Heroes in Greek Mythology

Nardo, Don. Heroes in Greek Mythology. Part of the Library of Greek Mythology series. 2017. 80p. ISBN 978-1-60152-968-8. Available at 398.2 NAR on the library shelves.

Of all of the ancient Greek myths, from monsters to gods and goddesses, from creation stories to natural phenomena, all of these share a central element, that of a hero. The hero of myths was bigger than life, with an outsized personality and powers that derived from the gods and put them out of the leagues of most mortals. From Achilles' invulnerability in battle, except for the heel that wasn't dipped in the river Styx, to strong Heracles, heroes were able to do things that most humans were not able to. They mingled freely with the gods. They fought and protected Greece from its enemies. They fought against oppression and chaos. And in their stories was redemption and hope.

Told by the ancient Greeks to explain the world around them, heroes were from another age, and often inspired by real people who had played major roles during Greece's bronze age five hundred years earlier. Many of the heroes fought against monsters such as giants, cyclops, or Medusa. Some fought for true love, defying Hades and retrieving a lost soul from the Underworld. Others toppled tyrants and dictators. Some were on quests, sometimes of their choosing, like Jason and the Argonauts, but sometimes as punishment, such as Odysseus. Others were lovers whose relationship was so pure the gods wept to see them so happy. All of them, however, remain popular and relevant to this day, permeating our own culture and connecting us to universal ideals, impulses, and desires.

Books in this series include:

• Natural Phenomena in Greek Mythology
• Heroes in Greek Mythology
• Monsters in Greek Mythology

Soul Eater, Vol. 4

 Ohkubo, Atsushi. Soul Eater, Vol. 4. 2010. 208p. ISBN 978-0-7595-3127-7. Available in the graphic novel section of the library.

Soul and Maka have drifted apart, and their wavelength is now diverging enough that it is difficult for them to work together. Dr. Stein proposes a tutoring session where they tell each other how they perceive the other and what their flaws are, hoping to resurrect their synced status. Maka wants to succeed and at least match her mother, who was one of the best students DWMA ever saw and protect Soul from the dangers that lurk out there. Soul is now weary of the power that comes with being a meister's weapon, and he remains haunted by nightmares he can't discuss with Maka.

Medusa, the witch that has infiltrated DWMA, is keen on exploiting the black blood Maka acquired in Soul Eater, Vol. 3. She engineers the release of the Demon Wolf, a man who was imprisoned for over two centuries for stealing the chief witch's eye, and pitches him against Maka, Soul, Tsubashi and Black*Star.

Following their battle, everyone returns to DWMA where they must now pass the most important test of their career at the school: The ultimate written exam. Can this test be worse than some of the enemies the students have encountered before? Meanwhile, Medusa still lurks at the school, and Kid, Patty and Liz hunt for the Flying Dutchman...

The story continues in Soul Eater, Vol. 5.

Finale

 Garber, Stephanie. Finale. Book 3 of the Caraval series. 2019. 478p. ISBN 9781250157669. Available at FIC GAR on the library shelves.

Barely two months have gone by since the Fates escaped Donnatella's magic deck of cards in Legendary. Now the sisters are confronted by a larger problem. Scarlet has lost Julian, who has not returned since he departed on a mission for Legend. She misses him and wishes he would return. Legend, for his part, is set to ascent the throne of the Meridian Empire, but Tella discovered that the boy she fell in love does not really exist. Jack, the Prince of hearts, is obsessed with her and tries to make her an immortal. Meanwhile, the Fates that have escaped are gathering in Valenda, as the Fallen Star, the creator of all Fates, plans to claim the imperial throne for himself.

Scarlet, Tella, Legend, Julian, Jack. All five of them find themselves in the middle of an epic battle for the throne. The Falling Star is immortal, like the other Fates, and only by falling in love can he become human long enough to be killed and forever removed as a threat. Attempting to convince this violent murderer who controls fire will be nothing but deadly, and as Scarlet and Tella become more desperate to forestall the Fallen Star's ascension, the games become ever more dangerous. 

