AR Test – Page 81 – Sneak Peek Books

Fortune Falls

In Fortune Falls, if you step on a crack you really will hurt your mother’s back. And four-leaf clovers, lucky pennies, and rabbit’s feet really do bring good luck. But twelve-year-old Sadie is used to being on the bad side of luck. When a cat the color of ravens begins following her, Sadie fears that her bad luck is irreversible and may be deadly.

The cat, and bad luck, seemed to be stalking Sadie. Sadie no longer expects to have good luck, but she is still determined to outwit fate. She has too much to lose if she doesn’t.

In just five days, Sadie is going to take the Luck Test, which will determine if she will go to Flourish Academy or be sent away. Her friend Cooper is determined to help Sadie come up with a plan to overcome her bad luck. But when Sadie breaks a mirror, her dog goes missing in a graveyard, and a black cat keeps following her, Sadie isn’t sure she can outwit fate. Is it possible for her to survive her bad luck? And if she survives, will she be sent away from everything she loves?

Sadie is a smart, clumsy, lovable heroine, who uses her wits to overcome obstacles in her life. Throughout the story, Sadie cares for her younger brother. Although their father is dead, his positive influence is shown through Sadie’s thoughts.

Throughout the story, Sadie learns many valuable lessons, including how people (and cats) are often misjudged based on their appearances and that friendships are more important than luck. At one point Sadie thinks about capturing the black cat and trading it for something that would bring her good luck, but she decides, “I wasn’t sure if it was worth being Lucky if it meant betraying who I was.” Because the story is entertaining, full of suspense, and has interesting characters, the book teaches lessons without being preachy. And in the end, the reader sees that “Fortune has very little to do with the charm and everything to do with perception.”

The ending of Fortune Falls doesn’t change Sadie’s clumsy nature. She is still imperfect and messy, but she no longer thinks that she needs luck or perfection. One of the best parts of the book is that Sadie conquers the mean girl without being mean herself. In the process of trying to outwit fate, Sadie leaves the reader with positive lessons as well as a story that will make them smile long after the book is put down.

Sexual Content

Sadie goes to a school dance. As she dances with Cooper, she thinks, “My skin tingled where Cooper’s left hand rested on my shoulder, and mine on his side. It felt almost electric where the fingers of our hands joined together, forming their own little tower between us.”

Violence

When Sadie thinks about running away, she thinks about the Unluckies who had tried to leave Fortune Falls. “Unluckies gave up on trying long ago—tires always blew at the edge of town, people suffered strokes and heart attacks just as they were about to cross over the city limits—like bad luck, there was no escaping it.

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

None

Supernatural

Sadie and Bessie go to a wishing well to drop in a coin, hoping for luck to help them pass the Luck Test. “Toss a coin into this well,/And the water spirit tell,/ Your deepest wish or favorite spell./ Fate favors those who luck befell.”
Sadie goes to the cemetery’s entrance, hoping to find her dog. While she is there she sees “to the left of the mausoleum and the black cat, and close to where I was standing by the fence, something was sticking out from the bushes. Slender, bony white fingers. A skeletal hand, reaching, stretching, grasping for the iron post. This was not the hand of someone who’d been buried in the cemetery. It was the boney remains of someone who’d thought they’d be able to dash in and out while holding their breath. Whoever it was had been wrong. Deadly wrong.
There is a field in Fortune Falls where a ghost appears at dusk or barely after dark. The ghost boy beckons people to follow him to the graveyard. “Almost everyone agreed that at some point they found themselves standing at the iron bars of the cemetery, not certain how they got there but feeling compelled to fetch the poor boy’s eternally resting parents. Perhaps that’s what happened to the person who had been reduced to an extending skeletal hand just inside the fence.”
Sadie’s brother has an encounter with the ghost, who wants him to go into the cemetery and look for his parents. Sadie’s brother tells the ghost that his father is dead. “Then he got a sad look on his face and ran off.”
Sadie scolds her brother for yawning and not covering his mouth. “Yawning without covering your mouth was like breathing inside the cemetery, only worse. Opening your mouth to yawn gave the Devil a gaping hole to slip into and, unlike with wraiths, his strength didn’t wane outside the parameters of the cemetery.” Sadie discovers that the black cat is really a Japanese bobtail and “one of the luckiest charms you could ever hope to encounter . . . no one will buy her for her luck, and she couldn’t hex something to save her life.”
Sadie considers buying a voodoo doll to hex a mean girl.

Spiritual Content

None

The Accused

Pete Duffy’s murder trial is about to begin; however, when Duffy disappears the night before his trial, the town wonders where Duffy went. Theo was hoping to follow Duffy’s trial, but when strange men begin following him and the police accuse him of robbery, Theo becomes consumed with finding out who has it in for him.

Because Theodore tells his own story, the reader has the opportunity to feel Theo’s confusion and fear, which helps to build suspense. As the story progresses, the suspense is created in a way that will allow younger readers to be interested but not frightened.

The Accused has surprises, humor, and positive adult-child relationships. The story is easy to read and the engaging mystery will appeal to both younger and older readers. Although this book is part of the Theodore Boone series, The Accused can be enjoyed without having read the previous books in the series.

The only downside is Theo’s Uncle Ike, who convinces Theo to steal the password to his parents’ case files. Afterward, Theo feels guilty and wants to tell his parents. However, Ike convinces him not to because it’s not dishonest to not tell. Ike continues rationalizing dishonesty by saying, “We all have our little secrets, and as long as they’re harmless, who really cares? With time, the secrets often go away and things don’t matter anymore.”

