Incredible Mollusks

Townsend, John. Incredible Mollusks. 2005. 56p. ISBN 9781410917096. Available at 594 TOW on the library shelves.

Looking for alien lifeforms? Look no further. The second largest type of animals in the world after insects, mollusks can be found in every type of environment, from the jungles of Africa to the deepest reaches of the Pacific. Members of the mollusk family include snails and slugs, sea cucumbers, octopus, and clams. Weird feeding and mating habits are explored, and facts are presented about their defenses and amazing bodies.

Heartless

Meyer, Marissa. Heartless. 2016. 453p. ISBN 1250044650. Available at FIC MEY on the library shelves.

Many books have attempted to explain the Queen of Hearts’ horrible personality in Alice in Wonderland, but none come close to the story of Catherine. As the daughter of the Marquess and Marchioness of Turtle Cove, she is expected to marry someone from her social class and produce children. But her dreams are of opening a bakery with her best friend, who also happens to be her maid, Mary Ann.

Unfortunately, Catherine’s parents have a different plan for her. They want her married to the King of Hearts, a silly short man who is more interested in entertainment than in governing. Catherine is presented at Court and fears that the King will announce their engagement when she meets Jest, the new Court Jester. Enigmatic and charismatic, and the boys of many of her dreams, Jest quickly steals her heart. Her disappearing cat, Chesire, mars the party and prevents the King from making his announcement. Catherine runs into the garden and stumbles upon Jest.

The party is interrupted when the Jabberwock attacks the Palace. Catherine escapes and returns home, but her parents still expect her union with the King. As their courtship begins, Catherine can’t help but think of Jest. She gets the chance to attend Hatter’s Tea Party, and suddenly her relationship with Jest transforms into a secret courtship.

But Jest is on a mission for the White Queen of Chess, and he may have ulterior motives in gaining the heart of the future Queen of Wonderland. With the Jabberwock roaming the land, magical characters infuriatingly putting their noses where they shouldn’t, with murky riddles and with her plans falling apart, Catherine has a choice to make, but will she be able to escape her fate?

Though the ending is predictable, watching Catherine struggle to escape the bounds and propriety of her social background is worth the read and provides the best explanation for the Queen’s ruthlessness. If you’re not willing to suffer the Queen’s declaration of “off with your head,” then you might want to read this book.

Noragami: Stray God, Vol. 1

Adachitoka. Noragami: Stray God, Vol. 1. 2014. 166p. ISBN 978-1-61262-906-3. Available in the Graphic Section of the library.

Yato is a minor Japanese god. In fact, he’s so low in the divine hierarchy that everyone has forgotten he exists and there isn’t even a shrine in his name where people could come and worship. He is therefore on a crusade to earn enough money to build himself a temple. To do so, he has posted several advertisements around town to help those in need, for a small fee that will help him reach his goal.

Unfortunately, the jobs that Yato is contacted for are strange and uncomfortable. But Yato can’t be picky, there are so few people who can actually interact with him. When Mutsumi calls him for help on how to deal with bullies, Yato is not too pleased, but a job’s a job. In the process of solving Mutsumi’s problems, however, he alienates his shinki, his spirit helper. Without his shinki, Yato is just about powerless. When Hiyori saves his life by pushing him away from a speeding bus, he knows he’s just found his new shinki. Unfortunately, Hiyori has other ideas ...

The story continues in Vol. 2.

Nelson Mandela

Holland, Gini. Nelson Mandela. 2002. 48p. ISBN 0-8368-5078-5. Available at B MAN on the library shelves.

One of the best known figure of the 20th century, Nelson Mandela took a stance against a racist and segregated South Africa and became its first black president. Born in 1918, Mandela was a member of the hereditary ruling family, but a falling out between his father and the local chief led to a return to his mother’s village. Upon his father’s death he returned to the court where he was educated both in leadership and social skills as well as in contemporary subjects taught in Methodist schools.

He was exposed to his second-class citizen status in his twenties, when he worked in Johannesburg as a night watchman in a mine. He realized that the majority of the population, which was black, was oppressed by a small minority of white people, descendents of the original Dutch, French and English settlers. The whites had devised a system of political and physical oppression known as the Apartheid, meaning apart. Mandela knew he had to fight against this system of exploitation.

He started the first black law firm in Johannesburg, and joined the African National Congress. At the same time the state was increasing police powers and jailing opponents, and soon Mandela found himself in jail, accused of treason. Condemned to life in prison, he spent more than two decades performing hard labor. On the outside, however, South Africans were organizing to fight the government. Riots, demonstrations, and boycott from other countries further isolated South Africa until its white minority had no choice but to grant political right to its majority.

