Insurgent

Roth, Veronica. Insurgent. 2012. 525p. ISBN 0007442912. Available at FIC ROT on the library shelves.

The war between Erudite and Abnegation continues in Insurgent, the second book in the Divergent series. The bloody conflict forces Tris, Four, and the surviving Abnegations to escape to Amity, the peaceful farming faction residing outside the walls of Chicago. They are provided shelter, but Amity informs them they will take no stance in the current battle. When a group of Erudites and Dauntless arrive to search the Amity compound, Tris and her group escape back to Chicago.

They discover that the Dauntless have separated into two groups, those that regain their independence and the traitor dauntless, identified by a blue ribbon tied to their arms. Four’s mother, whom Trish remember had died years ago, turns out to be alive and well, and leading the factionless, who are better organized than Trish thought possible. A new plan is conceived. The Dauntless, who took refuge with Candor, will assault the Erudite compound and destroy all computer networks and stores of knowledge held by the Erudite. Without information, the powers of the Erudite will be destroyed.

But Trish learns from Marcus, Four’s father, that the reason the conflict started is that Abnegation was about to reveal information to all factions that would have fundamentally shifted their entire society, and the Erudite were opposed to this move.

Now Trish is torn. Should she follow the one she loves into the destruction of her society by the factionless, or should she help the one she despises to reveal the secrets Abnegation died for?

Aircraft of World War I

Hamilton, John. Aircraft of World War I. 2003. 32p. ISBN 1577659120. Available at 940.4 HAM on the library shelves.

World War I, also known as the Great War, was the largest conflict ever fought. Millions of combatants fought in trenches on the Western Front, while advances in chemical warfare, tanks, and ships increased the deadliness of weapons. The most spectacular advance of the war, however, was the development of the airplane as a machine designed for scouting, to defend other planes, and to drop bombs on ground targets.

Invented a little more than ten years before the beginning of the war, aircrafts were an afterthought in military planners’ minds. But as progress on the battlefield led to stalemate and trench warfare, the freedom to maneuver in three dimensions became more important both for reconnaissance and for destroying reinforced targets from above.

This book describes the evolution of aircrafts from small unarmed engines where pilots fired shotguns at each other, to the evolution of machine guns that fired through the propellers. Famous aircrafts are profiled, and several ace pilots are presented, including the infamous Red Baron.

Fans of the First World War and of the early days of aviation will enjoy this short book.

Son of the Mob

Korman, Gordon. Son of the Mob. 2002. 262p. ISBN 0-7868-2616-9. Available as FIC LIB in the library.

When your father is the head of the local mob, it can be hard to have a normal childhood. Vince Luca’s family supposedly own “Brothers Vending,” but it’s a front for their criminal operations. At seventeen, Vince is the only legit member of his family. They own a large house with a four car garage, but the only vehicle registered is his beat up Mazda. He’s never wanted in this life of crime, but he keeps getting implicated by association, like when he was arrested for driving a stolen Porsche 911 that his father had given him. The family home is thoroughly bugged by the FBI, and they can’t have any meaningful conversations at home.

A serious student in school, Vince cannot wait to graduate and move as far away from his family and from the name Luca. His best friend, Alex, knows of his mob connections, and lives vicariously through Vince. Neither of them can get a date, so they try out for the football team. Vince and Alex warm up the bench until Vince gets put in late one game. Amazingly, he scores a touchdown. The next game, Vince is all over the place, and score multiple times. Then he hears the whispers: “This is the Luca boy.” Suddenly, he realizes that no one wants to touch him. He quits football, but Kendra, who works for the student newspaper, wants to interview him for standing up to the coach.

Thus begins one of the strangest love affairs, for Vince has mob credentials, but Kendra’s father works for the FBI and is the agent in charge of the team investigating the Lucas. And despite his best efforts, Vince gets mixed up in one mob affair after another, while Alex cheers him on. Can he escape the life fate seems to have designed for him?

Please Ignore Vera Dietz

King. A.S. Please Ignore Vera Dietz. 2010. 326p. ISBN 9780375865862. Available as an eBook on Overdrive.

When Vera’s mother left the family, she left Vera and her father alone and lost. This separation devastated Vera’s father, but also affected Vera. Her father was an alcoholic high school drop-out when he got his 17 years old girlfriend pregnant. Her mother never really cared for Vera, and her departure at age 12 was never discussed in their household.

Many other things were never talked about either. Like how Charlie Kahn’s mother gets beaten up by her husband. Vera and Charlie have been best friends since they were four, but over the years Vera has grown to secretly fall in love with him. A rebel, a do-not-care attitude, and a free spirit, Charlie has always been reckless. Her dad told her not to fall in love with him, he was bad news and he was likely to commit the same mistakes his father did.

In fact, Vera’s father is concerned that Vera herself might repeat his history of alcoholism or her mother’s history of early pregnancy. So he tries to protect her from everything. Even from Charlie.

But Vera’s history with Charlie is complicated. They were best friends, then they drifted apart. Vera still loved Charlie, but when he hooked up with the detention heads, and started dating Jenny, Vera saw that their relationship was going to change. She didn’t think it would lead to Charlie’s death, nor that she would continue to love him and hate him at the same time.

Filled with secrets, Vera must decide if spilling them is the only way to redeem Charlie’s name. Can she relive the history of their relationship one more time?

