Non-fiction book review - What's the Point of Math?

What's the Point of Math?

Finally, a book that answers the question that most kids ask. And it isn't cagey about it. Starting with basic counting and going all the way up to theoretical mathematics, the authors explore the purpose of math. We get the history of math - different systems of counting and measurement, the role of zero, that sort of thing. Then, starting with arithmetic we walk through the practical uses of math. What is geometry for? Why might we need to use variables in every day life? If I'd had this book in middle and high school I might have taken my math studies more seriously. This one is a must have for every collection - personal and professional. Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Subject A36

Title: Subject A36
Author: Teri Polen
Genre: dystopia
Similar books: Taken by Edward Bloor
                      The Seclusion by Jacqui Castle
Rating:

rather disappointing

Summary (provided by publisher): If genetic engineering could guarantee you and your family perfect health and unparalleled beauty, would you pay top dollar for it? Would you kill for it?
Residents of the Colony would. And do.
Only the Insurgents can stop them.
Seventeen-year-old Asher Solomon is a premier operative with the Insurgents. He and his team have rescued countless hostages, saving them from painful deaths in Colony labs as desirable genetic traits are stripped from their bodies.
He’s also suffered more losses than anyone should have to.
Then Asher gets intel that might give his people the upper hand. The Colony is searching for Subject A36. If the Insurgents determine the subject’s identity first, they might be able to turn the tide of the war.
Asher and his team embark on their riskiest mission ever, and the stakes have never been higher. But even if he survives the physical dangers, the devastating secrets he uncovers might destroy him.

My opinion: The overarching thrust of this plot is entirely predictable. This is not unheard of - there are only so many plots in the world, after all. Predictability is acceptable if the characters are complex or if there are interesting elements along the way. Polen is going for some interesting elements but it falls short. The science, in particular, doesn't make any sense. The premise works - the inherent dangers of genetic engineering as it intersects with the class divide. But there is only the thinnest explanation for the genetic harvesting. That motivation feels tacked on, a way to explain the revolution rather than focusing on the hunt for Subject A36. Asher is not a fully developed character either. Had Asher and the super-soldier plot been fully developed this would be a much stronger experience.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Blazer

A while back I bought some trousers on sale. They came with a blazer. It was a bit boxy and plain but comfortable when I put it on. I figured it was worth keeping if I was willing to do a little customization.

I cut some shapes out of fabric with some iron-on fusing.

Nothing punches up a blazer like elbow patches. Especially planet patches.

Book review - This Train is Being Held

Title: This Train is Being Held
Author: Ismee Williams
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Field Notes On Love by Jennifer E Smith
                      You Before Anyone Else by Julie Cross and Mark Perini
Rating:

deeper than I was expecting

Summary (provided by publisher): Alex is a baseball player. A great one. His papi is pushing him to go pro, but Alex maybe wants to be a poet. Not that Papi would understand or allow that.
Isa is a dancer. She'd love to go pro, if only her Havana-born mom weren't dead set against it...just like she's dead set against her daughter falling for a Latino. And Isa's privileged private-school life—with her dad losing his job and her older brother struggling with mental illness—is falling apart. Not that she'd ever tell that to Alex.
Fate—and the New York City subway—bring Alex and Isa together. Is it enough to keep them together when they need each other most?

My opinion: In many ways, this book is like a more complex version of movies like  Save the Last Dance. It has the elements standard to a lot of teen fiction: privileged girl meets underprivileged streetwise boy; privileged teen adjusting to a change in circumstance; initial romance complicated by a series of misunderstandings; even the parent pressured athlete with the soul of a poet. That's a lot o cliche in one book. I have to wonder, though, if Williams is doing this intentionally. Because a lot of these cliches are just masking deeper issues. Isa is seen as a rich white girl, but has Cuban roots and family secrets. Alex is Dominican, his background obvious to even casual observers and the source of constant judgement. They are both somewhat hindered by other peoples perceptions and judgements. We're dealing with a lot of carefully orchestrated masks, hiding issues that feel too big to explain or even deal with. Williams has taken a shallow notion and granted it a surprising amount of depth. As a teen romance it's end result is fairly predictable but the journey is far more engaging than I had expected.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Pick 6: Mystery

There's nothing like a good mystery. Whether you're six or sixty, we all enjoy going over clues and trying to guess the solution before the book's characters do. Here are six new mystery stories published in the last six months.

Six New mysteries:

1. I Have No Secrets by Penny Joelson
2. Mr. Penguin and the Fortress of Secrets by Alex T Smith
3. Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Missing Adults by Scott Bryan Wilson
4. The Amazing Life of Azaleah Lane by Nikki Shannon Smith
5. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
6. Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen: The Body Under the Piano by Marthe Jocelyn

Non-fiction book review - 3D Printing and Maker Lab for Kids

3D Printing and Maker Lab for Kids by Eldrid Sequeira

I'd had some introductions to 3D printing previously but the approach had always been either the basics of how the printers worked or the ways you might use them in library programming. I'd never had anyone explain to me how to program what you wanted to print. This book is more than a how-to. It doesn't teach the user just how to make a particular object. Instead, Sequeira walks us through a series of basic shapes and suggests ways you can combine them to make more complex objects. Once you have those simple ideas mastered, anything is possible. I'd call this one an essential for any maker space that includes a 3D printer.

More Information: 3D Printing and Maker Lab for Kids releases February 25.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley 

Book review - Chirp

Title: Chirp
Author: Kate Messner
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Boy Bites Bug by Rebecca Petruck
                      The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones by Wendelin Van Draanen
Rating:

an emotionally complex, layered book

Summary (provided by publisher): When Mia moves to Vermont the summer after seventh grade, she's recovering from the broken arm she got falling off a balance beam. And packed away in the moving boxes under her clothes and gymnastics trophies is a secret she'd rather forget.
Mia's change in scenery brings day camp, new friends, and time with her beloved grandmother. But Gram is convinced someone is trying to destroy her cricket farm. Is it sabotage or is Gram's thinking impaired from the stroke she suffered months ago? Mia and her friends set out to investigate, but can they uncover the truth in time to save Gram's farm? And will that discovery empower Mia to confront the secret she's been hiding--and find the courage she never knew she had?
In a compelling story rich with friendship, science, and summer fun, a girl finds her voice while navigating the joys and challenges of growing up.

My opinion: My access point for this book was entomophagy, an area of fascination for me. That interest was stronger than my hesitation to read a Messner novel. I've read a couple of her books in the past and haven't especially enjoyed them. Once I got a couple of chapters into this particular novel, I was hooked. There's a lot going on: making new friends, STEM, athletics, business skills, a mystery, and personal secrets that drive much of Mia's behavior. I appreciated that there were some very serious, complex issues presented in this novel and they were given appropriate weight. Dealing with bullies is often dismissed as a kid issue. In this book we see how that translates in the business world, especially as it applies to women in business. And the conclusion drawn is that there is no fix, that it's something we just have to deal with but that we can make it better by refusing to be quiet about it. Additionally, we see the path forward from a difficult situation. That when we lose a part of ourselves we have to let that loss go and learn from it to move forward. With an emotionally dark undercurrent, this is not what you'd call a gentle or innocent novel. But for a kid with some emotional maturity or even just one in need of some empowerment it could spark some great discussion.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley