Friends Like These

Rosoff, Meg. Friends Like These. 2022. 320p. ISBN 9781774881101.

In the summer of 1983 and fresh out of high school, Beth scores the perfect internship. She joins the crew of one of New York City's most prestigious newspaper as an intern, learning the business from the inside. But life in New York City is expensive, the city is hot and dirty, her lodgings with her sister and her boyfriend, who are fighting all the time and obviously on the way to a nasty breakup, are cramped, and Beth has lost her reference points. New York feels like it will suck her soul out. 

Thankfully, Beth meets Edie, a Jewish girl with a larger than life personality. Edie has met everyone that is anyone, she knows where all of the good parties take place, and she is very experienced sexually, unlike Beth who has yet to be kissed. She also meets Daniel and Oliver, two boys who loom large in Edie's life. 

Through one hot and sweaty summer, Beth learns what it is like to become an adult. She has to navigate drama, relationships, work, and family as she learns more about herself, her wants and desires, and where she hopes to go. 

Banned Book Club

Sook, Kim Hyun, Ko Hyung-Ju, and Ryan Estrada. Banned Book Club. 2020. 202p. ISBN 978-1-9458-2042-7. Available in the graphic novels section of the library. 

In 1983, South Korean Kim Hyun Sook is heading to college. She worked really hard during her high school years to excel and achieve the grades necessary enter the local college. Her mother would rather she follow the more traditional path of finding a husband and raising a family, but her unconventional father, who owns a barely surviving steak house, is supportive and wants her to accomplish her dream of studying literature.

At the time, South Korea is in theory a Republic, but in practice it is a military dictatorship supported by the Americans. Paranoid about the North Korean threat, the surveillance apparatus of the South Korean state sees enemies everywhere, especially on campuses. Ideas not supported by the regime are banned, people who resist are imprisoned, and even people who do not threaten the regime can find themselves subject to arrest and abuse. Having led a sheltered life and protected by her parents, Sook is unaware of the violence that plays on her campus, but her arrival quickly opens her eyes to the abuses and the struggle to achieve basic liberties like reading books and voicing one's opinion.

Joining a book club, Sook is at first horrified to realize she is now a member of a subversive group. When officer Ok, of the security services, closes in on her small group looking to arrest communists and make a name for himself, Sook must decide whether she will stand with her new friends and fight against the regime that oppresses so many, or let the totalitarian regime that governs South Korea silence her voice.

The black and white illustrations are very effective in setting an atmosphere of fear and darkness oppressing the population. Based on Sook's own biography, fans of politics and of history will appreciate the details on how one can resist an illegitimate regime.

Tear Down This Wall

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

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

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

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

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

The UFO Cover-Up: What World Governments Don't Want You to Know

Friedman, Stanton T. and Kathleen Marden. The UFO Cover-Up: What World Governments Don't Want You to Know. Part of the Alien Encounters series. 2018. 211p. ISBN 978-1-50817699-2. Available at 001.94 FRI on the library shelves.

Conspiracies abound about the presence (or absence) or Unknown Flying Objects (UFO). Many encounters have been proven as fake, but just as many have never been truly disproven. This book seeks to make the case that a conspiracy to deny the mere existence of UFOs has taken place throughout Earth's societies, with powerful government officials and scientists using misinformation and bully tactics to denigrate and deny that UFOs had ever been to Earth.

Though references in the Bible and in other holy books indicate that aliens visited Earth in the past, the advent of the nuclear age seems to have attracted attention from outside our solar system, with more and better documented encounters, especially in the United States. This book explores several encounters and how, despite the evidence presented, scientific and government authorities ridiculed witnesses and ignored the science.

Readers interested in UFOs and aliens will appreciate the research examined by the authors that reveal how government agencies, scientists, and mainstream media created a campaign of denying alien visitations. Conspiracy theorists will enjoy the case laid presented that a vast conspiracy is not only possible, but has actually happened. Even readers who don't believe in aliens and in UFOs will be puzzled by the evidence accumulated over the last seventy years of the nuclear age.

The Cold War

Day, Meredith, ed. The Cold War. Part of the Political and Diplomatic History of the Modern World series. 2017. 252p. ISBN 978-1-68048-358-1. Available at 909.82 COL on the library shelves.

