Nick Schenkel Book Reviews

In "Diary of a Young Naturalist," 15 year old author Dara McAnulty gives us several perspectives simultaneously: That of a teenager making their way into adulthood; that of person with autism interacting with family, school fellows, and the wider world avaible through social media; and that of an individual passionate about nature learning and exploring the landscape and habitat of Northern Ireland. West Lafayette Public Library Director Nick Schenkel has the review.

Author Sophie Hannah continues her series of mysteries following Hercule Poirot, the genius detective and original invention of Agatha Christie, with the novel, "The Killings at Kingisher Hill." West Lafayette Public Library Director Nick Schenkel has the review.

Over 150 years ago, the United States government forced the Navajo people to undergo a series of marches from what is now Arizona to eastern New Mexico. "Send a Runner: A Navajo Honors the Long Walk," by Edison Eskeets, tells the story of the ceremonial run organized by the author and his family to honor their ancestors, the survivors of that ordeal. West Lafayette Public Library Director Nick Schenkel has the review.

"Binti: The Complete Trilogy" is 2021's " Big Read ," A community reading event hosted by the Purdue english department, in parternship with the West Lafayette and Tippecanoe county public libraries. Author Nnedi Okorafor uses this trilogy (+1) of short stories to explore the concept of "Africanfuturism" while telling the compelling story of a Namibian youth coming of age and dealing with the conflicts of tradition and progression in an alien environment. West Lafayette Public Library Director

West Lafayette Public Library Director Nick Schenkel reviews the graphic novel: "Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversation" by Mira Jacob. This book explores the realms of the very contemporary experiences of immigrants and their descendants. Jacob takes us deep into the immigrant experience, using first person dialogue presented in graphic novel form to examine her life from childhood through motherhood, in a story as old as the colonization of the Americas and as new as today.

Written by Tom Schott and Nathan Baird, with a forward from Robbie Hummel, "100 Things Purdue Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die," is a collection of chapters detailing 100 of the greatest people, locations, events and activities in Purdue University's atheletics history. West Lafayette Public Library Director Nick Schenkel has the review.

West Lafayette Public Library Director, Nick Schenkel, reviews "The Musical Human: A History of Life on Earth." Truly sweeping in its scope, this book is a journey through the history of humankind as heard through music. It is chock full of facts and music, each paragraph packed with fascinating ideas, taking us from the pre-historic world to the modern age. Truly a well thought out effort to encompass the meaning, celebrations, alarms and hope that music has inspired throughout the ages.

This book's scope is wide, its writing inviting, and the sources sometimes suprising. It's one of those rare books that grabs us from the first lines of its introduction. Immerse yourself in the book from the get-go. Read "Best American Travel Writing 2020" for the introduction alone, as editor Robert Mcfarlane muses about the drama and dramatic upsets that would turn the world, traveling, and travel writing topsy-turvy. West Lafayette Public Library Director Nick Schenkel has the review of this

One of the most examined and historically significant wars to the United States, the American Civil War, has always been a popular period of discussion between history buffs and otherwise, but what did the war mean to those of the time? And how do the major impacts of a war in the mid-19th century still affect the U.S. today? With first-hand sources of diary entries and newspaper columns, Edward Ayers details the suspense and total feeling of uncertainty experienced by those in the 1860s and on,

One secret. Two lives changed forever. That’s the premise for Lorna Cook’s The Forbidden Promise, a tale of mystery and romance across two timelines. The first, from a war-torn Scotland of the 1940s, and the other from the same highlands in the modern-day. How will the decisions of the past affect the future, and how will the two timelines converge? Filled with secrets, twists, and cliffhangers, this book is sure to keep readers guessing until the very end. West Lafayette Public Library Director