Kingdom of Ash and Briars by Hannah West

This magical YA novel will have readers rooting for Bristal, an orphan raised by a cook. Bristal has a feisty, take-no-prisoners spirit that will resonate well with teens.

Even though she is kidnapped and forced into the Water, which has killed many, she refuses to lose hope.

Bristal chooses to work as an elicromancer after she is tested at the Water. Her mentor, Brack, gives her the choice which she accepts, even if there are many drawbacks. 

After training, she becomes a  a clandestine who can disguise herself as other people or animals. 

Her first assignment is to protect a princess but she soon finds herself taking the form of a boy and fighting with the Alliance against a group of rebel elicromancers.

Though being an elicromancer means forsaking love, she is taken with Anthony, the renegade Prince. 

Since she must save the lost duchess, create harmony among the warring kingdoms, and defeat Tamarice, Bristal knows she cannot allow herself to fall in love. 

Will love win out? 

Strange forces are at work throughout this novel. Bristal's past, her childhood in Poppleton, may be the key to helping her quell the evil uprising that threatens the kingdoms of Nissera, Calgoran, and Volarre.

Magic is strong but never underestimate the power of love.

Smart Clothes

Recently, Levis and Google have developed a Smart jacket that can connect to the Internet. The jacket is called a Commuter Trucker Jacket by Jaquard (https://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/beazley-designs-of-the-year/fashion/levis-commuter-trucker-jacket-with-jacquard-by-google).

Those who wear the jacket can tap or swipe the jacket sleeve to access mobile services. The jacket can be washed (once the snap tag is removed).

Energy Action Month

October is Energy Action Month. 

What safe, renewable energy sources will be available to you in the future? Some researchers think that one day clothes--your T-shirt and jeans--may be able generate electricity. This electricity could be used to power devices e.g. cellphones. 

That sounds far-fetched but scientists at University of California at Berkeley have been working on this idea since 2010.
 
At the University of Georgia, Zhong Lin Wang and his team are trying to create a fabric that can harvest energy from the sun as well as motion.

Fabric that generates energy based on movement will use triboelectric nanogenerators. Fabric that generates solar energy would require photo anodes. 

Are we headed to a brave new world where our clothes will power our devices? 

More information about Energy Action Month for students and teachers can be found here,
 http://www.need.org/content.asp?contentid=175

http://www.energy.gov 

The Gracekeepers by Kristy Logan

The Gracekeepers by Kristy Logan is  a magical realistic novel that addresses rising sea levels--an event that will happen if the climate continues to change. 

After the sea levels have risen, colonies of people called "Damplings," permanently reside on ships. They are ostracized by "Landlockers" who trade with them but do not want to socialize with them.

A third more mysterious group of people, the
"Mer" people are forced to hide their existence. Landlockers kill "Mer" babies, who have gills or webbing between their fingers, out of fear. 

Logan pits one of these Mer people, Callanish, against the Landlocker culture that wishes to obliterate her kind. Logan also juxtaposes North, the "bear girl" from a dampling circus troupe, with Callanish.

This is a novel that expertly explores how prejudice, fear, and superstition can harm society.

Logan reserves her most biting criticism for her criticism of each group's religious affiliations. The Landlockers worship the World Tree, a kind of pagan worship, that involves processions. The damplings worship gods of the sea. 

Logan paints Christian "revivalist" ships, in a particularly gloomy light. She also decries the revivalist's image of a Virgin in blue robes.

Though there are few missteps, her overt distaste of religion, this is a captivating, powerful novel with intriguing characters that should not be missed. 

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan Macguire

There was still something unfinished around her eyes; she wasn't done yet. She was a story, not an epilogue.

Every Heart a Doorway, Seanan McGuire.

The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery

Sy Montgomery a naturalist who writes for children and adults alike explores the minds of invertebrates in The Soul of an Octopus. 

Montgomery writes that Octopuses are highly intelligent and curious creatures, even if their minds are wired differently.

Montgomery discovers that octopuses, like dogs and other mammals, often have the desire to play.

Octopus display emotion by changing colors and can taste with their tentacles. They can solve problems--undo locks, create shelters, fool predators, and recognize human caretakers.

Their minds are so similar to ours that they even succumb to a similar decline in old age. 

While they live relatively a short period of time--three or more years as compared to a human's life span of seventy or more years--they undergo similar changes during the aging process. 

Before she dies, an octopus Montgomery has gotten to know well lays eggs. Though this is a bittersweet moment--all female octopuses die after laying eggs--the author feels proud of her "friend."

Though she frequently cites philosophers and scientists, Montgomery adds her own heartfelt observations. 

Montgomery has a great deal of empathy for the animals she studies. She also has a great deal of admiration for the interns, volunteers, and scientists that work with marine life.  

The Soul of an Octopus is one of several recent books highlighting animal intelligence:


Boysen, Sally. The Smartest Animals in the World.
Hauser, Marc D. Wild Minds. 
Virga, Vint. The Soul of All Living Creatures.
Waal, Frans. Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?