Hawkeye: Little Hits. Vol. 2

Fraction, Mark. Hawkeye: Little Hits. Vol. 2. 2013. 136p. ISBN 978-0-7851-6563-7.

As a massive storm drops an incredulously high amount of rain, Hawkeye and Grills are heading to the home where Grills grew up, hoping they can save it from flooding. A massive wave washed over the neighborhood, and Hawkeye just manages to save Grill's father, but Grills remains in the basement hoping to salvage a box that contains the memories of his dead mother. As Hawkeye dives in after him, he realizes he doesn't even know Grill's real name.

Hawkeye's relationship with Grills is similar to his relationships with everyone one else. They're superficial and ultimately meaningless. When Penny from Hawkeye, Vol. 1 returns on the scene, asking for his help in retrieving a safe from a Tracksuit Mafia club, Clint is obviously unable to say no. But when he's caught with Penny by his spy friend, his ex-wife, and his girlfriend, all hell breaks loose! Meanwhile, Kate continues to try and keep Clint as safe as possible, but the man clearly does not want to be safe. She remains conflicted about her feelings for Clint, and he's not helping the situation.

With the Tracksuit Mafia vowing vengeance on Clint Barton, and with his building under constant surveillance, Hawkeye's problems are coming home to roost!

World War II in Numbers: An Infographic Guide tot he Conflict, its Conduct, and its Casualties

Doyle, Peter. World War II in Numbers: An Infographic Guide tot he Conflict, its Conduct, and its Casualties. 2013. 224p. ISBN 978-1-77085-195-5.

The Second World War was the most devastating war in human history. Every continent was consumed by conflict, and millions of combatants and civilians perished during military action and as collateral damage. This war also saw the first systematic implementation of genocide, with Nazi Germany conducting the Holocaust by killing millions of Jews.

Though the histories of battles, major players, scientific innovations, and civilian home fronts are all interesting, nothing quite conveys the impacts that the war had on the world like graphics. Each chapter contains a series of two or four pages about specific topics, like aircraft production, the capabilities of small arms, or the largest tank battle to ever take place. Illustrated with effective graphics, the reader quickly glances patterns that explain the various phases of the war and describe how Germany and Japan were ultimately defeated.

Fans of military history will enjoy the thoroughness of this book, and will learn many new facts and information that other histories do not convey.

Black Butler, Vol. 25

Toboso, Yana. Black Butler, Vol. 25. 2018. 176p. ISBN 9780316480116. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

Following the success of the Sphere Music Hall in Black Butler, Vol. 24, which is being used as a front to collect blood from unsuspecting victims, Ciel Phantomhive and his devilish butler Sebastian hatched the plan to compete with an even bigger music hall and successful act. The crowds are drawn away from the Sphere Music Hall, reducing the number of potential victims. Lady Sullivan analyzes some of the blood recovered, and notices that there are four types of blood, and the Sirius type is the rarest of them all.

At the Sphere Music Hall, the dramatic decrease in blood donors, especially of the Sirius kind, forces the powers behind the Star act to speed up their timetable and eliminate erstwhile supporters. As Phantomhive and Sebastian investigate, they are met by two Grim Reapers, who are here to collect the newly blood-drained corpses left behind following the cult's swift departure from the Sphere Music Hall. The Grim Reapers' presence reveals the importance Dispatch gives to the events of the last few days. Ciel remains worried, however, for his fiancée Elizabeth still hasn't been located ...

The story continues in Black Butler, Vol. 26.

The Lucky Ones

Reisz, Tiffany. The Lucky Ones. 2018. 365p. 628 mins. ISBN 9780778331162. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

At seven Allison found herself an orphan following a drinking and driving accident. Sent to an orphanage, she was soon adopted by renowned brain surgeon Dr. Vincent Capello, who recognized her intelligence. Allison went to live with him and six other adopted children in his great green house, appropriately called the Dragon, on the Oregon Coast yards away from the Pacific Ocean. Allison's life became perfect, with loving siblings, a doting father, and plenty of room to stretch her wings. But even at seven, Allison was attracted to the enigmatic Roland, Dr. Capello's oldest son. Five years older, Roland had lived his own tragedy when his sister Rachel had fallen in a hole on the beach while they were playing and died buried in the sand. On stormy nights, Allison would often crawl in Roland's bed, looking for security and comfort.

When Allison was twelve, she fell down the 3rd floor stairs and was whisked away from the house by a concerned aunt who had received a phone call that someone was trying to kill her. For the last thirteen years, Allison has done everything she could to forget the house and its inhabitants. She moved across the country, became the mistress of a billionaire, and lived a generally happy life. All of this is thrown into chaos on the same morning her boyfriend breaks up with her and she receives a letter from Roland informing her that their father is dying.

Finally offered an opportunity to figure out what really happened to her that fateful night, and also the possibility of reconnecting with family members, Allison heads west and returns to Oregon, where she is reunited with Roland, which reignite her love for him. Catching up on what has happened in the last thirteen years, Allison can't help but worry that the person who wished her harm is still here. As she asks questions, however, she realizes that everyone has secrets, and that some secrets are deadly and worth killing for ...

Fans of mystery will enjoy this gothic tale, with dark corners always close by. Similar to We Were Liars, the ending is unpredictable and will surprise the reader.

Pure Grit: How WWII Nurses in the Pacific Survived Combat and Prison Camp

Farrell, Mary Cronk. Pure Grit: How WWII Nurses in the Pacific Survived Combat and Prison Camp. 2014. 160p. ISBN 9781419710285. Available as an ebook from Overdrive.

With limited job opportunities, women in the 1920s and 1930s turned to nursing. Many joined the US Army and Navy nursing corps. These jobs provided women with regular paychecks, and allowed them to travel the world in glamorous fashion. As the 1930s drew darker and the drums of war banged louder, nursing became more of a priority for military forces around the globe.

Many young women were sent to the Philippines in 1940 and 1941 to bolster the U.S. garrison present on the island as Japanese aggression spread through the Pacific. When the U.S. fleet was attacked at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the nurses found themselves isolated in a theater of war far from home with no hope of rescue. A Japanese invasion landed in the Philippines, and what had been an exotic locale became the scene of carnage. Aviation and artillery bombardments caused massive casualties among the defenders' ranks, and the nurses faced deteriorating conditions with no medication, lack of surgical space, and increasing amount of wounded.

As the Japanese closed in on the last remaining bastion of U.S. control, some nurses were successfully airlifted out, but most were captured and sent to prison camps. There they helped set up hospitals for the prisoners, and survived on ever dwindling resources. Hunger became constant. As U.S. troops turned the tide of the war and began to push back Japanese forces, the prisoners' treatment became harsher. Notified that the prison camp was to be liquidated before the Japanese left, a daring raid by army rangers freed the prisoners and allowed them to escape.

Though most of the nurses survived the war, none of them truly recovered from their ordeal. Many of them did not receive military benefits. It took over three decades for the federal government to finally acknowledge their service and their contribution to the war in the Pacific. 

Fans of history and those interested by the Second World War will be fascinated with this little-known history, and will see the dedication that these nurses exulted even in the face of overwhelming odds.

Head Lopper, Vol 1: The Island or A Plague of Beasts

 MacLean, Andrew with Mike Spicer. Head Lopper, Vol 1: The Island or A Plague of Beasts. 2016. 280p. ISBN 978-1-63-215-886-4.

Norgal, also known as the Head Lopper, is delivering slave cargo to the island of Barra. Ruled in theory by a King, the island of Barra is in fact controlled by a powerful sorcerer who has been confined to the Black Bog and who cannot leave its borders. Nothing prevents him from sending forth monsters, however, and the whole island has been plagued by them for a long time.

