Black Cat, Vol 4

Yakubi, Kentaro. Black Cat, Vol 4. 2000. 216p. ISBN 978-1-4215-0608-1. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

Sven reflects on his past and how he came to wear the vision eye (Black Cat Vol. 3). Meanwhile, Train gets recruited by Rinslet to be her date to Madame Freesia’s birthday party. Madame Freesia always reveals a one-of-a-kind item at her birthday parties, and Rinslet hopes to steal it. Not wanting to be left behind, Eve sneaks in the party and pretends to be Rinslet’s daughter.

Madame Freesia’s surprise this year turns out to be a T-Rex, the most vicious dinosaur the world ever saw. And unfortunately for her guests, the Rex is rather upset at being caged. It breaks through the barrier and causes mayhem through town. Train, having fought the master assassin Ludwig Won to a draw, intervenes, but Eve intercedes for the Rex’s life, since it did not ask to be created, much like her.

Train and Sven decide that chasing the Tex is their only option, but this time the huge beast could prove to be more than a challenge for the Black Cat.

The story continues in Black Cat Vol. 5.

Earthling!

Fearing, Mark. Earthling! 2012. 246p. ISBN 978-1-4521-0906-0. Available at GFX FEA on the library shelves.

Bud and his father just moved to the Von Lunar listening array deep in the New Mexico desert. In the morning, he boards the wrong school bus and instead of heading to Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, the bus flies off Earth and enter hyperdrive towards Cosmos Academy. The bus is filled with strange aliens!

At first, Bud doesn’t know what to do and wishes to return home, but when he discovers that Earthlings are feared by everyone, he must hide his identity from everyone. His new best friend, Gort, helps Bud adapt to life at Cosmos Academy. Bud even picks up Zero-Bal, an anti-gravity sport at which he excels.

Unfortunately, Cosmos Academy principal Lepton is keeping his keen eyes on Bud, and the Earthling must tread lightly. Can Bud find a way home before his true nature is discovered?

A witty and well illustrated tale, Bud’s tale is both cautionary and hilarious.

Scorch Trials

Dashner, James. Scorch Trials. Book Two of the Maze Runner Series. 2010. 360p. ISBN 978-0-3857-3875-0. Available at FIC DAS and as an eBook on Overdrive.

When they escaped the Maze, Thomas and the Gladers thought they had come to the end of their trials. But, as horrific as the maze was, it was only a prelude to a worse trial. Free from the confines and controlled environment of the maze, the surviving Gladers are now thrown into another trial, this one even more deadly than the maze. Given two weeks, the Gladers must cross the Scorch, an area all but burned out and destroyed years ago. And this time, WICKED has adjusted the variables to ensure that the odds are stacked against the Gladers.

The Gladers have been joined by another boy. Aris was the only boy among girls in Group B, fulfilling Theresa’s role with the Gladers. Now, with Cranks stalking them, and both groups in a race against time, since they have been infected with the flare and the antidote is at their destination.

As they encounter Cranks and machines in the Scorch, Thomas and the Gladers must also survive the harsh environment WICKED has put them in. How many of them can survive this round? The story concludes in The Death Cure.

Unfriended

Vail, Rachel. Unfriended. 2014. 282p. ISBN 978-0-670-01307-4. Available at FIC VAI on the library shelves.

Truly and Natasha were best friends in elementary school, but in 7th grade they parted way after Natasha began hanging out with the popular kids. Truly befriended Hazel, and the two of them have been inseparable since. But when, in the middle of eighth grade, Natasha asks Truly to come sit with her and the other popular kids, Truly immediately accepts and walks away from Hazel without a word, leaving her at their lockers.

This betrayal leads Hazel to begin an online campaign to destroy Truly. Meanwhile, Natasha has ulterior motives for inviting Truly over to her table. She wants Truly to work with them on the History Day project, and she knows that Truly will end up doing all of the work. Then her friends will see that Natasha is really nice and takes pity on her old friend Truly.

When her plan backfires, however, Natasha finds herself on the outs with the popular kids, while Truly is fully accepted. Natasha starts her own efforts at destroying Truly. As posts and pictures proliferate and become nastier, the spiral of ill will increasingly descend towards nastiness and will not stop until someone gets hurt.

Told from the perspectives of Truly, Natasha, Brooke, the popular girl at school; Clay, Brooke’s best friend, and Jack, who is secretly enamored with Truly, this is a cautionary tale of what can go wrong when your friends turn on you, and how even innocent conversations become fodder for rumors and remarks.

