Review: BOMB

 

BOMB by Steve Sheinkin

“Bomb: The Race to Build -and Steal- The World’s Most Dangerous Weapon” by Steve Sheinkin is a non-fiction book about the events surrounding the development of the atomic bomb. The book goes back and forth between the development of the bomb and the efforts of Russian spies to steal the plans. Intermingled in these two major plots are glimpses of the Norwegian resistance and their efforts to prevent Germany from building their own bomb.

Review: Everyday

Everyday by David Levithan

What would it be like to wake up in a different body everyday? Would you like getting a glimpse into the lives of many different people? Would you long to stay in one place? Moving from one body to another is not a hypothetical question for A. It is A’s life.

A is 16 years old, and therefore only inhabits the bodies of 16 year olds. A is does not identify as being a boy or girl, but takes on the gender of the body s/he is inhabiting for the day. A is fine with this, and through the years has learned how to live inside someone without disrupting that person’s life. Until A meets Rhiannon and falls in love.

Rhiannon is the only person A can think about. Instead of making the day of the person whose body s/he is in habiting as normal as possible, A spend his/her days traveling to see Rhiannon and convince her, and him/herself that a relationship is possible. Soon, though, A loses track of things and messes with the life of the wrong boy. A no longer feels safe, and finds out that s/he might not be alone.

This book is engaging from the first page to the last. I could not put it down, and had to know what happens to A. Does A find a way to make it work with Rhiannon, or get over her? Or maybe A falls in love with someone else. It was easy to identify with A, and I enjoyed reading about the world through this unique lense. The only thing I wanted more of was the other beings that were like A. The plot introduces readers to a “Bad” one, but what about another “good” one? And how did A come into existence, anyway?

I liked Everyday and felt like I couldn’t read fast enough to find out what comes next. At the end, though, I still had many questions that were left unanswered. Sequel, please?

Coming Soon

Coming Soon:

A blog post.

It'll happen.

Soon.

My First Week of Work

A photographic look at my first week of work.

Monday

Just walked in looking awesome

 

Tuesday

Made sure people knew I was serious and not one to be messed with.

I was feared.

 

Wednesday

Thursday

I showed my skillz and demanded respect.

Friday

This library don't know what hit it.

Book Expo of America

Standing in front of the book cover for Julianne Moore's
new children's book. I had my poster signed

Have you ever been to a magical land where everyone is happy to walk around for hours while carrying big heavy bags of books? A land where those people are happy to carry the books because they are free and are practically thrown at you? But not actually thrown, because that would hurt and people would not be as happy, but you get what I'm saying. The books are free, and there are a lot of them. And there is a lot of chocolate, too. Books and chocolate and other free stuff, oh my!

I have been to this magical place. It is called Book Expo of America.

Review: Trinity

Trinity A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb
by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm

"All this work, whether it's lining up dominoes or enriching uranium, builds toward one single moment: the moment when what was once impossible becomes unavoidable. In that moment the logic of the chain reaction takes over. The fire will only stop when there is nothing left to burn."
      -From Trinity, page 51

Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm is a graphic telling of how the bombs that were released over Hiroshima and Nagasaki were released. The story starts with Marie Curie and her husband discovering polonium and radium, and Ernest Rutherford's discovery of the nucleus. Fetter-Vorm includes a lot of scientific information such as atomic structure and the properties of different elements. All of this information enriches his story telling, and helps the reader have a better understanding of the work that went into creating the bombs and the resulting destruction.

Review: Love That Dog

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech is a novel told through poetry. It is written from the point of view of Jack, 5th grader who hates poetry and thinks it's for girls. To Jack's chagrin, his teacher is making the class read and write poetry. Even worse, she wants to put some of the poems Jack wrote on the wall for the entire class to read. Jack reluctantly agrees to let her, under the condition that his work remain anonymous. Gradually, Jack learns that poetry is not only for girls, and that there are poems that he actually likes. He also learns to be proud of his work and is willing to claim his poems.