The Dark Side Of Love

When does love become a murderous obsession? Prolific author Nicholas Sparks masterfully interweaves a love story with a chilling undercurrent of tension and suspense in this compelling novel, The Guardian. When Julie Barenson's young husband dies after a battle with cancer, he leaves her with a promise that he will always be her guardian angel, and a gift of a Great Dane puppy named Singer (who is an excellent judge of character). As time passes, Julie begins to date, and must choose between two very different suitors: Richard Franklin, a charming and worldly engineer, and Mike Harris, a kind-hearted auto mechanic who was also her husband's best friend. When Julie decides to pursue a relationship with Mike, she feels happy and settled again, but after a string of sinister occurrences, she finds that she is being stalked by a madman with dangerous secrets. This is an absorbing thriller with memorable characters, a pervasive sense of dread, and a riveting conclusion.

A Long Road Home

Have you ever fantasized about what it would be like to live on your own, and not have to follow parental rules? In A Door Near Here by Heather Quarles, 15 year-old Katherine Donovan has assumed the daily responsibility for the care and well-being of her three younger siblings when their mother becomes lost in a haze of depression and alcoholism and refuses to leave her room. As Katherine stubbornly tries to hold the family together and pretend that everything is normal, insurmountable obstacles develop: money runs out, food becomes scarce, and Alisa, the youngest sibling, who is obsessed with the books of C.S. Lewis, runs away to find the door to the imaginary land of Narnia. When a compassionate teacher suspects that something is drastically wrong and takes steps to intervene, Katherine, in fear of the family being split up by Social Services, makes a decision that will change everyone's lives forever. This beautifully written, powerful novel, which provides no easy solutions, won the annual Delacorte Prize for Best First Young Adult Novel.    

Wandering Spirits

Down A Dark Hall by Lois Duncan is an absorbing and suspenseful book that masterfully combines well-defined characters, a supernatural mystery, and a chilling sense of dread that fills every page. Independent and resourceful fourteen year-old Kit Gordy is sent to Blackwood, an exclusive school for carefully selected, gifted students, while her mother and new stepfather take a long honeymoon trip. When Kit sees the mansion for the first time, one word echoes in her mind: evil. As she begins her studies and tries to adjust to her new surroundings, she discovers that her initial impression of Blackwood is correct. Kit begins to hear rumors that the school is haunted, has frightening dreams at night, sees a shadowy man following her down the corridors, and discovers that the letters to her family have been intercepted. In addition, why do students who have never shown talent in music, writing, and art suddenly produce great masterpieces? When the truth about the school is finally revealed in a shocking twist,  Kit wonders if escape is possible. Lois Duncan is a unique writer who takes readers to the edge of their seats and keeps them thinking long after the story's conclusion.

Reading Between The Lines

Letters From The Inside by John Marsden is a gripping novel that reminds readers to look behind casual appearances for deeper, and more painful truths that are often rendered impossible to express. Mandy and Tracey are two sixteen year-olds who meet through a pen-pal ad and exchange letters that, at first, offer casual details about their daily lives. The teens seem to have many common interests: boys, music, friends, and family. Gradually, there are hints that something ominous is lurking between the lines of the letters. Tracey reveals that she is incarcerated in a maximum-security prison for a terrible crime, and Mandy slowly describes her brother's violent temper and secret stash of weapons, and her growing fear of him. As the girls begin to lean on each other for comfort and support, Mandy's letters suddenly stop, and Tracey is left to speculate on what has happened to her friend, and face her own demons, and an uncertain future, alone. This is a short, yet hard-hitting novel that delivers an unforgettable last act.  

When The Unthinkable Happens

Who knows what lurks behind the facade of a seemingly normal person? In The Missing Girl, prolific writer Norma Fox Mazer invites us into the mind of a nameless pedophile as he searches for, and targets a victim. The five Herbert sisters, Beauty, Fancy, Stevie, Mim, and Autumn have a variety of concerns: despair over love, the changes brought about by a parent's injury and subsequent loss of income, and the desire to escape the confines of their small town in upstate New York. However, unbeknownst to the girls, a pedophile obsessively watches them as they walk to school. One day, the youngest sister, 11-year-old Autumn, becomes lost, innocently asks this man for directions, and is kidnapped. Short, fast-paced chapters that reveal the family's strength in the face of crisis, Autumn's resourceful and triumphant escape, and the element of danger lurking beneath the surface of ordinary life will hook readers until the story's conclusion. Mazer skillfully probes the thought processes of a dangerous person who could be anywhere, or anyone we know.

