Reading Level: Elementary

Love Like Sky

G-baby and her younger sister, Peaches, are still getting used to their “blended-up” family. They live with Mama and Frank out in the suburbs, and they haven’t seen their real daddy much since he married Millicent. G-baby misses her best friend back in Atlanta and is crushed that her glamorous new stepsister, Tangie, wants nothing to do with her.

G-baby is so preoccupied with earning Tangie’s approval that she isn’t there for her own litter sister when she needs her most. Peaches gets sick—really sick. Suddenly, Mama and Daddy are arguing like they did before the divorce, and even the doctors in the hospital don’t know how to help Peaches get better.

It’s up to G-baby to make things right. She knows Peaches can be strong again if she can only see that their family’s love for her is really like sky.

Youngblood creates a cast of realistic characters and tackles themes that are relevant. The story is told from G-baby’s point of view, and many readers will relate to G-baby’s difficulty figuring out how to navigate life in a blended family. G-baby has an array of feelings that often interfere with her ability to think logically. Instead, she is often overcome by anger and guilt. For instance, G-baby clearly loves her little sister, Peaches; however, when Peaches gets sick, G-baby feels guilty for not treating Peaches better.

Love Like Sky tackles many themes, including death, divorce, stepparents, racial inequality, peaceful protest, police brutality, growing up, and more. The story’s many themes are undeveloped and often do not feel like a natural part of the story. The story gives some examples of police brutality, but all of the events are relayed to G-baby. This allows the content to be appropriate for middle school readers. Love Like Sky’s many themes may spark readers’ interest in learning more about each topic.

The story’s main conflict is G-baby’s changing family. Throughout the story, G-baby discovers that even though her family may argue, they will always support each other to the best of their ability in the end. Despite the positive message, G-baby is not necessarily a likable character because she is sneaky, self-centered, and mean to those around her. When G-baby interacts with her best friend Nikki, the two spend so much time arguing, keeping secrets, and being snarky that it is difficult to understand why they are friends. Another negative aspect of the story is that Nikki, G-baby, and her stepsister all take unnecessary risks, like sneaking out of the house, that could have dire consequences. Instead of having to fess up to their parents, other people cover for their misbehavior.

Love Like Sky’s suspense revolves around G-baby’s conflict with her family and friends. While middle school readers will understand G-baby’s conflict, they may wish for more action. The story’s many topics and characters make Love Like Sky appropriate for strong readers. Readers interested in learning more about racial injustice should add A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée to their must-read list.  Caterpillar Summer by Gillian McDunn is perfect for readers looking for an entertaining story about family relationships.

Sexual Content

  • G-baby doesn’t want to talk to her mom about “how to kiss a boy, or when it’s time to sneak a few cotton balls into my bra.”
  • G-baby’s stepsister has a boyfriend. G-baby thinks, “I know why Frank called the college boy ‘an octopus,’ and it wasn’t good. He might be like that one boy at my old school who got sent to the principal’s office for pinching girls on the behind.”
  • G-baby was spying on her stepsister when she “heard whispering and then…smacking. Loud smacking. Kissing.”
  • When G-baby’s stepfather leaves the house, he “kissed Mama’s lips and both cheeks… Mama walked to the door and kissed him again. A loud smack like Tangie and Marshall.”
  • G-baby’s best friend tells her, “I bet Tangie kisses boys. Just like you and your boyfriend.” G-baby gets upset because she has never kissed a boy and doesn’t have a boyfriend.
  • G-baby’s friend Kevin kisses her. She “felt his lips on my cheek like a buzzing bee had landed on it… I stood there with my hand on my cheek, like the kiss was gonna fly away.”
  • G-baby’s stepsister, Tangie, talks about her first kiss, which happened when she was 13. “One day he walked me to the porch. And I kinda knew it was coming because I closed my eyes… It lasted about five seconds. When it was over, he ran down the stairs… Neither one of use knew what we were doing. It was okay.”

Violence

  • When G-baby’s mother sees news stories on TV about Michael Brown, who was shot by a police officer, she says, “Bless his mama, Lord. Bless his mama.”
  • Tangie wants to go to a protest for Roderick Thomas. She says, “A boy at Marshall’s school got beat up pretty bad. Roderick Thomas. Busted lip. Black eye. Police stopped Roderick on his way home from a friend’s house…”
  • When Tangie goes to the protest, “the police told us to leave. Marshall’s roommate started shouting. Others joined in. Next thing I know, Marshall’s roommate was on the ground. When Marshall spoke up, they put him in cuffs, too.”

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • One of the character’s moms is a drunk. The character is talked about several times but never appears in the story.

Language

  • Darn is used three times.
  • Dang is used four times. For example, G-baby says that her stepmother can’t cook worth a dang.
  • “Oh my God” is used as an exclamation twice.
  • Lord is used as an exclamation once.
  • Tangie calls G-baby a “snoop tattler.”
  • When G-baby swears to God, she thinks, “Grandma Sugar was about to strike me for using the Lord’s name in vain.”
  • One of G-baby’s friends says, “No shit Sherlock” one time.

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • When G-baby’s mother sees news stories on TV about Michael Brown, who was shot by a police officer, she says, “Bless his mama, Lord. Bless his mama.”
  • Tangie’s little sister was killed in a car accident. G-baby’s mom says, “Some hurt only God Himself can heal.”
  • When Peaches gets sick, G-baby prays, “God, I know I want a big sister, but Peaches is the best little sister in the world. Please, don’t let her die like Tangie’s little sister. I’ll do anything to make Peaches better, anything.”
  • G-baby prays. “Dear God, I’m so sorry for not being a better big sister. Please keep making Peaches better and don’t let her fall out of Your hands…”
  • G-baby’s best friend, Nikki, takes off. When she can’t be found, G-baby prays. “Oh, God. Please, please… don’t let my best friend be an Amber Alert.” When Nikki is found, G-baby thanks God.
  • When Peaches is moved out of ICU, someone says, “Thank the Lord.”
  • When G-baby lies, she “mentally asked God for forgiveness.”

Rescue Mission

During one of Ben’s baseball games, his dad is tasked with finding two escaped convicts. Ben promises his mom that he’ll stay home and be safe. Once he hears that his dad is missing, Ben knows he can’t keep his promise. After gathering supplies and sneaking out, Ben and Hero, his retired search and rescue dog, meet up with the police to find his dad.

Ben and Hero do everything they can to find his dad’s trail. Even with help from Officer Perillo and his new friend Tucker, finding his dad is tough. The duo fight through the forest, deal with dangerous snakes, and put their lives on the line. Ben’s dad is a cop – a hero in his own right – but the two convicts are clever and dangerous, forcing Ben and Hero to be extra cautious. The two escaped convicts won’t go down without a fight. Will Ben and Hero rescue his dad, or will the convicts win the day?

Hero: Rescue Mission is a very fast-paced story that centers on Ben. Through his point of view, the reader can understand his worries, fears, and frustrations surrounding his dad’s disappearance. Readers can also understand why Ben is so reckless. From the outside, it may look like Ben doesn’t seem to care about his own safety; however, he’s simply afraid he might never see his dad again.

The third installment in the Hero series focuses on how worry can make someone reckless. Ben wants to save his dad as fast as possible, but this also leads to him being bitten by a snake. That snakebite puts Ben in the hospital, which only makes the search more difficult. There are many times where Ben loses his cool and shouts at others because he thinks they aren’t moving quickly enough. Yet, through this adversity, Ben learns to take things slowly. He learns the value of caution, as well as careful planning.

Once again, Hero stars as one of the main characters of the story. The retired search and rescue dog is eager to find Ben’s dad. At the start of the story, Hero is just as anxious and reckless as Ben is. Through bonding and training, Ben and Hero begin to work as one. They need each other in order to save the day. Hero: Rescue Mission focuses on Ben and Hero’s fears as they race to find Ben’s dad. Despite the story’s fast pace, most of the story is about Ben learning to control both Hero and his emotions. Much of the conflict with the convicts occurs at the very end of the story. Once Ben finds his dad, he and Hero must battle the convicts and prevent them from robbing a convenience store. This mimics real police work and illustrates both the importance of the police and the danger they put themselves in.

Newcomers to this series do not need to have read the first two books in order to understand the plot. While there are references to the first two books, Ben explains the references. This book will appeal to young readers that have a parent or family member in the police force. With a realistic protagonist, an engaging emotional story, and a truly heroic search and rescue dog, Hero: Rescue Mission is a fun, exciting entry in Jennifer Li Shotz’s series.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • During Ben’s baseball game, his friend Noah is injured. The injury “had come when a foul ball had barreled toward Noah and hit him in the arm—hard. Noah had yelped in pain, and Coach Lee had called a time-out and jogged over.” After the game, Ben’s “best friend sat slumped over on a deck chair, his very swollen arm cradled in a sling.”
  • When thinking about Hero’s abilities, Ben thinks, “And… well, if it came down to it, Hero was pretty great at attacking bad guys too.”
  • Ben recalls a memory from his past when Hero was “getting attacked by two vicious dogs at the dogfighting ring.”
  • After picking up a rock, Ben is bitten by a snake. Before he “had time to process what it was, Ben felt a sharp sting, burning, and warmth spreading up his arm.” Immediately after that, Ben falls. He “staggered backward and fell to the ground. His arm was on fire, and he was so woozy he couldn’t even lift his head.”
  • Ben’s new friend Tucker carries around a slingshot. Tucker shoots a rock at one prisoner, “and the escaped prisoner let out a yell as it bashed him in the forehead. Blood spouted from a gash above his right eye, and he clutched at it with a meaty hand. He howled in shock and pain—and fell away from the window.”
  • The second convict has a gun. He points the gun at Ben and Hero. “There was no way Ben was going to let Hero get hurt—and this man clearly wouldn’t hesitate to shoot any of them, human or canine.” Ben then learns that the convicts are “going to rob [a convenience store] for supplies and cash and then head south for Louisiana.”
  • Ben’s dad attacks the convict without a gun. Ben’s dad, “swung the board in a high arc and brought it down on the man’s head with a deep, dull thwack.”
  • The convict with a gun goes to rob a convenience store. Ben sees “the prisoner, holding a gun. It was pointed straight at [the shop owners].” Hero leaps on the convict with “a thunk, and the man grunted as the air was knocked out of his lungs. He fell forward like a bag of rocks, hitting the ground so hard Ben felt the floor vibrate.” Tucker also “swung his mother’s bat with all his force. The sound it made when it connected with the convict’s leg was flat and disgusting.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • The second convict tells Ben that the first convict will be, “real pissed off when he wakes up.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

by Jonathan Planman

I Survived the Japanese Tsunami, 2011

Ben’s father had always wanted to take his family to his hometown in Japan. After he dies, Ben thinks his mom will cancel the trip, but Ben’s mom is determined to visit Shogahama. While in the small coastal village, Ben tries to avoid his uncle. Ben doesn’t want to see the pine forest his father explored, and he doesn’t want to see the cherry tree his father thought was magic. Consumed with grief, Ben refuses to think about his father.

A massive earthquake rocks the village, nearly toppling his uncle’s house. Then, the ocean waters rise and Ben and his family are swept away—and pulled apart—by a terrible tsunami. Ben is alone, stranded in a strange country millions of miles from home. Can he fight hard enough to survive one of the most epic disasters of all time?

When Ben is being swept out to sea, he doesn’t know if he has enough strength to survive. While he is floating in the sea, he thinks back to his dad’s words: “the fear is always there, but you can’t let it take over.” When Ben is trapped in a car, he thinks about his father’s water survival drills. Ben uses this knowledge to break out of the window and escape. Before the tsunami, Ben doesn’t want to think about his father. After the tsunami though, Ben realizes, “It was Dad who got Ben through his moments of panic in the quake, who helped him escape from that drowning car. It was Dad’s wisdom that echoed through Ben’s mind in those dark moments when he was alone in the ruins.”

Full of suspense, I Survived the Japanese Tsunami, 2011 uses kid-friendly descriptions to show the devastation of the tsunami. Even though Ben is scared, he shows bravery when he protects his brother during an earthquake. While the story focuses on the disaster, the story also gives readers a glimpse of Ben’s father’s experiences, which adds depth to the story. Even though the story is about survival, it also highlights the importance of relying on others in difficult times.

I Survived the Japanese Tsunami, 2011 is told from Ben’s point of view, which allows the reader to see the events without graphic details that might scare them. Throughout the story, Ben learns to deal with his grief over his father’s death. Even though the story deals with a natural disaster, it has some unexpected humor that breaks up the tension. In addition, Star Wars fans will enjoy the references to Darth Vader.

The story is accessible to all readers because Tarshis uses short paragraphs and simple sentences. Realistic black and white illustrations are scattered throughout the story and will help readers visualize the events. The story also shows people coming together to help each other during a difficult time. While the story weaves interesting facts throughout, the book also ends with more facts about the earthquake and tsunami of 2011. The I Survived Series gives readers a glimpse into deadly situations without including scary details. Each book is told from a young person’s point of view, which will help readers connect with the narrator.

 Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • After surviving an earthquake, a tsunami appears. “The wave carried parts of houses, a smashed car, an entire pine tree, slabs of wood and metal. It was devouring everything in its path. Two men were running on the sidewalk. Ben gasped as the wave swallowed them whole.”
  • Ben’s family jumps into a car and attempts to race away, but the water catches up to them. Ben’s mother, brother, and uncle are swept out of the car, but Ben is stuck inside of it. “But the water was higher now, thrashing the car back and forth. The door slammed shut. Waves crashed over the roof of the car. Freezing water gushed in, surrounding Ben. In seconds, it was up to his chest.”
  • Ben escapes from the car and still almost drowns because “the water seemed to be alive, with powerful arms that thrashed Ben, tore at him. Each time he fought his way to the surface to take a breath, the water grabbed him and pulled him down again.”
  • After Ben gets to dry land, he walks through the wreckage. “Ben hoped that one day he’d forget the terrible things he’d seen as he walked: the arm sticking out from under a pile of wreckage, the old man carrying a lifeless-looking woman on his back.”

