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.

Noragami: Stray God, Vol. 12

Adachitoka. Noragami: Stray God, Vol. 12. 2016. 200p. ISBN 978-1-63236-253-7. Available in the Graphic Section of the library.

In Noragami: Stray God, Vol 11, it was revealed that the gods have kept a deadly secret from their shinki. Gods know their shinkis' true names, as well as how they died. This secret is closely guarded, for shinkis that discover their true names, their soul can never again be saved by being named and transformed into a vessel. Rejected by Yato, Hiro the Stray now plots Yukiné's demise by dangling in front of him the fact that Yato has a secret he would rather not share with him. This create doubt in Yukiné's mind.

Meanwhile, Hiyori discovers the true origins of Yato, and how his father created him out of a wish. She observes Yato's memories as a god-child, killing wantonly with Hiro to please his father. Yato's encounter with a nameless spirit, however, changed his view of the world and promoted a desire to see a shrine constructed in his honor. Named Sakura, Yato's new shinki shows him a side of humanity he had never seen. But as he spends more and more time with Sakura, his father punishes Hiro for being a bad girl. As a result, Hiro decides to avenge herself on Sakura, by goating Yato into revealing her true name ...


The story continues in Noragami: Stray God, Vol. 13.

Hullmetal Girls

Skrutskie, Emily. Hullmetal Girls. 2018. 313p. ISBN 978-1-52477019-8. Available at FIC SKR on the library shelves.

For three hundred years, humanity has been floating in space in a fleet of starships, hunting for a new home following the destruction of Earth's environment. Over the centuries, the fleet stratified and everyone's social position became tied to where they were born in the fleet. Humanity's governing council, the General Body and its Chancellor, are supported by an army of Scela, soldiers who have been mechanically enhanced by merging them with an exo-cortex and mechanic skeleton, effectively turning them into cyborgs. The exo allows each soldier to connect to a network and merge their consciousness and skills into a single whole, whether that be with their small unit of four Scelas, or with larger groups of soldiers. Scelas are strong, deadly, and feared, but they have also given up their humanity and control over their own body to their leaders. Commanders and the Chancellor can override the exo or give it orders that directly contradicts how a Scela feels, but they must comply with it.

The General Body needs these soldiers because elements of the fleet, who call themselves Fractionists, want to split the fleet up to more quickly find a new world to settle on. The Fractionists strongly believe that the Chancellor and the General Body are more concerned with preserving their power than finding humanity a new home, and they have been fighting back through protests and low-level terrorism.

Hailing from the Reliant, a ship at the end of the fleet, Aisha Un-Hadd's parents died in an industrial accident, and instead of facing a life of working in the brutal factories of the fleet, she opted to become Scela, hoping that her salary will provide security for her younger sister and brother. Dedicated to helping her family survive, she's willing to do just about anything, including merging her body with a machine in a procedure that is deadly to many and that cannot be reversed.

Key Tanaka doesn't remember why she became Scela. Her entire past has been erased from her memory, and all she has to rely on are glimpses that are confusing her. She's pretty sure she would never volunteer for such an operation, and her manner of speaking and demeanor seem to indicate that she come from the front of the fleet. She needs to survive training and get a great assignment in the Scela ranks so she can figure out what happened to her.

As the two of them join two others in a four Scela squad and begin sharing memories and feelings through their exo connections, they find themselves in the middle of the conflict between the General Body and the Fractionists, a war that is heating up quickly and that is now causing mass casualties. Will the Scela defend the order they were built to protect, or will they fight for those they left behind despite the terrible costs?

A great dystopian novel, Hullmetal Girls provides a portrait of technology gone wrong.

The History of Physics

Rooney, Anne. The History of Physics. Part of the History of Science series. 2013. 208p. ISBN 978-1-448-7229-9. Available at 530.09 ROO on the library shelves.

Physics defined as the science that explains how the mechanics of the world operate. It describes the smallest fundamental pieces of matter and how they interact together to create objects. It shows how gravity affects objects on Earth and in space. It explores space and time. In essence, physics provide our understanding of the world we live in.