With secrets, violent twists, and a surprise or two, Finale brings the story of Caraval to a satisfactory ending. Fans of fantasy and those who enjoyed the previous two books in the series will enjoy discovering whether true love can in fact save the world!

Secret Soldiers: How the U.S. Twenty-Third Special Troops Fooled the Nazis

Janeczko, Paul B. Secret Soldiers: How the U.S. Twenty-Third Special Troops Fooled the Nazis. 2019. 304p. ISBN 9780763681531. Available at 940.542 JAN on the library shelves.


Wars are won through the courage of troops out on the battlefield. Often, however, the success of these troops rest with the extensive preparations that took place before hand. During the Second World War, the United States army employed a specialized unit called the Twenty-Third Headquarters Special Troops, whose job it was to use special effect warfare to confuse the Germans. Camouflage and spycraft has always been part of fighting wars, but this unit took the processes of obfuscation to a new level. 

Composed of actors, artists, set designers, sound engineers and experts with camouflage, the 23rd began training in the United States before being deployed in the United Kingdom. Their first assignment was to convinced the Germans that the Allies intended to land near the Pas-de-Calais, the shortest distance between England and occupied France. The 23rd created large inflatable armies, drove real tanks to leave tracks on top of which inflatables could be placed, and generated a lot of radio traffic that could be intercepted by the enemy. This operation helped confound the Germans into thinking a large army was getting ready to land.

Following D-Day, the 23rd began its difficult assignments of protecting frontlines with very little troops by creating the illusion, through models, sounds, and radio traffic, that the Germans had in front of them actual fighting units. Throughout the end of 1944 and the beginning of 1945, the Germans often thought that the American units in front of them were real, allowing real divisions to maneuver and surprise the German army elsewhere.

Following the war, many of the members of the 23rd used the skills they had sharpened during the war to become successful artists, movie makers, and sound engineers. Secret Soldiers reviews the twenty military operations the 23rd participated in, and the oversized impact this unit had on the successful termination of hostilities in Europe in 1945. Fans of military history will enjoy the improbable story of what became known as the Ghost Army.

Wilder Girls

 Power, Rory. Wilder Girls. 2019. 357p. ISBN 9780525645580. Available at FIC POW on the library shelves.

Eighteen months ago, a strange sickness afflicted the girls and the staff of the Raxter School for Girls, a private school located on an island off the coast of Maine near Portland. The school was immediately put into quarantine while the Centers for Disease Control conducted research, trying to figure out what was wrong with the school's inhabitants. One teacher died, then another. The more of them did. Students also started dying. All of them suffered strange and often horrific deformations, such as a second spine growing, an eye bursting out, or plants growing inside bodies. Nature itself was also affected, with strange and vicious animals replacing the original flora and fauna.

For eighteen months, Hetty has lived with the Tox, the disease that affects them all. The school population has dwindled, and no one seems eager to rescue them from their plight. Now that only the headmistress and a younger teacher have survived, the girls are more or less on their own. As one of the oldest students there, Hetty and her best friend Byatt are trying to survive. Reese, the daughter of the school's custodian, completes this unlikely trio. The school has retrenched behind its iron fence, protected from the rogue animals on the other side. Girls are positioned on the roof with a gun to shoot those animals. And there's never enough food. The U.S. Navy sends a supply ship, but it seems to never have enough food. 

When Byatt goes through a Tox phase and disappears, Hetty enlists Reese in finding her friend. Their relationship was already rocky, but now this quest to find Byatt will reveal their true nature, as well as break the quarantine the island has maintained for so long. As they search, Hetty and Reese will discover secrets they weren't meant to have, while Byatt attempts to find out what happened to her.

Told from the alternating perspectives of Hettie and Byatt, Wilder Girls is similar to Lord of the Flies, but with an all female cast. Survival, betrayal, love, and sorrow percolate through the book, creating a satisfactory story. Fans of dystopia will appreciate the reality that guide the girls' actions.

