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WPL PATRON BOOK REVIEWSRead a good book lately? Got an opinion? Share your perspective with other WPL readers by submitting an online book review!
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 | Sara Gruen: Water for Elephants
As a young man, Jacob Jankowsi followed
the Benzini Brothers's Circus. During
this hime, he makes friends and
enemies, and learns that there are
always people or animals in a worse
position. 
Reviewer: Iana Leave a comment | View comments (0) |
 | Rick Riordan: Sea of Monsters
Percy goes to school. In a dodgeball
game he fights cannibal giants. His
friend Annabeth comes and tells him
that the borders of camp Half Blood are
falling. They must journey to the Sea
of Monsters to get the golden fleece
and save their friend Grover. Can they
do it?
Reviewer: Maria Leave a comment | View comments (0) |
 | Lisa Scottoline: Think Twice
Quick, light reading. Similar to other
Scottoline plots. For her fans, you
will enjoy reading about your favorite
characters, Bennie, Mary, and Judy.
New readers will get a good
introduction to these characters.
Reviewer: Deborah Leave a comment | View comments (0) |
 | Stephen Frey: Hell's Gate
Another great book by Stephen Frey.
Fast-moving with a number of plot
twists. Interesting descriptions of
Montana, the site of the story. Hunter
Lee is a well-rounded character - a
fighting attorney! Good summer reading.
Reviewer: Deborah Leave a comment | View comments (0) |
 | Michael Ballesta: Planet Ocean
This has to be one of, if not the most
beautiful book about life in the ocean.
The photography is absolutely stunning.
Don't miss the leafy seahorse (pp. 116-
117), the decorated warbonnet (pp. 144-
145), and the fried egg jellyfish with
an egg pouch (p. 158). Ballesta takes
the reader on a remarkable ocean journey
through its prairies, plains, forest,
mountains, and more; and shows us how
each is important to the health of the
ecosystem.
Each section includes reader friendly
explanations of the lives of both plants
and animals as well as expert, explana-
tions of both threats and solutions to
the problems.
Planet Ocean is a thought-provoking
look at the what is the fragile beauty
of the ocean and tells most of that
story through wonderfully beautiful
photographs. This is a MUST-READ as
well as a MUST-SEE book. 
Reviewer: Jan Leave a comment | View comments (0) |
 | Sylvia Earle: The World Is Blue: How Our Fate and the World's Are One
Sylvia Earle, a world famous
oceanographer and National Geographic
Explorer-in-Resi- dence has written a
MUST READ book. She explains in clear,
reader-friendly prose how the ongoing
destruction of the ocean "threatens the
very existence of life on earth." She
dispels myths about beliefs about the
ocean and explains how each and every
level of the ocean is being trashed and
destroyed.
In the last section Earle holds out
hope that something can be done to save
our planet and our future. She hopes
that her book will make us both aware of
and knowledgable about the problems
facing us. And she hopes that the end
result will be our caring about the
oceans enough to become protectors of
them and, ultimately, of ourselves.
Reviewer: Jan Leave a comment | View comments (0) |
 | Sara Gruen: Water for Elephants
"Water for Elephants" was one of the
stranger books I've read. Sara Gruen
introduces the reader to odd circus sub-
culture through the eyes of Jacob
Jankowlski, a young boy left homeless
and penniless, who climbs aboard a
train:the Benzini Brothers Most
Spectacular Show on Earth. The circus
hires him as an animal doctor and the
reader learns about all his adventures
and misadventures with a very strange
assortment of people. And it works,
although I didn't think so at the begin-
ning. But the more I read the more
fascinated I became with the relation-
ships and encounters the young Jacob has
including the ever memorable elephant,
Rosie--the last hope for saving the
circu. A good read. 
Reviewer: Jan Leave a comment | View comments (0) |
 | Maria Finn: A Little Piece of Earth: how to grow your own food in small spaces
This little book offers a lot of
information on growing food plants in
small spaces and containers; inside, on
a windowsill, on a patio, or on a
roof. It even tells you how to grow
your own shitake mushrooms and vanilla
beans along with how to compost and
some advice on the social aspects of
gardening. It's a good book for those
who literally want to start small.
Reviewer: Liisa Leave a comment | View comments (0) |
 | Hermann Hesse: Siddhartha
Siddhartha is about a young, pious, obedient man.
He is a Brahmin. One day, he decides to join the
Samanas and learns how to think, wait, and fast, 3
values which he considers to be above all in
importance. He leaves the Samanas when he hears
of "the Illustrious One", Gotama the Buddha.
Siddhartha wants to hear his teachings. He
separates from his friend, Govinda, and becomes a
rich, greedy man who is very unhappy with his life
after a while and wants to kill himself. That is the
day he hears the holy Om come from the river and
everything changes for him. He meets a ferryman
who teaches him everything he needs to know. I
loved this book because it made me really think
about what is important and I was able to get a
perspective on different viewpoints to look at life.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and could not put
it down once I started reading.
Reviewer: Marion Leave a comment | View comments (0) |
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