Flannery's Reviews

James Brown left a complicated legacy, including an indelible mark on music. This book is both an incisive commentary on the society that helped form Brown and on his lasting social legacy, as well as a poignant look at the life of the man himself from the people who knew him, written by a writer who grew up admiring him. I was left with a better picture of who Brown was and with a lot to think about.  —Flannery

Lindy West is a woman who doesn’t back down. Whether something is uncomfortable, embarrassing, or painful, she doesn’t shy away from it. A blunt, insightful feminist, she discusses the many battles women face today head-on, speaking freely about everything from her weight to Internet trolls to sexism in stand-up comedy. She covers serious stuff, but her wit, openness, and self-deprecation make it both accessible and funny.  —Flannery

Mathews County is a small peninsula on the coast of Virgina, and as it’s surrounded by water on three sides, it has produced an exceptional number of mariners. This engrossing book tells the story of merchant marines who risked attack by U-boat to keep the European front supplied. I love World War II books, and The Mathews Men offered a perspective I hadn’t heard before. If you are interested in seafaring or World War II, don’t miss this—it’s really good.  —Flannery

While working at an Alaska oil field, Ken Ilgunas had an idea: what if he hiked the proposed route of the Keystone XL pipeline from start to finish? Starting in Canada, ending in Texas, and trespassing on private property pretty much the whole way, he did just that. Travelogue, meditation on climate change, and tribute to the people living on the Great Plains, this is a thoughtful, entertaining book.  —Flannery 

If you were as obsessed with M.R. Carey’s The Girl with All the Gifts as our staff was, you’ll be curious about Fellside. Don’t expect a reprise of Girl, because it’s a completely different creature, but if you can take Fellside on its own terms, you’re in for a hell of a ride. Prison life and ghosts take center stage in this creepy, thought-provoking novel that I read in three breathless sittings.  —Flannery

The Passenger is a breathless thrill ride filled with secrets and deception. Our heroine is on the run, swapping identities as she flees from city to city, trying to escape her past. Along the way, she makes allies and enemies, while the details of her past are slowly parceled out, keeping you on the edge of your seat until the very end. This book kept me guessing the whole way through. I thoroughly enjoyed it.  —Flannery

This is the amazing true story of four undocumented teens in West Phoenix who, in 2004, beat all the odds and won the NASA-sponsored Marine Advanced Technology Education Robotics Competition. Using spare car parts, they created a functional underwater robot, and beat out MIT students to win first prize. This is an uplifting story about four very impressive teens that will inspire any high school kid struggling to believe they can do whatever they want.  —Flannery

This book is a classic. A collection of short stories by the poet Gary Soto, it shows how small daily events in our lives can have a much larger meaning. Based on his own experiences as a child in the Central Valley, this is a quiet, insightful book that tells the stories of eleven Latino children growing up in Fresno. It’s a lovely book that any child can relate to.  —Flannery

If you want to teach your children about Hispanic heroes beyond Cesar Chavez, this is the book for your family. Highlighting women and men who have helped shape our nation—from Sonia Sotomayor to Roberto Clemente—and filled with quotes and facts, this great book shows a wide range of people in a wide variety of fields who have helped make change happen.  —Flannery

We all know about Jim Crow segregation in the South, but in California segregation existed as well, separating Mexicans and other Latinos from whites. Sylvia Mendez was a young girl who didn’t understand why she couldn’t attend the white school. Her family couldn’t get a satisfactory answer as to why they were being separated, so they sued, and won, ending segregation in California seven years before Brown v. Board of Education would desegregate the South. Duncan Tonatiuh’s book, written after he interviewed Sylvia, tells their story and includes Tonatiuh’s unique illustrations.  —Flannery