Monsters in Greek Mythology

Nardo, Don. Monsters in Greek Mythology. Part of the Library of Greek Mythology series. 2017. 80p. ISBN 978-1-60152-970-1. Available at 398.2 NAR on the library shelves.

Myths often use elements of reality and incorporate them into fantastic descriptions to explain a specific phenomenon or a historical occurrence. For the ancient Greeks, monsters were part and parcel of their experiences. How could they explain the skulls of prehistoric elephants with a hole in the middle where the trunk would be attached? Cyclops. How about the deadliest animals for humans, raptor birds, big cats, and venomous snakes? Flying dragons. Builders of ancient ruins that used stone blocks so tall and heavy that the technology of the day could not move them? Giants.

All of these monsters populated the myths and legends of the ancient Greeks. Some came from the birth of the world, when the gods created the Giants who eventually waged war on the Olympian deities. Others were Cyclops who preyed on men. Many monsters were condemned to the underworld. Some where ugly monsters, cursed by the gods like Medusa. Still others had unknown origins but ended up as constellations in the sky, like Orion and the Hydra.

Throughout Greek myths, recurring figures are often sinister reptilians with the face of a woman. Both themes were heavily influenced by man's perception of women as inferior and villainous, creatures who consorted with snakes to poison men's lives. 

These myths continue to be popularized in movies and books, and retain a foothold in our science-based world, providing a basis of understanding that underpins most of Western Civilization. Fans of myths and history will enjoy the way in which ancient Greeks conjured monsters to triumph over.

Books in this series include:

• Natural Phenomena in Greek Mythology
• Heroes in Greek Mythology
• Monsters in Greek Mythology

Bungo Stray Dogs, Vol. 13

Asagiri, Kafka. Bungo Stray Dogs, Vol. 13. 2019. 192p. ISBN 978-1-9753-0455-3. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

Following the meeting of the leaders of the Armed Detective Agency and the Port Mafia with Souseki Natsume in Bungo Stray Dogs, Vol. 12, all forces converge on the location of Dostoyevsky's secret base. There they hope to capture both the enigmatic Dostoyevsky and the virus skill user who contaminated both the head of the Port Mafia and the President of the Armed Detective Agency. The assault is led by Dazai. He assigns Atsushi and Akutagawa to work together and invest the heavily fortified and manned base.

These two are sworn enemies, and Akutagawa has attempted many times to kill Atsushi. Faced with the possible death of their leaders, however, they put their differences aside, and they penetrate the base, looking for their targets.

Dostoyevsky has kept an ace up his sleeve, however, and manages to keep a step ahead of those looking for him. Will the Port Mafia and the Armed Detective Agency put their differences aside long enough to capture him?

The story continues in Bungo Stray Dogs, Vol. 14.

The House of Salt and Sorrows

Craig, Erin A. The House of Salt and Sorrows. 2019. 403p. ISBN 9781984831927. Available at FIC CRA on the library shelves. 

Annaleigh is one of twelve sisters, and stands as the sixth in line for the title of Duchess of Highmoor, on the island of Salann, located by the sea many leagues away from the kingdom's capital. Over the last six years, the four oldest girls have all suffered accidental but tragic deaths, giving raise to the rumor that they are cursed. The sisters' mother died giving birth to the youngest, and their father was distraught for years until he married a noble from away. 

As the family buries Eulalie, fourth eldest, Annaleigh stumbles upon evidence that she might have been pushed off the cliff. Investigating, she discovers that Eulalie was planning to elope that very night, as she did not want to become duchess. As Annaleigh investigates, she discovers that the manor is haunted by the ghosts of the dead girls, and that her youngest sister, Verity, is seeing them too. With the help of Cassius, a mysterious son of a local ship captain, and Fisher, the son of their nursemaid who works at the lighthouse, Anneleigh searches for the truth, but as she digs deeper, she begins questioning her own sanity as others do not notice what is truly happening to them.

