Book Reviews
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Epic Zero Series: Books 1-3: Epic Zero Collection
Growing up in a superhero family is cool, unless you’re powerless…
All Elliott Harkness wants is to be a superhero. His parents are superheroes. His older sister is a superhero. Heck, even his dog is a superhero. But Elliott has a problem—he’s a “Zero”—which is super-speak for powerless! So, while his family is off fighting crime, Elliott is stuck muddling through middle school.
But when danger strikes and Elliott is Earth’s last hope, will he find the power to be the epic hero he’s always wanted to be—or will he always be just an Epic Zero? Follow Elliott’s hilarious journey to fit in with his family, save the world, and make it home for dinner.
The Epic Zero Series Collection includes:
– Epic Zero: Tales of a Not-So-Super 6th Grader
– Epic Zero 2: Tales of a Pathetic Power Failure
– Epic Zero 3: Tales of a Super Lame Last Hope
Epic Zero is the laugh-out-loud, action-packed series that will entertain kids, middle school students, and adults. The Epic Zero Collection includes 48 illustrated character profiles and a full glossary of superpowers.
For readers 8-12. -
Secret Agent 6th Grader: 3 Book Collection (Books 1-3)
Three laugh-out-loud books bundled into one action-packed collection – Brody Valentine was just a normal kid until he stumbled upon Glitch, a secret agency at his school…
My name is Brody Valentine, and this is the story of how I accidentally became a 6th grade secret agent at my school. You see, my life is plain and boring, just how I like it. Not too hot – not too cold – perfectly normal. That is, until a dangerous secret fell into my lap. Everything I knew to be true was completely flipped around and suddenly I’ve found myself buried in special codes and conspiracies. Now I’m being hunted because my brain knows a secret about my school so huge that your head would explode if you heard it.
This collection includes three hilarious books in one place: Secret Agent 6th Grader, Secret Agent 6th Grader 2: Ice Cold Suckerpunch, and Secret Agent 6th Grader 3: Extra Large Soda Jerk
For readers 8-12.
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Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories (Awesome Friendly Kid)
Scare yourself silly with Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories by Jeff Kinney, the #1 international bestselling author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid!
Grab a flashlight, crawl under the covers, and dive into the twisted, unexpectedly hilarious world of Rowley Jefferson’s imagination. You’ll meet zombies, vampires, ghosts, and much more in these comically terrifying tales.
Rowley’s spooky stories might leave you laughing, but beware—you could end up sleeping with the lights on.
And don’t miss Rowley Jefferson’s first two awesome friendly books, the instant #1 bestsellers Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson’s Journal and Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Adventure!
For kids 7 – 12.
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The Elephant in the Room
From the New York Times bestselling Holly Goldberg Sloan, author of Counting by 7s, comes a heartfelt story about “the importance of compassion and bravery when facing life’s challenges.”
It’s been almost a year since Sila’s mother traveled halfway around the world to Turkey, hoping to secure the immigration paperwork that would allow her to return to her family in the United States.
The long separation is almost impossible for Sila to withstand. But things change when Sila accompanies her father (who is a mechanic) outside their Oregon town to fix a truck. There, behind an enormous stone wall, she meets a grandfatherly man who only months before won the state lottery. Their new alliance leads to the rescue of a circus elephant named Veda, and then to a friendship with an unusual boy named Mateo, proving that comfort and hope come in the most unlikely of places.
A moving story of family separation and the importance of the connection between animals and humans, this novel has the enormous heart and uplifting humor that readers have come to expect from the beloved author of Counting by 7s.
For readers 10-14.
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Bridge of Souls (City of Ghosts #3)
Victoria (“V. E.”) Schwab, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, invites readers to haunted New Orleans in this third installment of her thrillingly spooky City of Ghosts series!
Where there are ghosts, Cassidy Blake follows . . .
Unless it’s the other way around?
Cass thinks she might have this ghost-hunting thing down. After all, she and her ghost best friend, Jacob, have survived two haunted cities while traveling for her parents’ TV show.
But nothing can prepare Cass for New Orleans, which wears all of its hauntings on its sleeve. In a city of ghost tours and tombs, raucous music and all kinds of magic, Cass could get lost in all the colorful, grisly local legends. And the city’s biggest surprise is a foe Cass never expected to face: a servant of Death itself
For readers 8-12.
