Two teens must learn the “art of killing” in this Printz Honor–winning book, the first in a chilling new series from Neal Shusterman, author of the New York Times bestselling Unwind dystology.

A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery: humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now Scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.  

Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own. Citra and Rowan learn that a perfect world comes only with a heavy price.

In Thunderhead (Book 2), Rowan and Citra take opposite stances on the morality of the Scythedom, putting them at odds, in the chilling sequel to the Printz Honor Book Scythe.
The Thunderhead cannot interfere in the affairs of the Scythedom. All it can do is observe—it does not like what it sees.

A year has passed since Rowan had gone off grid. Since then, he has become an urban legend, a vigilante snuffing out corrupt scythes in a trial by fire. His story is told in whispers across the continent.

As Scythe Anastasia, Citra gleans with compassion and openly challenges the ideals of the “new order.” But when her life is threatened and her methods questioned, it becomes clear that not everyone is open to the change.

Will the Thunderhead intervene?  Or will it simply watch as this perfect world begins to unravel?

Book 3 of the series. The Toll begins three years after the end of Thunderhead. Citra and Rowan have disappeared and Goddard is working to unify all Scythedoms under his control.  He has instituted mass gleanings as a way to get rid of undesirable groups like Tonists as he builds his idea of a perfect society where he is the supreme leader.  (Sounds like Nazi Germany doesn't it?)

Is there anyone left who can stop him?  "The answer lies in the Tone, the Toll, and the Thunder."

You might also enjoy the following dystopian novel sfrom the Turner Ashby High School Library:

• Metaltown by Kristen Simmons
• The Matched Trilogy by Allyson Condi
  

Pure Grit: How American World War II Nurses Survived Battle and Prison Camp in the Pacific by Mary Crunk Farrell is a tribute the the brave nurses of World War II in the Pacific.  In the early 1940s, young women enlisted for peacetime duty as U.S. Army and Navy nurses. But when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 blasted the United States into World War II, 101 American Army and Navy nurses serving in the Philippines were suddenly treating wounded and dying soldiers while bombs exploded all around them. The women served in jerry-rigged jungle hospitals on the Bataan Peninsula and in underground tunnels on Corregidor Island. Later, when most of them were captured by the Japanese as prisoners of war, they suffered disease and near-starvation for three years. Pure Grit is a story of sisterhood and suffering, of tragedy and betrayal, of death and life. The women cared for one another, maintained discipline, and honored their vocation to nurse anyone in need—all 101 coming home alive,  Most of them suffered physical and emotional problems for the rest of their lives and were often denied the benefit that male members of the services received.

The book is illustrated with archival photographs and includes an index, glossary, and timeline.

Check the Turner Ashby High School Library for this fiction book about the Philippines during World War II:

• Hunt for the Bamboo Rat by Graham Salisbury

#MurderTrending by Gretchen McNeil take the reader to the near future where good and honest citizens can enjoy watching the executions of society's most infamous convicted felons, streaming live on The Postman app from the suburbanized prison island Alcatraz 2.0.

When seventeen-year-old Dee Guerrera wakes up in a haze, lying on the ground of a dimly lit warehouse, she realizes she's about to be the next victim of the app. Knowing hardened criminals are getting a taste of their own medicine in this place is one thing, but Dee refuses to roll over and die for a heinous crime she didn't commit. Can Dee and her newly formed posse, the Death Row Breakfast Club, prove she's innocent before she ends up wrongfully murdered for the world to see? Or will The Postman's cast of executioners kill them off one by one?

​There is a sequel called #MurderFunding.  I will add it to the review when I have time to read it.

Awards:

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi is a 2019 Morris Award Finalist.  This fantasy is based on the Nigerian heritage of the the author,  It is also an allegory of the experiences of young black Americans.  Although fantasy is not my usual genre, I found this book very exciting and haunting in its exploration of hate and of hope.
​
Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.
But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.
Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy.

Invasion by Walter Dean Myers is marketed as a prequel to his books Fallen Angels (Vietnam War) and Sunrise Over Fallujah (Gulf War).

Josiah Wedgewood and Marcus Perry​ both grew up in Bedford, VA and have know each other their entire lives.  Josiah is white and Marcus is black.  Both face fear and death in the D-Day invasion of Normandy, but in very different capacities.

Thirty-four Virginia National Guard soldiers from the town of Bedford were part of D-Day. Nineteen of them were killed during the first day of the invasion, and four more died during the rest of the Normandy campaign. The town and the "Bedford Boys" had proportionately suffered the greatest losses of the campaign, thus inspiring the United States Congress to establish the D-Day memorial in Bedford, Virginia.

