In the 1980s in the USSR, the Russian government undertook an ambitious project to create a nuclear power plant and a perfect city just outside of it for all of its workers to live in. It would be a marvel of innovation and modern industrial achievement, but instead it was marred with corruption, unsafe construction, and unsound science. Anyone with the whole picture could have seen the explosion coming, but no one could see everything. On April 26, 1986, a safety test went horribly wrong, causing one of the reactors to overheat and explode with radioactive energy for tens of kilometers and sending a radioactive cloud of smoke as far away as Canada. The cleanup process involved hundreds of thousands of people, some of whom died shortly after, leaving others to deal with radiation sickness for decades.
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Illustrated by Jes and Cin Wibowo
Tony is constantly the new kid at school, having made many transfers, but this latest school is proving to be even more challenging with a more than fair share of bullies pointing out every eccentricity Tony has and posting much of it to social media. It becomes too much for Tony to handle - the bullies suck all of the joy and light from his days until he's ready to give up completely. His parents begin having him go to therapy, and he switches schools yet again to one where most students are more accepting and there are fewer bullies. Tony finds a home with the Literature Club and even finds his voice again as a champion for others with their own bullies and in their self-expression. 
Based on and adapted from the screenplay by Brandon Beckner and Scott Sampila
In San Francisco in 1971, Reporter Seymour Phillips stumbles upon some clues that a recent drug bust might not be all it seems. After an ill-fated trip to talk to the suspect in prison, Seymour’s life gets destroyed by a planted bag of marijuana that sends him to jail. He loses him his job and his girlfriend. A few years later, he meets Chase, a drug addict, potentially with some mental illnesses, who claims to have been part of a super top-secret CIA operation to develop compound LSD-25 into a tool for interrogation and mind control. Chase leads Seymour on a crazy ride that includes taking drugs, disguises, clandestine meetings, amongst other things, as they uncover an operation that included prostitutes and experimenting on Johns and the operatives themselves. 
History Comics: The National Parks: Preserving America's Wild Places
Follow Bigfoot and Eagle through an historical look at the founding of America's National Parks. Bigfoot embodies the spirit of National Parks and explains to Eagle, the embodiment of the American People, how they all came to be. We start off with Yosemite and Yellowstone, and take a look at what acts of Congress and presidential actions made pieces of the country into National Parks. We also take a look at the founding of Park Rangers, and what their role was in preserving the parks from human disruption. As the idea of parks changed, activists were able to argue that land of historical significance, not just natural beauty, could become a National Park, as is the case with Mesa Verde National Park.  Edited by Tea Rozman Clark and Julie Vang
Booklist review Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 9-12 Publisher: Green Card Voices Publication Date: August 31, 2021 ISBN: 9781949523171 (Paperback) Tags: Rating: 8/10, Suitability: High School, Graphic Nonfiction, Nonfiction, Autobiography, Biography, Story Collection, Family 
Edited by Laurie Halse Anderson
This collection of stories is modeled after some other versions that celebrated Wonder Women in the real world. Anderson and DC Comics have brought together women creators to pay homage to powerful women who are inspirational. Some of the tributes include Beyonce, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Serena Williams, Malala Yousafzai, Greta Thunberg, and so many more. Several of these stories are shedding light on amazing women who may not have been in the spotlight in their time. There are engineers and scientists who are heading programs to encourage girls to get into the science fields; there are disabled activists who fought for the rights that eventually became protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act; and, there are LBGTQ+ activists who fought for marriage rights and the right to exist on the streets of New York. 
Illustrated by Nate Powell
The final book in this trilogy picks up with events early in 1963 when a church in Birmingham was bombed, and four young girls were killed. John Lewis and SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) and other Civil Rights groups came together after that bombing to try to get more representation on a state and national level since their local politicians were going to continue to turn a blind eye to violence. They organized into the Freedom Democratic Party and tried to take part in the Democratic National Convention, but drew the ire of LBJ in his re-election campaign. Larger demonstrations were necessary as violence mounted and became more blatant. Lewis and his fellows conceived of a march from Selma, Alabama, to the capital in Montgomery, an event that is now referred to as "Bloody Sunday" because of how badly law enforcement officers beat demonstrators. After that terrible day, another march was planned with Lewis and Martin Luther King, Jr., and this time, they were successful in reaching Montgomery. The finale ties together Lewis and Aydin discussing commemorating all the important work of Lewis' life into a comicbook. 
When the German forces surrendered at the end of World War II, a select unit of Jewish Soldiers, British and Palestinian, became an unofficial unit known as The Jewish Brigade. These soldiers made detours during their official missions in order to hunt down elite Nazis or save any Jewish survivors of the Concentration Camps. This story focuses on Leslie Toliver. Toliver and his Palestinian friend, Ari, rescue a girl named Safaya from a church where a former SS official was acting as a priest. Ari and another British officer covertly rescue truckloads of Jewish civilians from the Russian city of Graz before it comes under British control because they feared Anti-Semitism that would make like difficult or impossible for those survivors. The Jewish civilians are trying to make their way to Palestine, where the U.N. had a planned Jewist State. Later, Toliver supports the Jewish forces in Palestine fighting for their own state. He and Safaya are reunited, but now, Safaya is a soldier fighting for her people against the Arabs in Palestine who oppose the partition of their country.
In this blend of historical and scientific perspective, Fetter-Vorm explores the race between several countries to create the Atom Bomb, starting with the theoretical exploration of splitting atoms, to the realization of the theory under the Manhattan Project. Fetter-Vorm particularly focuses on the American efforts, so there is little detail from other countries involved in the race. The beginning of the novel focuses heavily on the science behind how it's possible to split an atom and what happens on a molecular level. The historical perspective is sprinkled throughout this section, but really becomes the major focus during the second half of the book. Particular attention is given to Oppenheimer and General Leslie Groves as the leaders of the project. Fetter-Vorm also goes into quite a bit of detail about the dropping of Little Boy, the Uranium atom bomb, and Fat Man, the plutonium atom bomb, on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, and how each of the different types of atomic bombs' explosions affected the cities and people.
Kleist presents the true story of champion boxer, Emile Griffith.
One day while at work, in a most oppressive heat, Emile Griffith was stuffing hats in boxes, singing to himself, when several people noticed that his physique was that of a boxer. His boss, Mr. Arnold, took Emile to a local boxing gym and got him set up with a trainer and his first match. Even though Emile didn't want to hurt anyone, he found he was really good at boxing. His strategy? Hit the other guy before he has a chance to hit you. Emile would go on to win many championships and start his own line of Ladies Hats with his former shop. Emile also took several lovers along the way, but, despite their encouragement, he never wanted to get into activism or anything outside of the ring that would draw attention to his personal life. His major rival was Benny "Kid" Paret, who hurled a homophobic slur at Griffith before one of the title matches. Paret later died from his injuries sustained by Griffith during the match. |
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