Somers Library Blog

Stargirl Caraway is not your ordinary 16-year-old girl. All her life she was homeschooled, but this year, she will be the new girl at Mica Arizona High School. Stargirl wears bright and bubbly clothes, has a pet rat named Cinnamon and loves to sing Happy Birthday to people she does not even know. She is different from every other girl attending Mica High.  Leo Borlock has lived in Arizona since he was twelve after his father passed. With no siblings, Leo and his mom have always been very close. Leo and his best friend Kevin run an in-school television show called Hot Seat. Leo is the director/producer while Kevin is the on-camera host.  On the first day of school, Stargirl had gained the whole school’s attention. The name Stargirl was buzzing. From the first moment Leo saw Stargirl he had a crush on her. While Kevin thinks it would be an amazing idea to put Stargirl on their show, Leo is very hesitant about that idea. Kevin cares more about the ratings of the show when Leo thi...

This book continues the story of Kendra and Seth as the Society of the Evening star gets as close as they've ever been to opening Zzyzx, the demon prison. Kendra and Seth work with the Knights of the Dawn to stop the Society. Their first mission is at Obsidian Waste, one of the secret preserves, where they must get the Translocator, but the Society is trying the exact same thing. The Knights manage to get the Translocator and escape, but not without Seth being captured.  Eventually Seth escapes the Sphinx's prison and steals the Sands of Sancity, which he uses to heal Graulas, a demon. Graulas takes all 5 artifacts and control of the Society, and it is up  to the Knights of the Dawn to stop the demons of Zzyzx from destroying the world. Seth takes desperate measures to attempt to stop the demons. He searches out one of the strongest blades that is known in the hope that it would help against the demon horde. In order to find the blade he must pay a visit to the Singing Sisters...

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir is a book about a scholar girl named Laia living in a world where scholars under the Martial Empire are oppressed and looked down upon. Laia’s brother is now arrested for treason against the Empire. Both grandparents were killed during the arrest. She goes off on her own looking for other rebels to help her free her brother, her last remaining relative. The price for it is to risk her life spying for the rebels within the Empire, in the Empire’s most prestigious military school where they train masks, the Empire’s special forces. At the school Laia meets the most skilled and most unwilling soldier named Elias. As their paths become closer and closer so does the extinction of the scholar race as the Empire takes more and more actions to eliminate them one by one. This book is said to be inspired by ancient Rome. It is the first book in the An Ember in the Ashes  series by fantasy novel writer Sabba Tahir. I really like this book as it constantl...

In the world of Alagaesia, there used to be dragons, and there were those that formed a bond with those dragons.  Hundreds of years before the present day, one of these Dragon Riders, named Galbatorix, killed all the rest of the dragons along with their riders, and established a new kingdom.  He spared 3 eggs, to hold complete dominion over the entirety of the dragon race.  In the present, a human teen by the name of Eragon stumbles across a strange stone.  He takes it back to his rural hometown in the kingdom which Galbatorix established previously.  Eragon and his mentor, Brom, discover that the stone is one of the 3 last remaining Dragon Eggs which was stolen from Galbatorix.  The dragon hatches from its egg and forms a connection with Eragon.  Now Eragon is the primary target of the tyrannical king Galbatorix and his army.  How will Eragon fight off these dangers ad save the dragon race from extinction?  This book is an incredibly immersi...

Ranger’s Apprentice, The Ruins Of Gorlan by John Flanagan is a book about a young orphan named Will. No one knows his full name. His mother died after giving birth and his father died a hero. That was the note left on the doorstep of the ward, a place for orphans. Wards once they reach the age of 15, are chosen by a Craftmaster to become their apprentice. Those who weren’t chosen were sent to the farms where they work for the rest of their lives. On choosing day when all hope seems lost for Will, when no Craftmaster seems to want him, one mysterious Craftmaster who is a ranger picks Will to be his apprentice. No one knows what a ranger does and tend to stay away from them. What Will doesn’t know is that rangers protect the kingdom and the fight the battles before they are fought by the people. I think that this is an amazing book. It really grabs your attention and once you start you can’t stop. It takes you to a different world, a new dimension and feeds your thrist for adventure. W...

