Light Filters In

Kaufman, Caroline. Light Filters In. 2018. 211p. ISBN 978-0-06-284469-9. Available as an ebook on Overdrive.

Raw and powerful, Kaufman's poetry strikes at the heart of being a teenage girl, with the angst, rage, love, loneliness, and not knowing oneself. The ideas are expressed with limited words but deliver a punch to the gut in strength of sentiment. Honestly presented, Kaufman does not shy away from the wonders and the pains of growing up and shaping one's identity into something that her earlier self might not recognize. A teenager herself, Kaufman manages to strike the right balance between melodrama and moping on one hand and the sugar-coated version of teenagehood most adults hope their child will experience.

Fans of poetry will appreciate the powerful feelings elicited by this book and will be left with more questions than answer about life and one's sense of identify. 

Noragami: Stray God, Vol. 14

Adachitoka. Noragami: Stray God, Vol. 14. 2016. 200p. ISBN 978-1-63236-255-1. Available in the Graphic Section of the library.

The Ayakashi Yato's father, the crafter, released in the hospital run by Hiyori's father, caused significant damage in Noragami Stray God, Vol. 13, and Hiyori and her family are dealing with consequences and impending lawsuits. The violence has led to lawsuits and the very real possibility that the hospital's reputation may be ruined. Angry that he indirectly caused this pain, Yato determines to stay away until he can make it up to a girl he's grown infatuated with. Much to Yukiné's distress, he promises to return only when he's truly become a god of happiness.

Bishamon is also dealing with the consequences of the crafter's attack on the hospital. She was stabbed by the crafter's weapon, which transferred to one of her shinki. This shinki's given name is now fading as she regains memories of her previous life and her death. Bishamon requests Yato's presence, and he explains that the only way to deal with this is to release the shinki and allow them to enjoy death. Remembering what happened to Ebisu, Bishamon is loath to let a shinki go. As the shinki becomes more dangerous, however, it is clear that she will have to deal with this issue, without revealing to the other shinkis that seeking their true name will put them in peril.

Finally, Kazuma and Yukiné suddenly find themselves in open conflict as each seeks to protect the interest of their god. The two blessed vessels are deadly, and they are ready to fight!

My So-Called Bollywood Life

Sharma, Nissa. My So-Called Bollywood Life. 2018. 407 mins. ISBN 978-0-525-59569-4. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

Coming from an Indian family, Winnie Mehta has spent her whole life believing a prophecy predicted by a revered pandit that declared she would meet her soul mate before she turned eighteen, and his name would start with an R. When she met Raj her freshman year, she instantly fell in love. Both of them are Indians. Both love Bollywood movies. And both are perfect for each other.

Living in Princeton, Winnie is looking forward to attending film school in New York. The co-president of her school's film club along with Raj, Winnie organizes a Film Festival every year, and this credential is what will separate her from the other applicants. When she returns from film camp, however, she discovers that Raj, during their break, hooked up with Jenny. This not only makes the running of the film festival harder, but it breaks the prophecy that links them. To top it off, the new film club advisor refuses to have co-presidents, and she discovers that Dev, another Indian-American, has loved her since their freshman year, but because of Raj had to remain on the sideline. And like Raj, David makes his own movies and loves Bollywood productions.

With so many pieces of the puzzle now scrambled, Winnie's happy ending appears doomed. Can she change the script of her life and move past this prophecy that has shackled her all of her life? Friends, family, and an inspired Bollywood movie star will try to get her back on course to her realize her dreams.

A fun read, My So-Called Bollywood Life provides a glimpse of living as Indian-American in the United States, when social demands clash with a mix of cultures. Winnie makes many references to Bollywood movies, and she relates them to her life. Fans of love stories will appreciate Winnie's efforts at finding true love while aiming for her own dreams.

One Goal: A Coach, a Team, and the Game that Brought a Divided Town Together

Bass, Amy. One Goal: A Coach, a Team, and the Game that Brought a Divided Town Together. 2018. 328p. ISBN 978-1-54911568-4. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

In the 1990s, a vicious civil war tore Somalia apart. Famine, oppression and national mismanagement contributed to the deaths of millions, and to the exile of even more. Refugees poured out of the horn of Africa and spread around the world. Many refugees were resettled in the United States, and a few of them ended up in Lewiston, Maine. A former mill community, the town had been economically devastated in the 1970s. Rents were plentiful and cheap, and the community was at first welcoming.

These newly arrived residents attracted family members and friends, and soon hundreds and then thousands of refugee moved from all parts of the United States to Lewiston. Tensions soon grew between the new arrivals and those longtime residents, many of whom were one or two generations removed from being immigrants themselves. These tensions spilled in the local schools, creating conflicts between the two groups. When the soccer coach noticed the talent of some of the Somali students, he recruited them on the team, and soon perennial loser Lewiston Blue Devils began winning games throughout the state.

Many in the community resisted these changes, but others embraced the new arrivals. The team learned to play together, and appreciate each other's culture. The coach successfully forged unity among his players, and achieved Lewiston's first soccer state championship in 2015 through grit, determination, and a realization that prejudices only serve to undermine our sense of humanity.

An amazing true story, fans of underdogs will appreciate how a disparate group came together and helped integrate their communities into a vibrant town culture. Other amazing sport stories include Unbroken and The Boys of the Boat. 

The Golem's Eye

Stroud, Jonathan. The Golem's Eye. Book 2 of the Bartimaeus trilogy. 2004. 562p. ISBN 978-0-7868-1860-0. Available at FIC STR on the library shelves.

The unravelling of the conspiracy against the Prime Minister and the role he played in the rescue of the Amulet of Samarkand helped 14-years-old Nathaniel, a rising magician, gain the confidence of the great man himself, and he now finds himself a relatively important person in the government. Entrusted to deal with a Resistance movement that opposes the magicians' control of the British Empire, Nathaniel runs into dead ends. Convinced that Kitty Jones is behind the Resistance's thefts, destruction, and raids, Nathaniel is in a hurry to find her and exact his revenge for the humiliating way she dealt with him two years ago. Stopping the Resistance cannot happen soon enough, especially now that whole buildings are being destroyed by a strange force.

Kitty herself is involved with the Resistance, but the organization's goal remains murkey. What are they truly trying to accomplish with the stealing of magical items? How is that undermining their hold on power? When a powerful patron approaches the Resistance and provides the means for a break into the grave of Gladstone, a former and very powerful Prime Minister now deceased for over a hundred years, Kitty is apprehensive as to the cost. All the sponsor requires is Gladstone's old staff, the rest of the powerful magical items in there are for the Resistance to take.

When Nathaniel discovers that a Golem, an ancient magical artifact mastered by the Prague magicians centuries earlier, is in fact the cause of the destruction, quashing the Resistance becomes a question of life and death, especially his own. With events spiraling out of control, Nathaniel finds himself once again having to call upon the services of Bartimaeus, the very djinni that helped him fight Loveland and his co-conspirators two years earlier.

Bartimaeus is not pleased to find himself summoned again by this arrogant magician boy, but what can he do? The incantation force him to obey. Finding themselves in Prague, they encounter the Mercenary, this enigmatic figure who was central in the Amulet plot. Clearly there are darker forces at play, and Nathaniel, Bartimaeus and Kitty hurl towards a cataclysmic confrontation as they all seek to solve the mystery of the Golem.

