MLC Reads: November 6, 2015

We do so love to read! We just love to curl up in a nice spot, pull out a good book, and lose ourselves in the printed word. We've spent the last week reading these wonderful books:

 Freedom Summer

written by Deborah Wiles

illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue

picture book

five stars

Freedom Summer is picture book perfection. Jerome Lagarrigue won the John Steptoe Award for New Talent for his illustrations and we can see why. The gorgeous impressionism-inspired pictures pulled us even deeper into this story of the South during the summer of 1964. Deborah Wiles's tale of young Joe and John Henry's friendship is incredibly sweet. Joe, who is white, is noticing the ugly side of the segregated world in which he grew up for the first time. He wants his friend John Henry to be able to experience all the same fun things he does in their small town. The ways in which the two small boys act and react to their town's fight against integration is both heartbreaking and inspiring. This is a must read for pre-schoolers and up.

The Truth About Alice

written by Jennifer Mathieu

YA fiction

five stars

If you've ever attended school with a bunch typical teenagers- hellooo, high school- this book will be a trip down memory lane. If you're still in high school, you may recognize yourself or your friends on these pages. The stories and accusations flying around Alice are shocking, but the untold stories hiding in this high school are equally fascinating. Told from multiple points of view, this short novel is a reflection on stereotypes that will keep you on the edge of your seat to the very end.

Uprooted

written by Naomi Novik

YA fantasy

four stars

Uprooted by Naomi Novik follows the story of young Agnieszka. Every ten years the Dragon, a powerful wizard who defends her village from the corrupting influences of the Wood, comes to Agnieszka’s village and chooses a young woman to take with him. The Dragon inexplicably chooses Agnieszka over her best friend Kasia, who possesses all the charm, beauty and poise Agnieszka does not. Thus begins a story of adventure, loss, friendship, and love. Uprooted is lighthearted and humorous at times but there is also a sense of tragedy and loss that underscores it. While there is a romantic undercurrent to the story, the real relationship at the heart of this book is the honest and moving friendship between Agnieszka and her best friend Kasia.

Meanwhile There Are Letters: The Correspondence of Eudora Welty and Ross Macdonald

edited by Suzanne Marrs and Tom Nolan

nonfiction: letters

three stars

Lovely letters by two master story tellers... From time to time it plodded a bit, but the commentary by Suzanne Mars and Tom Nolan made this a fairly fascinating peek into the lives of Eudora Welty and Kenneth Millar. If you haven't already, be sure to pick up What There Is to Say We Have Said: The Correspondence of Eudora Welty and William Maxwell. (Ms. Eudora knew how to write a right fine letter!)

Next week, we have these books on our plate:

• Mister B. Gone
  written by Clive Barker
• Lois Lane: Fallout
  written by Gwenda Bond
• This Is Not My Hat
  written by Jon Klassen
• Mississippi Moonshine Politics: How Bootleggers & the Law Kept a Dry State Soaked
  written by Janice Branch Tracy
  
  Until then, happy reading!