Camille, now in line for the title as the eldest surviving daughter, find a door that leads to a place of dazzling balls, and the surviving girls begin spending most of their evenings dancing away. Anneleigh becomes suspicious of their hosts, and wonder whether they are in fact dancing at all, instead of being involved in something more sinister that threatens all of the lives.

As the ghosts close in on Anneleigh, it becomes increasingly clear that she is an unreliable narrator. Are there ghosts affecting the family, or is she going crazy under the stress of losing yet another sister? The world is well built, but the characters themselves are for the most part templates of each other, with only a name to set them apart from each other. Fans of fantasy will appreciate the writing and will enjoy trying to figure out what is truly happening on Salann.

Charlemagne

 Biel, Timothy Levi. Charlemagne. Part of The Importance Of series. 1997. 127p. ISBN 1-56006-074-3. Available at B CHA on the library shelves.

When the Roman empire collapsed in the 400s CE, a power vacuum was left behind. Germanic invaders had conquered the lands previously governed by Rome, and they set up small independent kingdoms. Over the next three hundred years, these kingdoms fought with each other and with invaders from the eastern prairies and from the Muslim south. Some of these kingdoms began consolidating in the 700s, but it wasn't until Charlemagne ascended the throne of the Frankish nation in 768 that feudal Europe truly came into its own.

Following the death of his father, Charlemagne was co-ruler of the Franks with his brother until he too died a few years later. Charlemagne consolidated his power, and focused his knights and nobles on yearly campaigns of expansion in Italy, Spain, Lombardy, and parts of what would eventually become Germany. He exerted his power over the pope in Rome and was christened the first Holy Roman Emperor, the first person to rule over Western Europe since the fall of Rome. 

He reformed the government, the system of laws, expanded religious orders but reformed the church, and promoted education. At the height of his power, his power stretched from the Atlantic to the eastern border of Germany, and down the Italian peninsula. He established the idea that kingdoms could be hereditary, paving the way for the divine rights of kings and the absolute monarchs of the 1600s. Even today, Charlemagne remains one of the most consequential historical figure.

A Christmas Carol

Larkin, Alison. A Christmas Carol. 2019. ISBN 9781982785246. Available at FIC LAR on the library shelves.

All of us are familiar with A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. We remember Scrooge, and him being visited by three ghosts Christmas eve. We know how stingy and miserly he was. We know of Tiny Tim and his crutches. Most of all, we know it is a redemption story, meant to give Scrooge one more chance at experiencing a humanity he had left behind.

But what if uncle Scrooge was not a man, but aunt Scrooge, a woman? Would the story be any different? Using A Christmas Carol, the author reconstruct the story and tells it the same way Dickens did, but this time using a female protagonist. In our society today, having a woman run a corporation, own property in her own name, and fall in love with another woman does not seem out of place. The fact that the story flows without any issues demonstrates that the limitations society has historically placed on gender are simply irrelevant, and that our world would have been a much better place had women been included in all ranks of society much earlier.

Natural Phenomena in Greek Mythology

 Nardo, Don. Natural Phenomena in Greek Mythology. Part of the Library of Greek Mythology series. 2017. 80p. ISBN 978-1-60152-972-5. Available at 398.2 NAR on the library shelves.

For ancient people, the world was a mysterious place. Natural phenomena such as earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, and storms had no rational explanation. Why were some people struck dead, while others survived? Why did famine affect an entire nation one year, only to have the following year bring a bountiful harvest? Humans crafted myths to explain what was happening around them. Inspired from Egyptian and Babylonian civilizations, ancient Greeks of the bronze age told stories of gods and their battles, dalliances, and meddling in human affairs to explain the events that were taking place.

By the time Classical Greece emerged, these stories and myths permeated the whole society, from rich folks to slaves, and offered a common understanding of the world around them. Despite the growth of philosophy and science, myths continued to be told and retold, ensuring that stories that explained natural phenomena and environmental catastrophes were widely shared.