But physics itself is a science that has evolved over the last 3,000 years, from the early musings of Greek and Chinese philosophers to the builders of particle accelerators. The History of Physics presents the history of how scientific discoveries and advancements in such disparate fields as optics, fluid mechanics, and atomic structures have influenced each other and spurred on further inventions. Far from being boring, the history of the people who blazed a trail in our understanding of the universe is riveting and features accidental discoveries, jealousy, murder, and the odd excommunication from the Catholic Church.

Written in understandable language with lots of illustrations and asides, The History of Physics feature a ton of information and provides a comprehensive look at the science itself, without headaches or teeth gnashing. Fans of history should not pass up this opportunity to learn more about physics and about the people that have allowed science to create smartphones and space exploration.

A Great and Terrible Beauty

Bray, Libba. A Great and Terrible Beauty. Book 1 of the Gemma Doyle series. 2003. 404p. ISBN 0-385-73028-4. Available at FIC BRA on the library shelves.

It is 1895, and Gemma Doyle longs to see London. Born in India of an English mother and father, Gemma has read extensively about London, and has always wanted to visit. Now that she's 16 years old, Gemma feels that it is time for her to experience her debut in London's fashionable society, and she's been badgering her mother to take her there. Her mother has always refused, however, much to Gemma's chagrin and incomprehension. During an outing, Gemma and her mother are separated. Lost and wandering the crowded streets, Gemma has a vision of her mother being attacked and willingly killing herself. But it was not a vision, but it really happened, and now Gemma's mother is dead.

Her mother's suicide unhinges her father, and the family returns to London, where her brother now studies. Gemma is enrolled in Spence, a boarding school for proper young ladies. Still hurt that her mother died because she was searching for her, Gemma tries to find comfort in the friendship of others. She meets mean girls Felicity and Pippa, and her roommate Ann, who is a scholarship student at Spence. At first Felicity and Pippa are mean to Gemma and Ann, but they soon come to see that Gemma possesses strange powers. Gemma's visions continue, and soon she and her friends find themselves in a cave, guided there by a teacher. She also encounters Kartik, a strange Indian teen who has followed her all the way from India to protect her. He was there when her mother died, and now he's here too.

When Gemma discover an old journal of two girls, who were members of the Order and who perished in the flames when Spence's East Wing burned down in 1871, Gemma is spurred on to explore the spiritual world, and discover what happened to her mother and to the two girls who perished in the fire. As she spends more time in the spiritual world with her friends, however, Gemma realizes that there are other forces at play, forces that could very well lead to her demise and that of her friends.

Fans of Bray's The Diviners series will enjoy this paranormal tale taking place in a Victorian era of repressed sexuality where presentation is everything. The story continues in Rebel Angels.

Flavorings, Colorings, and Preservatives

Perritano, John. Flavorings, Colorings, and Preservatives. Part of the Know Your Food series. 2018. 64p. ISBN 978-1-42223736-6. Available at 641.3 PER on the library shelves.

Food additives are some of the more pernicious ingredients we consume. Found in just about everything, additives fulfill the important role of preserving food so that it lasts longer. They also offer a variety of colors to be visually pleasing or distinctive, and affect the flavor of food. Many questions arise out of the overabundance of use of food additives. Are they safe for human consumption? How are they created? Why are they used?

This book describes how the history of food additives. It explains why they were created, how they were tested (if they even were), and how the ended up having a pervasive presence in our diet. There are ways to avoid some of these additives and maintain a healthy diet, but it's up to you to know what is good for your body and what isn't. 

Fans of good nutrition will appreciate the thoroughness and science presented in this book and will be better equipped to make decisions on what they eat.

Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow

Sturm, James & Rich Tommaso. Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow. 2007. 89p. ISBN 0-7868-3900-7. Available at B STU on the library shelves.

