Flesh & Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy

 Marrin, Albert. Flesh & Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy. 2011. 196p. ISBN 9780375868894. Available at 974.71 on the library shelves.

In the 1900s, the economy of the United States was booming. Immigrants by the millions were moving from all over Europe to settle in the young country. Most of them entered through New York City, and many ended up settling in the bustling metropolis. At the time, the largest garment factories were in New England and New York, where abundant electrical power and plenty of labors facilitated the process of building and staffing factories.

Workers were at the mercy of capitalist bosses, however, with little rights and no ways to effect changes. Unions were weak and riddled with mobsters. On March 25, 1911, a fire ravaged the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City. The owners of the factory had locked emergency doors to prevent workers from sneaking in and out of work. There were not enough emergency staircases. When the fire broke out, workers had nowhere to go, and many of them jumped out of windows to their death below.

The outrage at the loss of 146 workers, mostly young women, carried far and wide into the circles of political power. This fire was the deadliest workplace incident in the history of the nation until September 11, 2021, and remains the deadliest industrial accident. A wave of activism followed the deadly fire. Immigrant women banded together and forced positive changes to workplace rules and working conditions for everyone in the country. Unions gained in strength against management. Working conditions improved dramatically, leading to less death and accidents. 

Fans of history will appreciate this well-researched book, and will gain a new understanding into some of the laws and rules we enjoy today and never really think about.  The impacts of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire continue to affect us more than a hundred years later.

Hello, Universe

 Kelly, Erin Entrada. Hello, Universe. 2017. 320p. 317mins. ISBN 9780062414151. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

Virgil Salinas lives a quiet life. Unlike his athletic brothers, Virgil is not in sports, and not very coordinated. In fact, Virgil has trouble doing his multiplication tables, so he spends some of his school time in the Resources room where he receives support. Valencia Somerset also comes to the Resources room, but issue is that she's deaf, and even the hearing aids don't help her much. Virgil wishes he was courageous enough to talk to Valencia, but being shy, he can't muster it. Instead, he tells his guinea pig Gulliver all about the girl of his dreams.

Chet Bullens is the school bully, and he enjoys picking on quiet Virgil. He'd pick on Valencia too, but deaf people give him the creeps. Chet would love nothing more than to make the basketball team, but he knows it's unlikely he will. Kaori Tanaka, for her part, knows she has psychic abilities. She can tell the future through star charts and astrological signs. Her friend Virgil often uses her services to divine more information about Valencia.

On the day Virgil makes an appointment with Kaori, everything changes. Chet encounters Virgil in the woods by chance, and he throws Virgil's backpack down an empty well. The backpack contains Gulliver, so Virgil goes into the well to save his guinea pig. Valencia, who was also on her way to Kaori's house to get a reading done, meets Chet, covers the well with its lid so animals don't fall in there, and heads to her appointment. Even though Virgil yelled and yelled, Valencia did not hear him. Kaori, meanwhile, is concerned that Virgil didn't show up for his appointment.

When Virgil is reported missing, the girls begin looking for him. What begins as a search mission turns into a rescue mission, a friendship, and newfound courage to stand up to bullies and parents. 

Four individual perspectives move the story forward as Virgil, Valencia, Chet, and Kaori all deal with challenges and doubts about their lives. As Kaori knows, however, the universe always helps those who help themselves, so in the course of an afternoon all of them will learn valuable life lessons.

Accused! The Trials of the Scottsboro Boys: Lies, Prejudice, and the Fourteenth Amendment.

 Brimner, Larry Dane. Accused! The Trials of the Scottsboro Boys: Lies, Prejudice, and the Fourteenth Amendment. 2019. 189p. ISBN 978-1-62979-775-5. Available at 345.761 BRI on the library shelves.

The Great Depression that started in 1929 affected everyone in the United States and most around the world. For years afterwards, the economic conditions remained dire for many. People known as hobos traveled from place to place, looking for work anywhere they could find it. At the same time, race relations in the South were tense, following decades of Jim Crow oppression. African Americans in the South thus had an even harder time to survive.

In 1931, nine male African American teenagers boarded a train. Finding one of the wagons filled with White hobos. Outnumbering the hobos already there, they forced the White hobos to jump out of the train as it was traveling at a relatively low speed. But as the train's speed increased, three White hobos were not able to jump.

Some of the youths who were forced off complained to the local police. Sheriff units were deployed further down the track near Scottsboro, and when the train arrived the twelve passengers were arrested. Two of the White folks turned out to be women, and soon they alleged that the nine African American teens had raped them during the trip. These accusations stirred the anger of White Alabamians, who demanded swift justice for their womenfolk and as a message to their African American neighbors to stay in their assigned stations and not create social unrest.

Over the course of the following eight years, those who became known as the Scottsboro Boys went to court several times. Unable to get fair and impartial trials, they were condemned to death, only to have these condemnations reversed on appeal. The cases went all the way to the Supreme Court, with Patterson v. Alabama, Norris v. Alabama and Powell v. Alabama all created case law with consitutional questions such as equal protection, participation of African Americans on juries, impartial judging. 

During those years, the teens grew up and endured oppressive and inhuman prison conditions. They were beaten and threatened with death several times by being found guilty by a very racist justice system. Accuses presents the case that the 9 boys were set up by a racist judge and prosecutor who wished to send a strong signal to the African Americans to stay in their place. For eight years the boys kept hope, however, and eventually all of them were released, most without charges or compensation. Fans of social justice will appreciate this violent history but will note that there is still much work left to be done to achieve racial harmony in the United States.

