Reading Level: Elementary

CRIME BITERS! It’s a Doggy Dog World

Jimmy Bishop has a story that he doesn’t think anyone will believe, not even his best friend Irwin. Abby, Jimmy’s new dog, is a crime-fighting vampire dog. It’s true.

The other crazy things that happen to Jimmy are just as true.

Jimmy Bishop is obsessed with Stop Police—a TV show about a vampire detective. He has an older sister who teases him, two parents, and a best friend. His life appears to be pretty normal, but trouble seems to follow him.

Jimmy wakes up with a strange blotch on his face just days before school starts. Then his father has a series of job interviews and his parents hire a strange babysitter who tries to feed him fried beets in pea sauce. Then a new girl moves next door. But the most exciting and strangest event of all is when Jimmy brings home Abby, a new dog.

Crime Bitters is full of suspense, humor, and adventure. As Jimmy’s day-to-day life unfolds the reader will be captivated by the realistic characters as well as the illustrations. The story is easy to read, fun, and full of interesting facts. For example: “Fact: There are a lot of great bald people in the world. But unfortunately, none of them are in this book.”

Because Jimmy tells his own story, the reader gets a glimpse of how it feels to be bullied, how even relationships with best friends be full of strife, and how talking to a girl can be the scariest thing of all.  Crime Bitters has a fast-paced plot that will keep younger readers enthralled.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • When the babysitter swats Abby on the nose, Abby goes into attack mode.  “She (Abby) crouched down, like you see on one of those nature shows, where the panther suddenly spots the defenseless gazelle . . . Then Abby jumped, right onto Mrs. Cragg’s shoulder.” Jimmy’s mother appears and grabs the dog.
  • When a man tries to take Abby, Mrs. Cragg’s tries to stop him. “Then, without another word, Mrs. Cragg suddenly ripped her own hair off her head . . . and wrapped it around Mr. Bratford’s eyes, like a blindfold.”
  • When the kids discover that Mr. Bratford is a thief, he chases them. “He pinched my cheek so hard that tears came to my eyes then put one of his pimply hands on Abby and started petting her fur. . . The next thing I knew, Mr. Bratford had picked me up by the shirt and was carrying me over to Mrs. Cragg.”
  • Abby attacks Mrs. Bratford, “In one split second, she jumped out of my arms, bared her teeth, leaped onto Mr. Bratford, and clamped her jaws around his neck . . . Mr. Bratford screamed and feel down. Abby clamped harder, and they started rolling around on the ground.”
  • Jimmy hits Mr. Bratford in the knees with a cane.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Abby is a “superhero crime-fighting vampire dog” that has fangs.

Spiritual Content

  • None

Alanna, The First Adventure

Alanna may look like her brother, but where Thom is timid and studies magic, she is reckless and filled with a desire to learn how to wield a bow and sword. When Alanna is to be sent to a convent and Thom to become a knight, the twins take their lives into their own hands. By forging their father’s letters, Alanna becomes Alan, a page in training to be a knight, and her brother goes to learn sorcery. Training to be a knight would have been difficult without hiding her true sex; with that secret on her shoulders, it becomes almost impossible. But Alanna isn’t one to quit, and being a knight is all she’s ever wanted.

The first book in a quartet, this novel is a wonderful introduction into a richly drawn world of knights and magic. Alanna is a noble and stubborn girl who will sweep readers along on her adventures and will have you rooting for her every step of the way. While there is much fighting in her story, the lack of gory descriptions and clean language will make this story entertaining for teenagers and younger readers alike.

Sexual Content

  • When Alanna begins to grow, she has to bind her breasts to keep them hidden. “Watching the glass closely, she bounced up and down. Her chest moved. It wasn’t much, but she had definitely jiggled. Over the winter her breasts had gotten larger.”
  • Alanna doesn’t know what is happening when she has her first period. “She got out of bed–and gasped in horror to find her things and sheets smeared with blood.” A woman healer asks her, “Did no one ever tell you of a woman’s monthly cycle? The fertility cycle? . . . It happens to us all. We can’t bear children until it begins.”
  • Alana is given a pregnancy charm, which she claims she’ll never use. The healing woman asks, ” ‘Do you know what happens when you lie with a man?’ Alanna blushed. ‘Of course.’ “
  • When Alanna visits George, “he wasn’t dressed–he always slept bare.” When Alanna reveals that she is a girl, George orders her to turn around while he gets dressed. She does, but she says “That’s silly. I’ve seen you naked before.”
  • Alanna and Jon fight beings of power who are nearly immortal. They expose her secret by vanishing her clothes. “Her clothes were gone. All she wore was her belt and scabbard . . . She looked at Jonathan. Her friend was openly staring . . . [Jon] pulled off his tunic and handed it to her.”

Violence

  • George hints that he killed the last Rogue and took his place. “Who knows when some young buck will do for me what I did for the king before me, just six months back.”
  • When the bully Ralon tries to force Alanna to swim, she “rammed herself into Ralon’s stomach. The older boy yelped as he tumbled into the pool . . . When Ralon finally surfaced, he was half blind and three-quarters drowned.”
  • A boy bullies Alanna mercilessly, and as a result they get into several fights. “She hit low and hard. Ralon doubled over, clutching his lower belly.” During another fight, “She bloodied Ralon’s nose. Ralon broke her arm.” When Alanna finally beats the bully, “She slammed a fist up and under, into his stomach again, knocking the breath from his body. Swiftly she broke his nose with the other hand. Ralon collapsed, crying like a small child. ‘Never touch me again. If you do, I swear–I swear by Mithros and the Goddess–I’ll kill you,’ ” Alanna tells him.
  • In an attempt to protect Alan, her friends “beat Ralon thoroughly.” When Ralon doesn’t stop the bullying, “Gary held Ralon. Raoul administered the beating, his face impossible to read.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • George gives Alanna a tankard of ale, and he and his (adult) friends often drink at his inn.

Language

  • A bully tells Alanna, “If I say you’re the goatherd’s son, you say, ‘Yes, Lord Ralon.’ ” Alanna responds, “I’d as soon kiss a pig! Is that what you’ve been doing–kissing pigs?”
  • Ralon calls Alanna “dunghill trash.”

Supernatural

  • Some are born with The Gift, which can manifest in different ways. Some are great healers, while others use their Gift to control the weather or to fight.
  • Alanna threatens to make a man see things that aren’t there, unless he helps her become a knight. She also admits that she has made people see things in the past. “Coram turned pale. The afternoon the tarts were discovered missing, Cook started to see large, hungry lions following him around the kitchens… When the twins’ godmother came to Trebond to snare Lord Alan as her next husband, she had fled after only three days, claiming the castle was haunted.”
  • Magic is used to send a fever to the palace, in an attempt on the prince’s life. “The fever continued, drying Jon’s lips till they cracked and bled.”
  • Alanna uses her magic to heal. “She reached inside herself. It was there: a purple, tiny ball of fire that grew as she nudged it with her mind. Her nose started to itch, as it always did when she first called on her magic.”
  • Alanna asks the Goddess for aid, and the Goddess tells her to call her friend back from edge of death. Alanna has to go through the Black God to get to her friend. “She was twisting in a black, writhing well . . . Shrieks and cackling and the screams of doomed souls sounded all around her. She was on the edge, between the world of the living and the Underworld . . . A huge, dark shadow shaped like a hooded man came between them . . . This must be the Dark God, the Master of all death.”
  • Alanna and Jon fight powerful beings who say, “We are gods and the children of gods . . . We were here before your Old Ones, and we laughed when their cities fell.”

Spiritual Content

  • There are many gods in Tortall, such as the Black God and the Crooked God. Some gods guide mortals, while most never interfere directly.
  • Alanna discusses whether or not she should use her magical Gift. She says, “If a person has power–something that can be used for good or evil, either way–should they use it?” Her mentor tells her, “Magic isn’t good or evil by itself. I believe you should only use it when you are absolutely certain your cause is just.”

by Morgan Lynn

Lioness Rampant

Alanna is restless. She has already accomplished the impossible by becoming a female knight, but that is not enough. She craves the sort of adventure that can only be found in legends. Luckily for Alanna, her life is quickly making her story legendary. Lioness Rampant introduces enjoyable and richly developed characters. Along with the reappearance of an old evil, Alanna must decide where she fits in. Will she ever be welcomed back at court, or will she spend the rest of her life wandering along the edge of the world?

There is slightly less fighting in this book than the others, but still plenty of excitement to keep readers engaged. Alanna takes a lover, as she did in book three, but there are no graphic descriptions and her relationship is not the main plot. Alanna continues to be a likable heroine and a fun character to follow.

Sexual Content

  • Coram tries to warn Liam off, but Liam assures him that his interest in Alanna is because he likes her, not because she is famous. “I’m not a village lad wanting to boast of having the Lioness’s pelt in my hut, Master Smythesson. I like her.”
  • When Alanna tells Coram that Liam didn’t touch her, Coram says, “maybe he’s plannin’ to.” Alanna responds, “Nothing wrong with that.”
  • Alanna gets involved with Liam, who is a Shang Dragon, a great warrior. She sleeps with him, but nothing more than kissing is ever described. “He kissed her gently, then passionately, and Alanna surrendered. Any misgivings she had were put away for thought at another, less interesting time.” Another time, “His first kiss was gentle, the second passionate. Alanna let him pull her into his arms, thinking, We should talk some more about why he was angry. I don’t think lovemaking will settle anything. The Dragon was so determined, however, that once again she put her questions aside to be dealt with later.”
  • Alanna kisses Liam a few times. “He jumped down and held his hands up to her. She slid into his grasp, and they kissed.”
  • A background check is run on a man called Claw. It is discovered that “He was disinherited after the attempted rape of the second daughter of the bailiff… The girl’s maid threw acid in his face, thereby leaving the purple scars of which you spoke.”
  • George kisses Alanna awhile after she breaks up with Liam. “He cupped Alanna’s face, his grave hazel eyes searching out her own. He nodded, liking what he saw, and kissed her gently.”

