Book Reviews
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Hannah Saves the World
Hannah’s got a funny feeling that it’s up to her to save the entire world. But before she can do that. She and her skeptical best friend Mia have to figure out what they’re saving the world from!
As Hannah and Mia’s detective work proceeds, they uncover a chain of clues that might unravel the mystery of the vandalized town playground. But what about the massive space cruiser parked high in the stratosphere, and the aliens inside who are laying plans to invade Earth?
Can a pair of middle-school detectives really save the world? Find out in this funny book for tweens!
From author A.M. Luzzader and illustrator Chadd VanZanten for Readers 8-12.
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Double Dino Trouble
How do you survive an encounter with a gang of rowdy dinosaurs?
Mr. Smith, who believes dinosaurs are long extinct, unravels a million-year-old egg without noticing. A little dinosaur follows him home, terrifies his cat, and rampages his house. Mr. Smith goes to sleep thinking his cat is next to him, only to wake up next to a dinosaur the following day.
Curious to learn more about this little fellow, he follows the weird creature up the mountain, where he has to fight for his life. Flown by twin dinosaurs, and almost killed by a poisonous one, Mr. Smith manages to escape with the help of his two new friends – Timo and Tara.
From Bulgarian-American author Diana Aleksandrova and illustrator Svilen Dimitrov for Readers 8-12.
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A Mermaid in Middle Grade: Book 1: The Talisman of Lostland
A young mermaid and a sea witch out for revenge. Oh, boy! There’s trouble ahead.
Can Brynn Finley become a sea guardian and help humans in danger when she just barely started the sixth grade?
Brynn is the only mermaid in school who hasn’t been able to learn magic. Until she can unlock the secret to magic spells, she can’t become a sea guardian like her parents and friends. On her quest to solve this mystery, Brynn and her best friend encounter a loveable sea turtle, a pair of selkie sisters, and Phaedra the great and terrible sea witch. But soon Brynn is over her head in trouble. She must learn to ask for help, do her best, and follow the merfolk oath if she wants to become a guardian of the sea!
From author A.M. Luzzader for Readers 8-10.
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Take Back the Block
Wes Henderson has the best style in sixth grade. That–and hanging out with his crew (his best friends since little-kid days) and playing video games–is what he wants to be thinking about at the start of the school year, not the protests his parents are always dragging him to.
But when a real estate developer makes an offer to buy Kensington Oaks, the neighborhood Wes has lived his whole life, everything changes. The grownups are supposed to have all the answers, but all they’re doing is arguing. Even Wes’s best friends are fighting. And some of them may be moving. Wes isn’t about to give up the only home he’s ever known. Wes has always been good at puzzles, and he knows there has to be a missing piece that will solve this puzzle and save the Oaks. But can he find it . . . before it’s too late?
From author Chrystal D. Giles for readers 8-12.
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Serafina and the Black Cloak
A brave and unusual girl named Serafina lives secretly in the basement of the grand Biltmore Estate amidst the splendor of the Gilded Age. Serafina’s pa, the estate’s maintenance man, has warned her to keep herself hidden from the fancy folk who live on the floors above, but when children at the estate start disappearing, Serafina and her friend Braeden Vanderbilt must work together to solve a dark and dangerous mystery.
Serafina has never had a reason to disobey her pa and venture beyond the grounds of Biltmore Estate. There’s plenty to explore in Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt’s vast and opulent home, but she must take care to never be seen. None of the rich folk upstairs know that Serafina exists; she and her pa have lived in the basement for as long as Serafina can remember. She has learned to prowl through the darkened corridors at night, to sneak and hide, using the mansion’s hidden doors and secret passageways.
But when children at the estate start disappearing, only Serafina knows the clues to follow. A mysterious man in a black cloak stalks Biltmore’s corridors at night. Following her own harrowing escape, Serafina risks everything by joining forces with Braeden Vanderbilt, the young nephew of Biltmore’s owners. Braeden and Serafina must uncover the Man in the Black Cloak’s true identity before all of the children vanish one by one.
Serafina’s hunt leads her into the very forest that she has been taught to fear, where she discovers a forgotten legacy of magic. In order to save the children of Biltmore, Serafina must not only face her darkest enemy, but delve into the strange mystery of her own identity.
From author Robert Beatty for Readers 9-12.
