I was not sure what to expect when this new manga series cropped up in June of last year. From the outset, “Spy X Family” dresses itself up as an espionage thriller in a setting reminiscent of East and West Germany during the Cold War. For the sake of peace between the nations of Ostania […]
Nancy Cotterill is a thirty-year-old children’s librarian living on the island of Nantucket. Her life is perfectly comfortable. She has a beautiful home, a job she loves, and a few close friends. Each summer when seasonal visitors come to the island, Nancy tries to keep her distance, realizing that it is not good to grow […]
Heist meets history in this fast paced and enjoyable World War II mystery. Ellie McDonnell is doing the best she can to survive in 1940 London. Blackout curtains, air raids, rationing, and the constant fear for her cousins who are fighting on the Continent are at the forefront of her mind, not to mention helping […]
Based on the award-winning novel by James McBride, “The Good Lord Bird” mini-series stars Ethan Hawke as abolitionist John Brown. The story is told from the point of view of “Little Onion”, a fictional enslaved young boy, who concealed his identity as a girl. Onion becomes Brown’s good luck charm and follows his family and […]
Lying face down on the floor. Hiding behind a potted plant. Floating, detached, in space. If you have ever found yourself in one of these situations — literally or figuratively — you are not alone. Artist Alessandra Olanow depicts these feelings in minimal pen and ink illustrations interspersed with spare text. I Used to Have […]
Not everything is as it seems at the Grace Fields Orphanage. While the children live carefree lives of simple comfort and play under the care of their “Mom” Isabella, they know almost nothing of the outside world and are forbidden from leaving the orphanage’s grounds. The children are subjected to rigorous academic tests as soon […]
Based on one of Jane Austen’s more light-hearted novels, “Emma” focuses on a well-to-do socialite who considers herself an expert in match making. If only she could stop meddling in other people’s affairs long enough to sort out her own personal life. This movie is absolutely stunning. All of the scenery is lush and captivating […]
Joan read The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix and this is what she thought… The story follows Chess, Emma, and Finn Greystone–ages 12, 10, and eight—as they investigate why their mother went missing, and uncover their ties to an alternate world. It was a great adventure with elements of science fiction and mystery thrown in […]
A dark retelling of Peter Pan, Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas follows 18 year old Wendy Darling who is suddenly reliving a trauma that happened five years ago. When she was 12, Wendy and her brothers John and Michael went missing. Wendy was found alone in the woods 6 months later, but […]
A young girl becomes upset when her older brother tells her the future is doomed. Where did he get this idea? From a pessimistic grown-up, of course. Depressed about the inevitable plagues and wars that will doom our future, the young girl consults her grandma, who imparts an important truth: “Grown-ups act like they can […]
