Reading Level: Junior High

Dolphin Song

Martine’s class is going on an exciting school trip—a voyage to watch the Sardine Run off the coast of South Africa. But the trip takes a dramatic turn when their ship runs into a fierce storm, and Martine and her classmates are thrown into shark-infested waters! Luckily, a pod of dolphins rescues and transports them to a deserted island, but now the children—and the dolphins—face a new and terrible danger. Will Martine be able to use her special gift with animals to save them?

While other students are looking forward to the class trip, Martine has been plagued with terrifying nightmares about being in the ocean and surrounded by sharks. Then Grace, a witch doctor, warns Martine about staying away from the ship’s gate, which increases Martine’s fear and confusion. Martine’s fear of the ocean is understandable, and it increases the story’s suspense. 

Despite the warnings, Martine’s greatest fears come true when she and several of her classmates are thrown into the raging ocean. The story takes an unexpected turn when Martine and some of her classmates are stranded on a deserted island and must fight for their survival. While much of the story revolves around survival, there is still plenty of animal action — a cage dive with sharks, an encounter with a man-o-war jellyfish, and a swim with dolphins. Through Martine’s experiences, readers will enjoy learning about various sea creatures as well as how sonar poses a threat to ocean life. 

Once the group of students lands on the island, they soon split into two groups, leaving Ben and Martine to join forces. During their time on the island, the kids only begin to work together out of necessity. However, they soon join forces to save the dolphins, and in the process, they learn the importance of giving someone a second chance. Along with this lesson, Dolphin Song weaves in many important life lessons including being able to fix your mistakes and the importance of standing up for what you believe.

Martine struggles with uncertainty, fear, and forgiveness, but her inner turmoil doesn’t slow the story’s action. However, readers will enjoy seeing Martine’s personal growth that leads her to more fully understand her best friend, Ben. In the end, Martine realizes “that was the thing about a friend. You could do things that weren’t really possible on your own. Friends made you brave. Friends made things fun.”

The Legend of the Animal Healer Series uses a unique approach that will give readers a new appreciation of sea life. The story educates readers about the importance of protecting all sea creatures. However, Dolphin Song does have several scenes that may upset sensitive readers. While Dolphin Song recaps the important information from the first book in the series, for maximum enjoyment, the books should be read in order. Animal-loving readers who want more action-packed animal adventures should also read the Wild Rescuers Series by Stacy Plays and the Survival Tails Series by Katrina Charman.

Sexual Content 

  • None

Violence 

  • Santa Carolina was known as Death Island, as it was a penal colony. “The jailers at Santa Carolina used to take prisoners to Death Island, a tiny shell sandbar, and tell them if they could swim the five miles or so back to the mainland—a stretch of water cursed by vicious crosscurrents and even more vicious sharks—they’d be freed. None of the prisoners ever survived.”
  • When the ship hits a terrible storm, everyone grabs a life jacket. One student, Claudius, “wrenched at Ben’s life jacket, trying to pull it off by brute force. Ben wriggled out of Claudius’s desperate grip and held up a hand in surrender.” Ben falls into the ocean without a life jacket, but he survives.
  • Martine is exploring a reef by a sunken ship when a manta ray pushes her toward the surface. “An instant later, there was a muffled, undersea explosion. . . the ray caught the full impact. Bits of cartilage, tissue, and manta ray skin rained down on the sea like lava.” Martine had a bloody gash on her arm, but the ray saved Martine’s life.
  • A group of bad men show up on the island and see Claudius. They think the boy might be a spy so they take him back to their hideout and tie him up. The skipper questions Claudius and “struck Claudius across the face. A palm print appeared on the boy’s cheek.” When the group finds out there is a reward for information about Claudius, they decide to treat him better.
  • A tourist, Norm, was cage diving with sharks when he fell into the water. A great white swims toward him, “like a torpedo sleek and deadly, shooting toward the stricken man. As it approached, its jaws stretched wide and its serrated teeth were plainly visible. In seconds, Norm would be missing an arm, his head, or even his torso.” Martine uses her gift to stop the shark.
  • An island, Santa Carolina, has a dark past that is discussed several times. Santa Carolina was “a notorious penal colony and Death Island, which was not an island but a shell bar, had seen many prisoners drowned after being abandoned by guards.”
  • Sonar can disorient and confuse dolphins and whales. The sound a sonar gives off “can carry up to a hundred miles and be as loud as a fighter jet takeoff. In some cases, it can cause whales to surface too quickly, leading to a fatal condition similar to the bends in human beings. They get gas bubbles in their organs. Their brains bleed. Dolphins’ lungs explode.”

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • One of the sailors drinks “a home-brewed concoction called palm wine.” 
  • A sailor tells Martine a story about a man who had a “skull-splitting headache.” A “witch doctor had started the treatment by putting a large pebble into his fire. . . blended herbs in a bowl made from a special wood and engraved with a cross, then added water. . . After making a series of tiny incisions in the man’s forehead, the witch doctor rubbed in a little of the herb point and sent him home. . .” After the story, the sailor says he uses aspirin for his headaches.
  • When Martine sees a sunken ship, she assumes the pirates had been drunk on rum.
  • A tribe of sailors would catch fish by crushing “the leaves of the lulla palm” which made the fish intoxicated. “When the fish were rolling drunk, the men would simply scoop them into a net.”
  • One of the student’s parents would leave him alone while they went to cocktail parties. 

Language 

  • There is some name calling among the kids including runt and loser.
  • Martine gets angry at Ben and says, “You are a wimp. You’re pathetic.” 
  • One of the kids tells Martine, “I thought you were a fruitcake.”
  • One of the kids says Ben is “a tree-hugging nutcase.”
  • Oh my God is used as an exclamation once.

Supernatural

  • Martine is able to heal animals with her touch. When she finds a beached dolphin, Martine touches the dolphin, and “the electric current zapped her. . . She kept her palms on the dolphin’s side . . . then her palms heated up to the point where they were almost sizzling . . .” After the dolphin is healed, Martin and a kite surfer put the dolphin back into the ocean and it swims away.
  • Martine goes to a secret cave where she sees paintings that show her future. When Martine sees a new painting, she thinks the paintings are “as if the forefathers were reaching out from beyond the grave.”
  • Claudius, one of the stranded school kids, gets stung by a man-o-war jellyfish. Martine tries to help him. She “laid her hands on him. Almost immediately her palms began to heat up. . . The energy went as far as Claudius’s skin and then stopped as if blocked by an impenetrable barrier.” Martine’s gift didn’t help.
  • While trying to use her gift to help Claudius, Martine has a vision. “The scene at the beach swam away and she saw smoke and Africans in animal masks and then, out of nowhere, a mental picture of Grace’s plant. . . came into her head.” Martine uses the plant to save Claudius.
  • Grace, a witch doctor, uses bones to tell the future. She believes that “everythin’ is already written” and that you cannot change fate’s path. 

Spiritual Content 

  • Ben is Buddhist and also half Zulu. He says, “Buddhism does allow the eating of meat; we’re just not supposed to cause pain. . . Buddhists believe that animals are equal to people.”

Tristan Strong Keeps Punching

In the final installment of Kwame Mbalia’s series, Tristan’s problems are greater than ever. The gods of Alke are scattered across his world and there are ghosts everywhere  —  good and bad, as it turns out. What a wonderful time to have a Strong family reunion in New Orleans, amidst all the chaos!

Tristan also has another issue: his powers are flaring with his mood swings, causing him to be covered in magical fire. And of course, Cotton, the main antagonist of the series and a powerful and evil spirit is back and ready to put up a fight. This time Cotton has brought even darker moments from American Black history. Tristan just hopes he can find his friends and the gods of Alke – and figure out how to control his temper – before Cotton can enact his plan on Tristan’s world. 

Tristan Strong Keeps Punching wraps up loose ends from the previous two books, includes familiar friends and foes, and introduces new characters in creative ways. For instance, Tristan and his friends encounter the Redliners, a barely disguised reference to the historic practice of redlining in the United States.  However, middle school students may who are not familiar with the historical practice of redlining may be confused by Mbalia’s dialogue. For example, the Redliners tell Tristan and his friends, “We, the Redliners, are the most tolerant and welcoming group you could find! We just don’t think you belong here.” The Tristan Strong Series deals heavily with the injustices that have occurred in American Black history, and Mbalia continues to handle the topic with grace and gravity, balancing historical facts with Tristan’s emotional stake in the issues at hand.

In this book, Tristan finds himself reckoning with his grief and anger, and he learns how to handle his emotions in a productive way. His emotions are validated, but he starts to understand how to conduct himself in a manner that accounts for other people involved. Previously, his actions previously endangered his friends. It is only when his magical animated sticky doll friend, Gum Baby, dies that he realizes his actions directly led to her being put in harm’s way. From that point forward, Tristan reckons with the consequences of his actions without losing the fire that keeps him fighting for justice.

Tristan Strong Keeps Punching is an excellent end to the trilogy. Readers should read the first two installments before tackling this one as this book makes many references to the previous books. Young readers will enjoy the fast-paced action plot and the balance between humor and grave historical fact. This book would appeal to fans of Riordan Reads mythology novels, like Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi or Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan himself. Tristan’s remarkable gift as a storyteller of the gods of Alke is made more perfect by his perseverance to keep telling these important stories. If these books teach readers anything, it’s to keep dreaming, create a better world, and never forget the stories of those who came before.

Sexual Content 

  • None

Violence 

  • Tristan must fight various magical and evil entities. In one sequence, Tristan fights a haint (an evil spirit). Tristan narrates, “But I was attacking, too. The shadow gloves flashed in and out, jabs and straights, hooks and uppercuts. Gum Baby flipped from my left shoulder to my right and back again, hurling sap balls and insults with equal intensity. I dodged a slicing strike, slipped a bull rush, and turned and fired three punches at the back of the haint.” This sequence lasts for a chapter.
  • There are descriptions of slavery as this series deals heavily with the history of Black Americans and Black American culture. Tristan recounts some of these details, saying, “I read about the barges that had hauled the shackled enslaved north, up the river, to a giant plantation. A free man’s protests were scrawled in the grass of Artillery Park, where he’d been kidnapped and sold into slavery. A family’s prayers were carved into the pillars lining the docks along the Mississippi, where they’d been separated, never to see each other again. These were the hidden narratives Folklore hero and god High John had been talking about. This is what he had meant.” These descriptions come up somewhat frequently throughout the book.
  • Tristan fights coffles (malicious spirits) that have trapped some kids. Tristan “swung again and again, trying to take out the coffle before it could rise. The monster wriggled and writhed on the ground, and I had to hop and dodge its flailing limbs or my legs would’ve been ripped to shreds.” This fight sequence lasts for several pages.
  • Tristan’s friend, Ayanna, tells Tristan about one of her former friends who died in a fight. She says, “He wanted to go out and kill [evil magical creatures, including the fetterlings], and I didn’t, and we argued about it. He flew into a rage, took his raft, and left. We heard fighting and went out after him, but by then it was too late. The fetterlings used his anger against him, and I lost a friend.” 
  • Gum Baby is loudly and badly playing music, and Tristan asks her to stop. Gum Baby responds, “Gum Baby’s gonna tune your face with some sweet chin music if you keep talking,” insinuating that she’d hit him with her banjo if he insulted her again. She does not actually hit him.
  • Tristan says he thinks Cotton is going to Fort Pillow as he’s “raiding places where Black people suffered in large groups…[Fort Pillow] was the site of one of the biggest massacres of Black soldiers in the entire Civil War. People fighting for their freedom were cut down by Confederate soldiers without remorse.”
  • Tristan goes into High John’s memories and sees a town being burned to the ground. “Flames exploded out of broken glass and spread everywhere. More shouts and screams…Flames shot fifteen feet into the air. Every house in the small neighborhood was on fire. I couldn’t see anyone, but the screams…I knew the screams would haunt me for the rest of my life. So many. Old, young. I heard them all.” The memory lasts for a few pages and it is clear that Tristan witnessed the “Memphis Race Riots of 1866. Nearly all of South Memphis was destroyed…Black-owned homes, businesses, restaurants. People were killed. Abused. Beaten. And yet no one was ever brought to justice.”
  • Another magical being, Granny Z, tells Tristan, “My children are kicked, beaten, harassed, stolen, abused, abandoned, forgotten and stripped of their rights every single day. And it’s a sad fact that their abusers are always gonna be afraid that their own sins will be revisited upon them.”
  • Tristan and his friends Gum Baby, Ayanna, and Thandiwe are attacked in a Wig Emporium. “Gum Baby flipped out of nowhere, her hands moving a blur as sap rocketed through the air. Breakers exploded into smoke five at a time. I limped forward to help her, but she disappeared in a crowd of foes. I tried fighting my way free, but there were too many. We were being overwhelmed.” This scene lasts for a page. Gum Baby dies but the death isn’t described. 
  • Tristan helps ghosts save their stories from Cotton, who wants them erased. Tristan hears one ghost say, “I moved here to get away from the lynchings.” This point is not elaborated upon.
  • Tristan fights with many Breakers, magical creatures that can strip people and gods of their spirits, thereby killing them. Tristan describes how the Breakers “rained blows on me, snarled at me, shrieked at me, roared at me, sent wave after wave after wave of pure hatred and malevolence, and it was all I could do to keep my arms raised and defend myself, because I was so tired, incredibly tired, of defending myself, but it wasn’t just me I was defending, now was it?” The scene lasts for several pages.
  • One of the old folk gods, John Henry, fights Cotton. John Henry gripped the ghostly tentacles, “lifted one foot, and then exploded into motion, charging Cotton like a linebacker and planting a shoulder squarely in the haint’s chest. Cotton flew back a dozen yards —  through the air! —  before landing and skipping across the sand like a stone across a pond.” This battle sequence lasts for several chapters.
  • Tristan has one final battle with Cotton that lasts for several pages. Tristan narrates, “Cotton’s momentum carried him past me, and he was off-balance. My right fist, my power fist, knifed through the air and connected flush against Cotton’s chin. Just my fist, not the shadow gloves, because I needed them for what came next…The black flames flared to life one more time, with as much energy as I could muster flowing through them. Just as I’d done on the barge, I willed the gloves together, merging six into two shining beacons of black in the light of the setting sun…I darted forward and grabbed Cotton. He twisted, turned, fought, and struggled, but I didn’t let go. The flames of the akofena [magic] spread to him, devouring the thorns and cotton as if they hungered for the hatred binding the haint together.” Tristan destroys Cotton by turning him to ash.

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • Tristan ends up at an outdoor strip mall. He says, “Shelves are stocked with products you’d never heard of, or weird stuff you’ve seen advertised on TV — all two-a.m. hangover purchases, as my dad called them. I’m not sure what a hangover is, but if it made me buy an automatic toenail clipper that looked like two machetes taped together, I want no part of it.”

Language 

  • Gum Baby, a magical sticky being, loudly and frequently refers to Tristan as “Bumbletongue” or “thistle-head.” As they’re friends, it’s done mostly in jest.
  • Light language is occasionally used. Words include chump, rejects, and doofus.
  • Tristan meets a kid named Memphis, who uses they/them pronouns. 
  • A slave-patroller haint chases Tristan, yelling, “You ungrateful little stain on society, get over here! I will hunt you down, you hear?”

Supernatural

  • Tristan is having issues with his magic. Most notably he keeps bursting into flames when he gets angry. For instance, Tristan notes, “I stared in utter horror at the small silver flame popping out of my knuckles.” This happens frequently throughout the book.
  • As this is the third installment in the series, Tristan gives a quick recap of the last couple books. He says of his summer, “I’d eaten a bunch of key lime pie, done a little boxing, fallen into another world with powerful gods and made a bunch of folk hero friends…You know, the normal summer.” These gods and folk heroes feature throughout the book as Tristan is trying to rescue them.
  • Tristan’s magical smartphone is controlled by Anansi, the trickster god. Tristan says, “He was the Weaver, the owner of all stories, from truths to tall tales, and his name was embedded in my title of Anansesem.”
  • Tristan and his granddad enter Congo Square in New Orleans, where “ghostly apparitions dressed in their Saturday night finest were hitting moves that made my calves cramp as I watched…as if on cue, everybody started doing the Electric Slide.” Ghosts appear frequently in this book; many of them are friendly or give helpful advice.
  • Gum Baby announces that she’s been following a “ghostie” for a while because it was terrorizing everyone. This creature is like the haints, which are malicious spirits. Tristan describes the creature, saying, “I looked up and saw a long, lanky creature scuttling down from the top of the wheelhouse like a monstrous crab.” The group spends a chapter fighting the creature.
  • Tristan discovers that the haint that they’ve encountered is a coffle. His cousin explains its odd appearance, saying, “They were used to fasten slaves together when they were marched from the house to the fields and back.” Tristan describes its appearance, “Two long, wooden, bone-like structures protruded from the opposite sides of a loop, forming what looked like the skull of a hammerhead shark. Its body was a chain, and its four limbs were thorny, viny branches.”
  • Tristan’s magic storyteller abilities occasionally cause him to have visions. In one instance, he describes, “I saw stories — written in French and Spanish and Chitimacha and English — about the birth of jazz and the death of neighborhoods. I saw tales of Fon and the Ewe and the Igbo, and legends of Vodun and Vodou and the spirits within…I read about the slave ports that had dotted the Mississippi River. I read about the glamorous buildings that had been built around the sale of men, women, girls, and boys like me. Some older, some younger.” This description continues for several pages.
  • Cotton is the main antagonist of the series and is a powerful and evil haint. He is a manifestation of the evils of slavery. Tristan describes, “I once again saw the horrific true form of the haint underneath the disguise. Complete with his burning hatred and desire for power.”
  • A god, Mami Wata, rides in a boat that encounters Angola. Tristan notes that “a monstrous, nearly see-through house was superimposed over the prison…The house I was seeing was Old Angola, a long-gone plantation.” In this house and prison reside many trapped spirits and evil haints, including Cotton.
  • Tristan’s usual Ananasem powers (storytelling powers) change when he meets ghosts of former soldiers. He says, “I was inside the story!” In this instance, the sequence lasts for several pages and details the lives of a couple Black soldiers escaping the South to Vicksburg.
  • Tristan teaches some kids magic. When he tells them what he’s going to do so, one kid responds, “Ain’t no wizards ‘round here. That’s movie stuff.” Tristan then demonstrates that all the kids have magic within them. Tristan says, “Each of the kids had a story fragment nestled in their chest, right above their heart. A piece of the story of Alke lived on in each of them.”
  • Tristan meets Granny Z, who tells Tristan about Loa. Granny Z says, “L-O-A. The mysteres. The links between the High God and his people on earth, serviced by the mambos, their priestesses.”
  • Tristan and his friends drive a magic SUV after a magical horse that’s kidnapped a child. Tristan says, “We looked out the front windshield to see Twennymiles (the horse) leaping into the air and disappearing. Old Familiar (the SUV) followed.” They are magically transported through the air and through neighborhoods, and the scene lasts for a couple pages.