In 1990, Mandela was freed from prison and pushed for further reforms. In 1994, he was elected to serve as the country’s first black president. During his administration he pushed for the Truth and Reconciliation commission, which studied the crimes perpetrated against the South African people.

Mandela retired from political life in 1998 but continued to be involved in making South Africa a better country for all of its people until his death in 2013.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Anonymous. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. 2015. 112p. 114 minutes. Available as an eBook and an audiobook from Overdrive.

On this New Year’s Eve, everything is merry at the Round Table in Camelot. King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, the knights, and other members of the court are gathered to celebrate the arrival of a new year with an extravagant feast. The party is interrupted by the arrival of a tall and frightening knight, as big as a giant and completely clad in green. Glancing around at the cowering knights, the Green Knight issues a challenge. Whomever is brave enough to land a blow on him this New Year’s Eve will get repaid by a blow from the Green Knight the following New Year’s Eve at the Green Chapel. Dare any knight demonstrate their courage by accepting this deadly challenge?

To Arthur’s disappointment, no one initially steps forward to meet the Green Knight’s challenge. The Knight mocks the assembled crowd for their lack of bravery, claiming that what he has heard of the Round Table are nothing more than old women’s tales. Sir Gawain, the smallest knight at Court, stands up and accepts the Green Knight’s challenge. Taking the swing this year, Sir Gawain decapitates the Green Knight. The Green Knight, unfazed, picks up his head and acclaims Gawain for a great hit, then tells him to find him next year for his turn at receiving a blow.

As the New Year approaches, Sir Gawain begins his quest of finding the Chapel. Arriving at a Lord’s estate, he joins in the Christmastime festivities, and discovers that the Chapel is but a half-day away. But as the time grows close, and as temptations, both of the flesh and of the company of others increase, can Sir Gawain remain true to his deadly mission and prove to be the honest and courageous knight others believe him to be?

Anonymously written more than a thousand years ago, Sir Gawain's story is a great introduction to Arthurian legends and myths, and will be appreciated by fantasy fans.

The Legend of the Old Man of the Mountain

Ortakales, Denise. The Legend of the Old Man of the Mountain. 2004. 40p. ISBN 978-1-58536-236-3. Available at 398.2 ORT on the library shelves.

One of New Hampshire’s most well-known feature before its collapse in 2003, the Old Man of the Mountain overlooked the Pemigewasset River. First seen by Europeans in 1805, the Old Man became a state symbol and has appeared on stamps, license plates, and road signs. But how did the Great Stone Face come about?

In a time before European arrival, people lived in what is now New Hampshire. One of the most renowned was Chief Pemigewasset, a fearless leader who defended his tribe against Mohawk encroachment from the west. During a battle both side fought, Pemigewasset met beautiful Minerwa, daughter of the Mohawk chief. Soon, the two sides were at peace and Pemigewasset and Minerwa live happily together.

One day, however, Minerwa’s brother came to her village and informed her that their father was dying and wished to see her one more time. Due to war injuries sustained in earlier conflicts, Pemigewasset could not trek on such a long trip, and he was sad that they would be separated. However, he understood that she needed to go, but he told her that he would wait for her at the Harvest Moon. He sent four warriors with her to make sure she would be safe.

Summer passed, and harvest came. Pemigewasset went back to the cliff where Minerwa had left, and waited patiently for her. But day after day, she did not return. The days got colder, and snow began to fall. Still Minerwa did not return. The Chief’s warriors told him they needed to return to the village, but Pemigewasset asked them instead to build him a hut, stack it with food and firewood, so he could remain here on the cliff and await his beloved’s return.

When members of his tribe came back in the spring, Pemigewasset had died. They buried him atop the cliff, so he could always look to the west for Minerwa’s return. As they departed, they saw the cliff’s face had been transformed by the Great Spirit and now the chief’s profile kept watch over the west. Thus the Old Man of the Mountain was born.

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood

Satrapi Marjane. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. 2003. 153p. ISBN 978-0-375-42230-0. Available in the graphic section of the library.

Marjane is an child and lives in an Iranian upper-income bourgeois family. For years the political climate in Iran has been deteriorating and people have been protesting in the streets. Her parents are politically active, and Marjane discovers that many people in her family have been imprisoned or executed by the Shah and his security service. When the government falls, however, it is replaced by an islamic republic where religion dictates every aspect of public life.

Soon, Marjane and her family’s life changes for the worse. Women must wear veils. Men must keep a beard and lose the necktie. War explodes between Iran and Iraq, and bombs and missiles are exchanged. Through it all, Marjane provides a running commentary on her society and the impact policies have on the people.

