A Mad, Wicked Folly

Biggs Waller, Sharon. A Mad, Wicked Folly. 2014. 448p. ISBN 978-0-670-01468-2. FIC BIG on the library shelves.

Victoria Darling loves art, and wishes more than anything else that she could become an artist whose paintings hang on walls of exhibits. She’s worked hard at learning her craft, but in the year 1909 women don’t enjoy many of the same rights as men. Being of the upper class, Victoria is not free to do as she pleases but must bow to the wishes of her parents.

When her father finds out she’s been posing nude in an atelier in France, she’s put back on the next boat and sent home, where her art supplies and tools are confiscated. From now on, Victoria must apply herself to redeem her social rank and prepare for marriage.

But when she encounters Police Constable William Fletcher during a Suffragette demonstration, she is forced to make a stark choice: her art, or the financial security of a loveless arranged marriage. Arrested during the demonstration but freed thanks to PC Fletcher’s testimony, Victoria must now hide her desires from her parents. She still pursues an application to the Royal College of Art, but must do so while insuring that no one will know.

So Victoria hides her true activities from her mother, her father, and even her fiancé, whom she thought would be more supportive. Aided by her lady’s companion Sophia, and by a suffragette named Lucy, Victoria decides that Will and Art, after all, is worth more than what her father can offer her.

Historically accurate, this novel superimposes Victoria’s struggles on the larger women’s rights movement of the early decades of the 20th century, and, as society is evolving, so must attitudes towards women. The men in this book, aside from PC Fletcher, hold antiquated notions of womanhood, and frown upon Victoria’s choice of pursuing art, arguing that she should be a wife and a mother and nothing more. But Victoria’s drive and dedication eventually earns her the respect of her peers, if not of her family.

Daniel X: Alien Hunter

Patterson, James & Leopoldo Gout. Daniel X: Alien Hunter. 2008. 128p. ISBN 978-0-329-67684-1. FIC PAT on the library shelves.

Daniel is an alien who has the power to conjure anything out of his imagination, including people. Following in the footsteps of his father, an Alien Hunter, Daniel has sworn to defeat the Alien villains on the list left by his father before his untimely death at the hands of the Multitude.

Living on Earth, aliens wear clever disguises but threaten to destroy humanity. Daniel hunts them down. But when Daniel crosses path with Number 7, he unwittingly goes from the hunter to the hunted, as the Game Consortium’s alien players begin to chase him to increase their arena rankings.

Daniel meets Kildare, Number 7’s son, and they strike a friendship. Kildare is very interested in ants and the prevention of their communication with each other through pheromones. This study is very important, as it turns out, because Number 7 is in fact made up of millions of ants, and he is the Multitude, the worst intergalactic outlaw to ever come to Earth.

With hunters on his tail, Daniel must find a way to defeat Number 7 before he becomes prey to the aliens.

The History of Navies Around the World

Sanexa, Shalini. The History of Navies Around the World. 2014. 133p. ISBN 978-1-62275-142-6. 359 HIS on the library shelves.

Since the dawn of human conflicts, navies have played a major role. Those who control the sea lanes have generally found themselves on the victorious side of wars. It is no wonder, then, that navies play a powerful role in today’s world.

This book provides a concise summary of the history of navies around the world, as well as contemporary situations for today’s modern navies. The development of naval power and the technological innovations that fostered the building of bigger and better ships is explored, along with the roles played by sailors and naval personalities who have left their mark on toe oceans.

Anyone with a fascination for military power will enjoy this quick and succinct read into one of the most powerful military arms a nation can deploy. Other books on the subject that can be enjoyed also include the Modern Weapons Compared and Contrasted series (Aircraft, Armored Fighting Vehicles; Artillery and Missiles; Naval Vessels; and Small Arms) as well as Warships Inside and Out, The History of Marines Around the World, and The History of Armies Around the World.

The Vanishing Season

Anderson, Jodi Lynn. The Vanishing Season. 2014. 256p. ISBN 9780062003270. Available as an audiobook on Overdrive.

Maggie’s mother has lost her high earning job as a banker in Chicago, so the whole family is forced to move to Gill Creek, Wisconsin, in an old house unlived in for years. Located in Door County, a peninsula in Lake Michigan, this house is only one of three on a miles-long road called Water Street. Maggie can see the lake right at the bottom of the field.