Spiritual Content 

  • Tristan encounters many different gods (like Anansi and Mami Wata) on his journey, and they’ve given him powerful artifacts for his magical powers. These gods exist throughout the book, and sometimes Tristan mentions his magical gifts. He says, “I reached for the adinkra bracelet on my right wrist. Dangling from it were my gifts from the gods. The Anansi symbol. The akofena from High John. The Gye Nyame charm. The Amagqirha’s spirit bead from Isihlangu. They gave me strength, power, and right now, all the confidence I needed.”
  • Tristan meets a girl named Hanifa, who “wears a hijab.” 
  • The gods of Alke, due to the events of the previous books, are now scattered in Tristan’s world. Some of them are weakened and some die in nonviolent ways. Tristan often laments that “Gods can’t die,” but the events of the book say otherwise, like when High John passes away beneath a tree. 
  • High John’s ghost tells Tristan, Ayanna, and Thandiwe about his upbringing and the influence of the Church. He says, “some Sundays, his lordship and most honorable, the man who wanted to be called Boss, graciously allowed the people who actually worked the fields to rest.”

The Sister Switch

Addie Asante of Columbus, Ohio, feels stuck in the middle. Her big sister, Sophie, bosses her around while her little sister, Camille, gets whatever she wants.

When Addie receives a mysterious package with a magic bracelet, she makes a wish to no longer be in the middle and—POOF—she’s transformed into her big sister!

Being Sophie is amazing: Addie can hang out at the café after school, have her own room, and sing in the talent show. But as her friend Becca warns her, having a wish come true can get really messy. Plus, in a twist of magical chaos, Addie’s big sister has become the baby sister, and the baby sister has become Addie!

With friendships—and grades—on the line, plus a sneaky stranger determined to get her hands on the magic bracelet, can Addie and her sisters find a way to switch back before it’s too late?

The Sister Switch is told from Addie’s point of view which allows the reader to understand her frustration at being the middle child. However, Addie isn’t a very likable character because she is self-centered and doesn’t think about the consequences of her actions. When Addie is in Sophie’s body, Addie thinks about how she can use the situation to her advantage. She never thinks about how her actions will affect Sophie. In the end, the sister switch brings all three sisters closer together, but there is no large character growth. 

Addie’s sisters, Sophie and Camille, aren’t very likable either. When Sophie enters Camille’s body, she acts like a bratty child who throws temper tantrums, refuses to do schoolwork, and causes havoc. Meanwhile, Camille’s cheerful attitude and focus on having fun isn’t realistic. Plus, her terrible behavior causes trouble. For example, she begins a food fight in the cafeteria. While some of the scenes are supposed to be funny, it’s difficult to ignore that when the three sisters interact, there is little kindness between them. 

Anyone who has a sibling will be able to understand Addie’s difficulties and find humor in some of the situations. In the end, Addie learns that she should stay true to herself and embrace what causes her joy. However, the story glosses over Addie’s selfishness. While The Sister Switch is a book that younger readers will likely enjoy, parents won’t want their child to copy Addie’s behavior. Overall, the sisters’ bad behavior, the tired plot, and the lack of character growth make The Sister Switch a book that is best left on the shelf. If you’re looking for an entertaining book that reinforces positive sister behavior, read Disney Frozen Polar Nights: Cast Into Darkness by Mari Mancus and Jen Calonita. If you want another dash of magic to add sparkle to your day, check out Love Sugar Magic: A Dash of Trouble by Anna Meriano.

Sexual Content 

  • None

Violence 

  • Addie’s twelve-year-old sister, Sophie, is “stuck in Camille’s five-year-old body.” When Sophie goes to school, she “apparently threw a fit. And a chair? Plus, she refused to do any of the activities.”
  • When Camille is stuck in Addie’s body, she goes to lunch with Addie’s friends. Camille and Addie get into an argument and then Camille “smiled wickedly. . . she’d picked up her leftover sandwich and tossed it at my face.” A food fight ensues. 

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • None

Language 

  • OMG is used as an exclamation often.

Supernatural

  • While at school, Addie makes a wish. “Suddenly, I felt something tighten around my wrist. The lights in the hallway flickered. . . My skin felt weird. Like it was being tickled by a million tiny feathers.” The bracelet’s magic switches Addie’s and her sister’s bodies. 
  • After the wish, Addie’s “fingers looked different. . . And then I looked into the mirror. Sophie’s face stared back at me.” Meanwhile Addie’s twelve-year-old sister, Sophie, “was stuck in Camille’s five-year-old body.”
  • A blond woman wants Addie to give her the magical bracelet. The woman can track the bracelet and has a gold bead that “warms up and glows when the magic is working.” It’s similar to a “radar.”

Spiritual Content 

  • When Addie’s sister takes over her body, Addie prays that her friends don’t laugh at her. 

Be Prepared

Vera, a nine-year-old Russian girl, yearns for a sense of belonging. She looks to her classmates for guidance on how to fit in. In Vera’s case, this means trying to blend in with her American classmates. Despite her best efforts, she just can’t seem to get it right. Her first American-style sleepover is a disaster, leaving her feeling like she’ll never be able to connect with her peers. 

Just when she’s about to give up, her friend, Ksenya, tells her about a Russian summer camp. Vera is intrigued, but also a little hesitant. After all, the camp is in the middle of the woods in Connecticut, which is not exactly what she had in mind. Nevertheless, she decides to give it a try. 

When Vera first arrives at the camp, she is introduced to her tent-mates, Sasha and Sasha. While initially hopeful, her first interaction with the Sashas does not go well. Vera tries to make friends with them by drawing pictures and sharing her stash of hidden Skittles, but it soon becomes clear that their friendship is only superficial. Will Vera ever find a place where she belongs? 

The Russian language is heavily used throughout the text. There are even some portions written completely in Russian scripture. For example, campers sing a song that is written in Russian scripture: “БУАЬ ГОТОВ, РАЗВеДЧИК, к Делу чеСТноМУ, Трудный путь лежит перед тобоЙ . . .” In addition to direct Russian scripture, there are Russian words that utilize the English alphabet. For example, the boys at the camp are referred to as “volchata,” which means “wolf cubs.” A handful of the English-written Russian words are defined, but most of them are not given a definition and there is not a glossary, which can make some areas of the text harder to decipher. 

Be Prepared is a captivating graphic novel that partially draws on the true experience of the author, who shares an intriguing snippet of her life. The graphic novel takes the reader on a thought-provoking journey of self-discovery, narrated from the viewpoint of nine-year-old Vera. Through her eyes, readers witness not only the challenges that many preteens feel, such as finding their place in the world but also the unique challenges immigrant children face.  

One of the most striking aspects of the graphic novel is its use of green and gray illustrations. These colors add depth and dimension to the story and help to convey the complex emotions that Vera experiences throughout her journey. The adorable art style, with its round-faced characters and expressive eyes, is both charming and heartwarming, making it impossible not to root for Vera as she navigates the ups and downs of growing up. 

In the end, Vera gains a new perspective and begins to reach out to other campers who are also left out. This allows her to find a sense of purpose, make new friends, and appreciate her Russian heritage. Vera’s story is a powerful testament to the resilience and strength of the human spirit. As she learns to navigate the world around her, she discovers new friendships and a sense of belonging that she never thought possible. This graphic novel is a must-read for anyone who has ever felt like an outsider, and for anyone who wants to understand the experiences of immigrant children in a deeper and more meaningful way. 

Sexual Content  

  • Vera starts to change in front of her new tent-mates who are both fourteen. One of the girls says, “She doesn’t wear a bra? Gross!” 
  • One of Vera’s tent-mates, holds a maxi pad in front of Vera’s face and makes fun of her for not having a period.  The girl says, “It’s a maxi pad!! Do you seriously not know what those are?” 
  • Sasha and Sasha, Vera’s tent-mates, taunt her for drawing Alexei, their camp crush and an older male camper. “She wants [the picture of Alexei] so she can kiss it.” 

Violence  

  • A chipmunk bites Vera on the pointer finger.  Vera talks to herself about the possibility of what may happen. “Now I am going to die of rabies… I wonder how many people I’ll bite before they subdue me.”  
  • Vera, after being bitten by the chipmunk, chooses to stay silent since she feels there is no one she can tell at the camp. When her mother comes to visit her after the second week, Vera fills her in. “I have rabies and I’m going to die!” Vera yells to her mother upon her arrival at camp.  
  • Vera talks about the violent side of the Russian religion, particularly in relation to Saint Vera. “I never forgot, [the saints] died horrible deaths . . . [Saint Vera] was tortured and beheaded, along with her sisters, while her mother watched. If I was learning anything from the history classes, it was that Russians are bred for suffering.” 
  • Vera talks about the history that leads up to the formation of the camps that exist today. She talks about the harsh history that made many Russians lose their culture, which is why the camps were formed – to help Russian heritage remember their culture and past. “During one three-year period in the seventeenth century, a third of the population starved to death. And in the twentieth century, the government sent millions of its own citizens to suffer and die in work camps (including my own great-grandmother).” “Gulag” is one of the terms used in the text. This refers to the system of labor camps run by the Soviet Union during the 1930s-50s. 
  • ​​​“Ow! Something stung me!” a male camper exclaimed when a wasp stung him on the forehead. The sting caused an allergic reaction and swelling. 
  • The camp counselors told a story about a small camper who died because a bigger camper pooped on top of him. The boy “died down there, in the dark at the bottom of the [outhouse].” 
  • A jealous camper hangs another girl’s bloody underwear on the flagpole for everyone to see.  
  • Phil, Vera’s little brother, talks about dealing with a mean individual at camp. “Yeah he takes karate at home, and he put me in a headlock. And one time he found a mouse in the woods, and he ran up and kicked it right in front of me. It died.” 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • Hollywood is used to refer to the outhouse that is set up for the camp. 
  • When a wasp stings a boy on the head, Vera accidentally says the bite looks like a “nipple.” Afterwards, the entire camp calls the boy “tit head.”  

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • Vera writes to her mother about the Russian church at camp. “On Sundays we have church. It’s just like church at home except it’s outside. They keep all the icons in a little house, so they don’t get wet. I am jealous of the saints for the first time ever.” 
  • Vera explains what she likes about the church services at camp and her personal connections to the religion.  “The orthodox liturgy is a beautiful melodic chant. I understood maybe a third of it. But the icons…I loved the icons. The gilded script, the tiny piece of Saints’ bones in jewel-encrusted frames. And I never forgot those people died horrible deaths. I had a picture of my namesake, Saint Vera, over my bed at home. She was tortured and beheaded, along with her sisters, while her mother watched.”  

The Beast and The Bethany

What the Beast wants is what the Beast gets. The Beast demands a variety of foods to be brought to him. From necklaces to singing parrots, he eats it all. Ebenezer Tweezer gives the Beast these rather unorthodox foods. However, Ebenezer does not leave empty-handed. 

Once Ebenezer meets the Beast’s demands, Ebenezer is given whatever he pleases. The Beast has given him luxurious items like a piano and a 15-story house. But the one gift Ebenezer wants and needs the most is a potion to keep him young and beautiful—a magical potion that has kept him alive for 511 years. As Ebenezers’ birthday nears, he needs more potion. However, the Beast is craving a different taste, one he has never had before. He wants to eat a child. So, when the Beast gives Ebenezer an ultimatum – bring me a child to eat or no potion – Ebenezer knows he must find a child before his birthday in three days. 

After many failed attempts of retrieving a child, Ebenezer is pointed towards an orphanage. He needs to find a child worthy of being eaten by the Beast. Ebenezer does want anyone nice and he’s doubtful he will ever find a suitable child as they are all either too kind or too cute. Then Ebenezer and Miss Fizzlewick, the head of the orphanage, hear yelling in the hall. When they find a little girl named Bethany shoving worms up another child’s nose, Ebenezer knows she is the one. 

When the Beast sees Bethany, he refuses to eat her until she has been fattened up. This allows Ebenezer time to get to know Bethany. For the next three days, they go on crazy adventures and learn a lot about each other. Ebenezer comes to see her as a friend, his only friend. But Ebenezer now had a choice: should he save Bethany, or himself?

The Beast and The Bethany is a great read because the author adds humor through jokes and the characters’ behaviors. Both main characters, Ebenezer and Bethany, develop from people who only looked out for themselves into more caring and selfless people. The story also has themes of pride and greediness. The reader sees this with Ebenezer’s desire to live another 511 years, and the Beast’s yearning for a new, tastier treat. However, when the characters learn and grow, this reinforces the lesson of being grateful for what you have. 

Another positive aspect of the story is black and white illustrations sprinkled throughout the book. These illustrations give the reader a better sense of the setting and characters. Readers will get to see Bethany’s face as she is riddled with disgust, Ebenezer as the potion wears off and he ages, and the Beast’s three eyes and sharp teeth. 

Although the story has a simple plot line, the author keeps the plot interesting with silly settings and crazy characters. In addition, the author does a great job showing each character’s personality; how they clash but ultimately complement each other. Readers will find their interactions hilarious and heartwarming. Some readers will relate to Bethany’s stubbornness but see her maturity and apologies as a good lesson.  In addition, The Beast and The Bethany teaches about the value of friendship by showing that life is not as meaningful unless you have someone to spend it with. Readers who want to read another humorous, monster-related story should also read Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon. 

Sexual Content 

  • None

Violence 

  • The Beast eats a parrot. There are no graphic details, but its death is implied. “It was the last question [the parrot] ever asked.” Then, the Beast thanks Ebeneezer for “a delicious dinner” and says, “It’s so nice to eat something with personality.”
  • It is implied the Beast has eaten a poodle when Ebenezer says, “Is it a poodle? Do you want me to go to the dog shelter again!”
  • The Beast says he wants to eat a child. He says, “I want to know what one tastes like. I want a juicy, plump little child. I want to gobble it up in one oozy, squishy bite.”
  • Bethany shoves worms up a boy’s nostrils. “Geoffrey was pinned on the floor by the small, bony girl from the bird shop. The girl was shoving worms up his nostrils, and she was shouting, ‘Rat! Rat!’ at him.”
  • Ebenezer imagines cooking Bethany to serve to the Beast. “Ebenezer considered chucking Bethany in the oven, roasting her for forty-five to fifty minutes, and then serving her in a bowl for the beast.” 
  • Bethany tells Ebenezer she wants to shove a trumpet down the Beast’s throat. 
  • The Beast eats Miss Fizzlewick. The Beast “wrapped its two tongues around Miss Fizzlewick and dragged her into its belly . . . The Beast crunched down on Miss Fizzlewick until eventually the only sound left in the room was the happy purr of the Beast.”
  • After finding out Ebenezer’s plan, Bethany punches him in the stomach and calls him a “stupid idiot.” She continues punching him until she starts hitting him in the head with a cushion. “She picked up a cushion and started bashing him over the head with it.” There is also a picture of her doing this.  
  • The Beast threatens Bethany, saying “First, I will drag you into my belly with my tongues, and then I will start gnashing.”
  • Both Ebenezer and the Beast talk about the Beast eating Ebenezer’s cat, but there is no description. 

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • Ebenezer puts sleeping powder in candy in hopes of taking a child. However, he accidently uses it on himself. 
  • A painting on Ebenezer’s wall is a skeleton head smoking a cigarette. 