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

The Secret Kitten

Alicia and her family move in with their grandmother. But moving to a new home is hard for Alicia. Then, she finds some stray kittens in the alley and suddenly she doesn’t feel so lonely. She especially loves the shy black-and-white one, whom she names Catkin.

After Catkin’s brothers are adopted, Catkin runs away from the alley and Alicia sees her in the yard. She makes the kitten a new home in their greenhouse and feeds her pieces of sandwiches. But the kitten can’t stay forever. Alicia has to keep Catkin a secret because her grandmother doesn’t like pets. How will Alicia keep Catkin a secret?

The Secret Kitten focuses on Alicia, who is having a hard time making friends at her new school. Alicia’s walk home is a bright spot in her day because she gets to see the stray kittens. Even though the bakery owner feeds the kittens, a box in an alley is not an ideal home. When Catkin appears in Alicia’s yard, she reluctantly begins telling lies about the kitten. First, she lies to her grandmother, and then she lies to a girl at school. Alicia feels terrible about lying, but she wants to keep Catkin safe. Alicia’s moral dilemma is dealt with in a way that younger readers will understand.

While the story focuses on Alicia and the kitten, readers will also learn interesting cat facts as well. Part of the story is told from Catkin’s point of view, which allows the reader to understand why she is so shy. The Secret Kitten will purr-fectly entertain young readers. Black and white illustrations appear every one to four pages, which helps break up the text. Even though the story is appropriate for young readers, the vocabulary and sentence structure is more advanced.

Even though Catkin is the highlight of the story, the other characters are portrayed in a positive way. Alicia and her brother work together to create a safe home for Catkin. Alicia’s stern grandmother clearly cares about Alicia and her brother. Readers will appreciate how Alicia’s grandmother evolves throughout the story as well as how she puts Alicia’s needs first. The Secret Kitten has relatable conflicts, an adorable kitten, and a positive message about the importance of being honest. Readers who want more cat fun should read Pioneer Cat by William Hooks and Callie by Ellen Miles.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Alicia’s grandmother purchased a papyrus while she was in Egypt. The papyrus has a picture of a cat that is a Greek goddess named Bast.

The Quest for the Golden Fleas

Welcome to Mount Olympus, a pet supply and rescue center that sits high on a hill in Athens, Georgia. By day, the overconfident hamster Zeus, wise cat Athena, proud pufferfish Poseidon, loyal grasshopper Demeter, and treat-loving pug Ares are under the watchful eye of their caretaker, Artie, who is obsessed with Greek history. Her favorite podcast, “Greeking Out,” so enthralls her pets with its legendary tales of heroes and heroines that they believe themselves to be the actual megastars of mythology!

Under the cover of nightfall, this gang of gods pursues quests bestowed upon them by the magical, all-knowing Oracle of Wi-Fi. From an accidental plunge into a raging whirlpool (a toilet), to an epic voyage aboard the Argo (a robot vacuum), join Zeus and his minions in this romp through Greek mythology.

The Quest for the Golden Fleas is a strong start to the Zeus The Mighty Series. The hamster Zeus’s arrogance and desire to prove his worth gets him into hilarious situations. Readers will laugh when Zeus and the other Greek gods find wonder and danger in everyday objects. For example, when Zeus and his friends inspect the contents of a purse, they are amazed by the “artifacts” and believe “this relic is surely enchanted.” Similar to the ancient Greek gods, Zeus and Poseidon often disagree, which adds suspense and humor to the story.

Zeus is convinced that finding the golden fleas will prove he is worthy of ruling Olympia. While Zeus looks for the golden fleas, he abandons Demeter, who is being chased by a dragon (an iguana). All of the danger comes to life in black and white illustrations that excellently show the emotions of all of the animals. The illustrations show Athena racing through the store on a robot vacuum and bats chasing Zeus as he wields his shield (a tape measure) and blasts the bats with torchlight (a flashlight). While much of the plot is humorous, Zeus learns an important lesson—friendship is more important than a “furry old Fleece.”

While readers may not understand all of the references to Greek Mythology, the non-stop action will keep readers entertained. Zeus and the other gods are all completely different in a loveable way. The unique story combined with the funny illustrations will appeal to young readers. The Quest for the Golden Fleas will spark readers’ interest in Greek Mythology. The back of the book gives historical information about the Greek gods and The Myth of Jason and the Argonauts. For more humorous mythology, readers should add the Odd Gods Series by David Slavin & Daniel Weitzman to their must-read list. For readers who desire a more action-packed mythological story, the Underworlds Series by Tony Abbott will keep you at the edge of your seat.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • A colony of bats (Harpies) attacks Zeus. When Zeus tries to turn on the light, “Another Harpy barreled out of the blackness. Zeus blinded it but not before it lashed out and nearly knocked the torch from his arm.”

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • When Poseidon gets out of his fishbowl, Zeus asks, “What is that fool doing?”
  • An old hamster calls Zeus a coward.
  • Heck is used once.

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • When Zeus opens a portal (a door), he says, “Thank gods.”

The Relic of Perilous Falls

Will Wilder didn’t mean to unlock his otherworldly gift, but that is exactly what happens when Will “borrows” a sacred relic believed to have protected the town of Perilous Falls for nearly a century. Even though Will’s intentions are good, the impulsive twelve-year-old unwittingly awakens an ancient evil that endangers all of Perilous Falls.

As boats sink and hideous creatures crawl from the rising waters, it is up to Will to confront a nightmarish enemy and set things right before it is too late. Along with his sweet—if lethal—great-aunt Lucille (the curator of a museum of supernatural artifacts), Will proves that the actions of one twelve-year-old boy can change the world.

In The Relic of Perilous Falls, Will goes into a vast underground chamber and must solve riddles to advance to the next room. Similar to Indiana Jones, Will must avoid traps in order to find the treasure. In this case, Will finds a religious relic that can heal people. However, Will doesn’t complete his task alone. Will’s two friends help him solve the riddles in the first two chambers. When Will finds the relic, he abandons his two friends, leaving them alone to fight demonic creatures that are similar to crocodiles.

The story blends humor, action, and adventure to create a fast-paced middle school novel. While these elements will engage readers, readers unfamiliar with the Bible may be confused by the Biblical references. Not only is a Catholic priest one of the main characters, but the relics are from Biblical times. They contain healing properties because “these relics are the remains of holy lives. Each and every bone or scrap of clothing is a physical connection to someone now in the presence of God.”

Like many middle schoolers, Will can be snarky and is often disobedient. Will’s flaws will make him relatable to readers and lead to some humorous scenes. One negative aspect of the story is Will’s parents, who argue often and disagree on how to punish Will. This negative relationship is balanced out by Will’s siblings, who play a minor, though important role. Also, Will’s elderly aunt shows that an older woman can still be physically strong and contribute to the world.

The story’s fast pace and surprises will keep advanced readers entertained until the very end. However, struggling readers may have a difficult time with the large cast of characters, the complicated plot, and the Biblical references. The Relic of Perilous Falls blends Biblical stories into a modern setting, much like the Percy Jackson series does with Greek mythology. In the end, Will is able to defeat evil with the help of other people. However, the conclusion leaves many questions unanswered, which will have readers reaching for the second installment in the series, The Lost Staff of Wonders. Readers looking for other action-adventure stories similar to The Relic of Perilous Falls will also enjoy the Addison Cooke Series by Jonathan W. Stokes.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Jacob Wilder confronts a demon, who has taken over a dead man’s body. “As if wielding a weapon, Jacob Wilder raised a small vial filled with clear liquid and splashed it across the front of the Nazi… The officer quaked and grimaced, madly attempting to scrub away the fluid streaking down his face and uniform… Then as if he were a balloon suddenly drained of air, the Nazi crumbled to the ground.”
  • Will attempts to ride a donkey. The donkey goes crazy, and “the bouncing donkey sent the table’s edge and the cake flying into Aunt Freda’s jaw. She tumbled backward, her face covered in frosting.” Aunt Freda goes to the hospital because “her blood pressure is spiking, and she has a fractured jaw.”
  • When Will was riding the donkey, he accidentally hits a catapult lever and his brother flies out of it. “Leo flew much higher than Will thought possible… Leo smashed shoulder-first into a wooden slat, breaking the top off and flipping into the school yard.” Leo’s arm is broken in two places, and he dislocated his shoulder. The donkey scene is described over three pages.
  • Will watches a news story. A passenger explains that a boat was hit by something and “People were fallin’ off the decks. I grabbed hold of one lady and dragged her to shore. She was breathin’ and all, but couldn’t talk or even close her eyes. He was frozen. Couple of others like that too.”
  • Will’s father is told that “a couple of swimmers—teenagers—were attacked this afternoon downriver… One of the kids is missing.” The surviving teenager says a crocodile or a gator pulled his friend underwater. Later, Will’s dad finds out that the teenagers were “choked to death. Their mouths and lungs were filled with what Sheriff Stout called ‘river trash.’”
  • A pier collapses, and a group of wheelchair-bound kids falls into the water. Two of the campers died.
  • While Aunt Lucille and a man are on a boat, creatures scale the back of the boat. “The monster’s claws crushed the brass rails as it pulled itself up. The green beat with the pointy face of a dragon and round fish eyes expelled a guttural hiss.” Lucille “stretched her arms out, placed her index fingers and thumbs together to form a triangle… Then, extending her arms, a fiery ray of red-and-white light shot from the triangle of her digits. The twelve-foot-long beast was thrown backwards over the water and dissolved into a foul gray ash.” Aunt Lucille kills several beasts, and the man was “slamming his crutch into the creature’s sleek skull… the thing lifelessly slumped over the railing.” The fight is described over three pages, and a picture accompanies it.
  • The crocodile-like creature, the Fomorii, attacks a priest named Shen. The priest “hurled them to nearby rocks or plunged them into the waters with only a stick and his keen instincts… sensing danger, he raised his bloodstained pole. But before he could fully extend it above his head, Shen was lifted into the air by his left foot… The next thing he knew, he was flying toward the shore. Yowling as he drifted, Shen disappeared around a bend in the river.” The scene is described over three pages.
  • Will shows Captain Balor (a demon in disguise) a relic. When Will slips on the river bank, “a gray mass—a tentacle—smacked him hard across the jaw. The relic fell to the ground, as did Will.” After a brief conversation, the demon “held the boy’s lids open, forcing him to take in the full horror of that wicked red gaze. Will’s body went rigid, his eyes blank.” Later, someone puts Elijah’s mantel over Will, which wakes him from his comatose state.
  • While stuck under the church, Will’s friends are chased by giant crocodile-like creatures. Trying to get to the two boys, the creature “slithered inside the wide tunnel to the right. Within moments of entering the tunnel, a terrible grinding sound greeted the Bottom Dweller. It clawed at the walls, attempting to back out, but it was too late. The smooth walls pressed in on the creature, smashing its body in the darkness.”
  • The demon captures Shen and binds him. “Turning his head, Shen realized that he was attached to a slick, rocky wall. Neon green tentacles bound his wrist and ankles… His feet and hands felt numb, as if they had been stung—or were still being stung.” While he is restrained, he is struck. “After several blows, the old man’s shinbone gave way with a dull snap. Fresh blood pooled on his grey pants.” The scene is described over three pages.
  • Will’s friends are trapped under the church and creatures are trying to attack them. In order to help them, Leo “raised the mantel, and struck the oily water with it. A mighty gust of wind pushed the Wilders against the grille… ” The water is pushed to the side and the boys are able to escape. The scenes are described over several chapters.
  • Several times throughout the story, Lucille uses her powers to kill a demon. For example, “the demon wheezed. Its seven heads wriggled wildly in anguish as if they were roasting from the inside. Aunt Lucille showed no emotion. She simply stood her ground, projecting the steady laser of light.” The demons turn to ash.
  • In an epic, multi-chapter battle, Will and Aunt Lucille fight a demon and his Bottom Dwellers. Aunt Lucille uses her power and “the thing clawed at the walls, trying to steady itself. As it struggled, the seven heads glared at the Fomorrii in front of Aunt Lucille and Will… Aunt Lucille continued to pound the demon with her ray. Like insane dogs, the Bottom Dwellers sprang at Will, their jaws wide and bloodthirsty… One by one the reptilian crawlers were turned to reeking purple ash.”
  • During the battle, Will uses the relic to banish the demon. “‘Back, Leviathan!’ Will so wanted to yell. And though he didn’t, the moment he thought it, the Beast flew against the rear wall and slipped into the bubbling black Hell Mouth.” Although the demon is not dead, Perilous Falls is safe from it.

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Simon calls his friend a “Muttonhead” once and a moron five times. For example, Simon says, “I guess you’re embarrassed to admit that I saved you from sudden death, moron.”
  • One of Will’s friends says, “holy crab butts!”
  • Heck is used once.
  • When Aunt Lucille sees Will’s boys partly submerged, she says, “Oh, dear Lord!”

Supernatural

  • Several times, Will’s family hears strange sounds and finds “sea shells, fish bones, rocks, and dead beetles raining down in zigzag patterns… ” Once, the collection of trash fell onto the house’s roof. Another time, the trash fell in the house, and then “the flickering lights were gently disintegrating into the windows and up the chimney, and there before him was an immaculate den. Not a hint of a bone or a shell or anything out of the ordinary remained.”
  • A man is injured in a car crash. While the man was lying on the ground, Will saw “a dozen shadowy arms and hands—claws—reaching, grasping for the injured man… scores of smoky claws rising from the street, inching ever closer to the old man.” The claws disappear when Will screams, “Go away! Go away!” The scene is described over two pages.
  • Will is a seer and can see demons.
  • One character is a Sensitive and foresees an event’s outcome.
  • One character is a Repeller, “that means I can repel major demons when I touch my fingers together.” The Repeller uses “Rebutting illuminance… It’s merely spiritual light that repels evil.”
  • One character is a Summoner and “can call down the angels in time of need. The good ones.” The character can also heal people.
  • Simon learns that the Brethren can travel by “Saccophagal peregrination.” If they lay in a sarcophagus, it takes them to a predetermined destination.

