Wires and Nerves, Volume 2: Gone Rogue

Meyer, Marissa. Wires and Nerves, Volume 2: Gone Rogue. Part of the Lunar Chronicles series. 2018. 324p. ISBN 978-1-250-07828-5. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

At the end of Wires and Nerve, Volume 1, Alpha Lysander Steele and his rogue army of bioengineered Lunars managed to evade Iko’s skillful chase. They remain on the loose on Earth, nursing hopes of vengeance against the Lunars who transformed them and the humans who are now helping the Lunars. Steele has devised a plan to bring Cinder to him so he can rip her heart out and avenge himself. He will capture Princess Winter, the Lunar ambassador to Earth, and use her to bring Cinder into a trap.

Cinder publicly announces her desire to renounce the Lunar crown, and focuses on cementing the peace with the countries of Earth. With Iko still on Steele’s heels, she has a plan of her own to finally defeat what remains of Queen Levana’s mutant army. Iko, meanwhile, continues to struggle with her quest for humanity, but finds it hard to deal with Sir Liam Kinney, who never fails to remind her she’s but an android. When she comes across information about her creation and programming, she discovers that, like humans, it’s what you do that makes you unique, now what you are.

Fans of the Lunar Chronicles will enjoy this latest installment. All of the main characters of the Lunar Chronicles appear in this book and the overarching plot is moved forward, but the story remain focused on Iko and her growing relationship with Liam.

A Time to Run: Stuart & Sam

Nicholson, Lorna Schultz. A Time to Run: Stuart & Sam. Part of the One 2 One series. 2018. 203p. ISBN 978-1-9883-4709-7. Available at FIC NIC on the library shelves.

Stuart was born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), and in order to cope with his issues he has learned to run away. A member of the Best Buddy program at his school, Stuart was paired with Sam, who is the captain of the basketball team and one of the best player. Stuart was convinced to be the team manager, but he doesn’t really want to be there. When Sam’s heart stops during a tense basketball game, Stuart is besides himself.

Sam is thankfully revived, but with a new cardiac monitor in his chest he can’t play sports anymore. Goodbye athletic scholarship. Dejected, Sam really doesn’t want to deal with Stuart, but realizes that his commitment to his Best Buddy is important. When he hears that Stuart is getting in trouble, Sam decides to get involved again.

Meanwhile, Stuart is approached by Donnie a local thug and drug dealer who drives a fast car. Unable to see danger, Stuart begins to ride with Donnie and make drug runs for him. Sam notices Stuart getting in Donnie’s car when Stuart is pretending to be participating in track and field at school, he tells Stuart’s mother. With dangerous Donnie still hovering in the background, Sam convinces Stuart to actually join the track and field team, so he can put his running to good use. Stuart turns out to be really good at running, but there are times in life when you can’t run away from your problems.

Told in alternating perspectives, Sam and Stuart’s story provides a glimpse in the life of someone affected by FASD. If you like this book, you will enjoy Bent Not Broken: Madeline and Justin.

Gunslinger Girl

Ely, Lindsay. Gunslinger Girl. 2018. 422p. ISBN 9780316555104. Available as an audiobook on Overdrive.

Following the Second Civil War and the “Pacific Incident,” the Confederation of North America emerged triumphant. Those who called themselves Patriots ended up on the losing side, and fled West into the deserts and badlands. Serendipity Jones’ mother was one of these. She eventually settled in a small border town commune controlled by CONA and had three kids, two boys and Pity. A sharpshooter, alcohol eventually did her in.

Now seventeen, Pity’s cruel and unforgiving father plans to sell her to another community since she is fertile. Pity had been planning to leave with her mechanic friend, but events cascade out of control. She retrieves the one thing her mother left behind, a pair of unique guns, from her father’s chest, and she flees. Originally planning to head to Columbia, CONA’s capital, they are ambushed and her best friend is killed. Pity ends up in Cessation, the cesspool of the world, but, more importantly, outside CONA’s control.