A World In Turmoil

Have you ever thought about the things that matter most to you? Who or what gives your life meaning? In Susan Beth Pfeffer's grip-ping page-turner, Life As We Knew It,  Miranda, a Pennsylvania high school student, has the usual concerns: shifting friendships, the admiration of boys,  exams, and grades. When news reports indicate that an asteroid is on a collision course with the Moon, Miranda, along with her friends and neighbors, is fascinated, but not unduly concerned. However, when the asteroid does hit the Moon, the stage is set for an unprecedented global disaster, because the Moon is pushed into a closer orbit, causing a series of unimaginable climatic changes on Earth - tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and devastating storms. Miranda's priorities suddenly change, as she now must focus on helping to keep her family alive as the number of deaths mount, starvation looms, and epidemics rage. How does one find hope in a bleak future, with every day a constant struggle for the basic essentials of life? The Dead And The Gone, the next title in the series, documents the disaster in New York City through the eyes of high school senior Alex Morales, who must come to grips with the fact that his parents are dead, while simultaneously trying  to keep his sisters alive. In This World We Live In, the last volume in the trilogy, which takes place one year later, Miranda and Alex meet, and try to find normalcy, other survivors, and perhaps, love, in the midst of chaos. I have just learned that Ms. Pfeffer has just submitted a fourth volume in this series to her publisher.

Choices Of The Heart

How does one choose between two loves? How does one choose between a predetermined path and one not yet known? In our society these choices are constantly and successfully faced and resolved. However, in Matched, by Ally Condie, a stunning and thought-provoking dytopian novel which is the first installment of a planned trilogy, teenager Cassia Reyes is a dutiful citizen of The Society. Society Officials make all choices for its inhabitants: occupation, future mate, diet, recreational activities, and more. At first, Cassia is delighted when it is revealed at her Match Banquet that her best friend, Zander, has been chosen as her life's partner. However, these carefully laid plans are thrown into turmoil when she loads her Match microchip into her home portal screen, and to her utter shock, sees another boy on the screen as her match - Ky Markham, a mysterious arrival to her community. Is this a mistake, or is a more sinister force at work? As Cassia begins to fall in love with Ky, and begins to rebel against the confines of her world, she realizes that her heart will lead her on a remarkable journey that will forever change her life and the lives of those she loves. Be sure to read Crossed, the next novel in this series which will be published in November. If you enjoy dystopian novels, be sure to read The Giver by Lois Lowry, which is a beloved classic.

The Tyson Collection -- NEW!

Interested in Astrophysics? Visit our new Tyson Collection in the front of the library which features a selection of books that include a number of autographed  first editions donated by renowned astronomer,  geophysicist, and Bronx Science alumnus extraordinaire, Neil de Grasse Tyson!

Predator And Prey

                                                                

Prolific author Gail Giles has written a gripping suspense novel that vividly illustrates the twisted relationship between predator and prey. Ames Ford is fifteen years old, and up until this time she has led a sheltered, yet comfortable life with lots of material advantages. All of this ends abruptly when her father is brought up on embezzlement charges, loses his job, and the family is forced to move to new neighborhood, and adjust to some uncomfortable life changes. Drowning in an unfamiliar environment, and feeling isolated from her family which is coming apart at the seams, Ames begins to act out in self-destructive ways and falls in  love with the wrong person. Marc is twenty-two years old, constantly in trouble with the law, possessive, and loves guns. Recognizing and taking advantage of Ames' neediness and vulnerability, he convinces her to participate in a plot to kill her own parents so they can always be together. In Dark Song Gail Giles forces us to realize that there is a hidden darkness in all of us, and it only takes the right combination of elements for it to explode. 

