It is our first Teen Book Spotlight for 2021 and if you have a goal for this new year of wanting to learn about something new or expanding your current knowledge base then this week’s theme is here to help!! Our teen book spotlight this week is on more amazing YA nonfiction titles! It can be easy to think that nonfiction is boring but these titles are the complete opposite of that thought; we have everything from true crime to war history and nonfiction graphic novels and you will not even realize you are reading nonfiction because they are that good. These books and more can be found by searching the catalog using the search tag #amazingyanonfiction as well as on Libby and Hoopla. Check back next week for a new teen book spotlight and if you have any book suggestions, please let us know!!
The Borden Murders by Sarah Miller--In a compelling, linear narrative, Miller takes readers along as she investigates a brutal crime: the August 4, 1892, murders of wealthy and prominent Andrew and Abby Borden. The accused? Mild-mannered and highly respected Lizzie Borden, daughter of Andrew and stepdaughter of Abby. Most of what is known about Lizzie's arrest and subsequent trial (and acquittal) comes from sensationalized newspaper reports; as Miller sorts fact from fiction, and as a legal battle gets under way, a gripping portrait of a woman and a town emerges.
Accused!: The Trials of the Scottsboro Boys by Larry Brimner--Recounts the eighty-year investigation into the trial of the Scottsboro Boys--nine itinerant African American teenagers who were falsely accused of raping two white women in Alabama in 1931. Describes how after decades of work into the miscarriage of justice, they were officially exonerated.
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei--Japanese American actor and gay activist George Takei offer a graphic memoir describing his years as a child in Japanese internment camps during World War II and how they impacted him, his parents, and the country.
Atomic Women by Roseanne Montillo--Documents the lives and careers of the female scientists who worked on the development of the atomic bomb during World War II without recognition or acknowledgement. Discusses how they faced gender discrimination and exclusion, and struggled with the ethics of science and the aftermath of their creation. Includes a scientific timeline, and black-and-white photographs.
Boots on the Ground: America’s War in Vietnam by Elizabeth Partridge--Provides the personal stories of an American nurse, six American soldiers, and one Vietnamese refugee in order to explore the history and ramifications of the Vietnam War.
Blood, Bullets, and Bones by Bridget Heos--A captivating examination of the evolution of forensic science throughout history, from ancient Chinese detective work to the cutting-edge technology of today. Through true-life criminal cases, Heos provides an intriguing and sometimes grisly look at the powerful role forensic science plays in bringing perpetrators of violent crimes to justice.
18 Tiny Deaths by Bruce Goldfarb--Profiles the life of the woman known as the "mother of forensic science," Frances Glessner Lee, who pioneered the concept of forensic science to solve crime around the turn of the twentieth century. She created the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, which are twenty intricately designed miniature dioramas that portray real-life death scenes that investigators were encouraged to solve based solely on the forensic evidence present. Eighteen of these dioramas are still in use today.