Sexual Content

None

Violence

The plot discusses the trial of Pete Duffy who is accused of murder. Some boys in Theo’s class discuss the disappearance of Pete Duffy. “Another had Pete Duffy murdered by drug lords.”
Someone throws a rock through a window and almost hits Theo.
Several boys at school get into a fight, including Theo. “Woody lunged with a right hook that landed perfectly on Baxter’s face. Baxter, to his credit, managed to land a solid punch before both boys locked each other in death grips and tumbled to the floor.”
Ike tells a story about when he was younger and was being bullied. He filled his lunch pail with rocks. “He was about to punch me when I suddenly swung the lunch box and hit him in the face. Hard. I mean it was a nasty blow that cut a gash in his cheekbone. He screamed and fell down and I whacked him a few more times in the head.” At the end of the story, Ike says, “I should have used my fists and nothing else.”

Drugs and Alcohol

Theo’s uncle drinks beer. “Theo knew he drank too much . . . Two or three times he had picked up on comments that suggested Ike Boone struggled with the bottle, and Theo assumed this was true. However, he had never witnessed it.”
Theo thinks about “Spike Hock, a kid who lived one block away and was caught selling drugs in the ninth grade and spent eighteen very unpleasant months in a juvenile detention center. . .”
Theo thinks about a family because the sister was “arrested for drugs.”
A boy in the story “was caught with marijuana and went through Youth Court.”

Language

None

Supernatural

None

Spiritual Content

At church, the pastor’s sermon expands on the eighth commandment. The pastor talks about how it is wrong to steal, including “stealing time away from God, family, friends. Stealing the gift of good health by pursuing bad habits. Stealing from the future by missing opportunities in the present.”

My Diary from the Edge of the World

Maddie’s world isn’t ordinary. She lives in a world where dragons, mermaids, and giants exist. In her world, Dark Clouds come for people when they die, and one is after Maddie’s little brother, Sam. In an effort to save Sam, Maddie’s family sets off to find the only place where Sam will be safe—the Extraordinary World. The only problem is that most people do not think it exists.

As Maddie and her family travel, they must learn to work together to avoid the dangers of the world. And after traveling through many amazing places and facing many obstacles, Maddie learns that sometimes the biggest obstacle of all is to stop running from the inevitable.

My Diary from the Edge of the World is engaging because it is written in diary form from Maddie’s point of view. The world created is familiar because it contains many of the same places as the United States; however interest is added because witches are real (and Maddie’s grandmother is one), ghosts exist, and genies can grant wishes.

Even though the book has magic and mystery, the story has little action or suspense to keep the reader completely engaged. Maddie is a typical girl that has some interesting adventures, but her story lacks excitement. However, the ending does contain several scenes that will surprise the reader and give them hope.

Sexual Content

When Maddie’s parents stop talking to each other, Maddie wonders if her mother is going to run off with the ship’s captain. Maddie’s sister says, “They laugh together a lot . . . Mom and Dad never talk anymore, much less laugh together.”
When the ship’s captain asks Maddie’s mother to stay with him, he “reached up to touch her face, trying to raise his lips to hers.” She reminds him that she is a married woman and refuses to leave her family.
Virgil, an angel, has a crush on Maddie’s sister. In one scene, Maddie’s sister, “leaned up toward him and gave him a small kiss on the lips. A kiss that must have felt like a brush of air, but a kiss all the same.”

Violence

The ship’s captain tells Maddie about sea ghosts. “. . . Poor drowned sailors who never had a chance. They’re the most vicious ghosts on earth, I’d wager, intent on dragging sailors into the Underworld with them.”
Their ship is surrounded by a fleet of ghost ships. Virgil, an angel, uses his ability to create wind to outrace the ships and save everyone from certain death.

Drugs and Alcohol

While searching for a captain of a boat, Maddie’s mother goes into a tavern where men are drinking.

Language

None

Supernatural

In Maddie’s world, Dark Clouds come for people when they die. “They wait outside people’s houses until it’s time, then they scoop up their soul and carry them away.” If a cloud does not come for a person, it will “drift around in Limbo.”
Ghosts use caves to come and go from the Underworld. “They have a tendency to try to snatch people into the Underworld.”
They find the Extraordinary World does exist. “I could see it was our planet, but a different version of it.”

Spiritual Content

Angels live on Earth and are, “hiding out from the gods.”
Maddie wonders about the angels that live on the Earth. “Animals are made to eat each other, and sometimes I wonder why. I wonder if that’s part of why the angels rebelled—because they thought the gods were mean in the way they made the world, and that they were making mistakes, and I have to admit that if I were an angel I think I might rebel too.”

Crenshaw

Jackson’s world is turned upside down when his parents move the family into a mini-van. His parents, his little sister, and their dog don’t have anywhere to live and sometimes they don’t have enough to eat. Jackson tries not to complain. He tries to keep his confusion and fear to himself.

Then Crenshaw appears. He’s big. He’s outspoken. He’s an imaginary cat. Crenshaw is trying to help Jackson, but Jackson just wants him to go away.

Crenshaw is told from the point of view of Jackson, which allows younger readers to get a glimpse into the world of being homeless without going into too much detail. Through the story, the reader learns that homelessness can happen to anyone, even when they are trying their best.

Jackson’s life story has many lessons, including the importance of honesty. Jackson steals food for his sister because she was hungry. However the theft is not glamorized, and when his sister throws up on Jackson’s book, he figures that it was his punishment.

With the help of his imaginary friend Crenshaw, Jackson finds the courage to tell his friend and his parents the truth about his feelings, which is the most important lesson of all.

Crenshaw uses humor, a gigantic cat, and a realistic situation to teach about the struggles of financial difficulties and the importance of friendship. The author uses easy to understand language and dialogue to bring the characters to life.

Sexual Content

None

Violence

None

Drugs and Alcohol

When Jackson makes a box to sleep it, he wrote, “Keep out Jackson’s rum on the top. . . Dad said, if only it really was rum.”