Six Armies in Normandy: From D-Day to the Liberation of Paris; June 6 - Aug. 5, 1944

Keegan, John. Six Armies in Normandy: From D-Day to the Liberation of Paris; June 6 - Aug. 5, 1944. 1994. 365p. ISBN 9780140235425. Available at 940.53 KEE on the library shelves.

On June 6, 1944, two massive armies met on Europe's doorstep. An invasion force composed of Americans, British, Canadians, French, Polish, and other European expatriates landed in Normandy and found themselves against what was dubbed the impenetrable Fortress Europe guarded by the Germans. The Second World War had started almost five years earlier, and Nazi Germany had swiftly conquered most of Western Europe before Hitler had turned his hungry eyes towards Russia.

Over the years, knowing an invasion attempt would take place, the Atlantic littoral was fortified, and the Germans dug in to offer a stiff resistance and the hope that such an attempt would be crushed on the beach. When troops landed, the Germans were prepared but unable to throw the Allies back in the water. Their forces had been depleted on the Eastern Front, and what remained behind were second-tiered divisions. These still fought doggedly, preventing the Allies from achieving the breakthrough they had hoped for. 

Military forces are examined, engagements are described, and the composition and history of each of the national armies that participated is presented. Military strategies are analyzed, and the lives of various leaders are explored. D-Day and the Battle of Normandy remains important today, as they, more than any war since, show what a European conflict between Russia and the United States would look like. Fans of history will appreciate this incredibly detailed work.

War Storm

Aveyard, Victoria. War Storm. Book 4 of the Red Queen series. 2018. 662p. ISBN 9780062422996. Available at FIC AVE on the library shelves.

In War Storm, the war between the Silvers of King Maven and the Reds of Mare Barrow and the rightful heir Cal comes to a resolution. With Maven on the run following Glass Throne, Mare and Cal, who have a spectacular falling out, must once again unite so that their combined efforts can once and for all overthrow evil Maven and the system that Silvers have built to oppress the Reds.

The various Silver kingdoms soon find themselves engaged in a war driven by Maven's obsession with Mare. As forces clash from one side of the continent to the other, and as the Scarlet Guard confront the Silvers, the fate of the world hangs in the hands of she who can command lightning, neither silver nor red.

In this epic conclusion, the Red Queen series comes to a satisfying end. Not all survive, but in the end Mare and Cal are reunited and successfully manage to bring the seed of peace to the world. Fans of the series will enjoy reading how Mare manages to have the best of Maven and finally come into her own.

Soul Eater, Vol. 3

Ohkubo, Atsushi. Soul Eater, Vol. 3. 2010. 192p. ISBN 978-0-7595-3064-5. Available in the graphic novel section of the library.

While Soul recovers from his battle with Crona during Soul Eater, Vol. 2, Shinigami and Black*Star set out to find the legendary sword Excalibur, which only a true hero and perfectly aligned spirit can pick up. When both of them manage to take it, they realize they have been duped by Excalibur itself.

Meanwhile, a reckoning between Black*Star and Tsubaki on the one hand and the Uncanny Sword on the other is shaping up. The Uncanny Sword is the shape Masamume, Tsubaki's brother, assumes. He is a lost soul, who is on the verge of transforming into a Kishin, an evil spirit that feeds on the good souls instead of the bad ones. Black*Star and Tsubaki travel to a remote village, where they find the Uncanny Sword and confront it in a deadly battle.

Maka, for her part, must learn to let go of Soul's injuries, otherwise she will never gain true alignment with her weapon. And in the background, DMVA's nurse turns out to be a witch with plans for the school's student witch hunters ...

The story continues in Soul Eater, Vol. 4.

The Field Guide to the North American Teenager

 Philippe, Ben. The Field Guide to the North American Teenager. 2019. 372p. ISBN 978-0-0628-2412-7. Available at FIC PHI on the library shelves.

Austin, Texas, is really hot. Norris can't believe that this is where he will be living as his mother starts her new job at the local university. This being Texas, everything is bigger, and more stereotypical in Norris' mind. Joining a new high school in January of his junior year was not his idea of a good time, so he plans on blending in and not attract attention. But as a French-Canadian black kid whose parents are from Haiti, Norris stands out. It doesn't help that people don't play hockey here, and that he left behind his best friend Eric just as Eric was coming out to his parents, so he can't really provide the support he would have liked.

At school, Norris quickly meet the jocks, the cheerleaders, the theater kids, and the other misfits. He labels them all to avoid remembering names and making friends. He earns the jocks' ire and the cheerleaders' disdain with his big mouth and unfiltered comments, but draws the attention of Madison, one of the cheerleaders (lucky for her, Norris calls all cheerleaders Madison). He runs into Aarti, the cool artsy Indian girl he quickly develops a crush on, and Liam, the quiet giant who is hoping to start a hockey team.

Looking to make money so he can travel back to Canada and go skiing with his friend Eric, Norris joins the staff of a local restaurant, only to realize that it is owned by Madison's father, who has his hands full managing the place, marrying his younger daughters, and babysitting two evil babies. Despite the sarcasm and the insults he delivered the gaggle of cheerleaders on their first encounter, Maddie puts in a good word for him and he begins working with her. 

Over the course of the next several months, Maddie helps Norris navigate the choppy waters that are Aarti, while he successfully forms a hockey team and even gains the jocks' grudging respect. As the end of the school year nears, however, Norris realizes that there is more to people than just labels, and that in fact he might have found some friends in unexpected places. An epic screw up threatens all of that, however, and Norris will be faced with the biggest decision of his life. Remain in Texas and pick up the pieces, or run away back to Canada and start anew?