Violence

  • A group of rogues tries to kill Alanna and her man-at-arms. “The thieves understood simultaneous attack. Alanna and Coram blocked automatically . . . One of the staffmen swung and missed–she ran him through. Coram shouted fiercely, and someone screamed. When a swordsman looked to see the screamer’s fate, Alanna slashed his leg.”
  • Alanna finds a pile of dead bodies, the aftermath of a war. “Here the dead had been piled up and left, until only skeletons remained . . . Bone hands still clutched weapons. Kneeling, Alanna slid a lowland sword out of the pile.”
  • Buri tells a story of a queen who killed herself in protest of how her people were being treated. “Lowlanders take us for slaves; they steal our horses . . . She and Thayet tried to make the Warlord stop . . . Kalasin stood at her window and sang her death chant, about her shame at jin Wilima’s laws. A crowd was there to witness: nobles, commonborn, and slaves. My mother and brother were killed, but they held the door until it was too late for the Warlord’s men to stop her from jumping.”
  • An assassin shoots an arrow at a princess, then jumps off a roof to escape capture. “She lifted the assassin’s headcloth. The face, sickeningly misshapen after the fall, was male and coarse, the cheeks filled with a drunkard’s broken veins.”
  • Alanna battles an elemental for the Dominion Jewel. When she decides she does not want to kill the beast, it gives her the jewel. “She ducked and dodged. When he gave her an opening, she executed one of the jump kicks Liam had taught her, slamming into the ape’s shoulder and making him roar. When he swung to chop her down, she was away and circling. She sought her chance and flew in again, hitting the same shoulder . . . “
  • After the Queen dies, the King kills himself by jumping into a ravine. This act is not described, and the reader only learns about it when the Prince tells his friend.
  • A man is attacked. We don’t see the fight, but Alanna finds him afterward. “The old man staggered in, clutching a bloody right arm. Alanna grabbed a towel and swiftly bandaged the priest before he lost more blood, fighting brief nausea. Si-cham’s right hand was gone.”
  • Alanna is attacked by her once-friend, Alex. “He lurched once more, cross-cutting with a speed she could not dodge, slashing across her cheek and her bare right hand. In the split-second opening in the path of his sword she rammed forward, crushing his windpipe with one fist as she struck his nose with the other, thrusting bone splinters deep into his brain.”
  • Alanna kills the evil sorcerer who tries to destroy Tortall. “The effect was like loosing a bolt from a crossbow. Released from her pull, the sword shrieked as it flew . . . He didn’t even seem to know what she’d done until Lightning buried itself in his chest. Roger grabbed the hilt. Amazingly, he laughed. He laughed until his dying lungs ran out of air.”

 

Drugs and Alcohol

  • A man buys a glass of wine for Alanna, who is now an adult.
  • Alanna’s man-at-arms, Coram, drinks regularly. His worst behavior while drinking, is singing raucous songs that are not described. “Coram awoke late, with a head he would not wish on his worst enemy. For a long time he waited for his knight-mistress to arrive with her hangover cure.”

Language

  • A jealous girl calls Alanna a slut.

Supernatural

  • Many people in Alanna’s world have the magical Gift. Some use this Gift for fighting, while others use it for healing or to control the weather.
  • Alanna searches for the Dominion Jewel, which “may be more directly used, in healing and war, for fertility and death. A knowledgeable ruler, knowing fully the creation of magical formulae, may create new land from ocean deeps, or return the breath of a dead child.”
  • Alanna has a magical cat who can talk.
  • Thom’s magic is stolen by an evil sorcerer.

Spiritual Content

  • Tortall has many gods, such as the Crooked God, Mithros, and the Black God. Alanna was chosen by the Great Mother, also known as the Goddess. The Goddess visits Alanna occasionally, to bestow advice.

by Morgan Lynn

Aru Shah and the End of Time

Aru makes up stories such as having a fancy chauffeur and traveling to Paris. She doesn’t mean to tell lies, she just wants to fit in at her private middle school. While her classmates are vacationing in exotic places, Aru is stuck at home, which just happens to be connected to the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture.

Not all of Aru’s classmates believe her stories. One day, three students show up at Aru’s home hoping to catch her in a lie. Aru told them that the museum’s Lamp of Bharata is cursed. When they dare her to light the lamp, Aru doesn’t really believe anything bad will happen.

Aru doesn’t know that lighting the lamp will change her life forever. When the fire touches the wick, it awakens the Sleeper, an ancient demon, who is intent on awakening the God of Destruction.  Now Aru’s mother and her classmates are frozen. Aru must do something to save them, but how is a young girl supposed to defeat an ancient evil?

Aru Shah and the End of Time will captivate readers from the first page. Action, adventure, humor, and interesting places in Indian Mythology come to life. The beautiful descriptions and interesting characters (including a pigeon sidekick) are just some of the reasons readers will fall in love with Aru’s world. Although the story contains many Indian words, the reader can figure out most of them through the story’s context. The back of the book contains a glossary that helps explain the Indian Mythology and terms.

Told from Aru’s point of view, readers will relate to her desire to fit in and her struggle with being truthful. Aru and her companion, Mini, are unlikely, lovable heroines. As the two girls fight to defeat the Sleeper, they discover that one doesn’t have to be perfect in order to accomplish great things, such as saving the world.

Told with compassion and humor, Aru Shah and the End of Time is a must-read for middle school girls. Not only will the story take readers on an amazing adventure, but it also teaches the importance of friendship, working together, and honesty. Because of Aru’s experiences, she realizes the importance of looking at situations from different perspectives. The many lessons in the book are seamlessly integrated into the plot and never feel forced. Once you open the pages of Aru Shah and the End of Time, you will not want to put the book down.

Sexual Content

  • At a school dance, the chaperone yells, “Leave enough room between you for Jesus.” As the dance progressed, she begins yelling, “LEAVING ROOM FOR THE HOLY TRINITY.”
  • When Aru looks into the Pool of the Past, she sees her mother and father. “They were strolling along the banks of a river, laughing. And occasionally stopping to . . . kiss.”

Violence

  • Aru and Mini trick a demon to make herself turn into ash. “The demon’s palm landed with a loud thunk on her own scalp. A horrible shriek ripped through the air. Flames burst around Brahmasura’s hand… Aru covered her face. Her ears rang with the sound of Madam Bee’s screams.”
  • Boo attacks the Sleeper and poops on him. The Sleeper “growled and threw Boo across the room. The pigeon hit a shelf with a loud smack and slumped to the floor.”
  • Shukra becomes consumed with his beauty. Because he spends so much time focusing on himself, his wife stops loving him. Shukra’s wife tells him, “How can I love someone I no longer know?” In anger, he kills her. “I do not remember doing what I did. . . It was only when the red had cleared from my eyes that I saw her corpse.”
  • Memory-stealing snow falls on Aru and Mini. “This time, when the snow landed on Aru, it stung. Because it (the snow) was taking. With every flake another memory was ripped from her.” Later Aru causes someone to lose his memories.
  • Aru, Mini, and the godly mounts plan an ambush. The ambush is described over a chapter. When the Sleeper arrives, he brings demons with him. “Aru ducked under the guest sign-in table as someone’s head (literally) flew past her . . . The seven-headed horse shook its head. Blood and spit flew over the walls . . . Boo acted quickly, and bird droppings rained across the demon’s eyes and forehead.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • The story focuses on Indian Mythology and includes gods, demigods, monsters, and demons.  The back of the book includes a glossary of Indian mythology, so the reader can understand who the mythological characters are.
  • Aru lights the Lamp of Bharata and awakens the “Sleeper, a demon who will summon Lord Shiva, the fearsome Lord of Destruction, who will dance upon the world and bring an end to Time.”  When Aru lights the lamp, people are “suspended in time… Their skin was warm. A pulse leaped at each of their throats. But they didn’t move.” The Sleeper is a demon that can take many forms.
  • In order to save Time, Aru and Mini must find the keys to the Kingdom of Death. The first one is found in the hair of a demon—anything that touches the demon turns to ashes.
  • Aru discovers that her mother is a part of a sisterhood. “Five women who are reincarnations of legendary queens from the ancient stories. These days their job is to raise and protect us.”
  • Aru and Mini meat the Seasons, who are tailors. Winter explains, “We dress the world itself. I embroider the earth with ice and frost, the most delicate in the world.” The Seasons give the girls magical gifts that will help them on their journey.
  • Aru and Mini go to a market that has a library of living books.
  • The Sleeper turns the “mounts of the gods” into clay and puts them in a birdcage. Aru uses a magical ball to free them.

 Spiritual Content

  • Aru and Mini are “siblings because you share divinity. You’re a child of the gods because one of them helped forge your soul.”
  • When trying to explain the Otherworld, a character explains, “Many things can coexist. Several gods can live in one universe. It’s like fingers on a hand. They’re all different, but still part of a hand.”
  • Aru’s mother said, “the Hindu gods were numerous, but they don’t stay as one person all the time. Sometimes they were reincarnated—their souls were reborn in someone else.”
  • Aru and Mini go to the Halls of the Dead, where Aru can “hear the final words of people who have died: No, and not yet. . . And I hope someone clears my internet browser. But mostly, Aru heard love. Tell my family I love them. Tell my wife I love her.”
  •  After leaving the Hall of the Dead, Mini remembers, “in Hinduism, death wasn’t a place where you were stuck forever. It was where you waited to be reincarnated. Your soul could live hundreds—maybe even thousands—of lives before you got out of the loop of life and death by achieving enlightenment.” Later in the story, Aru and Mini visit that place where reincarnation takes place. The sign says, “REMAKE, REBUILD, RELIVE! REINCARNATION MANUFACTURING SERVICES.”
  • Aru and Mini go to an office where a character explains karma. The story talks about Chitrigupta, who “kept a record of everything a soul had ever done, both good and bad. This was why karma mattered.” Later, someone explains, “As you live, your good deeds and bad deeds are extracted from karma . . .”

Took

When Daniel and his sister move to rural West Virginia, Daniel doesn’t think things can get any worse.  The students at his new school torment him. The teachers are indifferent. He has no friends. His parents are unhappy. And to make matters worse, his sister spends all of her time talking to her doll.

When Daniel hears stories of Old Auntie, who kidnaps a girl every 50 years, he thinks it’s just an old tale used to frighten children. But then he feels someone watching him. He sees strange shadows. And when his sister suddenly disappears, Daniel is convinced Old Auntie isn’t just a story.

As Daniel’s parents lose themselves in grief, Daniel decides he must face his fears and bring his sister home. With the help of his neighbor and one of Old Auntie’s descendants, Daniel fights for his sister’s freedom.

