The War Below

This is a companion novel to Making Bombs for Hitler.  It isn't necessary to read the other book first.

In this book Luka has managed to escape from a Nazis labor camp and is hiding in the Ukraine from both the Nazis and the Soviets.  He joins the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.  But can he find Lida whom he left behind at the camp and can he ever find his family.

While interesting I felt like the book failed to deliver on what was advertised.  I expected a lot more of the story to focus on his activities in the Resistance and it really didn't.

Harbor Me

I loved this book!  It is the story of 6 learning disable students who are given the opportunity every Friday afternoon to just talk amongst themselves.  They tackle issues such as racism, privilege, and immigration but even more importantly they learn to listen and be a harbor for each other.  Well done and timely.

Samantha Spinner and the Super-Secret Plans

Samantha's uncle has always been there for them - he makes breakfast, walks them to the bus, and tells of grand adventures.  But then he disappears.  In a note they find after he is gone they discover that he left Samantha's sister a huge amount of money, he left her brother the New York Yankees, and he left her an umbrella.

But Samantha soon discovers that the umbrella is not an ordinary umbrella - it has plans and directions to get all over the world.  But - her uncle told her to watch the RAIN which is a secret group of ninjas who want the umbrella back.  

Together Samantha, her brother, and their dog go on an adventure around the world.  

This was ok.  I wish the puzzles had been embedded in the story more or a bit more accessible to figure out.  This is the first in a series.

Copyboy

This book is a sequel to the author's book Paperboy from several years ago.  It is not necessary to have read the previous book to appreciate this book but I feel readers would get to know Mr. Spiro better that way.

This book picks up 6 years later right after Mr. Spiro dies.  And that is the first problem for me...  for the most part middle grade fiction characters are in middle school.  In this book Vic is about to leave for college.  So maybe it's YA - meh, I guess you could say technically by character age but there is little in the content to make it overly appealing to young adults either.  

The story itself was decent - a journey, a hurricane, a new relationship but it just doesn't seem to know its audience.

The Super Life of Ben Braver

Ben finds himself at a school for children with powers - all descended for 14 people who took part in an experiment years ago.  The purpose of the school is to control and hide their powers.  Problem is Ben isn't a descendent and he doesn't actually have powers.  So why is Ben there?  Can he actually save the school even though he isn't special at all.

The Truth About Martians

Since the death of his brother Obie life hasn't been the same for Mylo and his family.  He has lost his faith and everything seems gray.  He wishes he were a superhero and that he could make things the way they were before and help his friend Dibs as well.

When something mysterious lands in the desert near Roswell Mylo and his friends have to investigate and what they discover changes their lives forever.  

Inside the capsule is a being which later follows Mylo home.  He soon learns that she comes from Europa, a moon of Jupiter (not Mars) and that he brother has been taken to the nearby base.  

Can Mylo and his friends be real life superheroes and rescue Moon Shadow's brother?

Fun blend of alien lore from the Roswell area mixed with friendship and action.  This was a good story.

Sunny

What more can one say about Jason Reynolds?  Love this series and I really enjoyed the format.  I kind of wish there had been more history of the diary - why he initially started using it and then why he stopped.  Minor point.  I loved the book.

The Bookshop Girl

Property Jones lives with her 'family" in a bookshop but she can't read.  Her family doesn't know and Property never really thought to tell them until it just became awkward.  Their bookshop is rundown so when the opportunity comes to enter a contest to win a fabulous, well known book emporium they jump at the chance.  Then they win!!!

But, they get more than they bargained for when they discover that the former owner ruined a priceless manuscript and owes millions of dollars for it.  Now they have lost everything...  or have they?  Can Property figure out what really happened before it's too late.

Cute, quirky book.

Endling: The Last

Byx is the youngest and smallest member of her dairne pack.  There aren't many dairnes left and when the rest of her pack is slaughtered Byx thinks she may be the last...the endling.  In an effort to find more of her kind she starts traveling and meets ups with other creatures and humans along the way - some who are helpful, some who want to kill her, and some who just want to use her.  Who can she trust?  Is she truly the last dairne?  

