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Anya and the Dragon

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Cover of the book "Anya and the Dragon"Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

Publication Date: September, 2019

Format: Book

Who it’s for: Kids

Set in a fantasy world based on 10th-century Russia, this is the story of Anya, the only Jewish girl in a small village. Things are already hard for her family- other villagers discriminate against them for their faith, and her father was drafted into the Tsar’s army. Now the family is about to be evicted from their home if they can’t pay the tax, and they don’t have the money. But the Tsar is offering a reward for anyone who can find a dangerous river dragon that’s said to live nearby, and Anya is determined to do whatever it takes to get the prize and save her family. She teams up with a boy named Ivan (who has seven older brothers also named Ivan), and they set out to hunt for the monster. There are others on the same quest, including a cold-hearted Viking named Sigurd who wants to kill the dragon before it can be captured. Anya and Ivan discover that the lands around their village are full of hidden magical creatures, and that nothing is what it seems- not even the dragon. They’ll have to make choices about right and wrong, duty and loyalty, and fight to save what they hold dear.

Find this book in the catalog.

 

Dragon Post

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Dragon Post by Emma Yarlett
Format: Book
Who Its For: Children

One day Alex finds a dragon. He’s always wanted one (and who hasn’t, really?) but being an intelligent and thoughtful boy, he quickly realizes he’s a bit over his head in this dragon-rearing adventure. So he reaches out for help with his dragon questions by writing letters to various dragon “experts” and soon receives letters back. Your readers will love opening the mail that Alex receives which are included in the book, and reading the wonderful, quirky replies. Alex follows their helpful instructions as his little friend quickly grows. His kindly experts and friends help Alex to make the best decisions along the way for himself and his dragon. A grand celebration of letter writing, friendship and of course, dragons!

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New Kid

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New Kid by Jerry Craft
Format: Graphic Novel
Who it’s for:  Kids, Teens, Adults

Jordan Banks is starting his 7th grade year in a new school.  A new PRIVATE school with lots of privilege and not a lot of diversity.  He really wishes to go to art school, but his parents think this new private school will be good for him.  It’s never easy for a new kid in any school, but this one isn’t in his neighborhood and none of his friends go there.  The first person he meets doesn’t even talk to him.  He quickly notices that he is one of the few black kids.  And yet, he makes friends and soon finds his way navigating the new school.  Now he’s worried he is going to lose his friends in his neighborhood.

Jerry Craft shows us what it is like to be the new kid.  And, he teaches us about micro-aggressions against marginalized groups.  We see the white teacher that can never get the black kids’ names right   And, we see the black kid getting the blame for what the bad white kid did.  Craft teaches us about racism and bias.  Jordan finds out that even he is biased when he has to sit with the weird girl and finds out more about her.

While there wasn’t a big story line other than what it is like to be a new kid in middle school, I think this is an important read for kids today.  You see Jordan’s perspective as a black kid, as a minority.  It’s funny and relatable and I think kids will like it.  I hope that Jerry Craft makes this a series so that we can learn more about Jordan and his friends.

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From Twinkle, With Love

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Recommended Book
From Twinkle, With Love by  Sandhya Menon
Publication Date: May 22, 2018
Format: Book or ebook
Who it’s for: Teens

“In this delightful romantic comedy from the New York Times bestselling author of When Dimple Met Rishi, told through the letters Twinkle writes to her favorite female filmmakers, From Twinkle, with Love navigates big truths about friendship, family, and the unexpected places love can find you.

Aspiring filmmaker and wallflower Twinkle Mehra has stories she wants to tell and universes she wants to explore, if only the world would listen. So when fellow film geek Sahil Roy approaches her to direct a movie for the upcoming Summer Festival, Twinkle is all over it. The chance to publicly showcase her voice as a director? Dream come true. The fact that it gets her closer to her longtime crush, Neil Roy-a.k.a. Sahil’s twin brother? Dream come true x 2.

