• 2025 reviews
• 2024 reviews
• 2023 reviews
• 2022 reviews
• 2021 reviews

Items being reviewed must meet the following criteria:

• Must be available through Port Colborne Public Library or a participating LINC library.
• Must be an appropriate reading level.
• Books can be fiction or non-fiction, and in book, e-book or audiobook format.

Additionally, reviews must meet the following criteria:

• Must be at least 250 words in length (or longer).
• Must contain an introduction to the book, a brief summary (without spoilers), a thoughtful review, as well as whether or not you would recommend the book.
• Be an original review; plagiarism will not be accepted.
• Contains no graphic or explicit language.

Some minor edits or corrections may be suggested. To register as a reviewer, please email or phone us at 905-834-6512. If you don't have a card yet, join us today. 

All I Want for Christmas by Wendy Loggia is a light, festive young-adult Christmas romance that follows Baily Briggs, a teen who loves all things Christmas. The novel is set during the weeks leading up to Christmas, making it a perfect cheerful and cozy holiday read.

The story features Bailey Briggs, a teenage girl who works at a local bookstore and absolutely loves Christmastime. She enjoys all holiday activities, including skating, baking, sledding, and spending quality time with family. This holiday season, Bailey is hoping for the perfect holiday kiss from her long-time crush, Jacob Marley. However, this year brings unexpected challenges important decision-making when it comes to love.

Bailey has crush on Jacob Marley, a local boy who is known to be player. At the same time, Baily accidentally meets a new boy named Charlie, with has a charming British accent and is visiting for the holidays. As far as she is concerned, he appears perfect in every way. The story highlights the contrast between someone familiar and someone new, and highlights Bailey’s uncertainty about love. Bailey begins to experience mixed emotions and confusion which leads to her reflecting on want she really wants in a relationship. While she desperately wants that perfect kiss under the mistletoe, she realizes she has some important decisions to make.

Overall, this novel is an enjoyable and relaxing read that is perfect for the holiday season. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy light romance and holiday-themed novels, especially during the winter months. I would rate this novel 4.5 stars.

Find "All I Want for Christmas" today in our catalogue.

Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King (Reviewed by MD)

There has been a string of gruesome murders in the sleepy town of Tarker’s Mills, Maine, and, strangely enough, they have only been occurring on the nights of full moons. Everyone in the town suspects a regular man, a vagabond, perhaps, of being the killer. That is, until an eleven-year-old boy named Marty comes face-to-face with the killer and finds that he is no ordinary man, but a werewolf. Gaining the reputation as the boy who literally cried werewolf after having fought him off, he made it his secret mission to hunt down the werewolf once and for all.

I found the structure of the book unique, as it takes on a sort of calendar-style format where each chapter occurs in a different month. This formatting kept the book at a fast pace, as we weren’t waiting for the werewolf to attack, as we more or less start every chapter on the night of a full moon. However, the first several chapters felt like fodder, with characters being introduced only to be immediately killed afterwards.

Marty, the young main protagonist, also happens to be in a wheelchair. A recurring issue throughout the novel was the boy’s family’s brash insults about Marty’s disability. Often, the insults were so absurd and nearly comical that my focus was taken from the book, and I was unable to really relate to any of the characters. While King’s intentions were to flesh out a more sympathetic character in Marty, I feel as though these lines of dialogue served no real purpose in furthering the plot of the book.

Overall, this book would be a 3.25/5 star rating for me. This likely is not a book I would have chosen to pick up had it not been penned by the King of Horror.

Find "Cycle of the Werewolf" today in our catalogue.