Presented as black-and-white comic, Persepolis illustrates one of the most important event of the 20th century that continues to affect American foreign policy to this day.

Siddhartha

Hesse, Herman. Siddhartha. 2010. 326 mins. 170p. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

Raised in a rich family, young Siddhartha has always questioned the purpose of life. Wishing to discover himself and his reason for living, he argues with his father that he must depart the religious caste he was born in so that he can pursue enlightenment. With his friend Govinda, he decides to abandon society and join the Shramanas, a group of aesthetics who live a simple life and neither own nor owe anything. After three years, however, Siddhartha still does not feel any closer to enlightenment. Hearing that the Buddha is speaking in a neighboring district, the two companions leave the Shramanas.

Convinced of the just cause of Buddha, Govinda readily joins as a monk, but Siddhartha cannot. He speaks with Buddha, and reveals that what he seeks is not a teacher who will tell him, but the experiences necessary to reach self-awareness and the true meaning of himself. He wanders through the forest, and meets a simple ferryman who appreciates the river for what it is. Siddhartha promises the ferryman he will one day return.

In the city he meets Kamala, a courtesan, and soon Siddhartha rejoins the ranks of urban dwellers, becomes a merchant, and accumulates a fortune. Unfortunately, this path is also not enough to discover himself, so he drops everything and heads back into the forest, hoping to die. At his lowest moment in life, he is saved by Govinda, who happens to stumble upon him by the river. Vowing to live again, Siddhartha reconnects with the ferryman and learns the secrets of the river, that everything is cyclical and united.

His last encounter with Kamala led to a son, and when Kamala travels through the forest and is bitten by a poisonous snake, she and her son are rescued by Siddhartha. As he raises his son after Kamala’s death, he realizes that the river is right. Just as he needed to leave to find himself, so does his son. Having now achieved wisdom, Siddhartha imparts what he has learned to his old friend Govinda when both of them are old men, that suffering and rejection, peace and tranquility, and wisdom and understanding are all interconnected and dependent on each other. That, according to Siddhartha, is the true enlightenment.

Siddhartha is panned by Tom Henderson in King Dork as being a pompous book that seeks to go against its own understanding, by aiming to teach a mismatch of Buddhists, Taoists, Hinduists and Christian ideas.

The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 1

Houoto, Aya. The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 1. 2013. 172p. Available in the graphic section of the library.

Himari Momochi is an orphan and has lived all her life at the orphanage. On her 16th birthday, she receives a will indicating that as sole survivor to the Momochi family, she is the heir to a grand ancestral property that sits out of the village’s way. Arriving on the scene to claim her heritage, she is confronted by three squatters who have moved in and have trashed the house. One of the squatters is beautiful Aoi. As Himari explores the house, Aoi tells her she should leave if she wishes to remain safe. Undeterred, Himari decides she will fix her home and enroll in the local school, and do her best to evict the squatters.

Himari soon discovers that Momochi House is located at the intersection of the human and of the spiritual, and creatures from the spiritual world often try to cross over to the human world. Himari was meant to become the guardian of Momochi House, but unfortunately Aoi has already accidentally claimed that title and is now the designed Omamori-Sama, the demon that protects the house. Attracted to Aoi, and determined to become the master of Momochi house, Himari will need to contend with angry spirits, evil demons, and aggravating servants.

The story continues in The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 2.

Great Expectations

Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. 2004. 633p. ISBN 0-7434-8761-3. Available at FIC DIC on the library shelves.

Orphaned early in life, young Pip had to go live with his sister and her husband. A mean and abusive woman, Pip’s sister mistreat him terribly. Joe Gargery, Georgiana’s husband, is a mild-tempered and mannered blacksmith who also suffers at the hands of his wife. Spending time at the graveyard by the church one cold morning in 1812, Pip is surprised to come upon an escaped inmate from a nearby prison ship. This convict, Abel Magwitch, threatens Pip and asks him to bring food and a file so he can remove his leg irons.

Pip does so and helps Magwitch, but he is soon recaptured along with another inmate who had also escaped. Pip remains deadly afraid that his sister and Joe will discover that he assisted Magwitch, but as time passes this becomes only a distant memory. Pip is asked to report to Miss Havisham, an old rich and eccentric woman. As a young bride, she was jilted at the altar and ever since then time has stopped for her. She walks around her decrepit manor house in her wedding dress, and her moldy wedding cake remains in the dining room. There, Pip is asked to entertain her. He also meets Estella, Miss Havisham’s adopted daughter, and he falls hopelessly in love with her, even though she readily tells him she will never love him back.

