When Dimple Met Rishi

Menor, Sandhya. When Dimple Met Rishi. 2017. 380p. ISBN 978-1-48147868-7. Available at FIC MEN on the library shelves.

Dimple Shah is looking forward to the rest of her life, despite her mother’s best efforts at marrying her off to a good Indian man. A recent high school graduate, she’s heading to Stanford in the fall to study web design. Before then, however, she’s hoping to attend a six weeks programming competition. Money is tight in her household, so it will be a problem paying the tuition for this short program. If she wins, Dimple will get to meet her idol, a star app creator. Surprisingly, talking her parents into paying for her participation turns out to be a lot easier than she expected. Generally, her mother would always try to convince her she needs to find a husband and she therefore needs to look pretty, but not this time. This time, she agrees to let her daughter go. Happy, Dimple is ready to compete.

Rishi Patel is heading to the same summer program with one goal in mind. To meet his future wife, Dimple. The Shahs and the Patels, who met each other eight years ago have arranged for Rishi to marry Dimple. Rishi has seen Dimple only in photos, but he already knows she’s the one for him. His parents couldn’t be wrong, could they? Rishi looks forward to courting Dimple and lavishing her with attention. He’s fine with an arranged marriage, because provides stability, honors an Indian tradition, and makes things easy for him. Only, when he first meets her and greets her with “Hello, my future wife,” she throws coffee in his face and wants nothing to do with it. Dimple, as it turns out, did not know her parents were setting her up with Rishi, and she wants him gone from this competition, especially since he’s not really into app design.

Unfortunately, it’s too late. Rishi requested Dimple as his partner, and since she did not express a preference they are now paired together, and they have to work as a team to complete an app. With Rishi being a hopeless romantic, and Dimple a complete cynic who’s mad at her parents for even trying to set this up, will the two of them be able to successfully compete this summer?

The Truth Behind Manufactured Meats

Quinlan, Julia J. and Stephanie Watson. The Truth Behind Manufactured Meats. Part of the From Factory to Table: What You’re Really Eating series. 2018. 48p. ISBN 978-1499439328. Available at 641.3 QUI on the library shelves.

At some point in time, we’ve all heard the expression, “it’s like making sausage, you’re better off not knowing how it’s made.” Referring to the fact that most people would rather not know what is in the food they eat, this book explores the process of manufacturing meats for human consumption. Unlike a steak purchased at the grocery store, items such as chicken nuggets, hot dogs, and deli meats are all processed foods made from scraps and other fillers, along with sodium to enhance the taste, preservatives to ensure a long shelf life, and food coloring to make them more appetizing.

Though every food item sold in the grocery store contains a list of ingredients, most of us neither know what these ingredients are, nor what role they play in affecting human health. Ingredients such as nitrates, used to preserve food, have been linked to cancer. Food coloring is also linked to cancer. Sodium is linked to high blood pressure and heart attacks. Manufactured meats are engineered to be delicious and attractive to the eye, but they may not be the best and healthiest option available.

The Truth about Manufactured Meats informs the reader about what is in their plate, and encourages us to limit our consumption.

Other books in this series include:

• The Truth Behind Manufactured Foods
• The Truth Behind GMOs
• The Truth Behind Soft Drinks
• The Truth Behind Antibiotics, Pesticides, and Hormones
• The Truth Behind Snack Foods
• The Truth Behind Factory Foods

The Nameless City

Hicks, Faith Erin. The Nameless City. Book 1 of the Nameless City series. 2016. 232p. ISBN 978-1-62672-156-2. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

Kaidu is on his way to the great city of Daidu, capital of the Dao empire. Having lived with his tribal chief mother out on the wide plains, he is astonished to see the sheer size of the city. Ready to join the Dao military, Kaidu is looking forward to meeting his father, General Andren, for the first time. An advisor to the General of All Blades, leader of the Dao, Andren hopes to convince the general to agree to share power in the city with the other clans from the plains, to ensure that Daidu remains at peace.

Only the Dao name the city Daidu. Conquerors before them have given it different names, but the residents refer to it as the Nameless city, and themselves as the Named people. The city is often conquered, for it sits at the base of the Hole in the Sky, a large tunnel that has been carved through mountains to reach the ocean on the other side. Whomever controls the city controls the trade between the hinterland and the nations beyond the sea.

While walking the streets with his general father, Kaidu meets Rat, a street urchin. When he returns the next day to purchase more delicious treats, he sees her again, but this time she steals his knife. He gives chase, and, to her amazement, manages to catch her and retrieve his knive even though she traveled on the many roofs of the city and even jumped over a canal. Rat asks for a rematch, and soon the two of them become unlikely friends as she tries to teach Kaidu how to run like her.

As they spend time together and get in trouble, Rat stumbles upon a conspiracy aimed at assassinating the General and forcing the Dao out of the Nameless City. Only she and Kaidu can stop the attempt, but no one believes them. Can two friends overcome the obstacles in their path so they can warn the General before it is too late?

The story continues in The Stone Heart.

Girls Like Us

Giles, Gail. Girls Like Us. 2014. 210p. ISBN 9780763662677. Available as an eBook on Overdrive.

Quincy and Biddy just graduated from high school in Texas. Biddy’s brain lacked oxygen at birth. Quincy was assaulted by her stepfather, who slammed a brick in her face, breaking an eye socket and leaving her permanently disfigured. Both of them have difficulty learning. Quincy can read slowly, but can’t write. Biddy can’t even read. Just because they are special ed students doesn’t mean that they don’t understand what is going on around them.