Right from the start, Took: A Ghost Story will capture the reader’s attention. Young readers will be able to relate to Daniel, who feels as if all of life’s decisions are out of his control. Although Daniel clearly cares for his parents and sister, his frustration with them is understandable. Daniel is a likable character, who faces his fears and in the end, brings his family back together.

The story is primarily told from Daniel’s point of view but has several chapters told from Old Auntie’s point of view. This adds suspense to the story and helps develop the creepy mood. This is not a book to read with the lights out. Because Old Auntie and Bloody Bones are described in such realistic, vivid detail, readers will be entertained and frightened.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Bloody Bones kills someone. “Tore him clean apart with the panther’s teeth and ate him up. Then he dug his grave with the bear’s claws and brushed the ground smooth with the raccoon’s tail.”
  • The kids at school are mean to Daniel. They “accidentally” hit him and kick the back of his seat on the bus.
  • When Daniel and his sister, Erica, are in the woods, Daniel sees something and forces Erica to leave with him. They get into a fight. “. . . She struggled harder to get away from me, crying and screaming . . . she managed to bite me twice and scratch my face.”
  • Bloody Bones is going to throw Daniel off of a cliff, so Eric throws rocks at him. “Bloody Bones plunged over the edge of the cliff, screaming as he bounced from rock to rock, his bones flying apart and scattering as he went.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Daniel and Erica’s parents are seen drinking wine. When Erica is “took,” their parents drink even more. “There was an empty wine bottle on the table and an ashtray full of cigarette butts and ashes.”
  • When Daniel goes to a friend’s house, his friend’s father smells of beer and cigarette smoke.

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • The story revolves around Old Auntie, a “conjure woman” who takes a girl every 50 years. When she takes a girl, she returns the one that was “took;” however, the girl is the same age as she was when she was first “took” and has no memory of her former life. Auntie weaves spells to influence people’s decisions.
  • One character describes Old Auntie as “a haunt come back from her grave.”
  • Old Auntie takes the form of a girl, so she can talk to Erica without scaring her. Auntie also uses a doll to convince Erica that no one loves her except Auntie.
  • Auntie has a razorback hog, called Bloody Bones, which she called back from the dead. “His bones put themselves together and rose up on their hind feet. His skull jumped on top of the bones, and off he danced.”

Spiritual Content

  • The townspeople are mean to the new family because they do not join the only church in town. “We weren’t only outsiders, we were godless outsiders.”

The Rose Legacy

Since the death of her parents, Anthea has never felt wanted. Her family shuffles her from relative to relative. Her life is uprooted when she receives a letter from an uncle who lives in the exiled lands. Anthea dreams of being a Rose Maiden to the queen like her mother, but she fears that being sent to live beyond the wall will end her dream. Feeling scared of living beyond the wall, Anthea’s nightmare becomes worse when she learns that her uncle breeds horses—animals thought to be extinct after bringing a plague to Corona.

Anthea questions everything that she has been taught as she learns more about her family, her country’s political history, and herself. When Anthea tries to flee, she meets Florian, a horse from her childhood. For years, Florian has dreamed of being reunited with Anthea. With the help of Florian and a mix of interesting characters, Anthea learns that things are not always what they seem.  When danger threatens her new family, Anthea learns to trust others as well as herself in order to save the horse that she has come to love.

Jessica Day George’s cast of characters in The Rose Legacy is diverse, interesting, and captivating. The story is told from both Anthea’s and Florian’s points of view. This allows the readers to understand Anthea’s confusion, fear, and her desire to be wanted. The connection between Anthea and Florian is remarkably sweet and shows the true meaning of love.

Anyone who loves a good story should add The Rose Legacy to their reading list. Full of suspense, emotion, and surprises, the story will captivate readers of all ages. The story isn’t just about horses, but the power of friendship and overcoming one’s fears as well.

Sexual Content

  • As part of the narration, Anthea mentions that a man had “gotten fresh” with her teacher.
  • A boy gives Anthea a necklace for her birthday and “kissed her on the cheek and then fled.”  Anthea thinks, “It had been a very nice kiss. . . . His lips had been very warm and soft.”

Violence

  • When Anthea tries to save an owl, a horse named Constantine gets angry and tries to trample her. Another horse, Florian, intervenes, and the stallions fight. “Constantine bit Florian’s neck with his yellow teeth. . . . Constantine came thundering toward them, seeing that Anthea was about to escape . . . lashed the boards, trying to break through to get to them.”
  • One of the horses gets caught in a hunter’s snare. When Anthea tries to free him, “the wires that were still wrapped around his legs arced through the air with a singing noise. . . . A wire slashed open her face just below the left eyebrow, narrowly missing her eye, and a rivulet of blood obscured her vision.”
  • A hunter shoots and hits a horse and Anthea. “When the bullet ripped through her side, Anthea honestly didn’t understand what had happened.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • A train conductor offers Anthea’s uncle a glass of whiskey.

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • People who have “the Way” can communicate with horses and feel the horse’s emotions.

Spiritual Content

  • One of the characters says, “Then they’ll probably find some long-lost sacred tablet that says that horses are the devil’s pets and we have to destroy them all or burn in hell!”

Pieces of Why

Twelve-year-old Tia dreams of changing the world with her voice. That all changes when a carjacking occurs outside of the church where she practices with the Rainbow Choir. When the carjacker kills an infant, people begin gossiping about Tia’s father who is in prison.

As Tia tries to understand the death of an infant, it makes her wonder why her father is in prison. Her mother refuses to go to any of Tia’s activities, and she also refuses to talk about Tia’s father. As Tia struggles with the question of why bad things happen, she discovers that sometimes the answers don’t bring understanding, but there can still be healing.

Pieces of Why is an excellently written book that brings the New Orleans streets alive. New Orleans is depicted as having a rich community with diverse people that are not always kind. Despite the fact that Tia is surrounded by her best friend’s family, the story shows life as it really is–twelve-year-olds can be cruel, adults’ gossip can hurt, and not everyone is accepting. Despite this, Tia learns that understanding and accepting the past is essential.

Pieces of Why is an easy-to-read, compelling story. Although the story revolves around the death of two children, the violence is not described in detail; however, the content of the story may upset young readers. Pieces of Why explores the beginning stages of finding a boyfriend and the feelings of liking the opposite sex. It is one of the few stories that show that not all boy-girl relationships end with a happily ever after, but that some end with hurt.

The story shows how all aspects of life are not clearly defined. People cannot be classified as all good or all evil. Even Tia’s father, who is a murderer, isn’t shown to be evil, but a man who made a tragic mistake. Pieces of Why does an excellent job of showing life as it is—messy, confusing, but good.

Sexual Content

  • When Tia and a boy are talking, another choir member sees them and asks, “You dog! Down here makin’ out with your girlfriend?”
  • Tia’s friend Keisha tells her, “We’ve made out before rehearsal. Twice . . . We were in the adult choir room and no one saw us.” Her friend said it was “nice.”
  • Keisha finds out that her boyfriend was cheating on her. “I let that boy touch me like he had some right to, and now . . . Do you think I’m not a good enough kisser?” She tells Mia, “Why did I ever trust him? I let him talk me into—.”  Tia then wonders if Keisha had done more than she was telling.
  • After singing a song together, Tia looked at Kenny. “. . . he looked handsome, so before I could chicken out, I leaned over and kissed him.”

Violence

  • During a carjacking, an infant is killed. After hearing the shots, the pastor goes out to investigate. Tia thinks, “. . . I knew that someone must have died. There was blood on his right hand, a thin streak from the thumb to the wrist, and I couldn’t stop staring at it. He wiped it off right away, but the image was branded in my brain.”
  • When Tia was four years old, her father was sent to prison. “My father had been out drinking.  He’d broken into the Mortons’ house late at night, shot their only daughter during the course of a robbery, narrowly escaped through a back window, and then hid from police before being caught.”
  • Tia’s mother describes the night that Tia’s father shot a girl. He, “came home with blood on his hands. It dripped onto the floor right where you’re standing, and when he told me what he’d done, I screamed so loud, you hid in the closet behind the brooms and dust mop . . . I got on my hands and knees and scrubbed that girl’s blood off the floor. Took me days.”
  • When Tia gets angry and yells at her mother, her mother slaps her.
  • Tia’s father tries to explain why he killed the girl. “It was a whole bunch of stupid decisions one right after the other. Shouldn’t have been drinking, shouldn’t have been in that house, and shouldn’t have had my gun. Shouldn’t have bought the damn thing in the first place.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Tia has to walk by a group of gang men that are, “Hanging out on the steps of a boarded-up building drinking beer.”
  • Tia’s father said he was drunk when he broke into the house and shot the girl. “I wish I would’ve thought it through some more, but I didn’t and some things . . . you can’t take ‘em back.”

Language

  • When Tia was four she visited her father in jail, and he said it wasn’t her fault that she had a “trucker” for a dad. “Years later I’d realized my dad hadn’t said trucker after all. He’d said a real bad word instead . . .”
  • Tia’s friend said she felt “crappy” that she didn’t know about something.
  • Tia’s father uses the word damn.

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • The Rainbow Choir practices in a church and there are often references to God. After the carjacking the pastor said, “the devil is roaming.”
  • As the Rainbow Choir begins to sing, the director said, “That’s right. Lift it up to the Lord.”
  • After the carjacking, the director is upset that half of the choir doesn’t show up, and she blames the devil for stealing half of the choir. “I guess God never said He was going to make things easy, now did He?”
  • Tia sees a picture of the baby’s mother. “Her face was turned up to the sky as if she were sending God an ocean of fury. Maybe God deserved her anger. Or maybe the person who did the carjacking deserved it and God was getting a raw deal. I don’t know.”
  • Tia asks the choir director, “Do you believe in the stuff we sing about? I mean, about God being good and people going to heaven when they die?” The director tells Tia about where gospel music came from and told Tia, “But what matters is what you believe.”

Listen, Slowly

The beach. Friends. Boys. Mia planned her summer around fun. Then her father drags her to a small village in Vietnam where Mia is to watch over Bá (her grandmother). However, Mia doesn’t want to learn about her roots—she’s a California girl, who has no desire to meet relatives, travel to Vietnam, or give up the comforts of her life.

As Mia struggles with mosquitoes, lack of privacy, and a language barrier, she learns about her family heritage as well as what is really important in life. However, the story isn’t just about Mia; it’s also about Bá and her need to find out what happened to her husband in the Vietnam War.

