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wsu_tech_library's reviews
23 reviews
In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
TJ Klune is an amazing storyteller! This story of a dystopia in which the robots are both the instigators and the victims seems especially prescient as we explore what large language model AI can do and be. In the Lives of Puppets has distinct parallels to The Wizard of Oz as a group of three non-humans and a human travel to a distant city to find their way back home. It also owes a debt to Becky Chambers's Wayfarers series in which sentient robots who experience human emotion form familial and romantic attachments with humans.
Available at the Wichita Public Library.
Available at the Wichita Public Library.
The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
If you're into vampires and books, this book about a species of vampire that feeds on books will probably satisfy your cravings!
Available at the Wichita Public Library
Available at the Wichita Public Library
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, and Abandonment
Bunnicula: The Graphic Novel by Stephen Gilpin, Andrew Donkin, James Howe
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Available at Wichita Public Library.
Same great story, with subtle updates for the 21st century. I enjoyed the excuse to revisit Harold, Chester, Bunnicula, and the Monroes, and will happily add it to my shelf of favorite children’s books.
Same great story, with subtle updates for the 21st century. I enjoyed the excuse to revisit Harold, Chester, Bunnicula, and the Monroes, and will happily add it to my shelf of favorite children’s books.
The Babysitter Lives by Stephen Graham Jones
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Audiobook available through the State Library of Kansas.
The traditional haunted house tale combined with a babysitter home alone tale makes a very nontraditional horror story that is chillingly good fun!
The traditional haunted house tale combined with a babysitter home alone tale makes a very nontraditional horror story that is chillingly good fun!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
The Girl with Ghost Eyes by M.H. Boroson
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Temporarily available at WSU Tech Library during Fall 2022 in the SCKLS Rotating Fiction Collection.
Available at Wichita Public Library.
Your Humble Librarian loves a good ghost story, and this novel set in San Francisco's 19th-century Chinatown did not disappoint. Populated with ghosts, demons, spirits, and a walking, talking eyeball, this story tells the story of a woman who must defeat evil from an unexpected source.
Available at Wichita Public Library.
Your Humble Librarian loves a good ghost story, and this novel set in San Francisco's 19th-century Chinatown did not disappoint. Populated with ghosts, demons, spirits, and a walking, talking eyeball, this story tells the story of a woman who must defeat evil from an unexpected source.
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Available at WSU Tech Library.
Do you enjoy socializing but need alone time to recuperate afterward? You might be an introvert.
Do you communicate better in writing than verbally? You might be an introvert.
Have a few close friends rather than a large circle of acquaintances? You might be an introvert.
Your humble librarian is definitely an introvert! Quiet is recommended reading for introverts and for people who live and work with introverts. (So everyone.) American culture tends to idealize extroverted personality traits, but introverts can make valuable contributions just by leaning into our own quiet tendencies. And we'll be much happier than we would be pretending to be extroverts.
Do you enjoy socializing but need alone time to recuperate afterward? You might be an introvert.
Do you communicate better in writing than verbally? You might be an introvert.
Have a few close friends rather than a large circle of acquaintances? You might be an introvert.
Your humble librarian is definitely an introvert! Quiet is recommended reading for introverts and for people who live and work with introverts. (So everyone.) American culture tends to idealize extroverted personality traits, but introverts can make valuable contributions just by leaning into our own quiet tendencies. And we'll be much happier than we would be pretending to be extroverts.
The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Available at the Wichita Public Library.
You'll think you see the plot twist coming from a mile away, and you probably will, but then McMahon twists the twist! And then twists it one more time for good measure!
You'll think you see the plot twist coming from a mile away, and you probably will, but then McMahon twists the twist! And then twists it one more time for good measure!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical trauma
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Available at Wichita Public Library.
The WWI storyline is interesting, and I'd like to know more about the Alice Network. The 1947 "she's unconventional because she's good at math" storyline is, um, pretty conventional.
The WWI storyline is interesting, and I'd like to know more about the Alice Network. The 1947 "she's unconventional because she's good at math" storyline is, um, pretty conventional.
Educated by Tara Westover
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
4.0
Available at WSU Tech Library.
Educated is often billed as an indictment of fundamentalist Mormonism or conservative Christianity, but it has a lot more to say about untreated mental illness and what happens when some members of a community have complete power over other members, and the power of education to help people escape those systems.
Educated is often billed as an indictment of fundamentalist Mormonism or conservative Christianity, but it has a lot more to say about untreated mental illness and what happens when some members of a community have complete power over other members, and the power of education to help people escape those systems.
Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Available at the Wichita Public Library.
Price makes a convincing case that productivity does not determine a person's worth and that overwork and stress are counterproductive to genuine productivity.
Price makes a convincing case that productivity does not determine a person's worth and that overwork and stress are counterproductive to genuine productivity.