For a reader who doesn’t typically go for sports-themed books, the book Golden Arm by Carl Deuker made for unexpectedly entertaining and sometimes suspenseful reading. If you do love baseball, it will just make this a more enjoyable read.  In this coming-of-age story, Lazarus (Laz) is a student in an underserved Seattle high school negotiating many challenges at school, home, and on his baseball teams. He’s a gifted pitcher with a “golden arm” and a shy kid who has a stutter and a learning disability. Laz grew up in a trailer park without many of the privileges that the students in a wealthy district up north don’t even think twice about. Cell phones (not  throwaway flip-phones), personal transportation (he rides the bus and walks long distances), a  personal bedroom stocked with a computer, access to math tutoring, or having an actual pitching coach are things that he regards as luxuries and out of reach. His mom and half-brother Antonio are his family; his dad is out of the picture. Laz has the opportunity to contend for a state title on a team for a wealthy Seattle high school and his ultimate goal is to be a draft pick for the major leagues. It’s not a straightforward trajectory, though, and he has to deal with how to fit in at his new school, his alternate living situation, and how the cultural norms and expectations he experiences in his new setting mesh with his own developing personal ethics. The author does a nice job of using Laz’s point of view to portray the successes and challenges that are intrinsic to the growing-up process without over-analyzing or being preachy. It’s a high-interest story that’s a fairly quick read.  Many young people will recognize and identify with Laz: being a poor kid with few resources trying to succeed in a culture defined by a rich, socially privileged class.
I do wish there was more development of the past relationship between Laz and his biological half brother Antonio because it is central to the plot. In the narrative they are real brothers who grew up together with no “half” about it, but Antonio’s character seems a bit hollow. Similarly, the character of Suja, Laz’s childhood friend (and romantic interest?) is underdeveloped and Suja seems more like support staff than a teenage girl Laz really likes. Even though the reader might wish for more thoroughly fleshed-out development of the important people in Laz’s life, overall the book is a satisfying read. Golden Arm should appeal to readers who enjoy a suspenseful plot that makes a few unexpected turns, and to those who tend towards the genres of sports, realistic fiction, and local color. However, it should appeal to a broader audience with a very elemental conundrum: How does a kid remain true to themselves when they have a tangible opportunity to “succeed” and live their dream, but to make this happen they must sacrifice the very relationships that helped make them who they are?

Review by OHS Library Secretary, Mikel
The Racers was a thrilling surprise, full of suspense and enough lively content to enthrall race car enthusiasts, WWII  history buffs, as well as readers who appreciate an author who thoroughly researches contributions of women and Jews in the car racing industry.  Even readers who have no interest in car racing and nonfiction will be sucked into this epic tale of intrigue and the gritty ambition of an underdog facing Hitler’s highly trained and supported fleet of drivers and turbo-charged cars. Very few people realize the origin of the Mercedes-Benz car, so prevalent on today’s roads, and many will be astonished at the story of the development of Hitler’s Silver Arrow race car. Bascomb’s addition of photographs interspersed throughout the story enhances his already vivid descriptions of racers and their early, innovative race cars, some of which could reach unheard of speeds of over 250 mph. The pinnacle of suspense in the book is the final showdown Pau Grand Prix race of 1938, when Hitler was determined to prove to the world that Germany was supreme in all endeavors throughout the world, including on the racing circuit. The reader will not be able to put down the book at this point; they will be in the seat with Dreyfus, the Jewish driver, whipping around hairpin turns, screaming past the the pit ignoring the frantic signaling of his mechanic for urgent maintenance, and weaving in and out of cars barely escaping the dreaded conflagration of a crash. The world held its breath in ’38, riveted to the final outcome of the Third Reich’s best efforts to dominate the world of racing, a prelude to its effort to dominate the world, period. You will be holding your breath too, and might even pick the book up and start over just to experience that rush again! It would not surprise this reader to see The Racers being made into a movie.  Genre: Narrative Nonfiction/ Historical Nonfiction

Review by OHS Library Secretary, Mikel
This book is well written and makes you want to get to the next page.  It’s about two young girls caught in a war between Nigerians and Biafrans.  They are child soldiers orphaned by the war.  There are soldiers with bionic limbs and artificial organs.  There are two friends, Onjii and Ify who are separated in battle.  They think they will never see each other again, but their trails bring them together.  Onyii is a warrior nicknamed the Demon of Belfran.  Ify is very intelligent and dreams of going to outer space. Daren, a soldier connects with Ifu and takes care of her.  Daren becomes a leader of his people which helps Ify achieve her goals.  4 years later circumstances evolve which make it possible for them to reunite.  However, being together could mean risking everything.  I recommend this book and it is an exciting read. It is best for high school level and above. 

