Hedy's folly : the life and breakthrough inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the most beautiful woman in the world by Richard Rhodes.

I love this book because we don't often hear about super intelligent women and their inventions particularly ones who are also movie stars!
Presents the life of legendary film star Hedy Lamarr, including her involvement in the breakthrough invention spread-spectrum radio alongside composer George Antheil. c2011
Subjects:
Lamarr, Hedy, 1913-2000.
Actresses -- United States -- Biography.
Motion picture actors and actresses -- United States -- Biography.
Spread spectrum communications.

WHAT IS SPREAD-SPECTRUM RADIO? Spread-spectrum techniques are methods by which a signal (e.g. an electrical, electromagnetic, or acoustic signal) generated in a particular bandwidth is deliberately spread in the frequency domain, resulting in a signal with a wider bandwidth. These techniques are used for a variety of reasons, including the establishment of secure communications, increasing resistance to natural interference, noise and jamming, to prevent detection, and to limit power flux density (e.g. in satellite downlinks).
from wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spread_spectrum

Forks over knives : the plant-based way to health edited by Gene Stone ; foreword by T. Colin Campbell and Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr.

Check out the life-altering movie trailer here.
Introduces a whole-foods, plant based diet, including information on how to adopt and maintain this way of eating, details about the benefits of these foods, success stories, and 125 recipes. c2011
Subjects: Vegetables in human nutrition.
Fruit in human nutrition.
Vegetarian cooking.
Nutritionally induced diseases.

The invention of Hugo Cabret : a novel in words and pictures by Brian Selznick.

Check out the 2011 movie trailer here. 
When twelve-year-old Hugo, an orphan living and repairing clocks within the walls of a Paris train station in 1931, meets a mysterious toyseller and his goddaughter, his undercover life and his biggest secret are jeopardized.
Copyright c2007.

Subjects:
Méliès, Georges, 1861-1938.
Railroad stations -- France -- Paris.
Robots -- Fiction.
Orphans -- Fiction.
Paris (France) -- History -- 1870-1940.
France -- History -- Third Republic, 1870-1940 -- Juvenile fiction.
Paris (France) -- History -- 1870-1940 -- Fiction.

It gets better: coming out, overcoming bullying, and creating a life worth living Edited by Dan Savage and Terry Miller

A collection of testimonials written to teenagers from celebrities, political leaders, and other individuals on the happiness they found in life after they suffered through bullying and torment in their youths because of their sexual orientation. Copyright 2011
Subjects:
Gay teenagers.
Coming out (Sexual orientation)
Bullying.
Quality of life.
Happiness.

Planting the Trees of Kenya by C. Nivola

A children's books tells the story of Wangari Maathai, a native Kenyan who taught the people living in the highlands how to plant trees and care for the land.
Subjects:
Maathai, Wangari.
Biography -- Juvenile literature.
Women conservationists.
Kenya.
Kenyans.
Women politicians.
Conservationists.

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

Murakami's latest novel is powerfully intriguing with all the fantasy and mystery of a novel written within the genre of magical realism. He is my most favorite author- capturing all the elements that make reading novels worthwhile.

BOOKLIST: Murakami writes two kinds of novels: short, intimate, crystalline portraits of lovers, often trapped in alternate worlds or struggling between secret selves that submerge the reader in a tidal wave of story. When Murakami melds fantasy and realism, mystery and epic, it is no simple genre-bending exercise; rather, it is literary alchemy of the highest order. This foray into what is unquestionably Murakami's most vividly imagined parallel world begins simply, with two seemingly ordinary events: two lonely 10-year-olds, a boy and a girl, Tengo and Aomame, hold hands in an empty classroom, and for the next 20 years, while never seeing one another, they dream of meeting but are strangely paralyzed to make it happen.
Then Aomame, a 30-year-old woman in 1984 and an assassin who kills men who abuse women walks down an emergency exit from a Tokyo expressway and finds herself in another world, which she calls 1Q84, a world overseen by two moons and ruled, apparently, by the quixotic little people.
Meanwhile, Tengo has rewritten a novel by an enigmatic 17-year-old girl that accurately describes the world of 1Q84. As the lives of Tengo, Aomame, and a Dostoyevskian private investigator, who works for a religious cult that worships the little people, swirl closer and closer together, Murakami draws the reader deeper and deeper into this utterly baffling universe, switching narration between the three principal characters, each of whom grasps only a small part of their two-mooned world. Gradually but inexorably, the tension builds, as we root passionately for Tengo and Aomame to find one another and hold hands again, so simple a human connection offering a kind of oasis in the midst of the unexplainable and the terrifying.
Subject:
Love story.
Mystery -- Fiction.
Fantasy -- Fiction.

DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth 2011

In a future Chicago, sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomoly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all.

Subject:
Identity -- Fiction.
Families -- Fiction.
Courage -- Fiction.
Social classes -- Fiction.
Science fiction.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

NIX PIX-
This is a book that is accessible and will appeal to many. Narrated and told from the dog’s perspective, it has elements of suspense, action, love, major family drama, and deals with life and death in an inspirational manner. While the subject headings say dogs and race car drivers, it is so much more. I loved it and highly recommend to all. Please give yourself a special treat and read this book.

Subjects:
Dogs Fiction.
Automobile racing drivers Fiction.

Summary from book: Enzo, the dog of professional race car driver Denny Swift, recalls the memories of his life and shares his insight into the human condition that he learned from observing his owner.

Lexile Measure: 850

Reviews & Awards
Booklist 03/15/08 Teacher Librarian 02/01/10
Kirkus Review 03/01/08 Wilson's Fiction 03/01/09
Library Journal 04/01/08

Hero by Perry Moore

This is not your typical coming-of-age novel and Thom Creed is not your typical hero. He is a human with superhuman powers and...he's gay. It’s an enchanting story about the complicated relationship between a father and son, how to navigate and survive family and circumstances, how to trust and believe in you, and ultimately how to accept yourself. Perry Moore captures all those issues while maintaining the lightness of a superhero fantasy. The plot has intrigue and suspense that will keep you reading late into the night to find out what Thom’s secrets are and who knows them. I would easily recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

Destroy all cars by Blake Nelson-Environmental Fiction

This story is part of another popular and growing genre, Environmental Fiction.
This review is from Horn Book starred (September, 2009)
"Seventeen-year-old James would "destroy all cars" to save Earth from global warming. Through journal entries and AP English assignments/rants, he also chronicles unrequited pining for his "do-gooder" ex-girlfriend, parental demands, and his hilarious relationship with his English teacher. Consumer culture has been covered before, but James's thoroughly amusing combination of angst, idealism, narcissism, and nihilism makes this new treatment very welcome indeed."

Earthgirl by Jennifer Cowan- an Eco-thriller

When 16-year old Sabine Solomon's confrontation with a littering minivan driver is captured on YouTube, she begins documenting her increasing social awareness on her "earthgirl" blog. Her new passion is met with resistance from family and friends so when she finds a like-mind in Vray, a fellow eco-warrior and a romantic interest- she feels supported and hopeful. However, when she is asked to go against her beliefs, her life takes a dark turn.

The Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd- an Eco-thriller

This books belongs to a burgeoning genre known as ECO-THRILLERS!
A progressive concept – “compulsory carbon cards for all citizens- 200 points per month.” The destruction and despair caused by severe weather conditions and a desperate government make for thought-provoking reading about both Mother Nature and human nature. The author has created a storyline, while heavy with global concerns, is accessible and appropriate for all students to read. Everyone is issued a card that tracks their allowable use of carbon for the year. This limits everything from cell phone use to all utilities including heating, water, travel, and the purchase of anything that has been transported over a distance, including food. There is some British slang but not overwhelming enough to cause comprehension problems. Plus, it is full of visuals that Laura pastes in her diary- fliers, charts, diagrams, and images from her life and experiences during her family crises and the climate crisis in her country.
Includes a glossary of Eco-Terms and a page of Eco-Links.

Freakonomics: a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner 2009

This was such a refreshing, stimulating book with provocative ponderings; I had to write it up. Levitt is an economist at the University of Chicago; Dubner is an award-winning author and journalist. They collaborated to explore the economics of real-world issues often viewed as insignificant, such as the extent to which the Roe v. Wade decision affected violent crime, and examine hidden incentives behind all sorts of human behavior. Some obscure questions Levitt attempts to explain and measure are:
What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?
How much do parents matter?
Why do drug dealers still live with their moms?
How is the Ku Klux Klan like a group of real-estate agents?
His answers are hilarious and thought-provoking. The reading level is easy enough to be accessible to all readers interested in asking questions about the “hidden side of everything.”