Language

None

Supernatural

None

Spiritual Content

When Jackson’s dad is getting ready to beg for money, Jackson’s mom said, “Write ‘God Bless,” at least. . . Everyone writes ‘God Bless.’” Jackson’s dad replies, “Nope. As it happens, I have no idea what God is up to.”

The One and Only Ivan

Ivan once lived in a jungle, now he lives in a small domain at Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. He spends his time watching the people who come by and television shows. Ivan doesn’t think about his life in the jungle, instead, he is content to talk to his friends Stella, an elephant, and Bob, a dog.

Ivan also likes to draw pictures. His favorite thing to draw is a banana. No one seems to understand his art, except for Julia, a little girl who sits outside of his domain in the evenings when her father works cleaning the mall.

Ivan thinks he is content with his life until he meets Ruby, a baby elephant who was taken from her family. Ruby makes Ivan remember what his life was like when he lived in the jungle and what it means to be a silverback—a protector. With the help of his artwork, Ivan hopes to help Ruby escape living in her domain at Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade.

Ivan’s first-person narrative is a touching story about Ivan’s friendships and his love of art. Through his eyes, the reader is introduced to how captive animals are treated. Although the story is told with humor, the topic may be upsetting for more sensitive readers. In the end, Ivan and his friends finally have a happy home that will make the reader smile.

Sexual Content

Ivan likes to watch romance shows on the television. “In a romance there is much hugging and sometimes face licking.” Commercials also have people that have people that “face lick.”

Violence

A claw-stick is used to punish elephants when they do not listen to their trainer. “Once Stella saw a trainer hit a bull elephant with a claw-stick. . . when the claw-stick caught in the bull’s flesh, he tossed the trainer into the air with his tusk. The man flew, Stella said, like an ugly bird.”
When poked with a claw-stick, Ruby hits her trainer with her trunk. “. . . I know he must be uncomfortable, because Mack drops the claw-stick and falls down on the ground and curls into a ball and howls like a baby.”
Bob, a dog, “used to have three brothers and two sisters. Humans tossed them out of a truck onto the freeway when they were a few weeks old. Bob rolled into a ditch. The others did not.”
Ivan’s family is killed by humans. “They shot my father next. Then they chopped off their (his family’s) hands, their feet, their heads.” The hands were used to make ashtrays.

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

None

Supernatural

None

Spiritual Content

None

The Trap

You would think Henry and Helen would be two peas in a pod. After all, they are twins. But Helen is brave and fearless, while Henry must think everything through. Despite their clear differences, they, along with their best friends Carl and Nicki, are inseparable.

When Carl’s brother mysteriously disappears, the four friends go on a mission to figure out what happened. Their search leads them to a book called Subtle Travel and the Subtle Self, which explains how a person can leave their body in their sleep. As the four friends learn to travel, they quickly discover that their subtle self isn’t invulnerable when Henry’s subtle self gets trapped. His friends want to jump in and save him, but will that lead to more disaster?

Teens and preteens alike will enjoy The Trap because it is fast-paced and easy to read. This story contains a good mystery, a bit of the supernatural, as well as a bit of humor.

The Trap touches on racial issues of the 1960’s but doesn’t go into detail. The only negative part of this book is that Henry and Helen have no qualms about lying to their parents in order to solve the mystery. There is also a section in the book where Helen reveals that she likes to break into people’s houses because it’s interesting to look around.

The Trap shows the importance of understanding people of different cultures. It has a sweet ending that will leave readers satisfied.

Sexual Content

Henry and Nicki go to a school dance in their subtle forms. As they dance, Henry “leaned forward and kissed her. A subtle kiss is a strange thing. It’s slippery, and a little electric, and it buzzes on your lips.”

Violence

Carl punches Henry. “Carl’s big knuckles had come at me, his pimply face looming behind them . . . My nose and cheek backed up—right into my brain, and my brain retreated down my throat into my stomach. My stomach hadn’t expected that, and become upset.” Henry pukes, and Henry’s sister jumps on Carl.
A character talks about the Jews being killed during World War II. “They were murdered . . . I returned once, years after the war, to see the graveyard where my parents and grandparents were buried. It is all weeds now. There are no Jews left to care for their own dead.”
One of the children talks about her great-grandfather who worked on the Transcontinental Railroad. “And in Iowa, he got attached by an Irish railroad gang. They mobbed him and some other Chinese workers, saying that Chinese people were stealing Irish jobs. They almost killed him, and he ended up in the hospital in Cedar Rapids.”
In a TV show, the Devil tells a rich man he can live forever if he murdered two other people. The rich man finds two “bums drunk.” The rich man did not think those men deserved to live as much as he did. So the rich man puts rat poison in a bottle of whiskey, “intending to give it to the hoboes. Then the show took a commercial break.”
Henry’s dad talks about when he was in the war. When they heard shots, everyone ran, but one man got shot. “Lying out there on his back, in the street. And making a sound, like gargling . . . because they shot him . . . in the throat . . . The North Koreans . . . they went up to Davis. And I watched . . . as they. ..They stripped him. They took his gun, his belt. Jacket. Helmet. Boots. Right off him, while he was still trying to breathe. They took everything. And they left him there, naked in the street. He died there.”

Drugs and Alcohol

Carl’s father is disliked because he is a drunk. The father appears several times in the story and is seen drinking beer on multiple occasions.

Language

One of the adults complains about, “this damn back of mine.”

Supernatural

Henry finds a book that teaches him how a person, “could step right out of their body while their body was sleeping. You’d be yourself, but invisible. This was called ‘subtle travel.’ The part of you that did the walking, your second body, was called ‘the subtle form.’”
A ghost appears and helps Henry solve the mystery of what happened to Carl.
When Carl was in his subtle form, someone did something to his physical body. Carl isn’t sure if his body is alive or dead, and he is afraid if he goes back into his body he will die.