Pip grows up but he progressively becomes disgusted with his lifestyle as an apprentice to a blacksmith. Everything is so much refined at Miss Havisham. Plus there is no way Estella would ever love a blacksmith. Pip wishes that he could become a gentleman, but he would need money, and lots of it. His break comes when he is informed by an out of town lawyer named Jaggers that he has in fact great expectations, having been endowed by a rich benefactor to a life of privileges and leisure. Convinced that this benefactor is Miss Havisham, Pip leaves his village for London, and meets several individuals, including a relative of Miss Havisham. As he becomes progressively more indebted and experiences setbacks, Pip still hopes that he will change Estella’s mind. When his benefactor is revealed, it is not Miss Havisham, but rather Abel Magwitch who made a fortune in exile and who has returned to England, at the risk of death for an exiled criminal can never return.

Now knowing where his riches come from, Pip cannot abide to collect another penny. He endeavors to engineer Magwitch’s escape out of England with his friends, but enemies lurk everywhere...

Arguably Dicken’s best novel, Great Expectations has it all. Emotional rollercoaster. Action. Adventure. Aspiration. Treachery. Secrets. Tragedies. Misunderstandings. A classic for the ages, Pip’s life remains a highlight of English literature.

Life During the Crusades

Rice Jr., Earl. Life During the Crusades. Part of The Way People Live series. 1998. 96p. ISBN 1-56006-379-3. Available at  909.07 RIC on the library shelves.

The Middle Ages constituted a period of transition between the fall of the Roman Empire in the West and the emergence of the Renaissance. It was a period where nation states began to emerge on the basis of a feudal system. Islam had spread throughout the Middle East and the southern shores of the Mediterranean, and had begun pushing into Europe from the South and from the East. In Europe itself, decades of raids by Vikings and others promoted the feudal system to protect land and people.

It is in this environment that the Emperor of Byzantium called upon the Pope to assemble an army of Christians to come and fight the Muslim forces that were putting pressure on his Empire. A purely geopolitical calculation, this declaration of help from all Christendom led to the Crusades, which would take place over the following two centuries.

The Crusades bring to mind honorable knights wearing shiny armor riding into battle against masses of soldiers. Though the knight is an important part of the story, the history of the Crusades is the story of conflict between two major religions which proved to be the greatest motivator on either side. The societies on either side of the conflict were very different, both in their power structures and their military organizations, but the unfolding of the Crusades ironically created a sharing of information and provided the impetus for a re-discovery of knowledge in the West that culminates with the Renaissance.

This book explores the life of both Christian and Muslim people in the early 1100s, as well as the similarities and differences between Western and Eastern soldiers. The eight crusades are reviewed, the march to Jerusalem during the first crusade is explored, and the impact of the Crusader states which emerged in Palestine and ruled for two hundred rules is examined. A dynamic period in history, the Crusades had a lasting impact on popular culture and political divisions and continue to be referenced by terrorist groups as a reason to fight against whom they perceive as non-believers.

The Leaving

Altebrando, Tara. The Leaving. 2016. 432p. ISBN 9781619638037. Available as an eBook on Overdrive.

Eleven years ago, six children went to kindergarten and disappeared from the school. Prior to leaving young Scarlett told her mother she was going to The Leaving. The six literally vanished between the end of the school day and the time their parents came to pick them up. At the time there were reports of an unknown school bus, or of a white van. Some thought the kids had been abducted by aliens, others by psychopaths. Television specials were made about their disappearance. Thousands of articles were published, and extensive police investigations were conducted. For eleven years the children have been missed. Families broke up, some family members died. Everyone coped with this disastrous event in their own way.

Now five of them are back. Sixteen years old, they find themselves on a playground that looks familiar. Scarlett. Kristen. Sarah. Adam. Lucas. They don’t remember where they have been, what they have done, or even who they are. But they remember pieces of information. They recognize the playground. They know they are not all friends. They have hints left on them, such as a tattoo on Lucas, and a piece of metal swallowed by Sarah. They know they can drive, and they are up to speed on current events and cultural references. They vaguely remember where they lived when they were 5, and they all head home. But home has changed forever. And they all remember one of them is missing. What happened to Max?

Avery, meanwhile, is shocked to hear of the missings’ return, and crushed that Max is not among them. She barely remembers her older brother, but feels his loss every day. With the return, she wants answers to her questions. But the Missings don’t remember a thing. Or, at least, they claim they don’t remember a thing.

Told from Scarlett, Lucas, and Avery’s point of view, this book explores what it means to not have any memories of your own. What if you couldn’t remember who you were? How far would you be willing to go to recover your memories? Avery, Lucas and Scarlett are about to find out.

