Reading Level: Junior High

Rebellion 1776

In the spring of 1776, thirteen-year-old Elsbeth Culpepper wakes to the sound of cannons. It’s the Siege of Boston, the Patriots’ massive drive to push the Loyalists out that turns the city into a chaotic war zone. Elsbeth’s father—her only living relative—has gone missing, leaving her alone and adrift in a broken town while desperately seeking employment to avoid the orphanage.

Just when things couldn’t feel worse, the smallpox epidemic sweeps across Boston. Now, Bostonians must fight for their lives against an invisible enemy in addition to the visible one. While a treatment is being frantically fine-tuned, thousands of people rush in from the countryside begging for inoculation. At the same time, others refuse protection, for the treatment is crude at best and at times more dangerous than the disease itself.

Elsbeth, who had smallpox as a small child and is now immune, finds work taking care of a large, wealthy family with discord of their own as they await a turn at inoculation. But as the epidemic and the revolution rage on, will she find her father? 

Rebellion 1776 gives readers a unique perspective on how the revolution affected ordinary people’s lives. Readers will sympathize with many characters, especially those thrust into difficult situations through no fault of their own. Since the book is told from Elsbeth’s point of view, it reveals how perilous her life is as a parentless, penniless girl. Though smart and strong, Elsbeth’s fear drives her to dishonesty and manipulation. She knows that without employment, she will lose both food and shelter—with no one to turn to for help. 

The story thrusts readers into revolutionary Boston, showing what life was like for women, children, and servants. After the Patriots surround Boston, Elsbeth believes her life will return to normal. However, her father disappears, and her master leaves the city. To survive, Elsbeth agrees to work for the Pike family, where she milks cows, scrubs floors, cares for children, and performs endless chores before collapsing into bed each night. Elsbeth’s mundane existence is reflected in the book’s slow pace, leaving both her and the reader anticipating what crisis will strike next. 

Since the book centers on both Elsbeth and the Pike family, a large cast of characters appears, many only briefly. This prevents readers from connecting with most supporting characters. However, the Pikes’ ward, Hannah, befriends Elsbeth, and their friendship provides perspective on women’s treatment during the period. Mrs. Pike and her long-term servant similarly highlight how women lacked control over their lives. Despite these constraints, Elsbeth and Hannah dream of making their own choices, a desire readers will empathize with. 

Smallpox drives much of the story, and Elsbeth often reflects on losing her mother and siblings to the disease. When the Pike family is inoculated, Elsbeth cares for them during their recovery. Hannah, believing she had survived smallpox as a child, discovers she was misinformed and contracts the disease. The progression of her illness and subsequent death may be traumatic for some readers. 

Rebellion 1776 will captivate readers who enjoy historical fiction or want to learn more about the American Revolution. The story’s slow pace and large cast make it best suited for strong readers already interested in the period. Elsbeth’s story shows how smallpox destroys families but ends hopefully—Elsbeth reunites with her father and receives the opportunity to fulfill her dream of becoming a seamstress. 

Sexual Content  

  • Elsbeth’s closest friend Shubel joins the military. Before he leaves, the two say goodbye. “I looked deep into the turnip’s eyes, and he looked into mine. . . and by the time we blinked, we’d become close in such a dazzling manner that I swear sparks were shooting from our fingertips.” Later, the two get married. 

Violence  

  • Elsbeth hides under a table when the Patriot cannons begin bombarding Boston. 
  • The Boston Massacre is mentioned. “British soldiers had fired into a crowd of ordinary folks, killing some and wounding more.” 
  • Elsbeth receives a letter from her father. It reads: “I was attacked by a group of sailors who kidnapped me—pressed me into service for the King. . . I fought hard—broken arm still healing. . . My knee is better.” He later returns to Boston. 
  • Elsbeth is milking a cow when a scoundrel named Billy Rawdon shows up and threatens her with a knife. He grabs her, and when she tries to get free, Billy “painfully pressed the blade against my neck, cutting me. I shuddered in pain and stilled myself. . . A drop of blood trickled down my neck from the cut.” Billy soon leaves.  
  • Thomas, one of the Pikes’ children, runs away and joins Captain Hunter, who was a privateer trying to capture a ship. The man was “shot in the heart, Captain Hunter died shortly before the Defiance sank to the bottom of the sea.” Thomas survives and makes it home. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • An older gentleman drinks from a flask of wine. 
  • Mr. Pike takes “powder from the megrim” for headaches and “drinks decoction for his sour stomach.” 
  • Elsbeth goes to Sign of the Wolf tavern to meet a man who claims to know her father. The inn smells like sour ale. 
  • When the Pike family has smallpox, Elsbeth goes to the apothecary, who gives her “bark from a willow tree, Peruvian bark, yellow moss from an ash tree, juniper berries, nutmeg, and a vial of castoreum oil.” 
  • Hannah, a young girl who is living with the Pikes, gets smallpox. The doctor gives her laudanum for her pain. Afterwards, Elsbeth puts red silk around Hannah because “the color red helped fight the pox.” 

Language  

  • Often, the characters call each other names and refer to others in a mean way. Because of the frequency and number, the list is incomplete.  
  • A girl calls her brother “a warty-faced whale” and “a slimy weasel.” 
  • Elsbeth works for an older gentleman who often calls her names, such as “a blockhead kitchen maid,” “sniveling featherbrain,” “idle dolt,” and “a pockmarked, slothful wench best suited for farmwork.” 
  • When Elsbeth goes to see her father at work, another worker calls her a “rebel brat.” 
  • Elsbeth thinks her father is a “dunderhead.” 
  • A man calls someone a “blasted devil.” 
  • Elsbeth often calls others names such as “muttonhead,” “nincompoop,” “foggy-brained numbskull,” and “a snake-bellied son-of-the-devil.” 
  • Pissed is used twice. 
  • Creative explanations are often used, and not all are included. These include “tarnal maggots and lice,” “blast and tarnation,” “drat,” and many, many more.  
  • A young woman refers to her guardian as “Captain Fizzlefart, but not to his face.”

Supernatural 

  • A woman mentions that when it thunders during a snowstorm, it’s a good omen.

Spiritual Content  

  • When Mr. Pike’s family arrives, he says, “Praise God’s mercy.” 
  • Hannah believes “owls take messages to the dead. . . When Grandmamma hears one, she always opens a window and whispers a few words for the owl to take to the ghost of my grandfather.” Later, she dies, and Elsbeth sees two owls and whispers a message for them to take Hannah.” 
  • When one of Mr. Pike’s children runs off, Elsbeth “prayed only for his safety.” 
  • When the Pike family heard about the smallpox inoculations, they “went to church for a special prayer service.” 
  • Mrs. Pike doesn’t want to have her children vaccinated against smallpox. She asks, “What about faith? Smallpox is God’s will, so we ought not tamper with it.” His daughter argues, saying that Mr. Pike takes other medication for headaches and a “sour stomach.” In the end, the Pike family is inoculated against smallpox. 
  • Part of the Declaration of Independence is read. “. . . and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitled them. . . all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights. . .”
  • After reading the Declaration of Independence, a man says, “God save our American States!” 
  • Elsbeth writes a letter that ends with “I pray to our Lord to preserve you, body & spirit.” 
  • Hannah gets smallpox. As Elsbeth cares for her, she prays, “Please don’t let her die, please give her strength, please take away the pain.”

The Stowaway: A Tale of California Pirates

The year is 1818, and the coastal village of Monterey, California, is a peaceful home for 11-year-old Carlito and his family. . . until pirate ships appear on the horizon. Carlito and his friends are excited at first. They can’t wait to see what real pirates look like. But once the ships drop anchor, they attack. And on one terrible night, Carlito witnesses a murder—his father’s. When Carlito climbs onto the pirate ship in search of revenge, the ship sets sail, and he becomes a stowaway. Can Carlito bring his father’s murderer to justice? Or will he suffer the same horrendous fate? 

The stakes are high in this action-packed adventure when Carlito inadvertently becomes a stowaway on Captain Bouchard’s ship. The book opens with historical information about the Argentine privateer known for his cruelty, which immediately raises the suspense by forewarning readers that Carlito’s death could come at any moment. Being trapped on a ship with a cruel captain and manipulative pirates creates an atmosphere of fear and highlights the perils everyone on board faces. 

Despite Captain Bouchard’s cruelty, Carlito finds solace when the ship’s navigator, Montague, shows him kindness and protects him from the other pirates’ abuse. Montague isn’t the only person trapped by circumstances—Billy, another young boy forced into labor, befriends Carlito, and the two bond over their similar situations. Unlike Carlito, however, Billy’s father is still alive but imprisoned in a cage in the ship’s hull. Despite his harsh circumstances, the enslaved man remains kind. When Carlito has an opportunity to escape, he chooses to stay because he doesn’t want to endanger Billy or his father. Despite his fear and difficulties, Carlito demonstrates bravery by prioritizing others’ needs over his own. 

The Stowaway chronicles the events of Captain Bouchard’s Raid of 1818, offering an engaging story that will entertain anyone who loves pirate adventures while also teaching California history and showing the destruction Captain Bouchard left in his wake. The book focuses on a young protagonist with whom readers will easily connect. At one point, Carlito is given an opportunity to let Parvo, a cruel pirate, die, but sets aside his hatred and refrains from taking revenge. As Carlito says, “This pirate needs to be brought to justice for his terrible crimes. That is something Governor Sola can do.” Ultimately, Carlito learns the dangers of making rash decisions and the importance of relying on others for guidance. Readers who want to get lost in another pirate adventure should also read The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates Series and The 13th Floor: A Ghost Story.  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • The book begins with a note about the story’s historical pirate, Hippolyte de Bouchard, who tracked down mutineers on Kaua’i, Hawaii. “[One mutineer] was dragged from the jungle to the beach, blindfolded, then shot by four marines. . . Other mutineers were found on the island of Maui and flogged until their backs split open.” 
  • After leaving Hawaii, Bouchard went to California and attacked the port of Monterey. During the attack, one of the pirate ships was hit. “Carlito peeked over the tower ledge to see flames on the ship’s deck, a mast snapped in two, and spars torn through the rigging.” The ship does not sink.  
  • As the townsmen were retreating, an officer “raised a musket and fired. One of the fishermen threw his arms in the air, then fell to the sand. Another shot hit a man in the shoulder, but he kept running.” The man was on the wet sand, “Blood staining the water’s edge. When Carlito focused on the man’s face, the open eyes that no longer held life, he gave an anguished cry.” The dead man was Carlito’s father. Two other people had been killed during the pirates’ attack. 
  • After the attack, Carlito sees “a screaming soldier about to have both hands amputated. The floor was sticky with blood.” Five pirates were killed during the fight. 
  • When Bouchard found a stowaway aboard his ship, the stowaway’s “lips [were] sewn shut, then he was dangled over the side until the sharks found him. . .” 
  • Billy, a boy forced to work on a pirate ship, was disfigured by a pirate. “The eye socket was empty and red. The knife that had cut Billy’s face and throat had also taken out the eye.” Billy obeys the pirates because his father is being held captive in a cage. 
  • A pirate is upset that two boys don’t have his boat ready. “He shoved one of the older boys into the water and kicked sand into the other’s face.”  
  • A pirate grabs Carlito and another boy, Little Edward, to punish them for not following orders. “He grabbed the boys by the arms and dragged them across the deck. As the boys struggled, he lashed their wrists to an overhead ratline and pulled out a whip that had been soaked in a bucket of salt water. . . [Carlito] could hear Little Edward crying.” A woman stops the pirate before he can hurt them further. 
  • One of the pirates, Red Cap, “was too drunk to know he was being rolled out the window. Down he went like a stone. His arms and legs flew up in a splash.” The man sank to his death. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • A captain smokes a pipe.  
  • After a meal, Carlito’s mother and aunt “lit their cigars.” 
  • After the pirates attacked the port of Monterey, “there was drunken laughter as the thieves ransacked each home and shop.”  
  • A pirate who was taunting Carlito “reeked of rum.” 
  • The cook sends a jug of rum to a prisoner.  
  • After attacking another town, “pirates began stumbling down the path. Some were so drunk their mates dragged them by their hair along the rocky beach.” The men had raided “the fiery home-brew whiskey” hidden in a bodega. As punishment, “twenty men were strung up, stripped to the waist, then bloodied with twelve lashes each.” 
  • After Captain Bouchard maroons Carlito and others on an island, Carlito imagines Captain Bouchard and Captain Corney “raising their goblets of wine in a victory toast.” 
  • The epilogue explains how Captain Corney and his men had a “shore party” and accidentally ate a poisonous root. Twelve men “suffered agonizing deaths.” 
  • After retiring from piracy, Bouchard “treated his slaves with such cruelty, however, they staged a revolt in 1837 and killed him.” 

Language  

  • Bouchard often calls Carlito and others names, such as “stupid pig farmer,” “vermin,” and “worms.” 
  • A woman calls a pirate a “piece of bait” and “scum.” 
  • A pirate calls Carlito and the other boys “scum. Pig farmers.” 
  • The ship’s navigator, Montague, has scars on her face. A pirate says, “Everyone knows women are bad luck at sea, especially those with the face of a dog and a big. . .” Montague throws the pirate into the ocean. 

 Supernatural 

  • Women are thought to be bad luck at sea. 

Spiritual Content  

  • In a letter warning the governor to surrender, Bouchard writes, “May God keep you many years.” 
  • Carlito disobeys his father and sneaks back into the mission. “Papa put his arm around his son and nodded toward the altar where a carving of Jesus looked down at them. He began to pray. ‘The Lord is my shepherd. . .’” Carlito and his family were baptized Catholics and are Spanish citizens. 
  • Bouchard yells at the ship’s navigator, Montague. She replies, “When the Spaniards’ guns killed seven of your buffoons, you blamed me. Now God chooses to send no wind, and you blame me again.” 
  • Captain Bouchard maroons Carlito and others on an island. Carlito and another boy find a canoe and prepare to go for help. A man prays, “Dear Lord, watch over these brave boys. We ask for Your mercy on all of us. Amen.” 
  • Carlito and the other boy’s canoe gets caught in a current. Carlito’s uncle finds them and says, “Thank God your boat floated into the channel or we would not have found you in time.” 

The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery

Most people know that Benedict Arnold was America’s first, most notorious traitor. Few know that he was also one of its greatest Revolutionary War heroes. 

Steve Sheinkin’s accessible biography, The Notorious Benedict Arnold, introduces young readers to the real Arnold: reckless, heroic, and driven. Packed with first-person accounts, astonishing American Revolution battle scenes, and surprising twists, this is a gripping and true adventure tale from history. 

The Notorious Benedict Arnold begins with Arnold’s childhood, showing how his father’s downfall led Arnold to desperately seek the attention and approval of others throughout his life. As an adult, Arnold was a wealthy merchant who understood that when the British began taxing Americans, he had to fight this injustice. However, his motivations went beyond patriotism: “Yes, he believed in the cause of American independence, but there was much more to it. War would be a heaven-sent chance to wipe out the marks against him, to soar up and over everyone who’d ever dared to judge him.” 

Arnold refused to wait for others to take action and hatched a plan to attack the fort in Quebec, Canada. Traveling through untamed land was excruciatingly difficult, and Arnold’s men almost starved to death. Despite these harsh conditions, Arnold and his men successfully took the fort. On the battlefield, Arnold’s reckless fearlessness helped him win battles, though many disliked him, refused to take orders from him, and spread false rumors about him. When Arnold returned home, however, “people who recently considered themselves too good to associate with him were now coming over uninvited, just to ask how he was, congratulate him, and wish him well.” 

Rather than portraying Arnold as simply a heinous traitor who almost handed George Washington over to the British, the book weaves a compelling story showing how Arnold’s intelligence, bravery, and recklessness allowed him to win one of the most decisive battles in the American Revolution. Readers come to understand not only Arnold’s motivations but also the political workings of the time and how they affected his military career. Many readers will ultimately feel compassion for Arnold, whose craving for recognition and approval brought about his downfall. 

The Saratoga battlefield monument perfectly symbolizes Arnold’s complicated legacy in American history. It features “a small stone sculpture of a lower left leg. No person, just a tall boot. A plaque reads: In memory of the most brilliant soldier of the Continental Army who was desperately wounded on this spot. . . winning for his countrymen the decisive battle of the American Revolution.’ Nowhere does the monument mention the name Benedict Arnold.” This anonymous tribute captures the tragedy of a man who was simultaneously one of America’s greatest heroes and most infamous traitors. 

Although The Notorious Benedict Arnold is non-fiction, it reads like an exciting adventure that is hard to put down. Even though everyone knows how Arnold’s story ends, learning the facts about his military history and interactions with other important historical figures proves enlightening. Readers gain new understanding of the political leaders of the time and discover why Arnold ultimately turned against the Americans. 

The Notorious Benedict Arnold will appeal to readers who love fast-paced adventures featuring exciting battles, political maneuvering, and the quest for freedom. While everyone remembers Benedict Arnold’s treachery, this book reminds us that he was also one of America’s greatest military heroes—a complex legacy that continues to fascinate readers today. 

Sexual Content  

  • One American general, “spent his nights. . . singing and drinking and amusing himself in the company of the wife of a commissary, who was his mistress and, like him, loved champagne.” 
  • A song popular among the British soldiers had these lyrics: “Sir William, he snug as a flea, / Lay all this time a-snoring; / Nor dreamed of harm as he lay warm / In bed with Mrs. Loring.” 

Violence  

  • The book includes frequent violence, which shows Benedict Arnold’s fierce temper as well as the Americans’ struggle with the British and the Revolutionary War. Not every instance of violence is included below.  
  • The book begins with a description of a hanging. “The prisoner would have to climb onto a wagon with the rope looped around his throat. Horses would jerk the wagon forward, and he would tumble off the back. The force of his falling weight should be enough to snap a man’s neck.” 
  • As a teen, Benedict was embarrassed and angry that his father had lost the family’s wealth. During a celebration, “Benedict got his hands on a purchase of gunpowder, dumped the powder down the barrel of a small cannon on the town green, followed it up with a lit match, and leaped backward. He yelled ‘Huzza!’ as the cannon spit fire past his face.” 
  • A French gentleman was interested in Benedict’s sister Hannah. Benedict warned the man to stay away. When Benedict came home and saw the man in his house, Benedict and his friend devised a plan. “While the friend walked toward the door, Arnold loaded and cocked a pistol and crouched in the shrubs beneath the window. The friend opened the door. . . Thinking it was Hannah’s overprotective brother, the Frenchman leaped from the couch, tripped to the window, lifted the glass, jumped out, and sprinted down the street. Arnold took a shot toward the bouncing figure, purposely aiming just a little high.” The Frenchman never returned. 
  • One of Benedict’s sailors, Boles, planned on informing the authorities that Benedict was not paying British taxes. Benedict told Boles to leave town. When Boles was found in a tavern, a group of sailors “dragged Boles outside and across the street to the whipping post, where, in Arnold’s words, Boles received nearly forty lashes with a small cord.” Then Arnold’s crew carried Boles to the edge of town and dumped him on the muddy road. 
  • Daniel Morgan was “a leader of a group of volunteers from the woods of Virginia. . . Morgan annoyed a British officer, who responded by slapping Morgan with the flat side of his sword. Morgan turned and decked the officer, for which he was sentenced to receive 500 lashes. Morgan stood, teeth clenched, while they slashed his back into strips of pulpy flesh.” Morgan healed but was badly scarred. 
  • The Americans invaded a British fort in Canada. When American artillery fired, “explosions blew off arms and legs, shells ripped open the buildings, sending brick and glass spinning through the crowded space.” The British surrendered. 
  • The Americans attack a fort in Quebec. A group of soldiers was going through a barricade, when a cannon exploded, “shooting flames and a swarm of grapeshot. . . Montgomery [the commander] was struck in both thighs, his cheek, his head, and was dead before he hit the snow. Eight other soldiers were killed by the blast.” 
  • During the attack, Arnold “felt something rip through the flesh below his knee. . . Arnold fell, got up, stumbled to the wall and leaned, unable to put any weight on the leg. Blood flowered in his boot and gurgled out into the snow.” Arnold survived his wounds. 
  • During one battle, many Americans were injured. “John Lamb was shot in the cheek. He pulled out a handkerchief, tied up the hole in his face, and went on firing. Archibald Steele had two fingers blown off his hand. . .” The Americans were forced to surrender.  
  • During a battle between the British and the Americans, Dyer, an American soldier, accidentally killed himself when he “rammed a new gunpowder cartridge into a muzzle, the other men heard an explosion, and saw Dyer blown overboard. His body bobbed in the water, the sponging rod blown clear through his chest. A few feet away floated his hands.” 
  • Later during the same battle, “cannonballs crashed into ships on both sides, sending limbs flying, leaving dead and unconscious men lying in spreading puddles of blood.”  
  • After the battle, the Americans set their ships on fire and they exploded, “killing a badly wounded officer who’d been left behind in the chaos. The men watched his broken body tumble high into the air and crash down in the lake.” 
  • During an extended battle, about 600 British and 300 American soldiers were killed. “Wounded men lay all over the battlefield, calling out for help, crying for a drink of water. . . British burial parties quickly dug pits and dumped in the dead, leaving arms, legs, and even heads above ground. Wolves feasted that night on the dead and dying.” 
  • British General Grey led an attack on Philadelphia that came to be known as the Paoli Massacre. People “could hear the sounds of steel blades plunging through flesh, and the cries of dying men. . . Grey’s men went on thrusting and slicing, even after the Americans tried to surrender.” 
  • Andre, a British officer, was accused of spying and hanged. “Andre grabbed [the noose] and placed the loop around his own neck, drew tight the knot. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and tied it over his eyes. . . His body swung gently at the end of the rope. ‘In a few minutes,’ said one soldier, ‘he hung entirely still.’” 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • After two of his children died and his business collapsed, Benedict’s father turned to alcohol. Captain Arnold had “always enjoyed his rum,” but after the tragedy, he started drinking more frequently and heavily. 
  • Captain Arnold’s drinking became a constant problem. “Night after humiliating night, the younger Arnold was sent out to search the waterfront taverns for his father. He often had to literally drag the goading, puking, crying man through the streets to their home.” 
  • Arnold became an apprentice and learned how to make “various cold cures and an aphrodisiac called ‘Francis’ Female Elixir.” 
  • Benedict goes to a tavern. “He could hear men inside shouting in drunken voices. . . He could smell the sour stink of booze-soaked floors. Arnold hated the smell, and he had a reason to hate it.” 
  • British prisoners of war were given a meal and “pitchers of rum.” 
  • While Arnold was in Philadelphia on military business, he filled his mansion with “expensive food and wine.” During this time, Arnold was spending time with an unmarried woman. He sent this woman’s father “a few nice bottles of wine.” 
  • To convince two brothers to row to a British ship and bring Andre, a British officer, back, the brothers were given “big cups of rum.” 
  • After taking over a fort, the Green Mountain Boys, a group of American rebels, “found ninety gallons of rum in the supply room and decided to drink it all.” 

