Reading Level: Junior High

Locker Hero

Max Crumbly is like any other teenage boy. He likes comic books and video games, and his uncanny ability to smell pizza from a block away has helped him out in some really sticky situations. However, after being homeschooled by his grandmother for years, Max is about to face the scariest thing ever: South Ridge Middle School. Awkward and alone, Max tries to make friends with the other students, but within days becomes the favorite target of the school bully, Doug “Thug” Thurston.

Despite Thug’s repeated attempts to throw him in his locker every day, Max succeeds in his attempt to make friends. He meets Brandon, his best friend in the world, at a pet store and they work at the local shelter together on weekends. Max also develops a crush on one of the most popular and smartest girls at his school, Erin. All the boys love Erin, especially Thug. When Erin meets Max, she is really nice to him and develops a small crush on him. Erin invites Max to help paint the backgrounds for the school play with her. But, after Erin tells Max that the play is canceled, they eventually stop speaking to each other, much to the dismay of Max.

But, all that drama is trivial after Thug traps Max in his locker on a Friday afternoon before a three-day weekend. Alone and with no way to call home, Max must find his way out of the school before he dies of starvation or boredom (whichever comes first). While in the locker, Max uncovers three criminals’ plots to rob the school of its brand new computer center. After the phone lines are cut, Max must find a way to singlehandedly stop the thieves and save the school. Will Max become the superhero he always wanted to be or will the thieves catch up to him?

Russell created a flawed character, who struggles with fitting in at his new school and being ‘hip’ and ‘cool’ around the other students. Throughout the book, Max grows as a person and rises above his middle school problems to think of others, like valuing saving the school’s computers above going home and taking a nap. At the end of the story, Max may inspire readers to put other people’s problems above their own.

Max Crumbly: Locker Hero is the companion series to Dork Diaries, but focuses on a male protagonist. Parents should be concerned about the book’s level of bathroom humor. Many of the jokes come from Max either unintentionally puking or peeing on other students, or just making a fool of himself. However, the black-and-white illustrations along with consistently funny jokes will help reluctant readers transfer their reading skills from picture books into full-fledged novels. Readers who are struggling with a new school or the transfer to middle school will enjoy this fun, easy-to-read story.

Similar to the movie Home Alone, the antics in Max Crumbly: Locker Hero’s are hard to believe, and the over-the-top action comes to an abrupt end. None of the story conflicts are resolved, which may upset some readers. Instead of wrapping up the story, Russell leaves off on a cliffhanger. Readers will want to jump into the next book in the series The Misadventures of Max Crumbly – Middle School Mayhem.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • After Thug finds out that Max isn’t Dark Vader’s son, he threatens to “beat my face into a pulp.”
  • One of Max’s favorite comic book superheroes, Electrostatic Man, “actually ZAPPED his OWN MOTHER with 10,000 watts,” killing her.
  • Ralph swears that once he gets his hands on Max, he’s “GONNA RIP HIS FACE OFF.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Max believes that if he had superpowers, life in middle school would be better. He would never “miss the stupid bus again” because he could just fly to school.
  • In one of the images where Max draws himself flying, he gets pooped on by a bird. Max thinks, “Getting bombed by an angry bird is NOT cool.”
  • Max is calling his book THE MISADVENTURES OF MAX CRUMBLY and it will be “a highly detailed record of all the CRAP I’ve had to deal with! my experiences here at this school.”
  • Max has a socially anxious bladder and he pees when he gets nervous or scared. In one of his drawings, he imagines peeing on Thug.
  • One day in gym class, Max vomited on Thug’s shoe.
  • Max “had exactly forty-eight seconds to get my BUTT on the bus” before his big fight with Thug.
  • Max would have loved the janitor’s pretend rock and roll show “a lot better if I hadn’t been watching it from, you know …. INSIDE OF MY STUPID LOCKER!!”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

by Matthew Perkey

 

 

 

 

House of Salt and Sorrows

Annaleigh Thaumas was once one of twelve sisters, but four of them have gone to an early grave. After burying four sisters who were lost to various circumstances—the plague, a freak accident, a suicide, and falling from a cliff—the townspeople start to whisper that the Thaumas girls are cursed. Despite a large estate and a grand coming out party, no one is interested in courting the sisters, even though five of them are already of age. Despairing of ever finding a match, the sisters stumble upon a magic door used by the god Pontus. It will take them anywhere they desire, and soon the girls are wishing themselves to a new ball every night, hoping desperately to find a suitor from far away who hasn’t yet heard a rumor of the cursed Thaumas sisters.

But Annaleigh starts to wonder if there is something sinister behind her sister’s deaths. As she tries to discover what happened the night her sister fell from the cliffs, she discovers that she was pushed. Someone murdered her, and they might be coming after the rest of them. Haunted by horrifying visions, Annaleigh doesn’t know if the ghosts of her dead sisters are trying to warn her, if they’re angry with her, or if she is simply going mad. As the hauntings escalate, Annaleigh becomes desperate for answers. When she meets a handsome man named Cassius, who seems perfect and wants to help, Annaleigh falls for him instantly but doesn’t know if she trusts him. And even worse—can she trust herself?

House of Salt and Sorrows is a delightful tale of magic and wonder. Erin A. Craig paints vivid pictures of fairy shoes and magical balls and does a skilled job developing a wide cast of characters. While the number of sisters can be hard to keep track of at the beginning, the Thaumas family takes readers on a fun adventure that is worth the ride. There are some inconsistencies and implausible occurrences at the beginning of the book that might turn off more advanced readers, but most of them are actually resolved by the end of the book. While a magical story, there are disturbing images in the second half of the book when the Harbinger of Madness and Nightmares starts tormenting Annaleigh. House of Salt and Sorrows is sure to enchant readers who are brave enough to stomach the more graphic images without having nightmares.

Sexual Content

  • Annaleigh accidentally bursts into her father’s room when he is having intercourse with his wife, Annaleigh’s stepmother. “From the noises coming out of the bed—its drapes blessedly closed—it was suddenly painfully obvious that Papa was not sleeping. Morella’s cries of ecstasy turned into a strangled howl of frustration.”
  • Rosalie jokes about finding a man. “‘I need a man at home on the ocean. One who can handle the curves and swells of the waves.’ She ran one hand down the curve of her own hip, dipping theatrically, her voice growing husky. ‘One who can maneuver his ship into any port, however tempestuous. . . One with a very large, very thick, very hard. . . mizzenmast.’”
  • Annaleigh gets lost and ends up in the red light district. “The first storefront I saw was bathed in a pink glow, and my stomach turned as I guessed at what merchandise was sold behind such lurid trappings. . . Some had girls in the windows, waving and posing. Others were awash with tinsel and gaudy paste jewels.”
  • Cassius kisses Annaleigh. “His mouth was warm against mine and softer than I’d ever imagined a man’s could be. My skin sizzled as his hands cupped my cheeks and he pressed a kiss to my horsehead before returning to my mouth. I dared to bring my fingers up to explore his jawline.”
  • Cassius kisses Annaleigh again. “I tilted my chin, and his lips were on mine, soft and achingly sweet. I ran my fingers up his chest, letting them linger on the back of his neck and twist into his dark curls.”
  • Cassius and Annaleigh kiss one more time. “Cassius released a murmur of pleasure before sweeping me into a kiss. His mouth was soft against mine before his arms tightened around me, pulling me into a more intimate kiss, a sweeter ache.”

Violence

  • Annaleigh discovers her little sister Verity has been drawing horrible images of her dead sisters, who Verity says have been haunting her. “She flipped to a scene in black and gray pastels. In it, Verity cowered into her pillows as a shadowy Eulalie ripped the bedsheets from her. Her head was snapped back unnaturally far . . . Octavia curled up in a library chair, seemingly unaware that half her face was smashed in and her arm was too broken to hold a book straight…I turned the page and saw a drawing of all four of them, watching Verity as she slept, hanging from nooses.”
  • A man saw Annaleigh’s sister fall from a cliff. “I’ll never forget that sound as long as I live…Like the slap of meat landing on the butcher’s block.”
  • Annaleigh sees a dead man who died from falling. “Edgar lay in a growing spread of blood, his body broken and smashed on the cobblestones. His spectacles lay feet away, one of the lenses cracked.”
  • At a party buffet, Annaleigh sees “A sea turtle…showcased on a bed of dead eels.” She sees the turtle’s head move and thinks maybe she can save him, but then, “The turtle’s eyelids burst open as a string of fat white maggots fell from the hole. They poured out of the poor loggerhead’s skull onto the platter. His body was full of them, ready to explode.”
  • Annaleigh discovers her friend has been dead for weeks and his body was possessed by a goddess. Annaleigh sees the goddess come out of her friend’s body. “Thick, viscous phlegm spewed from his mouth, landing on the floor like globs of tar. His body shook from the force, struggled to expel whatever was lodged deep in his throat. When his lips began to peel away, curling back like rolls of coiled tree bark, I pressed my face into Cassius, fighting the urge to throw up…Fisher’s body lay split open, pieces and parts flung out in a gruesome explosion. In the center of this absolute horror stood a figure, her back turned to us. Covered in viscera, she rolled her neck from side to side, stretching her muscles, delighting in her sudden freedom after such a tight confinement.”
  • When Annaleigh hears a horrible cackling in her head, “I smacked my temple to dislodge this most unwelcome intruder, but the cackling only grew. I hit myself again. And again, using more force…If I could just break it open, even a little, the voice could escape and leave me in peace.”
  • Annaleigh’s stepmother reveals that she met Annaleigh’s father when she was a prostitute. When he got bored of her, “He struck me. In front of his new little whore. He didn’t even care that she saw. He called me names, screamed, berated me.”
  • Annaleigh’s stepmother is killed by a Trickster. “Cries rose from the chaos, and for one awful moment, they echoed the sounds I’d heard her make when I’d walked in on her with Papa. But the pleasure was short-lived, and her whimpers of ecstasy soon turned into shrieks. The shrieks turned to screams. And then the screams cut off into silence.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Annaleigh’s sister Lenore drinks champagne at her coming out party. “She downed a glass of champagne in one swallow…I began to suspect that was not her first or second glass of champagne.”
  • Before going to a ball, Annaleigh’s friend snagged “three glasses of wine.” He says, “I filched it from the kitchen—thought we might need a little courage.”
  • At a feast, “wine flowed freely all evening. The women sipped with restraint, but the men were already a little worse for wear.”
  • Annaleigh’s father gets drunk at a feast and becomes belligerent. “‘Stop meddling with me! He roared, lashing his arm out to knock her aside.” When someone tells him that he is drunk, he replies, “And if I am? This is my house. My home! You can all be turned out into the cold if you don’t like it.”
  • Annaleigh goes to many balls, which usually serve wine and champagne. At one, there “was a fountain spouting wine. Couples in formal court fashions mingled around the circular base, sticking out cups to catch the scarlet liquid as it flowed from an ornate bronze battle scene.”
  • A man at a party offers her a drink from her flask. Annaleigh declines.
  • Annaleigh’s stepmother admits that she “mixed a bit of hemlock into [Annaleigh’s mother’s] nightly medicine, and [Annaleigh’s mother] died in her sleep, none the wiser.”

Language

  • Damn is used a few times. A man says, “Damned storm took us three days off course.” When drunk, Annaleigh’s father says, “Damn this coffee and damn these madeleines! Where’s my brandy?”
  • Cassius was born out of wedlock, so he tells Annaleigh, “I’m a bastard.”
  • Phrases referring to the gods are used occasionally as exclamations. For example, Hanna says, “Be sure to space them out evenly, and for Pontus’s sake, don’t set them too close to the plants!”

Supernatural

  • A dressmaker hints that she “design[s] dresses for the goddess of beauty.”
  • Annaleigh thinks her dead sisters are haunting the manor. “As she leaned in to find the stopper, a hand reached out of the water, grabbing her neck and dragging her under. Elizabeth surfaced from the churning waters, her eyes filmed a sickly green.”
  • It’s said the gods had magic doors to travel to and from the mortal realm. Annaleigh and her sisters find a hidden door that takes them wherever they want, and they use it to go dancing at elaborate balls every night in the hopes of finding a suitor.
  • Annaleigh’s sister Verity says their dead sister and their sister’s dead fiancé are in the room. Annaleigh doesn’t look, but she hears “a soft rustling, silk skirts raking across the marble tiles. . . the footsteps stopped behind me, and I suddenly felt them, felt their presence.” When Annaleigh asks her dead sister who killed her, the ghost “shoved me forward with such force, I struck my head on the marble tiles.”
  • Annaleigh remembers how a performance caught fire and “One of Pontus’s daughters. . . summoned a waterspout to rain down its fury upon the flames. When the fire was out, the stage was a mess of puddles and soot, but everyone cheered for the goddess’s quick thinking.”
  • Cassius reveals he is the goddess Versai’s son, which makes him half-god.
  • When in Versai’s temple, Cassius and Annaleigh see “Versai’s postulants. The Sisters of the Night. They live at the abbey, tending to the wishing wall and paying homage to my mother. They’re about to begin their first service of the day.”
  • Annaleigh meets Kosamara, “Harbinger of Madness. . . And Nightmares.” Annaleigh discovers that Kosamara has been plaguing her sisters with the goal of driving them mad to the point of killing themselves.
  • Things start to fly off shelves and the piano plays by itself. Annaleigh thinks it’s a poltergeist.
  • It’s revealed that Annaleigh’s stepmother summoned a Trickster to make Annaleigh’s father love her and marry her. To seal the deal, she had to let the Trickster “ravish me.” When she gives birth to twins, one is Annaleigh’s father’s son and the other is a monster that the Trickster comes to claim.

Spiritual Content

  • Annaleigh’s world has many gods. “Other parts of Arcannia worshipped various combinations of gods: Vaipany, lord of sky and sun; Seland, ruler of earth; Versai, queen of the night; and Arina, goddess of love. There were dozens of other deities—Harbingers and Tricksters—who ruled over other aspects of life, but for the People of the Salt, Pontus, king of the sea, was the only god we needed.” While the gods used to be “much more active in the affairs of mortals,” they have become less and less involved over time.
  • The islanders believe Pontus created them. “The High Mariner says Pontus created our islands and the people on them. He scooped salt from the ocean tides for strength. Into that was mixed the cunning of bull shark and the beauty of the moon jellyfish. He added the seahorse’s fidelity and the curiosity of a porpoise. When his creation was molded just so—two arms, two legs, a head, and a heart—Pontus breathed some of his own life into it, making the first People of the Salt. So when we die, we can’t be buried in ground. We slip back into the water and are home.”
  • At her sister’s funeral, Annaleigh’s “Papa stepped forward to place two gold pieces at the foot of the crypt—payment to Pontus for easing my sister back into the Brine.”
  • At a feast, the Higher Mariner says they are gathered “to give our thanks to mighty Pontus for his great benevolence, blessing us with a season of bountiful plenty.”

by Morgan Lynn

 

 Dog Days

The trials and tribulations of middle school life are temporarily over for Greg Heffley. As summer approaches, there are no bullies or classes to worry about. Greg is ready to kick back and enjoy junk food, TV, and video games. However, after his summer vacation is canceled, a three-month guilt trip starts for Greg. Greg now has to put up with his mom’s constant demands to go outside and read a book, his dad and his “bonding” experiences, a terrible birthday party, a new dog, and a fight with his best friend, Rowley. How will Greg survive?

Written in Greg’s own journal, the conflict of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days revolves around everything that happens in Greg’s life. It is written from his 12-year-old perspective. The story contains a lot of bathroom and childish humor. At one point in the story, Greg, who is almost naked, has to chase after his dog. At another point in the story, Greg has to save his younger brother, Manny, before he accidentally washes his hands in the urinal.

Greg Heffley is a well-developed and relatable character for young audiences. Although Greg is lazy, petty, narcissistic, and cowardly, he does have moments of kindness. Greg will show readers the importance of sharing and thinking of others. He even points out some of the flaws in his own terrible behavior, showing kids that procrastinating and sleeping all day isn’t worth it. The consistently funny black-and-white illustrations, which look more like a comic strip than a highly illustrated graphic novel, help break up the text and keep even the most reluctant readers engaged.

Greg’s perspective is often pessimistic and at times can be downright mean. Greg demonstrates qualities, such as laziness and selfishness, that parents would not want their children to emulate. However, the story has relatable conflicts and shows readers the different perspectives of children and parents. Greg’s behavior could lead to a good discussion between parents and children about how people should act. Readers do not have to read these books in order to enjoy them. The fun, easy-to-read story will teach valuable and practical lessons to readers. Despite the childish humor, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days will entertain readers and have them laughing out loud.

