Book Reviews
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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.
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Keeper of the Lost Cities
In this riveting debut, a telepathic girl must figure out why she is the key to her brand-new world – before the wrong person finds the answer first.
Twelve-year-old Sophie has never quite fit into her life. She’s skipped multiple grades and doesn’t really connect with the older kids at school, but she’s not comfortable with her family, either. The reason? Sophie’s a Telepath, someone who can read minds. No one knows her secret – at least, that’s what she thinks….
But the day Sophie meets Fitz, a mysterious (and adorable) boy, she learns she’s not alone. He’s a Telepath too, and it turns out the reason she has never felt at home is that, well…she isn’t. Fitz opens Sophie’s eyes to a shocking truth, and she is forced to leave behind her family for a new life in a place that is vastly different from what she has ever known.
But Sophie still has secrets, and they’re buried deep in her memory for good reason: The answers are dangerous and in high demand. What is her true identity, and why was she hidden among humans? The truth could mean life or death – and time is running out.
From author Shannon Messenger for Readers 8-12.
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City Spies: City Spies, Book 1
Sara Martinez is a hacker. She recently broke into the New York City foster care system to expose her foster parents as cheats and lawbreakers. However, instead of being hailed as a hero, Sara finds herself facing years in a juvenile detention facility and banned from using computers for the same stretch of time. Enter Mother, a British spy who not only gets Sara released from jail but also offers her a chance to make a home for herself within a secret MI5 agency.
Operating out of a base in Scotland, the City Spies are five kids from various parts of the world. When they’re not attending the local boarding school, they’re honing their unique skills, such as sleight of hand, breaking and entering, observation, and explosives. All of these allow them to go places in the world of espionage where adults can’t.
Before she knows what she’s doing, Sara is heading to Paris for an international youth summit, hacking into a rival school’s computer to prevent them from winning a million euros, dangling 30 feet off the side of a building, and trying to stop a villain…all while navigating the complex dynamics of her new team.
No one said saving the world was easy….
From author James Ponti for Readers 8-12.
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You Gotta Have Heart
Life keeps knocking 12-year-old Alan down. Can he find the courage to get back up?
Orphaned at a young age, all Alan Michaels wants is a place to belong. But the independent, street–smart kid, who lacks self-confidence, has no clue how to deal with disappointment – or a formidable bully who won’t back down. And New York City is a tough town to grow up in if you are a kid who doesn’t have much. But when he starts training at Sensei Hideki’s School of Karate, he hopes his life will change forever.
Determined to prove he’s got what it takes to become a true warrior, he pushes his body and mind to the limit. But just when the karate school starts to feel like home, tragedy strikes again. Does Alan have the courage and inner strength to overcome the odds stacked against him?
“When you get knocked down, you just keep getting back up. …You never give up.” Sensei paused for a moment and spoke louder. “That’s what takes real guts.” He stared at Alan intently. “You know, sometimes failures are your steppingstones to success.”
From author Bruce Bernstein for kids 8-12.
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The Fascinating Ocean Book for Kids: 500 Incredible Facts!
From anemones to zooplankton―500 awesome ocean facts for kids.
This amazing entry into ocean books for kids is packed with hundreds of incredible facts for hours of underwater exploration. Pages of full-color pictures feature life in and around the sea including fish, dolphins, and shipwrecks!
Dive deeper than other ocean books with ocean trivia such as:
· Sea cucumbers can eject some of their organs to defend themselves and then regrow them within a few weeks.
· The Challenger Deep is the deepest place on Earth, almost 7 miles below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.
· Blue whales are the largest animals that have ever lived―their tongue weighs as much as an entire elephant!
You will discover fascinating fishes and deep-sea giants with the best in ocean books for kids.
From author Bethanie Hestermann for Readers 8-12.
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Ava & Carol Detective Agency: The Haunted Mansion
It’s Christmas—so why not accept a dare to explore a creepy old, haunted house?
Fearless best friends Ava and Carol set out to prove that the Butcher house isn’t haunted. Only, Carol is pretty sure she saw something inside one of the windows.
The girls receive an ominous threat: Stay Away or Else! Now, more than ever, the girls are determined to find out who is trying to scare them away. But before they can continue their investigation, a string of mysterious robberies take place. The thieves simply vanish without a trace.
Join Ava and Carol as they race against time to track down a headless monster terrorizing the neighborhood, solve the mystery behind the Butcher house and stop a band of ruthless thieves before they strike again!
From authors Thomas Lockhaven and Emily Chase for Readers 8-12.
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As Brave As You
Genie’s summer is full of surprises. The first is that he and his big brother, Ernie, are leaving Brooklyn for the very first time to spend the summer with their grandparents all the way in Virginia—in the COUNTRY! The second surprise comes when Genie figures out that their grandfather is blind. Thunderstruck, Genie peppers Grandpop with questions about how he hides it so well (besides wearing way cool Ray-Bans).
How does he match his clothes? Know where to walk? Cook with a gas stove? Pour a glass of sweet tea without spilling it? Genie thinks Grandpop must be the bravest guy he’s ever known, but he starts to notice that his grandfather never leaves the house—as in NEVER. And when he finds the secret room that Grandpop is always disappearing into—a room so full of songbirds and plants that it’s almost as if it’s been pulled inside-out—he begins to wonder if his grandfather is really so brave after all.
Then Ernie lets him down in the bravery department. It’s his fourteenth birthday, and, Grandpop says to become a man, you have to learn how to shoot a gun. Genie thinks that is AWESOME until he realizes Ernie has no interest in learning how to shoot. None. Nada. Dumbfounded by Ernie’s reluctance, Genie is left to wonder—is bravery and becoming a man only about proving something, or is it just as important to own up to what you won’t do?
From multi award-winning author Jason Reynolds for Readers 8-12.
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Better Nate Than Ever
Nate Foster has big dreams. His whole life, he’s wanted to star in a Broadway show. (Heck, he’d settle for seeing a Broadway show.) But how is Nate supposed to make his dreams come true when he’s stuck in Jankburg, Pennsylvania, where no one (except his best pal Libby) appreciates a good show tune? With Libby’s help, Nate plans a daring overnight escape to New York. There’s an open casting call for E.T.: The Musical, and Nate knows this could be the difference between small-town blues and big-time stardom.
This hilarious and heartwarming debut novel is full of broken curfews, second chances, and the adventure of growing up—because sometimes you have to get four hundred miles from your backyard to finally feel at home.
From author Tim Federle for Readers 9-13.
