JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Part 1: Phantom Blood

Akari, Hirohiko. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Part 1: Phantom Blood, Vol. 1. 2015. 245p. ISBN 9781421578798. In the graphic novels section of the library.

When Dio Brando arrives at the Joestar's estate's new adoptive son, Jonathan, heir to the Joestar's fortune, fully expects to become best friends with him. Dio, however, has his eyes on the fortune, and he will do everything he can to undermine Jonathan in front of his father, so he can secure the title of heir. And immediately, Jonathan discovers that Dio will do anything to make him miserable.

When Dio's father came upon a broken and destroyed carriage, he hoped to secure the riches of the dead people inside, but Jonathan's father was still alive, and, to thank the man, he offered to take care of his son when he came of age, and provided him with money to educate him. A strange stone mask of the Aztec was also in the carriage when it crashed.

Over the years, Dio kills Jonathan's dog, sexually assaults his first love, and humiliates him in front of Jonathan's friends and acquaintances. As the two grow even further part, the climate at the Joestar's estate gets worse. When Dio's attempt at poisoning his adopted father is discovered by Jonathan, Dio fears there's now nothing left to do but kill Jonathan. Having read the research Jonathan did on the stone mask, Dio realizes that this might in fact be the one tool he can use to dispatch the rightful heir. Unfortunately, his plans fail when he's outfoxed by Jonathan, so Dio elects to use the stone mask on himself as he escapes the estate ...

It Happened to Anna

Meija, Tehlor Kay. It Happened to Anna. 2024. 224p. ISBN 9780593647035. 

The only time Sadie had a friend, her friend was killed in a horrific accident by the ghost that haunts Sadie. Following the tragedy, her father and Sadie left their home and the past behind, hoping to find a new leaf in the town where Sadie was born. Sadie's mother left the family when Sadie was very young, and she has only a few vague memories of her. 

Sadie clearly remembers the ghost, however. There's always seems to be a presence around her, especially when she talks with other kids her age. First, she starts getting cold. Then the room gets darker, and electric bulbs explode. That's how the ghost communicates its dissatisfaction with Sadie. But the ghost can do much more, like altering the course of a vehicle so that Anna gets run over. Now Sadie doesn't want to endanger anyone by attempting to become their friend. 

At her new school, Sadie meets Charlotte, and the school counselor soon encourages Sadie to participate in activities, To avoid going back to a therapist, Sadie agrees to attend the graphic novels club, which is led by Charlotte. The ghost is upset by this, and a door slams and a lightbulb explodes. Hoping to avoid Charlotte from now on, Sadie exits the school through the back doors, only to stumble upon another student hanging out by the dumpster. Mal is everything Sadie is not. She's daring, irreverent, and loves a good prank. Sadie is surprised that the ghost does not react when she's with Mal, so Sadie begins spending more and more time with her. But Mal has secrets. One, Sadie can never ever see her parents, as they would disapprove of this relationship. Two, they have to do things Mal's way every time. 

As the pranks gain in intensity, Sadie is both thrilled and worried that Mal is leading her the wrong path. And with the ghost still lurking, Charlotte and Sadie's other acquaintances may be in real danger ...

A fast-moving but predictable ghost story, It Happened to Anna focuses on Sadie's lack of friendships and her craving for human relations. Fans of books like Closed for the Season will enjoy this tale of danger and paranormal activity!

Virtual You: How Building Your Digital Twin Will Revolutionize Medicine and Change Your Life

Coverney, Peter and Roger Highfield. Virtual You: How Building Your Digital Twin Will Revolutionize Medicine and Change Your Life. 2023. 332p. ISBN 9780691223278.

The evolution of medical knowledge and of medical technologies has led to something unthinkable even a few years ago. It is now possible to build an exact replica of you digitally, which can then be experimented on to determine best treatment options, as well as model the impact of several decisions, such as lifestyle changes, diet improvement, or therapies that could extend your lifespan or diagnose diseases before they even occur.

Computers, machine learning, and artificial intelligence now combine to analyze and sequence your DNA, allowing the genetic code that makes you to be digitized. It is then simply a question of running your DNA through tests and scenarios to see what happens to you. Virtual You describes the process of creating a digital copy of you, from all of the intricacies of the human body to more philosophical questions, such as the impact that predictive medicine would have on people, especially in its infancy where only those who can afford it would benefit from it. One step removed will be the interaction of your digital twin with the digital twins of other people. Would you like to know you might have colon cancer in your 50s when you are 15? What your child could look like and be like based on the digital twin profile of a prospective lover? Would you change how you live based on a prediction? 