In the 1930s and 40s, America was bitterly divided by racial tensions. African Americans were not allowed to eat at the same restaurants, stay at the same hotels, and go to the same schools as Whites. But Satchel Paige, one baseball's greatest player, was not stopped by any of this. At one time the highest paid baseball player in the United States, Paige had an amazing pitch and put on an incredible show wherever he played, whether in the Negro League or elsewhere.

This graphic novel presents Paige's career and discusses the impact he had on promoting respect for African-Americans. Always the better player, he held baseball matches against the best White teams and won, always making a show but demonstrating that African-Americans were not inferior. The illustrations are shades of white, green and black, but beautifully render the spirit of the times. Readers who enjoy graphic novels will appreciate learning about a player that should not be forgotten. 

A Pixie’s Promise

Sanchez, Dianna. A Pixie’s Promise. 2018. 250p. ISBN 9781940924342. Available at FIC SAN on the library shelves.

Petunia the Pixie is thrilled to be heading to her friend Millie the witch’s house for the next ten days. At home, Petunia never has a moment’s peace, and even her mother mistakes her for one of her many siblings. Millie is heading to the Logical World, where humans live, so she can spend time with her father. Millie’s mother, Bogdana the witch, is staying at the house. While she is gone, Petunia helps nurse and educate Thea the tree, and she also prepares the meals that Millie left behind for her and for for her mother. Bogdana is unpleasant and treats Petunia like a servant, and denies her access to her witch’s laboratory. 

When a contagious disease spreads quickly through the town of Pixamitchie, Bogdana soon finds her healing potion crafting abilities overwhelmed, and reluctantly asks Petunia to help. When Bogdana herself comes down with an illness, it is up to Petunia to stop the contagion and save the village!

The Gross Science of Bad Breath and Cavities

Shaw, Jessica. The Gross Science of Bad Breath and Cavities. Part of the Way Gross Science series. 2019. 48p. ISBN 978-1-50818162-0. Available at 616.31 SHA on the library shelves.

One of humanity's most insidious disease capable of crippling one's social life is halitosis, also known as bad breath. Caused by bacteria in the mouth, bad breath can be affected by medicine like mouthwash and changing one's eating habits, but cannot be cured. Bad breath is often linked to poor oral hygiene. Things like cavities can also affect bad breath. This short book explores the history of dentistry, from the Egyptians' use of fillings such as linen dipped in cedar oil to numb the pain, to the invention of the toothbrush in 15th century China when hog hair were embedded in a wooden handle. The appearance of the dental hygienist and new modern techniques to clean teeth much improved oral hygiene. The gross science behind cavities and bad breath is explored, and various myths are taken apart.

Fans of the weird and disgusting will love reading about the causes and treatment of cavities and bad breath, and will never look at their mouth's ecosystem in the same way!

Bungo Stray Dogs, Vol. 11

Asagiri, Kafka. Bungo Stray Dogs, Vol. 11. 2019. 170p. ISBN 978-1-975304-49-2. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

Following the defeat of the Guild in Bungo Stray Dogs, Vol. 10, the Armed Detective Agency is able to certify its newest agent, Kyouka, who is sent on an initiation mission along with Atsushi to recover a missing secret file. This file contains information about Kyouka's skill, and reveals that the demon that has been plaguing her since the death of her parents is in fact a protector of sort, a parting gift from her mother. During this mission they work closely with Montgomery, an ex-Guild member capable of building a safe spot anywhere, who has information to reveal.

Somewhere else in Yokohama, Alcott finds herself looking for guidance. The former skilled planner from the Guild, she's convinced that their leader, Mr. Fitzgerald, survived his fall from Moby Dick. Finding him, she convinces him to return to the fold. Fitzgerald comes up with a plan. He will accumulate 50 billion dollars so he can "purchase" the entire Ministry of the Interior and clear his rivals out of the way so he can find the Book, a powerful item. It's a plain book, with nothing written in it, but as something is written, it becomes reality.

