Cleopatra

Lowery, Zoe and Julian Morgan. Cleopatra. Part of the Leaders of the Ancient World series. 2017. 112p. ISBN 978-1-5981-7254-3. Available at B CLE on the library shelves.

Cleopatra is one of the most well-known figure of Antiquity. The last queen and last Pharaoh of Egypt, Cleopatra was a contemporary of Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony and Augustus, and more than anything else tried to preserve Egypt’s independence in an era where Roman power was spreading throughout the Mediterranean.

Egypt at the time was considered the breadbasket of the world, and produced important surpluses. These were sold throughout the Mediterranean, generating large wealth for the Egyptian rulers. Since Alexander the Great’s conquest, Egypt had been ruled by the Ptolemy dynasty, who descended from one of Alexander’s generals. These Greek rulers did not mix in with the local Egyptian population.

When Cleopatra was born, the country was being squeezed on all sides by Rome’s expansion. Accepting to become a vassal state of the Roman Republic, Cleopatra’s father paid 6,000 talents to the first triumvirate, made up of Caesar, Crassus and Pompey, around 60 BCE. This bought peace between the two states, but when civil war erupted between Pompey and Caesar following the death of Crassus and Caesar’s crossing of the Rubicon with his legions, Egypt found itself on the wrong side. By this time Cleopatra had ascended the throne, succeeding her father.

A triumphant Caesar entered Alexandria and was smitten by the Egyptian queen. Their torrid love affair became a scandal in Rome and eventually contributed to Caesar’s downfall. A second triumvirate, made up of Octavian, Caesar’s heir, Mark Anthony, and Lepidus, emerged following the defeat of Caesar’s assassins, and Egypt once again found itself in the middle of a conflict between Roman factions. Unfortunately for Cleopatra, Egypt chose the wrong side, and Octavian’s army forced Cleopatra and Mark Anthony back to Egypt, where they both committed suicide.

Always seeking to protect Egypt from the world, Cleopatra ultimately failed but continues to be remembered for her dedication and powerful personality. Fans of Roman history and of strong women will love reading about the life of the last Pharaoh.

Titles in the Leaders of the Ancient World include:

• Julius Caesar
• Cleopatra

• Augustus

• Cicero

• Nero

• Hadrian

• Constantine

Noragami: Stray God, Vol. 8

Adachitoka. Noragami: Stray God, Vol. 8. 2015. 159p. ISBN 978-1-63236-102-8. Available in the Graphic Section of the library.

Yato was bursting with joy when Hiyori offered him his own (albeit small) shrine in Noragami Stray God, vol. 7. Finally, he had made it to the rank of a recognized god. Unfortunately for him, his former stray led him into a trap. Now finding himself a prisoner in Takama-ga-hara, the gods’ dwelling place, Yato is confronted by demands made by his father. Wishing to return to Earth before Hiyori, his only follower, forgets about him, Yato agrees to run one more mission for his father.

Meanwhile, the entire Divine Council has gathered, to discuss the issue of the masked Ayakashis. The seven gods of fortune are held prisoner, as the other gods suspect that Ebisu is the one responsible for the naming of Ayakashis. After investigating and finding the masks on his estate, they tell the other gods of fortune that they will only be released when Ebisu is stopped.

Hiyori is told by the god of knowledge that she really needs to live her life and not spend so much time in divine space. She reluctantly agrees to go on triple dates with her friends. One of the boys is really interested in her, and his attention distracts her from thinking about Yato. Slowly she begins to forget him.

On his last mission, Yato finds Ebisu, and is advised by his stray that they must protect him. But Ebisu seems bent on dominating Ayakashis. Will the cost of remaining in Takama-ga-hara be that Hiyori, Yato’s only follower, will forget him?

The story continues in Noragami Stray God, vol. 9.

An Uninterrupted View of the Sky

Crowder, Melanie. An Uninterrupted View of the Sky. 2017. 289p. ISBN 978-0-399-16900-7. Available at FIC CRO on the library shelves.