Language  

  • Damn is used infrequently. For example, a man tells Benedict, “You are a damned Yankee, destitute of good manners or those of a gentleman.” 
  • While taking over a fort, an American tells a Red Coat, “Come out of there! Come out, you damned old rat!” 
  • “Good God” and “by God” are both used as an exclamation once.  
  • Goddamn is used twice. For example, after a battle, a soldier said, “Goddamn you!” 
  • A British prisoner called the locals “perfidious dastards” and “a greasy committee of worsted-stocking knaves.” 
  • After a battle that the Americans won, a general said, “If Old England is not by this lesson taught humility, then she is an obstinate old slut, bent upon her ruin.” 

Supernatural 

  • None  

Spiritual Content  

  • While Benedict was in boarding school, he received a letter from his mother informing him that the family was sick with yellow fever. She wrote, “What God is about to do with us I know not. We have a very uncertain stay in this world.” Two of Benedict’s sisters died. 
  • Arnold and a group of men demand to be given the colony’s supply of gunpowder. When a man refuses to give it to the group, Benedict yells, “None but Almighty God shall prevent my marching!” 
  • While taking over a garrison, the British are told to surrender “in the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress.” 
  • When Arnold showed up on the battlefield, he told the soldiers, “God bless you. . . If the day is long enough, we’ll have them all in hell before night.” 
  • When two American soldiers arrested a British officer, he said, “God bless my soul.” 
  • When Benedict Arnold’s plot to have the British attack West Point failed, some believed it was the “hand of God.”  

Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Diary of Hattie Campbell

After the death of her two sisters, thirteen-year-old Hattie and her family make a fresh start. They sell their farm in Missouri and journey across the Oregon Trail toward Oregon City. At first, the adventure is exciting, but as the days, weeks, and months pass, Hattie realizes what a dangerous and tedious trip it is. As they cross the prairies, news of the fate of the Donner Party reaches them, and death, disease, weather, and the terrain take a terrible toll on their traveling party. The Campbells lose neighbors and friends until they can hardly bear to continue. But Hattie and her family must persevere or risk the same misfortune. Hattie’s diary chronicles the hardships of such a harrowing journey, but also captures the small moments, friendships, and celebrations of life that keep hope alive. 

Hattie and her family’s adventure is filled with danger—perilous rivers to cross, deadly animals, unpredictable weather, and accidents. Despite these daily perils, Hattie focuses on conflicts that today’s readers will relate to. She is sad to leave her friends behind but becomes excited when she meets fourteen-year-old Pepper. When a boy begins courting Pepper, Hattie worries about losing her newfound friend and wonders when she will fall in love. While Hattie doesn’t find romance, she does meet many interesting people along the trail. 

Like many thirteen-year-olds, Hattie’s life revolves around her friends and those she cares about, which often makes her seem self-centered and uncaring when others face problems. For example, when Hattie discovers that Mrs. Kenker, a member of their wagon train, is a thief, she struggles to treat the woman kindly. While this reaction is understandable, Hattie is repeatedly rebuked for her lack of compassion. Her mother provides wise counsel: “In order to move on we must forgive the past. Sometimes that means forgiving someone who hasn’t apologized and probably never will.” Through these trials, Hattie learns to show greater kindness to others. 

Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie is told in diary format, which limits the development of other characters but still allows readers to understand the importance of Hattie’s relationships with friends, family, and adults. The characters draw readers into the story while the narrative teaches fascinating facts about the Oregon Trail, including landmarks, dangers, and the various reasons people traveled 2,000 miles to start new lives. Although there is no direct interaction between the wagon train and Indigenous peoples, Hattie writes: “I have decided Indians are like white folks in that some are honest and kind, others are liars and thieves.” This observation reinforces a theme woven throughout the story: making assumptions based on appearance is not only wrong but can harm both yourself and others. 

If you’re interested in learning about the Oregon Trail, Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie offers a compelling glimpse into this historic period and will spark your curiosity to explore the people and landmarks along the trail. However, like the pioneers themselves, you may wish you could stop to explore these places in greater depth. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • While in Independence, Missouri, a group of “boys yell and wave their rifles around. One of them accidentally shot a nine-year-old in the neck. He died quickly, right where he fell.”  
  • Tall Joe, the leader of the wagon train, shows off “what looks like two short brushes hanging with a string of beads. . . Tall Joe said proudly, ‘Them is scalps, ma’am. . . Pawnee.” Tall Joe said he shot the men. 
  • Tall Joe and Mr. Kenker, another member of the wagon train, get into an argument. Mr. Kenker points a gun at Tall Joe. Tall Joe says, “And the next time you point a gun at me, mister, I’ll slice your ears off — don’t you forget!” When Mr. Kenker’s wife defends him, Tall Joe “grabbed Mr. Kenker’s pistol and aimed it at their wagon seat where a pie was cooling. The first shot made the pan spin, the second splattered it.”  
  • Tall Joe and Mr. Kenker get into another fight. Mr. Kenker “walked to the edge of the cliff, stepped into midair, and dropped out of sight. For a moment there was silence, then the piercing scream of Mrs. Kenker.” It is implied that Mr. Kenker died. 
  • While on the trail, “a boy playing with his father’s gun accidentally shot our front ox in the head. It dropped dead so quick the ones behind stumbled onto it.” 
  • Hattie’s little brother Ben fell off the wagon. “The wheels rolled over his left arm so that it hung like a broken stick. He cried and cried, while Pa set it in a splint.” He eventually recovers. 
  • A boy fell off the wagon and “was trampled by the mules behind. There was so much dust that it wasn’t until three wagons passed did they find him.” 
  • While crossing a river, a family’s mule panicked, and the animals began to drown. They sank so fast they pulled the wagons underwater before anyone had a chance to jump out. Two families disappeared just like that. I’m sick at heart. The screams of their friends on shore I will never forget as long as I live.” 
  • Mrs. Bigg, a kind woman whom Hattie admires, falls off her wagon. “Mrs. Bigg had fallen in the water and was trying to grab her husband’s hand. . . Each time she managed to grab a wheel or harness, the wagon tipped deeper toward her. . . In an instant, Mrs. Bigg and her rescuer disappeared under the tongue of the wagon. . . then they were gone.” 
  • A woman on the wagon train receives news that her friend has died. “It seems there was a measles epidemic. When some of the Indian children died, the Cayuse thought Dr. Whitman was a sorcerer. So they burned down the mission.” 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • A couple who were traveling with Hattie’s group has “two crystal wine goblets, for she and the mister tip back a few each night.” 
  • Hattie’s friend Wade is accidentally poisoned. While he’s sick, his parents “gave him a sip of rum” to help him relax. 
  • When Hattie’s brother is injured, he is given whiskey to help him with the pain. 

Language  

  • Brigham Young has “three nigras, servants look like.” 
  • “Lordy” is used as an exclamation once.  

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • Several people from the wagon train eat water hemlock, which is poison. When they get sick, Hattie’s father says, “God help us.” Several people die, and Hattie’s friend Wade “is breathing hard and fast through clenched jaws so it sounds like he’s hissing. Blood is at the corners of his mouth.” Hattie and others pray for Wade’s recovery. 
  • Hattie’s mother and Wade’s mother pray, “Asking God, that if it be His will, to please heal Wade.” Wade eventually recovers. His mother “cries and cries she is so thankful to God for healing her son.” Wade’s healing was attributed to God. 
  • When a wagon flips over and crashes, Hattie thinks, “Thank God, Mrs. Anderson and her daughters were watching from the top of the hill.” 
  • Along the way, Wade sings a hymn: “May our good Lord watch over you always.” 
  • When Mrs. Bigg dies, Hattie wonders, “Why did someone as generous and loving and honest as Mrs. Bigg have to die while Mrs. Kenker gets to live?” 
  • Hattie continues to mourn Mrs. Bigg’s death. Hattie’s mom says, “I know two things for sure. God loves us and he has a plan for our lives. I wish I knew why He took Mrs. Bigg and Cassia and the other children, but this I do not know.” 
  • Brigham Young, American religious leader and second president of the Mormon church, was traveling close to Hattie’s wagon train. She writes, “I think something’s wrong with a religion that says men get to have as many wives as they please all at once.” 
  • Hattie thinks Brigham Young is “very religious because he makes his people rest on the Sabbath—no traveling.” 
  • Brigham Young’s group travels alone, which makes some of the people on Hattie’s wagon train dislike them. Some say he is acting “high and mighty.” However, Hattie’s father says, “Brigham Young’s people are trying to start a new life, just like us. And I’ll tell you something else. . . we ain’t their judge, God Almighty is, so let’s get going and not be so mad about everything.” 
  • While trying to ford a dangerous river, Hattie’s aunt goes into labor. Hattie writes, “Why God sends babies into the world at times like this I’ll never understand, but he does.”

Sarah Journeys West: An Oregon Trail Survival Story

In the midst of the California Gold Rush, twelve-year-old Sarah and her family are living in the North as free Black people. Seeking a better life, Sarah’s parents decide they will venture west on the Oregon Trail. On the trail, Sarah and her family face all kinds of hardship, including racism, extreme weather, difficult terrain, and disease. But the journey will be worth it if they can find fortune in California. Will Sarah and her family endure the trail and make a new life out west?  

Sarah Journeys West gives a broad view of the Oregon Trail, allowing readers to understand the dangers of going west by following Sarah’s family. Although the trip was difficult, most of the dangers that are discussed aren’t directly related to the wagon train that Sarah’s family is traveling with. This decreases the story’s suspense and, similar to traveling on the Oregon Trail, the book sometimes goes at a very slow pace. 

Since Sarah’s family is the only Black family in their wagon train, the story offers a unique perspective that highlights the additional difficulties they faced, including discrimination from other members of the wagon train. However, they were not alone in facing prejudice. Many travelers feared Native Americans and harbored discriminatory attitudes toward them. For example, when a member of the wagon train, Mr. Adams, first encounters Indians, he wants to shoot them on sight, but Sarah’s father intervenes to stop him. Sarah’s mother provides insight into their shared struggles, explaining, “They aren’t that different from us. Our people got stolen from home, and their home got stolen from them.” 

The book’s structure makes it easy to follow, with each chapter beginning by noting Sarah’s location and the time. Black-and-white illustrations appear every 10 to 17 pages, including one that shows a family grieving over a grave. The back of the book includes nonfiction material on the Oregon Trail, a glossary, discussion questions, and writing prompts that provide brief explanations of African American and Native American perspectives. 

Throughout the journey, Sarah’s family encounters several historical landmarks along the trail and discusses the Hastings Cutoff and the Donner Party. While the book provides limited information about these topics, curious readers can learn more by reading Koda by Patricia Hermes. 

Sarah Journeys West focuses on a caring family that dreams of a better life. Although the story occasionally lacks action, Sarah is a likable protagonist who worries about what her new life in California will look like. Despite the difficult trip, the book reinforces the message that “a woman can do anything a man can do.” The story concludes on a hopeful note—Sarah and her family safely arrive in California, where Sarah has found a best friend, and the two girls plan to help their families become prosperous. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • As Sarah’s family prepares to go to Oregon, one of their companions, Mr. Adams, says that Indians had killed “a lot of people heading west.” The man promises to “shoot an Indian on sight if I have to.” 
  • The wagon train approaches a river and sees Indians. Mr. Adams plans to shoot the Indians, even though they have done nothing to provoke him. “Daddy lunged at him, which made the gun aim into the sky, and a shot went off. . . Mr. Lee grabbed the gun from Mr. Adams, and Daddy wrestled him to the ground.” No one is injured, and the Indians help them cross the river. 
  • A man mentions the Donner Party, saying, “They got stuck in these mountains in the middle of winter. Almost all of them died.” 
  • The author’s note explains that “American Indians suffered greatly because of Europeans and the California Gold Rush. Native Americans across the country were forced off their homelands and killed in battles over the land. . . Their way of life completely disrupted.” 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • Sarah sees women who were preparing to leave for Oregon carrying medicine bags. 

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • Before leaving to head west, James’ granddaddy gave him a gun and said, “James you’re going to need this to hunt. I pray that’s all you need it for.” 
  • Sarah’s friend, Maddie, gets lost in the woods. At first, no one realizes she is missing. A group of men goes looking for Maddie, and Sarah sneaks off after them. When Maddie is found, her father says, “Thank God.”

Game Seven

Julio Ramirez Jr. lives in the shadow of his famous father. Not just because Julio Senior is a pitcher for the Miami Marlins and famous for his scorching fastball, but because he defected from Cuba, leaving Julio and his sister and mother branded as the family of a traitor. Now sixteen, Julio has dreams of playing shortstop for Cuba’s national team—until he’s given the opportunity to sail to the U.S. Can he abandon his family, just like his Papi did? Is freedom worth the perilous journey and risking prison if he’s caught? Will his Papi be waiting for him on the other shore—or, with the Marlins in the World Series against the Yankees, has Julio Senior forgotten all about his son? 

When his father defected, Julio’s life changed for the worse. It’s bad enough that he and his mother must work to eke out a living, but now his father’s actions might keep Julio from his baseball dreams. Dealing with the loss of his father, poverty, and a hopeless future causes a myriad of emotions that the teen isn’t sure how to handle. Then, in a blink, everything changes when Julio is given the opportunity to escape Cuba with his uncle and cousin. Despite the difficulties, Julio’s mother supports his decision to leave, saying, “Make your decision and know that I love you. I’ll always love you, no matter what.” 

Most of Game Seven chronicles Julio’s escape from Cuba and his anger at being abandoned by his father. During the dangerous journey, Julio listens to the Marlins playing in the World Series on a transistor radio. Listening to the games fuels his anger and isolates him from his family, who believe his father can do no wrong. At one point, Julio thinks, “All I knew was that Papi was about to be a hero in front of the whole world, and I didn’t want to hear it happen.” While Julio’s circumstances are unique, readers will relate to his conflicting emotions and the difficulty of his decision to leave Cuba. 

Julio’s story will force readers to consider the value of family, loyalty, and freedom. The narrative never tells readers what to think but shows the complexity of Julio’s decision. Readers will empathize with his desire to stay with his mother and sister while also desperately wanting freedom. Because Julio and the others are traveling in a Buick converted into a boat, there is added peril. However, most of the book’s conflict is internal, and the only baseball action appears in brief radio broadcasts of the World Series. While the cover art featuring a boy playing baseball is misleading, Game Seven is still worth reading because readers can relate to Julio’s desire to reach his goal. 

Game Seven uses Julio’s family dynamics, his dream of playing baseball, and his dangerous escape from Cuba to craft an entertaining story that fosters empathy for refugees. However, the plot’s focus on the teen’s inner turmoil might deter some readers from finishing. Still, because many major league baseball greats have defected from Cuba, Game Seven offers a valuable perspective for baseball fans. To learn how sports can give people hope, sports enthusiasts may also want to read Heat by Mike Lupica, Outcasts United by Warren St. John, and Now is the Time for Running by Michael Williams. 

Sexual Content  

  • Julio’s father left Cuba and did not contact his family for years. Julio “remembered Mama’s words about Papi. About how there was no way he was alone, living without a woman.” Afterward, Julio discovers his father has another child. “The stork didn’t drop him on Papi’s doorstep one day. He got here by Papi doing my mama wrong.”  
  • When Julio and his family make it safely to Florida, they stay at a housing complex. Julio’s cousin sees a swimming pool and says, “That must be where the honeys go sunbathing in bikinis. Maybe even topless.” 
  • Julio hears commercials for everything, including beer and “pills to keep older guys ready for sex.” 

Violence  

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • One of the baseball coaches smokes a cigar. 

Language  

  • Profanity is used occasionally. Profanity includes ass, bastard, damn, pissed, shit, and holy crap. 
  • Julio refers to one of the baseball coaches as a “blowhard.”  
  • Julio’s cousin refers to a coach as a “fat swine.” 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • Julio’s cousin, Luis, “would always say his prayers before bed. Like a little kid, he’d get on his knees with his hands clasped in front of him and close his eyes. Then his mouth would move with no sound coming out, until he was finished.” However, Julio doesn’t pray. He believes “God already knows what we want. Why should I bother Him?” 
  • Julio, his cousin, and his uncle flee Cuba with a man named Gabriel, who acts as their guide. They pray before they embark on the trip.  
  • When Gabriel was a teenager, he tried to leave Cuba. Before trying to escape Cuba, Gabriel’s family went to church to pray. “The priest even gave me my first Communion—the body and blood.” There were eight people on the raft; three people died in the ocean. An older woman died after being caught. The others were put in prison.  
  • On the trip, Julio occasionally prays. For example, “I was praying [the boat’s] tip would lead us straight to the States.” 
  • While in a car that was transformed into a boat, Julio thinks, “It was only God who was above us, however, He laid out the currents and weather in our path.”  
  • Julio’s baseball coach says, “But talent without heart—that’s talent ’sjust a waste of a God-given gift.” 
  • Right before Julio and his family flee Cuba, Julio goes through thick brush, “praying I was still going in the right direction.” 
  • When Uncle Ramon was young, “[his] mother told [him] thunder was the angels bowling in heaven. That it was the sound of them knocking down all ten pins, getting a strike.” 
  • Julio’s cousin asks if it’s okay to pray to win a baseball game. His father replies, “If it isn’t, I earned a ticket to hell before I was fifteen.”  
  • When the guide gets Julio and his family safely to Florida, Uncle Ramon says, “Now that those prayers have been answered, I think we should give thanks.” As they prayed, Julio “prayed [his half-brother] would never lose faith in Papi the way I had, even if I was going to be jealous of that.” 

What Was the Berlin Wall?

Berlin has long been a magnetic city, attracting artists, creatives, and scholars from around the globe. Yet its history is marked by dramatic rises and falls. Following World War I, Germany faced a severe economic depression, during which crime and unemployment reached high levels. These conditions enabled Adolf Hitler’s rise to power. His leadership ultimately led to Germany’s downfall in World War II. What Was the Berlin Wall? traces the events of the period that followed, focusing on the city’s division and the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall.  

Following World War II, the four victorious Allied powers divided Germany into four zones, and Berlin was split into two zones. The Soviets controlled East Berlin, while the United States, Britain, and France controlled West Berlin. “The famous Brandenburg Gate stood at the dividing line, just inside East Berlin, controlled by the Soviet Union.” As tensions between the Soviets and other Allied forces increased, the Soviets imposed an Iron Curtain, restricting movement in and out of West Berlin. With the city isolated, the United States was forced to find new ways to deliver essential supplies to West Berliners.  

The book pulls readers in from the beginning with a short retelling of Peter Fetcher’s tragic experience with the Berlin Wall. Peter, who lived in East Berlin, dreamed of moving West as “there were better jobs there, and Peter longed for a better life.” However, after the Wall’s construction in 1961, Peter felt his dreams being stifled. He watched people lose jobs, be separated from families, and become “prisoners in their own city.” Hoping to escape, Peter and his friend attempted to cross the wall, but guards opened fire, and Peter was shot. This heartbreaking moment immediately establishes the emotional weight of the story and will make readers feel invested in the lives of those who were impacted daily by the Berlin Wall.   

The book features eleven chapters, each delving into a different aspect of the Berlin Wall’s history. For example, Chapter Four covers the Cold War, describing it as “a war of ideas: communism versus capitalism,” rather than a traditional military conflict. While many chapters explore the growing tension between the Soviet Union and Western powers, Chapter 11 captures the excitement and relief that East and West Berliners felt when East German official Gunter Schabowski announced that citizens were allowed to cross the border freely. Learning about the hardships people endured makes the book’s depiction of the wall’s fall especially rewarding.   