Rick is a quick, informative read that addresses bullying and some of the hardships kids endure when questioning their personal gender identity.  This coming of age book explores preferred pronoun usage, questions regarding sexual orientation and, most importantly, acceptance. 

It bothers Rick that his best friend, Jeff, (and sometimes his own father, too) objectifies girls and is often unkind to Rick, making fun of him.  Rick decides he doesn’t appreciate or approve of Jeff’s behavior anymore and conjures up the courage to stand up for himself and his new friends from the LGBTQ+ Alliance Club at school.

Rick exudes bravery and while at times the author uses fairly explicit language, this is a very sweet story for the middle-aged audience. It focuses on  a crucial, under publicized topic of our time. This was an enjoyable and eye-opening read.

It’s not very often that a young adult mystery keeps you guessing until the very end, but Kit Frick did it in I Killed Zoe Spanos. What a great ride! Mix podcast transcripts with flashback narrative structure. Chill over the course of 10 months. Then surprise readers with more than they ever thought was happening in the back story.

Anna Cicconi has not been the perfect teen, but the summer after graduating high school, she wants to make better choices and believes leaving NYC for a nanny job in the Hamptons will be a fresh start and a great way to make money for college. Escaping to a place her mother tells her she’s never been to because her father was too cheap, she commits to being a good nanny. Not long in her new dwelling, Anna learns of a missing girl from the area that looks surprisingly similar to her. People in town notice too. Jump ahead to the fall and Anna is in juvenile detention for the killing of Zoe Spanos — but she went missing on New Year’s Eve/Day the previous winter. Anna had never met Zoe, yet she confessed to the crime. Memories keep flooding into her head of her being with Zoe, but there’s no truth to them.

Local detective-like teen Martina begins a podcast about Zoe’s death because she too feels something is not right with how the police investigated and why Anna confessed. She’ll discover more clues, but not everything will add up. Kit Frick wove together a mystery that has just the right questions without over-the-top tension or gore. Most mystery fans should enjoy it and I can highly recommend this for high school and public libraries.

This biography provides a fan perspective, but also addresses criticisms of Kobe’s “selfish” style of play. It briefly touches on a sexual assault case against him. The book ends with his posthumous induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Black and white line drawings accompany the easy-to-read text. The book includes a table of contents, a timeline of Kobe’s life beside a timeline of world events during that period, and a bibliography. There is a page of information for both Shaquille O’Neal and Lebron James as Lakers teammates.

It is great to have an up-to-date easy-to-read publication about a young person making headlines about climate change. There is additional information about Stockholm and about the Greenhouse Effect included in the book. The hazards of biographies of the living, particularly of young people, are the text will be out-of-date as Greta continues on in her life/work and as politics and policies around climate change continue to shift. Published in 2020, the book ends with former president Trump still in office and the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement.  The book includes a table of contents, timelines of Greta’s life and world events during that period, and a bibliography.

The simple text reciting memories of farm life on the prairie is paired with detailed artwork that illuminates the setting. This book portrays an idyllic slice of white middle-America in what appears to be the 1930-40s, with cars but also horses pulling wagons. The illustrations are intricate collages layered with color and patterns. The artist uses a variety of materials and techniques including homemade stamps, acrylics, and layered tissue paper. The book is happy and calming.

As you may guess from the title, “Gloom Town” is a dark story. Rory’s single mom works hard to make ends meet. When they are yet-again short on rent money and threatened with eviction, 12-year-old Rory takes a job at the creepy Foxglove Manor. There he encounters hard work, isolation, and deprivation. Rory’s curiosity gets him into trouble and he barely escapes with his life. He teams up with his best friend Izzy attempting to solve the mysteries of the mansion, it’s inhabitants and it’s visitors. Violence, death, the supernatural, witchcraft and magic are central to the story. In the end a surprise character arrives, perhaps too conveniently, to fit together some of the missing pieces of the mystery.
The time period is unclear, but reflects the past with gas lights and sailing ships. I don’t believe Gloom Town’s location is on any map that exists today. The main characters are believable. Race is not specifically addressed, but Rory is described as dark skinned and his mother and friend Izzy are fair skinned. I can recommend the story, but feel the dark themes are not for younger readers. For example, a child’s heart discovered buried in a box in the garden was a bit much for me. I know, however, that there are students who would enjoy that level of horror.