On their first day in Gill Creek, the local paper reports that a missing teen girl was found dead. No signs of violence were discovered, and the police are ruling it a possible suicide.

Maggie quickly meets the neighbors. On one side is beautiful and rich Pauline. Her mother owns a tea company, and her father died in a fishing accident five years ago. The death of her father has frozen Pauline in time. She is unable to make plans, since death could strike at anytime. She lives only in the moment. On the other side, through the trees, is Liam. He’s quiet and introspective. He build things out of wood and he tinkers with cars and electronics. His father is an avowed atheist. And Liam is desperately in love with Pauline, who can’t commit.

Quickly a friendship evolves between the three of them, with Pauline as the glue that holds them together. But as more girls are found dead, paranoia begins to grip the county. Teens are kept inside, businesses close. Homeschooled, Maggie feels even more closed in and a prisoner in her own home.

When Pauline and Liam are late returning home one night, the police gets involved, and Pauline is sent to live with her aunt while the killer is at large. Maggie and Liam are left alone, but they decide to hang out together, and eventually Liam falls for Maggie. Pauline’s return, however, threatens Liam and Maggie’s relationship, and even the trio’s friendship. And with the killer still at large, the teens face an unnamed danger.

While there is not a lot of action, this book speaks to the power of relationships and friendships, and presents a realistic scenario of the joys and pains of falling in love for the first time. A ghost is present throughout the book, but only voices comments near the end of chapters. The ghost cannot interact with the teens in any way, and is trying to understand why it is here in the first place. The three plot lines tie in together for a powerful yet tragic ending. And they happily lived ever after this is not.

Readers who love redemption stories will relish Maggie’s experiences in this new place and will shed a few tears when they close the book for the last time. If you liked this book, consider reading Thirteen Reasons Why, Please Ignore Vera Dietz, We Were Liars, If I Stay, Zoe Letting Go, Black Box, or Kiss of Broken Glass. All of these books feature a tragedy and a voyage of self-discovery as the central element of the plot.

The Quality of Numbers 1 to 31

Held, Wolfgang. The Quality of Numbers 1 to 31. 2012. 141p. ISBN 0863158641. Available as an eBook on Overdrive.

Numbers are all around us, and we observe and use them every day. Yet, we don’t really stop to think of what number actually mean. In this short book, Held describes the numbers 1 through 31 and relates them to mathematical principles as well as their presence in the world. From the duality of two, to the power of five fingers to grab an object, to the time represented by the number 7 (7 days a week, roughly four times seven days in a month), each number is special.

Held provides a concise summary of each number from one to thirty-one, and discusses how each of these numbers relate to others, and what their inherent meaning is. As our world rotates on its axis in 24 hours, and as we use 26 letters in our alphabet, each number shares a harmony with us that can be discovered when scratching the surface.

Sinner

Stiefvater, Maggie. Sinner. 2014. 357p. ISBN 0545654572. FIC SIN on the library shelves.

At the end of Forever, Isabelle is sent by her family back to California. Mourning the loss of Cole, whom she saw shot in wolf form, she was thrilled to hear that he had survived the hunt. But now that months have gone by, she’s managed to move on. Living with her aunt and her cousin, Isabelle is soon joined by her mother, who separated from her father.

Cole St. Clair decides to go to California to be with Isabelle. Now that he can control his transformation, he is ready to rejoin the living. Signing a music deal with a reality-tv show, Cole will get to be the star he was, while producing a new album with no constraints. He gets to revive his star following his bouts of addiction and his brutal overdose at his band’s last show. But most of all, he wants Isabelle.

As the two reconnect, however, they are not able to look beyond their own feelings and their shattered history back in Mercy Falls. The death of Isabelle’s brother Jack, and of Cole’s drummer Victor, both wolves, haunt their dreams and color their decisions. Cole’s history of substance and alcohol abuse, his abrasive show personality, and his past relationships with women are hard for Isabelle to overlook.

Cole barrels through his reality show, all the while trying to convince Isabelle that he has reformed. Unfortunately, the show’s producer keeps on trapping Cole in events that may force him to lose control. And with the ugly divorce between her mother and her father and her hapless cousin, Isabelle has troubles of her own.

Can the two of them redeem their relationship, or is the wolf in Cole too much even for Isabelle?

