Reading Level: Junior High

The Defiant

Be brave, gladiatrix. . .And be wary. Once you win Caesar’s love, you’ll earn his enemies’ hate. Fallon was warned. Now she is about to pay the price for winning the love of the Roman people as Caesar’s victorious gladiatrix.

In this sequel to The Valiant, Fallon and her warrior sisters find themselves thrust into a vicious conflict with a rival gladiator academy, one that will threaten not only Fallon’s heart—and her love for Roman soldier Cai—but the very heart of the ancient Roman Empire.

When dark treachery and vicious power struggles threaten her hard-won freedom, the only thing that might help the girl known as Victrix save herself and her sisters is a tribe of long-forgotten mythic Amazon warriors. The only trouble is, they might just kill her themselves first. 

Fallon’s story continues in The Defiant, but the setting is given more scope as Fallon and her companions rush to save Fallon’s sister, Sorcha, from being sacrificed by the Amazon warriors. When the gladiatrices are given a chance to choose their fate, many follow Fallon because of her bravery and fierce dedication to returning to Rome to save the gladiatrices who were taken prisoner. During the journey, Fallon must grapple with the fact that she cannot save everyone—some will be taken prisoner, some will change sides, and some will lose their lives.  

The Defiant does an excellent job of recapping the main events from the first book in the series; however, the series is best read in order. The Defiant features many of the same characters as The Valiant and introduces several new characters. Even though Fallon is surrounded by her sister gladiatrices and several Roman soldiers, she is the leader who makes decisions for everyone. Fallon’s inability to trust others leads to a lack of teamwork, which takes away some of the enjoyment of each battle won. In addition, focusing solely on Fallon keeps the other characters stagnant. Readers who love character-driven stories may be disappointed with the lack of character development.  

Like the first book in the series, The Defiant includes adventure, action, and several surprises. However, some of the story drags because Fallon and her companions travel a long distance. Despite this, Fallon’s adventure is both entertaining and exciting. Readers who get squeamish during bloody battles should avoid reading The Valiant Series because each battle ends in bloodshed, and Fallon’s enemies include a group of men who eat people’s hearts. The Defiant is best suited for mature readers who enjoy political intrigue, bloody battles, and the fight against evil.  

Sexual Content  

  • Fallon and Cai kiss occasionally. However, only some of them are described. For instance, Cai returns to Rome after being in a battle. When Fallon sees him, “It took every last infinitesimal amount of self-control I could muster not to throw myself into Cai’s arms and devour him with kisses, right there in front of the whole academy. . .” 
  • Later, when they are alone, Fallon “lunged at him, reaching up to pull his head down toward me, and silencing him with the kiss I’d been waiting on for months. . . his mouth opened hungrily on mine. His arms wrapped around me and he lifted me off the ground.” 
  • In the evening, Fallon and Cai go to the garden. “Cai lowered his face to mine and kissed me on the mouth. I felt myself melting into his embrace as my arms circled around his neck. . .[they] sank slowly to the soft grass. . .”  
  • Later that night, they show each other their battle scars and kiss them. Cai kisses her again. “A long, slow, teasing kiss that made my lips tingle and turned my skin to fireflies and feathers.” At this time, Fallon wished she was still a princess who should “be sleeping where—and with whom—she damned well pleased.” 
  • While in a Roman bath, Cai and Fallon kiss. Fallon “lost myself to the sensation of his skin sliding against mine as he stopped swimming and, together, we sank beneath the surface of the water, breathing only each other’s air.” 
  • Before a battle, one of the gladiatrices “leaned in and kissed [a Roman soldier], full on his open, astonished mouth.” 

Violence  

  • One night, the Amazona, a rival gladiatrix academy, attacks Fallon’s academy, the Ludus Achillea. First, they kill the guards and set the barn on fire. As the Ludus Achillea women are being rounded up, a Roman soldier “lunged for one of the guard’s weapons. . . an archer up on the sentry walk spun and aimed, loosing an arrow. . . [the arrow] lodged in the breast of legionnaire Tullis . . . he sank to his knees and toppled forward motionless onto the ground.”  
  • During the attack, the Amazona leader, Nyx, uses her whip to attack one of the Ludus Achillea girls, Lydian. “The crack of leather echoed across the yard. Lydia screamed and dropped to the ground a Nyx’s whip caught her on the side of her face, and blood poured onto the sand from between her fingers. . . the whip cracked again as it sliced across Lydian’s shoulder. . . drawing an arch of bright blood. She shrieked again in agony. . .” Later, Lydia is in the infirmary, and “the skin on the right side of her face, where the lash of Nyx’s whip had scored, was split to the bone.” 
  • To stop the abuse, Fallon attacks Nyx. Nyx “brandished the heavy butt end of the whip like a club and caught me on the side of the head with it. Stars burst in front of my eyes. . . Nyx slammed the whip across my back like a truncheon. Then again. And again. . . A kick from her hobnailed boot lifted me off the ground.” Nyx stabs Fallon and then puts her in a dark cell. 
  • To escape Nyx, Fallon has to kill Ixion (an Amazon warrior) from behind. “Ixion’s heavy dead body sagged away from me. . .Never mind that my hands were shaking as I wiped clean my blade on the dead man’s tunic.” 
  • When Fallon and her companions are escaping from Nyx, a guard is killed. “The blade sliced through the rain, spinning end over end, and the man toppled soundlessly over the Ludus wall.”  
  • One of Fallon’s friends tells her a story. “When I was a girl, I came across what was left of one of those captives. . . He’d been blood-eagled. Split open and strung up between the branches of a tree as an offering to our god and a warning to our enemies.” 
  • Fallon and her companions flee from Rome. While sneaking onto a ship, guards called vigiles see Fallon and her fellow gladiatrix, Meriel. The girls attack the guards. “And two of them went down like sacks of grain the instant they attacked. I didn’t have time to think about how it felt to have to wrench my sword out of human flesh again, twisting as I did to avoid slipping in the hot, red rush of blood. . .”  
  • A guard attacks, and Fallon “raised an axe over his head, screaming as he swung the weapon back for a killing blow. He screamed louder when he realized that he no longer had an axe—or an arm—to swing.” Fallon escapes, but Meriel doesn’t. It is unclear what Meriel’s fate is. 
  • One of Fallon’s friends questions the goddess Morrigan’s kindness. He says, “Your fearsome war goddess. She who—as I’ve been led to understand—bathes in the blood of her enemies and feasts on their eyes after the battle’s done. She would not be so cruel?” 
  • To free Fallon’s sister, Sorcha, some of the gladiatrices from the Ludus Achillea go to the island the Amazons inhabit. When they get there, Thalestris—who had kidnapped Sorcha—was to sacrifice Socha. Thalestris tied Sorcha to a menhir and called out to her god. “Cybele! Black stone mother! Guardian of the boundaries between the living and the dead! Accept this blood sacrifice that we may wash the shame of our sister Orithyia’s disgrace and defeat from our skins and our souls.” 
  • Fallon and her group attack the Amazons. “The flaming iron cage balls soared out of the darkness like stones hurled from catapults, slamming into the protective shell made from our wall of shields, and the darkness exploded knot showers of sparks. . . Our blades darted out like serpents’ tongues, sometimes tagging flesh.”  
  • An older Amazon woman “swung an oak staff at [Fallon’s] head. . .and I caught the blow at an angle.” Fallon head-butted the woman in the face. “I felt her nose break. Blood gushed and she reeled backward, pain-blind . . .” The fight ends when Fallon repeatedly yells stop. Fallon gives the Amazons a speech, and both sides put down their weapons.  
  • As the Ludus Achillea leaves the island, Thalestris throws a fishing spear, killing a man. “His body stiffened and jerked, chest thrust forward, and the glistening red tip of a spear blade appeared as if by some evil magic, sticking out of the center of his tunic. . . When he opened his mouth to say something, all that came out was a gout of bright blood.” 
  • While at Cai’s father’s home, the guards try to attack Fallon and her friends. When the guard tries to punch Fallon, she “blocked the blow with my sword. He didn’t have time to scream in pain before I circled my blade through the air and lunged forward, burying the point in his chest.” 
  • When all the guards are dead, “the blood pooled beneath our feet, seeping from the mortal wounds of the seven dead vigils.” 
  • Cai’s father, Varro, attacks Fallon, who “took the length of a pitchfork shaft in the stomach. I dropped to the ground, wheezing, and my sword fell from my hands. . . Varro turned and threw me through the air. . . It felt as though my head had been torn half off.” 
  • To protect Fallon, “without the slightest hesitation, Cai thrust the blade between his father’s ribs. Right to the hilt.” As Varro took his last breaths, Cai said, “I renounce you, and your name, and your blood. I will not perform the rites for you, old man. I will not put coins for the Ferryman on your eyes. You go to Hades with no issue, no legacy, and no hope to ever walk the fields of Elysium beside my mother’s shade.” 
  • The Amazon and the Achillea gladiatrices battle. Sorcha fights Nyx. As Thalestris goes to kill Fallon, Sorcha “brought her blade up and around. . . and thrust into the space beneath Thalestris’s arm as she tore my sword out of my grasp. . . Thalestris was dead before she hit the ground.” 
  • Nyx joins the fight, wielding a fire chain. Nyx “swung the thing back and attacked again. And again. . . In her enthusiasm to spill my brains, it seemed she’d forgotten that I had a second sword. And she’d left herself wide open. . . I buried it between her ribs.” 
  • From the stands, someone shot an arrow at Fallon. “It dented on impact, and I felt like I’d been hit by a catapult stone, but I was alive.” 
  • Another arrow was let loose, but “Aeddan leaped in front . . .taking the second arrow that was meant for [Fallon] square in the chest. . . He spun around in a grotesque dance. . . toppled off the wall and hit the ground below.” The Achillea gladiatrices win the battle, but there are many deaths.

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • Often, Fallon and other adults drink wine. For example, after a practice battle, a drunk man asks Fallon for a kiss. She “snatched the cup from his hands and drank the wine in one gulp.” She left without kissing him. 
  • At night, Fallon and the other gladiatrices sit around the fire with “mugs of beer.” Some of the girls get drunk. 
  • When injured, Fallon is given a “potion” to stop the pain. Another gladiatrix is given “poppy draughts” when injured in a battle. 
  • Fallon’s sister is rescued and given a sleeping draught. 
  • To give Fallon and Cai time alone, Cai’s friend gets the guards drunk. 
  • Fallon thinks a “potent soporific” made her have bad dreams. 
  • One of the Sons of Dis put hemlock, a sedative, in Fallon’s wine. However, Fallon says, “The senator’s physician sent a cup of wine to my room every night to help me sleep. But I had such terrible dreams the first night; I just kept pouring the stuff out the window.”

Language  

  • Profanity is used occasionally. Profanity includes arse, ass, bloody, damn, and hell. 
  • There is some name-calling, including bitch, bastard and whore. 
  • “Lugh’s teeth” is used as an exclamation several times. 
  • “Morrigan’s bloody teeth” and “sweet Juno” are used as exclamations once. 

Supernatural 

  • When Fallon is delirious with fever, she’s forced to flee the Ludus Achillea; she prays to her goddess. Afterward, she sees a vision of a warrior she knows. She follows the warrior, who leads her to safety. Fallon believes, “The Morrigan had sent his shade back from the Lands of the Blessed Dead to lead my friends and me.”

Spiritual Content  

  • The conflict revolves around “the Sons of Dis, a depraved and cultish secret society dedicated to the sacrificial worship of a god of the Underworld.” Fallon saw a group of men “in feathered masks crowding around [a gladiator’s] split-open carcass, greedily devouring the heart that had beat so strongly within his chest only a handful of moments earlier.”  
  • Dis is “the dark incarnation of the Roman god Saturn—ruler of the Underworld, a pitiless deity who could grant his worshippers strength and power but would only be placated with blood.”
  • The Egyptians believed that “when we die, Anubis, the god of the dead, carves out our heart and weighs it against Ma’at, the feather of truth.” 
  • Fallon often refers to her goddess. Her father promised her hand in marriage to a man Fallon didn’t love. After a time, Fallon wonders, “if my father’s decision hadn’t been a part of the goddess Morrigan’s plan for me all along.” 
  • Before the gladiatrices are attacked, Fallon dreams of Morrigan appearing. “Her cloak was made of dagger blades. . .” Morrigan whispers the word “vengeance,” and Fallon wakes to find the stables on fire. Later, Morrigan tells Fallon to “Run! Live! Return to fight another day!” 
  • When Fallon is seriously injured, she wonders, “Had the Morrigan forsaken me because I’d pledged my warrior’s gifts in service to Caesar?” 
  • When Fallon’s enemy has captured her, he says, “Don’t you see, Fallon. Your goddess has laid out your fate’s path to lead right to the doorstep of my god. Dis and Morrigan are kindred.” 
  • When Fallon is in danger, she prays to Morrigan. Later, she believes “the Morrigan had heard my prayers and given me this chance.” When Fallon is finally safe, she offers “a silent prayer of gratitude to the Morrigan.”  
  • When Fallon’s sister, Sorcha, is kidnapped, a friend “made sacrifices to the goddess for her safe journey.” 
  • Sorcha was kidnapped so she could be sacrificed “to the goddess of the Amazons under the light of the Huntress Moon. How spilling of her blood would make their tribe mighty again.”  
  • Fallon’s tribe believes that after a person dies, they go to the Blessed Isles of the afterlife. 
  • When a man in Fallon’s group dies, she “whispered a prayer for the Morrigan to guide his soul’s flight.” 
  • Cleopatra tells Fallon that she can’t join the fight because “I am the daughter of the gods and, as such, should probably leave such robust bloodshed to you who are trained in those arts.”  
  • For protection, Cleopatra gives Fallon a pendant with Sekhmet on it. “One of the goddesses, and much like—if I understand what your sister has told me—your goddess, the Morrigan.” 

The Serpent’s Shadow

Following the events of Book Two of The Kane Chronicles: The Throne of Fire, Carter and Sadie prepare to face the Serpent of Chaos, Apophis. “It had been six months since the Chaos snake Apophis had escaped from his Underworld prison, but he still hadn’t launched a large-scale invasion of the mortal world as we’d expected.” Apophis has attacked several Nomes—organized groups of magicians—but Apophis seems to be waiting for the perfect time to launch a destructive attack on the entire mortal world. As Apophis’ attacks on groups of magicians continue, Carter and Sadie are determined to find a way to defeat Apophis, before he can reach his goal of overrunning the mortal world with chaos.  

In this book, Carter and Sadie reflect on and experience a lot of loss, which some readers may be able to empathize with. Carter explains, “I’d already lost so many people. My mom had died when I was seven. My dad sacrificed himself to become the host of Osiris [Egyptian god of the dead] last year. Over the summer, many of our allies had fallen to Apophis.” Having lost so many people that they love, Carter and Sadie have grown closer, and they recognize how important it is that they support each other. As Carter explains, “I needed [Sadie].”  

An important theme in The Serpent’s Shadow is Sadie’s evolving relationships with Anubis, the Egyptian god of funerals, and Walt, her friend and fellow magician. Middle-grade readers will likely sympathize with Sadie as she struggles to understand her emotions. Sadie explains that she does not really know what she wants and feels conflicted. “My heart had been torn between [Walt] and Anubis for months now, and it just wasn’t fair of Anubis to pop into my dreams, looking all hot and immortal, when poor Walt was risking his life to protect me.”  

Things take a dramatic turn for Sadie when Walt, who has been dying of an incurable curse, is able to live—but only by becoming the mortal host of Anubis. At first, Sadie is mortified and does not know how to handle both Anubis and Walt being in one body, but she is ultimately able to accept this. Sadie “saw [Walt] smiling down at me. Anubis, too. I could see them both, and I realized I didn’t have to pick.” Sadie ultimately decides to pursue a relationship with Walt even after he becomes Anubis’ host, saying, “This was a new boy in front of me, and he was everything I liked.”  

Ultimately, to defeat the Serpent of Chaos, Apophis, the gods and goddesses must work together with the mortal magicians. While the gods and goddesses keep the serpent at bay, Carter and Sadie are able to perform a spell and defeat Apophis by destroying his shadow, or his sheut. Carter and Sadie visit their parents in the underworld, where their mom emphasizes the importance of magicians working in tandem with the gods to create harmony. Carter and Sadie’s mom says, “Keep teaching the path of the gods. Bring the House of Life [the organization of the magicians] back to its former glory. [Sadie] and Carter will make Egyptian magic stronger than ever. And that’s good . . . because your challenges are not over.”  

Readers who enjoy mythology, action, and magic will love this series, which is an absolute must-read because of its message of working together to make the world a better place, or in Carter and Sadie’s case, to defeat the Serpent of Chaos.  

