Author: Darcy

Now through March 15^th teens who have read 3 of the 2016-2017 Soaring Eagle nominees can vote on which book they liked best, as well as nominate one for next year!

The best part about the Soaring Eagle books is the fact that these are teen-recommended titles. We’ve been astounded at the complexity and variety of this year’s nominees. This year, teens nominated genres such A magical realism (Bone Gap), non-fiction (Samurai Rising), and historical fiction (Salt to the Sea).

We’re hoping with the following books we can spark your interest but, if we haven’t yet, hold on!  We’ve got four more books on the Soaring Eagle list to discuss!

Bone Gap

Laura Ruby

Do we really see one another – deep inside? Have you ever felt that the way other people see you becomes the way you see yourself?  That’s how Finn feels: ever since his mother left him, and his older brother, Sean, behind in order to marry a man who didn’t want them, the people of Bone Gap see Finn and Sean as unlucky and pitiable, and they see themselves that way, too.

That is, until Roza comes to live with them. No one knows where Roza came from, or what her story is.  They just know that she brings joy and liveliness to the town of Bone Gap.

But when Roza disappears, the people of Bone Gap just accept it. After all, Bone Gap is a place of gaps — gaps people disappear into, gaps that trip you up. Sean just thinks Roza’s disappearance is more of his bad luck.  Finn, however, knows there’s a reason Roza disappeared — and it has to do with the scarecrow man who stole her.

The problem is, nobody in Bone Gap believes Finn, because nobody really sees him.   Nobody, that is, except his girlfriend, Petey – but when she comes to understand Finn’s deepest secret, even Petey loses her faith in him.

This book is an example of magical realism, a genre which blends a realistic story with elements of magic and fantasy.

Salt to the Sea

By Ruta Sepetys

As thousands of people fled Germany during the end of World War II, Florian the thief, the pregnant Emilia, Joanna the nurse, Opi the shoe poet and Klaus, the wondering boy, were among them. Together, they have witnessed the horrors of war, death and starvation in freezing temperatures. They believe they have found safety when they are all able to get aboard Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that will take them out of Germany and the invading forces of the Russians.

Twenty-two minus eleven—that’s how many safety boats are on the ship that is thousands of people over capacity. Alfred knows. He’s the German soldier who desperately seeks to earn the recognition of the Nazi’s.

They do not know that they are aboard a ship that will go down in history as the deadly shipwreck, dwarfing the casualties of the Titanic.

Faced with the violence and inhumanity of fighting for their survival, Florian, the thief, will have to decide between his secrets, secrets that could get him hunted and killed by the Germans, and the lives of his newfound friends. Who will make it off the ship alive and who will become nothing more than Salt to the Sea? (*This is a historical fiction: while the story is fabricated, the events are real.)

Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune

By Pamela S. Turner

Although he was destined to be one of the greatest samurai in history, Yoshitsune barely made it into adulthood. When he was a baby, his father kidnapped the emperor and tried to force Japanese royalty to acknowledge him as nobility, but samurai were not nobility during this time—they were the people nobility paid to do the dirty work.

Yoshitsune’s father and brothers were killed for his father’s failed coup, but his mother made a desperate plea—let three-year-old Yoshitsune live his life quietly and peacefully in a Buddhist monastery.

However, the call to be a samurai—to train in archery and hand-to-hand combat ran deep in Yoshitsune’s blood and he escaped the monastery at thirteen, disguised himself as a servant and sought warrior training so that he can exact revenge on the men who were responsible for the death of his family.

There are many odds against Yoshitsune—he has begun samurai training far later in life than the other boys, there are many enemies that could kill him on sight if they know who he is and, in Japanese politics, there’s no telling who will remain your friend and who will turn on you. Yoshitsune will face death in battle many times over and danger at the hands of his friends if he is to survive in this non-fiction account.

The Soaring Eagle Book Award nominees are generated by the recommendations of our teens in the state of Wyoming to promote reading. The teens nominate and, eventually, vote to award their favorite of ten nominee books each year. Although there are several criteria for a book to be considered for a Soaring Eagle nomination, my favorite is that the goal is simply to help our teens find “good” books. Often these are books that cover a wide range of topics and make relevant social observations.