Forever

Stiefvater, Maggie. Forever. 2011. 388p. ISBN 0545259088. Available as an eBook on Overdrive.

With Grace’s disappearance in Linger, Sam is left alone trying to find a cure to bring her back. And he is pressed for time as the wolves’ detractors, led by Isabelle’s father, are gearing for the largest wolf hunt in Minnesota in decades.

The wolves themselves are tearing each other apart as Shelby continues her killing spree and shreds Olivia’s life. And Grace is in danger as Shelby comes for her next. Fortunately, she’s able to change herself back into a human and manages to contact Sam. When he comes to get her, however, she has already turned back into a wolf. Hunted by Shelby, Grace falls into a sinkhole and is eventually discovered by Sam and Cole. They bring her back to their house and lock up her in the house’s bathroom.

Doing research, Sam discovers that the wolf pack has moved once before, when it was led by a wolf named Hannah, and he forms the plan of moving the wolves from Mercy Falls to another area where they will not be hunted. Can they make the trek before the hunters on their tail catch up with them?

Linger

Stiefvater, Maggie. Linger. 2010. 360p. ISBN 0545123283. Book 1 of the Mercy Falls Trilogy. FIC STI on the library shelves and as an eBook on Overdrive.

Grace and Sam fell in love in Shiver, but the fight to remain together is on. Sam was cured of his werewolfness, and he is hoping to help the rest of the wolf pack, knowing that Grace herself is infected. But Beck’s introduction of three new werewolves has caused distress and distraught in the pack. One of these newly created wolves is Cole St. Clair, lead singer of Narcotika, a famous music group, and Isabelle, in her grief over the loss of her brother Jack, falls for him.

Meanwhile, as Grace falls further into the sickness that will eventually transform him, Sam is removed from her by her parents. She ignores their wishes and still sees him, however, even when she is transported to the hospital. Sam realizes that Grace will not switch but is instead dying, and he decides that the only thing that can help her survive is to effectuate the turn.

Isabelle and Cole’s relationship continues its rollercoaster. She discovers him trying to trigger the change into a wolf by playing with needles and chemicals. Using this knowledge, Sam injects Grace with his blood, and she immediately shifts into a wolf and escapes the hospital, leaving a bereft Sam alone behind, in a reversal of their situations in Shiver. The lovers are once again apart, but Sam pledges to find a cure and then, to find Grace. The story concludes in Forever.

Shiver

Stiefvater, Maggie. Shiver. 2009. 390p. ISBN 0545123267. Book 1 of the Mercy Falls Trilogy. FIC STI on the library shelves and as an eBook on Overdrive.

A pack of wolves has always been present in the small town of Mercy Falls. Grace remembers being attacked by wolves when she was young, and ever since she’s been fascinated by them. Especially the gray wolf with the yellow eyes. She’s always looking out for him, feeling a connection she doesn’t understand.

When Grace enters the local bookstore, she notices that the clerk has similar yellow eyes. She meets Sam, who lives two very different lives. In the warm months, he is all man, working in the bookstore and spending time playing music. In the cold months, however, he becomes a wolf, hunting in the woods of Mercy Falls with the rest of his pack, the family he now lives with.

Grace and Sam are in a race against time, trying to spend as much time together as they can before the inevitable takes place and he turns into a wolf again with the impending winter. Can they stay true to each other, or will Sam finally be lost to the wolf pack forever?

Told from Grace and Sam’s point of view, each chapter tells the weather and hints at Sam’s status. The race to find a solution to their love before it vanishes is on. The story continues in Linger.

One Shot at Forever: A Small Town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season

Ballard, Chris. One Shot at Forever: A Small Town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season. 2012. 272p. ISBN 140132438X. Available as an eBook on Overdrive.

In 1971, Macon, Illinois was a small town with a population of about 1,200. Its small high school was unremarkable in every way, except one. Its baseball team, made up of local athletes, packed enough talent and worked hard enough to turn that spring season into an unlikely run to the State Championship.

Written by an expert sports writer for Sports Illustrated, this book tells the story not only of the players on the team, but also of their coach, and, more importantly, of life in their little town in 1971. The author also visits with the surviving protagonists and describes how, forty years later, the road to the Championship changed their lives.

This action-packed nonfiction book really brings home what the concept of team and hard work are, and will be appreciated by sports fans!

