Smith-Llera, Danielle. Double Helix: How an Image Sparked the Discovery of the Secret of Life.

Smith-Llera, Danielle. Double Helix: How an Image Sparked the Discovery of the Secret of Life. Capstone Publishers 2018 64p  $34.65  ISBN 978-0-7565-5642-6  ms  VG-BNS  series: Captured Science History     

Middle-school students who enjoy learning about science will appreciate this new title in the Captured Science History series.  Written in a story-like manner, the book will give students a better understanding about the discovery of what DNA looks like through a photograph taken by Rosalind Franklin. This famous photograph was known to the world as Photo 51 and left scientists with questions to figure out about DNA. Students learn about DNA and see how scientists used Franklin’s photograph, notes and data to help solve the DNA puzzle and gain knowledge about DNA.

The author includes color photographs, interesting sidebars, a timeline of events, a glossary of terms, recommended books, a special code to use on FactHound to get more information, critical thinking questions, source notes, a selected bibliography, and an index.    The title would make a great addition to a middle-school collection for science research. 

Summary: “A look at DNA and the history of research into it, covering significant scientists and findings.”

DNA Research History, Genetics, DNA                   --Charleen Forba-MacCain

Smith, Danna. The Hawk of the Castle: A Story of Medieval Falconry.

Smith, Danna. The Hawk of the Castle: A Story of Medieval Falconry. Candlewick Press      2017  35p   $16.99 Hardback   ISBN 978-0-7636-7992-7  all ages  Historical fiction  E-BN      

Readers will experience the art of falconry with a young girl and her father, the castle falconer, while they gain an understanding of the sport as well. The beautiful realistic illustrations by Bagram Ibatoulline capture the quiet countryside and castle life of the Middle Ages.  The text supplies readers with the how, why, where, and when of falconry, a sport that has not really changed throughout the eras.  People in many areas today are interested in it. Bagram Ibatoulline’s illustrations realistically capture the quiet countryside and castle life of the Middle Ages.

This book would make a welcome addition to any secondary library that covers the Middle Ages.

Summary: Readers will experience the art of falconry with a young girl and her father, the castle falconer, while they gain an understanding of the sport as well. The beautiful realistic illustrations by Bagram Ibatoulline capture the quiet countryside and castle life of the Middle Ages.

Falconry-Fiction, Middle Ages-Fiction                             --Linda McNeil

Smith, Amber. The Way I Used To Be.

Smith, Amber.  The Way I Used To Be.  Simon & Schuster/McElderry Books  2016   384p $17.99  ISBN 978-1-4814-4935-9      hs/adult    Realistic fiction  VG-BN

Author Amber Smith immediately pulls the reader into the psychological depths of despair as her protagonist, young Edy, tries to cope after being raped. Chapter One draws the reader into Edy’s solitary suffering by describing the rape from her perspective.  Imagine Edy’s introduction to adulthood, when her brother’s best friend Kevin comes into her bedroom one night and attacks her, threatening her with death if she tells. So begins Edy’s journey through her high-school years.  Dubbed the “school slut”, Edy must try to cope as she forges ahead, in and out of relationships that would have been quite fulfilling had she been emotionally stable.  Instead, she keeps her secret to herself and tries to survive.  Smith divides her book into four chapters of life, each a year of senior high school.  In her freshman year, Edy creates a lunch-time book club with her best friend Mara.  Together, the girls try to define their role in high school. This year, she runs into Kevin’s sister Amanda who looks at her disdainfully.  Edy can’t quite figure out why.  During sophomore year, she meets Josh, a young man who senses that all is not right with her, yet forges ahead with the relationship.  Unbeknownst to Josh, Edy is NOT sixteen, so when they have sexual relations, he is unaware that he is breaking the law.  Due to Edy’s lack of ability to function in normal relationship-building, and because Edy is underage, Josh breaks up with her.  There is so much more to this book, and Smith never divulges until the end whether Kevin will have to pay for his crime or whether Edy will accept what has happened to her and move ahead in life.  This novel is worth the time as much for its character development as for its dive into an area of PTSD.  Publisher please note:  The Tristate Young Adult review committee recommends book of note status for published books; however, in unusual cases, we can recommend an advance reader’s copy as a BON.  Please see pages 238-239, where the italics are not correctly done to indicate which words are part of a note and which are regular text.                   

