Dirt Bikes, Drones, and Other Ways to Fly

Wesselhoeft, Conrad.  Dirt Bikes, Drones, and Other Ways to Fly.  2014.  Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt Publishers, New York, New York.

Hardcover, $17.99.  ISBN: 978-0-544-23269-3

Book Talk:
When Arlo's mother died, a huge part of Arlo died, too.  Arlo's mother was gunned down at a robbery at a convenience store.  In the aftermath of the shooting, Arlo's sister struggles with a deadly illness, and his father loses their family business- the newspaper.  Struggling to make sense in a world gone mad, Arlo turns to the two things he loves best - speed and video games.

Out on the open desert, Arlo flies high and fast on his dirt bike.  He takes reckless chances on his bike, throwing himself into the game of high speed recklessness.  In his video game - Drone Wars - he finds an escape from the dreary, scary world he now lives in.

Flying high and reckless with the video game, Arlo becomes the highest scoring person in the game - EVER.

And then, he finds himself recruited by the Air Force to be a part of their ultra-secret drone program.  Flying drones in Afghanistan, while sitting quietly in the United States, Arlo begins to meld the virtual world together with the real world.

But what about Lee?  The beautiful new girl in town whose father is fighting in Afghanistan?
Intrigued by the mystery of Arlo, she begins to make Lee feel alive again - and wonder where his true loyalties lie...

Will Arlo ever be able to come to terms with his reality?


Note from Bettina:
There is language in this book.  A lot of language.  The themes are mature themes.  Considering the topic of the book- an alcoholic father, a mother gunned down in a convenience store, and a sister who is dying - the language matches the themes.

This book is appropriate for High School students, as well as ANY teenager who is suffering from the loss of a parent to violence.

Author's Web Site:
http://adiosnirvana.com/

Clueless in the Kitchen

Raab, Evelyn.  Clueless in the Kitchen.  2011.  Firefly Books, Buffalo, NY.

Softcover, $14.95.  ISBN: 978-1-55407-824-0.

Book Talk:
The pretzels are gone.  The pop tarts are gone.  The Zombie Apocalypse could happen at any moment, and you don't have any food in the house!  What will you do?

This book will take you quickly and easily from a bunch of raw ingredients on the pantry shelves to a nutritious meal or snack in minutes.  Clear, concise, easy to follow directions will make this cooking adventure an easy process you will want to repeat again and again!

Learn how to make Potato Paprikash, Home Made Pizza Crust, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Smoothies, Salad Dressing, and Buffalo Wings.  These yummy recipes are easy to make, and so much cheaper than buying them from the store!

Are you ready to bake?

The Curiosities

Stiefvater, Maggi; Grafton, Tessa; Yovanoff, Brenna.  The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories.  2012.
Carolrhoda Books, Minneapolis, MN, USA.

Hardcover, $17.95.  ISBN: 978-0-7613-7527-2.

Book Talk:
What happens when you get three authors together, give them writing prompts and free reign to let their imaginations run wild and write short little vignettes?  And then, what happens when you interact with each other - and put your short little vignettes out there on a blog where the world can see?

You get The Curiosities.

A fascinating collection of short works written by three talented, published YA authors.  The works are well written, quick, fascinating glimpses of well written fiction into different and unique worlds.  Each work stands on it's own, and is totally independent of anything else written by themselves or any other author in that book.

Are you curious?

Juliet's Moon

Rinaldi, Ann.  Juliet's Moon.  2008.  Harcourt, Inc, New York, NY, USA.

Hardcover: $17.00.  ISBN:978-0-15-206170-8.

Book Talk:

Juliet is living in Missouri.  Around her the Civil War rages on.  Barely escaping the clutches of the Yankee Army when they come to her house, she watches in horror from her secret place while her father is murdered and their home is burned to the ground.

Juliet's brother, Seth, finds her later that day and takes her to the house of his intended.  Here, he feels she will be safe and sound, and protected from the uncertainties of life that surround everyone in the days at the close of the Civil War.

But wait!  Seth is a member of Quantrill's Riders, a notorious group of guerilla warriors who roam the countryside at will and harass the Union Army wherever they may go.  While their tactics are effective, anyone who is associated with the Riders is in danger because the Union Army will stop at nothing in their attempt to stop Quantrill's Riders. 

When the fateful day arrives and everyone - Juliet, the family she is staying with, her friends from surrounding farms - everyone who might possibly be affiliated with the Riders is arrested.  They are taken to town and tossed into a prison on the second floor of a house.

When that prison collapses with all of the prisoners inside, Juliet faces a quick lesson in growing up. When she discovers that most of the people who were prisoners with her were either killed or will be maimed for the rest of their lives, she experiences what is only the beginning of her new reality.

All of us experience a dark moon inside of our soul.  Juliet is about to discover hers.  How far will she go in order to save all that is precious to her?

Author's Web Site:
http://www.annrinaldi.net/

A Note from Bettina:
I was not expecting to be this swept away by this book!  I have read it all in one sitting, breaking only for lunch.  Holy cow!