Spiritual Content

  • The story revolves around a demon, who has seven faces. At one point, “Balor’s head now bobbed upon a lengthy serpent’s neck, wide and reptilian. Gray scales covered his hulking chest. Massive arms and a set of tentacles jutted out from his sides.”
  • Will must fight the Fomorii, which are minor demons “under the control of a major demon.”
  • A prophecy tells of a time when demons will come and “a young one will come” to unite the Brethren and defeat the demons.
  • Will has been seeing shadows. While he was riding a donkey, he saw a shadow that was “black, like a phantom—right next to me. Everything got icy cold.” Will’s Aunt Lucille tells Will that he has a gift that allows him to see spirits. She says, “…Everywhere we go, there are bright, good spirits and dark, malevolent ones.”
  • As punishment, Will has to help plant trees at a Catholic church. While he is working, a priest tells him about the relic of St. Thomas. The priest says, “People pray to the saint, and his prayers have great power in heaven. Miracles wait on his intercession. Like a magnifying glass focuses on light, so the relic focuses faith.”
  • The priest tells Will about St. Thomas. “The only way he would believe the Savior had risen from the dead was to shove his hand into the Lord’s side and his finger into the nail wounds of Christ.”
  • The relic, St. Thomas’ bone, is hidden inside the church. “For centuries people have claimed miracles happen just from touching it: healings, protection, amazing things.”
  • Aunt Lucille tells Will that the relics are “sacred touchstones. They’re antennae of faith—magnets that draw belief and devotion from us… These relics are the remains of holy lives. Each and every bone or scrap of clothing is a physical connection to someone now in the presence of God. They have real power!”
  • Aunt Lucille tells Will a story from the Bible where a man’s body “touched the bones of the prophet—POW! The man rose from the dead!”
  • A museum has the “remains of the prophet Elijah’s mantel, his cloak. History tells us it can control water and fire, and even allow the wearer to hear the voice of God.” Elijah’s Biblical story is told.
  • Someone tells the Biblical story of Saul becoming the apostle Paul, including how Paul was beheaded.
  • When Elijah’s mantel is put over Will, Will hears a voice that says, “Believe and keep your heart pure and I shall be at your right hand always. Will you heed my words?”
  • Elijah’s mantel heals Will’s brother’s broken arm.
  • Will uses the relic to heal a priest’s battered legs. “In amazement Shen ogled his bent limbs. The bloodstains dissolved from the gray pants, and his legs straightened. The pain that had afflicted him for hours melted away.”
  • When Will shows up, unharmed, his mother “thanked the Almighty.”
  • Two men discuss how “Every war ever started—all the problems of the world—was caused by some religious nut.”

The Sky Unicorn

Ava travels to different towns with her parents as a part of a traveling troupe. As the group travels downriver, Ava sees a herd of unicorns. Ava sees Sir Fitzroy and his guards trying to capture the unicorns. Ava is horrified when Clover, a baby unicorn, is stolen from his herd by the evil Sir Fitzroy.

Then Ava meets a girl named Sophy, who gives her a magical stone. With the help of the magical stone, Ava and Sophy plan to rescue Clover. The two girls dress as page boys and sneak into town. Will the two girls be able to rescue Clover, or will Sir Fitzroy catch them first?

Sophy and Ava are sweet girls who care about animals. Several times throughout the story, the girls use creative problem-solving skills in order to help the unicorns. As the girls work together, they help and encourage each other. Even though the story’s setting is similar to a fairy tale, the girls are not princesses. Instead, Sophy is a castle maid and Ava performs in a traveling troupe, making the characters more relatable.

The story uses easy vocabulary, simple sentence structure, and black and white illustrations to make The Sky Unicorn accessible to younger readers. Illustrations appear every 1-3 pages, and they help readers understand the story’s plot. The Sky Unicorn has a high-interest topic, a non-scary villain, and two girls who save the day. Ava and Sophy are characters that readers will want to emulate; both girls are kind to animals, brave in the face of danger, and have positive attributes. Animal-loving, fairy tale fans should also add the Diary of an Ice Princess series by Christina Soontornvat to their reading list.

 Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Ava sees a knight and some guards chase the unicorn herd. The herd is able to safely hide.
  • Sir Fitzroy and his guards try to sneak up on the unicorn herd. “The men searched the path and peered at the lake, but after a few minutes they gave up and went back into town.”

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Ava and Sophy both have a Speaking Stone. The stone “lets you talk to magical animals.”
  • When Ava cuts her finger, a unicorn uses “secret magic” to heal Ava’s injury. “Ava watched in astonishment as the little unicorn bent his golden horn to touch her finger. Slowly the cut on her hand healed until it looked as if it had never been there at all.”
  • In order to send a message to a dragon, Sophy “called a golden songbird by whistling a special tune that Windrunner the dragon had taught her. Soon one of the birds heard her call. It flew down to perch on her hand and looked at her with bright black eyes.” The bird agrees to carry the message.

Spiritual Content

  • None

Step Up to the Plate, Maria Singh

Maria is a nine-year-old growing up during WWII in Yuba City, California. Like most of the families in her community, her father is from India and her mother is from Mexico. Maria spends her time going to school, collecting tin cans for ration stamps, watching her younger brother, Emilio, and helping around the farm, but what she really dreams of doing is playing softball. Luckily, her teacher has just started an all-girls softball team. While Maria learns lessons about teamwork and determination, she also faces prejudice and discrimination on and off the field. With a little help from her parents and her strong-willed aunt, Maria realizes people from different backgrounds may not be so different after all.

Step up to the Plate, Maria Singh gives a new perspective of discrimination and prejudice that existed during WWII.  Maria’s parents are not American citizens, so they cannot own land and must rent their farm. This becomes a problem when their landlord decides to move. Maria is subject to racism, and she gets into a fight when a classmate calls Maria’s friend a “dirty half-and-half.” Through Maria’s story, readers will understand how a culture can normalize prejudice. Although the racism and discrimination in the book occurred during WWII, readers will see that many of today’s problems are similar.

Because Maria’s parents are of different religions, the book focuses heavily on religion, which is a fundamental part of Maria’s community. Although her household leans a little more towards the Catholic side, Maria’s father talks about Sikhism and brings his family to a temple. Maria is not partial to either religion and includes both in her prayers. While Maria appreciates her parents’ cultures, she doesn’t feel they are completely her own.

Readers will relate to Maria as she tries to make sense of the world and find her voice. Maria is a relatable character who, like most people, has flaws.  Maria lies to her mother but then feels guilty. While playing softball, she learns the value of being a team player.  When she faces prejudice, she learns what it means to hate and the importance of forgiveness. Through Maria’s eyes, readers will learn the importance of speaking up during difficult times.

Step up to the Plate, Maria Singh is a great way to introduce readers to this little-known part of history. The end of the book has an author’s note that helps readers understand the story’s context. Lovers of softball (or any sport) will identify with Maria’s softball obsession and how she uses it as a means of escape and personal victory. This story also shows the value of sports as a means of bringing a community together.

Step up to the Plate, Maria Singh takes the reader into history and deals with difficult topics of immigration, racism, faith, and family. Despite the heavy topics, Step up to the Plate, Maria Singh tackles them in a way that is accessible to younger readers. History fans who love sports should add The Brooklyn Nine by Alan Gratz to their reading list.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Maria’s friend’s father, Gian, dies in the war. Maria asks Papi if Gian has ever killed anyone, to which Papi doesn’t respond. Gian’s death prompts Maria and her friends to talk about their fathers getting drafted.
  • While she is supposed to be watching Emilio, Maria wanders off. Maria comes back to find Emilio and his friend play fighting, “slamming into each other with arms and legs and fists.”
  • Elizabeth, a white girl, calls Janie a “dirty half-and-half.” Janie retaliates by “throwing herself upon Elizabeth, grabbing her hair with both fists, pushing her down…scratching and pulling and tugging, and both of them shrieking.”
  • When Maria is up to bat, Elizabeth purposely pitched overhand to try and hurt Maria. Maria realized too late how hard Elizabeth was throwing. She was unable to get out of the way in time, and “the ball cracked her [Maria] in the head.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • When Maria tells Emilio that she can play softball, she says he is about to get “pig-headed.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Maria explains the misunderstanding people have about her community. “People called the families Mexican Hindus even though the fathers were mostly either Sikh or Muslim in the God department.”
  • When Maria explains why she was late getting home from school, her mom “looked up at the ceiling as if she was asking God and the archangels for guidance.”
  • After lying to her mother, Maria guiltily looks at an altar in her house, on which stands “the Lady of Guadalupe, blessed Mother of Jesus,” a Sikh prayer book, “a wooden carving of the holy man who had founded Papi’s Sikh religion hundreds of years ago,” and “a rounded symbol…called Ikonkar, which meant ‘There is one God.’”
  • Maria goes to confession, which was “near torture.”
  • While the wives and children go to mass, the husbands stay outside and get a picnic ready. This is because, as Papi explains, “God is everywhere, so I will just pray to him out here, under this beautiful sky!” Their wives “would roll their eyes at their stubborn heathen husbands.”
  • Maria’s family attends Mass for Gian’s funeral. As Gian’s wife and daughters process in, someone whispers, “Was he ever baptized?” Maria thinks the service was so special, and “whether he was baptized seemed not to matter.”
  • During Gian’s funeral, Maria thinks, “grieving together for a good man, in the presence of the Holy Mother Church, did bring you closer to the Lord.”
  • Maria prays to Mary and the Sikh holy teachers, asking them to “make the world a better place.”
  • Papi says the bill that will allow people from India to become American citizens has to go to the Senate, and “God alone knows what will happen there.”
  • “Extra blessings were needed” when Papi announces their landlord is moving. “Papi prayed from his holy book and Mama said an Ave Maria. Sometimes life demanded help from every kind of god.”
  • When Maria is worried about not being able to play softball, Papi sings “an old Punjabi prayer” to comfort her. Then he tells her, “Don’t be afraid. God will provide.”
  • Maria asks Papi if he is sad that he can’t see his temple in India. He answers, “All the God you ever need, you carry in your heart.”
  • Maria suggests her parents buy their farmland in her name since she is an American citizen, and they are not. “Papi was singing ‘Waheguru satnaam.’ Mama crossed herself. There were many ways to praise the Lord for sending a really good idea into a girl’s mind.”
  • A minister prays before a softball game.
  • When Maria plays in her first softball game, “fly balls landed in Maria’s glove as if heaven itself was sending them there.”
  • After her team wins the softball game, Maria expresses her thankfulness in both of her parents’ religions. “Wahgeguru, Maria thought, and crossed herself in gratitude.”

by Jill Johnson

The Case of the Stolen Sixpence

Twelve-year-old Maisie is a noticing sort of person. That’s why she is convinced she would make an excellent detective if she ever got the chance! But instead of detecting, she spends her days polishing the banisters at her grandmother’s boarding house or fetching fish for the lodgers’ dinner. Maisie is willing to bet that her idol, the great detective Gilbert Carrington, never fetches his own fish.

Maisie’s chance comes when she notices a wriggling sack discarded in an alley—with a half-drowned puppy inside! Who would try to get rid of a sweet little dog? The mystery becomes her very first case. When Maisie’s friend George is accused of stealing coins from the butcher shop where he works, she finds herself with a proper crime to solve. While she spends less time peeling potatoes and more time searching for evidence, the clues pile up—and so do Gran’s questions about where she’s always running off to. Can Maisie find the culprit in her new canine assistant’s would-be drowning, clear George’s name, and keep up with her chores?

When Maisie finds a half-drowned dog, Eddie, Maisie has to convince Gran to allow her to keep the dog. With the help of one of the boarders, Maisie shows Gran that Eddie is useful to have around. Readers will giggle as Maisie and the boarder work together and come up with a creative solution that allows Eddie to stay.

While Eddie often gets into some humorous trouble, he also leads Maisie to befriend George. When George gets fired, Maisie promises to prove that he isn’t a thief. With a boarder’s help, Maisie disguises herself so she can investigate. While Maisie sneaks around looking for clues, she uses her powers of observation to solve the mystery. The mystery is solved in an entertaining way that leads Maisie into some interesting situations.

Maisie is spunky, observant, and willing to don a disguise to solve a mystery. Maisie’s grandmother, the maid, and the other boarders are not well-developed, but they add interest and suspense to the story.

