Cambridge High School Library 2024

By: Tommy Wallach Location: FIC WAL Genre: Asteroids and Love “The best books, they don't talk about things you never thought about before. They talk about things you'd always thought about, but that you didn't think anyone else had thought about. You read them, and suddenly you're a little bit less alone in the world. You're part of this cosmic community of people who've thought about this thing, whatever it happens to be.”   This book reminds me of Tomorrow when the War Began cross Ice Age 5 Others say it is The Breakfast Club meets Armageddon and here is why.... Before the asteroid we let ourselves be defined by labels: The athlete, the outcast, the slacker, the overachiever. But then we all looked up and everything changed. They said it would be here in two months. That gave us two months to leave our labels behind. Two months to become something bigger than what we'd been, something that would last even after the end. Two months to...

By: Garrett McNamara Location: NF 920 MAN Genre: Crazy surfer dude Some people do insane stuff- Garrett is one of them! In this thrilling and candid memoir, world record-holding and controversial Big Wave surfer Garrett McNamara chronicles his emotional quest to ride the most formidable waves on earth. Garrett McNamara—affectionately known as GMac—set the world record for the sport, surfing a seventy-eight-foot wave in Nazaré, Portugal in 2011, a record he smashed two years later at the same break. Propelled by the challenge and promise of bigger, more difficult waves, this adrenaline-fueled loner and polarizing figure travels the globe to ride the most dangerous swells the oceans have to offer, from calving glaciers to hurricane swells. But what motivates McNamara to go to such extremes—to risk everything for one thrilling ride? Is riding giant waves the ultimate exercise in control or surrender? Personal and emotional, readers will know GMac as never before, seei...

By: Jeff Vandermeer Movie: 2017- Paramount Pictures Starring: Natalie Portman , Oscar Isaac , Jennifer Jason Leigh |  This book was the  winner of the 2015 Nebula Award, will the movie get a few awards as well? A biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition where the laws of nature don't apply. This book is going to be a movie, we have had the book in the library for a while.  Mr Mannins alerted me to the fact Hollywood has it!!!! Yippeeee. It is coming out in September!  

By: Steve Toutonghi Location: FIC TOU Genre: Sci Fi “Unmet promises are rarely empty; rather, they’re filled with the unspoken things people don’t want to do or can’t do.”   "It's an immensely readable near-future hop that gets progressively dystopia- Brad" What does it mean to be human, and what happens when humanity takes the next step in its evolution? When Join arrived, it was hailed as a miracle: a technology that allowed humans to join consciousnesses. To experience perfect, constant companionship through multiple bodies. To never die. But Chance and Leap--two joins of five and four respectively--discover a terrifying malfunction in the technology. Chance and Leap must journey into the climate change-ruined heart of North America and the communities of never-joined -ferals- in search of the only ones who can dismantle the technology: the ones who created it.   "Steve Toutonghi's debut novel, Join, is one...

By: Lex Thomas Location:FIC THO Genre:Dystopia Series: Quarantine #1 "I thought it was smart, compelling and brave. It dares to go into territory that many YA books will not tread. It is brutal, violent, gruesome, frightening and at times overwhelming. Another thing that separates this book from a lot of others in the genre is that you are never quite sure how this is all going to end...." Katie Looking for a light, fluffy read? NOT HERE! This is dark, gritty, violent and terrifying on several levels. One of the most disturbing books I have ever read.-Jam ie It was just another ordinary day at McKinley High—until a massive explosion devastated the school. When loner David Thorpe tried to help his English teacher to safety, the teacher convulsed and died right in front of him. And that was just the beginning. A year later, McKinley has descended into chaos. All the students are infected with a virus that makes them deadly to adults. The school is under m...

By: Katie Khan Location: FIC KHA Genre: Sci/Fi with some romance Carys and Max have ninety minutes of air left. Ninety minutes to stay alive. Ninety minutes to figure out how to rescue the themselves. Ninety minutes to reflect on the decisions that brought them to this point. Ninety minutes to decide if love is indeed all you need.  Unless they can come up with a good idea, they're going to die in about an hour and a half. But it doesn't need to end like this. Adrift in space, Carys and Max can't help but look down at the world they left behind; a well-oiled, efficient machine that they can no longer call home. Perhaps they might have done things differently if they'd known what was going to happen. This book is set in a future version of our world where the USA and the Middle East have been decimated and Europe has become a utopian society called Europia. Citizens of Europia don't come from anywhere anymore. Borders and cultural identities have been e...

