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From Amazon.com...
This is the incredible story of the visionary engineer who built New York City’s first subway. The Secret Subway is the gripping tale of a man whose vision was years ahead of his time; a man whose dream was crushed by the greed and political jockeying for power that characterized the city in the days of Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall.
In the late 1860s New York was congested and dangerous, a place one terrified commentator described as "bedlam on wheels. "Alfred Beach, a multitalented young man, set out to solve the problem. Rather than just addressing the chaos on the streets, he looked deeper for a solution, into the very foundations of the city. He financed the subterranean project himself, and pledged his workers to secrecy. When the fruits of his plans were revealed the public raved about his new tunnel, single station and subway car. Many believed this new system would relieve some of the congestion aboveground, and could be the first step toward a wider transportation network. But perceiving such ideas as a direct threat to his power, Boss Tweed intervened. The subway system Beach envisioned remained buried in the realm of dreams.
Between 1900 and 1904, a subway line was finally built in NYC. Workers extending that line cut right into Beach’s tunnel, which remained intact. The station, tunnel, and car—except for the decaying wooden parts—were just as Beach had left them. To this day they lie buried beneath the city’s streets, an interred monument to a dream cruelly killed by political greed and jealousy.
Very interesting!
From Publisher's Weekly...
Sydney Taylor nominee..
Published posthumously, Perl’s moving WWII novel set in the Bronx traces a Jewish girl’s growing awareness of the atrocities occurring overseas. At first, 12-year-old Isabel views the war as an inconvenience, bemoaning new rationing rules and the growing shortages of luxury items. Similarly, she resents the arrival of Helga, a beautiful German refugee with “a swanlike neck, and luminous gray-green eyes,” who ends up living with Isabel’s family when Helga’s American guardian turns ill. But as Isabel gleans bits of information about Helga’s horrific experiences in Germany and in England, where she was delivered as part of the Kindertransport, Isabel’s heart gradually softens. Now her problem is getting others to believe Helga’s tales and persuading Helga that she is not to blame for what her family suffered. This coming-of-age story offers an authentic glimpse of the 1940s American war effort and corresponding sentiments while introducing a realistically flawed heroine whose well-meaning efforts sometimes backfire. A revelation about Helga’s past and the mystery of what happened to her immediate family members will whet appetites for the novel’s completed sequel.
Very good!
From Publisher's Weekly...
Like the superheroes he’s so fond of, cartoonist Gownley’s own “origin story” has its share of tragedy and triumph, though his doesn’t involve any dead relatives. As a teenager in a Pennsylvania small town, Gownley excelled at school and basketball (less so, at least initially, with getting girls to like him), but his true passion was drawing. His mantra-like refrain, “I still have my desk... some pencils... some paper,” centered the budding cartoonist, who wrote, drew, and self-published his own comic book at age 15, a task he found both trying and rewarding. It takes a few years and a couple dashed hopes, but eventually Gownley realizes that drawing inspiration from his own life into his comics is his life’s calling (and he learns not to neglect his personal relationships in the process). As in his Amelia Rules! series, Gownley plays it pretty straight visually, relying on an accessible, Peanuts-influenced style accompanied by effective hand lettering. It’s a deeply personal and genuine work of autobiography, and an open letter of assurance to aspiring artists everywhere. Ages 10–12.
Very good, although I don't really enjoy graphic novels...kids who do will like this book.
From Publisher's Weekly..
YA Edgar Nominee
In this provocative thriller, Bacigalupi (The Drowned Cities) traces the awakening of a smart, compassionate, and privileged girl named Alix Banks to ugly realities of contemporary life, while seeking to open readers’ eyes, as well. Alix’s life is thrown into disarray when an activist group targets her family, its eyes on her father’s powerful public relations business. Moses is a charismatic black teen living off the money from a settlement with a pharmaceutical company after one of its medications killed his parents. Along with four other brilliant teens who have lost family to this sort of legal/medical maleficence, Moses hopes to enlist Alix’s help to release incriminating data from her father’s files, à la Edward Snowden. This openly didactic novel asks challenging questions about the immorality of the profit motive and capitalism, but does so within the context of a highly believable plot (backed up with references to actual front groups, lawsuits, warning labels, and literature on the subject, which will send readers to their search engines) and well-developed, multifaceted characters. Fans of Cory Doctorow’s work should love this book. Ages 15–up.
This book is just ok...the main character is not believable..she says one thing and then does another. Too mature for middle school.
From Publisher's Weekly..
2015 Edgar nominee
Six months ago, 12-year-old Truly Lovejoy’s life was perfect: her military family had finally settled down in Texas, and she was beginning to make friends. That was before Truly’s army pilot father lost an arm in Afghanistan and decided to move the family to his hometown to take over his parents’ failing bookstore. This first installment of Frederick’s Pumpkin Falls Mystery series, starring an endearing middle schooler who bemoans both her name and her towering height, focuses on themes of adjustment, small-town life, and teamwork. Stuck in a “population you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me Pumpkin Falls, New Hampshire” during “the coldest winter on record,” Truly is distracted from her disappointment when she discovers a letter tucked inside one of the bookshop’s rarest books. Soon she’s on a treasure hunt, trying to find clues to a 20-year-old puzzle involving two young lovers. There are conflicts with bullies along the way, but Truly also makes an assortment of friends and acquaintances, including some eccentric citizens. Well- developed characters, a cozy community, and an intriguing mystery will warm hearts and pique readers’ curiosity. Ages 8–12.
Really good!
From Publisher's Weekly…
Sydney Taylor for Older Readers
Benjamin Epstein, 12, is having an epically bad year. His father’s death left the family saddled with medical bills, his mother loses her job, and his grandfather, Zeyde Jake, arrives unexpectedly to live with them, displaying pronounced signs of Alzheimer’s. Then, the landlord posts an eviction notice on their apartment door. Benjamin, however, is a mensch, determined to keep the promise he made to his dying father that he would take care of his mother. A contest buff, he pins his hopes on winning a $10,000 prize for the best new slogan for a brand of toilet paper. This is a profoundly sad story about a boy made to carry a heavy burden that ends, mercifully, on a hopeful note. Gephart (Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen) leavens the sadness with bathroom humor, but there’s a disconnect between the lowbrow humor and the heavier elements of the plot. Still, Ben is a character kids will root for, and he’s surrounded by family and friends who help him see things will be okay, a message that may comfort readers facing similar circumstances. Ages 9–12.
Excellent book! Good for middle school.
From Publisher's Weekly…
National Book Award Long List, Edgar, Agatha
Twelve-year-old Milo’s Christmas looks ruined when five eccentric guests arrive at his parents’ inn on the first day of vacation. But his new friend Meddy has other ideas, and soon the pair is investigating a series of thefts and creating alter egos based on the role-playing game Odd Trails. Milo’s new persona allows him to imagine his Chinese birth family without the guilt he usually feels toward his loving adoptive parents when he does so. The mysteries surrounding the guests and their connections to the inn unravel slowly, but Milo—with his resentment of the unexpected, his growing empathy, and his quick powers of deduction—is a well-drawn protagonist. Likewise, the fictional port of Nagspeake, whose daring smugglers face off against ruthless customs agents, makes for a unique and cozy setting, where Milo’s parents’ inn provides a refuge for “runners,” as the smugglers call themselves. The legends and folktales Milford (The Broken Lands) creates add to Nagspeake’s charm and gently prepare the ground for a fantasy twist. Ages 10–14.
Excellent! Complicated with lots of characters which requires close reading.