The story concludes in Ptolemy's Gate.

The Gross Science of Lice and Other Parasites

Olexa, Keith J. The Gross Science of Lice and Other Parasites. Part of the Way Gross Science series. 2018. 48p. ISBN 978-1-5081-8171-2. Available at 616.57 OLE on the library shelves.

We all have heard of parasites, bugs that live on or within another species and steal food and shelter while providing nothing back to the host in exchange. Parasites are the bane of human existence, but also affect other animals and plants. Highly evolved to benefit at the expense of another, parasites have successfully adapted several techniques to avoid being noticed.

Sometimes they can be very annoying, like lice. At other times, they can literally be deadly, like the fleas that spread the Black Death in the 1300s. Parasites have overthrown civilizations, and led to massive social upheavals in the past. They continue to play a role in human history today with the spread of pandemics.

Learn how to recognize infestations of these critters, how to avoid becoming their next victim, and how to treat yourself if you are unfortunate enough to become infected.

The Shadow Hero

Yang, Gene Luen and Sonny Liew. The Shadow Hero. 2014. 158p. ISBN 978-1-59643-697-8. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

In 1944, a Chinese American illustrator named Chu Hing was asked to create a superhero for a series titled Blazing Heroes. Wanting to appeal to a White audience, the editors requested that the main character be White. Chu Hing acquiesced, but hid the features of his hero, the Green Turtle, who is never seen from the front and only from the back. Green Turtle defended China, the United States' ally during the Second World War, against the Japanese invaders. Green Turtle had no obvious special powers aside from an uncanny way to avoid bullets, and his adventures only lasted five episodes before the series was cancelled.

All of this is background to explain what The Shadow Hero is. Yang and Liew tell the origin story of the man who became the Green Turtle. Growing up in a city on the West Coast, Hank helps his father run their small grocery store. His mother, who married without much enthusiasm, wishes he would be so much more, and when she is saved from a car jacking by a superhero named the Anchor of Justice, she decides to help her son find his true calling, that of a superhero.

At first Hank plays at being a superhero, but he gets beat up and discovers there is a very dark underside to Chinatown. A criminal organization dominates the neighborhood, and the local police is not interested in solving crimes that only affect Chinese folks. When Hank's father doesn't pay the gang, Hank takes it upon himself to recoup the money that had to be paid. This result in the death of Hank's father. Determining to avenge himself, Hank commits to the role of the Green Turtle, and discovers that his father did in fact have a superpower of sorts. Now with a new outfit and logo, can the Green Turtle restore peace and eliminate the criminal syndicate from Chinatown?

Reminiscent of the superhero comic books from the 1940s and 1950s, The Shadow Hero connects some of the dots behind the Green Turtle's origins, and provides a look at a community that is underrepresented in history and in today's comic world. Fans of graphic novels will appreciate the art work and the tight story.

Strange the Dreamer

Taylor, Laini. Strange the Dreamer. Book 1 of the Strange the Dreamer series. 2017. 536p. ISBN 978-0-316-34168-4. Available at FIC TAY on the library shelves.

Lazlo Strange was an orphan found in an orchard. Adopted by monks, he lived an austere life in the monastery. This life was only enlivened by the stories told by an ancient monk, and by the escapades in the gardens of the monastery. In possession of a vivid imagination and powerful dreams, Lazlo saw himself as a hero of ancient tales, none closer to his heart than that of the mythic lost city of Weep.

Once upon a time, across the vast desert stood a city wealthy beyond belief, where cakes were left on windowsills for anyone to take, where candy was as sweet as honey, and where strangers were not allowed on the pain of death. That city had a wonderful name, but that name was tragically lost when Lazlo was five years old. The city suddenly lost its name, and neither Lazlo nor anyone else could remember what it was.

Charged with delivering a package to a city near the monastery, Lazlo visits the library for the first time, and never lives. Hired first as a helper then as a librarian, he immerses himself in the old books and legends, always trying to pierce together the mystery of Weep. What happened that the city lost its name? Unfortunately for him, the city lays too far, and has too many dangers, to ever explore it so Lazlo contents himself with life in the library.

Then the opportunity of a lifetime presents itself when the legend of Weep becomes real. The Godslayer, the man responsible for killing the gods that ruled Weep, presents himself and his large band of fearsome warriors to the Queen, seeking to assemble a caravan of experts who could solve the riddle of Weep, his city. Lazlo jumps at the chance, although as a librarian his abilities to solve this mystery are slim to none. Accompanied by experts in the field of mining, explosives, flying, magic, and other critical subjects, the group head out to Weep across the vast desert. What they discover defies comprehension.

Above the city flies a large angel with wings spread. Made of a strange metal, the angel blocks the sun and keeps Weep in a perpetual twilight even at noon. There are no cakes on the windowsills, and the population remains in fear of the gods that ruled them for hundreds of years. Now these gods are dead, but the hovering citadel remains a potent sign of their former domination. The Godslayer provides them with a simple task. Move or destroy the citadel.

Aboard the citadel, five children survived the massacre engineered by the Godslayer, and remained hidden for fifteen years. These children have grown up, and as Godspawns, they possess strange powers, none stranger than Sarai, who at night releases moths from her mouth. These moths descend on Weep, and watch the sleeping population. They can also deliver nightmares, and for years Sarai has haunted the dreams of the local inhabitants, seeking to punish them for their destruction of her parents. Over this time, however, she also gained a sense of humanity's desires and frailties, while humans remain caricatures for her siblings.

When Lazlo and his companions arrive in Weep with the Godslayer, Sarai immediately sees the risks that they pose of being able to access the flying citadel. Lazlo is not like the other humans, however, and Sarai finds herself attracted to this strange man who has even stranger dreams, and who can even see her in his dream, when no one else can. Can the two of them manage to close the gap between their people before it's too late?

Beautifully written, this fantastic tale will be appreciated by all readers for its humanity and its amazing world building.


 

20th Century Art, 1910-1920: The Birth of Abstract Art

Gaff, Jackie. 20th Century Art, 1910-20: The Birth of Abstract Art. 2000. 32p. ISBN 978-0-8368-2849-6. Available at 709.04 GAF on the library shelves.

In the 1900s, artists such as the Impressionists and Pablo Picasso had blazed a path away from realism towards more expressive art. This trend continues in the 1910s as artists push the limit of what art is. Cubists moved away from paint as a medium and adopted other media, including using real objects. At the same time, others were experiencing with colors and modernity by showcasing new inventions such as airplanes and new constructions like the Eiffel Tower. Abstract art continued to expand, and drifted even more away from representing reality, instead composing purely visual images with no basis in the real world. Other pre-First World War art movements included Futurism and Vorticism, both of which were concerned with modern life, lines, and angles.

The First World War changed art. Artists went to the front, fought, and died. Many were commissioned to illustrate what they saw, but had to contend with censors. The result were bleak creations that featured muted colors, as no one was in a mood to celebrate. The war and its horrors gave birth to Dadaism, a movement which was anti-everything, and which drove absurdity, like the war itself, to its extreme. The end of the war led to a resumption of abstract art, but artists entered the metaphysical and the dream world. Women artists also emerged at this time and gained a foothold in the world of art. The decade ended with the appearance of Constructivism, where art was married to function so it could provide well as aesthetically pleasing utility.

