One of Us is Lying

Title One of Us is Lying Author Karen M. McManus Call Number McNaughtons Location 1st Floor McNaughton Rating Recommended Book Review Murder mysteries with unreliable narrators are not usually my thing, but at about the halfway mark, I started to genuinely like and then get totally invested in the characters. This book kept me guessing until the end (and what a worthy twist), and left me wanting more story, more time with these characters I came to care about. I cannot wait for the sequel in 2020. Submitted By Alexis Tai Department or Major Career and Professional Development Status Staff Chapman Email atai@chapman.edu

Mockingjay

Title Mockingjay Author Suzanne Collins Call Number PS3603.04558 M63 2010 Location 3rd Floor Muth Rating Highly Recommended Book Review The finale of this series has a very different tone and tenor from the previous two novels, as our protagonist recovers from a brain injury, copes with the moral ambiguity of violence she has inflicted, and ultimately decides where she stands in the just war debate. Our hero has been used on both sides of the war as a villain, a savior, the face of the revolution, the face of the enemy. Stories like this do not often end happily, and Collins does not disappoint. We get hope rather than happiness, and we are left with questions about who we want to be in light of everything. The prequel comes out next year, so I would recommend a re-read of the series beforehand. Submitted By Alexis Tai Department or Major Career and Professional Development Status Staff Chapman Email atai@chapman.edu

The Hunger Games

Title	The Hunger Games
Author	Suzanne Collins
Call Number	PS3603.04558 H86 2008
Location	3rd Floor Muth
Rating	Highly Recommended
Book Review	After ten years of reading and re-reading this trilogy, I have a greater appreciation for what Suzanne Collins managed with a YA novel. This book is an exploration of our humanity, told with a critical lens toward our own consumption and distraction. As children fight to the death for entertainment, this dystopia seems impossible, yet not such a far stretch of the imagination from our own disconnect with human suffering. I love this book. Highly recommend.
Submitted By	Alexis Tai
Department or Major	Career and Professional Development
Status	Staff
Chapman Email	atai@chapman.edu

Y: The Last Man. One small step

Title Y: The Last Man. One small step Author Brian Vaughan Call Number PN6728.Y19 V383 2004 Location 1st Floor Graphic Novel Rating Highly Recommended Book Review Quite a few "forgotten" characters from volume 1 are brought back into the fray, to the benefit of plot and world building. Our heroes are closer than ever, and our attachment to them means a loss is truly felt as a loss. There are several plot twists and pay offs in this 3rd volume, which elevate my recommendation of the series from recommended to highly recommended. Submitted By Alexis Tai Department or Major Career and Professional Development Status Staff Chapman Email atai@chapman.edu

Five Feet Apart

Title	Five Feet Apart
Author	Rachael Lippincott
Call Number	McNaughtons
Location	1st Floor McNaughton
Rating	Recommended
Book Review	This novelization of the 2019 movie is about two characters with CF, with a story line reminiscent of The Fault in Our Stars but with a little more drama. The novel offered differing perspectives regarding life, death, and illness, tied together by the question of: what keeps us, all of us, apart? And how do we fight for every inch to be together?
Submitted By	Alexis Tai
Department or Major	Career and Professional Development
Status	Staff
Chapman Email	atai@chapman.edu

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

Title An Absolutely Remarkable Thing Author Hank Green Call Number McNaughtons Location 1st Floor McNaughton Rating Highly Recommended Book Review Hank Green’s debut novel was a story neither I (nor my husband, who read it too) could put down. Green’s depiction of the heroine April May allowed me to sympathize with the character’s choices, however foolhardy, in a sci-fi tale grounded in the age of the social internet.  The story has re-shaped and correctly complicated my view of social media as both a medium for tremendous good and a catalyst for social movements on all sides of the political divide. Submitted By Alexis Tai Department or Major Career and Professional Development Status Staff Chapman Email atai@chapman.edu

SHOUT

Title	SHOUT
Author	Laurie Halse Anderson
Call Number	McNaughtons
Location	1st Floor McNaughton
Rating	Highly Recommended
Book Review	While I do not usually read poetry, this book, written by the author of SPEAK, caught my eye and kept me engaged. This vulnerable memoir tackles challenging topics such as domestic violence, PTSD, and rape, juxtaposed with high points in the author's life such as studying abroad and publishing her novels. I have never read a book quite like this, and I have been recommending it to anyone who will listen.
Submitted By	Alexis Tai
Department or Major	Career and Professional Development
Status	Staff
Chapman Email	atai@chapman.edu

