A Child Called It
About the Title
A Child Called It: One Child's Courage to Survive (1995) Pelzer, D. Deerfield, FL Health Communications Inc Call # : 362.76 Pel This book chronicles the unforgettable account of one of the most severe child abuse cases in California history. It is the story of Dave Pelzer, who was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games--games that left him nearly dead. He had to learn how to play his mother's games in order to survive because she no longer considered him a son, but a slave; and no longer a boy, but an "it." Dave's bed was an old army cot in the basement, and his clothes were torn and raunchy. When his mother allowed him the luxury of food, it was nothing more than spoiled scraps that even the dogs refused to eat. The outside world knew nothing of his living nightmare. He had nothing or no one to turn to, but his dreams kept him alive--dreams of someone taking care of him, loving him and calling him their son. Read Review Written in Destiny by other Tri-County patrons.
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About the Author
Click to visit the author's website Click to read a 2004 interview at the Gaurdian with Dave Pelzer about turning adversity to his advantage. Click below to watch interview with Pelzer about his own child abuse and his writing as well as another clip of Pelzer talking with Larry King about his childhood. |
The Bitter Side of Sweet
About the Title
The Bitter Side of Sweet (2016) Sullivan, T. New York, NY : RandomHouse Call #: Fic SUL Fifteen-year-old Amadou counts the things that matter. For two years what has mattered are the number of cacao pods he and his younger brother, Seydou, can chop down in a day. This number is very important. The higher the number the safer they are because the bosses won’t beat them. The higher the number the closer they are to paying off their debt and returning home to Moke and Auntie. Maybe. The problem is Amadou doesn’t know how much he and Seydou owe, and the bosses won’t tell him. The boys only wanted to make some money during the dry season to help their impoverished family. Instead they were tricked into forced labor on a plantation in the Ivory Coast; they spend day after day living on little food and harvesting beans in the hot sun—dangerous, backbreaking work. With no hope of escape, all they can do is try their best to stay alive—until Khadija comes into their lives. She’s the first girl who’s ever come to camp, and she’s a wild thing. She fights bravely every day, attempting escape again and again, reminding Amadou what it means to be free. But finally, the bosses break her, and what happens next to the brother he has always tried to protect almost breaks Amadou. The old impulse to run is suddenly awakened. The three band together as family and try just once more to escape. Tara Sullivan, the award-winning author of the astounding Golden Boy, delivers another powerful, riveting, and moving tale of children fighting to make a difference and be counted. Inspired by true-to-life events happening right now, The Bitter Side of Sweet is an exquisitely written tour de force not to be missed. |
About the Author
Click to visit the author's website Click to read a review by teens like you on TeenReads. Click below to watch BBC coverage of child slavery in cocoa industry, the subject of Sullivan's book- The Bitter Side of Sweet. Read Review Written in Destiny by other Tri-County patrons.
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The Body of Christopher Creed
About the Title
The Body of Christopher Creed (2000) Plum-Ucci, C. Orlando, FLk : Harcourt Call #: Fic PLU Chris Creed grew up as the class freak—the bullies’ punching bag. After he vanished, the weirdness that had once surrounded him began spreading. And it tore the town apart. Sixteen-year-old Torey Adams’s search for answers opens his eyes to the lies, the pain, and the need to blame someone when tragedy strikes, and his once-safe world comes crashing down around him. Read Review Written in Destiny by other Tri-County patrons.
