Teen Book Reviews: We Are the Ants and Zen and Gone

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Teens: did you know that you can earn community service credit for writing a book review and submitting it to us? Today, we’ll hear from a teen who did just that. Find out more about how to earn community service hours from home at cheshirelibrary.org/teens/.

We are the Ants by Shaun Hutchinson reviewed by Ali A.

We Are the Ants is a book about a 16-year old boy named Henry Denton. Henry Denton suffers from depression because his friend Jesse committed suicide. It doesn’t help that Henry gets bullied at school and gets periodically abducted by aliens. Although it might be a delusion, Henry absolutely believes he gets abducted by them while aliens run experiments on him. In one of the abduction sessions, the aliens try communicating with him. They show him a button and say that the Earth will end in 144 days unless he presses the button. Henry at first decides he will never press the button because there’s nothing on Earth to live for. He argues that no matter what humans do they will die anyway and their lives would have been useless, so Henry might as well end everyone’s lives quicker. Henry asks everyone he knows about whether they would press the button or not. At school Henry gets bullied more than usual until one day a new kid shows up to class, Diego Vega. Diego and Henry instantly become friends, but Diego never talks about his mysterious past or why he lives with his sister rather than his parents. One day Henry is in the locker room when 3 bullies assault him and beat him up. Henry wants to kill himself and share the same fate with Jesse, but Diego is the only thing Henry looks forward to in life. Later in the book Henry and Diego are at a fair when one of the bullies tries to hurt Marcus. Diego gets mad and punches the bully, which sends Diego to court. I’d rate this book 2/5 stars because of the terrible plot and ending. The author never says if the alien abductions are real or mere hallucinations, and the author never tells us if Henry pressed the button or not.

2 Stars.

Zen and Gone by Emily France reviewed by Ali A.

Zen and Gone is one of my all-time favorite young adult books. The novel takes place in Boulder, Colorado, and revolves around the lives of Essence and Oliver. Essence, a buddhist, is trying to take care of her little sister, Puck. Her mother works at a pot shop selling legalized intoxicants so she’s high and irresponsible most of the time and can’t give the care her children need. Oliver on the other hand is a kid with a mysterious past in Chicago. He was sent out to Boulder because of an incident involving his sister. Olliver rarely speaks about his past and feels sadness everytime he thinks of it. Essa and Olliver both take part-time jobs at a kite shop and become friends. Essa then invites Olliver to come with her other friends, Micah and Anish, to a hiking trip in the Rocky Mountains. Things start to go wrong when Essa and her friends realize that Puck stowed away on the trip to join them. Essa decides to bring Puck back home and cancel the dangerous expedition through the woods, especially when she finds a creepy guy roaming the woods in the dark, but it starts to thunder so they have to find shelter. Things go EVEN MORE wrong when Essa wakes up at 3:00 AM and discovers that Puck and Oliver are missing. However, Oliver comes back a few minutes later claiming that he was using the bathroom. Essa and her friends search everywhere in the woods, but can’t find Puck. Did this have anything to do with the strange man they saw earlier? Or did it have to do with Oliver, who she had just met a month ago? Plus, she barely knew anything about his life in Chicago, or his sister’s incident. Brilliant, touching, and spooky, Zen and Gone is the perfect book for readers who love adventure books and mysteries.

5 Stars.

What’s Happening at Cheshire Library in June

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Our Summer Adventure summer reading program for kids and adults kicks off on June 1. Sign up to receive a packet of activities & challenges, then turn in completed packets to be eligible for fabulous prizes!

Open Art Studio

Fridays from 1-3pm, May 6, 13, 20, 27

Bring your works in progress and supplies to this weekly drop-in art program. This is an opportunity to create in a collaborative environment with other artists. No formal instruction will be provided, but informal critiquing for those who want it is encouraged. Table covers will be provided. There is a sink in the room for basic cleanup (please do not bring turpentine).