If you liked this book, consider reading Thirteen Reasons Why, We Were Liars, If I Stay, Zoe Letting Go, Black Box, The Vanishing Season, or Kiss of Broken Glass. All of these books feature a tragedy and a voyage of self-discovery as the central element of the plot.

Julius Caesar

Shakespeare, Williams. Julius Caesar. 2006. 192p. ISBN 0300108095. Available at 822.3 SHA on the library shelves.

One of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy, Julius Caesar tells a story of ambition, greed, murder, and revenge. Inspired from real events, Shakespeare used this play to convey some of his political analysis of current-day England into the safe environment of Rome.

Having won many wars, Julius Caesar returns to Rome and maneuvers to be granted a king’s crown from the people. This would spell the end of the Republic, and many senators and other Roman nobles are opposed. Cassius, who fears the arrival of a tyrant and who stands to lose some of his political capital if Caesar gets a crown, assembles a conspiracy of assassins to slay Caesar during the Ides of March. He convinces Brutus, a widely respected noble, to join the conspirators, and Brutus does so because he is worried Caesar will overthrow the ideals of the Roman Republic.

Upon killing Caesar, however, the conspirators unleash a wave of protest and rebellion, led by Marc Anthony and Octavius, Caesar’s nephew. Each side takes up arm, but passion runs high in Caesar’s supporters, and they eventually triumph over the conspirators, all of whom are either killed on the field of battle or commit suicide to avoid capture.

A seminal event in Roman history, Shakespeare encapsulates the drama of the time in a tragic play.

The Beginning of Everything

Schneider, Robyn. The Beginning of Everything. 2013. 335p. ISBN 9780062217134. Available at FIC SCH on the library shelves.

When Ezra Faulkner’s car gets hit by a black SUV that then drives off, it shatters not only his perfect life but also his dreams of being recruited to play tennis in college. However, this personal tragedy is only the beginning as Ezra discovers that there is more to life than being at the top of high school’s social pyramid.

Having made the Eastwood High varsity tennis team as a freshman, Ezra rose through the rank and became the captain by his junior year. He started dating the most popular girl, Charlotte. But when he found her with another guy during a late school year party, he stormed off and consequently got into his car accident, ruined his knee, and spent the summer going to physical therapy and wondering why his friends did not come by.

But Ezra believes that everyone must face a personal tragedy. His best friend in elementary school, Toby, had the misfortune to be in Disneyland for his birthday party at age 12. He had the misfortune to sit in the rear of the Thunder Mountain ride. Because, when a Japanese boy stood up in the front and was decapitated, his head landed in Toby’s lap, and Toby acquired instant pariah status as that kid who caught the head. That incident also beheaded Ezra and Toby’s friendship.

Now, at the beginning of his senior year, there’s a new girl at school who is unlike any of the other girls at Eastwood High. Cassidy Thorpe is witty, clever, and dresses differently. A transfuge from a boarding school in San Francisco, Cassidy used to be on her school’s debate team. Ezra is instantly attracted to her, and Cassidy is also attracted to him.

With his sports life in tatters, Ezra joins the debate team, and begins spending time with Toby and his friends. His old friends, his old life, and his old girlfriend still hover in the background, but with Cassidy’s help Ezra comes to see that there is more to life than playing sports and getting in a local state school to play tennis. The world has so much to offer, now that Cassidy is in it.

However, all is not well in their relationship, and Cassidy also has demons in her closet. Since, according to Ezra, everyone suffers a personal tragedy, Cassidy’s must have one too, but her secrets may spell the end of their relationship.

Fans of Eleanor and Park will love Ezra and Cassidy’s growing love for each other and the obstacles life puts in their path.

Cress

Meyer, Marissa. Cress. 2014. 550. ISBN 0312642970. Book 3 of the Lunar Chronicles. Available as an audiobook on Overdrive.

Living in a satellite orbiting Earth, Crescent Moon has been working for the Lunar Queen, Levana, since she was locked up here by Mistress Sybil, one of the queen’s most faithful servants. She briefly communicated with Cinder through a direct com chip Cinder had found in Prince Kai’s android. In Scarlet, she kept track of Cinder and Thorne’s escape and travels through space and back to Europe.

Now, it is Cress’ time to escape. She’s been concealing Cinder and Thorne’s location from Luna, and when she finally makes contact with Cinder again, Cinder agrees to come and rescue Cress from her orbital prison, hoping that Cress can play a vital role in the overthrowing of the Lunar Queen.

Unfortunately, Cinder’s arrival is preceded by Sybil, who discovers her prisoner’s escape plans. Angered that Cress has been lying to her, she sets a trap for Cinder. But when Thorne walks in the satellite instead of Cinder, Sybil must immediately adjust her plan. She infiltrates Cinder’s ship, and manages to kidnap Scarlett, but leaves her guard Jason behind.

Meanwhile the satellite with Thorne and Cress aboard plummets to Earth and crashes in the Sahara desert. The two survivors make their way to an oasis after some friendly help, and are eventually reunited with Cinder and Wolf.

Emperor Kai’s wedding plans to marry Levana and stop a Lunar Earth war continue, and now Cinder comes up with a desperate plan. They must kidnap the Emperor to prevent the marriage then find a way to infiltrate Luna to overthrow Levana. It’s a gamble, but it is Earth’s only hope. With Lunar forces poised to attack Earth, and the largest manhunt being executed to find the fugitives, can Cinder and her motley crew avoid capture and triumph over Levana?

To learn more about Levana, read Fairest, the queen's own story. The story concludes in Winter.