SPHDZ 4 LIFE

SPACEHEADZ: SPDHZ 4 LIFE by Jon Scieszka with illustrations by Shane Prigmore. Simon and Schuster, 2013.

The weapon is just about perfected. All it needs is one more brainwave to become fully functional. Unfortunately, there is a fly in this evil ointment: a resistant child whose brain is not so easily manipulated. Michael K. is left to his own devices for defense since everyone else is either under the spell of the Brainwave or off on wild goose chases trying to track down the chief. Can Michael K. persevere?

Spy Story

NAZI HUNTERS: HOW A TEAM OF SPIES AND SURVIVORS CAPTURED THE WORLD'S MOST NOTORIOUS NAZI by Neal Bascomb. Scholastic, 2013.

The story behind the capture of Adolf Eichmann is the focus for this piece of narrative nonfiction. Pacing suitable for a grand spy adventure novel, spies whose identities are tied in no small part to their feelings about Eichmann and Hitler and the Holocaust, all combine to create nonfiction that will draw readers in and hold them captive. Other suggestions for books include HITLER YOUTH by Susan Campbell Bartoletti and the GN biography of Anne Frank by Colon and Jacobs.

BOMB!

BOMB: THE RACE TO BUILD AND STEAL THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS WEAPON by Steve Sheinkin. Roaring Brook Press, 2012.


Here is another of the books shortlisted for the YALSA Excellence in Nonficiton Award. Sheinkin won the award last year for THE NOTORIOUS BENEDICT ARNOLD (run out and read this one if you have not already). Once again, Sheinkin brings his storytelling talents to history as readers learn about the inner workings of the development of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Physics and espionage combined to make this undertaking one of immense danger. Sheinkin walks readers through the story with careful attention to detail. Suddenly the scientists trying to come up with the design of the bomb are more flesh and blood, more human. Fast paced and fascinating, Sheinkin shines a light into all the corners of this monumental period of history. <670>

Verily

CODE NAME VERITY by Elizabeth Wein. Disney/Hyperion, 2012.

Warning: do not open the pages of this book unless you have hours to spend absorbed in the story. It is NOT a book one can put down after starting. The year is 1943. A plane crashes in France, currently a stronghold of the Nazis. The passenger escapes but is quickly captured by the Nazis. The pilot's whereabouts are unknown as the novel begins. Verity (only one of the many names by which she is known) is imprisoned and tortured. Surely she has much to offer the Nazis in terms of codes and other information. To prolong her life, Verity writes page after page telling the story of her involvement in the war and her close friendship with the pilot known as Maddie. In gut-wrenching detail, Verity writes the story of her life, her imprisonment, and her hope that somehow escape might be possible. The story is rife with twists and turns, unexpected joys and sorrows. running through it all, though, is the tale of the relationships that form during war, friendships that are more powerful than any army or weapon. <449>