The Fellowship of Puzzle Makers

February 15, 2024

By Samuel Burr

April 9, 2024

This title is comfortable, quiet, and even cozy in nature. The book generally advances along two timelines, one following the founding of a club for puzzle “nerds” who are each, in their own way, absolutely brilliant, and who utilize their individual gifts for the benefit of the “fellowship of puzzle makers” and each other. This fellowship provides the unique characters others who will love and care about them–often the only ones in their lives who do so. A particularly momentous moment in this timeline is the arrival of an orphaned baby and the desire of Pippa to take him in and raise him.

The second arc follows the now grown orphan baby, named Clayton, after he experiences the death of Pippa, who raised him along with the other members of the Fellowship of the Puzzle Makers. The absence of Pippa in his life prompts him to want to find his biological mother, and with a set of puzzles to act as prompts, he winds up finding much more than his biological mother.

The Anatomy of a Miracle: A Novel

March 13, 2018

AnatomyBy Jonathon Miles

Have you ever tried to categorize and explain the impossible? Of course, if the impossible actually happens, then it can’t be impossible, right?

The supposedly impossible happens in this book. Cameron Harris, a paraplegic of four years due to a war injury, finds suddenly that he can get out of his wheel chair and walk.

From his doctor’s point of view, the body has healed itself of its injury. That might even sound like an explanation to you and me; yes, OK, the body healed itself. Great!

Except, medically speaking, the body is not supposed to be able to heal itself in this way. There is no scientific explanation. His doctor, who places great store on science, is left with a puzzle.

Many Christian believers, however, have no such problem. When the impossible happens, that is by definition a miracle. So “miracle” is the term they use, until they don’t. Until they find out that Cameron is not the sort of man, they think, upon whom God could possibly bestow such a gift. To be sure, some Christians still believe a miracle happened, but the tour buses stop.

And then there is Cameron. What does he think about it?

This is an interesting and engaging book, leaving one to ponder the boundaries of science and religion and whether our interpersonal relationships might not just be the most important thing we have.

All Systems Red

March 4, 2018

By Martha WellsMurderbot

If you would like a short and relatively uncomplicated science fiction read, then you might want to try out this engrossing tale. At the center of the story is the “Murderbot” character, actually designed for security. This bot has managed to gain control of its own consciousness. This is all to the good, at least in the end. It is interesting to observe how the bot, gradually, becomes highly appreciated by its human team. This is an overall positive take on the possibilities of the combination of organic beings with artificial intelligence, which I found a rather nice contrast to the more dystopian outlooks.

 

Educated

February 21, 2018

educatedBy Tara Westover

With Educated Tara Westover writes a startling memoir of her life growing up in a fundamentalist family that believes in complete self-reliance. Their anti-government attitude extends to public schools, and Tara receives very little homeschooling.

Tara, despite opposition from family members, does attend university later. At first she is confused by the history surrounding the Holocaust and the Civil Rights Movement, because not only had she not been taught about these items at home, she had also been fed an ideology that did not square with them.

As she works on her formal education, she is torn by her loyalty to her family and her desire to learn and think critically. This struggle continues through her graduation from Brigham Young University to her studies at Cambridge and Harvard.

This book covers a great deal of ground, and it is especially good at portraying the emotional and mental damage caused by the extremism and abuse of family members.

However, Educated is also about the mental and emotional growth that occurs through education. It’s about the importance of support by friends and others. And finally, it’s about breaking with those who would hold you back and choosing those who love and support you.

This is a powerful and important book that is well worth your time!

Thunderhead

January 28, 2018

ThunderheadBy Neal Shusterman

The recently published Thunderhead is the second book in the “Arc of a Scythe” series by Neal Shusterman. I must admit that I didn’t read the previous book. However, this wasn’t a problem, since Thunderhead stands on its own perfectly well. Shusterman did hook me with his ending, so I will be keeping my eyes open for the next book.

I liked Thunderhead because Shusterman is a skillful writer, his characters are well-crafted, the story is engaging, many of the science fiction details sound plausible in the relatively near future, and Schusterman includes some thought-provoking philosophy and actions along the way.

Thunderhead is a sentient artificial intelligence that humans elevated to exercise benign control over their world. It has gradually removed the problems of war, pollution, and aging, and it attends to the needs of every individual. There is, however, an intentional division between a group known as the Scythes and the Thunderhead. The Thunderhead may not interfere in the lives of the Scythes or prevent the actions which they take. This would not be a problem if the Scythes were all sticking to their original ideals, but many of the Scythes wish to ditch compassion and self-discipline and get rid of “old fashioned” rules.

