This summer the library held a creative writing contest, "What Happened Next?" open to elementary, middle, and high school students. To enter, participants considered the prompt: Dig deeper into your favorite book/movie/video game character and write a story, poem, or essay that answers the question: What happens to ___ character after the book/movie/game ends? Each winner receives a $50 gift card to the store or restaurant of their choice, and gets their writing published on the library's website.

Seventh grader Sofia Lindgren, of West Dundee, is one of our "What Happened Next?" creative writing contest winners. Below is her entry "What Happened to Pinocchio?" Congratulations, Sofia!

What Happened to Pinocchio?
By: Sofia Lindgren

“Pinocchio! Breakfast!” A cheerful voice called. Pinocchio groaned as he sat up in bed, massaging his aching legs. Last night, he and his father, Geppetto spent all night dancing, singing, and laughing in ecstasy.

“Coming!” Pinocchio called back, slowly getting out of bed. He stood up and grinned his boyish grin. He was a human boy! A real, human boy! Pinocchio touched his legs, arms, and face, marvelling at the fact that they were real. He looked at his clothes and was dismayed to find that his red shorts and yellow shirt were wrinkled, and his white bow tie was lopsided. He adjusted his bow tie and smoothed out his shirt and shorts as best as he could before walking down the hall to the kitchen. On his way there, he passed Figaro, a black and white cat with an attitude. Figaro hissed at Pinocchio, still not accepting him for being a human.

Pinocchio ignored Figaro and walked into the kitchen. Geppetto was sitting at the kitchen table. When he saw Pinocchio, Geppetto’s merry blue eyes crinkled into a smile. Pinocchio slid into a chair next to Geppetto, eyeing the plate of food in front of him with confusion.

“Ah, I forgot that you’ve never eaten before! This, my dear boy, is bread.” Geppetto pointed to a large white piece of something that looked rather soft.

“And that is milk.” Geppetto pointed to a glass of white liquid.

“What do I do with it?” Pinocchio asked curiously.

“Eat the bread and drink the milk.” Geppetto said simply. Pinocchio picked up the bread, and took a bite out of it. It was as soft and as fluffy as a cloud in his mouth, with just the right amount of sweet and salty. He chewed the bite of bread, and swallowed. Another new and wondrous sensation. He then took a sip of the milk. It was smooth and rich in his mouth, with just a touch of sweetness.

“Do you like it?” Geppetto asked anxiously. Pinocchio nodded, his mouth full of bread. When Pinocchio finished his bread and milk, he waited for Geppetto to tell him what to do next, until he realized something. He hadn’t seen Jiminy Cricket all morning.

“Father, where is Jiminy Cricket?” Pinocchio asked. Geppetto’s face immediately fell.

“He... well, after you became a real boy, Jiminy Cricket became a real cricket.” Geppetto said sadly.

“What?” Pinocchio asked in disbelief. How would he make the right decisions without his friend and ‘conscience’?

“I suppose that since you had no magic left in you, that Jiminy Cricket didn’t either.” Geppetto sighed.

“Where is he?” Pinocchio asked.

“Right here.” Geppetto said, picking up a jar that was sitting at the far end of the table.Inside, a cricket hopped and chirped.

“I’m so sorry, Jiminy.” Pinocchio breathed, fogging the glass of the jar. The cricket put its legs up onto the jar, and it seemed to be staring right at Pinocchio.

“I think he wants to be free.” Pinocchio said, looking at the poor cricket that had once been his good friend. He felt something well up in his eyes. It was warm and wet. These strange things slid down his cheeks. One landed on his lips. He licked the wet thing, and found that it was salty.

“Oh, don’t cry, my boy.” Geppetto said, putting his arms around Pinocchio’s shoulders. Pinocchio’s tears fell onto the table as the father and son watched their good friend chirp in the jar.

“We must set him free. It’s the right thing to do.” Pinocchio steadied himself.

“You’re right.” Geppetto said, looking at Pinocchio. The father and son picked up the jar together and walked outside. It was a beautiful day. The sun shone brightly, and there was a gentle breeze. Geppetto and Pinocchio sat down in the soft grass together. Geppetto opened up the glass jar, and put it on the grass, sideways. The cricket that was once talking and wearing atop hat hopped out of the jar and into the tall grass.

“Good-bye Jiminy Cricket, and thank you for everything.” Pinocchio whispered, his vision clouding with that wet stuff again. Geppetto held Pinocchio in his arms, and the two of them sat outside, listening, wondering, and remembering.

Pinocchio watched Jiminy Cricket hop into a new world that he, too, was taking his first steps into.

Summer was here again. Summer, summer, summer. I loved and hated summers. Summers had a logic all their
own and they always brought something out in me. Summer was supposed to be about freedom and youth and
no school and possibilities and adventure and exploration. Summer was a book of hope. That's why I loved and
hated summers. Because they made me want to believe.

- Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

For more books that feature the possibilities, freedom, adventure, and exploration of summer, check out this list of teen summer reads:

	What if It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera Told in two voices, when Arthur, a summer intern from Georgia, and Ben, a native New Yorker, meet it seems like fate, but after three attempts at dating fail they wonder if the universe is pushing them together or apart.
	Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak by Adi Alsaid When she struggles with writing her column about relationships after being dumped by her boyfriend, Lu uses another couple's relationship to end her writer's block.
	Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett Seventeen-year-old Bailey moves to California to live with her father and, perhaps, finally meet an online friend and fellow film buff, but soon finds herself attracted to an annoying co-worker.
	The Whole Thing Together by Ann Brashares Summer for Sasha and Ray means the sprawling old house on Long Island. Since they were children, they've shared almost everything--reading the same books, running down the same sandy footpaths to the beach, eating peaches from the same market, laughing around the same sun-soaked dining table. Even sleeping in the same bed, on the very same worn cotton sheets. But they've never met. Sasha's dad was once married to Ray's mom, and together they had three daughters: Emma, the perfectionist; Mattie, the beauty, and Quinn, the favorite. But the marriage crumbled and the bitterness lingered. Now there are two new families--and neither one will give up the beach house that holds the memories, happy and sad, of summers past...This summer, the lives of Sasha, Ray, and their siblings intersect in ways none of them ever dreamed, in a novel about family relationships, keeping secrets, and most of all, love.
	No Filter by Orlagh Collins Emerald's seemingly perfect life is shattered and she is sent to spend a summer with her grandmother in an isolated beach town, where she connects with Liam, who has secrets of his own.
	Unclaimed Baggage by Jen Doll Told from three viewpoints, teens Doris, Nell, and Grant find friendship and the possibility of love while working in Unclaimed Baggage, a store that sells items that went missing during airline travel.
	Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan A lovesick teenager schemes to win the heart of her crush at her amusement park summer job, all while dressed as a hot dog.
	Two Summers by Aimee Friedman Two possible futures face Summer: either she will spend the summer in Provence with her father, uncovering family secrets, and exploring the old world, or she will stay in upstate New York, coping with her mother, and dreaming of her long time crush--and which future unfolds will depend on whether or not she answers a phone call.
	The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo Clara Shin lives for pranks and disruption. When she takes one joke too far, her dad sentences her to a summer working on his food truck, the KoBra, alongside her uptight classmate Rose Carver. Not the carefree summer Clara had imagined. But maybe Rose isn't so bad. Maybe the boy named Hamlet (yes, Hamlet) crushing on her is pretty cute. Maybe Clara actually feels invested in her dad's business. What if taking this summer seriously means that Clara has to leave her old self behind?
	Other Words for Smoke by Sarah Maria Griffin Fourteen-year-old twins Mae and Rossa's summer away from home takes a life-altering turn when they discover their great aunt Rita's home is full of secrets.
	We Were Beautiful by Heather Hepler Fifteen-year-old Mia's scarred face is a constant reminder of the car crash that killed her sister, but a summer at her grandmother's Manhattan apartment and new friends help her find happiness again.
	That Thing We Call a Heart by Sheba Karim High school has ended, and Shabnam Qureshi is facing a summer of loneliness and boredom. She's felt alienated from her gutsy best friend, Farah, ever since Farah started wearing the Muslim head scarf--without even bothering to discuss it with Shabnam first. But no one else comes close to understanding her, especially not her parents. All Shabnam wants to do is get through the summer. Get to Penn. Begin anew. Not look back. That is, until she meets Jamie...In her quest to figure out who she really is and what she really wants, Shabnam looks for help in an unexpected place--her family.
	Happy Messy Scary Love by Leah Konen Olivia plans to spend her summer in the Catskills, binge-watching horror movies and chatting with her online friend Elm, but things get complicated when she sends Elm her best friend's picture and she runs into the last person she thought she would ever see in real life.
	Again Again by E. Lockhart After a near-fatal family catastrophe and an unexpected romantic upheaval, high school senior Adelaide Buchwald finds herself catapulted into a summer of wild possibility. She will fall in and out of love a thousand times--while finally confronting the secrets she keeps, her ideas about love, and the weird grandiosity of the human mind. If you could live your life again, what would you do differently?
	Meet Me at Midnight by Jessica Pennington Eighteen-year-olds Sidney and Asher have spent every summer together, since they were twelve. Every summer it's the same--in between cookouts and boat rides and family-imposed bonfires, the two spend the dog days of summer finding the ultimate ways to prank each other. Now, the summer after their senior year, the two know that the end of their forced family vacations is nearing an end, and each is determined to make this last summer the most epic yet. But when the two families are kicked out of their beloved beach houses just one week into their eight-week vacation, their last summer is suddenly in jeopardy. When the two find themselves in uncomfortable new accommodations, Sidney expects summer to continue as usual. But then she gets a note--Meet me at midnight. And Asher has a proposition for her: join forces for one last summer of epic pranks, against a shared enemy--the woman who kicked them out of their beloved vacation homes. But can these two put their pasts aside and actually work as a team? And with their attention finally on something other than tormenting one another--can they ignore the obvious attraction building between them?
	Girl Out of Water by Laura Silverman When her aunt gets into a car accident, Anise is forced to leave her friends and surfing behind to spend the summer in Nebraska to help care for her cousins, and by doing so, forms familial bonds and new friendships that challenge her feelings of abandonment by her mother.
	The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth Seventeen-year-old cynic Saoirse Clarke isn't looking for a relationship. But when she meets mischievous Ruby, that rule goes right out the window. Sort of. Because Ruby has a loophole in mind: a summer of all the best cliché movie montage dates, with a definite ending come fall--no broken hearts, no messy breakup. It would be the perfect plan, if they weren't forgetting one thing about the Falling in Love Montage: when it's over, the characters have fallen in love...for real.
	The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles) by Amy Spalding Seventeen, fashion-obsessed, and gay, Abby Ives has always been content playing the sidekick in other people's lives. While her friends and sister have plunged headfirst into the world of dating and romances, Abby's been happy to focus on her plus-size style blog and her dreams of taking the fashion industry by storm. When she lands a great internship at her favorite boutique, she's thrilled to take the first step toward her dream career. Then she falls for her fellow intern, Jordi Perez. Hard. And now she's competing against the girl she's kissing to win the coveted paid job at the end of the internship.
	How You Ruined My Life by Jeff Strand Rod's life is going well until his rich, prankster cousin, Blake, moves in for three months--moving into his room and moving in on his girlfriend and band--ruining everything.
	Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian Seventeen-year-old Amelia has looked forward to her last summer before college working at the Meade Creamery, but when the owner of the local landmark passes away her nephew has big changes in mind.
	My Summer of Love and Misfortune by Lindsay Wong After a series of disastrous choices and rejections, seventeen-year-old Chinese American Iris Wang is thrust into the decadent world of Beijing high society as her cousin's English tutor.
	As Many Nows as I Can Get by Shana Youngdahl In one impulsive moment the summer before they leave for college, overachievers Scarlett and David plunge into a brief and irresistible swirl of romance, particle physics, and questionable decisions.
	Roomies by Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando While living very different lives on opposite coasts, seventeen-year-old Elizabeth and eighteen-year-old Lauren become acquainted by email the summer before they begin rooming together as freshmen at UC-Berkeley.

