Girls Who Code: Learn to Code and Change The World

September 12th, 2024 by Goshen Public Library No comments »

By Reshma Saujani

Year of Publication: 2017

A summary from Goodreads: 

Crack the code to your future dreams

Since 2012, the organization Girls Who Code has been leading the charge to get girls interested in technology and coding. Now its founder, Reshma Saujani, wants to inspire you to be a girl who codes!

Bursting with dynamic artwork, down-to-earth explanations of coding principles, and real-life stories of girls and women working at places like Pixar and NASA, this graphically animated book shows what a huge role computer science plays in our lives and how much fun it can be. No matter your interest—sports, the arts, baking, student government, social justice—coding can help you do what you love and make your dreams come true.

Whether you’re a girl who’s never coded before, a girl who codes, or a parent raising one, this entertaining book, printed in bold two-color and featuring art on every page, will have you itching to create your own apps, games, and robots to make the world a better place.

Goshen Public Library call number: J920 SAUJANI (BOOK-J)

Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World

September 11th, 2024 by Goshen Public Library No comments »

By John Vaillant

Year of Publication: 2023

A summary from the book flap: 

A stunning account of a colossal wildfire that collided with a city and a panoramic exploration of the rapidly changing relationship between fire and humankind

In May 2016, Fort McMurray, the hub of Canada’s oil industry and America’s biggest foreign supplier, was overrun by wildfire. The multi-billion-dollar disaster melted vehicles, turned entire neighborhoods into firebombs, and drove 88,000 people from their homes in a single afternoon. Through the lens of this apocalyptic conflagration—the wildfire equivalent of Hurricane Katrina—John Vaillant warns that this was not a unique event but a shocking preview of what we must prepare for in a hotter, more flammable world.

Fire has been a partner in our evolution for millennia, shaping culture, civilization, and, very likely, our brains. Fire has enabled us to cook our food, defend and heat our homes, and power the machines that drive our titanic economy. Yet this volatile energy source has always threatened to elude our control, and in our new age of intensifying climate change, we are seeing its destructive power unleashed in previously unimaginable ways.

With masterly prose and a cinematic eye, Vaillant takes us on a riveting journey through the intertwined histories of North America’s oil industry and the birth of climate science, to the unprecedented devastation that modern forest fires wreak, and into lives forever changed by these disasters. His urgent work is a book for—and from—our new century of fire, which has only just begun.

Goshen Public Library call number: 363.379 VAILLANT (BOOK)

The Last Secret of Lily Adams

September 10th, 2024 by Goshen Public Library No comments »

By Sara Blaydes

Year of Publication: 2024

A summary from Goodreads: 

The death of a legendary actress reveals a wealth of Hollywood secrets in a breathtaking novel about betrayal, rivalry, and the punishing brutality of fame.

One of the brightest stars of Hollywood’s golden age was Lily Adams, the beloved picture of all-American innocence. Why she suddenly vanished from the spotlight was a mystery even to those closest to her.

Upon Lily’s death seventy years later, her granddaughter, Carolyn Prior, struggles to understand a woman she loved but never really knew. Then, sifting through the memorabilia of a once-glamorous career, Carolyn comes across a letter from her grandmother. It’s the trembling admission of a secret life and a story that begins and ends with superstar Stella Lane, Lily’s archrival of the silver screen—a bombshell who was brutally murdered.

As Carolyn unearths her grandmother’s connection to the notorious unsolved slaying, her life collides with Lily’s in the most shocking ways. And with each stunning new revelation, Carolyn must decide how much she is willing to risk to unlock the truth.

Goshen Public Library call number: F BLAYDES (PBK) (BOOK)

Gifted Hands

September 9th, 2024 by Goshen Public Library No comments »

Year of Release: 2009

A summary from Amazon: 

Oscar® winner Cuba Gooding Jr. (Actor in a Supporting Role, Jerry Maguire, 1996) stars in this true story about a renowned brain surgeon who overcame obstacles to change the course of medicine forever. Young Ben Carson didn’t have much of a chance. Growing up in a broken home amongst poverty and prejudice, his grades suffered and his temper flared. And yet, his mother never lost her faith in him. Insisting he follow the opportunities she never had, she helped to grow his imagination, intelligence and, most importantly, his belief in himself. That faith would be his gift – the thing that would drive him to follow his dream of becoming one of the world’s leading neurosurgeons.

Goshen Public Library call number: DVD-A (VISUAL MATERIAL)

Finally Heard (Finally Seen #2)

September 7th, 2024 by Goshen Public Library No comments »

By Kelly Yang

Year of Publication: 2024

A summary from Goodreads: 

From the New York Times bestselling author of Front Desk comes the sequel to Finally Seen in which Lina struggles to separate fact from fiction on social media.

When ten-year-old Lina Gao sees her mom’s video on social media take off, she’s captivated by the potential to be seen and heard! Maybe online she can finally find the confidence she craves. Whereas in real life she’s growing so fast, she feels like microwave popcorn, bursting out of her skin!

With the help of her two best friends, Carla and Finn, and her little sister, Millie, Lina sets off to go viral. Except there’s a lot more to social media than Lina ever imagined,

1. Seeing inside her classmates’ lives! Is she really the only person on the planet who doesn’t have a walk-in closet?
2. Group chats! Disappearing videos! Will anyone comment? What’s that emoji mean?
3. A bazillion stories about what to eat, wear, and put on her face . Could they all be telling the truth? Everyone sounds so sure of what they’re saying!

As Lina descends deeper and deeper into social media, it will take all her strength to break free from the likes and find the courage to be her authentic self in this fast-paced world.

Goshen Public Library call number: JF YANG (BOOK-J)