Black Holes by Sara Latta is non-fiction book that is a quick and captivating read for those who are interested in astronomy and physics but not becoming actual astronomers or physicists.

Latta presents the history and backstory of how the concept of black holes, which started out being called dark stars, has grown into our modern conceptual and theoretical knowledge we now use in studying these unique celestial bodies. From Newton’s Principia, to John Mitchell who first theorized about “dark stars,” to Einstein, Hawking and beyond, Latta presents a scientific history that doesn’t bog the reader down with the overwhelming amount of mathematics which underlies the hypotheses and theories of black holes, but gives a taste to accentuate and assist with the concepts being explained.

The book is laid out in timeline order that would flow smoothly and transition easily, except for an abundance of side notes that explain different concepts. The side notes are interesting and informative, but break the train of thought as you move through the book– some being up to two pages long.

As a nonfiction text, the use of pictures and drawings assist the reader with the concept of imagining the unimaginable. They introduce the reader to the scientists and devices used, the data as it is gathered and assembled, and examples that try to put the scope of vastness being described into context.

Black Holes is about a topic that not everyone would take an interest in without prompting or reason, but not giving this book a chance would leave one with a “hole” in their knowledge of the universe around them. Therefore this books is recommended for the casual to interested science reader.  

Labyrinth, by Israel Keats, is a juvenile fiction book in the science fiction genre that is fast paced and action packed.

The story begins with two teens, a boy from a dysfunctional family who feels that he has nothing to live for, and a girl from a caring home, but one in comparison where the parents schedule every minute of her day, picking classes and outside activities for her. Set in the near future of 2089, when a gaming company L33T C0RP has developed the next stage in virtual reality in which you are an actual player, their task is to work together to complete the game before either time or their lives run out. The stakes are high– win or remain in the game forever. 

Keats does a good job of working the different aspects of the teens’ lives such as the boy-girl dynamic, athlete/non-athlete, middle class/lower class, student/non-student in the short 117 pages of this reluctant reader style book.  The characters dive into the plot immediately, with action on almost every page. There are also riddles that the character(s) need to solve that may leave you stumped. The dynamic conflicts between the two characters are resolved as effectively as possible with little stereotyping or cliche.

This book is recommended to those who like video games as the setting is inside a video game, and fast-paced action stories.  

Like sappy love stories — this is not it.  The Last True Love Story does not take place in a high school.  The Last True Love Story does not have a female protagonist.  The Last True Love Story does not have an amazing happily-ever-after ending.  The Last True Love Story is about love that is deeper than the superficial stuff most teens crave.  And that is why this book can succeed.  Teddy has a lot on his shoulders.  His mother travels for work.  His father drove off a bridge when he was much too young to remember anything about him.  His Gpa, whom he visits on a regular basis, is battling Alzheimer’s.  But Gpa does remember how much he loved his wife and the last thing he wants is to lose her again.  When fate allows Teddy to meet Corrina, an acoustic guitar playing, non-theatrical music buff who desperately wants to go to New York City, causes Teddy’s mom to be out of town but the car left behind, and proposes the chance to drive across country to take Gpa back to his long-lost home in Ithica, New York, Teddy takes a leap of faith like he’s never done before.  The love themes explored in this book is veiny, deep, and rings more true than most hokey love stories for young adult fiction.  And while this is such a huge part of the book, this reader is afraid the title alone will keep males from reading it.  Well-versed musicians and music history fans will appreciate all the references to decades of songs.  This is a good read that might be overlooked.

When one of two star-crossed lovers full of teen agnst run falls off of a cliff in the 1st chapter, readers of Keep Me In Mind by Jaime Reed will be anxiously ready to turn the next pages.  Alternating chapters between each, Ellia Dawson and Liam McPherson tell their side of the story in dealing with love, parents who want to keep them apart, and one other huge issue — amnesia.  Ellia’s fall causes her to lose her memory of her last year with Liam.  He claims he is her boyfriend, that they were in love, but then why are her parents so concerned with them not seeing each other?  Is it only because she is black and he is white?  This clever idea taken from the best of soap operas get a little old about half way into the book.  No doubt Liam will begin to flounder in his feelings and a chaotic choice at the school dance will put his efforts to get Ellia back into a tail spin. Reed’s writing is just as good as any, but the idea looses steam despite efforts to be mysterious.  This reader isn’t even sure why the “race card” is part of the story.  Keep Me In Mind will keep readers who stay committed to the end reading but other students may just leave it in their locker for months until the overdue notices pile up.  But with no sex, drugs or rock and roll, this can span into the middle school library, a rarity for young adult lit these days.