Bolivia is at the center of the worldwide cocaine production. The United States, the biggest consumer of cocaine, pressured Bolivia to pass stringent narco trafficking laws to address the problem at the source instead of at its destination. Known as the 1008, this law strips Bolivians of their assets and their due process, even though this violates the Bolivian constitution.

In 1999, Francisco lives a middle class life. His family rents a house, he goes to school, and he’s about to graduate in a few weeks. Francisco’s real passion is soccer, and his ultimate goal is to start a soccer apparel shop with his best friend Reynaldo, but his father, who drives a taxi, insists he continues his studies. His 8-year-old sister sister Pilar adores him, but they share a bedroom and Francisco wishes he had more privacy.

When his mother arrives in a panic by the soccer pitch to retrieve him, Francisco knows something is wrong. His father has been arrested under the 1008 for being a suspect in transporting cocaine. The taxi has been seized, and the family can no longer afford their rental property, much less hire a lawyer to defend him. Overnight the children are forced to move in the prison with their father, while their mother simply abandons the family behind.

Life in prison is terrible. Francisco and Pilar are allowed to leave every day, but must be back by 6 pm. There are other kids who live here and also attend their schools. The prison also houses criminals as well as suspects, and many of them are dangerous. Francisco cannot believe that the government would allow this travesty to happen, but every day he wakes up wondering what will happen next. And if Francisco found his lack of privacy difficult before when sharing a room with his sister, it’s nothing compared to sharing a cell with his sister and father. Now Francisco has a goal. He needs to study to become a lawyer so he can help his dad, but going to school while living in prison is hard. His father has a plan for the family. He wants them to go live with his parents, in the Bolivian mountains, but dark-skinned peasants are considered uncultured and uncivilized, and Francisco doesn’t want to go live with them, away from the city. With his fate and that of his sister in his hand, Francisco has difficult choices ahead of him, if only he can survive another day in prison.

Inspired by true events, Francisco’s story will inspire while confronting the harsh reality of a justice system unable to deliver true justice. Readers who enjoy tragic losses will appreciate Francisco’s changes of circumstances for the worst and the steps he takes to try and fix the scales of justice, but don’t expect a happy ending, just an uninterrupted view of the sky.

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Dweck, Carol. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. 2006. 278p. ISBN 978-0-345-47232-8. Available at 153.8 DWE on the library shelves

There is a wealth of self-improvement books available in any good library, but this is one of the few that present a simple yet very effective way to alter one’s life for the better. Mindset is how one perceives the world and shapes thoughts to interact with it. Mindset is a spectrum that stretches from a fixed mindset where one believes abilities never change and cannot be improved on, and a growth mindset where one believes abilities can be improved and developed, and what matters is not one’s talent and abilities but how they are used to flourish as a person.

The dichotomy between fixed and growth is not necessarily an either or proposition, but rather a continuum. All of us at times can be fixed minded or growth minded. What Dweck advocates is an awareness and an understanding of what it means to have a growth mindset. She also provides concrete steps that anyone can take to infuse growth mindset thinking into their everyday interactions. Everyone benefits when there is more growth mindset being used!

Dear Martin

Stone, Nic. Dear Martin. 2017. 210p. ISBN 9781101939499. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

Justyce McAllister is the top student at his private school, and is ready to graduate and attend an Ivy League school. A free scholarship student, Justyce managed to escape the thugs and drugs from his neighborhood, and is on the path to a valuable contribution to society. Coming back from a party, he notices a girl from his school passed out by the side of her car, and he helps her into the back seat. The police arrives at the same time, and the officer witnessing this scene handcuffs Justyce despite his protestation that he was just helping the girl. As an African-American, Justyce is keenly aware of the prejudices that many police officers have, but he is still surprised that it would happen to him. This incident is eventually dropped, but it mars Justyce’s conscience.