Ren lived on the edge of a National Forest in Puerto Rico. “His days were filled with green and dirt and rocks and mud.” His days were also filled with rich imaginative play and his nightly dreams filled with endless possibilities. When Ren and his mother move to the city, Ren can no longer feel the magic or the wild. Even surrounded by people, Ren is lonely.

Ren’s upstairs neighbor Ava loves the city and shares with Ren all the things that bring her joy. But it is a bit overwhelming for Ren and he cannot feel the magic. When they next meet up, Ren explains what he misses about his wild. This helps Ava understand and she takes him to the basement and the roof to share with him a new different kind of wild.

A New Kind of Wild is a perfect read for youngsters experiencing a move to a new environment or loneliness due to change.

With persistence and dedication to her field, Emmy Noether was a pioneer in mathematics during a time in history when gender norms excluded women from such studies.

The book delves into a number of very intense topics including stereotypical woman’s behavior, discrimination, the Nazi rise in Europe and and anti-semitism. It also tries to explain extremely complex mathematical concepts in a way that elementary school students can understand. The scope of the book is so broad that none of significant ideas are addressed too deeply. The big takeaway is that Emmy Noether was a remarkable, yet unrecognized woman who overcame a lot of challenges. Her amazing mind and unique thinking in the area of mathematics forever impacted how our greatest minds think about cutting edge science and math concepts.

STEM biography collections that tend to be heterogeneous and this title about Emmy Noether will provide enrichment and diversity.

A Place at the Table is told from two voices in clearly marked alternating chapters. Sara and her family are Muslim Pakistani immigrants. Her chapters are written by Saadia Faruki who is a Pakistani immigrant herself and her children’s experiences are reflected in Sara. Elizabeth’s Jewish-American father is married to her British mother. Her chapters are written by Laura Shovan whose personal story is similar. The story is told with intersections of faith, family, food, and friendship. Issues touched on in the book include: not fitting in; judging and being judged on appearance; death of a family member; a parent’s depression; and family financial struggles. These personal struggles take place in the framework of the first year of middle school for both girls and the first year of public school for Sara.
The authors’ personal experiences add depth to their characters. The story provides an appropriate amount of tension and conflict. The ending is satisfying. The book includes a recipe and the authors’ websites provide a few more, Saadia Faruqi also has posted an “Educator’s Guide.” I highly recommend this pleasure-to-read book.

Yanka is looking for the story of where she came from. Who were her true parents? Why did they leave her out in the wild forest? Yanka loves the woman, her Mamochka, who found her and raised her as her own, but still there are questions.

The story is set in and around a village on the edge of a frozen forest. Yanka enjoys when Anatoly – the woodsman ventures out of the forest, stops by Mamochka’s house, and tells her tales that are true and partly true. Mamochka puts no store in these fairy tales, but Yanka does. Yanka, ” ‘ I feel the pull of the forest, stronger than ever before. Somewhere, deep in the dark between the trees, hides the truth of my past.’ ” (11) The morning after the Winter Festival, Yanka wakes with the legs of a bear! “Something about me has changed, beyond just my legs. Something deep inside. The thought is both exciting and nerve-racking, because although understanding animals could be wonderful, and all this change might help me discover the story of my past, I don’t know what it means for my future.” ( 60-61)

Yanka sets her mind to discover the answers to all of her questions by going into the forest. There the real fairy tale begins. Her bear senses make Yanka extremely alert to her surroundings. Wolves talk to her and she understands them. Yanka reveals to a wolf she possess one of its claws from long ago. How can that be? But, it was a part of one of Anatoly’s tales. Soon, other parts of Anatoly’s tales are revealed as true.

Yanka finds the story of her family. Yanka, also, finds that family is all about who you care for and the people you love.

Sophie Anderson has sprinkled eleven of Anatoly’s short tales throughout the book. They include a curse, a castle, a father who turns into a bear, a Yaga (witch) with a house that walks on giant chicken legs, and a dragon. Fairy tales within a fairy tale.