Language 

  • A button on Bethany’s backpack reads, “Bog Off!”
  • Bethany tells one of the boys in the orphanage, “Shut up, you little rat!” 
  • Bethany calls other people names often. Names include rat, idiot, and loser. She says shut up as well.
  • When Bethany cannot finish another piece of cake, Ebenezer calls her “a weakling” and “pathetic.”  
  • The Beast calls Bethany an “ignorant brat.” 
  • The Beast refers to Ebenezer as a “rotten, treacherous twit” and a “stupid fool.” He also says, “I am glad he is dead!”

Supernatural

  • The beast can grant wishes. He does this by throwing it up. For example, Ebenezer requests a piano. “The beast closed its three black eyes and shut its dribbling mouth. It started to wiggle its blob of a body and made a low humming noise as it moved side from side. Then, all of a sudden, the eyes opened again. The beast stopped wiggling, stretched its mouth wide open, and vomited out a baby grand piano.”
  • The Beast tells Ebenezer he will not get the potion that makes him young unless he brings him a child. He tells Ebenezer he will die without the potion’s powers. 
  • The beast describes the potion as an “elixir of life–a magical potion containing all the vitamins needed for youth, life, beauty, and shiny hair. It’s so powerful, even I can’t control it . . . ”
  • The gifts that the Beast gave to Ebenezer become alive and begin walking.  

Spiritual Content 

  • None

The Green Glass Sea

Young Dewey Kerrigan and Suze Gordon live in a time ravaged by World War II. When their families are moved to a secret location in the New Mexican desert called Los Alamos, the girls’ lives become filled with military personnel and top-secret information. Their parents are the nation’s finest scientists and have been enlisted to build a powerful weapon to end the war. However, with their parents on this mission, the girls are left with many questions and choices about the war, their families, and their futures. 

Dewey’s and Suze’s worlds collide when Dewey’s father goes on an important business trip and leaves Dewey in the hands of the Gordon family. Although Suze’s parents are friendly and hospitable, there’s one massive problem: Suze and Dewey are very different people and don’t like each other. As the war grows more dire and tragedy strikes the Gordon family, problems erupt between the girls that could jeopardize their present and future lives. Can Suze and Dewey settle their differences in time? 

The Green Glass Sea features two main protagonists — Dewey Kerrigan and Suze Gordon. Each chapter alternates between the two girls’ points of view which showcases their drastically different voices and personalities. For example, Dewey prefers to work on her gadgets and gizmos in solitude. On the other hand, Suze enjoys her social network and creates beautiful collages filled with old, discarded objects. The girls’ differing personalities keep each of their chapters fresh and exciting. Their realistic views and worries about the war, their family, and the future ground them as authentic, enjoyable characters. While most readers may find it difficult to relate to these girls’ experiences, they can admire the girls’ motivation, strength, and optimism during this tough period. 

Dewey and Suze are surrounded by a wonderful cast of supporting characters who emphasize the story’s lesson about family and loving one another. Dewey and Suze learn to love each other’s differences, and Dewey finds a home with the Gordons when Suze explains, “You’re coming too . . . Daddy said the whole family’s going.” Alongside this heartwarming plot and engaging characters, the story also features a realistic portrayal of history, matching the story’s scenes with the real-life events of World War II. 

The Green Glass Sea addresses the difficulty of World War II and includes sensitive topics like the Nazis, concentration camps, and the ethical usage of the atomic bomb. This information may be hard to digest for certain readers, but it only makes up a small portion of the story. Overall, The Green Glass Sea is a moving story about two girls’ worlds colliding because of World War II. With the combination of exciting characters and historical events, this book is a must-read for history buffs who appreciate the impacts that big-scale events have on normal people. Readers who want to learn more about World War II should also read Survival Tails: World War II by Katrina Charman and Lifeboat 12 by Susan Hood. 

Sexual Content 

  • Suze and Dewey sing a song about the war, where they sing, “Hitler has only got one ball. Goering has two but they are small. Himmler has something sim’lar, but poor old Goebbels has no balls at all!” 

Violence 

  • Suze escapes some military police (MPs) while taking a shortcut through a restricted area.  As she climbs over a fence, she scrapes her knee, causing “a little rivulet of blood [to trickle] slowly down her dirt-covered leg . . . ” This scene is described over two pages. 
  • Suze bullies Dewey by drawing “a straight yellow line down the middle” of their room and saying, “You and your stuff stay on your side. Got it?” 
  • When Suze and Dewey go to school. Suze says, “You better not walk with me,” and, “Don’t even think about eating lunch with me.” 
  • While at school, Suze purposely hits the edge of Dewey’s radio “sending it flying,” which causes “a loud crack and a clatter like hailstones as its lid popped open and its contents scattered.” 
  • Suze and Dewey encounter a mean girl, Joyce. After Joyce insults Dewey and her, Suze “took a step forward, grabbed Joyce by the knot of her yellow Girl Scout neckerchief, and pushed her away. Hard.” Joyce lands in a muddy puddle. 
  • Dewey’s father, Jimmy Kerrigan, dies in a car accident. The accident isn’t described.   
  • Dewey angrily smashes a record that reminds her of her father’s death. Dewey “lifts the record off the turntable with both hands and smashes it with all her strength across her upraised knee.” 

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • While on a train, Dewey sees people “smoking cigarettes and drinking cocktails and talking very loud.” 
  • Dewey keeps her home-built radio inside a “wooden cigar box.” 
  • Throughout the story, Suze’s mom repeatedly smokes cigarettes in the house.  
  • Suze’s father regularly drinks beer and whiskey during and after work. While at home, “he reached up and opened the cupboard, putting two glasses and the bottle of whiskey on the counter.” 
  • Suze’s dad, Phillip, also regularly smokes his pipe. As he smokes, “the smoke blew over her head, smelling like sweetish-sour burning leaves.” 
  • Dewey’s dad, Jimmy, offers Suze’s mother, Terry, “an inch of brown liquid.” Terry exclaims, “It’s Bushmills [whiskey]. How heavenly.” 
  • Jimmy gets drunk after a couple of drinks at an after-work party. He didn’t realize that “the boys were just dumping liquor bottles willy-nilly into the bowl.” 
  • Jimmy once pulled out “a pack of Camels, and lit one.” 
  • After they had completed their gadget, many scientists “held whiskey bottles” in celebration. 

Language 

  • Mrs. Kovack, Dewey’s neighbor, yells, “For the love of Pete, will you just come inside?” 
  • The book references the black community as “negros.”   
  • Dewey’s friend, Jack, uses the word “bitch” to describe the fighting and atrocities of World War II. 
  • Throughout the story, the kids repeatedly call Dewey, “Screwy Dewey.” 
  • Suze’s mother says both “damned” and “goddamn” once. 
  • Suze’s father says “goddamn” and “oh, Jesus” once.  
  •  “Oh god” and “My god” are both used as an exclamation once. 
  • Throughout the story, kids call Suze “Truck” because she’s a “big fat pushy steamroller truck.” 
  • Suze once utters that something is “a bunch of bushwa.” 
  • Suze and Dewey repeatedly use the acronym “FUBAR,” which means “fucked up beyond all recognition.” 
  • “Hell,” “crissakes,” and “jeez Louise” are all used once. 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content 

  • Mrs. Kovack does “her good Christian duty by taking Dewey in.” 
  • Suze mentions that her family celebrates Hanukkah. 
  • Dewey’s father once exclaims that he hopes “to god the war doesn’t go on longer. . . ”

Masterpiece

Marvin is not your average beetle; he has unique characteristics that set him apart from others. He is an excellent swimmer, has an accurate sense of human time, and most remarkably, he has an incredible ability to draw with ink. Marvin discovered this talent when he decided to create the perfect birthday gift for James Pompaday, the eleven-year-old boy who lives in the apartment where Marvin’s family resides. Marvin and James are an unlikely duo, but their friendship is unbreakable. 

James Pompaday is not your average human either. He is a quiet and careful individual who doesn’t immediately squash Marvin upon finding him. In fact, James is curious about Marvin’s abilities, and he takes the time to observe and understand the beetle’s artistic skills. Little did they know that Marvin’s talent would catch the eye of not only James but also the entire art world. 

James gets the credit for the beetle’s ink drawing. Soon, James finds himself covering for his pint-sized friend. But this is just the beginning of their journey. The duo soon becomes embroiled in a crazy plot that involves replicating a masterpiece created by a 14th-century artist named Albrecht Dürer. In order to save the masterpiece, James and Marvin must work together in ways they never imagined.  

The friends’ adventure leaves them with a newfound appreciation for the power of art and the importance of standing by those you love. Despite their differences, Marvin and James know that they can count on each other no matter what. They learn that sometimes unexpected alliances can lead to incredible adventures and lifelong friendships. In the end, Marvin and James prove that even the smallest creatures can make a big impact on the world, and that true friendship knows no boundaries. 

The charming story, Masterpiece, is about an unlikely friendship. The adventure within the art world is depicted through thin-lined artwork that appears every two to three pages. The black and white drawings play a crucial role in emphasizing the world from Marvin’s perspective, as well as portraying the true intensity of the journey he goes on. The intricate details of the drawings allow the reader to fully immerse themselves in the story and experience the same emotions as Marvin, making it a truly captivating read. From the way Marvin sees the world to the obstacles he faces, the drawings bring the story to life in a way that words alone cannot. The artistry of the illustrations is truly remarkable and will evoke a sense of wonder and awe in the reader. 

Masterpiece is a heartwarming tale that explores the power of friendship and human connection.  The author paints a vivid picture of the character’s emotions and thoughts, making the reader feel fully immersed in their world. The story progresses as Marvin and James develop a strong bond that helps them overcome the challenges they face. Along the way, the reader witnesses how their friendship grows, how they learn from each other, and how they support one another.  One of the most wonderful moments is when Marvin realizes what he feels when looking at James, “It was more than happiness. More than affection or gratitude. It was something deeper. It was the sense of being seen and loved exactly for who he is.” It shows the true connection and extent of the friendship between James and himself. The story comes to a satisfying conclusion that will leave the reader feeling uplifted and inspired. Masterpiece is a beautifully crafted story that celebrates the power of friendship and reminds us of the importance of human connection in our lives. Readers who enjoy Marvin and James’s unlikely friendship should also read Firefly Hollow by Alison McGhee. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • After Marvin completes his test piece of a Dürer drawing, he attempts to hide on James’ shirt collar. Then Christina, the lady in charge of the art exhibit, sees Marvin and swats him off of James. “Marvin tried to dive out of sight, but before he could even register what was happening, he felt a blow so forceful that it sent his entire body hurtling through space. He was upside down, turning in midair, the room around him a blur. He bounced off something hard – a wall? A bookshelf? Who could tell? – and crashed to the floor, where he lay on his back, legs waving.” Marvin is unharmed. 
  • After Marvin and James leave the art gallery to return home from their adventures, James closes his hand in the trunk. “He saw James’ right hand reach toward the open trunk at the same time the cabbie slammed the trunk closed. There was a sickening, thwarted clunk as the metal trunk crashed down onto something that wasn’t meant to be there. And an anguished cry.” James ultimately ends up needing a cast for a broken hand. Instead of being upset, James almost seems relieved about the injury because it means he will no longer have to keep pretending to be the one who created Marvin’s artwork. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural  

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Carrie and The Great Storm: A Galveston Hurricane Survival Story

Twelve-year-old Carrie is excited to spend the night at her best friend Betsy’s house one Saturday night in Galveston, Texas. But when her parents receive a last-minute invitation to a high-society party, they insist Carrie stay home to babysit her little brother, Henry. Despite a storm brewing — and Carrie’s protests over the change in plans — her parents go to the party. As the storm approaches, the streets begin flooding. Henry is scared, and Carrie tries to calm him. But then a hurricane hits, and the house is shaken from its foundation. Carrie must make some quick decisions to save herself and her little brother from the Great Galveston Hurricane. 

Carrie and The Great Storm: A Galveston Hurricane Survival Story focuses on Carrie, a typical fashion-loving girl who is upset when she has to cancel a sleepover to babysit her brother, Henry. When the storm hits, she has only herself to rely on, but she doesn’t let fear overtake her. Instead, she uses quick thinking and bravery to save herself and her brother. When Carrie and Henry’s raft gets stuck between trees, Carrie’s main concern is survival. However, when she sees a young boy, William, floating in the water, Carrie jumps in and saves his life. After seeing the city’s devastation, Carrie realizes how lucky she is to be alive. 

While most of the story focuses on the Great Storm, segregation is mentioned several times. The author’s note explains that one positive outcome of the storm was that people came together and helped each other, despite their racial differences. This ties into the story because Carrie helps William, who is African American. Afterward, one man gives Carrie a strange look when they see her walking with a black boy. However, Carrie didn’t care about William’s race because at that point they were the same—they were survivors. 

To make the story easy to follow, each chapter begins with Carrie’s location and the date. In addition, every ten to seventeen pages there is a black-and-white illustration that focuses on Carrie’s experiences. Readers can learn the real story of the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 from the nonfiction information at the back of the book. A glossary, discussion questions, and writing prompts are also provided.

Readers will be pulled into the story because Carrie is a likable character with a relatable conflict, and it doesn’t take long for the action and suspense to begin. Even though Carrie and The Great Storm: A Galveston Hurricane Survival Story is educational, readers will love the story because it is also entertaining and easy to read. Through Carrie’s experiences, readers will see that “Your actions, no matter how large or small, can make a difference.” For more water-related survival stories, check out Tara and the Towering Wave: An Indian Ocean Tsunami Survival Story by Cristina Oxtra and the I Survived Series by Lauren Tarshis.

Sexual Content 

  • None

Violence 

  • Carrie and her brother are home alone when the storm hits. Carrie looks out the window and, “through the rage of the storm I could see shapes in the water. A panicked horse swam past, kicking and neighing. A woman’s head surfaced. She screamed and was pulled underwater again.” 
  • When Carrie’s house is destroyed by the hurricane, she and her brother are on a makeshift raft. As she and her brother huddle for warmth, Carrie sees “the face of a young black boy emerge. ‘Help me!’ he cried before the water swallowed him up again.” Carrie is able to pull the boy, William, onto her raft. 
  • William tells Carrie the story of his family. He was working at his family’s store when, “I got swept away. . . I could still see the store though, through flashes of lightning. And then all of a sudden I couldn’t see it anymore. It collapsed.” Later, William finds out that only his father survived.
  • After the water recedes, Carrie is walking and sees “a huge pile of debris. A pair of boots stuck out from the bottom of the pile. And then I realized that the boots were attached to a pair of legs.” 
  • Carrie hears cries for help, and then sees “a group of men digging through the rubble, looking for survivors.” 

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • None

Language 

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content 

  • None

Unleashed

One month after the events of Jinxed, Lacey wakes up in a hospital room with no memory of how she got there. With Jinx missing and MONCHA, the company behind the pet robot, threatening her family, Lacey doesn’t know who to turn to for answers.

After Lacey gets expelled and her mother acts strangely from the latest update from MONCHA, Lacey and her friends must get to the bottom of a sinister plot at the heart of the company, one that would ruin the interactions between bakus (pet robots) and their owners. Lacey must use all her skills to stop the corporation from carrying out their plan. But how can she take on the biggest tech company in North America with just a level one baku? 

Without the resources from her school, Lacey relies on her ingenuity and smarts to modify her baku. However, she hadn’t prepared for the company to remove public access to any information about the customization of bakus. Lacey soon learns that MONCHA, now headed by a temporary CEO, wants absolute control over the look and function of all their products, including the beloved pet robots. 

Departing from the action-packed baku battles of the previous book, Unleashed delves into Lacey’s world, which is fascinating and distinctive. Everyone relies on their baku, and each baku can make its owner happy. From copying hairstyles of famous celebrities to competing in races alongside similarly modeled species, bakus give a positive spin on day-to-day life. Yet, Jinx is different than the other bakus. He can feel and perceive things, which allows him and Lacey to converse. Jinx’s standoffish behavior adds tension to their relationship while furthering the suspense. 

Unleashed builds upon the action of the previous novel. In place of the well-known baku battles of the previous book, Lacey’s encounters with MONCHA will keep the reader engaged. Though a few characters are predictable—the incompetent adults; the spoiled rich boy; the corrupt CEO of a tech company—the story never feels stale. On top of that, Lacey’s story gives the reader a realistic look into a world in which everyone is on a device 24/7. The story has a satisfying end, answering any lingering questions the previous book left unresolved. 

Through Lacey’s experiences, readers learn an important lesson about following your dreams. You don’t have to go on a predetermined, well-trodden path to achieve your goals. The message in Unleashed is clear: going a different way doesn’t mean you will fail to reach your destination. If you’d like to go on another adventure with a mechanical animal and an unlikely hero, check out Wizard for Hire by Obert Skye.

Sexual Content 

  • Lacey blushes when Tobias, her crush, touches the back of her arm. 

Violence 

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • While hospitalized, Lacey receives some medication.  

Language   

  • One of Lacey’s classmates texts “OMG” on a group school messaging board.
  • Lacey says “Oh my god” twice.
  • Jinx exclaims “Holy bakus.”
  • One of Lacey’s friends calls Tobias’s brother a jerk

Supernatural 

  • None

Spiritual Content 

  • None

The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady: Voyage on the Great Titanic

Five years ago, Margaret Ann Brady’s older brother left her in the care of an orphanage and immigrated to America. When the orphanage receives an unusual request from an American woman looking for a traveling companion, Margaret’s teachers agree she is the perfect candidate to accompany Mrs. Carstairs on the Titanic, so that once Margaret arrives in New York she will be free to join her brother in Boston. But the Titanic is destined for tragedy, and Margaret’s journey is thrown into a frozen nightmare when the ship collides with an iceberg. Will she live to see her brother again?