Spiritual Content

None

Underworlds: The Battle Begins

The Greek gods of mythology are stories told about gods that never existed, or so Owen Brown thought. Then on a seemly ordinary day, his friend Dana disappears through the school floor. Determined to find out what happened to Dana and bring her back home, Owen decides to follow the clues to rescue his friend.

Jon and Sydney join Owen on his search. Along the way, they discover that Loki has taken Dana. In order to bring her home, they must descend into the Underworld, fight the legendary warriors called Myrmidon and avoid Loki’s wolf, Fenrir. Fighting Greek and other mythological creatures is no easy task for a fourth grader, but with the help of his friends, Owen hopes that freeing Dana can be done.

The first book of the Underworlds series begins with action and never slows down. Owen and his friends are interesting characters whose bravery can be admired. Although Fenrir and the Myrmidons are dangerous, they are described in a kid-friendly way that won’t scare younger readers. The Battle Begins is an action-packed story that brings mythology to life.

Sexual Content

None

Violence

Dana was captured by a mythological creature and taken to the Underworld.
Owen and his friends must defeat a Myrmidon, Fenrir (the giant red wolf), and Loki, who is “a huge figure—a man of ice, frost, and smoke.”
Owen plays Orpheus’s lyre, and “the army of Myrmidons climbing the staircase crashed to the floor in a heap, bringing the top of the town down with them.”
The Myrmidon hurl their battle axes, but the group is able to escape.

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

None

Supernatural

Owen takes Orpheus’s lyre out of a museum. The lyre has magical powers. When played with the right note, people, animals, and mythological creatures do what Owen commands.
When Owen and his friends go to the Underworld, they are taken across a river. In the river are the recently dead, “human shapes swimming under the waves, their mouths open in silent screams.” Owen is told that the recently dead “haunt the shore, hoping to rejoin the living, fearing to cross to the far side.”

Spiritual Content

None

Underworlds: When Monsters Escape

Owen, John, and Sydney saved Dana from the Underworld, but that didn’t end their problems. Hades threatens to take Dana back forever unless Owen and his friends capture the cyclopes and bring them back to the Underworld.

When Owen and his friends discover that the cyclopes have taken over the power plant in Pinewood Bluffs, they know they must find a way to return the creatures to their world. However, they are not sure how to overcome the giants.

When Monsters Escape is as fun and action-packed as the first book in the series. Even though the friends are battling giant creatures, the scenes are not described with gory detail, which allows younger readers to be entertained without being frightened. However, the descriptions of the undead maybe a little frightening for some readers.

Sexual Content

None

Violence

Cyclopes come to Owen’s town. One “reached back and ripped a telephone out of the ground as if it were a weed. He threw it across the road in front of the car, which swerved up onto the sidewalk . . . the driver leaped out of the car and ran back up the road.”
Owen and his friend must face three cyclopes. Owen uses Odysseus’ Nobody trick and Orpheus’s lyre on the cyclops. “. . . The hairy cyclops bellowed in pain, arching back into the wall next to me.”
Loki throws fire bolts at the group.
Draugs, which are undead creatures from Norse mythology, chase the group. Some of the draugs have axes and spears. Dana defeats them by using a powerful glove. “Dana spun like a ballerina, and blades of light swung around her like scythes. The ragged shrouds of the draugs caught fire.”
Dana uses the glove to capture the cyclopes. “Chains swirled suddenly out of the storm like snakes and wound around the cyclopes’ wrists, binding the giants tightly together.”

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

None

Supernatural

Draugs are in Owen’s town. They are described as “death walkers.” They are “dead Viking warriors who come back, like ghosts. After they die, their souls live on in their old dead form. Draugs are strong. Angry. Evil. And they can’t really die.”
Runes are used to control others. When used, the stone tingles “and not in a good way.”
Owen and his friends use a rune stone to transform into Draugs. “We all grabbed hold of the Draug thread and chanted strange runic names over and over . . . We grew larger, wider, our faces oozed facial hair—even the girls’—and our clothes turned gray and frayed. . . we didn’t feel dead. We just looked like it.”
The cyclopes make armor for Loki that will make him indestructible. “The helmet wove bands of silver over his face. The horns on his head stuck out of the helmet and writhed as if alive.” Dana takes a sliver of the armor and “Loki’s armored glove was forming around her hand. It melted over her wrist and palm and fingers like liquid silver.”

Spiritual Content

None

Underworlds: Revenge of the Scorpion King

Another adventure begins when Owen, Dana, Jon, and Sydney sneak onto Loki’s sled and end up in the Babylonian Underworld. Unsure of where they are or how they can stop Loki from waging war on their world, the friends will have to rely on each other to survive.

With the help of a new friend, the group must figure out a way to get to the top of the Scorpion King’s tower before Loki. The Revenge of the Scorpion King gives readers a glimpse of the Babylonian Underworld and the monsters of legends. The new monsters add excitement and suspense to the story. Because the events in the story are based on mythology, younger readers won’t be so scared that the events could happen to them. The scenes are not described in detail, which allows readers to enjoy the monster battle scenes.

Sexual Content

None

Violence

The children are chased by Underworld soldiers and a monster that is “a cross between a dragon and a giant crocodile.” The monster throws green flames at the children.
Loki tries to defeat the children throughout the story. In one scene, as Loki chases the children, he throws bolts at them. Dana throws her own bolts at Loki. “Bolt after bolt of silver light sprayed across the room, and Loki and Fenrir dived away.”
Thornviper, a snake-like monster, attacks the children. “Then a blast of flaming thorns from the creature’s mouth almost incinerated us.”
Furnace, an eight-foot metal monster blows flames at the children. “Furnace spat at us from his fiery jaws, coals spraying across the floor.”
Mad Dog attacks the children. “He twisted back and swiped at us with a massive paw. His claws caught a handful of shelves on the wall and tore them away. Then he opened his jaws wide, and flames shot out.”
Loki shoots a flame at Owen, which knocks him down. “Except that the bolt of silver light didn’t actually hit me. It flashed so close to my face that I thought I had died. Or gone blind. Or both.”
Birdman, a half-bird, half-man monster attacks the children. Dana hits him and his “upper beak split and flames leaped out.”
The scorpion king hits Loki with his stinger. “The armor at his shoulder burst open, and we saw white bone. Loki collapsed to his knees, clutching his shoulder. . .”
Loki takes the Babylonian monsters to earth, where they begin attacking Pinewood Bluffs. The monsters begin incinerating the town’s buildings.

