“Dead Wake:  The Last Crossing of the Lusitania” by Erik Larson.  New York:  Crown Publishers, 2015.   (430 pages)

“Dead Wake” is the story of the massive Cunard ocean liner RMS Lusitania that was torpedoed off the coast of Ireland in May 1915 with a huge loss of civilian life.  At the time of the tragedy, only 6 of the ship’s 22 lifeboats were able to launch and many men, women, and children were forced into the water in incorrectly donned lifejackets.

German U-Boat 20 was responsible for the attack—a submarine that had been prowling the North Atlantic water looking for neutral targets that were unprotected by British naval ships.  The submarine launched a single torpedo at the British-flagged passenger liner during the last day of its transatlantic voyage from New York.  It sunk the ship in less than 20 minutes and killed more than two-thirds of the almost 2,000 passengers and crew.

This event took place during a period when military action during the Great War was expanding rapidly and the United States had not yet become a combatant or issued a war declaration.  More than 150 Americans died in the attack and the bodies of as many as 600 passengers were never recovered.  Such submarine predations were cited by the American government as a reason for the US to declare war on Germany.

Author Erik Larson highlights many fascinating subplots including that of President Woodrow Wilson’s romance with second wife Edith Galt and bookseller Charles Lauriat’s antiquarian volumes that traveled on the Lusitania and were lost in the sinking.  Another prominent sub-plot involves female architect Theodate Pope, an aspiring spiritualist and paranormal enthusiast, who lost her traveling companion to drowning.  Playboy Alfred G Vanderbilt, the most socially prominent passenger who perished, is given little notice in the book—probably because he was the focus of a 2013 book on the sinking by another author.

U-Boat Captain Walther Schwieger is the narrator for a portion of the story, making for an interesting juxtaposition of viewpoints between “the hunter” and its prey.  The most telling information revealed is that British intelligence may have had more tracking capability of U-boats than was previously revealed, and therefore greater culpability in the death of innocents.

Described as narrative nonfiction, this is a gripping disaster tale that compares favorably with accounts of the sinking of the Titanic.  Author Erik Larson is an American journalist who has written multiple bestsellers focusing on the sensational, including popular works about both serial killers and Nazi Germany.

Lisa Kobrin is the reference and local history librarian for Alamance County Public Libraries. She can be reached at lkobrin@alamancelibraries.org.

Katie the Catsitter By Colleen AF Venable and Stephanie Yue. New York : Random House Children’s Books, 2021. First in a series

“Some heroes have capes…Katie has cats!”

217 of them, to be exact! Have you ever wondered what that many cats in one apartment would be like?  Twelve-year-old Katie gets to find out when she takes on a job catsitting for her upstairs neighbor, Madeline, to earn money to join her friends at summer camp.  She soon finds, however, that the real summer adventure may be closer to home when she begins to suspect that there’s more to Madeline than meets the eye.  Could cupcake-baking, late-night-working Madeline actually be notorious super villain The Mousetress?  Why do the cats play with actual lasers instead of laser pointers?  And why isn’t Katie’s best friend writing home much from camp?

As a cat lover, I found this graphic novel pawsitively delightful!  Madeline has 217 cats, each with their own personality and special skill, ranging from computer hacking and laser technology to fashion design and art curation.  My personal favorite is probably Moritz, whose specialty is Counterattacks, but the choice is quite difficult.  Though I doubt my own cat is a welding expert or jiujitsu master, who knows what cats get up to when we’re not around?

I found Katie to be a highly relatable character.  Even years after middle school, I remember the sting of being left out when your friends were all doing something together and you couldn’t take part.  Venable does an excellent job capturing the uncertainty that comes with changing friendship dynamics at any age. 

Katie experiences more uncertainty as she begins to see that not all heroes and villains are truly all evil or all good.  Her world is one in which superheroes and villains are an accepted part of society, to the point of caped crusaders competing for the highest Yelp review scores.  The Mousetress is reviled as the evilest of all – yet Katie realizes that her crimes ultimately result in good, such as freeing animals from a testing facility.  Katie finds herself inspired in turn to fight for those who can’t fight for themselves and begins to view the world in a less black-and-white way – important lessons for anyone, but especially inspiring at an age when you’re starting to find your unique voice.  

