Asteroid Hunters by Carrie Nugent
Simon & Schuster/TED: 3/14/17
digital review copy; 128 pages
ISBN-13: 9781501120084
Asteroid Hunters by Carrie Nugent is a highly recommended quick look at asteroids. This is the published version of a TED talk that would be a good choice for anyone interested in learning more
about asteroids, from as young as age 10 to adult. This book could be
the foundational inspiration for future asteroid hunters/researchers.
Nugent provides her information about asteroids in accessible easy to
comprehend language. She covers what they are and where they come from,
but also the bigger question: what would happen if one hit the Earth? We
know they have hit the Earth in the past and many adults remember
Shoemaker Levy 9 hitting Jupiter. Elementary school children will know
that a meteorite was responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs. I think
most people who are interested in asteroids will remember the meteor
that exploded over Chelyabinsk
in Russia on February 15, 2013. There were numerous videos available
online and they can still be found today with a quick search.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpmXyJrs7iU)
Nugent discusses the different telescopes used to find asteroids,
including the infrared NEOWISE, the project on which she is working.
"The successful hunt and mapping of asteroids
could mean nothing less than saving life on earth." Most asteroids live
in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and stay in a stable
orbit. Why scientists are busy identifying those asteroids, they are
also looking at any whose orbit takes them close to Earth. By the end of
2011, scientists had found "over 90 percent of asteroids bigger than
one kilometer across that get close to Earth" and since then even more
have been found. Asteroid hunters are continually searching for even
smaller, but still potentially destructive asteroids.
This is a short, easy to read and follow look at Nugent's job as an
asteroid hunter. As someone who has spent more than one night watching
the sky during meteor showers I guess the one drawback for me was the
lack of real pictures in the book. You don't forget seeing a fireball or
an especially active shower. There are illustrations, probably made for
the TED talk, but it would be nice to see some real photographs. This
is especially true of some big events that I recall being in awe over -
Shoemaker Levy 9 hitting Jupiter and the Chelyabinsk, Russia meteor.
The Perils of "Privilege" by Phoebe Maltz Bovy
St. Martin's Press: 3/14/17
eBook review copy; 336 pages
ISBN-13:
9781250091208
The Perils of "Privilege": Why Injustice Can't Be Solved by Accusing Others of Advantage by Phoebe Maltz Bovy is a very highly recommended, blunt and well-documented discussion of the current
social justice phenomena of accusing people of "Privilege" and the ever
present insult to people "Your privilege is showing" or YPIS.
Author Maltz Bovy states that The Perils of "Privilege" is
an argument against using the concept of privilege to understand and
fight against injustice. "It is an attempt at taking a step back and
asking
whether the privilege-awareness project is a valuable one. And it’s my
sense - with some caveats - that it’s been a disaster." "This is the
biggest theoretical challenge to the privilege turn: An
approach that’s ostensibly about achieving social justice winds up
suggesting, or seeming to suggest, that everyone should be miserable. A
further flaw: "Privilege" is based on an analogy, namely that other
forms of unearned advantage are similar to, and as important as,
wealth." It is all about sensitivities and tends to make far too much of
minor problems and far too little of big ones.
Chapter 1 covers the online privilege conversation, a tangled
accusatory atmosphere where it is easy to call out someone for YPIS, as
I'm sure many people have observed. Chapter 2 looks at American high
schools and universities who now regularly host privilege-awareness
workshops and now Privilege Studies is an
academic field." I know from personal experience that these workshops are presented in a wide variety of careers,
including all public school employees and expanding to health care
fields. Chapter 3 shows the "impact privilege theory has had on the
arts and
on cultural criticism. Books, movies, and TV shows are now evaluated in
terms of privilege, to the exclusion of all other observations or
reactions." Chapter 4 examines the effect and the presence of privilege
on politics. Chapter 5 examines the use of privilege by the far right
and the plight of the straight, white, middle-class
male, among others.
This is an excellent, thought-provoking well-written look at privilege.