The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady: Voyage on the Great Titanic based is told in diary format and is based on Margaret’s personal diaries and includes a lot of Margaret’s reflections. Margaret has the unique opportunity to see how the wealthy live. She is fascinated by their privileges and is especially interested in their fashion and food. Since the story is in a diary format, there is little suspense and Margaret’s life on the Titanic has few exciting scenes. However, Margaret is a likable character and her experiences give readers a peek into the life of a servant in the early 1900s. 

Even though Margaret’s story lacks action, the book is perfect for young readers who want to learn about the Titanic, but are not ready to be exposed to graphic descriptions of the ship’s sinking. During the disaster, Margaret shows how wealthy women and children were given preferential treatment when it came to loading the lifeboats. Today’s readers may have difficulty understanding why the serving class was not allowed to board the lifeboats and instead were left to die. In addition, Margaret does an excellent job showing the bravery and courage of the Titanic’s crew. In her diary, Margaret writes: “I think the Titanic’s crew may have suffered the most devastating percentage of deaths. Stewards, cooks, engineers, postal workers – even the entire band perished. How admirable they were! How admirable all of them were!”

Although Margaret survived, she struggled to understand the events that happened the night the Titanic sank. Throughout her life, Margaret suffered from survivors’ guilt because she felt that by taking a seat on a lifeboat, she had doomed “others to their helpless, frozen fate. . . I doomed Robert; I doomed complete strangers. I hope I can figure out some way to understand all of this. . . Most of all, I hope I can learn how to forgive myself for still being alive when so many others are not.” 

Readers interested in learning about the Titanic have a wide variety of books to choose from. Readers who want a view into a survivor’s experiences will find Margaret’s story worth reading. However, if you want an exciting action-packed tale that also teaches about the Titanic, put Survival Tails: The Titanic by Katrina Charman and Disaster on the Titanic by Kate Messner at the top of your reading list. 

Sexual Content 

  • On several occasions, Margaret spends time with a young steward named Robbie. When he realizes he is going to die, he says, “Would you mind doing me one small favor? I should like to remember I kissed a pretty girl tonight.” When Margaret agrees, “he gave me a small peck on the lips. This was all new for me, and I was not sure if I was supposed to respond in kind.” 
  • Margaret and Robbie kiss again. “This time our kiss was warm and tender. Robert hugged me very tightly, and then stepped back, looking pleased.” 

Violence 

  • When Margaret is disrespectful, one of the nuns “tells me that I am very, very wicked, and then slaps a ruler across my knuckles to punctuate the scolding.” 
  • After being orphaned, Margaret and her brother, William, live with Mr. McDougal and his brother, who “would come home much the worse for drink. They would be spoiling for a fight, and Mr. McDougal would swing out a big hand at anyone who looked at him cross-eyed. After I got knocked down a time or two, William grew to fear for my safety . . .”
  • When the ship begins to sink, Margaret sees people “leaping into the water from all directions, while others scrambled toward the stern in a frantic, hopeless attempt to save themselves. . . Then with an almost stately grace, it gradually slipped beneath the surface of the ocean.” 
  • Margaret is safe in a lifeboat, but “after the Titanic sank, the unspeakable shrieking of hundreds of people dying filled the night. Frenzied, terrified screams. . . I could distinguish individual voices begging for help, calling out for people they loved, and praying for salvation.”
  • The lifeboat that Margaret was in, went to help others. “We were able to pull five or six half-frozen men out of the water. Each time, I prayed that one of them would be Robert, and each time, my prayers were not answered.”
  • The people who were in the ocean had no hope of living. Margaret describes “the screams of the dying seemed to last forever. It was a horrifying, unearthly sound that would have sickened the very Devil himself. I am not sure which was worse: the screams themselves, or the way they gradually faded away.”   

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • While having dinner on the Titanic, the adults drink wine, but Margaret “elected not to drink any wine, and satisfied myself with water, instead.”
  • While on the deck, Margaret sees a man who “lit his cigarette—right in front of me!” She notices that the man “also smelled of whisky.” 
  • When the Titanic begins to sink, Margaret takes a few minutes to talk to a young steward. He says the other stewards are, “Gone, I guess. Maybe having a bit of a nip for courage.”
  • One of the men on the lifeboat “was clutching a bottle of brandy, and the Quartermaster Perkis tossed it overboard, since the man was obviously already intoxicated.”
  • After being rescued, Margaret is given a hot drink. “There may have been some brandy in there as well.” 

Language 

  • When Mrs. Carstairs refuses to go out to the deck, Margaret thinks she’s “stupid.”
  • While on a lifeboat, a woman sees the Titanic sinking. She says, “My God. She really is going down.” 

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content 

  • One of the sisters took Margaret to Easter mass. The nun “explained that St. Botolph is the patron saint of travelers, and she wants to be sure I leave with his blessing. Our fellow worshipers were a bizarre mix – ranging from prostitutes to the very flagrantly pious . . .”
  • Margaret goes to “a religious service . . . I took great solace from this, which suggests that I may be more devout than I would have estimated.” 
  • When Margaret realizes that some people will not survive, she thinks, “God help us.”
  • After being rescued, the captain held a brief service. “He and a reverend gave thanksgiving for the approximately seven hundred of us who had been saved, and then led us in prayer in memory of the more than fifteen hundred people who had been lost.” 

The Shape of Thunder

After losing her older sister, Mabel, in a school shooting, Cora has been searching for a scientific explanation. For Cora, the word is full of truth. Everything has a reason and answer – she just has to find it. If Cora can find out the reason why her sister died, maybe she can start getting over it, but no matter how hard she tries, Mabel’s death just doesn’t make sense. 

Meanwhile, Cora’s (former) best friend, Quinn, is struggling with guilt. For her brother, Parker, is the school shooter responsible for Mabel’s death. Cora is determined to fix their friendship even though the task seems impossible. That is, until Quinn starts reading about time travel.  

Time travel would fix everything. The girls could go back and save Mabel before she dies and prevent Parker from falling into the dangerous mindset that led him to commit a mass shooting. The book details their investigations into time travel as they grapple with the deaths of their siblings. Cora and Quinn make frequent visits to a nearby forest, where they think a magical tree has a wormhole that can take them back – they just need to open it. Unfortunately, their attempts to time travel fail again and again. Quinn admits why she thinks it’s not working – she’s been hiding something from Cora. Quinn says that a few weeks before the shooting, she saw Parker investigating their father’s guns. 

Cora is furious and feels betrayed, so she tells Quinn to stay away from her. Though it breaks Quinn’s heart, she lets Cora continue the time travel investigation on her own. Then, when a large storm hits, Cora sneaks away from school in order to open the wormhole with the energy of thunder. While crossing a river in the woods, Cora slips but thankfully Quinn saves Cora’s life. Afterward, Cora forgives Quinn.

The Shape of Thunder is narrated in the alternating perspectives of Cora and Quinn, which allows the reader to understand the grief and guilt they feel as they navigate life following the death of their siblings. While the plot is easy to follow, this is a powerful story about loss and forgiveness and should not be taken lightly. It is also a story about the effects of gun violence and how it rips apart families and friends. Cora and Quinn are thoughtful narrators with distinct personalities and distinct forms of grief. They have unique family situations that allow the author to paint a wide picture of a shooting’s effects. Their dedication to fixing the past – and to each other, despite the circumstances – is admirable and powerful.

Ultimately, Cora forgives Quinn because Cora realizes the issue of mass shootings doesn’t lie in isolated incidents, such as people like Parker, but is a larger, societal issue – which is much harder to fix. But The Shape of Thunder is about making the impossible possible. The use of time travel is not to turn the novel into a science fiction book but to imagine beyond what has been done before. The phrase “shape of thunder” is used for the same reasons. Cora says, “The shape of thunder. What a strange phrase. It’s more than contradictory; it’s impossible. A thing that doesn’t actually exist, but possibly could. An impossible thing that could actually be possible. Like finding a wormhole. Like time travel.”  

In the end, the girls don’t time travel, but they do obtain something they thought impossible to achieve: reconciliation. Earlier in the book, Cora says she can never forgive Quinn for playing a role in her sister’s death. Likewise, Quinn believes that she doesn’t deserve Cora’s friendship because she feels that she should’ve stopped Parker. However impossible moving forward seems, the two girls realize fighting their grief alone is too difficult. At the end of the story, Cora and Quinn start to rekindle their friendship. 

Persisting in the face of profound grief is daunting, but not as impossible as it seems when we share our struggles with others. Time travel may not be real, but love is its own kind of magic. Readers looking for other books that highlight the importance of overcoming obstacles should also read The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead, A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll, and Ophie’s Ghosts by Justina Ireland.

Sexual Content 

  • None

Violence 

  • Parker orchestrated a mass shooting at Mabel’s school. He shot and killed three people and then committed suicide. While the events of the shooting are not described in detail, Mabel and Parker’s deaths are frequently mentioned. 
  • While no examples are given, Parker would say hateful things and was active on forums. Cora says, “The news said Parker was active on all these forums full of people who hated women and immigrants and Muslims.”
  • Cora slips and falls into a river while Quinn watches. “It’s like something out of a horror film. It happens so fast, but it’s also painfully slow – Cora jumping to the next rock, slipping, and hitting her head with a sickening thud. The sound of her skull colliding with the rocks is something I will never ever be able to forget.” Quinn rescues Cora, and Cora recovers after going to the hospital.

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • None

Language   

  • Grams, Cora’s grandma, says “I’ll be damned.”

Supernatural 

  • A major part of the story is that Cora and Quinn are looking for a way to time travel to prevent Mabel’s and Parker’s deaths. Theories about time travel, space, and wormholes are mentioned frequently. 
  • Quinn compares time travel to magic. “Everything I’ve read says the best way to find a wormhole is to ask for one to appear. That makes me think of magic. I imagine myself like a witch, looking for the perfect place to cast a spell.”
  • Quinn thinks she sees a wormhole in the library. “I open my eyes, and for a brief moment, I swear there’s a halo of light on the floor in the library. A wormhole.” It disappears right after. 
  • Cora and Quinn are drawn to a tree in the forest that they think is magical. They return to this tree a few times, hoping it is the spot for their wormhole. 

Spiritual Content 

  • Cora has Arab roots that she isn’t very in tune with. She is collecting Arabic words to learn her ancestor’s language, so a few Arabic words appear in the text. Her family is Muslim, but according to Cora they are “not very religious.” She notes a few cultural things in her home. “There’s a painting of the Dome of the Rock hanging in our kitchen. There’s also one framed Quranic verse. . . but since I can’t read Arabic, I always forget which one it is.” 
  • Cora asks Quinn if her family’s religion had anything to do with her sister’s death. “Did [Parker] go after Mabel because she was Muslim?” Quinn replies, “I don’t know.” 

Mystery of the Egyptian Scroll

You, who have dug deep and sifted hard for a story to read, have unearthed an ancient treasure: a mystery from the dusty ages when a kid could be a hero and fight for the good of all . . .

Twelve-year-old Zet oversees the family pottery stall now that his father is away fighting the Hyksos invaders. But sales are not going well and his rumbling stomach is setting off warning bells. What if his family can’t afford to eat? Zet needs help fast. Then a miracle happens: a huge reward is offered to whoever finds a stolen scroll and returns it to its rightful owner. Zet needs to track down that scroll. There’s only one catch: Zet is no detective and he’s way out of his element. Still, Zet sets out in search of clues, sneaking past hieroglyphics-covered walls, sprinting along the Nile, and chasing after a crafty pair of suspects. Can Zet find the scroll? Can he win the reward and save the day?

Mystery of the Egyptian Scroll follows Zet, who is desperate to provide for his family. Zet is somewhat impulsive and acts before he thinks. However, he is also a moral character who is brave in the face of danger and cares about others. Zet begins investigating the thief’s identity because a warrior offered him a large reward. Yes during his investigation, Zet meets a farmer and a blind beggar and despite their lowly status, he always treats them with kindness and worries about their wellbeing. 

This fast-paced story will give readers a glimpse into ancient Egyptian life and show some of the hardships that families had to overcome. Even though Zet was only 12 years old, he was in charge of providing for his family: his mother, sister, and baby brother. Zet takes his responsibility seriously and worries about what will happen when the family runs out of food. In the end, Zet is given a reward for helping identify the thieves. Even though Zet’s family needs the money for basic necessities, Zet still offers to give the farmer some of his reward money. Zet’s dedication to his family and his kindness to strangers is admirable. 

Mystery of the Egyptian Scroll is an engaging story full of action and adventure. The conclusion has several surprises and readers will smile when Zet is praised and rewarded for “doing the right thing.” The story’s easy vocabulary and short chapters make it accessible to most readers. The engaging story will entertain all mystery-loving readers who want to travel to ancient Egypt. Readers who want to learn more about ancient Egypt can jump back in time by reading Escape from Egypt by Wendy Mass. To learn even more about the time period, Mystery of the Egyptian Scroll can be paired with the nonfiction book The Curse of King Tut’s Mummy by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld.

Sexual Content 

  • None

Violence 

  • When a thief runs through the marketplace, no one wants to “be associated with thieves. . . You might get your hand cut off, or worse, your head.”
  • A farmer overhears two men talking, but he didn’t “tell them they were trespassing. . . because the thin one pulled out a knife. I didn’t wait to find out if he planned to use it. I just started running.”
  • Zet overhears two thieves talking. “Shut your mouth,” growled the large man. “And keep it shut, or I’ll have to do it permanently. Don’t think I won’t either.”
  • When a man is arrested, Zet worries that the police chief would kill him. “Impale him on a stake, or burn him to death. That was punishment for crimes against the state.” Later, the man is let out of prison unharmed.
  • To stop the thieves, Zet jumps into a river and unties their boat. One of the thieves orders his guard to stop Zet. “The powerful man reached him and they struggled. The servant easily pushed him under, holding him down until Zet thought his lungs would burst” Zet finally “bit the man’s arm. Hard. The hand released him. . . The huge guard grabbed for him again, but Zet found the oar and punched it toward the man’s ribs.” The warrior arrives and helps Zet.

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • In the marketplace, a man and a stall owner argue over the price of beer.

Language 

  • Zet’s sister calls him a “jackal-head.”
  • A man calls someone a dog.
  • One of the thieves calls Zet a rat.

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content 

  • When telling time, the description often refers to Ra. For example, “Overhead, the sun god Ra was nearing the end of his voyage across the sky. Soon, he would reach the horizon.”
  • Zet’s family has a household shrine. “Their statue of Bastet, the cat goddess, was small but made of the finest ebony. She had been the household god of his father, and his father’s father before that. . . He lit a stick of incense and prayed to her for help in finding the thieves.” 
  • When Zet prays to the statue of Bastet, he “rubbed Bastet’s carved, ebony head. Even though she was a statue, he felt sure she enjoyed it.”
  • When Zet sees one of the thieves, “he thought of his prayers to Bastet the night before and said a silent thank you.”
  • Zet and his sister go by a chapel. “Inside was the shrine with the stele—the stone carving—covered with dozens of engraved ears. During the day, the Hearing Ear shrine would often be crowded with worshipers coming to speak to the goddess. They’d ask her for favors or help with whatever ailed them.”
  • Zet and his sister sneak into a temple to spy on the High Priest. When the High Priest sees them, Zet says, “We simply want your blessing. A blessing from a man as powerful as yourself. You have the ear of the gods. You have the ear of Amenemopet himself.” The priest gives them a blessing.

Across the Desert

In Dusti Bowling’s Across the Desert, Jolene wants big adventures – as big as the ones that Amelia Earhart and Bessie Coleman once had, soaring through the skies with the utmost freedom and overcoming all the challenges they faced. That’s what Jolene dreams of –  except she’s stuck at home with no money and a mom who’s not-so-secretly addicted to oxycodone. 

It looks like Jolene’s dreams may come true when she’s the only one to witness her online friend, Addie Earhart, crash her ultralight plane in the middle of Arizona on a livestream. The problem: Jolene doesn’t know where Addie is exactly, no adults seem to understand the problem, and Jolene is only twelve years old. To save Addie, Jolene sets out with only her map, resilience, friends, luck, and a lot of ingenuity. Along the way, Jolene learns that sometimes the biggest adventures are closest to home.

Across the Desert is an action-packed adventure that includes scenes of Jolene getting into very dangerous situations because of her rash decisions. For example, Jolene and her new friend, Marty, experience injuries throughout, including various stages of heatstroke. Addie also experiences intense injuries when she crashes her ultralight. Although the story ends with Addie recovering, a large part of the book is about Addie’s rescue in the desert. Although the characters’ injuries don’t include graphic descriptions, the scenes are intense as the stakes are high.