Upon arriving in Barra, the Head Lopper remove the head of a sea monster, and when payment for the slaves doesn't arrive, he takes the head cleric's amulet for himself. The Head Lopper carries around a bag containing the head of Agatha, an old witch. Despite having been removed from its body, the head remains alive and well, and Agatha never misses an opportunity to berate and mock the Head Lopper.

Hearing of his prowess, Queen Abigail hires the Head Lopper to go to the Black Bog and kill the sorcerer. With the king absent, with the king's stewart plotting his own ascent to the throne, and with witches not pleased to see the head of one of their own in his hands, the Head Lopper will need to use all of his fighting skills to survive the trek and defeat an enemy who has long been planning Norgal's arrival ...

Fans of fantasy will appreciate the creepiness that permeates the island of Barra, and will enjoy the action drawings as well as the strong plot that propels the story forward.

Lady Smoke

Sebastian, Laura. Lady Smoke. Book 2 of the Ash Princess Trilogy. 2019. 512p. ISBN 9781524767105. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

Following her escape in Ash Princess, Theodosia must stay one step ahead of the Kaiser and his assassins, who will stop at nothing to bring her back and torture her again. Accompanied by Prinz Soren and those that call themselves her shadows, Theo and Dragonbane the pirate queen, who is in fact her mother's twin sister, head to Stacrivero, the most prosperous nation, in order to find a husband and an army with which to regain her throne. 

As rich and powerful nobles parade in front of her, Theo is not convinced this is the way to solve her problems. She is falling more and more for Soren, while she still has feelings for X, a youthful friend and one of Astrea's guardians. Furthermore, while the nobility of Stacrivero lives in luxury, thousands of refugees from the Kalovaxians' wars populate camps on the outskirts of the capital and live in misery. As she and her friends search for solutions, an archduke is murdered, and Soren is arrested on the suspicion that he was involved. With an assassin in their mists, Theo must exert extreme caution in who she trust.

With none of the nobles an acceptable partner for her, Theo stalls for time. The arrival of Erik, Soren's half-brother and heir to a ruined kingdom, changes her calculations. If Theo was able to free the Astrean slaves currently working in the Kaiser's mines, if she was able to free the refugees languishing here without a future, and if she was able to get Erik's soldiers, as meager as they are, it might be enough to defeat the Kaiser.

As this unlikely coalition of forces sails to Astrea, this will be a battle of which only one will emerge victorious!

The story concludes in Ember Queen.

The Tuskegee Airmen: An Illustrated History 1939-1949

 Caver, Joseph, Jerome Ennels and Daniel Haulman. The Tuskegee Airmen: An Illustrated History 1939-1949. 2011. 230p. ISBN 978-1-58838-244-3.

The Tuskegee Airmen were a fabled group of pilots and crewmen who served with distinction in the Second World War. With a segregated military service, African-American pilots could not join regular units. Several programs to train African-American pilots were set up to increase the number of men capable of flying fighters and bombers. As war exploded across Europe and Asia, it became even more essential to ensure that the nation was producing as many pilots as possible. Schools were set up around the United States, with the most famous at Tuskegee airfield in Alabama. 

Over the course of the war, Tuskegee airmen earned honors and distinctions for valorous service. They were among the first to encounter and shoot down German jet fighters, and they participated in most of the campaigns from the landing in Africa in 1942 to the final bombing of Germany in 1945. Told through rarely seen photos documenting the process of training and preparing for combat, this book helps to illustrate an often forgotten part of our military history.

The Magic Fish

Nguyen, Trung Le. The Magic Fish. 2020. 256p. ISBN 978-0-593-12529-8. 

Tiến is attending middle school in Middle America in the early 1990s. Both of his parents are refugees from Vietnam who made a new life in the United States. Tiến grew up speaking English and Vietnamese, and he and his mother read stories in English to each other to help her practice her English skills. Tiến's family is not rich. His father works long hours, and his mother is a seamstress, but there's always enough food to eat, and a roof over their head.

Tiến has a secret. He is gay, but he doesn't know how to tell his parents. He doesn't know the words for it in Vietnamese, and he's worried that telling them in English wouldn't be an effective way to communicate this very important part of himself. His friend Claire is in charge of the middle school dance, and she invites both Tiến and their friend Julian. Claire knows that Tiến has a crush on Julian, and she hopes that this will help.

Helen, Tiến's mother is in frequent contact with her family in Vietnam. Her mother is sick, but she hopes her whole family can travel to Vietnam before it's too late. Only the fateful call comes in, letting her know that her mother passed away.

Between these events taking place now are the story of Helen when she was escaping Vietnam, as well as three fairy tales told by Tiến to his mother, and by Helen's aunt to Helen while in Vietnam. These stories all link together to form a fantastic journey that describes the immigrant's abandonment of home and gain of a new home and language. Beautifully illustrated with specific shades of colors for each storyline, The Magic Fish also contains an afterword by the author, who describes his goals for the book and the meaning behind the fairy tales he chose to use. This explanation greatly enhances the book and makes the reader want to read it through again, this time with a more informed eye.

Locke & Key, Vol. 3: Crown of Shadows

Hill, Joe and Gabriel Rodriguez. Locke & Key, vol 3: Crown of Shadows. 2014. 152p. 978-1600106958.

There is no rest for the Locke children as Zack Wells continues his relentless search for the missing keys. In control of the Shadow key, Zach attacks the Locke siblings, but Kinsey rescues Bode, while Tyler becomes a giant using a giant key and lock Bode had discovered earlier, and he defeats the shadow monsters Zach sent against them by throwing it against the lighthouse.

When told there is writing on the wall of an old cave, near the low tide mark, Kinsey agrees to go with friends to explore what used to be an old Second World War shore battery. After she enters the water and is joined by her friend, the platform they were standing on collapses, throwing the other two people in her group in the water, and it becomes a race to survive.

Meanwhile, their mother is struggling with the violent death of her husband and her rape, and she has turned to the bottle to quell the pain. In doing so, however, she is drifting further away from her children. When she discovers a cabinet that can make something broken whole, she does not hesitate and places her dead husband's funeral urn in there, hoping to return him to life. Unfortunately it does not work, and in the process the urn is broken, revealing yet another key...

One Trusted Adult: How to Build Strong Connections and Healthy Boundaries with Young People

Raney, Brooklyn. One Trusted Adult: How to Build Strong Connections and Healthy Boundaries with Young People. 2019. 236p. ISBN 9781733202510.

Every student deserves at least one trusted adult in their life. A trusted adult is a person who builds an effective and positive relationship with a youth while holding them accountable for their behavior. A trusted adult sets clear boundaries and clear expectations to keep everyone safe and so that everyone understands the roles that they play in their lives.

Presenting information through stories and life vignette, One Trusted Adult describes the process of building an organizational culture that cares for everyone and that supports the goals and aspirations of its young people. Descriptions of trusting relationships and a call to action help provide the professional with the tools necessary to establish the strong connections necessary to support and foster an environment where each student has at least one trusted adult they can rely on to support them during their academic career as they grow as a person.

Hawkeye: My Life as a Weapon, Vol. 1

Fraction, Mark. Hawkeye: My Life as a Weapon. Vol. 1. 2013. 136p. ISBN 9780785165620.

Unlike the other Avengers, Clint Barton, also known as Hawkeye, does not have super powers. He is extremely skilled with the bow, and can land an arrow exactly where he means it to go, but he can't heal quickly, resists bullets, or fly. Settling down in New York, Barton finds the apartment building in the throes of mandatory expulsions as the mobster who owns the building hopes to collect more money from new tenants. That's all the injustice it takes for Barton to fight back! Accompanied by Kate Bishop, who is also a skilled bow shooter, Barton infiltrates the mob, and salvages enough money from a corrupt casino to repurchase the building and ease the tenants' minds. 

