Guest Book Review: Kaylieh reviews Playing for the Commandant

Playing for the Commandant by Suzy Zail  is a thrilling book full of exhilarating moments. This is a book about Hanna, a Jew living with her sister, mother, and father. She loves playing piano. Until one day the Nazis come and take her family  to a camp where she is then separated from her father. Her mother is detached from the situation around them leaving only her and her sister to protect each other. They stay in the camp in horrible conditions until one day, the commandant is looking for Jews to play the piano. Hanna gets chosen and starts to play for the commandant but once the commandant's son, Karl walks in, she instantly picks up on his looks and slowly starts to fall in love with Karl. I loved reading this story and even had a hard time putting it down. This is a great book and one of the best books I've read. I would give this book a five out of five rating. It’s a great book to read in your free time, and It will make you want to come back for more. - Kaylieh

Guest Book Review: Isaac reviews Defiance by Nechama Tec

Defiance, by Nechama Tec, is a story based on a real event. This can make Defiance a true page turner, but in spots, can take a chill pill, and will slow down just to pick up in action the next chapter! This makes the story very clear and open and incredibly easy to read at a higher level of reading. The story itself is about a man named Tuvia Bielski and his experience through World War II. It takes place in the cold, cruel winters of Russia. The village in which Tuvia lives houses members of the Jewish culture. In the book, the Germans invade the country, and Tuvia needs to stand up and defy the brutal force incoming towards their village, and to stand up and protect the members of the village. But however, don’t let the thrill of war blind you. The story at first can be very difficult to get into, and can be difficult to follow in places. Since the book is based on a true story, the book itself is very long, and includes a lot of words per page. If I were to give Defiance a rating, I would rate it ⅘ stars simply because of how long it was, and sometimes it being demotivating to finish. However, if you are very invested into war stories, this book will be a perfect fit for you! - Isaac

Isaac read a copy of Defiance from a classroom library but the audiobook version can be found on Hoopla through the Nashua Public Library.

Book Review: The Witch's Hand (The Montague Twins book 2)

 

A dog found - and a reward collected (though not asked for)
A routine day - morning routines, a talk with their guardian, a request to be home for dinner.
Three teens, thrown together in their new family.
A bike ride to the beach...

A rogue storm
Weird visions
A found box

An old friend... dabling with magic... and the horror begins.

Find this creepy graphic novel on the shelves at South and at the Nashua Pubic Library. What a great read for the month of October when we love to experience thrill and chills...

Book Review: This Was Our Pact / Ryan Andrews

It was the night of the Fall Equinox. The whole town gets together and lights lanterns which they float down the river. Each year a bunch of boys have wanted to see what really happens to the lanterns? Do they in fact become the stars in the Milky Way?

The boys have made a pact - No one turns for home, no one looks back. But slowly the boys drop out of their mission until there are only two left, and one of them is the town nerd, the guy no one wants to be seen with. 

On their trip they encounter some interesting characters, a bit of magic, and some unexected truths.

This graphic novel was a happy surprise. It connects to origin stories, science, friendship, and magic. Here you will find the gifts that are in each of us. I especially loved the connections to the milky way and to the stars and constellations.

Enjoy!

You will find this book on the shelves of Nashua High South and the Nashua Public library and also on Libby. Have you connected your Sora account with Libby yet?

 

Book Review: This Light Between Us / Andrew Fukuda

There are some times that I wonder why a book hasn't been written, or why people just don't talk about certain correlations.

In This Light Between Us, Alex and Charlie begin writing to each other through a school penpal program (even after Alex learns that Charlie is a girl.) They keep up the correspondence even after their classmates have stopped. And as they write, and deepen their friendship - war blooms in our world. The Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, the Nazis begin their incidious work of "cleansing" the world of "undesirable" people. New laws come about that limit freedoms. People are transported to "camps." And Alex's experiences as a Japanese American and Charlie's experiences of a Parisian Jew overlap. The war continues. Alex is sent to fight the Germans, but his mind is never far from his friend Charlie. 

This is a book and a conversation that I have been waiting for. I am so glad that Fukuda wrote this story and drew connecting lines between these two experiences. 

This is a Flume nominee for the 2021/22 school year. You can find it (soon) on the shelves at South or an audio version is available through Libby at the Nashua Public Library.

 

Book Review: We Are Not From Here / Jenny Torres Sanchez

Sometimes I read a book because I don't want to live the experience, but want / need to know... This is one of those books.

Pulga (15 years old), Chico (13), and Pequeña (17) live in a barrio in Guatemala, a place where children are shot in their driveways, people are forced into gangs, parents are shot if a teen takes a wrong step. Pequeña finds herself pregnant after Rey forces himself into her life. Pulga and Chico are coerced to work for Rey's gang after witnessing a shooting in which Rey is involved. Their dreams are slowly destroyed by the impossibility of their situation.

But Pulga has been planning. He has a notebook tucked under his mattress with directions on how to make the trip to the United States, on La Bestia. It is filled with danger and uncertainty, but what are their options? 

The three leave their barrio without a word to anyone. They begin their journey North - and this novel is that story.

If you are looking for a happy book - turn around and walk away. This is a terrible story filled with impossible choices. But it is a story well told and one that needs to be read.

This is a Flume nominee for the 2021/22 school year. You will find it on the shelves at South and at Nashua Public Library. NPL also offers it in an audio format on Hoopla, and both audio and ebook via Libby. 

 

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.