Outside of Addie’s rescue, Jolene grapples with her understanding of her mom’s opioid addiction. Most of the knowledge Jolene gains is from looking it up on the library computers. However, once she meets Marty and Marty’s mom, she starts to understand what it means to lose loved ones to addiction. When Jolene discovers that Marty’s sister overdosed on heroin, this spurs Jolene to confront her mom about her addiction. The book tackles the difficult topic of addiction in an age-appropriate manner. Readers will gain insight on how addiction affects not just one person, but many, and that reaching out to help others is crucial. Jolene and her mom learn to identify addiction, and they take the necessary first steps to help her mom receive treatment.

To cope with her mom’s addiction, Jolene initially deals with her trauma by compartmentalizing it into boxes in her mind and putting her feelings away. By the end of the book, Jolene has learned how to trust others and lets her feelings out instead of bottling them up. Marty, her teenage friend, is a massive help to her emotionally and their friendship is incredibly heartwarming.

Across the Desert is best for middle-grade readers who love adventure and enjoy history, as Jolene often references famous women and their accomplishments throughout the book. It is a good start for teaching young readers about addiction and how they can be empathetic towards others who are struggling with their own addiction, or a loved one’s. The story shows how sometimes the best adventures bring friendship and family even closer than before.

Sexual Content 

  • Jolene makes a reference to online predators as she explains her online friendship with internet aviation sensation Addie Earhart. Jolene says, “For all [Addie] knows, I could be some old guy who smells like cheese and onions pretending to be a twelve-year-old girl.” Several people throughout the book, including Jolene’s mom, make similar remarks. For instance, Jolene’s mom says, “This ‘girl’ is probably some creep looking to prey on little girls.”
  • Addie and Jolene talk about their interests, and Jolene mentions that she likes drawing. Addie replies, “One of my mom’s friends draws naked people. I hope you don’t do that.”

Violence 

  • Jolene describes the dangers of exploration. Jolene says, “Lots of people die while exploring and mapping things. They freeze to death and fall off mountains.”
  • Previously, Jolene and her mom were in a car accident. Jolene describes the accident: “But as Mom started rolling forward into the intersection, I noticed that an old brown truck coming from the other direction seemed to be going really fast . . . Mom turned her head to see what I was looking at, but she didn’t have time to react.” The description of the accident lasts a couple of pages.
  • Jolene occasionally thinks about the car accident. She says, “I remember how I thought Mom was dead right after the car accident. It was so scary. Her not waking up. And the blood. So much blood.” This scene ends with Jolene compartmentalizing her fears and trauma.
  • Addie describes how javelinas are an invasive animal species in the desert where she is. She says into the camera, “You don’t even need a hunting license to kill one because Game and Fish wants them gone so badly.”
  • Addie’s plane goes down during a livestream. Jolene is watching, and she describes, “Addie is screaming so hysterically that I can’t even make out what she’s saying or if she’s even saying words at all. She seems to be struggling to catch her breath, struggling to get a word out . . . One very loud crash blasts my ears, and then it seems for a second that the phone is flying by itself.” The description of Addie’s yelling and the shaky phone video lasts for a couple of pages.
  • Addie mentions how she misses her dad a lot. Jolene asks where he is, and Addie says, “He died. Six months ago. Car accident.” 
  • Addie talks about her favorite aviator, Bessie Coleman. Jolene asks what happened to Coleman, and Addie says, “She died in a plane crash.”
  • After hitting a bump in the road, Jolene is launched off a motor bike. In the accident, her “body slams against the road, knocking the air out of my lungs. Stars burst in my eyes, and then I’m rolling across the hot blacktop, still unable to breathe or stop myself.” The scene is described over a couple of paragraphs.
  • Jolene imagines what would’ve happened had she gotten bitten by a rattlesnake. “I’d have keeled over on my way back to Hope. Just keeled over dead. Based on the number of cars I’ve seen, it might have been several days before someone even found my body. By then, it would have been eaten by animals and buzzards and stuff. Or maybe it would never be found out here.”
  • Marty tells Jolene about how people die in the desert all the time. Marty says, “‘Like a few years ago, there were these people who died on a walk in Encanto Park. They were just walking around on the sidewalk and fell over dead from heat stroke. Like this,’ Marty lets her head fall to the side and sticks her tongue out. ‘Instant deadness.’”
  • Jolene and Marty find Addie in the crashed ultralight with her legs pinned against the rock that she smashed into. Addie says that she can’t really feel her legs anymore. She says, “After a while, they went numb.” Jolene notes that she “can’t see all of her legs” because Addie is pinned to the rock. When they pull the ultralight away from the rock, Jolene notices that Addie’s “jeans and boots are dark red with blood.” The rescue scene is described over a few chapters.

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • Jolene types “how to quit oxycodone” into the search bar on the computer for what she feels like is the hundredth time. Her mom is addicted to oxycodone after a car accident years before, and Jolene references the facts that she knows about oxycodone occasionally.
  • Jolene tells Marty about her mom’s oxycodone addiction, and Jolene asks what happens to someone if they don’t break their addiction. Marty says, “Then she’ll keep taking them. She’ll need more and more all the time because you build up a tolerance. One day she’ll take so much that she dies.”
  • Jolene asks Marty why she knows so much about oxycodone, and Marty responds with, “Kids at my school take and sell oxy.”
  • Jolene’s mom refers to rumble strips on the sides of the road as “drunk bumps.”
  • Jolene constantly worries about her mom taking too many oxy pills. She thinks, “Will she take more pills tomorrow? Will she take so many she dies?”
  • Marty and her mom tell Jolene about Marty’s late sister, Lucy. Marty tells the story of “Lucy getting her wisdom teeth taken out and the surgeon prescribing the same pills that Mom takes – oxycodone. Lucy was addicted after only a week, and when they tried to cut her off, she spent all her savings getting more pills. And when the savings ran out, she resorted to stealing from her family. They got her on a waiting list for a hospital right away, but the lists are long. Too long…while they were waiting, Lucy tried heroin because it’s cheaper than the pills.” Marty’s mom explains that Lucy overdosed after trying heroin once, and she died. This story lasts for a couple pages.
  • Jolene gets to sit in on a group therapy session at the rehab clinic where her mom is staying. People tell their stories about addiction. A man named Brian says, “I have been an opioid addict for nearly twenty years. Rock bottom for me was being found dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs I’d fallen down after shooting heroin laced with fentanyl. They managed to revive me, and I overdosed only six more times after that.” This scene in the rehab clinic continues for a couple of pages.

Language 

  • Jolene meets 17-year-old Marty at the bus station. Instead of swearing around Jolene, Marty just says “cuss” because Jolene is 12 years old. This happens occasionally throughout their interactions.
  • Light language is used throughout, though infrequently. Terms include: Stupid, heck, sucks, and stinks.
  • The kids at school used to bully Jolene and called her “snaggletooth.” They also bullied her friend Benjamin. She says, “They pushed him and called him a loser.”
  • At the end of the previous school year, Jolene received a “hand-drawn picture” of herself where “in the picture, [her] teeth looked like a vampire’s. [Her] clothes looked like torn rags. And in big letters across the top: Bye, Snaggletooth.”
  • Marty finds Jolene in a town a few miles away sleeping on a bench. Jolene is mad at Marty for coming to find her, and Marty says, “If you think I’m leaving you here on a bench in the middle of nowhere when you look like you’re already half-dead, then you’re more cracker pants than I realized.” Jolene replies by calling Marty cracker pants as well, though she confesses that she’s “not totally sure that cracker pants is actually a thing.” Cracker pants serves as a replacement for crazy for the rest of the book and is used somewhat often.
  • Marty tells Jolene that it’s Jolene’s fault that she had to go “save her bony butt.”

Supernatural

  • Jolene hears yelling out in the desert and she quickly realizes that they’re coyotes, not zombies like she originally thought. She says, “Coyotes are better than zombies, but still.”

Spiritual Content 

  • On the lawn of Marty’s grandpa’s house, there are some lawn displays including, “an old plastic nativity scene left over from Christmas.”

Other Words for Home

When 12-year-old Jude is forced to leave her home country of Syria with her pregnant mother, she loses her friends, family, and her home overnight. Suddenly, Jude has left behind the only place she’s ever known and moves to Cincinnati, Ohio to live with her uncle. 

Adapting takes time. People in America talk fast and talk in ways Jude doesn’t understand. The English Jude learned back home is not enough to keep up, causing her to struggle in school and making it difficult to make friends. Americans dress differently too, and many of them don’t understand Muslim customs. Meanwhile, the constant stress of her mother’s pregnancy and being separated from her home, father, and brother weigh heavily on Jude’s mind. Yet the hardest part about adapting to America is figuring out who she is in this new place. In America, Jude must redefine herself in ways she never imagined. She relies on the last words her brother spoke to her: “Be brave.” 

Jude dives headfirst into making her new life work. She studies hard, develops relationships with new friends, and even tries out for her school musical. Yet Jude becomes torn between her past and present identities when a terrorist attack leads to an increased amount of hate crimes against Middle Eastern people in her town. Jude doesn’t understand why innocent people should be held responsible for the crimes of a few. Jude says, “Americans expect bombs to go off in Lebanon, in Pakistan, in my beloved Syria, but not in France, Britain, Canada. . . Americans think it’s normal for there to be violence in places where people like me are from, where people like me and people who look like me live. . . That they all see people like me and think violence, sadness, war.” Jude concludes that many people are quick to make generalizations about things they don’t understand. However, instead of getting upset, Jude decides to prove them wrong. She decides to truly be “seen.” 

Things start to look up when Jude scores a role in her school play and her new baby sister is born. Plus, Jude is able to talk with her brother for the first time in nearly a year. Eventually, Jude finds where she fits in, confidently pursues her goals, and is filled with hope for the future when her family can be reunited again. The book ends with Jude standing in the spotlight on the stage, ready to be seen. 

Other Words for Home is a story about a girl who, despite having her life uprooted, remains optimistic for a future where she can thrive. It is written in free verse, but the story is still easy to understand. As a narrator, Jude is humorous and direct which makes her story entertaining and powerful. American readers will find the events shocking because they will see their culture through the eyes of someone else. While people may know the facts and physical struggles of immigrant families, they rarely get to see the true emotions behind the people who endure these trials. Even though some parts of the story may be uncomfortable to read, Other Words for Home is a must-read because the story will give readers a better understanding of the life of immigrants in America.

While the content of Other Words for Home can seem political, there is never a time when the reader doesn’t identify with Jude. She feels like an outcast who wants others to see her for who she really is – not the labels that society puts on her. This is especially relatable to middle-grade readers, but is also relatable to anyone who wishes the world wasn’t so quick to judge. One of the most powerful moments in the story is when Jude bravely declares, “I am choosing to not be afraid” in the face of society’s prejudice. 

One theme that is highlighted throughout the story is the importance of not judging people based on their race. Jude is an immigrant, a Muslim, and a foreigner. Others often make assumptions about Jude and these perceptions alter how she is able to adapt to American society. At first, Jude is unsure of how to navigate these labels, but she slowly comes to resist them and stays true to herself. In the beginning of the story, Jude is torn over which place – Syria or America – is her home, but she comes to realize that home is a feeling rather than a place. Home is among her friends and family, who support her dreams and see Jude as her true self. 

Sexual Content 

  • When Muslim girls get their first period, they come of age and cover their hair with a headscarf. Fatima, one of Jude’s friends, is the first to get her period. Jude says Fatima “is one of the first girls in our grade to cover. She has bled between her legs.”
  • Jude says she wasn’t supposed to watch the movie Practical Magic or Pretty Woman because “witches and prostitutes scare Mama.”
  • Jude and her friend, Sarah, watch a show with kissing. Jude describes how Sarah “doesn’t seem surprised by all the kissing on the show. I wonder if she has been kissed herself but I’m not brave enough to ask her.”
  • Jude gets her first period. “I look at the bloodstained spots that appeared on [the] sheets overnight. . . then I saw the slow, thick, crimson drip between my legs, and I felt the dense cramp of my stomach and I knew.” 

Violence 

  • Jude sees a picture in a newspaper of bloodied civilians. “The front page is filled with awful pictures of people who are bloodied and cowering together.”
  • Jude’s brother, Issa, is at his apartment with Jude and his roommates when police raid it. “There is shouting, glasses knocked to the ground, bodies shoved against walls, the sounds of handcuffs clicking, more shouting.” Neither of them is injured. The story doesn’t say what happens to the other people. 
  • Layla tells Jude about a terrorist attack. “And then she tells me: about the explosion, about the blood in the streets, and the horror and the death.” These are the only details given about the incident. 
  • There are three instances of hate crimes. No one is injured. In the first instance, Layla’s family’s shop is defaced when someone writes “terrorists” on the storefront. In the second, a man follows Jude and tells her to “go back to where you came from.” Lastly, a woman tells Jude to remove her hijab. 

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • None

Language 

  • Jude’s friend, Miles calls the man who told her to “go back to where [she] came from” a jerk. 

Supernatural 

  • None

Spiritual Content 

  • Jude, her family, and a few of her friends are Muslim. There are references to Muslim culture such as the Quran, mosques, and Allah (God). Occasionally Jude brings up Arabic proverbs. 
  • Jude says that there are men who “manipulate the Quran to say things that the rest of us know it does not say.” 
  • Jude mentions an Arabic myth. “I felt like the woman from the Arabic myth who can see so far into the distance that she can see the future.”
  • Jude says, “Allah would want us to have faith.” When she receives a postcard from a friend after a long time of not hearing from her, Jude says, “[This] is the type of thing that makes me believe in Allah and the grace of the universe.”
  • Jude and her family visit a mosque together.

Pilfer Academy: A School So Bad It’s Criminal

George Beckett is a natural-born thief, or at least, that’s what the teachers at Pilfer Academy think. 

When a mysterious individual recognizes George’s talent for sneaking around unnoticed and taking things he shouldn’t, he is kidnapped and brought to the mysterious and captivating Pilfer Academy. At Pilfer Academy everything, including the students, has been stolen.

At first, George is excited to have the opportunity to escape his family and play with thief gadgets. However, he soon realizes that applying the lessons he learns at Pilfer Academy to real-life situations is a lot harder than he imagined. George doubts his abilities and wonders if he can keep up with the other students. Despite his doubts, George dives right in and works to become one of the best thieves to attend Pilfer Academy. Along the way, he makes new friends and discovers that there’s more to being a thief than just stealing things. George also learns the importance of loyalty and making difficult moral decisions.

Dean Dean Deanbugle, the goofy antagonist that runs Pilfer Academy, views George as a prospective top pupil. He has a unique way of grooming his students, using praise and rewards to encourage them to engage in mischief and thievery. While George is initially enthralled by the new way of life, the pressure to adjust to the school’s expectations becomes overwhelming. His peers become jealous of the favoritism Deanbugle shows George, creating tension and conflict in the classroom.

As George becomes more involved in the school’s culture, he begins to question the morality of his actions. Is it right to steal from others, even if an adult tells you to? He wrestles with these ethical dilemmas as he navigates his way through Pilfer Academy, trying to balance the desire to impress his teachers with his own sense of right and wrong.

Despite his misgivings, George continues to thrive in the school’s environment. He becomes more skilled at thievery and mischief, earning high marks from his teachers and the admiration of his classmates. However, as the stakes get higher and the tasks more dangerous, he begins to wonder if the price of success is worth the cost. Will he continue to follow Deanbugle’s lead, or will he find the courage to forge his own path? This all comes to a head when he is forced to steal a teddy bear from a baby for his midterm grade. The depravity of the task is enough to tell George all he needs to know about his future at Pilfer Academy. 

Pilfer Academy: A School So Bad It’s Criminal is perfect for middle-grade readers who enjoy adventure, mystery, and humor. The world-building is creative and unique, and the characters are well-developed and relatable. One primary example of this is Tabitha Crawford, George’s partner in crime. Tabitha is intelligent, sweet, and honest. Her humility and loyalty towards George make her a loveable sidekick, but Magaziner does a beautiful job of including her flaws as a friend as well. This makes the friendship between George and Tabitha highly relatable. Pilfer Academy is a fun and entertaining read with has a positive message about the importance of doing the right thing, even when it’s difficult. Additionally, the plot is engaging and will keep readers hooked from the first page to the last.

In summary, Pilfer Academy: A School So Bad It’s Criminal is an excellent book for young readers who enjoy a thrilling adventure with a positive message. The story follows a young protagonist as he navigates an unexpected kidnapping, a school full of criminals, discovering what a true friend really is and where the lines are drawn morally. It teaches readers that friendship is about trusting and supporting someone else and that it is okay to have disagreements sometimes. It also covers the topic of when it is okay to question an authoritative figure and what is morally right or wrong. These themes are presented in a palatable and humorous way that will have readers hooked on every page.

Sexual Content 

  • When touring Pilfer, George is brought through many exhibits including “big ones and small ones, portraying Greek gods and naked people and cupid babies. One even squirted yellow liquid out of its mouth, which George thought looked positively disgusting.”