The detective story has an easy-to-follow plot. However, some readers may need help understanding some of the vocabulary since Maisie and the other characters use old-fashioned vocabulary such as scullery, sniggering, dithered, and reproachful

The Case of the Stolen Sixpence has an interesting mystery, a determined main character, and a mischievous dog. Black and white pictures will help readers visualize the story’s action, and they also break up the text into manageable blocks. The advanced vocabulary and sentence structure make The Case of the Stolen Sixpence best for proficient readers. However, the story would be fun to read aloud to younger readers. Mystery lovers who aren’t ready for Maisie’s mysteries should grab a magnifying glass and the Hilde Cracks the Case Series by Hilde Lysiak. Proficient readers who desire more illustrated mysteries will want to travel back in time with the Time Jumpers Series by Wendy Mass.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Maisie admires a detective, Gilbert Carrington, because he “managed to solve a murder once just from an ear sent by the penny post in a small brown paper parcel.”
  • Maisie finds a puppy in a sack. She thinks that someone was trying to drown the puppy by putting him in a sack and throwing him in a river.
  • A boy tries to kick Maisie’s dog.
  • When Maisie asked a boy named Reg some questions, he “put one meaty hand out and shoved Maisie at the door. She banged into the wooden frame, and clutched her shoulder…Reg tried to kick the little dog away, cursing, and Maisie screamed…”

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • One of the boarders at Maisie’s house is named Sidebotham. “Maisie couldn’t help sniggering whenever the governess’s name was mentioned. It sounded exactly like Sidebottom, and Miss Sidebotham’s rear end was rather enormous.”
  • When Maisie asks a boy about George, he sneered, “Sweet on him, was yer? Get off, nasty little beggar.”
  • “Drat,” is used three times. For example, someone calls George a “dratted boy.”
  • A man calls Maisie a “stupid little brat!”
  • Someone tells Maisie, “Sally’s mother. She’s a right old witch.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

In a Blink

In a blink of a fairy eye, Katie, Mia, Lainey, and Gabby are whisked out of their ordinary lives. The four girls are transported to Never Land, home of fairies and mermaids. The four girls want to go home eventually, but first, they want to explore the wonders of Never Land. Queen Clarion has put Tinker Bell and Prilla in charge of watching after the girls, but no one notices when Kate sneaks off in the middle of the night.

When Tinkerbell and Prilla sprinkle fairy dust on the four girls, everyone takes to flying. Everyone except Kate. When Kate sneaks off in the middle of the night, she doesn’t mean to cause trouble. But Vidia has been waiting in the shadows. Vidia promises to teach Kate to fly if Kate will bring Vidia a sock full of fairy dust. Will Vidia lead Kate into trouble? Will Kate, Mia, Lainey, and Gabby make it home?

In a Blink uses high-interest topics—fairy magic, Tinker Bell, and Never Land—to engage young readers. Fans of Disney princesses and Peter Pan will enjoy this fun chapter book aimed at young girls. The first installment of the series doesn’t have a well-developed plot but instead introduces both the humans and fairies. The three girls, Katie, Mia, Lainey, have a solid friendship even though they are completely different. Lainey’s little sister Gabby also plays a major role in the story and highlights the younger girl’s curiosity.

Two fairies, Tink and Prilla, take the girls on an adventure through the fairy kingdom. While the description of the fairy world is enchanting, not all of the fairy magic is explained, which may frustrate more advanced readers. The fairies have some fun, saying, “I’d fly backwards if I could.” Each time a fairy uses a unique saying, the saying is explained, which alleviates any confusion. Fans of Peter Pan will enjoy getting a fresh look at Tink, who has talent at fixing things. However, some readers may be disappointed that Peter Pan doesn’t appear in the story.

Even though the characters and plot are not well-developed, the foray through Never Land is interesting. The story shows how each girl and fairy is uniquely different, and each one has their own talent. The one negative aspect of the story is that Kate receives no consequence for sneaking out at night and stealing fairy dust. Instead, she is quickly forgiven; the queen tells the girls, “You are always welcome in Pixie Hollow.”

In a Blink has ten short chapters. While the short chapters and illustration make the story accessible to readers, younger readers may need help with the vocabulary. Cute black and white illustrations appear every 1-4 pages, which helps bring the fairy magic to life. The illustrations show the character’s emotions; readers will see the girls’ wonder as well as Kate’s frustration at not being able to fly. In a Blink is perfect for younger readers who want to add a sprinkle of fairy dust to their reading.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • When a fairy blinks, she accidentally transports human girls to Never Land. The fairy, Prilla, “had an unusual talent, even for a fairy. She could visit children anywhere in the world just by blinking… By visiting children, she helped keep their belief in fairies alive. And fairies thrived through children’s belief.”
  • Fairy dust can be used to make anyone fly. When Terrence sprinkles the girls with dust, Tink and Prilla teach them how to fly. When Kate is sprinkled with fairy dust, “at once, she felt a tingle from the tips of her ears to her toes. It felt like warming up next to a fire after a day of playing in the snow.”
  • Prilla blinks into the human world. When she returns “to the girls, no more than an instant had passed. Prilla hadn’t even left the room.”
  • The fairies have a set of glasses that “tell you how close to the mainland (human world) you are. The farther away you are, the harder it is to see.”
  • Never Land can change sizes. “The island had felt Gabby’s belief. It had shrunk itself to help the little girl.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

Back on Track

Addison loves to run – she may even be the fastest runner in sixth grade. Unfortunately, she has no way of knowing because her mom won’t let her join the track team. Addison has to babysit her little brother, Charlie, every day after school while her mom works. When Addison’s PE coach specifically asks her to join the team, she and her best friend Sofia devise a plan. Addison secretly joins the track team and finally gets to pursue her passion.

The lies pile up though, and Addison can’t help feeling guilty. Finally, after lying about going to Sofia’s house when she really is going to a track meet, Addison gets caught. Although her mom ultimately decides Addison can stay on the track team, Addison is still punished for lying and has to make sacrifices, including waking up earlier for school.

Addison is a typical, likable twelve-year-old. She doesn’t always think through her decisions, like when she feeds Charlie ice cream for dinner and he ends up getting sick. She isn’t bitter about having to babysit Charlie. She appreciates how hard her mom works and doesn’t ask for new track shoes because she knows they can’t afford them. But every now and then, Addison wants the opportunity to be able to be a carefree sixth grader.

Back on Track is part of the Jake Maddox JV Girls series, a series of standalone sports books. Back on Track has a simple plot, short chapters, easy vocabulary, and a relatable main character. It is good for reluctant readers. At the back of the book, there is a glossary, discussion questions, writing prompts, and tidbits about track and field. Readers, especially those who run track, will enjoy reading the descriptive race scenes and easily relate to Addison’s passion for running. Although Addison is well-developed, none of the secondary characters have depth.

While Back on Track is a sports book, the story focuses more on the importance of honesty and sacrifice. The story focuses on Addison’s inner battle over whether she should tell her mom she joined the track team. Even though Addison ends up getting what she wants, she still appreciates the sacrifices her mom and Charlie make for her. Now that they are in the stands cheering for her, Addison enjoys the track meets more. She expresses this in her thoughts during her final race: “[Addison’s] family had made big changes just so she could run. She wanted to make them proud.”

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

by Jill Johnson

Goldie Blox and the Best! Pet! Ever!

Bloxtown is hosting a pet pageant and the winner gets to name the new animal shelter. Goldie’s friend Li wants to name the animal shelter “Dr. Zhang Animal Shelter” after his grandmother. To help Li, Goldie, and her dog, Nacho, enter the contest. Even though Nacho spends his time napping and chasing his tail, Goldie is confident that she and her friends can teach Nacho everything he needs to know in order to win the contest.

When rich and snobby Zeek Zander enters the contest, Goldie is even more determined to win. Zeek doesn’t like pets and wants to call the shelter “Flea Bag Hotel for Ugly Dogs.” With the help of Zeek’s Butler Phone, Zeek sets out to get the best pet and win the race. Will Goldie and her friends be able to teach Nacho to follow commands? Will they be able to beat Zeek?

Goldie and her friends turn to engineering in order to get Nacho to run an obstacle course and follow commands. However, Nacho is more interested in sleeping and eating. In order to help Nacho get ready for the contest, Goldie and her friends make many gadgets, such as a tuxedo programmed to music. Younger readers will giggle at Nacho’s response to the gadgets and his crazy antics.

Goldie and her friends demonstrate positive friendship traits. One morning Goldie discovers Nacho missing. Her friends quickly jump in to help find Nacho. Ruby uses a drone to help find Nacho. However, Ruby used questionable methods to obtain the drone. Ruby says, “I may have borrowed one from HiBo Prep. And I may have hacked the system. And I may need you to keep it secret.” At another point in the story, Goldie enters a contest and she doesn’t win first place. But that doesn’t stop her from celebrating. The story emphasizes that winning a contest doesn’t make Goldie a winner. Instead, Goldie celebrates because “We built an awesome go-cart and had an amazing race. It was so much fun!”

Goldie Blox and the Best! Pet! Ever! will appeal to younger readers because of its humor. The story introduces readers to the idea of engineering; however, the story doesn’t explain the process that goes into making gadgets. The story is accessible to younger readers because it uses easy vocabulary, short paragraphs, and cartoonish black and white illustrations that appear every three to five pages. Goldie and her friends demonstrate positive traits such as perseverance and working together. Readers who want to delve into more books that mix science and humor should put The Data Set Series by Ada Hopper on their must-read list.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Zeek calls Goldie and her friends losers.

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Sergeant Stubby: Hero Pup of World War I

Stubby, a stray bull terrier from Connecticut, isn’t going to let anyone separate him from his human, Bob—not even a war. Determined to stay with Bob, Stubby sneaks onto the ship that is taking American troops to France. Soon Stubby and Bob are whisked off to the front lines of World War I. Stubby does his best to keep up the men’s spirits, and he can also warn the men when danger is approaching. He ends up saving the G.I.s from poisonous gas attacks and a German spy. Eventually, Stubby is promoted to the rank of Sergeant! Through it all, Stubby stays close to Bob as he makes his way across Europe, fighting to defeat the enemy.

Based on a true story, Hero Pup of World War I is told from Stubby’s point of view. Stubby is determined to help the soldiers as they go to battle. Through Stubby’s eyes, the readers will learn about the daily life of a soldier. Not only were the soldiers in constant threat, but they also had to deal with rats and lice. The story tells about life in the trenches as well as the military hospital. Although the story doesn’t go into gory detail about the soldiers’ deaths, Stubby does see the loss of human life and wishes he could do more to help the injured and dead.

Because the story is told from Stubby’s point of view, the human’s personalities do not come to life. Despite this, Hero Pup of World War I will introduce younger readers to World War I. The end of the book has pictures of Stubby and Bob as well as information about what started World War I. The end of the book also has a shortlist of other books for any reader who wants to learn more about animals in the military.

Although Hero Pup of World War I is the second book in the G.I. Dogs Series, the books do not need to be read in order because each book focuses on a different dog’s experiences. Hero Pup of World War I uses kid-friendly language to show the bravery and the hardships that G.I.s faced on the front line. Stubby is a likable character, who truly cares about the troops. His extraordinary life will inspire readers. Stubby says, “If a stray dog from the back alleys of New Haven, Connecticut can help win a world war and shake hands with the president, then anything is possible.”

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • When a German spy comes into the U.S. camp, Stubby barks at him. The spy begins to run, and Stubby follows. “With one last bark, I leaped and planted my teeth in his backside, getting a mouthful of gray serge material. The German was face down in the mud, struggling to get free. I kept my jaws clamped shut. . .Three American G.I.s ran up to us, and I knew it was safe to let go.”
  • The G.I.s made Stubby a gas mask, but it didn’t fit correctly. “In March, we experienced our first poison gas attack. I smelled something strange—something I had never smelled before. . . Bob and I didn’t get our masks on in time. Hours later, when the shelling finally stopped, my eyes still burned and it was hard to breathe.”
  • One morning, the Germans sent storm troopers to rush the American’s front line. “The storm troopers overran the first trench and then advanced to the next. All the American soldiers joined the battle . . . Even the company cook jumped into the trenches and started swinging his meat cleaver at the German soldiers!” Some men were killed, and others were taken prisoners. Stubby is close to an explosive when it goes off. “A piece of fiery metal hit me in the chest. It hurt so much that I couldn’t move. All I could do is howl.” Stubby is taken to the hospital and recovers.
  • During a battle, Stubby tries to find wounded soldiers. When he finds one, he barks until a medic comes. He finds Smitty and “at first look, I thought he might already be gone, but when I licked his cheek, his eyes fluttered and he focused on me just for a second. . . I ignored the blood and snuggled up next to him. . . One tear slipped down his cheek. And then he was gone.”
  • The French and American troops attack the Germans. “There were shells landing, bullets flying and men screaming.” The troops freed a town of Germans.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Howl at the Moon

Haggis and Tank go on an adventure in Scotland. After reading about Scotland’s castles, Tank wants to go explore Scotland. Haggis and Tank fly an airplane, get lost in a bog, visit a castle, and even play the bagpipes. As they explore the castle, they come to suspect that Prince Pants-A-Lot might be a werewolf. When the full moon comes out, a werewolf starts chasing them! Will Haggis and Tank be stuck in the spooky castle forever? How will they ever make it home?

Haggis and Tank use their imagination to go on another action-packed adventure. Much like Scooby Doo’s adventures, the spooky scenes are more humorous than scary. Haggis and Tank run from the werewolf. In the end, Haggis and Tank discover that the werewolf was only chasing them because they had his bagpipes. The cute conclusion shows Haggis and Tank returning home safely.

Howl at the Moon uses brightly colored illustrations to draw readers in. The cartoonish illustrations have surprising details. For example, when Tank is getting the “plane” ready, the illustration shows a wheelbarrow with “Fearless Flyer” written on the side. The story’s illustrations aren’t the only positive aspect of Howl at the Moon. The story also has fun puppy puns, onomatopoeias, and homophones, which make Howl at the Moon a perfect read-aloud book.

Readers will fall in love with Haggis and Tank and giggle at their silly antics. Newly independent readers will be able to read the story on their own. Much like a graphic novel, some of the pages only have quote bubbles. In order to move the story along, 1-2 sentence narration is included on some of the pages. The illustrated story is funny, imaginative, and full of surprising details. The story ends with five questions and gives page numbers to help readers take a closer look at the text.

Each book in the Haggis and Tank Unleashed Series can be read as a stand-alone story. However, younger readers will be eager to read each story. The series teaches vocabulary in a seamless manner that brings humor to the story. After spending time with Haggis and Tank, readers will be encouraged to use their imagination and howl at the moon.

 Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Prince Pants-A-Lot, who might be a werewolf, chases Haggis and Tank through a maze.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Notorious

Keenan has lived all over the world, but nowhere quite as strange as Centerlight Island, which is split between the United States and Canada. The only thing weirder than Centerlight itself is his neighbor Zarabeth, a.k.a. ZeeBee. ZeeBee is obsessed with the island’s history as a Prohibition-era smuggling route. She’s also convinced that her beloved dog, Barney, was murdered—something Keenan finds pretty hard to believe.

Just about everyone on Centerlight is a suspect because everyone hated Barney, a huge dog—part mastiff, part rottweiler—notorious for terrorizing the community. Accompanied by a mild-mannered new dog who is practically Barney’s opposite, ZeeBee enlists Keenan’s help to solve the mystery.

As Keenan and ZeeBee start to unravel the clues, they uncover a shocking conspiracy that dates back to Centerlight’s gangster past. The good news is that Keenan may have found the best friend he’s ever had. The bad news is that the stakes are sky-high. And now someone is after them…

Centerlight’s history is full of gangster lore and hidden treasure legends that Zeebee is excited to share with her new friend Keenan. Middle grade readers will relate to both characters because they are interesting, flawed, and struggle with typical teenage problems. Most of the chapters alternate between ZeeBee’s and Keenan’s points of view. However, some of the chapters are told from other characters’ points of view, which makes it necessary to read the chapter titles. The changing points of view and the large cast of characters may confuse some readers.

Notorious blends mystery, adventure, and suspense into a story that is hard to put down. The story contains just enough gangster lore and teenage drama to hook the reader. Keenan thinks that ZeeBee’s stories are exaggerated, while some of the local kids think that ZeeBee is crazy. ZeeBee struggles with the fact that even though she’s always lived on Centerlight, she doesn’t feel as if she belongs. All of these conflicting plots are interconnected and form a fabulously fun tale that contains many surprises.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • ZeeBee is obsessed with the town’s prohibition past. When she gives Keenan a tour of the island, she takes him to a cliff. ZeeBee says, “They call it Ripley’s Point because that’s where the gangster Meyer Lansky dumped Reuben Ripley’s body when they caught him helping himself to some of the booze shipments to sell for his own life… You used to be able to see a red stain on that sharp pointed one [rock], but it’s faded over the years.”
  • ZeeBee tells Keenan about a fourth of July when “this crew out of Detroit” was trying to “muscle in on Capone’s business here in Centerlight… Capone’s guys tossed a lit match into the fireworks… There was a lot of noise, so nobody noticed a few extra booms, pops, and bangs in there. But when it was all over, the entire Detroit crew was scattered around the park, dead.”
  • ZeeBee and Keenan are out in the forest at night when two men approach them. ZeeBee’s dog Barney “leaps on the bewildered giant, burying his teeth in the already scarred forearm.” The two men threaten the kids, and Keenan twirls “around into the familiar tae kwon do stance, and my leg launches out into the kick I haven’t been able to execute since I got sick. My whole body tenses… Whack! The sole of my sneaker smacks into the heavy piece of gold, ramming it into the side of Bryce’s head… Bryce’s eyes roll back and he crumples, unconscious, in the dirt.” Keenan injures his foot. The police show up and arrest the bad guys.

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • Keenan finds dead animals in the forest. “There must be twenty-five or thirty of them—all small animals. This is a graveyard.” Keenan thinks the animals ate poisoned meat.
  • The local fro-yo shop makes rum raisin frozen yogurt.

Language

  • There is some name-calling, such as jerk, idiot, and moron. For example, ZeeBee gets upset when Keenan begins hanging out with some boys from school. She tells him, “You’re worse than Ronnie and those idiots! They’re just brainless. You’re a sleaze!”
  • When Keenan goes to visit an elderly man, ZeeBee wonders, “So why is Keenan visiting this jackass?”
  • ZeeBee is upset that Keenan went to a party. The kids broke into a lighthouse, and ZeeBee’s father went to break it up. ZeeBee thinks, “But Dad wouldn’t be much of a border officer if he didn’t have the brains to reconstruct a crime scene. He passed every single one of those boneheads as they biked away from the lighthouse.”
  • Keenan goes to talk to his friend’s father. Later, the father tells his son, “I don’t have time to waste on some twelve-year-old nutjob.”

Supernatural

  • None

 

Spiritual Content

  • None

The Sorcerer of the North

Will is finally a full-fledged Ranger, who has his own fief to look after. Will is just getting used to the sleepy fief when he is called away on a secret mission. Lord Syron, who is a master of a castle far in the north, is struck down by a mysterious illness. Some believe that Lord Syron has been struck down by an ancient enemy who is using dark magic. One thing is known for sure: many do not respect Lord Syron’s son, Orman. Will Orman be able to guide the fief during his father’s illness?

As Will is trying to determine who is loyal to Lord Syron, Alyss shows up disguised as a noblewoman. The two hope to discover who is to blame for Lord Syron’s illness. As Will battles growing hysteria, traitors, and most of all, time, Alyss is taken hostage and Will is forced to make a desperate choice between his mission and his friend.

The Sorcerer of the North has a slow start as Will travels to his new fief. Unfortunately, Will is called away almost immediately. During the first part of the book, Halt, Alyss, and several other known characters make a short appearance. Even though their appearance sets up the book’s conflict, the action is slow. Readers who have read the previous Ranger’s Apprentice books will continue reading because they are familiar with Will and the other characters; however, those who have not read the previous books in the series will not want to start with this one.

In The Sorcerer of the North, Will spends too much time traveling to meet different people in attempt to learn about Lord Syron’s kingdom. Instead of being interesting, the reader may quickly become bored. Once Will travels to Syron’s castle, he still spends much of his time collecting information. It isn’t until the end of the book that the action picks up, ending in a cliffhanger that will lead readers to pick up the next book in the series, The Siege of Macindaw.

Even though The Sorcerer of the North isn’t as entertaining as the previous books, readers will enjoy seeing Will become more confident as a Ranger. As Will investigates Lord Syron’s fief, he learns that things are not always what they seem. However, the story has few surprises, too little action, and an easily solved mystery. In addition, readers will miss Halt, Horace, and Evenlyn, who were prominently featured in the previous books. Despite this, readers will want to continue to read The Sorcerer of the North because they know that Will’s next exciting adventure is just around the corner.

Sexual Content

  • Will is happy to see Alyss, who “sensed his need for warmth and feminine company and affection and had been more than glad to supply all three. It hadn’t progressed past some tentative embraces and kisses in the moonlight. . .”
  • As Alyss leaves Will’s house, “she leaned forward and her lips touched his—light as butterfly wings and amazingly soft to the touch. They remained so for many seconds, then Alyss finally stepped back.”

Violence

  • Will catches a man spying on him. When the man tries to sneak into Will’s house, “Will moved quickly, grabbing the man by the wrist with his right hand and pivoting to jerk him forward into the room. At the same time, he let the pivot movement throw his left leg across the doorway as a barrier, so the outsider was jerked forward and tripped over the outstretched leg. . .” The man recovers and aims a war spear at Will, “the razor-sharp head weaving slightly as if to mesmerize his enemy.”
  • When the spy, Buttle, sneaks into Will’s house, Alyss tries to help by pointing a dagger toward the man. “Buttle swung instantly toward her, dropping into a defensive crouch, the spear ready to thrust. . . ” Will cuts the tip off of Buttle’s spear. Then, Will “brought the brass pommel of the saxe thudding into his temple.” Buttle is knocked unconscious and sold into slavery.
  • As Will and two other men try to leave the castle, guards shoot at them. “Will saw movement on the battlements ahead of them, and heard a crossbow bolt strike, skidding, on the stones in front of Tug. Without conscious thought, seemingly without aiming, he shot again and a figure tumbled from the parapet into the courtyard, his crossbow clattering on the stones beside him.” The men were able to escape.
  • When men follow Will out of the castle, Will shoots an arrow at one of them. “Instead of striking home into Buttle’s upper body, it came out of nowhere and slammed into his thigh, tearing through the fleshy part of the leg and pinning it to the hard leather of the saddle.”
  • Will tries to get Alyss out of the castle, but he is unable to. When he flees the castle, a sergeant recognizes Will and “lunged clumsily with the halbert. Will’s saxe knife was in his hand and he deflected the heavy ax head to one side. Grabbing the sergeant’s arm, turning and crouching in one movement, he threw him over his shoulder to the flagstone of the courtyard. The sergeant’s head slammed into the hard stone. His helmet rolled on one side and he lay stunned.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Will asks a stranger about an injured dog. The man replies, “John Buttle has a shepherd like that one. And he’d be the kind to injure a dog and leave it that way. Has a nasty temper, John does, particularly when he’s in the drink.”
  • The Scandians needed to raid a fief in order to get supplies, including wine.
  • Will invites the Scandians to a feast. He tells a man, “But don’t try to match them drink for drink. You’ll never manage it.”
  • Will goes into a tavern where the patrons were “tapping their wine mugs on the table” and singing along with a song. One of the songs is about a “drunken witch,” and another song talks about “the drunken king of Angledart.”
  • Will goes into the barracks rooms because he knew “nothing lessened men’s tongues like an evening of music and wine.” He gives the men “a large flagon of apple brandy to help the night along.”
  • Someone poisons Orman. Later, Will finds out the poison was “a particularly nasty toxin called corocore. It’s very obscure—not listed in any of the major texts on herbs and poisons. It takes about a week to take effect, so it was probably slipped into Orman’s food or drink sometime in the last ten days.”
  • Alyss, disguised as a noblewoman, asks for someone to bring her and her guest “the good Gallic white” wine.

Language

  • A man talks about his injured dog. He says, “little bitch tried to bite me so I taught her.”
  • Damn is used occasionally. For example, Will tells a Scandian that a man “made a damn nuisance of himself around here. . .”
  • “My God” is used as an exclamation twice. For example, when someone shows Will a weapon, Will says, “My God.”
  • “Oh God” is used as an exclamation three times. “Good God” is used as an exclamation once.
  • Alyss is working undercover as Lady Gwendolyn. She tells Will, “Now we can talk, while any eavesdroppers will hear the jongleur serenading that stuck-up twit, Lady Gwendolyn.”
  • Hell is used once. Will says, “Then we ride like hell for the gate.”
  • Someone calls a guard an idiot.

Supernatural

  • While in a forest at night, Will sees an apparition. “. . . A giant figure loomed out of the mist, towering high above the mere, seemingly to rise from the black water itself. One moment there was nothing. Then, in the blink of an eye, the figure was there, fully formed. . . This was no mortal figure he knew. This was something from the other side, from the dark world of sorcery and spells.” When the apparition tells Will to leave, Will quickly exits the forest.
  • Alyss is hypnotized.

Spiritual Content

  • As he was walking across the courtyard, Will “Breathed a silent prayer that they wouldn’t encounter Buttle on his way out.”
  • Will’s dog approaches a man. When the man begins petting the dog, Will’s friend says, “Thank God you didn’t shoot him.”

Fairest of All

Once upon a time, a mirror slurped up Abby and her brother Johan. When Abby and Johan are magically transported into the fairy tale world, they don’t mean to change Snow White’s happily-ever-after. Because of them, Snow doesn’t eat the poisonous apple. Snow doesn’t meet the prince. Abby is determined to fix Snow’s story; she’s just not sure how to make the prince meet and fall in love with Snow.

Abby and Johan are complete opposites, which adds humor to the story. Abby needs a plan for everything and constantly tries to curb Johan’s adventurous spirit. The one thing that remains constant is their desire to help Snow. Unlike the original fairy tale, in this story Snow White’s personality is multifaceted. She proves that a girl doesn’t need a prince in order to live happily ever after. Instead of following the traditional plot, Fairest of All takes the reader down a winding path where danger is behind every corner.

Fairest of All is an imaginative retelling of Snow White’s fairy tale. Told from Abby’s point of view, the story’s start is slow, but once the siblings show up at the dwarves’ cottage, the action picks up. With short chapters, easy vocabulary, and an interesting narrator, Fairest of All will appeal to a wide range of readers. The story leaves several questions unanswered, which will have readers reaching for the next book in the series, If the Shoe Fits. More advanced readers should add The Secret Rescuers series by Paula Harrison to their reading list.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Evil Evelyn tries to give Snow a poisoned apple. While arguing with Snow, Evelyn begins to sweat, and “makeup starts to smear down her face,” which allows Snow to recognize her stepmother. Johan retells the story, “Snow’s stepmom was trying to kill her with a poisoned apple, and that’s why she was wearing a disguise.”
  • Snow explains how she came to live with the dwarves. Snow’s stepmom “sends Xavier, her huntsmen, to kill me. He let me get away, but then I got lost in the forest… I came across the cottage… So I fell asleep on an empty bed, and the next thing I knew, there were seven little people staring at me.”
  • Johan tells Snow that the huntsman “told the queen that he had done it. And I think he gave her the lungs and liver of some animal, pretending it was you.” This comes up several times throughout the book.
  • Evil Evelyn tried to kill Snow using laces. The stepmother “tied them so tight Snow couldn’t breathe. We [the dwarves] came home and found Snow lying on the floor. We untied them just in time.”
  • When Prince Trevor was two, he threw a rock at a stranger.
  • Disguised as a child, Evil Evelyn offers to give Snow a cookie. Snow takes the cookie and her stepmother was “lifting the hammer and swinging it toward Snow’s head.” Abby sees the hammer and she “jumps towards Snow and push her out of the way… At the same time, the young girl’s hammer swings through the air and misses its target.” Evil Evelyn flees.
  • Snow, Johan, and Abby sneak into the castle. If they are caught, Snow says Evil Evelyn will kill them. Then Johan askes, “Do you think she’d eat our lungs and livers too?”
  • In order to try to “fix” Snow’s story, Snow pretends to be dead. As she lays in the coffin, she puts her head on a poisoned pillow. Snow screams. “Snow pops up, the tips of her hair burnt off like she stood too close to a fire.” To get the poison out of Snow’s hair, Abby dumps water on her head.
  • In order to get into the castle, Snow, Abby, and Johan swim the moat. Two crocodiles snap at the three friends. “Baby Crocodile blocks our path from behind and snaps her baby teeth… Mama Crocodile lunges again.” Johan throws stew sandwiches at the crocodile, who gobble them up. The three are able to escape.
  • Snow, Johan, and Abby try to leave the castle. They are on the drawbridge when soldiers appear. Evil Evelyn “aims a bowstring at Snow and pulls the trigger… In what seems like slow motion, he [Prince Trevor] jumps in front of Snow.” Trevor is injured, but Snow is saved.
  • The arrow hit Prince Trevor “square in the chest… Prince Trevor is still standing, but he’s shaking. After a few dramatic moments, his knees buckle, and he falls right over the bridge and into the water. Splash!”
  • Snow is able to drag Prince Trevor to shore. Trevor wakes up and says, “You kissed me. I was dead, and your kiss woke me up.” Snow explains that she didn’t kiss Trevor, but that “it was mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.” The escape scene is described over 10 pages.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Jonah and Abby travel through a mirror and end up in Snow White’s fairy tale. When Jonah knocks on the mirror three times, the mirror sucks Jonah and Abby into it.
  • Time in the real world travels slower than in Snow White’s world. Every hour in the real world equals one day in Snow’s world.