Sexual Content

  • At the beginning of the book, Greg and Rowley are strolling around the country club pool and he says, “We’re both bachelors at the moment, and during the summer it’s better to be unattached.”
  • Greg has a crush on Heather Hills, a lifeguard at the public pool, and hits on her every day for weeks. However, he “…didn’t mention Heather Hills to Mom, because [he doesn’t] need her getting in the middle of my love life.”

Violence

  • Rodrick shoves Greg off the high dive.
  • Grandpa accidentally runs over Greg’s dad’s dog while Rodrick’s fish eats Greg’s fish.
  • Greg snaps Rowley with a rubber band, leaving him with a red mark on his arm.
  • Rowley “crushed [Greg’s] hand to smithereens” with a hammer because he thought it was the Muddy Hand (a terrifying horror movie character) coming to get him.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Both bathroom and immature humor are used frequently and include words like poop, idiot, pee, and dumb.
  • Poop jokes are told frequently. For example, Rodrick wants to name the dog Turtle so he can call it “Turd for short.”
  • Scared that he’s not going out enough, Greg’s mom invites Fregley over and suggests that he and Greg should play outside together. Greg glances out the window and says, “I think Fregley might be naked” when he sees Fregley shirtless behind a tree.
  • When Greg was younger, he used to go swim in the baby pool, but he quit after he figured little kids would pee in the pool.
  • Greg’s dad went back-to-school shopping and the next day Greg says, “Well, THAT was a dumb move because Dad did all of his shopping at the pharmacy.”
  • Greg’s at the public pool and asks a lifeguard, “Does Mrs. Arciaga REALLY think it’s a good idea to wear a bikini when she’s eight months pregnant?”
  • Greg has the highest score on an arcade machine called Thunder Volt at the boardwalk, and his name was at the top of the high scores list. However, the person that had the second highest score on the list listed their name as “Is an idiot.” The high score list says “Greg Heffley …. is an idiot.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Greg’s Gramma prays to the Lord to help her find her dollar savers coupon book while Greg prays, “Dear Lord, please let Mr. Jefferson get hit on the head so he forgets about the money I owe him. And please let me get past the third level of Twisted Wizard without having to use any of my bonus health packs. Amen, and thank you in advance.”
  • Greg describes a church trip on Sunday. He says, “Today’s sermon was called ‘Jesus in disguise,’ and it was about how you should treat everyone you meet with kindness because you never know which person is really Jesus pretending to be someone else.”

by Matthew Perkey

 

Sif and the Dwarfs’ Treasures

Twelve-year-old Sif attends Asgard Academy, but she’s keeping important secrets from her podmates. No one knows that her magical hair allows the wheat crop to grow. When mischievous Loki cuts her hair in a horrible prank, Sif must rely on her podmates and Loki for help.

Sif has a prophetic dream that gives her a hint on how to solve the problem. Sif and Freya must convince Loki to go to Ivaldi’s sons, dwarves who are skilled blacksmiths. Loki must strike a bargain with them to help Sif get her hair back. An overconfident Loki strikes a deal with the blacksmiths, and as part of the deal he could lose his head—literally.

To make things worse, there are rumors of a looming attack that could hit Asgard Academy. Sif is afraid that Ragnarok, or doomsday, might be about to begin. Is there any way Sif can save the wheat crops and her beloved school?

Fans of Goddess Girls will enjoy this new series which focuses on Norse Mythology. Sif is a relatable character who has a difficult time overcoming her embarrassing insecurities. She doesn’t want anyone to know that she is a seer—or that she has a difficult time reading. As Sif gets to know her podmates better, she realizes that no one, not even a goddess girl, is perfect.

Sif and the Dwarfs’ Treasures has many positive messages that pertain to younger readers. Odin has created the school in order to get people from different worlds to interact. “[He] wished them to understand and appreciate everyone’s differences.” As Sif learns more about her roommates, she realizes the importance of working together. Sif also knows that looks do not define a person’s (or a god’s) character. Even though “many girls found Loki cute,” Sif knows that “a person’s behavior, not his appearance, was what made him attractive.”

Readers will enjoy learning about Sif, who is a well-rounded and caring goddess. Sif and the Dwarfs’ Treasures has interesting characters and actions, humorous puns, and a sprinkle of crushing moments that will entertain readers. Although many of the characters appeared in Freya and the Magic Jewel, the stories do not need to be read in order. Each book is told from a different goddess’s point of view and allows the reader to see that even goddesses need help from others.

Readers who are unfamiliar with Norse mythology will want to read the glossary first. The story introduces Norse mythology in a kid-friendly way, while still staying true to the original stories. Sif and the Dwarfs’ Treasures uses a relatable character to embed important life lessons in an entertaining story that readers will love. Readers will eagerly look for the next book in the series, Idun and the Apples of Youth.

Sexual Content

  • Freya has noticed Sif and Thor looking at each other and thinks the two are “crushing on each other” because “crushes often start with just looking.”
  • After Sif and Thor have several conversations, Sif thinks, “She likes him, too. As a friend anyway. As far as crushing. . . well. . . time would tell.”

Violence

  • The large painted friezes that covered a wall come to life. When Sif and her friends are eating, “all four girls studied the nearby frieze, [and] an armor-clad warrior reached out of it to grab a dish of lemon-flavored snow pudding from a Valkyrie rushed by with a tray of desserts. With a wide grin on his face, the warrior took aim and then flung the snow pudding at a painting of heroes directly across the room.” A food fight begins. Most of the food being thrown “was directed at warriors occupying friezes on opposite walls, but occasionally the thrown food accidentally hit students, too!” They start a food fight several times in the story.
  • When Loki says a mean joke, Thor gets angry. “In an instant Thor was across the room, his fists balled to punch Loki out. Before he could follow through[;] however, Loki shape-shifted into fire. ‘‘Yow!’ Thor leaped back, blowing on his singed fingers to cool them.”
  • Loki changed into an eagle and stole an apple, “even though he could eat them anytime he wanted in the Valhallateria.” When Loki stole the apple from Idum, she scraped her knee and it was bleeding.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • After Loki plays a mean trick, someone calls him a bonehead.
  • Loki says, “It’s easy to predict events that have already happened. Even a dummy like Thor could do that!”
  • Someone calls Loki a rat.
  • Loki calls a group of students idiots.

Supernatural

  • Sif takes a class on how to read Runes and the students share their “‘rune-words’ meanings and suggest[ed] prophecies that might be connected to them.”
  • In order to hide from Thor, Sif “transformed into a rowan tree. It was one of only two forms she could take, the other being a swan.”
  • When Sif was younger, she was “proud” of her talent at prophecy and tried to use her talent at school. However, soon people started calling her “fortune-tattler instead of fortune-teller.” She also lost her best friend. Sif was trying to help her friend by carving the rune word for brave, but Sif made an error and wrote the rune word for poison instead. When Sif’s friend became ill, the friend’s parents wouldn’t allow them to spend time together.
  • A dwarf chanted a spell, “For one whole day, you’ll zip your lip. Nothing will you say. Nothing will you sip.” The spell makes it so the Loki cannot speak or eat for a day.
  • The large painted friezes that cover a wall come to life. “These painted friezes cover all of the V’s walls and were peopled with heroic warriors who had died in battle. The warriors had been brought into the friezes by Odin’s Valkyries as painted figures that magically came to life toward the end of every meal.”
  • Freya has a marble that contains cats and a cart. When Freya says, “catnap,” the cats and cart grow. The first time Freya uses the marble, she thinks, “if anyone had been watching at that moment, the cats and cart would’ve seemed to instantly disappear. However, in reality, they had only shrunk down to a single cat’s-eye marble.”
  • Freya drinks juice that won’t make her immortal, but will make her “stay the same age.”
  • Several characters are shapeshifters.
  • Mimir, an oracle, only has a head. When Sifi sees him, “suddenly a column of bright-blue water shot through one of the tubular slides to bubble up in a tall, fountain-like spout at eye level. Atop the spout sat a disembodied bald head!”
  • Sif goes to the library to learn about rune spells and charms. One of the things she learns is that “difficult rune interpretations can sometimes be solved through dreams.” Later in the story, she uses the book’s advice and has a prophetic dream.
  • Talking acorns can give students a message. Odin uses one to deliver a message to Sif.

Spiritual Content

  • The story focuses on Norse mythology and includes Norse gods and goddesses as characters.
  • Sif is a seer, a shapeshifter, and also the “girl goddess of bountiful harvest.” Her power comes from her hair; however, how her hair helps the harvest is never explained. When Sif’s hair is cut, the humans’ wheat fields begin to wither.
  • Freya is the goddess of love and beauty. She is also a seer. Another character, Odin, was “the leader of the Asgard gods and the supreme ruler of all the worlds.” (This is not a complete list of the Norse gods that appear in the book.)

Flunked

For the royals, Enchantasia is a grand place to live. But for Gilly’s family, life is difficult. Gilly and her five little brothers and sisters live in a run-down boot. Gilly doesn’t want her family to go hungry, so she gets creative. Gilly doesn’t think it’s wicked to steal from the royals. She just doesn’t want her family to suffer.

When Gilly gets caught stealing for the third time, she’s sentenced to three months at Fairy Tale Reform School—where all of the teachers are former villains. The Big Bad Wolf, the Evil Queen, and Cinderella’s Wicked Stepmother have all changed. When Gilly meets fellow students Jax and Kayla, she learns there is more to this school than its heroic mission. When strange events begin to happen, Gilly wonders if the bad guys have truly turned good.

Told from Gilly’s point of view, Flunked takes a fun, fresh look at fairytale villains. Fans of fairy tales will enjoy seeing the evil villains in a new light. Although the story had several interesting characters, Gilly is the only character that is well-developed. Gilly’s roommate, Kayla, plays an important role in the story; however, she quickly disappears and only makes a brief appearance at the end. The princesses and the villains also only appear for a brief time, which may disappoint some readers.

Flunked breaks up the chapters and recaps some events by using Happily Ever After Scrolls—tabloid-like news articles. The interesting setting and fast-paced plot will keep readers entertained. The ending of the story has several twists, but the climactic end scene is over too quickly. Although middle school readers may wish for more depth of character, younger readers will enjoy the fun trip into Enchantasia. All readers will benefit from the theme—everyone, no matter how villainous, can change their evil ways and find a new, better path.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Gargoyles attack Gilly and Jax. The gargoyles “are wrinkly and dark grey with red eyes and long wings that fold under themselves, but the long, sharp claws on their hands and feet frighten me the most. One lets out a long wail when he sees us and Jax shoves me forward again, shaking me from my trance…” A Gargoyle grabs Jax, and his “face twists in pain and he begins sliding backward into the tunnel… I drop the grate and grab Jax’s hands, pulling as hard as I can and getting nowhere. It’s like we’re locked in a tug-of-war and Jax is the rope.” Jax is able to get free. Kayla uses a mirror that shoots bolts. A bolt hits the gargoyles and the kids are able to escape. The scene is described over four pages.
  • A student makes a loud noise that causes Madame Cleo, a Sea Siren, to “scream so loudly that bubbles take over the tank and the floor actually begins to quake…  And that’s when the tank begins to crack.” Jax uses his watch to break the lock. As they are leaving, the student “continues to chant, a smug smile on her face. When I look back Madame Cleo has passed out and is just floating in the middle of the tank.” Gilly jumps on the girl in order to get her to stop chanting. No one is injured.
  • One of the students lists some of the black magic that has been causing problems. “The crack in the tank, the swarm of pernicious peony ants that were accidently released in the botany lab, the poisoned fruit found in the cafeteria at the breakfast buffet.”
  • During a class, the students hear “the sound of a crash from above that sends glass raining down on the room.” Then gargoyles appear and a “thick, purple fog fills the room.”
  • As the students try to escape the gargoyles, “a gargoyle grabs hold of one of the Ladies-in-Waiting and takes off again. She screams and kicks, but it’s no use. She’s a goner…” The students try to hide, but Jocelyn gets picked up by a gargoyle. “I watch as she swings wildly with her sword and nicks one of the gargoyle’s legs. The gargoyle drops Jocelyn like a hot potato. She falls to the ground and bumps her head as the fog evaporates. We stare at her as she lies there motionless.”
  • During the gargoyle attack, teachers and students are sucked into a bubble. Harlow, a teacher, “throws her sword through the air. Maxine screams as the sword hits the bubble and bounces off of it. The gargoyles jump up and down excitedly as Harlow picks up a few of the discarded swords on the ground and aims another one at the bubble… This sword pierces the bubble and hits Princess Snow in the arm… Harlow throws another sword, and it pierces the bottom of the bubble, hitting a student in the shoe.” Gilly runs towards Harlow and slides as “hard as I can into Harlow, knocking her straight off her feet. I cover my head as swords rain down on me, and then the world goes black.” The scene is described over seven pages.
  • Later Gilly finds out that “Professor Harlow lost her pinkie in the mess and had to charm it back on.”
  • The villain shoots purple bolts from her hands and locks a student, Jocelyn, in a cell. When Jocelyn starts a chant, the villain “notices and flings bolts toward the bars, Jocelyn goes flying back…”
  • In order to break the students out of a cell, “Professor Wolfington transforms… Wolfington’s clothes begin to tear, his hair begins to grow, and he falls to all fours before letting out a wolf howl…” He is able to break the cell bars and free the students.
  • Gilly points a magic mirror at the villain. When two mirrors are pointed at each other, “the connection causes an explosion that sends us both flying backwards. The ground shakes, and large chunks of the ceiling begin to cave in…” The villain runs away.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Someone says, “God, no!”
  • “Oh God” and “Oh My God” are both used once.
  • Heck is used twice.
  • “What the—” is used once.

Supernatural

  • Mira lives in a mirror, but can “come and go between mirrors as I please.”
  • Some of the characters can perform magic and cast spells. Kayla’s mother was upset when she “caught me flying over Royal Manor. I was already grounded for casting a spell on my sister that made her nose as big as her face.”
  • One of the teachers “snaps her fingers” and makes Gilly’s boots disappear. In the boot’s place are the school shoes.
  • Gilly is given a quill. “I dip the quill in the ink, and nothing happens. Then I try putting the quill to paper. That’s when things get weird. I know what I want to write, but instead, different words come out.” Using the magic quill allowed Gilly’s roommate to secretly leave Gilly a note.
  • The school’s hallways are always shifting and making new ones.
  • A student casts a spell “on Maxine that made her right ear as big as her head.”
  • While dancing, a girl gets upset, and “her lips begin to move, and a glow emits from her eyes…  Gayle lets out an ear-piercing scream, and her troll partner flies backward, hitting one of the torches on the wall, which falls and causes a small fire that short-circuits the music.”
  • Kayla was sent to reform school after “[she]’d been busted for flying without a license, illegal use of magic, and casting love spells on people who hate each other.”
  • The villain is revealed when “a purple cloud of smoke surrounds her, and within seconds, Gottie’s ragged clothes, wart-covered face, and white frizzy hair have disappeared.” The villain’s appearance drastically changes.
  • Rumpelstiltskin made Kayla’s family forget her and “turned them all into hollow trees.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

Home Court

Eleven-year-old Amar’e Stoudemire has a lot going on. He loves to go skateboarding in the park. He takes his school work very seriously. He helps out with his dad’s landscaping company. He also likes to play basketball with his best friends – but just for fun.

When a group of older kids starts disrespecting his boys on their neighborhood basketball court, there is only one solution. Amar’e must step in and use his athletic ability and intelligence to save the day. This experience leads Amar’e to realize that basketball is his true passion. This story is based on the life of All-Star NBA sensation Amar’e Stoudemire who overcame many obstacles to become one of the most popular figures in sports today.

Like many readers, Amar’e is interested in a wide range of activities—skateboarding, basketball, and hanging out with his friends. When his friends need him, Amar’e isn’t afraid to take on some trash-talking older kids. Anyone who has been mistreated will relate to Amar’e’s difficulties. Amar’e’s struggles are illustrated with simple black and white drawings which are scattered throughout the book. Amar’e tells his story using easy vocabulary and short paragraphs to create an easy-to-read, entertaining story.

Sports fans will enjoy the play-by-play basketball action. However, the story doesn’t just focus on sports. Amar’e also enjoys learning tricks on his skateboard, helping his father, and doing well in school. Amar’e worries about his history writing assignment on Dr. King. In the end, Amar’e is able to connect Dr. King’s message to his life. He writes, “One person could do a lot, but the more people you have behind you, the more you could accomplish.”