Venable’s storytelling and Yue’s illustration combine to form a delightful, relatable, and inspiring graphic novel geared toward middle grades but appropriate for older readers as well.  Yue’s illustrations add details that aren’t to be missed, such as each cat’s individuality and fun, small background details that readers may connect throughout the story.  Fans of Raina Telgemeier’s Smile series, Shannon Hale’s Real Friends, and Victoria Jamieson’s Roller Girl are sure to enjoy Katie the Catsitter.

Joan Hedrick is a Circulation Assistant at Graham Public Library.  She can be reached at jhedrick@alamancelibraries.org.

“Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard,” by Tom Felton. Copyright 2022, Grand Central Publishing (288 pages, $28.00).

Content Warning: Alcoholism, Addiction, Mental Illness.

In this memoir, Felton allows fans of Harry Potter to take a peak into his own pensieve (a rare and magical item that allows for memories to be stored and reviewed) and see how the high and lows of life, fame, and Potter shaped the man and actor he is today. 

Felton doesn’t start off with Harry Potter. He knows it’s what we’re all here for, but he also understands that in order for us to get to that part of his life, we have to start at the beginning. Felton tells stories about his parents, his four older brothers, and his first days of finding his passion with acting, because these memories and stories are important to who he becomes. Something that he reflects on and makes a point of mentioning while sharing his past with us.

Felton has a way of making you feel like he’s having a conversation with you while you’re reading his essays. He drops in humor, heart, and little nuggets that some people may not know already (like how he first met Emma Watson and their friendship, or what really happened with Peeves) that just really makes it all so personal. That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t stray into the darker side of life and fame. He talks about how LA Fame is different than Harry Potter fame and how that his ego and willingness to believe the hype (even when there wasn’t much of one, from time to time) led him towards drinking, substance abuse, and eventually, an intervention.

Not to spoil anything, but Felton realized that the intervention saved him in a way that he didn’t know he needed. Felton expresses that he still has his down days but now has the tools to manage the swings. He focuses on the everyday and shares that he can’t wait to see what his future has in store for him.

Kayleigh Dyer is a Library Technical Processing Assistant at May Memorial Library. Contact her at kdyer@alamancelibraries.org.

Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare. New York : Berkley, [2022]

I am a huge mystery fan, and my favorites are those that fall between cozy and hard boiled, and have a historical element. Miss Aldridge Regrets fills both of those criteria!

Lena Aldridge is a singer in a nightclub who has big dreams of making it big on the stage, but feels stuck in her life. Her father Alfie died recently of tuberculosis, and her best friend Maggie is married to Tommy, a goon who owns the nightclub where she sings. It’s London, 1936, and Lena is multiracial – her father was black and her mother (who left when she was a baby) was white. Because of her lighter skin, she can “pass” as having Spanish or Italian heritage, but is still considered “exotic.”

Charlie Bacon approaches Lena and offers her the job of her dreams – starring in a Broadway musical. He says he’s the friend of Benny Walker, an old friend of her father, who wants to heal the rift between them by offering his daughter a job. Lena has never heard of Benny, and the job seems too good to be true. But when Tommy fires her, then is killed right in front of the stage (poisoned with cyanide), Lena makes the decision to accept his offer and go to New York with Charlie. He has two first class tickets on the Queen Mary leaving in a few days.

