Reading Level: Junior High

Pieces of Why

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

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

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

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

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

Sexual Content

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

Violence

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

Drugs and Alcohol

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

Language

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

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

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

Alex Rider: Never Say Die

Alex is now living in San Francisco, trying to recover from the tragic death of his caregiver, Jack Starbright. Alex was forced to watch Jack’s murder at the hands of terrorists working for SCORPIA.  With Jack gone, Alex struggles to find his place. When he gets an unexpected and cryptic email, he’s sure it’s from Jack. In an attempt to prove that Jack is alive, Alex boards a flight to Egypt and begins searching for clues to Jack’s whereabouts.

Alex’s story jumps from Egypt to France to Wales. As Alex searches for Jack, he comes face to face with twin brothers, who plan to kidnap the children of the wealthiest citizens of the world. Soon Alex is caught up in a tangle of intrigue that may lead to his death.

Packed with action, unexpected twists, and a mystery, Never Say Die will catch readers’ interest from the very first page. Alex is a strong character, who uses his brains to get out of difficult situations. The story descriptions will carry the reader into Alex’s world—a world that is often filled with fear. The evil twins and the people who help them are vicious criminals who have no problem murdering anyone that is perceived as a threat. Their willingness to kill and the violent descriptions of the creative ways they murder may cause some readers to have nightmares. Anthony Horowitz tells an engaging story that deals with terrorists, murder, and kidnapping.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • A woman kills two pilots by using tetrodotoxin. It “is extremely fast-acting, shutting down a person’s nervous system in minutes. Brad struggled to his feet but died before he was halfway there . . . Sergeant Brad Perkins stared up at her with empty eyes.”
  • Later in the story, the same woman tries to poison Alex. “The deadly poison, tetrodotoxin, shot silently across the room and penetrated his jacket. Alex jerked backward, his shoulders slamming into the door. . . Slowly, he slid down to the floor and lay still.” Luckily, the poisonous dart only hits his wallet. Alex and the woman scuffle. “She was strangling him. The pupils were dancing in her eyes, and her lips were stretched in a smile as she used her weight to press him down, her hands gripping tighter and tighter.” Alex is able to grab a bedside light. “With the very last of his strength, he swung it into the side of the woman’s head. He felt metal connect with bone . . . Dragana keeled over and lay still.”
  • Alex has nightmares about his past when two men tied him to a chair and force him watch a video of “the person he most loves” die. “The car drove out of the fort and into the desert. And then, as it had done the night before and every night after . . .it blew up.”
  • Alex stops two boys from harassing a young boy. The boys retaliate. “Colin swung the knife, aiming for Alex’s chest . . . Alex took hold of his wrist with one hand and his elbow with the other . . . Colin’s hand with the knife rushed past him.” The knife accidentally “sliced across Clayton’s arm.” Colin then tries to hit Alex, who avoids the punch. “Alex was standing next to a lamppost. Colin’s fist slammed into the metal. Alex actually heard his fingers break.”
  • A man tries to capture Alex. The man with a gun tries to get out of a car when “Alex kicked out, slamming the door. The man shouted and fell back . . .” Alex is able to escape.
  • A group of men try to kill Alex. During the scene, which takes place over approximately six pages, Alex is forced to defend himself. One man is knocked unconscious when Alex drops a cannonball “on the side of his head.” Alex makes a cactus bomb and throws it at a man, hitting him in the face.  “It didn’t bounce off. . . Instead it stuck there, with at least a dozen spikes piercing his lips, his cheeks, the side of his nose and one of his eyes, each barb injecting its poison into his nervous system.” One of the men tries to stab Alex, but the man is shot. “. . . His hand became a splash of red and the knife spun away. A second shot, and he was thrown onto his back. Alex knew at once that he wouldn’t be getting up again.”
  • In order to escape from bad men, Alex makes a trap that causes an explosion. The men “both screamed and reeled backwards, crashing into each other. The whole of the bald man’s head seemed to catch fire for a few seconds . . . The other man had thrown himself down. He was rolling over and over on the carpet, his clothes blazing.” As Alex tries to escape, one of the men shoots a woman.
  • Two brothers have their father killed. “. . . Carlo was gunned down in his Jacuzzi by his own bodyguard . . . With Carlo gone, the brothers took control of the family, and the next few years were bloodier and more violent than any that had gone before.”
  • The two brothers go to the hospital to kill a woman by using a trick. “It was one of their favorite tricks, and they would take turns—one watching, one doing the actual work. The wire went straight up her nose and into the medulla oblongata, the nerve mass located at the lower base of the brain . . . she was dead before she knew what had happened.”
  • Two brothers catch Alex spying and tie him to a chair, “his hands tied behind him, the rope so tight that it was cutting into his flesh.” The brothers intend to kill him by using “cement shoes.” A man padlocks a cement block around Alex’s ankle and throws him into the ocean. Alex is saved by a scuba diver.
  • In an attempt to escape, Alex attacks a man with a nail. Alex “smiled with satisfaction as the point drove into Stallone’s neck. Stallone howled and fell back, blood spurting out between his fingers.”
  • The two brothers give a woman cyanide. “She had suddenly become very still. In fact she was staring at the ceiling with empty eyes. Her tongue was sticking out of the corner of her mouth. Her face had gone mauve.”
  • The two brothers kidnap a van full of children and hold them for ransom. When the parents try to negotiate, the brothers discuss killing one of the children. “The important thing is to make sure it’s one of the poorer children. We don’t want to upset any of the billionaires.”
  • When attempting to save the children, a woman takes out one of the bad guys. She hits him with a chisel. “But it was the wooden handle that slammed into his skull, and with a grunt, he fell to one side . . . He was out cold.”
  • As Alex and his friend lead the children to safety, the bad guys try to recapture them. The scene takes place over about a chapter and a half. A security guard dies saving Alex’s life. “Alex saw spatters of blood appear across Philby’s back, forming hideous red stains that spread through his shirt.” During the escape, Alex sets fire to a structure. “Several of the guards had been caught in the blaze. He had heard them screaming.”
  • During the escape scene, Alex puts a thermos in a train’s chimney causing an explosion. The brothers “didn’t even know it had happened. They simply felt a jolt as if some gigantic gust of wind, coming out of nowhere, had hit the Midnight Flyer on its side.” They crash into the face of a mountain. One of the men on the train knows he is going to die. “His face, already badly burned, distorted one last time in sheer terror as the steam locomotive smashed into a solid wall of rock.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • One of the character’s “career had ended following a drunken fight with another pilot. She was twice his size, but even so, she had put him into the hospital. In fact, he was still there.”
  • A character had “drunk too much wine. The third bottle was definitely a mistake, and she had felt quite giddy as she had climbed into the taxi. . .”
  • Two of the characters help in their father’s business. “Even as teenagers, they loved the idea of becoming gangsters and had actually helped their father on occasion—for example, carry drugs inside their teddy bears on international flights.”

