Book Reviews
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Unlegendary Dragon: The Magical Kids of Lore
Percy Jackson meets Wings of Fire in this hilarious, action-packed new series about a misfit kid who is destined to protect the world as a mighty, legendary dragon!
12-year-old Connor Pendridge is moving… again. This time, his mom thinks their lives will be better in Lore, a sleepy island town off the coast of New England. Connor doesn’t want to start over at yet another new school, especially in a place as boring as Lore. But as he quickly learns, Lore isn’t as boring as it seems.
That’s because fantastic creatures appear that only he can see—from fairies at school to goblins in his front yard. Connor thinks he’s going crazy until a mysterious woman reveals his true destiny and hands him a dragon amulet containing the magic of Excalibur, the legendary sword of King Arthur. Now Connor must use the amulet to transform into a mighty dragon in order to stop an ancient, evil sorceress from conquering the world! Connor doesn’t know the first thing about being a dragon. Luckily, he has the help of Merlin, his magical mentor, and his new friends, Gabby, who has a unicorn amulet, and Wade, who has a griffin amulet. Will Connor take flight as the legendary dragon of his destiny—or will he flame out as the most unlegendary dragon of all time?
From author R.L. Ullman for Readers 8-12.
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The Elyrian
Like everyone else, Ace believed witches were nothing more than a bedtime story myth . . .
On a family vacation in a strange new land, Grandpa pulls Ace aside and tells him a startling truth. Not only are witches real, but they’re also taking over the world, and Ace is the only one who can stop them.
Ace is the chosen keeper of a mythical gem housing an incredible, ancient power that makes the darkness tremble—unfortunately, that also makes him and his family the witches’ biggest target.
Then, after passing the gem down to him, Grandpa mysteriously disappears, leaving Ace to fend for himself.
To learn this new power, Ace must now escape the witches chasing him and his family, venture through treacherous lands filled with strange creatures to the headquarters of his grandfather’s underground rebellion, and somehow convince a group of elite warriors that he—a twelve-year-old boy and his grandfather’s youngest descendant—must assume leadership.
Can twelve-year-old Ace save the world and protect this family?
From author D.P. Rowell for Readers 9-12.
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Puzzled
Peter, an exceptionally clever junior high school kid, is pulled into an adventure where he and a few friends have to solve a series of very challenging riddles and puzzles in order to prevent a deadly disaster. Peter’s mind, which has an amazing talent for problem-solving, is needed to save the world.
This adventure sure is a big change from what Peter typically deals with in life: He gets called geek and nerd by everyone in the cool group. He tries to hide his love for learning, in a hope to stick out a little less. He fantasizes about a girl who is out of his league.
Peter and his friends must solve every confusing riddle and challenging puzzle they face. If they can’t, a powerful supernatural being will cause immense destruction and devastation.
From author P.J. Nichols for Readers 9-15.
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Fearless: A Dog Story
Eleven-year-old Jessie Nelson fears her soldier Mom won’t make it home from the War in Afghanistan. So, Jessie and her dad move in with Grandpa for the summer in small-town southern Minnesota where a historic tornado has made the townspeople fearful. With new friends in tow, Jessie and the boys stumble onto an old barn with terrified dogs inside. Jessie wants to save them all but knows she can’t. So, she saves one — the one dog cocking its head to the side and watching Jessie with its melty eyes. Soon Jessie learns the dog suffers from PTSD and needs TLC in order to trust again. Jessie hides the fearful dog in her bedroom until another tornado strikes and changes everything.
From author Kristin Johnson for Readers 8-12.
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Secret Agent 6th Grader: Selfies Are Forever
The name’s Valentine, Brody Valentine, and I’m back with my fourth case. The sixth graders of Buchanan School are on a trip to the mall to watch our award winning show choir perform in the food court. Sounds like a pretty sweet gig, right? Not when there’s danger lurking in the background. Someone’s decided to use this trip to string along the last members of Glitch by forcing us on a wild selfie chase, but as it turns out, that was just the tip of the iceberg. Now, one of the best days of the school year is in danger of becoming one of the worst. If I want to keep Glitch alive, I’ve gotta try and solve this case before the show choir takes the stage, but in a case with more twists than a pretzel, things might knot work out for anyone… and they might feel a little salty… and these puns are kind of cinnamon crunchy… wait, that last one didn’t work.