Meanwhile, a tape of him killing an enemy agent is rumored to be circulating among the underworld, and will be the feature at a villainous auction. With Kate's help, Barton joins the action, hoping to get his hands on the tape before it is released to the rest of the world, tarnishing his reputation forever!

A bonus story tells how Kate Bishop became a young Avenger and replaced Hawkeye as the bowman on the team, before Barton returned to the fold. Fans of Marvel movies will enjoy this richly illustrated tale.

The story continues in Hawkeye: Little Hits, Vol. 2.

The Barren Grounds

 Robertson, David A. The Barren Grounds. Book 1 of the Misewa Saga series. 2000. 256p.  ISBN 978-0-7352-6610-0. Available at FIC ROB on the library shelves.

At 13, Morgan has been in more foster homes than she can recount. She has only vague memories of her mother, a Native Canadian Cree who lived in the north of Manitoba. Now living with Katie in James in Winnipeg, Morgan has been here for almost two months. A week ago, another Cree foster child named Eli joined the family. Unlike Morgan, who has no links to her ancestral culture, Eli can speak Cree and was removed from his family recently. This is his first foster home. Eli loves to draw, and is always illustrating scenes that he keeps secret. 

At their middle school, Morgan keeps an eye on Eli, who sits alone against a cafeteria wall, drawing away. Morgan herself is always alone, and her prickly personality pushes people away. Emily, however, is not deterred, and she keeps on talking with Morgan even though Morgan makes it clear she wants to be left alone. Deep down, Morgan is afraid of rejection and knows it's only a matter of time before her new family rejects her and sends her packing, like all other families before her.

Following a fight with James and Katie, Morgan takes refuge in the attic, where workers have been remodelling. She opens a door covered with paint, and hides here. Eli finds her, and brings her a drawing he did. It looks lifelike. In it, what appears to be a fisher cat walking upright is running towards them. Morgan can feel the cold and smell the winter forest surrounding the animal. They put the drawing away, scared of what it may mean. Later that night, Morgan wakes up to find the house very cold. In the attic, she discovers that Eli has placed the drawing on the wall again, and entered it like a window. Snow has already accumulated on the floor. 

Worried for her foster brother, Morgan enters the strange land. She is soon lost, but is rescued by the fisher cat who brings her to his village. There, Morgan is reunited with Eli and learns that Misewa, the village, has been cursed since the last human to visit stole the Green Time. In a state of perpetual winter, the land is dying and the animals are starving. With Ochek, the fisher, and Arik, a squirrel, Morgan and Eli set out to recover the Green Time from the man who stole it, before it's too late for Misewa and its inhabitants.

Inspired from Native Canadian myths and sprinkled with Cree words, Morgan and Eli's story of finding a secret door to a world unknown will resonate with the reader. Fans of The Chronicles of Narnia will appreciate this take on the theme of saving a new land.

The Fall of the Ottomans

Rogan, Eugene. The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East. 2015. 512p. ISBN 9780465023073.

When the world ignited into the flames of war following the death of Archduke Ferdinand in July of 1914, a complex web of alliances ensnared participants on both sides. A powerful Germany came to the aid of its ally Austria-Hungary, and they were joined by the Ottoman Empire, which covered vast areas of the Middle East. Long considered the Sick Man of Europe, the Ottoman Empire had been around for almost 500 years, and had lost much of its vigor. Internal strifes and wars in the Balkans had drained resources, soldiers, and the will to fight. 

At first, the Ottomans saw the possibility of rapid gains against the French and British colonial empires to their south and west, and, noticing Russia's weakness, also as a way to regain a footing in the Caucasus. With the financial and technical assistance of the Germans, the Ottoman troops launched several assaults against Allied positions, securing far ranging victories in Gallipoli against an amphibian assault, in Mesopotamia (now Irak), and in Palestine. These gains were short lived, however, as men and material poured in the region from the British Commonwealth, the Ottomans found themselves on the defensive. Even Russia, which was being bled by the Germans and where revolution threatened, managed to send armies that pushed the Ottomans out of the Caucasus and made inroads into imperial territories.

By 1918, only the central parts of the Ottoman Empire were free of occupation. The Turks, the largest ethnicity of the empire, committed genocide against their Armenian neighbors. The British seized Baghdad in the east, and Jerusalem and Damascus in the East. As the Germans and Austrians collapsed, the Ottomans dissolved into several independent nations. Turkey became its own state. Several others emerged from the ashes but were immediately colonized by European powers. Artificial frontiers were drawn, and agreements made with native allies were ignored, leading to resentment and frustration that continues to affect the world today. The modern Middle East owes its existence in part to the death of the Ottoman Empire and the consequences of the First World War.

How We Got to the Moon

Rocco, John. How We Got to the Moon: The People, Technology, and Daring Feats of Science Behind Humanity's Greatest Adventure. 2020. 264p. ISBN 9780525647416. Available at 629.45 ROC on the library shelves.

 

When President Kennedy declared in 1961 that the United States would travel to the Moon before the end of the decade, it set forth a massive industrial and scientific effort to achieve what had previously been impossible: Escape Earth's gravity and reach for the stars. Four years prior, the Soviet Union had launched its first satellite, shortly followed by the first animal in space then the first human in space. Embroiled in a Cold War with the Soviets and fearing falling behind technologically and scientifically, the United States poured vast amounts of resources on creating the largest rocket ever built. 

Over the next eight years, countless technological challenges were overcome to assemble the Saturn V rocket and its components, including the landing module and the command module. A building to house the rocket was built, a way to move the giant rocket to the launch pad was designed, space suits to protect astronauts were created and sewed by expert hands, and multiple other complex issues were resolved with determination and grit. On July 20, 1969, the first astronaut walked on the surface of the Moon. It was an accomplishment for humanity, but specifically for the hundred of thousands of workers who contributed to making Apollo 11 a successful mission.

Beautifully illustrated, this story recounts one of the greatest scientific achievement in the history of the nation. Fans of history and of space will appreciate the quality and specificity of the drawings, and will enjoy cheering for the men and women of NASA as they fulfill President Kennedy's mission.

I Have the Right to: A High School Survivor's Story of Sexual Assault, Justice, and Hope

Prout, Chessy and Jane Abelson. I Have the Right to: A High School Survivor's Story of Sexual Assault, Justice, and Hope. 2018. 416p. ISBN 9781534414433.

Chessy lived in Japan with her family when the tsunami ravaged the country in 2011, causing a major nuclear accident in Fukushima. The family of expatriates soon returned to the United States following the disaster, and Chessy found herself in the American school system for the first time. Her middle school years in Naples, Florida were uneventful, but she looked forward to attending St. Paul School in Concord, New Hampshire, Her father was an alumni of the school, and her older sister was currently a junior. When Chessy was accepted, she knew her world would never be the same.

The climate at St. Paul was tense, with senior boys feeling entitled to grope and harass female students and with faculty unwilling or unable to make it stop. In May of her freshman year, Chessy was raped by a senior classmate in a game seniors called the senior salute. Chessy courageously reported her experience to the police, and her aggressor was arrested and tried. This experience changed Chessy. She developed panic attacks, trust issues, and was forced to move to a different school after the St. Paul community rallied behind her aggressor. Through it all she remained driven to see justice served, and he was eventually convicted.

Chessy's story is not unique, and she was better equipped than most with parental support, loving siblings, and a community of other survivors who rallied behind her. Chessy came forward with her experiences so that others would understand what happened to her and to effect policy changes in teaching consent at a young age. Chessy continues to be an advocate for survivors, and lends her voice and support to make sure that this doesn't happen to another girl.