Evil Genius

Jinks, Catherine. Evil Genius. 2007. 552p. ISBN 978-0152059880. Available as an eBook on Overdrive.

At 7, Cadel Piggot was caught breaking into a highly secure computer network. As a result, his parents were advised to take him to Dr. Thaddeus Roth, a licensed psychologist and therapist who specializes in troubled youth. A genius scoring off the charts, Cadel is fascinated by systems, and how they interact with each other.

Under the tutelage of Dr. Roth, Cadel pulls off one evil prank after another, from the collapse of the new high school gym to massive traffic and rail jams, and culminating in engineering the failure of every other twelfth grader on the final exit exams. Cadel discovers that his father is none other than Dr. Phineas Darkkon, one of the world’s worst villains. Currently imprisoned in America, Dr. Darkkon is nonetheless capable of transmitting his every instruction to Cadel and Thaddeus, his right-hand man.

At thirteen, Cadel is enrolled in the Axis institute, a school created by his father so that Cadel can learn even more about evil. Working on a World Domination degree, Cadel attends classes on embezzlement, forgery, and computer hacking. Roth and Darkkon’s avowed goal is for Cadel to succeed Darkkon at the end of this evil empire.

But when he falls in love with the mysterious and equally genius Kay-Lee, a girl he met through a fake matchmaking site he created to generate money, Cadel begins to question his upbringing and the morality of evil. Can he protect Kay-Lee from the clutches of the evil masterminds who run his life? Is it too late for Cadel to escape his father’s evil plans? As nothing is at it seems, even Cadel cannot calculate all the variables in the relationship systems that surround him, and people will get hurt. Cadel can only hope that it won’t be Kay-Lee, his friend Gazo, or himself!

Bad For You: Exposing the War on Fun

Pyle, Kevin C. and Scott Cunningham. Bad For You: Exposing the War on Fun. 2014. 189p. ISBN 978-0-8050-9289-9. 306 PYL on the library shelves.

Throughout the ages, adults have always been scared of teenagers and their rebellious ways. In this well researched book, the authors present, through cartoons and illustrations how American society has treated its young people over the last century and how a systematic “war on fun” has been imposed to constrain the rights of teenagers. Major issues dealing with teens, from curfews that may very well violate their First Amendment’s right to assembly to policies of zero tolerance including pointing a finger are explored.

The authors explore five broad areas where teens’ rights have been curtailed: Comics and media; Video games and board games such as Dungeons and Dragons; Technology, including social networks; Playgrounds, skateboarding, and streets; and Schools, from bans on hairstyles and clothes to standardized cheating and zero tolerance policies. Each area feature major legal cases and their media coverage, as well as those who fought back and the resolution, if any, that these cases reached. An interesting side note is not made explicit but shows that in most of these cases, there was no scientific basis for claims made by adults, media exaggerated the claims, adults conflated the hysteria that resulted, and courts eventually ruled that the policies expounded by adults were clearly unconstitutional.

For teens who like to read about oppression, and for those who think the system is out to get them, take heart. The system is in fact out to get you. Read this book, and see how teens have fought back over the years.

Far Far Away

McNeal, Tom. Far Far Away. 2013. 384p. ISBN 978-0375849725. Available as an eBook on Overdrive. This book has been nominated for the New Hampshire Flume award in 2015!

Jeremy Johnson Johnson is a strange kid. His mother and father both shared the same last name, and decided to make his middle name their last name. His mother ran out on them five years ago. His father has not gotten out of bed since. He runs his grandfather’s bookshop where only two books are sold: His grandfather’s memoir, volume 1 and 2. But these are not the strangest things about him. Unlike most people, Jeremy Johnson Johnson can hear the voices of ghosts. And when the ghost of Jacob Grimm, of the fabled Grimm brothers, hears of this fact, he travels to Jeremy’s small town of Never Better in the great plains so that he at last can communicate with one of the living.

Jacob knows that Jeremy is in danger. The Finder of Occasions lurks in the background, threatening Jeremy with harm. Unfortunately, no one knows who that is, nor what the occasion would be. Living an ordinary life, Jeremy studies hard in school under Jacob’s tutelage, hoping to go to University and escape the clutches of the Finder of Occasions, whomever that may be.

