FINISHED:
Cuevas, Michelle. (2017). The Care and Feeding of a Pet Black Hole. New York: Dial/Penguin Random House.

[After being turned away at NASA, when she asks to see Carl Sagan so that she can give him a recording of her deceased father’s laughter for inclusion on the Voyager launch, 11-year-old Stella Rodriguez unwittingly has a black hole follow her home.  While Larry (as Stella names the black hole) begins to devour whatever it can, Stella discovers that as she throws items with memories of her dad attached to them into the black hole, it begins to appear as though the objects, and all of the feelings associated with them, never existed in the first place.  Cuevas has a gift for dry humor, fully evident in the 100 page, surreal journey (reminiscent of Roald Dahl and Norton Juster) that Stella and her brother take in a clawfoot tub while inside Larry; a journey that helps Stella work through her grief and regain an appreciation for “home” (“Sometimes what you think is a black hole in your life turns out to actually be a wormhole.  A portal.  A way home.”).  Cuevas’s own spot illustrations are sprinkled throughout the text, which is laugh out loud hilarious, touching, and a bit bizarre.]

STARTED:
Moore, David Barclay. (2017). The Stars Beneath Our Feet. New York: Knopf.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Gemeinhart, Dan. (2018). Good Dog. New York: Scholastic.

[.]

STARTED:
Cuevas, Michelle. (2017). The Care and Feeding of a Pet Black Hole. New York: Dial/Penguin Random House.

[.]

*

FINISHED: 
Balliett, Blue. (2018). Out of the Wild Night: A Ghost Story. New York: Scholastic.

[.]

STARTED:
Gemeinhart, Dan. (2018). Good Dog. New York: Scholastic.

[.]

*

STARTED & FINISHED: 
Froud, Brian. (2011). The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths [Vol. 1]. Los Angeles: Archaia.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Eagar, Lindsay. (2017). Race to the Bottom of the Sea. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[Eleven-year-old Fidelia Quail must go live with her Aunt Julia, a librarian who lives above the town library, after her internationally-acclaimed, underwater biologist parents die at sea during a powerful storm while exploring in a submarine of Fidelia’s creation.  Not long thereafter, while still grieving the loss of her parents, Fidelia finds herself kidnapped by Merrick the Monstrous, a pirate, and is forced to help him retrieve a treasure in a cave deep under the sea.  White Fidelia is a strong, intelligent, richly-drawn protagonist with a gift for invention and inquiry, while periodic flashbacks cleverly build a full portrait of compassion for the eccentric, larger-than-life Merrick.  Though it feels slightly overlong at times, Eager provides cinematic action sequences which play as though you are watching a vivid movie, as well as a couple of startling revelations which should surprise even the most keen reader.  With an intriguing setting – which seems to exist in its own time and place – and dynamic characters, hand this one to those who enjoy broad adventure stories.]

STARTED:
Balliett, Blue. (2018). Out of the Wild Night: A Ghost Story. New York: Scholastic.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Schlitz, Laura Amy. (2017). Princess Cora and the Crocodile. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[.]

STARTED:
Eagar, Lindsay. (2017). Race to the Bottom of the Sea. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Holm, Jennifer L. (2017). Swing It, Sunny. New York: Scholastic.

[.]

STARTED:
Schlitz, Laura Amy. (2017). Princess Cora and the Crocodile. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[.]

*

FINISHED: 
Westerfeld, Scott. (2017). Spill Zone. New York: First Second/Roaring Brook.

[.]

STARTED:
Holm, Jennifer L. (2017). Swing It, Sunny. New York: Scholastic.

[.]

*