When mystery man N begins emailing her, Twinkle is sure it’s Neil, finally ready to begin their happily-ever-after. The only slightly inconvenient problem is that, in the course of movie-making, she’s fallen madly in love with the irresistibly adorkable Sahil.

Twinkle soon realizes that resistance is futile: The romance she’s got is not the one she’s scripted. But will it be enough?” – Publisher’s blurb

This took a bit for me to get into. It was soooooooo High School. The crush, the BFF drama, the awkwardness, the ‘Woe is me’ angst, etc. So very HS, so stereotypical; it made me cringe, laugh, and smh. I would have stopped reading it by like chapter two, if not for Books for the Beast (a YA reader’s advisory conference in Maryland) and the fact her first book got so much praise. I powered through.

It was very amusing with a couple of lil life lessons to boot. If this was a Disney Channel movie, I could have made it through without cringing so much or smh at the mistakes they made. I still would have lol at the awkward moments. Despite all those things it was a great read.

The Indian culture that was in the book was completely natural and did not feel forced. It was just a part of Twinkle’s life, her story. The gay friends felt forced, like an afterthought. I liked the text messages and emails. They made it feel epistolary. The supposed diary entries where Twinkle is writing to directors never really felt like letters. They did not really feel like a diary entries, either. Only at the beginning of the diary entry and when she closed the “letter” did it ever feel like she was writing a letter to somebody.  It felt more like just a first POV novel.

I was considering reading her debut novel but when I was talking about From Twinkle, With Love with a coworker, she said this plot sounds almost identical to When Dimple Met Rishi. Now if they made movies from her novels on Disney Channel, I would watch them all and enjoy. If I was in middle/high school and liked romance novels, I would read all her novels as well. Def geared for upper middle school and High School girls.

Read a High School Rom-Com starring a cute Indian Girl!

 

The Dutch House

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The Dutch House
By: Ann Patchett
Who It’s For:  Adults

Narrated by Tom Hanks

The Dutch house is a lavish estate in the suburbs, just outside of Philadelphia.  Just after World War II, Cyril Conroy purchases the home for his wife and daughter.  Cyril has finally made it as a successful real estate investor and with the purchase of the home, Cyril pulls his family out of poverty into a lush new existence of opulence.

As told from the perspective of Danny, the youngest of Cyril’s two children, the purchase of the Dutch house begins the family’s undoing.  Danny’s mother, who lives her life helping the downtrodden, cannot rationalize this new existence.  She has a nervous breakdown, and leaves her husband, her children and the Dutch house behind.

Danny, his sister Maeve, and their father are left behind to pick up the pieces.  They live a peaceful life at the Dutch house, until Cyril remarries a woman with two young daughters.  In a domino effect, life as they knew it falls apart.

In the audio version of this book, Tom Hanks does a wonderful job of portraying Danny and the events that take place over the course of five decades.  Danny’s loss of his mother, his reaction to his stepmother, his relationship with his sister, and their extraordinary attraction to the Dutch house are all woven together into a powerfully emotional story.  For me the story was even more moving as I listened to it through the inflections, feelings and emotions of Tom Hank’s voice.  Find it on hoopla digital.

 

Renegades Series

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Renegades by Marissa Meyer
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Teens, Adults

What if superheroes were real? The Renegades are an organization led by the heroes who saved the world from anarchy, and made up from prodigies who are humans with extraordinary abilities. The Renegades are champions of justice and peace, a symbol of hope and courage to most – just not the ‘villains’ who they overthrew to gain power.

Nova is a prodigy on a mission for vengeance. The Renegades weren’t there for her when she needed them most, and therefore she wants to show the world who they truly are. As she infiltrates the ranks of the Renegades, she learns that not everything is as it seems and that it’s hard to paint anyone as all hero or all villain.

Book 1: Renegades
Book 2: Arch Enemies
Book 3: Supernova

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