Sexual Content  

  • While running from an angry goddess, Walt, Sadie’s friend and fellow magician, kisses Sadie. “He nodded, then gave me a hasty kiss. ‘Good luck.’”  
  • After successfully performing a spell to avoid being captured, Sadie kisses Walt. “I kissed him properly—or as properly as possible given our situation.”  
  • Carter and Zia, Carter’s friend from the first two books and fellow magician, kiss. “She leaned over and kissed me. I’d imagined this many times, but I was so unprepared, I didn’t act very cool about it. . . I said something like ‘Hum-uh-huh.’” 
  • Carter and Zia kiss while on a date in the mall’s food court. “She leaned over and kissed me.”  
  • After Walt explains to Sadie how he agreed to become Anubis’ mortal host so that he could stay alive in spite of his curse, Walt and Sadie kiss. “[Walt] leaned down and kissed me.”  

Violence  

  • Carter and Sadie fight alongside a group of magicians from another Nome, or magician group, from Texas. However, in the course of the battle, the demons sent by Apophis kill all the magicians that came to help Carter and Sadie. Sadie says, “The Texas magicians had welcomed us and supported us . . . ’They’re dead,’ [Sadie] said. ‘All of them.’” The killings aren’t described, but Carter and Sadie find remnants of some belt buckles worn by the magicians that passed away.  
  • A rebel magician leader, Sarah Jacobi, has gathered a group of supporters who believe that Carter, Sadie, and their relatives are dangerous and that Carter and Sadie, not Apophis, have caused the many deaths of other magicians. Jacobi threatens Carter and Sadie, “The Kanes are a plague . . . you must be destroyed. Surrender yourself and your family for execution.” Carter and Sadie do not surrender to Jacobi, knowing that she is wrong, and that Apophis is the threat to magicians and to the mortal world at large.  
  • A river monster attacks Carter and his friend, Zia, and Carter changes into a falcon so that he can get a better view of the monster during the fight. Carter says, “I dove at the monster’s eye, raking it with my claws . . . but I could tell that I hadn’t done any real damage.” Carter and Zia are saved by a giant who appears in the river and defeats the monster.  
  • When Carter and Sadie cast a spell to destroy Apophis’ shadow and defeat him, the Chaos serpent explodes. “His head exploded. Yes, it was just as gross as it sounds. Flaming bits of reptile flew everywhere.”  

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • Characters occasionally say stupid and shut up.  

Supernatural 

  • Carter and Sadie discuss the various parts of the soul. Carter and Sadie’s friend and the goddess of cats, Bast, explains the shadow part of the soul. “You can never be free of your shadow—your sheut. All living beings have them…The sheut is not just a physical shadow. It’s a magical projection—the silhouette of the soul.”  
  • Carter is able to channel the power of Horus, a god, since they worked together in the past two books. Because of this, Carter is able to use Horus’ power to change into a falcon if he needs to. “I changed into a falcon . . . it was fairly easy magic for me, since the falcon was Horus’ sacred animal.”  
  • While the gods fight off Apophis, Sadie and Carter are able to combat Apophis with a spell. Sadie explains how she uses the magic. “I faced down my own chaos. I accepted my jumbled emotions about whether I belonged in London or New York, whether I was a magician or a schoolgirl. I was Sadie Kane, and if I survived today, I could bloody well balance it all . . . I stilled my restlessness and let go of my doubts. ‘Ma’at [order]’ I said.”

Spiritual Content  

  • Like in the other Kane Chronicles books, Carter and Sadie encounter the gods and goddesses of Egyptian mythology throughout this book and often fight Apophis, the Serpent of Chaos, alongside the gods. The Egyptian gods in this series are not really worshipped in a traditional sense, but rather are given human characteristics—anger, revenge, love, and jealousy.  
  • Sadie explains of the Egyptian gods and goddesses, “the gods are not human. They have trouble thinking of us [humans] as more than useful tools or cute pets. To gods, a human life span doesn’t seem much longer than that of the average gerbil.”  
  • Characters rarely exclaim “gods of Egypt” when frustrated or surprised.  

Hispanic Star: Selena Gomez

Meet Selena Gomez – once just a girl from Grand Prairie, Texas, who loved to perform for her family. Her courage, drive, and empathy have been guiding posts in her lifelong career since her beginnings on Barney & Friends. Selena’s skyrocket to fame took her from the Disney Channel to becoming one of Time magazine’s most influential people in the world in 2020. An emblem for her generation, Selena shows that you can be exactly who you are and follow your passions wherever they may lead you.

Hispanic Star proudly celebrates Hispanic and Latinx heroes who have made remarkable contributions to American culture and have been undeniable forces in shaping its future. If you can see it, you can be it.  

Millions around the world admire Selena Gomez for her talented artistic career. However, few know about the challenges she faced as a child to become the famous star she is today. For example, in 2016, Selena had to cancel part of her concert tour because she was dealing with mental health issues and fighting Lupus. Selena said, “I need to face this head-on to ensure I am doing everything possible to be my best.” She wanted to show fans “how important it was to get help when you are struggling.” Selena’s story showcases the importance of taking care of your physical and mental health. 

Hispanic Star: Selena Gomez shines a light on social media’s harmful effects and how Selena struggled with her self-image because of it. At one point, Selena realized she needed to step back from posting on social media so she could retrain her mind “to not go to these negative places when you say something wrong, do something wrong when you wear a certain thing or represent a certain culture.” Selena acknowledges that social media made her feel as if she was not good enough. Hopefully, teens will read Selena’s story and learn to limit their interaction with social media. 

Short passages explain key vocabulary and historical information relevant to the book to help readers fully understand Selena’s life and accomplishments. For example, one section explains the kinds of roles in film and television, including background talent, recurring, guest star, etc. Other sections explain the battle of the immune system, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, etc. To make it easy to recognize, the supplementary text appears in a gray box. The book also includes black-and-white illustrations every three to six pages. 

Hispanic Star: Selena Gomez takes a deep look at Selena and discusses how Selena’s hardships have shaped her into a better person. She values self-reflection, thoughtfulness, fearlessness, and empathy and uses her platform to help make the world a better place. Selena wants young people “to take care of themselves and one another; to stay true to who they are and what they believe.” Hispanic Star: Selena Gomez makes it clear that Selena is much more than a singer—she is an advocate for others and wants people to believe in themselves. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Alex Morgan

Learn all about one of the top stars of the U.S. Women’s National Team in this action-packed book. Unlike most professional soccer players, Alex Morgan did not start playing club soccer until she was fourteen. But her talent was so obvious that only three years later, she was called up to the U.S. women’s under–20 team. That was just the beginning of a history-making career that led her, most recently, to a second World Cup title as co-captain of the U.S. women’s team. This new edition of Alex Morgan—revised and updated from cover to cover—follows every step of her journey, not only as a soccer player but also as a best-selling author, an actor, and so much more! 

Alex Morgan uses a fun format that pulls readers into the book with full-colored illustrations, fact boxes, and short bursts of text. The pages feature a full-page illustration, large, attention-grabbing titles, and oversized text. Instead of using the traditional paragraph format, some pages only have two sentences plus facts. For example, one two-page spread has a large illustration with six all-star soccer players, giving each player height. This helps readers understand how height plays a role in sports.  

While the book focuses on soccer, several pages break down events that affected Alex Morgan. These include the student protest in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, films of the year, Alex Morgan’s zodiac sign, and more. In addition, the book includes play-by-play action on some of Alex Morgan’s accomplishments on the field, complete with pictures of soccer action. Several pages also give information on other all-star soccer players.  

Alex Morgan is jam-packed with information about Alex Morgan. Readers will learn about her accomplishments on and off the field. The book shows several pictures of Alex’s Nike advertisements, her book series, and her fiancé. Since the book contains so much information, none of the sections are well-developed, leaving readers with many questions about Alex Morgan. Despite this, any reader who loves soccer will find this fast-paced book fascinating and fun. Soccer-loving readers can score with these fiction books: Breakaway by Andrea Montalbano, The Academy by T.Z. Layton and The Floating Field: How a Group of Thai Boys Built Their Own Soccer Field by Scott Riley. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Holes

Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnatses. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys’ detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the boys build character by spending all day, every day digging holes exactly five feet wide and five feet deep. There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. But there are an awful lot of holes.

It doesn’t take long for Stanley to realize there’s more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. But what could be buried under a dried-up lake? Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption. 

Stanley is an interesting character who has been bullied his entire life but has never fought back. When he’s sent to Camp Green Lake, his life takes a turn for the worse. There is trouble between Stanley and his cabinmates when, unbeknownst to them, Stanley agrees to teach Zero to read in exchange for Zero’s help digging Stanley’s hole. Even though Stanley doesn’t feel like the trade is fair, like everything else in his life, he goes along with it because it was Zero’s idea. Similarly, when Stanley’s cabinmates begin to beat him up, Stanley takes the punches without fighting back. Readers will empathize with Stanley’s insecurities and inability to voice his opinions even though they may not relate to his struggles.  

Stanley’s tale follows two storylines—his current struggles at Camp Green Lake and those of his ancestors, beginning with his “no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather.” Stanley’s unlucky ancestors face discrimination and hardships, but it’s up to the reader to decide if their downfall was due to fate or their decisions. While his ancestor’s hardships don’t coincide with Stanley’s struggles, the conclusion explains how each storyline connects. The ancestors’ storyline is interesting, but some readers may find the back-and-forth between plots confusing. 

Holes uses an interesting premise to create a story with unique characters who show how a person’s ancestors’ decisions can impact generations. At first, Stanley feels he’s destined to have bad luck, but when his friend Zero disappears into the desert, Stanley finally steps out of his comfort zone to help his friend. The story’s conclusion gives both Stanley and Zero a happy ending, but readers are left to question whether Stanley has changed and is willing to stand up to others and let his voice be heard.  

Most of the story’s action comes from the characters’ interactions and from Stanley’s difficulties digging holes. Some readers may struggle with the story’s slow pace and the constantly shifting perspectives. However, Holes is worth reading because it explores real-world issues such as justice, friendship, cruelty’s destructive nature, and history’s importance in everyday life. Readers who enjoy Holes should also read the Alabama Moon Series by Watt Key and Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. 

Sexual Content  

  • In the past, someone saw Kate Barlow kissing a black man. 

Violence  

  • Stanley calls a boy by his given name instead of his nickname. The boy “threw Stanley to the ground. Stanley stared up at him, terrified.”  
  • Armpit, one of Camp Green Lake’s inmates, questions the Warden. “The Warden jabbed at Armpit with the pitchfork, knocking him backward into the big hole. The pitchfork left three holes in the front of his shirt and three tiny spots of blood.” 
  • Zigzag and Stanley were digging in a hole when “Zigzag’s shovel caught him in the side of the head. He collapsed. . . Stanley brought his fingers up the side of his neck. He felt his wet blood and a pretty big gash right below his ear. . . Mr. Sir made a bandage out of a piece of his sack of sunflower seeds and taped it over Stanley’s ear.” Stanley has “throbbing pain,” and the wound is “considerably swollen.” 
  • The Warden mixes rattlesnake venom with her nail polish. When Mr. Sir annoys the Warden, she scratches his face. “He had three long red marks slanting across the left side of his face. Stanley didn’t know if the redness was caused by her nail polish or his blood. . . Mr. Sir screamed and clutched his face with both hands. He let himself fall over . . . Then his head jerked violently, and he let out a shrill scream, worse than the one before.” Mr. Sir’s face swells “to the size of a cantaloupe” and has “three dark-purple jagged lines running down his cheek.” 
  • When a boy asks Mr. Sir about his wound, “there was a crash [and] Mr. Sir holding the boy’s head against the oatmeal pot. . . Mr. Sir had the boy by his throat.” Mr. Sir choked the boy and then let him go. 
  • Some of the inmates get angry at Stanley. Zigzag began pushing Stanley “hard,” but Stanley wouldn’t hit back. “Stanley made a feeble attempt to punch Zigzag; then he felt a flurry of fists against his head and neck. Zigzag had hold of his collar with one hand and was hitting him with the other.” The supervising adult, Mr. Pendanski, encourages Stanley to fight back. 
  • When Stanley still refused to fight back, Zigzag jumped on Stanley. “The side of Stanley’s face was pressed flat against the dirt. . . Zigzag’s fist slammed off his arms and pounded his face into the ground.” The supervising adult does nothing to stop the fight. 
  • Zero helps Stanley. “Zero had his arm around Zigzag’s long neck. Zigzag made a gagging sound, as he desperately tried to pry Zero’s arm off him. . . Armpit charged into them, freezing Zigzag from Zero’s choke hold.” Finally, the supervising adult shoots a pistol in the air, stopping the fight. 
  • After the supervising adult, Mr. Pendanski, berates Zero, “Zero took the shovel. Then swung it like a baseball bat. The metal blade smashed across Mr. Pendanski’s face. His knees crumpled beneath him. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.” Mr. Pendanski “had two black eyes and a bandage over his nose.” 
  • Zero walks off into the desert. “The counselors all drew their guns.” The Warden tells the counselors to let Zero leave because he’ll either come back to camp or die in the desert. 
  • Stanley’s great-grandfather was robbed by “Kissin’’ Kate Barlow. “Kate Barlow didn’t actually kiss Stanley’s great-grandfather. . . She only kissed the men she killed. Instead, she robbed him and left him stranded in the middle of the desert.” 
  • Kate Barlow was a school teacher who fell in love with Sam, a Black man. When someone sees them kissing, they destroy the school. Kate goes to the sheriff (who is drunk) for help, but he will only help Kate if she kisses him. “She slapped him across the face. . . She tried to slap him again, but he caught her by the hand.” 
  • The sheriff planned to hang the man Kate loved because “it’s against the law for a Negro to kiss a white woman.” 
  • Kate Barlow and her love try to escape on a boat, but a man named Trout Walker finds them. “The Walker boat smashed into Sam’s boat. Sam was shot and killed.”  
  • Kate Barlow survived. “Three days after Sam’s death, Miss Katherine shot the sheriff while he was sitting in his chair drinking a cup of coffee. Then she carefully applied a fresh coat of red lipstick and gave him the kiss he asked for.” Kate turned into an outlaw. 
  • During Kate Barlow’s bandit days, she went to a cabin to rest. “She was awakened one morning by someone kicking open the cabin door. She opened her eyes to see the blurry end of a rifle, two inches from her nose.” Trout Walker and his wife, Linda, wanted Kate’s loot. When Kate refused to give it to them, they forced her to walk on the hot sand “until her feet were black and blistered. Whenever she stopped, Linda whacked her with the shovel.”  
  • A lizard with “sharp black teeth bit into her leg. Its white tongue lapped up the droplets of blood that leaked out of the wound.” The bite killed Kate. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • A camp counselor is trying to stop smoking. In a stressful moment, he “lit a cigarette.” 

Language  

  • Hell is used once. 
  • “Oh my God” is used twice. 

Supernatural 

  • According to family legend, Stanley’s family is cursed. Stanley’s great-great-grandfather “had stolen a pig from a one-legged Gypsy, and she put a curse on him and all of his descendants. Stanley’s parents didn’t believe in curses, of course, but whenever anything went wrong, it felt good to be able to blame someone.” 
  • According to legend, after Kate’s love was killed, the town was cursed. “That all happened one hundred and ten years ago. Since then, not one drop of rain has fallen on Green Lake.” The narrator asks the reader, “You make the decision: Whom did God punish?” 

Spiritual Content  

  • When Kate Barlow kisses Sam, a Black man, a woman tells her, “God will punish you!” In addition, someone calls her “the Devil Woman.” 
  • When the sheriff refuses to help Kate Barlow, she says, “We’re all equal under the eyes of God.” 
  • In Kate Barlow’s time, Mrs. Tennyson’s daughter becomes sick. Mrs. Tennyson gave her daughter Sam’s onion tonic, which healed her. When Mrs. Tennyson thanks Sam, he says, “I’m sure the good Lord and Doc Hawthorn deserve most of the credit.” 
  • Stanley disturbs a yellow spotted lizard nest. When he safely exits the hole, the warden says, “Thank God.” 

Rising Above: Inspiring Women in Sports

Some of the most accomplished and famous athletes in the world—tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams, Olympic Gold Medalist Simone Biles, World Cup superstar Carli Lloyd and others—faced earthshaking challenges in their youth. But they refused to give up. Through hard work and determination, they rose above their circumstances and went on to conquer the sports world. This collection of mini biographies, complete with firsthand content drawn from in-depth interviews, is a source of inspiration and self-empowerment for kids and sports fans of all ages.

