Daughter of the Deep is a middle school action-adventure book by Rick Riordan that pays homage to Jules Verne in a modern view of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
Ana Dakkar attends Harding-Pencroft Academy, a school that provides education in all things concerning marine science. The school is divided into four sections (a nod to Harry Potter): the Dolphins, the Sharks, the Cephalopods, and the Orcas. These four groups have specialized skills, and they must learn to work together as a team. There is a lot of nerdy marine talk, as well as diverse representation among the students which should appeal to the intended audience.
As Ana and her classmates are traveling to their 120-foot vessel, the Varuna, for a day of freshman underwater trials there is a life-altering attack at the school which forces Ana and the other students to board the Varuna and fight back against an unknown enemy. Using their wits and training to figure out the advanced technology on the yacht and with the help of Ana’s pet dolphin, Socrates, the students race to save the school and their lives.
Need a new book to read? The library’s Collections Development Coordinator, Beth, and Cataloging Associate, Susan, share some of their favorite new finds below. Click each link to locate the book in our library collection.
The Personal Librarian
New York Times bestseller and critically acclaimed historical fiction novel by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, accounts the remarkable, little-known story of Belle DaCosta Greene. After being discovered at Princeton University by Morgan’s relative, Belle was asked to become the personal research librarian and curator for the enormously powerful business and industry tycoon, J. Pierpont Morgan. What makes this story incredible is the fact that Greene is an African American passing as white in a 1900s racist, male-dominated society. Belle becomes extremely successful and powerful, not only as a research expert, but also as a connoisseur of art and literature in New York society. She was known for her impeccable taste and uncanny negotiating skills for adding critical works to Morgan’s collection. Belle is caught between embracing her heritage, and losing it all if exposed, or maintaining the façade to continue her powerful career and prestige. Recommended highly, it is a beautifully written page-turner that can be found in our main campus book stacks.
Handing Down the Faith: How Parents Pass Their Religion on to the Next Generation
This book addresses the profound influence that parents provide on the religious identities and beliefs of their children. The authors, Christian Smith and Amy Adamczyk, provide well researched data in the areas of religious parenting, parenting styles, and intergenerational religious transmission. It also examines different cultural models of parenting and why religious parenting is so important. Handing Down the Faith is on our New Books shelf on the 2nd floor.
Project Hail Mary
A newly released science-thriller by Andy Weir who is the author of The Martian. The story revolves around Ryland Grace who is on a desperate journey into space to save Earth. He awakens from an induced coma to find himself millions of miles from earth with two dead crew mates. Alone on a tiny ship, it’s up to him to conquer an extinction level threat to our species. This book will have your inner nerd screaming with delight. And did I mention there are aliens? Andy Weir’s book is devilishly clever and funny with some big surprises. If you like tech jargon, space travel, and a plant that can save the world, this book is for you. Project Hail Mary is shelved in our Recreational Reading area on the 2nd floor.
Harlem Shuffle
Written by Colson Whitehead, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys. Harlem Shuffle depicts Harlem in the 1960s and includes mystery/suspense, historical fiction, and family drama. Whitehead builds his story with Ray Carney, a furniture salesman and part-time fence. The novel is full of well-rounded characters living harsh and desperate lives in order to rise above their dire circumstances. A gripping crime novel that tells a bigger story, Whitehead grounds his tale on solid research into Harlem’s history and the sociology of the people who lived there during that time. Harlem Shuffle is shelved in our Recreational Reading area on the 2nd floor.
The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre: A Photographic History
Released on the 100th anniversary of the horrific event, The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre: A Photographic Historyby Karlos K. Hill, communicates in pictures the actions of a hostile crowd against an entire community, known as the Greenwood District, of African Americans. What began as an innocent elevator ride involving a black man and a white woman intensifies as word of mouth turns the incident into one of the most tragic happenings in the history of America. Fueled by hatred, white supremacy, and jealousy, the white mob attacked the residents of the community. Because Greenwood District had become a flourishing community of successful businesses and nice homes, some of the Tulsa residents were not going to “have it.” This attack resulted in most of the community in ruins from fires and more than 800 people injured. Approximately 300 people died during this merciless attack. Taking in the events of the 24-hour destruction spree in photographs brings to life the severity of these actions. You can find The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre in our main campus book stacks.
Thanks to Beth and Susan for sharing these new books! Feel free to check out one or all of them from Union’s library today. Most of our new books are found on the New Books shelf on the second floor. You can also find new books in our Recreational Reading Collection and Family Room. Find an up-to-date list of our new books using the New Books quick link on the library’s homepage.
The setting of Anne Bronte’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a rural community near West Yorkshire, England in the mid-1800s. Beginning as a series of letters written by Mr. Gilbert Markham to his brother-in-law, the book tell us the narrative of Gilbert meeting a mysterious woman with a young son who has moved into a dilapidated mansion called Wildfell Hall. Presumably a widow, Helen Graham is living with only one servant and her son. Helen is very isolated and secretive, which makes her gossip for the locals. Gilbert encounters her on a walk with his dog one day, and over a period of time Helen and Gilbert become friends while he falls desperately in love with her. Helen, however, only seems to care for her son and fervently resists Gilbert’s efforts toward a closer relationship. His persistence finally leads Helen to hand him her diary, and she says, “Bring it back when you have read it; and don’t breathe a word of what it tells you to any living being—I trust to your honour.”
When Gilbert reads her diary, it seems Helen has fled her marriage from an abusive, alcoholic husband and taken her son away from his bad influences. Helen would have persevered alone, but she could not allow her son to become like his father. The diary continues detailing Helen’s life with an emotional, abusive husband, who drinks, gambles, and frequently leaves her for several weeks at a time while he is unfaithful.
How does Gilbert feel after reading Helen’s diary? How does Helen feel knowing she has no right to a relationship being that she is already married? How does she continue to protect her son and live a life of loneliness?
What I liked about this book: I liked that the author portrayed a strong female character who made huge sacrifices to protect her son. In the mid-1800s, it would be a huge scandal for a woman to leave her husband and go into hiding. Also, it was interesting to read about the experiences of women in that era being at the mercy of their husbands, even if they were abusive. Helen’s husband even wanted his young son to drink wine!
What I did not like about this book: It takes a long time to go through the long narrative descriptions of the architecture, the countryside, nature, the diary and the insidious conversations and actions of the townspeople. I wanted it to wrap up sooner.
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