Oh my goodness so there are these two big projects that we finished right before break and NEITHER TEACHER has put in the grades and it’s THE WORST. I don’t want to wait!
Heya! ‘Tis Naomi, and I’m bringing you the next installment of “The Dreamer”. Which, if you didn’t know, is this story series about girls and dreams and… welp, maybe you should just read the previous chapters (or, if you’re like me and don’t have amazing long-term memory but don’t wanna reread the entire series, you can read the previously on…). Seems easier, yeah?
Previously on The Dreamer: Kurota feels this weird connection with her classmate Nova and isn’t sure why. Being a logical weirdo, she usually wouldn’t act on such a feeling, but this one is really strong and so she’s been watching Nova for the past few months. Nova, oblivious to Kurota’s creepy watching, is trying to deal with losing her sister to a fire.
These two get paired for an English assignment. And well, Nova hasn’t really been paying attention to school… and… you’ll see what Kurota thinks about that in this part! Yay!
“… and she didn’t even know what the project was. Like she zoned out for the entirety of the speech. And I’m going to sound like a total nerd, but how is she not even a little bit excited to do a project on a way we’re hurting our environment that could get us to a national contest where we could literally win $500?” Kurota groans. She’s sprawled across Orenda’s floor as she complains about her group project. “See, you’re my best friend and as such I love you. But first off, since when was being a nerd a bad thing? And second off, how can you not take this as a good thing? You’ve been trying to talk to her and figure out what’s going on here since the beginning of school.” Of course Orenda thinks of it that way.
“I think you’re getting it twisted because you’re the one who wants to talk to Nova. Not me.” “Mhm. You’re still the one who wants to know everything about her, and talking to her is a way better way of doing that than creepily stalking her all the time.” “It’s not stalking if I’m not following her.” Kurota protests. “Well, creepily watching her then. Better?” “Yes.” “Well when you and Nova have some special bond, I am always going to remind you that I was right when I said you should just talk to her, you crazy introvert.” “Well when I totally fail this project because of my partner and then never talk to her again, I am always going to remind you that I was right when I said I should stick to watching, you crazy extrovert.” “Wait, does this mean you’re going to give up on watching her?” Orenda jumps up from where she was lying. “Yeah, probably. What’s the point? Not sure why I stuck to this so long anyways since there’s no reason whatsoever that she’s important to me.”
“What if she’s your soulmate and you just decide that she isn’t important to you? Then you’ll never have a soulmate!” “We are not going to your crazy theories again. I’ve heard them all enough times.” “Alright, whatever. I know you don’t believe in magic and all that, but seriously? You should consider something that’s a little out of your comfort zone. Just saying.” “Can we change the subject now?” “Fine.”
Has the wordpress editor always had this serif font? Because I may be going crazy, but I think the font changed.
Heya earthlings and aliens! ‘Tis Naomi, and I’m convinced that we skipped a few days. Because it was literally just June. I mean, I definitely didn’t write “Goodbye June” instead of “Goodbye July”. So I’ll file a complaint to the calendar people and tell them that they skipped a few days, but in the meantime, I think I’ll just write this post. Sound good? Great.
Goodbye July
Hey, that sorta rhymes!
Goals
Post another part/chapter of The Dreamer. I did! It took me like 5 million rewrites, but I did.
Post more than 5 times Heh. Heh. Heh. Well.
Actually read or watch some climate change stuff! I read AND watched climate change stuff, so.. whoop whoop?
This Month’s Media
Well, I actually read The Marrow Thieves. And it was… ok? It wasn’t the best book in the entire world (the main character was so aggravating and the romance was a tad bleh), but it was a really interesting and important-feeling book. So that.
Aaand I watched Kiss the Ground (read my review-ish thing here), which was AMAZING and had AMAZING pictures and I’m so proud of myself because I actually watched it.
Goals
Post another part/chapter of The Dreamer I need a goal that I will definitely reach.
Post 5 or more times Come on, me! You got this! *ignores the fact she only wrote 4 posts last month*
Find a way to keep blogging as school starts up Heh. This’ll be fun.
Holidays
World Water Week is from August 23 – September 1 and I’ll hopefully remember it exists so I can do a post on it.
Alrighty roo! These posts are always super short, but whatevs. I’m off to file that complaint to the calendar people.