Included in the book: Venus and Serena Wiliams (tennis), Simone Biles (gymnastics), Carli Lloyd (soccer), Wilma Rudolph (track and field), Mo’ne Davis (Little League baseball), Swin Cash (basketball), Elena Delle Donne (basketball), Bethany Hamilton (surfing), Ronda Rousey (mixed martial arts), and Kerri Strug (gymnastics). 

Rising Above is a motivational book that will appeal to anyone—athletes and non-athletes alike. Each chapter focuses on one athlete who is a legend in their field. However, even for these elite athletes, life threw unexpected challenges their way, including chronic illnesses, injuries, harsh criticism, and racism. For example, basketball player Elena Delle Donne had to overcome criticism about her body and her choices. In addition, she had to overcome having a chronic illness.  

Each athlete’s story is told using specific examples, quotes from the athlete and others who knew them, and motivational advice anyone can apply to their lives. For example, soccer player Carli Lloyd said, “You’ve got to work hard to turn negatives into positives…That’s really the key in life.” Even though most readers will never have the intense public scrutiny that these athletes were forced to face, readers will find each athlete’s story motivational and inspiring.  

One theme that comes through in every athlete’s story is the need to bounce back from failure. After having polio as a child, Wilma Rudolph became an African American Olympic legend in track. Along the way, she learned, “Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. If you pick up after a crushing defeat and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.” Each athlete admits that they are not perfect and that they had to turn to others for help. “Turning to a friend, parent therapist, or other person for help or guidance isn’t a sign of weakness. Instead, it can be the best way to deal with life’s trials.” 

The book’s afterword summarizes the similarities in each athlete’s situation and recaps their important life lessons. By reading Rising Above, you will see how athletes faced serious setbacks and rose to overcome them. Autor Gregory Zuckerman wrote: “The stories from Rising Above can serve as useful life lessons for those facing their own challenges.” Whether you dream of being a sports star or being a nurse, you can take the stories in Rising Above and apply the athletes’ lessons to your own life.  

Sexual Content  

  • While in the ocean, Bethany Hamilton was attacked by a shark. “Out of nowhere, Bethany saw a flash of grey. A split second later, she felt two lightning-fast tugs and then tremendous pressure on her left side. Bethany saw the jaws of a huge, fourteen-foot tiger shark covering the top of the surfboard and her entire left arm. Almost immediately, the water around her turned red.”

Violence  

  • Ronda Rousey’s father was paralyzed in an accident, and he “had to deal with a rare disorder that made it impossible for him to stop bleeding.” Her father was in extreme pain and “unable to deal with the unbearable pain and with no hope in sight, Ronda’s father had taken his own life.” 
  • When Ronda Rousey was a child, she began training in judo. The kids would tease her about being muscular. “One day, a boy crept up behind Ronda and grabbed her throat. Ronda reacted with unusual quickness and strength, throwing the boy over her hip on the cement, stunning him.” 
  • When Ronda was in eighth grade, a girl challenged her to a fight. “Ronda defended herself and earned respect from her classmates for refusing to accept the abuse. Ronda dropped the eighth grader with a single punch.”

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • Simone Biles’ mother “suffered from drug and alcohol addictions,” causing her to lose custody of her children. 
  • After Simone competed in the Olympics, “hackers released the medical files of various Olympians, a leak that showed Simone was taking a drug that was on the prohibited list. . .Simone acknowledged taking the medication since childhood for ADHD. . .She had permission for the drug and wasn’t ashamed.” 
  • Elena Delle Donne contracted Lyme disease and “began taking about fifty different supplements to keep her disease under control.” 
  • Basketball player Swin Cash was injured. She said, “Sharp movements would feel like someone was stabbing me with a steak knife.” Because of the pain, she took painkillers and injections. 

Language  

  • While playing tennis, Serena Williams dealt with racism. She said, “I heard the word nigger a couple of times. I couldn’t believe it.” 
  • When Wilma Rudolph, an African American Olympic runner, was young, white kids taunted her, saying, “Hey, nigger, get out of town.”  
  • Wilma Rudolph was nicknamed “the Black Gazelle” and “mosquito, ” and some referred to her as “gorilla.” 
  • While shopping in Honolulu, a white woman saw three African Americans window shopping. The woman said, “What are you natives doing out in the streets?” 
  • Ronda Rousey was bullied, and kids called her “Miss Man.” 
  • Pissed is used twice. 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • People criticized Simone because of her muscular build. She says, “Love your body. You were born with it. God has blessed it. Don’t pay attention to negativity.” 
  • When Elena Delle Donne quit college to go back home, “some criticized Elena for squandering her God-given talent.” 
  • After losing her arm in a shark attack, Bethany Hamilton had to be resilient. “Bethany says her religious faith also helped her. She felt God had a plan for her and was guiding her and helping her adjust to living with only one arm.” 
  • When basketball player Swin Cash was injured, she said, “You cry out to God, and you’re trying to understand, ‘Why is this happening to me?’” She eventually overcame the pain. “It was a lot of prayer, a lot of family, and a reevaluation of my life.” 

Gracie Under the Waves

Inspired by her own experience, beloved author Linda Sue Park tells the story of a girl learning how to impact a cause she cares about while navigating the ups and downs of a sibling relationship and turning disappointment into opportunity.   

Gracie loves snorkeling! She loves it so much, she convinces her parents to let her plan a family vacation to Roatán, Honduras, where they can all snorkel together. She even makes a new friend there. Now, if only her irritating little brother would leave her alone, everything would be perfect. Then Gracie hurts her leg, and all her carefully made plans start to come apart. Worse still, she learns the reef itself is in serious danger. Gracie wants to help the reef . . . but she’s just a kid. What can she do to make a difference? Fortunately, her new friend has a few ideas!  

Gracie is a resourceful protagonist who loves planning things. However, she can’t go with the flow, especially regarding her energetic, enthusiastic brother, Ben. To Gracie, it seems as if her brother ruins all of her plans. This is no different when the family arrives in Roatán. While snorkeling, Ben accidentally knocks into Gracie, causing her to hit her leg on the coral. Unable to snorkel, Gracie’s frustration grows, and she takes her anger out on her brother. However, when Ben gets caught up in a jellyfish bloom, Gracie doesn’t think twice before she jumps in to help her brother. 

Gracie loves snorkeling so much that she wants to show her family the wonders that live under the sea. This often takes the form of educating herself and learning more about the fish she sees while snorkeling. Once on Roatán, Gracie learns about the dangers of global warming and other reasons that the coral is dying. Gracie wants to help save the coral and she learns how small changes, such as using reef-safe sunscreen, can make a big difference. Gracie’s knowledge also allows her to help her brother escape a jellyfish bloom. After being stung by jellyfish, Ben doesn’t want to go back into the water. But with Gracie’s help, Ben realizes that “they weren’t being bad. They were just being jellyfish.” 

Gracie Under the Waves educates readers about the effects of global warming and gives a list of resources that show ways people can help save the reef. Several times, Gracie mentions the Netflix documentary Chasing Coral, which offers additional information about the importance of the reefs. In addition, the book has many black-and-white illustrations of the different types of fish that Gracie and her family see. Teaching about the ocean reefs isn’t the only positive aspect of the story. Gracie’s family is a traditional two-parent family with realistic conflicts, and they uses healthy communication skills to discuss their feelings. Readers who love the ocean will find Gracie Under the Waves an educational and entertaining story that gives them suggestions on how they can help save the reefs. Ocean-loving readers can learn more about saving ocean creatures by reading Odder by Katherine Applegate, Manatee Blues by Laurie Halse Anderson, and Out of My Shell by Jenny Goebel.  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • When Gracie gets injured, she is given antibiotics.  
  • Ben and Gracie are stung by jellyfish. The doctor tells them to use vinegar and “antihistamines for a bad case.”  

Language  

  • None

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream

Have you ever heard of the Mercury 13 women? Did you know that nearly twenty years before the first women were let into NASA’s astronaut program, there were others who tried? 

What are the requirements for being shot into space, piloting a hunk of metal while carrying the hopes and fears of your nation? Mastery of flying, as well as courage, intelligence, resistance to stress, and fitness—any checklist would certainly include these. But when America created NASA in 1958, there was an unspoken rule in place: astronauts must be male, and they must be white. 

Here is the tale of thirteen women who proved not only that they were as tough as any man but also that they were brave enough to challenge the government. Their passage to space was blocked by prejudice, jealousy, and a note scrawled by one of the most powerful men in Washington. But in the end, their inspiring example empowered young women to take their rightful place in the sky, piloting jets and commanding space capsules. Almost Astronauts is the story of thirteen true pioneers of the space age. 

Every young girl should read Almost Astronauts, which gives the account of determined women who refused to take no for an answer. The Mercury 13 women “knew their own minds, their own hearts, their own dreams.” The women took the same test as male astronauts and often outperformed the men. “They showed up ready for anything: to be run ragged, spun in circles, pushed to their limits. They were ready to show their smarts, their strength, and their courage.” The Mercury 13 women’s stories will encourage young women to persevere despite the heavy roadblocks that are placed in front of them.  

Many people, including President Lyndon B. Johnson, NASA, and the Navy, believed that women should not be allowed to be astronauts, but they were careful “not to be seen as dismissing women’s concerns outright.” But pilot Jerry Cobb and other women refused to be dismissed. Pilot Jerry Cobb said, “The race for space will not be a short one—nor any easy one—but it is one in which we must all participate. Let us go forward, then—there is space for women!” In the end, while the Mercury 13 couldn’t overcome the social constraints of the time and become astronauts, they forced their way into the pilot seats of airplanes and opened the hatch that would eventually allow other women to take their place in the cockpit of a space shuttle.   

Black-and-white and color pictures appear every two to four pages. The text often breaks up information with subheadlines that include the date or topic. The back of the book includes an author’s note, an appendix, further reading, a bibliography, sources, source notes, and an index. The book includes information on many famous women who influenced NASA, including Katherine Johnson, Mae Jemison, and Mary Golda Ross.  

Almost Astronauts is an educational and engaging story that will empower young women to reach for the stars. It is a must-read because it shows how many women took their place in the sky, piloting jets and commanding space capsules. The women’s accomplishments show that women are truly capable of making impossible dreams come true. To learn more about how women influenced space travel, read To Fly Among the Stars: The Hidden Story of the Fight for Women Astronauts by Rebecca Siegel and Astronauts: Women on the Final Frontier by Jim Ottaviani & Maris Wicks.  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Ambush at Sorato

Will and Maddie are in Toscana on a diplomatic mission when word comes of a cavalry force crossing the northern body and marauding through the countryside.

At the behest of the emperor, the rangers head north to investigate. They discover that the invaders are a group of Temujai—a reconnaissance force searching for a place to penetrate and invade. So Will and Maddie must split up to gather forces and information in order to push the Temujai back once again.

As the Temujai move their forces ahead, cutting at the Toscan forces, Maddie and Will must step up and lead their allies to victory, despite the danger of one of their greatest enemies.  

Ambush at Sorato mainly focuses on Will, who advises the Toscan forces and travels to recruit Genovesan mercenaries to help fight the battle. As always, Will is an honorable leader who respects everyone despite their position. While traveling to meet the main fighting force, “Will had treated the shield bearers fairly and humanely, making sure they had comfortable quarters, good bedding, and nourishing food.” As in previous books, Will shows concern for others and is willing to step into battle when called upon.  

The story is told from the third person omniscient point of view, which allows the reader to understand the different leaders’ perspectives including the Temujai’s leader, Mat’zak. While this helps the readers understand multiple perspectives and see what each force thinks, the plot is choppy and often switches to another person’s perspective. While there are many different leaders, Maddie is not one of them. For most of the story, Maddie disappears into the background while Will organizes and plans the battle. Unfortunately, neither Will’s nor Maddie’s character changes or grows, which makes the story stagnate. 

Many characters, including the invading army, are familiar because they appeared in previous books. This, coupled with the lengthy travel to engage the enemy, slows the pacing and erases any suspense. The author introduced new, exciting elements to each book in previous installments of The Ranger’s Apprentice Series and The Royal Ranger Series. However, Ambush at Sorato relies on familiar characters and mundane situations, and while the story ends with a hint that another book will be written, readers may not be enthusiastic about continuing with Will and Maddie’s story. Readers looking for their next action-packed adventure should read the League of Archers Series by Eva Howard and No Good Deed by Kara Connolly. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • The Temujai send forces into Toscan. The soldiers attack towns throughout. The Temujai “horsemen swept into the narrow streets between the houses, initially cutting down the inhabitants with a storm of arrows, then following up with their long, curved sabers. . . The invaders would ride up to the defenses, coming from two or three directions at once, and shower the defenders with plunging fire from their bows.” The Temujai killed everyone in the town before moving on to the next one. 
  • The Temujai attack a walled town. At first, they shot arrows at the guards. “The man on the gatehouse threw up his arms and fell backward with a yell of pain as the heavy arrow slammed into him, punching through his leather armor and into his flesh. . . another defender on the wall spun around, clutching an arrow wound in his right arm and letting his javelin fall . . .” 
  • Not realizing it was a trick, the town’s commander, Caligus, orders his men to attack the retreating Temujai. The Temujai surrounded the soldiers. “As they came within range, [the Temujai] began to shoot and several of his men dropped, arrows hitting their unguarded back.” 
  • The Temujai began shooting arrows at the Toscan forces, who were trying to retreat. “There were few mortal wounds; the men’s armor and shields saw to that. But the wounds they did suffer—to legs and arms and any momentarily bared flesh—made men drop out of line. . . Those who did drop out were quickly finished off by the cruel sabers of the Temujai.” 
  • Caligus tries to flee, but an arrow hits him. “Then he was face down in the dust, his blood staining the ground around him.” All of the Toscan soldiers die. 
  • Maddie must evade two Temujai soldiers who are chasing her. During the chase, the soldiers shoot arrows at her, but they do not hit their mark. Maddie hides in a rock outcrop until the soldiers are closer. “As the leader of the two Temujai nocked an arrow, he heard a whizzing sound and a sickening thud. His companion threw his arms wide and was hurled backward out of his saddle, with a strangled grunt of pain.” It is unclear whether the soldier’s wound was fatal. 
  • Maddie launches another stone, but this one hits the Temujai horse. “The horse reared and plunged, screaming in agony. . . The Temujai was nearly hurled from the saddle.” The next shot hit the Temujai’s upper left arm, breaking the big bone there and sending a flare of agony searing through the man.” The man crashes to the ground. 
  • Peloni, a mercenary, was practicing shooting his crossbow with a peasant who would load his crossbow. Peloni angrily “launched a resounding slap at the other man’s face.”  
  • Selethen, an Arridan leader in the military, leads a group of soldiers to attack the Temujai while they sleep. The soldiers set the tents on fire and then attacked. “As Selethen reached the command pavilion, the guards on duty there moved forward to bar his way. He hacked down at the nearest, who was trying to level a heavy spear at him. The man cried out and fell to the side.” 
  • After the attack, the Temujai buried their dead. The men were “laid out in two rows, wrapped in their bedding, ready for burial. The wounded were being treated in the healers’ tents.” Fourteen men died, and twenty-three were wounded. 
  • The Temujai go after Selethen and his soldiers. The Arridan soldiers continued to harass the Temujai who were trailing them. As the Temujai’s wagons were forging a river, the Arridans attacked. “As the running men were dispatched by the two lancers, Selethen’s blade knocked the driver’s sword to one side and continued on, smashing into his ribs. The Arridan commander jerked his sword free, and the cart driver doubled over and fell to the mud under the cart’s wheels.”  
  • Selethen is captured during one of the raids. His hands are tied and attached to a horse’s pommel. When his captor started moving, “Selethen attempted to keep pace with the rapid movement but failed. The rawhide tugged painfully at his wrists, the long grass tangled between his riding boots, and he was jerked off his feet to crash heavily onto the grass.” Selethen is dragged behind the horse until the enemy reaches his camp. 
  • After being captured, his captor hurts him before being taken to be interrogated. “The Temujai stepped in and hammered a fist into his solar plexus. The unexpected blow drove the air from his lungs with an explosive grunt. . .” Selethen falls, and “the Temujai’s boot caught him in the side, driving out what little air was left in his lungs.” The description of the beating is described over two pages.  
  • While rescuing Selethen, Maddie shoots an arrow. “The shaft hit the sentry in the chest, the impact stopping him, then knocking him backward on his heels. The saver fell from his hands and he crashed full length on the grass with a muted groan of pain.” The Temujai give chase, and Maddie shoots arrows at them. “The first two Temujai tumbled from their saddles. . . Maddie’s third arrow transfixed [another soldier’s] left shoulder, the impact and sudden agony knocking him from his horse.” 
  • Will lures the Temujai’s leader, Mat’zak, into a trap where he and his men are surrounded. “The javelins smashed down into the mass of [Temujai] riders, bring down horses and men . . .” The Temujai send a volley of arrows into the Toscan’s ranks, and several men are injured. 
  • The Genovesans, paid mercenaries, help the Toscans. “From behind seventh-five shields, the crossbowmen emerged, leveled their weapons, and released, cutting swaths through the galloping horsemen. Mena and horses screamed in pain and fell, and the [enemy] calvary faltered as the crossbow bolts struck him.” The battle is described in several chapters, and over two hundred enemy men died or were wounded on the battlefield. 
  • Will is angry at the Genovesans’ commander, Peloni. When Will complains about his bad behavior, Peloni challenges Will to a duel. During the duel, “Will shot him in the chest. There was a brief flash of agony. Peloni felt himself being flung backward by the force of the arrow, then he hit the grass, and everything went dark.” 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • While spending the night in a town, Will is served wine. “Will poured himself a small glass and sipped carefully. The wine was surprisingly good. . . He limited himself to one glass. . .” 
  • The second night, Will and his companion, Brasos, are given more wine. Will “limited himself to one glass. He noted that Brasos gulped his first glass down and hurried to refill it.” Will cautions Brasos about drinking too much, so Brasos drinks coffee instead. 
  • The mercenaries drink wine with their meals. 