New graphic novels featuring Ms. Marvel, Squirrel Girl, the Joker, Superman, and more are just some of the recent additions to the teen graphic novel collection. Plus, we have two new books from Gene Luen Yang! I highly recommend Dragon Hoops--it's one of my favorites of the year. Whether you're looking for a quick whimsical read (The Postman from Outer Space), a book featuring a wizarding school that's not Hogwarts (The Black Mage), a memoir in graphic novel format (The Fire Never Goes Out), or continuations of popular series (Giant Days, Space Boy), these graphic novels have something for everyone:

	Ms. Marvel volume 2: Stormranger by Saladin Ahmed Between her space adventure, her complicated feelings for Bruno and a looming family tragedy, Ms. Marvel really needs a break, but when Zoe and Nakia decide to get Kamala out of town for a while, their road trip is about to be derailed by literal corporate zombies.
	Giant Days volume 13 by John Allison Everything's going fine for Esther - she's only dealing with a past break up, facing her own mortality and the pressure of an essay contest that could change her life. Don't worry, she's got everything figured out... except for the getting everything figured out part. Otherwise she's not racing towards imminent disaster. But for McGraw, the tough realities of life hit hard as he learns about the loss of someone close to him and has to find a way to process this shocking news.
	The Black Mage by Daniel Barnes When St. Ivory Academy, a historically white wizarding school, opens its doors to its first-ever black student, everyone believes that the wizarding community is finally taking its first crucial steps toward inclusivity. Or is it? When Tom Token, the beneficiary of the school's 'Magical Minority Initiative', begins uncovering weird clues and receiving creepy texts on his phone, he and his friend, Lindsay, stumble into a conspiracy that dates all the way back to the American Civil War, and could cost Tom his very soul.
	Eat, and Love Yourself by Sweeney Boo Mindy is a young woman living with an eating disorder and trapped in a battle for her own self-worth. When she accidentally discovers something that will give her a chance to revisit her past, she thinks she has a chance to put her life back on track. But will she be able to find a way back to her present and treat herself with love and kindness at any size?
	Long Story Short: 100 Classic Books in Three Panels by Lisa Brown One hundred pithy and skewering three-panel literary summaries, from curriculum classics like Don Quixote, Lord of the Flies, and Jane Eyre to modern favorites like Beloved, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, and Atonement, conveniently organized by subjects including "Love," "Sex," "Death," and "Female Trouble."
	The Phantom Twin by Lisa Brown Isabel and Jane are the Extraordinary Peabody Sisters, conjoined twins in a traveling carnival freak show--until an ambitious surgeon tries to separate them and fails, causing Jane's death. Isabel has lost an arm and a leg but gained a ghostly companion: her dead twin is now her phantom limb. Haunted, altered, and alone for the first time, can Isabel build a new life that's truly her own?
	Gotham High by Melissa de la Cruz A reimagining of Gotham for a new generation of readers. Before they became Batman, Catwoman, and The Joker, Bruce, Selina, and Jack were high schoolers who would do whatever it took--even destroy the ones they love--to satisfy their own motives.
	The Joker: 80 Years of the Clown Prince of Crime DC celebrates the 80-year history of Batman's greatest foe, The Joker! Includes The Joker's most memorable appearances, from his 1940 debut in the pages of Batman #1 to more recent capers written by top talents including Scott Snyder, Tony S. Daniel, Paul Dini and more.
	The Strange Ones by Jeremy Jusay Filled with visceral and engaging prose, this graphic novella offers a nostalgic look at two young misfits who manage to find belonging and heartbreak in each other's friendship.
	Ping Pong Volume 1 by Taiyo Matsumoto Ace high school table tennis players push their passion to the limit in this story of self-discovery, told by Eisner Award winner Taiyo Matsumoto. Makoto Smile Tsukimoto doesn't smile even though he's got a natural talent for playing ping pong. As one of the best players in school, all hopes are on him to win the regional high school tournament, but winning is not what Smile really wants to do. Will the fierce competition to be number one bring out his best or drive him away from the game?
	Space Boy volume 7 by Stephen McCranie Amy investigates the secrets behind Oliver's identity, while a new romance blossoms between Schaefer and Tammie, and Zeph reveals his feelings for Amy.
	The Lost Carnival by Michael Moreci Before Batman trained him to be Robin, Dick Grayson was star of his family of trapeze artists, but when an enchanting new attraction opens nearby and threatens to lure away their remaining customers, Dick is among those drawn to its magical glow and may be too mesmerized to recognize the dangers ahead.