Visual learners will also benefit from the book’s black-and-white, detailed illustrations, which appear throughout and directly support the text. One page, for instance, describes Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson’s visit to West Berlin, where he was greeted by children holding up letters that spelled Freiheit— “freedom” in German. Below the text, a matching illustration shows the children with their signs. At the end of the book, a “Photographs” section features twenty-two real images from Berlin between 1933 and 1990, offering young readers additional insight into the era.  

Overall, What Was the Berlin Wall? is a great option for young readers who are curious about history. By covering everything from the political climate that preceded the wall to the celebrations of its fall, What Was the Berlin Wall? provides a clear, engaging overview of one of the 20th century’s most defining symbols. Its blend of factual storytelling, emotional narratives, and historical visuals makes it both informative and compelling for children learning about this time period for the first time.  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • After Adolf Hitler came into power, his supporters “arrested, beat up, and even killed his political enemies.” 
  • In 1941, the United States joined World War II after Hitler bombed a US naval base. 
  • Hitler committed suicide after it became clear that Germany would be defeated in World War II.  

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural  

  • None

Spiritual Content  

  • Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party blamed Germany’s economic problems “on communists and Jews.” 

by Madeline Hettrick 

The Jumbie God’s Revenge

Even after everything Corinne has done to protect her village, they still don’t trust her. Her friends—Dru, Bouki, and Malik—have come to look past her jumbie heritage, but others refuse to believe she can help. When a large storm blows in, Corinne volunteers to lead her people to safer ground. As the first winds arrive, Corinne encounters the witch, who hints that not all may be as it seems. Corinne ignores the warning because she has more pressing matters, but as the weather intensifies, she’s forced to admit something supernatural is at work. During a brief reprieve, she seeks out the witch for answers, only to find that she has drowned. 

Determined to understand what’s happening, Corinne goes to Papa Bois, the jumbie of the forest, who reveals that the sky god Huracan has awoken angry and vengeful. If Corinne doesn’t find and appease him, the hurricanes could destroy the entire island. Summoning all her power and allies—including Mama D’Leau’s mermaids, a forgotten mountain village, and a lost monster at the sea’s bottom—Corinne dedicates herself to finding the sky god and saving her home. 

The Jumbie God’s Revenge skillfully weaves Caribbean folklore into the worldbuilding, making for an interesting read and delivering a very creative story. That said, readers averse to horror may want to avoid this book due to the macabre creatures and tone. 

While the book incorporates magical and monstrous elements, the chapters are often too brief, resulting in a jarring rhythm. The frequent perspective changes interrupt the story’s flow rather than enhancing it, especially for a novel with a primary narrator. Additionally, the storm sometimes overshadows the characters, driving the plot more than it should. The ending feels a little too neatly tied, though it provides a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.  

The Jumbie God’s Revenge presents powerful themes of community and heroism through imaginative monsters, a complex world, and wonderful friendships. The story builds upon previous books, presenting Corinne with more challenging tasks and a larger support system. She discovers that monstrous appearances don’t always indicate monstrous character, and that building community means accepting people for who they are. Ultimately, this story delivers a powerful message through its fierce protagonist: spite doesn’t have to consume people—the more love is freely given, the more it grows. 

Sexual Content  

  • None

Violence  

  • As a direct result of the sky god’s actions, Corinne’s friend, the witch, is trapped in a box and cannot get out during the storm. “The water was up to her bottom lip. As it continued to rise, the white witch sent a final message. It rippled out on the water, stretching out of the swamp and into the sea. And then the witch slept.” The witch drowned.  
  • During the storm, the sea witch, Mama D’Leau, is whipped around. “The water pulled her away and crashed her into the rocks again. She felt the sting of another cut near the end of her tail. The pain traveled up her body and brought tears to her eyes that mixed with the saltwater of the sea. She wrapped her tail around the rock, anchoring herself in place. She would have to wait out the storm there, cowering, angry that it made her feel so small and helpless.” She is injured but eventually heals.  
  • When Corinne dives into the water to confront Mama D’Leau, they fight. “[Mama D’Leau] squeezed harder and pulled Corinne into its depth like a slowly turning screw. When Corinne was wholly engulfed in the tail, she looked directly into a pair of deep blue eyes that blinked out at her from the darkness.” Corinne cannot breathe but Mama D’Leau lets her go and Corinne is fine.  
  • Corinne tries to save her Aunt Severine, who doesn’t remember who Corinne is. Severine attacks Corinne. “[Corinne] crashed into the branches. Some of the sticks stabbed her skin, others scraped her flesh and scales, another gouged her tail. The branches folded into a cage around her. Her plaits were caught and her arms and tail were trapped. Her skin burned in the places the sticks had cut and bruised. She tasted her own warm blood in the cold water.” Corinne eventually gets through to Severine and heals from her injuries.  
  • Corinne confronts the sky god about the storm. “Corinne hurtled to earth [because of the sky god’s powers]. Her flames extinguished and every particle of air burned her raw, exposed body as she fell. She hit the beach hard, sending sand in every direction. Corinne screamed. The combination of the fall and the sea salt against her raw skin ravaged her. She tried not to move.” Her injuries heal quickly, and the sky god doesn’t stop the storm. The fight is described over a chapter.  
  • The storm attacks Corinne. “Each time, Corinne pressed against the side of the mountain for protection, but the rocks still hit her. Larger ones left bruises that made each of Corinne’s movements ache. Sharper ones left scratches that burned in the rain. But [the sky god] wouldn’t stop, so neither would she.” She heals quickly.  
  • After Corinne and Mama D’Leau’s fight, Mama D’Leau is trapped under rocks. When Mama D’Leau tries to get out, she gets cut. “Mama D’Leau refused to be pinned down again. She whipped her tail, cracking it against the current, trying to bend it to her will, but she flailed in the water and had to grab on to the edge of a piece of broken coral to steady herself. The coral cut into her hand but she didn’t let go. As blood darkened the water, Mama D’Leau sensed the smallest of the mermaids trying to reach [Mama D’Leau].” 
  • During the worst moments of the storm, some children end up in the water. The mermaids try to save them but aren’t successful. “[The mermaid] looked into the water and smiled when she saw [the boy she was trying to save], his arms reaching out to her. Her heart caught and she paused, waiting for him to arrive, but his face changed, from calm to anguish in an instant, and he opened his mouth. He gasped bubbles, pulling one hand to his throat. [The mermaid] raced to him and caught his limp hand to drag him to the surface. She turned his face up toward air and patted his back. She pulled him close to her body, hoping to feel his warmth again, but it was slowly draining away. It was too late for him.” He was the only child who died. 
  • During the storm, a boulder gets loose and rolls towards one of the villagers, Victor. “Victor just got his feet under him and looked back to see the rock coming at him from one side and the lagahoo [a kind of jumbie] from the other. The only way to get away from both was toward the cliff. He ran. As the rock closed in, Victor skidded to the edge and tried to come to a stop, but couldn’t. His arms flailed over his head as he teetered on the same ledge that Mama D’Leau had leapt from.” It is implied that Victor dies.  

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural  

  • This novel incorporates Caribbean folklore and references to the supernatural on nearly every page. Corinne and her friends have many interactions with magic, mostly through magical creatures (called jumbies). Since Corinne herself is half-jumbie, she has magical powers.  
  • The jumbies are aptly summarized while Corinne sits by the ocean, alone with her thoughts. “Corinne hadn’t believed in jumbies before Severine followed her out of the forest. She thought they were only stories that grown-ups told to scare the children on the island, stories about things that came out at night so little ones would stay in their beds. But then she encountered creatures with backward feet, women who shed their skin, and men covered in spiky fur with teeth as sharp as daggers. There was a jumbie who cared for the woods, and one who lived beneath the waves who would turn anyone into stone at a glance and who ruled the mermaids in the sea.” 
  • When Corinne needs information about a strange storm, she goes to the jumbie of the forest, Papa Bois. “The boulder seemed to tremble at the annoyance, and slowly unfolded itself, softening and smoothing, shaking dust and pebbles off its surface until it was a real man with hairy goat’s legs. Matted gray hair entwined with moss and leaves tumbled down the man’s back. Still crouched, the man looked up at the sky, slowly, as was his way. He reached a hand out, and a drop of water plopped into the center of his palm. He brought it to his wrinkled mouth and sipped. The ancient creases of his face deepened, his jaw tightened, and his light brown eyes went a reddish color like the ground that was muddying at his hooves.” 
  • Trying to find a stop to the storm, Corinne has a lucid, psychic dream, where Papa Bois appears and tells her what to do. Her dream ends when Papa Bois uses his powers to engulf her in flames. “Corinne looked down at herself. She was standing in the middle of the fire. Flames licked at her body. But it was not exactly her body. Her skin was gone, leaving only her raw flesh, red like the fire and slick as the rain.” 
  • After Corinne and her friend Dru jump off a cliff, they’re saved by their mermaid friends. “Two mermaids pushed themselves halfway out of the water next to Corinne. Their faces were deep brown with dark eyes, and their long, thick hair was braided in dozens of plaits that fell over their shoulders and down their backs. The smaller of the two mermaids lifted herself out of the water to the dark yellow scales that began at her waist, and slapped Corinne on the back.” 
  • When they need Mama D’Leau’s help again, one of Corinne’s friends, Bouki, offers her a jewel as payment. Mama D’Leau summons Bouki to her. “The surface ruffled and then smoothed. It began to swirl like the water in a drain. Bouki dug his toes into the sand and stood his ground for as long as he could, but the pull of the water got too strong. He closed his fist around the shard of rock as the eddy sucked him under.” 
  • After Bouki is returned to the surface, he can barely breathe after almost drowning. Corinne saves his life. “Corinne reached toward the rock in [her mermaid friend’s] arms and felt until she could sense the heart at the middle of it. She pulled moisture to Bouki’s body, softening the stone until his skin went from dull gray to soft reddish brown, starting at the tips of his toes and trailing toward his stomach and chest.” 
  • Knowing Corinne is looking for him, the sky god Huracan summons Corinne to him. “A strong breeze took [Corinne] higher. She spread her arms, trying to stop herself, but the effort flipped her to the side. She screamed and a tongue of flame burst out, pushing Pierre and the others back.” When she is above the cloud level, she sees Huracan. “[Huracan] was young-looking, with straight hair that fell to his shoulders, a wide, flat nose, and thin lips curled into a snarl, which turned slack with surprise when Corinne wasn’t where he thought she would be. The face disappeared. Corinne felt for the air current again, turning when it turned, trying to see Huracan form again, but he was mist and she had no hope of keeping up. She stayed still.” 
  • After the storm, Corinne finds her jumbie aunt, Severine, in her father’s boat. “A creature peeked out that was Corinne and not Corinne. It had her soft brown eyes and the long hair that Pierre carefully plaited every night, but where Corinne’s bright smile should have been, drool dripped from sharp teeth in a red, angry mouth. Her body was covered in scales, fish-bright on one side and snake-dull on the other. One of her hands was dark as ash with blue flame playing around the fingers. The other was hairy at the knuckles with claws at the end of her fingers. One leg ended in a floppy fish tail with a bright orange fin, while the other was a girl’s leg with a goat’s hoof where the foot should be.”

Spiritual Content  

  • While Corinne and Dru speculate about the origins of the storm, her other friends, Bouki and Malik, interject, insisting that a god is behind it. Malik says, “It’s the god of storms. This god can break mountains, rip up forests, and flatten everything else. When he rages, the sea trembles, the ground, even the sky.” 

by Kate Schuyler 

Cameron Battle and the Hidden Kingdoms

A few years ago, Cameron Battle’s parents went missing. Now, his grandmother takes great care of him, though she forbids him from the attic, and the book his parents used to read to him before bed, for reasons she refuses to explain. The Book of Chidani is a wonderful storybook that reminds him of his parents every time he reads it, but he hasn’t seen it since his parents disappeared. So, on the last day of the school year, as Cameron has his friends, Zion and Aliyah, over for a sleepover, they decide to sneak into the attic to find it. As they read the stories, they notice anomalies with the illustrations: they move and shift, seemingly trying to communicate with the trio of kids. Startled, the kids attempt to leave the attic, but the book glows, opens a magical portal to the kingdom it describes, and sucks them in.  

When the kids arrive, supernatural monsters immediately attack them. Running for their lives, the trio stumble into a group of guards who slay the monsters. Noticing the kids’ strange attire, the guards escort them to the palace and present them to Queen Ramala. The queen explains that Cameron is the last descendant of his family’s line—people from the kingdom of Chidani who were forcibly kidnapped and taken to the United States hundreds of years ago during the slave trade. The Igbo gods and the people of Chidani entrusted the Book to his family because it’s a portal home and a lifeline to protect them.   

Now, Chidani is in trouble, and Cameron is the only one who can help. The queen’s jealous sister, Amina, has partnered with the death god Ekwensu, who seeks to destroy the magical barrier between the worlds in an attempt to wreak havoc and gain more power. The guards of Chidani train Cameron, Zion, and Aliyah in an Igbo fighting style, arm them with weapons, and give them gryphons to ride, so they can recover the three magical objects Chidani needs to fight Amina. Cameron, Zion, and Aliyah prove to be brave, intelligent, and kind kids who put their own lives on the line to protect people they don’t know.  

Cameron is a likable, powerful protagonist who grows when challenged, leading by example and standing up to bullies. Cameron, Zion, and Aliyah are incredibly supportive, and they work well as a team. His friends also help him learn how to fight, trust, and stand up for what he believes in. Zion adds humor, where Aliyah adds the heart to the story. They both support Cameron in their own styles, Zion lifts his spirits, and Aliyah helps him work through his problems. Cameron fights an evil enchantress and gods, while also struggling with insecurities and feeling like he is not enough. With strong character development and powerful worldbuilding, the story explores issues of kids’ identity and self-worth, especially for kids of color.  

Cameron Battle and the Hidden Kingdoms’ plot is overcomplicated, with many elements that might be hard for younger readers to track. However, this is a minor flaw in an otherwise very entertaining book. Readers who enjoyed Black Panther, Percy Jackson, and The Jumbies will love the Igbo folklore, the good-versus-evil violence, and the elaborate magic system of Cameron Battle and the Hidden Kingdoms.  

This book is filled with supernatural creatures, from dramatic gods to spooky spirits of the dead and scary enchantresses. Overall, this is an inspiring story with creative twists, action-packed fight scenes, and heart-warming friendships. The book’s message is sweet and teaches kids not to be afraid to ask for help.  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • Once in the Chidani, Cameron, Zion, and Aliyah are attacked by frightening monsters called mmo. Cameron describes the fight, “The mmo reached out with what looked like sharp nails made of smoke, just as a second group of them slithered up the trees and launched themselves toward the opening in the sky we had just fallen through. The one closest to me growled deep in its chest and tried to strike me across the face, but I parried the attack with my arm. The force sent me sprawling across the clearing. I wiped my nose and picked up a nearby branch, striking haphazardly, not waiting for the mmo to hit first. It stumbled backward, made a gurgling noise as black blood rushed from its body, and then disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving behind the stench of rotten meat.” The fight lasts for three pages. They all make it out with light scratches but no serious injuries.  
  • Shortly after the mmo encounter, kingdom guards find Cameron, Zion, and Aliyah. The guards threaten the kids and force the kids to follow them. When the guards take Aliyah, Cameron “ran after her, but the cold pressure of a sword at [his] neck stopped [him]. ‘You follow us, boy,’ a guard said to [Cameron]. [The guard] was tall, with muscles so big, they seemed to bulge out of his heavy armor. His face was striking, as if his features had been carved by the sharpest angles of a knife. His eyes reminded [Cameron] of Zion’s. His skin was dark, like [Cameron’s], and his words were harsh. ‘The queen demands an audience.’”  
  • While in the palace, the guards train the trio to fight. The guards have Cameron, Zion, and Aliyah watch a two-paragraph long demonstration between two of the guards, Halifa and Bakari. “Halifa jumped in the air, coming down on Bakari with a slash of her sword. Equally fast, Bakari shifted, kicking at the sand as he moved out of the way of her sword, dirt flying around them like a tornado. He moved, crouched to the ground, and kicked Halifa’s legs. She fell. A second later, she was up again, moving fast as a bullet, slashing her sword, striking his arm, drawing blood. Bakari yelped but moved away from her attack just as quickly.” 
  • While training to fight, a sword nicks Cameron’s cheek. “By the time [Cameron] turned to [the guard training him, Makai], [Makai] had thrown his sword at [Cameron]. Once [Cameron] saw it flying, [he] moved [his] head to the side, causing the sword to graze [his] cheek as it passed [him].”  
  • Later during the same fight, Cameron gets slammed to the ground. “[Makai] grabbed [Cameron’s] feet, turned [him] around, and threw [him] on the ground. ‘Oof,’ [Cameron] said as blood filled [his] mouth.” Zion and Aliyah experience similar injuries during their own fights. 
  • During their retrieval of Queen Ramala’s crown, Cameron, Zion, and Aliyah encounter more mmo. “[Cameron] opened [his] eyes and grabbed [his] sword from the ground, ignoring the pain that racked [his] body from the slash of mmo nails. . . [He] could make out at least ten other creatures stalking [them] inside the cavern, but [he] could also see the crown glistening on a wall behind the dais. [Cameron] moved forward and started to slash, bringing down mmo. [He] turned to see Zion battling four creatures at once. Three more rushed at [him]. [He] fell to the floor and slid underneath their feet, slashing as [he] went. The mmo fell to the ground. . . [He] slammed [his] legs into their chests; [they] all tumbled to the ground. Before they could move, [he] brought [his] sword down and slashed at their faces; their bodies turned to smoke.” Nobody is seriously injured.  
  • In a confrontation with the god Agwu, Cameron is tortured for information. “At [Agwu’s] words, [Cameron] felt a pain in [his] chest. [Cameron] kneeled on the ground. Something in [him] reached for the god and the lightning radiating through [Agwu’s] body. [Agwu’s] eyes followed [Cameron] as [he] sank to the dead grass.” 
  • During the confrontation with Agwu, Zion is injured. Cameron and Aliyah help hold him down while the goddess Agbala heals him. “[Zion] shifted on the ground and moaned even louder as the bones stitched back together in a sickening crunch. Then suddenly, it was over. [Cameron] watched his breath come back. [Cameron] looked down at [Zion’s] leg again and saw that it was healed.” 
  • In a vision, Cameron watches as Amina sells her soul to gain power from a dark god. “[The god, Ekwensu] pulled back the sleeves of his kaftan and snapped his skeletal fingers. A long blade appeared in his right hand, the hilt of it made from shards of bone. With a swift movement, he swiped down both her arms, leaving blood to fall to the rock. [Cameron] cringed as the blood began to boil, releasing a noxious smell as Amina moaned in pain. Ignoring her agony, Ekwensu thrust forward, slicing Amina in the chest, right in her heart. She screamed as she fell to her knees. . . Whoosh. A substance is extracted from her wound, something milky white.” 
  • Trying to find Amina, the trio kills more mmo. “[Cameron] moved to the side and sliced down, cutting [the mmo’s] arm off. It screamed as the appendage turned to dust and fell to the floor. Before it could regain its composure, [Cameron] sliced straight through its chest. [He] turned just in time to see Zion killing his mmo, too.” 
  • Shortly after Cameron and Zion rescue Aliyah, the two, along with Queen Ramala, battle Amina. “Zion tripped, and when [Amina] slashed at his cheek, he stumbled backward, causing her to advance on him. [Cameron] reached out and kicked her in the back. She turned to me, and the dance began again, Zion, Ramala, and me weaving around one another, striking at her with our swords whenever we could, taking small hits, and retaliating with our own. Amina jumped in the air and twirled in a deadly arc. Ramala jumped after her.” The fight with Amina lasts about three chapters. No one is hurt, except the MMO.  
  • Soon after Cameron, Zion, and Aliyah escape the kingdom, they’re attacked by a mmo that followed them. Cameron’s grandmother comes to the rescue. “Grandma reeled back and threw the knife with all her strength. [Cameron and his friends] ducked out of the way, then heard a scream. [Cameron] stood up to see a mmo standing near the attic’s window. The knife was protruding from its chest. It screamed again before falling to the ground and turning to dust.” 

 Drugs and Alcohol  

  • As Cameron and Zion try to recover a tool to defeat Amina from the god Agwu, they are drugged. Agwu laces the food he offers Zion and Cameron with a substance that forces them to sleep. Agwu says, “It must have been forever since you last ate anything of substance. You are certainly tired and sleepy after all that food. . .” and Cameron and Zion fall asleep.

Language  

  • Words like stupid, idiot, and hell appear frequently.