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

Listen, Slowly

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

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

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

Sexual Content 

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

Violence 

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

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • None

Language 

  • None

Supernatural 

  • None

Spiritual Content 

  • None

Whippoorwill

Wally had become just another piece of junk that littered Danny’s yard until Clair took notice of the old dog and her life began to change in more ways than she could have imagined. As Clair and Danny begin to train Wally with the help of a book written by Father Jasper, Clair learns a lot about people too.

Whippoorwill explores the idea that everyone needs someone in their pack. When Clair gets a glimpse of Danny’s home life, she realizes that people as well as dogs need love and guidance. Still, Clair struggles with her feelings towards Danny. She is at times flattered by his attention, but uneasy with the fact that Danny is needy.

When Danny asks Clair to spend the day with him, she looks forward to the adventure. However, when the day ends with a police chase and Danny ends up in jail, Clair realizes that sometimes you can’t fix other people’s problems.

Dog lovers will enjoy reading Whippoorwill. Most of the action in the story takes place with Wally, a neglected dog who, with some training, turns into a wonderful dog. Clair leans much about caring for dogs—and people—throughout the story.

One of the best parts of this book is the relationship between Clair and her father. Although their life is far from perfect, they accept each other how they are. Because the story is told from Clair’s point of view, the reader gets to see her thought process and her confusion about how to navigate her first boy/girl relationship. Even though Clair is not a particularly remarkable character, dog lovers will like following Clair’s journey as she learns about Wally and about life.

Sexual Content

  • Clair’s father tries to explain teenage boys to her. He compares boys to wild ponies. “Not ponies, maybe, but something wild and just bent on . . . procreation. On moving their gene pool further into the future . . . What I mean is, girls sometimes think about love, or friendship, while guys. . .”
  • Clair kisses Danny several times. After he kisses her the first time, she thinks, “I did feel good, or curious about what was going on, and I kind of liked kissing Danny. His lips had been thin and even, not wet or sloppy at all, and his shoulders had been good when I put my hands on them.”
  • In one scene Danny pulls Clair onto his lap and kisses her. “It felt clumsy and awkward, and I wanted to get up and get away from him, but his arms went around me and then something melted in me and I gave in a little . . . His tongue flicked into my mouth and I wasn’t sure if that was something I wanted or understood, but then it started to feel natural and exciting and real.”
  • When Danny kisses Clair, “up against the wall of the bowling alley,” she begins to analyze it. “So this is what it means to kiss a boy, and this is how they do it, and this is where his arms go, and this is how he breathes through his nose.”
  • Clair’s friend tells her a story of a girl, “whose boyfriend broke up by sending a picture of himself in bed with another girl.”
  • Clair’s friend likes a guy and wonders if the guy is over his old girlfriend and, “if they had had sex.”

Violence

  • When police officers begin following Danny’s car, Danny begins speeding. When Clair gets scared, Danny stops the car, jumps out, and begins running. Some police officers chase Danny down and pin him to the ground, while another officer yells at Clair to, “get out of the car.” Clair didn’t know what was going on, and she didn’t realize the cop was yelling at her, “and that a cop I had never met had a gun pointed at me and he seemed ready to use it . . . He knelt in the center of my back. Hard. He deliberately put his full weight on me, and I felt my face go into the dirt.”
  • The book implies that Danny’s father abused Danny and his mother.
  • Danny was arrested because he, “crashed a car battery into his father’s head . . . It looked like a heck of a fight, but I’m guessing most of that was the father’s blood. From the looks of it, the father didn’t manage to bruise Danny much.”
  • Danny described the fight between him and his dad. “He came up to my room and he grabbed me by the ear. I was in bed and half asleep and he kind of lifted me out of bed by the ear. . .he’d been drinking. . .He kept flicking spoonfuls of hot water at me, so I tried to go past, to go to bed, and he grabbed me by the ear again and I swing at him.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Clair’s father’s friend drinks a Budweiser and at dinner, Clair’s father drinks a beer.
  • When Danny’s phone keeps ringing, Clair asks him, “What are you, a drug pusher?”