Violence 

  • One of the opening scenes displays George being stolen from outside his home when he attempts to buy ice cream from a van. George “screamed and tried to bite [the kidnapper], but the netting was small and thick, and George ended up with a mouthful of mesh . . . The woman fastened him down with some heavy-duty duct tape. . . George pushed her—she tumbled back and hit the wall of the truck.” The kidnappers drape George in a net and secure him with duct tape which holds him for several hours.
  • Students repeatedly exhibit bullying behaviors. Pilfer doesn’t just accept bad behavior but encourages some of these interactions between students. This causes a lot of fights and antics to occur amongst classmates. “But the class would have been a lot better if he didn’t feel like he was being hazed by Milo and his friends.” These incidents of “hazing” include George’s roommate, Milo, stealing his bedding, sabotaging his class assignments, and convincing the Dean that George should be sent to the whirlyberg.
  • There are many instances when the “whirlyberg” is brought up. It is a broken-down carousel the Dean uses as a torture device when students are not listening. “I’m going to take these children down to the whirlyblerg for ETERNITY.” Deanbugle tells this to the staff after finding George and Tabitha attempting to escape Pilfer. 
  • Trying to escape, George and Tabitha encounter a set of lasers. “ZZzzzzzzzt!!! came the sound from across the room. ‘What’s that?’ George shouted. He was stuck between three lasers and couldn’t see her. ‘Tabitha! Did you get hit?’” Tabitha is okay, but her hair is burnt by the lasers. They continue to move because they know their options are to escape and get help or spend eternity in the whirlyberg.
  • The rightful owner of the mansion that Pilfer Academy resides in comes to try to airlift it off the ground. He needs it to be airlifted is because the rightful owner of the mansion is the Duke Valois of France, the sworn enemy of Dean Dean Deanbugle. “There came sounds of glass shattering and students screaming. A wave of lemonade from the fountain in the foyer spilled over and drenched a bunch of third years, who ran into the hall, shrieking.” The mansion is successfully airlifted off the ground with a majority of students and teaching staff having jumped out of the building. George, Tabitha, and the rest of the staff are carried all the way to France where they are greeted by the Duke.
  • When Deanbugle is close to being captured by the Duke, he shouts and jumps out the window. “Then he began to kick his legs and throw the biggest temper tantrum George had ever seen. His wails echoed into the night sky. He beat his fists and pulled at his eyebrows. He sneezed onto his sleeve. He punched the living stuffing out of a scarecrow. He ran around like a rabid dog, cursing the day that George and Tabitha had been born and vowing for revenge.” He is apprehended by police cars while throwing his temper tantrum.

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • None

Language 

  • Browbeat is a teacher who utilizes goofy acronyms to teach her lessons, but one acronym creates the curse word “piss.”  “Browbeat lectured for an hour and fifteen minutes on the basic principles of stealthiness, which he called the P-I-S-S method: Patience, Imperturbability, Silence, and Surprise.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content 

  • None

The Taken

Isla and her family are foxes who have always lived in the Graylands, not too far from the furless. She and her brother, Pirie, being young cubs, are slowly learning to survive the many dangers that face them. Suddenly, Isla returns to her family’s home to discover the smell of fire and strange newcomers – and no trace of her family.

Alone and afraid, Isla plunges deep into the world of the furless to search for her family. While dodging danger at every turn, she meets Siffrin, another fox who knows magic and can shapeshift. More importantly, Siffrin is also looking for her brother, but Siffrin won’t explain why. Shrouded in mystery, Isla begins to learn about the world beyond that of the Graylands and seeks to find her brother before the foxes who caused the disappearance find him.

The Taken is the first in the Foxcraft Series and it is an action-packed start to the series. As this is a fantasy world with foxes and other supernatural forces, there are plenty of new terms for readers to take in while reading. For instance, the characters refer to humans as “the furless” and roads as “the deathway.” Fortunately, if readers are confused, there is a glossary of terms at the back and a map of the near the front of the book.

Isla, much like the reader, does not know anything about foxcraft or foxlore, much to Siffrin’s chagrin. The Taken sets up what will follow in the coming books, continuing the mysterious disappearance of Isla’s brother, Pirie. Importantly, it introduces the reader to Isla, whose self-confidence and compassion for others grow as the book progresses. Despite not knowing if her family is alive, she will do anything to get them back and she learns to confront foxes and any other creatures who get in her way. 

Isla, Siffrin, and Pirie are hunted by a dark magical force living in the aptly-named Darklands that can seemingly control foxes that it captures. Iserles is one of the authors from the Warriors Series, and there are similar amounts of fighting in both series. Fans of the Warriors Series will not find the violence upsetting, but some young readers may be upset by the descriptions. For instance, there is a scene in which Isla describes death in gruesome detail, saying, “From where we were perched, I couldn’t see the impact, and the rain distorted the cracking limbs. I was spared the mangle of her broken body.” However, those familiar with other Erin Hunter Series will feel at home in this world and will enjoy the high-octane plot. 

Foxcraft: The Taken is a solid start to this exciting series, which leaves plenty of unanswered questions to stir readers’ excitement for the second book, The Elders. Despite many new terms, it’s relatively easy to fall into the world and understand the various plot points. Isla’s resilience and love for her family drive this book and nicely sets up the character that will lead the rest of this series. Those ready for a fun adventure should absolutely read the Foxcraft Series. 

Sexual Content 

  • None

Violence 

  • The dangers of cars and roads are always present. Isla’s grandmother says, “The death river claims more foxes than all other assassins.”
  • A dog attacks Isla, but at the last second, she manages to free herself from the trap she’s in. Isla “flailed and bucked, desperate to free my trapped foreleg. The creature’s great jaws gaped above me; I felt the dampness of his breath.”
  • Some human children throw rocks at Isla. “One of them grabbed a rock and flung it at me. It struck the stone ground by my hind paw, and I sprang back in confusion.”
  • A guard dog announces that she “killed a cat the other night.” 
  • Ilsa’s grandmother, Greatma, tells how foxes have historically been treated, especially by humans. She says, “Our kind has been hunted, tortured, attacked, and turned into pelts to warm the necks of the furless. They have shot us for fun and chased us as a game –  they do not even eat those they kill. By the death river or their casual cruelty; by gas, or dogs, or simple starvation. The land of the furless is full of deaths and each one whispers a fox’s name.”
  • Isla attacks Siffrin, a messenger of the Elders, because he’s been following her. She “bit him hard on his wiry tail. The dog yelped in surprise.”
  • Siffrin shapeshifts to fight the foxes that are hunting him and Isla. Isla “heard the scrape of their claws as they scrambled on stone, and I craned to see what was going on. With a snarl, Siffrin broke free, this time in the form of the mongrel dog. He vaulted into the air, at least at full brush-length, slamming down on the fox that was snapping at his paws. He sent her tumbling onto the deathway.” This fight scene lasts for several pages.
  • Isla learns how to catch a mouse. Isla pounces on it, and “with a bite and a jerk of [her] head, it was dead.”
  • A fot named Karka orders her cronies to capture Isla and Siffrin. Karka says, “Get them or I’ll tear out your filthy throats!”
  • One of Karka’s minions (known as The Taken) jumps across the buildings to chase Isla and Siffrin, but misses the building and lands on the street below. Isla describes, “From where we were perched, I couldn’t see the impact, and the rain distorted the cracking limbs. I was spared the mangle of her broken body.” The description lasts for a paragraph.
  • Siffrin reveals that he watched Karka kill Isla’s family. “When [Siffrin] arrived, it was almost over. Your ma and fa, they were already dead…Your greatma was courageous. She fought hard. [She] was already falling, was already wounded.” The description lasts for around a page and doesn’t describe the specifics of their deaths.
  • Animal control captures Isla and she is scheduled to be euthanized. She talks with another captured fox as they watch an animal be taken to another room by humans. The other fox says, “Another one taken to be killed.” This scene lasts for a chapter.
  • The wolf that Isla freed saves her life by attacking Karka and the Taken. “The great wolf opened his jaws. Karka stayed frozen, held in his thrall. He sprang upon her and threw her down, fastening his deadly fangs around her neck. With a brutal snap he shook her and then dropped her, letting her head roll on the graystone. She stared at him with her single gray eye. Would stare like that forever.” This scene lasts for a couple pages.

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • None

Language 

  • Isla has a confrontation with a wolf. Isla tells the wolf that she eats rats, and the wolf says to Isla, “A thing that eats rats has no right to exist!” He also calls her a “rat-munching coward.”
  • Light language is used often. Terms include: idiot and stupid.

Supernatural

  • The book details the story of Isla and Pirie, who are foxes who think and talk like humans, as do some other animals in the book. Isla meets a wolf who speaks the same language as her, and she’s surprised. Isla says, “He must have been a cub of Canista –  a creature like me – though I could hardly imagine how we might be related.” Canista is the name for the Fox deity from which they come from.
  • Isla has a vision of her brother being captured, being led into the world of the humans. Isla describes her vision, saying, “I was moving with difficulty, my flank throbbing with pain. Up ahead there was a row of tall furless dens. In the front of them was a huge stone yard with a lone furless standing at the center. Her skin was cool gray, her eyes stared blindly, and great wings unfolded from her back. I gazed at her in fear and wonder.” Siffrin explains that this is a rare kind of foxcraft called “gerra-sharm” that can happen between cubs of the same litter.
  • Isla meets a small dog who “cast no shadow.” As Isla learns, he is a “messenger of Jana, one of the Elder Foxes from the Wildlands.” When Isla asks why he is a dog, he says, “I am in wa’akkir. I have assumed a disguise.” It is explained later that wa’akkir is an ancient fox magic called foxcraft.
  • Siffrin, the magic fox messenger, explains foxlore to Isla. He explains how foxes, wolves, and dogs are “cubs of Canista” and that, “Only Fox had the courage to live without rules, without the hierarchies of others – to hunt and survive in freedom and peace. For while Wolf and Dog are so brutalized that they will gladly kill their own kind, Fox avoids conflict at all costs. She does not yearn to control others –  only to live by her own wits.” The history lesson lasts for several pages, as he explains the magical powers they possess, like imitating other animals (“karak”) and invisibility (“slimmering”). These magic powers are used by Siffrin throughout the book, and he teaches Isla to use them as well.
  • Siffrin uses his powers to heal Isla. Siffrin says, “With my touch, I sense you; with my eyes, I heal you. By Canista’s Lights, I share what I have; we are knit together and you are whole.” During this, Isla has a vision of Siffrin as a cub where he was “desperate and starving.” The scene lasts for a page.

Spiritual Content 

  • Siffrin heals Isla using his Maa. He describes to Isla that the Maa is the “essence of every fox,” or the spirit.

Out Of Left Field

Spunky fifth-grader Katy Gordon is the best baseball pitcher in her neighborhood. She spends every passing moment on the baseball diamond, where she’s mastered the art of pitching and left many neighborhood boys befuddled with her bat-missing “Sunday” knuckleball. However, when she’s recruited to play in the local Little League, she quickly runs into a massive problem. She’s a girl. And girls don’t play baseball.

Angry and frustrated with the league’s discrimination, Katy embarks on an adventure to prove Little League wrong — girls have played baseball before. Katy’s investigation leads her on a collision course with the past and present, where she learns extraordinary truths about women’s roles in baseball that were buried in history. Although the odds are stacked against her, can Katy prove that women belong on the baseball field too? Can she change the sport of baseball forever?

Set in the late 1950s, the story follows young, determined Katy Gordon, who refuses to give up her passion for baseball despite Little League’s rules. Out in Left Field details Katy’s journey to build her argument for women’s baseball, and it takes upon a detective-like atmosphere, where Katy searches to uncover valuable truths about women’s history. In her quest she reads important articles about famous historical figures like Jackie Mitchell, who was a professional girl baseball player. The story incorporates a nice blend of fictional characters with actual historical events, and this inclusion makes the heavier topics of the United States’s history, like the space race and segregation, easier to digest within an uplifting, fictional tale.

Katy’s resilient attitude toward hardships is admirable, and her curious yet innocent personality can cause even the most stubborn readers to root for her cause. Many readers will relate to Katy’s experiences, too, as the book perfectly relays the realistic struggles of fighting against overwhelming odds. Whether it’s supporting the inclusion of girls in Little League or the desegregation of major league baseball, Katy’s character fits with the book’s central theme of advocating for what’s right. Out in Left Field teaches readers that it’s important to stand up for what you believe — even if people disagree with your claim. 

While the story focuses mainly on Katy’s passion for baseball, it occasionally jumps to different topics, such as the increasing tensions between the United States and Russia or the relocation of a popular baseball team. These shifts may be a little aggravating for the readers. More importantly, its conclusion can also feel underwhelming for readers who want a clear resolution to all the book’s issues. However, the book’s main message is important as the story teaches that everyone’s fight for justice is different and important. And through whatever outcome, people’s efforts can have substantial, lasting effects on others, such as Katy’s influence on other girls who want to play baseball. Although Out Of Left Field is the third book in a series, it is still an enjoyable story for readers who haven’t read the first two books. 

Overall, Out of Left Field is a charming story that showcases a young girl’s fortitude in the face of unfortunate circumstances. Thanks to the enjoyable main character, Katy Gordon, and her cast of engaging side characters, the book presents an inspiring tale of fighting for what’s right while exploring some heavier topics like segregation, women’s rights, and the space race. The end of the book also contains some excerpts about real woman ballplayers that connect the story’s central message with historical figures. This roughly twenty-four-page section features hand-drawn images of the ballplayer with a small paragraph detailing her role in baseball and her accomplishments. As a result, Out Of Left Field’s fictional tale sheds light on these important historical figures through a beautiful, well-written story about advocacy and baseball. Readers interested in learning more about the history of baseball should also read the picture books Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki and Catching the Moon: The Story of a Young Girl’s Baseball Dream by Crystal Hubbard.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • During conversations, Katy’s mom regularly smokes, and motions with a cigarette. For example, her mom “sat down and stubbed out her cigarette.”
  • Throughout the story, Katy’s mom and Aunt Babs regularly drink beer. For example, Katy’s mom “went to the fridge, opened a beer, [and] handed me a coke.”
  • During a Yom Kippur dinner, Katy’s Gramma and her extended family drink “wine so sweet they even let [Katy] have a taste.”
  • During a barbecue, beer and cigarettes are offered to family members. Katy “got an Orange Crush out of a big washtub full of ice and bottles of soda and beer.”

Language

  • The narrator repeatedly uses the term “Negros” for the black community.
  • Some of the boys at baseball tryouts shout insults such as “chimp-face,” “butt-sniffer,” “stinker,” and “candyass,” at Katy and the other boys.
  • Katy’s coach once utters “Jesus” in astonishment.
  • Katy’s mom curses multiple times; she uses “darn tootin’,” “ass,” and “bastards.”
  • Katy’s friend uses “crap,” “stupid,” and “jerks” in anger toward the Little League committee. 
  • Sticks, one of Katy’s classmates, begins to say, “That’s a load of bull—” but he stops mid-sentence.
  • When a kid was making fun of Katy, PeeWee once mutters, “Aw, for the love of Pete. Shut your trap.”
  • Joey and Josh, Katy’s classmates, twice utter “damn” in astonishment at Katy’s pitching ability.
  • A retired ballplayer, Toni Stone, repeatedly uses “damn” and “hell” in frustration.
  • One of Katy’s classmates, Matt, once shouted “jeez-Louise” in surprise at an announcement.

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Katy’s family celebrates “Yom Kippur. The end of the Jewish New Year.”
  • Katy’s family repeatedly says, “the prayers” and “Hebrew prayers” before eating Yom Kippur meals.
  • Madge, one of Katy’s classmates, talks about her church and explains that her “pastor said godless communists shouldn’t control the heavens.”
  • People pray “for Laika’s safe return” from space. 
  • At one point in the story, Katy’s best friend celebrates “Hanukkah” with her family.

The Maze Cutter

Isaac, Sadina, and their friends are living on an isolated island — far from the destruction and terror on the mainland caused by the Flare virus. But when a suspicious ship carrying a woman from the mainland arrives, the friends take this chance to leave the safety of the island for the opportunity to see what life on the mainland holds for them. Isaac and his friends leave their safety and their home behind for a chance at improving the world for future generations. The novel follows Isaac and his friends’ trip to the mainland, as well as two warring groups, both desperate for descendants of a certain bloodline that they hope to use for their respective causes.

Fans of Dashner’s original Maze Runner series (2009) will be thrilled to find a new batch of characters and references to the original series in The Maze Cutter. Though the story is set seventy-three years after the Maze Runner Series, the references to the original series will make it difficult to follow for readers who have not read the original series. The prologue opens with references to the events of the original series and there are interspersed excerpts from the diary of one of the characters in the original series. 

The Maze Cutter’s point of view switches between Alexandria, Isaac, and Minho. Alexandria is a goddess with powers stemming from the Flare virus. Isaac is a young man who joins his friends who return to the dystopian mainland. And Minho is a trained soldier for the Remnant Nation. The varying plots can be hard to follow since the different characters start out in completely different places, hundreds of miles from each other. However, by the halfway point of the novel, a trap set by one of the two warring factions brings them together with a battle scene that keeps readers wanting to know more. 

Minho and Isaac demonstrate the importance of building relationships and embracing “found family.” Isaac struggles to reckon with the loss of his family, as well as his perceived guilt because his family died when they entered stormy ocean waves to save him from drowning. Isaac’s willingness to push through his fear to protect his friends makes him a likable character, and readers will enjoy seeing his realization that “all the crazy people” that survived the battle with him “had made [the loss of his family] a little more bearable.” 

