Fri Feb 23: what we talked about

  • Posted March 11, 2024
Fri Feb 23: what we talked about

Club news:

  • LMC shared a cart of new books!
  • Of particular interest:
    • Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo
      • Genre: Supernatural
      • Sequel to The Ninth House
      • You may have to wait your turn after Mrs. Caldicott, but she needs to re-read the first book first!
    • The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan
      • Genre: fantasy
      • Summary: As the son of Hades, Nico di Angelo has been through so much, from the premature deaths of his mother and sister, to being outed against his will, to losing his friend Jason during the trials of Apollo. But there is a ray of sunshine in his life—literally: his boyfriend, Will Solace, the son of Apollo. Together the two demigods can overcome any obstacle or foe. At least, that's been the case so far. Now Nico is being plagued by a voice calling out to him from Tartarus, the lowest part of the Underworld. He thinks he knows who it is: a reformed Titan named Bob whom Percy and Annabeth had to leave behind when they escaped Hades' realm. Nico's dreams and Rachel Dare's latest prophecy leave little doubt in Nico's mind that Bob is in some kind of trouble. Nico has to go on this quest, whether Mr. D and Chiron like it or not. And of course Will insists on coming with. But can a being made of light survive in the darkest part of the world? and what does the prophecy mean that Nico will have to "leave something of equal value behind?" Nico will have to face demons both internal and external as his relationship with Will is tested to the core in this standalone adventure featuring two of the most popular characters in the Percy Jackson saga.
    • A Short History of the World in 50 Lies by Natasha Tidd
      • Genre: non-fiction
      • Summary: Taking readers on a global journey through human history, historian Natasha Tidd examines how lies can change the world around us, from Julius Caesar’s deceptive PR machine to the cover ups that caused Chernobyl. From forgeries that created centuries worth of conflict and domination, such as The Donation of Constantine, the Protocols of Zion and the mysterious Testament of Peter the Great, to mass political and press cover ups including Britain’s Boer War concentration camps, a Pulitzer Prize winning whitewash of the Ukraine Famine and France’s infamous Dreyfus Affair. Alongside these are examinations of how our retellings of history can turn fiction into fact , including The Spanish Inquisition’s deceitful legacy and the demonization of Chinese Empress, Wu Zetian. Plus, an in-depth look at how historic lies can still impact our lives today, such as the deadly legacy of America’s Tuskegee Experiment. A Short History of the World in 50 Lies details the profound impact of this secretive side of history and shows that the truth really is stranger – and far more dangerous – than any fiction.
    • Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
      • Genre: fantasy
      • Summary: Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders. But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away — because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them. With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant. She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise. Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret. Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.
  • When your friends know you so well as to recommend the perfect book!
    • Mrs. Herbrand recommended a new book that is SO perfect for Mrs. Caldicott
      • Weyward by Emilia Hart
        • Genre: historical, with supernatural
        • Summary: 2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century. 1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha's mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom. 1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives—and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom. Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.
  • Or when your friends know you so well as to recommend the perfect book torture for you!
    • Ryleigh reports that one of her friends said if I every wrong them, they are going to buy me the longest romance series ever! (... because the friend knows that Ryleigh can't NOT read a book, but that she also dislikes romance)

What we've been reading:

  • Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim
    • Genre: fantasy
    • Summary: Shiori, the only princess of Kiata, has a secret. Forbidden magic runs through her veins. Normally she conceals it well, but on the morning of her betrothal ceremony, Shiori loses control. At first, her mistake seems like a stroke of luck, forestalling the wedding she never wanted, but it also catches the attention of Raikama, her stepmother. Raikama has dark magic of her own, and she banishes the young princess, turning her brothers into cranes, and warning Shiori that she must speak of it to no one: for with every word that escapes her lips, one of her brothers will die. Peniless, voiceless, and alone, Shiori searches for her brothers, and, on her journey, uncovers a conspiracy to overtake the throne--a conspiracy more twisted and deceitful, more cunning and complex, than even Raikama's betrayal. Only Shiori can set the kingdom to rights, but to do so she must place her trust in the very boy she fought so hard not to marry. And she must embrace the magic she's been taught all her life to contain--no matter what it costs her.
    • Nominated for the 2025 Illinois Teen Choice Award
  • The Caretaker by Ron Rash
    • Genre: historical
    • Summary: It's 1951 in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Blackburn Gant, his life irrevocably altered by a childhood case of polio, seems condemned to spend his life among the dead as the sole caretaker of a hilltop cemetery. It suits his withdrawn personality, and the inexplicable occurrences that happen from time to time rattle him less than interaction with the living. But when his best and only friend, the kind but impulsive Jacob Hampton, is conscripted to serve overseas, Blackburn is charged with caring for Jacob's wife, Naomi, as well. Sixteen-year-old Naomi Clarke is an outcast in Blowing Rock, an outsider, poor and uneducated, who works as a seasonal maid in the town's most elegant hotel. When Naomi eloped with Jacob a few months after her arrival, the marriage scandalized the community, most of all his wealthy parents, who disinherited him. Shunned by the townsfolk for their differences and equally fearful that Jacob may never come home, Blackburn and Naomi grow closer and closer until a shattering development derails numerous lives. A tender examination of male friendship and rivalry as well as a riveting, page-turning novel of familial devotion, The Caretaker brilliantly depicts the human capacity for delusion and destruction all too often justified as acts of love.
    • Boring cover but good book, says Mrs. Caldicott!
  • Caraval by Stephanie Garber
    • Genre: fantasy
    • Summary: Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over. But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner. Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.
  • The Hunting Moon by Susan Dennard
  • Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
    • Genre: fantasy
      • Summary: How far would you go for happily ever after? For as long as she can remember, Evangeline Fox has believed in true love and happy endings... until she learns that the love of her life will marry another. Desperate to stop the wedding and to heal her wounded heart, Evangeline strikes a deal with the charismatic but wicked Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing. But after Evangeline’s first promised kiss, she learns that bargaining with an immortal is a dangerous game—and that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she’d pledged. He has plans for Evangeline, plans that will either end in the greatest happily ever after or the most exquisite tragedy.
      • sequel The Ballad of Never After
  • The Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom
    • Genre: supernatural
    • Summary: Adrift in a raft after a deadly ship explosion, ten people struggle for survival at sea. Three days pass. Short on water, food and hope, they spot a man floating in the waves. They pull him in. “Thank the Lord we found you,” a passenger says. “I am the Lord,” the man whispers. So begins Mitch Albom’s most beguiling novel yet. Albom has written of heaven in the celebrated number one bestsellers "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" and "The First Phone Call from Heaven". Now, for the first time in his fiction, he ponders what we would do if, after crying out for divine help, God actually appeared before us? A fast-paced, compelling novel that makes you ponder your deepest beliefs, "The Stranger in the Lifeboat suggests that answers to our prayers may be found where we least expect them."
    • Author also wrote Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven (which used to be a VHHS Freshman Lit & Comp assigned book)
  • Black Knight
    • trope: "enemies to ___" (Manha won't say the second word!