Amar’e’s diverse interests give additional intrigue to the story, but also make the story choppy. One positive aspect of the story is Amar’e’s strong connection with his family and friends. Because the story is written from Amar’e’s point of view, readers will understand why Amar’e believes it’s important to be a good student, a good friend, and a hard worker. Younger sports fans will enjoy Home Court because of the positive message that is delivered by a relatable character. Readers who are looking for similar books should try the Zayd Saleem Chasing the Dream Series by Hena Khan.

Sexual Content

  • While playing a basketball game, Amar’e and his friends huddle up. An older boy tells them to hurry up “unless y’all are making out in there.”

Violence

  • While playing basketball with some older kids, Carlos intentionally tripped Amar’e. “My eyes were on the ball, so I didn’t see Carlos stick out his leg. I sure felt it, though. His shin banged into mine just above my ankle and I tumbled hard onto the pavement.”
  • While playing basketball with some older kids, “Yeti clobbered Duece on a moving pick. It was the bigger player on the court taking out the smallest, and it was hard to miss the foul.”
  • While playing basketball, an older boy “jammed his elbow hard into his lower back. Mike grimaced in pain and lost his dribble.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Some older kids trash-talk Amar’e and his friends. Afterward, one of Amar’e’s friends calls the boys “jerks.” Later Amar’e thinks, “Yeti was hanging on the rim again like a jerk.”
  • When an older boy throws trash on the ground, Amar’e asks, “Shouldn’t you go back to the garbage dump you came from?”
  • An older boy calls Amar’e and his friends “losers.”
  • “What the—” is used once.

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Tunnel of Bones

Cassidy isn’t excited to be in one of the most haunted cities in the world—Paris. While her parents are filming their TV shows about haunted cities, Cassidy doesn’t plan on attracting danger. But when her parents take her to the creepy underground Catacombs, Cassidy finds danger lurking in the shadows.

When Cassidy accidentally awakens a frightening, strong spirit, she must rely on her still-growing skills as a ghost hunter and her friends, both old and new, to help her unravel a mystery. As the spirit grows strong, Cassidy realizes that she’s not the only one in trouble. Soon the ghost causes disaster after disaster, which endangers the people Cassidy loves. Can Cassidy stop the angry spirit, or will he haunt her city forever?

The second installment of the City of Ghost series will not disappoint. As Cassidy follows her parents through Paris, Cassidy gets a firsthand look at some of Paris’s ghostly stories. While many of the ghostly encounters could be deadly, Cassidy’s best friend (and ghost), Jacob, is always waiting in the shadows in order to keep Cassidy out of trouble. Readers will enjoy Cassidy’s inquisitive mind and courage.

Cassidy’s adventures take her into Paris’s underground as well as to several of Paris’s landmarks. The adventure is at times creepy and suspenseful, but always interesting. Tunnel of Bones adds several new and interesting twists. As Cassidy tries to help a young ghost remember his past, she begins to wonder if Jacob will also begin to lose his memory of his earthly life. The parallel between the two ghosts adds an interesting dimension to the story.

Tunnel of Bones will entertain readers with a good ghost story. The easy-to-read text contains short sentences and offers action, description, and dialogue. Although several ghosts make a short appearance that does not enhance the plot, a little boy ghost continues to reappear which gives the story an air of mystery and unexpected danger. Cassidy’s faithful friends and encounters with frightening ghosts mixed with a dash of humor creates a highly entertaining ghost story. Although Tunnel of Bones can be read as a stand-alone novel, readers will not want to miss the first book of the series, City of Ghost.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • When Cassidy goes into the Veil, she drops a necklace and begins to look for it. “But before I can reach it, the ghost grabs me by the collar and pushes me back against a tree. I try to twist free, but even though he’s a ghost and I’m not, the Veil levels the playing field.” Cassidy’s friend Jacob comes to her aid. “The ghost looks sideways just as Jacob swings the bucket at his head. The man staggers, black tar dripping down his face, and I gasp, dropping to the ground.” Cassidy uses her mirror to send the man on. The scene is described over three pages.
  • In order to see a ghost, Cassidy climbs onto a roof. When the ghost sees her, he pushes her off the roof. Cassidy is “falling, and somewhere between the edge of the roof and the lawn below, I cross back through the Veil and land hard on the ground beside the crypt. The fall knocks all the air from my lungs and sends pain jolting up through my right arm, and for a second all I can do is blink away the stars and hope I didn’t break anything.” Cassidy’s arm “zings” but she isn’t seriously injured.
  • When Cassidy opens the Veil, she sees a man “in an old-fashioned suit. He lifts an old-fashioned pistol and aims it straight at me, and Jacob wrenches me back out of the Veil before the shot goes off.”
  • The poltergeist opens the back door of a truck and “the contents begin to spill out. Boxes and crates smash into the street, followed by a massive golden frame that hurtles straight towards me.”
  • When Cassidy goes into the Veil, she is on a train car. When she changes train cars, she sees a ghost. “And as he turns, I see the knife buried in his stomach. His own hand curled around the blade as if to keep it from falling out. The sheen of blood running down his front.” Jacob drags Cassidy out of the train car and slams the door.
  • While looking for the poltergeist, Cassidy runs into a man. “The man snarls and grabs me, shoving me against a wall of bones that rattle as they dig into my back. I gasp, but I manage to swipe the cap from his head before Jacob lunges at the spirit from behind, hauling him backwards. . . Jacob slams the other ghost into a pillar of skulls. The bones topple with a crash, and the man drips, dazed, to his hands and knees.” Cassidy and Jacob run away.
  • In order to help the poltergeist remember his past, Jacob grabs ahold of the boy. The boy “thrashes, trying to twist free. The air around him ripples and glows red, and the whole tunnel begins to shake as the crimson light spreads over everything, splitting across the floor, the ceiling and the walls of bone. . . The whole ground begins to shake with the force of Thomas’s displeasure. Even the wall of bones to my left begins to tremble and shift.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Someone tells a story about a man that was invited to a party. When the man goes to the party, “he found a party in full swing, and passed the night with music and wine and excellent company. . . And then something hits me. Not the frame, but a pair of hands. They plant themselves against my back and shove, and I stumbled forward to the pavement, scraping my palm as the frame crashes into the stone wall and rains glass onto the street behind me.”
  • Cassidy’s parents are in their hotel room “sharing a bottle of red wine.”

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Cassidy’s best friend, Jacob, is a ghost and can read her mind.
  • Cassidy can travel through the Veil and the in-between where ghosts live. Cassidy explains, “That’s the thing about the Veil: It only exists where there’s a ghost. It’s like a stage where spirits act out their final moments, whatever happened that won’t let them move on.”
  • When Cassidy goes into the Veil, “the world around me—vanishes. The carnival lights, the crowds, the sounds and smells of the summer night. Gone. For a second, I’m falling. And then I’m back on my feet.”
  • In order to get a ghost to move beyond the Veil, Cassidy holds up a mirror for the ghost to look into. Then she says, “Watch and listen, see and know. This is what you are.” When Cassidy says the words, “the whole Veil ripples around us, and the ghost thins until I can see through him, see the dark thread coiled inside his chest. Lightless, lifeless. I reach out and take hold of the thread, the last thing binding him here, to this world. It feels cold and dry under my fingers, like dead leaves in the fall. As I pull the cord from his chest, it crumbles in my palm. Vanishes in a plume of smoke. And then, so does the ghost.” Cassidy completes the same pattern on two other ghosts, and the ghosts disappear.
  • Cassidy awakens a poltergeist. Cassidy’s friend tells her, “It’s a spirit drawn to spectral energy… It was probably dormant until it sensed yours, Cassidy. . . That cold sensation you’ve been feeling, it is a kind of intuition, a warning that strong spirits are near. . . Poltergeists are wanderers. They’re not stuck in a loop or a memory, and they’re not tied to the place they died.”
  • While trying to understand ghosts, Cassidy calls a friend that tells her “the Veil is tailored to fit the ghost, [and] the place they died, which means it’s essentially tied to the ghost’s memory—that’s what binds it there. So if a poltergeist isn’t bound to the Veil, it’s because—they don’t remember.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

The Sonic Breach

Tom gets to take all sorts of cool classes at the Swift Academy of Science and Technology, but robotics may be the one excites him the most. His teacher is holding a battling robot tournament, and Tom and his friends have to build a machine that will come out on top.

With the final battle coming up, Tom and his friends need as much time as possible to refine their masterpiece. But the rest of their teachers have been giving so many pop quizzes that they can barely focus in class, never mind concentrate on the tournament. Naturally, everyone is frustrated with the trend. . . until a mysterious new phone app appears. If students get pop quizzes during first period, they can warn everyone else about it by getting their phones to emit a high-pitched sound—a mosquito alarm—that adults can’t hear.

Tom is unsure about the whole thing, but it technically isn’t cheating, right? But when someone changes the app to break all the rules, the ethics aren’t debatable anymore. The longer the perpetrator remains unknown, the more harshly teachers treat all the students, and the pressure won’t stop until Tom and his friends track down the person behind the app takeover.

Like the first book in the series, The Sonic Breach incorporates mystery and technology. However, unlike The Drone Pursuit, The Sonic Breach doesn’t have as much interaction between Tom and his friends, which takes some of the enjoyment out of the story. Book two is also told from Tom’s point of view, and the story has an easy-to-read, conversational tone which allows the readers to understand Tom’s thinking process.

As Tom and his friends solve the mystery of who hacked the Pop Chop app, the readers will learn the importance of perseverance and helping others. At one point, Tom thinks, “Mistakes are ways to learn, overcome, and move forward. I would much rather have had our robot fail during a sparring match than during the final battle. This way we can learn from our design mistakes and make it better than it was before.”

The cover of The Sonic Breach shows two students battling their robots. However, the battle bots take backstage to the moral question of using a new app—Pop Chop. The story focuses on Tom’s moral dilemma: is using Pop Chop a form of cheating? Although the topic is relevant to students, readers may quickly become bored with the lack of action. In the end, Tom and his friends discover who hacked the Pop Chop app, but the mystery’s solution is unrealistic and comes too easily.

Readers looking for non-stop action and an in-depth mystery may want to leave The Sonic Breach on the shelf. However, readers who enjoyed the first Tom Swift book and are interested in technology will find The Sonic Breach entertaining. Tom Swift is an intelligent, likable character who models good communication skills. Plus, parents will appreciate the story’s positive relationships and messages.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Tom and his friends build a robot that says the phrase, “Get to za Choppa.” The phrase comes from an Arnold Schwarznegger movie, and the kids at the school often repeat it. One of the students “was creative with his altered Arnold phrase, ‘Get to the crappa.’”
  • When a news crew shows up at the Swift Academy, the reporter walks over to the fencing team. A student wonders why the reporter is covering the fencing team when there “are two perfectly good robots over there beating the crap out of each other.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Dragon Captives

Identical twins Fifer and Thisbe have amazing, uncontrollable magical abilities. They want to learn more about magic, but their brother Alex is the head mage of Artimé and he doesn’t think the girls are ready. Alex knows the girls are more gifted than anyone else, including himself. In order to keep the girls from learning any magical spells, Alex orders everyone in Artimé not to do magic in front of Fifer and Thisbe.

On the Day of Remembrance, an ice blue dragon named Hux shows up with terrible news. His siblings have been enslaved by the notoriously evil Revinir, the ruler of the dragon land. In order to survive, Hux needs someone to return to the dragon’s land to make the dragons new wings. Without Alex’s help, Hux’s sibling will die. Although Alex feels bad for Hux, Alex refuses to leave Artimé.

When Thisbe and Fifer discover Hux’s need, they decide to help the dragons themselves. The girls want to show Alex they are ready to be taught how to use their magic. Thisbe, Fifer, and their friend Seth sneak away to rescue the dragons. Will their untrained abilities be enough to save the dragons—and themselves—when they come face-to-face with Revinir?

Readers will quickly connect to Thisbe, Fifer, and Seth, who want to prove that they can do something good. When the children take off on their journey, they don’t expect to find a hostile land where they will be imprisoned. Despite being in a strange new land, the three spend most of their time trapped in a prison. Because of their plight, each of the characters discover the importance of perseverance.

Dragon Captives is set ten years after the great battle that left Thisbe and Fifer without parents, which will cause confusion for those who haven’t read The Unwanteds Series. The first part of Dragon Captives has many of the same characters as The Unwanteds Series. Even though the story tries to recount the important events from the previous series, readers will have an extremely tough time learning about the magical world and keeping track of the many characters that were developed in The Unwanteds Series.

Even though readers may struggle with the beginning of the book, readers will not regret staying with the story. Once the children make it to the dragon’s land, the story shows interesting cultural differences between the two worlds. Magical spells, chase scenes, and betrayal all come together to make Dragon Captives a fast-paced, exciting story. The action-packed scenes are not gory; however, some readers may be upset by the idea of humans being sold to the highest bidder. Dragon Captives does not have a feel good ending. Instead, the story ends with a scary cliffhanger that will have readers reaching for the next book in the series, Dragon Ghost.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • A magical creature in the shape of a scorpion chases Thisbe and Fifer. The girls try to escape by climbing a tree, but “the scorpion slid to a stop below them. It gripped the tree with one of its pinchers. Then it snapped the trunk in two, sending the top portion with the girls in it falling through the air and crashing to the jungle floor.” Thisbe’s ankle is caught under the tree, and the “scorpion, moving steadily towards her with its poisonous tail raised, knocked her flat with its pincher. Then it pinned both girls to the ground with its spindly front legs.” A magical Panther appears, and the frightened Thisbe uses a magic spell. “Sparks flew from the girl’s fingertips and slammed into Panther’s flank. The creature’s scream stopped abruptly. With a loud crack and a horrible thud, the black stone beast hit the ground. Slit completely in two.” The girls escape and someone is able to fix the Panther. The scene is described over five pages.
  • Thisbe has strong, uncontrollable magic. When she was two years old, she killed someone—“an actual human.” “She’s also nearly killed others in her younger years, including Alex, with almost effortless magic that was beyond her control.”
  • Fifer and Thisbe go into a town when a man grabs them. “Thisbe whirled around in surprise, she felt a strong calloused hand reaching over her mouth, then a scratchy cloth placed over her nose that had a sickly sweet smell. She tried to scream. . . She gasped for breath, the horrible sweetness from the cloth permeating her nose and throat, and traveling to her brain. She felt a strange fuzziness creep in and take over her. . .” She passes out and wakes up a captive.
  • A snake tries to bite a boy named Dev. “Thisbe pointed at it (the snake). ‘Boom!’ she cried. As Dev twisted and spun around, trying to get away, the snake’s head froze in midair. For a split second it hung there. Everyone held their breath. And then the snake exploded into dozens of pieces that went flying far and wide.”
  • When Thisbe, Fifer, Seth, and the dragon Hux get to the castle, they are taken prisoner. “The soldiers forced the children to one side, taking their supplies for the wings and throwing them to the ground. Then they whipped poor Hux until he backed into the empty stall and they continued whipping him even though he was doing exactly what they told him to do.”
  • Thisbe yells at a guard, and “immediately the soldier pushed Thisbe against the wall. He pulled a dagger from his belt and pressed the point to Thisbe’s chest.” Seth and Fifer try to help, but “the other soldier grabbed Fifer and Seth and pulled them back while the two holding Thisbe dragged her to the ramp and began to ascend it.” Thisbe is taken deeper into the prison and locked in a cell.
  • As the soldiers were forcing Thisbe to leave her friends, Thisbe “flicked her fingers the best she could, hoping something else would happen. Fiery sparks flew out of them, hitting the soldiers in the face. . . the head soldier held her, kicking and screaming. Next to her, Seth landed a well-placed kick and managed to break loose from his captor. . . He pulled out a few scatterclips and sent them flying. They snagged one soldier, dragging him backward and stacking another behind the first, and pinned them to the wall.” In the end, Seth and Fifer are separated from Thisbe.
  • Seth tries to look for Thisbe, but a soldier “stuck out his leg, tripping the boy. Seth went sprawling hands first and landed on his stomach. The head soldier grabbed him by the back of his vest and brought him to his feet, then pulled his dagger and held the point to Seth’s neck.”
  • While trying to escape, one of the dragons “torched anyone who got in his way.” When the dragons got close to the door, “the dragons roared and dove for the exit, dodging spears and swords, spewing fire from their mouths with reckless abandon, caring only about their freedom now. . .”
  • Simber and Seth try to find Thisbe, but soldiers stop them. “A valiant soldier stood fast in front of Simber, holding a spear pointed at the cheetah’s eye. Simber ducked and plowed into him. The soldier and his spear flew up in the air and landed hard in the path of dust and rubble Simber left behind him. One by one Simber clobbered all the men and women who stood in his way.”
  • Seth uses the glass spell. “This time a sheet of glass appeared between him and the soldiers, cutting them off. They slammed into it. The last thing Seth saw was four faces pressing against it before he turned and vaulted onto Simber’s back once more.
  • When Simba and his friends were trying to escape the prison, “soldiers charged, but Simber batted at them with his wings or butted them with his head and didn’t slow down. Before long, he was trampling the ones who wouldn’t get out of the way. As soon as the Artiméans came to the entryway, Simber spread his wings wide, knocking more soldiers down, and began flapping.”
  • When Simber and his friends were running from the guards, someone began lowering the gate. One of the stakes “caught the collar of Thatcher’s shirt. Thatcher was violently yanked off Simber’s back and thrown to the ground under the portcullis. . . The sharp iron points were about to run him through. He screamed and rolled away, his shirt ripping down the back.” Thatcher is able to escape unharmed.
  • Thisbe and Fifer were tied up and taken to the market to be sold. During the ride, “their wrists were tied down.” When they arrive at the market, the soldiers “shackled the girls to two wooden posts.”
  • Simber tries to save Thisbe and Fifer, but he didn’t notice the glass barrier. “Before anyone could warn him, Simber smashed right through the invisible glass barrier that Thisbe had cast in front of Fifer. The girls screamed. Shards of glass flew everywhere. . . Fifer’s face, at first joyous at seeing Simber coming toward them, turned to shock at the impact, and then horror afterwards as she glanced down at her body. Bright red bloodstains spread over her clothing. And then, without a word, she slumped unconscious, only her shackles keeping her from falling face-first to the stage.” Fifer is wounded and Thisbe is kidnapped.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Crud is used six times. Seth tells a dragon, “go up the ramp and torch the crud out of any soldiers who come this way.”
  • Thisbe says someone is “kind of a jerk.”