Language

  • Clair’s neighbor, “pumped the bird at me.”
  • When Clair asks her neighbor if she could walk his dog, he replied, “You can take the effing dog.”
  • One of the characters calls his dad a “jackass.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Listen to the Moon

Twelve-year-old Merry will never forget the day a German U-boat shot down the Lusitania. That was the day her life took a tragic turn as most of the passengers on the ship died, including Merry’s mother. In an amazing turn of events, Merry is saved, only to be abandoned on the uninhabited St. Helen’s Island.

When fisherman Jim Wheatcroft and his son find Merry, she is injured, ill, and unable to talk or remember who she is. Wheatcroft’s family tries to help Merry, who they call Lucy, heal from her physical and emotional wounds. However, the family had no idea how cruel their community would become when they believed Lucy was German.

Listen to the Moon chronicles the true story of a young girl who left for England to be with her injured father and ended up on a small island during World War II. It is a story of bravery, friendship, and kindness.

The story is amazing; however, the slow pace and topic of war may make it difficult for younger readers to get through the story. Although the violence is nothing shocking, the story shows what happens to those who go to war; it also highlights the injuries and hopelessness of a boy who comes back from the war.  The reader will see the death of the people on the Lusitania, but they will also see the kindness of German soldiers as they help the young girl survive.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Alfie and a boy get into a fight at school. “Alfie was on his feet, grabbing Zeb and pinning him against the wall, shouting in his face, nose to nose.”
  • The school teacher hits students on the knuckles with the edge of the ruler when they misbehave. The teacher also “grabs [Lucy] by the arm and jerked her to her feet . . . In his fury he took her by the shoulders now, and shook her.”
  • The passenger ship Lusitania is bombed by a German U-boat and sinks. The sinking of the ship is described as well as the lifeboats leaving people to die. “The ocean was littered with wreckage as far as the eye could see, and among it were hundreds of people, swimming for their lives, many of them losing their lives as I watched.”
  • A crowd of school children closes in around Alfie. Then Lucy jumps on one of the boys. Lucy was, “hanging on to him, her forehead pressed into his back . . . Alfie was knocked over from behind to the ground. Then punching and kicking began. As he curled himself into a ball, he saw Lucy sitting astride Zeb and pummeling him, but then the others pulled her off and began kicking her to . . .”
  • A German sailor talks about sinking ships. He talks about the men who die. “You can hear them shout, hear them scream. For a sailor to kill a sailor is like killing a brother.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • The doctor smokes a pike and washes his fish pie down with a glass of beer.

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • As the people are dying, Lucy describes the dying people, who cries were, “begging for help from God, from anyone, help that I knew neither God nor I could give.”
  • During a sermon, a pastor talks about the German enemy. “He lost no opportunity to remind everyone of the barbaric atrocities committed by the German enemy, the bayoneting of little children in brave little Belgium, and the shameful torpedoing of the Lusitania. . . Always remember we are fighting for God and our country, against the forces of evil. Did not the Angel appear to our troops at Mons? Is not God on our side, on the side of freedom and right?”
  • Jim, the man who took Lucy in, tells his wife, “. . . there is a God in heaven, which you know I have my doubts about. Then that God of yours will look after Lucy, won’t he, even if it turns out she speaks German? God helps those who help themselves, don’t he?”
  • When Lucy thinks about her father, “I thank God I did not know much then of the dangers he was in, nor of the horrors of that dreadful war.”

Pegasus: Olympus at War

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

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

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

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

Sexual Content

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

Violence

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

Drugs and Alcohol

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

Language

  • None

Supernatural

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

Spiritual Content

  • None

Pegasus: The Flame of Olympus

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

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

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

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

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

Drugs and Alcohol

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

Language

  • None

Supernatural

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

Spiritual Content

  • None

Eragon

Dragons are all but extinct in Alagaesia, which is why Eragon is confounded when a blue rock mysteriously appears in the woods. Hoping to make a profit, he tries to sell the pretty stone. But the dragon inside has chosen a different path for the boy who found her.

Eragon is an exciting story that will enthrall readers. Although it is written at a junior high reading level, it contains much violence and alludes to some sexual content. If your junior higher is mature this tale will no doubt delight them. But if your child has not yet been exposed to adult content such as the brutality of war, this series may not be the best fit.

Sexual Content

  • Eragon asks his friend, “Did you kill someone important or bed the wrong woman?”
  • The elf reveals that while in captivity, “His methods were . . . harsh. When torture failed, he ordered his soldiers to use me as they would.”

