Reviews and Blog Posts: ya

What's the Plural of Apocalypse? DPL @ Comic Con, Survival, and the Caldera

Submitted by Becker on May 22, 2013 - 9:59am
in

Are you going to be at Denver Comic Con, May 31-June 2? Because lots of Denver Public Library folks will be there! Are you ready to face the end of the world with us?

Just one of DPL's many panels is entitled: It's the End of the World as We Know It: Books that Taught Us Survival Strategies for a Terrifying Future. Here's a brief description:

The Best in Mystery--Edgar and Agatha Winners

Submitted by Becker on May 7, 2013 - 11:24am
in
The Expats

The winners of both the Edgar Awards and the Agatha Awards were recently announced, so if you're looking to add a bit of mystery to your summer reading, look no further!

The Edgars, named after Edgar Allan Poe, honor the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction, and television. The Agathas, named after Agatha Christie, honor the "traditional" mystery as exemplified by Christie's works. This is the award for you if you're looking for mysteries with no explicit sex, gratuitous violence, or gore. No "hard boiled" mysteries here. Check out these lists, and maybe discover a new favorite mystery author!

The Edgar winners:

Lambda Literary Award Finalists Announced

Submitted by Becker on March 7, 2013 - 9:24pm
in
Theft

The finalists for the 25th annual Lambda Literary Awards were recently announced. The Lammys celebrate GLBT literature and are given in many categories, including fiction, romance, biography/memoir, children's/young adult, and sf/fantasy/horror.

If you want your next read to have GLBT themse, this is a great list to start with! For the complete list of finalists, see the Lambda Literary Foundation web site. The site also lists past winners and nominees. 

The wrap-up list

by Steven Arntson

DPL Rating:
4
Reviewer:
Becker
Reviewed on:
February 13, 2013
Tags:

Gabriela has received a letter from her Death, Hercule. She has one week left to live, and not much she can do about it. She is allowed to submit a wrap-up list, things she'd like to do before she goes. She can also ask for a Pardon, which she'll only...

Silhouette of a sparrow

by Molly Beth Griffin

DPL Rating:
4
Reviewer:
Becker
Reviewed on:
February 2, 2013
Tags:

It's the 1920s, and Garnet's mom has her life planned out for her. She's no longer allowed to pursue her passion, tromping through the forest looking for birds--she must learn to be a proper lady so that she can get married and take care of her home, husband, and children....

October mourning : a song for Matthew Shepard

by Lesléa Newman

DPL Rating:
5
Reviewer:
Becker
Reviewed on:
January 17, 2013
Tags:

Newman describes this book as an historical novel in verse. In the introduction, she talks about being scheduled as a speaker for Gay Awareness Week at the University of Wyoming in October, 1998, just days after the brutal attack on Matthew Shepard in Laramie. Newman decided to attend the event, ...

Gone, Gone, Gone

by Hannah Moskowitz

DPL Rating:
4
Reviewer:
Becker
Reviewed on:
December 10, 2012
Tags:

Told in alternating voices, this is the story of Lio and Craig, of dealing with loss and of finding each other. Lio was a "cancer kid"--he and his twin brother both had leukemia when they were 8. Lio survived. His twin didn't. Lio has survivor's guilt, and his family didn't...

Starting from here

by Lisa Jenn Bigelow

DPL Rating:
4
Reviewer:
Becker
Reviewed on:
December 5, 2012
Tags:

Colby is 16, and she's known a lot of loss in her life. Her mother died a few years ago, and her dad is home from his cross country trucking job only a few times a month. Her girlfriend dumped her for a guy. She's not doing well in school....

October is Anti-Bullying Month--Are You Ready to Take a Stand?

Submitted by Becker on September 29, 2012 - 12:59pm
in
Cornered

October is Anti-Bullying Month. If you are a teen, kid, parent, teacher, or if you interact with any of these people, bullying probably has affected you somehow.

Bullying can take many forms, from teasing and spreading rumors about someone to physically hurting to exclusion to anonymous cyberbullying. Have you ever been bullied? Have you ever bullied someone? Have you ever stood by and not said something while someone was being bullied? Have you ever spoken up for someone?

The more we all educate ourselves about what bullying is, what the causes are, and what we can do about, the more safe our schools, gyms, streets, and cyberspace will be.

Safekeeping

by Karen Hesse

DPL Rating:
4
Reviewer:
Becker
Reviewed on:
September 28, 2012
Tags:

YA dystopias are still a hot genre, and this book is a dystopia, but a much, let's say, quieter, one. There's no love triangle. There's much less violence than in many of these books. This is an introvert's dystopia. Radley flies back from the orphanage in Haiti where she has...

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