The Arab of the Future, Vol 2: A Childhood in the Middle East, 1984-1985

Sattouf, Riad. The Arab of the Future, Vol 2: A Childhood in the Middle East, 1984-1985. 2015. 154p. ISBN 978-1-62779-351-3.

Back in Syria following his summer in France at the end of The Arab of the Future, Vol 1, Riad begins school in his village. The school functions as a large social darwinist organization where only the strong survive. Students are beaten for talking, shunned if they can't afford clothes or are not clean. Relations between students are even worse, and with his angelic blond hair and his inability to read Arabic, Riad is a perfect target for others.

Life under the Syrian dictatorship is difficult. In theory people are not allowed generators, they can't purchase goods, and everyone is a step away from being arrested. Riad's father purchases several items on the black market, to increase his wife's material comfort after she bitterly complains. Riad is joined by a younger brother, while his dad attempts to join the regime's elite but is not very successful.

When one of father's female cousins is killed in what is termed an honor killing, Riad's mother begins questioning why they stay in this barbaric country...

Ash Princess

Sebastian, Laura. Ash Princess. Book 1 of the Ash Princess trilogy. 2018. 432p. ISBN 9781524767068. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

The Kalovaxians are conquerors in nature. They invade a territory, eliminate its ruling class, seize its inhabitants as slaves, and drain the land from resources. When what's left is unable to sustain them, they move on to their next conquest. At six, princess Theodosia of the island of Astrea witnessed her land being subjugated, her queen mother executed in front of her eyes, and her people enslaved and sent to the magical mines underneath the temples that made the renown of Astrea. Theodosia, for her part, was given by the Kaiser, leader of the Kalovaxians, to the Thain, his second-in-command and the man who slit the throat of Theodosia's mother.

Now raised as Thora, Theodosia becomes friends with the Thain's daughter, Cress. Unfortunately, Thora is punished for every little mistake her or her people make. A rebellion? Thora gets lashes on her back. She lives in constant fear she will be violently attacked. Her every move are supervised by three shadows, who watch her around the clock, even when she is alone in her room. For all appearances, Thora is broken. Insultingly dubbed the Ash Princess by the Kaiser, to mock her mother's title of Fire Queen, Theodosia bids her time, hoping against all hope she will be able to escape her tormentor. 

Ten years have passed, but Theodosia still lives in fear. Forced to kill her mother's guardian and the man she suspects was her father, Theodosia realizes there will be no rescue. She must engineer her own. The arrival of Prinz Soren only complicates matters, while Blade, a childhood friend, smuggles himself in the palace and, with two others, remove the shadows, taking their places. Now armed with allies, Theodosia must tread very carefully to forment a revolution that will overthrow the Kaiser and end his rule forever.

Similar to the dystopian themes in Red Queen, this fantasy story features awesome world building but characters continously make poor decisions, even with the bad hands they are dealt. Fans of the fantastic will nonetheless appreciate this love triangle story and will cheer as Theodosia attempt to escape the violent circumstances her queendom has been thrown in by the Kalovaxian invasion. The adventure continues in Lady Smoke.

A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story

Park, Linda Sue. A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story. 2010. 128p. ISBN 9780547251271. Available at FIC PAR on the library shelves as well as an ebook from Overdrive,

Nya is a Sudanese girl. Though the year is 2008, her daily job is to walk half the morning from her village to the closest pond to retrieve water, then make the return trip home, only to head back again that afternoon. Every day, Nya travels to the pond twice a day, hauling a heavy container of water on the way back. In the summer months, the village moves to a larger lake, where there often is strife with other tribes. Nya would like to go to school and learn how to read and write, but there simply isn't time,

Salva is a Sudanese boy. It is 1985, and he is lucky because he gets to go to school. But when the village is attacked, Salva and the rest of the students flee in the bush. Too young to live by himself, Salva follows crowds of refugees as they slowly walk across Sudan to the relative shelter of a United Nations refugee camp in Ethiopia. Along the way, Salva has to endure the elements, the wild animals, and the violence that humans inflict on each other.

Told in alternating fashion, Nya and Salva's stories connect in a powerful and life changing way. Salva is the proof that there is always hope, and that all that is required is to take one step forward. Fans of realistic fiction will enjoy this story based on a real boy's life and trials as he escaped a war-torn country only to return and give it life again.

When I Was the Greatest

Reynolds, Jason. When I Was the Greatest. 2014. 240p. 363 mins. ISBN 978-0-553-39572-3. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

Raised by a hardworking single mother, 15 years old Ali and his sister Jazz live in Bed Stuy, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. It's a hard neighborhood, one where drugs and guns are a fact of life. Instead, he's into boxing and he takes lessons with a former pro. When another boy and his family move in what is known in the neighborhood as the crack house, which happens to be next door to Ali's own brown stone apartment building, they become fast friends. That boy soon acquires the nickname Noodles from Jazz, on account of an incident that happens at their dining table, and the name sticks. 

Noodles has a brother, and he soon becomes known as Needles. Needles has Tourette's syndrome, and can't control his verbal and physical outbursts. Doris, Ali's mother, gives Needles knitting needles, and shows him how to knit, and that seems to help him remain calm and in control. Noodles has a short temper, and is very protective of his brother, but also abuses him relentlessly.

Ali, Noodles, and Needles spend a hot summer sitting on the steps of the apartment building, reading comics and talking about life. When they manage to score an invitation to Mo Mo's wild underground party, the teens are excited! However, when Needles' tick chooses the worst moment to occur, the boys find themselves in a place they shouldn't be with people who don't know them and are willing to hurt them.  Suddenly, life has become very dangerous ...

Told from Ali's perspective, the story occurs over one summer with some flashbacks. The teen boys have realistic friendships, and the female characters are in the periphery but are strong and helpful. Fans of realistic fiction will enjoy reading Ali's story and discover how he gets out of the mess he's created.

The Cheyenne

Hoig, Stan. The Cheyenne. 2006. 130p. ISBN 0-7910-8598-8. Available at 973.04 HOI on the library shelves.

 

Living on the plains from the Mississippi to the Rockies, the Cheyenne adapted well to the arrival of the horse, and became expert horsemen. The horse also transformed their society into hunters, instead of farmers. The Cheyenne fought against the tribes around them and became the dominant group, but the arrival of Americans from the east soon upended tribal traditions and power structures. As the Cheyenne tried to adapt to a new life, more and more settlers came west. The discovery of gold caused further hardships.

Negotiations with the American government often concluded with peace treaties that were routinely violated or ignored by the federal and state authorities. The Cheyenne fought back and in a series of wars inflicted significant damage on federal troops as well as on the settlers traversing their lands. This was not enough to stop the inexorable drive to the Pacific, however, and soon the Cheyenne found themselves forced onto reservations, their numbers dwindling due to violence, diseases, and famine. 

A federally recognized tribe, the Cheyenne are now divided into two groups, the Suhtai from Oklahoma, and the Tsitsistas from Montana. Both tribes have adapted to their circumstances and have reclaimed a degree of cultural and political autonomy, though they continue to face long odds on the way to preserving their identity.

Be Not Far From Me

 McGinnis, Mindy. Be Not Far From Me. 2020. 240p. ISBN 9780062561626. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

Ashley has grown up poor in Tennessee, and her life has always been hard. Living with her dad in a run-down trailer, he working double shifts just to make ends meet, and they rarely do. Ashley's not that pretty, not that smart. What she's got going is a killer instinct for survival, and her love of running. When friends think it's a great idea to have a drinking party while camping in the Smokies, Ashley rolls her eyes but goes with it. Her friend Meredith even brings a hair dryer, like she expects an electrical outlet out in the woods. Ashley is more practical, and her backpack barely weighs 5 pounds while containing everything she would need to survive an extended stay.