Supernatural  

  • This book is about three kids who are summoned to save a magic kingdom. Therefore, there is magic on nearly every page. There are also supernatural creatures, gods, and humans with magical powers. All characters use a mystical fighting style that gives them enhanced abilities and instincts without casting spells.  
  • The supernatural creatures are called mmo. They serve the Queen’s sister, Amina, and the Igbo death god, Ekwensu. The first time Cameron encounters them is near his house, in the real world. Cameron describes the experience, “A dark shadow ran across my vision as I stared at Grandma’s house. The rain shower stopped falling, as if someone had pressed Pause. The apparition took on a monstrous, humanoid shape right next to the old shed in the backyard. It was dark, tall, and obscured by shadows.” He later describes them as “spirits whose deaths were so traumatic that they were stuck in a sort of limbo that kept them from passing to the afterlife. They could either be benevolent spirits or malevolent demons, depending on who controlled them.” 
  • When Cameron reminisces about memories of his grandma reading to him, he suddenly realizes that he has seen magic before. Cameron describes the experience, “Grandma read about Queen Ramala, the main character in the Book, and was showing me her picture when suddenly it glowed golden, and I could have sworn the pictures began to move. The queen’s hair, which had been dark brown, started to turn gray before our very eyes.”  
  • Cameron remembers when his parents were reading to him and his friend, Zion. “Mama had flipped back to the page of Queen Ramala on her throne, while Amina stood behind her with no expression. As [Cameron and Zion] watched, the image moved, the sisters moved, and Ramala disappeared. Amina sat on her sister’s throne, a sly smile appearing on her face.” 
  • During a sleepover, Cameron, Zion, and Aliyah are sucked into the Book, landing in a magical kingdom. “Zion’s entire body lifted off the floor. [Cameron’s] grip was slipping, [his] hands beginning to sweat. [Cameron] could feel [Zion’s] fingers releasing. . . [Cameron] tried with all [his] might, but [his] sweaty hands slipped from the carpet, and [Cameron and Zion] were both lifted into the air. It was almost like time stopped for a moment. And then [they] were flying. . . One second, [they] were frozen in midair, and the next, [Cameron, Zion, and Aliyah] were sucked straight through the hole in the wall.” 
  • The palace is coded to use magic in the place of servants if guests choose this option. “Before [Cameron] could respond, the air whipped around [him] and [his] clothes rippled, drowning out Zion’s voice. [Cameron] peeled off [his] soiled clothes and waded deep in the steaming-hot pool, sighing in contentment. Droplets of water lifted from the pool, twirling around [his] head. [Cameron] watched in amazement as they transformed into a comb, a brush, and bars of soap.” 
  • The Book can also be used as a magical map. Cameron describes, “The lines on the map moved, and the pictures came to life, lifting off the page as if we were looking at a hologram. The queen moved her hand, and the images in the air shifted until we were looking at the Royal Court. She pointed at the floating picture, the castle turning in diamond light, gryphons flying in the air. ‘This is where we are,’ she said. She curved her hand downward, the Palacia collapsed back into place, and the scene changed until I was looking at a familiar outline of a location surrounded by water at its southern border.” 
  • To travel freely throughout the kingdom for their quest, Cameron, Zion, and Aliyah bond with gryphons. Cameron thinks about this process, “Connecting with Ugo almost felt like. . . love. The magic in me attached to Ugo’s, and Mama appeared in my mind, granting me access to her own relationship with the gryphon. It was even more of an emotional feeling, too, because the Book gave me visions, even when I wasn’t expecting it.” 
  • Going into the water to recover a magical item, the Book’s magic allows Cameron, Zion, and Aliyah to breathe underwater. Cameron describes this process, “My chest began to glow as soon as we entered the water, and I felt a surge of power. The Book stirred inside me, and I let out a howl of pain, but no water entered my mouth to drown me. Red light spread from my chest and into the arms and bodies of Aliyah and Zion on my right and left. It felt as if my chest was going to burst open, like a weight was dragging us through the water at lightning speed, deeper and deeper into the ocean. I closed my eyes against the excruciating pain.” 
  • When Amina appears to battle her sister, she makes an entrance. “In the middle of a cloud, a deep white line appeared, so bright that it almost burned [Cameron’s] eyes. The rip opened farther and farther until a figure, riding on the back of a fearsome gryphon—much bigger than the ones we had ridden—appeared.” 
  • During the final battle, Amina has a devastating trick up her sleeve; she changes one of the mmo back to human form briefly. “The figure emerged from the mmo like a butterfly from a chrysalis, its hair blowing in the wind, its brown skin shining in the light that surrounded it, its dark-brown eyes trained on [Cameron]. It was dressed in a flowing gown, almost angelic, but its face was contorted in unbearable and unmistakable pain.”

Spiritual Content  

  • While Cameron, Zion, and Aliyah travel to a fictional, magical kingdom, they still encounter elements from the real world, like gods of the Igbo culture. They fight with some gods and work with others to save the kingdom from the queen’s treacherous sister Amina. Given this, the book discusses many creation myths and Igbo religious references. There are also the occasional vague references to Christianity.  
  • When the kids first encounter a god, she heals them from their sparring practice. The goddess describes herself as, “The star goddess, daughter and priestess of the Supreme Mother, Ala. I’m Mother’s justice in this world. I dole out punishment when necessary and heal those who have been hurt.”  
  • Ala heals Aliyah. “The warmth of the magic radiated from Aliyah’s body as the gash on her forehead healed. It felt like [Cameron’s] father’s last hug; it smelled of the peppermints [his] grandma gave [him] during Sunday service to keep [Cameron] quiet and still as the pastor preached his sermons.” 
  • As an example of the creation beliefs, Agbala tells the children about the queen’s history. “Ramala ventured into Igboland, finding the most powerful priests to connect with the gods. With their help, she prayed, telling the gods that she would do anything for their protection. Three gods appeared to her: Ala and two of her sons, Anyanwu and Amadioha. They offered her three gifts—a crown of wisdom, a ring that granted immortal life, and a scepter of thunder and lightning.” It’s those three items that Cameron, Zion, and Aliyah need to find to save the kingdom.  
  • The kingdom itself also has a religious history. “[The bargain the gods made with the kingdom’s citizens was] for their eternal prayers. Meaning, the humans would be closed off from the larger world, and they would never age. The gods would always exist because prayers would feed them. Ramala’s parents believed that a barrier between both worlds that would cause immortality was unnatural, so they would not agree to it, [but Ramala did].” 
  • There are also gods aligned with the queen’s evil sister, Amina. Ramala explains, “We have gained intelligence from the Onitsha clan to my crown’s whereabouts. It is as I feared. Amina has aligned herself with Ekwensu, the Igbo death god. He controls the mmo. I didn’t think it could be true, but this is the reason she has been able to use the mmo to fight you.” 
  • While trying to find one of the magical items, Cameron, Zion, and Aliyah encounter another god. “Welcome to my temple, Nsi said. His mouth didn’t move, but [Cameron] could hear him in [his] thoughts. He wore a long, flowing ivory kaftan, embroidered with rubies. Gold bangles covered his arms, and his hair rolled down his back in waves of green, red, and brown. His dark skin was smooth, in sharp contrast to the flowing water beneath him.” 

by Kate Schuyler 

The Sea of Always

After defeating the Memory Thief, Rosie Oaks has become a target for the other witches—especially the Time Witch. Angered by the loss of her friend and bored after an eternity in the shadows, the Time Witch vows to destroy Rosie and her long-lost brother, Wolf. There’s just one problem: Wolf is trapped in 1855 San Francisco. 

Determined to rescue him, Rosie and her best friend Germ recruit Chompy, a magical time-traveling whale. But Chompy takes them to the future instead, where they meet Aria, a young witch-hunter who offers to help. Aria warns them that their real challenge isn’t finding Wolf or the Time Witch—it’s staying ahead of someone who can see the future. With no clear plan, the three friends board Chompy again, hoping to buy themselves time to figure out their next move. 

Their hopes are dashed when time pirates working for the Time Witch board their ship. The pirates take them to a city beyond time to await the Time Witch’s arrival. Before she can get there, the pirate king comes to meet them. Rosie and Germ are shocked to discover that the pirate king is none other than their ghost friend, Ebb, who was kidnapped by the Time Witch before they left on their quest. Determined to escape captivity as the Time Witch’s servant, Ebb joins their crew and reveals the only way to defeat the Time Witch: they must defeat all the remaining witches at once. The witches keep their hearts separate from their bodies, and with Chompy’s help, the four heroes can track down the witches throughout time, steal their hearts, and meet the Time Witch in 1855 to destroy them all simultaneously.  

Along the way, all four kids learn what it means to grow up. Rosie especially learns to be independent, responsible, and braver than she’s ever needed to be. 

The Sea of Always brings the Thirteen Witches series to another level, incorporating time travel, magical animals, and even more supernatural elements. The amalgam of all these creative elements is a little overwhelming and feels overdone. Additionally, the story has a few plot points that could be simplified. However, Rosie and her friends are inspiring and well-developed characters. The language is easy to follow, and the book walks the reader through the complicated magic system so that it’s understandable, even if it’s a bit much.  

Readers who enjoy time-travel shenanigans, wicked witches, and small bands of mighty heroes will love the complex magic, clever tricks, and witty banter in The Sea of Always. This book is filled with supernatural creatures—from time-stealing hummingbirds to soul menders to ghosts—that all complicate matters for Rosie as she tries to fix what the Time Witch is intent on breaking.  

Best of all, Rosie is an empathetic and kind protagonist who befriends everyone she meets and is determined to save everyone from the witches. Rosie is a powerful tween protagonist who stands up for what’s right and for her friends, no matter how much danger lies ahead. Overall, this is a sweet story with a fierce message: never give up, even in the face of certain doom. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • On their time-traveling journey, Rosie and her friends encounter the Time Witch for the first time. Rosie sends her bird, Little One, to fight the Time Witch. However, the witch sends hummingbirds to fight Little One. Rosie thinks, “And even as Little One grows in size—she’s now as big as an elephant—taking more and more hummingbirds out with each bite, they surround her. Over my shoulder, as we run, I see her struggle. And then, with a terrible screech, she tumbles out of the air. She plummets to the ground, and is engulfed. I stumble too, the flashlight dropping from my hands.” Rosie’s new friend, Aria, manages to hit some of the hummingbirds with a slingshot, and everybody makes it out unscathed.  
  • While time-traveling, Rosie and her friends land in Salem during a witch trial. A judge is sentencing a woman to death. He says, “Martha Parker, you hereby stand convicted of witchcraft. You shall now face trial by water. If you drown, you will die the death of the innocent. If you float, we will know for certain that you’re a witch.” They don’t see the trial, but it is implied that someone saves the woman from the water. 
  • During another encounter with the Time Witch and a different witch, Rosie and her friends are attacked by hummingbirds, bats, and hyenas. “Above, the hummingbirds and bats rise high enough to block out the stars. Below them, thousands of tiny beetle feet tap across the dry ground, but it’s the hyenas that reach us first, leaping out of the night toward us. Screaming, Germ falls back under the weight of one, defenseless, but Aria holds her slingshot aloft and aims at them as they struggle. . . Her shot goes crooked and crazy, missing Germ and the hyena completely and slamming into a boulder that breaks apart.” They manage to outrun the creatures, and nobody is injured.  
  • When Rosie and her friends face all the witches to save Rosie’s brother, the Time Witch captures them and traps them in hallucinations. Rosie’s mother appears from the water and shoots the Time Witch with a bow and arrow, releasing Rosie and her friends from the torture. “The Time Witch clutches her chest, and falls into the ground. It happens so fast, you can barely see it. One moment she is there, and the next, she is swallowed into nothing. As if she never existed at all.” The Time Witch dies.  

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language    

  • None 

Supernatural  

  • This book is full of supernatural elements that appear on nearly every page. Rosie and her friends experience magical whale time-travel, witch battles, and encounters with creatures that live in the clouds. Rosie is also good friends with ghosts.  
  • Magic primarily appears through special abilities and not spoken spells or with wands. Each witch can steal something from humans, such as memories, time, hopes, or motivations.  
  • For example, while Rosie is gone, her mom describes what their house is like in her absence. “The room, which would look empty to almost anyone, is actually full of spirits. More and more have come every day since Rosie left, ghosts from nearby towns and counties trying to get a glance at the Oaks family home before drifting back to their graves by morning. The death of the Memory Thief has made this house more infamous than it already was.” 
  • While time-traveling, Rosie describes their transportation. “Still, there are some indicators that we’re not in Kansas anymore. For one thing, there’s a giant glass ‘moonroof’ above that affords us a view of the blue ocean water above. There are travel brochures littering the room that offer guidance on trips to the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, specific eras like the Han dynasty, the Gupta empire, and so on. There’s also a full-color coffee-table book called Welcome to the Sea of Always that includes a primer on the magical creatures of the ocean of time, and a terrifying who’s who profile on someone called the pirate king and his army of bones.” 
  • When Germ and Rosie travel to the future, they meet Aria, a girl near their age. She explains why the future appears to be a wasteland. “This used to be a tropical island; it’s not supposed to be frozen solid. The moon isn’t supposed to be so far away. All I know is that the witches have covered the world in so many curses, it’s propelled the moon away from us, and things are. . . frightening.” 
  • As Rosie, Aria, and Germ leave to find the witches’ hearts, they encounter the Time Witch. She steals time from Rosie before Rosie and her friends escape. “’The hummingbirds stole time when they engulfed you,’ [Aria] explains [to Rosie]. ‘They sucked ten days away from you. You’ve been witch touched already.’” Rosie has time stolen from her at another point in the book as well.  
  • While traveling inside the whale, Rosie and her friends find a book that defines the Sea of Always. “Time on Earth does not disappear as it passes, but rather, it sinks into the sea, becoming an invisible layer of history hidden within the ocean. Just as above there is surface reality and then the magical layer underneath, in the sea there is the real ocean and the invisible ocean of time. Still, the time ocean is very real in its own way, and any changes to time inside the sea will impact the course of history above.”  
  • The book also describes and defines time whales like the one Rosie and her friends travel on. “Time whales are magical creatures adapted to swimming the magical sea. For most living things, swimming in the ocean won’t mean swimming through time. But time whales have an inner space-time compass that has evolved in them alone, which allows them to navigate time’s spiral.” 
  • When discussing how they’ll defeat the Time Witch, Aria mentions another crueler witch, the Nothing King. “He’s more powerful than all of the rest combined. But he’s imprisoned in a black hole at the other end of the universe. He had a big fight with the Moon Goddess in ancient times, and she prevailed.” 
  • During their adventures, Rosie, Germ, and Aria encounter the pirate king, a ghost, and a servant of the Time Witch. “[The pirate king] is dim. So dim that he’s nearly invisible. Frail. Withering. I can see at a glance, he is dying. . . the pirate king is as near to becoming nothing as a ghost can get.” Further inspection reveals that the pirate king is none other than Ebb, Rosie’s ghost friend, who had been kidnapped by the Time Witch.  
  • While riding the whale, Rosie and her friends decide the only way they can defeat the witches is to steal and destroy the witches’ hearts. Ebb says, “I heard the rumors, but I’d never given them much thought until that night. A witch’s heart doesn’t pump her blood, but she still needs it to live. In other words, if you destroyed a witch’s heart, she’d die.” Along the way, they collect the hearts, but they aren’t anatomically correct hearts. The hearts take different shapes, such as a tattered book, an apple, or a trinket box. 
  • Many of the witches have familiars—magical pets that do their bidding. As Rosie and her friends try to steal their first heart, they also see a familiar. Rosie describes the scene, “There’s a creature waddling across the road in front of us. It’s a chameleon, green and bright. . . and totally out of place in Massachusetts. The evening is just dark enough for us to see its ghostly glow. My heart thuds faster; there’s no mistaking the iridescent sparkle of a witch’s familiar.” 
  • As a witch-hunter, Rosie also has a magical ability. She can summon a creature called Little One, which usually takes the shape of a bird that attacks witches.  
  • While trying to steal their first heart, Rosie discovers her powers are more complicated than she thinks. Rosie describes the scene, “standing on the ground in front of me, Little One is not Little One anymore. Or at least, not the Little One I know. I only recognize her by her glow, and the bond between us that’s tied around my heart, but she is no longer a bluebird at all. She’s a cricket.” Rosie can imagine Little One in any form.  
  • To escape the Time Witch during yet another encounter, Rosie imagines Little One into a doorway. Rosie and her friends end up on a cloud and meet the Brightweaver. “[The Brightweaver] points to a small sign over the doorway. BRIGHTWEAVER: MENDER OF SPIRITS, SOULS, AND HEARTS. FREE ALTERATIONS! ALL ORGANIC! ‘I’ve been called different things by different people over the years. Fairy, angel, muse. . . I can’t be fussed either way. I’m here to help; that’s all you need to worry about.’” The Brightweaver mends souls and demonstrates for Rosie and her friends by making Germ’s soul appear. “Instead of seeing the things you’d expect to see inside a person’s body—a heart, bones, blood—a luminous, tiny lion rises inside Germ’s rib cage, as filmy and bright as the music making bridges and wings.” The Brightweaver doesn’t entirely explain what she is, but she saves them and returns them to their whale. 
  • In their final showdown with the witches, Rosie imagines a horde of aliens pouring down from the sky to attack them. Her imagination manifests them. “[Rosie] gasp[s] for air as even the familiars fall away from [her] to gape up at the sky at thousands upon thousands of purple eight-armed aliens.” 
  • During the same showdown, Rosie and her friends are trapped in a hallucination by the Time Witch. Rosie thinks, “as the birds swirl around my face, batter my eyes, my cheeks, my arms, I catch glimpses. Germ’s face is getting plumper, her hair longer, her legs shorter. She’s getting smaller and smaller. She looks like the Germ I knew when she was eight. Then more like Germ at five—the Germ I met in kindergarten. And then she’s a baby, sitting in the sand and surrounded by hummingbirds, all reddish-blond curls, her freckles gone. She lets out a wail, tears running down her baby cheeks.” After Rosie’s mother kills the Time Witch, Rosie and her friends are released and return to their normal ages.  
  • After the battle, Rosie and her friends return to the time whale. Aria sings, sad from the people she’s lost over the years. Her song summons her long-lost sister and other witch-hunters, free from the Time Witch’s prison. They were trapped in a snow globe Aria had found. “The tiny thread of Aria’s song wraps around the tiny knob of the door and pulls it open. And then. . . five very tiny figures come swimming out, unmistakably human, each the size of a pinky nail. That’s when Aria’s hands jerk in surprise, and she drops the globe.” Aria’s singing voice is her witch-hunter power, activated when the Time Witch died.  

Spiritual Content  

  • There are mentions of “the Moon Goddess,” but they are minimal, and the book doesn’t explain the specific belief system it’s referencing, save that the Moon Goddess is the enemy of the witches.  
  • While time-traveling, Germ whispers a small prayer before bed one night. “Germ kneels by her bed and does her nightly ritual: a Hail Mary and an Our Father. Then a prayer to the Moon Goddess for good measure. It’s not all that conventional for a Catholic to believe in a goddess who lives on the moon, but Germ is her own person.”

by Kate Schuyler 

Ella Enchanted

When Ella of Frell is a baby, the fairy Lucinda bestows her with the “gift” of obedience. Thereafter, Ella is compelled to obey every command she is given – a predicament at odds with her bold and lively personality. For protection, Ella’s mother orders her to never reveal the curse. However, when Ella’s mother dies and her father remarries, Ella’s new stepfamily, including a bitter stepmother and two wicked stepsisters, discovers and exploits her secret.  

Desperate to finally retake her freedom, Ella resolves to track down Lucinda to rescind the gift, leading her on an epic quest throughout the kingdom. Along the way, Ella faces magical creatures, such as giants and ogres, and navigates a budding romance with Char, the kingdom’s prince. After all of her efforts, Ella just might discover that the magic to end her curse was within her all along.  

Ella of Frell is a charming and likable protagonist who disrupts common critiques of the original source material. While the passivity of her fairy tale counterpart, Cinderella, might frustrate some audience members, the curse gives Ella a sympathetic reason not to stand up for herself – she literally cannot disobey a direct order. Nevertheless, Ella is not complacent. She takes responsibility for her situation and uses her wit and determination to save herself, subverting the damsel-in-distress trope. For example, after trolls capture and plan to eat her, Ella sings them to sleep in their native language, then successfully flees their camp. Readers will like the bravery and spunky attitude Ella exhibits and root for her to break free of her curse.  

As his name would suggest, Prince “Char” Charmont is Ella’s friend and charming love interest. He serves as a compelling motivation for Ella to finally break free of her curse, because her susceptibility to outside influence could put him in a dangerous position as king. Their romance unfolds primarily over letters, in which Char reveals his character flaws of pride and anger, especially when it comes to protecting those he loves. For example, he dismisses a tutor who belittled his younger sister and ensured the tutor never found work again. However, Char is also kind and sympathetic. He is frequently “tormented” by his push-pull dynamic with Ella, not knowing the important reason she has to keep him at arm’s length.  

The large supporting cast of female characters provides many positive representations of female relationships that balance the negative ones. For example, there is little nuance in Ella’s stepfamily. Similar to their fairytale counterparts, they are cruel to Ella and exploit their position of power simply because they can. At times, their mean-spirited commands border on cruelty, such as when stepsister Hattie demands a necklace Ella inherited from her late mother. However, Ella has a loving relationship with her family’s cook and her mother figure, Mandy. Mandy is a good role model who is often strict, yet well-meaning and down-to-earth. While Mandy is a fairy, in contrast to Lucinda, Mandy preaches responsibility, using magic out of necessity rather than as a shortcut or convenience.  