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

None

Supernatural

Loki uses runes to control the monsters. He is trying to get the Tablets of Destiny, so he can control the monsters forever.
Owen uses Orpheus’s lyre to get the monsters to do as he commands. He also uses the lyre on the parents, so they will allow them to stay in Pinewood Bluffs and fight the monsters.
Dana has a piece of Loki’s armor that she uses as a weapon.
The scorpion king turns back into a human.

Spiritual Content

None

Underworlds: The Ice Dragon

Loki is bringing an army of Underworldly creatures to take over Odin’s throne. As part of Loki’s battle plan, he turned Pinewood Bluffs into one of his battlefields. Before Loki can continue his journey to Asgard, he must find the Chrystal Rune. Owen, Dana, Jon, and Sydney are determined to find the Chrystal Rune before Loki can and save their world.

The Ice Dragon is an action-packed story that introduces the Norse gods. The story also explains why children have been chosen to help fight Loki. The Ice Dragon features Loki’s shape-shifting abilities and gives the reader a glimpse into his trickster personality. Although some of the events in the book are a bit far-fetched, the last installment of the Underworlds series is one of the best because of the non-stop action.

Sexual Content

None

Violence

When looking for the Chrystal Rune, rock goblins appear. “A small army of green-skinned creatures swarmed out from the rocks. They were as skinny as stick figures, with tight green skin, curling talons, and hoofed feet.” A man appears and helps the children. “While the man hacked a path through the goblins, we tore through the mines. . .”
Loki throws mistletoe at one of the gods. The god “cried out and fell to his knees. With a sigh as loud as the wind, he slid to the ground, eyes blank, body still.”
Loki attacks Asgard. The armies from different Underworlds unite to defeat him. The battle is described without detail.
Loki changes into an ice dragon and attacks the children. Owen stabs him with a sword. “The sword was deep in Loki’s chest . . . A howl came from the mound of ice chunks. The dragon was no more, and Loki appeared in its place, screaming and squirming and clutching his chest with both hands.”

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

None

Supernatural

The Valkyries are key characters. They are described as “the three daughters of the Norse god, Odin, and they chose which heroes died in battle.”
Loki kills Baldur. Later, as Baldur travels to the underworld, he comes back to life. Owen says, “Maybe because it wasn’t Ragnarok, after all? So Baldur couldn’t die?”
Loki’s daughter keeps Dana a prisoner in the Underworld. Loki’s daughter is described as “an old skull-headed lady with stringy white hair. Her hands were the bones of a skeleton, hanging together with stringy sinews. Her arms and legs, visible under her cloak – ugh! —were covered in rags that may or may not have been rotten flesh. When she cracked open her jaws, worms slithered out.”

Spiritual Content

None

Dino-Mike and The Dinosaur Doomsday

When Dino-Mike’s father goes on an expedition to Antarctica, Dino-Mike doesn’t expect much to happen. But when the Bones siblings unexpectedly arrive, they bring danger with them. The Bones siblings wake up a Doomsday Dinosaur who could easily crush Dino-Mike, Shannon, and Jurassic Jeff. The three think that the Doomsday Dinosaur is their worst nightmare, but there is more danger lurking beneath the Antarctic ice.

Dino-Mike and The Dinosaur Doomsday is an action-packed story that has Dino-Mike and his friends battling both the Bones siblings and ancient dinosaurs that come to life. Although the majority of the story is fictional, the story contains some facts about Antarctica and the dinosaurs that roamed. However, readers should not pick up the Dino-Mike series if their sole intention is to learn factual information about dinosaurs.

The series will appeal to younger readers because it is written with imagination and action. Scattered throughout the text are onomatopoeias that help create suspense. The story is easy to read and is a good series to pick up to interest beginning readers. Although Dino-Mike and the Dinosaur Doomsday is the seventh book in the series, the plot can be understood without reading the previous books.

Sexual Content

None

Violence

The Bones siblings cause an avalanche that “poured down on the base, covering it completely.” Dino-Mike’s father is trapped inside.
The Bones siblings wake up a Doomsday Dinosaur that breaks through the ice. “The ground beneath their feet opens up. CRUNNNCH! A geyser of ice thrust them thirty feet into the air.” Shannon almost falls into the crack in the ice, but Dino-Mike is able to save her.
The Bones siblings wake up burrowing dinosaurs that attack a group of people. “Jeff leaped backward just as one of the burrowing dinos burst through the ice, snapping its jaws. It was a narrow miss!” Dino-Mike is able to anticipate where the dinosaurs will pop out of the ice and keep the group safe.
A giant water dinosaur “chomped down on Dino-Mike” and “leaped into the air, and then arched its long body and dove back toward the water below.” The dinosaur tries to eat Dino-Mike, but he gets stuck in the dino’s throat and is sneezed out.

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

None

Supernatural

The Bones siblings have a device that allows them to wake-up dinosaur fossils and control the dinosaurs. They also have a controller that allows them to open an “interdimensional portal.”

Spiritual Content

None

The Princess in Black and the Mysterious Playdate

The fifth installment of the Princess in Black series is just as fun as the previous books. When Princess Magnolia heads into the city for a playdate, a monster follows the princess because she smells like a goat. As the two princesses play, the monster tries to eat someone’s pet kitty. Princess Magnolia jumps in to help, but when she arrives, the monster has disappeared. Will a new hero be able to help Princess Magnolia find the monster?