Finally, a mysterious masked assassin targets both the president of the Armed Detective Agency and the leader of the Port Mafia, hoping to trigger a devastating war between them. That assassin is merely a ploy for a sinister new foe, however. Dostoyevsky also seeks the Book, and he will stop at nothing to rewrite skilled users out of reality!

The story continues in Bungo Stray Dogs, Vol. 12. 

Quarantine: A Love Story

Cicatelli-Kuc, Katie. Quarantine: A Love Story. 2019. 336p. ISBN 978-1-3382-3291-2. Available at FIC CIC on the library shelves.

Strangers Oliver and Flora sit together on a flight to New York. One of the passengers has caught a virulent tropical mono, and due to the fact that everyone was isolated on the plane during the trip, the CDC orders everyone quarantined for 24 hours. Those with symptoms will need to be in isolation for 30 days to make sure they can't spread the disease. Stressed by her home life, Flora tampers with the thermometer on their last check before release and it registers a fever. 

In love with Kelsey but uncomfortable in his own skin, Oliver is surprised to see Flora, a girl he has just met, cheat, and even more so when she proceeds to kiss him. Since they might now be suffering from the same disease, they are isolated together in the same room, with their beds separated only by a thin curtain. As their ordeal becomes known, and their social media presence goes viral, they have to deal with fame and a level of interest neither of them is used to. Despite their nearness and their confinement, and in spite of the world wanting another kiss, can both teens learn how to express their interest to each other?

Together yet separated by a wide chasm, Oliver and Flora are awkward, nervous, and lack confidence in themselves. Their voices are authentic, and their use of social media to share news and communicate with each other even though they are in the same room can be witnessed daily in any school cafeteria. The entire plot centers around “the kiss” and each teen obsessively looks at every facet of each interaction. The premise of physical isolation is well executed, and the lack of physicality and decent language between the characters makes this book appropriate for all levels. Fans of romance will appreciate the efforts, or lack thereof, that Oliver and Flora make to learn to live with each other.

Courageous women of the Civil War: Soldiers, Spies, Medics, and More

Cordell, M. R. Courageous women of the Civil War: Soldiers, Spies, Medics, and More. Part of the Women of Action series. 2016. 256p. ISBN 978-1-61373-203-8. Available as an ebook from Overdrive.

The deadliest conflict in American history, the Civil War bitterly divided the country and led to four years of warfare that devastated many lives. Everyone knew someone who fought in the war, and with over 650,000 dead, most lost at least one important person in their lives. While men did the brunt of the fighting, many women joined the ranks of the armies on both side. Some served as nurses, helping the wounded. Others were camp mothers, cooking, cleaning, and doing the laundry for soldiers. Some spied on the other side, gathering valuable military information and passing it on to intelligence officers who could then act. Some freed slaves. Some even joined the army ranks, disguising their gender and blending in so well with their fellow soldiers that they were only discovered after suffering battlefield injuries.

Women fought as well as men, and participated directly in the war effort. Each had her own reason for doing this, from running away from abusive situations to joining husbands in the field to looking for a taste of adventure. Each of the sixteen women presented in this book impacted history in some way. They dared to do what was then considered a man's job. Some received condemnation, some received awards and medals, but all were appreciated by the men they served with, and they left a lasting legacy that spurred changes in nursing, education, and factory work.

Filled with information about the Civil War, each profile is presented with photos and explains the life of the woman in question and the roles she played during this troubling period. Readers who enjoy history will appreciate the breath of coverage of this book and will appreciate learning about women that have remained for the most part unheralded.

The Forgetting

Cameron, Sharon. The Forgetting. 2016. 403p. 696 mins. ISBN 978-0-545-94521-9. Available as an audiobook on Overdrive.

The town of Canaan is surrounded on all sides by high walls, built in a strange material with construction techniques no one recognizes. For as far as the citizens of Canaan remember, they have always lived within the city, never wandering outside the walls in what is believed to be a hostile world. Of course, the memories of the citizens of Canaan don't stretch all that far. Every 12 years, as the city emerges from darkness, everyone forgets everything: their skills, their family, their own identity. All citizens carry books with them where they faithfully chronicle the events of the day, so that, when the forgetting comes, they can refer to their books and learn their truths. Everyone forgets ... except for Nadia, dyer's daughter.