Minho is an orphan who “had no parents, no brothers, no sisters, no friends. Only enemies,” until he meets an older woman named Roxy who offers him food and shelter when he stumbles onto her property. Readers will appreciate how Minho’s mindset changes about having family, as he initially is taught to “follow protocol” and not trust anyone, but eventually, he lets Roxy in and shows his emotional side. During the battle scene at the end of the novel, Roxy saves him. Minho says, “It was kinda cool having a mom.”

Another major theme is humanity, and what happens when humans reach for power. To prevent any spread of the Flare virus, the Remnant Nation trains children, like Minho, to be soldiers that will kill any outsiders in hopes of eradicating the virus. By contrast, the Godhead wants to use the virus to infect all of humanity and cause “The Evolution”—powers they hope to gain from the virus. Minho explains of the Godhead and the Remnant Nation, “You’re talking about two religions here, both in a race to the end. And one won’t rest until the other’s gone.” Readers can take away the message that while sometimes people start out with the intention of protecting and helping people, the opportunity to gain power can cause them to hurt others to achieve their goals.

The conclusion leaves readers wondering what the characters will choose to do—will they stay on the mainland or look for a way to return home? Will Alexandria take complete power over her faction? Readers will be left looking forward to the next book in the series, The Godhead Complex, which shows Alexandria uncovering the most valuable asset in this post-apocalyptic battle—a clue that connects the book back to the original Maze Runner series. Readers who are not put off by violence will enjoy how the end battle brings the characters together and shows the survivors forming tight bonds of friendship. 

Sexual Content 

  • After Sadina is kidnapped, she is reunited with her long-time girlfriend, Trish. “Trish and Sadina had yet to let go of each other. . . kissing and hugging in a loop that might last another day or two.”

Violence 

  • Minho is approached by a man who begs for his life. Minho didn’t have the courage to disobey protocol” so he shot the man. The murder is described in detail, “A single shot rang out” and the man Minho shot is described as having “a small wisp of smoke leaking from the new hole in his head, slumped off the horse and fell into the mud with a wet splat. Another shot, and the animal fell as well.”
  • Alexandria finds out that another member of the Godhead, Mikhail, has been attacking followers in a vicious process called “hollowing.” During hollowing, “they’d been sliced from aft to stern, their very essence of life removed with violent but precise efficiency.”
  • When witnessing a young boy being attacked, Minho grabs the man attacking him and “slammed him against the wall . . . the stranger’s head cracked against the jagged stone.” It is implied that Minho kills him.
  • Sadina and Isaac are threatened by Timon, a follower of the Godhead, who attempts to kidnap them and threatens to kill their friends. Timon yells, “MEET ME OR THEY ALL DIE . . . TELL ANYONE, THEY DIE.” 
  • When Sadina and Isaac are kidnapped, Kletter, a suspicious woman who arrived on a mysterious ship at the beginning of the book, is brutally murdered. “Her neck . . . that was the bad part. The really bad part. It had been slashed with something sharp, from one side to the other like a necklace, and blood poured down the front of her body in gushes.” 
  • In order to protect his newfound friend Roxy, Minho attacks Letti, one of the kidnappers. Minho “swung the club of wood and smashed it against the side of Letti’s head . . . Letti collapsed to the ground in a heap.” She is not killed as, “Her chest moved up and down, still alive, but her bloody head sure didn’t look so good.” 
  • While trying to escape the confines of the Remnant Nation’s “Berg,” Minho’s friend, Skinny, is killed. It is brutal; Skinny’s “head was smashed, the arms and legs twisted at weird angles, blood everywhere.” Several people die, but these deaths are not described in detail. This “Berg” battle is described over ten pages.
  • During the battle scene, “Minho had barely stepped from the wreckage when he saw a man buried beneath a large chunk of the Berg that had fallen off . . . The chest didn’t move at all, and there was blood in all kinds of bad places.” 
  • Roxy saves Minho from being stabbed by a Remnant Nation leader during the battle: “Then a long object swung in from the left of his vision, slamming directly into the face of the priestess. The woman screamed, blood spurted, she dropped the knife, collapsed, and went still.”
  • Alexandria orders her followers to kill Nicholas and bring her his head. Alexandria “slid the box closer to her, lifted its lid . . . The eyes of Nicholas stared back at her. His eyelids removed so that they could never close again. She smiled at him, half-expecting what was left of the dead man to return the kind gesture. He did not.”

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • During a meeting of the Congress of the island, Sadina discovers that her mother and two other congresspeople have put something in the wine so that they can leave the island without resistance. They “spiked the wine. But don’t worry, it only puts them to sleep.”
  • Alexandria meets with Mannus, a wavering follower of the Godhead, who describes how he ended up with “horns sewed upon his head.” He says, “I was young and drunk and there might’ve been a lady involved. She’s dead now and I still got these damn horns.” 

Language 

  • Many of the younger characters frequently use hell and damn.
  • Other profanity is used occasionally. Profanity includes bastard, shit, and bullshit.
  • Characters from the Remnant Nation frequently use “thank the Cure” and “for Flare’s sake” as exclamations.
  • Within the setting of the Godhead, there are frequent exclamations of “Praise to the Maze,” “Glory to the Gladers,” and other expressions of worship towards Alexandria, “the Evolution,” and powers that come with it.
  • Old Man Frypan, one of the original Gladers, often exclaims, “hallelujah” and “amen.”

Supernatural

  • Though there are no direct examples of magic in the book, futuristic technology often appears to fill this type of role. For instance, when Isaac and his friends are reunited once more, they are horrified to discover “at least a dozen dark shapes hovered above the horizon as if by magic,” but “Isaac knew it wasn’t magic,” instead it is gigantic “Bergs” coming to take them away. 

Spiritual Content 

  • Characters with strength and enhanced senses from “The Evolution” are referred to as Gods and Goddesses of “the Godhead.”
  • Timon, one of the kidnappers, asks Sadina and Isaac if they have heard of the Godhead, to which Sadina asks, “Like in the Bible. . . Never read it.” But Timon exclaims, “No I’m not talking about the damn Bible.” 
  • The Remnant Nation forces Minho to go on a forty-day trek. While pretending to be loyal to the Remnant Nation, Minho says, “Long live the Cure . . . May I wander for forty days and nights and return a Bearer of Grief in her service! May the Godhead die, and the Cure rule the earth.” 
  • Jackie, one of Isaac’s friends, worries about her kidnapped friends, explaining, “We’re wandering the wilderness like freaking Moses from the Bible. Or was that Joseph? Paul? Who the hell knows.” 
  • Alexandria is part of “the Godhead”, and her goal is to overtake the other two “Gods” and become “their new God.”

by Elana Koehler

City of the Dead

Codename Kathmandu, better known as Kat, loves logic and order, has a favorite eight-digit number, and can spot a pattern from a mile away. So when a series of cyberattacks hits key locations in London while the spies are testing security for the British Museum, it’s clear that Kat’s skill for finding reason in what seems like randomness makes her the perfect candidate to lead the job.

But while the team follows the deciphered messages to Egypt and the ancient City of the Dead to discover who is behind the attacks and why, Kat soon realizes that there’s another layer to the mystery. With more players, more clues, and higher levels of British Intelligence than ever before, this mission is one of the most complex missions the group has faced to date. And it’s also going to bring about a change to the City Spies. . . 

Kat takes the role of alpha, which allows her amazing math skills to shine. Along the way, Kat solves secret codes, explains historical heists, and finds patterns in chaos. Even though Kat is brilliant when it comes to numbers and breaking codes, she is still very relatable because like all middle-grade readers, she is fearful of making mistakes. Despite her uncertainties, Kat doesn’t let fear control her. Kat’s uncertainty and her ability to push past her fears make her an extremely likable character.

While Kat takes center focus, Clementine’s son, Robert, also makes an appearance in The City of the Dead. Robert’s appearance adds interest and suspense to the story. His mother, Clementine, is working for M16 as an undercover agent, but no one—not even her handler—knows if she can be trusted. The same holds true for Robert. The reader knows that Robert is keeping secrets from his father and the City Spies; however, it is unclear if Robert truly wants to be accepted into the City Spies’ family or if he is spying on them. One thing is clear, Robert’s inclusion in the mission causes friction among the kids, which adds even more suspense to the story.

The fourth installment of the City Spies Series, The City of the Dead will not disappoint. The action-packed story is full of interesting information about Egyptology, famous heists, and computer hacking. While the story is packed with action, the inclusion of Robert and Marwen, the City Spies tour guide, adds some fresh and interesting faces to the group. However, one of the best aspects of the story is the relationships between the characters; when they do not always agree with each other, they are honest and supportive of one another. In addition, the adults trust the kids to make decisions even when the decisions impact the entire group.

For readers who love action-packed mysteries, the City Spies Series is a must-read. However, the series should be read in order. While the mystery is always solved at the end of the book, each book has at least one new character that is introduced, and new information is added about Umbra, a terrorist organization that appears in all the books. In the author’s note, Ponti mentions the people who helped him with his research, including Hena Khan, author of Zayd Saleem Chasing the Dream. Readers who enjoy sports books may want to check out Khan’s books. 

If you’re ready for another fast-paced mystery, the Charlie Thorne Series by Stuart Gibbs will take you on some epic adventures where you’ll learn about famous people such as Einstein and Cleopatra. Another mystery series that is sure to get your heart racing is the Theodore Boone Series by John Grisham. For those who want to step away from mysteries but still want a character-driven series with adventure, check out the Ranger’s Apprentice Series by John Flanagan.

Sexual Content 

  • None

Violence 

  • In order to stop a hacker named Harper, the City Spies go into a tunnel in the City of the Dead. Sydney, a City Spy, sets off an explosion to distract Harper, which allows Brooklyn, another City Spy, to gain access to his computer. When Harper sees her, “he charged [the City Spies], but just as he was about to reach Kat, Robert leaped on his back from behind and dragged him down to the ground. . . As Harper frantically tried to bring his computer back to life, the others sprinted out of the room. . .”

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • None

Language 

  • Bloody is used twice. For example, a character says that someone is “bloody brilliant.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content 

  • None

Wave Riders

Twelve-year-old Jess and Jude live a dream life on a battered old yacht, sailing from one exotic destination to the next with their guardian, Gabe. But when he vanishes one night after an argument with a stranger, the twins are left alone, facing an incoming storm and an unknown enemy. The sea almost killed them, and now it must lead them to the truth in this standalone middle-grade eco-mystery about twins lost on the high seas from the author of the bestselling novel The White Giraffe.

Surviving at sea is just the start of an adventure that will take them an ocean away to the former home of their missing parents and pit them against one of the world’s most powerful men. How far do they dare go, and what will they risk to find the truth about who they really are?

Wave Riders follows Jess and Jude as they try to navigate life once their guardian, Gabe, disappears. When the Blakeney family offers to foster Jess and Jude, everyone believes the twins are lucky to be taken in by a wealthy family. However, Jess and Jude’s enthusiasm about their new home quickly wanes. The Blakeney family is full of secrets, and they clearly have no desire to foster the twins. The kids are quickly dispatched to separate boarding schools where they feel lonelier than ever. 

Jess and Jude are likable characters, but many readers will not relate to the twin’s conflict. Even though the twins meet a lot of new people, the interactions are short and do not help develop the twins’ personalities. Jess desperately wants to learn more about her parents, as well as find out why the Blakeneys are fostering them. However, every time Jess tries to investigate, the Blakeneys quickly squash her efforts. Because of this, the twins are not able to follow any clues. Instead, they discover the Blakeney’s secrets due to luck, which takes some of the joy out of the story.

Jess and Jude’s story emphasizes the importance of rejoicing in the small things. Since the twins weren’t raised in a traditional or wealthy family, they have learned to appreciate people with different backgrounds. In addition, the twins were taught that people are more important than money. For example, when the twins inherit an old forest grove of trees, they preserve it for future generations instead of allowing land developers to purchase it. Even though the siblings must deal with many difficulties, they remain kind people who care about others.

Unlike Lauren St John’s other series, Legend of the Animal Healer and Wolfe & Lamb Mysteries, Wave Riders lacks action and suspense. While there are a few exciting moments, most of the story revolves around Jess’s and Jude’s inner musings. This slows the story’s pacing and some readers may struggle to finish the book. However, readers who are dealing with grief may connect to Jess and Jude and find comfort in their story. 

Readers who want a fast-paced mystery should read Lauren St. John’s other book series. If you’re looking for another book that deals with family and grief, The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart would be an excellent book to add to your collection.

Sexual Content 

  • None

Violence 

  • When the kids’ guardian, Gabe, goes missing, the kids know he died after they hear a news radio broadcast. “The body of an unidentified white male has been found by a fisherman near the Cowrie Sands Resort.”
  • After their guardian disappears, Jess and Jude are sailing alone. A storm hits and Jude falls into the ocean. When Jess sees him, “he hung lifeless in his red life jacket, blood streaming from his head.” Jess jumps into the sea and saves Jude.
  • When a housekeeper pokes Jude in the chest, Jude “knocked her flat in the snow.”
  • While riding horses, a drone hits Jess’s horse. Jude thinks Caspian, his foster brother, is to blame so he “punched him. He would have hit him again had [the housekeeper] not run in and dragged him away.” 

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • Jude believes that a waitress put “a sleeping potion” in their drinks.
  • One of the adults has a gin and tonic.

Language 

  • There is some name-calling among the children. The following terms are used once: freak, geek, weasel, brain-dead losers, and idiot.
  • Regine is a woman who taught the kids to cook. During the cooking lesson, she tells Jude that he should learn to cook so when he grows up, his partner doesn’t “sling his sorry ass out on the street.” 
  • When upset, Regine says, “Sardine, sardine, dang and blasted sardine!”
  • Omigod is used as an exclamation once. 
  • Allegra says that her son Caspian will be glad to have someone to spend time with other than the “old farts around here.”
  • A group of environmentalists interferes with a fox hunt. Later, they are called “fox-hugging, tree-worshiping nutters” and “nutjobs, vagrants, and trespassers.” They are also called “unhinged eco warriors.” 
  • The boys at school nickname Jude stink bomb.
  • Allegra calls a woman a “batty old crone.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content 

  • None

Black Bird, Blue Road

Twelve-year-old Ziva has two goals in life: to become a judge like her father and to save her twin brother, Pesah, from leprosy. Because of his health, Pesah lives in his quarters alone. Against her parent’s wishes, Ziva visits him every day. Pesah is dying and he doesn’t have long to live. When Pesah has a dream that he will die on Rosh Hashanah, Ziva refuses to accept this fate and decides to take Pesah’s health into her own hands. When Pesah tells Ziva about a town, Byzantium, that is full of doctors, medicine, and hopefully a cure, the twins steal their family’s wagon and start their journey to Byzantium.

Their journey is interrupted by a boy, Almas, who freezes Ziva and shackles her to a wagon. The boy says he will help her and her brother if she helps him in return. Desperate, Ziva agrees. He instructs her to find a specific bowl in the wagon and break it. After breaking it, the boy changes into something completely different—a half-demon boy. Almas says he is bonded with them until he fulfills his promise to help. Ziva is hesitant to trust Almas, but Pesah reassures her that Almas can be trusted. Almas tells them they do not need to go to Byzantium but, instead, to go to Luz. A place where the Angel of Death is not allowed, and the people live forever.  

The three of them journey to Luz with some pit stops along the way. Ziva hopes Luz will be the answer to her prayers and she will find a way to heal Pesah. Black Bird, Blue Road introduces readers to the Jewish religion and culture, including the angels they trust and the demons they fear. Although death is talked about throughout the entire story, Ziva, as well as the reader, is taught that death is not a punishment but a gift. 

Black Bird, Blue Road is best suited for strong readers or for those who are already familiar with Judaism. The book contains a glossary to help readers understand the Jewish language and culture. However, since the Hebrew and Jewish cultures are intertwined in the story, passages can be confusing and hard to read. It is up to the reader to go to the glossary in the back to fully understand some of the text.

The story is told from the first-person limited point of view of Ziva. Ziva is admirable as she is loyal to her brother. Her bravery comes from her dedication to her brother as she takes on trials to save his life. Pesah is logical and keeps her grounded. His kindness compliments her stubborn nature. Lastly, we have Almas. He is judged for his parents’ title as “Sheyds” but fights for a different reputation. He relates to Ziva and Pesah because he understands the pain of death, just as they do.      

Although Black Bird, Blue Road takes on the devastating topic of death, the author allows Ziva, Pesah, and the reader to laugh, smile, and become at peace. Readers with an interest in religion and ethical thinking will love this book. The author does a great job connecting with the audience using emotion and creating a relationship with the characters. The theme allows the reader to reflect on personal experiences around death. While the conclusion can be considered unhappy, the reader feels satisfied because Ziva grows to eventually accept Pesah’s fate.

Sexual Content 

  • Almas and Ziva walk together in the dark, leading the horses through the path. They share a touch that sparked something in Ziva. Almas’ “hand touched hers. His fingers closed tightly around hers, hand warm and steady, and Ziva felt a flush heat her face and neck. He pulled her closer.” After this interaction, Ziva blushes as Almas hands her the horse’s reins and they continue to walk down the path. 