Super thief turned “good guy” Carmen Sandiego is out to stop VILE make a fortune by stealing extremely rare or endangered species to a private collector. What makes this book extra fun for the reader is being given choices to make as to how the story turns out in the end. I tried over 28 scenario combinations as to whether or not I would be helping Carmen Sandiego save the animals or whether I would be helping VILE sell the animals to the private collector. Each scenario kept my attention and wanted me to keep trying other possilibities.

This book just proves there is more than one way to end a story.

Dance is something that has been in Ada’s bones since her birth. She could saunter across the floor of her home much easier as a little girl than when she matures because Ada’s life becomes one of inner turmoil, which reaches a breaking point while in the fall of her freshman year at college. Flipping between a narrative of her college life and flashbacks of various influential times in her childhood, readers are introduced to different aspects of Ada. She has been obedient to her deeply religious father. She has tried vehemently to show her self-centered, unequipped mother that she will always love her. She has dealt with her own inner body image demons as well as teen awkwardness and school hazing. She has witnessed the love in her Nigerian culture and its clashes with contemporary America. When given the opportunity to attend a Historically Black College, Ada leaves her father behind, but she won’t be able to leave her past. And it’s her past that will shape her future — to choose to dance or not to dance. Candice Iloh writes with tension that matches Ada’s strife. Because the novel is in verse, the plotline clips along despite its jolts between settings. Some readers will devour this in one sitting while others will slowly enjoy its introspection. Highly recommended for high school and public libraries.

 Mike by Andrew Norriss is a fictional story about a tennis prodigy named Floyd going through a journey of self-discovery with a mysterious boy named Mike, someone that only Floyd seems to be able to see. It is a book that every reader can connect to in some way or another, and is a genuine and heartwarming story. The plot was compelling and introspective, allowing the reader to see deeply into Floyd’s consciousness and connect it to their own. While the development of Floyd’s character was above-average there could have been more in aspects of his character’s story, including but not limited to his time with his grandma, his relationship with his parents, and his time studying marine biology. The story leaves the reader wanting more, but also with a new sense of understanding of themselves despite the concise nature of the book. The sweet and honest character of Floyd and the ending of the book will leave readers with their hearts warm and content at seeing his internal conflict resolved, and readers will find themselves devoted to the outcome of Floyd’s story. Mike is a book that is great for all readers, but especially for readers in high school or later who find or have found themselves facing big life decisions and are looking for a quick and lighthearted read. — Reviewed by Sam, CHS Student and voracious reader.

We Are Not Free by Traci Chee is a powerful, poetic historical fiction novel for young adult readers. This book goes through the perspectives of many Japanese-American teenagers starting in 1942, during World War II, as they are forced by the American government to leave their neighborhoods for camps, complete loyalty forms, and join the army. I really liked the variety of perspectives in this book, and through those different perspectives, you are able to see how different people deal with their situation. Some are consumed by anger, some try to look upon it as positively as possible, and many different reactions in between. If I had one criticism of this book, it would be that the characters can be a little hard to follow at times, since some characters have a real name and a nickname, and it switches to a completely new perspective every chapter. The way the book is laid out, and the perspectives of teenagers around our age, makes this book far more relatable and interesting than many others in the historical fiction genre. I think fans of historical fiction will definitely enjoy this book, and I encourage anyone who is not a fan to also try it, as it is non-traditional and refreshing. Fans of diverse novels and stories will love this book, as it provides many different perspectives from a group of people heavily discriminate against in America. This book is an intense look at what Japanese-American teens and their families had to go through during World War II and is sure to stir up many emotions for readers. I highly recommend this book. – Reviewed by Avian, CHS Student and voracious reader.

What is your favorite day of the year? Is it a holiday? Your birthday? The first day of school? Musa’s teacher’s favorite holiday is the first day of school. He and his new classmates wonder why because there are so many other great days of the year! They each have their own favorite day: Eid, Rosh Hashanah, Las Posadas, and Pi Day. As we follow along in the book, Ms. Gupta (their teacher) invites each student to introduce their own favorite day of the year to their classmates. Together with their families, they bring in food and decorations and tell share with their friends the joys of their favorite days.

As you follow these four new friends on their journey sharing with each other and their classmates, you are reminded how sharing small or big parts of ourselves can help create lasting memories and friendships. This is a perfect back to school book that shows how we may all start out differently, but in the end, we share in the togetherness that is a classroom community.

In addition to a wonderful story of friendship and the beginning of the school year, this book is exquisitely illustrated and has fantastic end papers.