Schooled

Sumner, Jamie. Schooled. 2023. 224p. ISBN 9781534486058.

Eleven-year-old Lenny Syms is chosen to be part of an unusual experimental school, where he and four other students will attend sixth grade on a university campus. They are promised a world-class education with brilliant professors and extensive resources. However, the curriculum is far from traditional. Instead of standard academic subjects, the students engage in unconventional activities like meditation, open-ended discussions, and anthropological observation of the campus population. Lenny, who is still grieving the recent loss of his mom, who died from cancer, finds this strange new environment overwhelming.

Struggling with his grief and a distant father who is more comfortable with academia than with people, Lenny feels isolated and just wants to be left alone. He has no interest in being a part of this learning experiment. To navigate his new life as a middle schooler on a college campus, Lenny must learn to rely on the support of his fellow misfit students and a quirky professor. Schooled explores whether this small, unconventional group can help him overcome his sadness and re-engage with the world.

Track Team Titans

Peters, Stephanie and Aburtov, Illustrator. Track Team Titans. 2011. 56p. ISBN 9781434293510. Available as a graphic novel on the library shelves.

Gerald "Sully" Sullivan is ready and eager for the upcoming track season, but his enthusiasm is quickly dampened on the first day of tryouts when no other students show up. Facing the prospect of the Titans track team being canceled due to a lack of members, Sully takes it upon himself to recruit potential runners from other parts of the school's athletic program. He visits the star athletes on the better-established sports teams, hoping their raw talent will be enough to save the track season.

Sully's recruitment efforts are met with immediate resistance, as the other athletes generally dismiss track and field as an inferior or less challenging sport. To change their minds and secure the members needed to keep the team alive, Sully realizes he must prove that track athletes are just as formidable as any other. He is forced into a series of high-stakes compromises: he must beat the star athletes at their own games if he hopes to convince them to join the Titans.

Readers who enjoy fast-paced sports fiction and high school rivalry narratives where an underdog sport or team must fight for survival and respect will enjoy this book. Sully's story showcases determination, team spirit, and the satisfying moments when characters successfully challenge common assumptions about talent and skill.

Three Revolutions: Russia, China, Cuba and the Epic Journeys that Changed the World

Hall, Simon. Three Revolutions: Russia, China, Cuba and the Epic Journeys that Changed the World. 

The history of the 20th century was fundamentally reshaped by three major political upheavals: the Russian, Chinese, and Cuban revolutions. This book tells the stories of these epoch-defining events by focusing on the parallel, epic journeys at their core. These include Lenin's return to Russia in 1917, Mao's legendary Long March across China, and Fidel Castro's triumphant arrival in Havana. These journeys not only defined the paths of the revolutionary leaders but also laid the groundwork for the profound changes that would transform their respective countries.

In addition to the revolutionary leaders, the book also highlights the journeys of three extraordinary journalists—John Reed, Edgar Snow, and Herbert L. Matthews. Their firsthand accounts from the frontlines were pivotal in shaping the global understanding of these revolutions. By weaving together these six parallel narratives, the author vividly brings these exhilarating events to life. Three Revolutions explores key themes such as the nature of political power, the limits of idealism, and the critical role of the journalist, raising questions that are just as urgent today as they were a century ago.

Family of Spies

Kuehn, Christine. Family of Spies. 2025. 272p. ISBN 9781250344465.

The Kuehn family always had secrets, and Christine's father, Eberhard, rarely talked about his parents or his life as a teenager in Hawaii during the Second World War. Christine began to unravel her family's past when she received a bewildering phone call from a screenwriter, asking about her family’s connection to World War II and Nazi spies. Confronting her seventy-year-old father, Christine discovers that the Kuehns, a prominent Berlin family, initially embraced the rise of the Nazis as a means of escaping hard times. This led to Eberhard's sister, Ruth, starting an affair with Nazi leader Joseph Goebbels.

The affair ended violently when Goebbels discovered Ruth was half Jewish. Instead of executing her, he made a cold decision: he sent the entire Kuehn family to Hawaii to work as spies, shielding young Eberhard from the truth. From their home just miles from Pearl Harbor, Ruth and her parents established an intricate spy operation, passing crucial secrets to the Japanese. This intelligence contributed directly to the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. After Eberhard’s father was arrested and tried for his involvement, Eberhard finally learned the brutal truth, forcing him to make a fateful decision that would change the course of his family forever.

