive eight eyes, to the 75 pounds of bugs a spider can eat in a single year! And you’re sure to feel better knowing you have a better chance of being struck by lightning than being fatally bit by a spider.

Book Reviews

one woman who makes him laugh: Breeanne. But, with all stories, these two have to battle their demons and their feelings. Will they make it to home run? Back in the Game by Lori Wilde is indeed a must read for all. I enjoyed reading about Breeanne and Rowdy. I highly recommend this contemporary romance to all. Reviewed by Danielle Urban

Category

Teens SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

YOUTH FICTION COMING SOON

TO TULSA CITY-COUNTY LIBRARY Search the library’s catalog at www.TulsaLibrary.org to reserve your copies now.

Finding Audrey The Cemetery Boys By Heather Brewer HarperTeen, $17.99, 288 pages Check this out! A 17-year-old boy, Stephen, and his father, Harold, and his mother, Margaret, are living in Denver and having the time of their lives, but when Stephen’s life takes an unexpected turn, all of that goes down hill. First, his mom comes home one night, yapping about giant winged creatures killing people, and then, when Harold thinks she’s getting too dangerous to live in same house them, Harold admits her to a mental hospital. Then, once all the hospital bills start to pile up, his dad decides that they must move in with Stephen’s grandmother in smalltown Spencer, population now 836. Once Stephen gets to Spencer, he notices a lady who screams “YOU’RE GONNA BURN!” He, and everyone else, are nervous about these predictions, but they all know that they are not true. Then, Stephen discovers a girl, as he describes her, “The most beautiful girl he’s ever seen.” But when he discovers what she is doing to innocent people, his whole perspective entirely changes about her. This book would be great for anyone who loves mysteries. Reviewed by Luke, age 10 End of Days (Penryn & the End of Days Series) By Susan Ee Skyscape, $9.99, 344 pages Check this out! End of Days is the exciting conclusion to an amazing trilogy. It’s filled with nonstop action, swoon-worthy romance and a heroine that seriously knows how to kick some butt. Obviously, if you haven’t read this series, then I think you’re crazy. I think I’m crazy for waiting so long to even start the books. The story begins where it ended in World After. Raffe and Penryn have finally found each other again and now, more than ever, they must find a way for Raffe to get his wings on so they can stop Uriel from becoming a messenger. Of course, trouble along the way is a given, such as Penryn taking a trip or two to hell bringing back with her a le-

gion of hellions, all hell-bent on destroying her. With the help of her notso-crazy mom, her baby sister who isn’t quite human and her wanna-be boyfriend Raffe, Penryn has her hands full trying to save the world from truly ending. It’s up to her to save the human race from extinction, but can she do it? I’m so sad to have to say goodbye to these wonderful characters who seem so real. The world Ee has created has been so well-developed; it’s as if I’m watching a movie in my head. I can’t recommend these books enough. Reviewed by Breanna, age 15 Emancipated By M. G. Reyes Katherine Tegen Books, $17.99, 400 pages Check this out! A motley crew of six emancipated teenagers living together in one house is a recipe for drama, drama and more drama. Surprisingly, the six get along and manage to run their independent household successfully, at least for a time. Little do they know, one of their housemates is a spy; another, a potential murder suspect. When the harsh light of reality breaks into their false freedom, and the most innocent becomes the No. 1 suspect in a murder case, everyone’s hidden truths come out. The first installment in a promising series, Emancipated is an engaging read for any reader. The plot of this young adult novel is unique; the “puzzle” and the direction every twist takes engages the reader fully, leaving very few dull moments. As for the situation Reyes puts the characters in, emancipation from their parents, it seems almost too good to be true; for those readers who enjoy dramatic, almost television-like plots, Emancipated is a perfect read. Reviewed by Emily, age 16

Tulsa Book Review • August 2015 • 11

by Sophie Kinsella Fourteen-year-old Audrey is making slow but steady progress dealing with her anxiety disorder when Linus comes into the picture and her recovery gains momentum.

After the Red Rain

by Barry Lyga, Peter Facinelli and Robert DeFranco On the ruined planet Earth where 50 billion people are confined to megacities and resources are scarce, Deedra has been handed a bleak and mundane existence by the Magistrate she works so hard for.