Ella Enchanted is told in the first person, with part of the narrative told through letters. This gives the reader intimate access to Ella’s thoughts and feelings, making her a sympathetic character. Readers will enjoy the whimsical plot, including Ella’s journey across the magical land of Frell, and the romantic subplot between Ella and Char. Given the adversity Ella has faced, including her curse and the mean-spirited demands of her stepfamily, readers will root for Ella to succeed and reclaim her freedom.  

Ella Enchanted is a charming spin on the Cinderella fairy tale that fleshes out some underexplored elements in the original source material. It provides reasonable explanations for why Cinderella never resists her stepfamily’s orders and why the prince fell in love with her after only one meeting at a ball. Instead of anchoring the love story around Cinderella’s beauty, Ella Enchanted puts a greater emphasis on the prince falling for Ella’s personality. It also introduces positive female relationships into the fairy tale, such as Ella’s friendship with another girl at finishing school and her mother-daughter dynamic with Mandy.  

Readers who enjoy fantasy stories with fairytale elements will enjoy this entertaining and fast-paced story. While Ella faces some danger, such as a comedic run-in with human-eating ogres, the most upsetting moments are the ones grounded in reality, such as the cruelty of Ella’s stepfamily or the death of her mother. Overall, Ella Enchanted is a fun and whimsical story, well-suited for younger audiences.   

Sexual Content      

  • Ella and Char develop their relationship through flirty, yet fun banter. For example, after being asked if she enjoys sliding down stairs, Ella replies, “‘I wish I could enjoy it. This fear of heights is an affliction.’ He nodded, a show of sympathy but not much interest. I was losing him. ‘Especially,’ I added, ‘as I’ve grown taller.’ He stared. Then he laughed in surprised delight.” These moments are especially effective because they emphasize that the prince falls in love with Ella’s personality, rather than solely her appearance.   
  • Char confesses his love and proposes marriage to Ella through a letter. He writes, “What a beautiful bride you’ll be, whomever you marry at whatever age. And what a queen if I am the man! Who has your grace? Your expression? Your voice? I could extol your virtues endlessly. . . Love (it is such relief to pen the word!), love, love – Char.”  
  • Though Ella initially rebukes Char, her internal monologue returns his feelings. She thinks, “I hadn’t loved him as long, perhaps, but now I loved him equally well, or better. I loved his laugh, his handwriting, his steady gaze, his honorableness, his freckles, his appreciation of my jokes, his hands, his determination that I should know the worst of him. And, most of all, shameful though it might be, I loved his love for me.” 
  • After Ella breaks her curse, she and Char share a kiss. As Ella describes, “I kissed his cheek. He was safe from me. He turned my head and kissed me on the mouth. The kiss swept through me, and I clung to him, trembling.” 

Violence      

  • While traveling in a carriage, Ella and her two stepsisters, Olive and Hattie, spot an ogre. Olive is hysterical until “the coachman stopped the carriage, came inside with us, and slapped her smartly across the face. ‘Sorry, miss,’ he said, and popped back out.”  
  • At age eight, after a childhood friend discovered her curse and gave her several orders, Ella “punched her. She screamed, and blood poured from her nose. [Their] friendship ended that day.” 
  • Once, Ella’s stepmother gave Ella a task that resulted in injury. Ella had to “wash the floor in the hall. . . As soon as [she] submerged [her] hands, they smarted and burned. . . the task took three hours, but [her] knuckles were bleeding in a quarter of the time. Occasionally, other servants passed by. Some gawked, some seemed sympathetic.” Ella is not left with permanent damage to her hands.  
  • Ella often fears the damage her curse could do. For example, she “imagined future commands, awful ones, ones that would kill [her], and [she] glowed at the idea of obeying them.”  
  • While traveling across the kingdom to find Lucinda, Ella is captured by ogres. Even though they promise to kill and eat her, the scene maintains an overall comedic tone. The situation is technically life-or-death, but readers never feel like Ella is in any real danger. For example, an ogre pokes Ella and says, “Wake up, Breakfast. How do you like to be cooked? Bloody? Medium? Or done to a crisp?” There is no violence because the ogres quickly discover they can command Ella, and Ella uses her wits to escape unscathed, essentially hypnotizing them into submission by using their mother tongue.  

Drugs and Alcohol      

  • At a family dinner, Ella’s father offers a sip of his wine. Ella spills it before she can drink any.      

Language     

  • None   

Supernatural     

  • There are fairy godmothers, who can cast spells and curses. The acts of magic in this book are divided into two categories: big and small magic. Big magic includes life-altering transformations. For example, in addition to cursing Ella with obedience, the well-intentioned, yet dim-witted Lucinda curses a newlywed couple to never be apart, reasoning that she gave them “companionship and felicitous union.”  
  • Small magic is low stakes, and the effects are either reversible or inconsequential. For example, Lucinda gives Ella elaborate jewelry to wear at a ball, provided the jewelry disappears by midnight.  
  • There are passing mentions of several magical creatures, such as fairies, gnomes, elves, and giants. Ella attends a giant’s wedding and is nearly eaten by a group of trolls.  
  • Mandy is a fairy godmother, yet refuses to perform most magic. Lucinda’s curses drive the conflict.  

Spiritual Content      

  • None 

by Kerry Lum     

A Risky Game

Deadly stakes, dangerous secrets, and a cut-throat game where the winners are set for life. Welcome to the Boston School, and the world of the Liars Society. 

Weatherby and Jack have been tapped to join Last Heir, the most powerful secret society in the world, but the night of the first gambit, the game takes a terrifying turn. Now, Jack and Weatherby are in a race against time to discover the truth about the game—and themselves. But how do you know who to trust when everyone is a liar?  

A Risky Game follows cousins Jack Hunt and Weatherby Walker as they try to unravel their families’ secrets. In an attempt to join the Last Heir, Jack, Weatherby, and three of their friends work together to win each gambit. To accomplish this, the friends agree to always be honest with each other, even as they lie and manipulate the truth for anyone outside the group. This leads to a murky theme about honesty as the teens plan to uncover the truth by deceiving others. 

The Liars Society—Jack, Weatherby, Iris, Harper, and Prescott—can’t trust the adults in their lives. Jack’s father has made it clear that he will use any means necessary to remain on top and encourages Jack to manipulate others. For example, to win a gambit, Jack’s father says, “It’s fine for you to use Weatherby to win.” Additionally, all of the other adults also have trust issues and questionable morals. According to Iris, her mom “doesn’t believe in friends. She always says, Trust no one. It’s like her personal slogan.” Unfortunately, trustworthy adults are missing from the story’s plot. 

The story’s plot doesn’t always ring true. Throughout Weatherby’s life, her mother has worked to keep Weatherby away from her father’s family, the Hunts, who are described as “bad people.” However, in A Risky Game, Weatherby and her mother move into a house on the Hunts’ property and accept everything that comes with being a Hunt—a new car, new clothing, and a membership in the country club. Weatherby enjoys the perks of being wealthy, thinking, “The best part is that now whenever Mom isn’t working, we get to be together. There’s no laundry, grocery shopping, or errands getting in our way. We have time to talk and cuddle up on the sofa with popcorn and an old movie.” As a member of Boston School, Weatherby quickly adopts an elitist attitude and wants everyone to know she is part of the powerful and wealthy Hunt family. 

Despite initially disliking Weatherby, Jack is now completely on Weatherby’s side and is determined to keep her safe from his father, who wants Weatherby dead. Initially, Jack lacks confidence and often feels stressed. When worried, Jack picks at his nails, a habit that he cannot break because “the pain burns in a good way, until my fingers start to ache.” This habit is mentioned often, which may lead readers to think about self-harm. Out of all the characters, Jack comes off as the most genuine, and he truly wants to live a life that he can be proud of, even if that means distancing himself from the Hunt family. 

A Risky Game will entertain readers who want to immerse themselves in a world where wealth and lies rule. Neither Weatherby nor Jack is a trustworthy character, but the mystery revolving around the Hunt family is interesting, and readers will enjoy trying to decipher the clues. However, readers must be willing to suspend their disbelief and overlook the plot points that just don’t seem credible. Before reading The Liars Society Series, readers need to understand that the book glorifies wanting to be part of a wealthy, powerful secret society for personal gain. 

If you’re looking for an exciting series packed with action and mystery, you may want to leave The Liars Society Series on the shelf. Instead, read the Gallagher Girls Series by Ally Carter, City Spies Series by James Ponti, and Jack and the Geniuses Series by Bill Nye & Gregory Mone. 

Sexual Content  

  • None

Violence  

  • During an individual challenge, Jack drops an important key. Ulysses, another boy in the challenge, sees this, and he “lunges towards [Jack] and tries to pry the key from [his] fist.” Jack describes, “I don’t dare let go. Even after he starts kneeing me in the ribs.” Another boy jumps in and helps Jack. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • Someone puts poison in Weatherby’s water bottle, which Jack drinks from. Later, they learn that the doctors found “benzodiazepines, a type of medicine that slows down your brain and puts you to sleep,” in Jack’s system. 
  • Jack and Weatherby discover that their grandfather, Kingsman, “poisoned Grier [a relative] with a medicine prescribed to [Jack’s father].”  

Language  

  • Name-calling, such as jerk, is used infrequently.  
  • “Oh my God” is used as an exclamation several times. 
  • A boy uses “jeez” as an exclamation one time. 

Supernatural 

  • None

Spiritual Content  

  • Jack is poisoned. When he wakes up in the hospital, his father says, “Oh, thank God.” 

Camp Mah Tovu

Lila is a young girl attending Jewish summer camp. She doesn’t initially connect with the other campers and finds herself alone in the forest, where she encounters Lonny, a beautiful brown horse with white spots on his face. In Lonny, Lila finds a friend who will listen to her problems as she develops the confidence she needs to befriend the other campers.  

Like many tweens, Lila worries about making friends while at summer camp. This worry is amplified because Lila has stopped taking her ADHD medication because it “makes me feel like a zombie propped on a hanger.” However, Lila’s friendship problems are not caused by her ADHD. Lila is an unlikable protagonist because she lies to everyone and doesn’t consider the feelings of the other campers. For example, the girls in her cabin want to win the camp’s color war, but they keep losing points because Lila is always disappearing and refuses to clean up her bunk. Then, when one of her cabinmates tries to help her, Lila throws the blame on someone else. When Lila has a conflict with others, her solution is to retreat into the woods, where she meets Lonny. 

While spending time with Lonny, Lila finds Lonny’s herd of wild horses being chased by men in a helicopter. The men plan to relocate the herd so the land can be used to graze cattle. Lila worries that the herd will be broken up, “separating mothers from their babies, and carted them off to other destinations, where they were sold and often slaughtered.” To help Lonny, Lila reaches out to the other campers and finds a way to bring attention to the horse’s plight. With the help of others, Lila saves the horses, who are given a permanent home where they can remain free. The act of saving the horses allows the other campers to view Lila in a different light, which opens the door to becoming friends. 

Although the story takes place at Camp Mah Tovu, it misses the opportunity to help readers understand Jewish traditions and beliefs. Lila often prays to God, but her prayers usually revolve around her trying to make a deal with God. For example, after alienating her cabin, Lila prays, “Uh, God, if you could just rewind time three days and let me start over, I’ll give all my canteen money to charity.” When nothing happens, Lila says, “Thanks a lot, God.” At times, Lila asks God to help her solve a problem, but she doesn’t take personal responsibility for her bad behavior.  

Camp Mah Tovu is part of a series of books written by several authors highlighting the unique relationships between young girls and their horses. Unfortunately, Lila’s flaws detract from her relationship with Lonny. However, the American Horse Tales Series has other books that will engage readers, including The Dust Bowl, Hollywood, and Nowheresville. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • One of the counselors is helping Lila tame a horse. After being away from the camp, the counselor tells Lila, “We need to get back to camp, or Shimona will send me to the guillotine. That refers to an ancient beheading device, in case you didn’t know.” 
  • Lila finds out that the wild horses are going to be relocated. She thinks about the past when “The government ‘took care’ of the problem, rounding up the horses by intimidating them with helicopters. They corralled them into trailers, separating mothers from their babies, and carted them off to other destinations, where they were sold and often slaughtered—if they survived the journey.” 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • Lila usually takes medication for her ADHD, but she isn’t taking them while at camp. She says, “I take one tiny pill that keeps my brain from somersaulting all day. But it also makes me feel like a zombie propped on a hanger.” 
  • Lila is worried about not taking her medications. She thinks the medication “makes [her] feel like [she’s] being invaded by an alien version of Lila.” 

Language  

  • Lila is afraid that others will think she is a loser.  
  • One of the campers thinks she’s dumb because she struggles to read. 
  • One of the campers calls Lila’s talking “verbal diarrhea.” 
  • When Lila and Sarah become friends, Sarah doesn’t tell anyone. Lila acknowledges, “Admitting she was my friend would be like choosing to step in dog poop and walking around with it stuck to the bottom of her sneaker.” 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • The camp observes Shabbat. A counselor tells the kids, “Prayers are at the lake. Bring your siddurim.” 
  • Lila makes deals with God and often prays. For example, after alienating her cabin, Lila prays, “Uh, God, if you could just rewind time three days and let me start over, I’ll give all my canteen money to charity.” When nothing happens, Lila says, “Thanks a lot, God.” 
  • Lila’s roommates sneak out of the cabin to toilet paper the boys’ cabins. When Lila tries to follow them, she gets lost. She prays, “God. Help me fix all this.” 
  • Lila has a bad habit of lying to others. She lies to one of the counselors. Afterward, Lila and the counselor attempt to tame a wild horse, but it runs away. Lila prays, “Bring me back my horse, God. Please give me one more chance. I’ll stop lying. Really.” 
  • Lila decides to ride the horse while she’s alone. She’s having difficulties putting a saddle on the horse and prays, “Uh, hey, God, you brought me this far, could I have a stool, please?” She finds a tree stump to stand on.  
  • While at camp, Tisha B’av is observed. Tisha B’av is “the Jewish fast day commemorating the destruction of our two holy temples.” The campers are taken to hear a Holocaust survivor speak, but Lila doesn’t attend. The book discusses some of the traditions of Tisha B’av, such as fasting. 
  • Lila asks God to help her figure out how to fix things with her cabin mates. 

Rebel Spirits

Lori Chase doesn’t know what to think about ghosts. She may have seen a few in the past, but those were just childish imaginings. . . right? Only now that she is living in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, spirits seem to be on everyone’s mind. The town is obsessed with its bloody Civil War history, and the old inn that Lori’s parents run is supposedly haunted by the souls of dead soldiers. Then Lori meets one such soldier—the devastatingly handsome Nathaniel Pierce. Nathaniel’s soul cannot rest, and he desperately needs Lori’s help. Nathaniel was not killed in the famous battle. He was murdered. Lori begins to investigate the age-old mystery, stumbling upon shocking clues and secrets. At the same time, she can’t help falling for Nathaniel, just as he is falling for her. 

Though Lori knows she can see ghosts, she isn’t expecting to meet the ghost of a handsome soldier. Nathaniel’s mysterious death, haunting good looks, and introspective nature quickly captivate her. As Lori investigates his death, she learns more about the Civil War that claimed his life. She makes a compelling narrator that teenagers will relate to—like most teens, she struggles to understand her romantic feelings, is reluctant to confide in her parents, and isn’t sure who to trust with her innermost thoughts. 

To solve his murder, Nathaniel retells his involvement in a Civil War battle, including brief but gruesome descriptions of soldiers who died from their injuries. Though he has only three days to solve his murder, he doesn’t seem eager to pursue the mystery and lacks essential clues that would lead Lori to the answer. Despite this, his heartrending story, empathy for others, and affection for Lori make him a worthy love interest. 

Evan, a young man who works at Lori’s family’s bed and breakfast, helps her understand Gettysburg’s history and also becomes a love interest. At times, his cheerful personality and obvious affection for Lori overshadow Nathaniel. When he learns about Lori’s quest, Evan offers his help in a kind and respectful manner. The story feels like a weak love triangle since Nathaniel will disappear in three days, while Evan has time on his side. 

After Lori nearly dies, she asks Nathaniel, “Would you allow me to be dead so we could stay together?” He acknowledges that he doesn’t belong in her world, nor she in his, saying, “Some things are timeless, and one of them is this: Love is not selfish.” He explains how he helped save her life, then adds, “Evan Maxwell. He’s a good man, and he cares for you. Give him a corner of your heart.” This moment highlights the importance of selfless love. However, their romance develops too quickly and feels shallow—especially since Lori plans to go to dinner with Evan the day after Nathaniel leaves. 

Rebel Spirits will entertain teenagers seeking romance mixed with mystery and ghosts. However, the story lacks historical depth and could have taken place anywhere in the United States, missing opportunities to explore the Civil War and Gettysburg in detail. The spirit world’s rules are also inconsistent—Nathaniel has only three days with Lori yet afterward remains in contact with another person who sees ghosts. The conclusion feels rushed, like a puzzle whose pieces don’t quite fit. However, readers who enjoy character-driven novels will appreciate its positive message about selfless love and find it an easy, enjoyable read.   

Sexual Content  

  • Nathaniel unexpectedly kisses Lori. “Not a quick kiss on the cheek like I gave Evan, but a full kiss on the lips. My first kiss, actually. . . It’s sweet and delicious and I want it to go on and on. I close my eyes and kiss him back, and feel my insides turn to Jell-O.” 
  • Lori and Nathaniel are on a bench talking when, “He pulls me toward him, locks me in his arms, and his lips on mine are warm and firm. They taste of ginger, and I can’t get enough.” 
  • Lori is at a creek near her home when Nathaniel materializes. “He greets me with a long kiss. I want to enjoy it even more than I already do, but my mind is elsewhere. I pull back.” 
  • Lori seeks the help of Evan. As they’re talking, “he leans forward, and without much warning plants his lips on mine.” Lori thinks, “It was pretty nice, considering that he’s the second guy to kiss me today.” 
  • Lori and Nathaniel meet to say goodbye. “His arms are around me, mine around him, as if nothing could ever come between us. . . Our lips eagerly find each other, and for that brief moment, I forget that we’ll soon be torn apart.” 

Violence  

  • Nathaniel Pierce, who is a ghost, was murdered. Nathaniel turns around, and “that’s when [Lori] see[s] the torn fabric and dried blood of a gaping hole in the middle of his back.” 
  • Nathaniel talks about the war. Even though the battle had ended, “It was not the end of misery in this town where bodies of men and horses were strewn everywhere. Even more tragic were the wounded who waited for help. . . Imagine four wounded soldiers writhing in agony. They’re waiting for rescue to a field hospital, too weak, too torn apart to get there on their own.” A storm fills the creek and floods. The four soldiers die. 
  • One of the workers at the bed and breakfast won’t stay in the house after dark. She says, “. . . on quiet nights, you can still hear the screams of the soldiers having their arms and legs cut off. Without an anesthetic.” 
  • Nathaniel’s best friend’s father, Mr. Larch, worked in a mine. The man took a lantern into the mine. “He no sooner stepped off the elevator when he heard the roof rumbling. The wooden stakes. . . started buckling. . . The roof collapsed, most likely knocking the lantern out of Mr. Larch’s hand, which set off an explosion with the trapped gases.” Mr. Larch dies. 
  • After a battle, Nathaniel helps a “drummer boy, maybe fourteen, and he was a Reb. Entrails spilled out of the jagged hole in the boy’s gut. His eyes were glazed over, but when my face came close, they filled with fear.” Nathaniel took the boy to the field hospital. Soon after, another man, Henry, brought a patient to the hospital and got angry that the doctor wouldn’t help him immediately. “Henry went berserk and started throwing wild punches. Landed one on the side of the doctor’s head. I wrestled Henry to the ground.” Both patients died. 
  • During the war, people could tell the houses that were being used as hospitals “by the trail of blood up the front steps, and the arms and legs tossed out the back window. Kept dozens of civilians busy just burying the pile of limbs.” 
  • Lori’s friend Charlotte can also see ghosts. Charlotte has seen Nathaniel before. She tells Lori, “He shows up every year at this time, but he only stays until the Battle Days are over. . . It surprised me to see him. He’s usually just spirit, not flesh. You must be special for him to appear in bodily form and give you his name. Once a spirit offers his name, he’s vulnerable. He’s yours.”  
  • Lori asks Nathaniel about his family. He says, “They’re waiting to know how all this turns out. I can feel them hovering near sometimes, but they’re quiet, just waiting.” 
  • Lori finds a letter that explains how Nathaniel died. Nathaniel’s friend snuck up behind him with the intent to shoot him. The letter reads: “The wrongdoer, even in the darkest crevice of his soul, professed to be a faithful friend as he pointed his pistol. God save us from such acts of friendship.” The letter writer tries to stop the man, but “God help me, my fingers were on the trigger when the gun fired, and [Nathaniel] Pierce gasped his final, labored breath.” The letter writer accidentally shot Nathaniel. 
  • A group of people who have been looking for the ring are digging in a shed close to the bed and breakfast. The people discover Lori spying on them. Lori’s hands and legs are bound, and then one of the men, Cadmus, “gruffly tosses me onto the seat of the riding mower. The impact shoots a pain up my spine, which is already bruised. . .” Cadmus uses Chloroform to knock Lori out. 
  • Nathaniel’s gravestone is next to Jenny Wade. Jenny “was the only civilian killed during the Battle when a random bullet found her inside her sister’s house.” 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • The Civil War doctors used Chloroform as an anesthetic. 