So school starts in a month, right? And do you know what the school has done about it? NOTHING. AT. ALL. I mean like, they’ve PROBABLY been preparing in ways that don’t involve sending us our schedules because that’s PROBABLY not the only thing that they do, but THEY SHOULD STILL SEND THE SCHEDULES RIGHT THIS INSTANT. And I should probably write this post right this instant too… I guess.
Guess what? I’m not dead! I’ve been working on a bunch of posts (and I ACTUALLY WATCHED Kiss The Ground, which I’ve been saying I’ll watch for like the last billion years, and so you all should be proud of me) and re-writing this chapter a million billion times. And well, I’m just going to publish it because like if I don’t, I’m not sure that I’ll ever get it done…
Joyce Acheson Herbert Alderman Teresa Ammons Rafaela Andrade Carol Arrington Julian Binstock David Bradburd Cheryl Brown Larry Brown Richard Clayton Brown Andrew Burt Joanne Caddy Barbara Carlson Vincent Mario Carota Denis Clark Evelyn Cline John Arthur Digby Gordon Dise Eliane Dodge Nova doesn’t keep reading. She can’t. After her sister’s name would be her grandmother’s, her grandfather’s. But maybe if she doesn’t read further, she won’t have to acknowledge… what happened. That her sister’s not coming back from her trip, that she’ll never eat her grandmother’s cookies or hear her grandfather’s stories again. Maybe if she doesn’t keep reading, she won’t have to acknowledge that their names are on a list titled “Deaths in Butte County’s Camp Fire”. Maybe if she doesn’t keep reading, the truth won’t settle in. Maybe if she doesn’t keep reading, she can keep living in denial. That’s not what Eli would want, says that tiny voice in the back of her head that’s been bothering her about the fire for the past 8 months. She pushes the thought out, out, out. But, in the way that bothersome thoughts often do, it keeps coming back. Looking at this list had been a bad idea in the first place. Her mom had suggested it, said that when Nova was ready, maybe learning more would help her to heal. Unless helping Nova heal meant making her feel like the world was falling apart, she was pretty sure that reading that list was not doing what her mom had said it might. So she closes the tab. What she should do right now is pick up her homework and do it. Because she has to be a normal kid. The world didn’t stop moving when Eli died. She doesn’t know if anyone really noticed her sister’s death, apart from a few friends and, of course, Nova’s family. It sure doesn’t seem like anyone does. In sixth grade, her teachers had been gentle with her because of the loss, taking her aside and asking how she was doing, if they could do anything. But now, in seventh grade, her teachers don’t know. Or at least they don’t know yet. So she has no reason not to get her homework done. She’s pretty sure that telling her teachers that she was reading through a list of names that included her dead sister instead of doing homework would probably not be the best way to start the school year. So she forces herself to stand up, walk over to her backpack, unzip it, and get out her homework. Forces her mind to focus on those actions, and those actions only. Because if she let her mind wander, she would start thinking of Eli, of her grandmother, of her grandfather. And she couldn’t let that happen. So she does her homework, and doesn’t think of a fire. Of a sister. Of grandparents. Of everything she lost.
And that’s that! I’m not sure if it’s the best version of the chapter, but it’s FIIINE.
Anywho, encounter you next time (I want to say “see you next time” but because I never actually see you, it doesn’t really work…)!
Also, update: WordPress is being very mean and won’t let me upload the correct featured image so uh… I guess we’ll deal with it? Update #2: Correct featured image is up! Yay?
Who came up with the concept of summer vacation? Like, let’s make kids go to school for 5 days a week for 180 days and burn themselves out by learning so much and getting up early, and then let’s give them a many week break on which they lose about half of the knowledge they gained? It. Makes. Zero. Sense. Zero.
Heya! ‘Tis Naomi, and welcome to the SSCC!
Alright, I need to explain the title, don’t I? Alright, so for those who don’t know, a TBR (To-Be-Read) is a list of books that you want to read. So I was like, I should make a climate change TBR for summer! And then I was like, well, I want to watch and listen to things to. Hence, “TBW” (To-Be-Watched) and “TBL” (To-Be-Listened(-To)). Got it? Ohkay, great. Let’s get into this post!