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Katie Ledecky

Katie Ledecky always planned to be a swimmer. Her mother had been a swimmer for the University of New Mexico, and her favorite pastime was swimming with her brother, Michael. At just six years old, Ledecky began swimming competitively, but it did not come easily at first. One of Ledecky’s first races was 25 meters, and Ledecky could not go that distance without stopping to rest. To motivate herself, Ledecky set a goal to swim the whole race without stopping. But a bad earache developed before the race, and Ledecky’s doctor advised her not to participate. Despite this, she swam in the race and met her goal. This kind of determination fueled Ledecky in the coming years.   

At fifteen, constant practice and several junior championships prepared Ledecky for her first national competition. Many professional swimmers aspire to compete in this competition, but very few feel prepared to do so early in their careers. This was the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, where athletes from across the country were selected to participate in the 2012 Olympic Games. Ledecky won first place in the 800-meter freestyle, a victory that earned her a spot in the U.S. Olympic team. As the team’s youngest member, Ledecky took home the gold medal and set a U.S. record that year.  

Katie Ledecky’s biography is only 32 pages and concisely reviews her amazing career. Readers will follow Ledecky’s life story—from her beginnings as a six-year-old swimmer to an Olympic champion who swam in four Olympic games and won nine gold medals. The book is an easy read, with only two to ten sentences per page. Every page features a full-color photograph of Ledecky’s swimming events, and every other page features a “fast fact” about her career. For example, one fact mentions that Ledecky’s race time was less than a second shy of the world record. Katie Ledecky is the first in the Olympic Stars Series, a collection of short biographies that introduces young readers to various Olympic athletes. 

While a nonfiction book may turn some readers away, Scheff does an excellent job retelling Ledecky’s races in an exciting and engaging way. Scheff writes, “Ledecky dove in. She led by nearly two seconds after one lap. Seven laps remained. With each lap, Ledecky pulled farther and farther away from the field.” Katie Ledecky’s biography is an inspiring book that teaches readers the importance of trying your best no matter the odds. Although Ledecky was the youngest competitor in her first Olympic race, her diligence and tireless training prepared her to win first place. The book will appeal to readers interested in swimming and the world of Olympic sports. However, all readers will be fascinated by Ledecky’s story and accomplishments. If you are looking for an equally educational and exciting nonfiction book, Katie Ledecky is a terrific choice. To learn more about inspirational athletes, add Florence Griffith Joyner by Rita Williams-Garcia and She Persisted in Sports by Chelsea Clinton to your reading list. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Women in Information Technology

Women have made major contributions to science throughout history, including in the field of information technology. Learn about the lives of some of the most amazing women in information technology, from Augusta Ada King to Radia Perlman, as well as their exciting and important work. Discover what it takes to work in information technology. Find out about the opportunities women in the field have today. Read Women in Information Technology to see if following in the footsteps of the many brilliant women who have made their mark in IT is something you want to do. 

Women in Information Technology gives young readers an inside look at the career opportunities available in information technology. Each of the five chapters follows the same format. The first page lists words and definitions that appear in the chapter; these words include cyberattacks, professional association, and unauthorized. These words appear in bold gray font, which makes them easy to identify.  

One positive aspect of the book is the seven biographies of women who were pioneers in their industry, such as Grace Hopper and Ada Lovelace. The biographies also acknowledge women who are currently working in the IT field, such as Anita Borg, who “helped unite the skilled women working in IT so they could work together more easily.” Each biography focuses on the woman’s contribution to the industry. This allows readers to see how women, who are often overlooked, played a pivotal role in developing the first computers. Four of the women — Telle Whitney, Radia Perlner, Shafri Goldwasser, and Eva Tardos — have also written books that readers may want to read. Four biographies also include a QR code so readers can learn more about the women through educational videos.  

The book is straightforward and easy to understand despite the use of informational technology jargon. The short paragraphs are broken up with photographs of women at work that appear every one to two pages. In addition, the book has “did you know” blurbs that give other interesting facts, such as statistics about video games. Often, important information is presented in lists, such as IT-related jobs. The end of each chapter gives a research project and text-dependent questions that check for understanding.  

Women in Information Technology explains what qualities are necessary to work in the IT field as well as encourages readers to explore their talents by attending a summer camp (a short list of summer camps is provided). The book opens doors by showing readers the different career paths that exist in the IT field and giving examples of women who have made contributions to the field. Even though the book is about women in information technology, boys can also gain knowledge from reading the book.    

Middle school and high school readers who are interested in learning more about STEM careers will find Women in Information Technology an excellent source of information and encouragement. By highlighting different careers and women who have been successful in these careers, the book shows that the path to a job in the informational technology field is possible. To learn more about STEM careers, check out Girls Who Code: Learn to Code and Change the World by Reshma Saujani. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • None

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

High Score

My name’s Darius James – but everyone calls me DJ. At my old school, I was the go-to guy for all kinds of tricky problems that needed creative solutions. But at my new school, Ella Fitzgerald Middle, I’m just trying to blend in. 

Well, I was, anyway, until my best friend, Conor, got himself transferred to the Fitz, too. Now Conor owes 100,000 arcade tickets to Lucky, the biggest bully around, and he only has two weeks to make it happen. Impossible? Not with my head in the game. 

When Lucky, the school bully, threatens to “rocket boost” Conor, DJ doesn’t want to step in to help. However, DJ discovers that being rocket boosted is “not good. I mean, if you’re bullied, beat up, pushed around—that’s bad. That’s really bad. But you’re still in the fight. You can push back. . . But when you get rocket boosted, it’s like you don’t exist. You’re a ghost. You can’t fight back. . . It’s pretty much game over.” Because of the extreme consequences of being rocket boosted, DJ steps in to help Conor, but in order to make his plan work, he needs more help, so Conor and Audrey are recruited to the team 

Audrey, an actress who longs to play the part of the evil villain, adds a lot of fun to the story. Since DJ has a crush on Audrey, he doesn’t want to get her involved in his schemes. However, he needs her acting skills, and she plays a pivotal part in the heist. Middle-grade readers will relate to DJ, who occasionally acts awkward and weird around Audrey, which adds humor. Even though DJ is crushing on Audrey, she is a well-rounded character who readers will love and respect.  

While High Score’s heist focuses on getting arcade tickets, the book will appeal to many middle-grade readers because DJ is discovering who he is and determining who he wants to be. While he is wickedly smart and good at conning people, he doesn’t want to use his skills and has vowed never to hurt someone intentionally. However, one of DJ’s biggest obstacles comes from his best friend, Conor, who loves the thrill of setting up a scheme and wants DJ to continue using his skills to manipulate others. In the end, DJ learns who he is —a person of integrity who isn’t willing to bow to peer pressure.  

High Score is the perfect book for middle school readers who love a good mystery and want to enter a world full of surprises. While some of the happenings at Fitz are a bit exaggerated, middle school readers will relate to the characters’ conflicts, which revolve around peer pressure, school bullies, and not wanting to become a social outcast. Reading High Score will leave the reader feeling like they spent a day hanging out with their friends and never wanting the day to end. And, of course, there are plenty of laughs and ice cream. If you enjoy reading about smart kids solving interesting mysteries, you should also read the City Spies Series by James Ponti and Chester Keene Cracks the Code by Kekla Magoon. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • DJ’s teacher, Mr. Danvers, was “full-on arachnophobic. . . [because] he fell into a nest of spiders when he was, like seven.” DJ didn’t know this and put a spider on Mr. Danvers’ sleeve. “He knocked over so much paint. He ruined, like an entire periods’ projects. And then he just, shut down. Like he wasn’t even there. . . The nurse had to literally drag him out of the classroom, and he was off for two weeks.” DJ felt terrible and didn’t do anything like that again. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • For Halloween, DJ dressed up as James Bond, but most people didn’t recognize him. DJ thinks, “I’m Black, so I’m never gonna be a dead ringer for Daniel Craig, but I was carrying a martini glass!” 
  • A student sells candy at school. DJ refers to it as “Choi’s sugar cartel.”

Language  

  • DJ refers to people, including himself, as idiots. For example, when talking about his friend, he “thought the director would be an idiot if they didn’t cast her as Ariel.” 
  • Heck and dang are used several times. 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Controlled Burn

Twelve-year-old Maia’s parents say she’s lucky she noticed something as early as she did. Lucky to have smelled the smoke, lucky to have pulled her sister, Amelia, out of their burning house. But is it really “lucky” when Amelia’s stuck in the hospital, covered in burns? And is it “lucky” when Maia knows it was her candle, left unattended, that started the fire in the first place? 

When she’s sent to spend the summer with her grandparents in Northern Minnesota while her sister heals, Maia discovers that her anxieties and demons are intent on following her wherever she goes. . . unless she can figure out how to overcome them. But what if she can’t? Maia barely knows her grandparents, she desperately misses her sister and home, and she’s not thrilled to be spending the summer with Grandpa Howard on his daily motorcycle rides out to the middle of the woods, where he spends all day keeping watch for forest fires. There are no kids her age in Gram and Pop’s small town at “the end of the road”—just the chatty nine-year-old neighbor who is intent on getting his Bear Scout badge at all costs, and a friendly, stray dog who’s been lurking around.  

But Maia will soon learn that nature is a powerful teacher, and sometimes, our greatest strengths show themselves when we have to be there for someone else. As she begins to figure out how to face her guilt and paralyzing fears, she’ll discover there’s a fine line between fear and adventure. And when danger strikes again, Maia must summon all her bravery and overcome her self-doubt if she wants to save those she loves most.  

Controlled Burn follows Maia’s journey to becoming stronger and less fearful. The first chapter begins with the fire, and afterward, Maia is taken to her grandparents, where she wrestles with nightmares and fears. Maia spends most of her time alone, and her only companion is a friendly dog named Bear. The solitude allows Maia to ruminate on her guilt over the fire and her many fears, allowing the reader to look intimately into Maia’s inner thoughts.  

The quiet story will appeal to readers with daily anxiety and unfounded fears. For example, Maia hasn’t learned to swim because she fears drowning in deep water. However, with the help of friends and her grandparents, Maia conquers her fear and learns how to swim. In addition, Maia’s grandpa helps her to understand that “you can’t prevent all bad things from happening, and you definitely can’t change things that have already happened. But what you can do is make the best out of a bad situation.” In addition, the book also highlights the importance of being able to forgive yourself.   

While Controlled Burn isn’t full of action and adventure, Maia’s emotional journey shows that with the help of others, overcoming fear is possible. In addition, Soderberg’s love of nature shines through and gives readers a unique perspective. Readers who love animals and want to explore fear through an animal’s perspective should read Odder by Katherine Applegate. 

Sexual Content  

  • None

Violence  

  • While Maia and her sister Amelia are home alone, a fire starts. Maia goes to her sister’s room where “the fire had formed a sort of yellowish-orange ring around the base of the bed. . . she wailed as the flames caught her T-shirt and ripped into her hair.” Amelia is put in a medically induced coma and has to have skin grafts.  
  • A woman hits a deer, and Maia’s grandfather helps move the deer out of the road. Mia “stared at that deer, crumpled up on the side of the road. I didn’t need to touch it or even get close to know it was still warm. Blood oozed out of the side of the poor animal’s face, and its legs were splayed at an unnatural angle.”  
  • The deer was pregnant, so “Grandpa had bent over the dead deer and begun carefully slicing open her abdomen. . . [Maia] reached my hands into the dead animal’s belly, and helped Grandpa pull out a squirming mass of baby deer. . . There was goop and blood everywhere, but I hardly noticed.” The baby deer survives. 
  • Grandpa tells Maia about when his brother died. His brother was helping put out a fire when “one of the trees cracked off halfway up its trunk. . . It landed on my brother. James died instantly, I guess.” 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • While in the hospital, Maia’s sister is “pumped full of sedatives and medicine to stop her from hurting too much.” 

Language  

  • Maia’s grandfather has a pet dog. He said, “Some jerk abandoned it on the side of the highway.”  
  • Maia’s grandfather is injured “trying to keep up with that damn dog.”

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • Maia’s grandma takes her to church. Before riding on a motorcycle, Maia “crossed my fingers, and hoped the prayers I’d said at yesterday morning’s church service would protect me today from certain doom.”  
  • When Maia’s grandfather helps with a dead deer, he says, “Thank God.” This upsets Maia, but Grandpa says, “It could be worse. Could have been severely injured and suffering.” 

Boy 2.0 #1

Win “Coal” Keegan has just landed in his latest foster home, with a big, noisy, slightly nosy family named the McKays. They seem eager to welcome Coal, but he’s wary of trusting them. So, he doesn’t tell them that he went for a walk with chalk in his pocket to cover a nearby street with his art. He doesn’t tell them that a neighbor found Coal drawing, pulled a gun on him, and fired it. He doesn’t tell them the police chased him. And he definitely doesn’t tell them that when everything went down, Coal somehow turned invisible.  But he did.   

Now he has to figure out how. Is he a superhero? Some kind of mutant? A science experiment? Is that why he has no family of his own? As Coal searches for answers and slowly learns to control his invisibility, he turns to the McKay kids and friends both new and old for help. But they soon discover they’re not the only ones looking for a Black boy with superpowers, and the situation is far stranger—and more dangerous—than they ever could have expected.   

From the very first page, readers are pulled into Coal’s life, which is full of mystery and danger. Being thrown into a new foster home would be difficult enough, but Coal is also in danger because he is Black. From the start, Boy 2.0 reminds readers that young Black people have a lot to fear—including the police. Despite being abandoned by his mother, living with strangers, and chased by the cops, Coal isn’t cynical. Instead, he desperately wants to understand his new “superpower” and discover why his mother abandoned him. Readers will relate to Coal’s struggle to understand himself and find a place where he belongs. 

Luckily, Coal has always been able to rely on his friend Door, who adds humor and heart to the story. In addition to Door, Coal begins to trust his new foster family. The kids band together and travel to Mirror Tech’s doors, a company that is conducting military experiments in genetic modification. Soon, Coal learns that he may be a product of one of the experiments, and now Mirror Tech and the military want Coal in custody. This adds suspense and shines a light on real-life issues such as global warming, cloning, genetic modifications, and the dangers that face all Black boys. 

Boy 2.0 is an action-packed story full of plot twists that will leave readers unable to put the book down. The mystery around Coal’s birth is compelling, but the characters give the story heart. He is surrounded by a group of interesting and likable characters who walk into danger with him. Unlike many books, Boy 2.0 showcases a villain that isn’t completely evil—instead, readers are left to wonder if the villain truly wants to help Coal solve the mystery of his power or if he wants to exploit Coal. Although Coal learns more about his heritage, the ambiguous ending sets up the next book in the series but still leaves the reader smiling as Coal realizes the power of friendship and family. Find your next adventure by reading the Jack and the Geniuses Series by Bill Nye & Gregory Mone and the Wild & Chance Series by Allen Zadoff. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • Coal reads an article about Allana, a black woman who was killed during a traffic stop. The article doesn’t appear in the text. 
  • Coal’s former foster parent, Tom, has a mental disorder. Coal heard him yelling. Tom “said I should run, that they were coming to get me. . . His eyes were wild, looking in all directions like somebody was going to pop out of the bushes. And he started screaming that I needed to go. . . He pulled out a knife.” No one was injured, but Tom was put in a psychiatric facility.  
  • Coal was using chalk to draw in the middle of the road when a man pointed a gun at him. “As the chalk fell from his hand and hit the ground, Coal heard the crack of the gun. It was louder than he expected.” Coal runs away, frightened but uninjured. 
  • Coal’s mother tells a story about her uncle Saul, who lived in Montgomery, Alabama pre-civil rights. In the Jim Crow South, “successful Black people would find themselves lynched, their businesses burned, their families broken from terror and loss.”  
  • Uncle Saul knew a mob was coming to burn his shop. Saul watched as the mob appeared. “He knew if he ran, it would be torture first, and then murder.” Saul was saved, but “the mob broke everything in that shop and then walked off.” 
  • Saul’s son, Jonas, “was walking home from school when a bunch of white boys started to pelt him with stones. . . He started running. But they were bigger and faster, and he skidded down a slope to a little rivulet.” The boys didn’t find him. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • Coal’s foster mom gives him melatonin “to help [him] relax and fall asleep.” 
  • Tom’s previous foster parent had a mental illness, and “he was on medication for a long time and that seemed to help.” 