Remembering D-Day (2 part series)

Historian Kelvin W. Cole will be here for two nights June 6 & 13 to discuss the historic events of D-Day and Normandy.The fall of Western Europe to the Nazis and the construction of the defenses and “The  Atlantic Wall” in their bid to keep it. The “Perfect Storm” of events that descended upon the Nazis’ “Fortress Europe” and resulted in the Allied victory with the collapse and German surrender eleven months later. Registration required for each program.

Cat Tales Writers Group

Thursday, June 9, 2022, 6:30 – 8:00pm

Join us for a monthly open writing group that can help answer your questions on writing, editing, grammar, and publishing. Read a selection of your work to the group for general constructive feedback, or discuss a book you’ve read that might help someone else. Registration is required.

Loft Knitters

Wednesday, June 15, 2022, 6:30 – 8:00pm

Our monthly knitting group. Come socialize, learn, share your techniques with other knitters.  All levels of adult knitters’ welcome, please bring your own yarn and knitting needles. Registration is required.

Dance Party at Mixville Park

Friday, June 17, 2022, 5:00 – 8:00pm

We’re kicking off our Summer Adventure Reading Program at Mixville Park with a fun dance party! There will be activities for all ages including, a DJ, lawn games, balloon twisting, volleyball, gaga ball pit, chalk drawing, and a special character appearance! Please register so that we can contact you in the event of a weather-related cancellation (rain date is June 24).

Pete The Cat Music

Tuesday, June 21, 2022, 10:00 – 10:45am

On his way to the Music Room, Pete’s white shoes get dirty but he just keeps going along and singing his songs. Pete learns a cool song, a groovy dance and discovers his own boogie shoes!

Best for Ages 1-6. Registration is required.

  • Cheshire Residents: Cheshire residents will be allowed to register starting on June 7.
  • Non-Residents: Non-residents may register starting on June 14.

Intro to Improv

Tuesday, June 21, 2022, 3:00 – 4:00pm

Join us for a program where everything is made up! Play acting games to learn the basics of improvisational comedy. For teens in grades 7-12 registration is required.

Hooked on Llamas

Wednesday, June 22, 2022, 3:00 – 4:00pm

Debbie from Country Quilt Llama Farm will bring one of her llama friends to the library for a special storytime! Children will be able to touch and pet a real llama.

Best for ages 3-8. Registration is required.

  • Cheshire Residents: Cheshire residents will be allowed to register starting on June 8.
  • Non-Residents: Non-residents may register starting on June 15.

Hot Cat Jazz Band in concert at Mixville Park

Wednesday, June 22, 2022, 6:30 – 8:00pm

Join us for our summer concert series kick-off!  The Hot Cat Jazz Band summer concert in June will be fun for the entire family.  The Hot Cats repertoire includes swing standards, big band hits, Dixieland favorites and classic rock. Admission to Mixville Park is free for concert attendees.  Just tell the staff at the entrance gate that you are there for the concert.  The concert will begin at 6:30, but you are welcome to come early and enjoy a picnic or a stroll at beautiful Mixville!  Don’t forget to bring your lawn chairs and some bug spray.   Raindate: June 23.

Bear Scavenger Hunt

Thursday, June 23, 2022, All Day Event

Drop into the Children’s Room and complete a bear scavenger hunt for a chance to win a prize from the Beardsley Zoo! No registration required. Sponsored by the Friends of the Cheshire Public Library and the Beardsley Zoo.

Teen Crafts: CD Suncatchers

Thursday, June 23, 2022, 2:00 – 3:00pm

Come hang out in the Teen Room, and make some aesthetically pleasing and trendy suncatchers out of recycled CDs. Snacks will be provided. For teens/tweens in grades 6-12. Registration required.

Best of England’s Dramatic Cornwall

Thursday, June 23, 2022, 3:00 – 4:00pm

Armchair travelers, this one’s for you! Join Anglophile and former UK resident Claire Evans for a lively discussion about this underappreciated English destination, Cornwall, England’s far west country bordered by the North Atlantic and the English Channel. This program will be ONLINE, please register to receive a Zoom link one hour before the program.

