Runebinder

Kahler, Alex R.  Runebinder.  2017.  Harlequin Teen, Ontario, Canada.

The world as we know it ended with the Resurrection.  Not the Resurrection we tend to associate with the Bible, but definitely a tale of End Times brought about by magic.

Tenn is a Freedom Fighter.  A young Hunter, he works to overthrow the evil Necromancers and Howls who overtook the world and raised their evil dark mistress over the world.  Tenn is able to tap into some magical powers - he is attuned to water and earth - but his power does not come close to that of the evil ones ruling the planet.




So then why do the evil Necromancers chase  him across the world?  Why are they determined to destroy him and all that he loves?  Why are the ancient prophets desperately searching for him?  Why does the Dark Lady haunt his dreams?




He begins to suspect that he may be more than just an ordinary Hunter and user of magic when he unleashes a powerful surge of magic that turns ordinary rain water into ice daggers that kill those who hunt him.  And when the mysterious Incubus Tomas begins to court him with promises of power and glory, Tenn begins to question just how far the powerful will go to get him to come to their side.


Author's Web Site: http://www.arkahler.com/


Find this book in a library near you: https://www.worldcat.org/title/runebinder/oclc/1066139189&referer=brief_results

You Don't Have to Say You Love Me

Alexie, Sherman.  You Don't Have to Say You Love Me. 2017.   Little, Brown and Company. 

In this compelling autobiography, Sherman Alexie takes a very honest look at his life growing up.  If you are wondering what the Native American experience was in the late 20th century, Sherman does a fantastic job of capturing life on the Rez.  While exploring his upbringing, he explores what it means to have been raised by an alcoholic parent in an uncertain world.

Sherman Alexie is an award winning poet who has captured the hearts and minds of people everywhere with his honest words and views of the world that speaks to everyone - regardless of age or race.

His gift for words weaves a tale that draws the reader into his relationship with his mother as he attempts to come to grips with their relationship.  Where sometimes memoirs can be bitter or angry, this story is instead a bittersweet look back at what was and why it was that way.



Author's Website:  http://fallsapart.com/


Find this book in a library near you: https://www.worldcat.org/title/you-dont-have-to-say-you-love-me-a-memoir/oclc/1000583534&referer=brief_results

That Inevitable Victorian Thing

That Inevitable Victorian Thing by E.K. Johnston

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I picked up this book because of the beautiful cover. The inviting artwork drew me to the book. The incredible words contained within the book kept me reading late into the night and through my lunch break until I had finished. There were unexpected plot twists and turns, and a glorious world set in an alternate modern world where Queen Victoria continued to rule the British Empire, and the British Empire spans the globe.

Margaret is the Princess, set to be the next Queen of the British Empire. When it is time for her to have her "Debut", her parents attempt to give her the most normal of experiences ever. She travels to Canada, where she has her Debut with her God Sister. Masquerading as Elizabeth Sandwich, she is able to live the life of a relatively normal, obscure socialite. Margaret befriends a young girl named Helena, and the two girls become fast friends. Disguised as Margaret Sandwich, the young princess has the summer of a lifetime with good friends, laughter, high teas, and dances.



Everything is not as joyful as it may seem, though. Underneath the diversions of dances and balls runs a secondary story line of extortion, piracy, and secrets that extend all the way down to the DNA. Will Margaret be able to triumph over the unexpected hurdles that suddenly appear in the middle of her idyllic summer?

View all my reviews

(This review is my Good Reads Review and is linked to my Good Reads account.) 


Find this book in a library near you: https://www.worldcat.org/title/that-inevitable-victorian-thing/oclc/1027831968&referer=brief_results

Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team

Sheinkin, Steve.  Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team.  2017.  Roaring Brook Press, Holtzbrink Publishing.

I remember hearing about Jim Thorpe when I was a kid.  I've always heard about Pop Warner, but I'd never put the two together, and I never really understood the impact that the two had on the sport that we call American Football.

Back in the late 1800's, after the Indian Wars in the American West that resulted in the Native Americans being forcibly moved to reservations in Indian Territory, somebody had the idea to remove the children from their families, send them off to boarding schools, and forcibly remove all traces of their heritage and make them into white people.  Jim Thorpe was sent to these boarding schools as a child, and he hated the environment so much that he would run away and come home, only to be drug back to the school by his father who was convinced that this was the only way Jim would ever be able to support himself in a White Man's World.