Spiritual Content

  • None

Spy School #1

Ben Ripley’s just a normal, average middle schooler until he finds a man in a tuxedo sitting on his living room couch. Recruited by the CIA and sent to their secretive training school, Ben finally has a chance at his dream job: secret agent! Unfortunately for him, his innate math skills won’t help while he’s battling ninjas, fighting off assassins, dodging insane professors, or just trying not to die on the first day of class.

With all the crazy combat and intense classes, Ben starts to miss his normal life and regrets accepting the spy school’s invitation. After learning the CIA is using him to discover an evil mole within their organization, Ben has an opportunity to prove to everyone that he’s capable of saving the day. Joining forces with Erica Hale, the top spy in the school, the duo hunts down the nefarious double-agent under the CIA’s nose. After cracking codes, stealing secrets, and dodging bullets, Ben and Erica realize the mole is closer than they think! Will Ben and Erica stop the mole before their master plan is complete?

Spy School is a non-stop spy thrill ride. From car chases in Washington to killer ninjas in math class to fighting off an assassin with a tennis racket in his underwear, it seems Ben Ripley never gets a break at his new school. However, with the intense, heart-pounding action sequences, Gibbs manages to keep the action appropriate for young readers.

Although Ben Ripley isn’t a super spy, middle school readers will relate to his insecurities and desire to fit in. Ben moves to a new school and has trouble making friends because both bullies and teachers pick on him. The administration uses him to find a flaw in their organization, and no one thinks he can succeed. As the story progresses, readers root for Ben as he fights off bad guys, makes friends, and grows confident in his spy abilities.

Fans of espionage thrillers will enjoy Spy School with its fast-paced action, witty jokes, and plot twists. The story of friendship, self-determination, and self-belief will entertain readers as it teaches positive lessons. Readers will learn the importance of being themselves and that everyone has value. With its tame violence and mild language, the Spy School series is a good precursor for other espionage series, like The Theodore Boone series and The Gallagher Girls series. Altogether, Spy School is an engaging story for readers that will keep them on the edge of their seats with its intense action scenes and surprise ending.

Sexual Content

  • Ben has a crush on Erica. When they first met, Erica tackles Ben to the ground and Ben thinks to himself, “The girl sitting on my chest appeared to be a few years older than me, fourteen or fifteen, with thick dark hair and incredibly blue eyes… She even smelled incredible, an intoxicating combination of lilacs and gunpowder.” However, Erica is often cold to Ben, and there is no “romance” in the story.

Violence

  • When Alexander Hale and Ben arrive at Spy School, Alexander knows something is wrong. The campus was quiet when it “ought to be crawling with people right now.” Ben gets out of the car and runs as “something crackled in the distance. A tiny explosion erupted in the snow to my left. Someone was shooting at me!” Alexander shoots back as Ben reaches the dormitory door. Ben runs into the dormitory area and “something suddenly swept my feet out from under me. I landed flat on my back. A split second later someone dropped on me, sheathed entirely in black except for the eyes. Each knee pinioned one of my arms to the ground.”
  • During the fight, Ben meets his attacker, Erica Hale. Erica is a fellow student who hands him a taser and commands him to follow her as they head to the Nathan Hale Administration Building. As they head up the stairs, Erica notices two enemy agents, so she commands Ben to cut through the library and make it to the principal’s office. Erica attacks them and Ben runs into the library as “gunfire raked the carpet behind me and splintered the doorjamb as I lunged for safety.” Ben heads up a spiral staircase and “a bullet pinged off the banister just as I reached the third floor.”
  • Ben notices a black-clad man clutching a machine gun darting toward his staircase. Ben grabs a book from one of the shelves and drops it from the railing. “From below came the distinct thud of book colliding with a skull, followed by the grunt of the assassin collapsing.” As enemy agents start to surround him, Ben quickly finds the principal’s door. Ben throws himself against the locked door. Ben “flipped on my taser and jammed it into the keypad. The tiny screen flickered as I shocked the system. Then the electricity overloaded, and every light in the hall blew out, plunging me into darkness.” Ben makes it into the principal’s office where Alexander Hale, Erica, and the principal inform him he just failed the first test of Spy School. This scene takes place over 15 pages.
  • After talking in Professor Crandall’s Introduction to Self-Preservation class, Professor Crandall tests Ben’s knowledge with a pop quiz. Crandall opens a door by the podium and three ninjas vault through. They are clad in black from head to toe and armed to the teeth. As Ben tries to escape through the back door, “a throwing star embedded in the door. I spun to find the ninjas creeping slowly up the steps. The one in front spun a pair of razor-sharp sai knives. The other two twirled nunchucks.” As Ben runs away, he hears something whistling through the air behind him. Ben “turned to find a nunchuck quickly closing the gap between the ninja who’d thrown it and my forehead. This was followed by an absolutely incredible amount of pain.” Ben is knocked unconscious. This scene takes place over two pages.
  • During the school’s annual war game, Ben is chased by an attacker he recognized from Chemistry 102: Poisons and Explosives. Ben jumps down a snowy slope head first as “a paintball whistled past my ear and splattered a rock.” Ben lands on rocks below, feet first, as his attacker levels a gun. All of a sudden, “a red paintball nailed her in the helmet, splattering all over her faceguard.” Zoe, one of Ben’s friends and teammates, shoots the attacker in the head.
  • Then, Ben and Warren decide to attack the other team’s flag on the other side of campus. There’s only one problem, the enemy team has Bullseye Bailey, the best sniper “rumored to be able to decapitate a flea with a bullet from a mile away.” As Warren distracts Bailey, Ben becomes distracted, and Warren ends up covered in blue paint. “As this happened, something burst out of the snow on our side of the mill, away from the action. It took me a moment to realize it was a person. Someone who’d somehow dug through the snow to within mere feet of the guards without them noticing.” Erica appears from out of the snow and captures the flag before anyone realizes what has happened.
  • As Ben is held in the school’s security room, he watches as Alexander and a team of agents surround the enemy on campus. “Video images were now coming up faster and faster as the agents tried to track everything that was happening on the surface at once. I caught glimpses of the enemy hurtling past cameras in the woods, teams of CIA agents en route to the dormitory.” The agents attack the enemy and “a dozen nets were launched at once. Four hit their target, while two took out agents who got caught in the crossfire. The enemy went down in a heap, tangled in nets, then rolled over to find fifty agents converging on him with guns raised.” However, the enemy turned out to be Mike Brezinski, Ben’s best friend. At that moment, “an explosion blew the steel door off its hinges behind me… Sedation darts took out the agents at the monitors before they could even reach for their guns.” Another dart nailed Ben in the shoulder. This scene takes place over four pages.
  • Murray tries to escape the school, but Ben orders Murray to stop or he will shoot him with his M16. “Murray froze and turned around, allowing me to see he also had a gun in his hand. He aimed right back at me.” Murray opens fire and the first bullets hit a tree two feet to Ben’s right. Ben returns fire, hitting the roof of the Hale Building. “The ice on the steep peaked roof had frozen into a crust several inches thick. Both my bullets pounded into it, sparkling a network of fractures. A few small glaciers calved free and rocketed off the roof, knocking a dozen massive icicles loose from the eaves en route.” Ice flattened Murray, who is arrested. This scene takes place over two pages.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Ben calls Chip a jerk. Erica says, “Jerks hang you up from the flagpole by your underwear. They don’t blow up schools.”
  • Ass is used one time. Ben tries to break into the principal’s office by slamming himself against the door. However, “It was locked. I bounced off it and landed on my ass in the hall.”
  • Ben tells Erica how someone tried to coerce him into hacking the school’s mainframe. Erica says, “And thus would’ve kept his hands clean. Doing something stupid isn’t so stupid if you can get someone else to do it for you.”
  • In an attempt to save his own life after an assassin sneaks into his room, Ben tries to ramble on about how to break into the CIA’s mainframe. The assassin detects Ben’s lies and says, “I’m not an idiot. And I’ve run out of patience. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
  • Chip doesn’t believe Ben took on an assassin all by himself and says, “He’s a dork. If that had been a real assassin, he’d be dead.”
  • During Chip and Ben’s fistfight after the war game, “dozens of students and faculty had just returned from the war game only to find us writhing about on the floor like a couple of idiots.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

by Matthew Perkey

Ida B: and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World

Ida B doesn’t like change. Every day, she has the same thing for breakfast: oats with raisins. Every day, she has the same thing for lunch: peanut butter on one slice of bread, milk, and an apple. Ida B also wants to spend “every day with her Mama and Daddy, Rufus and Lulu, the trees and the mountains and the snakes and the birds. All day, every day.”

When Ida B goes to kindergarten, she quickly changes from an inquisitive girl to a quiet, sullen one. Her parents decide to homeschool Ida B. Ida B is happy to spend every day with her parents. When the trees tell Ida B that trouble is coming, Ida B doesn’t think anything will really happen. When Mama gets cancer, Ida B is forced to return to school. Ida B feels betrayed and hardens her heart; she doesn’t want to ever be hurt again.

Instead of making friends at school, Ida B keeps her classmates away with glares. She refuses to talk to her parents, and she no longer goes to visit the trees. Ida B is determined to “stand there with my mouth closed tight, my lips zipped, glued, and stapled together to keep the angry words that were banging to get out…” The only bright spot in Ida B’s world is her teacher Mrs. W, who quietly encourages Ida B to share her feelings.

Ida B chronicles one girl’s struggle to deal with the changes that come with her mother’s cancer. Since Ida B is written from Ida B’s point of view, the reader will be able to understand her hurt and confusion. Ida B’s feelings are explained in ways that younger readers will understand. However, some readers may have difficulty understanding Ida B’s ability to talk to nature. Readers may also struggle with the story’s difficult vocabulary, such as forbearance, engulfing, dismemberment, and foe.

At the end of the story, Ida B learns the importance of apologizing and sharing her feelings with others. The story doesn’t end with a cheerful conclusion where every problem is solved. Instead, Ida B eventually shares her feelings, which lightens her burden. Even though Ida B teaches positive lessons, readers who love adventure and fantasy books may quickly become bored with Ida B’s story because it focuses on feelings rather than actions. However, anyone who has been faced with a difficult situation will relate to Ida B. Because much of the book revolves around Ida B thinking about her feelings and talking to nature, young readers may have a difficult time finishing the book. If you’re looking for realistic fiction that teaches life lessons, you may want to try Wish by Barbara O’Connor instead of Ida B.

 Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Ida B angrily kicks a tree. “…I kicked its trunk as hard as I could so my foot ached something fierce, but I didn’t even whimper.”

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • When Ida B learns that her father is selling part of the orchard, “the only thing I cared about was putting together a plan to save me and my valley. But for all my wishing and hoping and sending out ten different kinds of prayers for a good one, not a single decent plan came out of me.”

Ghost

Ghost (or Castle Cranshaw, as he would rather not be known) knows how to run all too well, and since the night his father tried to shoot him and his mother, running is all he can do to handle his wild emotions. When he shows up at a running practice, Coach Brody sees Ghost’s natural talent and insists he joins the team with one condition: that Ghost keep his head straight. For Ghost, who has a knack for running into trouble, this might be the most difficult task of all.

Ghost speaks to audiences that are otherwise underrepresented in middle grade literature, as Ghost and his friends are a diverse bunch. Ghost himself lives in a poverty-stricken part of the city. The novel tackles weighty themes like absent/abusive parents, race, and substance abuse; it contextualizes them through the lens of a thirteen-year-old who is learning to come to grips with his rage and fear. Ghost’s story in particular examines the effect of his father’s drinking and imprisonment on Ghost’s emotional state. Characters like Coach Brody and the other runners help him comprehend his situation, and their story is one about forging a new family through track.

As a character, Ghost can be arrogant. He delivers snap judgments of others. At times, he makes questionable decisions, including a major plot point where he shoplifts shoes because he cannot afford them. Despite these traits, he’s a sympathetic character who embodies what it’s like to be a kid dealing with a difficult home life, and emotions like humiliation, rage, and fear. By the end, Ghost realizes he “was the boy with the altercations and the big file. The one who yelled at teachers and punched stupid guys in the face for talking smack. The one who felt…different. And mad. And sad. The one with all the scream inside.” By the end, Ghost learns how to manage his emotions in a healthier way, as running track gives him a productive outlet.