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About the Author
Click to visit the author's website Click to read book review by teens like you on Teen Ink website. Click below to watch Carol Plum Ucci talk about the follow up to her book. |
Calico Joe
About the Title
Calico Joe (2012) Grisham, J. New York, NY: Doubleday Press Call #: Fic Gri Also Available as EBook and AudioBook A surprising and moving novel of fathers and sons, forgiveness and redemption, set in the world of Major League Baseball… Whatever happened to Calico Joe? It began quietly enough with a pulled hamstring. The first baseman for the Cubs AAA affiliate in Wichita went down as he rounded third and headed for home. The next day, Jim Hickman, the first baseman for the Cubs, injured his back. The team suddenly needed someone to play first, so they reached down to their AA club in Midland, Texas, and called up a twenty-one-year-old named Joe Castle. He was the hottest player in AA and creating a buzz. In the summer of 1973 Joe Castle was the boy wonder of baseball, the greatest rookie anyone had ever seen. The kid from Calico Rock, Arkansas dazzled Cub fans as he hit home run after home run, politely tipping his hat to the crowd as he shattered all rookie records. Calico Joe quickly became the idol of every baseball fan in America, including Paul Tracey, the young son of a hard-partying and hard-throwing Mets pitcher. On the day that Warren Tracey finally faced Calico Joe, Paul was in the stands, rooting for his idol but also for his Dad. Then Warren threw a fastball that would change their lives forever… In John Grisham’s new novel the baseball is thrilling, but it’s what happens off the field that makes CALICO JOE a classic. Read Review Written in Destiny by other Tri-County patrons.
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About the Author
Click to visit the author's website Click to listen to a 2012 NPR interview between Scott Simon and Grisham about writing Calico Joe. Click to read book reviews by teens like you on Teen Ink website for Bleachers, Playing for Pizza, and Calico Joe. Click below to watch UNC 2010 commencement speech about life and writing as well as click below to view Grisham speak with Matt Lauer about Playing for Pizza |
The Caves of Steel
About the Title
The Caves of Steel (1991) Asimov, I. New York, NY: Bantam Press Call #: Fic ASI Also available as ebook A millennium into the future two advancements have altered the course of human history: the colonization of the galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain. Isaac Asimov's Robot novels chronicle the unlikely partnership between a New York City detective and a humanoid robot who must learn to work together. Like most people left behind on an over-populated Earth, New York City police detective Elijah Baley had little love for either the arrogant Spacers or their robotic companions. But when a prominent Spacer is murdered under mysterious circumstances, Baley is ordered to the Outer Worlds to help track down the killer. The relationship between Life and his Spacer superiors, who distrusted all Earthmen, was strained from the start. Then he learned that they had assigned him a partner: R. Daneel Olivaw. Worst of all was that the "R" stood for robot--and his positronic partner was made in the image and likeness of the murder victim! Read Reviews Written in Destiny by other Tri-County patrons.
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About the Author
Click to visit the "Asimov Online" website where you will find great information. Click to read this 1988 interview with Asimov. Click to read this book review by teens like you on Teen Ink website. Click below to watch Asimov talk with David Letterman about his life. |
Cemetery Boys
About the Title
Cemetery Boys (2020) Thomas A, New York, NY Swoon Reads. Call #: Fic Tho Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can't get rid of him. When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his true gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free. However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school's resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He's determined to find out what happened and tie off some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave. Read Reviews Written in Destiny by other Tri-County patrons.
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About the Author
Click to visit the author’s website Click to read a 2020 NPR interview with Thomas about Family, Identity and his book. Click to read a 2020 Kirkus Review of this title. Click below to watch Aiden Thomas discuss his book with Adam Silvera |
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
About the Title
The curious Incident of the dog in the Night-Time (2003) Haddon, M. New York, NY : Vintage Press Call #: Fic Had Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow. This improbable story of Christopher's quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog makes for one of the most captivating, unusual, and widely heralded novels in recent years. Read Reviews Written in Destiny by other Tri-County patrons.