When they get on the ocean liner, Lena finds out Charlie has finagled to have them seated at meals with the Parker/Abernathy family, who are rich New Yorkers. The patriarch, Francis, is incapacitated after a stroke. His son, Jack, Jack’s wife Eliza, their two children, Frankie and Carrie, Francis’ nurse Daisy and his doctor Richard Wilding are traveling with him. Charlie tries to sell them on investing in the musical, and wants Lena to flirt with the men, but she feels really uncomfortable. The family obviously is dysfunctional. Francis Parker looks at her very strangely, like she reminds him of someone. Jack and Frankie both exude wealth and privilege, and the bad behavior that sometimes comes along with that. Doctor Wilding seems very boring, although his dry wit makes her laugh. Daisy seems likeable, but she also is having an affair with Jack. Eliza is ignoring the affair, and acts as though she wants to befriend Lena, but Lena’s not sure of her motives. And Carrie, still in school, is the most likeable and the only one Lena really wants to spend time with.

Up in the lounge their second night, Francis Parker dies – from cyanide poisoning. Lena knows if anyone realizes this is the second person in a week who has died in front of her from poisoning, she’ll be arrested on the spot. But what are the chances that two people she knew would be killed from cyanide within a week? Lena doesn’t know who to trust, certainly not the Parker/Abernathy family, who would throw her under the bus in a second if it kept the suspicion off of them. However, the piano player and singer on the ship, Will Goodman, seems like a good man (and is a good-looking man, too). But he isn’t sure about socializing with Lena, reminding her that if she wants to pass, spending time with a man of color isn’t going to do her any favors.

There are several mysteries to unpack in this novel, and vivid descriptions of the clothing, music, food, and atmosphere of the Queen Mary and London that give you a good feel for life in 1936. I didn’t want to put this book down, because I had to know who had killed the two men, and who was setting up Lena to take the fall. There are short chapters from the murderer’s point of view interspersed in the book, which ratchets up the suspense.

I hope Louise Hare continues to write, as this mystery was wonderful!

Mary Beth Adams is the Community Engagement Librarian at Alamance County Public Libraries. She can be reached at madams@alamancelibraries.org.

“What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions” by Randall Munroe; Dey Street Books (320 pages, $24).

Would humanity survive if the Earth suddenly stopped spinning on its axis? What would happen if the sun suddenly vanished from our sky? Is it possible to propel yourself into the air with a machine gun jetpack? What if everyone in the world all jumped at the same time? If you’ve got some time to kill, and don’t mind watching fictional stick figures die in the pursuit of knowledge, then the answers to these absurd questions and many more like them can be found in the pages of Randall Munroe’s bestselling 2014 book What If?.

Munroe is an American cartoonist, author, and engineer best known as the creator of the webcomic “xkcd”. He has worked full-time on the comic since late 2006, taking on absurd hypothetical questions from internet strangers from all across the globe and then setting out to look up scientific answers to them, and next creating silly stickmen comics illustrating how these absurd situations would most likely unfold (or more often, collapse horribly).

In the pages of What If?, about half of the hypothetical situations presented are originally from Munroe’s webcomic, but they are elaborated upon in much more detail. The remainder of situations are brand new, with all situations of either variety originating from anonymous questions submitted to him through his “xkcd” website.

The book is narrated with a great sense of humor, but you can still learn a few things along the way if you really pay attention! But you can also enjoy the book by turning the logic center of your brain off and just following these hapless stickmen scientists and explorers to their usually grim fates. I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys watching MythBusters or fun science-oriented shows in general. No calculator is required, because Munroe always shows his work!

Munroe was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, and his father has worked as an engineer and marketer. He has two younger siblings, and was raised as a Quaker. He was a fan of comic strips in newspapers from an early age, starting off with Calvin and Hobbes. After graduating from the Chesterfield County Mathematics and Science High School at Clover Hill, a Renaissance Program in Midlothian, Virginia, he graduated from Christopher Newport University in 2006 with a degree in physics.

Millions of people visit Randall Munroe’s iconic webcomic each week. His stick figure drawings about science, technology, language, and love have a large and passionate following. You can check out his webcomic at xkcd.com and submit your own absurd hypothetical questions his way. Who knows, he just might make a comic about your submission next!

Donavon Anderson is a reference library assistsnt at May Memorial Library. He can be reached at 336-229-3588 or danderson@alamancelibraries.org.

Bring an extra dose of fun to reading with your kids with these picture books! Your child will think you are the most hilarious person ever. As a bonus, the silliness of these stories will have you chuckling along too!

