Library Column for June 13, 2018

@ Your Library

    Summer reading is underway at the library. Adults have until Friday to register to be entered into a bonus prize drawing for a free book. Register at internationalfallslibrary.readsquared.com. Everyone can participate! We want the entire community to read twenty minutes a day all summer long. I have talked about the benefits of reading for everyone here before so I won’t go into that again, but if you missed it and want to know how beneficial reading is to the brain, to our emotional states and more come see me and I can talk your ear off.

    What to read, though? Absolutely anything!!! Exploring the newly popular world of young adult literature can be wonderful. The stories tend to be short, the action high and which of us can’t remember our days as a teen. Here are some of the newest teen titles sitting on our shelves as I write this, which doesn’t mean they will still be sitting around when you read this, but any title can be requested to be saved for you.

    A world re-imagined is a common theme in many young adult novels. What if this one thing did or didn’t happen? What would change? How would things be different? In That Inevitable Victorian Thing by E.K. Johnston, the British Empire never fell and all things Victorian continue to be the trend. The story, set in Canada, features the crown princess of the Empire and her one summer of freedom as a commoner in Toronto. But can she really ever be a commoner? A delightful tale of love, duty and the small moments that have the power to change us and the world.

    Imagine if we could write worlds into existence that we could visit. What would the status of those created people be? Who should be able to control those who have the ability to write new worlds into existence? These and other thought provoking questions are tackled in Ink, Iron and Glass by Gwendolyn Clare. This is definitely a book I hope will result in a series of books.

    The popularity of Black Panther is allowing authors to explore other African legends and tropes. Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor begins with the induction of Sunny Nwazue, an American-born Nigerian girl being inducted into the secret Leopard Society. She begins to develop her powers and then has to lead a dangerous mission to avert an apocalypse.

    Teen angst amidst challenges is the norm, but some rise above, way above the challenges of their youth to thrive and become stars. Rising Above by Gregory Zuckerman provides brief biographies of eleven athletes and the challenges they overcome in their youth to become stars. Meet Tim Howard, Stephen Curry, Jim Abbot and eight other professional athletes.

    Can we find hope from the past, even when it ended tragically? Lily identifies with Heloise, half of perhaps the most tragic love story ever. Then she meets modern day Abelard, named after the other half of the love story. Is there any hope for them today?