YA staff and many other librarians throughout the building take pride in taking the time to read some, or all, of the Soaring Eagle Book Award nominees each year. YA staff spend days in the schools talking about the Soaring Eagle nominees to the teens in our community. In preparation for the school year, the library uses Campbell County Public Recreation District grant money to order a set of the award books for county agencies and district schools, so that students can have ready access to them. The teen volunteers at CCPLS  pack the books and mail them out in a memorable day that involves chaos, fun, packing, double-checking, triple checking, taping and un-taping boxes in order to get the correct books to their locations.

The books themselves cover a variety of genres and themes, from non-fiction, to fantasy, to historical fiction. Of particular interest to me this year was the theme of the ‘monster’. It was common in many of the books that were nominated. The monster is a person, an individual who is capable of inflicting harm on others. These people often lead us to questions about humanity. A book that tackles these themes can help us see the choices that we face and the consequences of them. Some of the situations the characters handle are relatable, as they could happen to anyone. Some are not. Yet the idea of choices, choices to stand up for what’s right, choices to fight against impossible odds, choices to decide what will happen next in the story, remains something that translates through all situations. The following book talks were given about stories that deal with these themes.

 Code of Honor

By Alan Gratz

Scrolled on a piece of paper was the code of honor that Darius and Kamran had lived by since they were little. 1—Be the strongest of the strong, 2—Be the bravest of the brave, 3—Help the helpless, 4—Always tell the truth, 5—Be loyal, 6—Never give up, 7—Kill all monsters. Only now, as the whole world is watching, Darius appears to have violated that code by betraying the elite Army Rangers and joining al-Qaeda. Kamran, a senior in high school, a football star, the homecoming king, is seeing his world turned upside-down. There are news reporters camped on his front lawn and no one but Kamran believes that Darius is innocent with his regular appearances on TV, personally taking responsibility for attacking Americans overseas. But Kamran does not believe it. He knows the code that he and Darius live by and he is determined to find the truth for himself, to prove that his brother is committed to their code of honor.

When Kamran himself is kidnapped, questioned and held prisoner by Homeland Security, he must convince them that he, a senior in high school, knows what the rest of the country does not believe—that Darius is innocent and he is trying to warn Kamran through a code that only they know that worse acts of terrorism are coming. Can Kamran prove that Darius is innocent and save the lives of thousands of people?

Violent Ends

By Various Authors, including, Shaun Hutchinson, Neal Shusterman, and Kendare Blake

Violent Ends is not a story about the actual shooting that took place at Middleborough High. It’s about Kirby, the boy who pulled the trigger and killed five classmates and one teacher. This book is told from seventeen points of view. Some of the stories happen before the shooting, some after, and a few take place during the shooting. The stories range from years before the shooting and to months after. Kirby’s sister has her own story about how she deals with the fact that her brother is a monster who ripped her and her family’s lives apart. Another story is told from the point of view of Billie, the new girl at school who was just trying to get the perfect picture. There is even a story from the point of view of the gun that Kirby used. The gun tells a beautiful story about its time before entering Kirby’s life and also its time with Kirby leading up to the moment before the shooting.

All American Boys

By Jason Reynolds

Rashad is an artist and a member of ROTC who happens to be an African American. He decided to go to the store and pick up some chips, something he has done many times. However, this time as Rashad is kneeling by his bag to collect his money, a lady trips over him. The cop only sees Rashad kneeling by his bag, making it look as if he is trying to steal the chips. Rashad tries to explain what has happened, but the cop does not listen. He pummels Rashad for “resisting” arrest. The cop ends up putting Rashad in the hospital causing the graffiti art that started everything “RASHAD IS ABSENT AGAIN TODAY”.

Quinn, a white kid saw everything, but he is not sure what exactly he saw. He knows he saw his best friend’s brother, a person who is like a big brother to him, beat the crap out of a fellow student. He keeps the fact that he saw it silent for a while, because he believes someone has to have caught it on camera.

Someone did catch it on camera, and it does not look good; splitting the school and the nation down the middle. People start blaming “racism” and “police brutality”. As it turns out, prejudice didn’t die after the civil rights movement. Know we fight for a future where no one will be absent due to police brutality.