Zombie School: SFX Makeup Workshop for grades 5-12

Tuesday, June 28, 2022, 4:00 – 5:30pm

Decimated Designs will teach you how to transform into a monster, zombie, and more! We’ll cover the do’s and don’ts of special effects makeup, hygiene, how to get started, and some tricks you can use to improve your costumes or makeup at home. Seats are limited, registration is required.

The Bad Guys Book Party 

Wednesday, June 29, 2022, 3:00 – 4:00pm

Help the Bad Guys, characters from the book series by Aaron Blabey, complete a mission and save the library! Enjoy crafts, games, challenges and more! Best for kids in grades K-6. Siblings are welcome to attend. Registration is required.

Songs Around the Campfire

Thursday, June 30, 2022, 11:00 – 11:45am

Sing some funny and upbeat campfire songs with Julie Stepanek and her ukulele!

Best for ages 0-7. Registration is required.

  • Cheshire Residents: Cheshire residents will be allowed to register starting on June 16.
  • Non-Residents: Non-residents may register starting on June 23.

Italy Through the Seasons

Thursday, June 30, 2022, 6:30 – 7:40pm

Join us as we will introduce you to a rich and meaningful seasonal experience of Italy. We will take a full discovery across Italy, north to south including Sicily. We hope to see you for this relaxed, informational and interactive presentation. Lisa (Cisero) Phillips of  Bella Europa Travel will be presenting. Registration is required.

JUNE BOOK CLUBS

Murder by the Book Mystery Book Club: Strong Poison

Thursday, June 16, 2022, 1:00 – 2:30pm

Natural Selections Book Club: Sapiens

Saturday, June 18, 2022, 2:30 – 3:30pm

Many Stories Book Club: There There

Thursday, June 23, 2022, 7:00 – 8:00pm

Books Over Coffee: Lessons in Chemistry

Wednesday, June 22, 2022, 12:00 – 1:30pm

Made in China

/ Susan O. / Leave a comment

Every now and then you read a book so disturbing you change your life because of it. That’s how I felt about Amelia Pang’s book, Made in China. I have not been so disturbed by a book since Road of Lost Innocence, by Somaly Mam. 

In 2012 Julie Keith opened up Halloween decorations, only to find a note in broken English, asking her to “kindly resend this letter to the World Human Right Organization. Thousands people here who are under the persecution of the Chinese Communist Party Government will thank and remember you forever.”

Julie did – contacting Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, The United Nations Human Rights Council, and Anti-Slavery International.

None of them called her back.

Through her own research, she slowly learned the extent that America’s cheap consumer goods are, too often, being manufactured illegally by political prisoners in China, who work in concentration camp conditions amid torture and starvation.

 It wasn’t until she spoke to Immigration and Customs and Border Protection that she got anyone to listen – ICE and CBP are the agencies responsible for preventing forced-labor products from entering US markets. ICE made a formal request to visit the “reeducation center” where the product was made. China refused. Keith learned that China has never allowed inspection of their manufacturing facilities, and one piece of evidence isn’t enough to push further.

But Keith couldn’t stop thinking about the person who wrote the note. She wound up doing an interview for The Oregonian, and suddenly found herself in the spotlight of Chinese dissident news, CNN, Fox, and more. Through the group Human Rights Watch, Keith found out it’s almost impossible to prove human rights violations – Kmart insisted the factory had been audited every 6 to 12 months, absolutely within the law, but audits cost money and mostly check for cleanliness and quality control. They never check for the source of labor. When you have a hundred thousand subcontractors, and each audit is $1,000, the costs and time add up to impossible.

Sun Yi and his letter

Sun Yi was the man who wrote that note in 2009, three years before Julie Keith found it. He was imprisoned and tortured for belonging to a meditation group that fell into disfavor with the Party. After two years of  starvation, torture, and working sometimes 24 hours a day in inhumane conditions, he was released. CNN interviewed him, blocking his face so he could not be identified. Sun Yi decided that, while he could get the information out, he wanted to write a letter to Julie, thanking her. He included his email address. Sun realized if he was to live, he had to leave China, and slipped out to Indonesia before the Chinese authorities could stop him, since Indonesia didn’t require a visa for Chinese citizens. There, he had free communication with the world.