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
I have this book and really want to read it (especially after Kaashvi reccomended it). It’s a nonfiction book (I’m a fiction person) and not super climate changey, but it’s an environmental book that people say started the environmental movement. Seems like something I should read, right?
My mom read this book a while back and liked it, but that was when I was younger and not so interested in all this. But then I saw it on a list of “eco-fiction”, and thought that, whoah, it looked really good. Trees, activists, and artists? Say no more. This one is on the top of my list.
OrdinaryFabGirl recommended this one to me (I asked for book / movie / show / podcast recs in one of my last posts), and it looks so amazing! If anyone feels like getting me a gift for no reason, this is what you should get. Recipes AND information about how eating less meat helps the environment? I need this book!
This is kinda how I got my mom to get Netflix, and we still haven’t watched it. But it’s fine. I’m sure it’s fine. We’ll get to it, and hopefully we’ll get to it this summer. Oh, I’m supposed to be talking about the movie? Well, in a sentence, it’s apparently a very hopeful climate change documentary and I’ve heard tons of good things about it, so there’s that.
I found this one in my list of movie reccomendations from Animation Day, and thought it looked amazing! This one is more ocean-y, centering around coral bleaching (which is when coral basically dies because of the rising temperature of the water).
The TBL is a little different since most of these podcasts are ones I’ve LISTENED to before, but just wanna listen to more. How To Save A Planet is an awesome podcast about… well… how to save a planet, and I really need to listen to more episodes!
I’m relistening to a bunch of Gen-Z Media podcasts right now because I binged through literally all of them and now I only get around 90 minutes of new podcasts each week, which isn’t enough. I really wanna relisten to this movie-length audio drama about a girl and a dog in a climate-change-ruined world.
I know bookish posts aren’t everyone’s favorite posts, but like, erm. I really wanted to do this post, so deal with it. Please? *tries to smile sweetly but probably ends up looking like a maniac but whatever that’s fine*
Heya people! ‘Tis me (aka Naomi), and today I’m popping into your reader or email or… whatever you’re reading this on with a post about… well… exactly what the title says. I’ll be “sorting” cli-fi books into Hogwarts Houses!
And welp, that’s it for my intro. Here we go!
I’ve always wondered why Ravenclaw isn’t called, like, Eagleclaw or something… anyone have an explanation?
Can I just say that ALL books are for Ravenclaws? No? Ok, ok, I’m THINKING.
Am I putting my favorite book in my house? Uh, maybe. Seriously though, this is such a good book! The writing might not be for everyone, but it was so poetic and descriptive and the whole mystery of this book required me to use my brain power so much and OMG IT WAS JUST SO GOOOD!
The whole world (a climate change destroyed world with houses in the sky) was just so creative, so Ravenclaw.
I actually have a good book to put in this one! Here we go!
Ah this book was so good. Yeah, yeah, it’s kind of a middle grade book and for younger people, but I think it’s (one of) the most climate change-ey cli-fi books I’ve come across! It’s got really good themes, and… just read it.
But anywho, I’m putting it on the list as a Hufflepuff-y book because, like, ANIMALS AND KINDNESS and just so many Hufflepuff vibes.
Yeeeah I know I’m kind of stretching on this one. I’m in the middle of The Marrow Thieves, but so far I’d say it’s giving me some brave people vibes. I mean, seriously.The main character’s brother literally gives up his life so that the main character can survive. I think that’s brave in a way. So. There. Totally good reasoning.
Anyhow, this book took me forever to decide to read, but I finally have and I’m liking it so far!
I dub this one Slytherin because, well, vibes. But also, well, I’m trying to keep this spoiler-free, but like there’s a lot of Slytherins in this book, ok? I think you pretty much HAVE to be Slytherin to survive in a world where everyone is sick. Ya know?
I have no idea whatsoever how I feel about this book, but you should give it a try if you think it might be a good book!
Well thanks for being the third author in a ROW to break my heart, Joan He (oh, and you did it twice, too. You’re waaay to good at crafting characters I looove).
First Veronica Roth, then Laini Taylor, then Joan He. In. A. Row. The wooorld is falling apart.
Anyway! It’s Naomi, and welcome back (or welcome) to the SSCC!
