River Bend Staff Favorites

“My words can't do justice to how beautiful the language is in this book. Listening to the author read it was so raw and engaging. This book was emotionally painful in a lot of parts but just touched me on so many levels. Definitely the best book that I've listened to (and read) so far this year.”

“The Poet X is written and narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo. It is a novel made up of poems by a teenager, Xiomara Batista, growing up in Harlem. Acevedo's narration is wonderful and brings the story to life. Xiomara's dad is MIA even though he lives at home; her mother is extremely religious and pushes her faith onto her daughter; her twin brother is quiet and also working through his own feelings; she starts her first relationship with a guy; and all the time Xiomara is told what she can and cannot do, gets accosted by men, has to defend herself because no one else will, is questioning God and has no one to open up to. She releases her pent of feelings in a notebook. It isn't until her new English teacher introduces her to spoken poetry that she realizes that is what she is meant to be: a poet. This is a lovely story of a young, misunderstood girl, coming of age and showing the world that she is worth it. Great for adults who enjoyed Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson and extremely relevant literature for the #metoo movement.”

“The new words, tasting like America, on our lips." A beautifully-written story of a young Syrian girl's journey to Cincinnati and learning to live her everyday life of a school kid in America. Jude struggles to be brave in making new friends, in auditioning for the school play and in thinking of her brother and father back home.”

“I finished this book wishing that I could tour THE DUTCH HOUSE in real life. I'm sure every person who reads this wishes they could have had Maeve's room. Patchett writes another beautiful and vivid family drama story. What she does best & my favorite aspect of her writing is her character development. The story can be a bit slow but it helped shape the characters and their relationships. Once I heard that Tom Hanks was the narrator of the audiobook, I immediately put myself on the library wait list. The entire time I pictured him as our main character, Danny, going through life and it made me like the book so much more.”

“There There is the kind of book that grabs you from the start and doesn’t let go, even after you’ve turned the last page. It is a work of fiction, but every word of it feels true. Tommy Orange writes with a palpable anger and pain, telling the history of a cultural trauma handed down through generations in the blood and bones and stories of individual lives. He also writes with incredible heart and humor, infusing his characters with a tangible humanity and moments of joy even as they are headed toward tragedy. There There has claimed a permanent spot in my heart despite having broken it, or maybe because it did. I think this may be the best book I’ve ever read.”