In March of 2017, Julie Keith flew 36 hours to Indonesia, to meet Sun Yi in person, something she always wanted to do. The meeting was bittersweet, and Keith learned much about Yi’s poor treatment.

In October of 2017, Sun Yi died mysteriously of a lung infection and kidney failure. He was said to have been befriended by a Chinese woman not long before. She wasn’t seen in Jakarta afterward. No autopsy was performed.

This book tore at my heart. It’s short, easy to read, and always engaging. As we flip past internet bargains and snap up dollar deals, think twice before buying cheap merchandise. Ask if the item was made in the USA, and try (oh yes, it’s difficult) to buy items made only in countries who pay fair wages and rely on fair trade. Does that pop-up ad on social media look beautiful, at a reasonable price? Google the company. If there’s little to no information on it, it may be because it’s fly-by-night. You might get a nice product, but the company may fold in one town and open up under a different name three blocks away in the same Chinese city, using the same illegal workers. 

I got suckered in by that myself: researched the company, found no red flags, ordered what I thought was a hand-made item by a small Mom & Pop company, until a few weeks later when I got an email telling me my package had just cleared customs from China.

Huh? 

The package arrived with a label that had a New York State company address – slapped directly over the label that was on the envelope that arrived from China.

Think when you purchase something. Without demand for cheap products, there will be less demand for labor. Ask yourself: Do I really need this? Is the price too good to be true? Where was it made? Who made it? Who is profiting from my buying it? Was someone harmed by my decision to purchase this item?

Sometimes, the answer might be yes.

Covid questions and answers

/ Lauren / Leave a comment

On April 28, we partnered with our local health organization, Chesprocott, to host an educational conversation about the Covid-19 vaccine. Dr. Henry Anyimadu and Dr. Sarah Banks from Hartford Healthcare volunteered their time to give us the latest information and answer any questions we had. We furiously took notes for those who weren’t able to make it to the program. Here’s what we learned:

What’s the current positivity rate for Connecticut?
As of late April, our positivity rate was 8.8-9% positivity rate, but it’s difficult to get a good number on community activity. The state calculates positivity by looking at PCR tests done in labs, but it doesn’t count home tests. The rate could be much higher.

How many people in Connecticut are vaccinated?
2.7 million people are vaxxed, which translates to 75% of the population.

What are the benefits of the covid vaccine?
The risk of death from covid is three to four times higher in unvaccinated people, and the risk of hospitalization is four times higher. The vaccine doesn’t protect you 100% from severe illness, hospitalization, or death, but it dramatically reduces your risk.

What about the fourth dose?
Currently a fourth dose is recommended for immunocompromised people and those at high risk.

What treatments are available for covid?
Antivirals such as Paxlovid and monoclonal antibodies are effective at fighting covid. They must be prescribed early in the illness, within five days of the onset of symptoms. Typically, they are given to folks 65 years old and older and to people with other risks. Your primary care practitioner can figure out if you are eligible for antiviral treatment. It’s very important that antivirals are prescribed early, as they are lot as effective in later stages of the illness.

Why are cases spiking?
There are a number of reasons. Mask mandates have gone away and people are just plain tired of wearing them. People are going out and traveling more often. We don’t have herd immunity yet. And most people were vaccinated six months ago and their antibodies are starting to wane. The numbers of cases are expected to continue rising until the middle or end of May. The good news, though, is that our high level of vaccination does mean that most of us have some level of immunity against covid.

What’s going on with the vaccine for kids younger than five years old?
Pfizer retracted their application for emergency use when their data showed it wasn’t as effective against omicron. Now that they have better omicron data, they are closer to submitting an application. Moderna just submitted an application on Thursday, April 28 for use in children under five. We are still waiting for a lot of data, but young children should have an approved vaccine soon. In the meantime, Remdesivir was just approved for treatment of severe illness in younger children. It’s also true that children generally do better than adults with viral illnesses, so they are not getting as sick as adults when it comes to covid. We don’t know yet if the covid vaccine will join the group of required childhood vaccine.