If you are interested in more information about the Bedford Boys, the invasion of Normandy, or the roles blacks filled in the U.S. military, check out these books which are part of the Turner Ashby Library collection:

Nonfiction:

• The Bedford Boys: One American Town's D-Day Sacrifice by Alex Kershaw (940.54/Ker)
• The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkin (940.54/She)
• Freedom Flyers: The Tuskegee Airmen of World War II by J. Todd Moye (940.54/Moy)
• Omaha Beach on D-Day by Jean David Morvan (GRA 940.54/Mor)
• Normandy, a Graphic History of D-Day: The Allied Invasion of Hitler's Fortress Europe by Wayne Vansant (GRA 940.54/Van)
• Omaha Beach: D-Day, June 6, 1944 by Joseph Balkoski (940.54/Bal)

If you are interested in other books about runaway slaves and the Underground Railroad, try these books from the Turner Ashby Library collection:

Dry by Neal Shursterman and his son Jarrod Shusterman is a frightening possibility drawn from current news as the drought in West continues to result in devastating fires.  Imagine that you turn on the faucet in your kitchen one day and nothing comes out.  It is what the media dubs the Tap-Out.  How long will people and communities survive without water?  How long will it be before neighbors turn on one another for precious supplies?  How long will it take for governmental emergency agencies to respond?  Will they be able to meet the needs of such a large part of the population?  In this situation, four teens set out to find a safe haven until the emergency ends.

Awards for Shusterman's books

•  2018 Kirkus Reviews -- Starred Review for his book Dry
• 2017 Michael L. Printz Honor Book Award for his book Scythe 
• 2015 National Book Award for Young People's Literature for his book Challenger Deep.
•  2010 Virginia Readers Choice Award High School Winner)for his book Unwind

Other survival books from the Turner Ashby High School Library you might enjoy:

• Survival in the Storm : The Dust Bowl Diary of Grace Edwards by Katlelan Janke
• Far North by Will Hobbs
• Overboard by Terry Lynn Johnson
• Avalanche by Terry Lynn Johnson

Meet the Sky by McCall Hoyle is a thrilling fight for survival against the fury of a major hurricane ravaging the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  Having grown up on the coast of North Carolina near the Pamilco Sound, I have vivid memories of the storms that devastated the area during hurricane seasons.

​Sophie and her family are struggling even before the hurricane comes their way.  It all started with the accident. The one that caused Sophie’s dad to walk out of her life and left Sophie’s older sister, Meredith, barely able to walk.  All Sophie wants now is to plan for the future—keep the family business running, get accepted to veterinary school, and protect her mom and sister from another disaster. But when a hurricane forms off the coast of North Carolina’s Outer Banks and heads right toward their island, Sophie realizes nature is one thing she can’t control.

​After she gets separated from her family during the evacuation, Sophie finds herself trapped on the island with the last person she’d have chosen—the reckless and wild Finn Sanders, who broke her heart freshman year. As they struggle to find safety, Sophie learns that Finn has suffered his own heartbreak; but instead of playing it safe, Finn’s become the kind of guy who goes surfing in the eye of the hurricane. He may be the perfect person to remind Sophie how to embrace life again, but only if their newfound friendship can survive the storm.

If you are interested in stories of people struggling against nature, you might like to try these books available in the TAHS Library collection:

Fiction

• Hurricane by Janice A. Thompson
• Hurricane Boy by Laura Roach Dargon
• Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes
• City of the Dead by T. Neill Anderson
• Dark Water Rising by Marian Hale

Nonfiction

• Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans by Don Brown (GRA 976/Bro)
• Heroes of Hurricane Katrina (Ten True Tales) by Allan Zullo (976/Zul)
• Last Bus Out by Beck McDowell (976.3/McD)
• The Storm of the Century : Tragedy, Heroism, Survival, and the Epic True Sory of America's Deadliest Natural Disaster : the Great Gulf Hurricane of 1900 by Al Roker (976.4/Rok)
• A Weekend in September bu John Edwards (Galveston Hurricane of 1900) (976.4/Wee)

Towers Falling by Jewell Parker Rhodes, award-winning author of Ninth Ward, was written as a way to help middle school age and older students to understand the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. 

When her fifth-grade teacher hints that a series of lessons about home and community will culminate with one big answer about two tall towers once visible outside their classroom window, Dèja can't help but feel confused. She sets off on a journey of discovery, with new friends Ben and Sabeen by her side. But just as she gets closer to answering big questions about who she is, what America means, and how communities can grow (and heal), she uncovers new questions, too. Like, why does Pop get so angry when she brings up anything about the towers?

Awards: 

• 2017 CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People 
• 2017 Notable Books for a Global Society
  

If you are interested in learning more about the 9/11 tragedy, try the following books available in the TAHS library:

Fiction

• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: A Novel by Jonathan Safran Foer
• One Tuesday Morning by Karen Kingsbury

Nonfiction:

• The Red Bandana by Tom Rinaldi