February books

24) Ancient Trees: Portraits of Time by Beth Moon. Platinum photography is an art unto itself, and Moon is a master at the platinum print. Moon and contributors discuss the process briefly in the book prior to the phenomenal images from around the world. If you're unfamiliar with the process, it's worth reading the book just to gain an appreciation of the art form. It's drastically more complicated than the casual observer with a  point and shoot digital could imagine.

25) Panic, Lauren Oliver. Fantastic book for teens. An annual game for just-graduated seniors at a small New York town high school, Panic plays to each person's deepest fear. The contest's winner claims a huge cash prize, collected in small amounts from every student every day. The book brings in the struggle and competition of the Hunger Games with the reality of everyday teen life.
Highly recommended!

26) Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger. Steam Punk isn't a new genre any more, but it has certainly gained a hold in the YA realm. And Carriger is one of the bright stars in the SteamPunk genre. Etiquette and Espionage is the first book in the Finishing School series, and it is a wonderful combination of formal attire, polite Victorian England society, a floating spy academy, dirigibles, and a pet dog made out of sprockets and springs. More than anything, it's a whole lot of fun. Sophronia Temminnick enrolls (or, specifically, her mother enrolls her) in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality, thinking it an upstanding school that can help her flailing daughter. In reality, it is a spy academy that Sophronia has been recruited to attend. I 'read' the audio book, which was wonderfully read in a polite English voice. At the end, I immediately went to books two and three. I recommend you do the same. This was a very fun read, and could make for a very visual movie.

27) Snow Like Ashes, Sara Raasch. There are few known survivors from the Kingdom of Winter, and most of those are in work camps living in deplorable conditions. Eight survivors are on their own, however, and they are the kingdom's only hope. Meira is one of those survivors, frustrated by the fact no one seems to take her seriously despite her training. Meira longs to help try and recapture the magic of the kingdom and, as a result, free all the Winterians living as slaves.

28) Curtsies and Conspiracies, Gail Carriger (Finishing School book two). Sophronia and friends are back for another season of debutantes, balls, and spy work among vampires and werewolves. In book two, about half a year after the first book takes place, the floating school travels to London to witness the debut of a new technology. Sophronia, however, sees this as more than a shopping trip, and quickly assesses that something much larger, and more sinister, is afoot. Like book one, this is a lot of fun.

29) Escape from Eden, Elisa Nader Sixteen year old Mia has been trapped in Eden, a religious compound deep in the Amazon jungle, for a decade. Her mother brought her to Eden thanks to a zealous evangelist, known as The Reverend, who is a commanding force in the compound. Mia is eventually selected for 'prayer circle,' what most young people see as a sign of respect and a rite of passage. But Mia quickly realizes that it's far more sinister than that, and that The Reverend is using his own people for financial gain by disgusting and highly illegal means. Escape isn't so easy, however, and going back to save the flock is harder still.  A 2015/16 Missouri Gateway nominee.

30) Edge of Eternity, Ken Follett. The third book in the century trilogy, this behemoth follows the familiar families through the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, then up to present day (or at least 2008). Like Follett's other lengthy historical novels, this story weaves its fictitious characters into the shadows of the famous leaders of the day. In this book, that's Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy, and Richard Nixon, among many others. This is a very long book, and a very long series -- start with the first one (Fall of Giants, then Winter of the World). But it's a great escape that I very much enjoyed, despite the frequent thought that there is no way this many characters could get this close to so many important people throughout history.