What can the Thunderhead, or even Scythes of the so-called old guard, do to correct this threat?

Need to Know

January 23, 2018

NeedToKnowBy Karen Cleveland

Vivian is very happily married to a man named Matt. Not only does she dearly love him, he is a fantastic father to their four children.

Professionally, Vivian is a CIA analyst and a member of the Russia section at the CIA. She has developed a special algorithm for finding Russian sleeper cells. Unfortunately, as she works with her algorithm, she finds a picture of her husband on the computer of a Russian handler, labeled in a way that marks him as a Russian agent.

From there, she is frightened, unsure what to do, and wants to protect her family at all costs. She attempts to make logical decisions, which means she must try to separate her emotions from what is good for her country, her family, and herself.  As events unfold, the author includes vivid flashbacks, where the past informs Vivian as she tries to make sense of the current situation.

In this book, you accompany Vivian as she agonizes over what to undertake next in a seemingly impossible attempt to do the right thing. Unfortunately, the circumstances also keep changing, calling for new decisions without much time to think them over.

An additional note: The author spent 8 years as a CIA analyst, which surely benefits this book enormously.

Turtles All the Way Down

January 21, 2018

Turtles all the way downBy John Green

John Green is an excellent writer, and for that reason alone this book is probably worth picking up. However, there are also two really strong characters. One is Asa, who struggles with OCD. The other is Daisy, who is Asa’s always reliable friend. At one point Daisy admits that it can be extremely hard to be there for Asa as she struggles with her mental illness. That is what I like so much about this book: it portrays a mental illness and its effects on others. Naturally, there is more going on in the book, but this is what really impressed me.

John Green himself has OCD, and at a speech at the School Library Journal Leadership Summit in October, 2017, he talks about his personal struggles with this disorder. This speech is made after he has already been on tour for Turtles All the Way Down, and he admits that he is not doing particularly well because the tour has messed with his routine. This becomes apparent if you compare the way in which he speaks at the Leadership Summit (click below) to his energy level in a 2012 TED talk Paper Towns | John Green | TEDxIndianapolis or one of his vlogs (although a vlog allows for plenty of editing). 

Great job, John Green! Thanks for taking on a difficult subject in Turtles All the Way Down and opening up to us about your own struggles.

 

Valiant Dust

January 15, 2018

valiantdust
By Richard Baker

You may really enjoy Valiant Dust if you have naval experience or like seafaring novels. Written by former surface warfare officer Richard Baker, there is a ring of authenticity in Valiant Dust that a civilian author with no military experience would likely not achieve.

The chief character, Sikander North, is the new gunnery officer of the starship CSS Hector. He has three major strikes against him: he comes from a privileged background, he is the lone Kashmiri officer in the Aquilan navy, and he has a reputation for being somewhat lazy. For those reasons he must persistently and patiently earn the respect of the gunnery crew, his captain, and the other officers.

This is a book driven largely by his character, but it also involves in its storyline the powerful element of a foreign power working to bring down a government while escaping notice of its culpability. It is about how important decisions must sometimes be made while not adhering strictly to orders. It’s also about producing excellent results in spite of negative factors at play, and being both a diplomat and a military officer.

Renegades

December 28, 2017

renegadesBy Marissa Meyer

Renegades is in many ways a comic book without the drawings. There are superheroes known as “prodigies“ who have special powers and these powers are unique to each individual. The heroine, named Nova, was saved by a superhero named Ace Anarchy, who in turn was well known for leading an uprising against the established order that created freedom for the prodigies. Ace Anarchy believed in personal responsibility and freedom, but his revolution resulted in chaos until a competing band of superheroes restored order. Those superheroes formed a new government and sought to promote order and safety. They were unable to keep everyone safe, including Nova’s family. So Nova is raised by Ace Anarchy and his band of superhero anarchists. This group is such a small faction they don’t have a realistic hope of defeating the ruling council and their prodigy “renegades.” That is, until Nova decides to try out for the Renegades in order to infiltrate them.

What is she to do when she finds out that one of them, named Adrian, possesses a stellar conscience, and he has a crush on her? Plus she is forced to realize that members of her side are often not fighting for any sort of high-minded ideals. This book contains plenty of action, a sliver of romance, and it may well get you thinking about the essence of personal responsibility.