SORA & The Palace Project

 

Click the link HERE to view how to access The Palace Project

Summer Reading!

 Hi Bengals! Summer is almost here and I hope you all stay reading! I'm not going to recommend books over the summer, but I will have links below on how to access SORA and The Palace Project!

Also, if anyone is interested in joining next school year's Battle of the Books, we already have the list out for it! To join, come into the library any time and ask a library staff for more info. Check out the QR code on the poster below for the full list of books: 

Realm Breaker

 

Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard

A strange darkness grows in Allward even Corayne an-Amarat can feel it in her small town at the edge of the sea. The long lost heir to an ancient lineage, it’s not until Corayne meets a rag-tag group of companions that she learns how to wield the magic slumbering in her blood—and how together they might stop what’s coming.

From her seat on the throne, Queen Erida has one aim: build a kingdom worthy of her destiny. While her court hopes to marry her off, Erida will do anything she can to avoid losing her crown—and her freedom. No matter the cost.

Meanwhile, shadowy corpse armies march the hillsides and dangerous beasts creep through fissures in the world, and a great evil grows stronger by the day. As the realm descends into chaos, the choices are clear: Save the world…or end it.

Realm Breaker is the first book in an epic series, told in multiple-POV chapters that follow an irresistible cast of characters through an incredibly imagined world, with action-packed adventure and lethal twists you won’t see coming, perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Tolkien himself.

Reviews

"The entire time I was reading REALM BREAKER, I wanted one thing: for the book to never end. It is classic yet groundbreaking, romantic yet edgy, a rollicking adventure that carries you along at a relentless pace. A true fantasy masterpiece."  — Sabaa Tahir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the An Ember in the Ashes series. 

"Realm Breaker is the kind of book you take with you to your favorite reading chair. The world is rich and built with deep care; the characters are complex and flawed; the story is filled with the kind of sweeping scale that fantasy does best. This is a new classic."  — Marie Lu, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Skyhunter

Salt to the Sea

 

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

For readers of Between Shades of Gray and All the Light We Cannot See, Ruta Sepetys returns to WWII in this epic novel that shines a light on one of the war's most devastating—yet unknown—tragedies.

World War II is drawing to a close in East Prussia and thousands of refugees are on a desperate trek toward freedom, many with something to hide. Among them are Joana, Emilia, and Florian, whose paths converge en route to the ship that promises salvation, the Wilhelm Gustloff. Forced by circumstance to unite, the three find their strength, courage, and trust in each other tested with each step closer to safety.

Just when it seems freedom is within their grasp, tragedy strikes. Not country, nor culture, nor status matter as all ten thousand people—adults and children alike—aboard must fight for the same thing: survival.

Told in alternating points of view and perfect for fans of Anthony Doerr's Pulitzer Prize-winning All the Light We Cannot See, Erik Larson's Dead Wake, and Elizabeth Wein's Printz Honor Book Code Name Verity, this masterful work of historical fiction is inspired by the real-life tragedy that was the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff—the greatest maritime disaster in history. As she did in Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys unearths a shockingly little-known casualty of a gruesome war, and proves that humanity and love can prevail, even in the darkest of hours.

Reviews

Mrs. Flores and Matt at the CEHS library love anything by Sepetys and would recommend her works to any students asking for a book recommendation. Here are some other reviews!

"The inevitability of the ending (including the loss of several characters) doesn't change its poignancy, and the short chapters and slowly revealed back stories for each character guarantee the pages keep turning. Heartbreaking, historical, and a little bit hopeful." —Kirkus

“A rich, page-turning story that brings to vivid life a terrifying—and little-known—moment in World War II history.” —Steve Sheinkin, author of Newbery Honor and National Book Award finalist Bomb

Two Can Keep A Secret

 

Two Can Keep A Secret by Karen McManus

The "must-read YA thriller" (Bustle) from #1 New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying about a small town with deadly secrets.

"When it comes to YA suspense, Karen M. McManus is in a league of her own..." --Entertainment Weekly

Echo Ridge is small-town America. Ellery's never been there, but she's heard all about it. Her aunt went missing there at age seventeen. And only five years ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map when she was killed. Now Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother she barely knows.

The town is picture-perfect, but it's hiding secrets. And before school even begins for Ellery, someone has declared open season on homecoming, promising to make it as dangerous as it was five years ago. Then, almost as if to prove it, another girl goes missing.

Ellery knows all about secrets. Her mother has them; her grandmother does too. And the longer she's in Echo Ridge, the clearer it becomes that everyone there is hiding something. The thing is, secrets are dangerous--and most people aren't good at keeping them. Which is why in Echo Ridge, it's safest to keep your secrets to yourself.

House of Salt and Sorrows

 

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor with her sisters and their father and stepmother. Once there were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls' lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last--the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge--and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods.

Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that her sister's deaths were no accidents. The girls have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn't sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who--or what--are they really dancing with?

When Annaleigh's involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it's a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family--before it claims her next. House of Salt and Sorrows is a spellbinding novel filled with magic and the rustle of gossamer skirts down long, dark hallways. Be careful who you dance with...

Reviews

The Palace Project

Hi everyone! I recently learned about the Palace Project which sounds like a really neat way to connect with your local library and get access to their e-books and audiobooks from your smartphone or tablet! If you don't have a library card or are unable to visit your local branch and get set up there, this is an amazing alternative!

The videos below provide some information about the app and how to get it set up.