Phoebe Maltz Bovy makes a plethora of thoughtful comments and provides
well-documented examples. In many ways this book is over whelming
because there is so much information and so many examples. It is
information-dense. According to her calling out someone for YPIS harms
more than it helps. It has become a way to bully people online, which
has caused irreparable damage to its original use. As she succinctly
states: "There is, of course, the even stronger case for checking the
privilege
of privilege checkers, namely that the people making these accusations
tend to be fairly privileged themselves." I really agree with her that
all of these accusations of YPIS terrify people that they’re
losing the basic right to express themselves, their freedom of speech.
The first time I saw the accusation or thinly veiled insult of "your
privilege is showing" was in a comment on a book review. I was rather
taken aback that in order to disagree with what I assumed was a white
male book reviewer based on his picture, the female commenting had to
tell him YPIS. This was for a review on a novel, fiction. So, rather
than saying you disagree and envisioned the characters another way, it
made more sense to attack the reviewer's privileged status, which is
really just a kind of trolling. Goodness.
Then there are the encounters with privilege-awareness-raising
exercises. The questions require participants to disclose information,
private information, that, perhaps, you don't really want made public to
co-workers. However, if you chose to hide certain information then you
are higher on the privileged scale. It becomes a dilemma. You certainly
don't want to be near the front of the room with the well-educated, cis,
white male, but how much do you really want to reveal about yourself or
your background?
A couple of quotes - and I had pages of them saved - that I'm including without comment:
"[P]olitical commentator Andrew Sullivan.... spelled out the Trump-and-privilege connection in a New
York magazine piece that, while highly critical of Trump, sought to
understand where his supporters were coming from: A struggling white man
in the heartland is now told to 'check his privilege' by students at
Ivy League colleges. Even if you agree that the privilege exists, it’s
hard not to empathize with the object of this disdain."
"Thanks to the privilege framework, it’s possible - no matter who you
are, or why you’re doing so - to bash women and be given the benefit of
the doubt. Well done, privilege framework. Well played."
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of St. Martin's Press.
Never Out of Season by Rob Dunn
Little, Brown and Company: 3/14/17
eBook review copy; 336 pages
ISBN-13:
9780316260725
Never Out of Season: How Having the Food We Want When We Want It Threatens Our Food Supply and Our Future
by Rob Dunn is a highly recommended discourse on the importance of
diversity in our increasingly genetically standardized crops grown
worldwide.
We used to know what season it was and where a person lived based on
what food was available. Now agriculture has been globalized and
homogenized. Food crops are breed for taste, productiveness and
hardiness - and then that selected variety is the one relied upon almost
exclusively. We are standardizing crops. Now the taste is always the
same, rather than greatly differing between different types of, for
example, bananas.
Dunn points out that the Irish potato famine "was not the last ancient
plague but rather the first
truly modern one. And whereas the threat from the potato famine was
regional, the threat we now face, in our far more connected economy, is
global." In 1845 the Irish were more dependent on the potato than anyone
else, and when disease we call late blight hit the potato crop, it
caused the famine. With the standardization of crops we are setting
ourselves up for the same kind of event. A single blight, disease,
pathogen could at any moment attack a specific crop and destroy it. "We
need ever more food from each acre and so are bound to those crops
that produce the most. Just as it was for the Irish, each time a child
is born our reliance on our most productive crops increases. Corn in
North America. Wheat in Europe. Cassava in Africa. Rice in Asia."
The problem is that with reduced diversity of crops, we are setting
ourselves up for failure because now when a pathogen attacks a crop it
has the potential to wipe it out completely. We no longer have the many
different varieties grown in different places so if one variety is wiped
out, the entire crop could no longer exist. The key is to keep the wild
relatives of our crops available. We need all the species alive and
their seeds available as a key to combat any future plagues. We are
reducing the number of varieties of crops we depend upon for food when
we need to be protecting the varieties in order to protect our future
food supplies.
Dunn covers a variety of crops including bananas, coffee, cacao, wheat,
corn, cassava, and potatoes. He also tells about the forward thinking of
Soviet botanist Nikolai Vavilov who began collecting a wide variety of
seeds in the 1940s and those who understood the need to
protect the seed bank during WWII. Dunn extensively discusses the
"doomsday vault" in Norway where seeds are preserved against a future
apocalypse.
Never Out of Season is well-researched and contains extensive
notes for each chapter and the sources cited. There is also an index.
Even though it is a scholarly work, it is very accessible for anyone who
is interested in agriculture, history, and food science.
