New Books for April 2016 (part 9)

Tommy: The Gun That Changed America by Karen Blumenthal

Nonfiction 

John Taliaferro Thompson had a mission: to develop a lightweight, fast-firing weapon that would help Americans win on the battlefield. His Thompson submachine gun could deliver a hundred bullets in a matter of seconds but didn't find a market in the U.S. military. Instead, the Tommy gun became the weapon of choice for a generation of bootleggers and bank-robbing outlaws, and became a deadly American icon. Following a bloody decade and eighty years before the mass shootings of our own time Congress moved to take this weapon off the streets, igniting a national debate about gun control. 

The Truth by Jeffry W. Johnston

Action/Adventure 

When Chris wakes up tied to a chair in a dark basement, he knows that he's trapped—and why. He shot and killed Derek's little brother. He had his reasons, but no matter how far Derek goes to uncover the truth about that night, Chris's story won't change. It can't. There is far too much at stake…

Derek is desperate to prove his brother didn't deserve to die. And if kidnapping his brother's killer is the only way to the truth, than he'll go to extremes. But Chris's truth is far more dangerous than Derek could have imagined, and knowing could cost both their lives…

A Tyranny of Petticoats by various

Historical Fiction 

From an impressive sisterhood of YA writers comes an edge-of-your-seat anthology of historical fiction and fantasy featuring a diverse array of daring heroines. Crisscross America -- on dogsleds and ships, stagecoaches and trains -- from pirate ships off the coast of the Carolinas to the peace, love, and protests of 1960s Chicago. Join fifteen of today's most talented writers of young adult literature on a thrill ride through history with American girls charting their own course. They are monsters and mediums, bodyguards and barkeeps, screenwriters and schoolteachers, heiresses and hobos. They're making their own way in often-hostile lands, using every weapon in their arsenals, facing down murderers and marriage proposals. And they all have a story to tell. 

Unbecoming by Jenny Downham

Contemporary Fiction 

Life has just become very complicated for seventeen-year-old Katie; her father walked out a year ago, her mother is stressed out, her brother is a "special needs" teenager, and she is caring for the maternal grandmother she has never met, who is suffering from Alzheimer's--and Katie has a secret of her own that she cannot reveal.

Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell

Fantasy 

For as long as she can remember, Gwendolyn Allister has never had a place to call home. Her mother believes they are being hunted by brutal monsters, and those delusions have brought them to London, far from the life Gwen had finally started to build for herself. Gwen's only saving grace is that her best friend, Olivia, is with her for the summer. But shortly after their arrival, the girls are kidnapped by shadowy creatures and dragged to a world of flesh-eating sea hags and dangerous Fey. And Gwen begins to realize that maybe her mother isn't so crazy after all... Gwen discovers that this new world she inhabits is called Neverland, but it's nothing like the Neverland you've heard about in stories. Here, good and evil lose their meaning and memories slip like water through your fingers. As Gwen struggles to remember where she came from and tries to find a way home, she must choose between trusting the charming fairy-tale hero who says all the right things and the captivating pirate who promises to keep her safe. Caught in the ultimate battle between good and evil, with time running out and her enemies closing in, Gwen is forced to finally face the truths she's been hiding from all along. But can she save Neverland without losing herself?

MAY I have some New Books please? (May new books part 9)

Thrift Shopping: Discovering Bargains and Hidden Treasures by Sandy Donovan

Nonfiction 

A guide to shopping for secondhand goods provides information and advice on searching for and evaluating items at thrift shops, flea markets, online sites, and similar sources; purchasing skills; remaking purchased items; and selling.

Tunnel Vision by Susan Adrian

Action/Adventure 

When Jake Lukin, eighteen, reveals his psychic ability he is forced to become a government asset in order to keep his mother and sister safe, but Rachel, the girl he likes, tries to help him live his own life instead of tunneling through others.