Violence

  • In the opening chapter, an elf is ambushed by a Shade. The Shade “saw three of his charges fall in a pile, mortally wounded…Black Urgal blood dripped from her sword, staining the pouch in her hand.”
  • Eragon finds his uncle wounded. “His skin was gray, lifeless, and dry…Deep, ragged burns covered most of his body. They were chalky white and oozed clear liquid. A cloying, sickening smell hung over him—the odor of rotting fruit. His breath came in short jerks, each one sounding like a death rattle.”
  • Eragon and his friend Brom steal food, money, and supplies several times while on the run. “The thievery made him feel guilty, but he reasoned, It’s not really stealing. I’ll pay Gedric back someday.” “Brom pocketed the money with a wink. ‘Anyone who gulls innocent travelers for a living ought to know better than to carry such a large sum on his person.’”
  • Eragon comes across much slaughter on his travels. Once an entire village is killed. “A mountain of bodies rose above them, the corpses stiff and grimacing. Their clothes were soaked in blood, and the churned ground was stained with it. Slaughtered men lay over the women they had tried to protect, mothers still clasped their children, and lovers who had tried to shield each other rested in death’s cold embrace. Black arrows stuck out of them all. Neither young nor old had been spared. But worst of all was the barbed spear that rose out of the peak of the pile, impaling the white body of a baby.”
  • Eragon learns to fight with magic. “He shot, yelling, ‘Brisingr!’ The arrow hissed through the air, glowing with a crackling blue light. It struck the lead Urgal on the forehead, and the air resounded with an explosion.”
  • Eragon’s dragon fights on several occasions. “Saphira whirled on the monster, roaring savagely. Her talons slashed with blinding speed. Blood spurted everywhere as the Urgal was rent in two.”
  • Slavery exists. “He watched helplessly as the slave was sold to a tall, hawk-nosed man. The next slave was a tiny girl, no more than six years old, wrenched from the arms of her crying mother.”
  • There are many times where Eragon and his companions are attacked and fight to defend themselves. “An angry snarl from behind made Eragon spin around, sword held high…’Brisignr!’ barked Eragon, stabbing out with magic. The Urgal’s face contorted with terror as he exploded in a flash of blue light. Blood splattered Eragon, and a brown mass flew through the air…He caught a second one in the throat with Zar’roc, wheeled wildly, and slashed a third through the heart.”
  • Eragon threatens a soldier to get him to talk. “Do you know how much pain a grain of sand can cause you when it’s embedded red hot in your stomach? Especially when it doesn’t cool off for the next twenty years and slowly burns its way down to your toes! By the time it gets out of you, you’ll be an old man…Unless you tell me what I want.”
  • Murtagh kills a Shade. “The next arrow caught him between the eyes. The Shade howled with agony and writhed, covering his face. His skin turned gray. Mist formed in the air around him, obscuring his figure. There was a shattering cry; then the cloud vanished.”
  • Eragon rescues an elf who had been imprisoned and tortured. “The elf’s back was strong and muscled, but it was covered with scabs that made her skin look like dry, cracked mud. She had been whipped mercilessly and branded with hot irons in the shape of claws. Where her skin was still intact, it was purple and black from numerous beatings…Eragon silently swore an oath that he would kill whoever was responsible.”
  • Eragon and Murtagh argue over killing a man who attacked them. “Murtagh gazed at him coldly, then swung his blade at Torkenbran’s neck. ‘No!’ shouted Eragon, but it was too late. Torkenbrand’s decapitated trunk crumpled to the ground in a puff of dirk. His head landed with a hard thump.” Eragon says they should have let him run, Murtagh says “I’m only trying to stay alive…No stranger’s life is more important than my own.”
  • Angela says, “I loathe Shades – they practice the most unholy magic, after necromancy. I’d like to dig his heart out with a dull hairpin and feed it to a pig!”
  • There is a great battle. “At a command, the cauldrons of pitch were tilted on their sides, pouring the scalding liquid into the tunnel’s hungry throat. The monsters howled in pain, arms flailing. A torch was thrown onto the bubbling pitch, and an orange pillar of greasy flames roared up into the opening, engulfing the Urgals in an inferno.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Eragon drinks alcohol a few times. “The inn’s food was barely adequate, but its beer was excellent. By the time they stumbled back to the room, Eragon’s head was buzzing pleasantly…What was I thinking? wondered Eragon in the morning. His head was pounding and his tongue felt thick and fuzzy.”

Language

  • Variations of damn are used several times. “I won’t deal with anything you bring back from those damned mountains!” “Damnation! It’s not locked.”
  • Bastard is used a few times. “I find that I prefer them when they’re greedy bastards.” “There’s only one reason for the king to gather such a force – to forge a bastard army of humans and monsters to destroy us.”

Supernatural

  • There are many races in Alagaesia. They include elves, dwarves, dragons, and Urgals.
  • Shades are created when a human tried to control spirits in order to practice magic but is overpowered. The spirits take over the human body and control it.
  • Many people can use different types of magic, whether speaking words from the ancient language or by harnessing spirits.
  • Eragon can communicate with animals by touching their minds. He can speak to people in the same way, hear their thoughts, and attack their minds using magic.
  • Eragon meets a were-cat. They can see the future, speak using their minds, and transform into small humanoid figures.
  • An herbalist uses bones to tell Eragon’s future.

Spiritual Content

  • Eragon and his friend Brom lie often since they are fugitives on the run. “Eragon knew he had to lie.”
  • When Eragon’s adopted father dies, he shouts “What god would do this? Show yourself! He didn’t deserve this!”
  • Eragon comes across a town that has been slaughtered and wonders, “What does our existence mean when it can end like this?”
  • Brom describes the religion of the city Dras-Leona. “Their prayers go to Helgrind. It’s a cruel religion they practice. They drink human blood and make flesh offerings. Their priests often lack body parts because they believe that the more bone and sinew you give up, the less you’re attached to the mortal world.”

by Morgan Lynn

Eldest

Eragon has accepted the responsibility that comes with being a Rider. As the only one who can stop the evil King Galbatorix, Eragon travels to Ellesmera to finish his training among the elves. He studies fighting, magic, and history. He grows stronger, but also weaker as the Shade’s dark magic continues to course through his veins. As its evil festers, Eragon begins to wonder if Saphira was wrong to choose him. For if he fails, all hope will be lost.

