Book Reviews
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Rick Riordan Presents Aru Shah and the End of Time (A Pandava Novel Book 1)
Twelve-year-old Aru Shah has a tendency to stretch the truth in order to fit in at school. While her classmates are jetting off to family vacations in exotic locales, she’ll be spending her autumn break at home, in the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture, waiting for her mom to return from her latest archeological trip. Is it any wonder that Aru makes up stories about being royalty, traveling to Paris, and having a chauffeur?
One day, three schoolmates show up at Aru’s doorstep to catch her in a lie. They don’t believe her claim that the museum’s Lamp of Bharata is cursed, and they dare Aru to prove it. Just a quick light, Aru thinks. Then she can get herself out of this mess and never ever fib again.
But lighting the lamp has dire consequences. She unwittingly frees the Sleeper, an ancient demon whose duty it is to awaken the God of Destruction. Her classmates and beloved mother are frozen in time, and it’s up to Aru to save them.
The only way to stop the demon is to find the reincarnations of the five legendary Pandava brothers, protagonists of the Hindu epic poem, the Mahabharata, and journey through the Kingdom of Death. But how is one girl in Spider-Man pajamas supposed to do all that?
From author Roshani Cholshi for Readers 9-12.
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The Greatest Spy Who Never Was (Hugo Dare Book 1)
Meet Hugo Dare. Schoolboy turned super spy. Both stupidly dangerous and dangerously stupid.
Thirteen-year-old Hugo’s life is turned upside down when his weekend job at secret organization, SICK, is unexpectedly upgraded eight levels to that of a spy. His first mission – to go deep undercover with Agent One and assist him in any way he can.
Sounds simple, right? Wrong. Very wrong.
A robbery at the Bottle Bank. Diamond smuggling at the Pearly Gates Cemetery. The theft of priceless artifact, Coocamba’s Idol. Hugo is there on each and every occasion, but then so too is someone else.
Wrinkles, the town of Crooked Elbow’s oldest criminal mastermind.
In a battle of good versus evil, young versus old, ugly versus even uglier, there can only be one winner … and it better be Hugo otherwise we’re all in trouble!
From author David Codd for Readers 9-14.
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Chase: The Boy Who Hid – The Hide & Seek Chronicles
A kid inventor. A billion-dollar game of hide-and-seek. One chance to save his family.
His engineer grandfather was the only one who really understood fourteen-year-old Chase. When the old man goes missing, Chase discovers his inheritance: futuristic shapeshifting technology beyond his wildest dreams.
Now he must fly, hide, and spy his way into the government’s classified game of high-tech hide-and-seek, the last place anyone saw Grandad. Given the chance, he’ll do anything to reunite his family, even risk disappearing himself.
From author Z. Jefferies for Readers 11-15.
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Bad Hair Days: A mystery
For Mallow, every day is a Bad Hair Day.
Wearing a wig means Mallow can hide her hair loss. But now someone’s sending her creepy messages. It’s a race to stop them before everyone discovers her secret. Losing her hair was hard enough – but will she lose the people she cares about too?
A touching mystery about family, friendships and being different, from J M Forster, the award-winning author of Shadow Jumper, for Readers 10-14.
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The Last Fallen Star (A Gifted Clans Novel)
Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents Graci Kim’s thrilling debut about an adopted Korean-American girl who discovers her heritage and her magic on a perilous journey to save her witch clan family.
Riley Oh can’t wait to see her sister get initiated into the Gom clan, a powerful lineage of Korean healing witches their family has belonged to for generations. Her sister, Hattie, will earn her Gi bracelet and finally be able to cast spells without adult supervision. Although Riley is desperate to follow in her sister’s footsteps when she herself turns thirteen, she’s a saram–a person without magic. Riley was adopted, and despite having memorized every healing spell she’s ever heard, she often feels like the odd one out in her family and the gifted community.
Then Hattie gets an idea: what if the two of them could cast a spell that would allow Riley to share Hattie’s magic? Their sleuthing reveals a promising incantation in the family’s old spell book, and the sisters decide to perform it at Hattie’s initiation ceremony. If it works, no one will ever treat Riley as an outsider again. It’s a perfect plan!
Until it isn’t. When the sisters attempt to violate the laws of the Godrealm, Hattie’s life ends up hanging in the balance, and to save her Riley has to fulfill an impossible task: find the last fallen star. But what even is the star, and how can she find it?
As Riley embarks on her search, she finds herself meeting fantastic creatures and collaborating with her worst enemies. And when she uncovers secrets that challenge everything she has been taught to believe, Riley must decide what it means to be a witch, what it means to be family, and what it really means to belong.