Unbroken: An Olympian's Journey from Airman to Castaway to Captive by Laura Hillenbrand

Nonfiction 

On a May afternoon in 1943, an American military plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane's bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. So began one of the most extraordinary sagas of the Second World War. The lieutenant's name was Louis Zamperini. As a boy, he had been a clever delinquent, breaking into houses, brawling, and stealing. As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a supreme talent that carried him to the Berlin Olympics. But when war came, the athlete became an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown. Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a sinking raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would respond to desperation with ingenuity, suffering with hope and humor, brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would hang on the fraying wire of his will.

Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee

Historical Fiction 

In 1845, Sammy, a Chinese American girl, and Annamae, an African American slave girl, disguise themselves as boys and travel on the Oregon Trail to California from Missouri.

The Untold History of the United States: Volume 1 1898-1945 by Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick

Nonfiction 

The Untold History of the United States by Academy Award-winning director Oliver Stone and renowned historian Peter Kuznick, this first of four volumes presents young readers with a powerful and provocative look at the past century of American imperialism. This is not the kind of history taught in schools or normally presented on television or in popular movies. This riveting young readers' edition challenges prevailing orthodoxies to reveal the dark reality about the rise and fall of the American empire for curious, budding historians who are hungry for the truth. Based on the latest archival findings and recently declassified information, this four-volume series will come as a surprise to the vast majority of students and their teachers-and that's precisely why these books are such crucial counterpoints to today's history textbooks. Complete with photos, illustrations, and little-known documents, this first of four volumes covers crucial moments in American history from the late nineteenth century to the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

My gift to you...New Books for December! (part 8)

Random by Tom Leveen

The night before going on trial in a sensational felony case that has ruined her life, sixteen-year-old Tori Hershberger receives a random phone call from a stranger contemplating suicide and she begins a race against time to save him.

Red Madness: How a Medical Mystery Changed What We Eat by Gail Jarrow

One hundred years ago, a mysterious and alarming illness spread across America's South, striking tens of thousands of victims. No one knew what caused it or how to treat it. People were left weak, disfigured, insane, and in some cases, dead. Award winning science and history writer Gail Jarrow tracks this disease, commonly known as pellagra, and highlights how doctors, scientists, and public health officials finally defeated it.

The Revelation of Gabriel Adam by S. L. Duncan

Seventeen-year-old Gabriel Adam is used to relocating a lot. When a mysterious assassin burns his home to the ground, Gabriel’s father reveals the truth of why they are always on the move: Gabriel is one of four archangels, born human and sent to stop Armageddon. Now Gabe must set aside dreams of attending NYU to try to fulfill his newly discovered role.

Separated @ Birth: A True Love Story of Twin Sisters Reunited by Anais Bordier and Samantha Futerman

It all began when design student Anaïs Bordier viewed a YouTube video and saw her own face staring back. After some research, Anaïs found that the Los Angeles actress Samantha Futerman was born in a South Korean port city called Busan on November 19, 1987—the exact same location and day that Anaïs was born. This propelled her to make contact—via Facebook. One message later, both girls wondered: Could they be twins?

Thus begins their remarkable journey to build a relationship as sisters, continents apart. Over Facebook, Twitter, and Skype, they learned that they shared much more than a strikingly similar appearance. Eventually, they traveled to Korea together to discover more about the land of their separation. Separated @ Birth is a story that spans the world and peels back some of the complex and emotional layers of foreign adoption.

Seventeen Ultimate Guide to College: Everything You Need to Know to Walk Onto Campus and Own it! by Ann Shoket

Offers college-bound young women advice on maneuvering life on the college campus, sharing tips from real students on such topics as how to bond with roommates, navigate the hookup scene, and avoid going broke.

New Books for March ~ Part 4

See Jane Run by Hannah Jayne

I know who you are.

When Riley first gets the postcard tucked into her bag, she thinks it's a joke. Then she finds a birth certificate for a girl named Jane Elizabeth O'Leary hidden inside her baby book.  Riley's parents have always been pretty overprotective. What if it wasn't for her safety...but fear of her finding out their secret? What have they been hiding? The more Riley digs for answers, the more questions she has.  The only way to know the truth? Find out what happened to Jane O'Leary.

 Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time by Scott Tipton

Prisoners of Time celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who and IDW pays tribute to one of the greatest pop-culture heroes of all time with this special series, which tells an epic adventure featuring all 11 incarnations of the intrepid traveler through time and space known simply as... the Doctor. 

Brotherhood by A. B. Westrick

The year is 1867, and the South has lost the Civil War. Those on the lowest rungs, like Shad's family, fear that the freed slaves will take the few jobs available. In this climate of despair and fear, a brotherhood to support Confederate widows and families like Shad's has formed. Today it is known as the Ku Klux Klan.

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

Follows the lives of six North Koreans over fifteen years, a chaotic period that saw the rise to power of Kim Jong Il and the devastation of a famine that killed one-fifth of the population, illustrating what it means to live under the most repressive totalitarian regime today.

 Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier

Gwen fulfills her destiny in this thrilling final book of the romantic time-travel trilogy.  Gwen has a destiny to fulfill, but no one will tell her what it is.  She's only recently learned that she is the Ruby, the final member of the time-traveling Circle of Twelve, and since then nothing has been going right. She suspects the founder of the Circle, Count Saint-German, is up to something nefarious, but nobody will believe her. And she's just learned that her charming time-traveling partner, Gideon, has probably been using her all along.  Emerald Green is the stunning conclusion to Kerstin Gier's Ruby Red Trilogy, picking up where Sapphire Blue left off, reaching new heights of intrigue and romance as Gwen finally uncovers the secrets of the time-traveling society and learns her fate.

Happy 4th of July!

Hey YAs, it's Independence Day!  On this day 236 years ago our forefathers adopted the Declaration of Indepence, a document that announced to England that we intended to be our own country.  Here are some teen books I have set in this period in our country's history~

Teenage runaway slaves with superhuman powers, a Hessian giant, the most evil slave owners imaginable, and Benjamin Franklin: this story of the Revolution blends fact and fantasy in an imaginative reinterpretation of a critical time in American history.

  Various diaries, letters, and other manuscripts chronicle the experiences of Octavian, a young African American, from birth to age sixteen, as he is brought up as part of a science experiment in the years leading up to and during the Revolutionary War.

 After being sold to a cruel couple in New York City, a slave named Isabel spies for the rebels during the Revolutionary War.

OK.  Now go enjoy some fireworks :)

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

70 years ago today a horrific attack was launched on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  Remember those we've lost by watching the movie, or reading one of these books about World War II.

Fiction Books  (all in the young adult section)

Heroes Don't Run by Harry Mazer
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Eyes of the Emperor by Graham Salisbury
The Whirlwind by Carol Matas
House of the Red Fish by Graham Salisbury
Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac
Saving Zasha by Randi Barrow
A Boy at War by Harry Mazer
Under the Blood Red Sun by Graham Salisbury

There was a box on my desk today!

And that means new books!  Here are the three that came in.  Expect them out on the shelves soon =)

The Sons of Liberty by Alexander Lagos

Check the Catalog

Teenage runaway slaves with superhuman powers, a Hessian giant, the most evil slave owners imaginable, and Benjamin Franklin: this story of the Revolution blends fact and fantasy in an imaginative graphic novel reinterpretation of a critical time in American history.

 

Black Angels by Linda Beatrice Brown

Check the Catalog

Three Southern children, two black and one white, escape from their homes during the horrors of the Civil War and, after meeting in the woods, gradually come to rely on each other as they make their way slowly north, enduring hunger, fear, sickness, and constant danger, before arriving in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia.

 

 Queen of Hearts by Martha Brooks

Check the Catalog

Shortly after her first kiss but before her sixteenth birthday in December, 1941, Marie Claire and her younger brother and sister are sent to a tuberculosis sanatorium near their Manitoba farm.