Language  

  • Profanity is used rarely. Profanity includes crap, shit, and hell. 
  • Coal calls his friend a jerk. 
  • Coal’s foster brother calls a man “Dr. Jerkface.” 

Supernatural 

  • After getting shot at, Coal ran. When he sees cops, he is terrified and runs away from them. Even though the police are right beside Coal, they don’t see him. After the police leave, Coal “looked at his palms to check for scrapes and dirt. Only there were no palms. Or arms. Or a torso. His pants were standing on their own.” Somehow, Coal had become invisible. 
  • Being able to turn invisible is a hereditary trait in Coal’s family.  

Spiritual Content  

  • Coal’s mother tells a story about her uncle Saul. When in danger from a mob, “he put his hands together, and he prayed. He prayed that he would be safe, that he would be covered by the blood of Jesus, that somehow he would be spared what he knew was coming.” 
  • When the mob passed Saul, “he felt like he was burning, so he opened his eyes. . .” He had turned invisible. “Uncle Saul figured it was the Lord who saved him.”  
  • Saul’s son, Jonas, was in danger and prayed. He turned invisible but thought he was just covered in mud and debris. Jonas’ father “gave him a flogging on the spot for saying that and not believing that, once again, it was the Lord. Jonas went on to become a preacher. . .I think he believed his father would have found a way to come back from the grave and flog him again if he didn’t. Becoming a preacher, he said, kept his father’s ghost at bay.”  

Live and Let Dive

Quinn is a quitter. With the unfortunate nickname of “Quitt,” he is infamous for constantly quitting every new sport he tries, which disappoints his friend, sister, and, worst of all—his dad. Everything changes when Quinn decides to compete for the diving team. Although the sport is difficult and he is not very good, Quinn enjoys the action and challenges himself to finish the season. However, things go wrong when Quinn breaks his arm in a freak bicycle accident, throwing his diving season into jeopardy. Can Quinn overcome this injury and finish the season? 

Live and Let Dive is told from the perspective of Quinn, a young boy who loves trying new things but struggles with commitment. In the beginning, Quinn’s portrayal as a person who frequently gives up is uninspiring for readers. However, his character development is evident throughout the story, as he learns the power of determination and self-confidence to finish what he had started, making him feel realistic and admirable. At the end of the story, Quinn even acknowledges that “You have to keep looking for something you love, even if it’s hard. If you don’t find something you like right away, keep trying.” 

Despite Quinn’s unwanted reputation, he learns to push through the hardships and rewrite his narrative by successfully finishing the diving season. Not only does Quinn make his friends and family proud, but he also rebuilds his own self-confidence, demonstrating the importance of perseverance and determination. Quinn’s story ultimately urges readers to tackle their biggest challenges with an uplifting mindset and positive attitude. 

Live and Let Dive presents its story in an engaging graphic novel format. Each page contains two to six panels in a gorgeous comic-like art style, where the characters and settings are detailed enough without overwhelming readers. The book also incorporates several fun graphic novel aspects, such as movement lines and overlapping panels, to enhance its illustrations, giving the scenes a realistic feel. Although the story uses frequent dialogue with small text and an extensive vocabulary, the illustrations will help younger readers follow the plot, especially since each scene is illustrated in a precise and exciting manner. 

Live and Let Dive is part of the Jake Maddox Graphic Novel series, which focuses on inspiring lessons in sports and competition. Alongside its colorful illustrations, the book also features additional content, such as a glossary, fun facts about diving, and “Visual Discussion Questions,” which ask the reader to identify how the art style reflects the tension and emotion in each scene. Live and Let Dive is an exciting and inspiring story about diving and an engaging graphic novel that showcases the importance of perseverance, commitment, and self-confidence.  

Sexual Content 

  • None 

Violence 

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • None 

Language 

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content 

  • None 

The Night She Disappeared

Gabie drives a Mini Cooper. She also works part-time as a delivery girl at Pete’s Pizza. One night, Kayla—another delivery girl—goes missing. To her horror, Gabie learns that the supposed kidnapper had asked if the girl in the Mini Cooper was working. 

Gabie can’t move beyond the fact that Kayla’s fate was really meant for her. She becomes obsessed with finding Kayla and teams up with Drew, who also works at Pete’s. Together, they set out to prove that Kayla isn’t dead and hopefully to find her before she is. 

The Night She Disappeared is told from the alternating perspectives of Gabie, Drew, Kayla, and other minor characters. However, most of the story focuses on how Kayla’s kidnapping affects Gabie and Drew. The two characters are completely different, but the kidnapping draws the two together as they try to unravel the mystery of who kidnapped Kayla. Gabie is a lonely, good girl who does well in school but mostly goes unnoticed by her parents and peers. On the other hand, Drew is a poor boy with a drug addicted mother, who has little to look forward. While the two are unlikely companions, as they learn about each other’s lives, Gabie and Drew both change for the better.  

Some of the chapters are told from Kayla’s perspective, allowing the readers to see the horrors of being kidnapped. While the kidnapper is abusive, the abuse is not described in detail. However, readers will be able to understand Kayla’s fear and her desire to live. The kidnapper’s motives are murky, but one thing is clear—Kayla is not the first girl he’s kidnapped, and she won’t be the last.

At first, readers may have difficulty keeping track of the shifting perspectives, especially because there isn’t a clear pattern. In addition to different chapters with different characters’ perspectives, the book also includes a variety of snippets, such as newspaper articles, a police interview, and a website from a criminal defense attorney. The often chaotic changes in the book reflect the chaos that ensues after Kayla is kidnapped. In addition, the changing perspectives allows the reader to see how Kayla’s kidnapping affects everyone—her coworkers, her parents, the police, and others. The other snippets also help readers understand the wider ramifications of a kidnapping.  

Even though The Night She Disappeared focuses on the horrifying events of being kidnapped, the author’s descriptions avoid graphic details. Despite this, there are many examples of teens being murdered, and several of the characters die. Readers who want an in-depth exploration of being kidnapped will find The Night She Disappeared to be a fast-paced story that will send chills running through their bodies. If you enjoy thrillers, grab a copy of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson, Six Months Later by Natalie D. Richards, and Pretend She’s Here by Luanne Rice. 

Sexual Content  

  • Gabie’s parents gave her “the condom lecture when [she] was thirteen.”  
  • Drew goes home with Gabie so they can talk about Kayla’s kidnapping. When Gabie begins to shake, Drew “put [his] arms around her.” Then, Gabie kisses him. “I feel like I’m drowning, or drugged, or I’ve gone someplace where things are beyond my control. Like I could fall inside Drew and never come out.”  
  • After Gabie kisses Drew, he is confused by the kiss, and he thinks about the other girls he kissed in a wooded area behind his house. “I’ve kissed a girl or two there. When it’s dark, you just need to hold on to someone because she’s warm and her mouth is soft.”  
  • Drew goes home with Gabie, so she’s not in an empty house alone. They start kissing, and Drew thinks, “I could get a contact drunk kissing Gabie. The Kahlua makes her mouth sweet and loose. After a while, I don’t know where she begins and I end. . . I’m on top of her, and for a long time, we didn’t say anything. At least now with words.”  
  • Even though Gabie is drunk and Drew is not, they continue kissing. “Her hands slide up under my shirt and urge it off. And then she takes off her own shirt. . . It’s pretty clear that I can do whatever I want and Gabie won’t do anything but say yes. But something stops me. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve never done it before. . .” Drew puts Gabie in bed and leaves.  
  • When Gabie wakes up with a hangover, she’s embarrassed by “how I licked his ear, and then told him I wanted him.” Gabie wonders if Drew “thinks I’m some drunk slut.”  

Violence  

  • A diver is looking for Kayla’s body at the bottom of a fast-moving river. He remembers “the feel of a human hand against his throat as he searched. . . he had finned directly into the outstretched arm of a dead six-year-old girl.” The diver briefly thinks about other dead bodies he found.  
  • Kayla is kidnapped and hit over the head with a rock. When she wakes up, she has a head wound. “The pain makes me shriek. It’s like someone just tried to scalp me. . . A warm trickle of blood curves down my neck. How bad is it? I’m scared to know.” Kayla shouts for help, but nobody comes.  
  • The man who kidnapped Kayla demands that she call him “master.” When she refuses, he slaps her. “He hits me so hard that I fall against the white wall. Stars bloom behind my eyes. My ears ring. On boneless legs, I slide down to the cheap-looking linoleum.” Afterwards, Kayla calls him master. 
  • Gabie thinks about a girl from school. “Her older brother took their dad’s gun, went downtown, and shot into a crowd waiting for a movie to start. He hit seven people, killing two, and then shot himself in the head.” 
  • Gabie reads an article titled “Body of Teen Found in Landfill Stuffed in Suitcase.” The 16-year-old girl’s murderer was arrested.  
  • A tweaker who was accused of killing Kayla shoots himself. The teen’s 911 call is included, as well as a one-page newspaper article about Kayla’s and the boy’s death.  
  • The man who kidnapped Kayla plans to kill her. “My plan is to strangle her, come in when she’s asleep, and be nearly done before she has a chance to struggle. I’ve fashioned a cord with two wooden handles on it. I won’t do it like the other one—too much blood. And she took forever to die.”  
  • Drew is driving Gabie’s car when someone crashes into the back of it. “The car is filled with foul-smelling powder. My face hurts. A huge white balloon is already deflating on my lap.” Unbeknownst to Drew, the man in the other car thought Gabie was driving and he was hoping to kidnap her. The man sees Drew and flees. 
  • In a multi-chapter conclusion, Drew, Gabie, and Kayla fight the kidnapper. Drew and Gabie discover the house where Kayla is being held captive. When they arrive, they hear Kayla screaming. Drew rounds a corner, and “light spills out of a doorway. . . But I only have eyes for the guy. He’s facing the light, with his back to us. . . His free hand comes away from his cheek, his fingertips dark with blood. Now he’s lifting his gun.”  
  • Gabie holds a gun and fires it at the kidnapper. “With his free hand, the guy swipes at the back of his neck. The undamaged back of his neck. . .” The gun that Gabie found wasn’t a real one; it was a BB gun.  
  • The kidnapper, Gabie, and Kayla “are a shouting, screaming, grunting blur on the floor. A girl cries out. . . The guy gets to his feet, pressing one hand against his bloody side where his shirt has been slicked open. . . He kicks Kayla. Hard. Then Gabie. They don’t seem to be moving.”  
  • To save the girls, Drew pulls the trigger of a gun. The police arrive, but “Drew is frozen, one hand holding a flashlight loose at his side, his other hand still wrapped around the gun, blood dripping from his arm.” Drew’s eyes are fixed on “the remains of the man who held me prisoner.”  
  • Kayla gave first aid to Gabie, who had been stabbed in the neck with a screwdriver. “There’s so much blood it looks fake, especially splashed around in this tidy room where the only things out of place is the blood-drenched people.” All three teens are taken to the hospital. The kidnapper is dead.  
  • When the cops search the kidnapper’s property, they find a girl buried “who had been shot in the head.”  

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • Drew and Kayla were caught “smoking weed in the cooler” at work.  
  • When a woman enters Pete’s Pizza looking for Drew, Gabie thinks, “Everyone at school knew you could buy weed off Drew Lyle. But it was all pretty casual, a couple of joints . . .But now it looked like he was selling to adults as well as kids. . .” 
  • The two teens who found Kayla’s car had “two six-packs of beer on the floorboards.”  
  • Drew has a pack of cigarettes because he “took them from my mom when we were arguing about how much she smokes.”  
  • A guy comes into the pizza place asking about Kayla. After he leaves, Drew says, “That guy’s a tweaker. . . Sometimes they get paranoid.” Drew says he can recognize a meth user because “of his teeth. . . My mom has some, um, friends that use it. They get skinny like that.” Later, Drew reveals that his mom also uses meth.
  • Gabie finds a bottle of Kahlua hidden in a cabinet. She drinks until she is drunk.  

Language  

  • Profanity is used rarely. Profanity includes ass, crap, hell, and pissed. 
  • “Oh, my God” is used as an exclamation a few times. 

Supernatural 

  • Kayla’s parents hire a psychic who claims that Kayla is dead. The psychic was on The Opal Show and discussed how she knew Kayla was dead. The shows three-page transcript is included. 

Spiritual Content  

  • A woman comes into the pizza place to ask about Kayla. The woman tells Drew, “We’re all praying for Kayla.” 
  • Gabie’s parents “don’t believe in ghosts or spirits or witches. Or God, for that matter. Only in what they can see and touch and measure.”  
  • Kayla plans on attacking her kidnapper so she can escape. Beforehand, “I pray for my family and my friends, letting their faces come into my mind one at a time. . . And I pray that I’ll be ready. Ready to kill him. Or to kill myself, if it comes to that. Because I’d rather draw my homemade knife across my wrists than take three months to die.”  
  • After Kayla is rescued, she thinks, “Thank God I didn’t draw that homemade knife across my wrist.”  

The Knight’s Enemies

Travel back in time with brothers Arthur and Finn to help stop the castle of Sir William Malory falling and prevent the death of his daughter Eleanor. The brothers arrive just as John the Withered attacks Wroxley Castle. With the castle under attack, Arthur and Finn must help defend the castle walls. When it becomes clear that Wroxley Castle will fall into enemy hands, the brothers must find a way to save Eleanor’s life by sneaking her out of the castle. But then Arthur and Finn are accused of being spies and thrown into a medieval dungeon. Will the boys escape after being imprisoned, save Eleanor, and succeed in changing the course of history?  

The Knight’s Enemies is told from the third-person point of view, allowing the story to switch between the two brothers’ perspectives. Including both brothers’ experiences gives a broader view of castle life. When called upon, the brothers show bravery by helping defend the castle. Between battles, Arthur and Finn try to figure out how to find and save Eleanor. The action-packed scenes create a gripping adventure that highlights the brothers’ bravery and shows the importance of friendship and loyalty.  

When Arthur and Finn travel to medieval times, the brothers land at different places. This helps build background knowledge of the castle and introduces various characters. At the beginning of the book, so many characters are introduced that readers will have to pay close attention to keep track of all of them. Even though one of the story’s villains is obvious from the start, readers will be surprised when the spy is revealed.  

Short sections are interspersed throughout the book, giving more historical information, such as how to defend a castle, steps to becoming a knight, and medical weapons. The information is detailed and includes how soldiers “poured boiling water over the enemy’s heads.” Another section describes the way an enemy tried to enter the castle, including “shooting dead animal corpses over the walls to spread disease [and] shoot the heads of dead enemy soldiers over the walls to terrify the poor souls inside the castle.” Defending a castle can be brutal, and the book doesn’t shy away from describing the battles, which may upset younger readers. 

