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:
Ruby, Laura. (2017). The Shadow Cipher [York: Book 1]. New York: Walden Pond/HarperCollins.

[Seventh grade, white twins Tess and Theo live in the eccentric Morningstarr Tower with its zig-zagging elevators in a modern - though “alternate” - New York City, the building having been constructed over 150 years ago by the Morningstarr family who helped to develop the city with steampunk-y technologies.  When a real estate magnate buys their building with the intention of knocking it down to redevelop, the twins, along with their Latino neighbor Jaime, spurred on by a mysterious letter, hatch a plan to solve the 160-year-old Old York Cipher created by the Morningstarr family, hoping that in doing so their building will be deemed too important to destroy.  The alternate-New York setting, with its vaguely steampunk feel, keeps the reader on their toes, going along in a familiar world until mention of someone with a gene-spliced raccoon or big cat for a pet, some mechanical spiders in a woman’s purse, solar-powered cars, and a robot servant who brings breakfast.  Chapters alternate being told from the perspective of each of the three main kids, with a break-neck pace that has them running around New York following obscure clues found in cleverly obscure places such as etched on the underside of a heating stove, behind paint in a gallery painting, and one puzzle that is solved by noting the locations of tokens scattered around the apartments in their building.  Though this puzzle-driven book doesn’t allow the reader to try to solve along with the protagonists, this first book in a new series – with a doozy of a cliffhanger – is briskly paced with thoroughly vivid settings to draw one right into the action.]

STARTED:
Springstubb, Tricia. (2017). Cody and the Rules of Life. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[.]

*

FINISHED: 
Wolk, Lauren. (2017). Beyond the Bright Sea. New York: Dutton/Penguin Random House.


[.]

STARTED:
Donoghue, Emma. (2017). The Lotterys Plus One. New York: Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic.

[.]

*

FINISHED:

Lerangis, Peter. (2013). The colossus rises. New York: HarperCollins.

[Review forthcoming...]

STARTED:

Mull, Brandon. (2013). Chasing the prophecy (Beyonders #3). New York: Aladdin.

[One of my favorite children's/YA authors.]

*

FINISHED:
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1937). The hobbit. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.


[.]


STARTED:
Rowling, J.K. (2012). The casual vacancy. New York: Little, Brown.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Fairlie, Emily. (2012). The lost treasure of Tuckernuck. New York: Katherine Tegan/HarperCollins.


[Sixth-grader Laurie is mortified to have to do her middle school years at her parents’ alma mater, Tuckernuck Hall, a private school with a clucking chicken for a mascot, while the rest of her friends get to stay together at the local public school.  The school year gets interesting, though, when Laurie is named “gerbil monitor” in her classroom, and she embarks on a mission to solve the unsolvable hidden treasure puzzle in the school created by Maria Tutweiler, eccentric school founder and principal, 80 years earlier.  This serviceable mystery has a bit of humor, mostly revolving around the gerbils that Laurie, and her co-gerbil keeper and treasure seeker classmate Bud, are tasked with keeping watch over, as well as some poignancy involving Bud and his demanding father who are mourning the loss of Bud’s mother.  Unfortunately, the characters are fairly one-dimensional, there’s the familiar “our school is being torn down so we need to find the treasure ASAP” plotline, and the clues leading to the titular treasure are specific to places, objects and people around the school, thus shutting out the reader who may hope to help solve the mysteries along with our protagonists.  As such, the sleuthing gets a bit tedious as Laurie and Bud continually run around to different parts of the school dodging staff members and nosy students.  The only thing that really makes the text stand out amongst the crowd of other treasure-hunting mystery stories is the liberal scattering throughout of notes, lists, emails, and letters created by the book’s characters – though these don’t always serve to move the plot forward, they are still a fun diversion and help to break up the somewhat lengthy chapters.]

STARTED:
Phillips, Helen. (2012). Here where the sunbeams are green. New York: Delacorte/Random House.

[Reviewing for ACL...]

