The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

Avi. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. 1990. 215p. 387 mins. Available at FIC AVI on the library shelves and as an audiobook from Overdrive.

At age six, Charlotte Doyle and her family traveled to England when her father, a manager of a shipping company, was transferred to the British office. Seven years later, her father is promoted to the company’s board. The Doyles have to move back to Providence, Rhode Island. Charlotte’s mother, father and her two siblings departed early, but Charlotte remained behind at Barrington School for Better Girls, her exclusive girl’s school so she could finish the year. With an Atlantic crossing that could last anywhere from one to two months, her father thought it best to let Charlotte cross during the summer, so she would not lose any schooling time.

Accompanied by Mr. Grummage from school to the ship, Charlotte expects there will be two families aboard along with small children, so she should not lack in proper company. At the ship, however, Charlotte discovers that the other families will not be on board as planned. Mr. Grummage refuses to allow Charlotte to change her plans, so she boards the ship as the only female.

Aboard the Seahawk, Charlotte realizes quickly that the crew does not get along with the Captain. Her first night aboard she meets Zachariah, an old black sailor who warns her that Captain Jaggery is violent and murderous. He gives her a small dirk for protection. Hoping to get off the ship, Charlotte awakens the next morning to find that the Seahawk has already sailed. She meets Captain Jaggery, who appears gentlemanly and wise. He tells her to report to him anything strange happening aboard the ship, and he mentions that the crew is lazy and must be guided by an iron fist.

As the days progress, the tension builds up aboard the ship, with the Captain, the only one who has access to weapons, on one side, and the crew on the other. Charlotte faces a difficult choice. She can abide by the Captain’s request and support him, as her station in life and her education warrants, or she can side with the crew, as justice and right requires. Whichever she chooses, her decision will have deadly consequences.

For a lighter treatment of a girl joining a ship in the early 1800s, take a look at Jacky Faber’s adventures in Bloody Jack.

Cyber Patrol

Cutting, Robert. Cyber Patrol. 2007. 48p. ISBN 978-1-4190-3223-3. Available at GFX CUT on the library shelves.

In the future, Cyber Patrol ensures that the Internet is safe for everyone and remains virus-free. When a new virus begins to infect the Internet, Cyber Patrol attempts to deal with it by sending its nanobots. Unfortunately, this virus, code-named Cyberdoom, is able to neutralize Cyber Patrol’s nanobots. As Cyberdoom spreads on the network, CARI, Cyberspace Android Robotic Intelligence, turns to the only person who can help defeat Cyberdoom.

Mark Lewis is 12, and he is an expert at playing games online. When a new game appears, Mark is more willing to try it, but the game turns out to be an invitation extended by CARI. CARI explains to Mark the challenges that Cyberdoom represents, and Mark agrees to help. Will his mad computing skills be enough to defeat the most advanced virus ever devised?

This graphic novel presents how online networks operate and how viruses can destroy vast sway of information. A timeline of various computing milestones is included. Readers seeking to understand the broad strokes of a computer virus will appreciate this entertaining story.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Brashares, Ann. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. 2001. 294p. ISBN 0-385-72933-2. Available at FIC BRA on the library shelves.

At nearly sixteen, four friends are about to spend their first summer apart. Carmen is heading to North Carolina to spend time with her father, Al. Lena and her younger sister are heading to Greece to be with grandparents they haven’t met before. Bridget is heading to Baja California to a soccer camp. Tibby, unlike the others, is staying here working a boring summer job at the local drug store. The four have known each other since birth, as their mothers were in the same nursing group together, and they’ve always celebrated the beginning of the summer by breaking into a gym for the night.

As they gather at Carmen’s house before the break-in, the girls are sad to be apart this summer, but are all, except Tibby, looking forward to new experiences. Carmen hopes to make Tibby feel better by offering her the jeans she had bought at the vintage thrift store when she had gone shopping with Lena. Dirty and worn, the jeans end up fitting Tibby perfectly. And Bridget. And Lena. When Carmen puts them on, everyone realize that the pants are magical. With four incredibly different body types, there’s no way these pants would fit each girl so well.

That night, in the gym, they agree that the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants will share their magical find. Each week, a different girl will have the pants. They create 10 rules that regulate pants use, and they agree that the pants will be shipped around the world so that each of them get to use them for two weeks.

As they depart the next morning for a summer full of adventures, each girl is looking forward to new experiences. The pants come to play a role in each of their lives, helping them grow as individuals and learn more about themselves.

What Light

Asher, Jay. What Light. 2017. 250p. ISBN 978-1-59514-551-2. Available at FIC ASH on the library shelves.

Every year, Sierra and her parents head down to California, south of San Francisco, to sell Christmas trees from their farm in Oregon. Sierra has never known a white Christmas at home, but she relishes the adventures that take place one month a year. Leaving Rachel and Elizabeth, her best friends from Oregon, behind, Sierra reconnects with Heather, her best friend from California. This year, however, promises to be bittersweet. Sierra overheard her parents talking, and it looks like it makes no financial sense to return to their lot another year. Her junior year in high school might be the last she spends Christmas time in Oregon.