Throughout his senior year he writes letters to Dr. Martin Luther King, challenging the Reverend’s teachings on race relations and hopes for the future. Unfortunately all of the letters are one-sided, as Dr. King can’t write back. The police officer that arrested Justyce is killed, causing more questions to be asked. When Justyce and best friend Manny, also African-American, go for a ride in Manny’s Range Rover, they have a deadly encounter with another white police officer who turns out to be the partner of the first officer who arrested Justyce. Manny is shot to death at the wheel of his vehicle, and it takes Justyce all of his willpower to survive the fallout and the following court case. Throughout it all, Justyce questions the value of a life, the negative issue that plaque society, and his role in it. Can Justyce find some justice in what happened?

Dear Martin deftly addresses several current issues, including race relations, social media exploitation, gang violence, and police shootings of unarmed African-American men. Readers interested in the immediate impact and aftermath of a shooting, as well as those attracted by social justice will appreciate Justyce’s quest to find answers to his questions and see if Dr. King’s teachings remain valid fifty years later.

For a similar take on social justice and solving a gross miscarriage of justice, take a look at This is My America. A companion volume, Dear Manny, explore Justyce's friend electoral campaign in college.

Turtle Island

Yellowhorn, Eldon & Kathy Lowinger. Turtle Island. 2017. 116p. ISBN 9781554519446. Available at

For most Western folks, the history of the Americas begin in 1492, when Christopher Columbus “discovers” a new continent on his way to India. Despite the absence of written records, there is plenty of archeological evidence and storytellings that describe what the Native peoples did and how they lived before the arrival of Europeans. Turtle Island chronicles this history starting at the last Ice Age, based on this evidence, and by records left by the generations that followed. Moments in time are imagined based on what is now known, and a series of topics are explored, such as the animals that shaped the Native peoples’ environment, the art they left behind, and how they successfully adapted to their surrounding to thrive in often hostile environment.

Beautifully illustrated and with an emphasis on the Native peoples’ storytellings of their own creation and myths, Turtle Island provides a voice and a perspective on Native people that is currently missing from today’s historical discourse about the first inhabitants of the Americas. Fans of history will appreciate the thoroughness displayed by the authors in discussing those who were here first, and, though tragic, their history represents the hope that the future will bring to Native peoples.

Be Prepared

Brosgol, Vera. Be Prepared. 2018. 244p. ISBN 978-1-62672-445-7. Available in the graphic novel section of the library.

Vera arrived in the United States from Russia when she was five. She can still speak Russian without an accent, but reading the language is difficult. Vera doesn’t fit at school. Her friends are all solidly middle class, and they throw lavish birthday parties. Vera’s single mother is struggling to make ends meet. Vera never has the right gift to give, and the only time she has a birthday party at her house her friends leave in the middle of the night. With summer getting closer every day, her friends are gushing about the camps they will be attending. Vera would love to go to camp, but there’s no way her mother could ever afford it. Until, that is, they discover that their Orthodox Church sponsors children to attend a Russian language camp in Connecticut. Suddenly, Vera’s prospects are looking good. Plus, she’s sure to finally fit in.

Nothing could have prepared Vera for the reality of summer camp. First, she’s there four weeks instead of two. Being a late registrant, she’s the youngest camper and has to room with the oldest girls at camp. She has nothing in common with them. The activities are terrible, the weather is awful, and the outhouse crawls with spiders. Camp is nothing like she imagined it would be. Forced to adapt, Vera decides to befriend her cool cabinmates. Unfortunately, her plan backfires, and she finds herself on the outs with both of them. Thankfully, her counselor provides her with sound advice, and soon Vera is determined to make the most of what’s left of camp.

Told through a graphic novel format, this camp story is inspired by the author’s first summer camp experiences. The images really contribute to visually tell the story and support the text. Fans of misfits and stories where the little guy (or in this case girl) overcomes obstacles and grows as a person will appreciate Vera’s attempts at fitting in a different group.