From authors Marcus Emerson and Noah Child for Readers 8-12.
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Jinxed
The Golden Compass meets the digital age! When a coding star enters an elite technology academy, she discovers a world of competition, intrigue, and family secrets—plus a robotic companion that isn’t what it seems.
Lacey Chu is a girl who codes. She has always dreamed of working as an engineer for MONCHA, the biggest tech firm in the world and the company behind the “baku”—a customizable “pet” with all the capabilities of a smartphone. But when Lacey is rejected by the elite academy that promises that future, she’s crushed.
One night, Lacey comes across the broken form of a highly advanced baku. After she repairs it, the cat-shaped baku she calls Jinx opens its eyes and somehow gets her into her dream school. But Jinx is different than any other baku she’s ever seen…He seems real.
As Lacey settles into life at school, competing with the best students in a battle of the bakus that tests her abilities, she learns that Jinx is part of a dangerous secret. Can Lacey hold on to Jinx and her dreams for the future?
From author Amy McCulloch for Readers 9-12.
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Epic Kids
Jake is an average, unpopular kid at school, and is shocked when the cool new kids ask him to sit with them at lunch. They’re not what he expected – a monstrous boy named Darryl levitates a lunch tray above his head, and a mysterious girl named Amanda shoot green bolts of lightning from her fingertips.
Jake is soon on a mission to prove he’s anything but average when it’s revealed he’s from another planet and has a duty to protect Amanda. He helps his new friends as they’re hunted by a dangerous, very-much alive mechanical dinosaur. And that’s just to start with. Jake learns that he has powers of his own (that involve a hidden door with glowing light) and will do everything he can to keep his new friends safe.
From author David Blaze for Readers 9-12.
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Brainwashed: Crime Travelers Spy School Mystery & International Adventure Series Book 1
While sleeping on the roof of his father’s hotel-spy school, thirteen-year-old Lucas Benes finds a baby alone and learns that the Good Company has restarted its profitable brainwashing business. The first book in the trilogy tracks the secret urban adventures of international teenage spies. Lucas, the reluctant hero, leads a group of friends through the hotspots of Paris-from the catacombs to the Eiffel tower–in an all-out effort to sabotage a brainwashing ceremony that could potentially turn them all into “Good” kids.
From author Paul Aertker for Readers 9-12.
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The Dirt Diary
A hilarious tale about the weight of responsibility that comes from a secret-filled diary.
Rachel can’t believe she has to give up her Saturdays to scrubbing other people’s toilets. So. Gross. But she kinda, sorta stole $287.22 from her college fund that she’s got to pay back ASAP or her mom will ground her for life. Which is even worse than working for her mother’s new cleaning business. Maybe. After all, becoming a maid is definitely not going to help her already loserish reputation.
But Rachel picks up more than smelly socks on the job. As maid to some of the most popular kids in school, Rachel suddenly has all the dirt on the 8th grade in-crowd. Her formerly boring diary is now filled with juicy secrets. And when her crush offers to pay her to spy on his girlfriend, Rachel has to decide if she’s willing to get her hands dirty.
From author Anna Staniszewski for Readers 10-14.
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Shy Ninja
Young Rena suffers from a social anxiety disorder. It keeps her from engaging at school, from hanging out with her best friend in person, or participating in any sort of group activity. Pressed by her mother to find some social outlet, she enrolls in a School for Ninjas—and in an instant, her life changes. Rena’s instructor, the mysterious Dysart, tells her that her presence fulfills an ancient prophecy and that she will become the Ninja legend known as “The Ghost.” Assuming she can even get past her own anxieties, will she help Dysart return the Ninja to their former glory, or is Dysart planning to exploit Rena for his own cryptic aims?
From authors Ricardo and Adara Sanchez and illustrator Arianna Florean for Readers 10-14.
