Book Review: The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep: Voices from the Donner Party by Allan Wolf

The Donner Party left a bloody footnote in United States history and this book is a novelization about their journey and hardships.

Can you imagine walking across the United States? Can you imagine what it was like to be a part of the Great Western Expansion when hundreds of people walked, rode horses, traveled by wagon across the United States? Did you know that these wagon trains traveled on average at about 3 miles per hour? We drive across this country now and pick up a bite to eat or visit a bathroom at a rest stop. It still feels like a gargantuan endeavor, but early settlers faced difficult challenges - bad weather, illness, few resources… BUT the Donner Party faced unfathomable difficulties and even harder choices when they chose to travel a relatively new path AND the weather turned bad much earlier than expected. I mean really bad. Seriously folks, 15-20 FEET OF SNOW. That makes even the worst of our New Hampshire winters seem tame.

Read this historical fiction pieced together by author Allan Wolf from documents and stories shared by both survivors and those who perished (through letters and journals.) And yes, there is cannibalism involved - so if you are squeamish - don’t pick up this book. But if you are brave enough to crack open these pages - put yourself in their shoes and think about how you might survive. Think about how each person carries within themselves the possibility of heroic and villainous acts - often times both.

Finally, note that there are extensive notes at the end of this novel. Please check them out before you start reading - you will find a list of characters (put a bookmark on this page because it is hard to keep everyone straight), a timeline, short biographies of the characters in this story, some glossaries and more. Some you might want to read before you get started, and some you might want to leave until the end. But know they are there.

 

Book Review: The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

 

Frances (Frenchie) and his brother are hiding in a treehouse at the beginning of this story, but they soon find themselves in trouble as the recruiters have found them. Mitch distracts the recruiters to allow Frances to escape. 

Frances is Native American. The time is the future. People have stopped dreaming and their only hope is harvesting the marrow of Native Americans - the place where dreams still are generated. Frances finds himself on the run from the recruiters - this is not a safe time for Native Americans. Soon he is rescued by a group of strangers.

This book has a little of everything: A diverse cast of characters, survivalism, grobal warming, a dystopian world, friends and family, love and luv. And hope. And a happy ending.

Try this story, you won't be sorry.

"Cold is an effective alarm clock, and I was up before the sun. The fire had gone out, but not long ago, since there was still smoke. The cough I'd been cultivating over the past few days was more insistent now. I coughed, and each push of air brought a fresh ache out of my back and legs. The jump and run had really done a number. Still, I stood and started my jumping jacks following Mitch's morning warm-up routine even through he wasn't there to remind me. 

'C'mon French, I've seen higher from a boulder.'"

Do you think you could survive alone in the great north woods? alone? What would you draw upon to save your own skin?

Book Review: Twenty Five to Life by R. W. W. Greene

Mr. Greene has been a teacher at our school for years, retired, then came back to teach this past year. He donated this book to our collection and I am so glad that he did because I really enjoyed the story.

In Julie's world the age of legal majority is 25 and she is only 23. When she learns that he mother wants to move her out of her childhood home, she decides to step out on her own, even though that will lead to an illegal existence. Even worse, the world has changed - between global warming, and the bombs that various countries lobbed at each other - the air isn't even safe to breath. But she runs anyway, and finds herself in a sketchy world that was beyond her imaginings.

What is the best part of this book? For me it was the characters. Mr. Greene did a great job of creating some very three dimensional characters who, though flawed, were intriging and likeable. People I wanted to meet.

Try this book. You will find it on the shelves of the Nashua South Library (as soon as I get it cataloged.)
 

Book Review: The Prey by Tom Isbell

This is one of the books that was offered to incoming Freshman just prior to summer vacation. 

Are you an action/adventure movie watcher? reader? game player? Well this might be a great book to pick up and read.

A quick description: Warring nations launch nuclear bombs at each other creating an event called Omega. The radiation and percussion of these bombs change the world and increasing the fractured politics with different factions dividing themselves from each other. Children and animals are born with birth defects or altered. Lawlessness becomes the norm.  Most devices that are electronic don't work. - This is the story of several teens - boys who are in a facility for "less thans" (and yes that is as terrible as it sounds) and the girls here were assigned to a facility for twins - where an evil doctor carries out horrific experiments on them. (yes there are overtones of Naziism.) How does one move on from those horrible circumstances? Read this book to find out.

Between these pages you will find bravery, leadership, uncertainty, evil, friendship, and even love. 

You can find this book in the hands of 9th graders, on the shelves on Nashua South, or check out the Online Catalog for Nashua Public Library.

 

Book Review: Be Not Far from Me / Mindy McGinnis

What would you do if you became lost in the forest? Do you have the skills to save youself?

Ashley met up with a bunch of her friends for a night of drinking and partying deep in the Smokey Mountains. When she finds her boyfriend and his ex-girlfriend together, she gets angry punches him in the nose and runs blindly into the night. She runs into a boulder and badly damages her foot and, not being in a good place to deal with what she left behind - she falls asleep on the forest floor. 

When she awakes in the morning she realizes she is  alone, injured and in deep trouble. Her foot is badly broken, she has no shoes, and she doesn't know where she is. When she pulls herself together she discovers that all she has to help her survive is her underwear, bra, shirt and jeans. She also has knowledge from her father about hunting and lessons learned from an old camp counselor, Davey. Ashley is a doer - so she creates a crutch, uses her shirt to create a sling for her foot, and hobbles off on her journey through the woods. 