Pop Warner had been a football player with Cornell University.  After he graduated, he began coaching football.  Football at that time was a very different game than it is now, more closely resembling Rugby than the game we know.  Pop enjoyed the game, and loved the strategy that went into playing the game.



The Carlisle Indian School, located in Carlisle Pennsylvania, was the home of many Native American children who were far from home, in a strange environment, and team sports was the one way they had to feel like they were part of a family and away from the realities of life at the Indian School.

Their paths became intertwined when Pop Warner approached the Carlisle Indian School about starting a football team.  Jim, a headstrong young man who couldn't find any focus in his life, was sent to the Carlisle Indian School.



Find out the true story behind the development of Modern American Football - and the major impact that the Carlisle Indian School Football team had on the development of the game.  Learn more about Pop Warner and his innovative approach to football strategy.

Find out how Jim Thorpe came to dominate the sport, and how he dominated in the Olympics.
What exactly was the controversy surrounding his Olympic win?


Find this book in your local library: https://www.worldcat.org/title/undefeated-jim-thorpe-and-the-carlisle-indian-school-football-team/oclc/1077711954&referer=brief_results

Isaac the Alchemist

Losure, Mary.  Isaac the Alchemist: Secrets of Isaac Newton, Reveal'd.  2017.  Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA, USA.


Isaac Newton is considered to be the founder of modern physics.  His work was a big contributor to the development of what we now know as Calculus. 


Before Isaac Newton became a world renowned scientist, he was a young boy living in an attic above an Apothecary Shop in Grantham, England.  Grantham was a sleep little Puritan town where all references to magic (i.e. Science) were forbidden.  Isaac was a curious young boy, longing to discover how the world around him worked. 


Journey back in time and discover the life and works of Sir Isaac Newton.  This curious, ingenious man turned the world upside down with his innovative thinking.  Fascinating insights into the life of Sir Isaac Newton are provided from sources that include an encoded journal that he kept as a young child.


Author's Web Site: https://marylosure.com/


Find out more about Isaac Newton at the Newton Project: http://www.newtonproject.ox.ac.uk/

Find this book at your local public library: https://www.worldcat.org/title/isaac-the-alchemist-secrets-of-isaac-newton-reveald/oclc/1057231235&referer=brief_results

The Other Wes Moore

Moore, Wes.  The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates.  2010.  Spiegel & Grau Trade Paperbacks: New York, NY.


Wes Moore grew up in Baltimore.  So did the other Wes Moore.  In a unique twist of fate, both young men grew up only minutes away from each other.  Both men had very similar beginnings to their story.  A father who wasn't present.  A life running on the rough streets.  Mothers that moved to attempt to get their kids away from the bad influences around them.

But somewhere, the stories diverged.  One Wes Moore ended up in the military, went to Johns Hopkins, and became a Rhodes Scholar.  The other Wes Moore ended up in jail with a life sentence for taking part in a jewelry store robbery that ended with the death of an off duty police officer.

In the course of this book, Wes Moore examines where their paths were the same, and how they diverged.  He explores the choices that each young man made, and how those choices impacted the course of their lives.  He looks at the motivating factors behind each decision, and how those factors impacted their lives.

If you've ever wondered how your choices impact your future, this is a must read.  If you have wondered what motivates young people from the poorer parts of the city to make the choices that they do, this book is a must read.

This inspiring story will motivate you to take a closer look at your world.

Find this book at your local public library:: https://www.worldcat.org/title/other-wes-moore-one-name-two-fates/oclc/1090412372&referer=brief_results

My Fairy Godmother is a Drag Queen

This fun take on the classic Cinderella tale will keep you laughing from beginning to end.

Chris is the step child in a family that was historically wealthy but has fallen on hard times.  In a desperate attempt to save the family fortune, Chris' stepmother and step siblings get an invite to THE social event of the year.  The hope is that the daughter Kimberly will meet J.J. Kennerly, and somehow a marriage between the two families will save the fortunes of the Bellows family.