There she is accepted by Miss Celine, who controls Cessation and owns Halcyon Singh's Theatre Vespertine. Max, who rescued her from the desert, also works at the theatre. Pity’s sensational shooting act quickly becomes part of the performance, but when she’s asked to participate in a finale, where she will be responsible to end a man’s life, Pity is not sure she can do it. It doesn’t help that forces larger than Cessation are gearing up for a fight over the lawless city. With all the cards in the air, will Pity have enough bullets to survive a showdown between CONA and its rebellious neighbor?

The Sound of Freedom

Kacer, Kathy. The Sound of Freedom. 2017. 249p. ISBN 978-1-55451-969-9. Available at FIC KAC on the library shelves.

Ever since Hitler came to power in neighboring Germany, the Jews of Poland have lived uneasily. Over the last three years incidents of antisemitism have been on the rise, and violence against Jews is tolerated and even encouraged by local authorities. In Krakow, Anna’s father works for the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra and teaches students. Anna herself is a talented clarinet player, and she hopes to follow in her father’s footsteps. When Anna witnesses the old butcher’s assault by a gang of thugs while the police observes but does not interfere, she knows it is time to leave the country. Yet Jews are not welcomed anywhere, so obtaining transit papers to live somewhere else is almost impossible. Her father does not want to leave anyway.

An announcement in the local newspaper declares that Bronislaw Huberman, the world-renowned violinist, seeks to create the Palestine Philharmonic Orchestra and is hiring Jewish musicians from all over Europe. Anna sees this as her father’s chance at an exit ticket, and encourages him to apply. He demures, saying that things are not as bad. Anna and her grandmother, who lives with them, conspire and write a letter to Herr Huberman anyway, asking him to allow her father to audition. When Anna and her father are attacked by thugs at the Philharmonic Orchestra, he is forced to agree that the situation for Jews is worsening, and that he must find a way out of Poland.

As Jewish persecution intensifies throughout Europe, and as the seeds of the Holocaust are being sowed, the family’s future rests on the success or failure of this audition. But even if it is successful, they will have to adapt to a new country, where the return of Jews is not welcomed by the local Arab population.

Inspired by true events, The Sound of Freedom discusses a little-known aspect of Jewish immigration in the tense years leading to the Second World War and the Holocaust. Fans of historical fiction will appreciate Anna’s efforts to save her family from a doom she cannot identify but that she can feel is about to strike.

Hadrian, Emperor of Rome

Santillian, Beatriz and Julian Morgan. Hadrian, Emperor of Rome. Part of the Leaders of the Ancient World series. 2018. 112p. ISBN 978-1-5081-7484-4. Available at B HAD on the library shelves.

Following a string of bad Roman Emperors, Rome and its citizens were relieved when Trajan took over and brought a period of stability. When Hadrian succeeded Trajan in suspect circumstances, having been declared his adopted son and heir a day before Trajan’s death was announced, many Romans feared that the Empire would fall in civil war. These fears proved unfounded as Hadrian, a skilled soldier and politician, was able to quickly seize power and assert his imperial authority.

Over the next twenty years, Hadrian became the most traveled Roman Emperor. He visited nearly every province, reformed the military, and sponsored large public works in many cities. Several rebellions broke out throughout the Empire, but his generals were able to put them down. An educated man, Hadrian enjoyed his time in Greece, and mastered many subjects. His legacy include buildings in nearly every major city of the Empire, a protective wall separating Roman Britain from Scotland, and a reinvigorated military.

Fans of Rome and of historical figures larger than life will enjoy reading about Hadrian’s travels and accomplishments.

Titles in the Leaders of the Ancient World include:

• Julius Caesar
• Cleopatra

• Augustus

• Cicero

• Nero

• Hadrian

• Constantine

The Count of Monte Cristo

Dumas, Alexandre. Illustrations by Nokman Poon. The Count of Monte Cristo. Part of the Manga Classics series. 2017. 401p. ISBN 978-1-927925-61-4. Available in the graphic section of the library.

