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: Fresh Ink: An Anthology Edited by Lamar Giles

Fresh ink offers 13 label-defying stories by renown young adult authors. This is a great way to taste some of the best ya authors to see which ones you love. I think my favorite was the last story in the book, "Super Human" by Nicola Yoon. Try it to discover your favorite story.

Book Review: Heroine by Mindy McGinnis

Mickey Catalan lives for softball and works hard in school hoping that the athletics combined with her grades will get her into a good college. As she is driving one day she is in a car accident and destroys her hip. Micky is determined to return to her position as catcher in the upcoming season and pushes hard to get back into shape with a little help from Oxycontin. But when her prescription runs out and her doctor will not refill it, she finds herself looking elsewhere for pain relief.  One oxy turns into two, doses increase, and her drug use becomes addiction.
This is a great book to read to better understand addiction.

Book Review: With the Fire on High / Elizabeth Acevedo

Emoni gave birth during her freshman year of high school. Now in her senior year she has become a tough character, a good friend, a loving granddaughter, and a great mom. Now is the time for making decisions about her future, and while Emoni knows she wants to become a chef, she isn't sure how to get there especially while supporting her daughter. This book is so good that you can almost taste the food.

I love Emoni's character - she is no nonsense but under her tough exterior lies a compassionate soul. She struggles with how the world sees her and judges her, but doesn't let that stop her from moving forward.

Check out this video of Elizabeth Acevedo talking about With the Fire on High.

Book Review: We'll Fly Away by Bryan Bliss

Imagine living on death row. Imagine knowing what you did to get there was wrong, but not feeling sorry that you did it.

What would it take to be that person? In We'll Fly Away you will meet two teens. Luke, a wrestler, lives in a home where he is essentially the parent of his younger twin brothers. Toby lives with his father and experiences frequent beatings. Both boys dream of moving on to a safe place. This is their story. 

Why read this book? Growing up, my mom often used the words, "You need to walk in his (or her) shoes." Why did she say that? She thought it was important to understand other people's contexts. To try to see the world from their perspective. This book offers a chance to "experience" the life of someone without much - without much money, without much guidance, without much parenting, without much nurturing. Reading stories such as this builds a foundation on which you can understand the people you meet. 

You can find this book on Hoopla in both ebook and audiobook formats. 

No Sad Songs / Frank Morelli

Gabe desires a senior year full of his best friend, girls, and baseball, but finds himself caring for his grandfather and uncle after his parents both die in a car accident. His uncle is pretty useless (booze and a lot of couch surfing) and his grandfather's dementia often leaves him reliving his World War II days  - launching (sock) grenades and fighting imaginary foes making him combative and violent. Gabe promised his father to protect his grandfather's dignity by allowing him to live his final days at home, a task that is becoming increasingly difficult. BUT life has a habit of changing one's plans.

I really enjoyed this story. I love, love, love Morelli's language choices - he paints wonderful visual images. In a story that is filled with a heart-breaking topic - there is a TON of humor. You will find this book in the Nashua South Library collection.

Book Review: Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

This was just the fun, escapist story I needed during this pandemic and after reading some pretty heavy books lately! Sawyer Taft is living and working as an auto mechanic in a small Southern town with her restless single mother when her estranged socialite grandmother shows up and offers Sawyer money to participate in the upcoming debutante season. Sensing an opportunity to find out who her father is, Sawyer accepts and moves in with her grandmother. The story opens the evening of the grand final ball of the season with 4 of these debutantes, including Sawyer, all decked out in their formal gowns in a jail cell. The book alternates between their evening in jail and flashbacks to how they ended up there (with photos from a mysterious photo blog thrown in). It's a juicy story full of feisty characters, sarcasm and dark humor, more than one mystery, kidnapping, blackmail, scandal and revenge. Perfect for fans of shows like Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars or Riverdale. This book makes for a great beach - or pandemic - read!

You can find this book in our library and the audiobook (narrated in an entertaining unhurried Southern drawl) is currently on Hoopla.

To preview either format, look it up on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Little-White-Debutantes-Jennifer-Barnes/dp/1368014135/