A Little in Love

by Susan E. Fletcher Eponine, the street girl from Les Misérables, tells the story of her life and her unrequited love for Marius, which ultimately leads to her death on the barricades during the short-lived rebellion of June 1832.

The Bunker Diary

by Kevin Brooks Sixteen-year-old Linus Weems, a street person since leaving his wealthy father’s home, is kidnapped and taken to an underground bunker where he’s soon joined by five others, ranging in age from 9 to 70, who are alternately cared for and tortured by their unseen captor.

The Letter for the King

by Tonke Dragt On the night of his final vigil before being knighted, Tiuri answers a request to deliver an urgent letter to a distant kingdom across the Great Mountains – a journey that will threaten his life and teach him the true meaning of what it is to be a knight.

The Accident Season

by Moira Fowley-Doyle Every October Cara and her family become mysteriously and dangerously accidentprone, but this year, the year Cara, her ex-stepbrother and her best friend are 17, is when Cara will begin to unravel the accident season’s dark origins.

Book Reviews Category

these two girls survive the hostility and find a way to stay friends? Caroline Starr Rose truly has a way with words. She tells this story in the voices of the two girls written in beautiful, lyrical free verse. The voices are distinct enough to not need it, but they are set in two different fonts. The story is compelling, and filled with a range of emotions from longing, to sadness, to loneliness, to hope. This book should not be missed. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck

Tweens SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

The Honest Truth By Dan Gemeinhart Scholastic Press, $16.99, 240 pages Check this out! Mark is dying. Last year, he thought he had the cancer beat. But now, it is back to take over his life, make his parents miserable and keep Mark from having a normal childhood. Mark has a plan, though. He has always has to do what he is told. He never has any choice. He decides to take his last chance and fulfill his late grandfather’s last wish: climb to the top of Mount Rainier. He takes only a wad of cash, a notebook, his grandfather’s camera and his heart-breakingly loyal dog, Beau. He leaves behind his family, his treatments and his best friend, Jessie. As Mark struggles toward his destination, he battles to make sense of his experiences. There is such a surplus of whiny cancer kid books. I expected this to be one of the many, so I was surprised by the simple and honest portrayal of the struggles the characters go through. Mark was not pathetic, or at least, not asking for pity. He was just a confused child looking for meaning. The conclusion was beautiful, but my favorite parts were when Beau shows Mark how to love. They were very sweet. Reviewed by Gretl, age 14 Stealing the Game (Streetball Crew Book Two) By Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Raymond Obstfeld Disney-Hyperion, $16.99, 304 pages Check this out! In this story, the older brother, Jax, gets into some shady business. My favorite part is when the police become involved in Jax’s shady business. The best parts of this book for me are when they were playing basketball. I could relate to the relationship between Jax and Chris. I am the older brother, and I know my

younger brother at times feels I am up on a pedestal to everyone around us. I know it’s not true, but in my brother’s eyes, he is always second best. I learned that it is best to always do the right thing. The reason I liked that part so much is because that is something that scares me, but is exciting to read about in a book. Family and doing the right thing does prevail. This book was a great story, and it makes me want to read the first story in this series. I felt this story was good for my age level and written with my age in mind. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends that love basketball and friends who don’t know much about basketball too. Reviewed by Jack, age 8 Blue Birds By Caroline Starr Rose Putnam Juvenile, $16.99, 400 pages Check this out! Alis is 12 when her family sails from teeming, dirty London to the new world. It is 1587. They land on the island of Roanoke and expect to find English soldiers, including Alis’ beloved uncle, who had come before, but there is no one. All they find is some burned buildings and bones. At the same time, Kimi, a young girl of the Roanoke tribe, sees the settlers and is reminded of the deaths of her father and sister. Both girls have lost loved ones, yet they meet in the woods and find a way to become friends, each lacking a girl her own age to befriend. As animosity heats up between the English and the Roanoke, can