But when Jeremy goes to the bakery with Ginger Boultinghouse, his life changes forever. The baker, Sten Blix, makes a Swedish pastry called Prinsesstårta, and the villagers believe that one who eats this pastry will fall in love with the first living thing they see. These pastries are prized for their taste, and the green smoke that comes from the baker’s oven always alert the village that they are ready. When Jeremy sneezes, Ginger opens her eyes and looks at him as she swallows her pastry down, having tasted her first bite.

Their fate become intertwined, and as the Finder of Occasions gets closer, Jeremy and Ginger find themselves in mortal danger. The dwarf deputy sheriff haunts their every step. Conk Crinklaw is always hovering near Ginger. Kids are disappearing from the surrounding counties. Can the teachings of the Grimms fairy tales help Jeremy and Ginger escape with their lives, or will this be one of the tragic Grimm tales?

A great mystery mixed in with fairy tales, fans of Sarah Cross’ Kill Me Softly will enjoy the suspense provided by this twisted tale. Intricately written, Jeremy’s life references many of the fairy tales but develop into a tale all of its own. Every single character is complex and features conflicting motivations, hindering on purpose the reader’s ability to distinguish who is good and who is evil. There are several moments of sheer terror but in the end it is the power of love and faith that triumph over greed and neglect. Far Far Away was a 2013 nominee for the National Book Award Finalist, Young People's Literature. Be sure to take a look at Egg and Spoon for another strange yet wonderfully entertaining fairy tale, this time taking place in Russia. You might also enjoy The House in the Cerulean Sea.

Closed for the Season

Hahn, Mary Downing. Closed for the Season. 2009. 182p. ISBN 978-0-547-08451-0. FIC HAH on the library shelves.

Logan Forbes and his family have just moved from Virginia to Bealesville. This being the summer before starting 7th grade, Logan is hopeful that he will integrate in this new community and connect with the cool kids. His chance for a fresh start is ruined, however, when he meets his neighbor, Arthur. Where Logan is a lover of books, clean, and well-behaved, Arthur is slovenly, hates books, and is not very polite.

Arthur tells Logan that he and his family are now living in the infamous murder house. Myrtle Donaldson, the previous owner, was killed three years earlier. A ticket seller at Magic Forest Amusement park, a now closed amusement park, it was rumored that Mrs. Donaldson had stolen money from the park and hidden it somewhere. Her murderer must have been looking for the money.

As Logan and Arthur begin their investigation, they realize that not everything is at it seems in their small town. Who would have wanted to hurt an old lady? Did money even disappear? But getting closer to solve this murder mystery puts the boys in danger. Can they find justice for Mrs. Donaldson before they become the next victims?

Closed for the season won the Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery in 2010. If you enjoyed this book, you will like Dark and Deep and Dangerous, also by Hahn. For a similar location of a run-down and closed amusement park, consider Scream Site, and for another thrilling ghost story, pick up It Happened to Anna.

Zom-B Family

Shan, Darren. Zom-B Family. 2014. 174p. ISBN 978-0-316-21434-6. FIC SHA on the library shelves.

At the end of Zom-B Clans, B was captured by the Klan due to Rage’s treachery, but was saved from certain death at Dan-Dan’s hands when B’s father removed his hood and revealed himself. B’s mother is also present at the facility, but has been turned into a mindless zombie.

Brought in the fortified power plant, B discovers that the Board, along with Owl Man, have taken refuge here and are working closely with the military to establish a new world order in which they will reign.

B becomes Dan-Dan’s tortured plaything. Surrounded by terrified children, Dan-Dan takes his time torturing B, inflicting a lot of pain and suffering. B is then made to fight in a cage to save Vinyl’s life, the whole reason B had come here in the first place.

When it becomes clear that B will not be able to rescue Vinyl, he implores that B kills him off now instead of becoming a zombie. Moving quickly, B kills Vinyl, but then the gladiator match is interrupted by the arrival of Mr. Dowling’s army of zombies and mutants. Unfurling banners showing B’s face, they give the humans an ultimatum. Turn B over to them, or they will destroy the power plant. In their hubris, the Board refuses, and the zombies quickly overturn the fortress’ defenses.

B escapes the cage, and while B’s father begins saving humans, B chases after Dan-Dan. After a confrontation, B slaughters Dan-Dan, putting an end to that child killer’s life. Exhausted and tired, B meets Mr. Dowling in the corridor, and encounters the Babies again, who pick B up and begin to head home...