As Mia tells her story in Listen, Slowly, the reader is entertained with funny stories as well as introduced to Vietnamese culture. Another positive aspect of the book is Mia who is a realistic and likable character. She worries about regular teenage things, but also comes to realize that the people in her life are more important than things, cell phone included. This book is suitable for younger readers because the story is told from a teen’s point of view. Although the story contains some adult issues, they are adjusted to fit the maturity level of a younger audience.

Sexual Content 

  • Mia thinks about her best friend who has large breasts and a bow on the butt of her bikini.  Mia is afraid a boy that she likes will be interested in her best friend because of the bikini. When Mia goes on Facebook, she sees a photo of her friend in a bikini. She thinks, “Did she Photoshop to make her boobs look extra big? How big do they need to be? I don’t want her boobs, but I have to confess I do want the attention they get her . . . There HE is, just as I suspected, standing right behind her butt bow.”

Violence 

  • A soldier recounts a story about when he was in the war. The soldier and a prisoner, who viewed each other as equals, spent time digging a tunnel. Then helicopters came and dropped bombs.  The prisoner died. When the soldier recounts the story, Bá slaps him because the prisoner was Bá’s husband.
  • Mia’s father tells her about when he left Vietnam. “I looked out my airplane window and saw a boy not much older than I was dangling from a helicopter. I watched him hang, then drop into the sky.”

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • None

Language 

  • None

Supernatural 

  • None

Spiritual Content 

  • None

Pegasus: Olympus at War

Olympus is under attack, which gives Emily the chance to save her father from the clutches of a dangerous government organization. In order to find her father, she returns to New York with Paelen and Joel. Unbeknownst to the three, Cupid follows them in an attempt to help Emily.

While the Olympian gods fight for their survival, Emily and her friends try to free Emily’s father.  However, they soon discover that Olympus’s fight has followed them to New York. Soon Emily is captured by the Nirads and has to decide how far she will go to save the people she loves.

Pegasus: Olympus at War will capture the reader’s interest from the beginning. The suspense begins on the first page and doesn’t let up until the end of the story. Cupid is a welcome addition to the cast of characters. The Roman gods are not seen as perfect individuals but as complex characters. As the group tries to save Emily’s father, Cupid learns to overcome his fear in order to help his friends.

Emily is an interesting heroine who is a good role model for young readers. As she fights to control her powers, she realizes that there are some things that can never be done, even if that means sacrificing those she loves. Another positive aspect of Pegasus: Olympus at War is that Emily learns to take a look at the Nirads as individuals, and as she does this, she learns the real power of understanding others.

Sexual Content

  • When Cupid travels to New York, he is attacked by a mob of women. He says, “Women used to worship me. They were shy and needed coaxing. But tonight those girls were mad.  They were ripping at me . . . It was as if they were trying to steal a piece of me.”
  • Emily has a crush on Cupid. When she looks at him, her heart flutters. “He bent down and gave her the softest kiss on the lips.”

Violence

  • Emily is shot. “She flew backwards and fell to the floor. It felt as if she had been hit by a baseball bat. Her chest was on fire, and the blood was rushing in her ears.” Because she is now an Olympian, she does not die.
  • Emily and her friends are attacked by the government agents. The fighting takes place over several pages. “As the fight intensified, Cupid was struck by Agent T’s plank of wood. The force of the blow sent him hurtling across the restaurant. He landed on his wings and cried out in pain.”
  • When Emily’s father escapes from his cell, he attacks an agent. “. . . He launched himself at the agent. Knocking him to the floor, he started to pound him.”
  • While trying to escape from the government compound, there is a fight between the Nirads, the agents, and the Olympians. The fighting continues for several pages. “Howling in pain, the creature swung a brutal fist and knocked the golden blade out of Joel’s hand, sending it flying. The creature roared and lunged at him.” The Nirads capture Cupid, Paelen, Joel, and Emily’s father.
  • During a fight, Emily’s dad is accidentally shot.
  • Emily cannot control her power. As Emily and her friends try to escape being captured, Emily ends up wounding many Nirads. “The red beam struck the ferocious nightmare and burned right through the creature, cutting it in half. The air filled with howls of pain as it fell to the floor and died.”
  • In order to control the Nirads and Emily, the Gordons turn Nirad children to stone. They also turn several Olympians to stone. “The child’s frightened wails turned to howls of pain as its skin darkened slowly and became solid . . . With a final agonized cry from the child, it was done.”
  • Paelen was turned into stone. “Already he could feel his blood slowing as each cell in his body turned to stone. Paelen experienced pain he’d never known before. It was like freezing and burning at the same time. He could no longer move. All he knew was pain and then . . . black nothingness.”
  • There is a final battle between the Nirad, the Gordons, and the Olympians. During the battle, Emily is turned to stone, and then she ends up killing the Gordons. “Unlike Euryale, who had burned, Stheno simply disappeared in a soft, soundless puff. Black ash filled the air and rained down where the Gordon had been standing.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • A character in the book tells about a government worker who disappeared. “A few months back we were all out at a bar. He was drunk as a skunk and spoutin’ stories of them bringin’ in these big, four-armed gray aliens.”

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Emily has the power to heal others as well as to harness the power of the sun. Cupid explains Emily’s transformation. “Emily, the human in you died in the Flames back in Olympus. Your other life ended that day. Now you are as we are. You can no longer be killed.”
  • Cupid unwillingly uses his charms to put people under his control.

Spiritual Content

  • None

Pegasus: The Flame of Olympus

Manhattan is thrown into darkness during the worst storm in history, so when Emily hears a crash on the top of her apartment, she is reluctant to go investigate. However, her curiosity gets the best of her, and what she finds changes her life forever.

Pegasus has fallen from Olympus during a terrifying fight against the Nirads, stone warriors who are out to destroy everything in their path. In an effort to help Pegasus, Emily teams up with Joel. Along the way, the two are greeted with danger from both the Olympian world and the Earth world. Fighting monsters isn’t Emily’s only worry. She must also learn how to avoid a government agency that wants to capture Pegasus. In the end, will Emily and Joel be strong enough to protect Pegasus and themselves?

Pegasus is a fast-paced story with a lovable heroine, Roman gods, and plenty of action. Because the story is told from Emily’s point of view, the reader is able to connect with not only Emily, but with the other characters as well. Even though the story has violence, the descriptions are mild and allow the reader to imagine the details. O’Hearn weaves the Roman myths into a modern setting that will leave readers wanting more.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • When Nirads fight to destroy Olympus, many of the Roman gods are hurt. Mercury was, “lying on his side, a spear sticking out of his chest. Blood matted his fair hair, and his face was covered with bruisers.”
  • Paelen, an Olympian thief, was captured by a government agency. They put him in a secret government facility and restrain him with chains. “. . . Two men in white overalls rushed forward and caught hold of his hands to restrain him. But when Paelen proved too strong for them, more men arrived. They wrestled his hands down until he was finally handcuffed to the sides of the bed.”
  • The Nirads try to kill Pegasus and Emily. The fight lasts several pages. “Emily lunged forward and jammed the points of the pitchfork into its black eyes. Howling in rage, the creature fell to the ground and raised two hands to its face. Black liquid oozed between its fingers and dripped onto the tarmac.”
  • Paelen will not answer Agent J’s questions. “Driven to fury, the older man started to slap Paelen violently across the face.” When Agent J leaves, someone said, “If he keeps pressing Agent J like that, the man will have him sliced and diced and poured into Mason jars.”
  • Paelen finds a dead Nirad at the prison. “Instead his eyes were drawn to a deep scar burned on the folded-back skin of the Nirad’s open chest. Closer inspection revealed several other similar scars along its exposed body.”
  • When Paelen is trying to escape, he is shot with a tranquilizer gun. He, “felt the sharp stinging of bees. He looked down at his chest and saw darts sticking into him.”
  • In order to get Emily to talk, an agent grabs her wounded leg. “The pain was blinding. Emily had never known such agony. It stole the screams from her throat and drove the wind from her lungs. Stars appeared before her eyes as the sound of water rushed in her ears. A moment later she passed out.”
  • When a guard calls Pegasus a horse, Diana (Roman Goddess) shoves the agents against the wall. “The wind was driven from their chest with such strength that they were instantly knocked out and crumbled to the floor.”
  • When the government’s agents try to stop Pegasus and others from escaping, Pegasus fights. “The stallion rose on his hind legs and lunged forward. One golden hoof struck Agent O, leaving a deep horseshow impression on his chest. The other hoof hit Agent J in the head with a lethal impact.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Joel’s parents were killed when “a drunk driver lost control of his car and crashed into us.”
  • While being held captive, Paelen is given a truth drug. “As the drug took effect, Paelen started to feel what it must have been like to be Medusa. His head was full of writhing, angry snakes; his veins were coursing with fire.”
  • One of the guards at the government agency said, “Want to join me and the boys for a beer later?”

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • When Emily looks into Pegasus’ eyes images appear. “. . . Strange images suddenly flooded her mind. She saw Pegasus in a dark room, storm-filled sky with lightning flashed all around him.  She felt his determination, his fear. . .”
  • Emily must sacrifice herself to relight the flame of Olympus. “The flames were coming from each part of her, consuming her and spilling out of her every pore. As she stood in the center of the flames, the pain slowly ebbed and finally disappeared completely.”
  • When Emily doesn’t die in the flames, Vesta (Roman Goddess) explains, “You have been reborn.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

The Player King

Young Lambert Simnel, a penniless orphan, slaves away in a tavern. He’s a nobody who is treated badly by his master. Lambert spends his time working in the kitchen and trying to avoid his master’s fist. Lambert’s life suddenly changes when a mysterious friar, Brother Simonds, purchases Lambert and hides him in a guarded house. Scared and uncertain of his future, Lambert’s only desire is to return to the tavern.

King Henry VII stole the crown and pronounced himself King of England. The true heir to the throne, Prince Edward has disappeared. With the help of an Earl, Brother Simonds sets out to make Lambert the player king—Lambert must learn to become Prince Edward. Lambert doesn’t trust those around him; however, he has learned one lesson well: do as you are told. Lambert is in a dangerous game where everything is at stake; Lambert wonders if he will survive as those around him battle for power.

Told from Lamber’s point of view, The Player King is a captivating story that brings 1486 history to life.  Lambert is a well-rounded character whose emotional turmoil pulls the reader into the story. The vivid imagery and dialogue bring medieval England to life. Readers will not only learn what life was like for royalty, but also for the poorest serfs.