Stolen Magic By Gail Carson Levine HarperCollins, $16.99, 336 pages Check this out! Elodie is traveling with the dragon Mastress Meenore and His Lordship Count Jonty Um, an ogre, to Elodie’s homeland. Before they get there, she stops and sees the Replica, only to find it has been stolen. She realizes how bad this is, because if they don’t get the Replica back soon, the volcano will explode. They decide that the count must leave them and warn the people who live on the volcano, to make sure they evacuate their homes before it is too late. In the meantime, Elodie and Mastress Meenore try to find out who the thief is by deducing and inducing. It is harder than they expected, though, because there are so many people who could be the thief. This book is very suspenseful, although it is not very clear how Elodie figured out who the thief is--I felt like her solution is just a random guess that happened to be right. However, the book has a lot of action, and the plot moves really quickly, and the book gets exciting really quickly and stayed exciting through the whole thing. My favorite character was the cook, Ludda, because she seems very funny and is teased in a funny way. Reviewed by Miriam, age 11 The Worst Class Trip Ever By Dave Barry Disney-Hyperion, $13.99, 224 pages Check this out! The class trip is to Washington, D.C. On the plane, Wyatt asks where the emergency exit is, because Cameron Frank farts a lot. The stewardess is not happy. Wyatt gets in trouble with the teacher, Mr. Barto, who never knows where he is going. Wyatt’s friend, Matt, steals something from the two weird guys sitting behind them because he thinks it’s a detonator for a bomb. The weird guys come

Tulsa Book Review • August 2015 • 12

after them and take Matt because they want that thing back. Suzana is the girl Wyatt loves. She wants to help. The kids give the detonator back, get Matt back and lose Cameron Frank (the guy who farts). They think the weird guys are going to attack the White House with a giant dragon kite. The friends have to meet at the “Big Butt” to stop them. Will they save the day? Read the book to find out. This book was great! It was very funny. Mr. Barto was the funniest character. My favorite plan was, “We’ll yell or something.” I’ll read this book again. The climax was very exciting—and funny when the taxi driver fell on the secret service agent. It would be fun to go to Washington, D.C., but I probably don’t want a trip like this. It was the funniest class trip ever. Reviewed by Nishaant, age 6 Seven Wonders Book 4: The Curse of the King By Peter Lerangis, Torstein Norstrand (illustrator) HarperCollins, $17.99, 320 pages Check this out! This is another adventure with Jack, Aly and Cass. Jack and his friends are still trying to find the remaining Seven Wonders of the World, and find the hidden Loculi, which are orbs that give out superpowers, but only to Selects. They find the Statue of Zeus, which is protecting the Loculi, but they can’t get the orb because the statue comes alive and tries to kill them! They are also running from the Massa, and from the KI, whom they were working with at first, but now they can no longer trust the headquarters. Will Jack and his friends succeed? Will they even survive? The story was straightforward and full of action, yet suspenseful. You never know what will happen next. The characters were usually pretty smart, but sometimes didn’t make the best decisions because they were under a lot of stress. I could put myself in the story, and I felt like I was running alongside them. It was easy to relate to them, and it was exciting and fun! I love this series! Reviewed by Miriam, age 11

Book Reviews Xtreme Illusions 2 By Gianni A. Sarcone National Geographic Children’s Books, $16.99, 48 pages Check this out! Xtreme Illusions 2 is a book of optical illusions. Optical illusions trick your brain into s e e i n g things that aren’t really there or that confuse your brain into thinking that something is one way when it might be another. The book includes a lot of drawings and photographs and also has two pull-out activities—a thaumatrope and a zoetrope. It also gives a little explanation on each page for why your brain sees the illusions the way that it does. I loved this book because the optical illusions are fun, and when you see them, they are hard to believe. Many things in this book are complicated to understand, and I found the simple explanations sometimes to be a little too simple. I wish they had provided more information or at least pointed us to some other references at the library or online where I could study these things more. This book would be good for readers from age 8 and older, including adults. Younger kids may not be able to see or understand what’s going on. Reviewed by Hannah, age 9 Nick and Tesla’s Special Effects Spectacular: A Mystery With Animatronics, Alien Makeup, Camera Gear, and Other Movie Magic You Can Make Yourself! By Bob Pflugfelder, Steve Hockensmith Quirk Books, $12.95, 256 pages Check this out! Nick and Tesla are brother and sister. They are spending the summer with Uncle Newt. What a name! Their mom and dad are lost, which is sad. Their uncle has something that explodes downstairs. Their friend, Silas, is making a movie about Bald Eagle, a superhero played by a dummy. Bald Eagle is fighting aliens. Nick and Tesla invent stuff for the movie. The book has instructions for a camera stabilizer, a robot arm, a stunt dummy, alien makeup and a grappling hook. I want to make the grappling