Since both of them are 18, they lose access to the foster care system for Quincy, and for her unforgiving grandmother for Biddy. In needs of housing, their social worker places them in the house of Miss Elizabeth, who has a small apartment for them next to her mansion. In exchange for food and lodging Biddy will help Elizabeth with her exercises and will keep house. Quincy will work at the market, and cook. Whereas Biddy is thrilled with the arrangement, Quincy is not enthralled. Everyone at school knew that Biddy was a “slut,” and she’s concerned that boys will come around calling on her.

A fighter, Quincy doesn’t put up with crap, but she is a hard worker. When she is raped by a co-worker who had previously assaulted her and gotten fired, Quincy doesn’t know how to deal. But Biddy does, because it happened to her too back in 7th grade. As both girls share details of their attacks, Quincy realizes that Biddy and Miss Elizabeth have truly become her family, and that she will never be alone again, moved from one foster home to another.

Told through diaries that both girls are keeping on recording devices, the reader is exposed to the bittersweet existence of those who think differently through no fault of their own. Compassion goes a long way to support those growing up in a violent and cruel world that doesn’t look beyond the superficial.

Police Technology: 21st Century Crime-Fighting Tools

Forrest, Glen C. Police Technology: 21st Century Crime-Fighting Tools. Part of the Law Enforcement and Intelligence Gathering series. 2017. 104p. ISBN 978-1-50810379-0. Available at 363.23 POL on the library shelves.

Technology has changed the way we live and work, and it has also affected how police departments throughout the world operate. A hundred years ago, investigations would have been conducted by detectives using their judgement and little else to solve crimes. Today, a dizzying array of tools provide more effective ways to trace and arrest criminals. Computers have enabled the creation and searching of massive databases containing fingerprints, biometrics, DNA, and other information. Computers can also be used to identify areas where criminal activities are likely to occur by mapping locations and analyzing the patterns that result.

Communications are another area where technology provide an edge to law enforcement. In the past, police officers might have two way radios or access to call boxes, but now information is at the fingertips of officers, who can quickly retrieve licence plates and driving records. Dispatch centers have become more efficient and are able to monitor larger areas with security cameras, drones, and other devices. Officers are also better able to withstand attack, with the development of effective body armor and other gear designed to defend them.

Finally, the role of law enforcement officers has also changed with technology, with new roles such as forensics specialists, toxicologists, and crime scene investigators. Readers interested in law enforcement will appreciate the tools that can be used to fight crime.

Titles in this series include:

• To Serve and Protect: The History of Policing
• Police Technology: 21st Century Crime-Fighting Tools
• The Spy Game: International and Military Intelligence
• Working the Case: Law Enforcement, Police Work and Police Organizations

The Disappearance

Chan, Gillian. The Disappearance. 2017. 197p. ISBN 978-1-55451-982-8. Available at FIC CHA on the library shelves.

Mike McCallum has been spending time in group homes ever since he assaulted his stepfather because that vile man had killed his brother in a fit of anger after he had bumped into him and spilled his glass. With no one to look out for him, Mike, or Mutt as his enemies call him, has learned to care for himself. Disfigured by the attack, Mike has a scary face that repels or fascinates strangers. Now in this new group home in Hamilton, Ontario, Mike makes the acquaintance of Jacob Mueller. Jacob is very quiet and never talks. He lays in bed and stares at the ceiling all night. No one quite knows what’s wrong with him, only that he was found in the woods with only one shoe and missing most of his clothes. Unwilling or unable to defend himself, Jacob is mercilessly harassed and picked on by the bullies in the group home and at school.

Not intimidated by Pat, the resident group home bully, Mike violates his oath to only protect himself. When he realizes that Jacob can talk to the dead and has had conversations with his brother, Mike is even more keen on protecting Jacob. Trying to solve the boy’s puzzle, Mike discovers that Jacob is indeed from the area, but from about 130 years ago. Now he has to find a way to send the boy back to his time, before the bullies send Jacob to the hospital, or worse. Will Mike sacrifice himself to protect this strange boy, something he wasn’t able to do with his brother.

Marching off the Map: Inspire Students to Navigate a Brand New World

Elmore, Tim. Marching off the Map: Inspire Students to Navigate a Brand New World. 2017. 256p. ISBN 978-0-9966970-6-4. Available at 371.1 ELM on the library shelves.

For more than 150 years, education has not changed much, and a classroom in 2010 would have been recognizable to a student from the 1860s. However, as we have transitioned from the industrial age to the information age, we are once again transitioning from the information age to the age of knowledge, and there are no maps available that can help guide this transition. In this book, Elmore argues that, as Alexander the Great and his armies literally walked off the maps they had and explored the greater world as he conquered it, educators, policy makers, and students need to boldly step off the map by developing tools that will allow them to function in this new age.

Elmore reviews how the three previous generations diverge from the current crop of students and explains how each generation perceives the others. He discusses how the world has changed through the arrival of a widespread and accessible internet, and how the rise of mobile devices allows for an interconnected but always on world. Reaching these new learners require a different set of skills than was previously available to teachers. Several strategies are reviewed, and universal elements of teaching are explored. The move away from tests to more meaningful contents is necessary to reach and break through the apathy students currently display to get to what they are passionate about. Teachers also need to realize that students will continue to struggle with current societal expectations, but that two universal challenges, anxiety and amorality, will need to be addressed by teachers and parents to help them develop into productive members of society.