Supernatural

  • Artemé is a magical island that has “creations carved from stone or molded from clay and brought to life with strong magic.”
  • People can travel through a large glass tube. When Thisbe and Fifer press the button, “the girls’ world went dark for a second or two. When it became light again, they were looking upon a completely different landscape. Indeed, they were on a completely different island, far from home—it would take several days’ journey by ship to get here.”
  • One of the characters is an octogaor, “who had an alligator head and an octopus body.”
  • When Fifer lets out a whoop, glass breaks. Fifer can also make glass disappear and reappear.
  • In the past, Artemé’s mage was killed and “Artemé had disappeared because the world couldn’t exist without a head mage running it. Every last one of the living statues and creatures. . . had immediately ceased to be alive.”
  • Alex “rarely did magic anymore, other than simple spells like flicking on a highlighter in a dark corner of the Museum of Large or sending a seek spell whenever he couldn’t find his sisters and wanted them to come home. A seek spell merely required him to hold an artistic item created by the person he was seeking.”
  • A dragon, Hux, goes to Artemé hoping someone can make him new wings so he can fly again. Later, Thisbe and Fifer sneak in to see Alex turn vines, flowers, and cloth into dragon wings. Alex “closed his eyes and concentrated for several moments, imaging the wing taking flight. He pictured it sparkling in the sun, flowing with ease, as light and free as the petals that adorned it… And finally he spoke a single wood. ‘Live.’ The wings began to move.”
  • In Artemé, “a blackboard was like a magical host in the living area of each apartment. Each personality delivered messages, kept an eye on the residence, offered help, guidance, and sometimes attitude, and some even shared gossip from the other blackboards.”
  • Thisbe can make invisible hooks. “Thisbe quirked her finger away and pointed at a wall. A spark shot out and supposedly an invisible hook attacked itself to the wall, though neither girl felt like going to feel around for it.”
  • In order to get out of a locked cell, Thisbe uses magic to make the bamboo grid come to life. “The bamboo grid began to billow, and suddenly the top right corner of it worked its way out of the stone. It waved this way and that, and with a series of little pops, the grid came loose one bar at time. . .People in the market noticed what was happening. A wave of panic spread through the area. . .the people in the marketplace ran away screaming, and the grid, filled with exuberant magical life, wiggled and tumbled and chased after them.” The girls are able to escape. As they flee, the prison door chases Seth. “A moment later one corner of the bars hooked Seth by his shirt and took him on a ride into the air. Then it slammed him into the ground and dragged him around again in the same manner as it rolled through the square.” Eventually, the girls are able to pull Seth free and “he hit the ground with a sickening thump, his face slamming into the pavement. Luckily some squashed tomatoes kept him from hitting it too hard.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

 

 

Odd Gods

Oddonis may be the son of Zeus, but he’s a little bit odd for a God. He’s so odd, in fact, that he’s not sure if he has any powers at all. And if that isn’t enough, his twin brother Adonis is the most popular, most athletic, and most otherworldly handsome God of them all.

Oddonis’s future at Mount Olympus Middle isn’t looking bright, especially when he makes the last-minute decision to run against Adonis to be class president. With the help of his friends Mathena (Goddess of math and poultry), Germes (God of all things sniffling and snotty), Puneous (the smallest God of them all), and Gaseous (enough said?), Oddonis is determined to win the race, prove that his friends are as good as any Greek God, and maybe, just maybe, find out what his true powers really are.

Anyone who has ever felt like an outsider will relate to Oddonis, who is not handsome, strong, or amazing like his brother, Adonis. Oddonis’s tale features other misfits, including Gaseous, who farts his way through the story. Unfortunately, Gaseous’s farts smell like “feta cheese, a wet ferret, and feet.” Later at an assembly “Gaseous lets out one of those loud, long, air-going-out-of-a-balloon farts, and the auditorium goes crazy.” In the end, Gaseous uses his fart-power to help Oddonis.

Odd Gods has easy vocabulary, short paragraphs, and humorous black-and-white illustrations on every page. Despite the juvenile humor, Odd Gods has several positive messages about the importance of liking yourself (flaws and all). Even though Oddonis was bullied and called names, he realizes that it’s okay not to be perfect. In the end, Oddonis looks at his reflection and thinks, “I maybe even like what I see. . . And that makes me smile.”

Throughout the story, Oddonis finds a unique group of friends, who were often criticized by others. When Oddonis decides to run against his brother, his friends use their unique talents to help Oddonis. Through their experiences, the reader will learn the importance of friendship, forgiveness, and working together. The message is clear: people who are different should be proud of their differences. Even though Odd Gods has gross humor, readers will enjoy the ridiculously humorous story as well as learn some valuable lessons.

Sexual Content

  • Adonis is the “God of beauty and desire.”

Violence

  • On the school chariot, Poseidon “opens his mouth, a tidal wave comes out” and drenches Oddonis and his friend. The illustration shows Oddonis and his friend swimming with fish and crabs, while other gods laugh at them.
  • On the first day of school, Oddonis, Gaseous, and Puneous are in the hall when “Ares and Apollo pick the three of us up, stuff us in an open locker, and slam the door shut.”
  • When Oddonis sticks up for another kid, “Hercules slams his mighty fists down on our table, and before I can say, ‘Where are we going’ –I’m FLYING UP IN THE AIR!” And it’s not just me—Gaseous, Puneous, Mathena, and Clucky and Ducky are flying, too!” The group ends up in the dumpster.
  • While in the dumpster, Gaseous farts and “Boom!!! WHAM!!! Back we land, right at our table, right where we were sitting before.”
  • Adonis, Poseidon, and Hercules are racing towards Oddonis in a chariot. When the chariot gets close, one of Oddonis’s friends “grabs a level next to the steering wheel and pulls hard. One side of the dumpster drops down and empties its putrid payload. . . right on Adonis’s chariot!” The three gods are “coated with stinky slimy slop! (The cafeteria’s ‘Tuna Surprise’ never looked better!)”
  • Oddonis looks in his brother’s backpack and sees a picture of himself being hung on a noose.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Someone calls Gaseous “Fire Butt.”
  • “Oh My Gods” is used as an exclamation twice and also OMG is used twice.
  • The story contains a lot of name calling, including apes, birdbrain, fish face, jerk, weirdos, idiot, dummy, doofus, bonehead, stupid, halfwit, dimwhit, blockhead, and nincompoop.
  • “What the—” is used twice.
  • Heck is used three times.
  • When Oddonis tells Echo, “But now what do I do, do, do?” Echo giggles and says, “You said doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • When Puneous comes back from a spying mission, Oddonis says, “Thank Gods you’re okay!”

The Last Kids on Earth and the Midnight Blade

Surviving their first winter after the Monster Apocalypse was no easy feat, yet Jack and his buddies waste no time springing to action against some of the nastiest, most evil monsters around. When Jack discovers his Louisville Slicer has new otherworldly powers, he’s thrown into epic training to find out what kind of destruction the blade can wield. But between fighting off zombies, fleeing from strange, glowy Vine-Thingies erupting from the ground, and squeezing in a video game session or two, there’s barely time left to figure out what’s wrong with their buddy, Dirk. Dirk has been acting weird any time he’s around the undead. When an unexpected villain appears, can Jack and his friends save themselves—and the rest of the world—from cosmic domination?

The fifth installment of The Last Kids on Earth brings back some old friends and enemies. The action-packed sequences begin with Jack and his friends trying to help Dirk get over his depressed state. Younger readers will enjoy the entertaining activities that Jack plans to help Dirk. However, the fight scenes with the Vine-Thingies may be slightly confusing. In the end, Jack learns that “being different and not fitting in—that’s good sometimes.”

Like the previous books, the story will keep readers entertained with its fast pace, funny scenes, and epic battles. The easy-to-read text contains dialogue bubbles, alliteration, and onomatopoeias that make reading the story a joy. The black and white illustrations that appear on almost every page bring the kids’ world to life as well as adds humor.

At first, The Last Kids on Earth and the Midnight Blade may look like just another graphic novel. However, the characters are surprisingly well-developed and readers will come away with a valuable lesson about working together. Both the human kids and the monsters work together to defeat evil. Throughout the story, Jack realizes he has to do what’s best for his friends, even when it may be painful for him.

This story can be understood without reading the previous books in the series, but for maximum enjoyment readers should read the books in order. Readers will like The Last Kids on Earth and the Midnight Blade because the story keeps the same humorous, non-frightening format as the previous books. The story ends with a conclusion that makes it clear that Thrull will return, and it gives the possibility that Jack’s friends just might find their parents.

Sexual Content

  • Jack and Bardle need a place to keep a group of zombies. They ask a monster if the zombies can stay on her property. Warg gives her permission, but says, “there is one condition.” Jack replies, “I don’t have to watch you guys make out, do I?”

Violence

  • Jack and his friends sneak into Ghazt’s lair and are discovered. Biggun tries to help Jack and his friends by “hurling zombies right and left. June and Quint are back-to-back, battling the Cabal of the Cosmic. Crack! Ghazt’s tail smacks me, and I’m hurled across the room. I land against a half-inflated pile of bowling lane bumpers.” During the fight, “Skaelka’s razor-sharp blade slices through Ghazt’s tail! The creature SHRIEKS. His eyes go wide and his face contorts into an ‘oh no now my tail is just a nub’ face.” Ghazt eventually falls through the floor and disappears. The fight scene is described over seven pages.
  • A huge eyeball is attacked by vines. Jack and his friends try to help the eyeball by attacking the vnes. Dirk screams “MALLET MELEE!!!” and the fight begins. “Each goo-slime-covered swing melts, slices, and tears through the vines! Soon, only one titanically thick Vine-Thingy still chokes it.” The group try to help but, “Vine-Thingies burst through the pavement, like hundreds of spindly branches. They clutch Hairy Eyeball monster. The monster shrieks and struggles, but it’s no use. An instant later, the eyeball is gone—pulled, howling, into the crumbling pavement.” The battle is described over ten pages.
  • The vines try to capture Jack and his friends. Someone “uses the Gift’s Wolverine-style blade to slice through vines. Green goo splatters the ground.” The kids run for their lives.
  • In an effort to take control of the zombies, Thrull appears. When Bardle raises his sword, “Thrull lifts the war hammer and it seems to hang in the air, defying gravity, then he swings. A crashing boom. A flash of energy. And then metal crunching—Bardle slamming into a nearby car. Thrull’s blow catapulting him out of the wreckage and across the street.” After a ten page battle, Bardle dies.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Freaking is used occasionally.
  • Crud is used seven times. When June makes a joke, Jack thinks, “the teasing—it makes it all feel normal again. And I appreciate the crud out of June for it.”
  • When Bardle is hurt, Jack says, “Holy crud, that scared me!”
  • Jack calls Thrull a “DOOF! WAD!”

Supernatural

  • When Jack swings the Slicer at a zombie, Jack feels “the Slicer catch—like the blade and the zombie are connected by some strange magnetism.” Everything freezes, then “the hovering zombie is thrust down, too. Its knees buckled and it crumples to the floor in a drooling, groaning heap.”
  • A Scrapken, which is an octopus-like creature, grabs Jack’s hand, causing him pain. Jack uses the Slicer to cut off the Scrapken’s tentacle. “The Scrapken howling. Dirk stammering. Me clutching my arm and shouting up at the monster.” Jack apologizes and “the severed tentacle waves in front of me, leaking thick blue-green ooze.” The tentacle acts like a glove and allows Jack to hold the burning hot Slicer.
  • Thrull and the kids fight to get Ghazt’s tail because of its ability to control zombies. When Jack touches the tail a “big mass” of “dark other-dimension energy” courses through his glove. The “rat tail’s skin begins to bubble. It’s being pulled into the glove. . . I smell burning and I see the last bit of energy extracted from the tail. After the process is complete, Thrull’s left with a long, winding, skeletal appendage.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

Spin the Dawn

Maia loves to sew. She dreams not only of becoming a master tailor but becoming the imperial tailor. However, it’s a far-fetched dream as only boys are allowed to become tailors in A’landi. As her father’s only daughter and youngest child, Maia is expected to be quiet, obedient, and eventually raise a family. After her older brothers die in war and her father becomes too sick to sew, the burden of caring for her family becomes even greater, and her dream of becoming a tailor fades.

Maia cannot think of anything more abhorrent than abandoning her sewing, but she sees no alternative until her father is called upon by the emperor. The emperor is getting married and needs a new imperial tailor to create his betrothed’s wedding gowns. There is to be a competition of the best tailors in the land, and her father is invited to join. Maia’s father is too sick to travel to the capital, so Maia disguises herself as her father’s son and goes in her father’s place. Soon she finds herself competing with tailors who are decades more experienced than herself, who are willing to cheat, and who would possibly even be willing to commit murder in order to become the next imperial tailor.

Spin the Dawn has a lovable, interesting cast of characters that will hook readers. The land of A’landi is foreign, beautiful, and magical. The rich characters, court intrigues, and mysterious Lord Enchanter keep the tailoring competition from becoming cliché. Readers will be delighted when magic becomes a part of Maia’s life and will understand her moral struggle in deciding whether or not to use it.

While Part I of Spin the Dawn is a delightful read focused on the tailoring competition, Part II takes an entirely different track with Maia going on a journey to create three magical dresses for the emperor’s betrothed. The lore behind the dresses is fascinating, but the journey feels rushed and some conflicts are resolved too easily to be believable. Still, the Lord Enchanter accompanies Maia on her quest and their relationship is enchanting to watch. While Part II is weaker than Part I, the delicious dynamic between Maia and the Lord Enchanter will be enough to keep readers reading until the end.

Sexual Content

  • When speaking of the emperor, Maia’s brother says, “So you’ve heard how handsome he is from the village girls? Every one of them aspires to become one of the emperor’s concubines.” Maia says, “I have no interest in becoming a concubine.”
  • A village boy wants to marry Maia. “I thought with dread of Calu touching me, of bearing his children, of my embroidery frames collecting dust . . . I stifled a shudder.”
  • There are rumors that the emperor’s betrothed has a “lover. But it’s all court gossip. No one knows for certain.”
  • While pretending to be a boy, Maia had “been wearing at least three layers to help obscure my chest.”
  • When Norbu finds out that Maia is a girl disguised as a boy, he “touched my cheek and pressed his thigh against my leg. ‘I always thought you were a pretty boy. Perhaps a little kiss?’ “
  • Maia and the Lord Enchanter almost kiss. “He pressed a gentle kiss on the side of my lips, just missing my mouth. His lips were soft, despite the desert’s unrelenting dryness. A shiver flew up and down my spine, even though his breath was warm, and his arm around me even warmer.”
  • Maia and the Lord Enchanter kiss several times. “His lips pressed against mine. Gently at first, then with increasing urgency as I started to respond with my own need. His hand was tight on my waist, holding my wobbly knees steady.” Another time, “he tilted my chin and kissed me. Heat flooded me from my lips to my toes, and my heart hammered, its beat rushing and skipping to my head.”
  • Maia and the Lord Enchanter sleep together. “He kissed me, exploring my mouth with his tongue, then tantalizing my ears and my neck until I was dizzy and feverish. Finally, when my knees weakened and I couldn’t bear to stand any longer, Edan eased me onto his cloak against the soft, damp earth. Our legs entwined; then we became flesh upon flesh. All of me burned, my blood singing wildly in my ears.”
  • When Maia is captured by bandits, one of them says, “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve felt a woman?” Maia is then rescued.
  • Maia and the Lord Enchanter kiss goodbye. “I crushed my mouth against his, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his hips. His kisses moved to my cheeks, my neck, my breasts, back to my lips. Passionate, then tender. Then passionate again, as if we couldn’t make up our minds.”