This book is a very good choice for high-school readers as well as for young adults.  The rape scene is quite vivid, there is profanity, and the psychological trauma is palpable.    

Summary: After Edy is raped by her brother’s best friend, she struggles to cope alone.  Throughout the high-school year, she faces obstacles, new understandings about life post-rape, and new relationships.  Normalcy is not part of the equation.

Rape-Fiction, PTSD-Fiction                                  --Martha Squaresky

Smith, Roland. The Edge.

Smith, Roland.  The Edge.  Houghton Mifflin     2015  238p  $17.99  ISBN 978-0-544-34122-7  ms/hs  Conflict  VG-BN     

Contemporary treatment, an exciting setting, dangerous conflicts and a unique plot combine to make this book a noteworthy book, which is a sequel to the author’s Peak.  Peak Marcello showed his personality, gaining respect in the first book when he climbed Everest and gave his spot reaching the summit to another climber.  Now, in the sequel, he is recruited by wealthy businessman Sebastian Plank to climb as part of a peace mission that will be videotaped in all of its splendor with the world’s most dangerous and famous peaks as the backdrop.  Peak signs on, and along with his climber mother, embarks on the journey that will test his mettle perhaps even more, now, than in the first book.  When his mother and other climbers are kidnapped by Afghani and French terrorists, Peak sets upon a course to find them.  There is fear.  There is intrigue.  There is death.  The final descent of the rescue is the most exciting, and author Roland Smith captures all of the elements of nature and combines them with the unnatural, a descent that is as harrowing as they come.  The book is believable, the conflicts are authentic in today’s world and the characters’ personalities and challenges are certain to resonate with young readers who want action in ever-more-interesting settings. 

Summary: In this sequel to Peak, young mountain climber Peak Marcello embarks on the adventure of a lifetime -- this time, a climb that will be videotaped to draw the world’s attention to the quest for peace.  Peak encounters abduction and terrorism in the Hindu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan.    

Adventure-Fiction, Mountain Climbing-Fiction          --Martha Squaresky

Smith, Ronald L. Hoodoo.

Smith, Ronald L.  Hoodoo.  Houghton Mifflin/Clarion  2015  208p  $16.99  ISBN 978-0-544-44525-3  ms   Supernatural  E-BN     

In Ronald Smith’s character Hoodoo, the author has created a masterpiece.  Readers take the journey with this young African-American, a journey into the world of conjuring, spells, evil and the afterworld.  What is amazing is that this world is so aptly described and believable that the reader will close the book at the end and breathe a sigh of relief for poor Hoodoo, believing as he does that his powers are real.  Hoodoo has some rather charming character traits, not the least of which is the way he looks at life and the way he speaks right to his readers, often explaining the meanings of words, finishing with “if you didn’t know.”  To begin with, young Hoodoo lives with Mama Frances.  His daddy has passed.  In the first chapter, he meets the Stranger, a spirit man who is looking for him, but for what reason, Hoodoo does not know.  Hoodoo begins to feel creepy, often dreaming about the Stranger and also having visions that he cannot comprehend.  His best friend Bunny is with him when his challenge is revealed by Mrs. Snuff, the carnival’s fortune teller.  She warns Hoodoo  of the darkness that follows him, advising him to help his family, whose fate he holds in his hands.  The plot thickens when the town’s cemetery is broken into.  Someone has chopped off the hands of the dead.   Much of the rising action involves Hoodoo’s search for answers, the realization that he has conjuring powers that he must learn to harness, and the revelation of the real story behind the death of his father.  From that point on, the pace is quick, the action is intense, and the confrontation, satisfying for young readers.  This does not feel like a debut novel; rather, it reflects all of the solid writing skills of a more experienced author.  It is unique, and that is not easy to find these days with the glut of books about dystopian societies, teen angst or abused children.      

Summary: Hoodoo must figure out why the Stranger is trying to find him, how to protect his family from him, and how to use the conjuring powers which his family suspects he possesses before it is too late.       

Occult-Fiction                                        --Martha Squaresky