The author's name sounded familiar so I looked her up and... Yes, I have read one of her books. And it wasn't all that and a biscuit and you know what? I've never recommended it to someone. Being a librarian, sometimes I do have to suck up my personal preferences and recommend books that I didn't or wouldn't enjoy (sports fiction = not my thing, but it is popular with some of my patrons), but that doesn't mean I recommend things I feel are poorly written. Being a librarian does not mean you have to endorse every single book, regardless of quality.

I looked up the book's professional reviews and they're mostly positive, but three out of the five I looked at also mentioned negative points such as lack of credibility/realism for the plot (which Kirkus stated makes the book feel like fantasy) and lack of depth for one of the heavier threads in the story. Which, huh, do sound a bit like the review Halpern is complaining about. Guess she didn't read those, since they weren't glowing.