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About the Author
Click to visit the author's website Click to read to a 2004 The Guardian interview with Haddon about hisbook. Click to read book review by teens like you on Teen Ink website. Click below to watch Mark Haddon talk about the background on how he wrote his book. |
An Educated Death
About the Title
An educated Death (1997) Flora, K. New York : Tom Doherty Assts. Call #: Fic FLO When a young girl drowns at a private New England high school, tough businesswoman Thea Kozak faces what may be her most tragic mystery yet. The death rocks the world of privileged academia, and Thea is called in to counsel the students and faculty and to reevaluate the school's questionable safety procedures. But when Thea discovers that the young victim was pregnant, all hell breaks loose. the deeper Thea digs, the more nasty secrets she finds--the type of nasty secrets that "perfect" people can't admit to. And this time, the truth won't set anyone free.... |
About the Author
Click to visit the author's website Click to read a 2001 Books n' Bytes interview with Flora about her book. Click to read book review by Kirkus Reviews. Click the link to watch Flora talk about her works at Curtis Memorial Library in 2012. Read Reviews Written in Destiny by other Tri-County patrons.
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Endangered
About the Title
Endangered (2012) Schrefer, E. New York, NY : Scholastic Press Call #: Fic SCH From National Book Award Finalist Eliot Schrefer comes the compelling tale of a girl who must save a group of bonobos -- and herself -- from a violent coup. Congo is a dangerous place, even for people who are trying to do good. When Sophie has to visit her mother at her sanctuary for bonobos, she’s not thrilled to be there. Then Otto, an infant bonobo, comes into her life, and for the first time she feels responsible for another creature. But peace does not last long for Sophie and Otto. When an armed revolution breaks out in the country, the sanctuary is attacked, and the two of them must escape unprepared into the jungle. Caught in the crosshairs of a lethal conflict, they must struggle to keep safe, to eat, and to live. In ENDANGERED, Eliot Schrefer plunges us into a heart-stopping exploration of the things we do to survive, the sacrifices we make to help others, and the tangled geography that ties us all, human and animal, together. |
About the Author
Click to visit the author's website Click to read a National Book Foundation 2012 interview with Eliot schrefer about his book. Click to read book review by The New York Times. Click below to view the Eliot talking about the inspiration for his writing. Read Reviews Written in Destiny by other Tri-County patrons.
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Foundation
About the Title
Foundation (1942) Asimov, I. New York, NY: Gnome Press Call #: Fic Asi For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. Only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future—a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save humanity, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire—both scientists and scholars—and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for future generations. He calls this sanctuary the Foundation. But soon the fledgling Foundation finds itself at the mercy of corrupt warlords rising in the wake of the receding Empire. And mankind’s last best hope is faced with an agonizing choice: submit to the barbarians and live as slaves—or take a stand for freedom and risk total destruction. |
About the Author
Click to visit the "Asimov Online" website where you will find great information. Click to read this 1988 interview with Asimov. Click to read this book review by teens like you on Teen Ink website. Click below to watch Asimov talk with David Letterman about his life. |
Read Reviews Written in Destiny by other Tri-County patrons.