hook the most. Their friend DeMarco’s aunt works on a movie. There’s a mystery on the movie set. There’s itching powder inside the Metalman armor. Will Nick and Tesla solve the mystery? Read the book to find out. I liked the book. I give it six stars!! It is a funny book. Oh yeah, I’m Bald Eagle, and I’m saving the world on my head. I don’t have a favorite part. All of them are awesome! I haven’t made any of the projects yet, but soon I will! I’ll read other Nick and Tesla books. I think I can read this book myself a little bit. There are some long words like “pontificated.” I learned about P.A.s, cameras and movie making. Reviewed by Nishaant, age 6 Alistair Grim’s Odditorium By Gregory Funaro Disney-Hyperion, $16.99, 432 pages Check this out! Grubb is a poor chimney sweep who lives with his overbearing caretaker, until one day, he stows away in a rich visitor’s chest of clothes. When Grubb is discovered, he finds himself in a magnificent building called the Odditorium. The owner, Alistair Grim, agrees to house Grubb in return for help running the place. Grubb is excited to have his new job; this signifies the start of a new life for him, where he can be safe, clean and, most importantly, wellfed. But while helping to pass out papers for an Odditorium display, Grubb accidentally sets of a chain of events that can kill them all, because the evil Lord Nightshade is now notified of their position, and will stop at nothing to capture Alistair Grim and use his Odditorium for his nefarious purposes. Grubb was a likeable and sympathetic orphan, whose changes of fate and mistakes enliven and brighten this story set in Victorian London. The plot moved very quickly, and the surprise ending was very satisfying. This was a lovely beginning to a planned series I can hardly wait to continue reading. Reviewed by Gretl, age 11

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MeetAuthor

Sharon Draper

Winner of the Tulsa Library Trust’s 2015

Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers’ Literature Friday, Aug. 28 • 7 p.m.

Hardesty Regional Library, Connor’s Cove 8316 E. 93rd St. • 918.549.7323 Sharon Draper is the author of more than 30 books for children and teens. She has received numerous awards and honors during her prestigious career. Her young adult works include the renowned Out of My Mind, which was published in 2010 and at the top of The New York Times Best Sellers list for nine weeks; The Jericho Trilogy – The Battle of Jericho, November Blues and Just Another Hero; The Hazelwood Trilogy – Tears of a Tiger, Forged by Fire and Darkness Before Dawn; Copper Sun; Romiette and Julio; Double Dutch; Fire From the Rock; and Panic. Draper’s works for tweens and children include the Sassy series, Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs series, and her latest work, Stella by Starlight. At the presentation, Draper will receive the 2015 Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers’ Literature, speak about her life and works, answer questions from the audience and sign books. Copies of her books will be available for purchasing. Sharon Draper also will present awards to winners of Tulsa City-County Library’s 2015 Young People’s Creative Writing Contest at the presentation.

Book Reviews Category

Nonfiction SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

The Great Detective: The Amazing Rise and Immortal Life of Sherlock Holmes By Zach Dundas Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $26.00, 336 pages Check this out! Sherlock Holmes, at a first, uneducated glance, seems to be but a simple detective; he is intelligent, sure, and his tales are, somewhat unusually, told from the perspective of another, but a detective he remains. Why, then, is he so wildly popular? Why is Sherlock Holmes a byword? What causes millions of fans to flock to Sher- lock Holmes clubs, conferences and conventions every year? How can a figure created more than a century ago remain so monumentally prevalent? In this revelatory book, the circumstances of Holmes’ inception, Doyle’s inspiration and the zeitgeist that has supported Sherlock through the ages are proclaimed in a manner benefiting both Holmesian veterans and catechumens. What can be said? This book is the best introduction to Sherlock Holmes lore and a most uplifting record for even the most effervescent Sherlock fan. The prose is quick, light and humorous, but conveys all necessary information and then some in a brief and engaging tour de force. The history of Holmes, Doyle, the fandom and even Dundas’ own misadventures are set forth in an engrossing nonstop narrative. It’s a musthave for any zealot or neophyte. Reviewed by Peterson, age 17 Waking Up to the Dark: Ancient Wisdom for a Sleepless Age By Clark Strand, Will Lytle (illustrator) Spiegel & Grau, $26.00, 160 pages Check this out! Waking Up to the Dark: Ancient Wisdom for a Sleepless Age centers on an intense spiritual theory. There is an hour of darkness that most of us sleep through, leaving us lost and misinformed about what can be found when we remove the light and embrace the