According to the publisher, The Player King’s is written for readers as young as eight. Even though the chapters are short, the dialogue of the characters may be challenging because of the realistic use of time period language. Avi’s use of more complex sentence structure may also be difficult for some readers. The violence is appropriate for the age group, but there are several descriptions that are gory and could be upsetting. Overall The Player King is an intriguing historical fiction that is an excellent story for more advanced readers.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • As part of the narration, Lambert said that his master was “more than happy to pound on me.”  Lambert talked back to his master’s wife and she, “pulled my hair, call me a sluggish skelllum, and predicted a quick hanging.”
  • When Lambert falls asleep during his lessons, the friar slaps him. Later in the story, when Lambert tries to run away, the friar, “Struck me hard across the face.”
  • The friar explains to Lambert what would happen if Lambert was accused of being a traitor. ”You would be hanged, but before you’d fully die, your guts would be stripped out through your stomach wall and burned before you, while your beating heart would be removed and stuffed into your bloody mouth. Finally, your body would be cut into four quarters and nailed about the town.
  • When a servant does not bow to the future king, “a soldier went and struck the man so that he tumbled to the ground.”
  • A battle is described over a chapter. When men with crossbows begin the battle, Lambert “saw some of Henry’s men fall.” During the battle, “some shields were raised. Even as they were raised, many men fell, pierced mortally by arrows.”
  • At the end of the battle, “Henry’s army pursued, chasing and hacking down my soldiers by the hundreds. Arms broken, severed. Guts tumbled. Heads rolled down to the bottom of deep gullies, where they lay forever still.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Lambert is a kitchen boy in a tavern, where customers are served drinks. The narrator tells about when friars and priests come and drink. Lambert was told to be respectful “even if they had drowned in their cups.”
  • During a play, an actor “acted drunk.”
  • During a dinner, Lambert listens to two lords talking, “. . . The way they slurred their words told me they had already drunk too much.”

Language

  • Actors perform a version of the Noah story; however, in this story, Noah was a drunk, and “God dumped a filled piss-pot over him.”
  • Master Tackery calls Lambert a “boiled bootlicker” and a “want-wit.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Actors perform the story of King Solomon with two women who both claim a child as their own.
  • Actors perform a version of the Noah story; however, in this story, Noah was a drunk. “Though God warned him a great flood would come unless he stopped drinking, this Noah drank anyway, so God dumped a filled piss-pot over him.”
  • One of the main characters is a friar who prays to God.
  • Lambert prays to Mary and asks, “that she would be by my side in times to come.”
  • Lambert feels the need to pray and thinks that Brother Simons, “had not taught me how to save my soul.”
  • Before going into battle a character said, “the Lord’s will shall be done.”

Soar

Jeremiah loves baseball.  When his father gets a new job in Ohio, instead of being upset at having to leave his best friend, Jeremiah is excited to go to a town that is known for its winning baseball team, The Hornets. However, soon after they arrive, the Hornets are caught up in a scandal and the town is left wondering if they would be better without baseball.

Although Jeremiah can’t play baseball because of his heart transplant, he knows that baseball is too important to give up. So when he discovers that the junior high baseball team was disbanded when the coach was fired, Jeremiah takes it upon himself to coach the few who are willing to come out. However, some parents don’t want their kids on the team, some schools don’t want to play a town that is in the middle of a scandal, and some of the players think they are destined to be losers. Can Jeremiah’s can-do-attitude overcome the obstacles to bring the team together or is baseball going to die in this Ohio town?

Right from the start, Jeremiah’s voice jumps off of the page. Baseball and Jeremiah aren’t the only things to love in Soar. There are many interesting characters ranging from a nosy neighbor who peaks through the bushes to the wise coach who lives next door. There is also a little bit of mystery because the story focuses on Jeremiah’s neighbor, Franny, who has a dark secret that is keeping her from picking up a baseball.

Even though the story talks about the steroid scandal, the topic is handled in an appropriate way for younger children. Throughout the story, the reader will learn the importance of having a positive attitude as well as the fact that winning isn’t what defines a winner. Soar is an entertaining book that has “humor, heart and baseball lore.”

Sexual Content

  • A nurse tells about “her cheating ex-boyfriend.” But no other details are given.
  • Jeremiah’s father becomes engaged. Jeremiah sees his father and fiance kiss a couple of times.

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • When a baseball player dies there are rumors about the cause of his death. People wonder if he was drunk or on drugs.
  • The story revolves around the high school’s baseball team whose coach gave some of the players steroids.

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Before Jeremiah has heart surgery, he prays with his father. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters; He restores my soul.”
  • At one baseball game, a priest and a nun are part of the team’s fans. One of the players is upset that “They’ve [the team] got God on their side!” Another player points out the Rabbi who cheers for their team and says, “Look, we’ve got God, too.”
  • Before the game, the Rabbi prays. “May the Source of All Life bless these players with wisdom and strength, swiftness and skill, patience and power . . . And for the umpires—blessed is the Source of Arcane Baseball rules and those who tend them.”

Almost Home

Sugar’s life isn’t perfect, but she’s content. She has a best friend, a teacher who encourages her to write, and a home to go to. When life throws difficulties her way, Sugar looks at the bright side. But when Sugar becomes homeless, she had a hard time finding the good in life.

Then Sugar’s mother Reba decides to move to Chicago hoping for a fresh start, but when Reba doesn’t get the job she had hoped for, she has a nervous breakdown. Sugar and her puppy Shush are moved into foster care. Throughout the story, Sugar holds on to her dreams and learns that life can be good, despite her circumstances.

Sugar is as sweet as her name. She is an engaging character that the reader will fall in love with. She pours out her feelings of fear, loneliness, and confusion through poetry, which allows the reader to understand Sugar’s thoughts and emotions. Sugar’s cute, fearful puppy is added to the mix which makes Almost Home even more enjoyable. As Sugar narrators her own story, the reader gets a glimpse of what it feels like to be homeless. Because Sugar is a sixth-grader, the story is told in a manner that is age-appropriate for younger readers.

There is much to like about Almost Home. Sugar meets interesting characters of all ages who add delight to the book. The majority of the adults in the book are shown to be kind people who only want to help. And even though Sugar’s mother Reba has a nervous breakdown, in the end, Reba shows that despite her imperfections, she truly is trying to be a better person because she loves her daughter.

Much of Sugar’s life lessons came from her grandfather, King Cole, who imparted much wisdom about not giving up. Even though her grandfather is dead, his character still shines through. Through sharing Sugar’s story, the reader will learn that sometimes taking one step takes great courage, but it’s necessary to keep moving if you are going to keep your dreams alive.

Sexual Content

  • One of the character’s dad cheated on her mother and went into hiding. Later the character discovers that after her father disappeared, he married another woman and had a son.
  • Mr. Leeland “gives Reba a too-long kiss.”

Violence

  • A boy tells Sugar, “I had a dog—it died. It keep barking, so my uncle shot it.”
  • When Mr. Leeland shows up drunk, one of the children “makes a big run at him from behind, shouts a war cry, and pushes him down. Mr. Leeland is on his face moaning.” Reba then stands on him. “She digs her heels into his back.” And then she kicks him out of the house.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Sugar’s father, who she calls Mr. Leeland, comes and goes, but never stays long. “He only cared if there was food and beer in the refrigeration. . .” Later Sugar talks about when Mr. Leeland got drunk. At the end of the book, he reappears drunk.
  • Sugar is living in a shelter that does not allow drinking. Her mother, “normally doesn’t drink, except when Mr. Leeland is around, but she and this lady Evie, who lives at the shelter, they have a drink now and then in Evie’s room.”
  • One of the characters talks about her foster daughter who was on and off drugs and ended up dying of an overdose. The character tells Sugar, “Drugs are out there, and they’re looking for kids to destroy . . . You’ll never feel worse than you do on drugs. You could end up like Tonya—stone cold dead.”

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Sugar was born in the back seat of a car. In the narration, Sugar explains, “When I popped out and Reba saw the Sugar Shack sign, she felt it was a sign from God; right there I got my name. At least God told her to stop at Sugar. Sugar Shack Cole would have been a chore to live with.”
  • Sugar writes prayers to God. When she is in a difficult situation, Sugar “tried to pray like King Cole told me, but I couldn’t. I felt like the earth had opened up and swallowed us into a dark place—a place no prayers ever got answered.”
  • Sugar wonders, “If King Cole can see me from heaven. I wonder if God is paying attention, or if he’s off helping people who have places to live.”

 

Close to Famous

Twelve-year-old Foster dreams of having her own cooking show on the Food network. When she and her mother flee Nashville and end up in the tiny town of Culpepper, Foster worries that her dream is over. When Lester, a tow truck driver, offers to let them live in the Airstream trailer in his backyard, they take him up on his offer because they have nowhere else to go.

Foster begins to feel at home as she makes friends and gets herself a job baking for the local coffee shop. When she meets Charleena Hendley, a once-famous actress, Foster is forced to face her biggest challenge—learning to read. Close to Famous has a string of loveable characters, who each have their own challenges. Although the story does not have a fairy tale ending, the ending is surprisingly heart-warming.

In Close to Famous Joan Bauer tackles the difficult issue of domestic abuse and losing a loved one in an age-appropriate way. In the end, Foster learns the importance of never giving up, and how true friends help a person overcome their challenges. As Foster tells her story, she brings the small town of Culpepper and its residents to life. Close to Famous is an easy-to-read, engaging story that has humor, and heart.

Sexual Content

  • One of the character’s husbands had an affair and left her. “Mike Tuller was my husband, and he started seeing a supermodel while we were married . . . I was devastated, humiliated.”

Violence

  • When Foster’s mother, Ryka, tells her boyfriend that the relationship is over, he becomes violent. “Huck was shaking her by the shoulders . . . That’s when he hauled off and punched her in the eye. I did a flying leap toward him; he pushed me away.” Foster screams and the neighbors begin yelling. Foster and her mother leave.
  • Foster’s mother returns to Nashville to get some belongings. While she is there, she sees her x-boyfriend. When she returns to Culpepper, her arm has a big bruise on it. “I only saw him for an hour, and when I was heading out the door, he grabbed my arm and yanked it back hard, but I left anyway. That’s how I got the bruise.”
  • Ryka’s father was abusive. She tells Foster, “. . . he hit my mother. . . Once she called the police on him, but his cousin was on the force and he covered the whole thing up.”
  • While checking out at the grocery store, someone mentions that “Zeke got jumped at the prison. Wasn’t paying attention.”
  • A prisoner escapes and goes to the house where his family was staying, and begins yelling. The confrontation is described over several pages. In the end, the prisoner ends up leaving. When he leaves Foster says, “I heard a noise outside, sounds of a fight, then shouting, ‘I’m making a citizen’s arrest.’”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Foster and her mother acknowledge God’s existence and pray to him. While she was in a difficult situation she thinks, “I hope that God can see us through the fog. Because if he can’t, we’re in big trouble.”
  • When Foster asks if memorizing is cheating, she is told that “You use whatever God’s give you.”