Dimple Shah has always wanted to pursue a career in web development. The summer program at SFSU is just what she needs to get a step further towards her goals, and also gives her the chance of meeting her idol, Jenny Lindt.  Rishi Patel always liked the idea of his life being mapped out in front of him. There is something so comforting about it to him. So when his parents tell him his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him, he's totally looking forward to SFSU with that single thought in mind.  However, it is quickly found, that Dimple and Rishi are complete opposites. Dimple's infuriated when she finds out from Rishi that her parents had practically planned her own future out. Dimple's done with her mother's hopes and wishes that she'll find the ""Ideal Indian Husband."" Dimple wants to take risks, face challenges, and live her own life.  Rishi's disappointed that his perfectly planned out future is already going off co...

In a world where love is diagnosed as a disease (amor deleria nervosa), 17 year old Lena Holloway is still "uncured" and excitedly awaits to be rid of the illness. She spends the first days of her last childhood  summer in Portland, Oregan with Hana Tate, her wealthy, beautiful, and rebellious best friend. Lena hates amor deliria nervosa, after it took her mother's life when Lena was only six years old. However, Lena soon meets Alex, a young lab technician who helps administer the cure, and is terrified... yet also intrigued, when she starts experiencing symptoms of the notorious illness. As the time before Lena’s cure draws to a close, Lena becomes closer with Alex, and learns that he is not who he says he is. She is forced to make a decision that will either kill her, or give her the freedom she never knew she needed. Delirium was an intriguing and thought provoking novel. I loved Oliver's world buildinge, and how she gave her characters a great amount of depth. T...

Tuesdays with Morrie is an excellent book. It is about an outstanding teacher with a lethal disease that will slowly kill him, giving one last class. Mitch Albom, the author, is the only student of his very last class. The class is about many different things, including questions about how life works and why people do what they do. Morrie, a Sociology professor of 50 years, gives little insights and mini history lessons about his past and protests that were happening, as Mitch’s work was caught up in a labor dispute. Morrie explains many things to Mitch, including how you make a marriage work. Mitch, who is writing this book with Morrie as a last report, provides insights as to how Morrie makes his life work with Lou Gehrig’s disease. It is a hard thing for Morrie, as he had always been active. It is also difficult for Morrie, as he had not missed a day of teaching in 37 years and suddenly, he must stop. Mitch provides insights as to how not teaching at school affected Morrie. Mitch ta...

Linh Cinder is a mechanic in the eastern commonwealth, one of six nations to emerge after a devastating world war. She lives with two stepsisters, Peony and Pearl, and her stepmother Adri. Peony is nice to Cinder, while Pearl and Adri make her life a living nightmare. To make matters worse, Cinder is a cyborg. She was in a terrible accident which resulted in some of her limbs being replaced with robot parts. Cyborgs are heavily discriminated against, and she does all she can to keep that part of her identity under wraps. One day Cinder is working at her booth in the market when the prince of the commonwealth approaches her. He asks if she can fix his android, and after getting over the surprise of seeing a member of royalty in the marketplace, she agrees to have it fixed within a week. Soon after, the marketplace is evacuated because someone has contracted Letumosis, a deadly plague without a cure. Cinder avoids being quarantined by sneaking out of the marketplace. However, when Cinder...

Bunny lives in a poor neighborhood and is an outstanding basketball player. One day Bunny gets a scholarship to go to a private high school, but he must leave all his friends behind at his public school. Bunny’s family was very poor and would take all they could get; it was usually very cold in their house during winter because they couldn’t afford the heat bill. Bunny had a friend named Nasir from his public school. Bunny was a much better basketball player than Nasir, but they always went to the park with each other to play ball. Even though they still live across the street from each other Nasir won’t talk to Bunny because he changed schools. Nasir has a cousin, Wallace, that lives with his grandma and is also very poor. They are going to get evicted because the landlord raised the rent at their apartment. Nasir was doing everything he could to get Wallace a job but, Wallace didn’t feel like getting one. Instead he was making bets to try to win money, but it wasn't really workin...