This year, Heather is insistent that Sierra should find a temporary boyfriend so that they could double date, given that Heather finds her current boyfriend to be uninspiring and plans to dump him, but not before the holidays. Sierra wants none of this, however. Her parents are very strict about dating local boys, as her father and mother met on this very lot years ago when her father and her grandfather used to come down and sell their trees. They know it’s hard to make such a relationship work, and they only want the best for Sierra. And Sierra is not that interested anyway.

But when she meets Caleb, she is intrigued. First off, he has a nice dimple. Second, he seems very mysterious. Heather tells Sierra that rumor has it that Caleb attempted to stab his sister a few years ago inside their homes, and that this sister no longer lives here in California. Despite this warning that Caleb might be dangerous, Sierra finds herself falling for him hard. When she discovers that he uses his tips from the restaurant where he works to purchase Christmas trees for folks who can’t afford him, her opinion of Caleb increases. How could a boy who do such nice things do the unspeakable? The more time she spends with Caleb, however, the more time Sierra realizes that Caleb is not only capable of doing such an action, but that is has clouded his entire existence. Can true love help Caleb find the courage to finally conquer his demons and redeem his life?

Fans of Sarah Dessen’s Lock and Key, Saint Anything and The Moon and More will enjoy this story of hope, love, and redemption.

A Visual History of the Great Civilizations

Hernandez, Alberto. A Visual History of the Great Civilizations. Part of the Visual History of the World series. 2017. 100p. ISBN 978-1499465747. Available at 909 HER on the library shelves.

The emergence of great civilizations throughout history followed the growth of sedentary villages that produced a surplus of food capable of feeding specialized workers. The rise of various kingdoms in Mesopotamia was followed by the spread of egypt’s influence on the Mediterranean world. Great civilizations also independently arose in India, China, Western Europe, and Central and South America. These civilizations produced large buildings, codes of laws, religious fervor, and standardization. In turn, these civilizations birthed others that soon competed and eclipsed them. The Ancient Greeks and Persians fought often, but Rome replaced them both. Rome itself fell, but it's eastern half remained for another thousand years before collapsing under the pressure of Islam and the Turks. The Vikings plundered throughout Western and Northern Europe, even reaching as far as North America.

This illustrates history of great civilizations provide a gorgeous visual guide to life at specific moments at the height of each civilization described, and include basic historical facts to both situate the civilization in world history as well as to explain its particular contributions to world culture. Fans of history will appreciate the overview of great civiliations that this book provides.

Jake the Fake Keeps it Real

Robinson, Craig and Adam Mansbach. Jake the Fake Keeps it Real. 2017. 135p. 107 mins. ISBN 978-0-553-52351-5. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

Jake is thrilled to have been accepted into the Music and Art Academy for the gifted and talented, a magnet middle and high school in his district that attracts the best and brightest musicians, artists, and creative students in the area. For his audition, he relentlessly practiced “Song for my Father” and performed it flawlessly. The only problem? Jake can’t play anything else. He can’t improvise on the piano. He can’t even read the notes. In fact, Jake is a complete fraud. He doesn’t belong in this school, since he believes he has no talent whatsoever. His sister, Lisa, is now a senior at the Music and Art Academy, and Jake plans on getting rides from Pierre, Lisa’s boyfriend. Lisa is the perfect daughter, perfect girlfriend, and perfect person. Like a unicorn, she’s one of a kind and it’s hard for Jake to follow in her footsteps.

Now that he’s in, however, Jake has a few weeks to figure out what his talent is before the school’s talent show exposes him as the untalented person he thinks he is. With his new friends Azure and the other students in Mr. Allen’s homeroom, Jake plans on re-inventing himself and figuring out what to do before the show. Should he perform the only song he knows again, or will Jake be able to joke his way out of this predicament?

Hilariously written with funny illustrations to boot, this short book will be appreciated by fans of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.

Night Wings

Bruchac, Joseph. Night Wings. 2009. 194p. ISBN 978-0-06-112318-4. Available at FIC BRU on the library shelves.

When thirteen-year-old Paul’s mother, a U.S. army soldier, ships out to Iraq to join her military husband, Paul has to go live with his Abenaki grandfather, Peter. Once a Marine himself, Peter is steeped in the ways of the Abenaki and knows the White Mountains of New Hampshire like the back of his hands. A man of few words, grandpa Peter has taught Paul how to respect and survive the forest, and how to live the ways his ancestors did.

Shortly after his arrival in the White Mountains, Paul is surprised to receive the visit of two goons. One of them introduces himself as Darby Field the fourth, creator and spokesperson for the Forbidden Mysteries series on television. He asks Peter if he has changed his mind about leading him on an expedition in the mountains to discover Pmola’s treasure. An Abenaki legend, Pmola appears as a large black bird with eyes that resemble very bright red lights that protects the mountains. Peter replies that he in fact did not. Field departs the property, but returns in the night and kidnaps Peter.

Paul, who was under the house at the time, looking for a piece of plywood, escaped but is captured by Field and his crew of three. The party then heads deep inside the White Mountains and hide the van before beginning the long trek to Pmola’s lair. With their lives very much at risk, Paul must follow grandpa Peter’s advice learned over many years to survive a powerful enemy and prevent Field from acquiring Pmola’s treasure. Will the way of the ancients be enough to help him?

Set in New Hampshire, this book combines local legends and history with a character very much in touch with nature, himself, and his cultural heritage. A short read, fans of action will enjoy the fast-pace of Night Wings.