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Rick Riordan Presents Paola Santiago and the Sanctuary of Shadows
Paola Santiago has recently returned from Oregon, where she defeated the Hitchhiker ghost and saved her father from the vengeful spirit that was possessing him. The poor girl deserves a rest! But first she has to rescue Dante from the void, where he’s been imprisoned by some unknown force. Even though Dante has turned against Pao, she can’t just leave him there–they’ve been friends for too long.
Paola’s prophetic dreams seem to have dried up, so she has to find other ways to locate a new rift where she can enter the void. Signs point to Texas–but how is she going to get there from Arizona? It just so happens that Emma’s new group of politically active friends, the Rainbow Rogues, are planning a field trip to San Antonio. It’s the perfect ruse for Paola, if she can stand being with the judgmental girls for that many days. . . .
Relying on her wits, training from the Ninos de la Luz, and the emotional support of her best friend Emma, Pao makes it into the void. Once there she must face down not just one but two enemies: El Cucuy, the bogeyman . . . and someone even scarier who looks a lot like Pao herself.
From Latina author Tehlor Mejia for Readers 8-12.
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Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet
Welcome to the imaginative brain of Omar!
Omar and his family have just moved, and he is NOT excited about starting at a new school. What if the work is too hard or the kids are mean or the teacher is a zombie alien?!
But when Omar makes a new best friend, things start looking up. That is, until a Big Mean Bully named Daniel makes every day a nightmare! Daniel even tells Omar that all Muslims are going to be kicked out of the country . . . Could that possibly be true?
Luckily, Omar’s enormous imagination and goofy family help him get through life’s ups and downs.
From author Zarib Mian and illustrator Nasaya Mafaridik for Readers 7-10.
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Greenglass House
It’s wintertime at Greenglass House. The creaky smuggler’s inn is always quiet during this season, and twelve-year-old Milo, the innkeepers’ adopted son, plans to spend his holidays relaxing.
But on the first icy night of vacation, out of nowhere, the guest bell rings. Then rings again. And again…
Soon Milo’s home is bursting with odd, secretive guests, each one bearing a strange story that is somehow connected to the rambling old house. As objects go missing and tempers flare, Milo and Meddy, the cook’s daughter, must de cipher clues and untangle the web of deepening mysteries to discover the truth about Greenglass House—and themselves.
From author Kate Milford and illustrator Jaime Zollars for Readers 10-12.
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Heartstopper #1: A Graphic Novel
Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. A sweet and charming coming-of-age story that explores friendship, love, and coming out.
Shy and softhearted Charlie Spring sits next to rugby player Nick Nelson in class one morning. A warm and intimate friendship follows, and that soon develops into something more for Charlie, who doesn’t think he has a chance.
But Nick is struggling with feelings of his own, and as the two grow closer and take on the ups and downs of high school, they come to understand the surprising and delightful ways in which love works.
From author Alice Oseman for Readers 13+.
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Rick Riordan Presents Serwa Boateng’s Guide to Vampire Hunting
For most kids, catching fireflies is a fun summer activity. For twelve-year-old Serwa Boateng, it’s a matter of life and death.
That’s because Serwa knows that some fireflies are really adze, shapeshifting vampires from the forests of Southeastern Ghana. Adze prey on the blood of innocents, possessing their minds and turning them into hulking monsters, and for generations, slayers like Serwa and her parents have protected an unknowing public from their threats.
Serwa is the best adze slayer her age, and she knew how to use a crossbow before she could even ride a bike. But when an obayifo (witch) destroys her childhood home while searching for a drum, do Serwa’s parents take her with them on their quest to defeat her? No. Instead, they dump Serwa with her hippie aunt and cryptic-obsessed cousin in the middle of Nowheresville, Maryland “for her own safety.” Now, instead of crossbows and battle armor, she’s dealing with mean girls and algebra, and for the first time in her life she doesn’t have to carry a staff everywhere she goes, which is . . . kind of nice, actually.
Just as Serwa starts to get the hang of this whole normal girl who doesn’t punch vampires every day thing, an adze infiltrates her school. It’s up to her to whip some of her classmates into monster-fighting shape before all of them become firefly food. And when she uncovers a secret that upends everything she thought she knew about her family’s role in the slayer vs. adze war, Serwa will have to decide which side of herself–normal girl or slayer–is the right one.
After all, seventh grade is hard enough without adding vampires to the mix.
From author Roseanne Brown for Readers 10-14.