The death of Adolf Hitler and the fall of Berlin in April 1945 heralded the end of the Second World War, but it also brought about the beginning of the end for a multipolar world where Great Powers were competing against other. In the wreckage of Europe emerged two Superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, with diametrically opposed goals and ideals. Whereas the Soviet Union was determined to pursue the export of Communism and the installation of a world proletariat, the United States aimed to maintain the capitalistic economic system that had allowed it to triumph over Germany and Japan.

Tensions that had arisen before the war ended, but as both side dug into their respective positions and as two blocs emerged around each Superpower, these boiled over into conflicts, both with the blockade of West-Berlin by the Soviets and North Korea's attack on South Korea. In both of these instances it became clear that the Soviet Union was willing to skirt with open warfare. The advent of nuclear weapons on both side soon insured mutual destruction, and the Superpowers became embroiled in proxy conflicts around the world and competed with each other for political and cultural prestige.

At the same time, decolonization and regional conflicts, which were only remotely linked to this Superpower competition, changed the maps of Africa and Asia. The two blocks never came into open conflict with each other, hence the period became known as the Cold War. At times, such as during the Cuban missile crisis, both seemed bound for war, but were successfully able to avoid it.

At times one side seemed to dominate over the other, while at other points both seemed equally powerful. By the mid 1980s, however, it was becoming clear that the Soviet Union's economic difficulties were about to bring changes. The sudden liberalization of Hungary, which generated a massive wave of East Germans fleeing to the West, coupled with Soviet loss of confidence following their withdrawal from Afghanistan, led in very short order to a collapse of the Berlin Wall and of the Iron Curtain, as well as German reunification and NATO expansion.

Fans of history will enjoy reading the history of the second half of the 20th century and how events that happened then affect us today.

The Cold War

Grant, Reg. The Cold War. 2012. 48p. ISBN 978-1-61535-606-5. Available as an eBook from Overdrive.

The Cold War was the defining feature of the 2nd half of the 20th century. Two powerful countries, the United States and the Soviet Union, faced each other, promoting and defending their interests throughout the world. Uncomfortable allies against Germany and Japan in the Second World War, these two countries became known as superpowers. Armed with nuclear weapons and mobilizing allies, each side sought to neutralize the other without resorting to actual warfare. With the collapse of the Berlin Wall, which symbolically and physically divided the two sides, and the fall of the Soviet Union two years later, the Cold War came to an end. Though tensions perdure between the United States and Russia, the risk of complete destruction is less than it was during the Cold War.

This short book highlights the roots of the Cold War, and its importance in world history. Weapons development, hot conflicts between proxies, advanced spying, and other aspects of the Cold War are examined. Famous and infamous individuals and their roles during this conflict are also explored. A fascinating period in history, the Cold War leaves no one indifferent to the fact that studying history is important to see where we came from and where we might be heading.

On Two Feet and Wings

Kazerooni, Abbas. On Two Feet and Wings. 2014. 256p. ISBN 9781477820377. Available at 955.05 on the library shelves.

It is the mid 1980s, and Iran and Iraq are fighting a bloody war. Suffering heavy losses and international condemnation despite having been attacked by Iraq, Iran resorts to conscripting tens of thousands of boys to serve at the front in what Western journalists referred to as human waves. Similar to soldiers during the First World War, these waves are mowed down by machine gun and artillery.

Abbas is nine years old, and enjoys playing soccer with his friends. His family was very rich under the Shah, but since the Islamic Revolution, times have been hard. Their mansion is mostly empty, as furniture and artwork have been sold to keep the family afloat. When Iran begin recruiting twelve-year-old boys, Abbas’ father and mother decide it is time to leave. But as a supposed enemy of the regime for his previous support of the Shah, Abbas’ father is not allowed to leave Iran. Abbas will travel with his mother to Turkey, and hope to secure a visa to the United Kingdom to live with Abbas’ uncle.

Pretending to be sick, Abbas stays home for more than a week as the family sells its last possessions. At the airport, Abbas’ mother is not allowed to board the plane, but Abbas can, so his father tells him to travel and makes arrangements with a friend to pick up Abbas.