American Panda

Chao, Gloria. American Panda. 2018. 311p. 456 mins. ISBN 978-1-48149910-1. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

Mei is torn between her very traditional Taiwanese heritage, strictly enforced by her parents, and her decidedly American tastes in culture and activities. Driven by her parents and by the guilt to perform they instilled in her, Mei graduated early from high school, and, at seventeen, is now a freshman at MIT. Her parents really want her to become a doctor, but Mei hates germs and bodily functions, and instead loves dance. She would rather use her mastery of math to open and run her own dance studio, but she doesn't want to disappoint her parents.

Mei's Chinese heritage assumes she will be the obedient daughter who fulfill her parents' wishes. She needs to be a doctor, because it is a respectable and essential career that has great earning potential. She is to marry a man of Taiwanese heritage her mother will have selected, and she is to have a son, to continue the family line. Her brother Xing broke with tradition when he introduced her parents to his girlfriend, a woman who, due to a childhood sickness, would have difficulty conceiving a baby. As a result they disowned him and barred Mei from even contacting him.

Now at MIT, Mei is navigating the minefield that is roommates, parental expectations, classes, and cute boys like Darren, a Japanese American, not even counting her own wishes and desires. Darren looms large, but he's a no-no in her parents' eyes, with the Japanese responsible for China's suffering during the Second World War. As the first semester progresses, Mei sinks further into a web of lies she has told to keep the two parts of her life separate, but she soon realizes that she can neither be fully Chinese nor fully American, but rather a hybrid with the best and worst characteristics. Can Mei discover a way to reconcile these two parts of her life without antagonizing her family further while at the same time not denying who she really is?

The Boys of the Boat

Brown, Daniel James. The Boys in the Boat: The True Story of an American Team's Epic Journey to Win Gold at the 1936 Olympics. 2015. 336 mins. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

The 1936 Olympics were hosted in Berlin by Nazi Germany. Meant to showcase Aryan superiority, the Germans fully expected their athletes to win gold at most events. The marquee events for the rowing competitions is the 9 person boat, with a coxswain and eight rowers. The Germans were very good at rowing, and so were many other European countries. The United States sent a crew from the University of Washington to participate, and despite all odds both at home and in Germany, they won their race and returned to the United States with gold medals.

This is a story of grit and determination when facing what seem unsurmountable obstacles. The author focuses on the life of Joe Rantz, a man from Washington who was one of the crewmen on the winning Olympic team. Joe's mother died young when Joe was only three. She loved music and this is what Joe remembered her most for. After his mother's death Joe was sent to live with relatives in Pennsylvania, and he crossed the country all by himself on trains. His father sent for him two years later, and he returned to find his father once again married. Life was hard on the frontier, with Joe's father always away at logging camps or working odd jobs.

At ten Joe was forced to leave home by his stepmother. For a time Joe worked in town and continued school, but by the time he was 15 he was living alone in his father's old house, while the family had relocated to Seattle. The Great Depression crashed many people's economic aspirations. Joe entered the University of Washington, and joined the rowing crew. Years of hard physical labor and exertions had prepared him well, however, and his freshman year his crew and their boat, referred to as a shell, defeated elite teams from California and Ivy League universities.

Joe and his teammates repeated this feat every year, and made it to the Olympics. Joe's team was undefeated their entire college career. Throughout his time on the crew team Joe found love, and also a sense of belonging. This is not only the story of winning gold, this is the story of perseverance and finding oneself.

Fans of Unbroken and other historical biographies will appreciate the dedication and effort it took on the part of the crewmen to overcome the barriers that stood in their way, and how out of the crucible of exertion came a sense of belonging and of home.

Black Butler, Vol. 19

Toboso, Yana. Black Butler, Vol. 19. 2015. 151p. ISBN 978-0-316-25940-8 . Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

In Black Butler, Vol. 18, Ciel Phantomhive and Sebastian were sent to Germany on the behest of Queen Victoria to investigate the death of people who fell victim to a rumored witch curse combined with the presence of a werewolf. Upon exploring the forest they and the Phantomhive household servants became the unwilling guests of Sullivan, a witch child and liege lord of Wolfs-Schlutch, a small village populated by women who were persecuted for being witches in their former homes.

Now in the forest, Sebastian entertains Sullivan by preparing wonderful meals and by sharing news of the world outside the forest. When the opportunity presents itself, Sebastian and Ciel leave the safety of the castle and head in the forest. They soon fall victim to the miasmic curse, which robs Ciel of his vision and disfigures both him and his devil servant. Sebastian is forced to seek Sullivan and reveal they went into the forest.

Using her witchcraft, Sullivan saves Ciel, but he is blinded, and in the process experiences a reliving of when he was a child and about to be sacrificed, before his binding with Sebastian. Refusing to have any adult, including Sebastian, help him, Ciel remains bed-ridden.

Meanwhile, Sebastian pursues his investigation of the mysterious forest...

The story continues in Black Butler, Vol. 20.

Flame in the Mist

Ahdieh, Renée. Flame in the Mist. Book 1 of the Flame in the Mist series. 2017. 392p. ISBN 978-0-399-17163-5. Available at FIC AHD on the library shelves.

Mariko is on her way to the imperial capital to marry the eldest son of the Emperor. She resent this trip and her upcoming nuptials to a man she has never met. She resents her father for forcing her into this arranged marriage that will benefit him. But most of all, she resents having been born a girl and be bound by customs and traditions, instead of having been born a boy like her twin brother Kenshin. She wishes she had every opportunity available, including becoming a samurai and enjoy the way of bushido, the code of honor that joins every warrior. She has extensively studied the art of alchemy, and prides herself in noticing everything around her.

Near the edge of a forest reputed to be haunted, her heavily guarded convoy is ambushed by brigands of the Black Clan, and all of her guards are slaughtered. When it is clear that the bandits are not here to steal but rather to kill her, Mariko manages to escape in the forest, but becomes hopelessly lost. Found by a ruffian intend on either trading her back to the Black Clan or claiming her as his consort, Mariko kills a man for the first time, steals his clothes, and heads deeper in the forest.

Notified of the attack on the convoy, her brother Kenshin, the Dragon of Ki and one of the best samurai of the Empire, cannot believe that his twin sister is dead. He begins tracking her down, and when he finds the site of the ambush he discovers enough clues to reveal that his sister has escaped.

Now dressed as a boy, Mariko devises a plan of action. She will infiltrate the Black Clan, and take down those who were responsible for the killings of her convoy. Finally locating the Clan on the outskirts of the forest, she is taken prisoner and brought to their camp. Still able to hide her gender, Mariko is dubbed Lord Lackbeard, and is forced to do many of the menial tasks of the camp. She quickly realizes, however, that the Clan's leader, and the man ultimately responsible for her capture, is intent on training her and letting her join. Finally valued for her ideas and her abilities more than just for her gender, Mariko now finds herself thorn between seeking revenge, and pursuing a growing sense of finally belonging somewhere.

