Book Reviews

PIONEER LIBRARY SYSTEM - ADULT BOOK REVIEW

The Runaway Princess

Author: Johan Troianowski · Publisher: Penguin Random House Reviewer: Amber Luna, Children’s Services Associate, Moore Public Library

A bored princess decides to run away and embarks on a grand adventure through her magical kingdom. Princess Robin encounters new friends, kidnappers, a witch, and pirates, but she needs to keep moving because her disapproving parents are right on her heels; ready to bring her home.

Where will Robin’s adventure take her and can you help her get there? “The Runaway Princess” is an interactive and endearing graphic novel, broken into three stories. Help Robin navigate a maze, escape wolves, and find her friends in a crowd in this charming story that is sure to spark joy.

The Runaway Princess is geared toward children in 3rd through 7th grades. You may find “The Runaway Princess” and more graphic novels in the Moore Public Library children’s department or on our PLS Connect app.

Please feel free to visit the Children’s Desk or call us at 405-793-4347 with any questions.

For more information on this book and other great books, library events, and more please visit www.pioneerlibrarysystem.org or download our PLS Connect App.

Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope

Author: Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn · Genre: Adult Nonfiction Reviewer: Jessica Givens, Moore Public Library

Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn tell a far-reaching story of working-class struggle, but they begin with one blue-collar family in Yamhill, Oregon, in the 1960s. The Knapps were homeowners, having climbed the ladder from a childhood without electricity or running water, and their children were on the path to graduate high school.

In the not-too-distant past, each generation of kids was expected to be better off than their parents. But for the Knapp family in Yamhill, life became what the authors describe as a tightrope: possible but extremely difficult to make it across. To make matters worse, one's stumble can make the path even more difficult for their entire family for generations to come. This tightrope experience is seen across the nation, primarily due to what the authors argue are failures of policy and collective responsibility.

We can and should do better.

The authors weave together stories of families impacted by generational poverty and analyze the multilayered factors that contribute to a struggling working class on a national scale. Issues like addiction, domestic abuse, mental health, race, unemployment, and incarceration, are complex and interconnected. Yet many often lean into a narrative that "the working-class struggle is all about bad choices, laziness, and vice."

The stories in Tightrope are somewhat bleak. But the authors offer an array of options available to work towards reversing some of these trends that have hurt the working class. Some are focused on large-scale policy changes, but they also include a list of actionable ideas that individuals can use in their own communities – for example, becoming a mentor to at-risk youth.

Tightrope combines compelling real-life stories with an informative and convincing case that we need to rethink and restructure so that the American dream can be within reach for everyone.

Tightrope is available as a book, eBook, or downloadable audiobook. For more recommendations, stop by your local library or call 405-793-5100. For other library events and information, visit www.pioneerlibrarysystem. org or download our handy PLS Connect App!