Double Life Enigma

Kathryn Lyons has been happily married to her pilot husband, Jack for sixteen years. When she is awakened in the middle of the night to be told that Jack's plane crashed off the coast of Ireland, killing all those onboard, she is shocked and overwhelmed by grief. As an investigation into the cause of the fatal crash is pursued, authorities begin to blame the accident on Jack. Kathryn, who knows that her husband was a supremely talented pilot with a flawless record, will not allow his name to be tarnished, and begins to probe  the events that transpired before the flight. Her search leads her to revelations that she did not anticipate and was in no way prepared for. Who was Jack? The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve forces us to wonder how well we really know those who are closest to us, and to search more carefully under the surface of the everyday life that we take for granted.

Pushed To The Edge

Fifty year-old Marcy Taggart is no stranger to tragedy. Peter, her husband of twenty-five years, has left her for the golf pro at their exclusive country club. Two years ago, her mentally ill daughter, Devon, propelled a canoe to the middle of the lake near their summer home, and vanished without a trace. All that was found was the capsized canoe, and Devon was presumed dead. Now, Marcy finds herself in Ireland on what should have been an anniversary trip with her husband, struggling to put the pieces of her life back together. When Marcy is relaxing in a pub after a long day of sightseeing, she sees Devon casually stroll past the large front window. Is her daughter really alive? Did Devon stage her accident, try to shed her unhappiness, and begin life anew in another country? In Now You See Her by Joy Fielding, Marcy begins a frantic race against time and circumstance to reclaim her daughter and put her turbulent past to rest. Joy Fielding has a rare gift for creating believable, complex, and engaging characters, whose flaws make them all the more human.

Keeping Secrets

When Jennifer Jones was ten years old, she was convicted of murdering her best friend and was sentenced to seven years in prison for this terrible crime. Upon her release at the age of seventeen, she forges a new identity and slowly begins to rebuild her shattered life which now includes a  job, a boyfriend, and acceptance to a local university. As Alice struggles to rejoin the society which she has left behind, and ponders a reconciliation with her neglectful mother, the press is always one step behind her, trying to find the whereabouts of the child-killer Jennifer Jones. How long can Alice keep her secret and avoid exposure? In Looking For JJ by Anne Cassidy, readers must ask themselves: Can a person really change? Is it possible to "start over" with memories of past trauma always forcing themselves to the forefront? 

April Showers & Poetry Prowess!

Thursday April 14th is “Poem in Your Pocket” day, when teachers will stop you randomly and ask you to read the poem that you have in your pocket. After you recite it, you will be given a card to redeem in the library for a treat -- and be entered in a drawing for the grand prize. The more cards you collect, the more chances to win!

P.S. Need a poem? Try the 808.81 section of the library to browse poetry collections!

Survival Saga

In 1846, a group of settlers who eventually came to be known as The Donner Party, left their home in Illinois in search of a better life in California. Unfortunately, their dreams of  prosperity quickly turned into a nightmare. Their faulty and ill-advised decision of  following a supposed shortcut mapped out by a shady character named Lansford Hastings, which added more time to their journey and cost them more than they could have anticipated, in addition to infighting and bad luck, caused the group to be trapped in the Sierra Nevada Mountains by an insurmountable snowstorm where they were forced to resort to horrible means to survive. The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown, a compelling and gripping read, chronicles the ordeal of twenty-one year-old Sarah Graves, a new bride, who chose to follow her husband and family on this perilous journey. When the party became hopelessly trapped, Sarah and a small group fashioned snowshoes to walk out of the mountains and find help for the stranded party. This is a vivid depiction of an infamous and never-to-be-forgotten event in history

Look Behind You

What do you when the life you have known  inexplicably changes? Suddenly,you have to leave your friends behind, change your name, radically alter your physical appearance, and move to an unknown destination. Zach Granger and his family must enter the Witness Protection Program, carve out new identities, and always look over their shoulders for any possible sign of danger. However, Zach too quickly discovers that the most foolproof plan can become breached. Can Zach and his family survive an uncertain fate and the terrors of the unknown? If you enjoy heartracing suspense, then read Zack's Lie by Roland Smith, a superb craftsman of adventure stories, and be sure to read  Jack's Run, the exciting sequel.

Friend Or Foe?