Alan’s Big, Scary Teeth by Jarvis

Alan is an alligator with an impressive set of chompers that he uses to scare all of the other animals. What those animals don’t realize is that Alan has a secret, those teeth are fake. When Alan’s teeth get stolen, everyone realizes that Alan isn’t so scary anymore. This book that is both heartfelt and wildly entertaining.

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

It all began when Floyd got his kite stuck in the tree. He tried to get the kite out by throwing his shoe in the tree, only for that to get stuck too. With each progressively bigger object that Floyd throws (and gets stuck) in the tree, the story becomes more comical and ridiculous. Laugh your way through this and check out the rest of Jeffers’ fantastic books.

Charlotte and the Rock by Stephen W. Martin, illustrated by Samantha Cotterill

For her birthday, Charlotte’s parents surprise her with a pet rock. Charlotte decides to make the best of the situation and names her new pet Dennis. She does all the typical pet activities with Dennis, showering him with attention and affection. She just wishes that he would learn to love her back (aww!). One night, something completely unexpected happens. Everyone will be charmed by the surprise ending to this tale.

Attack of the Underwear Dragon by Scott Rothman, illustrated by Pete Oswald

This book has everything kids love: brave knights, fire-breathing dragons, and underwear. Young Cole is a knight-in-training to Sir Percival of King Arthur’s Round Table. When the Underwear Dragon arrives to destroy the kingdom, Cole is the only defender left standing. Luckily, Cole triumphs thanks to an unfortunate underwear mishap. Don’t worry when you get to the end, because you can also grab a copy of the sequel, Return of the Underwear Dragon.

Those Darn Squirrels by Adam Rubin, illustrated by Daniel Salmieri

A tale of a grumpy man versus some very smart squirrels. Old Man Fookwire’s favorite thing in life is to paint pictures of the birds that visit his yard. He attempts to prevent the birds’ winter migration with bird feeders stocked with seeds and berries. The only problem is that the squirrels want those treats too and plan daring raids on the feeders. After enjoying this title, make sure to grab Those Darn Squirrels Fly South along with Rubin’s other books such as Dragons Loves Tacos.

Amanda Gramley is the Adult Programming Coordinator at the Alamance County Public Libraries (and mom to two young children who love silly books). She can be reached at agramley@alamancelibraries.org.

Reader, I Murdered Him by Betsy Cornwell. New York : Clarion Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2022].

Reader, I Murdered Him continues the story of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. However, other reviewers have noted that they didn’t even realize this was a continuation of a famous novel, so having read Jane Eyre is not a requirement to understand and enjoy this book.

The first third of the book is a recap of Bronte’s novel, through the eyes of Adele. Adele is Mr. Rochester’s ward, and is possibly his daughter. Her mother is a dance hall girl in Paris, and Adele grows up surrounded by world-weary, jaded women who don’t think much of men. Her mother has consumption and is dying, and her (possible) father, Mr. Rochester, comes back to Paris to take her England to live with him.

Adele lives in Mr. Rochester’s home with his servants, as he is often gone, and spends time with his first wife, Bertha, who is mad and locked up in the attic. When Jane Eyre comes to be her governess, she watches Jane and Mr. Rochester fall in love. Adele doesn’t have any friends, other than a pen pal, Eric, who is her cousin and lives in Jamaica, but she is happy with her father and Jane.

Adele is sent to a boarding school when Jane becomes pregnant and needs to focus on her new child and caring for her husband. The school, Webster School for Young Ladies, is a progressive school, teaching not just manners, dancing and embroidery, but also history, geography, poetry, mathematics, and philosophy. However, the goal is still to make the women marriageable and put them in front of eligible men of society. As Adele gets to know her classmates, she realizes several have already dealt with sexual and physical abuse, and others are so innocent, they could easily be taken advantage of by unscrupulous men. After a near-miss of an assault on one of her friends, Adele partners with an intriguing young woman from the wrong side of the tracks, a con woman who steals from the rich and gives to the poor, to punish those who take advantage of young women.