Today, I have a book review for ya (Cause the title doesn’t literally say book review. I mean, Naoooomi…)(HMMMPH!)! It’s a non-spoiler review, you are VERY WELCOME. It took much self control to make it that way!
So… shall we?
*ahem* I sound like I’m asking you to um…. dance…
Let’s!
Title: The Ones We’re Meant To Find Author: Joan He
Blurb:
Cee has been trapped on an abandoned island for three years without any recollection of how she arrived, or memories from her life prior. All she knows is that somewhere out there, beyond the horizon, she has a sister named Kay, and it’s up to Cee to cross the ocean and find her.
In a world apart, 16-year-old STEM prodigy Kasey Mizuhara lives in an eco-city built for people who protected the planet―and now need protecting from it. With natural disasters on the rise due to climate change, eco-cities provide clean air, water, and shelter. Their residents, in exchange, must spend at least a third of their time in stasis pods, conducting business virtually whenever possible to reduce their environmental footprint. While Kasey, an introvert and loner, doesn’t mind the lifestyle, her sister Celia much preferred the outside world. But no one could have predicted that Celia would take a boat out to sea, never to return.
Now it’s been three months since Celia’s disappearance, and Kasey has given up hope. Her sister must be dead. But nevertheless, she decides to retrace Celia’s last steps. Where they’ll lead her, she does not know. Her sister was full of secrets. But Kasey has a secret of her own.
“No one enters this world by choice. If we’re lucky, we can choose how we leave.”
The Ones We’re Meant To Find by Joan He
So, turns out I need help being hard on books.
Especially the ones that I kinda love and am kinda obsessed with…
Yeah right. KINDA love?
So so so, I don’t REALLY know where to begin. Amazing cli-fi aspect? check (more on that shortly), Beautifully written? check, Wonderful characters? check, Mystery that kept me guessing? check, Great plot twist? check, Unique idea? check.
Listen. I LOVED this book. So. Very. Much. The writing style is BEAUTIFUL, and the world building is so full in a way that doesn’t take OVER the plot, but 100% adds a new element. I just… wow. Shall we take it apart a bit? I think we shall!
Cee. Celia. Hero. Kasey. Actinium.
BEAUTIFUL characters, all with their different flaws and worldviews.
I love Hero sooo much. Never mind he tried to uh… kill a certain someone that uh… that wasn’t his fault, ok?! He was such a sweet character with so much depth- He is a BIT of a Peeta character (I hate Peeta, but I still love Hero)…. And Cee was such a lovely character, with so much energy and depth, especially after the plot twist! Kasey was quite flawed, but her character journey was amazing, and I actually enjoyed reading her POV- it was so different! She’s analytical, and has had problems because she doesn’t feel like she feels normal human emotions. Cee, on the other hand… she’s such a vibrant and beautiful character who wants to live so badly. And Actinium is… Actinium. I have to say I’m not a fan of him, but ya know, he’s a good character. *ahem*
I got SUPER invested in all the characters which is why, um, my heart is broken.
I can’t talk about the plot VERY well without… spoilers (still not good at this whole let’s-not-put-spoilers-in-a-review thing), but I shall make a valiant effort here! I really enjoyed the plot twists, and the pieces that didn’t QUITE FIT until the final GIANT turns-your-world-upside-down plot twist, and then it all fell into place BEAUTIFULLY! It all made sense, and it worked so well. It was such a unique plot and storyline!
It alternates between the POVs of Cee and Kasey- Cee is stuck on an abandoned island with only a few memories and an urgent need to find her sister (Kasey). Kasey is living in an ECO-CITY and is dealing with the death of Celia (Cee, ya know? Which… eeerm, Kasey honey we’re actually hearing from her. It’s so weird!). Kasey is trying to figure out what happened to Celia, while Cee is on an abandoned island trying to get to her… And there are sort of… HINTS that like they’re in different time frames – it was all so crazy and didn’t make any sense- UNTIL THE END!
Joan He’s writing style is beautiful, and I quite appreciated how it was different when each sister talked! And the themes were wonderful as well. A lot of it was about finding yourself, but also about how our actions have consequences. It was WONDERFUL!
There was A LOT more of the climate change part then I thought there would be. A lot of the plot actually REVOLVES around climate change, and while I can’t reveal WHY, the plot twist actually has to do with Kasey’s idea to help!
