I
have been offline for the last two months as I recovered from knee
replacement surgery. It has been an interesting experience which has
taken a great deal of energy out of me. As I prepare to start the
new school year I have one more group of books to present to you --
books I have read during my recovery.
From
our current collection comes Saving Sky by Jane Stanley. This "What
If" story presents an United States that went to war after 9/11.
Many shortages of food and energy exist because of the war and enemy
bombings targeting energy facilities. But worse, as shortages
increase, prejudice against Arabs and Muslims becomes more violent
and the government begins to round up and imprison Arab-looking men
and boys. Sky and her family are quite self-sufficient and believe in
living with the land and nature. When a new friend, Kareem, is
attacked at school and then wanted by the government, Sky's family
tries to help. This is a strong story of courage in a world going
crazy.
From
the new books coming soon to our collection are the following four
titles. First from John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series comes
The Lost Stories, a group of short stories that fill in some of the
adventures missing in the book series. This book will be placed in
the Fiction section with the other Ranger's Apprentice books, not in
the short collection section.
Book
Two of the Clone Codes by Patricia McKissack and her family is called
Cyborg. This scifi adventure continues to story of Clone Codes but
now from the point-of-view of a cyborg, part human, part machine. The
society of the series restricts clones and cyborgs from full citizen
rights, but Leanna, a clone, Houston Ye, a cyborg, RUBy, an
artificial intelligence, and their friends try to fight back using
the peaceful demonstration methods of the 1960s civil rights movement
led by Martin Luther King, Jr.
A
new series, Tomorrow Girls by Eva Gray, begins with Behind the Gates.
In a future world again torn apart by war, Louisa and her best friend
Maddie, posing as her twin, join a lucky few other girls who are
taken to a safe location, a boarding school where they learn survival
skills. But the school is hiding a terrible secret that the girls
must uncover to save themselves.
Ending
with a humorous twist is the second book in Wendy Mass's Twice Upon a
Time series. In this series the author looks at classic fairy tales
and retells them with a twist. This new book is Sleeping Beauty; The
One Who Took the Really Long Nap. In alternating chapters Princess
Rose and Prince Charming tell their life stories leading up to and
continuing after the famous "true love's first kiss." Since
each book in this series stands alone, you can read this one or look
for the previous book Rapunzel; The One with All the Hair in the
paperback rack.
The
new school year is right around the corner. I look forward to seeking
many of you next week at the Friday Open House. Please stop by with
your Summer Reading Logs and tell me about all the great adventures
you have had this summer both in and out of books. See you soon.