At nineteen, first mate Edmond Dantes happily had it all. He was soon to become captain of the ship Pharaoh after the accidental death of its captain. He was about to marry the beautiful Mercedes. And he was financially supporting his father through carefully managing his money. Unfortunately, three men conspire to undermine his life. Danglars, a jealous rival for the position captain, wants Edmond removed so he can become captain instead. Fernand Mondego, Mercedes’ cousin, wants Edmond gone so he can gain her affections. The two of them hatch a plan to have Edmond arrested on his wedding day by incriminating him in a plot to help Napoleon return to France. The royal prosecutor, De Villefort, becomes the third man involved in the conspiracy when he discovers that the letter that Edmond carried was destined to his own father in Paris. Edmond’s fate is sealed, and he is sentenced to prison at the Chateau d’If.

Finally escaping from solitary confinement after fourteen years but having been educated by a fellow prisoner, Father Faria, Dantes vows vengeance on those who wronged him. Upon his death, Father Faria had given instructions to Edmond to locate a treasure, which he uses to transform himself into the Count of Monte Cristo, a fabulously wealthy man who inserts himself in the Paris social scene with one goal: to trap and exact his revenge on Danglars, Mondego, and De Villefort, his enemies.

Artfully condensed from the original French version at over 1,200 pages, this graphic novel loses none of the central plot and focuses on the Count’s carefully planned ruin for his enemies. Beautifully illustrated, fans of graphic novels, historical stories and of suspenseful tales will appreciate how Edmond wreck the lives of those who harmed him. For a similar classic in English, take a look at Wuthering Heights, where Heathcliff wrecks violence on those who harmed him.

The Awakening

Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. 2008. 282p. 283 mins. 978-1-51817167-3. Available as an audiobook on Overdrive.

Edna Pontellier and her husband Léonce are spending the summer months with their children at  a resort at Grand Isle, not far from New Orleans where they reside. Léonce is here for the weekend, and returns to the city for business during the week. As a woman, her roles are seen by society as caring for her children and supporting her husband. Edna chafes under these strictures, however, and does not feel fulfilled by the two traditional roles of mother and wife. On Grand Isle, she meets Mrs. Ratignolle, a woman with many children who enjoys motherhood very much. She also meets Mademoiselle Reisz, a gifted pianist who doesn’t care what society expects of her and instead marches to her own tune. She’s comfortable in her own skin and likes her single lifestyle.

More importantly, Edna meets Robert LeBrun, son of the resort’s owner, and, quite by accident, falls in love with him. Unfortunately, respectable life the 1890s New Orleans precludes divorce and frowns upon an extra-marital affair, especially for a woman. Scared that their relationship might grow, Robert takes off for Mexico, leaving Edna behind. Returning to New Orleans, Edna realizes that she’s tired of being someone she’s not, and she slowly emanciates herself from society’s demands. Léonce is concerned enough to contact a doctor, who tells him his wife is not mentally ill.

Needing to travel to New York for business, Léonce sends the children to his mother outside of New Orleans to give them a country holiday. Suddenly Edna finds herself alone for the first time, able to enjoy herself. She decides to move out of the house, and rents a small residence nearby. Still in contact with Mademoiselle Reisz, she reads the letters Robert sends to the piano player, and longs for him. The letters make it clear that Robert still has feelings for Edna. When Robert moves back to New Orleans, the two are reunited, but as love can be ephemeral, so too can it be fatal …

Over a hundred years old, The Awakening represents one of the first novels ever written to support a woman’s choice of seeking self-fulfilment, and presents an honest view of female sexuality. An early feminist novel, The Awakening continues to foster discussions about what it means to accept or refuse the roles society assign to women in general, and mothers in particular.