libscote's Reviews (6.4k)

I didn't expect to like this book. I'm not much for literary fiction, especially for adults. I even thought the prologue was rough. Once I got past that and into the story, I fell for the people of Dalton. Though I have never lived in northern Maine, it felt right to me. I am excited for the sequel. 

This book is both a biography of Shostakovich and a look at the history of Russian and St. Petersburg, particularly during the 1920s-1950s. For me, I hadn't quite realized how much Stalin's purges put Russia at a disadvantage going into World War II. I hadn't connected the two periods in time in my head the way this book does. Sometimes it feels like the Allies won World War II through luck. I thought I played part of Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony in high school, which is part of why I wanted to read this book. I also love Russian history, so that appeal was there as well. I'm not certain it is the right composer for the piece I played, so if anyone knows any pieces that have two measures of bass clarinet solo with notes that run from below to above the staff, let me know!

If you're curious about what it's like to be a librarian in 2024, read this book.

Mo's life is so sad, yet filled with such love from the family she creates. This book reminds us that some kids get a really unlucky roll of the dice and we may never know that from looking at them. I was glad the author did not let some characters off the hook for their behavior, even though I as an adult sort of emphasized with them. 

This is an excellent overview of the movie making process and all the work that goes into it. The "choose-your-own-adventure" aspect makes it a little different than other nonfiction books, and it works here to make the reader feel like they are making their own decisions about some different parts of the movie. 

I tend to like juicy details of people's lives, but I can understand why they might not want to share them all. I was inspired to listen to this after seeing the musical "Beautiful." I wanted to know how much was real and how much was made up for the show. Overall I would say that it's close but not exact. It also made me realize how much of my knowledge of Carole King ends with the "Tapestry" album. There's so much after that!

A powerful read about a little-known time that becomes especially poignant when looking at Ukraine and Russia right now. I also think the misinformation part is interesting in 2024. I agree with another review I saw that it was a little slow to start--whiny kid heads are sometimes hard to start in. It gets way better though.

I like this middle grade novel about a child coming to terms with their identity. It explores transracial adoption (which I don't find a lot of in middle grade books) as well as some LGBTQIA+ categories. I also thought the exploration of a first relationship was pretty accurate. For those of you in Maine, the writer grew up in southern Maine before moving to NYC.

The story of the power of girls and the power of the press, based on an Italian village during the Middle Ages. I did like the girl power feel of the book, but felt it wrapped up a bit too neatly. 

I didn't know a lot about Mae West, other than that she was best known for her witticisms. I read this book on the second try, when I decided to spend less time trying to figure out who all the vaudeville figures were and just go with the flow. It did make me want to see some Mae West films.