Staff Picks
Check out these five-star reviews written by the staff of the Marathon County Public Library, featuring books and DVDs for adults, children and teens! Staff book reviews are also published at Goodreads.com; follow us for the latest updates. The book reviews on this website represent the personal opinions of the individuals who created them and do not represent any official views of the Marathon County Public Library.
"Furious Hours"
Author Casey Cep takes a page out of Harper Lee's book to recreate her own fact-checking non-fiction title. The book starts out by detailing the tale of Reverend Willie Maxwell, a man accused of murdering multiple family members in order to claim insurance policies he held in their names. This causes quite the stir as the public starts to believe Maxwell to...
Audience: Adults | Genre: Nonfiction, Biography, True Crime
"Ladies Who Punch"
The View has been a staple of daytime television for more than 20 years. Since debuting in the summer of 1997, the show has seen 23 co-hosts come and go, and has had its fair share of high-profile arguments and controversies. For creator and executive producer Barbara Walters, the show started as a labor of love. For years leading up to the...
Audience: Adults | Genre: Nonfiction, Celebrities
"Maybe You Should Talk to Someone"
For most people, a breakup can be a difficult life event to process. Sometimes, it can even cause folks to seek out help in the form of talk therapy. But what if you’re a therapist and you’re the one who’s being broken up with?
As a therapist, Lori Gottlieb has helped clients with a myriad of problems, from cheating spouses to adults who were abused or...
Audience: Adults | Genre: Nonfiction, Self-Help
"The Dress and the Girl"
There is a little girl who wears a dress. The dress and the girl experience a lot together, like playing and exploring, until one day they travel to a new country together to find a better life. The dress and the girl get unexpectedly separated when getting off of the boat in their new county; the dress in a trunk and the girl moving on in her...
"The Night Visitors"
Alice, desperately fleeing an abusive relationship, finds herself and 10 year-old Oren getting off a bus in the midst of a snowstorm, relying on the help of strangers to protect them. Mattie, the social worker who collects them, ends up breaking protocol and bringing them to her house in the middle of the woods instead of the local shelter. She tells them...
"What the Health"
Based on the Netflix documentary of the same name, this is an absolute must read for anyone looking for the truth behind the Standard American Diet and information on what the healthiest way of eating actually is. Backed by scientific studies and packed with recipes, this is an eye-opening resource for anyone looking to take control of their health. As...
Audience: Adults | Genre: Nonfiction
"Click"
Olive seems to be friends with everyone in her 5th grade class. She has friends on the bus, in science class, and on the playground. When Mr. Florez announces the annual 5th Grade Variety Show, Olive is ecstatic! Before she knows it, everyone seems to have a group for the variety show, except Olive. Olive realizes she doesn't belong to a clique....
Audience: Children, Tweens | Genre: Graphic Novel
"Front Desk"
Mia Tang's family has just arrived in America from China for hopes of a better life. Mia is a 10-year-old who dreams of being a writer. After arriving in America, the family is thrilled when they find work at the Calivista Motel for Mr. Yao. While Mia is at school, her parents clean rooms at the Calivista. When she's not in school, Mia is working...
"C is for Consent"
Finn and his family are having a party with friends and family. At the party, whenever a family or friend wants to show Finn affection (a hug, a kiss, etc.), they first ask Finn if that action is okay. Finn then responds according to how he is feeling. Finn's parents reassure Finn that it is okay if he does not want to sit on someone's lap. They also...
Audience: Children | Genre: Board Book
"The Remember Balloons"
James is a little boy whose memories are represented by balloons, as are Grandpa's memories. James loves talking to Grandpa and sharing balloons. But one day, Grandpa doesn't have as many balloons, and his favorite balloon, the silver balloon is floating above his head. James questions why the balloons are floating away. This is such...
"The Faithful Spy"
This creative, colorful, biography tells the life story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor, a member of the German Resistance, and double agent working for the Abwehr during World War II. Bonhoeffer opposed Hitler’s ideology of Aryan supremacy early on in his rise to power, long before the outbreak of the second world war. He watched with...
Audience: Children, Teens, Tweens | Genre: Nonfiction
"Norroway"
Once upon a time, a mother with three daughters decided it was time for them to marry. "Look out the back door and the first thing you see is your destiny." The first daughter sees a wealthy farmer. The second daughters sees a fine prince. The third daughter sees a large black bull.
So begins the fairy tale, "The Black Bull of Norroway...
Audience: Teens | Genre: Teens, Graphic Novel, Fairy Tale
"Dreamers"
Following a mother and son duo as they immigrate to the United States, Yuyi Morales weaves an intricate tale of her own immigration story into this beautiful picture book. Not knowing the language, leaving family and friends, and being in a new place is frightening for anyone. Luckily, the mother and son duo find solace in a place for everyone: the local...