	Unbeatable Squirrel Girl volume 12: To All the Squirrels I've Loved Before by Ryan North To all things, an ending! As the series kicks off its final story, Brain Drain is missing! And the hitherto invincible Doreen Green will have to face certain defeat to save him! It's the nuttiest Squirrel Girl story ever as lives hang in the balance, narrative threads are resolved, shocking reveals are, um, revealed--and the greatest villains in Marvel history team up to take out the one thing that's stood in their way: Doreen! We're talking big bads like Doctor Doom here, people! Will Squirrel Girl survive? Friendship, explosions and friendships forged during explosions--it all comes down to this!
	The Postman from Outer Space by Guillaume Perreault A letter carrier who delivers mail across the galaxy in his spaceship finds adventure when he is assigned a new route.
	The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures by Noelle Stevenson In a collection of personal comics that span eight years of her young adult life, author-illustrator Noelle Stevenson charts the highs and lows of being a creative human in the world.
	Supergirl: Being Super by Mariko Tamaki When an earthquake shatters Midvale, uncovering secrets sixteen-year-old Kara Danvers thought would stay buried forever, she must choose between blending in and embracing her differences to save her hometown.
	Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang Gene Luen Yang understands stories--comic book stories, in particular ... But Gene doesn't get sports. As a kid, his friends called him 'Stick' and every basketball game he played ended in pain. He lost interest in basketball long ago, but at the high school where he now teaches, it's all anyone can talk about. The men's varsity team, the Dragons, is having a phenomenal season that's been decades in the making. Each victory brings them closer to their ultimate goal: the California State Championship. Once Gene meets these young all-stars, he realizes that their story is just as thrilling as anything he's seen on a comic book page. He knows he has to follow this epic to its end. What he doesn't know yet is that this season is not only going to change the Dragon's lives, but his own life, as well.
	Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang When Dr. Lee moves his family to Metropolis, his son Tommy adjusts to the new neighborhood while daugher Roberta feels out of place, so when the evil Klan of the Fiery Cross begins a string of terrorist attacks on the city, Superman fights them, and Roberta and Superman soon learn to embrace their own unique features that set them apart.

Do you love dinosaurs? Would you like to discuss the 'lost world' of dinosaurs with a leader in the field of paleontology? Join us for a discussion with paleontologist Steve Brusatte, author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World. Reading the book is not required to enjoy the program, but it is highly recommended! We own multiple copies of the book, you can place a hold on it here. This program will be held on Saturday, July 25 from 1 pm to 2:30 pm. It will be held virtually via Zoom. Click here to get more details and register for the program. A Zoom link will be emailed to each registered participant on the morning of the program.

Steve Brusatte has named fifteen new species of dinosaurs, currently holds the position of Professor of Palaeontology and Evolution at University of Edinburgh, and has appeared on CBS Evening News, BBC News, and the National Geographic Channel documentary T. Rex Autopsy. You are invited to ask your questions directly to Professor Brusatte during the Q&A portion of the program, or send your questions in advance to QandA@frvpld.info and we'll read them aloud for you.

The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs was chosen for our first ever One Book, One District program as part of this year's Summer Reading Challenge. The aim of this program is to get families reading and discussing books together, so we have chosen a book that will appeal to adults as well as teens. All ages are welcome to join us for this discussion with the author, paleontologist Steve Brusatte. If you have read the book and would like to discuss it even furthur, visit the library's Goodreads page where a discussion board has been set up for this title. Anyone is welcome to post there and keep the discussion going. 

Don't forget, if you read The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, you can earn the One Book, One District activity badge for the Summer Reading Challenge! If you want to learn more about the Summer Reading Challenge or haven't signed up yet, click here. There's still time to log reading hours and complete lots of fun activities! All patrons who complete the Summer Reading Challenge will be able to come in and pick out a free book!

