Riders

Rossi, Veronica. Riders. Book 1 of the Riders duology. 2016. 384p. ISBN 9780765382542. 658 mins. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

Gideon Blake’s father has always been his role model, A soldier in the U.S. Army, his father instilled in him discipline and a logical mind. But when his father suffered a heart attack and died while on the roof of a house they were working on, Gideon lost his compass and direction. Graduating from high school, he decides to join the Army like his father and, following basic training, enters the U.S. Army Ranger school. During his fifth parachute jump, Gideon’s main parachute does not open, nor does the emergency parachute. The odds of this happening are millions to one. Gideon manages to deploy his emergency parachute, but it is too late to avoid crashing down to the ground. Gideon hits the ground so hard that he dies from the impact.

He is revived by paramedics and transported to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he is told he will never be a Ranger due to the gravity of his injuries. He is informed that it will take at least six months for him to heal. Transported back home to California to recuperate, he notices a strange metal bracelet on his arm, and no one seems to know where it came from. He also heals very quickly. It’s only been a day back home and he can already walk without a crutch. Gideon wonders what happened to him.

A day later, at a party hosted by his sister at her residence on the university campus, he meets Daryn, an intriguing girl who begs him to leave with her at once. Puzzled, Gideon refuses. The party is crashed by three people itching for a fight, and when Gideon perceives that his sister is threatened he fights back, only to realize that his opponents are not humans, and one of them can even control his thoughts. Chasing after them, Gideon stumbles upon Daryn who had fled the party and is hiding in his Jeep. She reveals to him that he is War, the embodiment of one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, and that he must help save the world from the Kindred, demons who joined Satan in his rebellion against God but then eventually rebelled against Satan too. This Kindred seek to open a gateway to control a new world and escape their hunters. Daryn, as a Seeker, has that key. Armed with a cool sword and a fiery horse, Gideon and Daryn must now travel the world and find the other horsemen before the Kindred closes in.

Now in custody of the U.S. government, Gideon must convince the powers that be that they have to release him before it is too late. But how do you convince someone that you are one of the standard bearers of the Bible’s last chapter before it is too late?

The Demon Lexicon

Brennan, Sarah Rees. The Demon Lexicon. Book 1 of the Demon Lexicon trilogy. 2009. 322p. 610 mins. ISBN 1-41696379-0. Available both on the library shelves at FIC BRE and as an audiobook from Overdrive.

At sixteen, Nick Ryves already towers over his scrawny and crippled older brother Alan. They have been on the run for as long as Nick can remember, as their mother, Olivia, is a magician and is being hunted by the Obsidian Circle, an order of magicians she used to belong to. She reportedly stole talismans from the Obsidian Circle, and the order wants them back. Their father died protecting the family, and every few weeks or, at most, months, the three of them move to another ramshackle apartment. With Olivia in a perpetual state of psychosis, they have to fend for themselves.

Nick has never liked school, and has trouble reading. Unlike Alan, who loves to read books, Nick would rather practice with his sword and knives, ready at any time to fight magicians and demons. The two of them have kept their mother alive, and together they have managed to stay alive. But when they are contacted by two teenagers from Nick’s current school with an occult question, everything changes. Mae and her brother Jamie have experienced several strange events recently, and Jamie bears the three marks of demon possession. If he doesn’t get help soon, he will succumb to the demon seeking to take control of Jamie’s body.

Nick doesn’t want to get involved, but Alan volunteers their help. Soon, everything Nick thought he knew about the world, his past, his mother, and his brother turns out to be a lie. With the Obsidian Circle hot on their trail, who can Nick trust to survive?

A Month of Mondays

Anthony, Joëlle. A Month of Mondays. 2017. 336p. ISBN 978-1-77260-026-1. Available at FIC ANT on the library shelves.

At 13, Suze Tamaki’s life is nothing special. A middle school student relegated to regular English classes with the burnouts and the lazies, Suze lives with her father and her seventeen-year-old hockey-loving sister Tracie in a dingy and small apartment in a nondescript building. Suze’s mother, Caroline, left them and moved to Vancouver when Suze was three, and she has had no contact with her since, aside from a monthly child support check that doesn’t even cover the basic expenses.

Imagine her surprise, then, when she is contacted by Caroline, who has just moved back to Victoria for her work and who wishes to establish a relationship with her daughters, after more than ten years away. Tracie is deadly set against even meeting with her mother for reasons of her own, and is mad at Suze for even contemplating this possibility. Her father is also lukewarm to the idea, while her aunt Jean, who has acted more as Suze’s mother than Caroline ever did, is not happy that Caroline has returned in her nieces’ lives. Only uncle Bill takes Caroline’s side and agrees that Suze should give her a chance.