Girl Detective

Friday has perfected the art of going unnoticed. She has spent her life learning how to blend into her surroundings. After receiving a monetary award for solving a crime, she decides to go to an exclusive boarding school to better her education. To her dismay, a series of unexpected events cause Friday to become the center of attention time and time again.

Soon Friday is busy solving the school’s mysteries, which include lost homework and stolen desserts. To add to the drama, Friday begins to unravel the secret behind the yeti that is haunting the school’s swamp.

Outrageous teachers, teen bullies, and a cute boy add to the plot of Friday Barnes Girl Detective and will intrigue readers. Friday is a delight because while she is amazingly smart, she is clueless when it comes to picking up on social cues. When Friday and her roommate work together to solve mysteries, their relationship will cause giggles.

Friday Barns Girl Detective is a humorous story that will captivate younger readers. A Yeti brings suspense to the story. A cute boy brings a light touch of romance that shows the confusion caused by girl-boy relationships. Although the story ties up all loose ends, there is a surprise at the end that will make readers want to pick up the next book.

Sexual Content

  • It is rumored that the gardener has a crush on a teacher. “. . . Diego the gardener, who was hiding in the bushes staring at Miss Harrow because he is so deeply in love with her but doesn’t speak English so he can’t tell her so.”
  • Friday sees a cute boy and has a surprising reaction. “I didn’t realize seeing someone so good-looking could have such a disconcerting effect on my respiratory system.”
  • A teacher flirts with the school secretary. “Miss Priddock giggled and smiled her own less practiced yet equally nauseating smile back.”

Violence

  • A car accidently hits Friday, but she is not seriously hurt. “. . . she heard screeching rubber and slipping breaks, and looked to see the SUV right before it slammed into her suitcase, which slammed into her, causing her to stumble and bang her head on an ornamental statue of Socrates.”
  • Binky is challenged to a fight. Binky doesn’t want to fight but feels as if he has to. During the fight, Binky, “leaped onto his left foot and swung his right foot forward to knock the other boy’s foot from underneath him.” The other boy’s knee is hurt, and he “appeared to be crying.”
  • While being chased by a Yeti Friday, “whipped her autographed baseball bat out of her backpack, held it high above her head, and did what the book on kendo had instructed. She screamed with a terrifying vehemence, “Hiiiiiyaaaahhhh!!!!!” Then the yeti stumbled and Friday discovers it was not a yeti after all, but a person in disguise.
  • Friday and another student were, “grabbed from behind and had sacks roughly shoved over their heads.” Then they are tied to chairs with plastic zip ties.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • When someone steals clothes out of Friday’s room and hides them in the swamp, Melanie tells her, “You should trust in fate to lead you to your clothes . . . if you are meant to have them back, then you will find them.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

Dragonbreath: Nightmare of the Iguana

Horrifying dream monsters are keeping Wendell awake. In an attempt to help his friend, Danny Dragonbreath and Suki the Salamander go in search of advice from Danny’s wise mythological great-grandfather Dragonbreath. Danny and Suki must defeat the Dream Wasp before it can lay eggs in Wendell’s dreams, which would cause Wendell to go crazy. So Danny, Suki, and a sleepy dream eater enter the “dark horrors of Wendell’s subconscious.” They climb mounds of healthy food, run from a school bully, and search a massive library before they find the Dream Wasp and smash her eggs.

Nightmare of the Iguana is hilarious, action-packed, fun. Wendell’s dreams are the frightening things that kids can relate to—not doing well on a pop quiz, a mother who is a health food nut, and a girl finding out that he likes her. Danny’s wise mythological great-grandfather Dragonbreath’s hearing problems lead to humorous statements. As Danny and Suki enter Wendell’s subconscious and fight dream monsters, the battles involve more running than actual fighting.

Green and black illustrations add to the allure of the book. Drawing with dialogue balloons helps break up the text and keep the action moving. Dragonbreath shows the value of friendship and will get even the most reluctant readers engaged in the story. Although Night of the Iguana is the eighth book of the Dragonbreath series, the story can be enjoyed as a stand-alone story.

Sexual Content

  • Suki kisses Wendell on the cheek.

Violence

  • Monsters chase Danny and Suki, yelling “We will crush their bones and then give them pop quizzes!” They hide in the library, and when a monster finds them, “the monster with the battle-ax swung and hit the weakened bookcase. It collapsed slowly. Books slid off in a waterfall of paper.” They find a staircase in a book and are able to escape unharmed.
  • The dream eater (baku)  fights the Dream Wasp. “The floor shook as the two collided. The Wasp slashed with its bladed forearms, but the baku’s hide was thick and knobby . . .” Danny and Suki began throwing it’s eggs at the Wasp. The battle is described over a chapter and with the dream eater killing the Wasp.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • When being chased by monsters, Suki says, “Oh, crud.”
  • While squishing the Wasp’s eggs, Suki says, “Oh god, this is disgusting.”

Supernatural

  • Danny and Suki enter Wendell’s dream world and see the “dark horrors of Wendell’s subconscious.”
  • Dream monsters enter Wendell’s dreams. The main one, the Dream Wasp, lays its eggs in Wendell’s mind. “The Dream Wasp was the size of a house . . . Its stinger was as long as a car and tapered to a wickedly sharp point. Its jaws were serrated and meshed together like a bone zipper. Its forelegs looked like steak knives, assuming that by ‘steak’ you meant ‘the entire cow.’”

Spiritual Content

  • Danny’s great-grandfather is helping Suki. “He’s teaching me meditative techniques. To help with being a ninja in a past life.”

 

One Dead Spy

Nathan Hale is standing on the gallows, waiting to die. As he awaits death, he tells the story of the Revolutionary War. Nathan explains how the rebels were able to defeat an army that was bigger than they were. His story is full of narrow escapes with danger and acts of heroism. Nathan, a teacher who turned into a spy, tells how the British were able to capture and execute him.

The Revolutionary War and America’s fight for independence comes to life in the form of a graphic novel. Although the story revolves around war and the death of soldiers, the pictures are not graphic or gory. As Nathan tells his story, the image of the rope hanging from a tree appears repeatedly. The executioner and the British soldier seem excited to end Nathan’s life. However, at the end of the book, Nathan lives to tell another story in book two.

One Dead Spy turns history into an easy to read, entertaining format. The book ends with short biographies of other important historical people.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • The narrator of the story, Nathan Hale, is sentenced to death. “The prisoner, Captain Nathan Hale, was caught spying . . . he is sentenced to hang by the neck until he is dead.”
  • The story includes facts about the Boston Massacre, when the British killed men for throwing rocks. “They shouldn’t have thrown rocks at armed soldiers!”
  • When 2,000 British soldiers charge, “there were 1,000 rebels sniping at them from the hilltop.” The rebels flee when they run out of ammo.
  • The rebels are starving. When they see a cow, they are excited. But the cow is killed by the enemy.
  • Through the novel, Nathan Hale describes the Revolutionary War battels. Although there are pictures of the armies and the dead soldiers, the pictures are not bloody. Sound effects are added. “BLAM CRACK BOOM POW POW FWAM.”
  • Nathan Hale and another man are on a scouting mission when the enemy’s scouts shoot at them. Nathan gets a “little war tattoo” when he holds his musket too close to his face. Nathan’s companion then explains that a red badge is a bullet hole.
  • When the British capture enemy soldiers, many are hung. Others are put on prison ships.  The prisoners, “spend months chained, floating in New York Harbor. Many die there from disease and starvation.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • After a battle, the soldiers “liberated the fort, they found the liquor storage and liberated that too.”

Language

  • Damn is used. Ethan Allen tells someone, “Go now and complain to that damn scoundrel, your governor!”
  • Several times someone calls the enemy, “Damn dirty rats.”
  • One of the characters yells, “Poppycock!”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

Alamo All Stars

Nathan Hale tells the tale of the Texas Revolution. In the early 1800s, Texas was a dangerous place. The Mexican government, Native Americans, and settlers from the United States fought over the land.  The tale begins when “land pirates” began moving to Texas. It also covers the Alamo and the victory over Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto.

The tale includes Stephen F. Austin, who led the charge to settle the frontier. Other interesting characters who make an appearance include the following: Patrick Jack, William Barret Travis, Jim Bowie, and David Crockett. Readers will learn about politics, military action, and prominent people. At the end of the book, maps and biographies give more historical insight.

Designed for reluctant readers, Alamo All-Stars brings history to life. Because Texas history is complex and full of battles, readers may have a difficult time keeping all of the names straight. Alamo All-Stars details many different battles. Although the pictures are not graphic, there are many battle scenes and a lot of death.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • James Long travels to Texas in the hopes of making Texas its own republic. He is killed. “He was shot dead by a prison guard.” A picture of Long lying in a pool of blood is shown.
  • Mexico goes through a string of emperors. One is killed by a firing squad.
  • Jim Bowie and Norris Wright get into a fight. “Wright blasted him square in the face.” The pistol misfires, so Bowie is uninjured.
  • During a duel, a fight breaks out and several people are killed. Jim Bowie is injured. “I see two bullet holes, one in the leg, one in the lung, seven sword slashes, one through the left hand, and a serious bludgeon wound on the scalp.”
  • Jim Bowie and a group of men get in a battle with Indians. Several people are injured.
  • General Santa Anna takes an army of 3,500 to attack and slaughter rebels in the town of Zacatecas. After the battle, Santa Anna tells the soldiers, “Do whatever you want. Take whatever you want. Kill whomever you want.”
  • The people of Texas do not want Santa Anna’s soldiers to be in Texas, so they resist. The end of the book tells of battle after battle. One picture illustrates a sharpshooter falling out of a tree after being shot. In other battles, dead soldiers are shown but not in gory detail.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • After being captured and then released, Travis says, “Bring me a barrel of whisky. . . . whisky for everyone! Even the soldiers who held me prisoner!”
  • David Bowie is drunk in a bar.

