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Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
Sanderson, Brandon. . STEELHEART Delacorte, 2013 The future is rather grim - populated and dominated by superheroes, but these superheroes - or EPICS as they're called, are not your comic book characters. Ever since "Calamity"arrived, which from the description sounds like a kind of satellite - and is hovering over the Earth, the superheroes have populated the earth as villains intent on ruling the world and eliminating anyone - human or fellow epic - who get in their way. Main character and snarky teen David's city of Chicago is ruled by Steelheart who is strong beyond measure, and can control the elements. He has turned Chicago into a shining city of STEEL. After losing his father to Steelheart as a 6 year old, David spends his entire life dedicated to finding this Epic's weakness and plans to destroy him. Enter the Reckoners - a group of rag tag kids and adults whose mission is to restore peace by systematically taking out the epics. When David finds them, his knowledge becomes essential to their plans. Will they get to the strongest Epic to destroy him? (Booktalk by NH Flume Committee)
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Book of the day 06/17/2015
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Book of the day 06/16/2015
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More Than This by Patrick Ness
Ness, Patrick. MORE THAN THIS Take a moment to imagine what your own private hell might look like... Got an image? Well, in the opening scene of this book, our main character Seth drowns and dies - a rather intensely portrayed drowning, I might add (and note that this is NOT the worst of it!) He is bewildered to awaken unclothed, starving, and thirsty in a bizarrely unpopulated and dusty world that is somehow familiar to him. Turns out, it's his childhood home in England - where he lived before the family moved to America - and he's about to face his own private hell. Interestingly, it's taken his own death to get him to confront his demons. Whenever Seth closes his eyes in this strange world, troubling past events haunt him in nightmares - these dreams include his family, the boy he loves and past traumas. The reader shares the oddity of the situation and wonders whether Seth is in heaven, hell, a fully reborn life? What the heck is happening? Is he really alive? (Booktalk by NH Flume Committee)
Monday, June 15, 2015
Book of the day 06/15/2015
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McNeal, Tom. FAR FAR AWAY New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2013 IL YA ISBN 0375849726 Jeremy is a regular kid in modern-day middle America, but there are a couple of unique things about him: he lives in the back of the Two-Book Bookstore that he inherited from his grandfather, which only sells both volumes of his grandfather's memoir, with his shut-in dad, and he has an interesting relationship with a ghost that only he can hear: Jacob Grimm. Yep, that Jacob Grimm, or, as it is properly pronounced and specifically mentioned in the book, Yaukub. (Booktalk by NH Flume Committee) This beautifully written story follows Jeremy through the tribulations of both regular teenage life and the potential loss of his home as the bookstore fails, and then life begins to resemble the fairy tales that he loves so much (and don't forget that they are the grim Grimm versions).
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Book of the day 05/23/2015
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Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
Woodson, Jacqueline. BROWN GIRL DREAMING NY: Nancy Paulsen Books, 2014 (select a poem to read from the book) Jacqueline Woodson was born in Columbus Ohio in 1963 in a time of dramatic and violent change in America. In expressive and illuminative poetry, she tells her story of growing up as an African American girl in the 1960’s and 1970’s between the worlds of the North in New York City and of the South. Jacqueline shares with us her story – of loving books and stories and yet also struggling to learn to read; of her family losses and struggles and her thoughts and dreams. Through her engaging poems, we are invited into her world; we taste, smell, and feel what is there and what is experienced by a young girl dreaming and finding her voice as a writer. (Booktalk by the NH Great Stone Face Committee)
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Book of the day 05/09/2015
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Wiggins, Bethany. CURED New York : Walker Books, 2014 IL YA ISBN 0802734200 Fiona and Jonah are no longer beasts. The cure has worked and now there is hope for everyone. But some are still living outside the wall and dealing with the raiders. The sequel to Stung is told from Jacqui's point of view. Forced to live as a boy to keep safe from the raiders, Jack has almost forgotten she is a girl. Her family has survived outside the wall because her father is needed. As the only dentist around, he treats the raiders as well as those inside the wall. But Jack's brother is missing. He left to bring Fiona's mother to safety when she was banned from the walled city. And now Jack has set out to find him. She enlists the help of Fiona, Bowen, and Jonah. The journey will not be easy. There are rumors that people have escaped to Wyoming. so the kids set off. Along the way there will be raiders, untreated beasts, wolves and maybe even some new friends.
Friday, May 8, 2015
Book of the day 05/08/2015
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Wiggins, Bethany. STUNG New York : Walker Books, 2013 IL YA ISBN 0802734189 It started out as a good idea. The bees have become endangered and everyone fears what will happen if they disappear forever. It would mean the end of all we know. So the scientists develop genetically modified bees that can live through anything. Unfortunately, their sting can be fatal. When a vaccine is developed to protect from the sting, there is not enough to go around so only a few are vaccinated. And very few have the full 10 dose course of vaccine. Fiona is one of those. When she wakes up in her room, everything is different and she is disoriented. Although she doesn't remember much, it is obvious that many years have gone by. She doesn't recognize the young woman she sees in the mirror. As she tries to make her way to the walled city, she learns that those who received the vaccination have turned into beasts. There are raiders around who sell them to the people who run the pit and that she is a level ten, the most dangerous of all. She is destined to turn into the worst kind of beast. Can she find some answers before this happens?
Monday, May 4, 2015
Book of the day 05/04/2015
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Anastasia and Her Sisters by Carolyn Meyer
Meyer, Carolyn. ANASTASIA AND HER SISTERS New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2015 IL YA ISBN 1481403265 Anastasia was a young girl living what appeared to be a fairy tale life. The daughter of Tsar Nicholas of Russia, she was an actual princess. Her family traveled around Russia showing off the beautiful princess dressed in the finest clothes. Anastasia's brother had a very painful illness and the family hides that fact from the public. The times are not good. There is great poverty in the country and the people have become desperate. The Tsar's power is weakening and beautiful little Anatasia is in danger. When Germany declares war on Russia, the world changes for all involved.