It was both realistic and sort of hopeful – natural disasters were happening, people were dying, the sea was poisoned. But those with a high enough rank (determined by the carbon footprint of you and your ancestors) were living in eco-cities IN THE SKY like come on I want to live in an eco-city in the sky. In these cities, they basically use VR to get around – much less of a carbon footprint that way! But those with lower ranks who aren’t in eco-cites are dying, and part of Kasey’s journey over the course of the book actually revolves around the solution (which I can’t quite reveal, because uh.. well SPOILERS!).
This book along with Descendant Of The Crane has made Joan He an author who’s next book I will pick uuuup automatically! I mean, she has a habit of breaking my heart, but sacrifices have to be made for books you love.
This book gets 5 stars from me if you couldn’t tell from the review that was me screaming I-love-this-book!
And that’s that! I’m a beginner book-reviewer please don’t tell me that’s not a word, and I really really loved this book, so the review wasn’t the BEST, but all I can say is go read it and we can talk theeen!
QOTD: Have you read, or do you want to read, The Ones We’re Meant To Find? If not, just tell me this: have you read any cli-fi of late?
See you in the comments (or, ya know, your WORDS. But aren’t your words sort of you? Cause like, what you say is sort of what you are and… wow that got philosophical FAST. Maybe tell me in the comments what you think)! Byee!
So hi! Naomi again, popping into your reader with my first book review! I apologize in advance if this review isn’t the best one ever, I have 0 experience… but I’m going to try my best!
Anyway, I’ve been reading some of HOW TO CHANGE EVERYTHING (a climate change nonfiction book), and trying to get some of the cli-fi books that Maeve recommended in one of her posts (check those out here 😉 ), but I was looking through the website of one of my favorite authors, Jodi Lynn Anderson, and discovered this book. Midnight at the electric is cli-fi, multiple POVs, AND by Jodi Lynn Anderson? YES PLEASE. So anyway, I hurried over to overdrive (my library’s system for getting ebooks) and searched this up. It was there! So, I began reading. And well… since it IS cli-fi, I thought maybe I’d do a review on here. So, hope you enjoy!
Title: Midnight At The Electric Author: Jodi Lynn Anderson Format: Ebook
Synopsis: Divided by time. Ignited by a spark. Kansas, 2065. Adri has secured a slot as a Colonist—one of the lucky few handpicked to live on Mars. But weeks before launch, she discovers the journal of a girl who lived in her house over a hundred years ago, and is immediately drawn into the mystery surrounding her fate. While Adri knows she must focus on the mission ahead, she becomes captivated by a life that’s been lost in time…and how it might be inextricably tied to her own. Oklahoma, 1934. Amidst the fear and uncertainty of the Dust Bowl, Catherine fantasizes about her family’s farmhand, and longs for the immortality promised by a professor at a traveling show called the Electric. But as her family’s situation becomes more dire—and the suffocating dust threatens her sister’s life—Catherine must find the courage to sacrifice everything she loves in order to save the one person she loves most. England, 1919. In the recovery following the First World War, Lenore struggles with her grief for her brother, a fallen British soldier, and plans to sail to America in pursuit of a childhood friend. But even if she makes it that far, will her friend be the person she remembers, and the one who can bring her back to herself? While their stories spans thousands of miles and multiple generations, Lenore, Catherine, and Adri’s fates are entwined. –Goodreads
*I’ve done my best here to make this review spoiler-free, so you can read it before reading the book*
The book’s idea is pretty amazing. The main narrative is of Adri, a girl from the future, who discovers writings from 2 girls from the past. She finds the journal of Catherine, a 16-year-old farm girl living during the dust bowl, and letters from Lenore to Beth, two friends separated by WW1. The 3 girls are related in a familial way, and it’s really interesting. Adri’s journey is very much affected by the other 2, and all of the girls are really relatable! Plus, I mean, it’s split- POV, and I LOVE split-POV writing.
*ahem* AND GALAPAGOS! Galapagos is a tortoise, who was past down from each of these families. She makes an appearance in all the narratives.