Readers will hold their breath in anticipation, wondering how Arthur and Finn will fulfill Sir William Malory’s dying wish to save his daughter. The Knight’s Enemies weaves a compelling story with a typical damsel in distress trope. However, Eleanor is not a weak woman who needs to be saved. Although her appearance is short, Eleanor helps the wounded, cares deeply for her father, and bravely escapes certain death. The exciting battle scenes and the drama surrounding Eleanor perfectly blend to create a gripping adventure. But be advised, at 160 pages The Knight’s Enemies is a quick read that will leave readers excited to read the second book in the series, The Viking’s Revenge.  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • The ghost of Sir William describes the siege of Wroxley Castle. John the Withered attacked the castle and kidnapped Sir William’s daughter, Eleanor. “They sent Eleanor’s head back to me the following morning.” 
  • When Finn travels back in time, he appears along the road to Wroxley Castle. He meets Thomas Shipton. Finn saves Thomas’ life by warning him about archers hiding in the forest. “Romas hunched down into the horse’s mane as an arrow hissed between the two boys and thudded into a tree.” 
  • Finn jumps onto the horse and “Thomas kicked the horse’s side to speed them away, but as he did so, the horse screamed and reared up.” Finn falls off the horse “while Thomas shouted in alarm as his horse staggered sideways on its hind legs and then toppled heavily to the ground, an arrow protruding from its flank. . .” The horse pins Thomas to the ground. 
  • Two men run towards the boys. To save his life, “Finn drew the string back, took aim at the bigger of the two men, and released. The man collapsed to the floor, gurgling horribly as he clutched at the arrow lodged in his throat.” The man presumably dies.  
  • The remaining man shoots more arrows at Finn and Thomas. Finn shoots another arrow. “The archer gave a shout of pain.” When Finn stands up, he sees “his enemy lay[ing] motionless on his back, an arrow buried deep in his chest.” The scene is described over four pages. 
  • Sir Ralph bullies Thomas. When Arthur defends Thomas, “Sir Ralph’s eyes widened in shock. . . He sprang forward and grabbed Arthur roughly by the throat. Arthur struggled, coughing and choking, pulling at Ralph’s hands in a desperate bid to free himself.” Another man breaks up the fight. 
  • John the Withered’s men use a catapult to attack the castle. “Something shot up from the catapult, and sailed high through the air across the divide between attackers and defenders. Finn noted with a sick feeling in his stomach that whatever it was appeared to have arms and legs. . . the first missile from the attacking army had been a horribly misshapen corpse.” 
  • Pots full of burning tar are catapulted over the castle wall. “One poor soul was running around in bigger and bigger circles, wrapped from head to toe in the flickering fire. Eventually someone managed to wrestle him to the ground with a blanket and extinguished the fire.” 
  • The castle archers release arrows. “Some men dropped to the ground, but their comrades did not falter and stepped across the bodies, marching inexorably on.” The soldier next to Arthur “screamed in pain and toppled backwards off the wall spouting blood from an arrow wound to the neck.”  
  • The castle soldiers began pouring boiling water “to burn any who tried to place ladders against the outer wall.”  
  • During the battle, Finn is hit with an arrow. “He lost his footing and with a cry for help he tumbled off the wall, his helmet knocked off his head as he fell. He landed on something soft, hit his head on something hard, and lost consciousness.” 
  • As the soldiers battled, the enemy used a battering ram to break the castle’s door. “The archers above kept up a relentless shower of arrows” and flung pots filled with burning tar at the enemy. 
  • Sir Ralph accused Arthur and Finn of being spies. When Arthur tries to defend himself, Ralph yells at him, “striking Arthur savagely across the face with the back of his hand and knocking Arthur’s helmet off as he did so. Arthur stumbled backwards, clutching his stinging face. . . “ 
  • When Arthur is thrown in the dungeon, he thinks about oubliettes. “An oubliette was a deep shaft in the ground with a lid on the top. The shaft was often so narrow that there was only room to stand and breathe . . . If they really wanted someone to suffer, they would lower the poor wretch into the oubliette, stick the lid on, leave them in total darkness, and forget about them.”  
  • During the battle, Sir William Malory receives a killing blow. As he lay dying, “he broke off and coughed more blood onto his chin.”  

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • A spy plans to give Eleanor a potion to make her “sleep like the dead.” 

Language  

  • Several times a character calls someone a name, including calling people devils, insolent dogs, little rats, and smug fools. 
  • Sir Godfrey, receives a message that John the Withered wants the castle surrendered to him. Sir Godfrey says, “John has no claim to this castle save that he is a thieving, shriveled up rogue who bullies the weak. Leave now, scoundrel or I will have you killed.”  
  • During the battle, “all hell broke loose.” 
  • Several times, the characters “curse.” No profanity is used. 

Supernatural 

  • Arthur and Finn’s grandfather created a museum about warriors throughout history. The museum is haunted and when the grandfather died, “he started haunting the place too. He felt guilty about the trapped ghost warriors and vowed he would not rest in peace until all the other ghosts were laid to rest first.” 
  • When one of the ghost warriors touches the boys, “we get transported to the time and place where the ghost lived and died. And we can’t get back until we’ve fixed whatever it is that keeps the ghost from resting in peace.” 
  • The ghost of Sir William appears in the museum. “His scar face was smeared with blood that seeped down from under his chain mail hood, and the expression he wore as he cast his stare around the room was one of pure anguish.” A picture of the knight shows blood dripping down his face. 
  • Sir William wants Arthur and Finn to travel back in time to save his daughter. “A ghostly hand gripped each boy by the neck. The air filled with mist so thick that nothing of the room could be seen, the handle flickered and died, and the boys saw only darkness.” The boys travel back to Sir William’s time. 
  • When Eleanor is safe, a “mist enveloped [Arthur and Finn], growing thicker and thicker. . . the castle and their friends vanished completely.” When they see the mist, the boys know they are going home. 

Spiritual Content  

  • As Finn climbs down the castle wall using a ladder, he must jump into a river. He was “praying that he would clear the river bank and land in the water.”  

Lucky Leopards!: And More True Stories of Amazing Animal Rescues!

“Runa and Kata: Lucky Leopards!”: Meet Runa and Kata, two baby leopards who lost their home when a woodcutter chopped down a hollow tree. To make money, the woodcutter took the cubs home, but he didn’t know how to feed them. Luckily, someone told a forest department worker about the cubs, and they were rushed to a local wildlife rescue. Will workers be able to raise the cubs and release them back into the wild? 

“Koa: Turtle in Trouble!”: One day, Nadine stopped in Newport, Oregon. On the beach, she saw an endangered sea turtle that was cold-stunned and couldn’t move. To help the turtle, a man carried the turtle on his back and put him in the back of a car. The sea turtle was taken to an aquarium to receive treatment. Could the sea turtle be saved and returned to its home? 

“Crooked Neck: The Lone Loon!”: Neil and Alina were boating when they noticed a loon with a backward neck. They discovered that the Loon was caught up in the fishing line. They tried to catch the loon, but he was too fast of a swimmer. Without help, the loon would die of starvation. Will Neil and Alina be able to save the loon? 

Based on the hit feature in National Geographic Kids magazine, National Geographic Chapter Series features three true stories about animal rescues. Each story is broken into three short chapters. The book is packed with full-color photography, lists, and infographics. Some pages also include orange boxes that contain additional facts about the animals. For example, “Did You Know? Sea Turtles have lived in Earth’s oceans for about 150 million years.”  

While reading each story, readers will learn more about the rescued animal. However, each story reminds readers that they should not try to help an injured animal—instead, they should call in a professional wildlife rescuer. The interesting facts, dialogue, and short sentences make the stories easy to read. Despite this, emerging readers may need help pronouncing difficult words, such as binoculars, dehydration, stranding, and approached. And while the stories are easy to understand, adults will need to read the book to beginning readers. 

National Geographic Chapters Series is perfect for young animal lovers who are ready for short chapters with lively, true stories just right to carry in a backpack, share with friends, and read under the covers at night. Readers will be drawn into Lucky Leopards because of the cute animal photographs, but they will want to read every page because the book is engaging. The book makes learning about animals fun. So, whether you’re looking for a story to read with a young child or trying to engage an older reader, Lucky Leopards is the purr-fect book. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • When Runa and Kata were put into the wild, they “attacked [a] hen. They wrestled for it. They bit. They snarled and hissed. Kata finally won the prize. Then he carried his supper straight up a tree.”
  • When a dog came into the forest, “Runa and Kata teamed up and attacked the dog! It might seem sad, but in the jungle, ‘kill or be killed’ is a way of life.”

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • Before Runa and Kata were released to the wild, vets “gave Runa and Kata medicine to put them to sleep.” Then vets put radio collars on the cats. 

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Prince of Song & Sea

Before Prince Eric’s mother, the Queen of Vellona, went missing two years ago, she reminded him of the deadly curse that plagued his entire life. The curse? If he were to kiss someone other than his true love, he would die. With a neighboring kingdom looking for any excuse to invade their shores, plus rumors of ghost pirates lurking the seas, Eric is desperate for any information that may help him break his enchantment and bring stability to Vellona. The answers he has been searching for come to him in the form of a letter that reveals Eric must find his true love—the one with a voice pure of heart—or kill the sea witch responsible for cursing him in the first place.

Now, Eric sets off on a quest to find the Isle of Serein, the witch’s legendary home. But after he is rescued by a mysterious young woman with a mesmerizing singing voice, Eric’s heart becomes torn. Does he enter a battle he is almost certain he cannot win, or does he chase a love that might not even exist? Then, when a shipwrecked young woman with flaming red hair and a smile that could calm the seven seas enters his life, Eric discovers true love isn’t something that can be decided by magic. 

Prince of Song & Sea retells the story of The Little Mermaid from Prince Eric’s point of view. However, most of the story focuses on Eric’s backstory, allowing Eric’s personality to become fully formed. Eric hasn’t been able to have normal relationships because of the witch’s curse. However, he does have two close friends who follow him in his quest to find the sea witch. His two friends add humor and depth to the story. Although Eric wants to break the sea witch’s curse, his reasons aren’t purely selfish. When he discovers that the sea witch wants to control Vellona, Eric puts the needs of his country above his own. Ultimately, Eric’s quest allows his bravery and compassion to shine.  

Anyone who loves The Little Mermaid will find Prince of Song & Sea a fun read. While it stays true to the Disney version of the story, focusing on Eric’s life adds an interesting perspective that allows readers to understand why Ariel was willing to risk her life for Eric’s love. Ariel is not portrayed as a love-sick teenager but as a curious, brave, and selfless woman. While some readers may miss Skuttle and Sabastian in this version of the story, Ariel is still a loveable character. 

Fans of fairytales will be swept into Prince Eric’s life and enjoy seeing what the world looks like from his point of view. While Prince of Song & Sea is an enjoyable read, it mirrors The Little Mermaid, which makes the story less suspenseful. Despite this, readers who love fairytales and mermaids will find Prince of Song & Sea entertaining. 

Sexual Content  

  • Eric thinks about kissing Ariel. Eric thinks, “She was wild and beautiful, hair damp with the sea. As they stared at each other, her tongue wet her lips, and Eric couldn’t help wondering what they would feel like against his own. They both leaned closer, her eyes fluttering shut. Eric reached for her, and – the boat tipped.” 
  • One of the female pirates flirts with another girl, and later, the two marry each other. 

Violence  

  • Pirates attack the ship Eric, and his friends are sailing. “A footstep cracked behind Eric. He twisted away, the blade of a short sword piercing the railing where he had been. . . Eric rammed his hilt into [the pirates’] temples.” 
  • Eric’s adviser, Grimsby, fights a pirate named Sauer. “Grimsby plunged his hand into his coat. A shot rang out. Sauer fell backward, blood splattering across the rail. They steadied themselves, blood dripping down their badly grazed cheek, and covered their faces with a hand.” Sauer is injured but doesn’t die. 
  • The pirates tie up the crew. “A purple welt marred Vanni’s cheek, and Gabriella’s bottom lip was busted. Not a single person had died, but neither were they unharmed.” The pirate battle is described over five pages. 
  • After the pirates capture Eric and his crew, they encounter sirens, which can make people see what they most desire. One of Eric’s friends, Gabriella, “lunged toward the edge of the ship…A wide, glassy grief lit her eyes, and she choked back a sob.” 
  • A supernatural storm batters the ship. “Another wave washed over the ship, rocking it to its side, and half the crew vanished in a blink.” The ship breaks up during the storm, and everyone climbs into a rowboat. Eric hears his dog, Max, and climbs back onto the ship. “His foot plunged through the wood, and he tossed Max as hard as he could. The dog vanished over the side of the ship. . . Pain shot through his ankle, and his heart stopped with each clunk of the loose barrels rolling across the fiery deck. . . And the world exploded.” Eric reawakens on the beach. 
  • The crew is attacked by “a malformed tentacle made up of eels. Hundreds of them were knotted together in one monstrous mass, the tangles so tight that blood rained. . . The tentacle curled over the ship, snapping rope and ripping away part of the sails, and gripped two of the masts tight.”  
  • The eels are able to generate electricity. “A terrible crack split the air. . . suddenly the eels along the tentacle bared their teeth. Eric lunged at it, butting through one of the small eels.” When Eric kills the eels’ leaders, “they untangled themselves from the knot of eels, and the electricity fizzled out.” No person is seriously injured. The scene is described over five pages. 
  • Ursula, the sea witch, disguises herself as Vanessa and compels Eric to marry her. But before the wedding, seagulls attack. “The flock swooped again, dropping half-eaten fish and seaweed on the deck. Vanessa shrieked, and the guests scattered. . . the world became a swirl of white feathers. . . A pair of sea lions barreled through the crowd, sliding across the deck and into Vanessa.”  
  • Ursula changes into her true form, grabs Ariel, and jumps into the sea. Eric follows on a dinghy. Ursula “had pinned Ariel against a rock, jabbing the trident at Ariel’s neck. . .[Eric] hauled his arm back before launching the harpoon. It sliced through Ursula’s arm, drawing a hazy cloud of blue blood.” Ariel escapes. 
  • Ursula’s eels grab Eric and “pulled him deeper and deeper, and salt burned in Eric’s eyes. He struggled against his hold, but teeth nipped at his hands every time he tried to break free.” A fish rams into the eels, and Eric gets free. 
  • Ursula causes a whirlpool that “pulled Eric in, sucking him beneath the waves and the holey hull of an old ship passed over him.” Eric pulls himself onto the ship. Before Ursula can kill Ariel, “Eric screamed, muscles aching at the grip it took to keep the ship steady. . . the bowsprit cut through her stomach, impaling her, and the pale waters ran sapphire blue with her blood.” Ursula dies. The battle is described over 14 pages.  

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • When a storm arrives, a crew member asks, “Which one of you pissed off Triton?” 

Supernatural 

  • Eric’s mother “saw a body floating in the surf. It was a child, small and chilled to the bone. . .” Eric’s mother saved the child, but a witch claimed that the child was hers. When Eric’s mother refused to hand the child over, the witch cursed her unborn child. The witch said, “If that thing in your belly ever kisses someone without a voice as pure as their spotless soul, someone who isn’t its true love, then it will die, and I will drag its soul to the bottom of the sea.”  
  • Before going on a voyage, Eric’s friend Gabriella “tipped a full bottle of wine into the sea before they left the bay as tribute to King Triton of the Sea, and there had been clear skies since.” 
  • Eric hears rumors of a Blood Tide and a ghost ship. “Once you acknowledge the ghosts are there, they ensnare you and force you to make a deal with them. Used to be they just offered. Now you have no choice.” The ghosts use their voice to control people.  
  • The legend behind the Blood Tide and the witch is explained. People would “make a deal with something in the depths so they could live their wildest dreams. The costs, though, were always souls.” 
  • There is a debate about whether ghosts are people who are dead. The pirates capture a ghost, who is “as translucent as a spiderweb in the wrong light.”
  • The witch captures souls, and “they require no maintenance other than a space to store them.” The witch turned Eric’s mother, Eleanora, into a ghost. “A ribbon of seagrass burrowed into her chest. Her form spun and shrunk, bones cracking and mouth open in a silent scream. She condensed. . . all that was left in her place was a ragged brown blade of grass with two branches like flailing arms. It shimmered with trapped magic.” 
  • The witch knows how to use magic in various ways, including how to compel people. At one point, the witch changes into a beautiful woman who uses her voice to control Eric. In addition, “the witch can transform people into whatever they want.” 
  • Nora discovers that one of her parents was from the mer world. Because of this, Nora transforms into a mermaid when she goes into the ocean. A merman explains, “You should’ve been taught how to control the transformation so that it became as natural as breathing. Most children who are part human and part merfolk transform every time they leave or enter the sea, but it can very much be controlled.” 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

City of Wishes

Make a wish. . . During the New Year’s break, Plum and her friends travel to fancy, fashionable Nakhon City to stay with Sam and his mother, the powerful Lady Ubon. The New Year always brings food, parties, and the grand old tradition of making a wish. 

At first, Plum is dazzled by the big city. But under the glittering surface, many secrets lurk. Mysterious tremors that shake the ground are growing worse by the day. Nakhon’s troubles give Plum a chance to fulfill her own New Year’s wish: to do something big and meaningful with her Guardian powers. But how far will she have to go, and what will she have to give up, to make that wish come true? 

City of Wishes follows Plum and her friends as they travel to Nakhon Island, which is overpopulated. Plum and her friend Cherry are excited to explore Sam’s world—one of wealth and power. Their fun is interrupted when the city experiences several tremors that endanger the citizens. Plum and her friends discover Master Render, an ancient rock creature who is responsible for the tremors. Unfortunately, Master Render acts like a small child whose primary concern is food. Master Render’s appearance adds little to the story other than helping Plum escape from Nakhon Island.  