The Princess in Black and the Mysterious Playdate takes a humorous look at what it takes to be a hero, “Step 1: Wear a disguise. Step 2: Ride a brave, masked beast. 3. Do lots of cool ninja moves.” Readers will enjoy seeing the princess in blankets, Princess Sneezewort, figure out if she can be a hero princess. As the princesses look for the monster, the monster finds creative hiding places that make looking for him a fun part of the story. The Goat Avenger has very little action in the story and his presence is missed.

The Princess in Black and the Mysterious Playdate is an excellent book for beginning readers. Fun illustrations appear on almost every page to help readers visualize the story’s actions. The chapters are short with easy-to-understand language. The monster in the story is more humorous than scary. If you’re looking for a high-energy, enjoyable book with strong girl characters, then The Princess in Black and the Mysterious Playdate should be added to your reading list.

Sexual Content

None

Violence

A hungry monster wants to eat goats but cannot find any. Instead, he tries to get a pet kitten. “EAT PETS!” the monster said. The princess tells him he cannot eat pets, so he asks “EAT YOU?” When the monster pounces, “the monster got tangled in one of her (the princess’s) blankets.” The princess in black shows up and helps take down the monster with a “playtime romp, karaoke jam, and snack-time stomp, and a unicorn ram.”

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

None

Supernatural

None

Spiritual Content

None

The Princess in Black Takes a Vacation

After a night of keeping goats safe from monsters, the Princess in Black is exhausted. All she wants to do is take a nap. Then a new hero, the Goat Avenger, offers to watch over the goats so the Princess in Black can take a vacation. With the Goat Avenger keeping the goats safe, Princess Magnolia goes to the seaside, hoping to get some much-needed sleep. Just when Princess Magnolia curls up in her hammock, she hears a “Roar.” Soon people are running from a giant sea monster. Will Princess Magnolia ever get the sleep she needs?

Even though the story revolves around the Princess in Black needing a nap, the storyline is fast-paced and engaging. The story goes back and forth between the Princess in Black’s experience and the Goat Avenger, which adds interest and humor. The battles are reminiscent of the classic Batman and Robin comics with onomatopoeias that make the story even more fun.

The Princess in Black Takes A Vacation is an excellent book for beginning readers. Fun illustrations appear on almost every page to help readers visualize the story’s actions. The chapters are short with easy to understand language. If you’re looking for a high-energy, enjoyable book with a strong female character, then The Princess in Black Takes A Vacation should be added to your reading list.

Sexual Content

None

Violence

The Princess in Black “wages battle” against a “toothy monster” that wants to eat goats. The pictures show the action, “Sluggish swing! Double Dozy, Doozy Fling!”
A sea monster appears at a beach and wants to eat people. “People dropped ice pops in the sand . . . ‘EAT PEOPLE!’ roared the sea monster. “PEOPLE YUM!” Princess Magnolia climbs onto the sea monster and tells him “Sea Monster, you may not eat people.” After a short battle, she convinces him to eat fish instead.

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

None

Supernatural

None

Spiritual Content

None

A Case of the Clones

When Dr. Bunsen overhears the kids complaining about all of their chores and homework, he decides to help. He creates a set of clones to help the kids with their work. The only trouble is, he didn’t tell the kids what he had done. When the clones start causing problems, the kids aren’t sure they can keep the clones from creating more trouble.

A seriously entertaining book with a diverse cast of characters, A Case of the Clones is a perfect book for beginning readers. The story features a crazy scientist and a group of girls and boys who are not afraid to be smart. Although the parents are only shown briefly, they are portrayed in a positive light. Gabe’s mother speaks a couple sentences of Spanish. With easy to read vocabulary, short sentences, and illustrations on almost every page, the story will build a reader’s confidence.

Sexual Content

None

Violence

None

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

None

Supernatural

None

Spiritual Content

None

The Fenway Foul-Up

Mike Walsh knows everything about baseball. His cousin Kate Hopkins knows a little about everything. When the two get tickets to the Boston Red Sox game and all-access passes to Fenway Park, they will have to put all their knowledge together to solve the mystery of Big D’s missing bat.

Big D’s lucky bat is stolen during batting practice. Without his bat, will Big D be able to hit a much-needed home run and lead his team to victory? Can Mike and Kate solve the mystery and return Big D’s bat to him?

Baseball fans and mystery fans will enjoy The Fenway Foul-Up. Readers will be engrossed in the story as Mike and Kate follow the clues and eliminate suspects. The story is easy to read, but will also capture the attention of older readers because of the storyline. To help break up the text, black and white pictures appear every two to five pages. The book ends with a satisfying conclusion and fun facts about Fenway Park. This book will be a hit for reluctant and more advanced readers.

Sexual Content

None

Violence

None

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

None

Supernatural

None

Spiritual Content

None

The Pinstripe Ghost

Mike and Kate get to spend three whole days at Yankee Stadium. The excitement of being at the most famous ballpark in America gets even better when Mike and Kate hear the rumor that Babe Ruth’s ghost is haunting the new stadium.

As Mike and Kate investigate the ghost sightings, they feel a chilly blast of air and hear strange sounds. Is Babe Ruth really looking for his missing locker or is something else going on at Yankee Stadium?

Black and white pictures appear every 2 to 5 pages and will help readers visualize the action. Even though Capital Catch is the #13 book in the series, the books do not build on each other, so they can be read out of order. The book ends with fun facts about New York’s Yankee Stadium.

Mystery fans and sports fans will both enjoy solving the mystery in The Pinstripe Ghost. The Pinstripe Ghost is another fun mystery for early readers. Although the story revolves around a ghost, there are no scary parts. Readers will have fun putting together the clues in this easy-to-read, engaging story.

