Head Hunter

Howling, Eric. Head Hunter. 2017. 125p. ISBN 978-1-4594-0967-1. Available at FIC HOW on the library shelves.

As the captain of the football team and as the best defensive player, Colt Taylor has a lot of credibility with his teammates. The team’s coach, who is also Colt’s father, was a famed NFL player for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1980s, and has spent his retirement coaching high school football. Colt idolizes his dad, and they used to go to football games in Edmonton and watch it on television together. This year, however, Colt’s father suffers from bad headaches, is angry all the time, and takes it out on his team and on Colt at home. They haven’t been spending time together, and Colt now tries to avoid him as much as he can.

With the Warriors season in full swing, Coach Taylor is aiming for a undefeated season. His headaches are getting worse, and it’s becoming increasingly hard for Colt to please him. When the team is in danger of losing a game, Coach orders his defensive players to aim for the quarterback’s knees to cripple him. Colt refuses to do so, and Gunner is the only one who follows through. The quarterback has to leave the game. Colt feels horrible about what just happened, but doesn’t know how to deal with this situation.

As the season progresses, Colt finds himself confronted with more demands from his coach. Faced with the choice of hurting another player or being benched, what decision will Colt make?

Dealing with the consequences of concussions and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), this book examines the impact of CTE on people who no longer play the game yet remain affected by it.

Once and For All

Dessen, Sara. Once and For All. 2017. 357p. ISBN 978-0-425-29033-0. Available at FIC DES on the library shelves.

Working for her mother, Louna has seen all sorts of weddings. Her mother is Natalie Barrett, the locally famous wedding planner, and she and her partner William have the art of the wedding down to a science. Louna has been working with them ever since she was a young girl, and her role has evolved over time to include more tasks. When asked by a nervous bride if she believes in the fairy-tale wedding and a happily-ever-after, Louna can’t answer, because she doesn’t believe any of it. She’s seen too many happy couples fail, and combined with her mother’s cynicism, Louna knows she will never live a true love story, because they don’t really exist.

Then she runs into Ambrose at his mother’s wedding. Ambrose is everything Louna is not. He’s spontaneous, she’s not. He has no ambition nor plans, she has both. Soon Ambrose ends up working for her mother, and now she has to put up with his irreverence and clear lack of wedding business skills. Ambrose rubs her the wrong way, and yet, there’s something there. Louna is not ready to date, however, not after the whirlwind she experienced with Ethan, a beautiful night and a short passionate relationship that had no time to blossom due to a school shooting that took Ethan’s life. Louna is not ready to let go of Ethan, for no other relationship could compare. Ambrose too feels that there is something there, and he endeavors to kindle the flame that will lit up their relationship.

Fans of Lock and Key will appreciate this great book about love by Sarah Dessen, this story is told from Louna’s perspective and explores how one person can overcome the sorrows that have kept them from experiencing everything that life has to offer.

Flunked

Calonita, Jen. Flunked. 2015. 244p. ISBN 978-1-49260157-9 . Book 1 of the Fairy Tale Reform School series. Available as an eBook from Overdrive.

Following the disastrous allegations that followed Cinderella’s ball and the incident of the glass slipper, Flora, Cinderella’s wicked stepmother, realized the error of her ways and, to atone for her violent tendencies and evilness, she created the Fairy Tale Reform School where every character that needs to be reformed can be safely taught together so they can change their ways. With princesses in charge and with the 7 dwarves and their minions enforcing their will, Enchantasia has never been this peaceful.

Unfortunately, not everything is as it should be. Two major villains managed to escape the dwarves and now lurk in the dark edges of Enchantasia. Worse, peace has not improved the prosperity of the people. Gilly’s father is the craftsman who created the glass slippers, but ever since their popularity went through the roof they have been made magically, putting him near bankruptcy. With no prospects of money and a belly always empty, Gilly has been stealing from the Royals in the marketplace to make sure there’s always something to eat. But when she gets caught a third time, Gilly is sentenced to the Fairy Tale Reform School.

Staffed with former villains, such as the Bad Wolf and Snow White’s Evil Queen, the school at first seems daunting. As Gilly makes friends, however, she quickly realizes that things are not at all as they appear, and that it may be impossible for some villains to truly be reformed. With her friends, Gilly will try to stop an attempt on the princesses’ lives, but can she save Enchantasia without losing herself?