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His Majesty's Dragon
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His Majesty's Dragon (2006) Novik, N. New York, NY: Balentine Books Call #: Fic NOV Also available as EBook Aerial combat brings a thrilling new dimension to the Napoleonic Wars as valiant warriors rise to Britain’s defense by taking to the skies . . . not aboard aircraft but atop the mighty backs of fighting dragons. When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes its precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Capt. Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future–and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature. Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France’s own dragon-borne forces rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte’s boldest gambit, Laurence and Temeraire must soar into their own baptism of fire. Read Reviews Written in Destiny by other Tri County Patrons
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About the Author
Click to visit the author's website Click to read a The Phoenix interview with Novik about writing her Temeraire Series. Click to read book review for His Majesty's Dragon, Click below to watch Novik talk about her series of 9 books. |
Legendborn
About the Title
Legendborn (2020) Deonn, T. New York, NY : Simon and Schuster Call #: Fic Deo After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus. A flying demon feeding on human energies. A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down. And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw. The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates. She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight. |
About the Author
Click to visit the author's website Click to listen to a 2020 Publisher Weekly interview with Deonn about her book. Click to read a 2020 Kirkus Review of this title Click to watch Tracy Deonn talk about her book with Granville Public Library System on Facebook. In addition, click below to watch Read Davidson Discusses Legendborn with author Tracy Deonn in conversation with Dr. Hilary Green, Vann Professor of Ethics at Davidson College. Read Reviews Written in Destiny by other Tri County Patrons
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Long Way Down
About the Title
Long Way Down (2017) Reynolds, J. New York, NY : Atheneum Call #: Fic Rey An ode to Put the Damn Guns Down, this is New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds’s electrifying novel that takes place in sixty potent seconds—the time it takes a kid to decide whether or not he’s going to murder the guy who killed his brother. A cannon. A strap. A piece. A biscuit. A burner. A heater. A chopper. A gat. A hammer A tool for RULE Or, you can call it a gun. That’s what fifteen-year-old Will has shoved in the back waistband of his jeans. See, his brother Shawn was just murdered. And Will knows the rules. No crying. No snitching. Revenge. That’s where Will’s now heading, with that gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, the gun that was his brother’s gun. He gets on the elevator, seventh floor, stoked. He knows who he’s after. Or does he? As the elevator stops on the sixth floor, on comes Buck. Buck, Will finds out, is who gave Shawn the gun before Will took the gun. Buck tells Will to check that the gun is even loaded. And that’s when Will sees that one bullet is missing. And the only one who could have fired Shawn’s gun was Shawn. Huh. Will didn’t know that Shawn had ever actually USED his gun. Bigger huh. BUCK IS DEAD. But Buck’s in the elevator? Just as Will’s trying to think this through, the door to the next floor opens. A teenage girl gets on, waves away the smoke from Dead Buck’s cigarette. Will doesn’t know her, but she knew him. Knew. When they were eight. And stray bullets had cut through the playground, and Will had tried to cover her, but she was hit anyway, and so what she wants to know, on that fifth floor elevator stop, is, what if Will, Will with the gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, MISSES. And so it goes, the whole long way down, as the elevator stops on each floor, and at each stop someone connected to his brother gets on to give Will a piece to a bigger story than the one he thinks he knows. A story that might never know an END…if Will gets off that elevator. Told in short, fierce staccato narrative verse, Long Way Down is a fast and furious, dazzlingly brilliant look at teenage gun violence, as could only be told by Jason Reynolds. |
About the Author
Click to visit the author's website Click to listen to a 2017 NPR interview with Jason Reynolds about his book. Click to read a 2017 Kirkus Review of this title Clik below to watch the author talk about his book and writing process every day. Read Reviews Written in Destiny by other Tri County Patrons
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Matched
About the Title
Matched (2010) Condie, A. New York, NY Dutton Books Call #: Fic Con Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow. Read Reviews Written in Destiny by other Tri County Patrons
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About the Author
Click to visit the author's website Click to read an interview with Allie Condie about her books. Click to read book review by teens like you on Teen Ink website. Click below to view an interview with the author about her book and writing. |
Playing for Pizza
About the Title