Fans of medicine and of what the future will look like will appreciate the latest scientific advances described in Virtual You, and how these will change society in the years to come.

The Talent Thief

Thayer, Mike. The Talent Thief. 2023. 288p. ISBN 9781250771025.

Tiffany and her father are neighbors of the local planetarium, and her father has been working there for years hoping to increase its popularity. They are not well off, but they have each other. The problem is that Tiffany is cursed, and anything that can go wrong will. At school, Tiffany has a habit of putting her foot in her mouth (not literally) by ruining any special moment, such as loudly farting on the cutest boy in her class on accident. As a result, Tiffany has learned to thrive in the shadows, hiding from the popular people so that they can't bully her and pick on her. And as a stage hand, being in the shadows suits Tiffany, even though she sometimes craves the limelight.

But the planetarium is in danger of closing. A lack of funding can only be solved through a large fundraiser, but if that fails, Tiffany and her father will find themselves without a home. A wealthy philanthropist is willing to donate a large sum, but only if the fundraising show's ticket sales are satisfactory. How can Tiffany help?

One night, two meteors collide over her backyard, and Tiffany finds herself with the amazing ability to steal someone's talent. Whether it be shuffling cards, dancing, or singing, Tiffany only has to touch someone's prized possession to acquire their talent for the rest of the day. She discovers this ability when she accidentally steal mean girl Candace's voice, the one she was planning to use for the musical audition, and uses it for her own. 

Soon she attracts the attention of Brady, one of the most popular boy in school, who appears to have an axe to grind. Together, they begin planning to "borrow" talents for the fundraising competition, so that they can defeat Candace, avenge Brady's humiliation, and, for once let Tiffany stand in the spotlight. But Tiffany will have to decide for herself if it's ever okay to steal someone else's talent to reach her goals.

A light and fast-moving middle school novel, The Talent Thief explores what happens when you suddenly find yourself able to keep up with the best, and the impact it can have on your life. The characters are realistic, even as the mean girl is only portrayed in one dimension. Readers who would enjoy knowing what it's like to possess someone else's talent will enjoy this story!

A Bánh Mì for Two

Nguyen, Trinity. A Bánh Mì for Two. 2024. 224p. ISBN 9781250910837. 

Lan is a dutiful and loving daughter working with her mother in their small bánh mì food stall in Saigon, Vietnam. Ever since her father died, Lan has needed to put her dreams of writing and attending university on ice. Her cousin, who lives with them, pursues his studies and works at the stall too, helping the family get by. With Lan's mother being sick, Lan feels caught and hopeless. Even her famous food blog, A Bánh Mì for Two, which is read by people all over the world and often mentioned by tourists who visit their stall, has suffered from Lan's writing block.

Vivi lives in California, and her parents are also from Vietnam. But their past lives are shrouded in mystery. For her father, it's because he immigrated when he was a toddler, and doesn't remember much about the country. For her mother, it's because dark secrets have shut down any discussion about the past and what life was like there. Vivi doesn't even know if she has relatives still in Vietnam.

When the opportunity to study abroad presents itself, Vivi jumps on it. Weary that her mother would not approve, Vivi tells her parents she's heading to Singapore for a semester, but instead she travels to Saigon. Armed with old photos she stole from her mother, Vivi hopes she can track down her relatives, try all of the places she discovered on A Bánh Mì for Two, and, perhaps even meet the writer, with whom she shared a writing contest application worth a lot of money.

Vivi's dorm is located across the road from Lan's stall, and soon Vivi discovers that Lan is her favorite writer. Vivi makes a deal with Lan. She will help her come up with ideas for the writing contest, and Lan will help her track down her family. As their relationship blossoms into love, both Lan and Vivi learn about their past, gain a better understanding of their parents, and take steps towards their own independent futures.

Fans of light romance will love A Bánh Mì for Two, with its realistic portrayal of two older teen searching themselves for a future that is hidden. The description of food and of Saigon, with its smells and tastes makes the reader salivate and wish they were in Vietnam with Vivi.

Gentrification Is Inevitable and Other Lies

Kern, Leslie. Gentrification Is Inevitable and Other Lies. 2022. 252p. ISBN 9781839767548. 

