Broad Band by Claire L. Evens
Title: Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet
Author: Claire L. Evens
Review:
Many of us have heard of Ada Lovelace, a brilliant mathematician and writer during the nineteenth century. She is fondly called the mother of programming for her work on Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine. However, Ada Lovelace is only the first of many amazing women who helped build the computer network known today as the Internet. From the kilogirls (women that worked as the first computers during the turn of the twentieth century) to the cyberfeminists of the 1990s, Claire Evens shares stories of women who’s genius, perseverance, and creativity shaped the World Wide Web.Although a bit heavier of a read, Evens mixes research and interviews to showcase the lives of the women in this book, all while weaving in her own journey of discovery.
Review by: Alex
Chrysalis by Brendan Reichs
Title: Chrysalis
Author: Brendan Reichs
Review:
What a great ending to the Nemesis Trilogy! The Nemesis survivors have begun the process of building back society on a desolate earth. But soon, the group fractures into small factions. When the Silo is attacked, Noah & Min must figure out who is sabotaging the village. What they uncover points to other survivors. They aren't alone on the new earth. I thoroughly enjoyed this young adult science fiction series.
Review by: Jannelle
The Healer by Donna Freitas
Title: The Healer
Author: Donna Freitas
Review:
Marlena Oliveira had the ability to heal anyone with a single touch. Many people, including her mother, say it’s a gift from God. Because of this, her mother insists that Marlena remain secluded from all but herself in order to remain pure. But when a scientist approaches Marlena wanting to study her ability, she starts to question everything she’s known to be true. With the help of a cute boy named Finn, she begins to explore the life she’s always wanted. At times sweet, confusing, and heartbreaking, this coming of age novel held me captivated.
Review by: Bethany
Weird Earth by Donald Prothero
Title: Weird Earth: Debunking Strange Ideas about Our Planet
Author: Donald Prothero
Review:
In such an advanced tech age as we live in, it seems hard to believe that some people think the earth is flat or that it might be hollow. In Weird Earth, Prothero takes on these strange ideas and many more, one by one showing how we know they are not true. He shows in many examples how the weird idea is physically impossible.
Review by: Ben
Old Bones by Preston & Child
Title: Old Bones
Author: Preston & Child
Review: Another winner by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child! This time they take on the story of the Donner party who were stranded by early snowfall while trying to take a short cut over the Sierra Mountains. There were 48 survivors from the original party of 87. But do we know the full story? Clive Benton has found a long lost diary of one of the survivors who chronicles a very different account than what we know today. With details of a 2nd previously unknown camp, Nora Kelly, a young archaeologist, leads a small expedition into the mountains to search for the camp. What she discovers will not only change history but puts her in danger from others who are also searching for what the 2nd camp hides.
Review by: Jannelle
A Divided Loyalty by Charles Todd
Title: A Divided Loyalty
Author: Charles Todd
Review:
Detective Ian Rutledge is sent to investigate a cold murder case that seems to be punishment from his superior. Sent to Avery, a small village not far from Stonehenge, Detective Rutledge is not expecting to uncover anything new. But what he finds leads him back home to the people closest to him. I love the Ian Rutledge mysteries!
Review by: Jannelle
The Last Stargazers by Emily Levesque
Title: The Last Stargazers
Author: Emily Levesque
Review:
Have you ever wondered what astronomers actually do? It's a whole lot more than staring at the night sky through a telescope waiting for something interesting to happen. My understanding of astronomy and the people who engage in this fascinating science expanded 10x by reading this book.
Review by: Ben
How Music Can Make You Better by Indre Viskontas
Title: How Music Can Make You Better
Author: Indre Viskontas
Review:
How Music Can Make You Better is a thought provoking explanation of how and why humans are so impacted by Music. Viskontas explains in a reader-friendly fashion exactly how Music is understood by the brain and why every person has a unique perspective on the subject. I really enjoyed this book and love how it sheds light on a universal subject.
Review by: Bethany
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
Title: Legendborn
Author: Tracy Deonn
Review:
Bree Matthews can’t wait to get out of her small town in rural North Carolina. She hopes the University of North Carolina’s Early College Program will be her ticket out. However after the sudden death of her mother, Bree struggles to manage her class schedule and homework load while grieving the passing of her mother. To make matters worse, she begins to see strange things happening on campus, things that remind her of the night of her mother’s death. What are the strange creatures and simmering lights she sees? Who are the Lengendborn and how are they connected to her mother’s death?
Review by: Alex
You Be Mommy by Karla Clark
Title: You Be Mommy
Author: Karla Clark
Review:
You Be Mommy is a sweet story about a tired, working mom interacting with her young daughter. With fun rhymes and adorable illustrations, it’s one of my favorite new children’s books!