But with her brother hot on her trails, and with the Wolf, second in command of the Clan keeping a close eye on her, Mariko will need all of her wits to survive this subterfuge and the deadly game she became involved in the day the convoy left her father's palace.

Live Fearless: A Call to Power, Passion and Purpose

Robertson, Sadie. Live Fearless: A Call to Power, Passion and Purpose. 2018. 196p. ISBN 978-1-40030939-9. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

Hailing from the Duck Dynasty family, Sadie Robertson has suffered many challenges in her life, but has determined never to give in to loneliness and fear. Plagued with doubts throughout her youth, Sadie rediscovered God and learned to place her trust in a higher power who could guide her and inspire her to make the most of her life.

Filled with inspirational details about how she triumphed over the fears that held her back and dominated her life, Sadie proposes solutions that will work for some people, and guidance on how others can find what passionates and motivates them to achieve the greater good. Whether one believes or not, Sadie's story is both purposeful and uplifting.

Extraordinary Means

Schneider, Robyn. Extraordinary Means. 2015. 324p. ISBN 978-0-06-221716-5. Available at FIC SCH on the library shelves.

Lane's comfortably completely laid out life plan has just collapsed on itself. A senior in high school, Lane was looking forward to taking the SATs, seeking and receiving early admission to Stanford, then move on to graduate school before getting married and having an amazing career. He is smart, driven, but didn't take into account that tuberculosis could stop him in his tracks. Now sick, his family has sent him to Latham House, a sanatorium where teens who have contracted the incurable strain of tuberculosis are being treated while scientists continue their research into discovering a cure.

Since incurable tuberculosis is, by definition, incurable, most teens sent to Latham House don't expect they will ever leave this place. As a school, the academic demands are minimal. As a hospital, everyone is focused on wellness and ensuring that patients don't overexercise their brains or their muscles, thus triggering a coughing fit. Lane expects to come to Latham House, continue his studies, and recuperate quickly enough to be sent home so he can apply to college.

On his first day there, he is stood up by his guide, and he has to go to the dining hall by himself. When Lane discovers that his guide in fact died in the night, it hits him that for many people Latham is the last place they will live. In the dining hall he recognizes a girl he was attracted to during a summer camp experience three years ago when they were both thirteen. The Sadie he knew was an awkward and shy girl. Not this Sadie. She is outspoken and wears her passion on her sleeves. Lane immediately finds himself even more attracted to her. Sadie, however, remember summer camp and the fact that Lane stood her up at the camp dance.

Finally able to resolve this misunderstanding, Lane joins Sadie's group of misfits and troublemakers, and soon learns that living life doesn't need to mean the journey is already all planned. All of the teens at Latham House have learned the hard way that you need to live in the moment.

As Lane and Sadie fall in love, he realizes that sickness could take it all away. Lane, Sadie and their friends dare to break rules. Some rules, however, are meant to protect them from themselves and from becoming sicker. When one of their own dies, they are forced to re-evaluate their lives.

Told from Lane and Sadie's perspective in alternating chapters, Extraordinary Means continues the exploration of teens finding themselves afflicted with incurable diseases. Fans of Quarantine: A Love Story will appreciate the realistic portrayal and the feelings shared by two teens in love.

Pharrell

Vetere, Lori. Pharrell. Part of the Hip-Hop & R&B Culture, Music & Storytelling series. 2019. 80p. ISBN 978-1-4222-4183-7. Available at B WIL on the library shelves. 

 

Pharrell Williams is a famous singer and music producer known for his mega-hit Happy. An accomplished artist, Pharrell's work touch more than music, with dives in fashion, movies, and writing as well. Born in 1973 in Virginia, Pharell quickly demonstrated an interest and a talent in music. His mother encouraged him to learn and practice, and he joined the school band in 7th grade, where he met his lifelong friend and group member Chad Hugo. Together they created the Neptunes, a production company that since the 1990s has created some of the most famous songs for artists, movies, video games, and commercials. 

Attracted by various sounds and inspired by world music, Pharrell's style has evolved and remains eclectic. He created his own lines of clothing, produced the movie Hidden Figures, and sponsored many philanthropical endeavors. Pharrell remains motivated to increase school graduation rates and increase the number of students who go to college to pursue their dreams.

Fans of music will appreciate Pharrell's hard work ethic and his dedication to being a mogul with a social conscience.

Rebel Angels

Bray, Libba. Rebel Angels. Book 2 of the Gemma Doyle series. 2005. ISBN 978-0-385-73029-2. Available at FIC BRA on the library shelves.

In A Great and Terrible Beauty, Gemma Doyle discovered that she is a priestess in the Order, a group of women who throughout history harnessed the magic of the realms and protected the world from outsiders. She and her friends traveled often to the realms, and that is where Pippa was ultimately lost. Gemma, Felicity and Ann agreed not to go back.

Now, however, things have changed. Gemma is plagued by the ghosts of three girls who appear almost angelic. They reveal a vision of themselves running on a beach with rocky cliff, with a fourth girl behind. Suddenly, a woman wearing a green cloak guides the fourth girl towards the water where a horrific aberration emerges from the water, ready to consume her. Gemma is certain it is Circe, formerly known as Sara, a student at Spence twenty four years ago. Gemma can't figure out what the ghosts are trying to tell her, but she knows this information could save her life.

At Spence, the girls are readying themselves for Christmas vacation. All of them, except Ann the scholarship student, are returning home to be with family. Gemma is eager to experience all that the season offers, from balls and large gatherings of folks hoping to be seen to operas and gift giving. But it will be bittersweet, the first Christmas without her mother, while her father continues to sink in his own pit of despair fueled by opium.

At the last minute, Felicity invites Ann to stay with her, and the three girls look forward to spending time together in London, away from their chaperones. The arrival of a new teacher, however, upends their plans. Miss McCleethy is here to replace Ms. Moore, who was terminated for leading the girls to the cave where they first discovered how to enter the realms, and she seems to have an unhealthy interest in Gemma. Before leaving, the three of them visit the realms, and Gemma notices that Pippa has not crossed over to the realm of the dead, but is instead lingering. She's happy to see her old friends, but Gemma notices that her condition seems to have deteriorated. Pippa makes them promise to return and tell her about their vacation in London.

At Victoria train station, Gemma's brother is late to pick her up, and she is followed intently by a member of the Rakshana. Attempting to escape him, she runs into a gentleman, Simon Middleton, who is both a viscount and a friend of her brother's. Gemma is quite smitten by him, and is thrilled that he invites her family to dinner. While in London, Gemma reconnects with Miss Moore, and she tells her more about their ordeal and the realm.

As Gemma and her friends keep traveling to the realms, they notice that things are getting worse. It is untended and growing wild. When Gemma shattered the seal that contained the magic, it released it and now it is corrupting everything. Gemma, Felicity and Ann must locate the Temple, where the magic can once again be safely contained, before Circe or her agents discover it. Who will pay the high price necessary to bring hope back to the realms?


 Gemma and her friends from the Spence Academy return to the realms to defeat her foe, Circe, and to bind the magic that has been released.   

20th Century Art: 1900-1910

Gaff, Jackie. 20th Century Art: 1900-1910. 2000. 32p. ISBN 978-0-83682848-8. Available at 709.04 GAF on the library shelves.