Language  

  • OMG, Oh God, and Oh my God are all used once.   
  • A woman says, “Lord-a-mercy.” 

Supernatural 

  • Several characters can see ghosts, and Lori has a relationship with one. When Lori gets to Gettysburg, a young man appears before her. “The dense air shimmers. Right in front of my eyes, the molecules—or whatever—form themselves into a shadowy image.” Lori and her friend have a Ouija board and a “genuine fake” crystal ball. “We charge everyone fifty cents for a glimpse into their future, a dollar if they want to hear actual knocks and squeals from the dead.” It was all fake, but then one day Lori actually saw something in the crystal ball. “A child falling out of a tree. He was twisted and motionless on the hard ground, with his glasses unbroken next to him.” The next day, she read a newspaper article about the boy’s death.  
  • Lori tells her brother about seeing a ghost. He tells her about “a tradition among the Kikongo people here in West Africa. It means the threshold between worlds. . . People here believe that after death the soul travels the path of the sun as it sets in the west. . . West Africans kidnapped as slaves believed that the kalunga line was under the Atlantic Ocean, because the living became dead when they got to the US as slaves.” 
  • A woman tells Lori that strange things happen at the bed and breakfast. “Sometimes you got to watch for dishes and such floating through the air. . . unless they’re weighed down good, and even then. Ghosts are powerful things, even if they’re all just puffs of air.” 
  • A doctor had a ring that belonged to Abe Lincoln’s son. He believed it was a lucky charm. The doctor says, “Pray to God it’ll see me through this bloody war.” On the day the doctor loses the ring, he dies. 
  • After the doctor dies, a man finds Abe Lincoln’s son’s ring. The man decides the ring is a blessing and a curse because it is “a reminder of a dear friend and of my son’s brief life. . . My prayer is that no other father or mother will be blinded by its glitter and suffer the loss of a child who wears it.” 
  • A woman finds a concealed shoe at the bed-and-breakfast. “Folks around here always used to put a well-loved child’s shoe in the wall when they built it. Supposed to hold the spirit of the child and bring good luck to the family.” 
  • Lori goes to a battleground to wait for Nathaniel. While she’s there, she hears a multitude of voices from ghosts. Lori wonders, “What part did [Nathanial] have in sharing those haunting, comforting voices with me?”  

Spiritual Content  

  • When a woman throws a lit match on the floor of the shed, Lori worries it will ignite the flammable fertilizer bags and cause them to explode. Lori prays, “Don’t let the embers ignite the whole shed.” 
  • When Cadmus orders a woman to Chloroform Lori, Lori is “praying she’ll toss the bottle out the window.” 

Locomotion

Five years ago, 11-year-old Lonnie Motion’s entire world came crashing down when he lost his parents in a house fire and was subsequently separated from his sister in foster care. Now, as he enters the fifth grade, he finds an unexpected outlet to express himself as his class begins to learn how to write poetry. Through the power of poetry, Lonnie finds the words to tell his story, address his grief, and move forward.  

Jacqueline Woodson’s Locomotion captures Lonnie’s voice with feelings of honesty, sincerity, and warmth. The novel consists of 60 poems of varying lengths, some longer and more focused, while others are more spontaneous. They vary in format but are mostly free verse. However, letters, haikus, and sonnets are also included. Through these poems, the reader is immersed in Lonnie’s emotional journey. The medium allows him to confront the difficult memories he has avoided, reconnect with his sister Lili, and begin to look forward to the future with his foster mom, Miss Edna, and her son, Rodney.  

Locomotion masterfully balances heartbreak and hope through Lonnie’s voice. The book is a stark reminder that children who have experienced traumatic circumstances are still capable of joy, humor, and happiness. As the story progresses, Lonnie becomes more comfortable in his new life. His exploration of poetry is a key driver in this progress, allowing him to make sense of what he has gone through and encouraging him to trust the people around him.   

Locomotion is especially suited for middle school-aged readers, particularly those who appreciate realistic fiction and the unconventional story format of poems. The most distressing content (i.e., the house fire and the loss of Lonnie’s parents) is described delicately, as Woodson explores these traumatic themes through Lonnie’s hazy memories rather than in graphic detail. The themes of grief and loss may be heavy for some readers, but Woodson demonstrates how these feelings can be expressed and processed constructively through the creative process of Lonnie’s poetry. 

Overall, Locomotion is a moving story that is a powerful example of the healing power of creativity, in this case, poetry. Lonnie’s journey is defined not just by tragedy and loss but also by hope and resilience, and that recovery is never a purely linear journey. As Lonnie writes in his concluding poem “June:” “The poems come to you day and night. Sometimes they wake you up and make you write them down real fast even though there’s not a voice saying Be quiet, Lonnie in your head anymore. . . Just words. Lots and lots and lots of words.”  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence 

  • Lonnie references the fire that took the lives of his parents many times, often focusing on elements like flames, smoke, and screaming. For instance, “In my head I see a fire. I see black windows. I hear people hollering. I smell screaming. I smell smoke. I hear a man’s voice saying I’m so sorry. I hear myself screaming.” 
  • Miss Edna’s son, Jenkins, is out fighting in a war (presumably Afghanistan, considering the book’s release date). In “War Poem,” Lonnie writes, “Dear Lord, I heard her say once, Keep Jenkins safe and don’t let too many people die in this war.” 

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • None 

Language 

  • None

Supernatural Content 

  • None 

Spiritual Content 

  • In the poem “December 9th,” Lonnie wakes up and realizes he’s sick. After his foster mother, Miss Edna, takes the day off to take care of him, he hears her praying out loud, asking God how long Lonnie will have to bear the burden of grief. “‘It’s been four years,’ Miss Edna says to the Lord, ‘how long will [Lonnie] carry this burden?’” 
  • In “God Poem,” while Lonnie is sitting on his building’s roof, he says, “There’s a fat moon and enough stars to read Lili’s Bible but/ I don’t understand a lot of the words and I’m waiting for God to show Himself to me/ Not for me so much–for Lili. Yeah, I guess, for me too.” 
  • When he visits his sister Lili’s foster home, Lonnie writes, “God’s in this room, I whisper to Lili. She looks at me a minute without saying anything. Then she smiles. God is everywhere, I say.” 
  • In “Easter Sunday,” Lonnie recalls going to church. He writes, “At church, the preacher goes on about Christ rising.” This leads Lonnie to wonder, “Was it a big sacrifice to give your life if you knew you was gonna rise back up? I mean, isn’t that like just taking a nap?” 
  • Lonnie writes a letter telling God that he is reading the Bible and questions aspects of the book.  “Like how did you make the sky and the water and the earth and stuff? And when you took a rib from Adam to make Eve, was that like an operation? Miss Edna says it’s blasphemous to ask those kinds of questions, but I just wouldn’t mind knowing some answers.” Lonnie concludes the letter with, “God? Do you know that this was a poem letter? And God? Is there some kind of sign you can send down about how Mama and Daddy are doing up there with you? I’m gonna see Lili tomorrow and it’d be nice to get to her new mama’s house with some good news.” 

by Nicholas Paragano 

Rise of the Jumbies

Corinne’s evil aunt Severine may have been dealt with, but the villagers are wary of Corinne. Ever since they discovered she is half-jumbie, nobody looks at her the same. Every time she sets up her orange stand in the market, people give her distrustful looks and avoid her. When kids from her village start to disappear, Corinne wants to prove to everyone that they can trust her. She is a kind protagonist who genuinely wants to help others—she isn’t helping solely to trick the villagers into liking her, no matter how much they think that’s exactly what she’s doing.  

To rescue the missing children and clear her own name, Corinne goes deep into the ocean to find Mama D’Leau, the dangerous jumbie who rules the sea. But Mama D’Leau’s help comes with a price. Corinne and her friends Dru, Bouki, and Malik must travel with mermaids across the ocean to fetch a powerful object for Mama D’Leau. The only thing more perilous than Corinne’s adventures across the sea is the jumbie that waits for her back home. 

Corinne and her friends are inspiring characters who engage in spirited banter while maintaining mutual respect even during disagreements. When bartering with Mama D’Leau goes awry, the four friends find themselves being towed by mermaids to Ghana to recover a jewel. Along the way, Corinne’s emerging jumbie powers frighten her companions, creating tension within the group that they resolve through honest communication. Their courage, understanding, and humanistic approach to magical creatures creates a sweet story with a powerful ending. 

While The Rise of the Jumbies contains many amazing elements, they aren’t always well integrated. The plot meanders and feels overcomplicated, and though the language is accessible, the overwhelming number of magical elements could confuse readers. The macabre folklore embedded in the story makes it worthwhile, though readers averse to horror should be warned of some genuinely scary features. Despite these issues, the worldbuilding remains strong, and the creative blend of historical themes with fantasy creates a well-rounded narrative. 

The Rise of the Jumbies offers a creepy atmosphere, imaginative monsters, and youthful wit that will captivate readers. The supernatural creatures have complicated histories and morally gray motives that ground the fantastical elements. As Corinne travels between continents protecting her friends, she learns that some things aren’t black and white and that forgiveness can be powerful medicine. She proves to be a kind and intelligent protagonist who recognizes that monsters are subjective and that chosen family can be stronger than blood. Ultimately, this fantastical story delivers a grounded message: everyone needs a healthy home so that hurt people don’t create more hurt. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • While taking a walk in the market, Corinne notices that she’s being avoided because of her half-jumbie status. “Corinne had learned that a slight curve in the lip might mean a cruel thought from one person, a tiny squint signaled suspicion from another, and a stiffness in the muscles meant fear from someone else. These subtle body changes meant Corinne was being judged because of who she was: half-jumbie.” 
  • As Mama D’Leau hunts for food, she eats a fish whole. “She smiled before biting down, leaving a gaping hole in its fat belly. She crunched the scales and fins and bones and slurped the guts, and thought about what she was going to do about this other jumbie.” 
  • During Corinne’s expedition to Ghana, her friends, the mermaids Ellie, Addie, Noyi, and Sisi, and Corinne are all attacked by a sea creature. “One of the tentacles had wrapped around [Ellie’s] tail. She held Dru away from her body, looking for someone to pass her to. Addie and Noyi dodged the other suckers, pulling Malik’s and Bouki’s arms out of the way of danger as they tried to reach Ellie. But with the children to carry, the mermaids weren’t as agile as usual. Noyi passed Bouki to Addie and managed to navigate the field of tentacles to get to Ellie. She tried to pry Ellie loose. Sisi dove and rammed herself into the squid’s rubbery body. She bounced off and turned for another attack. The squid reached for her. Sisi stopped short and changed direction. Corinne’s head bounced and lolled. As Sisi turned, she saw Noyi pull Ellie out of the squid’s grip. But glittering scales and dark red blood trailed behind them.” Ellie eventually dies from her wounds, but everyone else is fine.  
  • While connecting psychically with the mermaids, Corinne relives their memories of a slave ship wrecking in a storm. “The water rolled away and the sounds of screaming voices and screeching chains filled her ears. The ship cracked and ripped at the joints, then sank. Water closed over them. It sealed them in like an iron box. There was a low moan and a loud pop and the beam she was attached to broke away and pitched in the current. Corinne could see the wide, frightened eyes of others below her who were still chained to the ship. Their mouths opened, sucking for air that would never come.” Those aboard either died or were transformed into mermaids.  
  • In an effort to recover the missing children, Corinne encounters Severine, who attacks Corinne. “Severine dove on Corinne, pinning her under the water. Corinne kicked and scratched at Severine with her fingers, but her aunt was much too strong. The people in the crowd moved in, trying to pry Corinne from Severine’s grip, but the jumbie held them off. She pulled Corinne deeper into the water.” Both escape unharmed.  

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • Language is tame, but it includes juvenile insults, such as “stupid,” “idiot,” and “imbecile,” which appear frequently. 

Supernatural  

  • This novel incorporates Caribbean folklore and supernatural references on nearly every page. Corinne and her friends have many interactions with magic, mostly through magical creatures called jumbies and potions.  
  • Corinne has jumbie abilities, like being able to communicate with snakes. For example, while in Ghana, Corinne and her friends find themselves in trouble, running from the local authorities. “[Corinne’s friend] picks up a snake, and Corinne hears a voice. ‘Sssqueeze sssofter, pleassse!’ The only thing that could have been speaking to her was the snake.” 
  • Corinne recounts the events of the past book while explaining a couple of different kinds of jumbies. “Months earlier, Corinne had believed that jumbies were only stories that the grown-ups told to make children afraid. Jumbies were too incredible to be real. Who would believe in a creature like the soucouyant, who could shed her skin and turn into a ball of fire? Or the lagahoo, with knife-sharp teeth and clanging chains? Or worst of all, the douen, with its small, strong body and backward-facing feet? And then there was Severine, who was unlike any of the jumbies Corinne had heard of in stories. At first, with her beautifully wrapped hair and long green dress, she looked exactly like the other ladies in town. Then she turned out to be the strongest and most dangerous jumbie of all.” 
  • While looking for a missing child, Corinne is almost lured into the water by a magical song. “The song became louder and clearer and more beautiful the longer Corinne listened. And the water felt warmer, too, like bathwater left out in the sun. Corinne dove deeper into the darkness after the lulling song. But the rope pulled against her waist, making her movements useless. The song began to fade. She reached in front of her and felt something warm and solid between her fingers. But she was jerked away. She opened her mouth to scream, ‘No!’ and gulped water as she was yanked back to the surface, where she coughed and sputtered, and the song disappeared.” 
  • While trying to summon Mama D’Leau, a powerful water jumbie, Corinne and her friends find themselves able to breathe underwater. “We’re not breathing, Dru said. Yes, we are, said a small, squeaky voice. Malik pointed at his nose. He took a deep breath and blew bubbles out of it.” 
  • Mama D’Leau is another reappearing jumbie who possesses considerable magical power. “Her eyes were the same bright blue as the water around them, and as the water grew darker, they did too. Her hair was long and braided in thick plaits. Some wrapped around the top of her head like a crown, but masses more fell down past her waist. Scales were scattered against her skin at her collarbone and thickened down to her hips, where her tail began. It was long and twice as thick as an anaconda’s, narrowing to a thin, twitching end that was coiled beneath her like a throne.” 
  • When Corinne and her friends swim to Ghana, the mermaids lose their memories of Mama D’Leau. They also don’t remember why they were expected to bring Corinne and her friends all the way to Africa. There is no explicit magic spell that makes this happen.  
  • Panicked about leaving her newly discovered family in Ghana, one of the mermaids, Ellie, tries to drag herself ashore. “Malik dove into the water. He met Corinne on the beach and they took Ellie’s hands and tried to pull her back. Her fingers were brittle as glass and they cracked in their grip. Malik moved to scoop up the mermaid’s body. Corinne followed his lead. They tried to drag her back as her bright scales began to shrivel, becoming as delicate as tissue paper. The line down the middle of her tail darkened and sank inward, separating into two legs. Corinne and Malik tried to move more gently as Ellie’s entire body faded to the color of beach sand. The breeze peeled the surface of her skin like petals on the wind.”  
  • Corinne meets Papa Bois, a powerful woodland jumbie, in the forest. “Corinne felt something like a heartbeat coming up through the soles of her sandals. It was as if the entire forest had come alive. The pulse felt stronger as she moved closer to the boulder. . . The boulder itself moved as if it was breathing. Corinne’s pulse quickened, but she reached a finger out to touch it, and the surface felt soft but tough, like muscle. She jumped back. The boulder rearranged itself. Cracks and crevices twisted in other directions. Some opened up, exposing new muscle beneath, and the surface of the rock shifted. When it stopped moving, the boulder had unfolded into a little old man not much taller than Corinne, with a long gray beard, the legs of a goat, and a pair of tiny horns peeking through his messy gray cornrowed hair.” 
  • Later, Papa Bois demonstrates more magical ability while arguing with Corinne, “a few tears squeezed out of the wrinkled corners of his kind brown eyes. Where they fell to the ground, tiny white flowers sprang up and opened their buds.”  
  • To save the children and defeat Severine, Corinne resolves to sacrifice her humanity to lead Severine away from the island. She asks Mama D’Leau to turn her into a mermaid. “Where Corinne’s legs had been, a shimmering orange tail waved.” 
  • To save one of her friends, Allan, from transforming into a jumbie, Corinne tells him to wish for home, and he’ll become human again. Corinne finds his mom to help him do this. “Allan turned toward his mama again. This time, his feet didn’t move, so his body lined up perfectly. When he stepped forward, his movement was steady and sure. [Allan’s mom] dropped to her knees. Allan ran into her arms and they cried against each other’s cheeks.” 

Spiritual Content  

  • When Corinne and her friends land in Ghana, they meet a boy, Kahiri, who mistakes the mermaids who brought them to Ghana for servants of an African water spirit/goddess named Mami Wata. After Corinne asks Kahiri who that is, he responds, “She’s a water goddess, and she can look like anything she wants. They are mermaids. One of them must be her.” 

by Kate Schuyler 

Tight

Sixth-grader Bryan spends every day after school studying alone in his Ma’s office. With a sister who jokes that he’s adopted and a Pa who finds himself in and out of prison, Bryan yearns for a brotherly relationship—someone who’s always there for him.  

Bryan seems to get his wish when Ma, a social worker at a local community center, invites seventh-grader Mike over for dinner. Though reluctant at first, Bryan ends up bonding with Mike over a shared love of superheroes, comic books, and wrestlers. However, when Mike starts to influence Bryan to skip class and partake in dangerous activities, Bryan must consider what classifies someone as a true friend.  

While skipping school, Mike takes Bryan on impulsive, high-stakes adventures, including subway surfing, where the boys jump onto the outside of a subway and hang on as it zooms to the next stop. Though Bryan understands the dangers, he follows Mike anyway. Bryan thinks, “It feels so good getting props from him that I decide not to say half of what I want! Like, you almost killed us!” Bryan also follows Mike to the roof of an apartment building in their projects, where Mike recklessly hurls rocks at people below. Each situation is paired with Bryan’s inner monologue, where he questions why Mike acts so irrationally and what he should do about it. Bryan is torn between loyalty and his conscience, leaving readers to wonder—will he keep following Mike or forge his own path to be the person he wants to be?  

It’s only when Bryan spends time away from Mike, hanging out with his classmate Big Will, that he begins to see the kind of friendships he truly values. Big Will watches as Bryan plays Ms. Pac-Man and encourages him from the side throughout the game. He also teaches Bryan how to disengage when people around him are being confrontational. Bryan soon realizes the importance of having a friend like Big Will. Bryan thinks, “I smile because I realize that he’s the type of friend I want more of.” In a world of chaos and constant bickering, having a stable support system in Big Will is an asset that Bryan quickly comes to cherish. From Bryan’s journey, readers learn that true strength comes not from reckless risks but from surrounding yourself with friends who lift you up.  

The main characters are pre-teens who use slang that is common in pre-teen lingo. When Bryan describes one of his first interactions with Big Will, he says, “his hand is dumb strong like Pa’s grown friends who forget I’m a kid and shake my hand OD hard.” Most pages feature slang words such as “OD,” “lit,” “gotti,” “son,” or “on the DL.” While this may be relatable and entertaining to some teen readers, other readers who are not familiar with this vocabulary may struggle to understand the text. In addition to the slang, Bryan’s emotional turmoil, combined with scenes of violence, may cause intense feelings for some readers. These moments require young audiences to think critically about the pitfalls of peer pressure while vividly showing the consequences of falling under the influence of the wrong friend. 

Though the lingo may not connect with every reader, Torrey Maldonado weaves in an important lesson of staying true to oneself. This lesson is often highlighted in Bryan’s inner monologue, which is featured frequently. Readers will see Bryan analyze his relationships, specifically his friendship with Mike. Though Bryan does not want to ice Mike out completely, he takes steps to ensure that he regulates his own emotions around Mike and does not make hasty decisions just to appease Mike. Young readers will be inspired by Bryan’s growth and feel connected to the qualities he learns to value in his friends. In the end, Bryan shows readers that the bravest choice is not always following the crowd—it’s choosing the kind of friends who make you feel strong and true to yourself.   

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • Bryan does not want Mike coming over for dinner. Bryan wishes “[he] could empty this Mike kid’s plate in the garbage, grab his elbow, and shove him out [his] apartment so he falls flat on his joking face.” 
  • Mike tells Bryan that he saw Bryan’s dad hit a guy. Mike said, “I almost didn’t see it, but he jumped off that crate and smacked that young guy so fast.” 
  • Bryan’s friend, Alex, gets into a verbal fight on the street with a group of guys after taunting them. When things escalate, Bryan tries to defend Alex by “pulling out a knife.” The sight of this knife causes the fight to end.  
  • Bryan and Mike get into a fist fight in Bryan’s apartment. The fight starts because Bryan’s dad no longer talks to Mike, and Mike blames Bryan for that. Mike starts to pick a fight with Bryan by mocking Bryan for never having been in a fight. Bryan “wraps his arms around Mike’s waist, lifts, and body slams him.” Bryan punches Mike multiple times, causing Mike to cry on the floor. Bryan has marks on his face from Mike slapping him. Although no one is seriously injured, the fight continues for two pages and concludes with Mike fleeing the apartment.  