From author Graci Kim for Readers 10+.
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Minerva Keen’s Detective Club
This is a spine-tingling, creepy-crawling, giggle-producing kid’s detective club.
Living in the luxurious Arcanum building—with its interior balconies perfect for playing tag, an elevator like an iron birdcage, and quirky neighbors behind every apartment door—has always been fun and games for twelve-year-old Minerva Keen…until her neighbors start getting poisoned. Anyone could be next, and everyone is a suspect, including Minerva herself.
To clear her name and help the police crack the case, Minerva starts her own detective club. So what if it has only two other members, one being Minerva’s accident-prone daredevil brother and the other being the biggest and quietest kid in school, who is afraid of his own shadow? Minerva knows that with her brainpower, the club’s sleuthing skills, and case files full of suspects, they can unmask the poisoner…hopefully before it’s too late.
This page-turning new mystery series is packed with thrills, chills, laughs, and unforgettable characters and will leave kids eager to join the best club around.
From authors James Patterson and Keir Graff for Readers 8-12.
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Harley James & the Mystery of the Mayan Kings
Will Harley find the missing Mayan statue and save the World?
Amateur cryptologist Harley James has just landed in the sticky jungle of Tikal, Guatemala—home to the famous Mayan ruins. She’s made a few friends, a few mistakes…and a ground-breaking discovery.
The legendary statue of the long-lost Mayan King.
Just as she is about to impress her father with her discovery, the statue is stolen. Right from her own room!
And what’s worse? The legend says if the statues of the three kings are reunited, they’ll bring back an army from the dead to rule the world.
Follow along with Harley as she tracks down the missing Mayan statue, solves a few riddles and stumbles upon a secret society that will change her life forever!
From author Leah Cupps for Readers 8-12.
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Ben Archer and the Toreq Son – The Alien Skill Series, Book 6
Can a human boy save earth from an alien invasion?
Things are looking dire for Ben Archer.
From his jail cell on an alien warship Ben watches, helpless, as the Toreq blast the Earth with droughts, floods, and hurricanes. Ben‘s hopes of bringing balance back to the natural world are in shambles. His enemies accuse him of having misused his alien power and are only too happy to make him the scapegoat for humanity‘s wrongdoings.
Only Mesmo could convince his people to stand down. But Mesmo has disappeared and Ben fears the worst.
What can a thirteen-year-old-human boy do to save Earth? Can he regain his freedom and stop General Zoltar from executing his deep, dark secret – one that could doom them all?
From author Rae Knightly for Readers 10-14.
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The Book of Chaos (Starfell)
Twelve-year-old Fable Nuthatch has something that nobody else in Larkmoor has—magic. But living under the roof of her overprotective aunt, she’s forced to hide it from the world.
When a strange book lands in her lap and her cousin vanishes into its pages, she follows, hurtling into an enchanted forest far from the rolling hills of her home. Starfell is filled with unusual people and mystical creatures. Here, she’s accepted for who she is, and she’s finally free to embrace her powers.
But not everything is bright in Starfell. A darkness looms over the land, and her cousin is still missing. After following a trail of clues about other disappearances and the mysterious Fae Witch, Fable and her friends are confronted with a deadly secret—one that’s connected to Fable and her family.
With help from her peculiar new friends, Fable must learn to trust in herself or risk losing her cousin forever. Can she face the wicked secret hunting her and save him before it’s too late?
From author Jessica Renwick for Readers 8-12.
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Rick Riordan Presents Tiger Honor (A Thousand Worlds Novel, Book 2)
Sebin, a young tiger spirit from the Juhwang Clan, wants nothing more than to join the Thousand World Space Forces and, like their Uncle Hwan, captain a battle cruiser someday. But when Sebin’s acceptance letter finally arrives, it’s accompanied by the shocking news that Hwan has been declared a traitor. Apparently, the captain abandoned his duty to steal a magical artifact, the Dragon Pearl, and his whereabouts are still unknown. Sebin hopes to help clear their hero’s name and restore honor to the clan.
Nothing goes according to plan, however. As soon as Sebin arrives for orientation, they are met by a special investigator named Yi and Yi’s assistant, a girl named Min. Yi informs Sebin that they must immediately report to the ship Haetae and await further instructions. Sebin finds this highly unusual, but soon all protocol is forgotten when there’s an explosion on the ship, the crew is knocked out, and the communication system goes down. It’s up to Sebin, three other cadets, and Yi and Min to determine who is sabotaging the battle cruiser. When Sebin is suddenly accused of collaborating with the enemy, the cadet realizes that Min is the most dangerous foe of all.
From author Yoon Lee for Readers 8-12.