Anywho, I want to give each of the stories a section in this review, so that I can rant about each one! 😉
“I think all my life my heart’s been broken,” Adri whispered, “and I didn’t even notice. And I don’t even know by what”
Midnight At The Electric
Adri is a girl (I’m not sure her age) living in the future, where climate change has destroyed her home, for the most part. The future aspect isn’t touched on as much, it’s mostly about ADRI. She’s an orphan, and grew up in community homes. She’s going to stay with a 105-year-old cousin whom she had no idea existed until now, until she leaves for Mars in 30 days.
At the beginning, Adri is just a standoffish character who wants to go to Mars, and do her best to get there. But as the launch grows nearer, she starts to doubt going, as she grows closer to Lily (her cousin), and discovers the letters and journal. I love how she changes, how she WANTS to change nearer to the end. While her end of the narrative took me a while to get into, in the end I was really invested in Adri.
*the following quote has a sorta-spoiler, but not really*
“Do you think I can change?” She finally asked. Lily looked at her, curious and thoughtful. “Well,” She replied, “Are you dead?”
Midnight At The Electric
“I wonder if sometimes you can miss something so much it breaks you, and still be happy you left”
Midnight at the electric
Catherine’s story was probably my favorite. I personally think it was the most quotable part, and her story and character were pretty amazing.
Catherine lives during the dust bowl, on a farm with her family. But her little sister, Beezie, has dust pneumonia, and her mom refuses to leave. Worried, she has to choose between her farm and the boy she loves (Ellis) and leaving to spare her sister’s life. Catherine is such a strong and sweet character, and the bond that she has with Beezie is amazing.
All of the 3 are leaving, or choosing between leaving and staying: Adri is (probably) going to leave earth for Mars, Catherine is thinking about leaving her farm, family, and the dust. And Lenore is leaving England for America so she can live with her friend.
But, I think that Catherine probably has the hardest choice, and her leaving (or not leaving) is a really good plot line. I admire Catherine, and I love her character! 🙂
HowEVER, this section of the book, to me, read a bit too… historical-fiction ish, if that makes sense? The way that Catherine speaks, it’s just not my style of reading. I did like it though!
“When you’re trying to protect someone you love, you’ll do anything. Try any little trick that would possibly work,”
Midnight at the electric
“I can’t promise you I’m unaltered. And I’m not sure anymore that I want to be.”
Midnight At The Electric
Lenore’s. Story. Is. AMAZING.
I love her character development. Lenore’s brother died fighting in WW1, and her best friend Beth moved to America. She seems to be, throughout her letters, trying to be the same person she was before WW1. But she’s not, and her character gets deep, and a little dark, as she realizes maybe she IS changed, and maybe she doesn’t want to be the same.
I don’t have much else to say about her story, other than that I truly loved it!
“It’s easy to judge people for their sadness when it hasn’t happened to you”
Midnight At The Electric
“I think our big mistakes are not about having bad intentions, just bumbling along, a little self absorbed.”
Midnight At The Electric
Adri is living in the future, where climate change has flooded cities, made polar bears go extinct… lots of things. And of course, part of the reason Adri is going to Mars is because they need a new place for some of the population. But also, in this future, there are electric cars, carbon capture, etc. etc… which is really cool! Adri and Lily, also have a couple conversations about the way we destroyed our planet, which are amazing and SO QUOTABLE.
Also, Catherine is living during the dust bowl, another instance of humans making a mistake that hurt the earth… and there are some amazing quotes from that, as well.
Other than that, climate change isn’t touched on as much, but still!
How could we have such power to destroy? And how could we ever fix it?
Midnight At The Electric
This book was not my favorite book ever, because it was a little slow paced and took me a bit to get into, but I did overall enjoy it! I would recommend it to someone looking for something with a touch of cli-fi, and a lot of… um how do I say this? A lot of feeling.
My rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Well, hope you enjoyed! Have you read any good cli-fi? Any good books in general? Let’s chat in the comments!
Hi! It’s Maeve, back with another list. As you may now, I run another blog called Books By Maeve and it’s all about books (wasn’t that hard to guess)! I thought I’d take these two passions and put them into one blog post.
In case you didn’t know, Cli-Fi is a book genre that stands for Climate Fiction. MG stands for Middle Grade and is generally for people 8-12, and YA stands for Young Adult and is generally for people 13+. Though the ages can change (I started reading some YA when I was 11), check websites like Common Sense Media to see if you’re okay with reading it. All of these synopses are taken directly from goodreads.