*

FINISHED:
Steward, Trenton Lee. (2012). The extraordinary education of Nicholas Benedict. New York: Little Brown.


[.]

STARTED:
Losure, Mary. (2012). The Fairy Ring: Or Elsie and Frances Fool the World. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Scieszka, Jon [ed.]. (2011). Guys read: Thriller. New York: Walden Pond/HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Skye, Obert. (2011). Wonkenstein: the creature from my closet. New York: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt.

[Reviewing for ACL...]

*

FINISHED:
Clements, Andrew. (2011). Fear itself [Benjamin Pratt & the Keepers of the School #2]. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Henkes, Kevin. (2011). Junonia. New York: HarperCollins.

[Who doesn't love Kevin Henkes?]

*

FINISHED:
Bulla, Clyde Robert. (1962). The ring and the fire. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell.

[.]

STARTED:
Hardinge, Frances. (2006). Fly by night. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Holm, Jennifer L. (2010). Turtle in paradise. New York: Random House.

[.]

STARTED:
Schmidt, Gary D. (2011). Okay for now. New York: Clarion/Houghton Mifflin.

[REALLY enjoyed The Wednesday Wars so I'm excited to start this "companion novel".]

*

FINISHED:
Sherry, Maureen. (2010). Walls within walls. New York: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Spratt, R.A. (2010). The adventures of Nanny Piggins. New York: Little, Brown & Co.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Baccalario, Pierdomenico. [trans. Leah D. Janeczko]. (2010). Star of stone (Century quartet: Book 2). New York: Random House.

[.]

STARTED:Balliett, Blue. (2010). The danger box. New York: Scholastic.

[Reading to see if I deem it worthy of appearing on the 2010 ACL Distinguished List - plus, I really liked her earlier books and have been awaiting this one...]

*

FINISHED:
Berlin, Eric. (2007). The puzzling world of Winston Breen. New York: Puffin/Penguin.

[.]

STARTED:
Riordan, Rick. (2010). The red pyramid. New York: Disney/Hyperion.

[It's the book that EVERYONE is reading...]

*

FINISHED:
Mull, Brandon. (2007). The candy shop war. Salt Lake City: Shadow Mountain.

[Interestingly, I read where Brandon Mull said that The Candy Shop War was a fan favorite and many people ask him if there will be a sequel. I found this one a bit sluggish and difficult to get through. Four kids are recruited by the mysterious old woman who runs the new candy store in town. As a reward for their help, the woman give the kids candy that makes them somewhat weightless, that shocks others when you touch them, and even changes their appearance. Meanwhile, the woman has the whole town hooked on a confection which renders them oblivious to anything around them. The four friends put some bullies in their place, rob a grave, break into the local library, travel through mirrors, and one even gets to jump back and then forward in time. Fun, and I'll certainly read a sequel because I think Mull is a talented author, but for some reason it took me WAY too long to finish.]

STARTED:
Martel, Yann. (2010). Beatrice and Virgil: A novel. New York: Spiegel & Grau.

[It may be cliche to say but, I LOVED Life of Pi - I even have it on my shortlist of books to read again.]

*

FINISHED:

Hicks, Clifford B. (1963). Alvin's secret code. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

[A fun little classic. Alvin, his pestering sister, and his best friend find a cryptic note in the gutter one afternoon. Naturally, they believe it to be some secret spy note and set forth to break the note's code. Along with the assistance of an old invalid in the neighborhood who is somewhat of an expert on codes, the trio learn about different kinds of secret codes including how some retail establishments code their wares. The main narrative here involves the trio helping a woman to find a lost "treasure" from slave days which the woman hopes will help her fund her ailing orphanage. FUN, informative, and interactive. PLUS, there is a whole series of tales of Alvin and his gang to entertain and amuse! Encyclopedia Brown, watch out...]

STARTED:
L'Engle, Madeleine. (1962). A wrinkle in time. New York: Dell/Yearling.

[I've NEVER read this one before... I KNOW!! I'm actually reading it in preparation for reading "When You Reach Me".]

*