FINISHED:
DiCamillo, Kate. (2013). Flora & Ulysses: the illuminated adventures. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.


[When a squirrel gets sucked up inside a vacuum cleaner, young cynic and superhero-fan Flora saves the squirrel, only to find out that it now has superpowers, an insatiable hunger, and a penchant for writing poetry.  Dealing with a "temporarily blind" neighbor boy, her divorced parents (including her mother who wants Flora's father to take the squirrel out to be killed), and using the wisdom of Terrible Things Can Happen to You (a bonus in her favorite comic, The Illuminated Adventures of the Amazing Incandesto!), Flora manages to save the squirrel (dubbed Ulysses) and find hope and love in a world where there previously appeared to be none.  Laugh out loud hilarious, with cheeky sophisticated language and some pages rendered in comic style, this is one of the most enjoyable books that I've read this year!]


STARTED:
Stroud, Jonathan. (2013). The screaming staircase (Lockwood & Co.: Book 1). New York: Disney/Hyperion.


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