Violence

  • A man breaks Maia’s hand. “Norbu stepped on my wrist, pinning my hand to the ground . . . He was carrying one of the heavy metal pans we used for smoothing our fabrics. I tried to yank my wrist away, but he was too strong. Too quick. He raised the pan high, then brought it crashing down onto my hand. Pain shot up from the tips of my fingers and flooded my brain. I screamed.”
  • When it’s discovered that Maia is a girl, she is thrown into a dungeon. The guards “struck me in the ribs and kicked me to my knees so that I landed in a rotten pile of hay, coughing and whimpering.”
  • Maia is whipped for lying to the emperor. “The guards tore my tunic and ripped off my chest strips—so fast I’d barely crossed my arms to cover myself when the whip burned into my skin, a stinging line of fire. Blood splattered onto the cold stone floor. . . Each lash bit into me, gashing my back, and I chewed on my lip so hard my mouth grew hot with blood.”
  • Maia is chased by wolves, which then turn on each other. “Soon I was forgotten as the wolves fought one another. The sight was gruesome, blood on fur on sand. I buried my face in my hands until the snarls became whimpers, then nothing.”
  • Maia stumbles upon an old battlefield. “Broken drums, slashed war banners, mounds of bones—human bones. And bodies . . . Some of the men had frozen to death. I could tell from their ashen faces, tightly drawn blue lips, and curved-in shoulders.”
  • Maia and the Lord Enchanters are attacked several times by bandits. Once, the Lord Enchanter “fired three arrows in quick succession. Vachir eluded each shot, but the men behind him weren’t as lucky. Two fell.”
  • Maia fights a demon. “I lunged forward and slammed my dagger into his shoulder. He cried out, an anguished scream that made my blood curdle.”
  • Maia is attacked by bandits. “I slashed at the one who’d spoken, but I missed his throat and scored his cheek instead. I made a long, jagged gash.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • A fellow tailor “reached into his robes for a flask. He offered it to me, and after I declined, he took a long drink.”
  • Maia turns in early one night. In the morning, she discovered “It was a good thing I’d refused to go out with Norbu and the others. After their bath, they’d gone to the local drinking house, where Master Taraha and Master Garad drank themselves into a stupor. Now they were spending the day retching. Even from my table, I could smell it.”
  • While traveling, Maia and the Lord Enchanter stay the night with a group of travelers. The travelers pass around a wine gourd after dinner, and Maia accidentally gets drunk. “I was so mortified I simply took another drink. And another. The more I drank, the less it burned my throat . . . Normally I wouldn’t have stared at him so obviously, but the wine had washed away my caution.”

Language

  • Variations of the phrase “demon’s breath” are used a few times as profane exclamations.
  • A man says a country’s wine “tastes like horse piss.”
  • Damn is used a few times. The Lord Enchanter says, “I want to get out of this damned place.”

Supernatural

  • Maia “repaired amulets for travelers who asked it of me, though I didn’t believe in magic. Not then.”
  • A man says to Maia, “The A’landans are superstitious people. Constantly praying to their dead ancestors. If you believe in spirits and ghosts, I don’t see why you wouldn’t believe in magic.”
  • Maia meets the emperor’s Lord Enchanter. Maia “knew little of enchanters, lord or not, other than that they were rare and drifted from land to land.” Longhai tells Maia, “The Lord Enchanter advises Emperor Khanujin on many matters. He served the emperor’s father for years, yet he hasn’t aged a day!” Maia later finds out that the Lord Enchanter can transform into a hawk, which is his spirit form. “Feathers sprouted over his skin and spine. A pair of wings erupted from his shoulders and fanned down across his arms.”
  • Maia discovers that the scissors passed down from her grandmother are magical. “The scissors glided over the shawl, possessed in a way that my hands could only follow. Invisible threads repaired the cloth’s damage, giving it life anew, and colors from my paint pots soaked into the silk . . . Impossible as it appeared, the scissors not only cut but embroidered . . . My hand wouldn’t let go of the scissors, no matter how much I tried to pry them away, no matter how much I wanted to put them down. I was under a spell, drunk with their power.”
  • In Part II of Spin the Dawn, Maia is forced to go on a journey with the Lord Enchanter. On this journey, magic becomes a part of daily life. From enchanted carpets that fly, using magic to heal, and a magical tablecloth that creates an entire meal from nothing, Maia’s journey is filled with magic.
  • Maia is given an impossible task by the emperor’s betrothed. She is told to make a dress out of the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of the stars. These three dresses are called Amana’s dresses, and it is said that whoever possesses them will receive a wish from the goddess Amana herself.
  • Maia goes to an island filled with ghosts. While there she meets a demon—a creature who used to be a sorcerer but was cursed when he killed his master. The demon steals a piece of Maia’s soul, which means he can follow her anywhere.
  • When Maia finishes the dresses, the goddess Amana speaks to her. Amana’s statue in the temple glows and a “low and powerful, yet kind” voice says, “Ask me your heart’s greatest desire, Maia. And I shall grant it.”

Spiritual Content

  • It is mentioned in passing that “Toward the end of every month, [Maia] helped the women who were preparing their gifts for the dead—usually paper clothing, which was tricky to sew—to burn before the prayer shrines in honor of their ancestors.”
  • Maia lives in a land with many gods. The gods are often mentioned in passing. A tailor says, “The gods are listening to us, masters. Do you want to invoke their wrath?” The emperor’s betrothed says, “The imperial tailor is a master chosen by the gods. I expect him to be able to work with any material, whether it be glass or silk.” Another time, a man says, “The gods watch over me, I am very grateful.”
  • Two gods are more developed and become part of the plot. The first is the goddess Amana, whose magical dresses Maia is tasked with sewing. People often say, “Amana be with you.” The other is the sun god, who Maia indirectly encounters during her search for the laughter of the sun. While in the desert, the Lord Enchanter says, “The sun is worshipped in many lands. He’s a brilliant, brutal deity. And now we are in the heart of his kingdom.”
  • The Lord Enchanter says, “Pigs are smarter than people give them credit for! Where I grew up, we almost worshipped them.” Maia “couldn’t tell if he was joking.”
  • Maia confesses that she doesn’t “even trust the gods. Not to listen, anyway. My father prays to Amana every morning, every night. . . But Finlei and Sendo died.”
  • The Lord Enchanter grew up in a monastery. “The monks I grew up with were different from the ones here. Not generous and kind. And the gods we worshiped were harsh and unforgiving.”
  • Maia asks a monk, “What if there are no gods? What if there is only magic, only enchanters and demons and ghosts?” The monk replies, “You must keep your faith . . . The gods watch over us, but unlike the spirits of this realm, they do not interfere in our lives. Not unless we anger them greatly, or impress them.”

by Morgan Lynn

 

Guts

Raina wakes up with a terrible stomachache. Because her mom is also sick, no one is really worried. But Raina’s stomach continues to hurt, even after she’s returned to school. Raina worries about throwing up at school. She’s worried about her classmates giving her an illness. She worries about eating something that will make her sick. She’s worried about her best friend moving. Raina’s tummy trouble isn’t going away. All this worrying is making Raina sick. What will it take for Raina to conquer her fears?

Raina doesn’t just have tummy trouble; she is also being bullied by Michelle. Every time Michelle says something mean to Raina, she explodes and ends up in trouble. Raina only talks to her best friend about Michelle’s mean words. Everything gets worse when Raina’s best friend begins talking and giggling with Michelle. Many readers will relate to Raina’s fears and anxiety. In the end, Raina and Michelle learn that they actually have a lot in common, and they might just be able to become friends.

As Raina’s stomach problems become worse, her parents take her to the doctor and eventually to a therapist. Even though Raina is “perfectly healthy,” she learns that her constant worrying is making her sick. With the therapist’s help, Raina learns breathing exercises to calm herself down. When she tells her friends that she is in therapy, Raina thought her friends would freak out, but instead, they think it’s “no big deal.”

Guts deals with the difficult topic of panic attacks, anxiety, and puberty. Using both illustrations and text, Telgemeir tackles the problem with compassion and humor. Each page contains eight or fewer sentences. The easy vocabulary, simple sentences, and bright pictures make Guts accessible to all readers. The brightly colored pictures do an amazing job at showing the facial expressions of the characters, which brings the character’s emotions to the forefront. The engaging story explores feelings and lets readers know that sometimes people need help to conquer their fears.

Readers who enjoyed Guts should pick up Telgemeier’s graphic novel Ghost which shows a healthy sibling relationship and has a positive message. Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson is also an excellent graphic novel that contains a positive message.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • During a sleepover, the girls share their secrets. One girl says, “my dad gets drunk sometimes. He’s never dangerous, but a couple of times he’s yelled at me and my brother. It’s scary.”

Language

  • A girl at school calls Raina a “poopy diaper baby.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Top Secret Smackdown

Ravens have been stolen from the Tower of London! Mac B.’s top-secret mission? Travel to Iceland and retrieve the ravens. . . or Britain is ruined!

In Iceland, Mac discovers secret submarines, hungry polar bears, mysterious blueprints, and his old archnemesis! Is the KGB man behind this birdnapping? Can Mac get the ravens to safety? It’s time for an epic, top-secret smackdown between these two secret agents!

The third installment of the Mac B. series continues the punny fun. Mac learns more about the United Kingdom’s history as well as the difference between dolphins and porpoises. Mac discovers how a simple story can become an important legend. The queen of England orders Mac to travel to Iceland and solve the mystery. Even though the majority of the story focuses on the mystery of the missing ravens, Mac’s difficulties with his mother’s boyfriend also plays a part in the story.

The queen’s outlandish behavior will make readers giggle. Readers will enjoy the conclusion because it ties all of the events together in a unique way. Top Secret Smackdown mixes humorous puns, a mysterious enemy, and wrestling to create a fun story that will entertain even the most reluctant readers. Short sentences and simple vocabulary will help readers build confidence. Large purple and orange illustrations appear on almost every page, which helps readers envision the story’s events.

Mac tells his own story with humor and puts a spotlight on the absurd. Younger readers will love the adventure, intrigue, and interesting characters. Although Top Secret Smackdown can be read as a stand-alone book, for maximum enjoyment the books should be read in order. Readers who enjoy silly, illustrated stories may also want to read Two Dogs in a Trench Coat Series by Julie Falatko.

Sexual Content

  • The story implies that Mac’s mother’s boyfriend stays the night when he thinks, “usually on Saturday mornings, my mom’s boyfriend, Craig, was camped out in front of the TV watching WrestleFest.”

Violence

  • When Mac goes to Iceland, he looks for clues, and “someone hit me on the head with something very heavy and knocked me out.” When he woke up, Mac was tied to a chair.
  • The president of Iceland is telling Mac a story. She acts out part of the story when “she punched me lightly on my arm. When I tried to block it, she punched me harder in the ribs.”
  • The KGB man ties Mac to a chair. Mac breaks out of the ropes and pretends he is a wrestler on WrestlingFest. Mac “jumped onto the KGB Man’s back. He shook me off. . . I jumped on his back again. The KGB man stood up and threw me to the floor. He tore off his shirt.” During the scuffle, Mac throws a chair, accidentally sparked TNT, and “something exploded. The camera zapped. Its wires fried. The submarine was filling with water.”
  • When Mac escapes the sinking submarine, “there was another blast. . .pieces of metal came flying and knocked my legs out from under me.” Mac falls into the river but is saved.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • The KGB man calls a group of people “fools.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • When Mac is afraid that he might drown, he thinks about Father Thames. “Some people say there is a river god named Father Thames who lives in the waters that run through London. They say he has lived there for a long, long time.” Mac thought he saw Father Thames, but then he realized it was a dolphin.

 

 

Girl Gone Viral

Girl Gone Viral focuses on Opal Hopper, a bright, technology-loving student who attends a prestigious high school in the future. Social media has become even more ever-present, and the biggest trend is virtual reality. Opal Hopper’s father was a Silicon Valley tech engineer who disappeared mysteriously when she was a girl. She’s determined to win a contest where the prize is a meeting with Howie Mendelsohn, a powerful and reclusive tech mogul who she believes will have answers about her father’s disappearance.

For their contest entry, Opal and her friends make a WAVE, which is a VR performance that functionally resembles a live YouTube video. They go viral for using the audience’s biometric feedback data to reveal that a universally reviled celebrity has more sympathizers than anyone realizes. They call their show “Behind the Scenes” and, despite losing the contest, continue to make videos in the hopes of becoming famous enough to meet Howie Mendelsohn. As their following grows, Opal is exposed to the lives of famous Silicon Valley innovators and has to make decisions about the type of public figure she wants to be.

In the middle of all the drama and stress, the book begins to focus on the US presidential elections. Opal and her friends are shocked to find that a fringe presidential candidate from the “Luddite Party” has won the election. As the name suggests, Luddites want to revert America to its pre-information technology state. Politically savvy readers will recognize the characters’ reactions to the election, as they directly parallel the reactions to America’s November 2016 presidential election. Opal finds that many of her friends and acquaintances hold Luddite sympathies, and she is forced to ask difficult questions: Is there something dehumanizing about information technology? Is there something real life can give her that a computer can’t? These questions form some of the central themes of the book.

The beginning of this book may be difficult for some readers to dig into as the narrative is quick to introduce its multiple fictional technologies. The excitement of social media, technology, and celebrity worship is difficult to portray in a novel, and the story often falters in holding the reader’s attention. Multiple minor characters revolve in and out of the story and these characters become difficult to keep track of. Some readers may find that the slow pacing doesn’t hold their attention, but readers who enjoy political commentary and speculative fiction may find the world-building and details intriguing.

The main character is nuanced and real. She is well-written, but readers may dislike her for her ambition and for the difficult decisions she makes. The story captures the current concerns around Silicon Valley: its reclusive moguls, its high-speed technology, the strain it takes on mental health, and the concern that electronics can’t replace human contact. Readers will recognize their own fears in the book’s treatment of all-consuming social media crazes and out-of-control entrepreneurship.

The most intriguing commentary is the political allegory that takes the name of the “Luddite Party,” a fringe political party whose platform centers around rejecting technology. While Opal is purely pro-technology, many people around her have doubts. The book never gives a defining stance on the matter, and the reader is left to decide for themselves whether a world without human contact is a good thing or not.

Sexual Content

  • In their first year of high school, Opal and Shane had a “drunken awkward kiss.”
  • During her early web broadcasts, Opal is sexually harassed by internet trolls: “Even her boobs are trembling. B or C cup??… Anyone have a tape-measure?”
  • During a virtual web show, a guy “rushes up on stage and gropes” Opal. Even though the entire performance is electronic and virtual, she is shaken and uncomfortable.
  • The characters have access to the biometric feedback of their web show’s viewers. Moyo tells Opal that “There’s a small pool of viewers, mostly men, whose eyes blink rapidly during your performance, their faces shake, and their headsets are zoomed into your—”.
  • Opal’s boyfriend Moyo is the main love interest in the book. In one scene, they are “curled up in his bed, half dressed, half wrapped up in his white sheets.” The book never goes into more detail about their activity.
  • While discussing strategies to gain more viewers for her web show, a Silicon Valley mogul tells Opal to be more open and vulnerable with her audience. He does so by telling her: “Sex sells. I’m not saying you need to get naked or anything. . .Open up a bit more.” Opal ends up telling her audience of millions about her relationship with Moyo.
  • Enthusiastic fans sweep the characters up in what Opal can only describe as a “fangasm” (portmanteau of fan and orgasm).
  • Opal buys a piece of technology called “FondrFoil” for her and her boyfriend to use. It is a technology that allows long-distance couples to simulate physical intimacy. “Slowly, I curve my hand around Moyo’s ribs, squeezing them between his body and my mattress until I land on the small of his back. It’s warm, like real skin. Soft. It gives perfectly. Moyo’s trembling, and naturally I go in to kiss him, but that’s not part of the experience. So instead, I pull him in closer.” They don’t go farther than that, and eventually give up on the technology.