What do you do when you suspect that your friend is, in actuality, your foe, who is hiding deadly and sinister secrets? Shy and lonely teen Cara Lange futilely tries to carve out a place in her high school's social scene, ignored or relentlessly teased by the "in-crowd." A lifeline suddenly appears in the form of the unexpected and mysterious reappearance of her childhood best friend, Zoe, who miraculously transforms her life. Just as Cara's plight starts to dramatically improve, her former "enemies," some of the most popular students at school, meet tragic fates. Is Zoe involved? Do we ever really know the people who are closest to us? Are we ever aware of our own dark side? Read Choker by Elizabeth Woods to see if you can easily discern the truth about others, or are brave enough to look into your own heart.

What Do William Safire, David Politzer, and Bobby Darin Have In Common?

All of these  inspiring individuals are all Bronx Science Alumni! Someday we will be reading about your accomplishments! What imprint will you leave on the world?

Check out our rotating display of Bronx High School of Science alumni. This month we are showcasing the life of entertainment legend Bobby Darin.

Brush Up On Women's History In March!

Examine the contents of our display and peruse titles about extraordinary women who have left an indelible imprint on our past, present, and future!

Be sure to visit Biography In Context through the New York Public Library databases to view books, images, and videos about the famous and infamous!

Experience Web 2.0 In Action!

Check out this Jing screencast tutorial of how to use our online catalog Websafari -- generated by one of our fantastic Bronx High School of Science students!

In The Know Of What's Hot In Web 2.0?

Please visit the library webpage under the link “Digital Tools For Presenting

& Collaborating”  to view excellent Web 2.0 tools such as Masher, 

Glogster, Scratch, Netvibes, and Jing.

What's Your Bookprint?

Can you guess which book influenced the lives of a former President, two award-winning actresses, a Superbowl MVP, an A-list designer, and popular TV host?

We all remember that special book - the one that changed our life, holds a special memory, or taught us something we'll never forget. You Are What You Read is a social networking celebration of those books that helped us discover who we are and who we can become. Users log on through existing social media accounts and share the five books that made a difference in their lives, and connect with readers all over the world through these shared "Bookprints." And you're in good company: more than 130 "Names You Know" - including Bill Gates, Eva Mendes, Daniel Radcliffe, Damien Hirst, Taylor Swift, Venus Williams, Tony Hawk, and two former Presidents - have shared their Bookprints with us.

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Who Was Hannah Baker?

Do you want to read a book that will change your life forever?

Have you ever thought about the intentional and unintentional cruelties that we might inflict upon our peers without realizing the often devastating and far-reaching impact of their consequences? In the fascinating Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, before teen Hannah Baker commits suicide, she arranges to circulate a box of tapes to a select group of people whom she holds responsible for her death. When classmate Clay Jenson, who had a crush on Hannah, receives the tapes, he spends the night listening to Hannah's recorded thoughts and visiting the places that she mentions. As a web of deceit, pain, and secrets is revealed, Clay comes to his own painful self-realizations that change his life and his perception of others, forever. This is a powerful book because it makes one ask, "Am I responsible for irreparably hurting another person?"

Brush up on Black History this month!

Visit our display for unique books about the famous and not so famous black historical figures that have made contributions in various fields and to the greater human cause.

Visit Biography in Context through the New York Public Library Databases for quality articles, videos, images and more!
Don't have a NYPL library card? Click here to apply online.

Book Suggestions Are In!

We've enjoyed hearing from you through our suggestion box, cleverly created by Bronx Science alumna extraordinaire Valinda Chan.
Many of your book suggestions have now arrived -- and more to come in a few weeks. Check out what's new through the library catalog: http://library.bxscience.edu/SURPASS/websafari.exe
Keep the suggestions coming!

Welcome to The Bronx High School of Science Library

 

Even if you can't visit the library in person, you can visit us digitally!

For remote access to high quality information resources from The Bronx High School of Science Library go to http://www.bxscience.edu/, click on Academics then Library. Navigate to Databases. There are numerous subscription databases on a variety of subjects that you may use any time of day. All that is needed is the master password (available in the library) to retrieve the database passwords for excellent resources such as GALE, PROQUEST, and JSTOR . Of course, Mr. Bowlin and Mrs. Goldstein are always available to assist with your information quests.