If you have any questions about the Ask a Paleontologist program on July 25, or about the Summer Reading Challenge, please feel free to call us at 847-428-3661 or email us at libraryhelp@frvpld.info.

Just because libraries and bookstores were physically closed for months, that didn’t stop large numbers of books from being published during the lockdown period. Now that we’re back at Dundee, our Technical Services department has been working hard to process all the books on order that came out during that closure and since we’ve opened for curbside. Here’s a sampling of some of the new novels that have recently hit the shelves while you haven’t been able to browse.

• Flipped for Murder by Maddie Day- Nursing a broken heart, Robbie Jordan is trading in her life on the West Coast for the rolling hills of southern Indiana. After paying a visit to her Aunt Adele, she fell in love with the tiny town of South Lick. And when she spots a For Sale sign on a rundown country store, she decides to snap it up and put her skills as a cook and a carpenter to use. Everyone in town shows up for the grand re-opening of Pans 'n Pancakes, but when the mayor's disagreeable assistant is found dead, Robbie realizes that not all press is good press. With all eyes on her, she'll have to summon her puzzle-solving skills to clear her name, unscramble the town's darkest secrets, and track down a cold-blooded killer--before she's the next to die... (Not a new release, but the first in a new-to-the-library series, with books 7 & 8 being released in July and September!)
• Of Literature & Lattes by Katherine Reay- After fleeing her hometown three years earlier, Alyssa Harrison never planned to return. Then the Silicon Valley start-up she worked for collapsed and turned her world upside down. She is broke, under FBI investigation, and without a place to go. Having exhausted every option, she comes home to Winsome, Illinois, to regroup then move on as quickly as possible. Yet, as friends and family welcome her back, Alyssa begins to see a place for herself in this small Midwestern community. Jeremy Mitchell moved from Seattle to Winsome to be near his daughter and to open the coffee shop he's been dreaming of for years. Problem is, the business is bleeding money - and he's not quite sure why. When he meets Alyssa, he senses an immediate connection, but what he needs most is someone to help him save his floundering business. After asking for her help, he wonders if something might grow between them - but forces beyond their control soon complicate their already complex lives, and the future they both hoped for is not at all what they anticipated. With the help of Winsome's small-town charm and quirky residents, Alyssa and Jeremy discover the beauty and romance of second chances. 
• Masquerade at Middlecrest Abbey by Abigail Wilson- When the widowed Lord Torrington agreed to spy for the crown, he never planned to impersonate a highwayman, let alone rob the wrong carriage. Stranded on the road with an unconscious young woman, he is forced to propose marriage to protect his identity and her reputation, as well as his dangerous mission. Trapped not only by her duty to her country but also by her limited options as an unwed mother, Miss Elizabeth Cantrell and her infant son are whisked away to Middlecrest Abbey by none other than the elder brother of her son's absent father. There she is met by Torrington's beautiful grown daughters, a vicious murder, and an urgent hunt for the missing intelligence that could turn the war with France. Meanwhile she must convince everyone that her marriage is a genuine love match if her new husband has any hope of uncovering the enemy. Determined to keep her son's true identity a secret, Elizabeth will need to remain one step ahead of her fragile heart, her uncertain future, and the relentless fiend bent on her new family's ruin.
• Eliza Starts a Rumor by Jane L. Rosen- It wasn't supposed to happen this way. When Eliza Hunt created The Hudson Valley Ladies' Bulletin Board fifteen years ago she was happily entrenched in her picture-perfect suburban life with her husband and twin preschoolers. Now, with an empty nest and a crippling case of agoraphobia, the once-fun hobby has become her lifeline. So when a rival parenting forum threatens the site's existence, she doesn't think twice before fabricating a salacious rumor to spark things up a bit. It doesn't take long before that spark becomes a flame. Across town, new mom and site devotee Olivia York is thrown into a tailspin by what she reads on the bulletin board. Alison Le is making cyber friends with a woman who isn't quite who she says she is. And Amanda Cole, Eliza's childhood friend, may just hold the key to unearthing why Eliza can't step out of her front door. In all this chaos, one thing is for sure...Hudson Valley will never be the same.
• Love by Roddy Doyle- Davy and Joe were drinking pals back in their Dublin youth. Davy rarely sees Joe for a pint anymore--maybe one or two when Davy comes over from England to check on his elderly father. But tonight Davy's father is dying in the hospice, and Joe has a secret that will lead the two on a bender back to the haunts of their youth. Joe had left his wife and family a year earlier for another woman, Jessica. Davy knows her too, or should--she was the girl of their dreams four decades earlier, the girl with the cello in George's pub. As Joe's story unfolds across Dublin--pint after pint, pub after pub--so too do the memories of what eventually drove Davy from Ireland: the upheaval that Faye, his feisty, profane wife, would bring into his life; his father's somber disapproval; the pained spaces left behind when a parent dies. As much a hymn to the Dublin of old as a delightfully comic yet moving portrait of what it means to try to put into words the many forms that love can take…