That evening, as the party happening and kids are drinking at the camp site, Ashley has too much to drink. Jealous of her boyfriend Duke hanging out with his ex girlfriend who filled up in the last year, Ashley heads to her tent to sleep it off. Awakened by the need to go to the bathroom, she comes upon a couple having sex away from the campsite, only to discover Duke is involved! Angry, hurt, and drunk, Ashley takes off running, and she soon hurts herself by breaking her foot. Wearing only her pants, underwear, and a t-shirt, Ashley sobers up enough to realize that she is lost and that no one will look for her, since they will think she headed home. 

With her broken foot now infected, with no food, clothes, or shelter, Ashley must make her way out of the forest, or she will end up one of those dead hikers who shouldn't have been out in the woods. Armed only with determination to survive, Ashley heads in an easterly direction, hoping to find help. But when you're alone in the woods, who can help you?

Fans of Hatchet and other survivalist stories will appreciate Ashley's tale of resilience and fighting against the odds!

The Poet X

 Acevedo, Elizabeth. The Poet X. 2018. 368p. 210 mins. ISBN 978-0-06-266280-4. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

Xiomara Batista shares a small bedroom with her frail twin brother in their stifling Harlem apartment. Her Dominican mother is domineering and had hopes of becoming a nun before getting married. She keeps Xiomara on a tight leash, especially since she became curvy. Her father works hard and defers to his wife, who's committed to seeing Xiomara confirmed. But at 15, Xiomara doesn't care about the church. She doesn't want to be confirmed. She yearns to have the same freedoms other in her school enjoy. 

Poetry really lights Xiomara's creative juices. She loves to write about her own thoughts, about how she feels, what she experiences as a girl who's drawing the gaze of older men as well as those of other students. When she sees an ad for a Slam Poetry club at school, she really wants to attend, except it takes place at the same time as confirmation classes.  

Ever since she was born, she's been protective of her twin brother, who is super smart but weak and unable or unwilling to defend himself. She often lets her fists do the talking. But now, both he and Xiomara have secrets. She has a crush on Aman, her lab partner, and he encourages her to keep writing poetry. Twin, as she refers to him, is gay and loves another boy. Neither loves are welcomed in the Baptista household.

The more she writes, however, the more Xiomara realizes she needs to spread her wings and take risks. As secrets accumulate, can poetry be the avenue that allows Xiomara to break free?

A story told in verses, Poet X explores issues of loneliness and oppression. The characters are realistic and their emotions are easily relatable. Fans of poetry will enjoy Xiomara's story and will cheer for her as she works through her relationship with her mother, with her brother, and with Aman.

Becoming Nicole

Ellis Nutt, Amy. Becoming Nicole. 2015. 297p. ISBN 9780812995435. 

Wyatt and Jonas were adopted twins who joined their parents' life in New York. Despite being identical twins, Wyatt and Jonas quickly diverged, with Jonas enjoying activities perceived as male and Wyatt gravitating towards activities perceived as female. Soon it was obvious to their mother that Wyatt was only happy when given the opportunity to dress like a girl and act like one. Over the years Wyatt struggled with social roles that mandated boy roles, and their parents found it difficult to help them deal with the pressures to conform.

Becoming Nicole chronicles Wyatt's transformation into Nicole over eighteen years, and discusses the struggles and challenges that Nicole and her family encountered along the way to make her body match her gender identity. From lawsuits to harassment, from growing up to becoming an adult, the path was filled with roadblocks but Nicole and her family persisted and overcame, become stronger as a family as a result.

Shit is Real

 Franz, Aisha. Shit is Real. 2018. 288p. ISBN 9781770463158.

Selma's boyfriend has just broken up with her, and she finds herself cast adrift, without much of a plan. She moves into a small apartment, and quickly notices there is a whole in the wall allowing her to view the unit next door. A glamorous woman lives there, but is rarely at home due to her world traveling schedule. That woman's cat, however, often crosses the balconies and comes to visit Selma. 

Suffering from depression and anxiety, Selma has trouble managing her own life. She left her job, and though her friends try to be helpful, it only makes her feel worse. When the woman next door drops the  keycard to her apartment on her way to yet another trip, Selma can't help herself and begins visiting the other apartment. She borrows clothes, does laundry, and feeds the cat. Selma also meets Anders, the man who used to date the woman next door, and she decides that maybe it's worth taking a chance on a new relationship.

Illustrated with simple yet very effective drawings, Selma's loneliness and confused state comes through loud and clear, and the life of a single woman never looks so depressing. Fans of life struggles will appreciate Selma's efforts as she attempts to rebound from her breakup.

Anime

 Marcovitz, Hal. Anime. Part of the Eye on Art series. 2007. 104p. ISBN 978-1-59018-995-5. Available at 791.43 MAR on the library shelves.

Anime, from the French word for animation, was adopted by the Japanese to name a phenomenon of illustrating movies. So much more than comics or animated movies like those produced by Disney, anime is a pervasive genre of entertainment widely distributed in Japan, but which has reached international fame. Born from the illustrative art and techniques of the 1800s, manga, a type of comic book with roots in Japanese folklore and mythology, evolved with the advent of the cinema into animated features on the screen.

Very popular in Japan, anime was brought to the American market and was heavily edited to remove Japanese culture, leading to some shows whose storyline were choppy. This didn't stop children's enthusiasm for anime offered during the Saturday morning cartoons, and interest grew. Now a multi-billion dollar industry, anime remains a staple of Japanese culture that is hard to replicate elsewhere but that is consumed worldwide. Anime explains the history behind the rise of this popular art form, and the impact it had on Japanese society. It provides cultural interpretation of images and symbols, and it gives biographic information on some of the most popular anime features of all time, and the creators behind them. Fans of manga and of anime will appreciate how the art changed over the last century and will enjoy revisiting the history of some of their favorite shows!

What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained

Wolke, Robert L. What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained. 2002. 320p. ISBN 9780393011838.

Food is delicious, and most of us enjoy eating it. Some of us even enjoy preparing it. But what kind of science goes into food and making food? Why does lasagna create burn marks in aluminum foil when you put it in the fridge overnight? What's the difference between regular salt and kosher salt? How is Virginia ham prepared? How does a microwave oven work? What's the purpose of the bottom drawer in a refrigerator? Why are the American measurement system so complicated? All of these questions and more are answered in this wonderful set of explanations at the intersection of science and cooking. 

Well written in a humorous and entertaining manner, fans of cooking will appreciate the thoroughness of the author and the way he distills complex scientific principles into understandable chunks as he explains what is occurring in your kitchen. If you ever wondered whether a sidewalk could indeed cook an egg, what type of material made the best skillet, whether water with a pinch of salt boils faster than regular water, or if mushrooms are indeed the natural sponge they are made out to be, read this book and find out!

If you enjoyed this book, take a look at Are You Afraid? The Science Behind Scary Stuff!

Illegal

 Stork, Francisco X. Illegal. Book 2 of the Disappeared series. 2020. 304p. ISBN 9781338310559.

Sara and Emiliano escaped Mexico in Disappeared following an attempt on their lives from the local drug cartel. The story concluded with Sara being arrested after saving one of their attackers' lives, and Emiliano escaping and finding refuge with a rancher.

Now in custody of the U.S. federal government, Sara is in a detention facility for other illegal immigrants. The warden and the head guard are both power hungry individuals who exploit their position to harass and abuse the women in their care. Sara's lawyer is attempting to free her.

The cartel badly wants to retrieve the cellphone that she took across the border and entrusted to Emiliano, as it contains information about crimes committed in Mexico and in the United States. Powerful people want to shut her up and make sure that phone never sees the light of day.