Sam’s mother, Lady Ubon, offers Plum an opportunity to become a leader for the city. In her quest to become someone important, Plum loses sight of what is important. When trouble erupts, Plum realizes, “Wanting something—wanting it with your entire heart—could make you forget everything else was important.” Even though the villain works for Lady Ubon, Plum and Sam are confident that the villain works alone. This trust doesn’t feel authentic because Lady Ubon knows that the problems surrounding overpopulation have no clear solution. To solve the problem, the villain is determined to take over Lotus Island so the residents of Nakhon Island can relocate. 

Rella, a girl who was expelled from the Guardian Academy, makes another appearance. Plum and most of the other students believe that Rella is untrustworthy. In the end, Rella helps Plum and her friends escape the island, and she serves as a reminder that some mistakes cannot be fixed. Rella knows she can never return to the Guardian Academy and says, “I wish I could do everything differently. But I can’t. Those are wishes that will never come true.”   

City of Wishes feels a little disjointed because the story lacks focus. Plum and her friends explore the island; however, their adventures are not described in detail, which may make it difficult for some readers to visualize the setting. However, black and white illustrations are scattered throughout the book to give readers a visual of the diverse characters and some of the key scenes.  

Readers who have read the other books in the series will enjoy seeing the characters in a new light. City of Wishes concludes with Master Render, Plum, and Cherry leaving Nakhon Island and traveling to an unknown destination, which sets the scene for the next book in the series, Temple of Secrets. Adventure-loving readers ready to jump into books with a more advanced plot should read the Legend of the Animal Healer Series by Lauren St. John and the Explorer Academy Series by Trudi Trueit.  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • Plum and her friends discover that a man plans to use hoverbots to attack Lotus Island. To stop the hoverbots, Plum and her friends turn into their Guardian forms. The hoverbots “were becoming mirror images. . . of us. . . Each of the hover bots had shifted their shapes to mimic our Guardian forms.” 
  • The hoverbots attack Plum and her friends. Plum changes into a roan. “Suddenly it reared back on its hind legs and charged straight into me. I lowered my antlers just in time to take the shock. . . The roan-bot slammed its head against mine. Stars flashed at the edges of my vision as I staggered back.”  
  • A sloth-bot attacks Mikko. “The sloth-bot reared its blocky fist back, aiming a blow straight for Mikko’s face. . . Before the punch could land, the bot was tackled by a large mass of gray fur. . . The bot was fighting an enormous wolfhound.” The battle is described over six pages; no one is seriously injured. 
  • Using Guardian magic, Rella changes into shadows. “The shadows pulsed like they were alive. . . The shadow mass oozed towards [the hoverbots], wrapping itself around them until they disappeared into the dark.” Rella disables the hoverbots. 
  • Rella uses her magic on the villain. Shadows “wove themselves around him, covering him like a cloak. We heard his muffled cries from inside the shadows, but we couldn’t see him at all.” Plum and her friends flee. It is unclear what happens to the villain. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • “Holy pomelo seeds,” “holy celery,” “Holy fern fronds,” and “holy smokes” are used as exclamations. 
  • A girl is called a “sneaking skunk.” 

Supernatural 

  • The students learn how to turn into mythical creatures, such as a fox bat and a gillybear. When they’re in their guardian form, they have special powers. 
  • One of Plum’s powers is to strengthen the other guardian’s powers.  
  • When Plum’s friend is in danger, Plum touches a yamyam tree and “pictured a golden thread running between me and the yamyam tree. I imagined my energy flowing from my antlers, through her bark, deep into her green heartwood. . . Decades of time flashed in seconds and the tree grew tall, then taller still.”  
  • Plum’s mother put a wish in a shell. When the shell becomes hot, Plum blows into its opening, and a “tiny pinprick of light” appears within the shell. Plum hears her mother’s voice, and then “the white light floated out of the shell and hovered in front of my face.” Plum and her friends follow the light to a cave. Once there, they meet a rock creature. Plum is the only one who can talk to the creature. 
  • Hoverbots say ancient chants that turn them into guardian forms. 
  • Plum strengthens Rella, one of the Guardians. “The moment her paw touched my hoof, I felt a zing. It was stronger than what I had felt with the others, like an electric jolt. . .” Rella can create and control shadows. 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

How to Speak Cat: A Guide to Decoding Cat Language

We know cats are beautiful, secretive, and independent … but even the most loyal cat owners are often baffled by their own pet’s behavior. With veterinarian expert Dr. Gary Weitzman as guide, this fun book helps kids understand what cats are trying to communicate by their body language and behavior. So, if you’ve ever wondered what Fluffy means when she’s purring or moving her tail emphatically from left to right—this book is for you! It’s full of insights, expert advice, and real-life cat scenarios. It also showcases more than 30 poses, so you’ll soon learn what each meow and flick of the tail means! 

Every cat lover should read How to Speak Cat. Each page is packed full of information and illustrations that make learning about cats a delight. Even though the book covers a vast array of cat topics, the text is broken down into smaller parts and includes headlines, subheadings, lists, infographs, and “Dr. Gary’s Vet Tips.” Each two page spread features cats, colorful quotes, and bite-sized sections that are easy to read. How to Speak Cat is educational and engaging. Each page feels like you’ve opened a treasure chest full of sparkling knowledge, unexpected facts, and frame-worthy cat portraits.  

Anything you’ve ever wondered about cats can be learned in How to Speak Cat. However, the facts are so interesting and the pictures so adorable that the book will appeal to any animal lover. And if you have a pet cat, then How to Speak Cat is a must read because it will help you keep your beloved pet healthy and safe. And if you haven’t had enough cute cats after reading How to Speak Cat, the book includes a website that allows you to view cats in action. If you’re ready to take a deep dive into the lives of cats, then snuggle up with your favorite feline and read How to Speak Cat.  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • Dr. Gary informs readers on how to keep their cats healthy and safe. For example, “We need to worry about cats and cars. Besides the risk of being run over, cats love sleeping in or underneath parked automobiles. . . Many are horribly injured when their unsuspecting owners leave for work. The hiding cats either get cut by turning fan belts or thrown out of the wheel wells at high speed.”  
  • Cats’ hunting habits are described, and one full-page picture shows a cat with a dead mouse in its mouth. Cats “bring their trophy home to show their family and eat it later. Even mountain lions drag their prey into the woods. . .nibble it little by little. . . house cats return with their catch.”  
  • Hunting can be risky for cats. “A captured bird could poke her in the eye with its beak. A rat could bite her ears or face.” 
  • A cat’s whiskers help her hunt. “If all goes well, the cat will attack, deliver a killing bite, and savor his catch. . . a cat could end up with a live rat dangling from his mouth. Then the rat could turn on the cat and injure him badly.” 
  • Coyotes pose a threat to cats. “Coyotes regularly feast on cats—both feral and pets. . . [In Tampa, Florida] two coyotes grabbed hold of a pet cat—one grabbed her by the neck and the other by the tail. They were shaking her violently, when Jack the pitbull rushed into the fray. Jack scared off the coyotes and freed the cat, who suffered a broken tooth and swelling in the brain. But she survived. . .” 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • When cats have lasting anxiety, “Prozac and other anti-anxiety drugs developed for humans also help cats.”

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • In Ancient Persia “the Egyptians worshipped the goddess Bastet, who is thought to take the form of a cat.” 
  • Pope Innocent VIII proclaims that “cats are witches in disguise. As a result, all over Europe, cats are tortured and killed on sight.” 

Unwholly

Thanks to Connor, Lev, and Risa—and their high-profile revolt at Happy Jack Harvest Camp—people can no longer turn a blind eye to unwinding. Ridding society of troublesome teens while simultaneously providing much-needed organs for transplant might be convenient, but its morality has finally been brought into question.

But unwinding is a big business, and there are powerful political and corporate interests that want to see it not only continue, but also expand to the unwinding of prisoners and the impoverished. And the minds behind unwinding have already begun pushing its boundaries.

Cam is the first “rewound,” a futuristic Frankenstein’s monster who does not technically exist and is made entirely out of unwinds’ body parts. He struggles with his identity and the question of whether he has a soul. And when the actions of a sadistic bounty hunter inextricably bind Cam’s fate with the those of Connor, Risa, and Lev, Cam comes to question humanity itself. 

Unwholly introduces several new aspects that shine more light on the practice of unwinding teens by introducing several new characters, including Cam. When people are first introduced to Cam, many of them believe he is an abomination and not human. However, Cam’s creator, Roberta, is a master of deception who uses the media and Risa to convince others that Cam is indeed a unique person worthy of admiration. When Cam compares himself to the monster Frankenstein, Roberta says, “That monster was made from dead flesh, but you are made of the living! That creature was a violation of all things natural, but you, Cam, you are a new world wonder!” At first, Risa hates Cam, but when she’s forced to spend time with him, she begins to view him as a person instead of a thing. This change allows Risa and the reader to see Cam’s humanity.  

Because human parts are in high demand, the black market has thrived. Nelson, a parts pirate, uses traps to lure in unsuspecting teens. Once they are in Nelson’s hands, their fate is sealed—they will be unwound, and nobody—not Nelson or his buyer—cares if the teen belongs to a loving family. Money is the prime motivator when it comes to providing parts to the wealthy. Readers will come to hate Nelson, as he is truly evil. However, Nelson is not the only new character who is easy to hate; Starkey a stork saved from unwinding, has grand plans to make storks the center of attention. In his quest to become the storks’ leader, he is willing to take down anyone in his path—including Connor.   

Unwholly allows the reader to understand how unwinding has become a part of society. Through the practice of unwinding, parents are allowed to play God. However, unlike God, parents are often selfish and are too caught up in their own emotional turmoil to make logical decisions. For instance, Hayden’s divorced parents sign the unwind papers because they’d rather see Hayden unwound than in the custody of the other parent. Other parents sign the unwind papers when cash is offered. When it comes to unwinding, Shusterman makes the reader look into the cruelty and compassion surrounding the teens sentenced to “a divided state.”  

The second installment of the Unwind Dystology is a disturbingly dark tale that forces the reader to ask questions about the value of human life. While the first installment focuses on Connor’s, Risa’s, and Lev’s fight for their life, Unwholly delves into the evil that exists in the world. While the story is gripping and thought provoking, it may inspire nightmares. Readers who want a tamer book should consider leaving the Unwind Dystology on the shelf.  

Sexual Content  

  • Mason Starkey tells his mom, “Hey, Mom, by the way . . . Dad’s late nights at the office aren’t really at the office. They’re with your friend Nancy.” 
  • Connor and Risa love each other. “With no other way to prove his feelings, he reaches forward with his own hand, pushes the hair back from her face, then leans in, giving her a powerful kiss.” 
  • Looking for a companion, Cam interviews a series of girls. One girl “fauns all over him” and says, “I’d would love to be your first. You can do that, can’t you?” 
  • Risa and Cam are talking when Risa “kisses him. It’s more than a peck, but only slightly more.” 
  • Cam helps Risa escape. Before she leaves, “she leans forward and kisses him on the cheek. He feels it like an electric shock in all the seams of his face.”  

Violence  

  • Throughout the book, many people are shot with a tranq gun. Not all examples are included below. 
  • When Mason Starkey was in fourth grade, he “flipped a boy off the top platform of the jungle gym. The kid had suffered a concussion and a broken arm.”  
  • Two Juvey-cops, whom Starkey calls Mouthpiece and Lady-Lips, pick up Starkey. While being transported, Starkey gets out of his handcuffs, and “slides the penknife he used to pick the lock out of his sleeve, grips it in his hand, and slashes it across Lady-Lip’s face. The man screams, and blood flows from a four-inch wound.” Starkey runs. 
  • Mouthpiece catches up to Starkey. “Mouthpiece turns him around and pushes him against the brick wall, hard enough to scrape and bruise his face. . . [Starkey] elbows Mouthpiece in the gut and spins around, grabbing the gun. . .” 
  • The gun goes off, and Starkey sees, “Blood! Blood everywhere! . . . In front of him, Mouthpiece’s face is a red, pulpy mess. The man goes down, dead before he hits the pavement and—” Another Juvey-cop arrives, and Starkey shoots him. The two Juvey-cops die. 
  • One of the characters is a parts pirate who traps kids to sell them. This man pretends to be drunk one night, and Starkey picks his pocket. Starkey “opens the wallet, and the second he does, a jolt of electricity courses through him with such power his feet fall out from under him, and he’s left semiconscious on the ground, twitching. A stun-wallet.” The drunk “shoves him in the back of a waiting van.” 
  • While being taken to a harvest camp, a girl named Miracolina sees “half a dozen people dressed in black with faces hidden by ski masks come leaping out of the woods from all directions. The chauffeur is hit with a tranq bullet to the neck and goes down like an overstuffed rag doll.” Someone grabs her, and Miracolina “kicks, and bites, and claws in terror and outrage.” Miracolina is shot with a tranq gun. Miracolina is kidnapped to save her life. 
  • Cam gets angry and begins “hurling a plate across the room, then another, then another. Roberta has to duck, and now the whole world is flying dishes and silverware and glass. In an instant, the guards are on him, pulling him back to his room, strapping him to the bed—something they haven’t done for over a week.” 
  • Connor confronts a man who works for the resistance. They argue, and Connor hits him. “The punch connects with the man’s eye, and he stumbles backward into the bulkhead. He looks at Connor not with contempt, but with fear. . .” The man leaves. 
  • Connor isn’t sure if he can trust Trace, a man in Connor’s inner circle. Connor plans to ambush Trace, but Trace “kicks Connor’s legs out from under him, grabs the gun out of his hand, twists him around, and pushes him cheek-first into the dirt, wrenching [Connor’s arm donor’s] arm painfully behind his back. Connor can feel the seam of the graft threatening to tear loose.” The two work out their problems, and no one is injured. 
  • A nicotine-addicted boy falls into a pit while trying to get cigarettes. For fun, the parts pirate pretends that he’ll let the boy flee, but “the tranq dart hits him right in the back of the neck, delivering a full dose directly into his brain stem. His legs buckle beneath him. . .” The parts pirate sells the boy to an illegal organ criminal market. Several other times, the parts pirates use different tricks to trap teens and sell them. 
  • A girl posing as a Girl Scout is let into Lev and his brother Marcus’ house. She detonates a bomb, and “the explosion blows Lev back against the wall, and the sofa flips on top of him, pinning him there. Shattering glass, crumbling timbers—and a shooting pain in his ears so bad he’s convinced his skull has split open.”  
  • Lev’s brother Marcus is in the kitchen with a beam embedded in his gut. “There’s blood everywhere—but Marcus is still alive. . . With all his strength, Lev lifts the beam. Marcus screams in pain, and Lev, holding the beam up with his shoulder, pushes Marcus out of the way. . .” Lev’s wounds are minor, but Marcus only survives because he gets parts from an unwound teen. 
  • During the explosion, Dan “was blasted backward against the wall. A huge bloodstain in the rough shape of his body marks his impact, and now he lies a lifeless heap on the floor.” 
  • When Miracolina [a girl scheduled to be unwound] tries to escape, she uses metal serving trays to stop the tranq guns from knocking her out. Lev catches her. Miracolina, “pushing Lev, scratching at him. She tears the platter from her chest and swings it. It connects with his head with a heavy band. He falls, but he’s right back up again.” The two run away together.  
  • While researching the Heartland War, Connor discovers that hundreds of thousands of teens were protesting. “Those same angry kids are calling for change, and when they don’t get it, they hit the streets, forming random mobs, burning cars, breaking windows, letting loose a kind of communal fury. . .” These events happened before the president was assassinated. 
  • Starkey and some others go to “rescue” Jesus LaVega. Jesus doesn’t know this, and “Starkey turns in time to see a baseball bat swinging at him. He ducks, and the bat breezes past an inch from his head. . .” Jesus swings the bat again and, “It connects with Starkey’s side. An explosion of pain. Starkey goes down. . .” 
  • When Jesus continues to swing the bat, one of Starkey’s teens hits Jesus with a “large football trophy and swings the marble base at his head. The heavy stone connects with the back of Jesus’s head, and he crumples to the ground instantly. . . Blood pours out of his head, soaking the carpet.” Jesus is dead.  
  • Upset that Jesus is dead, Starkey hits the boy’s father. “Starkey swings his foot, connecting with the man’s torso. . . Starkey kicks again and again. The man screams, the man moans, but Starkey keeps swinging his foot, unable to stop . . . The man, bloody and beaten, still has enough strength to crawl out the door.” Starkey sets the family’s house on fire as he leaves. 
  • In a multi-chapter conclusion, the “Graveyard,” where Connor and others sentenced to be unwound are hiding, is raided by Juvenile Authority. There is chaos with both cops and teens shooting tranq bullets and real bullets.  
  • Miracolina and a kid on guard duty are both hit with tranq bullets and go down. “Then out of nowhere, a police battering ram, its headlights dark, crashes through with such speed that the gates fly off their hinges. [A guard] dives out of the way just in time, and when he looks back, he sees his unconscious friend turned to roadkill by the wheels of the battering ram . . .”  
  • When the riot squad arrives, Connor’s team must take cover. “Connor’s there, but his brain won’t give rise to words. Beside him, [a girl] lies draped over the leg of the upended pool table with a tranq bullet in her neck—but worse than that is the horse-faced boy. He took a real bullet to the forehead.” 
  • While fighting a Juvey-cop, Connor “takes the Juvey out—not with a bullet, but with the butt of his rifle.” 
  • Hayden and a group of teens lock themselves in a plane. The Juvey-cops turn off the power so the plane heats in the desert sun. The teens say they would rather die than be unwound, but after one boy dies, Hayden shoots out a window, and they give themselves up to the Juvey-cops. 
  • Starkey and his loyal group leave the Graveyard on a plane that Trace is flying. The plane hits an armored riot truck. “The starboard landing tear clips the truck, sending it tumbling like a toy, and a huge chunk of the landing gear rips loose. . .” The truck blows up, presumably killing everyone on board.  
  • The plane that Starkey and his group are on makes a water landing. “The fire outside provides enough light for Starkey to see to the far recesses of the main cabin, and he wishes he hadn’t looked. The dead are everywhere. Blood is smeared on every surface, sticky and thick. . .” Starkey plans to leave the critically injured because they “are just liabilities.”  
  • Trace asks Starkey to help him escape the plane, but Starkey refuses. As the plane sinks into the water, “Trace cranes his neck, trying to keep his head above water as long as he can. Then he takes one deep gulp of air, holds it, and he’s underwater. . . His body burns through the last of its oxygen; then, resigned to his fate, Trace releases his final breath. . . It’s as awful as he imagined it might be, but he knows it won’t last long.”  

