Redeemed

Neanderthal  Opens the Door to the Universe by Preston Norton
Los Angeles : Hyperion, 2018.
410 p. ; 21 cm.

This book came highly recommended to me, so I was looking forward to reading it.  I have to say that my initial reaction was pretty negative.  Ever since Catcher in the Rye, there have been YA authors who have attempted to recreate the sensational and simmering genius of Holden Caulfield in their characters - especially male characters.  I felt that Cliff, Norton's hero/anti-hero of this novel, was just too witty and cynical and sarcastic and world weary, etc.  It just felt overwrought, and with a bit of too much "bro" energy (the kid LOVES Tarantino movies, need I say more?).  But I decided to hang on with the book and it kind of won me over.

First, the plotting is well paced and the characters (though a bit over done) are interesting and fun to watch as the book evolves.  The plotting is also creative (a near death experience with a visit from God changes one character completely, a Sermon Showdown is a major event, and surprise revelations are revealed) and make for a fun read.  Finally, the book - in spite of some serious "dude" energy, has a lot of heart and delves into some serious questions about life and meaning. 

So yes, there is a heavy bit of Neanderthal energy running through this comic drama, but it really does have some surprises and does try to open a door to the universe.  It might just appeal to readers who are put off by more staid fare. 

It's a book I'll definitely mention to students looking for something different and meaningful. It does have a bit of crude language and some light sexual situations which is a consideration of course. 

Schooled

Dear Martin by Nic Stone
New York : Crown, 2017
210 p. ; 22 cm.

Nic Stone has written a really interesting book that picks up on many of the racial issues that are roiling US society today - such as white privilege, racist police violence, profiling, criminal justice, equity, and income inequality. And she manages to do it with a really likable, but complex teen named Justyce who is on scholarship at a prestigious boarding school where the students are predominately white.   

Though being a stand-out student, Justyce - doing nothing wrong - finds himself being roughly arrested (and threatened) by police.  This experience leads him down a path of questioning and introspection (chronicled in his journal/letters to MLK - the dear Martin of the title). 

There is a lot of wrestling with how to fit in, how to advocate for yourself and pride in racial identity, and a nice (and racially complex) love story thrown in for good measure.  The plot takes a dramatic turn and I don't want to spoil that for you, but it is the heart of the novel's conflict. 

This book - like The Hate U Give - is a good book to recommend for students interested in thinking about issues around Black Lives Matter and would be a good discussion starter.  Stone's strength is developing complex characters and she's not bad a spinning out a good plot, too.

I would recommend this novel.
   

Fallout

Chernobyl's Wild Kingdom: Life in the Dead Zone by Rebecca L. Johnson
Minneapolis : Twenty-First Century Books, [2015]
64 p. : ill. (some col.), col. maps ; 27 cm.

As most people know, there was a devastating nuclear plant disaster in April 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in what was then the Soviet Union (but is now in Ukraine).  There have been some stories over the years about the city Pripyat, which was rapidly evacuated a few days after the disaster and remains abandoned.  But this book looks at the South Carolina sized exclusion zone (which includes the former city of Pripyat), with a focus on the abundance of wildlife in this area where very few humans live.

Remarkably, in spite of some very high levels of radiation in the zone, wildlife is thriving, and what makes this book really engaging is that the author examines two contrary conclusions reached by scientists studying the zone.  One scientist and his colleagues study small mammals like mice and voles and have concluded that the long term exposure to low (but dangerous) levels of radiation have made these animals healthier and more resistant.  Another team of scientists who study barn swallows arrive at the opposite conclusion, noting very high levels of mutations and tumors in their avian subjects.

The book invites readers to consider both possibilities and provides lots of great information and illustrations about the initial disaster and its decades long after effects.  It gets one thinking about unexpected effects of humanity (and the absence of humanity) on the environment.  It had me thinking about the Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge (where the US made nuclear weapons) and the Korean DMZ.  And this book does all this in just sixty-four short pages.  Not bad.