Violence

  • Opal is afraid that her friend Shawn will attempt suicide after having been rejected from his top-choice college. After being unable to find him on campus, she and her friend rush to the nearest train station in fear that he’s thrown himself in front of a train.
  • The Luddite Party “shocks children with electricity for spending too much time on their phones,” which is a pretty clear and clumsy allusion to conversion therapy.
  • Suicide is discussed sometimes, but never in-depth. It’s mentioned in passing that a student at Opal’s school once took his own life after being rejected from an Ivy League.
  • Amber, a character Opal contacts in the hope of finding answers about her dad, reveals that her father committed suicide.
  • A prevailing theory around Opal’s father’s disappearance is that he may have taken his own life. The characters frequently discuss how the high-stakes world of Silicon Valley is extremely damaging to one’s mental health.
  • When Opal finally discovers what happened to her dad, she sees a virtual-reality recreation of his death. A man “rams my dad in the face with his elbow, and I hear a crack as the back of [his] skull smashes into the moss-covered rock.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Opal and her friends sneak off campus multiple times to drink alcohol. Opal is scared that her friend Shane may have an alcohol problem.
  • There’s a rumor “that theater department stores booze underneath the soundboard,” which Opal remembers when some students act drunk during a school dance.
  • While experiencing Internet fame, Moyo says, “I think this is what drugs feel like.”
  • A character is described as “drunk on fame.”

Language

  • The characters occasionally say “fuck” during tense moments. Shane says, “I’m fucked” when he doesn’t get into college; Opal occasionally says “what the fuck?” There are twenty-two usages of “fuck” in the book; however, none are sexual in nature.
  • “Freaking” is used four times.
  • “Shit” is used multiple times per chapter.
  • Opal says, “I keep getting screwed by this company,” and, “Karma finds another way to screw you over.”
  • Opal’s classmates note that she is “such a bitch,” and Opal describes this gossip by saying, “I’m the girl our classmates are bitching about.” She also affectionately refers to her friend once as a “son of a bitch.”
  • “Damn” and “goddamn” are both used infrequently.
  • Characters occasionally say “Jesus Christ” or “for Christ’s sake.”
  • Characters say “Oh my God,” “thank God,” “God knows,” “for the love of God,” and “dear God.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Opal’s family celebrates Christmas, but she remarks that her father was Jewish.
  • Howie Mendelsohn references the Bible story of Ahab and Jezebel.

by Caroline Galdi

The Boy Who Crashed to Earth

BOOM! CLANG! CRASH! D.J. and Gina are totally ordinary kids. But Hilo isn’t! Hilo just fell out of the sky and doesn’t know where he came from, what he’s doing on Earth, or why going to school in only your underwear is a BAD idea! But Hilo is excited to have a friend, D.J. Even when Hilo tries to blend in with the rest of the kids at D.J.’s school, he just doesn’t understand earth’s customs.

Soon the three discover that Hilo wasn’t the only thing to fall to earth. Can the trio unlock the secrets of Hilo’s past? Can Hilo SURVIVE a day at school? Find out in Hilo – a laugh-out-loud, epic story of friendship, adventure, and occasionally a mutant space robot.

Readers of all ages will fall in love with the main characters D.J. and Hilo. Readers will relate to D.J. who worries that he is boring and eagerly helps Hilo. The relationship between the two is fun and endearing. Hilo says he is lucky to have D.J. because when “a boy fell from the sky, and all you wanted to do is protect him. You saved him by throwing a robot off a cliff, leaping down a pitch-black hole, fighting a giant metal bug with a stick. And a whole lot more!” In order to help Hilo, D.J. helps Hilo battle robots.  In the battle scenes, the characters spend more time running away than fighting and none of the characters are seriously injured.

Without sounding like a school lesson, The Boy Who Crashed to Earth introduces new vocabulary through Hilo’s speech. For example, Hilo says, “Crazy. AD.J.ective. Informal. ‘He was acting like a crazy person.’ Mad, insane, out of one’s mind. Deranged.” One negative aspect of the story is the juvenile humor. For example, Hilo likes to talk about his silver underwear and he loves to burp. Despite the juvenile humor, Hilo portrays D.J.’s family in a positive light and shows the importance of helping others.

 Brightly colored illustrations will capture readers’ attention, but readers will want to keep turning the pages because of the engaging story and the likable characters. The detailed illustrations show exaggerated facial expressions which will help readers understand the characters’ changing emotions.

 The Boy Who Crashed to Earth introduces complex characters that readers will love. The reader only sees snippets of Hilo’s past, which creates both suspense and mystery. The action-packed story will keep readers flipping the pages until the very end. Readers will be eager to read the next book in the series, Saving the Whole Wide World.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • A giant robot chases Hilo and D.J. When D.J. falls, Hilo shoots the robot with lasers. The scene is illustrated over six pages.
  • In order to distract the school secretary, Hilo sets a wild raccoon loose in the school office.
  • “A cybernetic formicidae! A robot ant!” chases D.J. and Hilo. All three of them fall over a cliff, and when D.J. is in danger of being hurt, Hilo shoots the robot with lasers. The robot is disabled but eventually comes back. The robot and Hilo fall over another cliff. The robot is destroyed and Hilo falls apart. The action is illustrated over twelve pages.
  • A giant robot centipede grabs Hilo and takes him underground. D.J and Gina go in after Hilo. When the centipede opens its mouth, Hilo shoots a laser inside of the creature. The creature is disabled. The scene is illustrated over three pages.
  • Giant robot insects are building a robot, and Hilo tries to stop the creatures by zapping them with lasers. The robot comes to life and begins shooting lasers while the robot bugs chase the kids. During the battle, the robot is able to capture Hilo. In the end, Hilo opens a portal and sends the robot through. The epic battle is illustrated over 28 pages.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • “Holy Mackerel” is used as an expression occasionally.
  • A classmate tells D.J., “Dude. Your pal is a real freak.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Snowhook

Fourteen-year-old Hannah isn’t thrilled about spending time in her family’s remote Alaskan cabin. She’d rather hang out with her friends or spend time at the mall. Instead, she’s learning survival skills that she doesn’t think she’ll ever need. Then, a massive ice storm traps her family, and Hannah’s mom is desperately low on insulin. With no power and no way to contact the outside world, Hannah decides to take matters into her own hands. Hannah sneaks away with the family’s four dogs and an old dogsled.

Hannah only plans to go as far as the nearest neighbor, who should have a working phone. But unexpected events lead her into the wilderness with a boy who disagrees with her at every turn. As the two teens fight worsening weather, Hannah must use all her skills to get help for her family before they all freeze to death in the wilderness.

Surviving the wilderness in the middle of a blizzard should lead to exciting events; however, Snowhook will only leave the reader frustrated. Hannah wants to be a hero, but instead, she comes off as an ungrateful, whiny brat who spends most of her time complaining. When her neighbor Peter joins her, the two spend almost all of their time yelling at each other. Even though the two are able to survive some dangerous situations, luck plays a bigger role in their survival than skill.

In addition to the two unlikable characters, there are many unanswered questions. For instance, Hannah and Peter must run from Peter’s aunt who has PTSD from being in the army; however, after they escape the aunt’s story is never told. In addition, Peter and Hannah have a strange argument about immigrants, Peter hints that he hates his father, and he is also clearly afraid of dogs. But in the end, none of these issues are discussed or resolved. Instead, once the two get to town, the story abruptly ends with no real closure.

Snowhook’s slow pace, difficult vocabulary, and argumentative characters make the story as difficult as walking through a snowdrift. Readers interested in cold weather survival stories should leave Snowhook on the shelf, and choose instead Not if I Save You First by Ally Carter or Trapped by Michael Northrop.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • When Hannah pounds on a neighbor’s door, the neighbor hits her in the chest with the butt of a rifle. “Hannah turned to see who had finally opened the door and immediately felt a hot, stinging sensation in her chest. Then she was lying on her back in the snow, unable to breathe.” Later Hannah learns that the woman was suffering from PTSD and often believed she was back in Afghanistan. The woman’s nephew, Peter, helps Hannah escape.
  • When Hannah and Peter leave the house, the woman shoots at them.
  • When Peter calls Hannah’s sister weird, “Hannah launched herself at him. His bent-over head and rounded shoulders received the brunt of her shove, and he landed with a whomp in the soft snow on the trailside.”
  • Hannah’s sled dogs fight. “Rudy was on top of Bogey for a long time, growling and screaming, tearing at Bogey’s face and ears, trying to roll over him. Bogey crouched, digging his paws into the ground and using his powerful legs to keep him upright, protecting his throat and trying to bite at whatever part of Rudy came near him. . . In a split second, Bogey was up. His whole mouth dripped blood and phlegm and spit, and his ears were flat against his head, with the crest of his skull puffed up twice its normal size.” The fight was described over three pages and the dogs are not seriously injured.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Hannah’s mom has diabetes and has to give herself an insulin injection.
  • When Peter is injured, Hannah gives him Tylenol for the pain.

Language

  • Profanity is used occasionally and includes asshole, bullshit, holy crap, crap, goddamn, damn, hell, jackass, shit.
  • Throughout the story, Hannah and Peter argue and call each other names including idiot, jerk, asshole, pansy-ass, shithead, chicken, and jackass.
  • One of the characters uses “Jesus” as an exclamation. For example, “By the Jesus, it’s cold.”
  • Peters says his dad is “chickenshit.”
  • Peter and Hannah argue and Peter calls Hannah an “idiot.” In return, Hannah calls Peter a “jackass.” In one fight Peter tells Hannah, “You’re just a snotty little city girl. Go to hell.”
  • When Hannah and Peter try to find safety, Peter yells, “If you hadn’t brought those goddamn dogs, if you hadn’t yelled and banged on the door, then everything would have been okay!”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

Survival Tails: Endurance in Antarctica

The sled dog Samson can’t wait to be a part of Ernest Shackleton’s historic voyage to Antarctica. Samson wants the honor and recognition that will come if they complete the dangerous voyage. He is eager to feel the snow under his paws and the wind on his face as he races across the ice fields. Samson wants to be a leader and help the humans survive on the unexplored continent.

While in the kennel waiting for Shackleton to decide which dogs to take, Samson meets Bummer. Unlike Samson, Bummer is scared to go on an ice-filled adventure that may end in death. Bummer knows he isn’t as big or as strong as the other dogs. His only goal is to survive the dangerous icy weather.

Bummer’s worse fears come true when their ship, the Endurance, becomes trapped in sea ice, leaving the dogs and men with no way home. Their journey quickly stops being about glory and becomes about survival. Samson, Bummer, and the other dogs will have to put aside their differences and band together to rescue the humans—and themselves.

Instead of focusing on the human explorers, Survival Tails: Endurance in Antarctica is told from the sled dogs’ point of view. Throughout the journey, Samson, Bummer, and several of the other dogs’ unique personalities come to life. Instead of only focusing on a dog’s good or bad qualities, Charman creates imperfect characters who make mistakes. Much like the humans, the dogs are at times prideful, loyal, hardworking, and heroic.

Survival Tails: Endurance in Antarctica uses historically accurate facts to bring the harsh conditions of the Antarctic voyage to life. Much of the action comes from the rivalry between the dogs and the harsh conditions the animals must face. However, the friendship between Samson and Bummer will keep readers interested until the very end. Readers will fall in love with the dogs and learn about the complicated nature of friendship as well as the importance of forgiveness.

A tale of bravery, friendship, and sacrifice, Survival Tails: Endurance in Antarctica will entertain both animal lovers and history buffs. The story has several surprises that highlight how the smallest dog is capable of heroic deeds. Four black and white pictures are scattered throughout the book and help bring the scenes into sharper focus. At the end of the book, readers will find a glossary, as well as more historical information about the Endurance expedition. Although this story is the second book in the Survival Tails series, each book is an independent story and can be read without the context of the other books. Survival Tails: Endurance in Antarctica will leave readers with new knowledge of history and has a conclusion that will make readers smile.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • A pack of dogs chases a cat, Mrs. Chippy. Bummer sees “fur and jaws and tails, and Amundsen leading the pack as they closed in on the terrified cat. She hissed at Amundsen as he drew nearer, striking out at his face with extended claws as Amundsen let out a roar of rage and reared back as Mrs. Chippy frantically lashed out again and again, trying to keep him and the other dogs at bay.” The cat is able to jump away from the dogs, but falls into the ocean. Bummer saves the cat.
  • After being caged up too long, the dogs are let off the ship. Some of the dogs begin to fight. “Amundsen launched himself at another dog, going for his throat. The other dogs immediately joined in, using their jaws and claws to bite and scratch, slamming their huge bodies into each other.”
  • When Samson tries to warn the dogs that they are on dangerously think ice, Amundsen thinks Samson is going to attack. When Amundsen sees Samson, “Amundsen leaped into the air, meeting Samson in a tumble of fur and limbs, and they rolled together, sliding to a stop right on the top of the blackening ice. There was a loud crack, and both dogs froze as small fissures snaked across the ice, creeping toward them.” The dogs fall into the ocean, but are rescued.
  • While out on the ice, Bummer sees a leopard seal try to bite a human named Crean. “As if out of nowhere, a leopard seal emerged from the water, launching itself into the air, its mouth open wide, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth, aiming straight for Crean.” Bummer catches the seal by the neck. The seal, “rolled over, forcing Bummer beneath it, crushing his legs, but Bummer still held on, refusing to let their one chance of a good meal escape them. . . Wolf and Hercules took the seal’s tail and dragged it off Bummer, while Judge and Amundsen circled, blocking any way the seal might have of escaping into the water.” The human “finished the seal off with a single shot from his gun. The sound echoed around the ice, stunning them into silence.”
  • While sleeping, a fissure opens and a man falls into the ocean. “There was a loud splash and a yell as one of the men inside fell into the glacial water below.” One of the dogs pulls the man to safety.
  • When a pup is out in the ocean on a rock, Bummer notices a black shadow and races to the pup. “Bummer roared and leaped from his rock, pushing Roger out of the way as the leopard seal’s huge body connected with his, sending him flying into the water. The back of Bummer’s head slammed onto a rock lying beneath the surface. . . But the leopard seal was much quicker in the water. It bit down hard on Bummer’s paw, and Bummer yelped in agony as he felt the bones in his leg crush. . . There was a sudden bang, and the seal dropped beside Bummer, landing in the water with a loud splash.” Bummer is injured and his foot needs to be amputated.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Six Months Later

In May, Chloe fell asleep in study hall. When she wakes up, snow covers the ground, and she can’t remember the last six months of her life. In the six months she can’t remember, her life has been transformed. Before, she was a struggling student, and college was out of her reach. She also had a hopeless crush on popular jock Blake. Now, Chloe’s SAT scores have given her a chance to attend a top college, and Blake is her boyfriend.

Instead of being disapproving, her mother smiles at her. Instead of hiding a crush, the boy of her dreams is in her arms. Instead of sharing her secrets with her best friend Maggie, Maggie won’t even look at her. Instead of feeling thrilled when Blake wraps his arms around Chloe, she feels revolted. How can Chloe figure out what happened to her? As she looks for the truth, Chloe realizes that remembering the past comes with hidden dangers.

The mystery behind Chloe’s new world will draw the reader in as they follow Chloe’s attempt to discover how she changed so much in just six months. The mystery will capture readers’ attention, but they will keep turning the pages because Chloe is a relatable character who struggles to understand who she is. Chloe and her mother have a turbulent relationship, and although Chloe wants to make her mother proud, she isn’t sure if that is even possible. Teens will understand Chloe’s parental dilemma. Even though Chloe loves her parents, her life’s path cannot be carved out by them.

Six Months Later isn’t just a great mystery, it also has hot romantic scenes. Now that Blake is Chloe’s boyfriend, she doesn’t understand why kissing him feels so wrong. And even though Chloe doesn’t ever remember talking to bad boy Adam, when she looks at him she knows that there is something there. Although a love triangle isn’t a new concept, Six Months Later perfectly weaves the love triangle into the mystery.

With relatable teen conflict, a unique mystery, and a peculiar love interest, Six Months Later will keep readers guessing until the very end. As Chloe unravels the past, she realizes that people’s motives are often complicated and misunderstood. This book will entertain as well as teach about the importance of forgiveness. Six Months Later is a fast-paced story with likable characters that will keep readers up late into the night.

