Labor Day

Labor Day

By Joyce Maynard

Being the week of Labour Day I felt this title was appropriate. This is held in the Richmond Public Library adult collection but I believe this coming of age story is wonderful for young adult readers too.

Joyce Maynard has combined a young mans coming of age story with an interesting love story; not just between a man and a woman but also between a boy and a father figure. Labor Day tells the story of Henry and his single mother just getting through life until one Labor day weekend.

Henry's mother finds it difficult to leave the house, with a debilitating discomfort of other people and places. Henry is doing his best to take care of her until they meet an intriguing man the Thursday before Labor Day. While shopping at their local convenience shop Henry is approached by a man, looking a little worse for ware with some blood on his pants and a large cut on his head. Would you invite a stranger with blood on his clothes into your home? Thirteen year old Henry and his mother, Adele, did and what happens next might surprise you.
It turns out that the stranger, Frank, is an escaped convict on the run. Frank is strong and innovative, helpful and kind, even when he has Henry's mother tied up to a kitchen chair there is a safety that Adele seems to feel.

Henry learn's some of life's valuable lessons: how to make the perfect piecrust; don't put in too much water, how to throw a baseball; finger placement is the key. Henry will also learn about jealousy, betrayal, love and patience all from the mysterious Frank.

This is an adult title and has some strong language and contains a small amount of sexual content.

Also available in streaming audiobook format through your RPL Hoopla account.

Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood

by Trevor Noah

You probably know Trevor Noah from Comedy Central's The Daily Show.  Trevor was a surprise pick to replace the indomitable Jon Stewart, but the South African comedian has slowly come into his own and as you read his new memoir, Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood, you might start to think perhaps Jon Stewart had a very good reason to pick Trevor as his successor.

Noah's story doesn't begin with his birth.  It goes back much further than that, when the white South African government imposed the system known as apartheid on its inhabitants, hitting black South Africans the hardest with repercussions that continue to this day. Noah's mother, Patricia, rebelled against apartheid as much as possible, becoming a secretary and then making the momentous decision to have a child.  But not just with anyone.  Patricia turned to a friend, Robert, who also just happened to be a white Swiss expat.  In South Africa at that time, it was not only illegal for Trevor's parents to have a sexual relationship, it was punishable by several years in prison.  Trevor's very existence was, in fact, evidence of a crime.

Trevor describes his childhood in a series of eighteen essays, that cover everything from his mother's insistence they attend three different churches on Sundays to his laughably inept attempts to woo girls in high school to the difficult and often turbulent relationship Trevor had with his abusive stepfather.  The essays are by turns funny, moving, and heartbreaking.  Throughout the essays, Trevor is careful to not only describe the effect apartheid had on his family and other black South Africans, but to multi-racial people labeled as "Colored,"  Trevor also points out the often arbitrary rules of apartheid that sometimes popped up seemingly overnight, with no other purpose than to further divide South Africa's black and Colored peoples.  He even devotes several pages to how apartheid affected his father and other whites who disagreed with apartheid.

If Trevor is the star of the show, his mother, Patricia, often steals the spotlight as his determined supporting actress.  If nothing else in the world, Patricia is often the voice of Trevor's conscience and the force nudging him to reach for something better.

The book is an easy read in terms of readability.  Trevor's voice shines through the page, and he makes it sound like he's sitting at a table in a coffee shop regaling his friends with the most meaningful moments of his childhood.  His language does get a bit salty at times, but it never comes off as gratuitous.  Another thing to keep in mind is the book doesn't move in a straight line from Trevor's birth to his early 20s.  I had a really hard time putting it down.  If you like memoirs, this is definitely one to read.

Ready Player One

Ready Player One

by Ernest Cline

Six long years into the search, Parzival has discovered the first key in James Halliday’s Easter Egg Hunt – a contest which will reward its winner with Halliday’s entire fortune. The winner will also gain control of the OASIS – a virtual reality in which most of Earth’s population spend the majority of their time.

In reality, Parzival is a 18-year-old boy named Wade Watts, with no real family, home, or money to his name. The year is 2044, and things have not gone well for humanity. So, like most people, Wade lives mostly in the OASIS, studying every aspect of 1980’s pop culture, as knowledge of Halliday’s beloved videogames, tv, movies, and music is the key to deciphering his clues.

But now the race is on, and Parzival is up against the IOI – a corporation bent on winning the hunt and seizing control over the OASIS by whatever means necessary – and he must rely on the help of three fellow gunters to win the contest, defeat the IOI, and save their virtual world.

This is a light, fun, and incredibly addictive read!