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of Little, Brown and Company.
The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel
Crown/Archetype: 3/7/17
eBook review copy; 288 pages
ISBN-13:
9781101906668
The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel is a highly recommended, disturbing, creepy thriller.
After 15 year-old Lane Roanoke's mother commits suicide, Lane leaves NYC
to live with her grandparents and cousin Allegra on their farm, named
after the family, in rural Kansas by the small town of Osage Flats. All
Lane knew about her grandparents was that her mother couldn't wait to
leave and never went back. Once in Kansas, Lane learns that her
grandparents are wealthy, but she also learns that the Roanoke girls
seem to be prone to dying - or running away like her mother did. What
she can't figure out is why her mother was so haunted by her life there.
When she does discover the truth over the one summer she was there, she
also runs.
Eleven years later Lane is living in Los Angeles when she gets a call
from her grandfather telling her that Allegra has gone missing and Lane
needs to come home. Lane does return to Roanoke to help search for
Allegra and figure out what happened to her. Did she run or did
something else happen. Lane certainly doesn't care about seeing her
grandparents, and makes it quite clear. She even blurts out early on the
big, dark secret hanging over the Roanokes, making it clear why she
likely ran away. It's disgusting and the book slowly reveals the extent
of the family secret. Lane also wonders about seeing her boyfriend from
that summer, Cooper.
The narrative alternates between the past and the present. It follows
Lane during her summer at Roanoke and then her return eleven years later
to look for Allegra. It also goes back in time to reveal what happened
to all the other Roanoke girls in the past. As I said, the shocking
secret is revealed early in the book, so what you will be looking for
are clues to Allegra's fate and more information and clarification about
what has happened to all the other Roanoke girls.
Engel does an excellent job keeping the suspense and intrigue going,
hooking you into the secrets of the past and present, as she slowly
reveals more information. The novel is well-presented, in the writing,
execution and the length. I was completely hooked in the story and never
had a point in The Roanoke Girls where I thought the story was
being stretched out. I read it in one sitting, which is the perfect way
to read this page-turner. The ending is rather predictable, although it
seems intentional as the
focus is more on Lane's emotional state and her search for the reason
for Allegra's disappearance.
The biggest drawback to The Roanoke Girls is the subject matter.
The subject matter is repulsive and will always be disgusting.
Additionally, Lane's self-loathing can be difficult to relate to. In the
end, however, Engels pulls it all together, reveals all the secrets,
and there is closure.
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of Crown/Archetype.
Every Wild Heart by Meg Donohue
HarperCollins: 3/14/17
eBook review copy; 304 pages
paperback ISBN-13:
9780062429834
Every Wild Heart by Meg Donohue is a recommended mother/daughter story.
Gail Gideon is the radio personality/voice for "The Gail Gideon
Show." Gail's show began as an on-air rant nine years ago when her
husband asked for a divorce. Now her nationally syndicated show provides
advice to millions of women who seek self-empowerment. Her fame has
come at a price, including stalkers, misguided fans, callers who dislike
her, and harassing notes. But Gail has kept a low profile and most
people don't know what she looks like.
Gail's daughter Nic, 14, has always had self-esteem issues and a problem
with stuttering. She tends to avoid social situations and much prefers
her time after school at the stables with her horse, Tru. Then the
unthinkable happens and a riding accident sends Nic to the hospital with
a traumatic brain injury. When she comes out of her coma, she is a
changed girl. She is now much more confident, charming, outspoken, and
her stutter is gone. She's now emboldened to talk to new senior, Lucas
Holt, but she is also making other decisions that are more reckless.
Gail notices the change in her daughter and wants to protect her, but
needs to balance her concern with other commitments. Nic definitely
can't ride her horse until it is approved by the doctors and her mom and
dad. Will Nic listen to her mom when riding is her true love, unless
Lucas is going to take that role. And what about Gail? Can she really
give advice to single women when she might be falling for someone?
This novel is set with a sound track because Gail loves her music and
has a song or two or three for every scene and event in her life. Music
is a central theme in this story, so know your female singers when you
start reading.