Gentrification is the process of replacing one community in a location with another. A neighborhood populated with Irish immigrants at the turn of the 20th century transforms itself into little Italy, to then welcome Ethiopian immigrants, before being swallowed by people with money who purchase buildings and land, tear them down, and rebuild expensive residences the locals cannot afford. Gentrification occurs all over the country and around the world, but the process remains filled with questions. Who benefits from gentrification? The locals? The newcomers? The city coffers? Who is most affected when a neighborhood changes?

In Gentrification is Inevitable, the author explores the truths and the myths behind this urban phenomenon, and answers some of the questions that arise out of what many consider to be an urban crisis. The truths are that the most vulnerable communities are usually the most impacted by gentrification. It causes a net loss of housing for folks who do not have the means to remain in their old neighborhood. Myths are that gentrification are inevitable, and that it contributes to a vibrant city life. Looking at gentrification through class, gender, race, and even sexuality, the author argues that gentrification is the American colonial project that continues, when locals with limited means are expelled from their land and replaced with folks that "look like us." But resistance is possible, and gentrification can be fought by citizens when they demand that the city be built for everyone, and not only for individuals with money.

In an age of soaring rents and a lack of affordable housing, readers who enjoy urban history will appreciate this volume and the steps it provides to fight off gentrification.

Blue Lock, Vol. 2

Kaneshiro, Muneyuki. Blue Lock, Vol. 2. 2019. 208p. ISBN 9781646516551. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

With a round-robin starting in Pod 5, as announced at the end of Blue Lock, Vol. 1, Team Z first faces Team X and their striker. Isagi suggests the team should focus on one player, but because everyone thinks of themselves as the best striker, no one agrees to take on the other roles. A series of games of rock-paper-scissors seal the positions, but the grumbling does not stop. They soon realize that unlike them, Team X came up with a plan of attack that every pass is thrown to their striker, who scores a goal against an inexperienced goalie every time. Team Z breaks down, with everyone trying to do their own thing, and even stealing the ball from each other to be the one who scores a goal and gets to remain behind if the team is eliminated. Predictably, the team loses the match.

In the debrief, they agree to a new plan. Each player has a special weapon they can draw on, whether it be an amazing jump, the ability to read the field, or the best-left sidekick. Team Z creates a new battle plan where each player will have 10 minutes to serve as striker and a particular strategy will be executed.

Their next match occurs against Team Y. Unlike Team Z, Team Y focuses on defense, and only when the opportunity presents itself do they pass it forward, leading to a goal. With a score of 0-1, Team Z faces elimination. But then Isagi realizes that Team Ys formation is not built around their striker but around their midfielder, who, like Isagi, can read the field better than most. Armed with that knowledge, Isagi passes his turn to execute their plan and instead focuses on stopping Team Y's strategist. Will the gamble pay off, or will the team go home?

The Great Pet Heist

Ecton. Emily. The Great Pet Heist. Book 1 of the Great Pet Heist series. 2020. 256p. ISBN 9781534455368.

The morning Butterbean throws up on the floor, she is blissfully unaware that her life and that of all of the other animals in elderly Mrs. Food's apartment is about to change. When Mrs. Food comes out of her bedroom, she slips on the vomit and falls, hurting her head. Thankfully. Mrs. Food had an alarm button, and is able to call for help. The ambulance arrives, and she is taken away to the hospital, leaving the animals behind.

Suddenly, Butterbean the wiener dog, Walt the cat, Oscar the bird, and Marco and Polo the rats find themselves alone. How will they feed themselves? Who will take care of them? How will they have enough money to pay for their expenses? On top of it all, they are visited twice a day by Madison, a girl who resides with her aunt in the building, and Madison seems to always come at the most importune times, when they are busy plotting how to survive.

Putting their resources together, they discover that Butterbean has acquired a gold coin from the Scary Man, a resident who gives her the creeps. If he has a gold coin, perhaps there are more! Walt and Oscar soon hatch a plan to discover the apartment in which the Scary Man lives, then break in and take the gold. Working together, the pets put their plans into motion, and successfully retrieve the gold. Scary Man is violent, however, and when he takes Madison hostage, thinking it was her who stole the gold based on a button left in the apartment (Polo, one of the rats, had taken the button and it was her most prized possession), the pets now must undo their heist, but figure a way to capture Scary Man ...

