Kindness for Weakness by Shawn Goodman

Cover Art by Alexander Shahmiri

Copyright 2013

CYRM Nominee 2016-2017

ISBN: 978-0-385-74325-9

Ages 14 and above

Sometimes good kids, make poor choices.

Book List Review:

Grades 8-12. When 15-year-old James dutifully attempts to deliver drugs for his older brother, whom he idolizes, he is caught by police, convicted, and sentenced to a year in juvenile prison. In the novel that follows, Goodman offers a searing indictment of the so-called juvenile justice system, in which any attempt at kindness is perceived as weakness. Goodman is notably successful at stirring up a visceral reaction from the reader at the flagrant injustices that James encounters, and he does an interesting thing by contrasting James’ experiences with those of Humphrey Van Weyden, the protagonist of Jack London’s classic novel The Sea Wolf (1904). Will James, who perceives himself as “a skinny, friendless loser,” be able to transform himself, or will his bête noire, the system itself, prove to be his undoing? 

Radioactive! How Irene Curie and Lise Meitner Revolutionized Science and Changed the World
by Winifred Conkling

Jacket Design by Studio Gearbox

Copyright 2016

ISBN 978-161620-415-0

Grades 5-9

Book Briefs Episode 04 (Podcast--audio only--by Mrs. Flores)

The fascinating, little-known story of how two brilliant female physicists’ groundbreaking discoveries led to the creation of the atomic bomb.

Review by Good Reads

In 1934, Irène Curie, working with her husband and fellow scientist, Frederic Joliot, made a discovery that would change the world: artificial radioactivity. This breakthrough allowed scientists to modify elements and create new ones by altering the structure of atoms. Curie shared a Nobel Prize with her husband for their work. But when she was nominated to the French Academy of Sciences, the academy denied her admission and voted to disqualify all women from membership. Four years later, Curie’s breakthrough led physicist Lise Meitner to a brilliant leap of understanding that unlocked the secret of nuclear fission. Meitner’s unique insight was critical to the revolution in science that led to nuclear energy and the race to build the atom bomb, yet her achievement was left unrecognized by the Nobel committee in favor of that of her male colleague.

Radioactive! presents the story of two women breaking ground in a male-dominated field, scientists still largely unknown despite their crucial contributions to cutting-edge research, in a nonfiction narrative that reads with the suspense of a thriller. Photographs and sidebars illuminate and clarify the science in the book.