The Story of Sony

Hays, Scott. The Story of Sony. 2000. 48p. ISBN 978-1-58340-007-9. 338.7 HAY on the library shelves.

Created in 1945 as Tokyo Tsuchin Kogyo K.K. by engineer Masaru Ibuka, Sony had a complicated beginning. The company was founded in the ashes of the Second World War, and took time before it began manufacturing a product people would buy. In the process, Sony changed the world’s perception of “Made in Japan” from cheap knockoff products to top-of-the line quality items.

Sony also perfected marketing techniques to make people realize they needed the company’s products. Using the newly invented transistor in the early 1950s, Sony invented a portable radio, and the company took off.

Now a major electronics conglomerate, Sony remains one of the most experienced and quality-driven corporation. Its dedication to quality ensures that the name survives in a line of electronic products from televisions to radios to computers and gaming stations. The Story of Sony provides an overview of the company’s rise and how dedicated engineers overcame the problems of war and economic devastation to create one of the best known companies in the world.

The Last Echo

Derting, Kimberly. The Last Echo: A Body Finder Novel. 2012. 368 p. ISBN 978-0-06-208219-0. FIC DER on the library shelves

In this third installment of Violet Ambrose’s adventures, she finally finds herself at home working with Sara’s team of other individuals with paranormal powers. Violet, who can sense the echoes left by a violent death on both the victim and the perpetrator, is now attempting to stop the Collector, a deranged man who “collects” victims, whom he calls his “girlfriends” before he creates yet another victim. Her relationship with Jay remains solid, but she finds herself attracted to the enigmatic Rafe. And as Violet becomes the next target of the Collector, she must make choices that will have dramatic consequences for her life.

Derting follows her successful recipe from the two previous books, with chapters that present both Violet’s story as well as that of the Collector as their paths intersect and head for a confrontation. Violet’s character is extremely well developed, with the supporting cast also consisting of believable teenagers dealing with their own issues while trying to solve this mystery in time. The situations presented in the Collector’s chapters involve forcible confinement, torture, and drug use, and are better suited for older teens as some of the descriptions are fairly graphic. There is no sex, however, and except for one instance the language remains appropriate throughout the story. Fans of Derting will appreciate this third volume, and the conclusion indicates that a fourth volume may be forthcoming.

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain

Sis, Peter. The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain. 2007, 48p. ISBN 978-0-374-34701-7.  B SIS on the library shelves.

Peter Sis grew up behind the Iron Curtain, the physical and social wall that separated Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe from Western Europe. An artist, Sis constantly drew images of life behind the wall, and relates in this book what it was like living under Communist rule. Illustrated throughout with a few journal excerpts, Sis conveys through drawing more than words could possibly describes. If you’re interested in what life was liked under a dictatorship, look no further than this quick read!

Click here for a link to book trailer. 

Beauty Queens

Bray, Libba. Beauty Queens. 2011. 396p. ISBN 978-0-439-89597-2. FIC BRA on the library shelves.

Adina, Miss New Hampshire, is on a plane with 49 other girls heading to the Corporation’s Miss Teen Dream pagent when it crashes on the beach of a deserted island. Sixteen girls survive the crash, and find themselves stranded. Adina, who only joined the pageant to expose its dark underside for the school newspaper, finds herself quickly outvoted for leadership in favor of Taylor, Miss Texas. At first, the girls attempt to maintain their pageant routine and continue to backstab each other, but as it becomes clear that they will not be rescued, the girls begin to adapt to their environment.

At the same time, the Corporation is planning an illegal arms deal with MoMo, dictator of the Republic of ChaCha, and is using its secret volcano lair on the same island to effectuate this transaction. The girls’ presence complicates the matter for the Corporation, but Agent Jones, who is charged with this operation, does not believe the girls to be a threat.

Based on Lord of the Flies, over the course of this book the girls explore and master their environment, deal with different ideas of beauty and sexuality, confront gender roles, rescue TV pirates, and eventually must confront the Corporation head on. The lesson, that girls can be whatever they want to be, is well crafted in a hilarious storyline that will leave you wanting more.

Kissing Tennessee and Other Stories from the Stardust Dance

Appelt, Kathi. Kissing Tennessee and Other Stories from the Stardust Dance. 2000. 118p. ISBN 978-1-415-53656-8. SC APP on the library shelves.

Kissing Tennessee tells a story from the perspective of different 8th graders attending the Stardust Dance, the formal dance on the last night of the school year. From conflicted teenagers dealing with major issues to the lighter who’s attracted to who, these well-written stories read quickly and demonstrate that one never knows what others are thinking.

In Dance with Me, Tim Hernandez really wants to dance with Lucy, but he’s too afraid to ask her. Rachel’s Sister, Mary, recounts how she and her sister escaped from her fundamentalist and abusive father and how she now enjoys looking beautiful. Russ Mills dances with Brooke but wishes he was getting Just a Kiss, Annie P. In Starbears, Cub Tanner is attracted to Trent, and he must ask himself The Question. Becca wonders how she became the victim of an assault in The Right Word, while Peggy Lee and Tennessee share a kiss in Kissing Tennessee. And at Midnight, the janitor will begin cleaning the cafeteria as the new graduates will go home and start their summer vacation.

Straight Punch

Polak, Monique. Straight Punch. 2014. 256p. FIC POL on the library shelves.

Tessa loves to tag buildings with her brand of graffiti art, but when she gets caught for the third time tagging the principal’s garage, she gets assigned to New Directions, a school in Montreal North for at-risk teens. Mornings are dedicated to academic work, but in the afternoon students train as boxers and play bouts against each other.

Tessa, who has always been afraid of violence and bullies, is intimidated at first by the other students but she slowly learns their stories and how they ended up there. With her controlling and jealous boyfriend, and a incensed neighbor trying to close what she perceives is a school for delinquents, Tessa must step in a leadership role to save the school, and herself.

Monique Polak wrote another compelling story called What World is Left about a Dutch Jew girl during Second World War.

Busted: Confessions of an Accidental Player

John, Antony. Busted: Confessions of an Accidental Player. 2008. 264p. Available as an eBook on Overdrive.

Kevin Mopsely is a high school senior, but more importantly, he’s a geek and a dork. He plays the flute and only has one friend, Abby. She’s also a senior, she lives next door, and she plays with Kevin in a quartet at school. They’ve never dated, but they’re together all the time.

With two months to go before graduation, Kevin overhears the popular crowd discussing the upcoming meeting for the graduation rituals. Uncharacteristically, he decides to attend. His very presence is immediately noted by Brandon, the alpha senior, who entrusts Kevin with the task of writing the Book of Busts. Kevin has less than a month to get the mensurations of every senior girl in class.

Thrust in a position of power, Kevin quickly begins to get dates with the popular girls, as they hope to inflate their figures. But as the weeks progress, Kevin begins to notice that he’s turning into a monster. His relationship with his mother begins to slide. Worse, his friendship with Abby moves to shaky grounds. All the girls hate him, and even the boys begin to drift away. This assignment is turning into a nightmare, and Kevin is not sure how to get out of it with some of his dignity and self-worth intact.

Fans of this book will appreciate Andrew Smith’s books, Winger & Grasshopper Jungle and Jesse Andrews’ Me, Earl and the Dying Girl. And for a close look at teen angst, rock and roll, sex, and a mystery rolled into one, check out King Dork.