The Renaissance kickstarted the art world and led to the creation of amazing paintings and sculptures. Artists used vivid colors to attempt to recreate on a canvas the world around them. By the late 1880s, however, industrialization had altered societies around the globe, and artists began to stray away from conforming to reality. The Impressionists first led the way. Interested more in the play of colors and recording impressions of the moment, artists such as Monet painted country scenes and industrial landscapes, capturing the essence of the immediate.

Inspired by the Impressionists, artists such as Seurat explored pointillism, where dots of pure color are placed on a canvas to create an image that is both harmonious and visually appealing. At the same time, Van Gogh and Gauguin moved away from representing the world as they saw and used their canvas to illustrate emotions and states of mind. This evolved into expressionism, where artists such as Munch expressed inner feelings. Other art movements, such as Symbolism, Fauvism, and Cubism, also influenced the 1900s, and led to an explosion of art in Europe and in the United States.

Noragami: Stray God, Vol. 13

Adachitoka. Noragami: Stray God, Vol. 13. 2016. 200p. ISBN 978-1-63236-254-4. Available in the Graphic Section of the library.

Having discovered in Noragami: Stray God, Vol. 12 that Koto, a student at her school is really Yato's father, the god referred by the others as the crafter, Hiyori is now in danger. The crafter wishes Yato would return to do his bidding and cull the human population, as he used to when he was a child. He therefore plans an attack on Hiyori by unleashing his Ayakashis on the hospital where her father works. Pandemonium breaks loose, patients and staff attack each others, and Hiyori finds herself in the middle of this chaos.

Yato, who has vowed to protect her, comes to her aid, but he is confronted by his father, and finds himself put into an impossible dilemma. Either he kills his father, or he surrenders completely to his wishes. Every second delays his assistance to Hiyori, however. Unable to defeat his father, Yato finds himself in a stalemate broken by Bishamon's arrival, who forces the crafter to retreat.

Meanwhile, Hiyori has seen too much violence. For too long she has been skirting the line between the living world and the world of spirits, but this attack has pushed her too far inside. Yato has another decision to make. Free Hiyori by removing the threat that links them together, ensuring that she will forget him, or kill her and transform her into his shinki. Though Yato knows that Hiyori would be happy, he also knows that she has much life left in front of her and that she must continue to live....

The Epic Crush of Genie Lo

Yee, F.C. The Epic Crush of Genie Lo. 2017. 310p. ISBN 978-1-68335-122-1. Available as an ebook on Overdrive.

Eugenie Lo is taller than most at her school, and at sixteen is driven to get into a top college to please her relentless mother. With divorced parents, Genie cannot wait to escape stifling parental surveillance and spread her own wings. Her school year is filled with studying, tests, and the dreadful college essay that she must write to set herself apart from all of the other Asian students competing with her for the same few spots in top colleges.

Her entire life is suddenly changed, however, when, on her way to school, she comes across a boy being beaten up in an alley. She distracts the bullies, but leaves her backpack and all of her books behind. At school, she is surprised to meet that very same boy, Quentin, in most of her classes. A transfer student from China, Quentin quickly proclaims that Genie belongs to him.  That immediately sets her off, and she violently punches Quentin. He keeps on following her, however, turning up in the strangest places.

What she thought was obnoxious and annoying suddenly turns deadly when Quentin reveals that he is in fact Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, who has come to San Francisco to chase a group of demons who have escaped from prison. The Monkey King reveals that Genie is in fact his ancient weapon, who has become self actualized. Genie is pissed, but as more and more demons attack her and the Monkey King and threaten her friends, she is forced to deal with a side of her Chinese heritage she didn't know existed. Can Genie manage to balance her life to both save the Bay Area from a demon invasion while remaining on track to get into the college of her choice?

A great and entertaining read, The Epic Crush of Genie Lo feature unforgettable characters and an interesting setting. Those interested in learning more about the Monkey King should first read American Born Chinese, where the story of Su Wukong is presented, or Monkey, the original Chinese tale translated in English.

Unpresidented: A Biography of Donald Trump

Brockenbrough, Martha. Unpresidented: A Biography of Donald Trump. 2018. 519 mins. ISBN 978-1-25022959-5. Available as an audiobook from the library.

Those who have been surprised at the behavior of President Donald Trump had not been following his career as a real-estate developer and entertainer. Instead of changing him and making him more presidential, his surprise election in 2016 has magnified his strengths and weaknesses. How did a rich, thrice-married New Yorker who supported abortion rights become the nominee of the Republican Party?

Trump's grandfather emigrated from Germany in the 1885s for better economic opportunities and to avoid military conscription, he started as a barber but then accumulated wealth in several ventures in New York, Seattle and the Yukon, before returning to Germany a wealthy man. He married someone from his town and returned to New York, where he continued to build his wealth before during the Spanish flu in 1918. Trump's father, Fred, inherited the business and entered the construction industry. Fred continued to expand until the company owned many buildings in and around New York City.

Donald was unruly enough that he attended military school, then graduated and completed a business degree before joining his father's team. Trump set out for himself and made his own deals, finding success but also accumulating failures along the way. A braggard and consumate self-promoter, Trump played on the desire for change for those whose lives had been devastated during the Great Recession and those who felt the country was changing too rapidly.

This biography of the 45th President discusses his early life, his career as a builder, his foray into the entertainment world, his many relationships and bankruptcies, his rise to the top of the Republic Party and his subsequent election as President, as well as his first two years in office, which were marred by self-inflicted scandals. Supporters and opponents will all learn something new about the man who currently leads the United States.

90 Miles to Havanna

Flores-Galbis, Enrique. 90 Miles to Havana. 2010. 292p. 492 mins. ISBN 9781624606083 Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

As the youngest of three brothers, Julian is used to alternatively being bossed around or ignored by his older brothers, Aquilino and Gordo. On New Year's eve, 1959, they and their father find themselves on their fishing boat, attempting to catch a fish for the New Year's meal. Catching a fish represents good luck for the rest of the year. Julian really wants to hold the fishing rod, and his father reluctantly lets him do so. A fish bites, but Julian is unable to reel it in. Gordo gives him a hard time, and even his father is disappointed as the family will not experience good luck this year. How right they all are.

On December 31, 1958, Fidel Castro and his revolutionaries overthrow Batista, the Cuban dictator, and move quickly to implement a socialist regime throughout the island. Things change quickly for Julian's family. Neighbors flee to the United States, and those unable to leave find themselves kicked out of their comfortable middle class houses. Julian's best friends, Angelita and Pedro, leave for Florida. A supporter of the new regime moves in next door and is appointed to enforce rules. As things get progressively worse, Julian's parents make the wrenching decision to send their unaccompanied children to the United States, with the hope of joining them as soon as possible.

Aquilino, Gordo and Julian thus find themselves among other Cuban children in a receiving camp where they await either being rescued by family members or sent to orphanages throughout the United States. The camp is dominated by Caballo, a bully the boys know from Cuba, and he makes the boys' lives miserable. However, Julian is reunited there with Angelita and Pedro, whom he had not seen for close to a year. Gordo antagonizes Caballo further during a baseball game. The two older brothers get shipped out, and for the first time in his life Julian finds himself alone, with no one to make decisions for him.

