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If your idea of a good book involves high-stakes action or stories of survival, check out these books for some exciting summer reading:
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If you're dreaming of summer vacation and trips to exotic places, we've got the books for you. Click the covers below to learn more.
Earth Day is April 22, and this year's theme focuses on plastic pollution.  Did you know that between 4 and 12 million tons of plastic enter the ocean each year? Plastics don't decompose like other forms of waste, so they just hang around for years and years (and years and years and years). Often, plastic waste is eaten by seabirds or other marine animals, which is incredibly harmful. To learn more about plastic pollution and what you can do to help end it, check out the Earth Day Network's Action Toolkit. We've also created a YouTube Playlist with videos about plastic pollution in our oceans, like the one below. Watch it, and then head to the playlist to see the more. After you've learned about the problem, learn about what YOU can do to help end plastic pollution. Here are 6 ways to reduce ocean plastic pollution (from the Oceanic Society): 1. Reduce Your Use of Single-Use Plastics: Single-use plastics include plastic bags, water bottles, straws, cups, utensils, dry cleaning bags, take-out containers, and any other plastic items that are used once and then discarded. The best way to do this is by a) refusing any single-use plastics that you do not need (e.g. straws, plastic bags, takeout utensils), and b) purchasing, and carrying with you, reusable versions of those products. 2. Recycle: Recycling helps keep plastics out of rivers and oceans and reduces the amount of new plastic that is made. 3. Participate in a River or Beach Cleanup: Here in the Roaring Fork Valley, we may not be close to the beach, but we certainly have miles of beautiful rivers we can protect. Whenever you see litter, pick it up and properly dispose of it. 4. Support Bans: Many cities around the world have enacted bans on single use plastic bags, takeout containers, and bottles. You can support the adoption of such policies in your community. A local CMC student is pushing for a plastic bag ban in Glenwood Springs! 5. Avoid Microbeads: Tiny plastic particles, called “microbeads,” have become a growing source of ocean plastic pollution in recent years. Microbeads are found in some face scrubs, toothpastes, and bodywashes, and they readily enter our oceans and waterways through our sewer systems, and affect hundreds of marine species. Avoid products containing plastic microbeads by looking for “polythelene” and “polypropylene” on the ingredient labels of your cosmetic products. 6. Spread the Word: Tell your friends and family about ways they can help reduce plastic pollution! Want to learn more? Check out these books:
And, if you want to take it to the max, learn about how Lauren Singer lives a "zero-waste" life! Siblings: love 'em or hate 'em (or sometimes both). Check out these (mostly) realistic fiction books about twins, sisters, brothers, and non-traditional siblings. Click the cover to learn more.
If you loved "Black Panther" and can't stop thinking about it, try one of these books-- they just might help fill your Wakanda craving... at least until the next movie. Click the covers to learn more.
If you're still obsessed with the movie Gladiator, or just can't get enough of togas and sandals, check out some of these titles. With all the action, we'll gladly overlook any historical inaccuracies :)
The Valiant series by Lesley Livingston Fallon is the daughter of a proud Celtic king, the sister of the legendary warrior Sorcha, and the sworn enemy of Julius Caesar. When Fallon was a child, Caesar’s armies invaded her homeland, and her beloved sister was killed in battle. On the eve of her seventeenth birthday, Fallon is eager to follow in her sister’s footsteps and earn her place in the fearsome Cantii war band. Instead, Fallon is captured and sold to an elite training school for female gladiators—owned by none other than Julius Caesar. Now, Fallon must overcome vicious rivalries and deadly fights—in and out of the arena. And perhaps the most dangerous threat of all: her forbidden yet irresistible feelings for Cai, a young Roman soldier.
An Ember in the Ashes series by Sabaa Tahir Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free. Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear. It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do. But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy. There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.  Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk The Republic of Rome is on a relentless march to create an empire―an empire built on the backs of the conquered, brought back to Rome as slaves. Attia was once destined to rule as the queen and swordmaiden of Thrace, the greatest warrior kingdom the world had seen since Sparta. Now she is a slave, given to Xanthus, the Champion of Rome, as a sign of his master’s favor. Enslaved as a child, Xanthus is the preeminent gladiator of his generation. Against all odds, Attia and Xanthus form a tentative bond. A bond that will spark a rebellion. A rebellion that threatens to bring the Roman Republic to its end―and gives rise to the legend of Spartacus...
Legacy of Kings series by Eleanor Herman Imagine a time when the gods turn a blind eye to the agony of men, when the last of the hellions roam the plains and evil stirs beyond the edges of the map. A time when cities burn, and in their ashes, empires rise. Alexander, Macedonia’s sixteen-year-old heir, is on the brink of discovering his fated role in conquering the known world but finds himself drawn to a newcomer… Katerina must navigate the dark secrets of court life while hiding her own mission: kill the Queen. But she doesn’t account for her first love… Jacob will go to unthinkable lengths to win Katerina, even if it means having to compete for her heart with Hephaestion, a murderer sheltered by the prince. And far across the sea, Zofia, a Persian princess and Alexander’s unmet betrothed, wants to alter her destiny by seeking the famed and deadly Spirit Eaters.  Mark of the Thief by Jennifer A. Nielsen When Nic, a slave in the mines outside of Rome, is forced to enter a sealed cavern containing the lost treasures of Julius Caesar, he finds much more than gold and gemstones: He discovers an ancient bulla, an amulet that belonged to the great Caesar and is filled with a magic once reserved for the Gods -- magic some Romans would kill for. Now, with the deadly power of the bulla pulsing through his veins, Nic is determined to become free. But instead, he finds himself at the center of a ruthless conspiracy to overthrow the emperor and spark the Praetor War, a battle to destroy Rome from within. Traitors and spies lurk at every turn, each more desperate than the next to use Nic's newfound powers for their own dark purposes. In a quest to stop the rebellion, save Rome, and secure his own freedom, Nic must harness the magic within himself and defeat the empire's most powerful and savage leaders.  Temple Boys by Jamie Buxton Jerusalem: year zero. Flea belongs to a gang of teenage vagrants living in the shadow of the Temple, living on their wits and what they can beg or steal. When a man called the Magician arrives, bringing talk of miracles and revolution, Flea and his comrades latch onto the newcomer in the hope that he'll offer them a secure home. As events accumulate and powerful forces gather around the Magician, Flea notices rumblings of discontent among his followers. Is the Magician the savior he claims to be, or a fraud? Does Flea hold the fate of the Magician—and possibly the world—in his hands, as he begins to believe?
The Wrath and the Dawn series by Renee Ahdieh In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad's dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride.
Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph's reign of terror once and for all. Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she'd imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It's an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid's life as retribution for the many lives he's stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?
These new books are all about growing up and trying to figure it all out, even while dealing with the pressures of parents, siblings, society, and friends. Click the book cover to learn more.
From brutally honest to shockingly funny, these books get real about mental illness.
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