Paper Towns by John Green

This story is a mystery for sure and will keep your attention if you like the main character, Quentin. He is a very bright, sort of dorky, high school student in love with his beautiful and elusive neighbor, Margo. After she disappears, he becomes obsessed with finding her. Although I seemed fixated on the book at the time, I think I had to I make myself finish the book. Quentin is rather preoccupied with himself and his friends which I found to be a little boring. Some of the middle plotline was tedious but overall it is a good solid story. The author, John Green, seems to write for a very contemporary masculine audience and generation. I think some of our Metro boys might find his stories really good- An Abundance of Katherines and Looking for Alaska are both very popular books for guys and girls by John Green. I say try it out- read a few pages and see if it’s for you. It’s on the Grand Canyon Reader Awards list so teenagers in Arizona must like it!

Zombie Blondes by Brian James

A standard young adult story with typical high school issues like popularity and cliques but with a Zombie twist. I actually enjoyed this story. It was a quick read and not monotonous or predictable. A few curve-balls in the plot keep it suspenseful and I really liked the main character, Hannah. She is smart and tough with an unassuming beauty. A welcome break from the heavy and deep topics like war and abuse that are common in YA stories. Guys will like it a lot even though the main character is a girl. The author is a pretty cool dude after all. He wrote Pure Sunshine and Tomorrow, Maybe which are both popular with the guys.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

This was my favorite read of summer 2009! I love strong female protagonists especially in suspenseful political plots that require physical and intellectual strength to survive. Katniss, the main character, and her story, The Hunger Games, meets all these requirements and has a science fiction bonus- a futuristic setting with a barbaric government-sponsored reality TV show starring teens from different districts. It’s a gladiator-type competition with teenagers fighting each other and battling man-made weather conditions to stay alive because the last one alive wins! It’s a just-right combination for an action-packed survival story with just enough romance that I think all guys and girls will love it as much as I did. It meets all the criteria for a great YA-Young Adult novel and makes for great discussions and book talks. An average Lexile level, I recommend to any and all who love survival, suspense, and sci-fi.
Knight Readers- do you want to read it this year????

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

This work of historical fiction is told with such a uniquely inventive style and voice it tops my list of favorites this year. The story, which takes place during World War II in Germany, is told by Death himself. He is a surprisingly sensitive narrator who struggles to understand the horrible circumstances surrounding the war and the demise of so many human beings. One story that Death cannot forget is that of a German girl, Liesl, who unintentionally becomes a “book thief.” Her story takes us through the madness of Nazi Germany but with Zusak’s style and Death’s voice it is somehow bearable. While the setting is grim, the plot is filled with memorable characters conveying messages about human endurance and the power of words to heal and lift the human spirit. It jumps time periods and is philosophical in nature so I recommend mature readers take their time and commit to this book. Its unique style and historical story make it worth your time and effort.

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

Matteo Alacran was not born, he was harvested in a Petri dish and placed in the womb of a cow where he went from embryo to baby. His DNA came from El Patron, a 140 year old lord of country called Opium- a strip of poppy fields lying between the United States and what was once called Mexico. The fields are worked by “eejits,” clones controlled by brain implants. Matt is a boy but most people view clones as monsters so he endures many struggles, psychological and physical, and has to escape evil hands more than once. It’s an action packed sci-fi futuristic thriller with major ethical issues brought to light and I LOVED IT. It’s thought-provoking and imaginative plot that looks at the social implications of technological advances is also an inspiring coming-of-age story.
Certain aspects of the story will be relevant to our Mexican-American students who will recognize the land areas and many of us will relate to the border issues like drug trafficking and illegal immigration. Farmer's sci-fi twist on these real-life issues gives readers many interesting ideas to ponder. It makes this book an excellent choice for literature circles or book clubs!

Almost Dead by Charlie Huston

Another vampire series but this one by crime fiction author, Charlie Huston, is strictly for adults and mature readers only. Huston's preference for the hardboiled style of crime fiction make this a popular read with fans of hard-core or pulp fiction. Joe Pitt, an anarchist detective of sorts, is the main character who happens to be a Vampyre with no affiliation to the Zombies, or Clans, or Coalition of Mahattan in New York City. This makes his life a roller coaster of non-stop action with fear and violence. Since the language and content of this book are so rough it can be found in our Faculty Collection. If you think you can handle the graphic nature of this story, there are two other books in the series owned by Metro Tech: Half the Blood of Brooklyn and No Dominion.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

Murakami is one of my most treasured authors and this is my favorite work from him so far. Wind-Up Bird is a surreal mystery woven with history and Murakami's characteristic realm of mysticism. When the main character's wife goes missing, Toru finds himself looking for her in a netherworld of Tokyo filled with bizarre characters and events. Murakami's art of intrigue keeps the pages turning with anticipation of the next mysterious event. I recommend this book for more advanced readers or for those with a taste for the surreal.