Natural Phenomena in Greek Mythology shares stories of myths that centered around events and phenomena that happened in nature and that the Greeks could not explain. From the daily rotation of the Sun to the four seasons, from earthquakes to the name and appearance of animals and flowers, fans of Greek mythology will appreciate the details outlined in this book and the ways the Greeks explained what they saw around them.

Books in this series include:

• Natural Phenomena in Greek Mythology
• Heroes in Greek Mythology
• Monsters in Greek Mythology

My Hero Academia, Vol. 5

 Horikoshi, Kohei. My Hero Academia, Vol. 5. 2016. 192p. ISBN 978-1-4215-8510-9. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

Following My Hero Academia, Vol. 4, It is now up to the top 8 students in the final stage of the world renowned U.A. High sports festival. Ochaco is pitted against Todoroki, who avoids her levitating attack to defeat her. Ochaco is sad to lose, but she gave it her best! So far, Todoroki has only used his ice quirk. He refuses to use his fire quirk because he knows it irks his father, and because he is afraid to end up being a man just like him.

Next in the advancing bracket, Midoriya, who has inherited the power of One for All from All Might, makes the decision in his match to draw out both sides of Todoroki into their fight. For once, Todoroki finds an opponent that cannot be defeated with only ice alone, and he is forced to call on his father's quirk to defeat Midoriya. In the process, however, he learns that he can use and depend on that ability without becoming like his father. All Might celebrates Midoriya's loss, because it took extreme courage to abandon the quest to be the best in order to help a friend achieve his own potential.

Finally, the explosive Bakugo and the even-tempered Todoroki meet in the arena for the last match of the sports festival and for the honor of being called the champion. But villains still lurk in the shadows, as Ida is called away following his brother's violent attack and injuries. With a killer on the loose, students may not have much time to celebrate their accomplishments!

Under the Jolly Roger: Being an Account of the Further Nautical Adventures of Jacky Faber

 Meyer, L.A. Under the Jolly Roger: Being an Account of the Further Nautical Adventures of Jacky Faber. Book 3 of the Bloody Jack series. 2005. 518p. ISBN 9780152053451. Available at FIC MEY on the library shelves. 

Jacky Faber's stay at the Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls in Boston was rocky, to say the least, and following her tale in The Curse of the Blue Tattoo, Jacky decides to head back to London and see if she can reunite with the love of her life, Jaimy. First, she must secure passage on a ship leaving Boston and heading back to Britain. She signs on to the Pequod, a whaling ship, where she will serve as a cook's helper, a lady companion for the captain's wife, who is also aboard, and a teacher for their child.

Arriving in London without too much trouble, Jacky is told by Jaimy's family that the young man wants nothing to do with her. A maid informs her that this is a lie, however, and sets to find Jaimy who left for the race track. She reconnects with her old haunts, and finds that Judy, one of the children from her former gang has been forcibly impressed as a washgirl, so Jacky rescues her. At the race track, she sees Jaimy hanging out with a girl, and being hot tempered, Jacky storms off in a huff before Jaimy could tell her the girl was his cousin. 

Jacky is soon captured herself and brought by force onboard the HMS Wolverine to serve as a ship's boy. She reveals she's a girl, hoping she will be put back on land, but the captain decides he will have his way with her. Jacky joins the ship's crew and regains her midshipman's title, but soon finds herself confronted by the captain, who suddenly dies of a heart attack. Finding herself in charge of the ship, Jacky decides to continue waging England's blockade of Continental Europe. Now in command of a ship of the line, Jacky Faber is just getting started!

Rockets

 Miller, Ron. Rockets. 2008. 112p. ISBN 978-0-8225-7153-7. Available at 621.43 MIL on the library shelves.

