Book Review
Together
Amy Nathan’s inspiring book covers two families on opposite sides of the legacy of Jim Crow. On June 7, 1892, Homer Plessy, an Black shoemaker from New Orleans, bought a first class train ticket to Covington, Louisiana. When the train...
Book Review
Pizza Boy and the Super Squad
In Dan Allen’s humorous coming-of-age tale, social expectations are balanced against the need for personal freedom. Peter Barnes is fed up. From the day he was born, his and Jaylee Yates’s lives have been linked together for no other...
Book Review
Heavy Ground
Norris Hundley and Donald C. Jackson’s "Heavy Ground" focuses on the events surrounding the St. Francis Dam disaster. On March 12th, 1928, the St. Francis Dam collapsed, and twelve billion gallons of silted water crashed through the...
Book Review
Story Magic
Family loyalty is put to the test in Laurel Gale’s middle grade fantasy novel, Story Magic. Kaya is twelve years old and lives with her only living family member, her older brother, Hob. Estranged from their relatives, the siblings...
Book Review
West of Jim Crow
California’s history of racist legislation against Black Americans is brought to light in Lynn M. Hudson’s "West of Jim Crow". Attracted by the promise of economic opportunity and freedom from enslavement and Jim Crow, Black...
Book Review
Buddhist Magic
Sam Van Schaik’s historical investigation "Buddhist Magic" reveals the significance and historical roots of magic in modern Buddhism. In 1900, a walled-up shrine was discovered inside of a cave belonging to a Buddhist temple complex in...
Book Review
Paris, City of Dreams
The re-creation of Paris from a medieval urban maze to the city of lights and boulevards comes to life in Mary McAuliffe’s historical exposé Paris, City of Dreams. When Louis-Napoleon, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, took power in...
Book Review
Phase Rider
This fast science fiction novel works toward love and peace as scientists battle to save humanity. In David Levin’s optimistic science fiction novel "Phase Rider", humanity’s survival is threatened. A wave of destructive energy is...