The Icarus Show, by Sally Christie, is a tender and insightful examination of strategies used to cope with uncomfortable situations and how they can interfere with living a full life.  Alex has devised the perfect coping strategy for his first year in secondary school: no matter what happens, do not react in any way.  David, the boy who lives next door, does react when Alan, the class bully, trips him on the first day of school.  This reaction earns him a very insulting nickname.  Then a mysterious note appears in Alex’s bag.  Alex is amazed to find that the note announces a coming event where a boy will fly.  Is Alex the only one to receive such a note, or did others receive one also, and is it only a hoax?  Subsequent notes and objects make it clear that there is such an event planned and the planner is known only as Icarus.  Alex is frantic to solve the mystery so he enlists the assistance of Maisie, who once lived in the house where Alex lives and her son Donald.  Alex also begins to make friends with David and his perfect coping strategy slips enough to make him very uncomfortable.  Alex, Maisie, and Donald  must unravel the mystery before the event occurs because a boy cannot fly, or can he?  The situation appears farfetched, but as the story unfolds, the reader learns that what is really happening is not at all unusual, and learns how coping strategies can restrict our lives.  With constantly mounting tension, clever plot twists, believable characters, and a real cliff hanger ending, The Icarus Show is a very enjoyable read.  Highly recommended.

Set on an island off the South Carolina coast, Illusion is the third book in the Heirs of Watson Island series.  Southern Gothic fiction steeped in mysticism and spirits with strange disappearances and characters who live for centuries, readers who pick up this book without having read the first two will have a difficult time keeping track of the characters even with the family tree that is presented in the first pages. The story revolves around three families with adjoining plantations including waterfront property who have existed on the island for centuries. Barrie Watson is trying to heal the wounds of these families who have grown to distrust each other while still keeping the essence of all that is Waston’s Landing.  The writing is descriptive with easy visualization and moves along at a good pace.  This will force our library to attain the 1st two books as well.  

Author Jenn Bennett immediately builds curiosity and tension in the summer adventure that Bailey “Mink” Rydell is embarking on as she descends a central California airport escalator.  Choosing to come live with her father on the California coast, readers soon put together that this is the same town her online crush “Alex” lives in.  Alex and Bailey have chatted online for some time now as they watch old classic movies together.  Bailey, also nicknamed the “Artful Dodger” because of her desire to avoid conflict, plans to scope out who Alex is before she tries to meet up with him.  So begins the 1st plot line.  All great stories have multiple plot lines and Bennett does a nice job weaving together three of them.  Bailey is soon accosted by two surfer boys, Davy and Porter.  Both argumentative and rude, she later realizes that Porter is a security guard at the quirky museum where she is hired to sell tickets.  Porter and Bailey’s instinct to quarrel with each other over petty things also ironically develops their friendship and soon to be passion.  But wait, there’s more.  Readers will get to learn the other traumatic reason why Bailey is needing to leave her past behind in a 3rd storyline that will allow Bailey to grow in strength as well as trust.  But if Bailey likes Porter, what happened to her interest in “Alex”?  2/3 of the way most readers will see where the story will resolve itself, but it will not be a smooth ride.  All in all, Bennett’s premise is unique, slightly far-fetched, yet fun enough to keep readers going.  While the cover will probably draw in readers, it is a horrible representation of the story — they never hung out in a pool and Bailey’s not comfortable with her body yet to be in public in a bikini. Still this novel is recommended for high school age students.

In the hip-hop spirit of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musical, Hamilton, David Elliot has crafted a reimagining of the myth of the Minotaur voiced in poetic forms by those that influenced the tragic life of Asterion, a gentle intelligent boy born with the head of a bull and the body of a man, whom his mother calls Ruler of the Stars.

He is destroyed by Poseidon, King of the Sea, whose fury at Minos, King of Crete leads him to manipulate Daedalus, The Royal Engineer; Pasiphae, Asterion’s mother the Queen of Crete; and Ariadne, Asterion’s half-sister, into the cruelty and abandonment that drives Asterion into final madness as he becomes the beast of myth, ultimately destroyed by Theseus.

This format makes Bull a fast but deeply memorable read, forever casting new light upon the making of a monster and the culpability of gods and humans in so doing.  Elliot gives an elucidating description of the poetic forms chosen for each character and delves into the origins of Asterion’s birth, something previous tellings of the myth do not include.  It’s also noteworthy to say that there is strong language and imagery at times, thus the target audience is probably the upper grades in high school and into college.  Recommended.

Megan Atwood’s short novella, Stay in the Game, is riveting from page one. The

overriding theme is that ”Is it okay to do harm for a good motive?” and “Does not knowing the

consequences of an action, make one not responsible?” James is desperate to get medical help

for his dying grandfather. He is contacted by the Benefactor to accomplish 10 tasks with the

possibility of winning 10 million dollars. He is given no information as to the purpose of the

tasks. As he completes each task, he becomes in more aware of the damage he is doing to

innocent people. The story ends with a cliffhanger, setting up for the next book in the series.

The writing is high interest, action packed, fast moving with concise writing and easily

understood vocabulary. An enjoyable read for the reluctant reader or an ELL student. The

cover design seems to imply the book could be about a sport, which is very misleading. Stay in

the Game is a fast, good read that is very appropriate for the YA audience.

Dinosaurs and race cars! What could be better?!  Dino-Racing is a fun, action-packed book about different kinds of car races with wildly colorful dinosaurs as the drivers. Shown are drag racing, off road racing, speedway racing and stock car racing.  The rhyming verses entertain as the action moves through the scenes of different race styles.  Both boy and girl dinos drive and repair the cars. There is a lot of behind the scenes action to interest young readers of any age. A dynamic, fun book, sure to be a winner!