With Angelita's help, Julian organizes a resistance against Caballo, but when things get out of hand he escapes the camp and connects with Tomas, who's planning a daring sailing to Havana and the rescue of his family members. Hoping to save his mother and father, Julian decides to help Tomas, but even though Cuba is only 90 miles away, this is a dangerous trip on a leaky boat with the real possibility of being captured and arrested by Cuban authorities. Julian is about to make the most important decision of his life ...

Living and Working in Ancient Rome

Randolph, Joanne, ed. Living and Working in Ancient Rome. 2018. 48p. ISBN 978-0-7660-8975-4. Available at 937 LIV on the library shelves.

For a thousand years, Rome stood at the center of one of the largest empires in the history of the world. It was both the political and spiritual capital of a territory stretching from Britain and Spain the northwest to Egypt and Mesopotamia in the southeast. As the center of imperial life, Rome strove to outshine all other cities. The lives of its famous residents are well documented, but what about the average citizen who did not own slaves and lived on a private estate?

This book presents details about how the more than one million people lived in and around Rome at the height of its imperial glory. Most Romans males worked providing services, selling things, or had jobs in factories or in construction. Women stayed at home, ran the household, educated children, and entertained guests. Roman diets consisted mainly of bread, with cheese and a little meat when affordable, but also often included olives and figs. For entertainment, Romans enjoyed gladiator combat or chariot races. Roman children played in the streets and sometimes attended school, if their parents were wealthy enough to afford it. They had toys such as wooden dolls and horses, toy swords and shields, dice, and carved stones and clay figurines.

Over the years Emperors spent tremendous resources embellishing Rome, and making life easier for its citizens. Buildings like temples and baths, and infrastructures like sewers and aqueducts were designed to improve the quality of life of the residents of Rome. These buildings are also explored in this book.

Fans of history will appreciate the research and details included in this book, and will appreciate that though almost 2,000 years separate us, the ancient Romans led a similar life to ours today.

The Witch Boy

Ostertag, Molly Knox. The Witch Boy. 2017. 210p. ISBN 978-1-33808952-3. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

For generations, witches and shapeshifters have protected the forest and the people beyond. The girls in Aster's family are those witches, raised with spells and the ability to scry, make fruits grow from buds, and sense spirits. The boys are the shapeshifters, trained for battle and willing to sacrifice their lives to protect their female relatives. As one of the youngest boys, Aster is expected to follow in his elders' steps and become a shapeshifter. Unfortunately he has never been able to find his inner animal, despite years of trying. His true interest is in witchery, and he carries a notebook around where he records the magic he sees his female cousins perform.

His father is disappointed, and so his mother, but Aster cannot let go. As boys begin to disappear from the family compound, however, the whole family comes under attack. Aster wants to help, but the only thing he can bring is his growing control of witchery. Grandmother, the matriarch of the clan, had a twin brother once who also dabbled in witchery, but he became corrupted and stole a precious artifact before fleeing. Aster's mother is worried about her son and the path he might be on.

To compound his problem, Aster has stepped outside the protected boundaries of the compound, and made contact with a local girl, Charlie. She's an athlete with a broken leg, and like Aster she pushes the boundaries of traditional gender roles. With the clan under menace, can the two of them work together to resolve the danger and pursue their interests instead of what the other people in their lives think they should be doing?

Gorgeous and colorful illustrations make this author's first graphic novel a pleasure to read. Any reader who has not felt totally comfortable in society's gender norms will appreciate Aster's desire and struggle to be something different.

Orphan, Monster, Spy

Killeen, Matt. Orphan, Monster, Spy. 2018. 423p. ISBN 978-0-451-47874-0. Available as an ebook from Overdrive.

Being Jewish in Germany in 1939 is dangerous. Until 1933, Sarah had a normal life in Vienna, with an adoring mother. She participated in gymnastics, and loved sports. Then the Nazis came to power, and life became a struggle. For six years Sarah and her mother managed to avoid most of the violence, but as Hitler relentlessly drive Germany towards war, it is not possible for them to stay here.

Orphan, Monster, Spy begins when Sarah's mother is shot and crashes their car as they forced a German road block on their way to Switzerland. Barely escaping, Sarah hides in an abandoned warehouse. On the roof, she spots a strange man observing zeppelins landing and departing for a nearby airbase. The stranger corners her but soon departs, leaving Sarah alone.

The following morning, she successfully sneaks aboard a ferry heading across the lake to Switzerland, but when she spots the stranger from the night before being harassed by German soldiers, she realizes that he's the man they wanted to arrest when her mother crashed her car. Without thinking, she saves him from  arrest, and she soon learns he is a British Captain who has been living in Germany since the end of the First World War.

Taking her back to Berlin, she convinces him to train her for spy work, and soon he informs her he has a very sensitive mission. She must infiltrate a Nazi school for elite students, so she can become friends with the daughter of a highly regarded atomic scientist. Ultimately, her target is the blueprints of a devastating bomb Germany is rumored to be building.

The Nazi school turns out to be a microcosm of German society, where the strong prey on the weak, no one can trust anyone, and any mistake or meekness can be deadly. As a Jew who has missed six years of school, Sarah must device ways to survive mortal dangers long enough to accomplish her mission...

YouTube and Videos of Everything

Centore, Michael. YouTube and Videos of Everything. Part of the Tech 2.0: World-Changing Entertainment Companies series. 2019. 64p. ISBN 978-1-42224059-5. Available at 384.33 CEN on the library shelves.

The story of YouTube is the story of most wildly successful tech companies: A group of college friends realized there was a need for a service, created a business plan, started a company in a garage, programmed a website, and wrote history. For YouTube, three friends who worked together at PayPal before it was bought by eBay in 1998 reconnected a few years later and discovered they had difficulty sharing videos they had recorded. At the time, each device used a different format that required a different piece of software to decode and play. Creating a service that could handle different formats and display them seamlessly on the Internet would finally facilitate videos online

Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim invested their own money and time, and built a company called YouTube, designed to let anyone to post videos online. They released their beta site in May 2005, and immediately it was a success. The expansion of YouTube was accompanied with growing pains, as the founders needed to both figure a way to monetize their site as well as enforce copyright laws. Advertising crept in. By the end of 2006, YouTube was popular enough that Google spent 1.5 billion purchasing it and incorporating it in its suite of services. As it continued to expand, YouTube improved technology and created a whole new type of job, the YouTuber. It also has increased its reach, becoming the 2nd most popular website worldwide, right behind Google but ahead of Facebook.

Baba Yaga's Assistant

McCoola, Marika, with illustrations by Emily Carroll. Baba Yaga's Assistant. 2015. 132p. ISBN 978-0-7636-6961-4. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.



Baba Yaga is the stuff of nightmares for Slavic children all over the world. Reputed for eating children and wrecking havoc on those who encounter her, Baba Yaga also has her maternal side and cares deeply about the wildlife that lives in her forest. More than anything, though, Baba Yaga is a trickster who enjoys creating challenges that require clever and entertaining thinking.

Masha's mother died when Masha was very young, and her father became very distant, unable to cope with the loss of his wife. She was raised by her grandmother, who told her fantastical stories of Baba Yaga and her personal interactions with the old crone. Masha fully believes that Baba Yaga lurks around their neighborhood. Her grandmother also passed away, leaving Masha alone with her absent father.