Review by: Bethany
The Loop by Ben Oliver
Title: The Loop
Author: Ben Oliver
Review:
Luka Kane has been falsely imprisoned in the Loop for just over 2 years. The Loop is the perfect prison system. It is run by Artificial Intelligence, requires only one human staff member and is impossible to escape. Then Luka receives a hand-written message from the warden: “Luka, you have to get out…” What follows brings to light what has been happening outside and causes Luka to wonder if escaping was a mistake. This is an excellent dystopian young adult novel. Loved it!
Review by: Jannelle
When we were young and brave by Hazel Gaynor
Title: When we were young and brave
Author: Hazel Gaynor
Review:
This book takes you on a emotional roller coaster. A story that most people are not aware that happened during World War II. The story takes place in a occupied china in a missionary boarding school. It tells of what children and teachers and had to endure. Truly a nightmare and horrific time in history that we should never forget. This was a gut wrenching story, but well researched and you could feel as if you were almost there.
Review by: Julie
Rough House by Tina Ontiveros
Title: Rough House
Author: Tina Ontiveros
Review:
Tina uses short snippets of her childhood memories to build a picture of life with Lloyd (her father) and how their relationship has shaped who she has become and, ultimately, how she is to love. Great book!
Review by: Jannelle
Original Wisdom by Robert Wolff
Title: Original Wisdom
Author: Robert Wolff
Review:
Sometimes a book comes along that really lets you see the world from a different point of view. This is such a book. The author spent time among aboriginal people of Malaysia, and he recounts his experiences in this book. There is such a contrast between traditional "hunter-gatherer" societies and the developed world. These stories gave me a new appreciation of the natural world and our place in it.
Review by: Ben
Learn the Bible in 24 Hours by Chuck Missler
Title: Learn the Bible in 24 Hours
Author: Dr. Chuck Missler
Review:
This is one of the best overviews of the Bible I have found. Chuck uses 24 chapters to explain how the Bible works together as a whole. To quote Chuck “It is absolutely astonishing how many controversies about the Bible evaporate once you recognize two things: the Bible is designed as a whole, not just in broad terms but down to the very letter, and time is not linear and absolute but a physical property that varies with mass, acceleration, and gravity.” How does Quantum Physics fit into an introduction to the Bible? You’ll have to read this to find out!
Review by: Jannelle
Storm and Fury by Jennifer L Armentrout
Title: Storm and Fury
Author: Jennifer L Armentrout
Review:
This is a steamy YA. Armentrout weaves a tail with Wardens, demons and angels.
Trinity lives among the a clan wardens, protected and trained by them. Strange things are afoot. Leaders of the clan from DC shows up with news, there has been killings of demons, and wardens. Trinity's Protector then gets taken by demons, she must then depend on the DC warden Zayne for help.. This is spicy wild book!
Review by: Julie
The Woman in the Dark by Vanessa Savage
Title: The Woman in the Dark
Author: Vanessa Savage
Review:
Sarah and her husband Patrick move back to his family home. Patrick has fond memories of his childhood and hopes that Sarah and their kids will fall in love with the house and small town. But much has transpired in the house since Patrick left and Sarah and the kids discover long hidden secrets. Great twisty mystery!
Review by: Jannelle
Angel Mage by Garth Nix
Title: Angel Mage
Author: Garth Nix
Review:
Garth Nix paints a world where certain humans are blessed with the ability to summon angels to do their bidding.
Unfortunately, a summoning goes horribly wrong in the angel Palleniel's country. Many of the citizens are turned into horrifying creatures. What was the trigger for the Ash Blood Plague? Can it be reversed?
Review by: Aly
How Innovation Works by Matt Ridley
Title: How Innovation Works
Author: Matt Ridley
Review:
Sometimes we think that breakthrough progress arrives with the brilliant idea of a lone inventor. But this is rarely the case. Most of the time it comes from the accumulation of many improvements and refinements on previous knowledge or methods.
Innovation is all around us, and its history is far more interesting than you might first expect.
Review by: Ben
Murder at the Mena House by Erica Ruth Neubauer
Title: Murder at the Mena House
Author: Erica Ruth Neubauer
Review:
Jane Wunderly, is a young widow in 1926 accompanying her aunt Millie on adventure to Egypt. They are staying at the wonderful Mena House taking in the wonders of Egypt. The worst Jane would have to deal with, she thought, was her aunt trying to set her up with a available rich man. This will soon to be the least of her problems when she is accused of murder. This romp of a mystery harks back to the golden era with a little of Agatha Christie mixed in. I could not put it down. Looking forward to the next in this series!!
Review by: Julie