In Process ...

I've just started Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi. So far, I know it's about a boy named Nailer, who works with a crew of kids to strip copper wire and other usable parts from wrecked oil tankers in the Gulf of Mexico. Life is grim . . . is there any chance to escape?

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

There are two teen-age Will Graysons in the Chicago area. Both are struggling with their social lives. Will feels trapped by his emotional distance from everything and everyone. His best friend, Tiny Cooper, is constantly distracted--producing his own musical and looking for new boyfriends. For Will, a girlfriend would be nice--but is it worth the risk to get involved? The other Will Grayson is desperately unhappy,isolated and emotionally vulnerable. His one "sorta friend" Maura betrays and humiliates him. Fortunately, Will meets Will, and through him, the incomparable Tiny. The characters and their struggles are an entertaining blend of soul searching and humor. Good summer read!

Rereading the "Classics"

Sometimes it's simply amazing how prophetic a writer can be. The wow factor is pretty strong when it comes to the social satire in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. The pursuit of "being happy," the hours spent in a TV room with screens on all sides and the confusion between entertainment and reality seem increasingly a part of our lives (think video games, American Idol and Deadliest Catch). The debates on media inspired and government controlled news versus contemplative reading and serious debate could just as easily be held between troubled fireman Montag and his fire chief, Beatty, as in editorial pages and classrooms today. It's well worth it so spend an afternoon reading about Guy Montag's evolution from someone who enjoys destroying books into someone determined to read and save them.

Non-fiction for Cavers

We have several books on mountain climbing in the library--check No Shortcuts to the Top, Into Thin Air, Dead Lucky, High Crimes in the catalog--but until now we didn't have anything on caving, or extreme caving. Blind Descent is a book about caving explorers and scientists seeking to become the first to find the lowest place on earth. To succeed (and survive), they must deal with waterfalls, underground rivers, hypothermia, and the ever-present danger of losing their lights, if not their minds. The author, James M. Tabor, a sports journalist, delivers a fast paced and compelling adventure.

America the Beautiful

Two of the new books in the library deal with the lives of teens who came to the U.S. with their families to pursue the "American Dream."

In Girl in Translation Kimberly Chang must first deal with basic survival. She and her mother are virtual slaves in a garment factory (yes, there are still sweatshops in the U.S.) and they work and live in appalling conditions. Everything depends on Kimberly's success in school. Told in the first person, the story reveals Kim's gifts and challenges--she's good in math but struggles with her English and with the ridicule of her classmates. How and why does she keep going? Can she still be a teen and find friends and love? Author Jean Kwok speaks as one who was herself an immigrant. She movingly conveys the dreams, failings and sacrifice of this one immigrant family and community.

The second book, Crossing, also is a first-person account, in this case of ninth-grader Xing Xu, who tries desperately to fit into his high school, to avoid the bullies and endless cracks about his accent and his appearance. He has only one friend, Naomi Lee, who wants him to open up, speak to his teachers and classmates, and, in so doing, to stop being so weird. Life, though, is not particularly fair for Xing. His father was killed by a hit-and-run driver; his mother is clinically depressed; they are poor; no one understands him. Things change for Xing, however, as several students mysteriously disappear. What has happened to them? How does it affect Xing? Author Andrew Fukuda grippingly evokes Xing's growing frustration, confusion, loneliness, and ultimately the enormous consequences for this kid who just doesn't fit in.