As if this is not already life changing, Suze gets transferred to Mr. Baker’s Honors English class so she can work with her friend Amanda on a presentation to the school board regarding the elimination of the school custodians’ positions and their replacement by cheaper subcontractors. Already known to be a troublemaker at school, Suze’s new project runs afoul of Principal Farbinger and leads to more scrutiny. Somehow, Suze’s normal life has become more like a month of consecutive Mondays.

Suze has never cared before, neither for school nor for her mother, but now she finds herself intrigued by the possibilities. With best friends Leah, Jessica and Amanda at her side, Suze is ready to take the plunge and see if she can trust her mother not to abandon her again while reaching excellence in her English class.

The Countryside in the Roman Empire

Lane, Allison. The Countryside in the Roman Empire. Part of Life in the Roman Empire series. 2017. 80p. ISBN 978-1502622617. Available at 937.06 LAN on the library shelves.

Roman patricians and poets portrayed life in the countryside as idyllic, but for the vast majority of people this was not the case. Though living in the countryside differed depending on one’s location within the Empire, for the most part it involved a hard life farming a land that never produced enough to allow people to get ahead. Farmers worked year round. Children immediately began taking care of chores to help the family out. Whereas the work day in the city was fairly short, in the country farmers worked the entire day, from sunrise to sunset as there were always tasks that needed accomplishing.

With an average lifespan of under thirty, Romans in the countryside experienced hard living. Though lauded by city folks for providing the Empire with enough food, farming was backbreaking labor. The rise of large estates also led to a decline in small farm holdings, reducing the number of owners along with their drive to maintain their properties. Both men and women worked on the farm and accomplished many chores. Whereas men had the possibility to hunt and fish, women focused on weaving and childrearing, as well as ensuring that the farm household ran smoothly.

Life in the countryside was not all trials and challenges, however. There were many holidays celebrating farming and agriculture. Farmers and their families generally also enjoyed more space and better food than their city counterparts. And there were more opportunities for children to play than in the city.

Other titles in this series include The City in the Roman Empire, Patricians in the Roman Empire, and Religion in the Roman Empire.

The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 4

Houoto, Aya. The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 4. 2016. 176p. ISBN 978-1-4215-8048-7. Available in the graphic section of the library.

Following the bizarre ceremony in which the Nue gave her a four leaf clover, Himari returns to school the next day only to be immediately stopped by Hayato Hidaka, who notices the ring. It strangely reminds him of his best friend that disappeared years ago. Hidaka is rumored to be cursed. Everyone he becomes friends with ends up hurt or worse. Himari can’t help but be intrigued. During her investigation she discovers that an ayakashi is threatening the whole family, but no one can see it. This ayakashi attempts to seize the ring from Himari but she escapes his clutches.

The boy Hidaka remembers turns out to be Aoi, his best friend who became the Nue when Momochi selected him to protect the gateway to the spirit world. Now Himari must discover a way to remove the ayakashi’s influence on Hidaka so he can finally lead a normal life. But with Aoi unable to leave the house, she can only rely on herself to solve this problem.

The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily

Cohn, Rachel & David Levithan. The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily. 2016. 215p. ISBN 978-0-399-55381-3. Available as an eBook from Overdrive.

New York City teenagers Dash and Lily have been dating for nearly a year, ever since last Christmas. Lily loves Christmas, and every year she drives the celebrations at her house. This year, however, Lily’s not in the mood at all. Her grandfather had a stroke, and now he needs help even with mundane tasks. Lily is happy to assist him, for she wants to delay his move into an assisted living facility. She loves Dash, but Dash has never told her he loves her. Really close to her parents, Lily is also worried that once grandfather is out of the house they will be moving to Connecticut where her father is now the head of a private school.

For his part, Dash loves Lily too, but her focus on her grandfather has tarnished their relationship. With divorced parents, Dash has never really liked Christmas (too much drama!), but he’s put up a good front for Lily last year. When Langston, Lily’s brother, approaches Dash, Dash knows that there is trouble afoot, for the two of them do not get along. Langston tells him that something must be done to bring the old Lily’s happy Christmastime spirit back. Dash agrees to take on the challenge. But with only twelve days left before Christmas, can he figure a way to bring back Christmas’ magic and help Lily realize that this is as much a part of her as helping her grandfather?

A light hearted tale following the famous Christmas song “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” Dash and Lily will work hard to rekindle the spirit of Christmas and find each other again.

