mental illness

Check out the book titles below, fiction and nonfiction, about this topic to help you navigate through mental illness, whether it is a direct or indirect personal experience.

Wow! It cannot be more graphic than this (at least for me)! Buzzing provides a visual of what OCD can do to a person, in this case a teenager. Also, shows how the people around them play an important role on the success to "rise above the noise." While we/me sometimes joke with the OCD episodes of some who is obsessively cleaning the house, or keeping an overly organize desk at the office, we cannot be more wrong to joke about it. That is ignorance of a bigger problem. OCD is not just about "cleaning" or being "organized." 

As I am reading more about mental illness, I am also becoming more aware of signs that make me stop and rethink my words or comments before they leave my mind.

Life inside my mind edited by Jessica Burkhart it's my first finished book of the year. 

An emotional rollercoaster! Reading through this pages opened up a broader perspective of what mental illness can do to someone, no matter their background. I've yet a lot to learn, but it is a start for me. I have experience mental illness through someone closed to me. There have been many times when I don't understand, and get angry because this person does not have the drive to get up and move. I do pray that God can reach deep down to show the light and the way out of "darkness." I think he does through people around them who love them and are there no matter what, of course, therapy and medication.  Thanks to these authors that shared their stories, I know it's not easy to talk about mental illness, but it is so necessary. Even though this is just a window to the mental illness world, it is definitely a beginning, a must read!

  

   

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Earth Day - Love It or Lose It!

April 22nd is Earth Day! There are many ways to celebrate, one of them will be to read a dystopian or a post-apocalyptic novel. Some of the series below have been turned to Films or TV Series.
 

For example:

The 5 Wave by Rick Yancey

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.  

Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see.

The Uglies, is a popular young adult science fiction novel by Scott Westerfeld. The book is set in a dystopian future where everyone undergoes extreme cosmetic surgery at the age of 16 to become "Pretties." The Uglies is set in the distant future after a mysterious global catastrophe precipitated changes to the foundations of what readers would call modern society. Fearful of war and violence cities now operate as independent states. Isolated and self-sufficient, the cities have agreed to certain standards for the greater good.

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

In this futuristic world, natural death is a thing of the past. The Internet is an all-powerful sentient being called the Thunderhead and all knowledge has been acquired. There is nothing left to learn. People have nanites in their blood that heal them and mask pain and, if they do die, they can be revived quickly and painlessly. However, in order to solve population issues in this utopia, appointed "scythes" perform random gleanings - true deaths from which one cannot be revived.

The Giver is a dystopian novel by Lois Lowry. It's the first book in a quartet that includes Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son. The story is set in a seemingly utopian society where everything is controlled, from the weather to people's emotions and life choices. At the age of twelve, children are assigned their careers based on their abilities and interests. The protagonist is selected to inherit the position of Receiver of Memory, the person who stores all the past memories of the time before Sameness, a plan that eradicated pain and strife by converting to conformity and suppressing emotions.

The Legend book series, written by Marie Lu, is a captivating young adult dystopian series set in a future where the United States has split into two warring factions.

A gripping futuristic thriller, 

DO YOU POSSESS A WINNING COMBINATION OF KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICAL SKILLS AND INTELLIGENCE? 

DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO LEAD OTHERS? 

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau is for you!

The Maze Runner is a thrilling young adult dystopian novel written by James Dashner. It follows the story of a young boy named Thomas who wakes up in a mysterious maze with no memory of his past, surrounded by other boys who have been trapped there for years.

 As they try to navigate the ever-changing maze and uncover its secrets, they must also contend with deadly creatures known as Grievers.

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. 

Read Veronica Roth's  Divergent series to find out which will be your "faction"

The Hunger Games is a popular dystopian novel series written by Suzanne Collins. It follows the story of Katniss Everdeen, who volunteers to take her sister's place in a televised fight to the death called the Hunger Games. The series consists of three books: "The Hunger Games," "Catching Fire," and "Mockingjay." The last book in the series is about how the Hunger Games came to be - The Ballad if Songbirds and Snakes.

For thirty-five girls, the Selection by Kiera Cass, is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her.