Unfortunately the friend shows up, gives Abbas some instructions, and leaves him alone in Turkey, without much knowledge of the country or even of the language. What follows is remarkable. Through the goodness of people’s hearts, Abbas is rescued from his situation. A kind-hearted taxi driver helps him find a cheap hotel. Abbas is inventive and driven, and he manages to persuade the hotel owner to begin several endeavors that generate income for Abbas and for the hotel. He also finds employment running parcels for a jeweler in the marketplace. Through it all, Abbas spends time at the British Consulate, hoping that his mother will be able to join him as he attempts to secure a visa and finally get out of Turkey.

A powerful memoir, Abbas’ story describes his hopes and fears about being separated from his family and his desire to impress his father and be a success himself. Fans of The Red Umbrella and of A Night Divided will appreciate Abbas’ ingenuity and adaptation in the face of overwhelming circumstances.

Thornhill

Smy, Pam. Thornhill. 2017. 533p. ISBN 978-1-62672-654-3. Available at FIC SMY on the library shelves.

It is 2016, and Ella and her father just moved to Midchester, in a house abutting the extensive grounds of an abandoned orphanage named Thornhill. Her father works a lot, and Ella often finds herself at home alone. She doesn’t know anyone in town, so she spends a lot of time looking out her window at the ruins that is Thornhill. When she spots a light in the top floor, Ella is curious. Who lives there?

In 1982, Mary is an orphan who lives in Thornhill. Suffering from selective mutism, Mary has no friends and spends most of her time in her top floor bedroom, creating masterful puppets out of fabric and clay. These are her true friends. Unfortunately for Mary, a bully she thought had been adopted for good has been returned to the orphanage for poor behavior. This unnamed bully has been harassing Mary and turning all of the other girls against her. When she was here Mary could not sleep at night and had to watch her every step. Now that she’s returning, Mary confides in her diary that she will never have a moment’s peace.

As Ella investigate the property next door, she finds old broken dolls. She begins fixing them, and eventually she meets Mary. Then Ella discovers that Mary died at Thornhill back in 1982. Mary, meanwhile, tries to deal with her bully but the conditions at the orphanage grow worse as kids are adopted out and the facility readies for closing. When Mary discovers that she and her bully will become roommates in a new institution, it is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. She needs to take matters into her own hands. Will present-day Ella assuages past Mary’s ghost and become her friend?

Mary’s perspective is told through a diary, while Ella’s view is presented through images only. The two stories combine in a beautifully written sad tale of bullying and its consequences.

This Is Just a Test

Rosenberg, Madelyn and Wendy Wan-Long Shang. This Is Just a Test. 2017. 244p. ISBN 978-1-338-03772-2. Available at FIC ROS on the library shelves.

As the only Chinese Jew he knows aside from his sister, David Da-Wei Horowitz feels very different from everyone else, especially as he’s preparing his bar mitzvah. David’s mother is Chinese, and her mother lives with them. David’s father is Jewish, and his mother lives a few blocks away from them in a suburb of Washington, D.C. Both grandmothers are always competing against each other to see who can cook the better dish, who can better care for the family, and who is loved more. David feels like a ping pong ball between the two of them, always trying to avoid offending either grandmother. Each grandmother endeavors to win David’s affection but rather successfully manage to embarrass him.

At school, David and best friend Hector are mostly ignored by the others, but when heartthrob Scott asks them to join his school trivia team, David jumps at the chance. He hopes to learn how to talk to the girl he likes, Kelli Ann. The three of them begin getting together to practice. Stressed about the upcoming school trivia tournament, David is also worried about his bar mitzvah, especially since both grandmothers are trying to plan it for him, and it has to top his cousin Jacob’s own celebration last year. However, looming larger in David’s mind is the possibility of nuclear annihilation. In this year 1983, both Americans and Soviets are facing each other in a Cold War, and each side has enough nuclear weapons to achieve mutually assured destruction. David is constantly worried that the bombs are about to fly, especially after watching a television special, The Day After. He decides to help Scott build a nuclear shelter in Scott’s back yard, where there will only be room for two, as Scott finds Hector weird. Can David reconcile his friends and manage to avoid dying of embarrassment at his bar mitzvah, or will the Soviets launch a nuclear attack and end it all?

The stress on children of living in the Cold War is palpable in this entertaining book. For other books representing life during the cold war, take a look either at A Night Divided, another historical book where an oppressive society, in this case East Germany, attempts to control the thoughts of its citizens and how a teenage girl fights back, or at The Enemy, taking place in the United States in the 1950s.