Now her father has plans to remarry, and Masha will get a little sister, Dani, who is a holy terror and who shares Masha's anger at this new relationship. Having read an advertisement in the newspaper seeking a new assistant for Baba Yaga, and convinced she would be better off abandoning this family that doesn't really care for her, Masha takes off and heads into the forest, looking for the crone.

Finding Baba Yaga and her house on chicken feet, Masha must complete a practical exam where she is challenged to complete activities that require quick thinking. Thankfully, Masha remembers all of the stories her grandmother told her, and she's able to use them to assist her in meeting these challenges. But when Dani arrives, having been captured by Baba Yaga and on the menu for the next meal, Masha will need to devise a clever way to thwart the crone's designs.

Beautifully illustrated and quick paced, Baba Yaga's Assistant presents a new take on an old tale and brings Baba Yaga's environment to life. Fans of graphic novels will appreciate both the plot and the quality of the drawings.

Defy the Stars

Gray, Cynthia. Defy the Stars. Book 1 of the Defy the Stars series. 2017. 503p. ISBN 978-0-316-39403-1. Available at FIC GRA on the library shelves.

As humanity continued to ruin Earth, it became imperative to find other suitable planets where its exploding population could escape. Large space gates were built, and ships explored the galaxy. Other worlds were located, and though they could sustain life, none of them were like Earth. Until Genesis was discovered. A planet similar to Earth before it became overcrowded and polluted. Settlers came to Genesis, but as Earth sought to send more people, the various religious factions on Genesis united and declared the colony's independence. A brief but vicious war granted them freedom and thirty years of peace due to a blockade by Earth of the Genesis Gate. In the last two years, however, Earth has become increasingly hostile, sending armies of mechs, mechanized humans, to fight agains the low-tech Genesis forces.

At seventeen, Noemi Vidal has lost her family when their vehicle was destroyed hitting a mine. She spent her youth with her best friend, Ester. When Earth's military returned to the Genesis system, Noemi and Ester joined the defense forces. AS Earth slowly bleeds the Genesis military dry, increasingly desperate measures have been necessary. She has trained with others to perform the Masada run, a hopeless attempt to disable the Genesis Gate and prevent Earth from sending more forces to this system. This will not destroy the Gate, but it will provide valuable time for Genesis to rearm itself.

During a training exercise, Noemi and her fighter troops are ambushed by mechs. During the assault her friend Ester is critically injured, and Noemi is forced to drag her into one of the shipwrecks that litter the area of the Gate, hoping to save her life. On board the Daedalus, however, is a mech. Abel is an A1 mech, a unique model endowed not only with the information that all other 25 mech models possess, but also the unmatched ability to adapt, and his programming has evolved beyond its coding limitations. Abel was abandoned for thirty years when Dr. Mansfield, his creator and the owner of the Daedalus, had to flee his ship during an attack by Genesis soldiers.

Though on two opposite warring sides, both Abel and Noemi's best hopes to escape the loneliness that has plagued most of their lives. As they get to know each other, they realize that they can bring an end to this war between Genesis and Earth. The price may be the sacrifice of their lives, however. With the fate of the galaxy at hand, will they be willing to make the necessary deadly decisions?

A great science-fiction story, Defy the Stars is told in alternating chapters between Noemi and Abel's points of views. Fans of Illuminae will enjoy this thrilling story.

Fake News and the Factories that Make It

Heitkamp, Kristina Lyn. Fake News and the Factories that Make It. Part of the Critical Thinking About Digital Media series. 2019. 80p. ISBN 978-1-978504-72-1. Available at 070.43 HEI on the library shelves.

The election of Donald Trump in 2016 was marred by Russian meddling and the spreading of what became known as "fake news." This phrase has entered the lexicon and has permeated the national discourse, and has been used repeatedly by the President to decry news that are not fake but rather unflattering to himself. This is not the first time that the words "fake news" have been used, however. American history is replete with yellow journalism and sensationalistic headlines, from Benjamin Franklin's completely fabricated reports of British and Indian atrocities against American settlers to today's social media trolls enhancing and promoting disinformation.

What is "fake news"? At their heart, fake news are information that are not accurate. They range from reasonable mistakes in reporting to disingenuous pieces of propaganda designed to sway public opinion one way or another. They can come from citizens who do not take the time to fact check their information, or they can come from aboard where people create articles to drive traffic to their websites and generate advertising revenues.

It is dependent on readers to carefully consume information and seek confirmation from different sources. If a headline appears too sensational or unbelievable, it probably is. An informed citizenry is essential to a thriving democracy, and fake news, if not checked, will undermine the nation's stability.

The Amulet of Samarkand

Stroud, Jonathan. The Amulet of Samarkand. Book 1 of the Bartimaeus trilogy. 2003. 462p. ISBN 978-0-7868-1859-4. Available at FIC STR on the library shelves.

Being a demon can often be risky business, especially if your true name is known and recorded in a magical book. This allows magicians of all kinds, even third-rate ones, to summon you and force you to do their bidding. The djinni Bartimaeus is over five thousand years old, but he has had the misfortune of losing control of his true name.

When he is first summoned by a mere child, twelve-year-old Nathaniel, Bartimaeus is sure there has to be a hand pulling the strings of this puppet. Ordered to obtain the Amulet of Samarkand from another magician, Bartimaeus grudgingly complies. No self-respecting demon enjoys being someone's else errand boy, after all, and Bartimaeus begins plotting the boy's demise.

Ambitious and determined to be one of the best magicians, Nathaniel was entrusted at the tender age of 6 to the Underwoods, a mid-level magician in her Majesty's government in London. A precocious boy, Nathaniel soon learned all that his master had to offer, and then some. Whereas Mrs. Underwood was very nice to him, Mr. Underwood barely tolerated him and only allowed him to be his apprentice because he was required to do so. During an encounter at age 11 with Simon Loveland, an ascending magician in the government, Nathaniel showed promise by displaying his growing skills, but in turn antagonized Loveland, whose demon ended up spanking Nathaniel. Vowing revenge, Nathaniel pursued his studies and became powerful enough to summon greater demons. When he discovered that Loveland had stolen the Amulet of Samarkand, Nathaniel summoned Bartimaeus and sent his to retrieve it and bring it back to him. Unfortunately for Nathaniel, Bartimaeus discovers that this is indeed the boy's true name and not the fake one most magicians adopt, and this gives the demon leverage over the budding magician.

Unknown to both of them, the stealing of the Amulet causes them to accidentally infiltrate a great conspiracy led by Loveland to seize control of Parliament and the government machinery. As they begin to realize the consequences of their actions, they grow ever so closely to Loveland and his murderous demons. Will the two of them be able to outsmart magicians bent on overthrowing the rightful government?

The Gross Science of Bad Smells

Mooney, Carla. The Gross Science of Bad Smells. Part of the Way Gross Science series. 2019. 48p. ISBN 978-1-5081-8165-1. Available at 612.88 MOO on the library shelves.