Left at home because the family couldn't afford a ticket for Chris, he is sitting outside of the family brownstone when the fabulous Coco Chanel Jones walks past and decides to take Chris under his arm and help him get into THE event.

As events unfold, it is revealed that not only is Coco a Drag Queen, she is a member of the group that is performing at the event.

When Chris meets the man of his dreams as his shoe slips off his foot, things take an unexpected turn.  When said man shows up at his door the next day with the shoe in one hand and Kimberly's hand in the other, Chris begins a walk down a path that leads him to accepting his own sexuality.

You will enjoy the unexpected twists and turns in this story that finally lead to the magical fairy tale ending that every Cinderalla story deserves!

Find this book in your local public library: https://www.worldcat.org/title/my-fairy-godmother-is-a-drag-queen/oclc/1021376363&referer=brief_results

Flame in the Mist

Ahdieh, Renee.  Flame in the Mist.  2017.  G. P. Putnam's Sons, a Division of Random House.  New York, NY.

Mariko is the only daughter of a powerful Samurai.  Her parents have arranged a marriage between her and the Emporer's Son.  As her caravan travels to the Imperial City for the wedding, it is attacked by the infamous Black Clan.  Mariko is the lone survivor of the attack.  Determined to find and destroy the members of the Clan, Mariko disguises herself as a boy and infiltrates the group, making herself learn the skills that are necessary for her very survival.

As Mariko spends more time with the Black Clan, she comes to the realization that the story is much more complicated than she had originally thought.  Things are not as they seem - and while the Black Clan does not like her father, they would never have wantonly killed every member of the caravan.

Determined to find out more, Mariko is stopped when her brother and her betrothed husband discover the Black Clan's hideout in the woods.

Mariko's determination, spirit of adventure and quick intellect make this story stand out.

Author's Website: http://www.reneeahdieh.com/

Find this book in your local public library: https://www.worldcat.org/title/flame-in-the-mist/oclc/993698066&referer=brief_results 

Strange the Dreamer

Taylor, Laini.  Strange the Dreamer.  2017.  New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Raised by Monks, Lazlo Strange was a foundling.  He and many other orphans were tossed into the back of a wagon and taken to the monks.  Nobody knew where they came from, or who their parents were.

By the age of five, Lazlo had become obsessed with the legends surrounding a town with no name.  At one time, the town had a name, but it had been forgotten.  Curious about the town, Lazlo spent any extra time that he could find researching legends and stories about this mysterious town that people refer to simply as "Weep".

Fast forward 15 or so years, and Lazlo is working as an assistant in the Library.  During the day, Lazlo finds the materials that scholars need for their research.  In his spare time, he searches for any information he can find about Weep, sharing the information with nobody, but carefully collating it all into a collection of books he has assembled from scraps of paper found in trash bins about the library.

One magic day, a delegation arrives from the mysterious city of Weep, searching for people to help them solve their mysterious "problem".  They say nothing about the nature of the problem, but they interview all of the scholars, searching for people who might be able to help them with this unnamed foe.  While Lazlo was not interviewed, he managed to plead his case to the leaders of the caravan and is included as a member of the Tizerkane, the guard of the caravan.

Upon arriving in the mysterious city, the problem facing the citizens immediately become apparent.  Every member of the delegation begins work on their own specific contribution, attempting to figure out how to make the problem go away.  But Lazlo Strange - the odd, mysterious, orphan - just might hold the key to the solution.  But at what cost?

Author Website: http://www.lainitaylor.com/

Find this book in your local public library: https://www.worldcat.org/title/strange-the-dreamer-01/oclc/980908261&referer=brief_results

Every Falling Star

Lee, Sungju.  Every Falling Star. 2016. New York: Abrams Books.

Sungju lived in Pyongyang with his family in the Nineties.  His father was an important man, and Sungju was being raised to be a part of the party system.  He lived in an apartment where everyone had their own room, and their lives were comfortable.

Sungju's father disagreed with the party line, and the family found themselves exiled to the northernmost reaches of North Korea.  Living off of savings in a hut with no electricity and no central heat in the middle of a deadly famine, the family fell into hard times and stayed there.