When I began reading this book, and it was a recap of Jane Eyre, I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy the story. I have read Jane Eyre, but it isn’t one of my favorite books. However, once the story had moved on to Adele’s life after the end of that novel, it became much more interesting to me. I really enjoyed Adele’s romance with Nan, the thief, and her strong defense of her friends and other women. I’d like to think there were Adeles protecting women throughout history, and finding their own happiness. And the title of the book is just perfect, given how many novels written during and about Victorian England focus on the main character escaping from a bad situation and marrying “him” when sometimes the best solution would have been murdering the bad “hims” and forging their own path.

Readers who love Jane Eyre, and those who love strong women and historical fiction, will enjoy this book.

Mary Beth Adams is the Community Engagement Librarian at the Alamance County Public Libraries. She can be reached at madams@alamancelibraries.org.

Liberation Day by George Saunders. New York: Random House, 2022. 233 pages.

A mother seeks revenge on the stranger who hurt her son. A grandfather writes a letter to his grandson explaining why he did not take more action to stop a dystopia from forming. Two office workers who are both engaging in bad behavior struggle with their incompetent manager. Two women who were once in love with the same man reflect on their lives during a chance encounter. These are just some of the protagonists featured in George Saunders’ latest short story collection, Liberation Day.

George Saunders is best known as a short story author, and Liberation Day marks his first short story collection since his highly acclaimed collection Tenth of December in 2013. Throughout his career, Saunders’ stories have focused on ordinary people who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances. Saunders’ writing often combines elements of science fiction with stories set in a world that feels similar to our own, just a few years in the future. Saunders also explores the psyche of his protagonists, offering insights on his characters to the readers that are not always evident to the characters themselves. This technique is exemplified in the story “Mother’s Day.”

“Mother’s Day” features two women, Alma, and Debi, who lives are forever linked by Alma’s late husband Paul. Paul was a frequent cheater, and Debi was his most frequent partner. In Alma’s internal monologue, she blames her children, Pammy and Paulie, for her husband staying out all night, passing out on the front porch, and smelling of other women’s perfume, instead of recognizing her husband for who he truly was. Debi imagines herself as Alma’s opposite, a free-spirited hippie in contrast with the uptight Alma, but as she recounts her past and her estrangement from her daughter and the lack of true love from her romantic encounters, it is clear both women are choosing to believe a comforting narrative rather than face their reality. Saunders reveals these details not to harm the characters that he has created, but to show the reader how easy it is to have a false narrative we tell ourselves.

Saunders writes with precision, but also a sense of humor. “Elliott Spencer” tells the story of an elderly man who has had his memory wiped to serve as a propaganda tool. Even in this bleak scenario, the relationship between 89, as Elliott is now known, and his handler Jer, has many funny moments as Jer is amused with and takes pride in his protégée relearning basic words. While Elliott’s fate is incredibly dystopian, by the end of the story, Saunders has given Elliott hope for a better life without the story taking a sappy turn.

Liberation Day is another brilliant collection from a modern master of the short story. The stories, while a bit offbeat, are full of humanity, and might reveal some inner truths to their readers.

Elizabeth Weislak is the Youth Services Coordinator at the Alamance County Public Libraries. She can be reached at eweislak@alamancelibraries.org.

Ocean’s Echo by Everina Maxwell. New York : Tor, 2022.

Romantic fantasy novels provided a gateway back into reading for many adults during the pandemic.  Can romantic science fiction novels persuade reluctant readers to dip their toes into a genre that is often seen as obscure and complex?  Give this approach a try with Everina Maxwell’s Ocean’s Echo.  While the novel’s plot includes genetic tampering, psychic abilities, chaotic space, and interplanetary coups, its heart remains rooted in its protagonists and their growing life together.