dark. Not to be confused as a religious book, Clark Strand’s explanation of what our nights are missing comes straight from his midnight journaling. While I am impressed initially with Strand, his writings quickly wander into the realm of apparitional science fiction. Understanding that there is an audience for Strand’s message, I find that I may not be included. Unfortunately, the format of his book leaves me in the dark, perhaps this realization is exactly what Strand is hoping for. However, I am left scanning the last few pages, grasping for quality in all of the content. I would forewarn those without a strong devotion to tread lightly throughout the long chapters and, as hoped for by Strand, I will be more mindful of the hour of darkness awaiting me each night I slumber. Reviewed by Josephine Meeker Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind By Yuval Noah Harari Harper, $29.99, 464 pages Check this out! Writers who use timelines put all the facts into perspective. Yuval Noah Harari goes a few steps beyond chronology in his new book, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. He focuses this history in four neat revolutions that encompass cognition, agriculture, unification of mankind and the scientific revolution. Each of these sets up a developmental approach to the cumulative knowledge that we see today in our society. Just after the table of contents in the book, the author provides a chronology of major events that helped define who we are today. Professor Harari holds a doctorate in history from Oxford. He now lectures at the

Department of History at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The author incorporates history and science in such a brilliant way that the reader walks away with a fresh perspective on how our heritage came about. We gain this insight from Harari’s views on biology, anthropology, paleontology and economics. The many color illustrations help further our appreciation for his work. Let’s applaud this author’s unique view of the world. Reviewed by D. Wayne Dworsky Literary Rivals: Feuds and Antagonisms in the World of Books By Richard Bradford The Robson Press, $24.95, 288 pages Check this out! Who doesn’t love a good rivalry? From the Hatfields and McCoys to Springfield and Shelbyville, rivalries can drive terrific, multigenerational stories loaded with wit and vitriol. This is especially true of literary rivals, who put their creative chops to work eviscerating foes and critics alike with pointed puns and devastating descriptions. Literary Rivals recounts some of the most infamous and spite-fueled disputes in the world of literature, not only between authors, but between authors and critics, and, in Salmon Rushdie’s case, an author and an entire religion. The book starts off strong with the likes of Mailer, Vidal and Capote, and then focuses on specific pairs that invested plenty of time, energy and ink into destroying each other’s reputations. And while these rivalries are certainly entertaining -- the banter alone is worth the charge of admission -- reading about several of them in a row begins to feel like watching reality television: an unpleasant exercise in observing schadenfreude. Bradford does his best to remain objective, offering context without judgment, and that is a saving grace for this book. If he’d chosen sides, that would’ve pushed things a step too far. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas James Herriot’s Cat Stories By James Herriot, Lesley Holmes (illustrator) St. Martin’s Press, $18.99, 176 pages Check this out! James Herriot was a veterinarian by trade and worked with primarily farm animals for more than 50 years. But he is also well-known and loved for his many books and stories about the animals he knew over the course of his life. He has a series of memoirs, several collections of stories and even children’s picture books that will no doubt be reread and loved for generations to