Information and Digital Literacies: A Curricular Guide for Middle and High School Librarians

Farmer, Lesley S.J. Information and Digital Literacies: A Curricular Guide for Middle and High School Librarians. 2016. 143p. ISBN 978-1-4422-3981-4. Available at PROF 028.7 FA on the library shelves.

The role of school librarian continues to be a vital one in schools, exposing students and staff members to the wealth of information present on the Internet as well as best practices to employ in the teaching of research and information gathering strategies. Designed to provide a curricular model for school librarians, this book is replete with information and features four curricula that can easily be implemented in any school program. Farmer parcels the skills and knowledge that students must acquire while in middle and high school and discusses ways in which this can be accomplished. Whether through school librarian teaching actual classes or through collaboration with other subjects, the twin goals of information literacy and digital literacy can be reached, ensuring that each and every student is functionally able to actively participate in today’s knowledge economy. Farmer also presents ways to implement systematic instructions on conducting research while meeting the Common Core State Standards.

Musnet: The Flames of the Limelight. Book 3

Kickliy. Musnet: The Flames of the Limelight. Book 3 of the Musnet series. 2017. 56p. ISBN 978-1-941250-15-0. Available in the graphic section of the library.

Musnet has not made much progress in his quest for becoming the best painter. Rémi is ill and has been concealing it since the beginning. Musnet parted ways with him, but still cares. He has troubles of his own, however, for Mya’s family, with whom he lives, is being evicted by Mr. Rattison. Musnet comes up with a clever way of preventing this tragedy by striking a deal for art with Rattison. Caught by Monet’s cat, Musnet fears the worse but after saving its life, he realizes that the Cat is actually friendly and knows a lot about painting. Will the help of his friends be enough to complete his project and save Mya and her family from eviction?

Shadowshaper

Older, Daniel José. Shadowshaper. 2015. 297p. ISBN 978-0-545-59161-4. Available at FIC OLD on the library shelves.

Sierra Santiago leads a busy life. With school done, she’s looking forward to working on a mural, spending time with friends, and also taking care of her elderly grandfather, who’s losing more and more of his memories. Working on the mural, she notices that the other painting across the street has faded overnight and seems sadder than she remembers it. That night, she attends a party with her best friend but they are attacked by a strange zombie-like guy who relentlessly pursues her.

Sierra discovers that she is one of the Shadowshapers, people who have the power to connect with spirits through paintings, music, and art. These spirits are then willing to do the Shadowshaper’s bidding. This small group is very secretive, and as Sierra investigates she discovers that her grandparents were part of it, but her parents wanted nothing to do with this paranormal power and denied it even existed. Her brother Juan has been introduced to the Shadowshapers by her grandfather. Holding an old photo of her grandfather and his friends, Sierra sees that members of the group are slowly vanishing.

Through the helpful assistance of a librarian at the University, Sierra ascertains that one of her grandfather’s colleague, anthropologist Dr. Jonathan Wick, has used the powers of Shadowshapers to conjure spirits that have been pursuing his own evil plans, including animating the corpses that have been threatening Sierra and her friends. As Wick seeks to become the only one who can control this power, Sierra is the only one who can stop him, but in doing so she will discover information about her family’s past and present she may not be ready to learn.

Future Threat

Briggs, Elizabeth. Future Threat. 2017. 266p. ISBN 978-0-8075-2684-2. Available as eBook on Overdrive.

Six months ago, Elena, Adam, Chris and two others travelled forward in time to a life thirty years in the future. Sent to collect and bring back new technologies, they were instructed not to look into their future selves to avoid a sickness called “Future Shock.” Of course they did, and Elena discovered that she died shortly after her return from the future. She was able to modify it and avoided the fate that was waiting for her.

Now Aether Corporation is back, and they want Elena, Adam and Chris’ help again. A group has recently travelled to the future, but one of them did not return. The trio agrees to perform this action one more time, but only if Aether leave them alone afterwards, a condition the company readily agrees to. Once again in the future, Elena realizes that it is a lot better than the last one. Adam and her are married, they have a child, and together with Chris they run a multinational corporation designed to improve humanity. Things immediately go awry, however, when the group separates. Kevin, the missing man, is found dead alongside Chris.

Crushed by Chris’ death and what it means for the future, Elena and Adam are determined to return to the future yet one more time to see if they can fix things. That third future looks very bleak. And as things continue to go wrong, more complications arise and more lives are lost. Should they risk one more trip to help those they love or is the future already mapped out for them?