If survival stories are your thing, you might find this an intriguing read. It might also make you want to learn more about surviving in the wild. Who knows when you might make a wrong turn. 

This book is a Flume Nominee for the 2021/22 school year. You can find a copy on the shelves at South, or on the shelves of Nashua Public Library. You can also borrow an audio copy via NPL's Libby app. 
 

Book Review: Ordinary Hazards / Nikki Grimes

Nikki Grimes begins her memoir like this:

"Cards on the table:
I have a PhD in avoidance,
which kept me running from
the past for years.
I was particularly fond of 
parroting Scarlett O'Hara:
"I'll think about it tomorrow."
But now my need
for light and truth is greater than
my fear of murky memories.
Time to grab my flashlight
and step into the tunnel."

In this memoir in verse, Nikki Grimes tells the story of her growing up with a mother who was an alcoholic and had mental illness. Nikki's mom would stop taking her medications and start drinking then Nikki would find her mother talking to people who were not there. Eventually the mental illness played a part in Grimes entrance into the foster care system. The constant crisis that defined Grimes childhood robbed her of her childhood.

Nikki also had a sprinkling of adults in her life that cared deeply for her. Her father, a musician who was unable to raise her, also fed her books, took her places, introduced her to artists and encouraged her. There was a period of time with one foster family that offered her an oasis of calm and belonging. A teacher nurtured her reading and writing.

Through all of this Nikki Grimes had a love of words and read and wrote constantly.

This memoir in verse was a joy to read, despite the abuse and hardship. This is a story of survival.

My favorite quote:

"Library Card

A magic pass
I used to climb into
other people's skin
any old time
I needed."

You will find this book on SORA through both Nashua South and through Nashua Public Library. I am looking forward to borrowing this from Hoopla through NPL to hear Grimes read her own story.

Book Review: The Other Way Around / Sashi Kaufman

Andrew has lived through a lot in his young life: many moves, his parents' divorce, and now he is enrolled in a nearly-all-girls school where his mother is headmaster. He feels untethered and isn't doing well. And then he ends up spending the Thanksgiving holiday with his uncle and cousin (who wets Andrew's bed). He has finally had enough and decides he needs to escape to his Mima's house. But plans change when he meets a bunch of old teens at the bus stop and ends up joining them in a road trip filled with camping, dumpster diving, and life lessons.

This is a surprisingly satisfying read - really about growing up, finding perspective, and learning about life. This is about traveling across the USA in a van and encountering unexpected experiences. It is also about love - all kinds of love - that of friendship, that of romance, and love of family. Finally, there is the process of looking toward one's future. 

So many books about teens who are on their own center either on boarding school or some kind of Lord-of-the-Flies island. This is a refreshing change. 

 

Book review: I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall

How long could you survive in the wilderness all alone? What if you had physical challenges that make it difficult to walk let alone navigate the challenging terrain of the Canadian wilderness? Is revenge more important than survival?

Within weeks of her arrival at her estranged father's remote cabin, Jess witnesses his death at the hands of dangerous men and suddenly finds herself with little more than the clothes on her back and a few things scavenged from the smoldering ruins of their cabin. Faced with little to eat and no shelter, Jess needs to figure out what she needs to do to survive as winter is fast approaching and there is no one in her life that will question where she is. Her plan also needs to include what to do when the men that killed her father come back for what they left behind.

I highly recommend this suspenseful thriller. The story dives right in and grabs hold of you. The undercurrent of tension that twists throughout this novel kept me engaged and wanting to read just one more chapter. Jess lacks physical strength but her ability to constantly assess her situation and develop a plan is really where her true strength lies. However, will it be enough to survive the brutal winter and the men that killed her father? 

This book is available from the Nashua South Library and the audiobook is currently available from the Nashua Public Library via the Hoopla app.

Book Review: Unnatural Disasters by Jeff Hirsch

The year is 2049. The seas are rising, storms are rampant, whole cities have disappeared. As Lucy Weaver finds herself in an increasingly unsettled world, she begins to face life differently? How important is school? family? dating? How does one stay warm? get food? protect friends and family?

This is not uplifting reading during a pandemic, but if you want to think about how lucky we still are in our world, despite this virus, you might enjoy this.

Book Review: Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz

This is a fictionalized account of the life of Jack Gruener. Yanek, a Jewish boy in 1930s Poland, survived the Holocaust and 10 Concentration camps. Jack and his wife, Ruth, reached out to Scholastic to make sure that their story was told. Read these pages to better understand those horrible times.

Note: Reading this story really puts my own troubles into perspective. Flesher

Book Review: Not If I See You First / Ally Carter

Maddie’s best friend, Logan, is the president of the USA’s son. Maddie’s father was his secret service agent until the night when he was shot defending the first family. Suddenly, Maddie finds herself in Alaska disconnected from the world, her only companions are books and bears. She writes Logan everyday for two years before she stops sending her letters. And now he arrives at her cabin, a kind of punishment for him. And with him comes trouble! Check out this video about the book by Ally Carter, or this book trailer.