A compelling read for fans of World War II historical non-fiction, espionage thrillers, and true crime, Family of Spies will appeal strongly to readers interested in the attack on Pearl Harbor and the role of foreign agents operating on American soil during WWII. Kuehn's use of a dual timeline—the modern-day search for truth contrasted with the high-stakes 1940s spy operation—creates gripping suspense, making it an excellent choice for those who love deep, character-driven historical investigations.

We Fell Apart

Lockhart, E. We Fell Apart. 2025. 320p. ISBN 9780593899175.

It's always been Matilda and her mother, until it wasn't. Recently, her mother moved to Mexico to be with yet one more lover. But now, at 18, Matilda is done following her mother and stays with her mother's previous boyfriend, who's been more of a father to her than any of the others. Out of the blue, Matilda receives an invitation that reveals the existence of a father she has never met: Kingsley Cello, a reclusive, visionary artist. When he asks her to spend the summer at his sprawling seaside estate, Hidden Beach, Matilda accepts, hoping to discover a long-missing part of her own identity.

Instead of the reunion she imagined, Matilda arrives to find Kingsley Cello conspicuously absent. In his place, she encounters the strange collection of people who inhabit the crumbling sanctuary: Meer, her long-lost, openhearted brother; Brock, a former child star struggling with inner demons; and the wild, brooding Tatum, who clearly wants Matilda to leave immediately. With her father nowhere to be found, Matilda is forced to delve into the twisted heart of Hidden Beach to uncover the answers she desperately craves about her lineage and her father’s disappearance. She soon learns that secrets run thicker than blood, and blood runs like seawater in this isolated place. Everyone at Hidden Beach, she realizes, is lying.

This is a gripping read for fans of mystery and psychological Suspense that feature atmospheric settings and dark family secrets. Readers who enjoy narratives centered on found family, identity discovery, and manipulative relationships will find this book appealing. The book’s core appeal lies in its exploration of the complex bonds of blood versus the secrets that tear families apart, offering a rich, suspenseful drama with unreliable characters and a gothic, isolated backdrop. While a companion to We Were Liars, readers do not need to have read that book to appreciate We Fell Apart.

Of Flame and Fury

Bridge, Mikayla. Of Flame and Fury. 2025. 416p. ISBN 9780374393427. 

At seventeen, Kel Varra is already an accomplished phoenix rider. Working with her underdog team, the Crimson Howlers, Kel is determined to win the annual races and the prize money that would change their lives, allowing them to escape their circumstances. Unfortunately, one of their riders plummets to her death, and Kel must quickly find a replacement. Under the circumstances, Kel forms an uneasy alliance with her arrogant rival, Warren “Coup” Coupers. Despite their on-track tension and personal rivalry, she finds herself unable to get him out of her head.

As the competition intensifies, Kel's home is accidentally destroyed, forcing her to accept a job from a mysterious tech mogul. This individual shows an unsettling interest in her phoenix, Savita. Kel soon finds herself embroiled in a dangerous conspiracy that threatens the lives of everyone she holds dear. As her feelings for Coup begin to change from resentment to something more, she must race against time to save them all and prevent her phoenix from being killed.

Fans of fantasy will enjoy this combination of the fantastic and technology. Featuring realistic characters and a fast moving plot, Of Flame and Fury delivers a compelling narrative where every choice matters.

Vampire Knight, vol. 2

 Matsuri, Hino. Vampire Knight, Vol. 2. 2007. 186p. ISBN 9781421511306. Available in the graphic novels sections of the Library.

It was revealed in Vampire Knight, Vol. 1 that vampires attend night school at the Academy. So what starts as a routine errand for the Headmaster takes a deadly turn when Yuki and Zero venture into town and are suddenly ambushed. Their attacker is a "Level E"—a vampire who has devolved into a mindless, bloodthirsty monster. Just as the situation turns dire, two elite Night Class students, Takuma Ichijo and Senri Shiki, intervene and swiftly slay the beast. The rescue leaves Yuki and Zero with more questions than answers: Why would vampires hunt their own kind?

To uncover the truth, Takuma and Senri extend a mysterious invitation to the two Guardians: meet them at the Night Class dormitory at midnight. As Yuki and Zero step into the lions' den, they are forced to confront the complex hierarchy and internal laws of the vampire world. This midnight meeting promises to reveal the chilling reality of the Level E threat and the high price of losing one's humanity in the world of the undead.

The story continues in Vampire Knight, Vol. 3.