• Recusal by R.L. Sommer- Jake Lehman, fresh out of law school at NYU, finds himself swept into the political intrigue and moral dilemmas plaguing the nation's capital when he lands in Washington, DC, for a clerkship with the venerable Supreme Court Justice White. As he begins falling for a fellow clerk--a brilliant and gorgeous Rhodes scholar from Stanford--a political scandal erupts, implicating the president and raising questions of Justice White's bias toward the case. Set in America's near future, Recusal provides an inside look into presidential pardons, censorship, and recusal issues, drawing on current events to show the gray spaces within judicial ethics.
• Pale by Edward A. Farmer- The summer of 1966 burned hot across America but nowhere hotter than the cotton fields of Mississippi. Finding herself in a precarious position as a black woman living alone, Bernice accepts her brother Floyd's invitation to join him as a servant for a white family and she enters the web of hostility and deception that is the Kern plantation household. The secrets of the house are plentiful yet the silence that has encompassed it for so many years suddenly breaks with the arrival of the harvest and the appearance of Jesse and Fletcher to the plantation as cotton pickers. These two brothers, the sons of the house servant Silva, awaken a vengeful seed within the Missus of the house as she plots to punish not only her husband but Silva's family as well. When the Missus starts flirting with Jesse, she sets into motion a dangerous game that could get Jesse killed and destroy the lives of the rest of the servants. Bernice walks the fine line between emissary and accomplice, as she tries her best to draw secrets from the Missus's heart, while using their closeness to protect the lives of the people around her. Once the Missus's plans are complete, families will be severed, loyalties will be shattered, and no one will come out unscathed.
• The First Actress by C.W. Gortner- From her beginnings as the daughter of a courtesan to her extraordinary transformation into the most celebrated actress of her era, Sarah Bernhardt is brought to life by an internationally bestselling author praised for his historical novels featuring famous women. Told in her own voice, this is Sarah Bernhardt's incandescent story--a fascinating, intimate account of a woman whose unrivaled talent and indomitable spirit has enshrined her in history as the Divine Sarah.
• A Tender Thing by Emily Neuberger- Under the bright lights of Broadway, one new musical pushes the boundaries of love, legacy, and art. Growing up in rural Wisconsin, Eleanor O'Hanlon always felt different. In love with musical theater from a young age, she memorized every show album she could get her hands on. So when she discovers an open call for one of her favorite productions, she leaves behind everything she knows to run off to New York City and audition. Raw and untrained, she catches the eye of famed composer Don Mannheim, who catapults her into the leading role of his new work, "A Tender Thing," a provocative love story between a white woman and black man, one never before seen on a Broadway stage. As news of the production spreads, an outpouring of protest whips into a fury. Between the intensity of rehearsals, her growing friendship with her co-star Charles, and her increasingly muddled creative--and personal--relationship with Don, Eleanor is forced to confront her own naïve beliefs about the world. And when explosive secrets threaten to shatter the delicate balance of the company, and the possibility of the show itself, she must face a new reality and ultimately decide what it is she truly wants.
• Passage West by Rishi Reddi- 1914: Ram Singh arrives in the Imperial Valley on the Mexican border, reluctantly accepting his friend Karak's offer of work and partnership in a small cantaloupe farm. Ram is unmoored; fleeing violence in Oregon, he desperately longs to return to his wife and newborn son in Punjab--but he is duty bound to make his fortune first. In the Valley, American settlement is still new and the rules are ever shifting. Alongside Karak; Jivan and his wife, Kishen; and Amarjeet, a U.S. soldier, Ram struggles to farm in the unforgiving desert. When he meets an alluring woman who has fought in Mexico's revolution, he strives to stay true to his wife. The Valley is full of settlers hailing from other cities and different continents. The stakes are high and times are desperate--just one bad harvest or stolen crop could destabilize a family. And as anti- immigrant sentiment rises among white residents, the tensions of life in the west finally boil over.