The second installment in the Eragon series, Eldest could have been cut in half and not lost anything necessary to the story. Eragon’s journey to the elves dragged on too long, as did his training. A good chunk of the book is told from the point of view of Eragon’s cousin, but his personality is flat and unengaging. There were, however, very interesting moments during Eragon’s time with the elves and the book ended with plenty of action. As with the first novel, this story has a lot of gory violence that might be too frightening for some readers.

Sexual Content

  • Eragon and his teacher wash in a stream after working out. “Going to the stream by the house, they quickly disrobed. Eragon surreptitiously watched the elf, curious as to what he looked like without his clothes…No hair grew upon his chest or legs, not even around his groin.”
  • During a festival, “the two elves raised their hands to the brooches at their throats, unclasped them, and allowed their white robes to fall away. Though they wore no garments, the women were clad in an iridescent tattoo of a dragon…Slowly at first, but with gathering speed, [they] began to dance, marking time with the stamp of their feet on the dirt and undulating so that it was not they who seemed to move but the dragon upon them.”
  • A woman “even went so far as to insinuate that one of his grandparents had mated with an Urgal.”

Violence

  • Eragon remembers a great battle he fought in. “Beyond that, he no longer believed that life possessed inherent meaning—not after seeing men torn apart by the Kull…and the ground a bed of thrashing limbs and the dirt so wet with blood it soaked through the soles of his boots. If any honor existed in war, he concluded, it was in fighting to protect others from harm. He bent and plucked a tooth, a molar, from the dirt.”
  • Eragon’s cousin, Roran, gets in many fights, lies, cheats, and kills many people with his friends. Some are in self-defense, some are initiated by him. “Sloan howled like an enraged beast, threw his cleaver, and split one of the men’s helms, crushing his skull…Sloan yanked him closer and gored him through the eye with a carving knife from his belt…almost prancing with a terrible, bloody glee.”
  • After a fight, “The boy, Nolfavrell, was kneeling by the body of a soldier, methodically stabbing him in the chest as tears slid down his chin.”
  • Ayra tells the story of a woman who murdered the man who spurned her. “She found him with the woman and, in her fury, she stabbed him to death.”
  • Eragon learns how to kill with magic. “All it takes is for a single artery in the brain to be pinched off, or for certain nerves to be severed. With the right spell, you could obliterate an army.”
  • When the braying of a donkey almost reveals his hiding place, “Without hesitation, Roran dropped to one knee, fit arrow to string, and shot the ass between the ribs.”
  • When a man finds out Roran is a fugitive, he “jabbed forward with his spear, catching the white-haired soldier in the throat. Scarlet blood fountained. Releasing the spear, Roran drew his hammer and twisted round as he blocked the second soldier’s poleax with his shield. Swinging his hammer up and around, Roran crushed the man’s helm.”
  • Before a battle, a woman poisons the soldiers on the other side. “Not a very honorable way to fight, I suppose, but I’d rather do this than be killed.”
  • There is a great and lengthy battle. “Eragon could not tell from whose mouth emanated the ravenous jet of flame that consumed a dozen soldiers, cooking them in their mail, nor whose arm it was that brought Zar’roc down in an arc, cleaving a soldier’s helm in half.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Wine/mead is consumed at many meals, by Eragon as well as Saphira.
  • Eragon and Saphira get drunk. “They abandoned their food and filled their stone tankards with beer and mead…Even Saphira took a sip of mead, and finding that she liked it, the dwarves rolled out a whole barrel for her.” They both wake up hungover the next morning.
  • A trapper says, “After a few steins of ale—to lubricate my speaking, you understand…”
  • During a feast, Eragon “drank the cup’s clear liqueur and gasped as it blazed down his throat. It tasted like mulled cider mixed with mead.”
  • Orik gets drunk on Faelnirv, “A mosht wonderful, ticklish potion. The besht and greatest of the elves’ tricksty inventions.”
  • After a battle Eragon, “took a small sip of the liqueur to revitalize himself and gasped as it raced down his throat, making his nerves tingle with cold fire.”

Language

  • Bastard is used a few times. When Roran sees the men who killed his father, he says “That’s…they’re the bastards…”
  • Ass is used to describe a donkey.

Supernatural

  • Elves, dwarves, dragons, Urgals, and many other creatures live in Eragon’s world.
  • Eragon has a premonition about a battle. When he asks his friend about premonitions, she tells him, “The elf Maerzadi had a premonition that he would accidentally kill his son in battle. Rather than live to see it happen, he committed suicide, saving his son, and at the same time proving that the future isn’t set. Short of killing yourself, however, you can do little to change your destiny.”
  • Eragon tries to bless a child in the ancient language, but accidentally curses her. His teacher tells him, “Instead of protecting this child from the vagaries of fate, you condemned her to be a sacrifice for others, to absorb their misery and suffering so that they might live in peace.”