Violence 

  • Ziva needs to cut off her brother’s finger so his disease does not spread. “Ziva held his infected finger out straight, away from his other fingers, and slipped the shears’ blades a tiny way down from where the blackness ended . . . She needed to pull the handles of the shears together swiftly, smoothly. The infected finger dropped into the bucket and was lost in the gauze there.”  Ziva wraps Pesah’s amputated finger in linen to stop the bleeding.
  • Ziva sticks up for her brother by punching a bully, Reuven, in the face. “Ziva’s fist connected with Reuven’s nose before she even realized she was swinging. He yelped, staggered back, and tripped over the edge of the reflecting pool.”
  • When the brother and sister duo run away, they are stopped by local thieves. Ziva tries to fight one of the boys, Almas. Ziva lunged “for the boy. She was about to give him another scar to complement the one he had. He barely dodged her swiping hand in time. . . Almas caught her wrist as she tried to smack him again, ‘stop!’” Almas holds her arms to stop her from hitting him. Ziva eventually calms down.  
  • One of the thieves slaps Ziva for snarling at him. He then says, “There’s more where that came from. Maybe I’ll break your nose next time . . . ”
  • After breaking a bowl, Almas is released to his natural form as a half-demon. Enraged at being enslaved by the two thieves he was with, Almas kills them. “Avag was pulled away from [Ziva].  And flung out the back of the wagon. He skidded across the rocky ground and came to a stop near a horrified Petros.” Almas then, “seized Avag by the throat. Petros turned and ran.” Ziva and Pesah run away, and the remainder of the fight between the two thieves and Almas is not described. Pesah sees the Angel of Death, Malach ha-mavet, arrive and then hears screams. 

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • Ziva tries to give her brother a medicine to cure his leprosy. She found this remedy in “a medical pamphlet from Byzantium.” The recipe calls for: speak-leak, crop-leak, wine, and bull’s gall. It needed to be put in a brass bowl for nine days. However, Pesah never ingests this mixture. 

Language 

  • Ziva calls one of the men that tried to rob her and her brother a “stupid thief.”
  • One of the thieves calls Ziva a “stupid girl.”  
  • Ziva gets called a “brat” for sticking up for a local fruit vendor. 

Supernatural

  • Almas uses one of his powers as a sheyd, a demon, to freeze Ziva.
  • Almas can hear the future, but he never uses this power in the book. It is only mentioned. 

Spiritual Content 

  • Pesah has a vision of the Angel of Death, who said he will die on Rosh Hashanah.
  • Several demons are mentioned. Mazzikims are invisible demons. Shabriri are water demons that appear when humans come close to water at night. These demons are talked about and briefly explained.
  • The Angel of Death is mentioned multiple times in both English and Hebrew – Malach ha-mavet. This Angel is described by Ziva as having six wings and many eyes. The Angel of Death can also disguise itself as a little boy. 
  • To break Almas’ curse, Ziva breaks a bowl that is carved with demonic figures that have birds’ feet and fangs. 
  • The Milcham bird is the leader at Luz. The kids talk about how one of the Milcham’s feathers could cure any illness. 
  • While at the river, Ziva is stopped by a demon called Shabriri. The demon tries to take her to be punished for coming to the river at night, but Pesah banishes the demon with a saying he learned at the Synagogue. Pesah says, “Briri.” He then repeats, “Ri!”
  • Ziva talks about Elul and its practices. Elul is a Jewish holiday celebrated on the twelfth month on the Hebrew calendar. It is a time to reflect on wrong-doings and strive to be better for Rosh Hashanah.
  • Ziva and Pesah pray nightly. She offers to pray with Almas but is hesitant because of Almas’s half-demon nature. He accepts their offer to pray.
  • When they see wolves leading their wagon, Ziva talks about “Celestial Khazars” who are shapeshifters. These wolves lead the group to the Asena camp. There is no description of these animals’ shapeshifting. 
  • Before arriving at Luz, the group stops at a camp. A shaman, Chichäk, greets them and says the twins brought the Angel of Death to their camp. Ziva begs Chichäk to help her brother. The shaman takes Pesah to perform rituals telling Ziva she will ask the spirits to help. The ritual performed is not described. It does not heal Pesah, but it gives him three more days to live. 
  • At the camp, Ziva is greeted by a boy. They talk about the different religions, Gods, and beliefs. One part of this conversation is narrated as, “The boy pointed upward into the darkness. ‘Tengri is the god of the sky.’ Ziva smiled at him, trying to keep it from looking as patronizing as it felt. ‘In the city, we believe in Hashem.’” The boy then asks Ziva if she believes these Gods are different. She answers yes. The boy responds to this by saying, “There are many paths to the heavens. Because one path would not be enough.”

Book of the Dead

Nothing can save Alex Sennefer’s life. That’s what all the doctors say, but his mother knows it’s not true. She knows that the Lost Spells of the Egyptian Book of the Dead can crack open a door to the afterlife and pull her son back from the brink. But when she uses the spells, five evil ancients—the Death Walkers—are also brought back to life. 

An ancient evil has been unleashed. Mummies are awakening. New York is overrun with scorpions. And worst of all for Alex, his mom and the Lost Spells have both disappeared. He and his best friend, Ren, will do anything to find his mom and save the world . . . even if that means going head-to-head with a Death Walker who has been plotting his revenge for 3,000 years. 

From the very first sentence, readers will be hooked on Book of the Dead because of the nonstop action that features an ancient Egyptian mummy that comes back to life. Plus, Alex is a likable protagonist who willingly faces dangers in order to find his mom. Along the way, Alex learns that his mom’s scarab amulet has magical powers that could help him defeat the Death Walker. The supernatural aspects of the story add danger and suspense while also incorporating the Egyptian legend of the Stung Man.

The book is broken up into small sections which increases the story’s pacing as well as makes it accessible to readers. Even though the story is packed full of Egyptian lore, Northrop gives just the right amount of information so readers can understand the Egyptian legends without bogging them down in details. The addition of ancient powers adds interest to the story and leaves readers wondering what will happen next. While the story revolves around danger, there are surprising pockets of humor that will leave readers smiling. 

Anyone who is interested in Egypt will love Book of the Dead; it will also appeal to readers who enjoy action and adventure. As the first installment of the TombQuest Series, Book of the Dead sets up an exciting adventure that will have readers quickly reaching for the second book in the series, Amulet  Keepers. Don’t start Book of the Dead unless you have time to finish the entire book in one sitting because you will not want to put it down. Readers who want to learn more about ancient Egypt should also read the nonfiction book, The Curse of King Tut’s Mummy by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld.

Sexual Content 

  • None

Violence 

  • The Stung Man was a thief who was running from the pharaoh’s men. The thief’s “hiding spot was full of scorpions. . . The thief was stung again and again, all over his body; his legs, his torso, his arms, his neck. His face.” When the pharaoh’s men found the thief, he was “swollen past recognition.” The Stung Man comes back to life.
  • During the night, a boy named Hamadi went to fetch water for his sick sister. As he walked, he heard a strange noise and then “a withered hand flashed across his vision like a cobra striking. . . Silence finally fell over the southern desert, and dawn rose. . . In the heart of the village, one family hadn’t slept at all. . . Now they waited for a boy who would never return.”
  • A man wearing a dried hyena face breaks into a museum and confronts the guard. “The man in the mask raised his hand and Oscar felt his fingers crunch, jammed backward as if he’d thrust them into a concrete wall instead of empty air. Gasping from the pain, he tried to pull his hand back but couldn’t.” The guard is frozen in place. 
  • A mysterious man, Al-Dab’u, finds Alex’s mom, Dr. Bauer, alone in the museum. “His right hand shot out, flexing a power much greater than mere muscle. Dr. Bauer’s feet left the ground and her slender frame flew backward and slammed against the wall.” Al-Dab’u kidnaps Dr. Bauer.
  • When running from the Stung Man, Al-Dab’u sees Alex and Ren and orders them to stop. Ren tries to run but, “the man in the mask extended his right hand, palm down, and pressed it toward the floor. A great force hit Alex and Ren and flattened them against the ground.”
  • When the strange man stops the kids from running, he explains that the Stung Man was going to feed on Alex and Ren. The man says, “He may not consume your bodies, but he will certainly take your souls.”
  • When the kids continue to leave the museum, Al-Dab’u uses magic. “Alex and Ren threw themselves on the ground just as a massive display case hurtled over them and landed in a crash of glass and metal.” The museum scene is described over 12 pages.
  • Al-Dab’u helps the Stung Man recreate his tomb. A professor, Todtman, and the kids try to stop them. Al-Dab’u uses his power to begin crushing Todtman and a construction worker runs “with his shovel raised in the air . . . Todtman’s hand already held his falcon amulet. The worker slammed the shovel into Al-Dab’u’s shoulder, sending him reeling.” This scene is described over two pages.
  • The Stung Man tries to kill Alex. “The Stung Man struck out with his left hand. The stinger flew toward Alex on the end of a long, segmented tail. Alex ducked. . . the stinger shot over his shoulder and slammed into the wall behind him.”
  • In order to defeat the Stung Man, Alex uses a spell from the Book of the Dead. “As Alex chanted, the writing seemed to come alive on the page. . .” The Stung Man’s “skin pulled tight on his skull, threatening to split. . . Alex finished the chant. The dried corpse toppled and fell.” The scene is described over three pages.
  • As the kids leave the recreated tomb, they see a group of construction workers “closing in on Al-Dab’u from the left with a raised hammer. Another approaching from the right with a power drill. . . Al-Dab’u extended his hand menacingly as the workers closed in, first twisting one to the floor, then crushing the breath from another, but he was surrounded and couldn’t take them all at once.” Al-Dab’u runs but falls off a platform. The story implies that Al-Dab’u died.

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • Alex has an unnamed illness that he takes pills for. 
  • After Alex gets into a fight, he sees double so he “took three aspirin.” 
  • One of the adults takes “headache pills” once.

Language 

  • Oh my God is used as an exclamation once. 
  • Heck is used twice.
  • Ren calls Alex an idiot one time.

Supernatural

  • Alex’s mom uses an ancient book, the Book of the Dead, to bring Alex back to life. The Book of the Dead is “a cross between prayers and spells” that are used to help people “cross over into the afterlife.” The words of the spells are not given.
  • When Alex’s mom chants a spell from the Book of the Dead, “The desert breeze became a strong wind, whipping through the little [hospital] room.” She also heard “phantom whispers, dry and raspy, emerging from the air itself and echoing her words.” Alex’s mom feels the “old magic” flow through her and save her son’s life.
  • The ancient Egyptians believed that after one died, their heart was weighed. Alex explains some hieroglyphics that depict a scale with a feather on one side and a heart on the other side. Alex says, “That dude just died, and he’s waiting to see if his heart passes the test. If it’s not weighed down by bad deeds, it will be as light as a feather, and he can enter the afterlife.” If the heart fails, it is fed to “a large, crocodile-headed creature.” 
  • After reciting a spell from the Book of the Dead, ancient Egyptians begin to rise from the dead. Alex and his friend are in the museum when they hear a strange noise. “They both turned and looked back down at the little mummy. She was looking right at them. Her whole body had shifted, and her empty eye sockets gazed blankly up at them.”
  • When the Stung Man comes back to life, his skin “was livid and covered with swollen welts. The Stung Man turned and stared into the room, not with empty eye sockets but with wet, sinister eyes.”  
  • Several of the characters have an amulet that gives them power. A man explains, “All of them can do certain things. Move small objects. . . but mine, well, I can see things quite clearly sometimes. When the power went out, I knew to go straight to the sarcophagus. I can also control people to an extent.”
  • Alex has an amulet that allows him to fight Al-Dab’u and the undead. “Grasping the scarab, Alex punched out his fist. A powerful gust of wind rose up and battered the ragged corpse, who stumbled and faltered against it.”

Spiritual Content 

  • None

The Minor Third

Theo Stein-Meyer likes being a part of the Magical Misfits. They had been together since the beginning of summer and have become good friends while helping to protect Mineral Waters from the nefarious troupes that come to town. With his trusty violin bow, Theo completes the team with his levitation skills, his unruffled calm, and proper manners.    

But when a girl named Emily starts to spend more time with the group, Theo is notably drawn to her. They quickly bond over their shared interest in not only magic but also music. Emily appears to understand the pull he feels between music and magic, and between friends and family.  

Then a famous ventriloquist arrives in town, and the Misfits are sure that he is up to no good. When their mentor, Mr. Vernon, unexpectedly gets called out of town and tensions bubble among the friends over their differences, it comes to question if the group can come together to stop another member of the Emerald Ring. Under pressure from both his friends and his family, Theo must make a choice about where—and with whom—he belongs.  

Theo is in the spotlight in this installment of Magical Misfits. A limited third-person perspective lets the reader learn about Theo’s interest in magic and music as well as his struggle to decide whether to practice magic tricks with his friends or perform music with his family. Readers will relate to Theo’s dilemma of having to choose to live up to his family’s expectations for him or be there for his friends. This causes a rift between Theo and his family and deepens the falling-out amongst him and his friends.  

Theo doesn’t want to disappoint his family or friends, especially when both want him to take part in their respective performances for the talent show. His siblings and parents encourage him to play the violin, and whenever he performs with them, he feels like he belongs. On the other hand, his friends support him in practicing magic. Theo feels like he can be himself around his friends too, even with their occasional tiffs. But when his friends realize that the ventriloquist is behind their recent quarrels, they finally mend the cracks in their relationship. With that, the Magic Misfits learn a valuable lesson: friends can overcome any obstacle if they work through the problem together. 

Occasionally, an omniscient unnamed narrator chimes in with a recap of the story’s events, which blends in seamlessly with the overall narration. As a bonus, black and white pictures are scattered throughout the novel and help readers visualize the setting and the action scenes. In order to more fully engage readers, there are how-to magic tricks sprinkled throughout the story. These sections contain instructions for performing the magic tricks, along with illustrations to reference. Tricks such as levitating a roll of bread and making a card rise from one’s palm are easy to do, but adults are encouraged to help with these activities.   

The Minor Third is a lively and riveting story that gets its energy from the tension of being true to oneself while living up to family expectations and dealing with positive peer pressure. Combined with phenomenal narration and vivid descriptions, the striking visuals of various styles complement an incredible story. Readers will enjoy reading about the friendship between Theo and his friends and how they patch up their relationship as well as stop the ventriloquist. If you are looking for stories about magic, friendship, and secrets, give The Minor Third a read! Readers who enjoy Magic Misfits will also enjoy the magical world created in the Kingdom Keepers Series by Ridley Pearson. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • Near the vestibule of the magic shop, the Magic Misfits see a person smoking a cigarette. 

Language    

  • Theo’s friend calls him a jerk. 

Supernatural  

  • Many of the characters use tricks related to illusion or trickery, such as Carter’s sleight-of-hand or Theo’s levitation. They are in no way similar to supernatural magic or the paranormal.  

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

The Game Master: Mansion Mystery

Rebecca Zamolo has managed to foil the Game Master’s plans before, but this time the Game Master has snake-napped Nacho, her good friend Miguel’s pet. No way is Becca going to let the Game Master get away with this dastardly plan. When the clues lead Becca and her new friends in the direction of the one house in their entire neighborhood that none of them ever want to go near, they know they have no choice but to screw up their courage and dare to investigate if they want to rescue Nacho. 

But the problem is that getting into the super spooky house is way easier than getting out. The Game Master is up to their old tricks, and Becca, Matt, Kylie, Frankie, and Miguel are going to have to face their fears and use all their smarts and strengths to solve the puzzles and games and save the day. 

Mansion Mystery is another action-packed adventure from the super-sleuthing team Rebecca and Matt Zamolo, stars of the popular Game Master Network.  

In the second installment of The Game Master Series, the kids must face their deepest fears in order to defeat the Game Master and find Frankie’s pet snake. In this spooky adventure, the kids no longer argue and disagree. Instead, they work together and encourage each other to face their fears. While most of the challenges are harmless—collecting squirmy bugs, making it through a maze, eating mud pudding—in order to escape the mansion the kids must take a perilous walk on the mansion’s roof and climb into a huge tree. When the kids find a tree house, they realize that the Game Master has been using a telescope to spy on them and the Game Master has detailed notes of each person’s behaviors. Unfortunately, instead of being completely freaked out by this, the kids believe that the Game Master may be someone who wants to be their friend.  

While the plot is farfetched, the easy-to-read story will appeal to young readers because the fast-paced mystery focuses on friendship and working together. Another positive aspect of the story are the black and white illustrations that appear periodically. Readers will relate to the diverse cast of characters, who have common fears such as a fear of spiders. While the mansion has some creepy elements such as a red stain that could be blood, it is spookily mysterious instead of scary. 

While The Game Master Series lacks character development and the plot is at times unbelievable, readers will still enjoy the escape-room-styled mystery. In the end, the kids are only able to escape the mansion by working as a team to overcome their fears. Readers who enjoyed The Game Master Series should also check out the Zeus The Mighty Series by Crispin Boyer; both series are engaging and show the importance of using a person’s individual talents to overcome an obstacle.  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language    

  • Heck is used four times. 
  • Darn is used three times. 
  • Dang is used twice. 
  • Holy fruits and holy cats are both used as an exclamation once. 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 
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