NOTE: There are some important distinctions to be made about "post-apocalyptic" (where something catastrophic has put (almost?) everything to ruin) and "dystopian" (where no singular catastrophe may have occurred but things have somehow still slipped into a horrid state of paranoia and oppression (at least for some)). Read one or the other or both, to see the difference! 

YA Novels - Book Trailers

The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys

 Heartstopper: Volume One

Darkness becomes Her by Kelly Keaton 

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

Warcross by Marie Lu

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by 

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender

Salt to Sea by Ruta Sepetys

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows

The Ruby Red Trilogy by Kerstin Gier

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

Dry by Neal Shusterman & Jarrod Shusterman

Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Black History Month

 I just finished reading The Warmth of Other Suns The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson. It is an amazing story about the mass migration of blacks fleeing to the North and West in order to escape the horrors of the Jim Crow south. This work of non-fiction highlights the stories of three unrelated individuals, Ida Mae Gladney, Robert Foster, and George Starling in their journeys from Mississippi to Chicago, Louisiana to Los Angeles, and Florida to New York City, respectively.

This is not an easy book to read - in many levels. The content of the story includes details of lynchings and massacres in the south and the northern race riots. I strongly recommend if you are interested in broaden your sense of American culture.

We just added more books to our Black History collection. Stop by the library to check them out!

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Join the

 Every year I challenge myself to read certain number of books - usually 40 per year. This fiction/nonfiction reading includes picture books, graphic novels, ebooks and audiobooks, among other professional development books, and religious books. Most of the time I'm able to finish all 40+ books, other times I only read up to 30, sometimes less. Last year I only read 32, without counting PD and religious reading. For this year's challenge I decided to include everything I read, even if it's a collection of articles, a book of recipes or instructions manual. Why? I want to make sure that students understand that reading is reading. That, when they are reading the subtitles of a Japanese movie, or the instructions on a video game, it counts!

Life inside my mind edited by Jessica Burkhart it's my first finished book of the year. 

An emotional rollercoaster! Reading through this pages opened up a broader perspective of what mental illness can do to someone, no matter their background. I've yet a lot to learn, but it is a start for me. I have experience mental illness through someone closed to me. There have been many times when I don't understand, and get angry because this person does not have the drive to get up and move. I do pray that God can reach deep down to show the light and the way out of "darkness." I think he does through people around them who love them and are there no matter what, of course, therapy and medication.  Thanks to these authors that shared their stories, I know it's not easy to talk about mental illness, but it is so necessary. Even though this is just a window to the mental illness world, it is definitely a beginning, a must read!

I will be posting more books, fiction and non fiction, about this topic to help readers navigate through mental illness, whether it is a direct or indirect personal experience.

Buzzing Rise above the noise graphic novel by Samuel Sattin and illustrated by Rye Hickman is my second book of year.
Wow! It cannot be more graphic than this (at least for me)! Buzzing provides a visual of what OCD can do to a person, in this case a teenager. Also, shows how the people around them play an important role on the success to "rise above the noise." While we/me sometimes joke with the OCD episodes of some who is obsessively cleaning the house, or keeping an overly organize desk at the office, we cannot be more wrong to joke about it. That is ignorance of a bigger problem. OCD is not just about "cleaning" or being "organized." As I am reading more about mental illness, I am also becoming more aware of signs that make me stop and rethink my words or comments before they out loud, leave my mind.

Best Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror

Here are some of my favorite series - I have many favorites:)

Matched by Ally Condie
The Society has calculated every aspect of existence--meals, jobs, family, life span, marriage--for its citizens. When Cassia is unexpectedly "matched" with two of her (male) friends, she struggles between a safe, predictable Society life with Xander and the unknown world of passions, choices, and possibly danger in the Outer Provinces with Ky. Condie's dystopian setting is vivid and her story is thought-provoking.Horn Book



Crossed by Ally Condie
Sequel to: Matched. Cassia, having arrived in the Outer Provinces in search of Ky, learns he has escaped from the Society and follows a series of clues he left, which result in rebellion, betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander. Horn Book





Reached by Ally Condie 

Last book on the Matched Trilogy, Reached. After leaving Society to desperately seek The Rising, and each other, Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again. Cassia is assigned undercover in Central city, Ky outside the borders, an airship pilot with Indie. Xander is a medic, with a secret. All too soon, everything shifts again.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Could you survive on your own in the wild, with every one out to make sure you don't live to see the morning?

