Locke and Key Volume 1: Welcome to Lovecraft - Review


Written by Joe Hill

Art by Gabriel Rodriguez


Locke and Key is easily one of my favorite book series' of all time. Its fast paced, action packed, and impossible to put down. The first volume of this series isn't a slow introduction either - it picks up quick. The story follows around the Locke family as they live in an old mansion (Lovecraft) in Massachusetts. The mansion isn't just a typical house though, its has hundreds of keys that do hundreds of magical things.The idea is that every key unlocks something - whether it the ability for your soul to leave your body, to grow stronger, and many more things that are revealed in later volumes. The three main characters of the story are all very well developed. The more time you spend with each one, the more you love them and sympathize with them; especially Bode, the youngest of the Locke family. The volumes of this series get better and better with each one, never leaving you disappointed after opening it up.

Joe Hill, the author of this series, is an outstanding comics writer as well as novelist. Hill has had previous works such as Horns and A Heart Shaped Box, both of which were award winning, and outstanding in my own opinion. Hill is a horror writer at heart, but not in the way that you would typically think. His stories aren't just made to gross you out and scare you to death, its more of a real life horror. Much similar to The Walking Dead in horror feel - its not the monsters that are scary, its the people.

Gabriel Rodriguez is also another key force in this book. His art embodies this story perfectly, and I cant imagine this series without him (and luckily, throughout the entire series he's never had to take a break!). This is the first work I've personally seen by Rodriguez, and I'd love to see more after this series is over.

Overall, this is a must read for anyone. This book alone got me back into comics, and made me fall in love with the art of storytelling all over again. To put it simply, this book should not be missed

Rating: 5/5

Review by Levi Matheis

Locke and Key is a six volume series, and is currently publishing its sixth and final book. The first two volumes are available at the Marshall Public Library in our Adult Graphic Novel section, and the rest are available from the Evergreen Consortium and Inter-library Loan. Stop by and check it out!

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles) - By: Marissa Meyer



 (4 1/2 out of 5 stars)

Reading level: Ages 12 and up

400 pages

Loved it! The only reason I didn't give it 5 out of 5 stars is because it's the first book in a series and some parts of the book were exceedingly drawn out to explain the back story. I was also frustrated when I read this book and realized the second installment would be a long wait (Feb. 5th).

At first this book appears to be a revised Cinderella story; however it is so much more. With a strong heroine who not only is treated like an animal by her step family, but is also revered as a monstrosity by society because she is a cyborg. This book depicts a future society, not unlike our own, which is seeded with prejudices and oppression of individual thought. The most thought provoking question this book addresses is that of, "Are you strong enough to be yourself when no one else wants you to be?"

For more teen books check out the Library's Teen Blog!

New Winter Hours

On January 2nd, The Marshall Public Library will be changing our hours for the winter. Our new hours are:
 Monday - Thursday: 9:00AM to 7:00PM
Friday: 9:00AM to 5:00PM
Saturday: 10:00AM to 5:00PM
Sunday: 1:00PM to 5:00PM

Animal Man: The Hunt - Review

Animal Man: The Hunt
Written by Jeff Lemire
Art by Travel Foreman

What an outstanding and surprising book this was! I first read this book based off the fact that I'd heard some people say it was pretty good. I had some expectations going in, but those were surpassed in every single way. Animal Man was easily one of the best graphic novels/comics I've read all year, next to the Locke and Key series. For a character that was essentially solely defined by Grant Morrison's 1980s/90s Vertigo run on the title, Lemire has decided that he wanted to carve out a place in those mythos for himself. Lemire's always been a great writer, but generally its been geared more towards inspirational and emotional storytelling. In this book he shows off just what a great storyteller he is, as this book is a complete 180 from his norm; this is horror. Travel Foreman's art is a tour de force as well, and this book wouldn't be what it is without it. At first glance, you'll probably doubt Foreman's ability (because is rather scratchy and unusual), but by the fifth page in you'll be in love and can't get enough of his art style. With all this fantastic writing and art going on, the story at the center of this book is of course stellar. It's heart wrenching, exciting, scary, and all about the ties that hold a family together amidst tragedy. To conclude, Animal Man: The Hunt is easily one of my favorite graphic novels at the moment, and I suspect it will stay that way for a long time.

Review by Levi Matheis

Animal Man: The Hunt is a new book currently available at the Marshall Public Library. It's call number is GRAPH ANI, so you can find it, or ask a librarian to help you out! 

MPL Closed Today

Just a reminder that the Marshall Public Library is closed today, December 21st for computer maintenance. We will be resuming our regular hours tomorrow.

Holiday Hours and Closings

Over the next few weeks, the Marshall Public Library will be having an adjusted hours schedule for the holidays. Here's a complete list of closing times:

December 21st: Closed (For computer/server maintenance)

December 24th (Christmas Eve): Close at 1 P.M.

December 25th (Christmas): Closed

December 31st (New Year's Eve): Close at 1 P.M.

January 1st (New Years Day): Closed

January 21st (Martin Luther King Jr. Day): Closed

We will be open on our regular hours schedule on all other days, so we hope to see you then!

Children's Christmas Party Thursday Night!

Don't forget to stop by on Thursday, December 20th for our Children's Christmas Party! We'll be playing games, making gingerbread houses, reading Christmas stories, and even have a visit from Santa!

The festivities start at 5:30 p.m.

Welcome!

Welcome to the Marshall Public Library's official new blog!

We made this blog to inform all of our patrons about upcoming events at the library, news about the library, staff book reviews, and much more! Expect to see a lot of content coming out of this blog, as we plan to keep you as updated as possible.

Feel free to post comments here, and ask us any questions you may have!

We hope you enjoy!