Morgan is a rule breaker.  And a liar.  And a thief.  And her parents have had enough.  When the opportunity comes for them to send her to a “reform” school of sorts, she can’t believe her dad locked the door of the car after she gets out to walk into the airport. But Morgan is also super smart.  And a quick thinker. And can make it on her own.  Even if it means “borrowing” someone’s identity to fly across the country and become a girl named Janelle for the fall.  In this new identity, Morgan will continue to lie, manipulate and theve herself into the people’s good graces, but how long can Morgan keep up the act without being caught?  Don’t You Trust Me is a fast-paced, though slightly far-fetched quick read for girls.  G-rated, this could easily stretch down to middle school as an additional purchase.

When deep in your soul you know what you’ve been taught your whole life is not true, could you be strong enough to do something about it?  Hans Scholl, like most German children in the 1930’s, was indoctrinated to become a Hitler Youth.   He willingly joined against his father’s wishes at 14.  For 3 years he followed whole-heartedly the cry of “Heil Hitler”, rising among the ranks of his peers.  But in 1935, at a Nazi Rally gathering in Nuremberg, Hans’ doubt in the purpose and process began. Much like his father, Hans was an intellectual.  His frustration with the militaristic, brainless Hitler Youth drove him underground to an outlawed group of youth and to conversing with family members against Hitler.  Younger sister Sophie and younger brother Werner were arrested, interrogated and released, as was Hans in the autumn of 1937, which solidified their distrust of the regime.   Fast forward four and 1/2 years to a time where German has conquered much of Europe and Hans and Sophie are both at University in Munich.  Hans and 3 other men wrote their 1st leaflet, a non-violent form a resistance.  One year, 3 months and 6 leaflets later, most of the above were beheaded with others to follow and family members to be inprisoned.  The last leaflet does make it out of the country, reprinted and airdropped by British war planes across all of Germany.  In We Will Not Be Silent, award-winning author Russell Freedman writes a poignant, beautiful biographical sketch woven in intricately with the prose and pictures of history to bring forward the story of the White Rose at a most poignant time in our own American history.  Highly recommended for awards, libraries and classroom use.

Getting the chance of a lifetime to become an intern at a top teen magazine could open many doors for Harper Anderson.  Too bad it begins with a lie.  In Little Black Dresses, Little White Lies, witty and intelligent Harper lands this position by writing a sample teen dating blog post using her best friend’s reality as her own.  Now in Manhattan at Shift headquarters, Harper is expected to write a blog every Wednesday that’s as juice and drama filled about the teen dating scene as her application’s sample.  The problem is that Harper has had no real dating life.  She doesn’t go out of her shell.  Nor does she fit into New York style.  Her aunt, whom she will live with for the summer, helps her continue the facade by dressing Harper to look her part with designer clothing.  Harper must them continue to tell little white lies as she gets to know the other interns she’s competing with for the call back next summer.  Harper learns to think on her feet and navigate the dog-eat-dog path of interns while cracking her own shell along the way.  Ultimately though, the lying can not last and a pivotal weekend when her best friend surprises her with a visit sends the book spiraling to its conclusion.  Chic lit at its best, this title has romances, budding feminism, and inner turmoil that will keep a reader entertained.  Recommended for high school and public libraries.

Tim Howard, Dwayne Wade, Stephen Curry, Jim Abbott, Althea Gibson, LeBron James, Shane Battier, R.A. Dickey, Serge Ibaka, Caron Butler, & Jacques Demers.  These 11 athletes began their lives heading down a path that one would not expect to lead to stardom.  Some felt the pangs of abuse – drugs abuse, sexual abuse, verbal abuse, neglect.  Others overcame the challenges of physical impediments.  Each athlete gets 15 – 24 pages of story time.  Dreamed up by a father and sons triple threat, the writing is seamless between the authors.  Even if a student only reads about a few of their favorite athletes, the message is taught and it is a win for libraries.  Highly recommended!

This is an extremely well thought out and organized book directed at kids and teenagers who tend to be quiet or introverted.  This reviewer tends to be quiet, but always in the middle of introversion versus extroversion, since I love crowds and lots of activity.  I wish I had had this book when I was a very quiet teenager, afraid to speak up in class.  One example of this advice is in Chapter 14, The Restorative Niche, which describes people who need to have alone time and how to create a space where they can go to recharge their batteries.  This was helpful for me as a parent, especially since I don’t need this as much as some of my children.

Each chapter presents different characters in everyday scenarios with their varying personalities and needs.  The author then goes on to show how these characters were able to overcome difficulties and be powerful.  At the end of every chapter, there is practical advice on how to deal with these situations. Most chapters also have a cartoonish infograph to make it light in its topics, such as finding a way to leave a party when uncomfortable.  

