Control Freaks
By: J.E. Thomas
Book: Middle-grade genre, 320 pages
Summary: The kids at Benjamin Banneker College Prep are a little … competitive. OK, they’re a lot competitive. The minute Principal Yee announces an epic competition for the golden B-B trophy, seventh grader Frederick Douglass Zezzmer knows he has to win. But it won’t be easy. The competition doesn’t just include science, technology, engineering and math. It also has arts and sports. Not Doug’s best subjects. Even worse, it’s a team competition. Instead of being in a superstar group, Doug gets paired with four middle-school misfits no one else wants in their groups. Worst of all, Doug’s dad has a horrible backup plan. If Doug doesn’t win, he has to forget about becoming The World’s Greatest Inventor and spend the summer in sports camp with his scary stepbrother. With only a week to go, Doug launches a quest to turn his team of outcasts into winners … and maybe even friends.
Author: A Denver native, J.E. Thomas writes middle-grade and YA books featuring those who have a lot to say but don’t often take center stage. “Control Freaks” is her first book. She’s working on her second middle-grade book and her debut YA novel. Fun fact: She includes the name of at least one of her dogs in every story.
The Perspectives Project
By: Katia Kriakova
Book: Nonfiction, 198 pages
Summary: This is a moving collection of life philosophies from around the world. What started as a prompt in The New York Times is now a community where people share their wisdom, inspire each other and connect. May these pages inspire readers to interact with the world in a way that brings us all a little closer together.
Author: Katia Kriakova is a recent graduate from Fairview High. In the spring of 2021, as a freshman at Fairview, my prompt idea to share life philosophies was published in The New York Times. The responses were incredible and inspired this book — a moving collection of wisdom from around the world. “The Perspectives Project” has grown into a community centered around self-reflection and human connection. All profits go to the American Red Cross. Besides asking people deep life questions, she enjoys dance and music. She is a freshman, majoring in psychology at Scripps College.
The Inner Light and World Religions: How Meditating Mystics Use Sleep as a Ladder to Trigger Ecstatic Visions
By: Phililp T Nicholson
Book: Nonfiction, 401 pages
Summary: Dive into this profound exploration of human spirituality, and you’ll encounter a compelling analysis that reveals how mystics from the world’s major religions have used prayer and meditation to induce visionary experiences that are celebrated as the precursors of enlightenment. This is a scientific detective story in which the author, a professional medical writer, interweaves his own experiences and his analysis of the neurological origins of meditation-induced light visions with colorful threads drawn from the history of religions, the biographies of influential mystics and psychological insights into the links between a child’s trauma and the adult’s ability to see visions.
Author: Philip Nicholson is a medical writer whose fascination with meditation-induced visions of light began one night when he accidentally triggered the full progression of light visions described in the mystical literatures of India and Tibet. To analyze what happened, he draws on his academic training in philosophy, psychology and medicine.
Still No Kids & Still Ok: A Childfree Humor Book
By: Ellen Metter
Book: Fiction, 118 pages
Summary: There’s less pressure these days to make lots of dimply babies. But what about the subtle societal nagging that says having zero children leads to a lonely life with only Netflix and a grizzled old guy with no teeth as your friends? Now that she’s nearly old enough to get “Save the Date!” invites from the Grim Reaper, Ellen Metter is ready to share a lighthearted, illustrated look at an intentionally child-free life. “Still No Kids” is for everyone. The author loves it when people have children, since we need kids who grow up to create hilarious Netflix shows. And for those who hesitate to procreate? The author gets it! The only doll she loved as a kid was Barbie, since that doll was old enough to date. (With protection, of course.) “Still No Kids” shares illustrated evidence that a long and child-free life — or not — is more than OK.
Author: Ellen Metter’s books include the sci-fi novel “Transference” and “Cheerfully Childless.” She’s worked as a radio DJ, dishwasher and mystery shopper and enjoyed three decades as an academic librarian on Denver’s Auraria campus. Ellen’s roots are in New Jersey, but she now calls Colorado home.
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