Sungju's father snuck across the border into China with hopes of selling his medals and bringing home food.  After several months, Sungju and his mother realized that he was not returning.  When Sungju awoke one morning to find his mother gone, the struggle to survive began.

Forced to run the streets and steal food, Sungju's life became a living nightmare.  He never knew where his next meal was coming from, and survival became a daily struggle.  How Sungju survived the streets of North Korea and escaped to safety in the South is a story that everyone needs to hear.



Find this book in your local public library: https://www.worldcat.org/title/every-falling-star-the-true-story-of-how-i-survived-and-escaped-north-korea/oclc/972770913&referer=brief_results

The Rithmatist

Sanderson, Brandon.  The Rithmatist.  2013.  Macmillan Publishers. New York, NY.

More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist.  While he was not chosen to be a Rithmatist, Joel has a fascination with Rithmatics - the patterns that go into the defenses, and he has a deep understanding of the patterns and lines that are needed to make a strong defense. He sneaks into Rithmatics lectures during his spare time, and his understanding of the material rivals that of most of his classmates. Even so, he is not a Rithmatist, and because of this, deeper Rithmatic Theory forever remains beyond his grasp - a forbidden fruit that he is not allowed to touch.

Chalkings are the creatures that are made with chalk to attack Rithmatic defenses.  These two dimensional creatures come to life at the behest of a Rithmatist, and attack the weak point of an opponents defenses.  A Rithmatist will draw the chalkings to do his bidding, and then dismiss them with a swipe of his chalk when the battle is finished.

But what happens when Chalkings are no longer under the control of a Rithmatist?  What becomes of these Wild Chalkings?  There are rumors of Wild Chalkings loose on the island of Nebrask, but they are under the control of the Rithmatists stationed there.  Or are they?

Joel's mother is a cleaning lady, and together they live in the school that trains the Rithmatists - Armedius Academy.  Joel longingly watches the Rithmatics students as he works his way through the regular curriculum at Armedius.

Strange things are happening at Armedius - Rithmatic students are disappearing, leaving behind trails of blood.  Chalk lines are appearing all over the campus - but these lines have no Rithmatic meaning that anybody understands.

Will Joel, Melody, and Professor Fitch be able to discover the meaning of these strange lines in time to save their own lives?


Find this book in your local public library: https://www.worldcat.org/title/rithmatist-the-1/oclc/993965071&referer=brief_results

Stealing Snow

Paige, Danielle.  Stealing Snow.  2016.  Bloomsbury Children's Press.  New York, NY.

16 year old Snow has spent most of her life in the Whittaker Psychiatric Institute.  She was institutionalized by her mother when she was 5 years old after she attempted to walk through a mirror to the world beyond - as was described in the book "Through the Looking Glass".

Life in Whittaker has not been kind to Snow.  Separated from society, and kept under the influence of the drugs which make her world foggy and keep her senses dulled, Snow has had little interaction with anyone outside of the other residents of Whittaker.  But, she does have one very good friend.  Bale.  Bale has been there with her almost since the beginning of her time at Whittaker.

One magical night, Bale and Snow kiss in a hidden corner and her world changes forever.

After the magical kiss, Snow's one and only love turns violent.  The doctors up his dosage of meds and keep the two of them apart. On the night Snow manages to sneak through the security, Bale disappears into a mirror and is never seen again.

Meanwhile, a strange and magical tree begins to haunt Snow's dreams. A new orderly appears, calling her "Princess" and telling her of a strange and magical land, located beyond the tree that is hers if only she can break free from the drugs and the Institute.  He gives her directions to the tree, and disappears.

Snow escapes from Whittaker and works her way up to the mysterious tree that has been haunting her dreams.  Once she passes through the tree, she finds herself in a magical land where anything is possible, and she has unlimited power at her disposal. While she's learning to navigate this strange new world and her magical power, she must quickly learn who she can and can not trust.

When Snow finds out the horrifying truth about herself, the future of a world hangs in the balance.  What will she choose?


Author Website: http://daniellepaigebooks.com/

Find this book in your local public library: https://www.worldcat.org/title/stealing-snow-stealing-snow-vol-1/oclc/960288849&referer=brief_results