Emiliano is reunited with the father he despises in Chicago, and he must live with their new family. Bored out of his mind, Emiliano looks for work and meets one of the neighbors who hires him to paint her house. But life with his father's new wife is difficult, as she is concerned an illegal immigrant could undermine her reputation and that of her father's business.

As the bad guys' search for the cellphone continues, violence follows both Sara and Emiliano. With time running out, they must reveal the truth about those who are behind the murders and the attacks that have plagued them.

Fierce: How Competing for Myself Changed Everything

Raisman, Aly. Fierce: How Competing for Myself Changed Everything. 2017. 359p. ISBN 9780316472708. 

Even as a toddler, Aly Raisman knew she wanted to be a gymnast. Obsessed with a 1996 recording of the Atlanta games, Aly pestered her parents and eventually joined the local gymnastics club. She thrived in that environment, and learned important life lessons concerning hard work and dedication. With her eyes on joining the elite Olmypic team, she transferred to another gym where the trainer had worked with Olympians. Her efforts paid off when she successfully joined the elite ranks and was invited to Olympic training camp in Texas.

Over the next few years Aly renewed her efforts and worked on her techniques. In 2012, she made the Olympic team and reached her goal of participating under the American flag. In London, Aly and the girls' team won several medals, but she finished fourth on the All-Around competition, a position she was too accustomed to. Over the next year, Aly retired and traveled the United States, promoting gymnastics and competing on Dancing with the Stars. The gymnastic bug never left her, however, and she returned to practice, hoping to make the 2016 team. The odds were against her, as the last time a gymnast had made the team two Olympics in a row was back in the 1980s.

Once again Aly defied the odds, and joined Simone Biles and the other girls for another shot at medals. Aly even earned a medal in the All-Around competition, finally defeating her trend of 4th places. Despite all of the hard work and heartaches that it takes to become a champion, Aly describes her life with humor and understanding, and shows the reader that they can accomplish their own goal if they go all out and apply all of their effort!

Locke & Key, vol 2: Headgames

Hill, Joe and Gabriel Rodriguez. Locke & Key, vol 2: Headgames. 2010. 978-1600107610.

Zack Wells has infiltrated the life of the Locke children in Locke & Key, vol. 1, and despite Bode's insistence that he easily would identify the girl in the well, Zack continues his search for the missing keys. Recognized by a teacher he once had twenty years ago, Zack engineers his death, but instead of being a suicide like he planned, Zack is forced to kill the man, creating emotional upheavals in the Locke household even though they barely knew that teacher. 

Bode finds a key that allows him to open his head and add or remove memories at will. Tyler and Kinsey are both repulsed and intrigued by this newfound ability to take away unwanted memories and add whole books worth of information. Using the head key, Kinsey removes her lack of self-confidence and her fear from her head, and imprisons them in a bottle.  Ty uses it to cram for an exam he didn't study.

Their uncle Duncan, meanwhile, also remembers Zack from a previous encounter. Hanging out with his lover at a bar, both men are assaulted by two enraged women who bemoan the loss of the town to gays. They return home, where they are followed by the women who are bent on inflicting harm, but Zack beats them to it by forcing Duncan's boyfriend out, where he is accidentally hit by the women's car. Zack then removes Duncan's memory of him, and returns home to Ellie and her son, who remains impervious to Zack's charm and powers. 

The Brontë Plot

 Reay, Katherine. The Brontë Plot. 2015. 334p. ISBN 9781401689759. Available at FIC REA on the library bookshelves.

Lucy works in an antique shop, where she is in charge of the rare book collection. Over the years, she has developed a talent for acquiring rare books that have handwritten notes in them, sometimes from the author themself, sometimes from strangers who left their impressions of what they read or dedications to loved ones decades earlier. When James walks in the store looking for a specific book, Lucy is thrilled to have that book in the collection, and enthusiastically lends it to James for an art project. Smitten, the two of them soon become an item, and James buys several rare books from Lucy. Then he discovers that the handwriting in all of them is very similar to that of Lucy.

With her forgery exposed, Lucy suddenly loses James and her position at the store is at risk, since the owner prides himself on providing only the best authentic antiques, and forged rare books could sink his business. Helen, James' rich grandmother intervenes by offering Lucy a job as her personal consultant on a trip to England to help her on an antiques acquisitions tour of the old country. But Helen also has a secret of her own, and she needs Lucy's help to complete unfinished business ...

The Bolshevik Revolution

O'Neill, Joseph R. The Bolshevik Revolution. 2009. 112p. ISBN 9781604535112. Available at 947.084 ONE on the library shelves.

The late 1800s and early 1900s was a time of social upheaval. Nationalism was emerging, empires were tittering on the verge of collapse, and social inequities between the vast lower classes and those who controlled wealth and the means of production were deeper than before. Russia, which was a military powerful but economically mismanaged and therefore weak country, was governed by an absolute monarch, the Tsar, who could do what he pleased. Social advancement was next to impossible, and corruption was endemic. 

Revolutionaries guided by Vladimir Lenin took inspiration from Karl Marx's the Communist Manifesto and sought to violently overthrow the monarchy and establish in its place a dictatorship of the workers. Russia's economic backwardness meant that the country was still overwhelmingly agrarian, and that workers were a relatively small number of individuals within the economic system. Several protests and strikes took place in the first decade of the 1900s and were violently repressed.

The First World War dislocated Russian economic activities, and incompetence at the front led to a military collapse. Seeing their chances, in October 1917 Lenin and others led workers in rebellion, and they managed to overthrow the government and seizing control of the state apparatus. Out of the ashes of the conflict emerged the USSR, which would come to dominate the communist world for seventy years, until its collapse in 1991.

Ruthless Gods

 Duncan, Emily A. Ruthless Gods. Book 2 of the Something Dark and Holy series. 544p. ISBN 9781250195692. Available as an audiobook from the library.

Following Malachiasz's transformation into an almost god in Wicked Saints, the Black Vulture escaped the Tranavia capital and withdrew with his forces to the salt mines, leaving Nadya confused and upset at the depth of his betrayal. Serafin, for his part, ascended the Tranavian throne following his rebirth, but the cost of his death means that he is now plagued by visions of a being older than the gods. His nobles are plotting his demise, and they have sufficient evidence that Nadya's papers are forged, and that she is instead Kalyazin's lone cleric. 

With her life in danger, Nadya flees the capital and first heads to the salt mine, hoping to rescue a noble girl that was given to the vultures. There she discovers that Kostya, a childhood friend from the monastery, has been imprisoned in the dark. Torn and given the choice by Malachiasz to only pick one, she chooses to free Kostya at the expense of her mission to free the noble girl. Her feelings for the Black Vulture are such that when Malachiasz agrees to join her for what she thinks will be his ultimate sacrifice at the sacred Kalyazin mountain, she is secretly thrilled she will be spending more time with him.

Returning to her friends, they head out west towards Kalyazin, but are soon separated. Sefarim is captured by Kalyazin troops led by the heiress to the throne, and manages to convince her they need to head to the sacred mountain. Nadya and her friends, for their part, continue to travel through dangerous country to end the rift that opened the gate for the banished gods and for even older beings, who have taken a sudden interest in the world. As they head into danger, is Nadya ready to sacrifice the creature that was once Malachiasz, and for whom she still has feelings, or is she still but a pawn in his long game to secure himself the title of god? Can Serafim, for his part, break free from the bonds that bind him to an elder being?

Wicked Saints

Duncan, Emily A. Wicked Saints: Let Them Fear Her. Book 1 of the Something Dark and Holy series. 385p. ISBN 9781250195661. Available as an audiobook from the library.

The nations of Kalyazin and Tranavia were once ruled by holy men who could commune with the gods and call upon them to draw magical powers. Tranavia overthrew its clerics in a bloody revolution and began using blood magic to the same effective effect as divine magic. For more than a hundred years, both countries have been in a state of war, with residents of Kalyazin viewing those of Tranavia as little more than godless heretics dabbling in the dark art of blood magic. For their part, Tranavians view Kalyazinians as intolerant bigots to claim to talk with gods.