• Starling Days by Rowan Hisayo Buchanan- On their first date, Mina told Oscar that she was bisexual, vegetarian, and on meds. He married her anyhow. A challenge to be met. She had low days, sure, but manageable. But now, maybe not so much... Mina is standing on the George Washington Bridge late at night, staring over the edge, when a patrol car drives up. She tries to convince the policeman she's not about to jump, but he doesn't believe her. Oscar is called to pick her up. With the idea of leaving New York for London--a place for Mina "to learn the floorplan of this sadness"--Oscar arranges a move. In London, Mina, a classicist, tries grappling with her mental health issues by making lists. Of WOMEN WHO SURVIVED--Penelope, Psyche, Leda. Iphigenia, but only in one of the tellings. Of things that make her HAPPY--enamel coffee cups. But what else? She at last finds a beam of light in Phoebe, and friendship and attraction blossom until Oscar and Mina's complicated love is tested.
• The Garden of Bewitchment by Catherine Cavendish- In 1893, Evelyn and Claire leave their home in a Yorkshire town for life in a rural retreat on their beloved moors. But when a strange toy garden mysteriously appears, a chain of increasingly terrifying events is unleashed. Neighbour Matthew Dixon befriends Evelyn, but seems to have more than one secret to hide. Then the horror really begins. The Garden of Bewitchment is all too real and something is threatening the lives and sanity of the women. Evelyn no longer knows who - or what - to believe. And time is running out. 
• The New Life of Hugo Gardner by Louis Begley- After four decades of what he believes to be a happy, healthy partnership, Hugo Gardner's world is overturned when he learns that his wife, Valerie, is not only requesting a divorce but has left him for a younger, more vital man. Hugo, an octogenarian political writer and retired journalist for Time, must rethink the way he's lived, and reassess how he'd like to spend his remaining years. Reconsidering past relationships in his mind, with years of distance, Hugo begins to see things in a new light: Valerie, whose youth and ambition eventually came between them; his children, whose support might be more financially than emotionally motivated; and his friends, who, like him are rapidly aging before his very eyes. With an ominous oncologist's report hanging over his head, Hugo decides to get away for a bit, to a conference in Paris. There, a new romance blooms and Hugo finds himself wondering if growing old in Paris might be the perfect antidote to the drama he left behind in New York.
• Book of the Little Axe by Lauren Francis-Sharma- In 1796 Trinidad, young Rosa Rendón quietly but purposefully rebels against the life others expect her to lead. Bright, competitive, and opinionated, Rosa sees no reason she should learn to cook and keep house, for it is obvious her talents lie in running the farm she, alone, views as her birthright. But when her homeland changes from Spanish to British rule, it becomes increasingly unclear whether its free black property owners--Rosa's family among them--will be allowed to keep their assets, their land, and ultimately, their freedom. By 1830, Rosa is living among the Crow Nation in Bighorn, Montana with her children and her husband, Edward Rose, a Crow chief. Her son Victor is of the age where he must seek his vision and become a man. But his path forward is blocked by secrets Rosa has kept from him. So Rosa must take him to where his story began and, in turn, retrace her own roots, acknowledging along the way, the painful events that forced her from the middle of an ocean to the rugged terrain of a far-away land.
• What You Don't See by Tracy Clark- Wealth. Power. Celebrity. Vonda Allen's glossy vanity magazine has taken the Windy City by storm, and she's well on her way to building a one-woman media empire. Everybody adores her. Except the people who work for her. And the person who's sending her flowers with death threats… As Vonda's bodyguard, off-duty cop Ben Mickerson knows he could use some back-up-and no one fits the bill better than his ex-partner on the police force, Cass Raines. Now a full-time private eye, Cass is reluctant to take the job. She isn't keen on playing babysitter to a celebrity who's rumored to be a heartless diva. But as a favor to Ben, she signs on. But when Vonda refuses to say why someone might be after her, and two of her staff turn up dead, Ben and Cass must battle an unknown assailant bent on getting to the great lady herself, before someone else dies. Cass finds out the hard way just how persistent a threat they face during the first stop on Vonda's book tour. As fans clamour for her autograph, things take an ugly turn when a mysterious fan shows up with flowers and slashes Ben with a knife. While her ex-partner's life hangs in the balance, Cass is left to find out what secrets Vonda is keeping, who might want her dead, and how she can bring Ben's attacker to justice before enemies in the Chicago Police Department try to stop her in her tracks…