Tennalhin Halkana is the nephew of the Senator.  He has grown up in the limelight pretending to be perfect while constantly being reminded in private that he is the family failure.  Tennal, as he prefers to be called, is a “reader,” a person born with neuromodified genetics allowing him to read minds.  This is seen as a dangerous, distrust-worthy trait in Tennal’s society where “writers” or “architects,” those able to control minds, are prized instead.  Tired of this prejudice, Tennal strikes out against his family, living a life of decadence and escapism while he can.

Surit Yeni is the perfect soldier.  He has every military regulation memorized.  Literally.  However, he is also the son of a notorious traitor and a secret architect, unwilling to disclose his power just to rise through the ranks.  More annoyingly to the military, Surit has a strong moral compass.  When given orders he knows are wrong, he finds a way to follow those orders to the letter of the law…all while dodging the intended meaning of his superiors.

Thus, when Tennal is captured, forced into the army against his will, and told to “sync” with Surit, a soul-bonding process between reader and architect that would take away Tennal’s free will, Surit refuses to go through with the procedure.  However, he also refuses to leave Tennal alone and vulnerable, knowing that the military could simply find another architect ready to bind Tennal for life.  Instead the two men strike a plan to fake the “sync,” pretending to be able to read and influence each other’s minds until they can smuggle Tennal to another star system where he can be free.

Tennal and Surit, however, are not the only people in their universe.  Soon, they find themselves caught up in even larger and more insidious military machinations that force them to their limits.  Linked together through extreme circumstances, Tennal and Surit start to find themselves through loving each other, but what will this mean when their worlds are torn apart?  Beaten, broken, having only each other, can the pair find a way to save their galaxy as well as themselves?

Rebecca Mincher is the Children’s Library Assistant at Graham Public Library. Contact her at rzimmerman@alamancelibraries.org or 336-570-6730.

“Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love” by Dani Shapiro. New York: Alfred A Knopf, 2019, 250 pages, $24.95, Kindle $12.

Dani Shapiro is a middle-aged professional writer with a slight interest in genealogy when she submits a DNA test kit for laboratory testing in 2016. As an Orthodox Jew, she’s not surprised when the results show 52 percent Eastern European Ashkenazi heritage. What rocks her world is the 48 percent English and western European ancestry that she can’t explain.

Both Dani’s parents are dead and her much older half-sister from her father’s first marriage doesn’t show significant chromosomal similarity in their genetics.  This lack of shared genetic material causes Dani to go on an odyssey that yields long buried secrets about her family history.

As a child and into adulthood, Dani is fair-haired and delicate featured in contrast with brunette contemporaries in her Jewish community.  She remembers receiving several questions from others about her appearance being unusual for her purported background.

After the shocking DNA result, Dani’s husband does some amateur sleuthing on a national DNA genealogy database and reveals a biological cousin with no known connection to her family tree. After exploring the cousin’s background with some advanced internet searching, Dani figures out that her recognized father is probably not her biological father and that the biological father may be living and someone she can trace.

Some twenty years earlier, Dani’s dad died in a serious car accident and her mother makes passing reference at that point to being treated by a fertility doctor in Philadelphia in order to get pregnant.  With her mother now dead as well, Dani tries to piece together her actual paternity. There are few older relatives to ask and so Dani seeks to contact a physician related to her cousin match in the DNA database and to research the fertility clinic. She reasons that medical students were often sperm donors for insemination and she’s able to pinpoint a certain retired doctor as her probable biological father.

What transpires is that as her parents became more and more desperate to conceive, they used the services of a non-licensed fertility doctor who used medical students as donors and a sperm-washing technique to boost chances of conception.  Much of Dani’s inquiry focuses on whether this technique was known to her parents and how it would have conflicted with their Orthodox religion. Did they know or suspect that her father was not the biological parent because of this process or did the chances of a healthy infant blind them to any moral or religious qualms?

Dani eventually arranges a face-to-face meeting with her biological father and tries to make peace with her new-found heredity and fit it into her world view. Her journey yields new insights on kinship, belonging, identity, and how biology impacts our sense of self.

Lisa Kobrin is the Reference Librarian at May Memorial Library. She can be reached at lkobrin@alamancelibraries.org.