Black Cat, Vol 3

Yakubi, Kentaro. Black Cat, Vol 3. 2000. 206p. ISBN 978-1-415-68776-5. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

Having successfully confronted Creed in Black Cat Vol. 2, Train, Eve and Sven are on the hunt for two criminals when they encounter Belze Rochefort, Chronos’ Number II. He tells Train that he is not here to bring him back to Chronos, but rather to deliver a message. One of Chronos’ leaders needs in assistance in capturing a violent murderer who is terrorizing his town. The sweepers decide to head there and help the mayor stop the mayhem.

Unfortunately, Creed’s Apostles of the Stars also seek the same man, Gyanza, who has been imbued with the Tao power to become impossibly strong. They hope he will fulfill his promise and join them in their battle against Chronos.

Using Eve as bait, Train and Sven hope to lure Gyanza to fight, but with both Number II and the Apostles of the Stars here in town, this battle could degenerate and cost someone their life...

The story continues in Black Cat Vol. 4.

Love, Stargirl

Spinelli, Jerry. Love, Stargirl. Book 2 of the Stargirl series. 288p. 2007. ISBN 978-0-3759-1375-4. Available at FIC SPI on the library shelves.

When Stargirl departed Arizona, she left her heart behind with a boy named Leo. Now living in Pennsylvania, Stargirl has started a new life but she still misses her Leo. Back to being home schooled, Stargirl meets interesting characters in this little town. There is her neighbor Dootsie, a very enthusiastic five-year-old girl who talks all the time. Then there is Betty Lou, who has not stepped out of her house in nine years. Alvina is 11 going on 30. Margie runs the donut shop. Charlie sits all day and grieves at his wife’s grave. Arnold wanders town, asking everyone if they are looking for him. Then there’s Perry, who’s poor and proud, and to whom Stargirl finds herself attracted.

Stargirl intersects the life of each of these characters and touches them in ways she couldn’t have imagined. Told in a long letter to Leo, Stargirl describes her life over the course of a year and how she misses Leo. But as the days pass, and as she gets to know more people in her town, Stargirl realizes that life is what you make of it one day at a time.

Told from Stargirl’s perspective, this story picks up where Stargirl ended, and fills in some of the details Leo wondered about at the end of that book.

If you liked Eleanor and Park, you will enjoy the light romance and growth of Stargirl as she blossoms into a wonderful human being.

Stargirl

Spinelli, Jerry. Stargirl. Book 1 of the Stargirl series. 288p. 2007. ISBN 978-0-3759-1375-4. Available at FIC SPI on the library shelves.

Mica High School in the Arizona desert has never seen anything quite like this. Homeschooled for years, Stargirl is now attending high school, and her very presence throws everything into question. A non-conformist in every way, Stargirl wears strange clothes, always places a tablecloth, a vase, and a flower on her desk, and sings happy birthday songs to people she does not know on her ukulele.

At first, people don’t know what to make of her. She’s so different. Leo Borlock is not sure why, but he finds himself attracted to her. And she, clearly, also likes him. And as the school year progresses, people begin to change in subtle ways, expressing their individuality. Stargirl’s random acts of kindness and empathy begins to rub off each and every person at Mica.

But Stargirl’s difference becomes her undoing, and as the school begins to shun her, Leo finds himself in a predicament. Can he hang on by Stargirl and celebrate her difference, or will he try to make her normal, destroying the very thing that makes her unique?

The story continues in Love, Stargirl, which is told from Stargirl’s perspective the year after she left Arizona. Fans of Star Girl should look at When You Reach Me, another quirky tale of a girl marching to the beat of her own drum.

Paranormalcy

White, Kiersten. Paranormalcy. Book 1 of the Paranormalcy series. 2010. 335p. ISBN 978-0-0619-8584-3. Available at FIC WHI on the library shelves.

Evelyn, also known as Evie, has been working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency since she was 8. Found alone in the woods when she was 3, she spent five years in the foster system until it was discovered Evie could see through the glamour of paranormal creatures to see the real identity underneath.

Now sixteen, Evie has lived a strange life, but nothing matches her capture of Lend, a watery-type teenager who can morph his glamour into any time of human. Not sure what he is, she begins to fall for him nonetheless. For his part, he can morph into a perfect copy of Evie, except for her eyes, which he can’t seem to get.

She is helped in her work by faeries, who work for IPCA. Unfortunately, faeries have agendas of their own, and Reth, one of the transport faeries, covets Evie and seems to have ulterior and sinister motives in their interactions.

When paranormals begin to die at a rapid rate, IPCA discovers that there is a greater threat out there than the average werewolf or vampire. Vivian, a fire girl, is slaying the paranormals, and seems drawn to Evie. And then there is this pesky faery prophecy that speaks of death and gloom. Can Evie survive a confrontation with Vivian? Will Lend fall for Evie? What are Reth’s ultimate plans?

Fans of this paranormal and suspenseful tale will also enjoy The Alchemyst and Hush Hush.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid #3: The Last Straw

Kinny, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid #3: The Last Straw. 2009. 218p. ISBN 978-0-8109-7068-7. Available at FIC KIN on the library shelves.

