WHO WAS JIM THORPE by BUCKLEY JAMES JR

 WHO WAS JIM THORPE by BUCKLEY JAMES JR  (Pgs 112)

While most athletes excel in just one sport, Jim Thorpe was different. Born in Oklahoma in 1887, he played both professional football and baseball, and ran track and field. Jim was not only a sports icon but also a trailblazer. Raised as part of the Sac and Fox tribal nation, he was the first Native American person to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States.

And although his personal life was not always as successful as his career, Jim remains one of the greatest athletes in American history.

This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer

 This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer, 304 pages, ⭐

This is going to be Dylan's big break. Her friend Clay, a geology student, has discovered an untouched cliff face in the Kentucky wilderness, and she is going to be the first person to climb it. Together with Clay, his research assistant Sylvia, and Dylan's boyfriend Luke, she is going to document her achievement on Instagram and finally cement her place as the next rising star in rock climbing. 

Seven months later, three bodies are discovered in the trees just off the highway. All are in various states of decay: one body a stark, white skeleton; the second emptied of its organs; and the third a mutilated corpse with the tongue, eyes, ears, and fingers removed.

But Dylan is still missing. Followers of her Instagram account report seeing disturbing livestreams, and some even claim to have caught glimpses of her vanishing into the thick woods, but no trace of her—dead or alive—has been discovered. 

Were the climbers murdered? Did they succumb to cannibalism? Or are their impossible bodies the work of an even more sinister force? Is Dylan still alive, and does she hold the answers?

Salt Pepper Season Spice by Jacques Pasquet

 

Salt, Pepper, Season, Spice: All the Flavors of the World by Jacques Pasquet -- 48 pages

I read this book in preparation for a homeschool class.  It was very interesting.  It gave the history, uses, and process of making eleven different seasonings and spices.  It would be great for kids who like food or just random information.

The Eagle and the Hart by Helen Castor

 

The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV by Helen Castor -543 pages

This history covers the events surrounding Henry IV’s deposition of his cousin, Richard II in England in 1399.  Both were grandsons of Edward III and Richard became king at the age of nine and as an adult remained indifferent to England’s external threats from France and Scotland. A worsening crisis erupted with Richard’s lavish expenditures, self-indulgence, and his broad accusations of treason leading to the execution of an earl.  Henry finally seized the throne and imprisoned Richard after Richard had exiled him without trial and confiscated Henry’s inheritance. Although Henry had strong support from the major magnates and was a dutiful king, he also experienced a serious rebellion during his reign and relied heavily on his strong-willed son, the future Henry V, as his health deteriorated. This was an interesting book, and relates very well the political issues of the time, such as the financial crunch faced by England’s government and the evolving power of parliaments and the executive in their constitution.

Deer Run Home by Ann Clare LeZotte

Deer Run Home   by Ann Clare LeZotte  209 pages

Effie and her older sister, Deja, have recently moved into their father’s trailer after an incident at their mom’s house. Daddy communicates with Effie by pointing, stomping on the floor, and making thoughtless jokes. Even if they did understand each other, could she tell the terrible secret she carries when telling feels impossible -- and dangerous? But what if telling is the only way to be seen? This tender, spare, emotionally charged story about the impact of abuse and the power of love explores what it feels like to be an outsider in your own family and to awaken -- through friendship, writing, and kinship with the natural world -- to a new understanding and appreciation of yourself.

I really enjoyed this book! It is written in verse so it was an easy read.  Very sad story about child neglect.  But I am very interested in the deaf community and this book shows how hard it is for them to communicate when there is not an interpreter.  
 

The Tenant by Freida McFadden

 

The Tenant by Freida McFadden, 368 pages, ⭐⭐

Blake Porter is riding high, until he's not. Fired abruptly from his job as a VP of marketing and unable to make the mortgage payments on the new brownstone that he shares with his fiancee, he's desperate to make ends meet.

Enter Whitney. Beautiful, charming, down-to-earth, and looking for a room to rent. She's exactly what Blake's looking for. Or is she?

Because something isn't quite right. The neighbors start treating Blake differently. The smell of decay permeates his home, no matter how hard he scrubs. Strange noises jar him awake in the middle of the night. And soon Blake fears someone knows his darkest secrets...

Danger lives right at home, and by the time Blake realizes it, it'll be far too late. The trap is already set.

Golden Son by Pierce Brown

 

Golden Son by Pierce Brown, 466 pages, ⭐⭐⭐⭐

As a Red, Darrow grew up working the mines deep beneath the surface of Mars, enduring backbreaking labor while dreaming of the better future he was building for his descendants. But the Society he faithfully served was built on lies. Darrow’s kind have been betrayed and denied by their elitist masters, the Golds—and their only path to liberation is revolution. And so Darrow sacrifices himself in the name of the greater good for which Eo, his true love and inspiration, laid down her own life. He becomes a Gold, infiltrating their privileged realm so that he can destroy it from within.

A lamb among wolves in a cruel world, Darrow finds friendship, respect, and even love—but also the wrath of powerful rivals. To wage and win the war that will change humankind’s destiny, Darrow must confront the treachery arrayed against him, overcome his all-too-human desire for retribution—and strive not for violent revolt but a hopeful rebirth. Though the road ahead is fraught with danger and deceit, Darrow must choose to follow Eo’s principles of love and justice to free his people.

He must live for more.