Spiritual Content

  • An elf argues with a dwarf over their religion, since “elves do not hold with ‘muttering into the air for help.’ “
  • When Eragon learns to hear the thoughts of living creatures, he finds he can no longer stomach the idea of eating meat. “Gripped by revulsion, Eragon thrust the meat away, as appalled by the fact that he had killed the rabbits as if he had murdered two people. His stomach churned and threatened to make him purge himself.”
  • Eragon’s teacher tells him that his and Saphira’s “souls, your identities—call it what you will—have been welded on a primal level…Do you believe that a person’s soul is separate from his body?” Eragon replies, “I don’t know.”
  • When Eragon says an animal isn’t a person his teacher says, “‘Do you truly believe that any of us are so different from a woodrat? That we are gifted with a miraculous quality that other creatures do not enjoy and that somehow preserves our being after death?’ ‘No,’ muttered Eragon.”
  • The elves, “do not worship at all…if gods exist, have they been good custodians of Alagaesia? Death, sickness, poverty, tyranny, and countless other miseries stalk the land. If this is the handiwork of divine beings, then they are to be rebelled against and overthrown, not given obeisance, obedience, and reverence.”
  • Murtagh is under a spell. Eragon asks Murtagh for permission to kill him, as it is the only way to stop him. “‘It would free you from Galbatorix’s control. And it would save the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of people. Isn’t that a noble enough cause to sacrifice yourself for?’ Murtagh shook his head. ‘Maybe for you, but life is still too sweet for me to part with it so easily. No stranger’s life is more important than Thorn’s or my own.’ ”

by Morgan Lynn

The Player King

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

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

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

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

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

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

Drugs and Alcohol

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

Language

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

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

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

Soar

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

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

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

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

Sexual Content

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

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

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

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

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

Almost Home

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

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

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

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

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

Sexual Content

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

Violence

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

Drugs and Alcohol

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

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

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

 

Close to Famous

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

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

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

Sexual Content

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

Violence

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

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

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

5 to 1

Women rule the land. Women are respected. Women built Koyanagar into a country where women could do anything. But to accomplish this, they had to put men into their place.

If they want chance at having a better life, the boys of Koyanagar must compete for a wife. Those who do not have a wife—and do not give their wife a female child—will be forced to guard the wall. Everyone knows once you’re sent to guard the wall, it’s only a matter of time until you end up dead.

Sudasa should feel excited about having young men compete for her hand in marriage. As she watches the test though, she realizes her cousin is among the contestants and has been given an unfair advantage over the others. Someone wants to make sure her cousin is the clear winner of the test.

The only boy who could possibly beat Sudasa’s cousin is Kiren. But there’s a slight problem, as Kiren hopes to gain his freedom by losing the test. Sudasa knows that Kiren may be her only hope in avoiding a marriage to a cousin who she despises. Yet, she also knows that Kiren doesn’t want to win the test and be forced to marry her.  As she wrestles with the right thing to do—for herself and for Kiren—she discovers Koyanagar isn’t based on fairness at all.

5 to 1 is written from both Sudasa’s and Kiren’s point of view. Sudasa’s story is written in verse; however after reading the first page, the reader will be so engrossed in the story that they forget that they are reading poetry. Because Kiren’s point of view is in prose, it is easy to keep track of which character is speaking.

The world of Koyanagar is mesmerizing and unique. The characters come to life and add interest to the story. The two main characters drive the action. Both characters are struggling to do the right thing, and in doing so they capture the reader’s heart.

The only down side of 5 to 1 is the story ended without having the conflict completely resolved. The end of the book is frustrating because Kiran and Sudasa’s fates are unclear.

Sexual Content

  • In a speech, the president talks about when girls were sold, “to the highest bidder.” And some were, “raped, fated for ruin.”
  • One of the contestants tells a guard, “I bet you wish it was still the old country, huh? A man should be able to stick it to his wife whenever he wants, and if she doesn’t like it, he should be able to slap her senseless.”
  • A contestant tells Sudasa, “You’ll be the one sweating in our marriage bed.” When she slaps him, he laughs at her.

Violence

  • Abortion is talked about throughout the book. Before Koyanagar became a country, many families aborted girl children. Now women abort boy children.
  • The president of the country tells the people, “The people took their money and spent it on illegal ultrasounds. If they didn’t hear the words ‘It’s a boy,’ they spent more money on doctors who could quietly made the problem go away. If they couldn’t afford these luxuries, they waited nine months and then took care of things themselves. Some abandoned their baby girls in a park, knowing they would be sold to lands far away. Other used a towel. A pail. And a grave.”
  • There are several references to Agnimar Cliff where young men go to jump off the wall and end their life. Boys who are weak or do not want to be trained to guard the wall jump off Agnimar Cliff.
  • A boy was killed because he, “refused to tell the State where his girlfriend was hiding.”
  • Sudasa’s sister says that she would abort a baby if it was a boy. She would do this even if abortion is illegal. When Sudasa protest, her sister says, “You saw that disabled boy competing for you. Do you think a mother would want a boy like that in her belly?”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • People wanted boy children because they could, “attend their funeral pyres and release their souls to heaven.” A character gives a boy a proper funeral pyre to “free the boy’s soul for rebirth.”
  • Being invited to be a part of the marriage test is supposed to be an honor. “That’s what she keeps saying, as if the mere act of being invited to fight for one’s life is a gift from the gods we’re not supposed to believe in anymore. I don’t believe in them, but not because religion has been banned . . . I just don’t think a being that’s good and fair would lie a place like Koyanagar exist.”

Strange Star

In 1816 Switzerland, Lordy Byron and his guests have gathered around the fire to tell ghost stories. A pounding on the door reveals a strange girl covered in unusual scars, and she tells a chilling tale of her sister being snatched by Mary Shelley, one of the guests at the party.

The girl, Lizzie, tells her story of losing her mother, and almost losing her life to the experiments of an ambitious scientist. This scientist wants to use the power of electricity to bring the dead back to life. And she wants to use Lizzie in one of her experiments. Lizzie’s story was inspired by the book Frankenstein.  Although the story has been adapted for a younger audience, the story will still give the audience a frightful chill. For the younger reader who likes to be frightened Strange Star is a creepy good horror story.

