Bayou Bytes Blog

It's nearly the end of the summer! Immunizations are a hot topic, so let's review a recent blockbuster book about the history of medical research. At the time Henrietta Lacks died from cervical cancer at John Hopkins in 1951, doctors were routinely taking cell biopsies without obtaining informed patient consent. But once researchers discovered Lacks's cervical cancer cell line (called HeLa) was immortal, they used it to develop countless medical advances and vaccines (including polio vaccines). The line became commercialized, and lives were saved worldwide. Meanwhile, Henrietta Lacks's own family went without health insurance.   The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot doesn't just explore the impact of Henrietta Lacks and her unusual cervical cancer cells on scientific research-- it also tackles the importance of ethical research, racism and classism in American medicine, and informed consent. I would highly recommend this book to teens or adults inte...

Let's imagine, for a moment, that you're an innocent bystander in a superhero story.  Sailor Moon: Meme Princess The bad guys have you cornered-- but then, from almost out of nowhere, a superheroine interrupts the action. Whew! What a relief! You're saved! Sort of.  She didn't yank the bad guy away from you with a golden lasso. She doesn't incapacitate anyone with expert martial arts action or sneak up on anyone with world-class stealth.  She doesn't even seem to want to be there. It then starts to dawn on you -- as you watch your superheroine run in terror from the fight she started with the bad guys -- that she doesn't seem like she wants to be a heroine at all.  Oh, well. At least she showed up.  Sailor Moon, or Usagi "Serena" Tsukino, first made her way from Japan to American audiences via the Toonami block on Cartoon Network about 25 years ago. No one-- not even the Powerpuff girls-- defeats the forces of evil with 90s girl power more effecti...

The Priory of the Orange Tree is one of those novels that has been on my to-read list for a while. Now that I've finally picked it up, I'm sad I ever waited this long.  Priory is a high fantasy tale, spanning a whole world and told from several points of view. Sabran Berethnet is the latest queen of Inys, her line stretches back to the founding of the land and it's said that as long as a Berethnet is on the throne the great and terrible Nameless One will not reawaken.  Ead Duryan was brought to the Inysh court on a mission: get close to Sabran and protect her. But Ead must keep her own past a secret. The people of Inys are devout in their worship of the Six Virtues, and as a member of the Priory, a secret society of mages, Ead could be executed if anyone discovers her true identity.  Far across the sea, Tané comes from a society that worships dragons, the god-like beasts who helped defeat the Nameless One when he last threatened the world. Tané has trained all her life t...

       The beginning of the popularity of the Internet as we  vaguely remember  it: dial-up, cherished cassette tapes, and grunge. It’s the 90’s after all in Matthew Bogart and Jesse Holden’s Young Adult  g raphic  n ovel, Incredible Doom.          As the chapters alternate, so do the POVs. There’s only child Allison,  who’s been forced to be a magician’s assistant for her controlling dad.  Then there’s Richard,  a   new kid in town, struggling to make friends.  Both teens find  solace in the Bullet in Board System (BBS) , a virtual community before the World Wide Web was a thing.  At the time, members joined up with  their local BBS to avoid International-calling fees.   Its local option led   to  Allison meet ing  Samir, and Richard meet ing  Tina, his  defense against bullies.        The authors paint their realistic story ...