Now seventeen, Nadia remembers the horrors of the last forgetting, when she was five. Her father wrote his entire family out of his book, so he could start a new life. Nadia remembers the deaths, the violence, the looting, and the panic that struck Canaan as the forgetting took place. Her sister barely acknowledges her and believes her to be adopted, or worse. Her younger sister loves her unconditionally, but is really worried for her since Nadia has the frustrating tendency to disappear during the resting period by going over the wall. And now, once again, the forgetting nears.

Determined to find a way to escape the forgetting and protecting her family, she is forced to help Gray, the glassblower's son, who not so subtly blackmails her. However, she soon discovers that Gray has reasons of his own to attempt to discover how to counteract the forgetting. As the two of them discover an underground complex built of the same material in a hillside next to a pool outside the walls, they stumble upon a conspiracy that will spell the death of most of Canaan's residents. The forgetting is part of a sinister plot that involve forgetting the truths written in people's books. With only days left before the forgetting, can they save their families and their own memories before it's too late?

A suspenseful dystopian story, the exploration of what is true and what is only deemed truth because it is perceived lay at the center of the plot that drives Nadia and Gray forward. Realistic characters put in impossible situations, the two teens can only count on each other to survive the forgetting. Fans of dystopia will appreciate how a society can forget everything and start anew every twelve years!

The Post-Cold War

Maxim, Bailey, ed. The Post-Cold War. Part of the Political and Diplomatic History of the Modern World. 2017. 232p. ISBN 978-1-68048-357-4. Available at 909.83 POS on the library shelves.

The end of the Cold War brought about the hope that the deadly confrontation between the two superpowers would be replaced by an era of collaboration and peace. The dislocation of two mutually opposed alliances was replaced by a multipolar world in which mass terrorism and a return to nationalism flourished. Even as the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtains collapsed, danger arose when Iraq invaded its smaller neighbor Koweit in a bid to achieve leadership of the Arab nations. The United States assembled a coalition that fought and defeated the Iraqi army but left Saddam Hussein, the nation's dictator, in power. A true international effort, the First Gulf War marked the first and only instance of an overwhelming alliance of the world's countries against an aggressor.

Many other conflicts followed in the 1990s, as Yugoslavia disintegrated, genocide took place in Rwanda, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continued. Russia, which had lost most of the Soviet satellites, regained a more hostile attitude towards the West. A period of relative economic prosperity, the world overall experienced a decreased in armed conflicts. Then September 11, 2001 took place, and terrorists used airplanes to successfully destroyed the World Trade Center and part of the Pentagon. The War on Terror thus drew the United States into involvement in Afghanistan, which became our longest military conflict. The hunt for terrorists and those who harbor them led the United States to invade Iraq in 2003. More conflict ensued, with tens of thousands killed and millions displaced.

An Arab Spring that successfully toppled two dictatorships in Tunisia and Egypt spread to other Middle Eastern countries but were severely repressed. Syria imploded, and millions of refugees streamed into Europe. What had begun at the end of the Cold War as a hopeful time turned out to have generated more conflicts. Fans of history will appreciate the thoroughness of this volume and its concise yet precise descriptions of the world's history over the last twenty years.

Volumes in this series include:

• World War I
• World War II
• The Cold War
• The Post-Cold War

On a Sunbeam

Walden, Tillie. On a Sunbeam. 2018. 533p. ISBN 978-1-25017813-8 . Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

On A Sunbeam tells two intertwined stories, that of Mia as a newly minted adult, and that of Mia five years earlier as a student at a boarding school. Newly graduated from school, Mia joins a small crew aboard a ship that travels from construction site to construction site, renovating old buildings. As the fifth member of the crew, she joins four other women in what is often solitary work.

