Scan barcode
librarymouse's reviews
347 reviews
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Hearing Maya Angelou tell her own story in her own voice was wonderful. She's a gifted storyteller and speaker, and her mastery of language creates a wonderfully vivid image of her childhood for her readers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Lesbophobia and Abandonment
The Moth Keeper by K. O'Neill
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
The Moth Keeper is a story about community, curiosity, responsibility, and loneliness. The parallels between the ghost of legend, losing her ability to enjoy life to her obsession with the moon and Anya's daydreaming about living under the sun are such poignant parallels, especially after Anya's daydreaming about life under the sun while spending her nights alone. The illustrations are gorgeous, and the characters are easy to love!
Content Warnings
Minor: Emotional abuse and Abandonment
The Fire-Eaters by David Almond
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This was my second read through of The Fire Eaters. I really enjoy the way David Almond writes children and builds such a vibrant sense of place. The ways in which the young experience fears and anxieties This book feels like a snapshot into the lives of the people in a small town - the kids on the precipice of growing up and the adults leaving their youth behind, excited to see how their kids will save the world. The life and death of the fire eater, McNulty, as an outcast in their society, cared for by the children and adults at what feels like the end of the world acts in parallel to the children growing into their own agency and away from the awe that comes with being young and new to the world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Grief and Alcohol
The Beautiful Cigar Girl: Mary Rogers, Edgar Allan Poe, and the Invention of Murder by Daniel Stashower
dark
informative
slow-paced
3.5
This was a quick read. It covered the life and death of Mary Rogers and the life of Edgar Allen Poe with good detail. The actions of the news media and Poe's hand in exacerbating their claims of Mary Rogers' death at the hands of an abortionist sensationalized her death, dragged her reputation through the mud, and destroyed the slim chance of finding her true killer.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Suicide, Grief, and Stalking
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
Icarus by K. Ancrum
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
K. Ancrum's Icarus is soaked in adoration - the vulnerable expression of love between the characters and the author's own love for the world and people she creates. Icarus and Helios are wonderful as love interests and as foils to the folly of their fathers. Their fall and Mr. Black's frantic hammering on the anchor that fails them, alongside Angus's cooking for Icarus shows a uniquely human and complex facet to characters that would otherwise be archetypally antagonistic. Celestina and Luca's adoration for Icarus crosses the boundaries often thought impermeable for relationships defined as platonic. Luca's frustration in trying to express his love for Icarus without it being misconstrued and while trying to understand it, himself, is very relatable.
Icarus loves his friends and is loved by them in return. It is simple, beautiful, and full of hope.
Icarus loves his friends and is loved by them in return. It is simple, beautiful, and full of hope.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Dysphoria
A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As a Dracula retelling, A Dowry of Blood was unique in its total dismissal of the vampire sire in the story. He remains unnamed as an intentional choice to take away his power in the story. I laughed out loud when the Harkers are mentioned, just brushed aside in a quick aside to Alexei. Constanta, Magdalena, and Alexei's relationship is so dedicated, and though I enjoyed the idea of a happy ending for them, the ending somehow felt like it fell short for me. Still, poly vampires is a fun thing, especially when one is an angel of vengeance, the second is a more creative version of Machiavelli, and the third is a sweet Dionysian actor.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Alcohol and Colonisation
Mothman's Happy Cryptid Halloween by Andrew Shaffer
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Thank you NetGalley, Andrew Schaffer, and 8th Circle Press for an e-ARC of this book!
It's cute and funny, and it's something I look forward to recommending to library patrons as we get closer to Halloween.
It's cute and funny, and it's something I look forward to recommending to library patrons as we get closer to Halloween.
One House Left by Vincent Ralph
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
At some points, the storytelling lacks cohesion/enough context to explain what we as the audience are seeing as the narration shifts away from Nate to that of the urban legends and hiding boy. It also gets hard to follow when Nate slips in and out of reality. The narrator difference to denote the changing of characters is clear, but more than once I found myself rewinding the audiobook to see if I'd missed something in terms of content. There is some framework for suspense and horror throughout the novel, but it only started really building at around the 70% mark. Nate is a weird guy, but his palpable anxiety, combined with the unspoken horrors behind his actions make the payoff for the last 30% more impactful. Max is an amazing character and her friendship with Henry is one of my favorite parts of the book. Max, Seb, and Tyler are all interesting characters and really nice people. The strength of this book really is its characters.
The secondary twist of Hazel's boyfriend being dead was heartbreaking. The long phone calls were her listening to his voice on the answering machine over and over. She was a part of the crimes they were committing, but she also became a victim, as Rowan became a monster. Seb's death with his brother by his side, especially after he bonded with Nate, broke me. I'm glad Tyler and Max made it out, and I'm glad the hiding boy and the last house followed Nate and his family after what they did. A good revenge against a monster is to make sure they're never free, and that's what the narrative did. A story about people being punished for doing the right thing is a really interesting concept, and I think Vincent Ralph did it justice.
This is definitely a book for a young adult audience, but it was written with precision and intention in the characters and their relationships.
This is definitely a book for a young adult audience, but it was written with precision and intention in the characters and their relationships.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Abandonment
Minor: Bullying
In marking the characters as lovable, that does not apply to Nate or his family. It is exclusively the supporting cast that is lovable.
Greatest Hits by Harlan Ellison
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is an interesting thing to review. I appreciate the warning from the introduction about Ellison's use of racial stereotypes and slurs. They were relatively normalized in the decades in which Ellison was writing, but they would have been jarring for me as at 2020s reader, had I not been prepared. Some stories I found well-written, but disliked the content. Other stories I loved - particularly "The Deathbird," "Jeffty is Five," and "From A to Z, in Chocolate Alphabet." I love a good horror comedy, and Ellison is the master of that genre. The use of racial stereotypes and slurs, as well as the mutilation of women in a lot of his stories is the reason this collection did not get a 5.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: War
Minor: Gun violence
The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: Their stories are better than the bestsellers by Matt Eversmann, James Patterson
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Who would have thought that a book sponsored/endorsed by James Patterson would contain so much praise and appreciation for James Patterson? As a librarian, I get kind of mad a James Patterson for him putting his name prominently on books he's endorsing and hasn't written, because of the nightmare that turns shelving into, which is why I'm mad I like this book so much. This was a fast, fun, and engaging read about what it takes to be and what life is like for booksellers and librarians of different walks of life and focuses, and in different locations.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia and Racism
Minor: Death, Suicide, and Terminal illness
Pedophilia tagged because a librarian is unfoundedly accused of grooming children by her administration for her inclusion of queer books in her school library's collection.