Cartwheel by Jennifer DuBois

When Lily Hayes steps foot in Buenos Aires, she is ready to have an amazing semester abroad. Her roommate, Katy, seems a little boring, but next door is a reclusive and handsome young millionaire to get to know. Weeks later Katy is found dead in their shared room, and everyone assumes that Lily is the culprit. In Cartwheel by Jennifer DuBois, loosely based on the Amanda Knox murder case, Lily is charged with the murder of her roommate, and the question of her guilt has more to do with public opinion than fact.

As a character, Lily is the quintessential entitled, obnoxious American whose unthinking arrogance brings her downfall, yet at the same time it is her naivete and vulnerability that makes her sympathetic as a character. The author treads the line between Lily's guilt and innocence with skill, making it clear that Lily occupies a moral grey area which makes it difficult to decide on her role in the murder. This (sometimes overly) verbose novel is a reflection on cultural differences, the state of high profile murder trials today, and how perception affects belief.  Though it can be frustratingly vague, readers who enjoy literary character studies mixed with an intriguing murder will flock to this book.

Shannon Wood, Adult Services Librarian

The Good Lord Bird by James McBride

The year is 1857, five years before the American Civil War breaks out and two years before abolitionist John Brown's unsuccessful raid on the armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. John Brown's story ends with his hanging, the slave revolt he had tried to ignite a failure, but his actions will be a catalyst for the Civil War. Henry Shackleford's story starts when he is accidentally freed by John Brown and mistaken for a girl for years as a result. Nicknamed Little Onion, Henry journeys with Brown until his fated raid on the United States arsenal at Harper's Ferry in The Good Lord Bird by James McBride, which was the winner of the 2013 National Book Award for Fiction.

McBride's novel is satire in the vein of Huckleberry Finn, but I felt that some of the humor fell flat and did not cut as sharply as Twain's masterpiece. In addition, the characters don't have much depth - even the main character, Henry, seems like a paper cutout of a person. However, the abolitionist John Brown, who should be a hero in a slave narrative, is  portrayed as ridiculous and absurd, which lends an intriguing slant to what would be a straightforward story. McBride seems intent on proving that morality is a grey area and that heroes are not always who we want them to be underneath. Perhaps this is just not the book for me, but others who enjoy literary satire would find Little Onion and his adventures with John Brown fascinating.

Shannon Wood, Adult Services Librarian