Frank Carlson Library

Chicago teen Meri Beckley's pride of living in a land of peace, prosperity, and truth crumbles when questions following her mother's death reveal buried facts, especially that words can have great power. When Meri Beckley looks at the peaceful Chicago streets, she feels pride in the era of unprecedented hope and prosperity over which the governor presides. But when her mother is killed, Meri suddenly has questions that no one else seems to be asking....

"Over the course of her high school years, awkward Claudia McCarthy finds herself unwittingly drawn into the dark side of her school's student government, with dire consequences"--

Every generation inherits the problems created by the ones before them, but no generation will inherit as many problems--as many crises--as the current generation of young people. From the devastations of climate change to the horrors of gun violence, from rampant transphobia to the widening wealth gap, from the lack of health care to the lack of housing, the challenges facing the next generation can feel insurmountable. But change, even revolution,...

"In February 1861 newly elected President Abraham Lincoln set out on a triumphant 2,000 mile cross-country railroad trip that would take him to his inauguration in Washington, D.C. At the same time, a band of fanatic southern Confederate sympathizers decided to stop Lincoln from reaching Washington and taking office. Furious because the new president's desire to end slavery threatened their way of life, they devised a secret plan: Lincoln would be...