Book Reviews

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family

Robert Kolker

In this heartbreaking true story, we learn about a family of twelve children, ten boys and two girls, and how they had to cope with six of the ten boys developing schizophrenia. Mimi and Don Galvin were the picture of a beautiful and successful American family. However, as the boys started to grow older, one by one, six of them started to exhibit strange behavior. Details are given about the brothers and their difficult behavior, hospitalizations, and treatments. We see how the medical world coped with schizophrenia at the time. We learn how Don and Mimi, and the other six children coped with their brothers’ illnesses. Most of all, we see a family torn apart by a vicious disease. The story of the Galvin family is difficult to read, but a worthwhile look into a troubled family.

Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter

Lizzy Pook

An extraordinarily vivid feminist adventure story based on Lizzie Pook’s deep research into the pearling industry and the era of British colonial rule in Australia, Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter is ultimately about the lengths one woman will travel to save her family.

The pearl-diving boat captained by Eliza’s eccentric father returns after months at sea—without Eliza’s father on it. Whispers from townsfolk point to mutiny or murder. As she searches for the truth, Eliza discovers a dark underbelly of sweltering, stinking decay beneath the glamourous veneer of the pearling industry. How far is Eliza willing to push herself to solve the mystery of her missing father? And what family secrets will come to haunt her along the way?

Saved: a War Reporter’s Mission to Make It Home

Benjamin Hall

Journalist Benjamin Hall was no stranger to reporting from some of the world’s most dangerous places, but during a trip to Kyiv in March 2022, he came closer to danger than he’d ever been before. This eyeopening memoir of his experience surviving (and recovering from) a bombing is an impactful story. It tells of perseverance and the human spirit but also gives an invaluable look at what it means to report the news today and why the bravery of those on the front lines can matter more than ever.

Hang the Moon

Jeannette

Walls

Hang the Moon is a sharp, enthralling new novel about a young girl born in 1900s Virginia and the singular way she manages to navigate a truly complicated life. Sallie Kincaid hasn’t ever had it easy. Her father’s a bully, her mother’s dead, and her efforts to build a relationship with her half-brother ends in tragedy. Still, Walls traces her willful attempts to keep herself above water, telling an inspiring, exciting, and unforgettable story about family secrets, breaking the law, and making your own way in the world.

All these titles are available at the Portage District Library. For more information about programs and services available at PDL, go to www.portagelibrary.info