Survivors Club by Michael Bornstein and Debbie Bornstein Holinstat - ESSENTIAL

Survivors Club: The True Story of a Very Young Prisoner of Auschwitz by Michael Bornstein and Debbie Bornstein Holinstat, 344 pages.  Farrar Straus Giroux, 2017.  $17.  

Content: Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: PG-13.  

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS – ESSENTIAL  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH  

Michael Bornstein was the youngest child to survive Auschwitz.  In this harrowing story, Michael tells of his family’s experience in Poland during World War II.  Michael was born shortly after the war started, but through research among his family members he paints a vivid picture of the losses suffered by Polish Jews.  He explains his father’s role as a mediator between the German soldiers and the Jewish community and his mother’s strength in the work camp as well as Aushwitz.  After Aushwitz is liberated, Michael tells of some of the hardships of coming home and moving on.  

I devoured this book in two days.  I listened to the audio book read by Fred Berman (who did an outstanding job) and it is heartbreaking yet hopeful.  Michael’s daughter Debbie helped him write this story and together they did a masterful job.  The violence is super upsetting, including executions and implied sexual assault, but it is never gratuitously graphic.  This is an important read and is well done.  

C. Peterson

Runaways by Christopher Golden - OPTIONAL

Golden, Christopher. Runaways, 348 pgs. Marvel Press (Disney Book Group), 2018. Language – R (88 swears plus 4 more in the tag story after the ending, 0 “f”), Mature Content – PG13 (homosexual and heterosexual couples); Violence – PG13; 

The Runaways are five friends united by their unique abilities and literally murderous parents. They didn’t think their situation could get more complicated after killing their evil parents and having to go on the run, but they were wrong: their parents weren’t the only group murdering innocent people for power. Now that the Runaways know that evil is still running amok in LA, the five must decide what they can—and should—do before more lives are lost.

This book makes references to seasoned Marvel characters, like the Avengers, but the Runaways are more similar to Marvel’s Spiderman. The five members of the Runaways are all under 18 years old, and, while they have been forced to grow up quickly, I like that they are so real as they are trying to find their place in this world—only on a slightly more complicated level than the normal teenager. As the story started out, I found the progression slow and switching between all five points of view complicated, but it grew on me. The Runaways’ story is not over, but I love these new heroes.

Note: There is a bonus short graphic story at the end of the book that has nothing to do with the main story besides the same characters.

HS - OPTIONAL. Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen.

Ten Days a Madwoman by Deborah Noyes - ADVISABLE

Noyes, Deborah  Ten Days a Madwoman, 122 pgs.  Viking, 2016.  $18.99  Content: Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: PG.   

A twenty-year old Nellie Bly wanted to make a name for herself as a credible woman reporter.  She was tired of the limits placed on women in journalism, with the news topics staying in traditional female roles, such as fashion and recipes.  Looking for a job in New York, she posed as an insane woman in order to get inside Blackwell Insane Asylum and report on the conditions there.  The story she acquired there pushed her career into the public’s eye and she reported many exciting stories from then on.   

This book is a pretty complete, yet simple, biography about Nellie Bly.  Although the title implies that it will be about her time inside the asylum, that was a small part of her whole life story.  Nellie Bly made many important social challenges known to the public and was an interesting historical figure.  The format of this book is a bit jostled because it flashes between the news stories she is working on and her past.  I think it would be a great addition to your library especially if your students have to do biographies.   

MS, HS – ADVISABLE.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Darkmouth: The Legend Begins by Shane Hegarty, illustrations by James de la Rue - ADVISABLE

Hegarty, Shane.  Darkmouth: The Legend Begins, illustrations by James de la Rue.  Harper, 2015.  $16.99.  403 Pages.  Violence: PG.  Language: G (1 swear).  Sexual content: G.

Darkmouth is the last blighted village where legends (monsters) still enter the mortal world and attack people.  Twelve-year-old Finn’s family has been legend hunters for generations, keeping the village safe.  His dad is a legendary hunter and everyone expects Finn to take over the family business.  Except, Finn is the worst legend hunter ever and deep down he doesn’t even want to be a legend hunter.  Finn doesn’t have any friends and until Emmie, a new girl arrives.  A legend arrives, a hogboon, named Broonie who tells Finn that he is a part of a prophecy, “The Legends are rising, the boy shall fall.”  Emmie isn’t who he thinks she is and a close family friend betrays them.  Finn must find his courage to save not only his family, but maybe the world.  This first book in the series starts strong.  Finn is a likeable character who feels forced into a life path he doesn’t want and doesn’t quite fit in.  The town and its history are both intriguing; as well as, the nefarious legends.  The plot moves quickly with lots of action which is sure to appeal to both boys and girls.  The black and white illustrations are perfectly monstrous and help create the tone of the story.  "Darkmouth" is a new and promising modern fantasy series. 

EL-ADVISABLE.  Samantha Hastings, MA, MLS.   

Forever Red (Black Widow) by Margaret Stohl - ESSENTIAL

Stohl, Margaret Forever Red (Black Widow), 399 pages.  Marvel (Disney), 2015.  $18.

Violence: PG-13 (like every Avengers Movie); Mature Content: G; Language: PG (20+ swears, 0 ‘f’)

MS, HS - ESSENTIAL

Natasha Romanoff can pretend that it was coincidence that has brought her into the path of the teenagers, Dante and Ava, and coincidence that brought Dante and Ava to each other’s attention, but at some point she is going to have to stop pretending.  All of them are running toward Ivan - the man who molded Natasha in the Black Widow, the man who used Ava, the man who will kill them if they get in his way.  Never let it be said that Black Widow shirks from danger - she will rush into with eyes wide open.

Stohl does a fantastic job of mimicking the adrenalin rush of an Avengers movie while tackling back story for one of the most human of all of the characters.  

Cindy, Library Teacher