Sexual Content

  • When Blake picks Chloe up for school, she forces herself “to kiss him when he leans in. It’s still stiff and awkward, but it will get better.”
  • When Blake and Chloe kiss, she tips “my head, letting him catch my lips. It’s soft and warm and so damn weird. I feel my shoulders tense, my hands like dead weights at the end of my arms.”
  • Blake and Chloe kiss, but she doesn’t think it feels right. Once when Blake kisses her, she thinks, “I’ve been kissed enough to know when someone’s doing it right. And Blake is technically doing it right, tilting my head just a little. Urging my mouth to open for him. And he’s pressing into me just enough to make things interesting, without mashing his kibbles and bits against my thigh or anything.” When Blake kisses her, Chloe thinks about Adam. “And God, it’s wrongity-wrong-wrong, but for one second, I close my eyes tight and pretend I’m with him. I think of blue eyes and a low laugh and all the things I should never think of now.”
  • After Chloe breaks up with Blake, she kisses Adam. “His lips are soft and hard together, sending electric shocks through every inch of me. I’m heavy and trembling under his kiss, my half-frozen hands fisting in the front of his shirt, soaking in his warmth. My mouth slides open with a sign, and the kiss goes on and on. . . I can’t think about a single thing outside of the feel of his arms and the taste of his mouth against mine.”
  • Adam and Chloe kiss several times. While they are talking, Adam “leans in, kissing me once, long and soft and deep enough that I almost forget where I am.”
  • At lunch, Adam and Chloe sit in his car. Adam “pulls me toward him on the bench seat. And then his lips are trailing along my jay wand I couldn’t spell distracted if someone paid me it feels so good. We kiss until we’re running dangerously close to second base during school hours.”
  • Adam tries to get Chloe to stay away from him. When he does, she tugs “him hard by the lapels of his coat because he’s so tall that going up on tiptoes isn’t going to be enough. I kiss him, and at first his lips are hard and unrelenting. . . I ignore it. . . Adam’s hands drop to my shoulders and then he’s kissing me like he’s absolutely starved for it.”
  • Because of her memory disturbance, Chloe is afraid that she might have had sex. “My stomach does an ugly barrel roll. I take a breath and press my lips together. Could I forget something like that?”
  • When Chloe tells Adam that she loves him, he “pulls me in. His kiss is sweet and lingering, his hands trailing up my back and into my hair. It pushes out all of the cold and the fear of this night, leaving me warm and strong.”
  • When Chloe’s dad stands up for Adam, she thinks, “it’s strange. My dad defending a boy I’m making out with on a regular basis is pretty much a portent of impending apocalypse.”

Violence

  • When Chloe was in elementary school, Ryan teased Chloe’s friend and Chloe hit Ryan in the nose. “I can still practically feel that moment; the sharp, shocking pain in my knuckles and the sickening feeling that went through me when Ryan’s nose spurted blood.”
  • Chloe finds her psychiatrist “slumped over the desk. There’s a giant red-black puddle beneath her, all over the pretty desk planner.”
  • A girl hits Adam. Chloe sees “something flying by my face and then I hear the sickening smack of flesh against flesh. Adam’s jaw whips back, and I cry out as I see blood bloom on his lip.”
  • When someone threatens to hurt Chloe’s friends, she grabs a syringe and explains, “I pull the cap off and lunge. I stab the closest thing I can find and push the plunger hard and fast. . . He roars and slams his hand against my arm, batting me away. The needle still dangles from his neck when he punches at me again. This time I’m faster. I dodge left.” The man is not seriously injured.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Adam’s grandmother is an alcoholic. When Chloe goes to Adam’s apartment, she sees “the row of liquor bottles” on the back counter.
  • When Adam’s grandmother answers the door, Chloe wonders “if the smell of booze coming off her is any indication of how she’s spent her evening.”
  • In the past, Adam broke into a pharmacy and stole drugs. Adam stole drugs for his grandmother because “she gets confused a lot. She had a period when she flushed her medicine down the toilet all of the time.” The insurance wouldn’t pay for more, so he stole more.
  • While making dinner together, Chloe’s dad grabs a Samuel Adams.
  • As a secret study, some teens are given a drug called benzodiazepine, which causes “vivid dreams. Increased cognitive ability. Dry mouth. Excessive thirst. Sleepwalking. Headaches. Paranoid delusions. And my personal favorite—memory disturbances.”

Language

  • Profanity is used often. Profanity includes ass, crap, bitch, damn, pissed, hell, freaking, and shit.
  • Fucking is used once. Adam says, “He sold it to me as my only way out of this shit-hole town and I bought it, Chloe. I bought it hook, line, and fucking sinker.”
  • “Oh God” and “God” are frequently used as exclamations.
  • Chloe calls someone a “twisted bastard.”
  • A girl asks Chloe, “Do you think only sluts wear red?”
  • When Chloe wakes up confused, she wonders if a boy is playing a joke on her. Then she thinks, “Blake isn’t into that kind of juvenile crap. He’s on the Bully Patrol, for God’s sake.”
  • When a boy questions Chloe, she thinks, “Oh my God, I’m like a freaking parrot. Words, Chloe. Find some and spit them the hell out!”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Chloe says “Thank God” occasionally. For example, when she wakes up confused and finds her cell phone, she thinks, “Thank God.”
  • Chloe and Maggie have a fight and don’t talk for months. Chloe goes to Maggie’s house to talk and says, “I follow her out of the kitchen, praying my knees will stay strong and I will not start trembling like the nervous wreck that I am.”
  • Chloe refers to God occasionally. For example, when Chloe is on an airplane she thinks, “I’m flying two thousand miles, hoping to God to end up right back where I started.”

 

Freya and the Magic Jewel

When eleven-year-old Freya hears a Doomsday prophecy from her magical jewel, she isn’t sure what to make of it. Mere seconds after the prediction, she receives a mysterious invitation to Asgard Academy from the powerful Odin, who commands her to “bring her magic” to Asgard.

With encouragement from her twin, Frey, Freya reluctantly heads out on the new adventure. Freya’s first challenge begins before she even steps foot in Asgard. While trying to navigate the treacherous Bifrost Bridge, she drops her magical jewel off the bridge, and a sneaky pair of dwarves take her jewel down to the world of Midgard!

Without that jewel, Freya thinks she is powerless. But with the help of her pod-mates at Asgard, Freya discovers a world that is bigger and more mysterious than she ever imagined! There, she learns the true terror of Ragnarok, the doomsday that her jewel warned her about, and what it could mean for Asgard Academy if she and her new friends, the Thunder Girls, don’t stop it!

Fans of Goddess Girls will enjoy this new series, which focuses on Norse Mythology. At first, Freya comes across as shallow because of her intense love of fashion and her assumption that everyone male will find her crush-worthy; she is the goddess of love and beauty after all! On the positive side, Freya has a positive attitude even when times are difficult. In the end, Freya learns that her best ability is fostering friendship. Readers will relate to Freya, who wonders if she is “in-like” with someone, and worries about hurting someone’s feelings if she does not like them in the same way.

Freya soon learns that Mason has a crush on her. In order to win her heart, he promises to “rebuild Asgard’s wall to protect her, if only she will give me her heart in return, plus the sun and the moon.” Freya doesn’t want to make the promise, but she knows the Asguard’s wall must be rebuilt. She reluctantly agrees because she doesn’t think Mason can succeed at building the wall. Although this is one of the main plot points, Mason is delegated to the background, so the ending falls flat.

Readers who are unfamiliar with Norse mythology will want to read the glossary first. The story introduces Norse mythology in a kid-friendly way, while still staying true to the original stories. Readers will enjoy the Norse world, Loki’s mischievous pranks, and the fast pace of the story. Although the story lacks depth, the characters are stereotypical, and Freya is not well developed, younger readers will enjoy getting to know Freya and the other Norse god and goddesses.

Sexual Content

  • Mason thinks he has won Freya’s heart. “Then he closed his eyes and leaned forward, puckering up.” Freya gives him something other than a kiss.

Violence

  • The large painted friezes that covered a wall come to life. “At first it was only the blinking of eyes or the twitch of a hand, as if those carved, painted heroes were waking up from a long sleep. . . And because they were all warriors, they immediately went into battle mode. Painted hands grabbed turnips, carrots, and crab apples from painted fields and trees or from platters on carved feast tables, depending on the scene. Arms drew back. Fists punched forth from the friezes. . . The moment food was lobbed out of a frieze, it temporarily turned real.” The kids had to evacuate.
  • Dwarves make a boar that comes alive. “Waving their arms, the four dwarfs chased the boar, trying to shoo it out of their workshop without getting stuck by its sharp tusks. . . Alfrigg wasn’t fast enough, though. Oomph! The board head-butted him in the rear.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Freya has a marble that contains cats and a cart. When Freya says “catnap” the cats and cart grow. The first time Freya uses the marble, she thinks “if anyone had been watching at that moment, the cats and cart would’ve seemed to instantly disappear. However, in reality, they had only shrunk down to a single cat’s-eye marble.”
  • Fraya has a magical jewel that can tell the future. The jewel “had the power to show Freya the future, sometimes it only revealed bits of information. It didn’t always answer her questions, either, so she could never be sure what it did or didn’t know.”
  • A message acorn had “cute faces and hats, and sweet voices.” One acorn “hopped right up into her (Freya’s) palm.”
  • Sometimes characters use vine slides to travel. Freya gives her brother a vine slide, which “could enlarge back into the huge spiral slide for Frey anytime he wished to travel through it. And then shrink anytime he wasn’t using it.”
  • Ice giants appeared normal-sized, but “magically shot up to five times their normal height” and made it snow.
  • While trying to enter Asgard, the Bifrost became hot for the frost giants. “When the frost giants were huge, the bridge probably sensed they were troublemakers and was trying to make them turn back from Asgard by giving them, and only them, a case of hot foot.”
  • When Freya drops her jewel, “gnarled hands reached up and snatched at Brising (the jewel) like snapping turtles. Fingers captured it before it could even hit the ground.”
  • Doors appear in thin air and allow people to travel to different locations.
  • Freya drinks juice that won’t make her immortal, but will make her “stay the same age.”
  • Several characters are shapeshifters. Others can grow bigger.
  • One character has a box that “expanded into a box large enough to hold many apples.”
  • Freya puts her toes and nose against a tree. “Whoosh! Instantly she found herself standing inside a hollowed-out space in the very middle of the tree trunk. . .”
  • One of the characters only has a head.

Spiritual Content

  • The story focuses on Norse mythology and includes Norse gods and goddesses as characters.
  • The main character, Fraya, is the goddess of love and beauty. She is also a seer. Another character, Odin, was “the leader of the Asgard gods and the supreme rule of all the worlds.” (This is not a complete list of the Norse gods that appear in the book.)

Shooter

Following the lives of five high school students that were trapped in a horrific high school shooting, Shooter is called the modern-day Breakfast Club. Alice is a shy, introverted writer who spends a lot of time worrying about her autistic big brother, Noah. Isabelle is the perfect egomaniac princess who seems to run the school and have a perfect life. Hogan is the giant, scary ex-football player who gave up on life after his brother’s death. Xander is the awkward student photographer who has a hard time understanding other people. These five students would never, ever be friends with each other.

But when a lockdown drill starts, they are forced to hide in a bathroom, where they realize their pasts are all intertwined in some way. Locked in a room with no way out, they gain an understanding of one another and start to care for each other. However, everything is thrown for a twist when Isabelle receives a text that the lockdown is not a drill—there is a live shooter on campus. When things cannot seem to get worse, they discover the shooter has planted a bomb on campus and plans to blow up the whole student body. They have to stop him before time runs out!

Shooter is about who the main characters really are versus how others perceive them. Isabelle seems to be a perfect princess, but after her trip to the Dominican Republic she hates how materialistic her life has become. Alice may appear like a successful writer with a great future ahead of her, but she worries about leaving her brother when she goes to college. Hogan might seem hateful and violent but deep down he still has not gotten over his brother’s death. Xander does not mean to be awkward, mean, or insensitive, and in actuality is very kind and thoughtful. The author even develops the character of Maxwell, the school shooter, by giving him a backstory and personality—rather than just leaving him as an undeveloped, evil villain. With this, Pignat teaches readers that everyone has a past that has shaped who they are and that we should get to know people before we start to judge them.

Pignat’s use of prose, poetry, text messages, journals, and homework assignments perfectly show the characters’ different points of view. Readers will find they have a lot in common with the characters as they watch them struggle to overcome their problems. However, the book is about a school shooting, a touchy subject in today’s times, and is not an easy read because of the amount of violence in the novel. However, with the engaging characters, it is a good read and may help readers better understand self-identity and social problems. Readers who enjoyed Shooter may also want to read This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp.

Sexual Content

  • At the party, Hogan and Izzy kissed. Hogan thinks, “Man, she was beautiful. Hair swept high in a ponytail, firelight glowing on the curve of her neck. Her face warm. And her eyes dark and sparkling as she smiled. I just wanted to kiss her—and the next thing, I did. Isabelle Parks—the girl every guy wanted.”
  • Izzy finds out that her boyfriend, Darren Greene, is cheating on her when she sees an Instagram photo of him making out with her best friend Bri. In the Instagram photo, “he has her up against the doorframe, one hand pulling up her shirt, the other hiking up her leg while she runs her fingers through his hair.”
  • Xander helps Maxwell with one of his pranks. They move Mr. Quigley’s lab skeleton into a sexual position where it was jerking off with a pretend penis made out of a graduated cylinder.

Violence

  • When Isabelle finds Hogan on top of Alice, trying to help with after she bumped her head, Isabelle screams “get off of her! Get off of her right now, you perv!” Isabelle then thrusts her knee hard into his side.
  • As Alice and Hogan leave the safety of the bathroom, an explosive “BANG-BANG-BANGBANG!” causes everyone to cower in fear. The shooter is right outside the bathroom door.
  • In the locker room, Hogan and his brother, Randy, made fun of each other for playing badly during the game. The two brothers wrestle and fight just like they had when they were little kids. Hogan swept Randy’s legs out from under him, and Randy fell back off the bench, back into the lockers, slamming his head against the corner of the one Hogan had left open. “A dark gash on the side of his head oozed red. It ran into a sticky puddle that spilled wider and wider with every second.” Randy dies. The fight takes place over two pages.
  • Noah freaks out from being confined to the bathroom too long. “Like a tornado of fists and spit as his arms windmill around him like crazy propellers. Alice tries to step back, but there isn’t anywhere else to go. The broom wedges under the sink and Noah’s next swing catches her smack in the face, sending her staggering back, and she falls to the ground.” Hogan tackles Noah to the ground where he stops fighting. The scene takes place over two pages.
  • Xander shoots Hogan with a paintball gun, and Noah hits Xander in the head with his broom handle to prevent him from shooting Isabelle and Alice.
  • Maxwell is planting a bomb and is going to use a fake fire to lure everyone to the atrium where he will detonate it. The group of kids discovers Maxwell’s outline for Operation Resolution. It’s a drawing where “the ground isn’t ground exactly, but arms, legs, severed heads with Xs for eyes. Pieces in puddles. Each of them named.”
  • The school police officer grabs Hogan and “wrenches my arms back in some cop-hold.”
  • While everyone is gathered in the atrium, Maxwell uses a drone and paintball gun to shoot people. “CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!” People are hysterical.
  • The police surround Noah who has a broom handle in his hand. The police shoot at Noah, but Hogan pushes him out of the way and takes the bullet himself. Alice puts pressure against the wound. After being shot, Hogan is wounded and “a whole five inches below his collarbone bubbles and oozes a dark red that puddles beside him. Blood–not pain.”
  • Xander finds the bomb suspended on some wires above the atrium. When he climbs on the wire to get it, Maxwell’s drone swats at him, trying to knock him off. Maxwell disables the bomb but when he does the wire snaps. “There is no blast. Just a sickening—CRACK!—as Xander” crashes to the floor.
  • After Maxwell’s bomb is defused, Maxwell kills himself. “On the second floor, in the room above the mural, a light flashes as one final shot rings out. Then all is silent.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Isabelle asked if a boy drugged Alice with “roofies or something?”
  • Hogan smokes in the bathroom. “The Hulk yanks off his furry mitt and plucks the smoking cigarette left balanced on the edge of the porcelain urinal.”
  • Isabelle suggests that the secretaries are “probably ‘hiding’ in the staff room cracking open their TGIF wine.”
  • Xander’s “mom’s Matinée cigarette” started the house fire. Xander was woken up by the fire alarm and managed to save some of his mom’s important things such as “her big red purse, her near-empty bottle of Jackson-Triggs wine, her pack of Matinée cigarettes.”