Overall, Ghost is an entertaining read, and Reynolds does a good job delivering realistic characters that display both good and bad qualities. The plot is smart, straightforward, and doesn’t fall into predictable stereotypes. The biggest strength of the book is its ability to relate to students who otherwise don’t have a voice in middle school literature.

Although Ghost will resonate with those who love sports, any reader who has felt lost will relate to Ghost. The story shows how much of an impact one person or team can make in a kid’s life. Ghost is a must-read because it presents a growth in emotional maturity and shows that anything is possible with a support system and self-discipline.

Sexual Content

  • Ghost briefly mentions that Damon started a rumor at school. Damon “told everybody that I kissed a girl named Janine, who was the only pretty girl who liked me, but I didn’t.”
  • Some of the other runners tease Patty about having a crush on Curron, another runner. She quickly dispels that idea when she says, “Ain’t nobody got a crush on Curron!”

Violence

  • In a drunken rage, Ghost’s father tries to shoot Ghost and his mother. As they run away, Ghost “saw him, my dad, staggering from the bedroom, his lips bloody, a pistol in his hand… As soon as she swung the door open, my dad fired a shot… I didn’t look to see what he hit, mainly because I was scared it was gonna be me. Or Ma. The sound was big, and sharp enough to make me feel like my brain was gonna pop in my head, enough to make my heart hiccup.”
  • Ghost makes an offhand comment when he thinks about his mom meeting Coach Brady. Ghost says, “I’ve seen those weird shows where psychos pose like coaches and stuff and get you caught up and the next thing you know my mother’s in jail too for handling this guy.”
  • Another student bullies Ghost and strikes him with a chicken drumstick. The bully says a series of insults, and then the bully “threw the chicken wing at me. It hit me in the chest… I brushed the over-fried wing off my lap, opened my milk carton, took a swig, and then, with all my might, beamed the container at Brandon’s head…before he could even make a move, I had picked up my plastic tray and whacked him over the head.”
  • Ghost watches a fight break out between a group of men on the basketball court. One man, nicknamed Sicko, pushes someone. Ghost says, “A fight. As usual. Stupid Sicko pushed the wrong guy… And then Pop got into it. And then Big James. Then Big James’s girl. And then some other girl.”
  • Coach Brody details his father’s abuse. Coach Brody says that his father “punched me in the mouth when I was fifteen because I asked him to change the channel on the TV.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Ghost’s father is an alcoholic, which Ghost talks openly about throughout the novel. Ghost says, “It was three years ago when my dad lost it. When the alcohol made him meaner than he’d ever been.”
  • Ghost observes the drug addicts hanging around the basketball courts. He says, “And junkies. They’d just be zombied out, roaming around the outside of the court… Goose was the dope man… Super flashy, but an all-around nice guy. Well, except for selling drugs.”
  • Coach Brody talks about his own father’s addiction and overdose. Coach says that his father “was an addict… Three weeks later, he…he stole my medal for a twenty-dollar high. He overdosed, right there on those steps.”

Language

  • Slang and otherwise grammatically incorrect sentences are used in dialogue to simulate authentic speech. For instance, Ghost says, “running isn’t anything I ever had to practice. It’s just something I knew how to do.”
  • Ghost frequently insults people’s appearances. For instance, upon seeing Coach Brody, Ghost says that Coach looks like a “turtle with a chipped tooth.” Later he calls Coach “this bowling-ball-head coach.”
  • When describing people, Ghost will sometimes refer to their race. For example, “milk-face running boy” and “fancy, white-black boy.”
  • Ghost compares a bully to Jack from Lord of the Flies, calling him a “power-hungry dummy.”
  • Ghost and the other kids frequently use words like dang, stupid, weird, crazy person, and jerk.

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Ghost references God once, saying, “His skin was white. Like, the color white. And his hair was light brown. But his face looked like a black person’s. Like God forgot to put the brown in him.”

by Allison Kestler

 

Let Sleeping Dragons Lie

Odo and Eleanor are excited to be knights. The only problem is that nothing ever happens in their sleepy little village. While Odo is happy to wait for some action to come his way, Eleanor is eager to go on the next adventure. Both knights know they are prepared to go on a quest, especially since they have their trusted and talkative enchanted swords.

When bilewolves attack the village, two strangers show up to dispatch the evil creatures. The strangers, Edga, and Hundred, are determined to prevent an unbearable imposter from taking the crown. Odo, Eleanor, and their swords join the quest. They will wander through unfamiliar lands, fight unseen enemies, and prepare for an epic battle.

The second installment of the Have Sword, Will Travel Series loses its humor and lacks a lot of the charm of the first book. When Odo and Eleanor join the quest, they meet two new characters, Edga and Hundred. Unfortunately, neither of these characters is relatable. Years ago Edga abdicated the thrown, and now he believes Kyndryk should be king. However, Kyndryk rarely appears. When he does, none of his actions prove he is worthy of becoming king.

Several new characters appear in book two. However, a bat that has been taught to recite letters in order to deliver messages is the most interesting character. All of the new characters are one-dimensional. Even though their quest is admirable, their personalities do not pop off the page. As the group travels to stop the coronation, the action lags. When the group finally makes it to their destination, a dragon appears, but his appearance is anticlimactic. Instead of adding an interesting element, the dragon does nothing to add to the story’s plot.

Readers who fell in love with Odo and Eleanor in Have Sword, Will Travel will be slightly disappointed in the sequel, Let Sleeping Dragons Lie. The simple plot, the slow pace, and the lack of enchanted sword action all add up to a mediocre sequel. If you’re looking for an excellent fantasy series, the Riders of the Realm Series by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez and the Max Tilt Series by Peter Lerangis both take readers on an adventurous journey full of wonder.

  Sexual Content

  • None

 Violence

  • “Four enormous, shaggy, wolf like creatures, each the size of a small horse” attack two people—Hundred and Edga. The man’s weapon “was a blur, leaping out to punch one bilewolf’s snout, then jab another’s forefoot. The woman was equally as adept, though she wielded a curved sword, the blade moving swiftly…”
  • When Odo and Eleanor see the fighting, they also notice “three villagers lay dead or seriously wounded, their torn and jagged clothes still smoking from the bilewolves’ acid-spewing jaws.”
  • During the battle against the bilewolves, Sir Halfdan rides his warhorse towards a bilewolf. “A bilewolf turned towards the galloping horse and charged, leaping at the last moment to avoid Sir Halfdan’s lowering lance…” Sir Halfdan “flicked the point up, taking the beast in the shoulder, the steel point punching deep. Bilewolf shrieked, the lance snapped, and then horse, knight, and dying bilewolf collided and went flying.” Sir Halfdan dies. Three other villagers are killed, but their deaths are not described.
  • During the battle, a “bilewolf bunched itself to leap up at Odo…but Runnel’s sharp point cut through its leg even as it sprang. It fell sideways, yelping and Biter came down to separate its massive head from its body…” At the end of the battle, all the bilewolves are “slain, one with a crushed skull and the other with a sliced-open throat. All four carcasses lay steaming, the grass beneath them turning black and smoking…” The above battle takes place over six pages.
  • Edga, Hundred, and some of the villagers sneak into the village’s manor house to take some men prisoner. Hundred “brought down the guard with one hand across her mouth and a forearm tight against her throat. The guard struggled for a minute, then fell unconscious.”
  • The group sneaks into the manner when all of the men are sleeping. The group seizes the sleeping men, “swiftly trussing them up like livestock, wrist tied to ankles.”
  • While the group is herding the men out of the manor, “the front door burst in, admitting the single remaining guard… Hundred tripped the guard and Odo fell on him, one knee pinning him to the ground…and they both tied him up.” No one is injured. The scene is described over three pages.
  • Someone uses a craft-fire to have birds attack Edga’s group. “With a furious flapping of wings, a dozen black shapes converged on them from all sides, claws and beaks reaching for their eyes… Edga spun his staff overhead, knocking a raven to the ground. Hundred produced a whip and cracked it twice. Three birds fell dead, instantly slain.” Everyone is able to escape without injury.
  • A hooded figure appears and when he gestures, “tiny darts hissed out of the trees, striking them each in the throat. Odo felt a string of pain, followed by a rushing, clouding sensation as darkness swept over him once more.” Everyone in the group becomes unconscious, but they wake up safely.
  • When traveling into the urthkin’s tunnels, “something moved behind her [Eleanor] and she felt a tiny pinprick at the neck. ‘Move, tall one, and I will spill your lifeblood to the dirt,’ said the urthkin holding the curved knife to her throat.”
  • Someone uses craft-fire to make birds and bugs attack Edga’s group. “An eagle and dozens of sparrows…swarmed from the sky. Scorpion, spiders, and ants issued from cracks in rocks…” The humans were able to run and escape the attack.
  • When trying to stop Edga’s sister from becoming king, Edga’s group “attacked the backs of the watching Instruments. Two fell with throwing knives buried deep in their shoulders. Another two dropped with tendons cut in their ankles.”
  • During the battle, “Odo lowered the shield from his face long enough to block a wicked slash to his ribs from a skinny woman… The blow jarred every joint in the left side of his body.”
  • In order to stop the attacking birds, “Hundred’s blades caught the craft-worker. The bearded man went down with a cry, and his green-flamed torch went out. The animals were instantly released.”
  • Hundred tries to stop Lord Deor. Hundred “threw a knife that glanced off his shoulder without doing any harm… The third bit into his neck, and he turned with a snarl.” The fighting is described over seven and a half pages.
  • Trying to capture Lord Deor, Odo continues the fight. “Blood still flowed freely down his [Odo’s] side, and his smile was looking forced.”
  • The huge rock where the fight took place began to crumble, and Lord Deor “with a cry, he fell into a fiery crack and disappeared. There came a sound like giant jaws crunching and he was gone.”
  • As Edga’s sister tried to run, the dragon caught her and wrapped her in “his lightning-fast tongue. The dragon held her like that for a few seconds, then whipped his tongue back, sending the regents spinning dizzily away until she fell over a stone and lay there, sobbing angrily.”
  • In the epilogue, an enchanted sword “lunged, killing the peasant with a single stab to the throat.”

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • Edga asks Hundred to sing. “Give us a round of ‘Drunk Eyes Fair See What Fair Might Not Be.”
  • While traveling, Edga’s group stops for the night. As they talk to other travelers, they “passed around a flask of warming spirits that made Odo’s eyes water, just sniffing it.”
  • Someone uses poison darts to put Edga’s group “to sleep.”

Language

  • Eleanor calls someone a “slimy cumberwold.”
  • Edga’s sister says he is a “dullard.”
  • Eleanor tells Odo, “don’t be such a lubberwort.”
  • Kyndryk’s grandmother calls him a fool.
  • Edga’s sister says, “You’re supposed to be dead, you old fool!”

Supernatural

  • Biter and his sister sword are enchanted swords that are able to talk and control their movements.
  • Someone uses a craft-fire to deliberately call the bilewolves.
  • Some people believe that “the dead were dead and likely to stay that way—unless talked about too much.”
  • In order to help Edga grieve the loss of his friends, Odo built a grave. Hundred explains, “These are twigs and berries—an old Karnickan ritual, I believe. A stick for the body, a seed for the soul? To put grief to rest and let the happy memories thrive?” The group buries the stick and seed to represent the dead.
  • Urthkin, “pale-skinned, reed-slender demi-humans” that have “paws like a mole’s, with digging claws,” only come out at night because light hurts their eyes. Edga’s group asks for permission to use the Urthkin’s tunnels.
  • Edga and his group are taken to a forge that is able to create enchanted swords. Odo’s sword, Biter, asks a smith to repair a nick in his sword. Biter is “washed in sweet oils, bathed in three fires, hammered by a master smith.” Afterward, Biter’s memory comes back.
  • Kyndryk paints a mural of a dragon. He chants, “Dragon, dragon, heed our call. Come to aid us, one and all. From a cruel and dreadful fate, save us now, ere it’s too late.” After Kyndryk says the chant several times, the dragon comes alive. “But the dragon was flying too low. The broad wings flapped almost carelessly a third and final time. Then, with a soundless crash that somehow made the stone quiver faintly underfoot, it struck the vertical cliff face and became a mural once more.”

Spiritual Content

  • While trying to sneak past sentries, Odo “kept his face carefully neutral, praying his relief was perfectly concealed.”

Max: Best Friend. Hero. Marine.

When Justin finds out his older brother, Kyle, has been killed overseas, Justin is devastated. Kyle was a marine, a hero trying to live up to his father’s reputation, yet in an instant his life was over. Now, Kyle’s only connection to Justin is Max, Kyle’s former canine partner and a discharged K-9 marine.

When Max was at Kyle’s side, he was meant to sniff out explosives, search for enemy soldiers and weapons, and keep Kyle and his unit alive. Max, just like Kyle, was trained for war. He was trained to be a hero. While Max’s presence doesn’t make it easy for Justin and his parents to grieve, they soon discover that without a home, Max will be put down. With no home to place Max in, Kyle’s partner is placed in Justin’s care.

After Kyle’s death, it isn’t easy for Justin and his family to see Max alive and well. It isn’t easy for Max to move on from his days on the frontlines. Most people misunderstand Max, believing he is too aggressive. Max isn’t meant to be a pet. He is meant to be a hero. Justin is the only one who understands Max is also grieving for Kyle. Both Justin and Max find it difficult to adjust to each other. Soon the two bond over Kyle’s death, supporting each other and giving each other a purpose.

When Tyler, Kyle’s best friend, is discharged from the marines, Justin begins to ask questions. Justin and Max work together to figure out what really happened to Kyle. Can they find the truth and still protect Justin’s family from the dangerous people Tyler is working with?