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come. This new printing of James Herriot’s Cat Stories offers readers 10 humorous and heartwarming stories about cats. Some are farm cats, such as Moses, the cat who Herriot found nearly frozen among the rushes. Some are shop cats, like Alfred, whose owner ran a confectionery shop. Others are beloved house cats, like Frisk, who offered comfort to his cancer-stricken owner, or Buster, whose mother brought him to safety in the only home she’d ever known. Three of the stories feature Herriot’s own pets, a couple of halfwild feral kittens charmingly named Olly and Ginny. Herriot has a definite way with words, painting stories that invite readers in, lush with all the right details, while somehow not ignoring some of the more graphic aspects of the author’s work as a vet. This collection is a wonderful introduction to Herriot’s work for those who have not yet had the pleasure. Reviewed by Holly Scudero A Kid’s Guide to Keeping Chickens By Melissa Caughey Storey Publishing, LLC, $16.95, A Kid’s Guide to Keeping Chickens Check this out! Chickens are not normally thought of as great family pets, but A Kid’s Guide to Raising Chickens shows how they are, or at least can be. This book guides the prospective chicken owner through the process of purchasing chickens, starting with choosing a breed. Next we learn where to purchase eggs or chicks. Then we are taught how to care for our chickens. There are sections on the types of coops, what type of food to use to feed your chicken and how to take care of a sick chicken. This book has so many pictures! It was super fun to read to children. It also was very informative while still being easy to understand. It includes crafts, like how to blow out and decorate eggs, or decorating egg cartons in different ways, and a section full of fun, easy recipes for using up all your eggs! This is the perfect guide for the beginning or prospective chicken owner, and even if you are not planning on raising chickens anytime soon, it will show you both what is involved and how rewarding it can be. Reviewed by Gretl, age 14

Nonfiction

Book Reviews Twisted History: 32 True Stories of Torture, Traitors, Sadists, and Psychos ... Plus the Most Celebrated Saints in History By Howard Watson Firefly Books, $19.95, 176 pages Check this out! The pages of history always has been soaked in blood, torture and murder (and still are). This book brings some of the most gruesome together. The three sections are “Treachery and Torture,” “Saints and Sinners” and “Murder and Mayhem.” Stories are pulled from various time periods as well as from different parts of the world. For example, the first section ranges from Brutus, murderer of Julius Caesar, to Vlad the Impaler, to Adolf Eichmann, the architect of the Holocaust. Howard Watson makes quite sure to distinguish fact from myth so readers won’t be misled. It was nice to know what the myths were, though, and why they came into being. For example, the story is that Dick Turpin was an English highwayman who was supposedly handsome, genteel and charismatic, and who only robbed ladies’ carriages and was very dashing to them. In reality, however, he mainly robbed peddler’s old carts and was really just a common thug. All the stories are accompanied by images, but as most of the events occurred before the invention of photographs, they are mainly paintings, engravings or sketches. It is definitely not a children’s book, but it is a fascinating look at some of the more gory details of the past. Reviewed by Gretl, age 14 The Rape of Europa: The Intriguing History of Titian’s Masterpiece By Charles FitzRoy Bloomsbury USA, $30.00, 224 pages Check this out! Art historians try to follow the life of a famous old master painting, examining how it went from collector to collector, what that says about the value that these paintings have, while at the same time using the transfer to examine how the sociopolitical ways changed over time. None represent this more than Titian’s Rape of Europa. Originally painted for the Spanish monarch back in the 1500s, it went through a large collection of owners, dealers and art agents, finally settling down

in the United States in the late 19th century in the collection of Isabella Stewart Gardner and eventually into the museum that she established. This book explores the history of the painting, while at the same time examining the circumstances of the countries it lived in at various times (Spain, France, England, the United States). Following paintings like this, we can see the rise and fall of different large empires, and growing governments and prosperity. The book is not perfect. Towards the latter half, it gets bogged down in names and titles, especially the English peer titles. Also it spends a lot of time going over the major events, for example of the French Revolution, that you almost forget this is a book about a painting. Reviewed by Kevin Winter The Allergy Book: Solving Your Family’s Nasal Allergies, Asthma, Food Sensitivities, and Related Health and Behavioral Problems By Robert W. Sears, William Sears Little, Brown and Company, $16.00, 352 pages Check this out! Who knew that there was so much to learn about allergies? For readers who are plagued with allergies of any kind, whether to pollen, dust, mold, pets, food or even insects The Allergy Book by Dr. Robert Sears and Dr. William Sears is an absolute must-read. Start off by learning what actually happens in the body during an allergic reaction, and then learn more about allergy testing, common medications used to treat allergies, nasal and eye allergies, asthma and more. Food allergies got you down? Learn the ways to pinpoint a food allergy, whether through straight testing or through elimination diets, and then get advice on how to effectively keep those foods out of your life. Learn more about how allergy shots may eventually help someone with an allergy leave that issue behind forever. What’s great about this book is that the Sears doctors cover each type of allergy in depth, and they focus on more than just medication to help keep things under control. Many readers will appreciate the fact that this book does not just advise readers to see their doctors to fix their problems, but instead offers real-life solutions for helping to keep allergies under control, whether through the use of air filters, suggestions like replacing carpeting with hardwood floors, or by advocating a healthy, clean-eating diet as an important part of keeping the immune system in balance. The

