FINISHED: 
Bertman, Jennifer Chambliss. (2018). The Alcatraz Escape [Book Scavenger #3]. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Johnson, Maureen. (2018). Truly Devious. New York: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Crowder, Melanie. (2017). Three Pennies. New York: Atheneum/Simon & Schuster.

["It matters not how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop." (p. 148).]

STARTED:
Wenxuan, Cao. (2017). Bronze and Sunflower. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Madonna, Paul. (2017). On to the Next Dream. San Francisco: City Lights.

[.]

STARTED:
Thomas, Angie. (2017). The Hate U Give. New York: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins.

[I've only read the first 2 chapters, and it's already devastating...]

*

FINISHED:
Bertman, Jennifer Chambliss. (2017). The Unbreakable Code [Book Scavenger #2]. New York: Henry Holt/Macmillan.

[Thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series, and the author, who is also thoroughly enjoyable, came to my library for a reading/signing after Book Scavenger came out.  She emailed me a few months ago to let me know that the sequel was coming, and asked if I'd like an advanced copy.  Well, of course!  It finally came the other day, along with a lovely note from Ms. Bertman saying that I should look on page 349.  She name-checked me in the Acknowledgments!  And, I'm proud to have been called out on this one because it's REALLY FUN.  I'm going to say that it actually improves upon the original in that it is much more streamlined and singularly focused.  Kids all across the world will enjoy it, but living here in San Francisco and getting to read about kids traveling all over this city is amazing.  Jennifer, FANTASTIC job!]

STARTED:
Madonna, Paul. (2017). On to the Next Dream. San Francisco: City Lights.

[My husband said that I had to read this one.  I guess that it mirrors our situation, though, hopefully not too much because it seems to deal with his being evicted from his San Francisco apartment...]

*

FINISHED: 
Avi. (2016). School of the Dead. New York: HarperCollins.

[Tony and his family move to San Francisco so that he can attend the alma mater, The Penda School, of his afterlife-believing, recently deceased Uncle Charlie.  Upon starting seventh grade at his new school, Tony not only begins to see the ghost of his dead Uncle, but also that of a long dead student, while finding out that over the life of the school, students have been mysteriously disappearing every seven years.  Avi’s latest has its moments where the reader will be fooled by some red herrings, as Tony eventually finds himself caught between a ghost who needs his help, a group of students called the Weird History Club who investigate the odd goings on at the school, and teachers who advise Tony to stay away from the Weird History Club… thus putting him in a position where he’s not sure who to believe has his best interest at heart, and wondering if there is anyone that he can trust.  This aside, the story being set in San Francisco seems inconsequential, and rather than building real tension, this is a standard ghost story with few real scares that feels padded and overlong (not helped by the lack of chapter designations), giving the impression that it could’ve made a much more effective short story.]

STARTED:
Springstubb, Tricia. (2016). Every Single Second. New York: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins.

[Rereading before writing a formal review for ACL.  As previously mentioned (and seen by the author!), MOONPENNY ISLAND, from last year, was one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITES, so I'm trying this one again to solidify my feelings.]

*

FINISHED: 
Averbeck, Jim. (2014). A Hitch at the Fairmont. New York: Atheneum/Simon & Schuster.

[.]


STARTED:
Milford, Kate. (2014). Greenglass House. New York: Clarion/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

[.]


*

FINISHED:
Choldenko, Gennifer. (2013). Al Capone does my homework. New York: Dial/Penguin.


[.]


STARTED:
Pinkwater, Daniel Manus. (1979). Alan Mendelsohn, the boy from Mars. New York: Dutton.


[A recommended title.]

*

FINISHED:
Mull, Brandon. (2012). The candy shop war: Arcade catastrophe. Salt Lake City, UT: Shadow Mountain.


[.]


STARTED:
Mauser, Pat Rhoads. (1982). A bundle of sticks. New York: Atheneum.


[Read this one in middle school - remember it vividly because the title refers to the word "faggot", which is what the protagonist gets called by the school bully...]

*

FINISHED:
Williams-Garcia, Rita. (2010). One crazy summer. New York: Amistad/HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Black, Holly, and Justine Larbalestier, eds. (2010). Zombies vs. unicorns. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books.

[Reviewing for ACL.]

*

FINISHED:
Telgemeier, Raina. (2010). Smile. New York: Graphix/Scholastic.

[.]

STARTED:
Erskine, Kathryn. (2010). Mockingbird. New York: Philomel.

[.]

*

FINISHED:

LaCour, Nina. (2009). Hold still. New York: Dutton/Penguin.

[.]

STARTED:
Gaiman, Neil. (2009). Odd and the frost giants. New York: HarperCollins.

[Just a short quickie...]

*

FINISHED:

Choldenko, Gennifer. (2009). Al Capone shines my shoes. New York: Dial/Penguin.

[My ACL review:

After Al Capone does Moose a favor by getting his autistic sister into a special school, Moose receives a note in his laundry saying, “Your turn.” How could a 12-year old boy living on Alcatraz Island in 1935 with his prison guard father help a notorious con? And, should he even help Capone or will this keep him under Capone’s thumb forever? In this worthy follow up to Newbery Honor-winning Al Capone Does My Shirts (Putnam, 2004), Choldenko puts the focus firmly on family relations, friendship, and budding young love. Moose’s gang of friends on Alcatraz are all here again, this time around getting more fleshed out and involved, and the storyline surrounding Moose’s sister Natalie is deftly handled: Natalie, now at the Esther P. Marinoff School, has a firm teacher who gets her to become more socially engaged thus showing Moose, his family, and some of the island inhabitants who don’t understand Natalie that she is capable of much more than they thought. Choldenko, who lives in the Bay Area, includes an author’s note about autism in which she insightfully parallels being autistic with living in a prison, as well as living on an island by oneself, and a note which examines the reality versus the fiction of some of the novel’s events. (NOTE: a captioned map of Alcatraz is to be included in the final printing but was unavailable in the uncopyedited reader’s copy used for this review.) Readers who got caught up in Moose’s adventures on Alcatraz the first time around will love this well-paced sequel.]

STARTED:
Barnes, John. (2009). Tales of the Madman underground. New York: Viking.

[Reviewing for ACL. So far, it's quite good (it got MANY starred reviews...) but a bit over-the-top...]

*

FINISHED:

Choldenko, Gennifer. (2004). Al Capone does my shirts. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.

[Ok, well, I wasn't completely WOWED by this one. Not even sure that I would consider it a Newbery Honor book. Parts just seemed a bit overwrought and overly dramatic, and I never really ever got the sense that it was truly 1935 in San Francisco. There was one mention of brushing his teeth with his finger after mixing some kind of toothpaste powder in his palm, but, otherwise, I never felt like it was taking place in the past. Pretty interesting touch to have a character with autism, since I doubt that has ever really been explored in a historical children's book, and I appreciated the main character's dedication (and utter frustration) to his autistic sister, but still wasn't really won over that much. Great recommendation for kids who live in the area, though.]

STARTED:
Hale, Shannon. (2005). Princess academy. New York: Bloomsbury.

[Keep hearing about this one and seeing it come and go at the library. Hate to be sexist, but I just felt like reading something a little "girly"...]

*