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Do Your Best Every Day to Do Your Best Every Day
Bestselling author and entertainer John Cena motivates and inspires readers with this illustrated book of uplifting encouragements adapted from his popular Twitter feed.
Hope + Effort = Making the impossible possible
In this colorfully illustrated book of encouragements, John Cena urges young readers to be who they are, act to make the world a better place, and never stop striving.
Aimed at elementary and middle schoolers, but fun and fitting for readers of any age, John’s inspiring perspective and thoughtful advice are perfect for milestones like graduations, new siblings, and other big life moments, as well as for anyone who could use a little boost.
These affirmations about growing up and moving forward are sure to help kids find joy in their efforts and achievements.
For readers 8-12
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Wild River
Newbery Honor author Rodman Philbrick sends readers rushing down a raging river on a life-or-death adventure when a white water rafting trip goes terribly wrong!
Daniel Redmayne is fast asleep on the first night of a white water rafting trip, when he’s awoken by screams. The dam has failed. The river is surging, and their camp will be under water in a matter of moments.
As the shrieking roar of the river rushes closer, the kids scramble to higher ground. They make it; their counselors do not.
Now they’re on their own, with barely any food or supplies, in the middle of the Montana wilderness. Do Daniel and his four classmates have what it takes to stay alive until they can get rescued? Alone in the wild, they forge powerful bonds — but develop dangerous disagreements. If nature doesn’t break them, they might just destroy each other.
This gripping survival story from the Newbery Honor author of Wildfire is filled with adrenaline-pumping adventure and moments of true bravery.
For readers 9-12
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Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles Book 1)
Author Marissa Meyer brings you a rousing tale that you are going to love.
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.
This is a great read for kids 10 and up.
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Becoming: Adapted for Young Readers
Michelle Robinson was born on the South Side of Chicago. From her modest beginnings, she would become Michelle Obama, the inspiring and powerful First Lady of the United States, when her husband, Barack Obama, was elected the forty-fourth president. They would be the first Black First Family in the White House and serve the country for two terms.
Growing up, Michelle and her older brother, Craig, shared a bedroom in their family’s upstairs apartment in her great-aunt’s house. Her parents, Fraser and Marian, poured their love and energy into their children. Michelle’s beloved dad taught his kids to work hard, keep their word, and remember to laugh. Her mom showed them how to think for themselves, use their voice, and be unafraid.
But life soon took her far from home. With determination, carefully made plans, and the desire to achieve, Michelle was eager to expand the sphere of her life from her schooling in Chicago. She went to Princeton University, where she learned what it felt like to be the only Black woman in the room. She then went to Harvard Law School, and after graduating returned to Chicago and became a high-powered lawyer. Her plans changed, however, when she met and fell in love with Barack Obama.
From her early years of marriage, and the struggle to balance being a working woman, a wife, and the mom of two daughters, Michelle Obama details the shift she made to political life and what her family endured as a result of her husband’s fast-moving political career and campaign for the presidency. She shares the glamour of ball gowns and world travel, and the difficulties of comforting families after tragedies. She managed to be there for her daughters’ swim competitions and attend plays at their schools without catching the spotlight, while defining and championing numerous initiatives, especially those geared toward kids, during her time as First Lady.
Most important, this volume for young people is an honest and fascinating account of Michelle Obama’s life led by example. She shares her views on how all young people can help themselves as well as help others, no matter their status in life. She asks readers to realize that no one is perfect, and that the process of becoming is what matters, as finding yourself is ever evolving. In telling her story with boldness, she asks young readers: Who are you, and what do you want to become?
For readers 10-14.
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Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories (Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid)
Scare yourself silly with Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories by Jeff Kinney, the #1 international bestselling author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid!
Grab a flashlight, crawl under the covers, and dive into the twisted, unexpectedly hilarious world of Rowley Jefferson’s imagination. You’ll meet zombies, vampires, ghosts, and much more in these comically terrifying tales.
Rowley’s spooky stories might leave you laughing, but beware—you could end up sleeping with the lights on!
And don’t miss Rowley Jefferson’s first two awesome friendly books, the instant #1 bestsellers Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson’s Journal and Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Adventure!
For readers 8-14.