Playing for Pizza (2007) Grisham, J. New York, NY: Dell Books Call #: Fic Gri Also Available as EBook and AudioBook Rick Dockery is the third-string quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. In the AFC Championship game, to the surprise and dismay of virtually everyone, Rick actually gets into the game. With a seventeen-point lead and just minutes to go, Rick provides what is arguably the worst single performance in the history of the NFL. Overnight, he becomes a national laughingstock—and is immediately cut by the Browns and shunned by all other teams. But all Rick knows is football, and he insists that his agent find a team that needs him. Against enormous odds, Rick finally gets a job—as the starting quarterback for the Mighty Panthers . . . of Parma, Italy. The Parma Panthers desperately want a former NFL player—any former NFL player—at their helm. And now they’ve got Rick, who knows nothing about Parma (not even where it is) and doesn’t speak a word of Italian. To say that Italy—the land of fine wines, extremely small cars, and football americano—holds a few surprises for Rick Dockery would be something of an understatement. Read Reviews Written in Destiny by other Tri County Patrons
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About the Author
Click to visit the author's website Click to listen to a 2012 NPR interview between Scott Simon and Grisham about writing Calico Joe. Click to read book reviews by teens like you on Teen Ink website for Bleachers, Playing for Pizza, and Calico Joe. Click below to watch UNC 2010 commencement speech about life and writing and click below to view Grisham speak with Matt Lauer about Playing for Pizza |
Seraphina
About the Title
Seraphina (2012) Hartman, R. New York, NY : Random House Call #: Fic HAR Rachel Hartman’s award-winning debut will have you looking at dragons as you’ve never imagined them before… In the kingdom of Goredd, dragons and humans live and work side by side – while below the surface, tensions and hostility simmer. The newest member of the royal court, a uniquely gifted musician named Seraphina, holds a deep secret of her own. One that she guards with all of her being. When a member of the royal family is brutally murdered, Seraphina is drawn into the investigation alongside the dangerously perceptive—and dashing—Prince Lucien. But as the two uncover a sinister plot to destroy the wavering peace of the kingdom, Seraphina’s struggle to protect her secret becomes increasingly difficult… while its discovery could mean her very life. Read Reviews Written in Destiny by other Tri County Patrons
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About the Author
Click to visit the author's website Click to read a 2013 a YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) interview with Hartman about her book. Click to read book review by teens like you on Teen Ink website. Click to watch Hartman talk about the background and subject of her book. |
Tokyo Ever After
About the Title
Tokyo Ever After (2021) Jean, E. New York, NY : Flatiron Books Call #: Fic Jea Izumi Tanaka has never really felt like she fit in―it isn’t easy being Japanese American in her small, mostly white, northern California town. Raised by a single mother, it’s always been Izumi―or Izzy, because “It’s easier this way”―and her mom against the world. But then Izumi discovers a clue to her previously unknown father’s identity…and he’s none other than the Crown Prince of Japan. Which means outspoken, irreverent Izzy is literally a princess. In a whirlwind, Izumi travels to Japan to meet the father she never knew and discover the country she always dreamed of. But being a princess isn’t all ball gowns and tiaras. There are conniving cousins, a hungry press, a scowling but handsome bodyguard who just might be her soulmate, and thousands of years of tradition and customs to learn practically overnight. Izumi soon finds herself caught between worlds, and between versions of herself―back home, she was never “American” enough, and in Japan, she must prove she’s “Japanese” enough. Will Izumi crumble under the weight of the crown, or will she live out her fairy tale, happily ever after? |
About the Author
Click to visit the author's website Click to read a 2021 LAPL(Los Angeles Public Library) interview with Emiko Jean bout her book. Click to read book review by Kirkus Review. Click to watch a conversation with the author about the subject of her book. Read Reviews Written in Destiny by other Tri County Patrons
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Truly Devious
About the Title
Truly Devious (2028) Johnson, M. New York, NY : Harper Collins Call #: Fic Joh Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early twentieth century tycoon, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. “A place,” he said, “where learning is a game.” Shortly after the school opened, his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The only real clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym “Truly, Devious.” It became one of the great unsolved crimes of American history. True-crime aficionado Stevie Bell is set to begin her first year at Ellingham Academy, and she has an ambitious plan: She will solve this cold case. That is, she will solve the case when she gets a grip on her demanding new school life and her housemates: the inventor, the novelist, the actor, the artist, and the jokester. But something strange is happening. Truly Devious makes a surprise return, and death revisits Ellingham Academy. The past has crawled out of its grave. Someone has gotten away with murder. |
About the Author
Click to visit the author's website Click to read to a 2018 Kirkus Review of this title. Click below to watch Maureen Johnson talk to The Guardain about reading. |
