DC Public Library discussion

This thread is for DC Public Library professionals to review and recommend books. Please identify your role or specialty at the library in your post (ie children's library associate or music librarian).

I really enjoyed Baggott's "Pure" and am looking forward to the 2nd book "Fuse" - and not because the movie rights have already been bought.

Not to imply that it's derivative, but it's a sort of grown-up's "Hunger Games". The story was the hook for me, and character development and setting description are great.

April - Public Services/Administrative Librarian

I always like bringing up books that don't get as much attention as they should. Dial-a-Ghost is one of these books I think. Eva Ibbotson tends to write funny fantasy romps for kids, and I think this is one of her best. It's a story about an agency that places ghosts in proper homes. After all, there are different types of ghosts... bone chilling poltergeists and homely, friendly ghosts. But chaos ensues when a poltergeist and a family of ghosts receive the wrong addresses. What happens when a guardian, expecting a poltergeist, gets a nice family of ghosts instead?

Jess- Children's Library Associate

I have two recommendations I'd like to share- Nick Lake's In Darkness(it just won the Michael L. Printz award) and Fire in the Streets by Kekla Magoon.

Both are YA books, and both bring past events to life with such stunning detail without dragging the pace. I think they also work as companion pieces; they are both coming of age stories that discuss serious issues but don't skimp on the characters. Both protagonists are highly likeable and strongly relatable to the reader, even if you don't share any of their experiences.

I highly recommend both, as well as Kekla Magoon's first book,The Rock and the River.

Cynthia - Library Associate

I had not come across a middle school level book about the Black Panthers before this one. Rita Williams-Garcia did a great job with this book.In ONE CRAZY SUMMER, this story is set in the summer of 1968 in Oakland. Readers see the changes in history through the eyes of Delphine, Vonetta and Fern, with humor, honesty, and innocence. Delphine’s comments on the events unfolding before her is showed in the way only a child can. Delphine is quite conscious of the differences between blacks and whites in society, yet she is also an eleven year old girl who responds from her heart rather than from propaganda and what others say. Delphine is funny, intelligent, taking the initiative to educate herself and is determined to protect her sisters, yet she is still a little girl at heart who longs for her mother to show that she loves her and her sisters and cares enough to want to protect them.
Delphine embarks on a journey that will change her forever, she witnesses the discrimination, the racial profiling and other social changes. Her mother sends her and her sisters to a summer camp sponsored by a revolutionary group called the Black Panthers where the girls get a radical political education that Delphine did not want and her younger sisters do not understand. As they stated on their first day at the camp, they only came for a free breakfast. The reason they are sent to the camp is, Cecile their mother did not ask for them to come and visit for the summer and she does not want them to be in her way. She wants t to write her poems and print her flyers and most of all she wants to be left alone. Delphine tries her best to stay out of Cecile way.
This journey will bring Delphine closer to understanding her mother who abandoned the girls seven years ago, leaving them with their father and grandmother . She starts to understand Cecile’s strange behavior, her associations with strange men with afros and black berets. Her reluctance to show any compassion or interest in her daughters. Delphine makes you feel, she brings the emotion on the surface. This book should be read by everyone who comes in contact with it. I thoroughly enjoyed the story. It made me laugh and brought tears to my eyes.
Jackie- Children's Library Associate

The Name of the Star
The Name of the Star
Maureen Johnson

Don’t judge this book by the cover. I took it for some sort of historical paranormal romance sort of thing. Not even close. This is a completely original premise, and a great break from the typical “YA” book.
Aurora, please call her Rory, Deveaux is a typical Louisiana teen headed to London for a memorable senior year in boarding school. But she doesn’t realize how memorable. On the day she arrives, a “Jack the Ripper” copycat serial killer strikes London.
While trying to fit into her new school, new friends, new classes, new town, new country, Rory finds herself in the middle of the “Ripper” investigation. As the only eyewitness in the case, her once idyllic boarding school life is turned upside down as she struggles to come to terms with the pressure of what seeing the “Ripper” actually means.
The book runs the gamut, it’s mysterious, sinister, funny, full of action and suspense, but is still snarky. This is one of those books that just when you think you have it figured out, something completely unexpected happens! The historical “Ripper” elements were great and added to the story without feeling like a lecture on madmen of the 1800’s. Maureen Johnson fans will love this first installment of the “Shades of London” series.
If you liked “Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children” by Ransom Riggs or “Picture the Dead” by Adele Griffin, you might like this book too!

Lesley Mason
Children's/Teen Librarian

EDITED:
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

It took me a while to get into this book, but once I did, I couldn't put it down. Saenz writes beautifully; his prose is lyrical but not distracting, and adds to the story.

Aristotle and Dante are two teens that become friends one summer, a relationship that intenses and strengthens as events force them together, and then apart. It's a story about self discovery, friendship, and what it means to grow up. I would recommend it to any of my patrons, and it definitely earned its Printz honor!

-Cynthia, Library Associate at Cleveland Park Library

What's the title of that Cindy?

I found out about this book from Africa Access, which is a wonderful organization to promote opening perspectives on Africa and supporting African authors. I am so glad that they brought this book to my attention.

Far From Home focuses on the stories of Tariro and Katie and covers a span of forty years. Tariro loves life in her village: her father is the chief, her beloved Nhamo returns her feelings, and she is near her precious baobab tree. She is aware of the whites and the Queen, but all is well until the Husbandry Act of 1951 forces her off her land and changes her life in irreparable ways. Flash forward almost 30 years later, and Katie is a 14 year old white girl who loves her farm, her father, and her life. Until changes in Zimbabwe force her to look at her life and her family history in a completely new way.

This book does such a good job at providing realistic characters and situations. Na'ima Robert has said that this is her first book that is loosely based on her experiences, and I completely believe it. The book is filled with real moments of tragedy, sadness, suffering, and triumph that I would believe it if Tariro was a real person. She feels real.

I will say that this book touches on some heavy issues, but I would say that it is a must read.

If this book interested you, I think you can use this as a platform to get them interested in other books about African history from this time period, as well as some fiction. Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible is one that immediately jumps to mind and can be read by older teens.

This book better be on the Printz short list next year.

Other recommendations would include Now Is the Time for Runningby Michael Williams, Chanda's Wars by Allan Stratton, and Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa by Mark Mathabane. All of these are YA books.

Cynthia, Library Associate at Cleveland Park

Since Comic-Con was this past week, and the Will Eisner Awards were posted, I thought this would be a good opportunity to mention that we have a lot of graphic novels at the branches, but that we also have books to teach you to draw in the manga style, or animation.

I'd also like to recommend is Draw Manga: How to Draw Manga In Your Own Unique Style. This book does a good job at explaining the techniques that make manga look so distinctive. If you've been curious, I think its an interesting read!

Finally, I'd also like to recommend MetaMaus: A Look Inside a Modern Classic, Maus, which looks at Art Spiegelman's Holocaust epic. Spiegelman gives a peek into his methodology, and is invaluable to those that are interested in his style, but to show how graphic novels can be a good medium for memoir/history.

All of these books are available for checkout at the DC Public Library.

Cynthia, Library Associate at Cleveland Park

I hope the person I met at DC-3 finds me here! She didn't know that the library had a goodreads page! She is reading Cinder! :)

'Chain Saw Confidential: How We Made the World's Most Notorious Horror Movie' - written by the actor who played Leatherface in the ORIGINAL Texas Chainsaw Massacre!!!