A staff pick and a beautifully written short book by poet Aimee N. While not poems, the short stories written about flora and fauna are poetic in nature. The author picks specific subjects that have meaning in her life and intertwines scientific facts with stories about her family as well as about world issues. The stories about the Potoo and the Octopus were favorites.

This was entertaining! I loved the Hunger Games x Greek Mythology vibe, and the ending has me looking forward to the sequel next month!

This book had a lot of animals in it. It was very creative. My favorite part was when they slid on the ice like a polar Bears. I also liked that it had facts on the back about polar bears.

Easy and engaging read. Left some questions un answered to hopefully be discovered in the books to come. Excited to see the direction of this series. I read ACOTAR, so I’m excited for this SJM series

This book ended differently than his other books. It was sadder and yet more inspiring. The female who became a spy was courageous and brave. I liked the book and would recommend it.

Good book. Great author. Great characters. Good read. Quick read. Entertaining. Keeps you on your toes.

As a scientist, how could I not want to read a book about a booth owned by a company called DNAMix that uses a cheek swab and DNA to tell you what your ideal job/potential should be? This book has become an Apple TV plus series, and it contains a series of dramatic stories in a small town in Louisiana that have been somewhat changed by the readouts from the booth. The main stories follow Doug and Cherylee Hubbard as well as Jacob and Hank Richieu. The endings were not surprising except for the booth being a scam by one of the characters. I am on the fence on whether I liked the book, but I am intrigued with the author's style of writing enough to want to read his bestseller, My Sunshine Away.

Fences is a beautifully written yet heart wrenching story of a black man and father being so affected by the past that he can’t move forward, causing him to lose control of those he loved over time. Troy, the main character of the play, is in many ways scarred from his past. He works with his hands because his father did and he knows that a skill if the only thing the harsh world can’t take away from you. Growing up in the post-civil war time period and seeing the ways in which his father and black people struggled, he refuses to believe society will ever treat black people justly and allow them a chance to pursue what they love most. This is reflected in his refusal to sign a paper and let Cory, his son, play football and gain an opportunity for college. Troy can not fathom a world which allows black people to play mainstream sports and tries to prevent the pain before it starts by stopping Cory from playing. Resentment grows in Cory and with added issues of society’s treatment of his disabled veteran brother, Gabe, Troy begins to feel stuck and out of control with his life’s path. In doing so, he cheats on his wife, Rose, with a woman named Alberta and becomes the father to a girl who he asks Rose to take in. Miserable, and pushing away all who cared about him in his life, he becomes a stranger in his own home and begins his “fight” with death until he passes 8 years later. His impact on those around him (both good and bad) lingers on. I liked the story, even with us heartfelt sad ending. It is an overall great book!

Finished, and it was not bad but the main characters didn’t feel real or well developed. Not the big ending to the series I was expecting.

I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone. I don’t need a book that mentions the pandemic all the time and I didn’t like the main character at all either. It was a predictable read.