Audience: Children | Genre: Picture Book
"The Travel Atlas"
If you love to travel the world, you will love this book! This travel atlas covers the entire globe, providing highlights for each country or region, along with sample itineraries to help jump start a trip. As an atlas, there are maps and pictures provided for a reference point as you go through the book. I found the book to be half...
Audience: Adults | Genre: Nonfiction
"Delish: Eat Like Every Day's the Weekend"
Total honesty? I judged his book by it's delicious looking cover and boy am I glad that I did! I had never heard of the online sensation that is Delish, but will now start to follow them on social media. Their recipes don't cater to a special diet, nor do they require special skills in the kitchen. All of the ingredients are easy to...
Audience: Adults | Genre: Nonfiction
"The Greenprint: Plant-Based Diet, Best Body, Better World"
Marco Borges, CEO and founder of 22 Days Nutrition, created Greenprint, a set of guidelines helping people to make the transition to plant-based eating. This book is not only packed with those helpful guidelines, but it's also packed with tantalizing recipes, shopping lists, and meal plans to get you started. I especially appreciated the introduction that...
"The Passage"
Not *just* another zombie-vampire-apocalypse genre novel (but yes, it is also that), "The Passage" tells an epic, century-long tale of the downfall of modern civilization due to a contagion that transforms humans into bloodthirsty, fanged, nigh-indestructible creatures of the night that the author graciously (though conspicuously) tries very hard not...
Audience: Adults | Genre: Fiction, Science Fiction, Horror, Supernatural, Dystopian
"Becoming"
Would you like to learn how a little girl from the South Side of Chicago rose above her circumstances to attend Princeton, become a successful lawyer, and eventually the First Lady of the United States? Michelle Obama did a great job writing her first book about her upbringing, who made her who she is today, and how she stays true to herself through...
Audience: Adults | Genre: Nonfiction, Biography And Memoir
"The Road Ahead"
Do you need inspiration to be a better version of yourself? What if you could find it in a book? In Jane Seymour’s book, The Road Ahead, real-life stories are shared, with inspirational messages at the beginning of each section. The stories give you hope and encouragement during difficult situations that we all have in our everyday lives....
Audience: Adults | Genre: Nonfiction, Inspiration, Self-Help
"Pandemic"
I love a good book about pandemics. For whatever reason, they fascinate me. Learning the reasons behind the Black Death or Ebola can be an adventure story and "Pandemic" covers everything you need to know. This book was very readable, with great pictures of viruses, bacteria and insects, as well as interesting side notes that help clarify...
"The Price Guide to the Occult"
Rona Blackburn's daughters, granddaughters and great granddaughters have lived on Anathema Island for many years. Rona's powerful witchcraft has been passed down to each daughter, yet each one only inherits one of Rona's mysterious powers. Nor Blackburn wants to live a quiet unremarkable life, so when she's gifted with the ability to hear the plants,...
Audience: Teens | Genre: Teen, Urban Fantasy, Witchcraft
"The Vegan 8: 100 Simple, Delicious Recipes Made with 8 Ingredients or Less"
Looking for quick and easy recipes that are not only delicious but healthy? This book is a must read! Brandi Doming, creator of the Vegan 8 blog, brings a cookbook to readers that is packed with fully-photographed recipes and all of them require only 8 ingredients or less (spices included!). I can personally say that the Hungarian Red Lentil Soup is...
"One-Dish Vegan"
This new vegan cookbook has a plethora of scrumptious-sounding recipes for anyone looking for healthy, satisfying meals. I literally want to make about 90% of the recipes in this book, and don't know which one I want to make first! Some of the recipes have a longer ingredient list, but there's a lot of flavorful spices included, so don't be daunted by that...
Audience: Adults | Genre: Nonfiction, Cookbook
"The Ravenous"
To outsiders, the Cane girls are a lovely group of five sisters. Transferring from base to base, following their itinerant father, who is often gone, the girls stick together no matter what. So what if their home life is chaotic and dysfunctional. As long as everything looks ok, it will be. Juliet is the oldest, a pianist who gave up...
Audience: Adults, Teens | Genre: Realistic, Family Drama, Horror
"Wish Upon a Sleepover"
Leliani has only one friend, Autumn, and the popular group of Haileys at school look like they would be fun friends, so she decides to plan a sleepover and invite them. However, with her confused grandmother helping with the party, the kids on the “Do Not Invite” list get invited instead of kids on the “Do Invite” list. So now she’s stuck with the...
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