Shotz’s novel about a war dog coming home to his handler’s family is a wonderfully wholesome story. Justin and his family are well-written characters that deal with the guilt, shame, and sadness that accompanies a loved one’s death. Max serves as the means to which Justin’s family can work out their emotions surrounding Kyle’s death, as well as the means to which everyone comes together in the end. Max is also a stand in for Kyle; since Kyle is gone, Max helps Justin protect his family and sniff out Tyler’s true intentions, just as Kyle would have done.

Max: Best Friend. Hero. Marine. shows that heroes come in many forms. Kyle is considered a hero because he followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the marines. Justin struggles with his father’s pressure to live up to his brother’s legend. Justin’s father, who was discharged early on from the marines because of a leg injury, struggles to connect with Justin because Justin doesn’t want to be a marine. However, Justin proves himself to be as much of a hero as Kyle. At the end of the story, Justin earns his dad’s trust and lives up to Kyle’s memory.

Unlike Kyle, Tyler chose to lie and deceive his best friend’s family in order to smuggle weapons across the border. Tyler will eliminate anyone that stands in his way. The story emphasizes that someone doesn’t need to go into the military to be a hero, and that not all marines are heroes.

Max: Best Friend. Hero. Marine. is fast-paced, and the suspense builds from the moment Justin’s family is told Kyle has died. The believable twists will keep readers turning the page until they reach the heartwarming conclusion. Max: Best Friend. Hero. Marine. is a must-read because of the realistic characters and wonderful storytelling. For more heroic dog stories, try the G.I. Dogs Series by Laurie Calkhoven.

Sexual Content

  • When Justin meets Carmen, “her dark eyes were still zeroed in on him, making his cheeks feel kind of hot.” Justin thinks Carmen is pretty.
  • When two of Justin’s friends are in his backyard, “they looked up to see Justin framed in his window, shirtless.”
  • When Carmen is invited over to Justin’s house for dinner, Justin feels awkward. “Then again, Justin had never brought a girl home for dinner.”
  • After triumphing over Tyler, Carmen and Chuy meet up with Justin. Then, Carmen “stepped forward and planted her lips on his. Justin was so startled that he didn’t know what to do at first. Then he quickly came to his senses and kissed her back.”

Violence

  • At the beginning of the novel, Justin is playing a military-themed video game. In the game, the “virtual army let out a series of grunts and pumped their fists in the air or fell to the ground.” The game makes Justin think of his brother, Kyle, a soldier overseas. “Sometimes Justin tried to picture Kyle as one of these guys, but it was just too weird. He couldn’t imagine his brother shooting anyone.”
  • Chuy, Justin’s friend, has a cousin named Emilio. Emilio is “pretty hard-core—possibly even in a gang—and he wasn’t going to be happy when he learned that Chuy had misplaced his new  (video) game.”
  • Kyle is never seen in the present day because he dies fighting in Afghanistan. When a solider comes to Justin’s house, “Justin knew for sure: His brother was dead. Kyle was dead.”
  • In a flashback, Justin thinks about the time Kyle picked him up from school. Justin had gotten into a fight. “He didn’t know how to tell Kyle that he’d gotten in a fight over a stupid bike. Or that he’d been sucker-punched. Or that he’d managed not to hit back, because he didn’t think it was worth it.”
  • During another flashback, Justin remembers Tyler, Kyle’s friend, speaking to his parents over video call. “‘We’re making trouble, Mrs. W.,’ Tyler said, ‘For the bad guys, that is.’”
  • When Justin confronts his dad about Kyle, he says, “Being a man and enlisting and getting killed, like Kyle? Or being a man and getting my leg shot up, like you? Tell me what I’m supposed to learn from either of those things.” Later, Justin tells his dad, “‘You’d like me to get myself killed,’ Justin said, holding his dad’s ‘Wouldn’t you?’”
  • Justin’s mom gets a call about Max, Kyle’s dog. She tells the family, “Sergeant Reyes called. They’re going to kill Max.”
  • Tyler tells Justin’s dad that Max is the reason Kyle was killed. Justin sees “his father was standing in front of Max’s crate, his gun drawn and pointed at Max’s”
  • When Justin is hunted by a pair of rottweilers, Max fights one of the dogs. “The two dogs rolled around in the dirt, a frenzy of growls and bites and scratches, battling each other fiercely.” Justin found Max injured later.
  • Justin watches as his dad, Ray, is about to be attacked by Stack, a sheriff deputy and Tyler’s accomplice. “What his dad couldn’t see—which Justin and Max both could see—was that Stack was running at Justin’s dad from behind, holding a giant rock in his fleshy hands, raised high in the air. He was about to slam it down onto Justin’s dad’s” Max saves Ray, “Stack stumbled, and Max flew over Ray and crashed into Stack’s chest, knocking him to the ground.”
  • During the final battle with Tyler’s gang, Justin sees “his dad, who pointed a gun straight at the windshield and fired. The truck swerved and crashed into the side of the hill. The back of the truck exploded in a burst of flame, and suddenly a thousand gunshots pinged around the ravine. The ammunition in Tyler’s truck had ignited.” No one is injured or hurt in the explosion.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Tyler is given pain medication for a shrapnel injury. Tyler says, “But they got me on so many painkillers, I hardly notice it.”
  • When Tyler comes over to talk to Justin’s dad, “Justin was surprised to see his dad limp over to the mini-fridge under his desk and take out two beers. It was early for him to start drinking.”
  • When Tyler asks Justin’s dad for a favor, Justin’s dad took “another swig of beer, as if for courage.”

Language

  • During a flashback, Justin remembers a time when he and his parents were talking to Kyle over video chat. Justin says, “Kyle’s so awesome even his frickin’ dog is a hero.”
  • When going to see Max at the military kennel, Justin thinks, “He was one pissed-off dog, that was for sure.”
  • When Justin thinks about his dad, he thinks, “His dad cared more about a stupid dog that had once belonged to Kyle than he did about his own living, breathing son.”
  • Someone tells Justin, “Yo, you look like crap.”
  • Before Kyle and Tyler became soldiers, Tyler used to tease Justin. Tyler “would make fun of Justin—calling him a serious loser or computer nerd.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Kyle’s funeral is at a church. At the church, Justin’s “Mother’s sobs carried up and over the singing of the choir.”

by Jonathan Planman

Bird & Squirrel On Ice

After Bird and Squirrel crash land in the South Pole during a raging blizzard, a penguin named Sakari thinks Bird has come to rid her village of a hungry Killer Whale. But when Squirrel finds out that Bird will actually be fed to the Killer Whale as a sacrifice, they hatch a crazy plan to escape. With good timing, a little luck, and help from Sakari, they just might make it out alive. Or they might end up as whale food!

Bird & Squirrel on the Run consisted of funny cat chases and misfortunes. While Bird & Squirrel On Ice has more of a storyline, there is less interaction between Bird and Squirrel. For much of the story, Squirrel is trying to save Bird’s life, while Bird is clueless, convinced that Squirrel is just jealous. The storyline has a darker tone and revolves around Bird being sacrificed to a whale.

The story’s serious tone is offset by the funny chases and the introduction of Sakari’s penguin family. Sakari and her father disagree about sacrificing Bird; in the end, Sakari proves that she has a “mighty spirit and an even mightier heart.” Many readers will enjoy seeing a female character save the day. Because of Sakari’s determination to listen to her heart and Squirrel’s dedication to his friend, Bird is saved in the end.

Interesting characters, slapstick humor, puns, and a fast-paced plot combine to create an entertaining graphic novel. The story is illustrated with brightly colored panels. Much like a cartoon, the illustrations use exaggerated facial expressions to add to the humor. Each page contains one to six simple sentences. Bird & Squirrel On Ice will appeal to even the most reluctant readers. Bird and Squirrel’s silly antics will keep readers interested while they explore family dynamics and jealousy.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • A penguin stabs Squirrel with a spear. Squirrel takes off running and yells, “Something bit me!!”
  • A seal jumps out of the water and tries to eat a penguin. The penguin attacks the seal with her spear, and the seal jumps back into the water. The scene is illustrated over two pages.
  • Sakari discovers that her father plans to sacrifice Bird to a whale. Sakari tells her father, “It isn’t his sacrifice to make. You have to stop it.”
  • Before Bird can be sacrificed, Sakari jumps into the ocean and attacks the whale with her spear. The whale tries to eat Sakari. She swims out of the bay. While Sakari is leading the whale away, Squirrel tries to break a snow bridge. As Squirrel is working, a seal smacks him. Bird begins throwing rocks at the seal. In the end, everyone is safe from the whale. The scene is illustrated over 14 pages.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Squirrel tells Bird, “You’re the most self-centered birdbrain I’ve ever met!”

Supernatural

  • Squirrel goes to see a woman who gives him advice. The woman says, “The fire shall provide the light you seek. One cannot be found until one is lost.” Squirrel looks into a fire’s smoke and sees a vision.

Spiritual Content

  • None

All the Pieces Fit

In book five, D.J. and Hilo traveled to Hilo’s home planet. In order to keep their activities secret, they left robot versions of themselves on earth. When government agents appear, they are determined to take D.J. and Hilo into custody. With the help of Gina and Polly, the secret agents end up running from the scene. However, now Gina’s parents discover the truth about D.J. and Hilo.

Being a hero isn’t easy. Hilo had no idea it would be this hard. Hilo came to earth because he was running from Razorwark. He’s done running. Razorwark has come to earth, and the time has come for one final face-to-face showdown. What happens will decide the fate of the robot world…and Hilo’s future. The sacrifice will be great but with Izzy’s help, Hilo finally knows what he has to do because THIS is how all the pieces fit.

Fans of the Hilo series will not be disappointed with the sixth installment of the series, which brings all of the characters together to fight Razorwark. All the Pieces Fit is a fast-paced story that contains many exciting battles. However, the fighting is broken up with humorous scenes, such as a hurricane of hamsters and a force field around the city. However, the philosophy about Hilo’s empatis will confuse some readers. However, the ending is surprising and shows how “we all have a purpose. We have a place we’re supposed to fit.”

All the Pieces Fit uses brightly-colored illustrations that keep the action moving. The detailed illustrations show exaggerated facial expressions, which will help readers understand the characters’ changing emotions. For maximum enjoyment, the stories should be read in order. Even though the first chapter recaps the events in the previous books, the stories’ plots build on each other.

Hilo is the perfect series for all ages. The sci-fi story shows the importance of friendship and sacrifice, and the heartwarming conclusion will leave readers smiling. Even though Hilo’s story is wrapped up, readers will be excited that the actions continues in Gina—The Girl Who Broke the World.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Government agents try to take custody of D.J. and Hilo. Gina uses her magic wand to knock “buttface here on his butt.”
  • Polly shoots lasers at the government agents, who jump out of the way. Then Gina uses her magic wand to make vines grow around the agents. Later, Polly makes two agents clothes blow up like balloons. Polly hits the agents with a stick and they go flying.
  • Gina and her friends continue to harass the agents. When one of the agents tasers D.J., they discover that a robot has taken D.J.’s place. The government agent fight is illustrated over eight pages.
  • To chase off the rest of the agents, Polly uses magic to send “a wee hurricane of hamsters” to attack. The agent tasers Gina. When he tasers Hilo, he discovers that Hilo has also been replaced by a robot.
  • When Polly creates a “giant monster hedgehog,” the remaining agents run away. The scene takes place over four pages.
  • As a force field covers a town, a car is split in half, separating the passenger from the driver. No one is injured.
  • While flying in the sky, Razorwark grabs Hilo and throws him to the ground. Hilo is uninjured.
  • Razorwark and Hilo fight. Hilo blasts Razorwark with freezing lasers. Razorwark blasts Hilo with a laser, and Hilo falls to the ground. The battle scene is illustrated over five pages.
  • Hilo destroys the portal so Razorwark cannot escape. Then, Razorwark and Hilo blast each other with lasers. Razorwark tells Hilo he wants revenge because people “wanted me to be the sole fighter of their wars! And I was! They wanted me to be a murderer! And I was!” Razorwark plans to kill all of the humans so the “society” of robots has a world of their own.

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Lisa calls a government agent a buttface. When Lisa’s father gets upset, her mom says, “No, she’s not totally wrong. They are kind of buttfaces.”
  • Someone calls the government agents “dirt weasels.”
  • When a force field covers the town, an agent says, “holy mackerel.”

Supernatural

  • Razorwark opens a portal to allow robot pieces to enter Earth’s atmosphere. Then Razorwark uses magic to assemble the pieces.
  • Izzy touches Hilo’s heart with a flower that transfers Izzy’s energy to Hilo. When Izzy’s power is drained, she dies. Hilo explains to his friends, “Razorwark gave me some of his empatis and he gave some to Izzy. It’s the energy that brought us to life. Without it we’re empty. We’re broken machines. Without it we die. Izzy gave me all of hers. She gave me everything.”
  • Gina uses her magic wand to make a tree grow to make magic wands. She tells her friends, “You all have wands that can do stunner spells. These won’t hurt the robots! But it’ll knock them on their cans.” The group uses their wands to stun the robots. During this time, the scene flashes to Hilo and Razorwark fighting.
  • Razorwark surrounds Hilo in a “crystal thing.” When D.J. finds Hilo, he breaks the “crystal thing” freeing Hilo.
  • During the final battle between Razorwark and Hilo, the two appear to blow up and “this rain…it’s energy. It’s what made Razorwark. And Izzy…and Hilo…alive.” The energy falls onto the robots, making them come alive.
  • Polly takes the robots through a portal so they can build an entire society.
  • Hilo falls to the ground in a flash of light. Although it’s not explained how, Hilo is now a human.
  • Gina uses a “magic gem. The orb of fellbeck. It cast a spell that makes the entire world forget everything that’s happened in the last two days.” After the spell, Gina says, “Time is the stone that falls. Time is the river that crawls. Turn back the water and rock. Turn back the sun and the clock.” After Gina uses the spell, only four people remember what happened.

Spiritual Content

  • None
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