michellehogmire

A riff on Orwell’s 1984 from the other side of the political spectrum, David T. Hejna’s Utopia Café is a compelling, though slanted dystopian satire, following a couple living under a repressive socialist regime. Tom, a prominent young party affiliate, and Izzy, a member of the underground resistance movement, will have to work together if they want to improve their circumstances and change society for the better. Some of Hejna’s one-to-one satirical comparisons don’t always ring true, and seem more like political commentary, but this novel will likely appeal to those on one side of the political divide, who agree […]

A moving historical novel about the tumultuous late 60s, All You Need by Sheela Word is a vivid portrait of the time with a timeless thread about coming to terms with the past. Twelve-year-old Terry Morales goes to stay with her estranged father at a remote Oregon commune, and only expects to live with her dad temporarily, but when a tragedy strikes, she must figure out how to persevere in the face of an abusive caregiver. Sometimes All You Need gets bogged down in unnecessary details, but overall it is an emotive novel about navigating adolescence during a time of […]

A delightful children’s picture book about a wild tiger named Mike, Michael A. Brown’s Whose Fault? Not Mine! is an engaging story about the significance of accepting responsibility. Mike hunts prey with his friends and discovers that being kind to others is sometimes more important than benefiting yourself – an important message for children that is continually entertaining, given the book’s sweet, vivid illustrations and spirited storyline. The sections where the narrator intrudes on the text might be a bit sophisticated for young children, but author Brown’s endearing humor and illustrator Milan Samadder’s colorful landscapes are charming throughout.

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A deliciously wicked thriller about a commanding woman out for revenge, Vindictive is an enticing tale of lust, assassins, and the wealthy behaving badly. After uncovering a scandalous secret about her husband’s past, Jules Cartell plots his demise while climbing the Canadian corporate ladder, but unfortunately someone’s also scheming to take her down. It’s hard to believe Vindictive is a debut, as author Ryan Lawrence writes with the crisp confidence and witty repartee of a master novelist.

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Sandra Wolff’s Dark Cloud is a stunningly gorgeous graphic novel about a woman’s quest to save land from nuclear destruction in the post-apocalyptic American West. With the help of her monk-like father figure, a loyal robot, and her own foresight, the amnesiac Dark Cloud leads the resistance against warlord General Stone before he can further decimate the environment. Full of dynamic characters, cinematic visuals by illustrator Jared Barel, and action-packed intensity, Dark Cloud is a must read for fans dystopian fiction, even for those unfamiliar with the graphic novel format.

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