What’s in the future for the vaccine?
Companies are trying to come up with variant-specific vaccines. It’s easy to manipulate mRNA vaccines like those offered by Pfizer and Moderna, so we are expecting to see mRNA vaccines become responsive to evolving variants.

 

If you’re looking for more information on covid-19 or other health topics, we recommend the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Connecticut Department of Public Health, or the local Chesprocott Health District. Why, you ask, are library professionals recommending websites instead of books? Well, even when we don’t have global supply chain issues slowing down every aspect of our lives, websites can be updated way faster than books – especially with the covid pandemic, when information changes daily. Websites are our first choice when it comes to timely health topics!

 

Re-Covery

/ Susan O. / 3 Comments

They tell you not to judge a book by its cover, but a book cover can make or break a book’s success. While browsing a used bookstore decades ago, I fell utterly in love with the covers of a book series I’d never heard of before – DragonLance, by Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman. I had to buy them, even just to look at the covers. The cover paintings were done by Larry Elmore, one of the premiere fantasy artists of the time. I’d never gotten too much into sword and sorcery books, but I devoured these. The second trilogy was still being written, and it was agony waiting for the next book in the series. I love those books to this day; they influence my own writing and imagination, and all because I had to have that book cover.

And nothing, of course, is more infuriating than when they change that book cover you know and love, and not usually for the better. Have you read this book? The title looks familiar, but not the cover … and then you start to read and find out yes, you’ve read it before, they changed the cover on you. Why?

There are many reasons a book gets a new cover. It may have changed publishers. It may be the paperback edition of a hardcover, or a school edition, or an audiobook – and audiobook companies, who often have a middleman, don’t always get permission to use the same cover. It may be a new printing – if a book contract agrees to a run of 5,000 copies, and 6,000 are ordered, the book may get a new distribution run, resulting in a new cover. The book may have been sold to a new publisher – such as Bantam Books being sold to Random House. Random House will then reissue a strong seller with their own brand of cover. If a movie or TV series is made from the book, a new edition will be released with a cover that reflects the new media, as happened with Lord of the Rings and Ready Player One. Sometimes the publisher gets flack because the cover has absolutely nothing to do with the story, and they rework it.

Sometimes, it’s hard to keep up, and sometimes, the cover art makes you scratch your head. Take, for example, the book Alas, Babylon, a 1959 novel of nuclear apocalypse that, if it’s not still my absolute favorite novel, it’s in my top three. First below is the cover I read it with – sensible, with the red/orange color of disaster and warning and nuclear fire, and people walking out of it. Compare that with the many covers it’s had since 1959:

The current one, number two above, a fourth edition by Harper Collins, to me, is puzzling – small font, an empty boardwalk, and a hand? This is not a cover that invites me to read, tells me a single thing about the story. Perhaps, after so many editions, they run out of ideas. Another fact: it’s very rare an author gets to choose the cover of their book – or have any input at all. You may submit your perfect dream cover along with your manuscript, and the publisher will toss it and give the work to one of their contracted artists. This is how you wind up with a blonde, blue-eyed heroine on the cover when the main character has short black hair.

The “girls rolling around on the ground” phase.

Book covers also reflect what seems to be popular – a few years ago it seemed every book had a girl rolling around on the ground. If one sells, then everyone wants to copy that success. The bottom half of a face? Those are popular. Romance novel covers were almost interchangeable – how many were based on the model Fabio?  This year, pink is supposed to be “in” for covers again, as well as layered graphics and bold lettering.

Don’t like a book cover? Let the publisher know! Editors read the books, not the artists, or the publisher. If they’ve missed the mark, tell them. Authors depend on good covers to grab readers; if the cover isn’t intriguing, it’s wasting money.

What book covers have hit the mark, reached out and grabbed you so you had to read it?

What types of covers make you walk away?

Has a book cover ever made you angry?

Let us know!