Wednesday, February 26, 2025

The Bletchley Riddle

 

The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Summary

A stunning collaboration between award-winning and bestselling authors Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin. This is Ruta’s first historical novel for middle-grade readers. Summer, 1940. Nineteen-year-old Jakob Novis and his quirky younger sister Lizzie share a love of riddles and puzzles. And now they’re living inside of one. The quarrelsome siblings find
themselves amidst one of the greatest secrets of World War II—Britain’s eccentric codebreaking factory at Bletchley Park. As Jakob joins Bletchley’s top minds to crack the Nazi’s Enigma cipher, fourteen-year-old Lizzie embarks on a mission to solve the mysterious disappearance of their mother.

The Battle of Britain rages and Hitler’s invasion creeps closer. And at the same time, baffling messages and codes arrive on their doorstep while a menacing inspector lurks outside the gates of the Bletchley mansion. Are the messages truly for them, or are they a trap? Could the riddles of Enigma and their mother’s disappearance be somehow connected? Jakob and Lizzie must find a way to work together as they race to decipher clues that unravel a shocking puzzle that presents the ultimate challenge: How long must a secret be kept?

Remember, you are bound by the Official Secrets Act…


Reviews




Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Heartstopper, Volume 1

 

Heartstopper ,Volume 1 by Alice Oseman

Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. A sweet and charming coming-of-age story that explores friendship, love, and coming out. This edition features beautiful two-color artwork.

Now streaming on Netflix!

Shy and softhearted Charlie Spring sits next to rugby player Nick Nelson in class one morning. A warm and intimate friendship follows, and that soon develops into something more for Charlie, who doesn't think he has a chance.

But Nick is struggling with feelings of his own, and as the two grow closer and take on the ups and downs of high school, they come to understand the surprising and delightful ways in which love works.



Click HERE for Alice Oseman's Heartstopper Character Profiles

Reviews

Praise for the Heartstopper series:

New York Times Bestseller
USA Today Bestseller
National Indie Bestseller
American Booksellers Association Indie Next Pick
YALSA Great Graphic Novels Selection
YALSA Quick Pick for Young Adult Readers

"You'll smile watching Charlie and Nick open up to one another, and sigh as they tiptoe into romance… falling in love doesn’t get more charming than this." -- Ngozi Ukazu, New York Times bestselling author of Check, Please!

"Realistic yet uplifting, this tale of self-discovery will make readers' hearts skip a beat." -- School Library Journal

"With all the blushing and awkward glances, it's difficult not to be charmed… The romance and realistic fiction will draw readers in to this sweet story." -- Booklist


Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

 

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko



Summary

“Dazzling. . . . All hail Raybearer.” —Entertainment Weekly
“Brilliantly conceived fantasy.” —People
“An exquisitely detailed world.” —PopSugar

Nothing is more important than loyalty. But what if you’ve sworn to protect the one you were born to destroy?

Tarisai has always longed for the warmth of a family. She was raised in isolation by a mysterious, often absent mother known only as the Lady. The Lady sends her to the capital of the global empire of Aritsar to compete with other children to be chosen as one of the Crown Prince’s Council of 11. If she’s picked, she’ll be joined with the other Council members through the Ray, a bond deeper than blood. That closeness is irresistible to Tarisai, who has always wanted to belong somewhere.

But the Lady has other ideas, including a magical wish that Tarisai is compelled to obey: Kill the Crown Prince once she gains his trust. Tarisai won’t stand by and become someone’s pawn—but is she strong enough to choose a different path for herself? With extraordinary world-building and breathtaking prose, Raybearer is the story of loyalty, fate, and the lengths we’re willing to go for the ones we love.



Reviews

“Nothing like a boss @$$ fantasy with a gorgeous, dark brown girl at the center that highlights—in technicolor and glittering gold—the trifecta of our most basic of human desires: to belong, to be loved, and to walk a path of one's own choosing.”―Nic Stone, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin

**STARRED REVIEW**
"Ifueko’s debut is full of lush world building and detailed, Nigerian-inspired mythology, giving life to a myth of epic proportions and a tale that is bound to stick with readers long after they finish it."―Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"[Raybearer] reads like the work of a seasoned world-builder. . . Ifueko has created a rich, fresh, fully rounded world and a cast of characters to match; you’ll be on tenterhooks as Tarisai figures out how to balance destiny and compulsion, but her prince and her palace companions command equal attention."―NPR









Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Insomniacs After School, Volume 1

 



Summary

Two sleepless teenagers find kinship as they escape to their school’s astronomy observatory.

Unable to sleep at night, Ganta Nakami is cranky in class and unpopular with his classmates. He discovers that the school observatory, once used by the now-defunct astronomy club, may be the perfect place for a nap—but he’s not alone. Fellow insomniac Isaki Magari is willing to share the observatory with Nakami, and a friendship between the two begins as they bond over the most unlikely of things.

Dark rumors about what befell the members of the astronomy club keep people away from the school observatory, and that’s what makes it the perfect sanctuary for Nakami and Magari to get some much-needed rest. Unfortunately, the school faculty can’t allow its unsanctioned use. But if there were a new astronomy club, maybe these two insomniacs could have a place to call home!

We currently only have the first two volumes in our library, but we are looking ahead into expanding on our graphic novel and manga collection, with Insomniacs After School being our first manga series in the CEHS library!

Truly Devious

  Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson weaves a delicate tale of murder and mystery in the fi...