Language

  • During a pistol fight, one of the men says, “Damned rascals killed me.”
  • David Crockett goes to the Alamo. When he introduces himself he says, “I was knocked down and dragged out in the world of politics . . . so I told them all to go to hell and I would go to Texas.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • During a fight someone tells Jim Bowie, “you better start makin’ yer Catholic prayers if you want to get home to that purdy wife of yours.”

 

Have Sword, Will Travel

Odo never dreamed of leaving his small town. His best friend, Eleanor, longs for adventure. Everything changes for the two of them when Odo pulls an enchanted sword, Biter, from the river.

Even though Odo doesn’t want adventure, Biter knights him and demands that Odo go on a quest to discover why the town’s river has dried up. Eleanor goes along, excited for the chance to explore the unknown. Along the way, Odo and Eleanor discover that life outside of their village is full of both good and evil and that danger often lurks in unexpected places.

A fast-paced story full of interesting characters—human and non-human— Have Sword, Will Travel takes the reader on an epic adventure. Eleanor is a feisty heroine and Odo is a reluctant hero that children will love. Written with humor, the story teaches lessons such as not bending the truth, fighting for what is right, and defending those in need.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • When two boys make fun of Odo, the sword attempts to attack them. The sword slices “a figure-eight through the air despite Odo’s efforts to keep him grounded.” Odo manages to stop the sword, and the boys run off.
  • Odo must fight Fyrennian, a cruel smith. When Biter attempts to kill Fyrennian, Odo “managed to pull back on the sword at the last moment, deflecting the sword from a killing thrust.”
  • Eleanor is corned by a huge dog. She flings hot coals on the floor, trapping the dog.
  • Someone hits Fyrennian on the head, and “the smith toppled forward like a stone.”
  • A refugee tells a story about “corpses drifting down the river, the bodies of people cooked to death in boiling water.”
  • Sir Saskia challenges Odo to a duel to keep the citizens entertained. The battle is described over several pages. Odo is outmatched, and Sir Saskia strikes Odo’s shoulder twice. “His shoulder felt like it was swelling up inside the armor.” She hits Odo in the same spot a third time, “on his shoulder again, jarring it so much he lost feeling all the way down his arm. His nerveless fingers could no longer hold the sword, and the grip on his left hand was too weak.” Odo is forced to yield.
  • A dragon attacks Odo and Eleanor. Odo strikes the dragon. “The blade scored a vivid line in the blackened hide, exposing softer bone-white flesh beneath . . . he stabbed forward and pierced one wing right up to the cross-guard.” An older woman comes and helps the children escape.
  • A group of Sir Saskia’s troops attacks Eleanor. A person trips and “impaled himself” on the sword. In the end, there is, “one wounded, one dying . . . maybe . . . and one surrendered.”
  • Odo and Eleanor blow up a dam that has been built to stop the river from flowing. When they do, Odo almost drowns. “Odo lay weakly on his stomach, coughing up dirty water while Eleanor pounded his back.”
  • Odo and Eleanor get into a battle with bandits. The battle lasts over several pages. “Biter came down point-first on Mannix’s shoulder, shearing through his armor as if it were no more than river mud. Mannix screamed and swore and clutched at the wound with his left hand, his right arm now useless.” During the fight, Eleanor is kicked with steel-clad boots, and “the pain was like fire.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • At home, Eleanor drinks weak ale because water isn’t always clean.
  • Odo and Eleanor find a group of men passing around mugs. One of the men is telling a story. In the middle of the story he stops, and they see his “eyes suddenly rolling back into his head and his falling backward, unconscious. Fortunately, the arms of his friends were ready to catch him . . .”

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Biter, an enchanted sword, is able to talk and control his own movements. He teaches Odo how to wield a sword and act like a knight. Later in the story, the children find Biter’s sister, who believes she is cursed and will bring death to those who wield her.
  • A smith has a firestarter that came from a dragon. He uses it to terrorize others into working for him.
  • A dragon appears to judge several of the characters in the book. The dragon looks at Odo, “really looked at him. He felt her ancient, knowing gaze penetrate into the very depths of his being.” Mannix is found guilty and the “dragon’s tail moved again, whipping around like a scorpion’s, the long spike on the end stabbing Mannix right through the middle and then flipping him back into the dragon’s mouth. It happened so quickly he didn’t even have time to scream.” Another person is cursed and forced to do as the dragon commands.
  • 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. They believe that “wisdom comes from closer to the ground.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

Liesl & Po

Liesl’s cruel stepmother keeps her locked away in an attic. With nothing to do, Liesl spends her time looking out a tiny window and drawing. One lonely night, a ghost named Po appears from the Other Side. Both Liesl and Po are less lonely when they are together. When Liesl’s father dies, she is determined to take his ashes to a special place. With Po’s help, Liesl is able to escape and the two embark on a dangerous adventure to bury her father.

The alchemist’s apprentice, Will, leads a miserable life. His one joy is to look at the small girl in the attic window. Late one night, Will accidentally mixes up a major delivery. Now, the person who ordered the most powerful magic in the world will stop at nothing to get her potion that Will failed to send to her.

The lives of the children—Will, Leisl, and Po—intersect as they help each other avoid the adults who would like to capture them.

Lauren Oliver writes a beautiful story that shows the power of friendship. Although Liesl & Po is age-appropriate, the story shows a frightening version of the Other Side—a place where the dead lose their shape and their memories. Another aspect that may frighten younger readers is the terrible actions of the adults in the story. The alchemist verbally abuses Will. Liesl’s stepmother plots the murder of Liesl’s father and attempts to kill Liesl. The other adults (except one) in the story are just as vile. However, the story ends in a satisfying way, leaving the reader with hope.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • One of the alchemist’s apprentices was accidentally turned into a mouse, “just as the alchemist’s scrawny, always hungry tabby cat had come swishing in through the cat door.”
  • Augusta wants to kill her husband and stepdaughter, but she is afraid to kill both at the same time. Therefore, she uses poison to kill her husband because “the slow death of a middle-aged man is hardly likely to be attributed to poison, especially when the poison is administered teaspoon by teaspoon, a bit in the soup every day, over the course of a year.”
  • Will overhears a conversation when a factory worker says, “The problem is the boys. We’re running through ‘em! We’re running out! Boys are losing limbs, fingers, toes. One of the boys had his head chopped off last month.”
  • Someone tries to grab Liesl. “During her frantic struggles against the Lady Premiere, she had smacked her head against the door jam and gone as limp as a lettuce leaf.” Lady Premiere then locks Liesl in a room.
  • Augusta tries to feed Liesl soup that she has poisoned. When Liesl refuses to eat it, “Augusta, enraged, sprang to her feet. She grabbed Liesl by the shoulders and shook her . . . Augusta shook Liesl so hard that her teeth knocked together.” Augusta then tells Liesl she can eat the soup and die slowly or she can starve to death.
  • Two siblings are seen “hopping and twisting and slapping each other.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Po meets a ghost who died in a bar brawl.
  • Augusta kills her husband with poison.
  • Augusta says that her maid was, “dropped on her head quite frequently as a baby. Her mother was a hopeless drunk.”
  • An innkeeper thinks about a time when she served her customers “weak wine.”

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Po is a ghost who explains how death works. Some people go “straight on,” and others go to the Other Side. The Other Side is “vast and filled with ghosts.” When new people cross over to the “dark and twisting corridors,” people lose their shape and memories. When people first get to the Other Side, “they become a part of darkness, of the vast spaces between starts.”
  • When people die, they blend and become part of the Everything. “The ghost reminded itself that losing form was natural, and good, and the way things were in the universe.”
  • Po takes Liesl to the Other Side. “. . . She was aware of the sensation of Po inside her, urging her forward, like suddenly feeling a division down your middle and being two people . . .” Po leads Liesl through the Other Side, and then opens a passage so Liesl can go back to the living world.
  • When people first get to the Other Side they are often confused because they do not understand where they are. “All those new ghosts: All they wanted was to go back to the Living Side.” In order to help Liesl, Po tells the new ghost to follow him because the path would lead them home. Instead, they go to the Living World. “Because they were very new ghosts, they had not started to blend yet, and so were quite visible. . . Some had holes in their faces, or were missing arms or legs, where their physical selves had begun to dissipate and merge with the rest of the universe.”
  • Liesl’s father returns from the Other Side and accuses his wife, Augusta, of killing him. Augusta then reveals that the alchemist gave her “Pernicious Poison: Dead as a Doorknob, or Your Money Back.”
  • After helping Liesl, Po and Bundle appear as solid shapes. “They were golden—they’d been dipped in gold—no—they were made of gold. And then the golden Po-shape turned into tan brown arms and shoulders, a ring of curly yellow hair, and a laughing smile. . . ” Then he disappeared “to Beyond.”
  • Will works for an alchemist who makes spells. For one spell, Will “spent the whole day grinding up cow eyes, and measuring the blood of lizards into different-sized vials . . .”
  • The alchemist can make spells that “turned frogs into goats and goats into mugs of tea. He made people grow wings or third legs. Recently he had mastered a tincture that would make a person disappear entirely.”

 Spiritual Content

  • None

Ellie, Engineer

Ellie is an engineer who makes things in her backyard workshop. Every year, Ellie makes her best friend, Kit, a birthday present. This year, Ellie isn’t sure what to make Kit for her birthday. When the girls overhear Kit’s mom talking about getting Kit a dog for her birthday, Ellie knows just what to do.

Ellie decides to build the best doghouse ever. When one of the “jerk boys” from the neighborhood offers to help Ellie build the doghouse, Ellie is excited to show him about engineering. But their plans for the doghouse get so elaborate that Ellie must ask for help from a group of girls. Because Ellie knows the two groups don’t get along, Ellie hides the fact that both groups are working on the doghouse. But her secret backfires and soon everyone is mad at Ellie, including Kit. Will Ellie be able to figure out a way to get herself out of the doghouse?

 Ellie, Engineer shows that girls can be smart and creative. The story contains fun illustrations of Ellie’s sketches and has a how-to guide to tools. As Ellie works with one of the boys from the neighborhood, she realizes that her perception of him was not correct. In the end, the message is clear, “There’s no such thing as Girl Stuff or Boy Stuff. There’s only Ellie Stuff and Not-Ellie Stuff.” Ellie, Engineer is a fun story about friendship and has the added benefit of teaching new vocabulary.

