Month: February 2018
BIG LITTLE LIES by Liane Moriarty
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Jane moved to Pirriwee on a whim. Really, everything she’d done since Ziggy was born had been a whim, not just the frequent moves. But in the small seaside town she immediately strikes up an unlikely friendship with feisty, queen bee Madeline and kind, perfect Celeste, and Jane begins to feel a sense of community for the first time in five years. Unfortunately, not everyone in Pirriwee is immediately friendly to the single mom, and when Ziggy is accused of bullying, the kindergarten moms divide into vicious factions. It would all be somewhat funny, if there weren’t a murder on the horizon. . . .
This book grabbed me not so much from the suspense of impending murder (although there was some of that) but from the suspense in Jane’s and Celeste’s life stories. If you enjoy character driven realistic fiction with a bit of suspense, check it out!
THE ARRIVAL by Shaun Tan
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A man travels to a foreign country, seeking a better life for his family. He arrives in a strange new land with bizarre language, buildings, and creatures. Even food is unrecognizable. As he begins to find his way, he encounters immigrants from other places, each with a different story of how they came to this unfamiliar land. By the time his wife and daughter are able to join him, he is ready to help other new arrivals navigate the world he once found so unnavigable himself.
Though its pages are few, this wordless graphic novel contains a wealth of meaning in its detailed and imaginative illustrations. The artist has captured the alien feeling of being isolated in a new place through fantastical cityscapes, while moving his character through a chain of interactions with other immigrants that builds a sense of community and universality around the immigrant experience. This beautiful story is not one to rush through. I’d recommend it to teens and adults who enjoy graphic novels and character-driven historical fiction.
Susan the Librarian 