The Frog Princess Returns

Baker, E. D. The Frog Princess Returns. Book 9 of the Tales of the Frog Princess series. 2017. 196p. ISBN 978-1-68119-137-9. Available at FIC BAK on the library shelves.

Previously, Princess Emma, the Green Witch had been turned into a frog and had met Prince Eadric, who had suffered the same fate. Now the two of them are humans again, and are spending time in Emma’s kingdom, Greater Greensward. The two lovebirds’ peace is disturbed, however, when Princess Adara arrives in the royal carriage of Eadric’s parents. Claiming to be a distant relative, it is clear to Emma that Adara is very attracted to Eadric.

At the same time, all is not right in the world of the fairies. Queen Willow, the fairy queen, has disappeared, and three fairies are standing for an election to choose the new ruler of the fairy world. Unfortunately, all three are deeply flawed characters that are not liked by a majority of the other fairies, and they offer drastically different programs towards their relationships with the humans. When local plants become afflicted by electoral logos, Emma is asked by the fairies to intervene.

Taking Eadric and Adara with her, Emma investigates who is behind the plants’ destruction and realizes that it will take quite a bit of effort and magic to track down Queen Willow and restore peace to the area.

Filled with dragons, fairies and magic, this light tale is a perfect read for fans of humorous fantasy.

The Mark of the Dragonfly

Johnson, Jaleigh. The Mark of the Dragonfly. 2014. 400p. ISBN 9780385376150. Available as an eBook from Overdrive.

Life in Scraptown 16 is hard for Piper, especially since her father left to work in the factories of the Dragonfly Territories and subsequently died. Left alone, young Piper has been eking a living fixing mechanical objects for the other town residents. Every storm that strikes the area brings with it meteor showers. These showers result in odd pieces of technology coming from exotic lands, but they also bring green dust, a deadly substance if exposed to it long enough. It is during one of these storms that Piper finds herself outside instead of the town shelter, looking for her only friend, when she spots a caravan. Soon the caravan is destroyed by meteors.

When the storm abates, Piper explores the caravan and discovers a girl still alive in the wreckage. Her friend having been hurt, Piper returns to town to get help and soon both her friend and the strange girl are brought back. On the girl’s arm is an intricate tattoo, marking her as someone of significance in the Dragonfly Territories. Suddenly Piper’s future looks bright. If she can reunite this girl with her family, surely she will be handsomely compensated!

Piper manages to revive the girl, named Anna. Anna doesn’t remember who she is or where she is from, but she possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of the world around her, and she loves to create order out of chaos. Another passenger of the caravan survived, however, and now Master Dolan wants the girl back. Anna doesn’t remember Dolan, but she knows she doesn’t want to go with him. Piper and Anna manage to escape Dolan by boarding the 401, a heavily armored train from the Dragonfly Territories that deliver cargo throughout the continent.

Questioned by Gee, the head security officer aboard the 401, the girls are reluctantly allowed on board due to the tattoo, and the train takes off, eventually heading to the Territories’ capital. Dolan, however, has other plans for Anna and begins chasing the girl across the continent. With a powerful enemy behind them, can Piper, Anna, Gee, and the rest of the 401’s crew protect the train and make it safely to the capital?

A great standalone steampunk novel, The Mark of the Dragonfly is nonstop action and adventure. Fans of Leviathan and Worldshaker need to read this book. Other great steampunk books include Etiquette and Espionage and The Inventor's Secret.

The Power of a Teacher: Restoring Hope and Well-Being to Change Lives

Saenz, Adam L. The Power of a Teacher: Restoring Hope and Well-Being to Change Lives. 2012. 152p. ISBN 978-1-937654-60-3. Available at PROF 371.10 SAN on the library shelves.

Individuals enter the teaching profession to make a difference in the lives of children, but often find that many obstacles can affect their passion. From demoralizing administrators to state mandates to personal issues such as family relationships and money woes, the fires that light up teachers can become extinguished over time. In The Power of the Teacher, Saenz presents information on how teachers can strengthen their own personal lives to increase their resilience and rekindle their passion for teaching.

Saenz examines five specific aspects of a teacher’s life: The emotional, the financial, the spiritual, the occupational, and the physical. All of these, he argues, work in tandem to create a wheel. The more a teacher’s five-pointed wheel is in balance, the smoother the ride. Examining a scenario, Saenz conducts a personal survey and implements recommendation to address the issues confronting that teacher. Readers are then encouraged to take their own wellness inventory so that they can identify their strengths and weaknesses. Once this is done, small steps can be taken to improve their life balance and restore their passion for teaching. Discussion questions are included to foster conversations with other teachers.