Language

  • Profanity is used frequently. Profanity includes: hell, ass, crap, God, bastard, numbnuts, crotch, and dick.
  • Hogan says its “hotter than hell” in the mascot suit.
  • When Hogan starts to smoke, Isabelle asks, “Still the badass, Hogan?” Hogan replies, “Still the bitch, Izzy?”
  • Hogan doesn’t want to go to the “dumbass pep rally” and is thankful for the lockdown.
  • Hogan says he is “done with that crap. Just so you know” in reference to his smoking.
  • After Hogan’s brother’s death, Coach Dufour tries to kick Hogan “in the ass a few times” in order to get Hogan back in shape.
  • Izzy looks at Hogan with a face that says “God, you’re an idiot.”
  • Izzy says Hogan’s been “an angry ass since Randy died.”
  • Hogan thinks he is a “stone-cold bastard” for not crying over his own brother’s death.
  • On one of Xander’s missions with Maxwell, Maxwell holds one of his smoke bombs “against his crotch and told me to check out his foil dick.”
  • Hogan asks the school shooter, “What do you numbnuts have planned?”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Xander knows that “stealing and lying is wrong. That’s even in the Bible.”

by Matthew Perkey

Dog Diaries: A Middle School Story

Junior always wanted a human of his own. When Junior finally gets out of the dog shelter, he’s excited to meet his human, Rafe. Junior has to learn the layout of Rafe’s home and also figure out how to protect the yard from raccoons. When Rafe takes Junior to the park, Junior gets a little too excited and causes havoc. Unfortunately, the evil Mrs. Stricker was in Junior’s path. Now, Mrs. Stricker is forcing Rafe to take Junior to obedience school. If he doesn’t behaver Mrs. Stricker will send Junior back to the pound. What will this mischievous mutt do?

The story is written from Junior’s point of view, who begins his story at the local animal shelter. Several times, Junior explains why dogs sniff each other’s poop and their “you-know-what.” At the beginning of the story, Junior explains each room in Rafe’s house from his point of view. Younger readers may find the dog’s explanation of a human house funny. For example, Junior calls the bathroom, “The Rainy Poop Room.” The story does contain some bathroom humor such as in one scene, Junior is illustrated peeing on his pet human.

Dog Diaries: A Middle School Story is easy to read and has some fun black and white illustrations that are scattered throughout the story. However, the plot and the characters are not well developed. Most of the humor comes from Junior misbehaving and causing chaos. Instead of learning to be obedient and well-mannered, Junior is proud of the fact that he corrupted another dog named Duchess. In the end, Duchess decided to copy Junior’s terrible behavior. Instead of helping Junior act appropriately, Rafe laughs and takes a picture of the destruction that Junior caused.

Readers should leave Dog Diaries: A Middle School Story on the shelf. Junior comes off as an unintelligent, uncaring dog. Readers interested in reading a humorous story written from a dog’s point of view should add the Two Dogs in a Trench Coat series to their reading list. Although the story is similar in style, the dogs in the story are doing their best to look after their human boy, instead of causing their human boy grief. The Crime Biters series would also be another fun series for dog lovers.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • While at the park, Junior gets overly excited and begins running. His friends follow and soon the pack of dogs and accidentally pull the drinking fountain off the wall “sending a huge arc of water crashing onto some unsuspecting grandmoos [grandmothers] on a bench opposite. Another dog had his leash knotted to the stroller his pet human was pushing, and before she knew what was happening, the lady was screaming at the top of her lungs as her baby was hurtling backward across the park, being towed by an overexcited Akita named Dwayne.” The scene takes place over six pages.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • A woman calls Junior “an uncouth, bad-mannered, unimpressive waste of time.” The woman continues yelling at Junior and Rafe, saying “You and your dog are zero, loser nobodies.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

 

The Revenge of Magic #1

Thirteen years ago, books of magic were discovered in various sites around the world alongside the bones of dragons. Children born after this so-called “Discovery Day” have the power to use magic.

Fort Fitzgerald has no idea books of magic exist. Then, while on vacation with his father, a giant creature bursts through the earth, attacking Washington DC. The creature grabs Fort’s father, taking him underground. Fort is devastated and dreams of getting revenge. Six months later, a man named Dr. Opps invites Fort to a government-run school to learn magic.

Life at the school is difficult and Fort has no idea who to trust. Everyone is keeping secrets. What does Jia, Fort’s tutor, know about the attacks? Why does Rachel, master of destructive magic, think Fort is out to destroy the school? And why is Fort reliving memories of an expelled girl every time he goes to sleep? Fort must find the answers or more attacks will come–and this time nothing will stop the creatures.

The Revenge of Magic starts with action and adventure that continues to the very end. Many of the supporting characters are stereotypical, including trope roles such as: the bullies, the tough girl, and the closed-mouthed military commander. However, Fort and Cyrus, a clairvoyant, are well-developed and Cyrus’s matter-of-fact tone adds some much-needed humor to the story. Although Fort’s reason for hating the creatures that took his father is understandable, Fort’s focus on revenge may make it difficult for readers to connect with him.

Fort learns more about the attack on Washington DC through a series of memories that are shared with him. Even though the memories appear in a different font, some readers may have a difficult time keeping the past and the present separated. Several times the creatures are able to control humans, and one creature takes over a student’s body, transforming the human body into the alien’s form. In the end, the creatures reveal their desire to return to earth and enslave humans. The large cast of characters, the complicated plot, and several scary scenes make The Revenge of Magic best suited for stronger readers.

The Revenge of Magic is a strong start to a new series. Even though several mysteries are revealed, the ending leaves unanswered questions that will have readers looking for book two, The Last Dragon. Readers who enjoy high-action adventure stories should also try the Simon Thorn Series by Aimée Carter and the Snared Series by Adam Jay Epstein.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Giant hands erupt from the earth and attack. “Enormous black-scaled fingers pushed up through the ground, sending grass, rock, and dirt flying in every direction. A muffled roar sounded from somewhere beneath them, and Fort felt it even through the ground shaking.” As people flee, more hands erupt from the ground. “A noise like torrents of rushing water thundered behind him, and turned to find a nightmare rising from the middle of the Reflecting Pool, a giant black-scaled head covered in some sort of crown. . .More helicopters flew in, this time painted black, and these actually made it close to the creature. A missile rocketed out of one, slamming into its head, but the monster didn’t even seem to notice.”
  • As the hands attack, Fort tries to stay with his father, but “the creature’s hand curled around him, rupturing the remains of the memorial as it descended back into the ground. . . the creature’s massive hand disappeared within the earth, and his father went silent.” The battle takes place over eight pages.
  • Dr. Opps goes to Fort’s house to tell him about the school. When Dr. Opps touches Fort’s aunt, she collapses on the floor. Fort tries to attack Dr. Opps, but “before he could strike, though, something burning hot slammed into his side, sending him crashing across the room into the opposite wall. . . Fort groaned, rubbing his head, then quickly moved his hands around to feel where he’d been hit, finding his shirt blackened and charred by whatever it was that had struck him.”
  • While in the cafeteria, a student put his hand on the metal table. “His hand began to glow. . . Fort didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late. His tray began to sizzle, turning white-hot with heat, and he yelped as it burned his hands.”
  • When Rachel sees three boys bullying Fort, she “flicked a finger, and a tiny magic missile slammed into the boy’s stomach, sending him crashing across the table, taking Fort’s burning-hot tray with him. He tumbled into the back wall as the soldiers nearby all leaped out of the way, their weapons now aimed at Rachel.”
  • A creature comes out of the ground and into the officer’s mess hall. The creature was “floating in midair. . . Whatever it was shimmered transparently, like a ghost or even a holographic projection. It wore some kind of opaque crystal armor, but beneath the armor, where a human being’s feet would have been, a multitude of tentacles squealed as they dragged across the floor.” A soldier tries to take Fort out of the room, but the creature turned to follow Fort. Then Dr. Opps “stepped between them, holding the same medallion he’d used on Fort’s aunt in her apartment. . . Dr. Opps shouted, and light shot out from the medallion, some sort of magical burst.” The medallion burst and the creature left. The scene is described over six pages.
  • Three bullies attack Fort in the dormitory. “Fort plowed into the boy, crashing them both to the ground. Blane landed hard, still surprised by the attack, and Fort punched him in the stomach, once, twice, a third time, rage overwhelming his mind. . . Someone yanked him backward, and he lashed out wildly but missed as Blaine rose unsteadily to his feet, one of his hands burning with a deep red flame.” One of the boys sets Fort’s shirt on fire. As the boys continue to threaten Fort, another boy “lunged forward, grabbing Blaine’s hand. The fire was extinguished, and the boy started to yell in pain as some sort of pustules begin to grow on his hand.” Chickenpox began popping up all over the boy’s body, ending the fight. The scene is described over four and a half pages.
  • The three bullies corner Fort. “Bryce’s hands pulsed with red energy, and Fort’s feet froze in place, ice forming on the ground around his boots.” Fort “swung his fist out wildly but only succeeded in almost falling over his stuck boots.” One of the boys sends a “magic missile slamming into Fort’s shoulder even as Fort tried to slap out the fire.” Eventually, a soldier stops the bullies.
  • Fort sees a memory of when Damian created a portal for the creatures to come through. Several students tried to stop the boy. A girl “slid toward Damian on the ground and threw a hand out to grab his ankle. Blue light began to glow from her hand, and the creature in the portal pulled back abruptly from Damian.” During the memory, Fort learned how the attack in Washington DC began. The memory is described over five pages.
  • Later Fort again sees the memory. “Damian stood in the middle of the room, his eyes wide, his mouth hanging open, as a creature out of a horror book floated in the air above him, its transparent and vaguely humanoid body covered in crystal armor, its tentacle fingers locked on Damien’s head. . .” The creature uses Damian to communicate with the humans.
  • When Fort sneaks into the room where the books are kept, a student sees him. The student “leaned forward and grabbed Fort by the shirt, dragging him inside, then threw him down the stairs toward the podium with the books.” The girl throws a fireball at Fort and “he leaped into its path and took the spell right in his chest. Fire exploded all over his torso and face, and he quickly dropped to the ground, rolling around to put it out, trying his best not to shriek in pain in spite of the agony he felt.” Fort uses a spell to lessen the pain.
  • Fort is found in a girl’s hospital room. When he tries to escape, “the colonel grabbed Fort’s arm as he passed, then yanked it behind Fort’s back painfully. Fort immediately stopped short, groaning in pain, as two guards ran into the room.” Two guards take Fort to the disciplinary barracks.
  • Back in the memory, Fort sees “Damian raised a hand and sent a magic missile flying into the doctor’s chest. Dr. Opps went flying, slamming into the nearest wall, groaning as he landed on the floor. Sierra immediately cast Mind Blast, sending it at the creature’s mind, but Damian waved his hand as if batting aside an annoying insect, and the spell seemed to have no effect.” A student, Michael, tried to get Damian to close the portal and threw a fireball. “With no way to protect himself against his own spell, Michael took the fireball right in the chest, letting out a piercing scream. His clothes on fire, he dropped to the floor, rolling to quench the flames, but the magical blaze refused to go out, and the boy continued to cry out in pain.” Michael dies.
  • In an epic end battle, the Old One tries to come to Earth through a portal. One of the creatures takes over Michael’s body. “The shadowy, half-transparent Old One from the officers’ mess pushed its way into Damian’s body, overlapping him completely. . . The boy’s hands and feet stretched out and split into a mass of tentacles, as did his teeth, now protruding from a skull-like helmet. And within seconds, where there had once been a human boy, now there was only an Old One, Damian’s body transformed by the creature into its own form. . . Tentacles exploded out from the Old One’s hand, piercing the two soldier’s minds. They screamed, their bodies shaking violently, only to abruptly go silent and stand up straight. And then they turned their weapons on Fort.”
  • During the battle, “a giant black claw exploded through the floor beneath him, throwing the bed against the nearby wall as a second and third finger rose up around him [Fort].” Fort uses a healing spell to hurt the creature. Fort “wanted the creature to feel pain, as much as or more than what it had put him through when it had taken his father. . . The giant monster roared in anguish as the finger Fort held began to wither away, the muscle dying and the bones crumbling beneath his hand. . . Wrapping one arm around a finger, Fort watched triumphantly as the creature wailed in agony, its head slamming back and forth against the cavern wall.” When the finger goes back through the portal, another creature attacks Fort. “The creature’s tentacles reached out to surround Fort’s head, but this time, they pushed into his ears, nose, and mouth. He tried to scream but couldn’t get any air. . .”
  • The creature is able to create a portal in the sky. The students work together to try to stop the Old One. “. . . Rachel, meanwhile, went to fire another magic missile, but before she could, the Old One thrust its tentacles down towards her. . . One slicked into Rachel’s leg, dropping her to the ground. . .” The students are able to close the portal and the creatures leave. The action takes place over 42 pages.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • A student calls Cyrus a “future turd.”
  • A student says most of the Destruction kids are “jerks.”
  • A student calls Fort an idiot and a jerk.

Supernatural

  • During the attack on Washington DC, someone tried to take control of Fort’s body. “Fort watched his actions helplessly, almost from a distance, like he was staring down at himself from the wrong end of a telescope.”
  • Dr. Opps has a silver medallion that allows him to speak to others “mind-to-mind.” This medallion allows Dr. Opps to show his memories to Fort.
  • In the past, books were found that “contained formulas. The formulas, when read out loud, unlock previously inaccessible powers within the human body.” The use of the books allows some characters to gain the power of destruction, the power of healing, or clairvoyance.
  • In order to find out which power Fort can access, he must read a spell from one of the books. When Fort says a destructive spell, “immediately, power flowed through his body and out of his hands, setting them aglow.” He only makes a small flash. When Fort reads a spell from the healing book, “Fort’s hands seemed to lower in temperature, and he felt some weirdly cold energy leave his fingers and pass into the man’s arm. . . the cut had disappeared.”
  • Kids who were born on the day that the books were found can read them. Those before that day cannot read the books.
  • A student explains healing magic to Fort. “Healing is restorative, meaning it restores something to an earlier state. If you think about it that way, reattaching a leg is just putting something back where it belongs. The magic. . . encourages the leg to become what it used to be, one complete bone.”
  • Fort uses an “Ethereal Spirit” spell on himself and other students. The spell turns their bodies “ghostlike” and allows them to walk through walls. When he uses the spell, “at first, the magic made each of them glow a bit, which wasn’t exactly the best for sneaking round. But gradually each of them grew more transparent until he could see right through the others, and the glow disappeared.”
  • Sometimes Fort can hear others’ thoughts.
  • Healers can heal disease as well as give some a disease. Someone gave Fort the flu, and another student healed him. The student ran her hands “over his head and chest, and the energy passed into his body, immediately curing him of the flu.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

Another Phoebe and Her Unicorn Adventure: Unicorn Bowling

A unicorn in bowling shoes is quite a STRIKE-ing sight. But for nine-year-old Phoebe Howell, it’s just another fun outing with her best friend, the illustrious unicorn Marigold Heavenly Nostrils. This unique and magical friendship is at the heart of the ninth Phoebe and Her Unicorn collection, which includes adventures such as writing original songs, publishing rival news websites, and making a summer visit to the exclusive Camp Shimmerhorn. Life with a unicorn BFF is not without its challenges, however, and whether it’s homework, friction with classmates, or talent show jitters, Unicorn Bowling is full of amusing, heartwarming reminders that when the going gets tough, the tough get sparkling.

Unlike the previous installment of Phoebe and Her Unicorn, Unicorn Bowling is a collection of comics, not a continuous story. Some of the comic strips are only 4 panels, while others span multiple pages. The panels use simple artwork with bright colors. The character’s facial expressions will help younger readers understand the character’s emotions. Each page has six or fewer sentences and some panels contain no words at all, which makes the story accessible to reluctant readers. Some of the vocabulary is difficult such as culottes, conspicuous, cataclysmic, and libel. To aid readers, a word glossary appears at the back of the book.

Although Unicorn Bowling is a collection of comic strips, the situations lend themselves to discussions. Phoebe and her Unicorn deal with the dangers of posting online as well as the need to take other peoples’ feelings into consideration. The book also includes a comic about gender stereotypes. Younger readers will enjoy Phoebe and her Unicorn as they learn important life lessons. The humorous look at Phoebe’s everyday life as well as Phoebe’s friendship with Marigold will capture readers’ attention.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Marigold ask Phoebe, “Remember the day we sang ’99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall?”

Language

  • A girl calls Phoebe a “nerd girl.”
  • When Phoebe is upset, she writes a song called, “Unicorns are stupidfaces”
  • Dang is used once.

Supernatural

  • Marigold says she can cast spells, but she never actually casts a spell. When Phoebe doesn’t want to practice, Marigold says, “I could cast a motivation spell on you.” Phoebe declines because “those make my hands shake.” Marigold says, “They do contain a LOT of caffeine.”
  • Phoebe asks Marigold to cast a non-caring spell on her. Marigold refuses because, “Every time I do that you start chewing with your mouth open.”

Spiritual Content

  • None
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