I wanted to point out that this book is based on true facts.  I had never heard of this particular tale before.  All of the girl relatives of the Quantrill Raiders were in fact, herded up and sent to prison in a dilapidated jail - The Grand Avenue Prison- in Kansas City.  The jail did indeed collapse,  and most of the girls were killed.  The author created a beloved family of characters that were a part of this collapse.  The tale of survival, of love, and determination in the face of adversity is an enchanting tale that needs to be heard again and again.

The Oceanology Handbook

The Oceanology Handbook: A Course for Underwater Explorer, by Professor Pierre Aronnax
edited by Clint Twist.  2010.  Candlewick Press, Summerville, MA, USA.

Hardcover: $12.99.  ISBN: 978-0-7636-4874-9.

Book Talk:

Join the crew of Captain Nemo's submarine, the Nautilus.

This richly illustrated book introduces you to the oceans of our world, and how people set about exploring them.

Professor Aronnax shows you the various ships that have been used throughout history to help people explore the great, wide world that exists just off the edge of the land.

Find out more about the oceans, currents, and life at all levels of the ocean.

Find out how people first dived down to the bottom of the ocean and what their diving suits looked like.

Discover how animals live deep in the ocean where there is no light.

What are ocean currents?  How are they formed?  Where do they come from and where do they go?

This book takes you on an in depth tour of the ocean and how people have explored, discovered, and interacted with it for thousands of years.


Note From Bettina:
In case if you're wondering, yes, this is the same Professor Aronnax and ship that is in the classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.  The pictures in this book are amazing, richly illustrated, and engaging.  This would be an awesome book for reluctant or struggling readers who are fascinated by ships, oceans, and sea life.

The Storm in the Barn

Phelan, Matt.  The Storm in the Barn.  2009.  Candlewick Press, Summerville, MA, USA.

Hardcover, $17.35.  ISBN: 978-0-7636-3618-0.

Book Talk:

Jack lives in Kansas.  The rain has not fallen in four years, and the ground is dead.  People are leaving and moving out, but Jack's family remains.  Jack's sister has what is known as dust pneumonia, and his family believes the he himself is losing his mind.

Jack struggles to help, to find a solution, to make everything alright again so that his sister will survive.

When he finds a strange, lurking figure in an abandoned barn, Jack is intrigued.  Noticing that the figure has a face like lightning, Jack is determined to find out if this strange creature has anything to do with the missing rain, and force it to make the rain come back again.

Is Jack losing his mind, or is there really an entity that controls the rain lurking in the barn?

Find out in... the storm in the barn!

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

Note from Bettina:
This book is set during the Great Dust Bowl, in Kansas.  Many of the events of this story are true events from that time period.  Matt Phelan states in his end note that he was first inspired by photography of Dorothea Lange and Arthur Rothstein - who took haunting images of the people who lived through the dust bowl.  Further research had Mr. Phelan watching a documentary entitled "Surviving the Dust Bowl".  This haunting film showed actual footage from the Dust Bowl, and included stories and tales from the survivors.  As a result, he began to work on a story, told through the eyes of a child about the Dust Bowl.   It's a haunting tale, a mix of true facts, with just a touch of folk lore tossed in.  After the first reading, I found myself going back again and again, enchanted with the story, and haunted by the circumstances in which these people found themselves.

*The publisher recommends this book for children ages 10 and up.

Grimm

Nick Burkhardt has a secret.  A very big secret.  He is a Grimm.

Imagine that the creatures and characters that were presented in the Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm actually existed.  That each of those characters, and each of those tales, is real.  There is a hidden world that exists within our own every day world.  Within this world are creatures, humans, who have the ability to transform into other characters. (Think the Big, Bad, Wolf, 3 Little Pigs, etc.) 

Most of these creatures are good, kind people who live and work in the human world without a problem.

Nick is a Grimm.  The Grimms of the world run around, killing these fairy tale creatures.  However, Nick is a different kind of Grimm.  He has a conscience, and he doesn't indiscriminately kill.  He enforces the law, and helps the innocent, regardless of which world they live in.

Nick discovers that he is a Grimm in episode 1.   Unknown to him, his Aunt is a Grimm.  As his Aunt loses her battle with cancer, Nick's Grimm powers begin to show themselves, and he struggles with what he is becoming and how to adapt without telling the other people in his life about what is happening to him.

Throughout the three seasons, the stories and characters wind in and out, and throughout the series, with intriguing stories, and interwoven plot lines that weave back in and out through each show.   

NBC just finished broadcasting season 3.  Smart, funny, intelligently written, this series is an amazing piece of work.  The special effects are fantastic.  I am continually amazed by the level of special effects in a weekly television series.  It is not what I was expecting.

One last word from me:  This series is not for young teenagers (Tweens).  I believe that with the level of violence and graphic special effects, it's probably not best for the young ones, or for anyone who has a vivid imagination and is subject to vivid dreams or nightmares.  Other than that, it's an awesome show!