Great Teacher Onizuka: 14 Days in Shonan, vol. 1

Fujisawa, Toru. Great Teacher Onizuka: 14 Days in Shonan, vol. 1. 2012. 200p. ISBN 9781932234886. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

By stating on live television that he almost buried a student alive, Eikichi Onizuka must escape his current teaching position at Tokyo Kissho Academy and lay low for a while, until things calm down and he can return to work. When no friends come through, he decides to return to his hometown, the city of Shonan. On the train station he witnesses a young girl shoplifting, but when he gets involved he gets arrested, supposedly for groping her.

The girl, Katsuragi, is the daughter of the prefect of police and has a direct line to his office that sends squad cars to her rescue at any moment. Fortunately, Ayame Shiratori witnessed the incident and is able to clear Onizuka’s name. Shiratori works at the White Swan Children’s Home, a house for troubled teens where Katsuragi resides. With no prospects and an invitation to work, Onizuka heartily agrees to join the team and help the troubled residents of White Swan.

Using unorthodox teaching methods, Onizuka begins reaching the inhabitants, but Katsuragi lurks in the shadows and she is displeased that he is here. How miserable can she make his life?

Thieving Weasels

Taylor, Billy. Thieving Weasels. 2016. 320p. ISBN 9780525429241. Available as an eBook from Overdrive.

Everything is going great for Cameron Smith. A senior at an elite boarding school in upstate New York, Cameron has just been accepted by Princeton, and he cannot wait to get there with Claire, his beautiful and rich girlfriend. Yes, life is good for Cameron … except that Cameron is not his real name. Hiding behind the good name of Cameron Smith is Skip O’Rourke, a member of the notorious O’Rourke weasel clan.

Skip escaped the clutches of his family four years ago when he absconded with his dead grandfather’s money, the remaining $100,000 that had been accumulated during a life of crimes. The O’Rourkes steal and rob people, and have been for decades. From breaking and entering into apartments to scamming welfare and Medicaid, any reason is good to make a quick buck. They are free, unlike the poor chump who works all day to eke a meager living. One’s freedom is one’s life of crime, however, and Skip got tired of the lifestyle. At thirteen, he ran away, enrolled at his exclusive school, and stretched grandpa’s money long enough to get in Princeton on his own merits.

But now the family has found him again. Uncle Wonderful, his mother’s brother, tracks him down at the school, and takes him away during the winter holidays. He’s got one more job for him to do before the family lets him live his life. And if he decides not to play along, then the whole world, and more specifically Claire, will know who Cameron Smith really is.

Now Skip must work with his deadbeat cousin to pull the greatest con. As the situation keeps changing, however, and evolve into a plot to murder an old mobster, Skip finds himself dragged even deeper in his family’s merciless machinations for a quick buck. Having abandoned the criminal life years ago, Skip must once again immerse himself in it to survive and escape his family.

Black Ops and Other Special Missions of the U.S. Air Force Combat Control Team

Ryan, Peter. Black Ops and Other Special Missions of the U.S. Air Force Combat Control Team. Part of the Inside Special Forces series. 2013. 64p. ISBN 978-1-4488-8383-0. Available at 358.4 RYA on the library shelves.

Every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces has its own special force combat team. The Navy has the SEALs. The Air Force has the Rangers. The Army has the Green Berets. But all of them call upon the services of the Combat Control Team, the group of soldiers who directly interface between elite ground units and Air Force combat vehicles such as planes and helicopters. A lesser-known highly specialized unit of the U.S. military, the Combat Control Team nevertheless bring to bear expertise and deadly accuracy to sensitive missions. Trained under the same regimen as the other special forces, members of the Combat Control Team also pursue their own training integrating air assets into ground assaults. As a result, Combat Controllers are some of the most highly trained and effective U.S. military personnel.

As a unit, Combat Controllers share the motto “First In, Last Out.” They arrive ahead of most other units to prepare the way for safe air deployment. They also accompany other elite soldiers on ground missions where they become a force multiplier. SEALs and Green Berets are deadly with small arms, but when faced with a large-scale assault they use the Combat Controller to contact and deliver effective air support against very close targets. This book thus introduces the role Combat Controllers play in the U.S. military, as well as their training, equipment, vehicles, aircrafts and capabilities. Successful missions are also described, and the reader is introduced to several decorated Combat Controllers.

Books in this series include:

• Black Ops and Other Special Missions of the U.S. Air Force Combat Control Team
• Special Ops: Air Commandos
• Black Ops and Other Special Missions of the U.S. Navy SEALs
• Special Ops: Military Intelligence
• Special Ops: Tactical Training
• Special Ops: Weapons and Gear