Orbiting Jupiter

General YA Fiction

VG/A Schmidt, Gary.  Orbiting Jupiter.  Clarion, 2015.  192p.  978-0544462229.  17.99

When Jack’s parents decide to foster 8^th grader Joseph they know that he has had a rough past. Even though Jack’s friends all think he should stay away from Joseph, Jack befriends him anyway and they watch out for each other. Joseph is not a bad kid, he’s been through a lot in his short 14 years including fathering a child with a young girl that he loved. Jack and his family promise to help Joseph find his baby daughter, Jupiter. You can’t help but fall in love with Joseph, Jack and Jack’s parents (plus some of the teachers) in this book. Kleenex are necessary. Loren Spector, LAPL, Memorial Branch

The Secrets We Keep

High School Fiction

F/A  Leaver, Trisha. The Secrets We Keep.  Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015.  304p.  978-0374300463. 17.99

When identical twins Maddy and Ella are involved in a deadly car accident, Ella was driving Maddy’s car. When she wakes up in the hospital, everyone thinks that she is Maddy and that Ella died in the crash. Ella is confused and doesn’t bother to correct anyone, instead she decides that she will just be Maddy from now on, thinking that everyone loved her more anyway. Little does she know that Maddy has some secrets that even Ella didn’t know about. But how long can Ella pretend to be someone that clearly she is not? The premise is frustrating because it’s so unlikely that she could keep up the façade (and why would she want to), but the writing is decent. Teens will love it, even if it’s not exactly plausible. Loren Spector, LAPL, Memorial Branch

The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B

General Young Adult Fiction

G/A  Toten, Teresa.  The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B.  Delacorte Press, 2015.  304p.  978-0553507867.  17.99

From the moment Robyn Plummer walked into his teen OCD support group, Adam was in love. So much so, that he decides to start participating more and help both her and him get better. As Robyn’s health improves, Adam deteriorates, in part because his mother’s own mental illness worsens. While the book deals well with the issue of OCD and the fact that people are not always what they seem, the plot is lacking. It’s still a good read for teens that like realistic fiction or for teens potentially dealing with family or friends that suffer from OCD. Loren Spector, LAPL, Memorial

The Ghosts of Heaven

Young Adult Fiction

G/A  Sedgwick, Marcus.  The Ghosts of Heaven.  Roaring Brook, 2015.  368p.  978-1-6268-2125-8.  17.99

This novel consists of four semi-interconnected short stories (that the author states can be read in any order). Each “quarter” takes place in a different time and place, but they all have one thing in common, a fear or obsession with spirals. From cave drawings to spinning tops to spiral staircases and spiraling through space, all the characters of the four stories are focused on the meaning of spirals and surviving their circumstances (although not all do). Each individual story is compelling, but it may all be a little too mysterious and philosophical for most teens. It may be better suited and appeal to adult readers more. Loren Spector, LAPL, Memorial Branch Library

FOR SOCCER-CRAZY GIRLS ONLY

G/A  Downing, Erin.  For Soccer-Crazy Girls Only.  Feiwel, 2014.  145p.  978-1-250-04709-0.  15.99.  With much gung ho and rah-rah, there's information here that will genuinely appeal to female athletes dedicated to the game of soccer.  Enthusiasm and hard work are key elements for those who are already engaged in the sport.  There are adaptations of the game for those who are disabled and there's even a league -- in the U.S. -- for players who are homeless.  Beside advice on diet, exercise and strategies, there are mini-biographies on noted professional players (including a few men).  And there are brief histories and statistics related to the Olympics and World Cups.  Most of the tricolor pages (black, green, white) are illustrated with drawings and pictures.  Such a reasonable price makes this a worthwhile purchase for library collections in communities where soccer is popular.  As there is ample space provided for note taking, the title can also be given as a personal gift.  
E.M. Roublow (ret.)  

Try This! 50 Fun Experiments for the Mad Scientist in You

YA Non-Fiction/General YA G/A Young, Karen Romano. Try This! 50 Fun Experiments for the Mad Scientist in You. National Geographic, 2014. ISBN: 978-1-4263-17118, 160 p.; $16.99 Readers will find 50 fun and easy science experiments inside this colorful large size book. The experiments are listed by categories and they are easy and straight forward. This book will be good for supplementary reading or to be used as part of a STEAM (STEM) program. The fun categories include: Plants, Bugs and Microbes, People and other animals, Water, Reactions, Weird Physics, and Machines. Each experiment identifies the concepts of the science, how long it will take to do the experiment, and what is need for the exercise. With step by step instruction, it is easy to follow and complete the experiment. Also, author indicates what is expected from each experiment and their outcomes so that teachers or instructors will know ahead of time.

Unlikely Warrior: A Jewish Soldier in Hitler's Army

Young Adult/Adult Non-Fiction

G/A  Rauch, Georg.  Unlikely Warrior: A Jewish Soldier in Hitler’s Army. FSG, 2015. 352p. 978-0-3743-0142-2.  17.99.

Georg Rauch was 19 in 1943 when he was drafted into the German Army. Even though his mother was anti-Hitler (and actively hiding Jews in the family attic) and the government knew he was a ¼ quarter Jewish, he had no choice but to join. Good with electronics, he was assigned to be on a communications squad on the Russian front. After 9 months on the front in Russia and Romania, Georg was captured. He spent the next almost year of his life, moving between POW camps and hospitals, before finally making his way back to Vienna. His memoir gives harrowing detail of all the suffering he went through and includes letters that he wrote to his family from Russia during the war. It provides an interesting and little known perspective from a German soldier not invested in the war, but forced to participate and the horrors of the battle in Russia. Loren Spector, LAPL, Memorial Branch