Thirty years ago, the last of Kalyazin cleric was killed in battle and became a saint. Since then the country has not had a champion who could communicate directly with the gods. Then Nadya came along. Unlike most clerics, who are favored by one deity, Nadya has the ear of the entire Kalyazin pantheon. Her life is worth so much due to the powers she can harness that she was hidden away in a monastery, to hone her skills. When the monastery, which sits atop a mountain 7,000 steps high, falls to an assault team led by Serafin, the High Prince of Tranavia himself, Nadya is barely able to escape with her life through tunnels.

At war for more than 3 years, Serafin is weary of it all and the only thing that consoles him is the bottle. He longs for a day when this war is finally done and he is able to return home. Rumors have reached him that his father the King is displeased with him, and Serafin thought that capturing the cleric Kalyazin had done so much to hide away would finally gain him acceptance.  But she somehow escaped his clutches.

In the forest below the mountain, Nadya encounters Malachiasz, who was once a Vulture, a Tranavian so corrupted by blood magic that he has transcended part of his humanity and has turned into a monster. Wanted by Tranavia, Malachiasz has united a small band of defectors who plan to assassinate the King of Tranavia and impose a peace between the two warring parties. She hesitantly enters into an alliance of sorts with the dark boy, since their end goals are currently the same. They make their way to the Tranavian capital, where the King has called for a ceremony to find his son a wife. Recalled from the front, Serafin also returns, now more than ever convinced that someone is trying to assassinate him, and that person very well may be his own father!

As the three of them navigate the treacherous waters of power, can they trust in one another to see their plan come to fruition?

Hope Nation: YA Authors Share Personal Moments of Inspiration

Brock, Rose. Hope Nation: YA Authors Share Personal Moments of Inspiration. 2018. 304p. ISBN 9781524741679.

When the world is dark, and it feels like there is not much to live for, it is always helpful to remember that hope exists. In Hope Nation, authors of young adult literature write stories of teens for teens that center around hope. Life can be hard. It can be deadly. But through it all, the authors write letters, poems, essays, and stories that discuss the despair felt by teens, but the hope and the knowledge that things will get better, for after the storm the sun always shines. 

The mix and variety of authors ensures that there will be a story in here for every reader!

The Hunting Accident: A True Story of Crime and Poetry

 Carlson, David & Landis Blair. The Hunting Accident: A True Story of Crime and Poetry. ISBN 978-1-62672-676-5.

Following his mother's death in 1959, young Charlie Rizzo must move from California back to Chicago to live with his father, Matt Rizzo. An aspiring poet, Matt Rizzo is blind, and Charlie soon finds himself helping him complete tasks around the house, including reading the stories and poems his father writes on a Braille machine before being transcribed. 

When asked, Matt reveals that he was hunting with friends when he was a kid, and in an accident was shot in the face with pellets, causing him to lose his eyesight. Charlie grows up, and joins the wrong crew of wannabe wise guys. Charlie gets caught driving the getaway car for his gang, and he is arrested. His father bails him out, and begins telling him the story of his life. The hunting accident was a lie, he was actually shot during a robbery with his own crew of mobsters, and ended up spending time in jail. As a blind man, he was placed with Nathan Leopold Jr., who had committed the thrill killing of a teenager with his best friend. Matt now tells his son the story, hoping to save him from the life he led when he was his age.

A true story of a Chicago mobster, this graphic novel is beautifully and hauntingly illustrated as Matt and Charlie explore literature, crime, and family dynamics. Filled with poetry and references to Dante's Inferno, The Hunting Accident builds a timeless tale of fall and redemption.

They Went Left

 Hesse, Monica. They Went Left. 2020. 364p. ISBN 9780316490573.

The Second World War has concluded, and Germany was defeated. During the drive of armies to Berlin, soldiers encountered concentration camps, and freed the prisoners. These were often too sick or ill to be able to leave, so troops remained behind to guard them as they healed. Zofia Lederman and her family lived in a Polish town until it was conquered by the Germans in 1939. As Jews, their lives immediately changed for the worse. In 1942, they were required to come to the sports stadium for new identity papers. Instead, Zofia and her entire family were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the worst of the concentration camps. Her father, mother, and aunt were sent to the left side when they arrived, while Zofia and her 9 year old brother, Abek, who was tall for his age, were sent to the right. Only later did she learn that the left side was directly to the gas chamber.

Zofia was soon separated from her brother, and was transferred to a different concentration camp as the Russians got closer. Now 18 in the summer of 1945, Zofia's body has healed enough, and she leaves the camp hospital where she was staying to accomplish the impossible task of finding Abek. Zofia is convinced he survived the war, but with millions of refugees spread over the continent, the task proves daunting. Nothing will deter Zofia, however, as she made a promise to her mother to always take care of her younger brother. Traveling first back to her home, then inside Germany proper, Zofia searches for clues as to what happened to her brother in the last chaotic years of the war. Despite the heartbreaks that come from looking, Zofia retains the hope that she will find him. But in a world where there was so much tragedy, can her story ends like the fairy tales she used to love?

Providing the often forgotten perspective of those who survived concentration camps and had to rebuild their lives, They Went Left explore issues of survival, mental illness, healing, and forgiveness. Zofia went through a traumatic experience that nothing will ever heal, yet she must begin rebuilding a world for herself amid the ruins of her previous life. The extreme violence she experienced make her an unreliable witness to her own story, yet her hope remains present. Readers who appreciate Holocaust survival stories will easily find Zofia relatable and will support her quest for reunification with the only family member she has left.

Rook

Cameron, Sharon. Rook. 2015. 464p. ISBN 9780545675994.

When solar flares destroyed the technology that humans relied on for life, work, and entertainment, the world was once again plunged in the Dark Ages. Over eight hundred years have passed since plastics and electronics were in common usage. Humans adapted to this pre-modern lifestyle. In the Sunken City once called Paris, a new government opposed to technology such as the printing press has taken over. The minister of security, Leblanc, is a devotee of Faith, and leaves many of his most important decisions to randomness. The government has arrested and imprisoned hundreds of people in the infamous Sunken City prison.

Sophia Bellamy is ready to go through an arranged marriage to save the fortunes of her family. Her father dilapidated their earnings, and her brother just suffered an accident that threatens his livelihood. It is up to Sophia to get a dowry that will cover the family's expenses and allow them to retain control of their estate. Her marriage to René Hasard, from the Sunken City, will provide enough funds, but he is conceited and, aside from being beautiful, doesn't really bring much to the table intellectually. Sophia also has a secret she needs to hide. She's the infamous Red Rook, the person who has infiltrated the prison of the Sunken City and rescued countless individuals who were condemned to death by the guillotine, leaving behind nothing but a red feather. And René is cousin to Leblanc. Could he be an agent sent to rout her out?

Engaged in a dangerous game of cat and mouse, Sophia must plan to rescue her brother from Leblanc's clutches while discovering what René's endgame is without falling completely in love with him. She's about to be real busy!

Inspired by the Scarlet Pimpernel and the French Revolution, Rook explores issues of social violence and moral dilemmas. Both characters have secrets they are trying to hide, and though it is rather long, the story is a good allegory of the times that followed the collapse of the French monarchy in the 1780s. 

The Body Snatcher and Other Stories

Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Body Snatcher and Other Stories. 2009. 146 mins. ISBN 9789626349823.