Sexual Content

  • Miss Goodwin’s father comes looking for her when she “runs away” with a man. “He’s come to bring her home before she brings shame on the family.”

Violence

  • A scientist orders her servant to kidnap Peg, who is locked in a cellar. As Lizzie tries to save her, they enter a room that has specimens, “like baby animals and birds and toads with two heads!”
  • After his employer scolds Mr. Walton, he takes out his humiliation on a servant. “Next came the thud of a fist hitting flesh. . . It was about his own humiliation. And like all bullies, he had to inflict it on someone else.”
  • Miss Stine and others grab Lizzie . “. . . More hands seized me, pulling my arms behind my back. I twisted. Shouted. Kicked out with my feet. I was no match for the two, maybe three sets of hands. They yanked me and turned me till I was sure my arms would be torn from their sockets.” She is tied to a chair, and wires are put on her. “She pressed cold metal against those places on my head, neck and feet. Wires crisscrossed my face.” Lizzie is let go when a dead wolf is brought in and Miss Stine decides to experiment on it instead of Lizzie.
  • When Lizzie tries to leave Miss Stien’s house, she is stopped. “We grappled our way down the passage like a pair of fighting village boys, all arms and elbows and kicking feet. Once or twice I slipped in something wet. Something oily. I didn’t want to think what it means . . . With my arms now pinned behind my back by his hand, I couldn’t wriggle free.”
  • A wolf attacks a man. “There was frenzy of claws. Snarling. Snapping. Something sounding horribly wet. Then came a rip, a tearing noise like a rabbit being skinned. And gurgling and gasping that was definitely human.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Mercy believes that Lizzie and her mom are going to die because she saw their spirits in the cemetery on Midwinter’s Eve. “Pass by a church at midnight on Midwinter’s Eve and you’d see an entering it the souls of those who’d face death within the year. Those who came out again would survive. And those who didn’t . . .” Later in the year, lightning strikes Lizzie and her mom. Her mom dies.
  • Miss Stine believes the dead can be brought back to life with electricity. Miss Stine attaches wires to a wolf’s head, paws, and chest. When electricity surges through the wolf, he comes back to life.

Spiritual Content

  • None

Girl Detective

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

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

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

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

Sexual Content

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

Violence

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

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

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

Spiritual Content

  • None

One Dead Spy

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

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

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

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

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

Drugs and Alcohol

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

Language

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

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

Alamo All Stars

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

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

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

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

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

Drugs and Alcohol

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

Language

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

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

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

 

Have Sword, Will Travel

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

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

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

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

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

Drugs and Alcohol

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

Language

  • None

Supernatural

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

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

Liesl & Po

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

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

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

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

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

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

Drugs and Alcohol

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

Language

  • None

Supernatural

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

 Spiritual Content

  • None

The Stone Child

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

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

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

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

Sexual Content

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

Violence

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

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

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

Supernatural

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

Spiritual Content

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

by Morgan Lynn

Better Off Undead

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

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

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

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

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

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

Drugs and Alcohol

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

Language

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

Supernatural

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

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

The Lightning Queen

Eleven-year-old Teo lives in the Hills of Dust, where not much happens. His life is dull and there is not much hope of things changing in the future. Then a gypsy caravan arrives. The caravan’s Mistress of Destiny tells Teo his fortune–Esma, Queen of the Lightening, will be his lifelong friend. Once Teo and Esma know their fortune, they band together to make it come true.

Teo tells his own story in The Lighting Queen. Teo and his companions, a duck, a blind goat, and a three-legged skunk, bring the story of rural Mexico to life. However, what ultimately drives the story is Esma. She is a plucky heroine who believes that anything is possible, and her optimistic attitude brings inspiration to both Teo and the reader.

The Lightning Queen has plenty to love for readers of all ages. The characters (including the animals) are loveable. The story is engaging and sprinkled with humor. The storyline shows the harshness of life without going into graphic detail or adding unneeded violence. Through the story, the reader sees the importance of looking beyond the physical appearance of people and finding friendship in unlikely places.

Sexual Content

  • Teo and Esma kiss goodbye once. “Our lips touched like two bird wings brushing against each other for the tiniest of moments, then flying apart on their own separate journeys.”

Violence

  • Teo tells the story of when his father was hit by a car. “There was a screech and a thump . . .I remember blood and tears on his eyelashes . . . I remember the driver standing over my father, talking to another driver. Calmly. Too calmly. And most of all I remember their words . . . ‘It’s just an indio.’ Then the other man shrugged and said, ‘What’s one less indio?’ They dragged my father to the side of the road. They wiped his blood from their shirts with handkerchiefs. Then they got back into their cars and drove off.”
  • When Teo’s uncle sees the gypsies giving fortunes, he becomes angry and, “flipped the table over. Cards scattered . . . other Romani woman gasped and skittered backwards with the toddlers. My aunts pulled away, against the wall, holding their own children. My uncle lunged toward Uncle Paco, trying to restrain him.”
  • The schoolteacher hits a boy’s hand with a ruler. “Tears streamed down his cheeks and he cried out. Twice. Now the boy was sobbing, trembling. Three times. Snot and tears covered his face, and his eyes were wide with fear.”
  • The schoolteacher hits Teo’s hand with a ruler. “There was a crack, a bolt of pain like fire that shot through my entire body. My hand wanted, more than anything, to pull away.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • The gypsies tell fortunes. At the beginning of the story, a gypsy tells Teo’s fortune—that he and Esma were destined to be friends for life. The two decided to do everything they can to make the fortune come true.
  • Esma puts a “pretend” curse on the schoolteacher in order to make the teacher kinder to the students. Teo’s grandfather tells the two that he doesn’t like curses, even pretend ones.
  • Teo dies. In death, he sees his sister, father, and grandfather. Esma comes and sings to Teo’s dead body. Teo, “felt the strain of the silvery thread pulling me towards my body. At the same time, I felt the tug of the other world, so easy and glittering and colorful, the promise of an eternity playing with Lucita [his sister], basking in the warmth of Grandfather and Father . . . My soul string was stretched to a single, quivering delicate strand.” When Esma sings, Teo “floated downward” and comes back to life.
  • When Esma sings, people say they can feel their dead loved ones. “I can almost feel my grandmother here with me, as though Esma’s song has opened a path to somewhere hidden.”