This was a grand adventure - action, mystery, friendship, courage.  It was lengthy but it will appeal to students who love a high fantasy quest.  The next installment comes out in the spring of 2019.

Echo's Sister

Laughter (or El for short) is starting a new school and life seems pretty good.  But on her first day her family discovers that her sister Echo has a rare form of cancer in her mouth.  That begins a journey - keeping the family together, positive, supportive.  El struggles with her role and her identity through it all - in addition to a new school and trying to make new friends she is known as Echo's sister. 

This was a nice book - it was good to see the family as supportive as well as the community.  I wonder if some of the generosity was a bit too altruistic and not realistic but never having gone through a situation like that I am unsure how people really come through for others.  I am not a fan of the cover - it doesn't represent anything from the book. 

Journey of the Pale Bear

Arthur is always running away.  Life is hard and his stepfather and stepbrothers are unkind.  When he receives a letter from relatives in Wales he decides to try and find them.  But along the way he meets a polar bear.  This bear is intended to be a gift for the king of England and Arthur seems to be the only one who can calm the bear down.  The two develop a great relationship that results in them rescuing each other.

The Last Gargoyle

Penhallow is a gargoyle (actually grotesque - there is a difference) whose job is to protect his domains and his wards.  He can leave his stone shape as a wisp to move around (he prefers the shape of a boy) but no one can see him or touch him.  After the mysterious disappearance of two of his friends, Penhallow is the last of his kind and something sinister is happening with a focus on the new family in his building.

And then there is Viola.  She can actually see him and the become friends.  But who is she and what is she keeping from him?

Can Penhallow (or Goyle as Viola calls him) stop the evil that is lurking in Boston?

I enjoyed this but it did take awhile for it to get going.  I would say it was about 1/2 way through before I was really invested.  Will readers stick with it?

Truly Devious

Stevie Bell finally has the opportunity to attend Ellingham Academy.  She is really excited because she is a crime aficionado and has thoroughly studied the crime that occurred there in the late 1930s.  But while she is working on solving that old, unsolved crime another crime, a murder, happens on campus.  Can Stevie solve both crimes?

I really loved this.  I listened to it on audio and it was very engaging.  Unfortunately it ended on a big cliffhanger and I have to wait for the sequel.

Out of Left Field

Katy Gordon is a pitcher.  But, in the late 1950s girls do not play baseball.  Although she is good enough to make the Little League team when the coach finds out she is a girl he refuses to let her play.  She even contacts the Little League association but they won't budge.  As part of a class project on heroes, Katy decides to research women baseball players and finds out all about their hidden history.

Katy takes the reader on a journey that is not well known and exposes some of the misconceptions and unfairness of the late 1950s which in many cases we are still trying to combat today.  This was a good read.

The Reckless Club

At the end of their 8th grade year several students did things that resulted in a punishment.  This punishment was a bit different though.  Instead of a detention they were to spend the last day of the summer vacation at an assisted living home.  Way out of their element the 5 students try to just get through the day but one, Rex, is convinced that a nurse is stealing things from the residents and enlists the help of the others in catching her in the act.  In the midst of that the students start to learn about each other and in the aftermath they really find out what got each of them sent there to begin with.

This reminded me a lot of The Breakfast Club but set in a retirement home.  There was a bit of a mystery but also a positive message about seeing things from others' point of view and learning to understand and be empathetic.  I enjoyed this quite a bit.

Everlasting Nora

Ever since the fire that killed her father Nora and her mother have been living in his mausoleum.  In the Philippines, when you have no family, no jobs, no hope for the future that is where you can end up.   Things were going okay but her mother's habit of playing Mah'jong has gotten out of control and one day she doesn't come home after playing all night.  Nora and her friend Jo'Jo eventually figure out where she was and she is able to come home but she is really sick, they now have no work at all, and Nora's beloved father's watch and the money she was trying to save have all been stolen. Can Nora get help for her mother, get her watch back, and maybe find some hope for her little family?

This was pretty intense and sad but I feel like it is a good book for students to see how others may be living.