Onwards to the list!
MG:
The Line Tender. Wherever the sharks led, Lucy Everhart’s marine-biologist mother was sure to follow. In fact, she was on a boat far off the coast of Massachusetts, preparing to swim with a Great White, when she died suddenly. Lucy was eight. Since then Lucy and her father have done OK—thanks in large part to her best friend, Fred, and a few close friends and neighbors. But June of her twelfth summer brings more than the end of school and a heat wave to sleepy Rockport. On one steamy day, the tide brings a Great White—and then another tragedy, cutting short a friendship everyone insists was “meaningful” but no one can tell Lucy what it all meant. To survive the fresh wave of grief, Lucy must grab the line that connects her depressed father, a stubborn fisherman, and a curious old widower to her mother’s unfinished research. If Lucy can find a way to help this unlikely quartet follow the sharks her mother loved, she’ll finally be able to look beyond what she’s lost and toward what’s left to be discovered.
Hoot. Unfortunately, Roy’s first acquaintance in Florida is Dana Matherson, a well-known bully. Then again, if Dana hadn’t been sinking his thumbs into Roy’s temples and mashing his face against the school-bus window, Roy might never have spotted the running boy. And the running boy is intriguing: he was running away from the school bus, carried no books, and-here’s the odd part-wore no shoes. Sensing a mystery, Roy sets himself on the boy’s trail. The chase introduces him to potty-trained alligators, a fake-fart champion, some burrowing owls, a renegade eco-avenger, and several extremely poisonous snakes with unnaturally sparkling tails.
Fuzzy Mud. Fifth grader Tamaya Dhilwaddi and seventh grader Marshall Walsh have been walking to and from Woodbridge Academy together since elementary school. But their routine is disrupted when bully Chad Wilson challenges Marshall to a fight. To avoid the conflict, Marshall takes a shortcut home through the off-limits woods. Tamaya reluctantly follows. They soon get lost, and they find trouble. Bigger trouble than anyone could ever have imagined.
In the days and weeks that follow, the authorities and the U.S. Senate become involved, and what they uncover might affect the future of the world.
YA:
The Marrow Thieves. In a futuristic world ravaged by global warming, people have lost the ability to dream, and the dreamlessness has led to widespread madness. The only people still able to dream are North America’s Indigenous people, and it is their marrow that holds the cure for the rest of the world. But getting the marrow, and dreams, means death for the unwilling donors. Driven to flight, a fifteen-year-old and his companions struggle for survival, attempt to reunite with loved ones and take refuge from the “recruiters” who seek them out to bring them to the marrow-stealing “factories.”
War Girls. The year is 2172. Climate change and nuclear disasters have rendered much of earth unlivable. Only the lucky ones have escaped to space colonies in the sky. In a war-torn Nigeria, battles are fought using flying, deadly mechs and soldiers are outfitted with bionic limbs and artificial organs meant to protect them from the harsh, radiation-heavy climate. Across the nation, as the years-long civil war wages on, survival becomes the only way of life.
Two sisters, Onyii and Ify, dream of more. Their lives have been marked by violence and political unrest. Still, they dream of peace, of hope, of a future together.
And they’re willing to fight an entire war to get there.
The Water Knife. In the American Southwest, Nevada, Arizona, and California skirmish for dwindling shares of the Colorado River. Into the fray steps Angel Velasquez, leg-breaker, assassin, and spy. A Las Vegas water knife, Angel “cuts” water for his boss, Catherine Case, ensuring that her luxurious developments can bloom in the desert, so the rich can stay wet while the poor get dust. When rumors of a game-changing water source surface in drought-ravaged Phoenix, it seems California is making a play to monopolize the life-giving flow of the river, and Angel is sent to investigate. There, he encounters Lucy Monroe, a drought-hardened journalist, and Maria Villarosa, a young refugee who survives by her wits in a city that despises everything she represents. For Angel, Lucy, and Maria, time is running out and their only hope for survival rests in each other’s hands. But when water is more valuable than gold, alliances shift like sand, and the only thing for certain is that someone will have to bleed if anyone hopes to drink.
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The Society To Stop Climate Change 