Spiritual Content

  • Teo and Esma find a statue that looked like, “a raccoon wearing a giant crown of corncobs.” Teo tells Esma, “We call them diositos—little gods. People say they’re good luck. Most of us have one or two at home. But don’t tell the priest about it.”
  • Teo’s grandfather gives his uncle a “limpia to clean his spirit. That meant spitting on him with cactus liquor and beating him with bundles of herbs.”

 

The Lightning Thief

Percy’s life consists of him being moved from boarding school, to military school, to private school. Pretty much any school that will take him. Because no matter where he goes, or how good he tries to be, something always goes wrong.

At the end of sixth grade, Percy figures out why is life has always been so difficult. He is the son of the Greek god Poseidon, which makes him a half-blood. A demi-god. Monsters are attracted to him. To protect himself, Percy goes to Camp Half-blood, where he learns sword fighting, archery, and a myriad of other skills that he will need to survive. He soon learns that his father is on the brink of war with Zeus and that he may be the only one who can stop it. The Lightning Thief is an enjoyable adventure that will keep readers engaged. There is a lot of fighting with monsters, but asides from that this book is friendly to younger readers.

Sexual Content

  • Dionysus is on probation because he, “took a fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off-limits.”

Violence

  • Percy is taught in class how Kronos ate his children “And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters.”
  • It turns out Percy’s teacher is a monster in disguise. “She snarled, ‘Die, honey!’ And she flew right at me . . . I did the only thing that came naturally: I swung the sword. The metal blade hit her shoulder and passed clean through her body as if she were made of water. Hisss!”
  • Percy is in a car crash. “There was a blinding flash, a jaw-rattling boom!, and our car exploded. I remember feeling weightless, like I was being crushed, fried and hosed down all at the same time.”
  • Percy loses his mother. “Then, with an angry roar, the monster closed his fists around my mother’s neck, and she dissolved before my eyes, melting into light, a shimmering golden form . . . A blinding flash, and she was simply . . . gone.”
  • Furies attack Percy. “I turned and sliced the Fury on the right. As soon as the blade connected with her neck, she screamed and exploded into dust.”
  • Percy kills Medusa. “I slashed up with my sword, heard a sickening shlock!, then a hiss like wind rushing out of a cavern – the sound of a monster disintegrating . . . I could feel warm ooze soaking into my sock.”
  • A Chimera attacks Percy. “Before I could swing my sword, it opened its mouth, emitting a stench like the world’s largest barbecue pit, and shot a column of flame straight at me. I dove through the explosion. The carpet burst into flames; the heat was so intense, it nearly seared off my eyebrows.”
  • Percy kills a monster. “The ropes readjusted themselves at my command. Crusty’s whole head struck out the top. His feet stuck out the bottom . . . I had no qualms about what I was about to do . . . I swung the sword. Crusty stopped making offers.”
  • Percy goes to the Underworld. “Even from far away, I could see people being chased by hellhounds, burned at the stake, forced to run naked through cactus patches or listen to opera music. I could just make out a tiny hill, with the ant-size figure of Sisyphus struggling to move his boulder to the top. And I saw worse tortures, too – things I don’t want to describe.”
  • Percy kills a wild boar in self-defense. “I slashed upward. The boar’s severed right tusk fell at my feet, while the disoriented animal charged into the sea . . . a wave surged up from nowhere and engulfed the boar, wrapping around it like a blanket. The beast squealed once in terror. Then it was gone, swallowed by the sea.”
  • Percy’s mother turns her abusive husband to stone with Medusa’s head.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • The director of Camp Half-Blood is Dionysus, the god of wine. “He waved his hand and a goblet appeared . . . The goblet filled itself with red wine.”

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Percy Jackson is a demi-god, the son of Poseidon. He goes to Camp Half-Blood, where there are demi-gods, satyrs, nymphs, a centaur, and even a minor god. All the monsters of Greek mythology are real too.

 

Spiritual Content

  • Percy and Chiron discuss the existence of the Greek gods. Percy said, “You’re telling me there’s such a thing as God.” Chiron replies, “God – capital G, God. That’s a different matter altogether. We shan’t deal with the metaphysical . . . gods, plural, as in, great beings that control the forces of nature and human endeavors: the immortal gods of Olympus. That’s a smaller matter.”
  • Percy visits the Underworld, ruled by Hades.
  • After every meal at camp, “everyone was taking a portion of their meal and dropping it into the fire, the ripest strawberry, the juiciest slice of beef, the warmest, most buttery roll . . . Burnt offerings for the gods.”
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