While at school, Mia met Grace, who has left the Staircase, an isolated and closed society, to live different experiences. Grace is an artist with a soft touch, while Mia is hardened by a difficult life. Nevertheless, they become fast friends, and soon it blossoms into something more. Unfortunately, the window to enter Grace's world is about to close, and her sisters come and pick her up. Mia never gets the chance to say goodbye.

Eventually, Mia convinces the crew, whom have become her friends, that she needs to return to Grace's home world, so she can finish her business from five years ago and say goodbye. With no expectations, Mia and her friends head out on a dangerous trip that will reveal much about Mia's courage and growth as an individual.

Beautifully illustrated with pallets of colors that represent moods and situations, On A Sunbeam is a wonderful tale that fans of graphic novels will appreciate.

White Rose

Wilson, Kip. White Rose. 2019. 368p. $17.99. ISBN 978-0-3580-4917-3. Available at FIC WIL on the library shelves.

Sophia Scholl is growing up in a 1930s Germany that has changed dramatically since Hitler gained power. The Nazis have reshaped society and are targeting large segments of the population for oppression: Jews, handicapped folks and those who are opposed to the regime. Sophia and her brothers and sisters are at first proud of their new uniforms and look up to Hitler, but requirements to conform and the burning of books have turned Sophia against the Nazis. When the war starts and her brothers and boyfriend are sent to the front, Sophia wants to fight back. An opportunity presents itself when her brother returns and begins to print pamphlets denouncing the Nazis and their actions. Sophia joins wholeheartedly, knowing that her participation in this conspiracy could lead to her death. Desperate to save Germany from Hitler, Sophia is willing to risk it all.

 The White Rose, a group of friends who attended university together, distributed anti-Nazi information in 1942 and 1943, before they were arrested and executed. Told in terse verses, Sophia’s life is presented in alternating sections of Before and The End. An economy of words helps the reader focus on Sophia’s actions and emotions. Effective research reconstructs Sophia’s world and clearly demonstrates her dedication to defeating Hitler. Her feelings are raw and capture the tension that Germans must have felt as their world changed for the worse. White Rose will appeal to fans of historical fiction as well as those who wonder how far they would be willing to go to stand up and defend their beliefs.

Tear Down This Wall

Ratnesar, Romesh. Tear Down This Wall. 2009. 440 mins. ISBN 9781608146048. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

When the Second World War ended with the defeat of Germany, the country was separated into four zones of control. On the Western side, the zones quickly coalesced together to form the Federal Republic of Germany, whereas the Eastern side, controlled by the Soviet Union, a puppet Communist government was enshrined as the Democratic Republic of Germany (GDR). Dividing the two was an iron curtain stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. The city of Berlin was similarly separated, even though it was deep in the center of the GDR. In 1961, hoping the stem the flow of people from East to West Berlin and thence to Western Europe, the East German security apparatus erected a wall, cutting the city in half. The Berlin Wall became the deadly and ugly symbol of division between East and West.

In 1987, U.S. President Ronald Reagan visited Berlin for the second time of his Presidency, and he pronounced a speech in front of the Berlin Wall that stood just before the Branderburg Gate in which he bemoaned the separation of people and dared Secretary General of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to tear down the wall and allow people to freely travel. This speech, which was little noted at the time, proved prophetic as the Berlin Wall fell two and a half years later. 

Tear Down This Wall is a historical account of the division of Germany, the life and times of Reagan and Gorbachev, the Cold War confrontation between Americans and Russians, and the origins, pronouncement, and impact that the speech had on world history. The audiobook contains the actual speech given by Reagan, as well as extensive interviews with government officials in the Reagan administration as well as American, Russian, and German eyewitnesses to this event.

Fans of history will appreciate the impact the speech had in retrospect on the events that occurred leading to and during the fall of the Berlin Wall, and will develop a newfound respect for collaboration and trust that the two adversaries developed. It is this, more than anything else, that helped both of them "win" the Cold War and avoid the world's destruction, which had seem so plausible a year or two earlier.