Y: The Last Man. Cycles

Title Y: The Last Man. Cycles Author Brian Vaughan Call Number PN6728.Y19 V382 2003 Location 1st Floor Graphic Novel Rating Recommended Book Review Per the usual post-apocalyptic trope, our heroes are travelling toward a far off destination with several villains on their tail and obstacles ahead. As a given, the stakes are the fate of humanity. This second volume dove into questions about the penal system, the lasting results of sexism, and prejudice. Could not put it down. Submitted By Alexis Tai Department or Major Career and Professional Development Status Staff Chapman Email atai@chapman.edu

Y: The Last Man. Unmanned

Title	Y: The Last Man. Unmanned
Author	Brian Vaughan
Call Number	PN6728.Y19 V38 2003
Location	1st Floor Graphic Novel
Rating	Recommended
Book Review	It took me a few tries to get into this one, but the mystery kept me hooked as soon as the plague hit. The inciting incident happens about a third of the way through the novel. It's quite a few characters and side stories to learn, but the premise is intriguing and the characters well done.
Submitted By	Alexis Tai
Department or Major	Career and Professional Development
Status	Staff
Chapman Email	atai@chapman.edu

Becoming

Title Becoming Author Michelle Obama Call Number McNaughtons Location 1st Floor McNaughton Rating Recommended Book Review Friends have been recommending this book to me since last year, but honestly I struggled to get past the first few chapters the first time I picked it up. This is in no way a reflection on the caliber of the writing or the quality of the vignettes. All you have heard is true: Obama has a gift for weaving moments in life together to create a cohesive thematic structure that showcases her journey in becoming who she is today. However, reading this book took me months, so be prepared for a commitment.   Submitted By Alexis Tai Department or Major Career and Professional Development Status Staff Chapman Email atai@chapman.edu

Little Fires Everywhere

Title Little Fires Everywhere Author Celeste Ng Call Number McNaughtons Location 1st Floor McNaughton Rating Recommended Book Review I first read Celeste Ng in her debut novel Everything I Never Told You, which spoke to me as an Asian American and mixed-race person.  This novel too has gained national attention for good reason.  Ng is able to capture the humanity and challenges of a community in a way that is at once beautiful and a reflection of our own prejudices, relational issues, and hopes. Submitted By Alexis Tai Department or Major Career and Professional Development Status Staff Chapman Email atai@chapman.edu

Exit, Pursued by a Bear

	Title Exit, Pursued by a Bear Author E.K. Johnston Call Number PR9199.4.J6472 E95 2016 Location 3rd Floor Muth Rating Recommended Book Review I sat down on a Sunday to start this book, and I stood up a few hours later with it finished.  Rape and trauma are such hard topics, but Johnston offers us a heroine who finds the support and advocacy she deserves and takes active steps to be more than a victim, a story, a number.  An important read in the #metoo era. Submitted By Alexis Tai Department or Major Career and Professional Development Status Staff Chapman Email atai@chapman.edu

The hate u give

Title	The hate u give
Author	Angie Thomas
Call Number	PS3620.H62463 H38 2017
Location	1st Floor McNaughton
Rating	Highly Recommended
Book Review	Starr, our protagonist, loses a childhood friend in a “routine” traffic stop-turned-shooting and must choose in the aftermath whether to stay silent or speak out against what happened.  Angie Thomas’s portrayal of Khalil serves to humanize and offer complexity to a story that can be oversimplified.  An important read in the #blacklivesmatter movement, and a story that I cannot and should not stop thinking about.
Submitted By	Alexis Tai
Department or Major	Career and Professional Development
Status	Staff
Chapman Email	atai@chapman.edu

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Long Way Home

Title Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Long Way Home Author Joss Wheden Call Number PN6728.B84 W44 2007 Location 1st Floor Graphic Novel Rating Somewhat Recommended Book Review I  have not read many comic books before, but I was an avid Buffy fan when it was running on the WB. This comic book, with Wheden behind it, has the same tone and tenor of the show, pretty amazing visuals, and a story line that makes it clear I am missing a few plot points between the WB show and now. That being said, I would recommend the comic to fans of the show for its wit and familiar cast, but probably not to a casual reader. Submitted By Alexis Tai Department or Major Career and Professional Development Status Staff Chapman Email atai@chapman.edu

Catching Fire

Title Catching Fire Author Suzanne Collins Call Number PS3603.04558 C38 2009 Location 3rd Floor Muth Rating Highly Recommended Book Review My favorite book of the series, likely because we get to finally see our characters interact outside the hunger games--at least for a time. This novel begins an exploration of the individual effects of PTSD as we meet new characters also suffering from memories of their own hunger games. While disguised in some ways by a quick-moving plot, this novel tackles deep issues about our responsibility to work to right unjust systems, if given a chance, while condemning our propensity to instrumentalize victims for the sake of the cause. Submitted By Alexis Tai Department or Major Career and Professional Development Status Staff Chapman Email atai@chapman.edu