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • When Bryan goes to get groceries, he runs into Pa’s friends on the street. Bryan says that they have “that same smell Pa has when he drinks.” 
  • Bryan’s father is an alcoholic.  

Language    

  • When Hector, the owner of a grocery store, tells Bryan how much money his father owes, Bryan thinks, “Dang! Why’d he have to mention us owing money?” 
  • Mike throws a pebble from the roof down to the cars. He tells Bryan to “duck, stupid! You want someone from the streets to look up and bust us.”  
  • When Mike finds out Little Kevin, a kid from their school, can’t swim, “Mike goes in on Little Kevin with the disses. Punk, butt, and other things.”

Supernatural  

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

by Madeline Hettrick 

The Great Greene Heist

At Maplewood Middle School, Jackson Greene’s elaborate heists, such as breaking into the copy room to plaster comedic posters around the school, have turned him into a local celebrity—a reputation that Jackson does not enjoy, ever since the infamous “Kelsey Job.” After the heist gone wrong costs Jackson his good standing with the school and his budding relationship with his crush, Gaby de la Cruz, he swears to give up heisting for good. That is, until a rich bully threatens to take over the whole school.   

Jackson’s rival, Keith Sinclair, is competing against Gaby for student council president. While Gaby runs a clean campaign with a positive message, Keith resorts to unethical tactics such as using his father’s wealth to bribe the other students. Keith’s ultimate goal is to redirect funds from popular clubs around campus to his own video game club. To stop Keith from winning, Jackson assembles a crew to carry out his most elaborate heist yet—steal the scantron machine used to count the votes and guarantee Gaby’s election.   

Jackson Greene is a likable and charismatic protagonist, yet, at times, he’s too proud for his own good. His main conflict stems from the guilt and consequences of the infamous “Kelsey Job,” the specifics of which are hinted at throughout the book but not fully revealed until the final chapter. After a pretty classmate, Katie Accord, gets her phone confiscated, Jackson agrees to steal it back in exchange for dancing lessons. However, when Keith catches him red-handed, Jackson petulantly kisses Katie, Keith’s ex-girlfriend. Ironically, Jackson only wanted Katie’s lessons so he could invite Gaby to the school dance. Too embarrassed to admit to needing help, Jackson refuses to clear up the misunderstanding until another character essentially forces his hand. Some readers may dislike that Jackson’s pride occasionally makes him act recklessly without considering the feelings of others. However, Jackson’s genuine remorse over his actions and his sincere apology to Gaby redeem him as a sympathetic protagonist. While Jackson occasionally makes mistakes, he mostly uses his talents for good, and his heart is in the right place.  

Gaby is the no-nonsense foil to Jackson. But while she is a headstrong and intelligent leader, she also has moments of vulnerability and self-doubt, especially in regard to her complicated relationship with Jackson. Gaby is a strict rule follower, but she occasionally breaks the rules to protect the people she cares about, such as when she helps Jackson avoid getting caught. Readers will appreciate that Gaby is more than just a love interest to be won over. She is a well-rounded character with her own goals and interests.  

Readers will be emotionally invested in Jackson’s goal and engaged in the fast-paced plot. The book is narrated in the third person, with each chapter told from a different point of view, focusing primarily on Jackson and his crew. The crew includes techie Hasemi Larejani, informant Charlie De LaCruz, financial backer Victor Cho, and popular cheerleader Megan Feldman. The group is well-rounded and makes a conscious effort to subvert stereotypes. For example, Megan is a pretty cheerleader, but she also loves science. Each member contributes something important to the whole, both in terms of personality and the heist.   

While Jackson Greene’s rebellious attitude may not make him the ideal role model for authoritarian teachers and parents, readers can appreciate that Jackson is always well-intentioned. Overall, The Great Greene Heist is heartwarming and entertaining, introducing middle school readers to more complex topics, such as corrupt politics, while providing positive representation that subverts common stereotypes. Readers eager to jump into another fast-paced heist story should also read High Score by Destiny Howell.      

Sexual Content    

  • To taunt Keith, Jackson kisses his ex-girlfriend. As Jackson comedically describes, “he lightly brushed his lips against hers. And Keith’s face crumbled like a month-old cookie.”  
  • Jackson has a crush on Gaby. His internal monologue often compliments her style, such as liking “how the rectangular frames of her glasses made her brown eyes look even darker. Wider. More mysterious.”  
  • Gaby has a crush on Jackson, but because he kissed another girl, she keeps her distance and remains emotionally detached from him. In one scene, she longingly reminisces about their relationship, thinking they had “held hands three times.”   

Violence    

  • After Jackson reveals that part of the reason he kissed Katie was to make Gaby jealous, Gaby says, “I could slap you right now.” The threat feels empty, and Jackson does not seem concerned.  

Drugs and Alcohol    

  • None.  

Language   

  • Crap and crappy are frequently used t. For example, after the school locks are upgraded, Jackson thinks, “Good-bye, crappy Ultra lock. Hello, Guttenbabel 4200.”  

Supernatural   

  • None. 

Spiritual Content    

  • None.   

by Kerry Lum

Noelle at Sea: A Titanic Story

Thirteen-year-old Noelle feels like the luckiest girl in the world to be cruising the Atlantic aboard the famed Titanic. The trip is made even better by her new friend, Pauline, a girl who is traveling with her father to live in America. The girls spend the first days of the journey exploring, but on the fifth night, Noelle awakens to a sinking ship. Women and children will be rescued first, and Noelle realizes motherless Pauline will be left all alone. Despite her parents’ wishes, Noelle breaks away from her family to find and help her friend.  

Noelle, who is half Haitian and half French, has led a sheltered life and is unprepared for the discrimination she faces aboard the Titanic. One first-class passenger shows hostility toward Noelle because of her mixed heritage, even telling another passenger to let Noelle sink with the ship when disaster strikes. While most discrimination is implied, it becomes explicitly clear that Noelle’s Haitian father lacks the same opportunities as others. 

When boarding the ship, Noelle meets Pauline, a third-class passenger who also faces discrimination because of her lower social status. Through her friendship with Pauline, Noelle witnesses how people are often prejudged based on both class and race. While these scenes may upset some readers, Pauline’s relationship with her father proves to be even more disturbing. After Pauline’s mother died, her father lost all interest in life and refused to leave the sinking ship. Noelle wonders, “What type of father asked his daughter to leave him to die? What kind of father refused to save his child’s life?” 

From the beginning, Noelle and Pauline’s friendship is built on deception. Since Pauline is a third-class passenger, she should not be on the same deck as Noelle, but Noelle allows others, including her parents, to believe that Pauline is a second-class passenger. This seemingly harmless lie leads to other rule-breaking when Pauline and her friend Albert convince Noelle to sneak into the first-class section and disobey her father’s orders. As Albert says, “My dad thinks a man should challenge authority.” 

Noelle at Sea addresses several sensitive topics that may be disturbing to young readers. However, the story is told from Noelle’s perspective and avoids detailed descriptions of the Titanic’s sinking. The book’s structure makes it easy to follow, with each chapter beginning by noting Noelle’s location and the time. Black-and-white illustrations appear every 10 to 17 pages, including one that depicts the silhouette of a lifeboat against the backdrop of the Titanic. The back includes nonfiction material on the Titanic, a glossary, discussion questions, and writing prompts. 

Anyone interested in learning more about the Titanic will find Noelle at Sea an engaging book that offers a unique perspective through its half-Haitian, half-French protagonist. The fast-paced story also provides readers with insight into the prejudices of the era. Readers captivated by the tragedy of the Titanic should also read Disaster on the Titanic by Kate Messner or Survival Tails: The Titanic by Katrina Charman. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • When the ship begins to tip, Noelle is worried about her friend Pauline, who is in steerage. Noelle “pictured Pauline among hundreds of other passengers screaming for help down in third class. They would be running down the halls trying to find an unlocked gate.” 
  • While on the lifeboat, Noelle watches the Titanic. “The people on board were more frantic than they had been earlier. Bodies began falling from the ship. Some of their silhouettes seemed to be diving gracefully. Others tumbled through the air.” 
  • Some of the people on the lifeboats “froze to death.” 
  • When the passengers on the lifeboats were rescued, they “looked like they’d been through a war. Several passengers had cuts and broken bones. Nearby, Noelle watched a doctor tend to a man whose feet were frostbitten.” The doctor hopes the man’s feet do not need to be removed. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • A woman on a lifeboat “prayed through her sobs.” 
  • As Noelle watches the Titanic sink, “she prayed that [her father] was swimming towards them at this very moment.” Later, she says a second prayer.

Stormbreaker

When fourteen-year-old Alex Rider discovers his guardian Ian wasn’t a banker, but a MI6 spy who was killed on a dangerous mission, his world transforms overnight. MI6 director Alan Blunt blackmails the grieving teenager into completing Ian’s unfinished assignment, thrusting him into a morally complex world where institutional power overrides individual choice. Alex must infiltrate Sayle Enterprises, which plans to distribute new computers to British schools—a seemingly kind act that Ian suspected concealed a sinister plot. Grieving his uncle, Alex is thrust into a world of action and violence, where people are crueler than he can imagine and danger lurks around every corner.  

Alone and undertrained, Alex faces SAS training, assassins, and a giant killer jellyfish, relying on skills his uncle taught him and his own quick thinking. Readers will find themselves rooting for Alex for his ingenuity and intelligence. Alex is a hero who maintains strong moral principles even when the adults around him abandon theirs. Alex’s sharp, witty perspective and determination to do what’s right, regardless of personal cost, make him compelling to young readers who see themselves reflected in his character despite his extraordinary circumstances. 

Horowitz delivers fast-paced, violent action while embedding deeper themes about power and sacrifice. The moral complexity of espionage permeates the novel, as MI6 leaders firmly believe that the ends justify the means, even if it means exploiting Alex and putting him in danger. At the same time, he is mostly alone, with no backup. The author creates genuine tension through Alex’s isolation—he operates mostly without backup, making his survival entirely dependent on his own resourcefulness. Yet there remains a sense of heroism, and a confirmation that the good guys will win. Horowitz’s young audience will be thrilled by the action and subterfuge, and more mature readers will enjoy Horowitz’s subtle critique of the British government, traditional spy literature, and the question of what individuals should sacrifice for their country, as well as whether a fourteen-year-old should bear England’s fate on his shoulders. 

Stormbreaker explores more mature themes and features a semi-realistic villain, whose motivations may seem irrational from the perspective of a fourteen-year-old spy. Readers who want to read an action-packed book without violence should consider the City Spies Series by James Ponti and the Charlie Thorne Series by Stuart Gibbs. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • Alex’s uncle Ian Rider is killed. Alex is told that he died in a car accident. “Driving home, [Ian’s] car had been hit by a truck at Old Street roundabout and he had been killed almost instantly.” However, Alex later finds out that he was shot. “A spray of bullets had caught the car full on the driver’s side, shattering the front tire, smashing the windshield and side windows, and punching into the side panels.” 
  • When Alex goes to the auto wreckers to find his uncle’s car, he is stuck in the car as it is about to be crushed. His leg is pinned, and he is covered in broken glass. “But the claw of the crane had already flattened the roof, pinning his left leg, perhaps even breaking it. . . The back window exploded and glass showered around his head, dust and diesel fumes punching into his nose and eyes.” Alex escapes with scratches and bruises but is not seriously hurt.  
  • As Alex tries to escape the auto wreckers, men start shooting at him, thinking that he is a trespasser. “Then there was a crack and a bullet whipped past.” The bullets miss.  
  • An MI6 agent shoots Alex with a tranquilizer to kidnap him. “The man fired. There was no explosion. The gun spat at Alex and he felt something slam into his heart. His hand opened and the file tumbled to the ground. Then his legs buckled, the room twisted, and he fell back into nothing.” He is unconscious but wakes up later and is unharmed.  
  • Alex is sent to train with SAS operatives. He has to endure combat training and other survival courses. “He took part in an unarmed combat class and was knocked to the ground so often that it took all his nerve to persuade himself to get up again.” He is bruised but not seriously injured.  
  • Wolf, one of the SAS operatives, is angry at Alex. He pushes him and forces Alex to fail a drill and accidentally set off a stun grenade. “The heel of Wolf’s palm had rammed into his chest, pushing him back with astonishing force. . . The trip wire activated a stun grenade—a small device filled with a mixture of magnesium powder and mercury fulminate. The blast didn’t just deafen Alex, it shuddered right through him as if trying to rip out his heart.” Alex can’t hear for a bit, but he recovers and is mostly unharmed. After training, he is left with cuts and bruises.  
  • Yassen, an assassin employed by Sayle, shoots and kills another employee who drops a case of smallpox. “‘No. You won’t,’ Yassen agreed, and shot him.”  
  • Two men use ATVs to try to kill Alex. They are trying to kill him because he has learned too much about what Sayle’s plan is. After being chased on ATVs, “Alex threw himself headfirst, flat on his stomach. The cheese wire whipped over him. If he had still been standing up, it would have cut him in half. . . One of the riders was carrying a flamethrower! He had just aimed a bolt of fire twenty feet long, meaning to burn Alex alive. . . Whoever these people were, they had tried to run him down, to cut him in half, and to incinerate him. . . Alex felt the first bullet slice past his shoulder. The second ricocheted off the side of his bike, almost causing him to lose control.” Both men die; one gets tangled up in barbed wire, and the other goes off the edge of the cliff. Alex escapes relatively unharmed.  
  • Alex is snooping in Sayle’s facility to report back to MI6, and a guard catches him and points a gun at him. “The gun was a Browning automatic pistol and one twitch of the man’s finger would send a 9mm bullet shattering through his skull and into his brain.” Alex attacks the man by “twisting his body around and driving his elbow into the side of the man’s head, just below his ear.” The man is knocked out. 
  • One of Sayle’s employees, Mr. Grin, attacks Alex because he found out Alex is spying on Sayle’s operation. “But Mr. Grin was quicker. He ducked to one side, then his hand shot out, the side of it driving into Alex’s throat.” Alex falls unconscious from the hit.  
  • The main villain, Herod Sayle, threatens Alex, saying that Mr. Grin will cut Alex. “Tell me what I want to know, Alex, or [Mr. Grin] will cause you more pain than you could begin to imagine. . . The edge of the blade had actually nicked the skin of his neck. He felt a trickle of blood slide down over his collar.” Alex is slightly cut by Mr. Grin’s knife, but he isn’t seriously injured. 
  • Herod Sayle reveals his plan to release smallpox through his computers, infecting schoolchildren. Alex speculates, “I suppose when the computers are turned on, people die.” Sayle confirms, “Because the virus I’m talking about is a form of smallpox. Of course, Alex, it’s been genetically modified to make it faster and stronger. . . more lethal.” 
  • Alex is put into a tank with a Portuguese man-of-war (a type of jellyfish). Alex is worried he will either drown or be stung by the jellyfish. Alex breaks the glass and escapes the tank.  
  • The jellyfish lands on Vole, another of Sayle’s employees, killing her. “The tentacles were wrapped all around her, hundreds and hundreds of stinging cells clinging to her arms and legs and chest.” 
  • Alex attacks a guard. “Alex used the handle of the harpoon gun, swinging it around and up to hit him, hard, under the chin.” He knocks him out, so he is able to escape Sayle’s facility. 
  • Alex sets off a smoke bomb on a plane, forcing Mr. Grin to crash. “He could imagine Mr. Grin blinded, fighting for control. The plane began to twist, slowly at first, then faster and faster. The engines whined. Now it was heading straight for the ground, howling through the sky.” Alex parachutes out of the plane and crashes into a glass ceiling. Mr. Grin dies in the helicopter crash. 
  • To stop the release of smallpox, Alex shoots the prime minister to stop him from pressing the button that would activate the virus. He also shoots Herod Sayle. “Shoot first and ask questions later. . . He emptied the gun. . . The first bullet smashed into the information desk. The second hit the prime minister in the hand, his finger less than an inch away from the mouse. . . Sayle had dived forward, determined to click on the mouse himself. The fifth and the sixth bullets hit him.” Sayle survives and escapes. The prime minister’s hand is wounded, but he is otherwise okay. 
  • Sayle threatens Alex with a gun, forcing Alex to go with him. “But the gun was in his right hand. It was perfectly steady, aimed at Alex’s lower back.” 
  • Yassen, an assassin, shoots Sayle on orders from his unknown boss. Alex initially thinks that Yassen is shooting at him. “Alex looked down, expecting to see blood. There was nothing. He couldn’t feel anything. Then Sayle staggered and fell onto his back. There were two gaping holes in his chest.” Sayle dies, and Yassen leaves Alex alive.  

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • Profanity is used very infrequently. Profanity includes bloody, damn, and hell.  

Supernatural  

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

by Abigail Clark

The Liars Society

Weatherby is a fish out of water. When she lands a scholarship to the prestigious Boston School, she’s excited to be in the same world as her dad, whom she’s never met, and make real friends. But Weatherby has a secret she’ll risk everything to protect, one that could destroy her new life. 

Every member of Jack’s wealthy and privileged family has made their mark at the Boston School. Everyone, that is, except for Jack, who is entirely mediocre. He’s desperate to prove his worth to his influential father. But Jack has a secret of his own. . . one with the power to ruin everything. 

When the money for their school trip to a private island—exclusive to Boston students—is stolen, Jack and Weatherby are invited to play a high-stakes game and solve the mystery of the missing money. If they win, they’ll be selected to join the oldest, most powerful secret society in the world—and they’ll be Boston royalty forever. If they lose. . . well, they better not lose. 

The Liars Society is told from first-person point of view that alternates between Weatherby’s and Jack’s points of view. This allows the reader to understand Jack’s family, the Hunts, while also giving an outsider’s view of his family. However, Jack’s and Weatherby’s voices aren’t always distinctive, making it hard to remember whose viewpoint the chapter is from.  

Weatherby’s character is defined by deception from the moment she enters Boston School. She harbors a major secret that calls her integrity into question, and despite initially struggling to fit in with her wealthy classmates due to her own modest background, she quickly adapts by choosing dishonesty over authenticity. Her willingness to deceive everyone around her—classmates, her best friend, and even her mother—makes it difficult for readers to sympathize with her struggles. Moreover, her obvious enjoyment of the exclusive school’s privileges and her wealthy friends’ lifestyles reveals a shallow side to her personality that undermines any potential for genuine connection.  

Jack wants to win, but not if that means hurting others. However, Jack relies on his father’s wealth and power to get himself out of trouble. Like many middle schoolers, Jack wants to make his father proud, and the way to do that is to get into the secret society, Last Heir. Jack realizes that his father has prepared him to get into Last Heir by teaching him “Hunt-isms,” such as, “Keep it in the family” and, “Ignore. Deny. Threaten.” However, Jack also realizes that his family is keeping secrets—secrets that may reveal Jack’s dad is willing to do anything, including killing others, to maintain his position at the top.  

The Liars Society revolves around several mysteries—who stole the money for the field trip and what the Hunt family is hiding. However, the story mainly focuses on five students trying to complete tasks to prove they belong in the Last Heir. The five students—Prescott, Harper, Iris, Weatherby, and Jack—are not trustworthy because they all have hidden agendas, which makes the conclusion problematic. When each person reveals their secret, the others instantly forgive them despite their previous deception, which is unrealistic. In the end, the kids decide to form their own secret society, promising that there will be, “No secrets among friends.” But being in a secret society means they will have to lie to everyone outside of their group, creating a contradiction. 

Right from the start, many of the plot points are implausible. For example, when Jack first meets Weatherby, he instantly dislikes her. Yet, after winning just one regatta, Jack suddenly chooses to trust Weatherby over his own family. The conclusion wraps up everything so quickly that the events become unbelievable. The kids discover that Jack’s family has been dumping harmful chemicals into the ground for decades—chemicals being dumped on a lush island that the Hunts and the school own together. When the EPA discovers this illegal dumping, they clean up the site in a few weeks, and the Hunts receive no punishment. The Liars Society implies that if you are wealthy enough, you can get away with anything, even criminal activity. 

Although The Liars Society has conflicting messages, its strongest message is that “you get to decide who you want to be.” Even though Jack’s family is corrupt, Jack and the Liars Society have decided they will not harm others in their pursuit of the truth. Despite the book’s conflicting messages and underdeveloped characters, readers who enjoy mysteries will enjoy trying to figure out all of the clues. The book will leave readers questioning what they would do to win money, power, and influence. 

At her new school, Weatherby reinvents herself and makes new friends while struggling with keeping a lie. Readers who want to explore these issues should read Pippa Park Raises Her Game by Erin Yun and High Score by Destiny Howel. 

Sexual Content  

  • None

Violence  

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • To win a regatta, Jack puts a laxative in an opponent, JB’s, water bottle. Jack thinks, “I didn’t mean to hurt him. I was only trying to make him get stuck in the bathroom and miss a race or two. . . JB had a bad reaction and pooped his pants in front of everyone, all their parents, and our biggest rivals.” After the incident, JB is sent to a boarding school.