By: Alex Bell Location: FIC BELL Genre: Horror- Paranormal I do not like horror, never have, never will. It is the genre I am least likely to buy for our library. But I know some of you do, so when something like this is discovered, against all my better judgement and goosebumps I buy it for you to read! We're waiting for you to come and play . Dunvegan School for Girls has been closed for many years. Converted into a family home, the teachers and students are long gone. But they left something behind...Sophie arrives at the old schoolhouse to spend the summer with her cousins. Brooding Cameron with his scarred hand, strange Lilias with a fear of bones and Piper, who seems just a bit too good to be true. And then there's her other cousin. The girl with a room full of antique dolls. The girl that shouldn't be there. The girl that died. "Deliciously creepy! That's the first thing that came to mind when I sat down at my computer to write this revie...

By: Joshua Khan Location: FIC  KHA Genre: Fantasy Series: Shadow Magic# 1 This author writes a bit about goth princesses, outlaws and giant bats. And zombies.! He lives in London but would rather live in a castle! "I defy you not to love this story" Rick Riordan  Thorn, an outlaw's son, wasn't supposed to be a slave. He's been sold to Tyburn, an executioner, and they're headed to Castle Gloom in Gehenna, the land of undead, where Thorn will probably be fed to a vampire. Lilith Shadow wasn't supposed to be ruler of Gehenna. But following the murder of her family, young Lily became the last surviving member of House Shadow, a long line of dark sorcerers. Her country is surrounded by enemies and the only way she can save it is by embracing her heritage and practicing the magic of the undead. But how can she when, as a girl, magic is forbidden to her? Just when it looks like ...

By: Alwyn Hamilton Location: FIC HAM Genre: Fantasy Series: Rebel of the Sands#2 This is not about blood or love. This is about treason. Second in the series.... it is always a worry, will it be as good, will it have momentum, well this book does! As Dana says on Goodreads.com "Traitor to the Throne has it all: a fantastic cast of characters, prison breaks, shoot outs, romance, humour, and a whole lot of feels. I loved it. It was everything I could have hoped for in a sequel." ' As funny as it is romantoc, as smart and as spirited asit is magical"- Buzzfeed Nearly a year has passed since Amani and the rebels won their epic battle at Fahali. Amani has come into both her powers and her reputation as the Blue-Eyed Bandit, and the Rebel Prince's message has spread across the desert - and some might say out of control. But when a surprise encounter turns into a brutal kidnapping, Amani finds herself betrayed in the cruellest manner possible. St...

By: Matthew Quirk Location: FIC QUI Genre: Thriller Series: John Hayes #1 A CODE HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT. A BLACK OPS TEAM THAT WENT TOO FA R. Matthew Quirk knows his stuff- he studied history and literature at Harvard College. After graduation, he spent five years at The Atlantic reporting on crime, private military contractors, terrorism prosecutions, and international gangs. John Hayes is a Special Operations legend who went rogue on a deep-cover mission and betrayed his own soldiers. Disgraced and on the run, he returns to the United States to get back to his wife and daughter and take revenge on his accusers with a series of devastating attacks. Only one man can stop him: Thomas Byrne. He once fought alongside Hayes as a combat medic, but he gave up the gun. Now a surgeon, he moves from town to town, trying to forget his past, until he is called upon by a high-ranking government official to help capture the man he once called a friend. Hayes and Byrne were...

By: Hope Jahren Location: NF 920 JAH Genre: Trees, science, love and a good true yarn My great great grandfather was a tree man. He came to New Zealand from England , he explored and he researched. He grew over 260 apple trees from cuttings and grafts, that he bought back from the UK. He introduced the Pinus Radiata into our country,  he is the father of the forestry industry. People playing with trees and plants matter, and Hope Jahrens book highlights it still matters now! An illuminating debut memoir of a woman in science; a moving portrait of a longtime collaboration, in work and in life; and a stunningly fresh look at plants that will forever change how you see and think about the natural world   Acclaimed scientist Hope Jahren has built three laboratories in which she's studied trees, flowers, seeds, and soil. Her first book might have been a revelatory treatise on plant life.  Lab Girl  is that, but it is also so much more. Because in it, Jahren ...