Every Wild Heart encompasses a light mystery, love stories, the
mother-daughter bond, horses, and music. The novel is well-written and
flows smoothly as the chapters switch between the point of view of Gail
and Nic. The dual narration is very successful here and offers a nice
point-counterpoint between the two as the various storylines in the plot
are developed. Even though the novel is a little too-sweet and
predictable at times, it is well-written and offers a pleasant diversion
from life. Every now and then it is nice to read a novel with conflicts
that all find a resolution and a happy ending.
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins.
One of the Boys by Daniel Magariel
Scribner: 3/14/17
eBook review copy; 176 pages
ISBN-13:
9781501156168
One of the Boys by Daniel Magariel is a very highly recommended
debut story of survival that focuses on a father's physically and
psychologically abuse toward his sons.
The unnamed 12-year-old
narrator, his older brother, and their father have survived a
brutal
divorce and custody battle referred to by the father as "the
war." After the narrator participated in lying about his mother's
negligence so his father could gain custody and the narrator can be "one
of the boys," the three leave Kansas and move to New Mexico to begin a
new life. The boys go to school and join basketballs teams while their
father works from home. At first it seems that they have a chance at the
good life their father promised.
Soon it becomes clear to the narrator that their father will be just as
violently abusive toward his sons as the father was toward their mother.
He also figures out that his father is covering up a serious drug
addiction. Their father is quickly headed downhill and the boys are
increasingly exposed to an increasingly odd group of strangers in their
home. The boys have only each other to lean on for support while they
try to carefully maneuver around their father's erratic, violent
drug-induced mood swings.
Magariel's carefully written prose manages to capture the boys' loss of
trust in their father, and the hopelessness they feel trying to figure
out what to do next to survive life with him. The way the charismatic
father manipulates his sons and their response is chilling. He is their
father and wants what is best for them, right? Because they are "one of
the boys" it's their job to protect and look out for him, right? The
mixed emotions the boys experience is heart-breaking, yet realistically
portrayed.
This is a remarkable, stunning, brilliant, extremely well-written debut
novel. At only 176 pages it can be read in one sitting, but the modest
size of the novel belies the huge emotional impact on the reader. That
is going to last much longer.
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of Scribner.
The Fall of Lisa Bellow by Susan Perabo
Simon & Schuster: 3/14/17
eBook review copy; 352 pages
ISBN-13:
9781476761466
The Fall of Lisa Bellow by Susan Perabo is a highly recommended complex family drama about survivor's guilt.
Meredith Oliver is thirteen and in the eighth grade. She and her friends
watch and discuss the popular mean girls at their school, including
Lisa Bellows, whose locker is next to Meredith's. It is a struggle for
anyone to get through the day when in middle school. Meredith's family
is still recovering from the horrible accident her adored older brother
had when playing baseball. Now he's essentially blind in one eye. All
Meredith wants to do is get through this day in October and stop to get a
root beer at the Deli Barn after school.
When Meredith gets to the Deli Barn, she sees that Lisa Bellows is
already there, so she has to wait for Lisa to order her two sandwiches.
Suddenly a masked gun man enters the sandwich shop. He orders both girls
to get on the floor and robs the place. The two girls cower together on
the floor, alternately giving each other support. Before the gun man
leaves he tells Lisa to get up and come with him. Meredith remains on
the floor, completely paralyzed with fear, until a customer comes in, a
janitor at her school, and calls the police. Meredith is traumatized,
trying to deal with witnessing the kidnapping, being the girl left
behind, and processing all her feeling about the event.
The narrative has chapters alternating between two characters, following
the thoughts and emotions of Meredith and Claire Oliver, her mother.
While Meredith is trying to understand why she was the one left behind
and find some answers, if only in her head. Claire is relieved her
daughter was not taken, but struggles with confronting her inability to
protect her children or even comfort them.
The Fall of Lisa Bellow is a very well-written book and was
compelling enough that, staying up a bit too late, I read it in one
sitting. I simply had to find out what happened. Perabo manages to
capture and realistically portray the inner voice and struggles of both a
thirteen-year old girl and her mother. This is a feat in itself. Both
Meredith and Claire are strong characters who are dealing with their
unspeakable mental anguish in their own way. They are also both well
developed characters and strikingly realistic - neither of them are
particularly likable. The depiction of Meredith struggling with
survivor's guilt and trying to process what happened is especially
effective.
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of Simon & Schuster.