Noragami: Stray God, Vol. 4

Adachitoka. Noragami: Stray God, Vol. 4. 2014. 200p. ISBN 978-1-61262-908-7. Available in the Graphic Section of the library.

Having successfully dealt with Yato’s blight in Noragami Stray God, Vol. 3, Hiyori and Yukiné return to a normal existence. Yukiné takes a job working at a corner store so he can help pay the fees required by the deity that requested for saving Yato’s life. Hiyori has taken it upon herself to continue Yukiné’s education. Yato, meanwhile, still struggles with discovering a way to untether Hiyori so she can fully return to her world and not spend anymore time in the spirit world before it is too late for her to come back to her old life.

But all of these concerns pale in comparison to the plot Stray has unleashed on Bishamon. Her goal is to remove the current holder of the title of Bishamon, and to do so she is exploiting Bishamon’s weakness of having too many shinkis, thus weakening her energy. Kazuma, Bishamon’s trusted assistant, realizes that something is amiss, but will he have enough time to discover what is plaguing Bishamon before it’s too late?

The story continues in Noragami Stray God, vol. 5.

Bent Not Broken: Madeline & Justin

Schultz Nicholson, Lorna. Bent Not Broken: Madeline & Justin. Part of the One 2 One series. 2017. 218p. ISBN 9781988347035. Available at FIC SCH on the library shelves.

When they were eight, identical twins Becky and Madeline went on a bike ride. Even though they were wearing both wearing helmets at the time, Madeline fell on her head. She doesn’t remember any of the accident. For her, it’s the before and after. Having suffered a traumatic brain injury, Madeline has spent the last seven years of her life slowly regaining abilities she once took for granted. Walking can be difficult, and she often has to remind herself to put one foot in front of the other. She often loses her cool when the pressure builds inside her head and she will slam her head with her hands. Her speech pattern is slurred and slow. She’s not dumb. She knows exactly what she wants to say, but her brain can’t communicate it fast enough to her mouth. What hurts the most, though, is that she and Becky have drifted apart. They did everything together, dressed the same, talked the same, but now Madeline can only follow Becky, and sometimes not even then. Her parents are divorced, and Becky has new friends who smoke and drink.

Part of a Best Buddies at school, Madeline spends time with Justin, a senior who’s helping her with activities and social skills. They play cards, participate in gym activities with the other differently abled students at school, and sometimes share feelings. For Justin has also suffered a loss when his younger sister Faith, an autistic child who starved herself to death following a bout with anorexia and bullying at school. Justin and his parents have never quite recovered from her death a year ago.

Madeline spends a lot of time every week with therapy horses, especially Willow, a miniature horse. Madeline takes care of Willow and help the other kids attending the stable therapy programs. Willow does not judge, and moreover she loves the attention. When she invites Justin to come with her to the therapy stable, Justin thinks it’s too soon. His sister used to attend a similar program. But being Best Buddies president, he agrees. On his first day there, he realizes that this is what he’s been needing, and soon he gets his mother, who is suffering from a major depression, to also participate. The family healing begins.

Everything is going wrong for Becky, however. She sneaks out at night, hangs with the wrong crowd, and is picking fights with her mother and with Madeline. Madeline feels left behind and begins questioning the bonds that tie her and her sister. Becky harbor a dark secret, however, and it will take a crisis to finally reveal it. Will Madeline be there for her and help her reconnect with her family when the time comes?

Fans of this story will also appreciate A Time To Run: Sam & Stuart.

Jay Versus the Saxophone of Doom

Kootstra, Kara. Jay Versus the Saxophone of Doom. 2017. 182p. ISBN 978-0-670-06940-8. Available at FIC KOO on the library shelves.

One of the best hockey player in Parry Sound, Ontario, Jay Roberts lives and breathes the sport. His idol is Bobby Orr, who also grew up in Parry Sound. Jay proudly wears the #4 for his team, the Parry Sound Shamrocks. This year, he encounters a challenge he dimly expected but now must face full on. In music class, he gets an instrument, and he will be expected to perform in front of his entire class. If Jay doesn’t want to repeat 6th grade, he must quickly learn how to play an instrument.

Unfortunately for him, instruments are assigned in alphabetical order. By the time his music teacher gets to him, he gets stuck with the saxophone, this strange instrument that must be assembled every time. To say that Jay has no ear or rhythm for music is an understatement. Instead of cradling a saxophone, Jay would rather hold a hockey stick and push a puck forward.