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • One of the characters is angry that he remembers “when you were three years old, and your mom, all doped up on pain medication from your sister’s cesarean delivery, took you to a fire station and begged them to take you away and make you ward of the state.” 
  • An advertisement for unwinding includes information about a seventeen-year-old girl who “got drunk, crashed her car, and killed two innocent people.”  
  • Cam is given Tylenol-aspirin for pain. 
  • Cam is given “graft-grade healing cream” to erase his scars. “He can feel the tingling as the engineered microorganisms in the cream do their job.” 
  • When a boy is injured, he is given a shot of “epinephrine,” which is “the same as adrenaline.” 
  • When someone discovers who Risa is, she threatens to kill herself with “a subcutaneous cyanide pill.” Later, the readers learn that this is not true. 
  • Someone notices Connor’s muscles and says, “I hope to God you’re not shooting up those damn military steroids they have the boeufs [soldiers]  on; they shrink your testicles down to peanuts.” Connor isn’t using steroids. 
  • There is a reference to real Russian vodka and “Tequila from before the agave extinction.”  
  • To get out of handcuffs, Starkey intentionally breaks his hand and then takes morphine for the pain. 

Language  

  • Profanity is often used such as ass, bitch, crap, damn, goddamn, freaking, hell, and piss.  
  • Jesus, my God, good God, and for God’s sake are used as exclamations occasionally.  
  • There is some name-calling, including asshole, bastard, bitch, lowlife, idiot, moron, and pompous baffoons. 

Supernatural 

  • When a person is given a body part from an unwound person, the body part remembers what the person learned. For example, Cam’s brain was assembled using many different people’s brains. Thus, Cam often has flashes of their memories.  

Spiritual Content  

  • Pastor Dan and Lev talk to kids in juvenile detention. Pastor Dan says, “The Lord works in mischievous ways.” 
  • Pastor Dan left the church, but he said, “I still believe in God, just not a God who condones human tithing.” 
  • Miracolina, who is Catholic, has always known she would be tithed. Her priest tells her, “The Vatican has yet to take a position on unwinding, and so until it is either condoned or condemned, I can be as uncertain about it as I please.” 
  • Miracolina’s name means miracle. “She was named this because she was conceived to save her brother’s life. Her brother, Matteo, was diagnosed with leukemia when he was ten.” Her parents “made a pact with God that if you were born, and Matteo was saved, we would show our gratitude by gifting you back to God through tithing.”  
  • Miracolina is upset that she was “rescued” from being unwound. At one point, she thinks, “Perhaps that’s why I have been put on this path, to humble me and make me realize that I can be a hater, just like anyone.” 
  • While talking to Lev, Miracolina says, “Miracles are the property of God.” Lev answers, “Miracles are gifts from God. To call them property insults the spirit in which they are given.”  
  • Miracolina and a teacher discuss the soul. When a person dies, the soul goes to God. When a person is unwound, what happens to the soul? According to the teacher, “if your soul leaves this world, then voluntary unwinding is no different from assisted suicide—and in the Catholic religion, suicide is a mortal sin. Which means that by your own beliefs, you’d be going to hell.”  
  • When a storm is brewing, Miracolina “has to believe that God has brought this storm for her, so she can escape—so she can do what she was meant to do. And if she does get struck by lightning, well, that would be a sign from above too, wouldn’t it. So she says a silent prayer. ‘Lord, if what I’m doing is wrong, then by all means, strike me down. Otherwise set me free.’” 
  • Cam was programmed with the Bible in three languages. “Risa has to laugh at the audacity of his creators—did it occur to them that filling him with biblical knowledge while playing God was the ultimate hubris?” 
  • When Miracolina and Lev are captured by a parts pirate, Lev says, “Then maybe you should start praying. I sure am.” 
  • At one point, Lev realizes that “he did not need to be adored or pitied. He needed to be forgiven. Not by God, who is all forgiving . . . He needed to be forgiven by an unforgiving world. By someone who once despised him. Someone like Miracolina.” 
  • When Miracolina is shot by a Juvey-cop, Lev prays that she isn’t dead or maimed. 
  • As Connor and Lev flee the Graveyard, Lev thinks, “How stupid would it be, if, after all this, Connor and I both die in a car accident because I don’t know how to drive? He can only thank God the road is straight.” 
  • When Hayden and a group of teens think they are going to die, Hayden “says the Lord’s prayer. . . Tad and several others are quick to join in. . . Nasim begins to recite an Islamic prayer, and Lizbeth covers her eyes, chanting the Shema in Hebrew.” 

Deep Water

Six hours. One marathon swim.

That’s all Tully Birch needs to get her life straightened out. With the help of her best friend, Arch, Tully braves the waters of Lake Tahoe to break the record for the youngest person ever to complete the famous “Godfather swim.” She wants to achieve something no one in the world has done, because if she does, maybe, just maybe, her mom will come back.

The swim starts off well—heart steady, body loose, Arch in charge of snacks as needed. But for Tully, all that time alone with her thoughts allows memories to surface. And in the silence of deep waters, sadness can sink you. When the swim turns dangerous, Tully fights for her survival. Does she keep going and risk her own safety and Arch’s? Or does she quit to save them both, even if it means giving up hope that her mother will return? 

Tully is a likable protagonist who struggles with her mom’s disappearance. She decides to make the swim to prove to her mom that “I am HERE, and I am ALIVE, and I’m worth showing up for.” Tully thinks her mother abandoned her because she didn’t love her. Since the story is written from Tully’s perspective, the reader gets an in-depth view of Tully’s emotions and thought process, which allows readers to empathize with Tully’s situation.  

Tully’s friend, Arch, reluctantly agrees to help Tully secretly swim the “Godfather swim.” He helps Tully navigate, tells her stories, and tries to keep Tully from overthinking. However, his presence also increases the story’s tension by highlighting the dangers that Tully faces in the water. In addition, Arch is left to intercept text messages from both of their parents. While Arch doesn’t reveal Tully’s whereabouts, his parents use his phone’s GPS to locate them. Tully’s dad and the Coast Guard use this information to find the two teens. When they arrive, Arch’s relief is understandable.  

Deep Water compassionately explores the difficulties of living with a parent with a mental illness. Knowing that her mother has a mental illness doesn’t lessen Tully’s hurt and confusion when her mother disappears, especially because her family “has things we are not supposed to talk about that sit in the corner of the room like a pile of dirty clothes which has been there so long you stop seeing it.” The story’s conclusion doesn’t give a solution to Tully’s inner turmoil; however, the ending hints that Tully will learn how to navigate her emotions with the help of her father, her friend, and a counselor.  

Tully’s story comes to life in verse, which keeps the story moving at a fast pace and enhances Tully’s emotions. Occasionally, the text is placed to create a visual element that enhances the story’s emotion. For example, when a lightning storm threatens Tully, the text is written to look like a lightning bolt. Deep Water uses a unique premise to explore family dynamics and mental illness. In the end, Tully realizes that, “Maybe perfection isn’t possible without sacrifice. But I don’t want to be perfect if it means ending up alone.”  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • When Brent is mean to Tully’s friend, she “gave Brent a gentle shove, which just so happened to cause him to trip, because Brent’s ego is so big it makes him lose his balance.” Tully was suspended for two days. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • Tully’s mother took medication for a mental illness. However, the mental illness and medication aren’t named. 

Language  

  • Tully thinks that if her mother died, people would say things like: “She’s at peace now.” Tully thinks words like this are “a load of crap.”

Supernatural 

  • None

Spiritual Content  

  • When Tully picks a date to swim her marathon, she “prayed to the weather gods to bless our journey.” 

Glass: A Cinderella Tale

In a grand glass house, there was a girl named Bess whose power would, one day, change the fate of her family. . . Bess Wickham has always felt like a bit of an outcast among her family of extraordinary glassblowers, but then an immense, magical power that’s lain dormant in her bloodline begins to emerge. So, when she suspects her family’s business has taken a sinister turn, Bess must find the strength to defeat dark magic and save a certain cinder girl. But will she shatter under the weight of such evil or get her happily ever after? 

Glass is a prequel to the Cinderella story from the perspective of the young fairy godmother, Bess. While readers will sympathize with Bess’s situation, many readers will have difficulty connecting with Bess. Bess’s family does not understand her, so she often escapes into the forest with her animal friends. Much of the conflict revolves around Bess’s inner turmoil, and when she eventually runs away, she spends most of her time alone. Unfortunately, Bess’s personality isn’t given much room to shine, and although she eventually becomes Ella’s fairy godmother, their connection feels weak and forced. 

When Ella’s grandfather dies, Ella is forced to leave the Royal Observatory in Greenwich and go to live with her distant cousins, the Wickhams. Soon, Ella is forced into slavery. Luckily, Bess’s owl friend Ulli sweeps in and saves Ella’s life by bringing her warm clothes, blankets, and food. Although Bess knows about Ella’s horrible situation, she is too fearful to confront her family about their cruel behavior. Like Bess, most of Ella’s interactions with the family are described second-hand, which makes it difficult to understand her suffering. Likewise, when Bess finally decides to help Ella, her motives are unclear. This makes their happy ending seem like a coincidence that lacks a reason to celebrate. 

One of Bess’s attributes is her love of the natural world, including plants and animals. Unfortunately, Bess’s love of plants leads to long descriptions, which slow the plot down. Likewise, Ella loves the stars and dreams of becoming a comet chaser. Like Bess, Ella describes the night skies with excessive detail. Both Bess’s and Ella’s descriptions are full of jargon, and some of the language will be difficult for readers to understand. For example, one page uses the following words: social stratifications, keenly, pertaining, astral tables, relics, curators, spectroscopic studies, and lickspittles. 

Readers who want an exciting and adventurous story will find Glass lacking both. However, readers who love the natural world and exploring characters’ inner thoughts will enjoy Glass because of its unique twist on the Cinderella story. Since the book includes complicated magic and long descriptions, Glass is best suited for strong readers who don’t get discouraged when encountering new vocabulary. Readers who want a more playful story and are eager to enter the fairytale world can find magical stories by reading Maggie and the Flying Horse by E.D. Baker, If the Shoe Fits by Sarah Mlynowski, and The Prince Problem by Vivian Vande Velde. 

Sexual Content  

  • None

Violence  

  • An owl gets impaled by a glass plant. “The blossoms were red, bloodred, and the needles were sharp. And there, hanging from the needles, was the owl she had seen. The owl her father had cursed and threatened to shoot now hung bleeding from the Blood Thorn lilies. Its white-speckled breast feathers were drenched in blood.” Bess treats the owl’s wounds, and it heals. 
  • One of Bess’s animal friends, a wolf, is shot. Afterward, Bess’s mother says she will taxidermy “just the head, my dear. They’re cutting it off and sending it over. But we are also going to make a glass casting of it.”  
  • Bess’s mother traps a titmouse and turns it into a figurine. Bess’s sisters “glanced at the shattered mirrors and the torn-up body of the titmouse. With one wing askew, the other was caught in a strange wild flight of its own, with no body attached. A glistening vaporous cloud began to form in the mirrored box over the remnant body parts of the titmouse.” A few seconds later, the titmouse had lost its soul. 
  • When Ella reveals her glass slipper, her family “seize her.” Ella “felt her dress ripping as Charles seized the skirt. Then Olivia grabbed her hair. The two together were wrestling her to the ground. . . [Ella] sunk her teeth into Olivia’s ankle. Charles was cursing her and reached down to grab her neck, but she raised her knee and kicked him in the groin.”  
  • To help Ella escape, Bess uses magic. “Estrella gasped as she watched Rose, Olivia, and their parents suddenly grow rigid and, then within seconds, turn transparent. Their eyes glared in a glassy, paralytic horror. . . The noise grew louder and was followed by the din of shattering glass as the Wickham family, one by one, crashed to the floor.” Bess had turned them into glass. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • Bess’s father says, “My Lord” one time. 
  • Bess’s father describes her as being hek-ish. “He touched his heart as he said the dangerous word—as he did any word to do with witches or witchish things. It was an ancient custom to touch one’s heart when one said a forbidden or dangerous word like hek-ish.” Later, he says, “Hek-ish, by God!” 

Supernatural 

  • Some people believed that Bess’s grandmother was a witch. Grannie said, “Witchcraft nonsense. Your mamma would have lost that hand she burned when she was learning to take the glass off the blowpipe if I hadn’t bound it in sphagnum.”  
  • Bess talks in the wolf’s language and then faints. Her father says, “It was as if you were seized by some. . . some unnatural spirit.”  
  • Bess worries when her father uses the term unnatural spirit. “Two words from the witch-burning times in England. . . Surly her parents didn’t think she was a witch.” Her parents do believe Bess is a witch.  
  • Bess’s family uses magic to trap animal’s souls and turn them into glass figurines. “The creature is fed an ominous brew of melted crystals sweetened with honey. The animal quickly becomes addled and loses its bearings. If it’s a frog, it might hop backward or sideways. Jumping up when it means to go down. . . They surround the creature with mirrors. Handblown glass mirrors. It becomes confused and finally smashes into the mirrors, which then break. This is the sign that the soul has been extracted.” The smashed glass is turned into a figurine.  
  • Bess goes to visit her Grandmother’s grave. “When the trees bleed white with frost and every limb and pine needle is shrouded in ice, it is said that the hoar spirits come like ghosts from the frost in the night.” That night, Grannie speaks to Bess and gives her a magic wand.  
  • Bess’s grandmother knew druid rituals. For example, when Bess’s parents were married, “Grannie drew the sun around us for good luck and happiness. She held up the wand and made a circle over our heads in the direction of the sun. . . I know Pastor Filkins was simply mortified. Only heaths do these old druid things.”  
  • Bess learns how to use the magic wand by casting a spell: “Cruthaichidh mi mar a smaoinicheas mi agus a labhras mi.” In order to make the magic work, Bess has to imagine what she is trying to create. “One had to think something, figure it out, before the magic worked. One could not just wave a wand around and babble some spell.”  
  • Bess’s sister, Olivia, puts a three-tine fork under Bess’s bed. A three-tine fork “was sometimes considered a tool of the devil. To use them meant to invite temptation and evil into a house, but to throw them away could also cause evil across the land.” 
  • While transporting the three-tine fork, “a sprig of heart wort” was put in the box with it. 
  • When Bess was born, “the birth sac was around her head. . . that is supposed to be good, bring luck. It means a gifted child.” Bess’s mother believes it was a curse. “There is a particular way one must bury the sac, and I’m not sure Grannie did it right.”  
  • Bess learns how to become invisible.  

Spiritual Content  

  • After Grannie dies, Bess believes she is in the Summerlands. Bess doesn’t know what that is, but Grannie “used to talk about the Summerlands sometimes. . . I think it’s something from long ago. . . in the time of the druids.” 
  • When Bess asks about the shape of a spoonbill’s beak, she is told, “The roseate spoonbill’s beak was designed by the good Lord so it could scoop up the delectable delights of the shallows. . .”  
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