By: Marianne Kaurin Location:Fic Kau Genre: Historical Fiction -Holocaust I love the fact that this holocaust book has a bright cherry cover!!!! But then your eyes go down the page and there it is,,,, I am thinking about book content a lot lately and some of it perturbs me, I am in this quandary - do I speak up, remain silent, act, do nothing- what is my  active response to what I feel to be something that is wrong... I guess also for now we look at our world and I wonder what kind of courage would I have, or not... . It’s October 1942, in Oslo, Norway. Fifteen-year-old Ilse Stern is waiting to meet boy-next-door Hermann Rod for their first date. She was beginning to think he’d never ask her; she’s had a crush on him for as long as she can remember. But Hermann won’t be able to make it tonight. What Ilse doesn’t know is that Hermann is secretly working in the Resistance, helping Norwegian Jews flee the country to escape the Nazis. The work is exhausting and unpredicta...

By: Brad stone Location: NF338.04 STO  Genre: Bio, business and technology I tried UBER at Melbourne Airport- was a total fail, we could not locate each other and I was right where he told me to be, even checked with the locals. Got $10.00 taken out of my account for the fail. Ended up catching a bus for half the price, direct and uber helpful, dropped me closer and gave e great information. I will always catch the bus in Melbourne now! But AirBnB- I am a big user, it is a brilliant service that works, even in the changes and alterations that holidays bring. Then there is online books..... dangerous!!!! The world is changing right before our eyes. Technology has escaped the confines of our computers and mobile devices and has oozed into the real world. We now press a button and summon a cab. We can rent the spare rooms and spare time of others, any time of day. We don’t just buy books and movies on-line but groceries, prepared dinners, laundry and babysitting services. ...

By: Sarah Crossan Location:FUC CRO Genre: Love friendship and beating the odds! I am a huge fan of Sarah Crossan. Apple and Rain was my favorite book  in 2015. I don't really even know why- I think it was because she writes like you are there, she described by Gran and I could see it, taste it and engage in the story. I loved the 100 word sub plots. One - was also a stunner but needed to many tissues. So here she goes again-!! More tissues needed!! This book is definitely coming out at the right time (with what's happening around the world right now) and its message is immensely powerful. It follows two unlikely friends as they meet and get to know each other as a part of a juvenile reform course due to both Nicu and Jess being caught shoplifting. Nicu has recently emigrated to the UK from Romania and Jess lives in an unsafe and abusive home. A good thing about this book was the way the racism was portrayed. People were so cruel to Nicu because of his skin colour a...

By: Katherine Arden Location: FIC ARD Genre: Historic Fantasy Atmospheric and enchanting, with an engrossing adventure at its core, The Bear and the Nightingale is perfect for readers of Naomi Novik's Uprooted, Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus , and Neil Gaiman. A beautiful, pastoral fairy tale set in a fantasy version of medieval Russia. In a village at the edge of the wilderness of northern Russia, where the winds blow cold and the snow falls many months of the year, an elderly servant tells stories of sorcery, folklore and the Winter King to the children of the family, tales of old magic frowned upon by the church. But for the young, wild Vasya these are far more than just stories. She alone can see the house spirits that guard her home, and sense the growing forces of dark magic in the woods. .. “All my life,” she said, “I have been told ‘go’ and ‘come.’ I am told how I will live, and I am told how I must die. I must be a man’s servant and a mare fo...

By: Horatio Clare Location: FIC CLA Genre: Animals and an incite to depression that is different "Full of insight, sensitivity and humour, with a touch of magic." Agnes "Here is writing and storytelling at its best. Here is a wondrous tale," Michael Morpurg Aubrey’s father, Jim, has fallen under an horrendous spell, which Aubrey is determined to break. Everyone says his task is impossible, but Aubrey will never give up and never surrender – even if he must fight the unkillable Spirit of Despair itself: the TERRIBLE YOO T!       Aubrey notices his dad becoming sadder and sadder, before a charismatic and energetic English teacher, he now seems to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders and doesn't play, talk or even get out of bed anymore. Aubrey determines to help his dad, especially when he discovers that it's the 'terrible Yoot' that is making him so sad and despairing. He even finds that he may have some help, whe...