Our Shelf Talker

Americans can often have a myopic view of themselves and their place in the world; "How They See Us" really opens our eyes, for good and for bad. Extremely well done.
- Roxanne

Our Shelf Talker

This book is about a girl, very much an American whose identity is focused around her Americanism. Her friend describes her as a "banana", yellow on the outside and white on the inside. Her friend convinces her to embrace her Chinese ancestry. When she does go to China she discovers this other side of herself. The story is extremely funny and touching and not at all sanctimonious.

Our Shelf Talker

She is now my favorite mystery writer! Her protagonist is a lawyer named Mary DeNunzio who lives in Philadelphia. The plot centers around a group of women who hated Mary in high school but now need her help to find a girl friend who’s gone missing. Ms. Scottoline, unlike most mystery writers, is able to evoke a whole world that totally engages the reader.

Our Shelf Talker

This book by a local author has been Wally Lamb endorsed. It’s the story about a white girl, Maria who marries into a Chinese family. Her new husband’s sister, Mai Lin has died and no one discusses it. The family secrets prompt Maria to investigate what happened to Mai Lin and we find that their stories become parallel. Very well done.
- Faith from the Faith Middleton Show

Our Shelf Talker

Roger is a funny writer and a wonderful guy. This is the story about his daughter, a wife, mother and pediatrician who died unexpectedly from an asymptomatic heart problem. Roger and his wife leave their home to move in with their son-in-law and help care for their two young grandchildren.
The “making toast” of the title refers to what Roger could do best as they all struggled. He teaches us how they moved through tragedy and how renewal came through the relationship between grandparent and grandchild.
- Roxanne

Our Shelf Talker

Picoult is clairvoyant in writing about things that become hot topics. In My Sister's Keeper, a family learns that their daughter has leukemia and their son is not a match for stem-cell transplant. And so Anna is conceived, and while well-loved and cared for by her parents, she is subject to stem cell and blood donations throughout her childhood. At age 13, Anna decides to sue for the right to her own body. Told in alternating chapters by the parents, the ill sister and Anna, this novel makes no villains; it illustrates all sides.
Rose's pick on Faith Middleton 4/11/08