Tulsa Book Review • August 2015 • 15

Allergy Book maintains a friendly, conversational tone throughout; readers will feel like they’re having a chat with a lifelong family physician. Reviewed by Holly Scudero Roberto’s New Vegan Cooking: 125 Easy, Delicious, Real Food Recipes By Roberto Martin Da Capo Lifelong Books, $32.50, 248 pages Check this out! Having grown up in a Mexican-American family, many of Roberto Martin’s recipes in Roberto’s New Vegan Cooking are based on Mexican cuisine. This is a nice vegan cookbook with a large variety of recipes to choose from, each wellwritten and easy-to-follow, and using reasonably easyto-find ingredients. But don’t expect to find quick cooking. Many recipes mimic traditional items vegan style, but you can’t expect the flavors and textures to be very close (e.g. making croissants or mayonnaise using vegan ingredients)—they are good but different. Nice professional photo illustrations help to visualize some recipes, though the author’s nine, nearly identical photos are a bit awkward. A series of thumbnail photos on illustrating techniques are nice. The cookbook is divided into eight chapters, including a first chapter on basics, staples and sauces. Each chapter starts with a list of recipes for your convenience. The variety of recipes is awesome: pumpkin curry soup, tapenade, barley and faro risotto, peach and ginger crisps—some original, some old standards. Martin’s recipe headnotes and tips are informative. The cookbook’s major fault is recipe layout: many recipe instructions flip to overleaf pages to allow placement of photos, making it inconvenient for the cook. Reviewed by George Erdosh Classic Recipes for Modern People By Max Sussman, Eli Sussman Olive Press, $25.00, 160 pages Check this out! These recipes are both upgraded, tweaked familiar favorites and also recipes that will become favorites, hence the divisions -- Classics From, Your Childhood, Our Childhood, TV Dinners, French, Future, Worldwide, Breakfast and Sweet -- make a lot of sense. Each

recipe is introduced with the reason it is included. Reasons range from fond memories of Saturday breakfast and family gatherings to just because the authors liked it and the enhancement their tweaking can bring to the table. For example, Gumbo With Crispy Okra is more of a skillet meal than a thick soup; or the Corn Bread and Brisket Patty Melt combines slow-cooked brisket with grilled, spiced corn bread to create a patty melt so much more than melted cheese. The additional ingredients are not exotic and create additional layers of flavor for dishes you thought you knew. The several recipes I served took a little preparation planning for ingredients, and the flavors were well worth it. Almost all the recipes had wonderful pictures, and the written banter before each entry equaled delightful comradery with the authors. I recommend the cookbook for people who want to make the ordinary delightful and who enjoy stretching a little wider in their culinary efforts. Reviewed by Ralph Peterson Stella cont’d from cover Depression and the Ku Klux Klan converge into a grim background of segregation, poverty and fear for Stella, who nevertheless finds simple pleasures in her daily life: going to school, helping with household tasks and reading the newspaper stories her mother hangs on their walls. Despite the very accurate and historical details that Draper deftly interweaves in the story, it is the emotions that matter most. In one scene, several African-American men, including Stella’s father, go to the courthouse to register to vote, and the clerk tells them “You gonna be real sorry you did this.” The pastor’s response is “Sorrow is part of life.” Stella by Starlight is suffused with sorrow and fear, but there are also brilliant flashes of joy, community and hope. The light of KKK cross burnings is answered with the warmth of campfire potlucks shared by Stella’s neighbors, who care for each other and watch over the children. Stella has been practicing her writing throughout the novel – a chore that she works on diligently because of a beloved teacher’s encouragement. Her final journal entry of the novel (a “newspaper” she writes for an audience of one: herself), written on Christmas after a number of family struggles, is both simple and powerful. She wishes for “more love, less hate, and more cookies.” Draper’s latest novel is a triumph of human feeling as well as a careful evocation of a troubled chapter in our nation’s History and deserves to be read widely. Reviewed by Lauren Raphael, youth librarian, South Broken Arrow Library

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