A humorous story told from the pets' perspective, the animals are relatable, their worries very human, and their ways of dealing with stress and anxiety all to realistic. Fans of mystery and high jinx tales will enjoy The Great Pet Heist.

The story continues in The Great Ghost Hoax.

Reconnect: Building School Culture for Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging

Lemov, Doug, Hilary Lewis, Darryl Williams and Denarius Frazier. Reconnect: Building School Culture for Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging. 2022. 272p. ISBN 9781119739975. 

The smartphone is undermining the mental health and education of our children. It is becoming a plague, causing anxiety, depression, anguish, and thus affecting the learning that children perform in schools. Many schools are now in the process of banning cellphones, from limiting their use to specific times of day to outright bans on campus. In Reconnect, several distinguished educators argue that schools must improve the sense of belonging that students experience when they are present to improve their lives and the learning that occurs.

Drawing on extensive experiences and studies that examined high-performing schools, the authors suggest multiple pathways that can be used to build a learning environment where students feel loved and protected, where they are free to be themselves and socialize with their peers in a risk-free environment. A practical guide for how schools can change how they operate to facilitate the reconnection of their students to the society they live in, Reconnect provides a guide to improving the environment and helping students become more confident and better learners. 

Maximum Ride, the Manga, Vol. 2

Patterson, James and NaRae Lee. Maximum Ride, the Manga, Vol. 2. 2009. 262p. ISBN 9780759529687. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

Shocked to discover in Maximum Ride, the Manga, Vol. 1 that their father-like figure Jeb is not only still alive but is in fact still working for the School, Max finds herself a captive along with Angel, and witnesses that many others have been experimented on at the School with various animal DNA genetic manipulations. When Jeb tells her that her entire existence is designed to save the world, Max is not only dubious, she really doesn't care. 

Brought outside by Ari, chief of the Erasers, a childhood companion and Jeb's own son, Max and Angel escape with help provided by their friends Nudge, Fang, Iggy and Gassy. Armed with new information on the location of a secret facility in New York City that possesses their demographics, including the family they came from, and spurred on by Nudge, who really wants to meet her birth family, the flock heads east. In New York, Max starts receiving messages in her head that cripple her. A voice is providing her with details and locations, but there's no way she can trust everything it says. 

Several encounters with Erasers lead to the presumed death of Ari, but Max and the flock successfully exfiltrate information about their birth. Noting that all of their families were from northern Virginia, Max decides they should next head to Washington D.C....

The story continues in Maximum Ride, the Manga, Vol 3.

Alive

Sigler, Scott. Alive. Book 1 of the Generations Trilogy. 2015. 345p. ISBN 9780553393101.

M. wakes up in a coffin. Terrorized, the twelve-year-old manages to break out of the confine of her wooden box, only to discover that there are 11 other wooden boxes in the room. Muffled sounds from another box indicates that someone else is trapped, so M. grabs a bar laying nearby and breaks the cover. Inside is another girl, about 15 or sixteen, who is relieved to be free, but who claims to also be 12, and that today is her birthday. Looking at herself, M. realizes she also has the body of a teenager. She doesn't remember much about her life, only having snippets of information. She can't even remember her own name, nor can she recall the faces of her parents.

In the room, they discover four more kids who are alive, and six who died in the coffins. All of the survivors are confused and scared, but M. takes control, and soon the group is roaming the hallway, looking for an exit. The hallway is straight and is inclined upward, indicating they must be buried deep within some sort of structure. When they come across another larger group of kids, M. contests their leader's command, and Bishop, who led the group, reluctantly yields to her. At heart, all of them are still 12, with predictable childish reactions.

As they search for food and water, the combined group encounters a feral pig, and soon come across a room filled with farmland, vegetables, fruits, and pigs. But just as they hunt the pig, the pigs are hunting them, and some of their comrades fall victims to the pigs' voracious appetite.

When one of M.'s new friend is kidnapped by strange monsters in the farmland, they escape back to the hallway, only to return to their point of origin. Suddenly it dawns on them that they are prisoners on a gigantic starship. And the monsters that hunt them are themselves, only adult and deformed by radiation and years spent in isolation in space. Will M and her group discover a way to escape this hell?

The 80's and 90's: Power Dressing to Sportswear

Lomas, Clare. The 80's and 90's: Power Dressing to Sportswear. 1999. 32p. ISBN 9780836826036. Available at 391 LOM on the library shelves.