Me, Frida, and the Secret of the Peacock Ring

Paloma is not very excited about spending 4 weeks of her summer in Mexico.  But, since it was the homeland of her father who died when she was three, she is trying to make the best of it.  Right away she "meets" Frida Kahlo, Mexico's beloved artist and soon becomes embroiled in a mystery much like Lulu in her favorite books.  A peacock ring, recently discovered in a secret room, has now been stolen.  Her new friends Lizzie and Gael want her help but they aren't telling her everything.  There are many suspects and coincidences - a man in a trench coat, a fortune teller, a cuff link in a storage room.  Can Paloma and her friends find the ring before it's too late?

This was a clever mystery.  I liked the historical connection and Paloma was a great character.  Very well done!

The Story Collector

Viviani loves to tell stories.  It comes naturally - after all, her family lives in the New York Public Library where her dad is the superintendent.  But her stories sometimes get her into trouble and Viviani has a hard time knowing when a story is actually a lie.  While Viviani struggles to make friends and find her own story there is a mystery going on in the library - missing books, strange noises, and then a missing stamp collection that is worth a lot of money.  Can Viviani and her friends solve the mystery.

Love the Dewey Decimal Numbers in the chapter titles!!

The Agony House

Denise, her mom, and stepdad have just moved back to New Orleans to renovate an old house and make it into a bed and breakfast.  The house is a disaster but even worse, it's haunted.  When Denise finds an old comic things start to get worse.  Who are the ghosts and what are they trying to hide.

This wasn't bad.  I think it got good and creepy near the end.  Hopefully readers will stick with it.

Fakers

This was a fun collection of fakes and cons.  Some of the usual suspects were included - War of the Worlds broadcast, P.T Barnum, etc as well as new cons.  The book covered motives, methods, and a variety of areas where cons can occur.  What I liked as well was the historical coverage - right up to modern times.  A fun informational text.

Mt Father's Words

Fiona and Finn have just lost their father and are struggling with it.  One of their father's former patients calls each week with some of their father's words - words of advice, memories - as a way to comfort them.  Both children also start working at an animal shelter.  Along the way they find comfort in giving comfort to others.

This is a very gentle quiet book.  It grew on me.

Sweep

I loved this one so much. Nan is a chimney sweep.  She remembers life with her father, the Sweep, but he disappeared one day and she was forced to work for one of the Masters.  Life is miserable - sooty, dangerous, with no hope.  All her father left her was a bit of char that always seems to warm her.  One day she is working a particularly dangerous job and gets stuck.  The solution - burn her out - but somehow she survived and decided to hide.  What she soon discovers is that her char, her gift from her father, is actually a golem made from soot.  Charlie, the char, grows and becomes her friend, her protector.  But as with all golems 0 Nan learns, once he has fulfilled his job he will leave.  Can Nan help her fellow sweeps and keep Charlie?

Loved the friendship, the social message, and the adventure. 

A Perilous Journey of Danger and Mayhem

I loved this adventure book.  Molly and her mother are inventors but it is the late 1800s and no one accepts women inventors.  Molly’s mom has invented a flying machine and would love to show it at the World’s Fair in NY.  Everyone will be there - President Chester Arthur, Governor Grover Cleveland, former President Grant, as well as famous inventors like Bell, Edison, and Tesla.  When Molly hears that a last spot at the fair has been given to a rich boy she decides to take matters into her own hands and sabotage his invention but instead she stumbles upon a nefarious plot involving robots, death machines, and some of our beloved inventors.  Can Molly, her new friend Emmet and the Women of Invention save the World’s Fair and save Molly’s mother who has been unjustly accused and sent to the asylum?

I really loved this - gadgets, friendships, action, and a bit of history.

Lifeboat 12

Loved this poetic narrative about a group of survivors from a torpedoed ship.  Many of the survivors were children who were ironically being evacuated to Canada to escape the war in England.  The books was well done and well paced.

Mr. Wolf's Class

Mr. Wolf is a new teacher and this is about his first day.  His students represent a variety of animals and some are brand new to the school and some are not.  On the first day they have time for math, reading, library, and sharing.  Only one student gets lost so that's a plus and friends are made.  It was cute...

Backyard Bears

I have read a lot of the Scientists in the Field books and this is one of my favorites.  I felt the text was well written, concise, and not too technical.  And who doesn't enjoy photographs of bears?