Language  

  • While describing people, the term jerk is occasionally used. For example, when being introduced to Jack, Weatherby thinks, “The Hunt jerk who laughed at me.” 
  • A boy calls Weatherby a turd. 
  • A police officer questions Jack’s father. After the officer leaves, “Dad slams the front door behind him and mutters, ‘Loser.’” 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • One of the characters is preparing for her bat mitzvah. She says, “I’m a woman now in the eyes of the Jewish people’s view.” 

I Am Roberto Clemente

Roberto Clemente is one of the most important baseball players in history. Born in Puerto Rico, he fell in love with baseball as a child and dedicated himself to reaching the Major Leagues. Once there, he exceeded all expectations, earning numerous awards and honors. But what mattered most to him was the work he did for his community, both in Pittsburgh and back home in Puerto Rico. His greatness on and off the field established him as one of the most influential athletes ever. 

During his eighteen seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Clemente faced segregation as a Black Latino player. The media mocked his accent, and in certain cities, he was barred from eating with his white teammates or staying in the same hotels. These indignities stood in stark contrast to life in Puerto Rico, yet Clemente persevered, ultimately winning over fans and media through his exceptional talent. He played in 15 All-Star Games, won 12 Gold Gloves, and earned two World Series championships. In his last regular-season at-bat, he recorded his 3,000th hit. Tragically, his career ended when he died in a plane crash on New Year’s Eve 1972 while delivering relief supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. 

Clemente paved the way for future generations of Latin American baseball players by never forgetting his roots. His story teaches us to fight for our dreams and persevere through adversity, but most importantly, it shows that individual achievements matter less than what we do for others.  

I Am Roberto Clemente is essential reading not only for sports fans but for anyone with a dream. Despite becoming one of the game’s greatest players, Clemente remained humble and consistently used his platform to help those less fortunate. His story reminds us to remember where we came from and embrace selflessness. 

This biography comprises five concise chapters, featuring black-and-white illustrations on nearly every page. It features highlighted vocabulary words with a glossary, twenty fun facts, a timeline, a map, and illustrations of important figures from Clemente’s life. The author balances Clemente’s athletic achievements with his humanitarian work, giving readers a complete picture of his enduring legacy. Through this biography, readers will discover that Roberto Clemente’s greatest achievement wasn’t what he accomplished on the field, but the example he set for living with purpose and compassion.  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None

Language    

  • None 

Supernatural  

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

by Abigail Clark

The Dryad Storm

Wanted dead or alive by the entire continent, Elloren Gardner must accomplish the impossible: unite the world under the same banner. She knows that if they stay divided, authoritarian dictator and wielder of the Shadow Wand, Marcus Vogel, will invade among their discord and tear their world apart. As his Shadow forces corner the rest of the free world, Elloren finds herself in the Northern Forest, newly transformed and more powerful than ever. Separated from all her allies, save her love, Yvan Guryev, Elloren chooses to join with the forest and the natural world. The sentient forest crowns her as the Dryad Witch and gives her more power than she ever imagined herself possessing. Elloren is an inspiring, curious protagonist, and The Dryad Storm follows Elloren’s perspective, along with her friends’ perspectives. 

The Dryad Storm follows old and new faces, including an old acquaintance Gwynnifer Croft Sykes, a forgotten ally Gareth Keeler, and Elloren’s best friend Tierney Calix, among others. They all share Elloren’s determination, fierce morals, and unwillingness to quit, even in the face of grave danger. As Gwynn escapes from the West to find Elloren, Gareth holds the oceans in the East, and Tierney protects the rivers, but it’s up to Elloren to unify every survivor. With religious divisions and new magics at play, the Wand of Myth is lost, and the Shadow Wand waits in the wings for the coming winter to drain the forest of its power. Everyone gears up for the final battle between the Black Witch and the Icaral of Prophecy, and, like all predictions and omens, nothing is as it seems.  

Like the rest of the series, The Dryad Storm contains many fantastical elements and a complex web of details that can be overwhelming at times. As the finale, The Dryad Storm has a complex plot, and  

important information can be difficult to keep track of. This is especially true, considering that the story is further complicated by the multitude of perspectives, some of which are only used once or twice. The use of all these perspectives complicates the story and slows it down, meaning it’s not as engaging as it could be. The plot is predictable, and the story’s quality and character are lacking depth . Character development is rushed, and loose ends are tied up too neatly to be natural. However, the novel ultimately conveys a powerful message: the only way to break the cycle of hate is to choose love. All the religions on the continent have the same core belief in acceptance, kindness, and love, and once the characters realize this, Vogel is essentially defeated.  

Readers who love the magical youth of Harry Potter and the brave politics of The Hunger Games will love The Black Witch Series and Elloren’s fierce resistance. The Dryad Storm is filled with supernatural creatures, growing teenage romantic relationships, and living environments fighting anthropogenic decimation. Elloren and all her allies are well-constructed characters who defend themselves when challenged, lead by example, and adhere to strong moral principles. Overall, this is a beautiful story with moments of unifying hope, magical corruption, and lovely, budding friendship.   

Sexual Content  

  • During the Eastern holiday of love, Xishlon (similar to Valentine’s Day), Elloren’s old friend, Gareth, reminisces about his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Marina. He thinks about when “Marina sinuously drew off his tunic and kissed the skin over his thrumming heart. She pulled off her own clothing, Gareth’s pulse quickening as desire raced through his veins in response to the sight of Marina’s moon-washed, naked form . . . far under the water they pulled each other close and kissed unreservedly . . . they stopped short of taking each other to mate that evening.” Later in the evening, Gareth finds Marina and they talk about sex, referring to it in the Selkie tradition of “joining their tides.” They don’t actually have sex. 
  • When two of Elloren’s allies, Mavrik and Gwynn, are trying to escape the West, they grow closer to each other, bonding over the pain of leaving their brainwashed spouses behind. They form an attraction, and one night in the desert between the East and West, Gwynn dreams about her ex-husband, Geoffrey. “Geoffrey’s never kissed her like this before. She lets out a moan and surrenders to the kiss, thrills to this new, wantonly insistent Geoffrey, his usual hesitancy gone . . . he rolls his body onto hers and coaxes her thighs apart. . . his arousal quick, so intensely hard.” Gwynn wakes up to discover that she’s been kissing Mavrik in her sleep, and that he was also dreaming about his ex while kissing her. They separate immediately. 
  • When Elloren’s friends, Tierney and Viger, are in front of the Great Tree, Viger’s magic is amplified. To control it, Viger kisses Tierney. Viger “deepens the kiss. . . trembling with want, [Tierney] opens her mouth to him . . . the intoxicating motion of his tongue hinting at the things he might be capable of if she joined with him fully.” He cuts off the kiss when he no longer needs it. 
  • After Elloren is transformed into a Dryad, she re-establishes the mate bond with her love, Yvan. Elloren “shudders against Yvan, his lips on [hers], [her] heart fracturing open as [their] Wyvern-bond reignites under the Great Tree.” She kisses him several more times throughout the novel. After Elloren and Yvan find themselves back in the Eastern forest the night before they fight Vogel, they have sex for five pages. “Yvan joins with [Elloren] in a rush of fire . . . the sensations are surprisingly intense, it’s almost unbearable as [they] fall into a slow then confident rhythm.” They have sex twice. The second time later that evening.  
  • When Mavrik and Gwynn try to break into the magical forest to get in touch with Elloren, they work together night and day to create runes. They talk, and their grief bonds them further. They eventually have sex. “Mavrik brings his lips to hers, and Gwynn gasps as he pushes forward, joining their bodies. She tightens her thighs around his . . . thrilling to his passion, his hard maleness and stunned by the whirling rise of pleasure where they’re joined, she hugs him to get more of him . . . she arches her head back just before Mavrik lets out a groan against her shoulder.” 
  • When Elloren’s brother, Trystan, and his boyfriend, Vothe, emerge from the tree network transformed into Dryads, they kiss, happy to be alive. “They’re closing the distance between them, Trystan’s lips crashing down on [Vothe’s], their lightning igniting against each other’s in an incandescent firestorm, lighting up the surrounding air with forking white and blue power.” 
  • Over the course of five pages, Tierney has a sex dream about three different men, including Viger, her friend Fyordin, and Elloren’s cousin Or’myr. All three men are in love with her, and she has had romantic encounters with all of them during the series. The dream begins with Viger, then suddenly Tierney is in a different place with Fyordin, then her dream shifts to a cave with Or’myr. An example of the kind of language used during this scene is when Or’myr penetrates Tierney, his “body joining with hers in a surge of purple lightning and her rushing rapids.” The language is vague and ambiguous, but it is implied that she dreamed about intercourse with all three individually.  
  • While Tierney and Or’myr hold a magical shield to protect a river against Gardnerian forces, they joke about sexual euphemisms from their different cultures. Tierney mentions she’d like to “dance around the Ironwood tree” and “play with his sword of manhood.” Or’myr laughs and says he’d like to “partake of the garden.”   When they defeat Vogel, Elloren’s roommates, Ariel and Wynter, find each other on the battlefield. Ariel “chokes out a strangled sound of emotion before she and Wynter pull each other into an embrace then into an impassioned kiss.” They break apart and go home. 
  • When they think they’re about to die and Vogel’s shadow forces are going to crash into their magical shield, Tierney and Or’myr kiss. “Both of them [were] ready, [Or’myr] knows, to let this last kiss be their final cry of rebellion against the Shadow’s triumph.” They break apart when the forces disappear. 
  • After the war, Elloren’s allies, Iris and Sylvan, find each other in one of the Eastern forests. They are now free to start dating. “Iris can’t suppress her own besotted smile as she grips Sylvan’s leafy tunic and pulls him into a fiery and thoroughly claiming kiss. . . as Sylvan draws her down to the mossy Forest floor and reveals the full, Xishlon-fueled wonders of the Zhilaan Forest’s embracing love.” 

Violence  

  • The Dryad Storm features numerous battles and duels, some of which contain violent descriptions. Therefore, not all of them are included below. 
  • During the attack on the Amaz capital, Elloren’s ally, Alder, witnesses some of the violence. “A primal scream tears from Alder Xanthos’s throat. Explosions sound on all sides, hammering her ears.” Many are dead, wounded, and kidnapped. The description of the ambush and the related violence lasts seven pages.  
  • Alder’s pet eagles are killed by Damion Bane, one of Vogel’s right-hand men, and “he raises a limp golden eagle in the air . . . and shakes him like one might shake a sack of millet.”  
  • Before Gwynn flees from the West, she remembers “a mob of six Gardnerian men . . . holding down two Urisk girls . . . digging knives into the tops of the screaming children’s ear and swiping off the points, blood streaking down the girls’ terrified faces.” She remembers this event to dispel any guilt about leaving the West. She protects the girls in the memory, tearing them away from the men before they can do more harm. 
  • Vogel’s forces take Elloren’s ally Sparrow prisoner. One of the men, Tilor, has a history of harassing her and requests that Sparrow spend time with him. He “reaches toward Sparrow’s chest, and she lets out a growl of protest, her skin crawling as he fondles the petals of one of the small violets [on her dress], then yanks the flower from the fabric and tosses it to the floor before running his hand territorially over her breast and squeezing tight.” Sparrow stops him before he can do anything else. Resistance forces break into the prison and save Sparrow. No one is injured. 
  • Resistance forces believe Sparrow and Elloren’s ally, Valasca, are traitors. The Resistance forces collars on them that could “cut off the air to Valasca’s and Sparrow’s lungs at any moment.” The collars eventually come off, but they receive some vague threats and glares from various Resistance members.  
  • In a conversation with Tierney, Viger reflects on his childhood. He thinks about how his adoptive father “punche[d] Viger in the face. Hard. Sending Viger to the floor, blood streaming from his nose.” His father did this out of fear of Viger’s powerful, dark magic. 
  • To further their grip on the continent, Vogel’s forces take control of Ishkartaan. Vogel watches them. “The soul-expanding sound of thousands upon thousands of heathens screaming.” There’s no physical description of the violence or bodies, just the burnt and desolate landscape afterwards. 
  • Elloren and her allies try to secure help from the East. Suspicious, the East tries to corner her and her friends. Elloren and her allies defend themselves by “hurling out wind spells to force back the incoming [Eastern forces] as well as those guarding the border’s apex.” Nobody is explicitly hurt, and the fighting stops when Elloren and her friends escape. 
  • While coming into his power, Vogel decides to marry Elloren’s old bully, Fallon. Fallon is willing at first, but then Vogel “brings his mouth to hers with bruising force” and bites her, bloodying her lips. “Fallon cries out as bindings snare tight around her wrists, ankles, and wand.” Vogel leaves her in a prison cell. She is held captive until Elloren is thrown in with her, “vine-bound and gagged.” Elloren kills Fallon to protect herself.  
  • Fallon’s death allows Elloren to escape, which triggers the final battle of the war. This battle lasts approximately thirty pages, with Vogel and all his demons dying. None of Elloren’s friends are hurt. An example of the violence occurs right after Elloren frees herself, when “a lung-punching gust hits [her] back, Shadow slithering straight through [her] and around [her] rootlines as [she’s] blown clear off [her] feet.” She gets up and continues fighting.  
  • The only survivor of Vogel’s forces still intent on waging war, Damion, is hunted down and cornered by Elloren’s allies, Diana and Aislinn. Damion was married to Aislinn and sexually abused her, so “Diana’s growl tears through the Forest. . . ripping, slashing noise sounds and Damion Bane begins to scream.” It is implied that Diana tore him apart, though the chapter ends and there is no description of the body. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • Elloren’s former roommate, Ariel, has a history of addiction to an opiate-like substance called nilantyr. While Elloren and her friends are hiding out in the forest trying to come up with a plan to defeat Vogel, he lures Ariel away and tempts her with nilantyr.  
  • Elloren’s “chest contracts with alarm as [she] registers the grayed nilantyr plants spread around her, thick with dark berries.” Ariel resists the temptation and doesn’t have any. After, Ariel tells Elloren, “resisting nilantyr is a daily fight. I struggle.”  

Language    

  • Language is very tame, but words like stupid, idiot, and hell appear frequently. 
  • The word slut is used once. 
  • Bitch and whore are used infrequently 

Supernatural  

  • The Dryad Storm contains magic and supernatural elements on every page. There are several different kinds of supernatural creatures, including Lupines, Selkies, witches, faeries, wyverns, dragons, demons, Icarals, sentient forests, Dryads, Kelpies, Amazonian rune-wielding warrior women, lizard people, and individuals with skin of all colors of the rainbow. 
  • Magic appears in many forms, including in battles, holidays, and transformation. For battle, magic is used through spells, wands, and runes. For example, Elloren’s friend, Gareth, is protecting a river from Gardnerian forces by warding it. “Gareth thrusts his wand arm upward as he launches himself back toward the surface while murmuring a wand spell in the Selkie language, the low tones flowing smoothly from the base of his throat, the translation effortless. Power shoots through him with such force that it rattles his wrist.”  
  • The primary example of a magical holiday is Xishlon. This is an Eastern holiday similar to Valentine’s Day, celebrating love. The moon turns purple and has a powerful effect on people for a night, heightening feelings of attraction and love. For example, Elloren’s friend, Andras, reminisces about his ex, Sorcha, and thinks about how “the pull of the East’s lavender moon and the torment of its thrall grow ever more acute as the moon’s purple light deepens. Because he’s still in love with her.” 
  • There are two primary examples of transformation in The Dryad Storm. Once, to trick Elloren and lure her away from her friends, Vogel magically turns himself into her love, Yvan. Elloren’s “horror turns cataclysmic as. . . his glamour drops away. Revealing Vogel’s green-glimmering, black-haired, shockingly shirtless form.” 
  • The second kind of transformation happens when Elloren and her friends unite with the forest. Many of them transform into Dryads, or their skin turns color. As an example, when Yvan unites with the forest, “white bark forms all over [his] body and. . . Yvan’s whole form is drawn into the Great Tree.” He reappears soon after, the Great Tree’s “bark bulges outward and morphs rapidly into the shape of a man before the bark gives way.” He has new violet-tinted eyes, green-tinted skin, and a tree tattooed onto his hand.  

Spiritual Content  

  • The Dryad Storm continues with the complex religious system woven throughout the Black Witch Series, which mirrors modern monotheistic religions and intertwines them with politics. This religion has strong allusions to the three main monotheistic religions, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Their religious structures dictate more conservative norms than usual. References to their religion are heavily present in the novel, and priests hold prominent positions in high government and university institutions. 
  • Various creatures have different faiths, which all contain a myth of two great wands – one good, one evil. These faiths also all mention a Great Tree, a prophecy of the Black Witch and the Great Icaral, and the end of days. At one point, when reunited with Marina, Gareth says, “All the myths are converging so that all peoples of Erthia can come together and fight.” 
  • Before she leaves for the East, Gwynn watches Vogel give a speech where he claims, “We have dealt a staggering blow against the heathens of the East. Our Blessed Black Witch and Mage forces have struck down [the Eastern forces] and their unholy cesspit-city.” Numerous times, Vogel makes religious speeches like this and commits atrocities in the name of his religion. The magic that binds marriages together is hijacked by Vogel and used to control married Gardnerians, including many of Elloren’s allies, but this ultimately fails.  
  • During this speech, Gwynn remembers how she was made to “read The Book of the Ancients without ceasing” a few years ago after insisting that their servants were people too. She pretends to have been indoctrinated back into the fold but is secretly planning to leave for the East. 
  • As Eastern forces hunt down Elloren, falsely believing her to be allied with Vogel, they also close their own borders and grow more fundamentalist in their own religion. Their government releases a statement that says, “We extend an offer of [Eastern] citizenship to all [Elves] who pledge fealty to the Vo Conclave and the Goddess Vo on High.” This declaration is redacted when Elloren and her friends defeat Vogel.  
  • In the epilogue, Elloren and her friends are raising an orphaned Gardnerian, Valen, who possesses considerable magical power. When he comes of age, he is approached by displaced Gardnerians who still believe in Vogel’s teachings. They insist that “an Icaral demon took apart the world. You’ve been tricked and fooled. Brainwashed into believing those heathens and demons should not be slain. . . the Magedom itself was led astray. But Valen, you can change all that for us. You can bring about the true Reaping Times and fully cleanse Erthia.” Valen refuses to embrace them and their religion, turning them away. 

by Kate Schuyler 

Finally Seen

After patiently waiting, Lina Gao is finally going to be reunited with her parents and younger sister in the United States! For the past five years, Lina has been living in Beijing, China, and has been raised by her grandmother, Lao Lao. Her parents and younger sister moved to America without Lina, promising that she would eventually join them. So, when the day finally comes, Lina is excited to see her family again and begin her new, glorious life in America. 

When Lina arrives, the life her parents described and the reality of their situation are very different. Money is tight, their apartment seems to be falling apart, her dad is overworked, and she has trouble connecting to her younger sister. On top of all that, Lina is struggling to learn English, which makes it hard for her to connect with other kids her age. In fact, other kids have been laughing at her, making fun of her, and destroying her confidence.  

Despite these challenges, Lina decides to push through, not only for herself but also for her family. She works hard to learn English with her ELL teacher, she begins to make friends, and she steps into her role as a big sister. In addition, she helps her dad find the courage to leave his harmful work environment, and she helps her mom grow her small business. Through this, her family overcomes financial hardships, and Lina rebuilds her confidence and begins to excel.  

Lina also finds her voice and conquers her fears, allowing her to give a speech in English to a large crowd. Lina stood “staring out at so many strangers, each and every one of whom [spoke] better English than [her].  She felt her knees wobble. But adrenaline [pushed her] forward as [she reminded herself] that [she] worked too hard and waited too long for this moment.” This is one example that proves that her voice is courageous and powerful.  

Millie Gao, Lina’s younger sister, grew up in America after her parents moved there with her when she was very young. She is bubbly and extremely extroverted, contrasting with her older sister Lina. Her embrace of youth culture is evident in her obsession with TikTok dances and trendy expressions. However, Millie struggles with insecurities when trying to fit in with her classmates, particularly the most popular classmates. Initially, she compromises her principles to fit in, but as the story progresses, she experiences personal growth and recognizes what and who is truly important to her. Millie realizes that her popular peers, who are absorbed in their own lives, are no match for her family, who cherish her deeply.  

Finally Seen is a heartwarming story that displays the realistic lives of an immigrant family and their struggles in modern America. At only ten years old, Lina has taken on the burden of her parents’ financial hardships, attempts to fit into American culture, and navigates discrimination at school. Her character is relatable to any young immigrant who has struggled with learning English and adapting to American life. It is also relatable to any reader who has endured bullying and, like Lina, found strength through the struggle.  

Kelly Yang wrote Finally Seen with her own experiences in mind, as she, too, faced harsh realities when she was a young immigrant in America. Like Lina, Yang moved to America at a young age and initially struggled to find her way. Eventually, she overcame adversity and decided to share her story with others to ensure that they felt seen. Finally Seen is a must-read due to its authenticity and uplifting, inspiring narrative.    

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • While there is no physical violence, Lina faces bullying. Jessica, a student in Lina’s class who is hostile towards her, wrote a mean message on the back of the school’s bathroom stall. She wrote, “I wonder why she doesn’t talk. Her English is trash, that’s why. I bet Mrs. Carter only gave her the Best Emerging Artist thing because she felt sorry for her. It’s a pity award – for sure.”

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

by Leela Kowalski    

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