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Six months have passed since Katniss and Peeta won the Hunger Games, with the next Games--the seventy-fifth anniversary--fast approaching. The story kicks into gear as the fascinating horrors of the Hunger Games are re-enacted with violence and suspense; a stunning resolution sets the stage for a grand finale. Collins has again delivered a page-turning blend of plot and character with provocative themes.Horn Book

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
In this final volume in the saga, Katniss has been rescued by the resistance only to learn that her home has been destroyed and that her friend Peeta has been captured. In District 13 she accepts the role of Mockingjay, the rebellion's symbol, but is she still a pawn in a larger game? Horn Book

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes a hunger games novel by Suzanne Collins
This is a prequel about President Snow. The absolutely abhorrent embodiment of all evil, keen on sending children to death while oppressing the country. This is not a hero story! Snow is not a born sociopath. He is bright but unlikeable, ambitious, resentful, conceited and very entitled, with capacity for manipulation and ruthlessness. But he has some humanity in him - capacity for friendship, capacity for love, capacity to care and even a degree of sacrifice. It is the story of a ruthless man doing what he thinks is right to keep his home and country in one piece. Horn Book

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Nora finds bad-boy Patch dangerously attractive. She suspects him of stalking her but discovers that the truth is even more frightening. As a fallen angel, Patch can either reclaim his wings by saving Nora's life--or become human by killing her.
Patch's abrupt redemption foists the role of villain onto a previously marginal character, defusing an otherwise suspenseful denouement. Horn Book



Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
Sequel to: Hush, hush. Nora, concerned that she seems to be in danger more than the average high school student, and having decided she relies too much on her guardian angel, Patch, sets out to investigate what really happened the night her father left for Portland, Maine, and never came back.Horn Book

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

Nora Grey can't remember the past five months of her life. After the initial shock of waking up in a cemetery and being told that she has been missing for weeks - with no one knowing where she was or who she was with - she tried to get her life back on track. Go to school, hang out with her best friend, Vee, and dodge mom's creepy new boyfriend. But there is this voice in the back of her head, an idea that she can almost reach out and touch. Visions of angel wings and unearthly creatures that have nothing to do with the life she knows.

Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick

As the battle lines are drawn, in the last of four books in this series, Nora and Patch must confront the differences that have always been between them and either choose to ignore them or let them destroy the love they have always fought for.

Intertwined by Gena Showalter
There’s nothing ordinary about Aden. He is an orphan, lives on a ranch for troubled boys, and is a “schizo.” This last description, however, can be blamed on the four souls he has living inside his head: Elijah, who can see the future; Eve, who can travel into the past; Caleb, who can possess another’s body; and Julian, the “corpse whisperer.” What starts as just another day battling zombies instantly changes when Aden meets Mary Ann, a girl with the mysterious power to quiet his inner voices. Aden joins Mary Ann’s school to be near her, but instead he falls for a teleporting vampire princess guarded by a very handsome werewolf. And that’s just the beginning—before this complicated supernatural romance is over, ghosts, demons, witches, goblins, and fairies will get in on the action, too. Burdened with untangling this knot, lines like “Without Riley, Mary Ann blocks Aden’s abilities” sometimes come off more like D&D rules than plot development. But with pages that turn this easily, fans of the genre won’t be complaining. Booklist


Unraveled by Gena Showalter
The sequel to Intertwined finds sixteen-year-old Aden in Crossroads, Oklahoma, a mecca for paranormal creatures. Named the new king of the vampires despite being human (sort of), Aden keeps busy hunting witches, defeating death curses, romancing a vampire princess, and attending high school. Breathless pacing and an over-the-top plot won't deter fans of supernatural romance eager for the next installment. Horn Book

Twisted by Gena Showalter
His vampire girlfriend might have brought him back to life, but he's never felt more out of control. There's a darkness within him, something taking over; changing him. Worse, because he was meant to die, death now stalks him at every turn. Any day could be his last.  Once upon a time, the three souls trapped inside his head could have helped him. He could have protected himself. But as the darkness grows stronger, the souls grow weaker - just like his girlfriend. The more vampire Aden becomes, the more human Victoria becomes, until everything they know and love is threatened. Life couldn't get any worse. Could it?