Rodrick, Rodney, and the rest of the characters return again and get involved in Greg’s outlandish shenanigans. Following Diary of a Wimpy Kid #2: Rodrick Rules, Greg, who is one of the best people he knows, is concluding his second year in middle school by doing everything he can to avoid being shipped out to a military academy. His father has threatened that if Greg doesn’t shape up and stop being a wimp, he’ll have no choice but to enroll him with real men. As Greg avoids one activity after the next, this second half of his year is bound to be more hilarious than the first.

Black Cat, Vol 2

Yakubi, Kentaro. Black Cat, Vol 2. 2000. 215p ISBN 978-1-4215-0606-7. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

Sven and Train return to Torneo’s place, from Black Cat Vol. 1, to arrest him and turn him in for the bounty of half a million. The mobster’s goons are unable to stop Train, and Sven manages to cornor the boss and Eve in the garden. Torneo threatens to inject Eve with the nano virus which will complete her transformation into the perfect killing machine, but Train manages to stop him.

With Torneo under arrest, Sven and Train are not quite sure what to do with Eve. She decides she will remain with them, and she wishes to see a festival. Having lived in Torneo’s lab her whole life, Eve does not know much about the world. Rinslet decides to move on to the next mission, having destroyed the lab instead of stealing the data. She did not want it to fall into the wrong hands.

Unfortunately for all of them, Creed retains an interest in Train and wishes the Black Cat to join his new organization. Once a member of Chronos himself, Creed has assembled a powerful team of villains and plans on destroying Chronos and taking over the world. But he needs Train’s help to accomplish his goal.

Using Rinslet as bait, Creed lures Train into a trap. The Black Cat can join him, or Rinslet will die. Faced with this impossible choice, what will Train do?

The story continues in Black Cat Vol. 3.

World Peace and Other 4th Grade Achievements

Hunter, John. World Peace and Other 4th Grade Achievements. 2013. 256p. ISBN 978-0-547-90559-4. Available at 303.6 HUN on the library shelves.

A teacher for more than 35 years, John Hunter has gained a lot of wisdom from his fourth graders. Years ago, he developed the concept of the World Peace game, a world simulation where his fourth graders were given control over an entire planet facing issues similar to our world. Four countries with varying degrees of economic success and military power, two large ethnic groups without their own countries, the UN, arms merchants, the weather goddess, and mercenaries are all present and faced with 50 different crisis, from global climate change to religious strife. Each fourth grader receives a dossier and belongs to one of these groups. The goal of the game is simple. All 50 crisis must be solved and world peace must be achieved for the entire class to win the game.

Hunter discusses not only the game, but also the way his students process the overwhelming flow of contradictory information to arrive at a space where, after much effort and frustration, they are able to solve the problems presented to them. Filled with wisdom from Sun Tzu’s Art of War, Hunter recounts how his 4th graders, as well as other people who have played the game, arrive at creative solutions to resolve thorny issues and how there is hope that as our children age they will remember these lessons and step beyond what we perceive as limitations to solve our world’s problems.

A fascinating read, World Peace demonstrates that human expectations can be exceeded.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid #2: Rodrick Rules

Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid #2: Rodrick Rules. Book 2 of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. 2008. 218p. ISBN 978-0-8109-9473-7. Available at FIC KIN on the library shelves.

Back in middle school for another year, Greg Heffley is having as hard of a time as last year. First, he’s still being ignored since he touched the cheese. But worse, his brother Rodrick has threatened to reveal the most embarrassing secret about Greg to the whole school.

Through trials and tribulations, Greg recounts his summer off and tells the story of his school year from September to December. Great once again gets involved in the craziest pranks and must survive both a talent show, a house party, a visit to his grandfather, and, most importantly, his older brother Rodrick!

Hilariously written and illustrated, fans of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid will enjoy Greg’s further adventures, which continue in this volume and in Diary of a Wimpy Kid #3: The Last Straw.

Tanks Inside and Out

Haskew, Michael E. Tanks Inside & Out. Part of the Weapons of War series. 2012. 160p. ISBN 978-1-4488-5980-1. Available at 623.74 HAS on the library shelves.

When German soldiers saw the first tanks roll over trenches and barbed wires during World War I, they didn’t know what to make of it, but they knew warfare as they knew it had just been revolutionized. Capable of quicker travel than a horse, able to survive punishing assaults, tanks evolved and became the primary vehicles of World War II as they rolled through Russia, France, and every other theater of war.

In this book, Haskew documents the evolution of the tank from its humble beginnings as a slow behemoth to a seventy-five tons deadly machine of war, capable of firing a projectile miles away with accuracy and able to travel for hundreds of miles. Tanks from the First and Second World Wars are presented, along with Cold War era and current tanks. Each tank is discussed through illustrations and photographs and features specification charts that describes their capabilities.