The story’s plot is easy to understand and would be engaging for early elementary readers.  Although Ellie, Engineer’s vocabulary isn’t difficult, the sentence structure is complex, which may make reading difficult for newly independent readers. However, the book would be an excellent choice for more advanced readers or to read aloud with a parent.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Ellie and her friends are upset that the neighborhood boys wouldn’t let them play soccer with them, so they build a balloon launcher and soak them. ”They laughed and screamed and dropped a few balloons, which exploded on the ground, and they could hear the boys yelling and shouting.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • The neighborhood boys are referred to as “jerks boys.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

Pugs of the Frozen North

True Winter comes once in a lifetime. It turns everything into a magical wonderland and gives people an opportunity to win a legendary sled race. Whoever wins can make one wish that will come true.

Two friends, Siska and Shen, embark on a fantastical journey to win the race with sixty-six pugs pulling their sled. Along the way, they encounter many obstacles, including spaghetti-eating yetis, singing snow, and other racers. As they complete the journey, they discover that friendship is more important than winning.

Pugs of the Frozen North is a fun-filled story with outrageous characters, interesting obstacles, and snow that comes to life. Although the story focuses on Siska and Shen, the other characters are extremely funny and help add suspense to the story. The race generates kid-appropriate conflict that will keep the reader guessing and giggling as they watch pugs (and polar bears and dogbots) race to the top of the world.

The story is easy to read and engaging. However, the story doesn’t come to an end when the racers arrive at the top of the world and meet Snowfather. Once the racers reach their destination, the story becomes less interesting and readers may have a difficult time reaching the end of the story. The ending deals with the death of Siska’s grandfather, which may cause some children to have questions about what happens at the end of one’s life.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • While in the race, Siska and Shen encounter weresnow that tries to form itself into scary snowdogs. The pugs bite “the snowmen’s snowy bottoms. After that the weresnow stopped its tricks.”
  • One of the racers goes over a bridge that breaks. As she is clinging to the edge, snowtrolls shout from the abyss. “They had been looking forward to Helga falling so that they could eat her. They started hurling big splinters of ice up at the bridge, hoping to dislodge her.” In the end, Siska and Shen are able to save her.
  • Siska and the other racers are kidnapped by yetis who feed them spaghetti in order to trick them. The yetis want them to wash dishes, because yetis like to make spaghetti but not clean up the mess.
  • One of the racers uses a rocket launcher to try to stop the other racers from making it to the finish line first. “’Take this, you scum!’ sneered Sir Basil. But just as he pulled the trigger, Side-Plate’s snow boot kicked the rocket launcher upward. The rocket whizzed harmlessly off into the sky.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • During True Winter, there are various types of magical snow. For example, shrink snow makes one of the racers shrink to the size of a toy soldier.
  • When the racers meet Snowfather, he shows them a special type of snow. He says, “Everything you see here is made of snow . . . the special anything snow that falls only here, at the top of the world. Shape it into whatever you want, and it will become real.” The Snowfather then creates a bird that comes to life.
  • The Snowfather visits Siska’s sick grandfather. The Snowfather blows on snow that begins to float upward. “The snow that was under Grandpa’s bed caught against the slats and the underneath of the mattress and kept rising, so that the bed was lifted with it.” When Siska’s grandpa floats into the air, Sika’s mother says, “He’s going on that one last journey that he always wished for.” The Snowfather replies, “He’s going to places even I have never seen.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

The Stone Child

Eddie has a lot on his plate. A new town, a new school, and a missing author. The missing man happens to be Eddie’s favorite author, a man famous for his scary stories. A man who hasn’t been seen for thirteen years. A man whose monsters seem to be walking right off the pages of his best-selling novels.

When Eddie finds an unfinished novel with the worst monster yet, he knows he cannot let that monster, The Woman, into his world. He and his friends set off to figure out what happened to the monsters’ author and to discover how his stories are coming to life. What they find is more terrifying and more dangerous than they ever imagined. Soon the fate of the world relies on three kids racing against time. For once The Woman’s story is complete, she will be able to torment our world.

The Stone Child is a spooky story with loads of suspense. It is written for younger readers with an appetite for mysteries, but may not be the best choice for children who scare easily.  Eddie has creepy encounters with supernatural beings. Although monsters chase Eddie and his friends, the scenes are not graphic.

Eddie does get into a bit of trouble for the sake of the mystery. He trespasses, cuts class, and lies to his parents about where he is and what he is doing. But the whole time he is trying to stop The Woman, he is working to keep his parents and the rest of the world safe.

Sexual Content

  • Harris warns Eddie, “‘She’s a real witch…Be careful. She probably put a spell on you. You might fall in love with her and have little witch babies.’ Then he started kissing his own hand in a really gross way.”

Violence

  • Eddie and his family crash into a strange creature. “His father smashed his foot against the brake pedal. The car began to fishtail; the tires squealed. Eddie felt himself jerk forward against the seat belt . . Then came the horrible crunch as the front of the car crashed into the creature, sending it flying into the greenish darkness of the woods.”
  • Eddie says a creepy guy was “sort of cool.” His mother jokes, “If serial killers are cool, then sure.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Hell is said twice. For example, Harris screams, “You scared the hell out of us!”

Supernatural

  • People believe in the Olmstead Curse. They think characters that Olmstead wrote about have come alive in the town of Gatesweed.
  • People say a ghost haunts the woods behind Olmstead’s old house.

Spiritual Content

  • The Garden of Eden becomes a central part of the mystery. According to what Eddie discovers, two statues guarded the garden against “creatures…doomed to exile.” These creatures are the ones haunting Gatesweed. Lilith, Adam’s first wife, was banished from the garden. “Lilith’s only companions in her new home were the Exiled – the most vile wretched creatures.” Those creatures have escaped from another world into ours, and now Lilith is trying to follow suit.

by Morgan Lynn

Better Off Undead

Adrian Lazarus has always felt like an outcast. But now that he’s dead, life gets even worse. Even though Adrian does not have a beating heart, he still feels the pain of people talking behind his back. When the school bully, Daryl, decides to target him, Adrian isn’t sure what to do. Then a mysterious girl, a beekeeping boy, and a seventh-grade sleuth enter his life. Can his friends help Adrian stay safe?

Now that Adrian is a zombie, he notices that the world is changing. Forest fires burn, super-flues spread, and bees vanish. While advertisements claim everyone is safe, Adrian and his friends are worried. Is there anything they can do to help the earth?

Better of Undead takes a humorous look at the inside of a junior high school and explores the need to fit in. When the school bully targets Adrian, he and his friends come up with an interesting way to stop the bullying. As Adrian suffers through junior high, he learns that being beautiful isn’t important. It’s what inside that matters. He also realizes that he does not have to let his zombie instincts take over.

Adrian tells his story in a humorous way that will make readers laugh. At the end of the story, the action slows as the author reinforces the messages. One message is that the environment is changing and you should do something about it. The danger of having personal data mined is also shown.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Daryl, the school bully, pushes a girl and then hits Adrian in the face. “He turned away from me, head ducking down, then turned back and landed a sharp, compact punch to my face.”
  • Gia talks about all of the bad things that have happened. “Outside Quebec, massive fireballs incinerated part of a town. Thirty buildings melted into a thick greasy mass. Cars burned like crumpled paper. Forty-seven people died, and five of those bodies were never found. They were vaporized by the sudden blast of radiant heat.”
  • Adrian found a dead squirrel outside of his house and ate it. “A fresh kill, blood still leaking from its nose, but otherwise not too shabby.”
  • Adrian is taken to see a man who is interested in learning about Adrian’s condition. When a bodyguard tries to block his path, he thinks about biting him. “I felt a surge of power inside me that was beyond myself. It was something other, and greater, than my ordinary being . . . My eyes locked on the vein in the bodyguard’s neck. As I was about to attack, teeth bared. . . “
  • In order to trick the school bully, Adrian and his friend stage a fight at a school dance. “Adrian grabbed Zander by the shoulder, spun him around, and landed a right cross to his face. Zander fell backwards . . .” The two are kicked out of the dance and meet in the woods. “Zander charged forward, tackling me to the ground. . . Zander gained the advantage and viciously kicked me in the stomach . . . I leaped on Zander’s fallen body . . . I burst a large packet of fake blood that had been planted inside Zander’s shirt. While Zander shrieked in agony, my two hands tore up the string of sausage that had been hidden in the hollow. They dripped with bloody sauce.”
  • A doctor wants to run experiments on Adrian. In order to get him to agree, Adrian’s little brother and Adrian’s friends are kidnapped and held hostage. In order to escape, Zander “was punching the bodyguard on the head . . . The guard shrugged him off and with one backhanded blow swatted Zander to the ground . . . He snarled and gave me a two-handed shove that propelled me into the window. My forehead cracked against the thick pane.” When the house catches on fire, everyone is able to escape.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Pretty Pillz are mentioned several times. The Pillz claim to make everyone beautiful. “It’s as easy as swallowing a pill.”

Language

  • Profanity is used rarely, but includes: jerkwads, school butt, hell, and damn.
  • A kids at the smells the air near Adrian and says, “Stinks in here, don’t it? I mean, crap, it’s totally disgusting.”
  • A kid at school threatens to kick Adrian’s butt. When someone tells him to stop, the kid says, “Who. . . in the hell . . . are you?”
  • After being hit, Adrian yells, “Get out of here now or I’ll fire-trucking eat your brains! Only I didn’t say ‘fire-trucking.’ Because, like, who would? Is it even a word? No, I said a different f-word, one that I have heard before, plenty of times (I used to ride the school bus, after all).”
  • “Oh my God” is said several times. When told a story, Adrian replies, “Oh my God.”

Supernatural

  • Adrian dies when hit by a car. He describes himself as a “shuffler, ankle-dragger, shape-shifter, howler, freak. I am a living dad, soulless corpse, brain-sucker, crawler, spitter, wraith, wuss, dumb butt, flailer, mutant, haunt.”
  • Gia, who is allergic to bees, was stung by a swarm of them. “I woke up. I was alive, and I wasn’t supposed to be alive. . . That’s when I saw her, the queen bee. She sat on my chest, and I swear, Adrian, we regarded each other in perfect silence, like equals. . . And she spoke.”  The queen bee told Gia, “It all connects.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

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