Sexual Content

None

Violence

None

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

None

Supernatural

None

Spiritual Content

None

The San Francisco Splash

Sitting on a kayak in the San Francisco bay, Mike and Kate watch as balls soar over the wall of the ballpark and fall into the water. Both Mike and Kate hope to catch one of these splash balls. When a man falls overboard, Mike catches a big surprise—the man is an old-time baseball player. When the man is pulled from the water, his World Series ring is missing. As Mike and Kate search for clues, they learn about San Francisco and the ballpark.

The San Francisco Splash is an easy-to-read story that has a simple plot. Black and white illustrations appear every 2 to 5 pages. Most of the illustrations are a full page and they help readers visualize the characters as well as help them understand the plot. The book ends with Dugout Notes that teach fun facts about the recently built ballpark. The Ballpark Mysteries do not need to be read in sequence to be enjoyed.

The San Francisco Splash will hit a home run with young fans of mysteries and sports.

Sexual Content

None

Violence

None

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

Kate calls her cousin a “dope.”

Supernatural

None

Spiritual Content

None

Stranger Things

Ed’s parents have always encouraged him and his siblings to be unique, but when Ed finds a strange coin, his life becomes wacky. Ed’s sister’s food begins to move, his brother becomes a pool toy, and a bedtime story comes to life. After all the strange occurrences, Ed’s friends want him to be a little less strange. In an effort to stop the strangeness, Ed tries to get rid of the coin, but it won’t let him give it away. Can Ed find the coin’s true home before he loses his friends?

Newly independent readers will love the silly events that happen to Ed. Looniverse: Stranger Things has easy-to-read text and fun illustrations that will teach the importance of problem-solving. Through the wacky events in Ed’s life, the reader will learn that having others consider you strange is not necessarily a bad thing. The story points out that Albert Einstein and artist Pablo Picasso were both considered strange, but “Our greatest artworks and inventions happened because someone had a strange idea or saw a strange sight. Without strangeness, the world would be terribly dull.” In the end, Ed and his friends both realize that being different is part of what makes Ed such a fun friend.

Sexual Content

None

Violence

None

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

None

Supernatural

When Ed finds a coin with the words “Strange, stranger” on it, odd things begin to happen. One example is when the story The Pied Piper comes to life and his sister leads rodents around the house.
When Ed tries to give the coin away, it becomes hot to the touch and the boy gives it back. Later Ed throws the coin in a bush; someone sees him drop the coin and gives it back to Ed.

Spiritual Content

None

Ghost Attack

When Alex and his cousin Sarah visit their grandparents, they don’t expect to find a ghost. Alex gets terrible red hives every time a mysterious ghost is near. Even though Alex screams every time the ghost appears, the ghost persists in showing up. Alex and Sarah decide to delve into Thistle’s Fall’s history to find out who the persistent ghost is and how they can help him.

Full of humor, Ghost Attack has a suspenseful plot that will keep readers interested. The easy-to-read story has many good aspects—a loving family, a lesson about making assumptions, and lively squirrels. David Lubar weaves mystery and ghosts into a non-scary story that is fun to read. Readers will be eager to pick up the next book in the series—Monster Itch #2: Vampire Trouble.

Sexual Content

None

Violence

None

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

None

Supernatural

Ghosts haunt Thistle’s Falls. “There were railroad brakeman ghosts, tragic romance ghosts, stranded pioneer ghosts, and pretty much every other kind of ghost you could imagine.”

Spiritual Content

None

Vampire Trouble

Alex hopes to win the kickball home-run record. When a new playground monitor appears, Alex begins to sneeze—great, big sneezes that make it impossible to kick the ball. Alex realizes that he’s allergic to the new playground monitor. Alex and his cousin Sara set out to discover what type of monster the new monitor is and how they can make her go away.

Although Vampire Trouble is not as suspenseful or humorous as the first book in the series, there is still a lot to like about the story. The plot is interesting and revolves around kickball. In the end, Alex learns that sportsmanship is more important than winning. Another positive aspect of the story is how the cousins in Vampire Trouble work together to find a solution to Alex’s monster allergy problem. In order to uncover the truth about vampires, they think like scientists, and through their search, readers will learn that not everything that is on the internet is true.

Sexual Content

None

Violence

A boy hits Alex with a ball. “As I walked away, the ball smacked the back of my head with a loud POING!”
The vampire, who has rats that hang around her, threatens Alex and Sara. She tells them, “They will chase you off. And then a picture burst into my mind. I could see the rats leaping towards me.”

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

None

Supernatural

A vampire is a playground monitor at Alex’s school. Rats hang around the vampire.
The vampire can communicate by talking into people’s minds. When she communicates with Alex, “The words drifted into my mind, echoing like it had been spoken in a tomb.”

Spiritual Content

None

The Haunted Howl

Cleo and Evan jump into a new book and discover that danger is lurking behind every corner. Evan has been bitten by a werewolf, and they must race to find a cure. If the full moon rises before they have found the cure, Evan will be stuck in the pages of a creepy ghost story forever.

Ghosts, werewolves, and an angry mob of townsfolk must be defeated if Cleo and Evan are to survive. Full of suspense and creepy monsters, The Haunted Howl will give readers a kid-friendly fright. Independent readers will not want to put the book down until they learn if the curse of the full moon can be broken. Black and white illustrations are scattered throughout the book and help bring the story to life. Although the book is a series, readers can understand and enjoy the plot without reading the previous books.

As Cleo and Evan journey to find a cure, they encounter ghosts. One of the ghosts is Cleo’s character’s mother. The idea that ghosts are real people who have been trapped by a curse may upset some readers. In the end, the ghosts are able to “move on.”