• Edgar Allan Poe and the Empire of the Dead by Karen Lee Street- Summer, 1849. When Edgar Allan Poe travels to Paris to help his dear friend hunt down the elusive criminal who bought the Dupin family to ruin during the French Revolution, the sleuthing duo are engaged by the prefect of police to recover the stolen letter of an infamous Parisian salonnière. Is the thief one of the French literary greats who attend her salons, or might it be Dupin's own enemy who is scheming to become the Emperor of France? Poe and Dupin are quickly embroiled in a deadly cat and mouse game that takes them to the treacherous tunnels of the city's necropolis, where few who venture into the notorious Empire of the Dead manage to return from the darkness... The third in the author's critically acclaimed Edgar Allan Poe series, Empire of the Dead is a thrilling historical mystery about alchemy, mesmerism and magic, the shadows of the past, and the endurance of love. 
• Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory- Dating is the last thing on Olivia Monroe's mind when she moves to LA to start her own law firm. But when she meets a gorgeous man at a hotel bar and they spend the entire night flirting, she discovers too late that he is none other than hotshot junior senator Max Powell. Because of Max's high-profile job, they start seeing each other secretly, which leads to clandestine dates and silly disguises. But when they finally go public, the intense media scrutiny means people are now digging up her rocky past and criticizing her job, even her suitability as a trophy girlfriend. Olivia knows what she has with Max is something special, but is it strong enough to survive the heat of the spotlight?
• The Shooting at Chateau Rock by Martin Walker- It's summer in the Dordogne. The heirs of a Périgordian sheep farmer learn that they have been disinherited, and their father's estate sold to an insurance company in return for a policy that will place him in a five-star retirement home for the rest of his life. But the farmer never gets his life of luxury--he dies before moving in. Was it a natural death? Was there foul play? Bruno begins the investigation that leads him to several shadowy insurance companies owned by a Russian oligarch with a Cypriot passport. The companies are based in Cyprus, Malta, and Luxembourg, but Bruno finds a weak spot in France: the Russian's France-based notaire and insurance agent. As Bruno is pursuing this lead, the oligarch's daughter turns up in the Périgord, and complications ensue, eventually bringing the action to the château of an aging rock star. But, as ever, Bruno makes time for lunch amid it all.
• Trace Elements by Donna Leon- When Dottoressa Donato calls the Questura to report that a dying patient at the hospice Fatebenefratelli wants to speak to the police, Commissario Guido Brunetti and his colleague, Claudia Griffoni, waste no time in responding. "They killed him. It was bad money. I told him no," Benedetta Toso gasps the words about her recently-deceased husband, Vittorio Fadalto. Even though he is not sure she can hear him Brunetti softly promises he and Griffoni will look into what initially appears to be a private family tragedy. They discover that Fadalto worked in the field collecting samples of contamination for a company that measures the cleanliness of Venice's water supply and that he had died in a mysterious motorcycle accident. Distracted briefly by Vice Questore Patta's obsession with youth crime in Venice, Brunetti is bolstered once more by the remarkable research skills of Patta's secretary, Signora Elettra Zorzi. Piecing together the tangled threads, in time Brunetti comes to realize the perilous meaning in the woman's accusation and the threat it reveals to the health of the entire region. But justice in this case proves to be ambiguous, as Brunetti is reminded it can be when, seeking solace, hereads Aeschylus's classic play The Eumenides.
• The Engineer's Wife by Tracy Enerson Wood- Emily Roebling refuses to live conventionally--she knows who she is and what she wants, and she's determined to make change. But then her husband asks the unthinkable: give up her dreams to make his possible. Emily's fight for women's suffrage is put on hold, and her life transformed when her husband Washington Roebling, the Chief Engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge, is injured on the job. Untrained for the task, but under his guidance, she assumes his role, despite stern resistance and overwhelming obstacles. But as the project takes shape under Emily's direction, she wonders whose legacy she is building--hers, or her husband's. As the monument rises, Emily's marriage, principles, and identity threaten to collapse. When the bridge finally stands finished, will she recognize the woman who built it? Based on the true story of an American icon, The Engineer's Wifedelivers an emotional portrait of a woman transformed by a project of unfathomable scale, which takes her into the bowels of the East River, suffragette riots, the halls of Manhattan's elite, and the heady, freewheeling temptations of P.T. Barnum.

Vidcode is a fun, engaging online platform that patrons can use for free to learn how to code using Javascript. I'd previously written a blog post explaining how to access Vidcode and create and account, and I talked a little bit about what you can do in Vidcode. You can view that post by clicking here. Now I'd like to go a little more in-depth and show you some of the kinds of projects you can code with Vidcode. Vidcode has all of their content organized into 12 units, and in each unit there are 5 to 10 activities for you to complete. Each unit and activity builds upon previous ones, so it is a nice, straightforward step-by-step learning system. Once you follow the steps in my previous blog post that I mentioned earlier, you should have an account and can click on "Start Coding" to jump right in.

The projects in Vidcode are fun and meant to let you use your creativity. You can create a variety of things, including: filters (like the ones you can find on Snapchat or Instagram!), memes, gifs, games, and more. Let's take a look at one of the projects so you can see how Vidcode works. The first project is creating a filter. When you choose that project, you will be brought to a screen that serves as your work space.

As you can see in the above screenshot, you will find instructions on the left hand side that guide you through the project. Typically, you start off by choosing an image or video clip. Vidcode provides some video clips and images on the right hand side that you can choose from, or you can upload your own. In my example here, I chose a clip of a lava lamp. As you progress through the instructions, you will learn lines of code and Vidcode will explain what the lines of code are and you'll be able to see how it changes your image or video clip. The white space in the middle is where lines of code will go. Right now it is just showing the code for the clip I chose, and the actual clip is playing on the right above where you can choose which image or video clip you want.

As you can see in this screenshot, there are now more lines of code in the middle part of the screen. You can see that my lava lamp clip on the right side looks a lot different from the original in the previous screenshot.  It is really cool to see how the lines of code change your clip or image right away. Vidcode provides very clear, straightforward explanations for each line of code. They will also walk you through on how to change the values associated with each line of code, which is the numbers or text you see in between the parentheses (i.e. "Green" and 50 in the parentheses next to Tint). Changing those values can create different effects. As you become more comfortable with coding, you can start to type in all different kinds of codes in that white space in the middle and create different effects, colors, animations, and more. That pretty much wraps up this first project. 

Vidcode provides a straightforward, step-by-step learning system to make learning code easier. There are a variety of fun, engaging projects for you to do, and this can all be done for free! We will be doing a couple of coding classes for teens this summer as well. They will be held virtually via Zoom. One class is called Code a Meme and it will be held on Monday, June 22 from 2 pm to 3 pm and also on Monday, July 27 from 2 pm to 3 pm. The other class we'll be doing is Code a Snapchat Filter and that will be on Monday, July 13 from 2 pm to 3 pm.

 If you have any questions about Vidcode, please feel free to give us a call at 847-428-3661 or email us at libraryhelp@frvpld.info or librarykids@frvpld.info.