Of all the human senses, smell is the one that influences us the most. From disgusting smells that identify rotting foods, to the sweet smell of cinnamon, smells influence us in many ways. But what is the chemistry behind smells? Smells are molecules that are perceived by millions of olfactory receptors in the nose that immediately transmit this information to olfactory bulbs and thence to the brain itself. Unlike the other four senses, smell is transmitted directly to the brain from the olfactory bulbs, and the information is not mediated in the cortex beforehand. The human nose is able to distinguish over twenty thousands smells, but that is nothing compared to cats, who are an order of magnitude better, and dogs, whose nose is even more sensitive.

This book explains how chemical information is processed by our smell organs, and why some smells are more offensive than others. It describes two different smell processes, as well as diseases that affect one's sense of smell. Filled with informative texts and illustrations, this book is a wonderful guide to learn more about how our sense of smell works!

Black Butler, Vol. 18

Toboso, Yana. Black Butler, Vol. 18. 2014. 155p. ISBN 978-0-316-37670-9. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

The elaborate scheme of the four prefects to hide the death of Derrick Arden in Black Butler, Vol. 17, has been orchestrated by the school's headmaster. This headmaster is well known to Ciel and Sebastian, as he turns out to be the Undertaker, first encountered in Black Butler, Vol. 13. But what is the Undertaker's game? As they confront the former Grim Reaper, he reveals that he knows a few secrets about the Phantomhive family. Ciel eventually realizes that one of the lucky death charms he managed to take from the Undertaker before the latter escaped belonged to one of his ancestors.

Reporting the whole incident to Queen Victoria, Phantomhive and his butler also attend a ceremony celebrating a marketing campaign for a woman's perfume at a department store Ciel owns. A series of humorous incidents lead to the perfume selling out. Amid all of this, Queen Victoria requests that her personal agent head to Germany to investigate the claims of a haunted forest cursed by a witch and protected by a werewolf. What secrets are hiding in this forest?

The Librarian of Auschwitz

Iturbe, Antonio. The Librarian of Auschwitz. 2017. 424p. ISBN 9781627796187. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

Dita Kraus' youth ended when she was 9 years old. On that dark day in March 15, 1939, the German army, led by Adolf Hitler, invaded what remained of the Czechoslovakian Republic, sealing the fate of the Czech Jews. First imprisoned in the Terezín ghetto near Prague with her father and her mother, the entire family is sent to Auschwitz to be part of a Nazi experiment. Whereas most arrivals are violently sorted into those strong enough to work to death and those immediately sent to the gas chamber, they, along with other Czech Jews, will live in a family camp. Designed to be a "model" and a propaganda tool to assuage the international community, the B2B camp is still filled with the terror of SS guards, abusive kapos, starvation, and the every present lack of food.

Amid all of the chaos and the pains of war, teachers at the camp have been able to start a school, educating the children. Among their meager possessions are eight books. Books are forbidden, and owning a book in the camp is punishable by death. Books offer knowledge and hope, and the Nazis want neither present in the camps. Dita, who worked at the library in the Terezín ghetto shelving books, is recognized by one of the teachers, and is asked to work at the school. She quickly creates a system to hide, handle, and distribute the books to the various teachers throughout the barrack. She soon becomes known as the librarian of Auschwitz. Almost caught on numerous occasions, Dita nonetheless perseveres and keeps the hope that they will be free of the Nazi terror alive. As the war grinds to its conclusion, can Dita continue to protect the books and survive?

Flavorings, Colorings, and Preservatives

Perritano, John. Flavorings, Colorings, and Preservatives. Part of the Know Your Food series. 2018. 64p. ISBN 978-1-4222-3736-6. Available at 641.2 PER on the library shelves.

Most readers have fond memories of colorful breakfast cereal that would change the color of milk. Or of attractive shades of orange on chips and other finger foods. Even the inside of some bakery products are very visually appealing, with bright and vivid colors rarely seen in nature. Of course, these colors are additives, chemical elements that were manufactured by humans and then used in foods to alter a specific aspect, such as color, flavor, or length of time it can live on a shelf. Flavorings, colorings, and perservatives are thus a big business, and they are present in just about everything we eat.

The history behind these chemicals is a fascinating one, from humble developments by chemists searching ways to make food taste better and last longer to the public outcry that followed as some of these turned out to be unsafe for humans. The science behind flavorings, colorings and preservatives is explained, and its various uses are described. Learn about what makes the food you eat so colorful!

Release

Ness, Patrick. Release. 2017. 277p. ISBN 9780062403193. Available as an eBook from Overdrive.

With his senior year starting soon, Adam Thorn is looking forward to finally leaving his small Washington State town and finding other people like him. Coming from a deeply religious family, Adam has known most of his life that he was gay. His father, a local preacher, does not want to hear of this and studiously ignores his son's many hints. Unlike his older brother who is the family's golden boy, Adam is charismatic but filled with anxiety and worries about the past, the present, and the future.

Today is not going to be a normal day. There is a party in the evening celebrating Enzo's departure. Enzo, Adam's first boyfriend, has been a large part of his life and Adam's first love and first sexual encounter. But their relationship fizzled, and Enzo dumped Adam. Adam hasn't quite gotten over this rejection, but good things came out of it because he met Linus, and the two of them are now in love. Adam's best friend in the whole world, Angela, is also leaving soon, going aboard for a year to study.

In one day, Adam gets sexually harassed at work by his boss and is fired for not accepting his boss's proposition. His brother got an African-American girl pregnant. His father studiously ignores the fact that Adam is gay. With his life falling apart, Adam doesn't know where to turn or what the best choices are for his life.

At the same time, the spirit of a girl who was killed by her friend who was high on drugs has been accidentally captured by the queen of the world beyond, and now she is driven to explore her death and discover what truly happened to her. Like Adam, she is bound to this world, and like him she needs to be freed from what is holding her back. As the two stories merge, can they both be released from their pain and misery?

Crash: The Great Depression and the Fall and Rise of America

Favreau, Marc. Crash: The Great Depression and the Fall and Rise of America. 2018. 189 mins. ISBN 978-0-316-46489-5. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

Midway through 1929, no one imagined that six months later the world's economy would have collapsed and businesses and industries would ground to a halt. Life was rich, and wealth was building through the stock market. The Roaring 20s were looking forward to even more prosperity in the next decade. Even as a recession was growing and unemployment was increasing, there was little doubt in people's expectations that the economy would continue to grow.

When a massive selloff on Wall Street at the end of October burst the illusion of a great economy, people's life savings disappeared overnight, causing businesses to pull back, run on banks, and a sense of dread. The federal government determined to let relief in the hands of private interests and charities, which caused further pain and suffering. By 1931, millions of people were unemployed, many had lost everything, and large segments of the population was on the move, seeking ever dwindling work opportunities.

The despair forced President Hoover out, and elected Franklin Roosevelt president. As soon as his Inauguration in 1933, he and his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, got to work to immediately involved the federal governments in employment schemes. The result, the New Deal, created a multitude of federal agencies, and put American workers back to work. The Great Depression slowly receded, but it was not until the devastating impact of the Second World War that the American industrial giant fully emerged from its economic woes and entered a decade of economic prosperity.

Well researched, Crash presents information that fans of history will appreciate, and enable the reader to relate to specific individuals who experienced first-hand the pain and suffering that the Great Depression wrought on the United States and the world.