Sexual Content

None

Violence

After Evan is bitten by a werewolf, a mob chases him with the intent to kill him. Evan and his friends are able to hide from the townsfolk.
Ghosts appear and try to prevent the kids from leaving the woods. “The kids were really scared, and soon found themselves back-to-back, surrounded by the frightening spirits. . . Dozens of skeletons hung from the branches.” The ghosts do not want the kids to pass because “if a single living soul makes it out of the cemetery, we will be trapped in these woods forever.” The kids convince the ghosts to let them go.
A monster disguises itself as a boy and tries to enchant Cleo so she will enter a body of water and drown. When the enchantment doesn’t work, the monster’s “pale face turned the color of seaweed and he bared a mouthful of needle sharp fangs. A slimy claw burst from the water and grabbed Cleo’s wrist.” The struggle lasts for several pages, and the kids are able to escape.
When Cleo is fighting against a monster, a character “launched another stone at them, this one much larger than the first. Cleo twisted out of the way, and the boulder only grazed her shoulder. . . (The sea creature) let out a terrible shriek as the boulder knocked it off of the Cliffside and into the pool below.”

Armor comes to life and attacks the kids. One suit of armor “leaped forward, swinging a spiked club wildly. . . Four more suits of armor marched from their places to block them (the kids).” The suits of armor are all destroyed.

When the kids are looking for an object, a librarian attacks them and shoots books “like arrows.” The librarian “waved her arm, and the ladder slid Cleo and Evan along the rails, slamming them into a wall.” The scuffle lasts several pages, but the librarian decides to help the kids in their quest.
Evan changes into a werewolf and fights Dr. Thorne, who was also turned into a werewolf. As they fight, “they wrestled to the ground, snarling and barking at each other like vicious dogs. They twisted, thrashed and clawed. Dr. Thorne was much larger, but Evan was quicker. Both were out for blood.” Evan’s friends come to the rescue.

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

None

Supernatural

The library under the school has a magic portal that takes people into books. When a person travels into a book, they become a character in the book.
In order to make a potion to change werewolves back into people, one must use a Lycan Spoon. “The Lycan Spoon has special powers. It was crafted from the leg bone of the first werewolf.”
While the kids search for a plant, ghosts appear. One ghost says, “Every soul ever taken by a werewolf haunts these woods . . . If the head werewolf of the pack is destroyed, our souls will be released.”

Spiritual Content

When the ghosts are able to “move on,” a ghost tells someone, “There are worlds beyond this one. We (the ghosts) will each find our own path.”

Hero Dog!

There’s been a break-in on Orange Street, and 9-year-old reporter Hilde is determined to crack the case. As Hilde begins interviewing witnesses, she soon discovers a string of missing sweets. Cupcakes have disappeared. A pie has gone missing. Many believe that Mr. Macintosh’s dog, Zeus, is the culprit. With the help of her sister Izzy, can Hilde discover the thief’s true identity?

Hero Dog! is a fast-paced mystery designed for younger readers. The story begins with Hilde’s “reporter’s toolbox” that teaches new vocabulary. As she interviews her sources, Hilde shows the importance of being observant and models questioning skills. Illustrations from her reporter’s notebook repeat key details of the story as well as questions she needs to answer. The end of the book has questions and activities that will encourage readers to check for understanding. Readers will want to follow the clues and see if they can solve the mystery along with Hilde. Hilde Cracks the Case: Hero Dog! is an excellent story that has the added benefit of teaching younger readers skills they will use in their daily life.

Sexual Content

None

Violence

None

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

None

Supernatural

None

Spiritual Content

None

The Royal Island

In book seven of the Tales of Sasha, Wyatt, Kimani, and Sasha are in a race against time. They must make it to the island of royal flying horses where Sasha can meet the King and Queen. As they travel, they must figure out how to find the mysterious island. Then a powerful storm forces them to take shelter on a small island. They have lost their map and are not sure where they are. Will Sasha and her friends be able to find the island and meet the King and Queen?

Younger readers will want to read The Royal Island because the main characters are flying horses. The story’s vocabulary makes The Royal Island easy to read. However, the plot and characters are not well developed. When Sasha finally meets her biological parents, they have a short, unemotional conversation, and then her parents prepare to leave to perform their royal duties. If you are looking for a book with an engaging plot and educational value, you may want to leave The Royal Island on the shelf.

Sexual Content
• None

Drugs and Alcohol
• None

Language
• None

Supernatural
• None

Spiritual Content
• None

The Bard and the Beast

Playing with his dragon, having a toad race, and having a berry war with Clara—these are the things that are important to Prince Lucas. When Queen Tasha decides that Lucas will learn to play a musical instrument, he is reluctant to go to lessons. Even when a traveling bard comes to the castle, Lucas still isn’t convinced that music can be magical. When the two go for a walk, Lucas takes the bard to peek inside a cave, but instead of finding lizards, they find a ferocious monster.

Young readers will relate to Lucas for a variety of reasons—Lucus struggles to be on time, he angers his mother, and he doesn’t see the importance of learning to play an instrument. Suspense is added when Lucas keeps finding strange, green feathers. The bard brings additional action to the plot by telling exciting stories of how music has helped keep kingdoms safe.

Black and white illustrations appear on almost every page and help readers visualize the story. Easy-to-read vocabulary, dialogue, and simple sentence structure make The Bard and the Beast a perfect book for beginning readers. Although The Bard and the Beast is the ninth installment of a series, the previous books do not need to be read in order to enjoy the story.

Sexual Content

None

Violence

A bard tells the story of a king who went fishing. A huge snake swam along the boat, and the king “lifted his paddle and whacked the snake on the head.” When the snake went to attack, a bard used music to confuse the snake. “It shook its head wildly and then lowered itself into the water and disappeared.” Later that night, the snake came into the king’s sleeping chamber, ready to attack, but the bard again played music to save the king.
Will goes into a cave where a basilisk lives. If he looks into the basilisk’s eyes, it will kill him.

Drugs and Alcohol