This is a book that one can read only a few chapters, picking and choosing, and still get a lot out of this book; although I enjoyed reading it from cover to cover.  My favorite chapter was Chapter 12, Changing the World the Quiet Way as it is helpful for Girl Scouts who are looking for Gold Award projects or Boy Scouts looking for Eagle Scout projects.  I highly recommend this book for students, introverts, parents, and teachers.

-Sherrie Barrett for Capital High School Library

We Know It Was You‘s intensity right at the beginning hooked this reader.  Someone was definitely  a psychopath!  We’re not talking blood and guts– this killer in this  works on an emotional level. Formatted as a detective’s log book with dates and times rather than chapters, this is a murder mystery with plenty of twists and turns.  As part of  the initial shock of an opening, readers meet Benny Flax, a nerd who attends the private Winship Academy in Atlanta.  Benny had started a club years prior where he investigates unusual events in the school.  The only other member of his club is Virginia.  While he wants to solve mysteries, she just wants to be part of them.  Throughout the story, these two will work as foils for each other until the mystery is solved.  While Benny and Virginia are as innocent as can be, readers need to be aware that there are definitely upper high school/adult content to the point where there were times this reader felt uncomfortable and wondered the purpose of the talk about sex and body parts.  It did not help the plot at all.  Because of this, a novel that could have been a starred recommendation dropped significantly to just an additional purchase and not really recommended.

Bridget Heos’s enthusiastic, creative voice in It’s Getting Hot in Here: The Past, Present and Future of Climate Change is inspiring.  This is not your typical piece of non-fiction for student research.  Heo’s passion for the who, what, when, how and why is evident throughout.  Students will walk away knowing the science in how climate changes have happened historically, not just warming but the times of cooling and freezing as well and how the two have interplayed.  They will be taught how nature is constantly changing its climate and that we are actually just making it happen exponentially faster.  Of course, she gives the standard ways to help stop climate change and the most recent research behind this, but students will learn how the little things we do without thinking also add to the big picture, such as how tilling the soil to plant a new crop is releasing naturally produced underground methane gasses or how our expectation of readily available food sources has a direct impact on climate in terms of mass breeding of animals and the amount of waste they produce, let alone all of the steps to get that animal fed and on our table for dinner.   Every chapter ends with a “Be the Change” segment with real life ideas that we can do to help slow down global warming.  Additionally, this is a gorgeously printed book.  While closer to the size of hardback novels, it is the vivid pictures are used as examples and  every 15 pages or so as wallpaper, making the book visually stimulating.  But the best part of this addition to all of the literature out there on climate change is Heos’s voice.  She is enthusiastic and clever in every aspect of her writing.  In talking about the Big Bang and how the Earth began evolving, she explains how bacteria in the ocean first started photosynthesizing light and releasing oxygen about 2.4 billion years ago.  But oxygen was poisonous to bacteria not in the ocean.  Heos writes a little typed note stating:

Dear Oxygen,

Thanks for destroying the world.  We’re going to go live in a hole now.

Love, Bacteria.

That flash of wit shows up many, many other times and keeps the tone educationally fun.  For all of these reasons, I would highly recommend this book.

Life is Funny by E.R. Frank is an intense fiction novel that is anything but funny. The author gives insight into 11 teenagers growing up in Brooklyn, NY over a span of 7 years; each character has a voice and portrays an in depth look into their modern day life and struggles dealing with topics of unwanted pregnancies, drug and sexual abuse, love, suicide, cutting, and what it’s like to be a teenager. It’s at times graphic and slightly intense for younger teen readers, but at the same time gives raw perspective into 11 teenagers lives all living in the same area. Originally published back in 2000, this new cover art will also help pull in readers.  I recommend this book older teens and adults who want a look at what some students in our system have to deal with, and how they react.

This is a silly tale of three characters, Eenie, Meenie, and Harold.  Harold was supposedly in the bathroom when Meenie discovers a sword, then a shield and then a helmet in the stove.  Eenie is mellowdramatic about the whole series of events, even after Meenie starts to suggest that maybe the items are actually Harold’s, but he can’t quite put 1+1 +1 together.  In the end, the dragon gets them all, which was a surprising resolution that little boys might satisfaction with.   Illustrations slightly are reminiscent of the David Shannon books.  You medieval fans will flock to The Sword in the Stove.

My Dog Spot could become a classic for generations.  The simplicity of the illustrations and text make it accessible for preschool students through the recommended age of 8.  The tan-textured, recycled paper background for every page present uniformity and focus for the illustrations of the dog and his activities.  For librarians, this would lend itself to call and response because of the repetition of “My dog Spot…” throughout.  Spot is black and white, smaller than some but larger than others.  He likes to do all of the classic activities a dog likes to do.  I envision this text selling well with millennials who pine for suburbia while acting like they are tres chic.  The heart-felt preface written by the authors’ son just makes one smile.  Recommended as a gift and for all libraries.