Nothing conjures modernity, science, and technological exploit like rockets do. Even an expression displays the respect that we have for rockets: "It's not rocket science." Many consider rockets to be the ultimate man-made object, able to break us free from the confines of gravity. They assume, wrongly, that rockets only appeared in the waning day of the Second World War. 

In fact, rockets have long been a part of human history. Igniting powder, used with deadly effectiveness in firearms, was first discovered in China more than two millenia ago. When packed in a small container and ignited, this powder would propel the container in the opposite direction and explore. At first primitive rockets were used to send fireworks in the sky, but the Chinese soon adopted them for warfare, hurling hundreds of rockets at their enemies. The lack of precision and improvement in firearms and artillery soon led the rocket to fade from military usefulness.

A new use for rockets was found on board ships, where they could be used to signal for help. Military scientists created ship-based weapon systems, since rockets do not recoil. These types of rockets were famously used in the War of 1812, inspiring Francis Scott Key's poem that eventually became the American national anthem:

    And the rockets' red glare
    the bombs bursting in air,
    gave proof, through the night
    that the flag was still there

The lack of a guiding mechanism and further advances in artillery led rockets to once again fade from view. In the 1920s, experiments were conducted, and new rockets were designed that included better engines, guiding systems, and the ability to carry a payload. The Germans pioneered the use of rockets as flying bombs, sending V-1s and V-2s in English cities in the latter part of the war. Scientists and their research were captured by American and Russian troops, and the cold war soon saw the rise of missiles and a space race. Better rockets were developed, and humans were sent to space.

The history of rockets is worth reading. One of the easiest engine to build, rockets took time to evolve into reliable vehicles, and even now they continue to fascinate as humanity ponders a return to the Moon and onward to Mars.

Let's Call it a Doomsday

Henry, Katie. Let's Call it a Doomsday. 2019. 400p. ISBN 9780062698902. Available at FIC HEN on the library shelves.

Ellis is very peculiar. A junior in high school in Berkeley, California, Ellis' main concerns are not school, dating, or even her family. You see, Ellis is concerned that the world is ending. She is seriously concerned, so much so that she has thought of as many possibilities as possible of the world ending (catastrophic floods like Noah's, an asteroid crashing into Earth, nuclear armageddon, a gigantic supervolcanic eruption), and she has accumulated supplies to help her family survive when the apocalypse comes. Coming from a Mormon family, Ellis' concerns do not stem from religion. She's not even sure herself why she's so worried about the end of the world. It has warranted sessions with a therapist, however, as her parents are worried about Ellis' mental state.

On her way out of therapy, Ellis runs into a girl in the therapist's office. A patient herself, this girl seems fascinated by Ellis, and she tells her she'll see her soon. Sure enough, Ellis meets her again in her secret corner of the school library, where she eats lunch. The girl introduces herself as Hannah, and she tells Ellis that she has seen the end of the world, and Ellis needs to help her find Prophet Dan, a homeless man roaming Berkeley so he can interpret Hannah's dreams and discover when the world will end.

Ellis soon gets pulled in Hannah's orbit. Armed with fragmented details, the two girls search for the time when the world will end, and soon discover that the date is 12/21, right before Christmas. There's only a few months to warn the world that the end is coming. Along the way, Ellis meets Tal, one of Hannah's friends, and they develop a relationship, as he was also part of the Church of Latter Day Saints before coming out as bisexual. She also meets some of Hannah's friends, and all of them are concerned about Hannah's slowly losing grip on reality. Ellis, however is convinced, and together Hannah and her will tell the world to get ready!

Told from the perspective of an unreliable narrator, Let's Call it a Doomsday focuses on mental illnesses and how they influence one's action. Religion and relationships play a smaller role in the story. Ellis is anxious and neurotic, and is confronted early on by a question from her therapist. What will happen the day after the world does not end? Ellis does not know how to answer that question, but by the end of the book she does. Ellis grows as a character throughout the book. Fans of dysfunctional families and those interested in seeing a teen function while suffering from mental illness will appreciate this book.