Though one of the best players on his team, Jay’s often bullied by Mick Bartlet, a classmate who’s bigger and meaner. Avoiding Mick can be done at school, but it’s harder on the ice. With the saxophone now present in his life, Jay is not sure which one is worse: Mick or the sax? As the school year progresses, Jay will have to draw inspiration from his hero Bobby Orr and find a way to transform the saxophone in his clumsy hands into an instrument he can use to play passable music. What if learning how to play the saxophone was just like learning how to play hockey? On the ice or in the band room, Jay’s year is about to get challenging!

Going Bovine

Bray, Libba. Going Bovine. 2009. 480p. ISBN 978-0-375-89376-6, Available at FIC BRA on the library shelves and as an eBook on Overdrive.

During a trip to Disney World when he was 5, Cameron Smith jumped out of the It’s a Small World ride to join the land of the Innuit. At the time, he and his twin sister Jenna were best friends and did everything together. That trip was the highlight of Cameron’s life. Now at sixteen, Cameron is a loser. He’s failing school, he’s high at least once a week, he has a lame job at Buddha Burger, he doesn’t have a girlfriend and he has no prospects whatsoever, and his sister Jenna hates him. She’s one of the popular and smart kids at school.

His parents are concerned about him, but the only thing that lights Cameron up is the Great Tremolo, a Portuguese singer who uses a recorder. The music is so bad Cameron can’t get enough of it. When Cameron begins to see hallucinations, he first ascribes it to the drugs he’s doing, but soon the fire giants that haunt him feel more real. A series of medical tests later, Cameron is discovered suffering from Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, otherwise known as mad cow disease. Always fatal, Cameron now finds himself in a hospital bed with no hope.

That’s when Dulcie shows up. An angel he saw at Buddha Burger, Dulcie tells Cameron that he must leave the hospital and take a road trip to find Dr. X. Dr. X discovered how to travel to other realities, and he unwittingly unleashed the fire giants on this world. Only Dr. X can provide Cameron with a cure. Accompanied with Gonzo, a high school acquaintance who occupied the hospital bed next to him, Cameron must now cross the United States looking for random events that seem out of place. Chased by men of the United Snow Globe Corporation, Cameron and Gonzo will rescue a Nordic god named Balder currently caught in the body of a lawn gnome, discover great music, find religion, meet the love of their lives (at least, they think), all the while with the fire giants and the Wizard pursuing them. Can Cameron find Dr. X before it’s too late?

A humorous and sometimes confusing book, Cameron never seems to know whether he is still hallucinating in the hospital or whether he is in fact traveling on the road. Fans of King Dork will appreciate the musical references and the contemporary language Cameron uses to explain away his mediocrity and his disease.

What Light

Asher, Jay. What Light. 2017. 250p. ISBN 978-1-59514-551-2. Available at FIC ASH on the library shelves.

Every year, Sierra and her parents head down to California, south of San Francisco, to sell Christmas trees from their farm in Oregon. Sierra has never known a white Christmas at home, but she relishes the adventures that take place one month a year. Leaving Rachel and Elizabeth, her best friends from Oregon, behind, Sierra reconnects with Heather, her best friend from California. This year, however, promises to be bittersweet. Sierra overheard her parents talking, and it looks like it makes no financial sense to return to their lot another year. Her junior year in high school might be the last she spends Christmas time in Oregon.

This year, Heather is insistent that Sierra should find a temporary boyfriend so that they could double date, given that Heather finds her current boyfriend to be uninspiring and plans to dump him, but not before the holidays. Sierra wants none of this, however. Her parents are very strict about dating local boys, as her father and mother met on this very lot years ago when her father and her grandfather used to come down and sell their trees. They know it’s hard to make such a relationship work, and they only want the best for Sierra. And Sierra is not that interested anyway.

But when she meets Caleb, she is intrigued. First off, he has a nice dimple. Second, he seems very mysterious. Heather tells Sierra that rumor has it that Caleb attempted to stab his sister a few years ago inside their homes, and that this sister no longer lives here in California. Despite this warning that Caleb might be dangerous, Sierra finds herself falling for him hard. When she discovers that he uses his tips from the restaurant where he works to purchase Christmas trees for folks who can’t afford him, her opinion of Caleb increases. How could a boy who do such nice things do the unspeakable? The more time she spends with Caleb, however, the more time Sierra realizes that Caleb is not only capable of doing such an action, but that is has clouded his entire existence. Can true love help Caleb find the courage to finally conquer his demons and redeem his life?

Fans of Sarah Dessen’s Lock and Key, Saint Anything and The Moon and More will enjoy this story of hope, love, and redemption.