If you liked this book, take a look at Warships Inside and Out to learn more about the evolution of warships. Other books you might be interested in include Aircrafts of World War I and Modern Weapons Compared and Contrasted: Naval Vessels.

The Real Pirates of the Caribbean

Woodard, Colin. The Real Pirates of the Caribbean. 2011. 24p. ISBN 2940012921963. Available as an eBook on Overdrive.

You know all the names that entered into legend: Black Beard; Calico Jack Rackham; Mary Read and Anne Bonny; Charles Vanes. But what led them to enter piracy? This short book discusses the reasons why many were willing to seek a life under the black flag instead of legitimate work, from the War of Succession taking place in Great Britain to a global recession that led to a collapse of sailor wages, from a parity of armaments between royal navies and merchant ships to the interests of American colonies to acquire plundered goods for cheap.

This short book describes the British Royal Navy’s inability to combat the rise of piracy in the early 1710s, and it being outclassed by pirates at the height of the black flag in 1715-6. Finally, the Navy was able to restore order, but less because it actively did so than because economic conditions improved enough to remove the threat of piracy.

An impressive amount of information, this book will delight those who love to read about pirates and historical events.

Shipwreck! Debbie Kiley’s Story of Survival

O’Shei, Tim. Shipwreck! Debbie Kiley’s Story of Survival. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4296-0089-7. Available at 910 OSH on the library shelves.

Debbie Kiley has always loved the water, and from a young age took sailing lessons. She raced yachts professionally, and when she had the opportunity to be a crewmate on a ship heading from Bar Harbor, Maine, to Florida, she jumped at the chance.

Unfortunately, the captain was not very good, the rest of the crew was ineffective, and even the captain’s girlfriend got in the way. So when the ship hit a hurricane, it promptly sank, and the five people aboard barely managed to hang on to a life raft. Unfortunately, that was only the beginning of their crisis.

The life raft was soon surrounded by sharks, and, with a lack of water and food, the sun shining down hard on them, Debbie and the other four were adrift in the Atlantic Ocean, with little hope of rescue.

This story of survival is uplifting and shows that with effort and dedication one can live through a disaster. If you like this book you’ll enjoy Lost at Sea! Tami Oldham Ashcraft’s Story of Survival.

Lost at Sea! Tami Oldham Ashcraft’s Story of Survival

Doeden, Matt: Lost at Sea! Tami Oldham Ashcraft’s Story of Survival. 2007. 32p. ISBN 978-0-7368-6780-1. Available at 910 DOE on the library shelves.

Tami Oldham Ashcraft and her fiancé Richard Sharp have always loved the sea. They were ready to sail around the world in the boat Richard built when the opportunity came to move a yacht from Tahiti, in the South Pacific, to San Diego in California. At first everything went well, but it was hurricane season in the Pacific, and soon encountered hurricane Raymond.

The ship barely survived the hurricane, but Richard did not and was swept away. Tami was knocked unconscious, and when she woke up she was afloat, but the ship was ruined. Tami had to rig a sail and hope that the winds would be enough to move the ship to Hawaii, the closest land mass.

This story of survival is uplifting and shows that with effort and dedication one can live through a disaster. If you like this book you’ll enjoy Shipwrek! Debbie Kiley’s Story of Survival.

Women Heroes of World War I

Atwood, Kathryn J. Women Heroes of World War I: 16 Remarkable Resisters, Soldiers, Spies, and Medics. 2014. 256p. ISBN 9781613746899. Available as an eBook on Overdrive.

At the onset of the First World War, men rushed forward, draped in patriotic fervor, to fight for their country against their enemies. But women, too, wanted to participate in what promised to be a great adventure. Women were not formally allowed to join the military, but they could serve in many roles to protect and defend their home and their country.

This book tells the story of sixteen brave women who were active participants during the First World War. They were spies, helping Allied soldiers to escape back to Britain. They were journalists, reporting on the horrible conditions of the battlefield, the hospitals, and of the people at home. They were nurses, who volunteered to serve in misery-filled hospitals both behind the front and in field conditions. They were soldiers, who fought and died alongside men, who commanded and led troops into battle, and who accomplished amazing feats and were rewarded with medals and recognitions.

Mostly forgotten and replaced in popular imagination by the women resisters of the Second World War, these women were just as courageous and dedicated. Read their fascinating stories and discover what made regular people step up and become heroes.

If you enjoy this book, you will also like Candy Bomber, about a US Air Force pilot during the Berlin Blockade. A graphic summary of the First World War can be read in Trenches, Treaties, Mud and Blood while The War to End All Wars provides an excellent overview of this conflict with beautiful illustrations.