Following the swinging 1970s, fashion adapted to new materials and designs. The 1980s saw the rise of the supermodel, young and beautiful men and women who showcased the best clothes produced by famous designers. The showing of wealth became ostentatious, with rich people flaunting their prosperity. The world also saw technology enter the fashion world. Items like the cellphone and the pager became fashion accessories. The roles of men also evolved, with more involvement in the family, caring, and sharing.

In the 1990s, fashion moved from the colorful and shiny to the more drab and shabby. Grunge, which evolved out of Seattle, impacted fashion with dark colors, combat boots, and flannel shirts. Simultaneously, girl power with groups like the Spice Girls hit the scene, showcasing female talent and powerful women in a man's world. 

Fashion both followed social evolution and influenced society and as the century came to a close, the best aspects of previous decades became enmeshed in the flavor of clothes circulating.

Bleach, Vol. 2

Kubo, Tite. Bleach, vol. 2. 2004. ISBN 9781591164425. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

Chad is a student at Ichigo's school, and he is strong as an ox. When he found a talking parakeet in Bleach, Vol. 1, he agreed to protect it against the monster that was chasing him. The strange marks that had just appeared on his body indicated to Ichigo and Rukia the Soul Reaper that Chad might be affected by a Hollow. They encouraged Chad to check in at the clinic run by Ichigo's father.

Unfortunately, when Ichigo finally arrives, Chad has already left the clinic through a window. Ichigo and Rukia begin chasing for him through the streets, hoping to find him before the Hollow does. Up to now, Rukia has had to knock Ichigo unconscious to release his soul so he could hunt Hollows. To assist the process, she purchases a pill he can take to immediately release his soul while a spare soul will inhabit his body and act like him while he's performing his Soul Reaper duties. The soul Rukia purchased was defective, however, and it decides it really likes Ichigo's body.

As Ichigo and Rukia seek Chad, the parakeet, and the Hollow that hunts them both, Ichigo's body has a new personality that seeks to impress the girls at school ...

The story continues in Bleach, Vol. 3.

Give Me A Sign

Sortino, Anna. Give Me A Sign. 2023. 303p. ISBN 9780593533796.

Lilah has hearing loss. She is not profoundly deaf, but she has a hard time following multiple conversations at the same time, or when music is playing, or even sitting in the back seat of a car. But because she can still hear some, she feels like standing on both side of a large divide. She's not deaf enough to fully master American Sign Language or to understand the intricacies of the deaf community. She's too deaf for a society organized for the hearing. 

The spring of her junior high school year, Lilah is observing her friends all making plans for the summer. Due to her poor grades, her mother has enrolled her in a tutoring program, so Lilah is facing eight weeks of struggling with courses that don't really interest her. On a whim, she applies to work as a counselor-in-training and the summer camp for the deaf and the blind she attended when she was a child. To her surprise, she is hired and soon finds herself in the woods with campers. Not fluent in American Sign Language, Lilah has difficulty communicating with the profoundly deaf, including Isaac, the super attractive Deaf counselor.

Though Lilah was not looking for romance over the summer, she finds herself intensely attracted to Isaac. But with many campers to supervise, a non-deaf Youtuber who enjoys a level of notoriety with her sign-language videos, and other counselors who have a serious history, Lilah is soon overwhelmed with the complexities that are present in the Deaf community. Will Lilah finally be able to find her voice?

The diversity of the deaf culture is explored in Give Me a Sign, and all of the characters are realistically written and convey accurate emotions and relationships. Fans of light romance and interpersonal relationships will enjoy exploring a different culture.

Metals and Non-metals

Walker, Denise. Metals and Non-metals. 2005. 48p. ISBN 9781583408223. Available at 546 WAL on the library shelves.

Metals are prevalent in our physical environment and they are an essential part of our society. Used for everything from building to vitamins, metals constitute the largest block of chemical elements on Earth. As chemicals, metals share certain characteristics, but also differ widely in their atomic structure, their ability to conduct electricity, and their capacity to transform into alloys when other chemical elements are added. Some metals have better characteristics when combined with other elements, including steel and titanium, while others are appreciated more for their purity, such as gold and silver.

Metals and Non-metals present information on these fundamental blocks of matter, using effective graphics and diagrams. It also presents ideas for experiments and ways to apply this information in the reader's every day environment.