Written in 1884, The Body Snatcher and other stories continue to elicit horror and goose bumps more than a hundred years later. When two former medical students coincidentally meet in a small inn late one evening, the horrors of their experience as dealers of cadavers is revealed and relived. Back when anatomists were clamoring for bodies to dissect and learn from, unscrupulous individuals would dig up freshly buried bodies and, when none were to be had, cause a few deaths to keep delivering to medical schools. Unscrupulous men would look the other way and purchase victims of foul play, all in an effort to make the next great discovery. For these two doctors, a victim they were responsible for murdering and disposing of through dissection returns to haunt their conscience, creating tension and culminating in a chilling denouement. 

Several other tales are included, but the other most interesting one is that of The Bottle Imp. In this story, owning a bottle grants any wishes you may have, but at a cost. If you die while in possession of the bottle, your soul will burn in hell. And you can only get rid of the bottle by selling it at a loss, meaning for cheaper than you bought it. Thus, eventually it will be impossible to sell, since it will have no value. When Keawe buys the bottle from a wealthy elderly man, he is forewarned of the dangers, but he purchases it nonetheless. The sudden death of his uncle following his wish for a large home in his native Hawaii leaves him with enough money to purchase and build a wonderful estate, and he then quickly sells the bottle for less than he purchased it so as not to lose his soul. But when he falls in love and discovers at the same time that he has leprosy, he desperately seeks the bottle again. The problem? He can only buy it for 1 cent, and he will be the last owner of the bottle.

Each short story features an atmosphere of dread and fear, and the audiobook narrator does a wonderful join dripping chills down the listener's spine. Fans of short content will appreciate these classic tales!

This is What I Know About Art

Drew, Kimberly. This is What I Know About Art. 2020. 64p. ISBN 9780593095188.

Though the world of art is composed of a multitude of artists from all walks of life, museums for the most part focus on works created by White artists. Growing up, Kimberly Drew visited many museums with her father, but rarely came across creative works from African-American artists. Through her first years of college she struggled with finding a major that appealed to her. It wasn't until she worked as a paid intern in a museum that she discovered her true passion.

As she gained experience and was entrusted with more responsibilities, Kimberly worked hard to ensure that museums were more reflective of the people around them, more open to all of the people of the community they serve, and more welcoming of everyone. She started a movement to encourage the presence of more artists and through her blog, which she started while in college, she showcases African-American artists and the important art they are creating. 

A cry to action,  This is What I Know About Art summarizes what is wrong with todays art world and what can be done to fix it.

The Arab of the Future, Vol 1

Sattouf, Riad. The Arab of the Future, Vol 1: A Childhood in the Middle East, 1978-1984. 2015. 154p. ISBN 978-1-62779-344-5.

As a blue-eyed blond child, Riad is very comfortable in his life in France. His mother is French, and his father is Syrian, but has been studying in France for a while now and hasn't been back home to visit in a decade. His father loves France for its freedoms, but longs for a strong and united pan-Arab society he could lead. After one more encounter with racism in France, Riad's father exiles himself and his family to Libya, where he got a job at the university, so he can raise Riad in an Arab society. 

Things in Libya are strange. There are no locks on doors, and anyone can claim an empty house, something Riad's family experiences on their first night when they return from a walk only to discover someone now lives in their home. Riad meets new friends and begins to learn the customs of the country. Food is rationed, and people are not free to express themselves. Riad is visited by his grandmother and his uncle from Syria, who are mesmerized by his long blond hair. His maternal grandmother also visits, and soon the family returns to France, with a new baby on the way.

Back in France, a younger brother is born, and the family packs up again and this time moves to Syria. The contrast between the two societies is shocking to Riad, but like every child he is resilient and learns to adapt to a new society. His mother, however, is not thrilled to be here. Over the next two years they save a lot of money, but Riad has to navigate complicated family relationships with undertone of political strife and racism as he is called a Jew. When the family once again returns to France, Riad is excited. However, this is just a summer break, and they're heading once again back to Syria.

An autobiographical graphic novel, The Arab of the Future portrays a dysfunctional society and a father always seeking a better future just around the corner. Fans of Persepolis will enjoy the similarities between Riad's early life and that of Marjane.

The story continues in The Arab of the Future 2.

Salty, Bitter, Sweet

Cuevas, Mayra. Salty, Bitter, Sweet. 2020. 320p. ISBN 9780310769774.

Born of a Cuban-American father and a French mother, Isabella Fields has focused her entire life on cooking. An amazing cook and baker in her own right, Isabelle has won the right to participate in a summer competition designed to select next year's apprentice to world-renowned Chef Pascal Grattard. At seventeen, Isabella is traveling to France to spend the summer with her father, who divorced her mother last year following a torrid love affair with another French woman, and who is now expecting a baby. On top of grieving for the loss of her family, she's also mourning the death of her beloved grandmother, her father's mother. An exile from Cuba, her abuela taught her everything she knows about cooking and instilled in her a passion for the delicious.

In France, she's one of 13 competitors. She makes fast friend with the two other girls, but the guys studiously avoid all three of them. Chef Croissant supervises the competition, and Isabella is quick to run afoul of the myriad rules that govern the kitchen's operations. At her dad, she meets her pregnant stepmother's former stepchild, a hot Spaniard with a lovable albino bulldog. She finds him annoying and full of himself, but that doesn't seem to prevent her from falling for him. 

With eveyrthing that happening with her and around her, can Isabella focus long enough to earn the prestigious internship she has always wanted? Filled with memorable characters and a well-developed stories, readers who enjoy romance and cooking are about to be served a wonderful story about being true to oneself and question one's own desires and motives. Fans of books like Once and For All and P.S. I Love You will love Isabella and her trials and tribulations

Into White

 Pink, Randi. Into White. 2016. 288p. ISBN 9781250070210.

LaToya is not comfortable in her skin. Instead of being Black, she wishes she were White. The people in Birmingham, Alabama, are so much nicer, and life is so much easier if you are White. One night, she makes the wish to be White, and when she wakes up the next morning her wish has been granted. Her family doesn't notice a difference, but everyone else sees her as White.

As White, LaToya suddenly finds herself propulsed up the social hierarchy at her mostly White high school. She ranked so low as a Black girl that even other Black people disrespected her. But now that she is White, she gets more attention and more respect. However, LaToya suddenly realizes that not everything is as rosy as she thought it were. She's still at risk from sexual predators. Her rapid climb up the social ladder is more driven by her newness (she claims to be a transfer student) than the fact that she is White. And the people who loved LaToya are really missing her. In the end, LaToya must decide whether to be true to herself, or become something new and different from everything she has known before.

Dealing with the hard topic of race relations with humor and mirth, Into White explores several sensitive issues and provides one answer to "what if" questions. Readers interested in discovering more about how such changes would affect them will enjoy LaToya's struggles.

My Hero Academia, Vol. 28

 Horikoshi, Kohei. My Hero Academia, Vol. 28. 2021. 200p. ISBN 9781974722884. 

The battle between the heroes and the Paranormal Liberation Front continues in several locations, as the Front seeks to revive Shigaraki after he has been imbued with the quirks of many foes. Endeavor and the other heroes have their hands full with the Nomis, and Midoriya and the students from Hero Academia are tasked with evacuating the city as combat rages on by the hospital.

At the villa that served as the Front's headquarters, Hawks has been defeated and is on the verge of being destroyed by Dabi when Tokoyami intervenes to save his mentor. The nagging question remains in Tokoyami's mind, however, as to whether heroes' hands are dirtier than the criminals they seek to imprison.

Shigaraki's escape triggers wanton destruction as most of the city is obliterated by his decay quirk. Midoriya is alerted to Shigaraki's rise, and he attempts to attract the monster away from the evacuees, hoping to save as many of them as possible. Shigaraki, hoping to capture the One for All power of All Might, obliges and follows. With such power released, all the heroes can hope for is to minimize damage ...