The Murderer's Ape

What an odd book.  Don't get me wrong - by the time I got to the end I appreciated it and all but dang...

• So length - 624 pages.  I listened to it on audio and it was almost 14 hours.  In some aspects I wish I had read it to enjoy the pictures
• The main character is an ape of undisclosed age.  This is odd to me.  Most children's books feature characters that are the same age as the intended reader - all the characters were adults
• The details - so many details

I am just not sure who the book is for really.  It is way too long for my students.  Junior high??  High school?  Not sure who to give my physical copy to.  

Escape from Aleppo

Nadia's family lives in Aleppo.  They have survived during the fighting but now they feel that it is time to leave and get to Turkey.  Nadia has barely left the house since she was injured by shrapnel a year earlier.  As they prepare to leave Nadia hesitates and in doing so ends up too close to their house when a bomb hits.  She survives but is knocked unconscious and is hidden under debris.  Her family thinks she is dead and they leave, but leave a message for her at a spot they planned to meet at just in case.  Nadia finds her way there, gets the message, and with the help of an old man and some boys she finds along the way makes her way out of Aleppo.

This is a good story in that it shows readers what the struggle in Syria has been about and what the experience would have been for a child trying to get it.  The book does this in a way that a middle school reader can relate to without getting too graphic.

Dewey Fairchild: Parent Problem Solver

Dewey Fairchild has figured out that he is pretty good at solving problems and has a business of helping kids solve their problems with their parents.  His cases have included a father who picks his nose, an overprotective mom, and more.  But when his parents are thinking of moving to Alaska he has to try and solve his own problem.

This was pretty cute and funny.  I felt the ending was a bit nebulous - his problem got solved but it was unclear how really 

Moto and Me

I don't actually blog about every book I read.  Some are just too short, too meh, or I really didn't like them at all.  This is especially true as I am reading books on the MSBA shortlist and I find ones that just don't work at all for me.

This on the other hand - while short - is a gem.  I loved it!!  The information was great but not too heavy for the intended audience.  The ratio of text to photographs was great and very readable.  The photographs were gorgeous.  This was just stunning!

Tillie Heart and Soul

Tillie lives with her Uncle Fred at the old Franklin Piano Factory.  Her mom is in a rehab program but Tillie is hopeful that she will be able to her skate-a-thon.  Meanwhile Tillie is struggling with typical middle school friendships.

This wasn't a bad story - simple and effective.

Zap

Luis' life is pretty normal - for an 11 year old boy of Nicaraguan descent living in a run down city in New Jersey.  Then one day the power goes out in their town and Luis and his friends set out to discover why.  Along the way they interact with a computer genius, his friend's grandfather has a stroke and is mumbling weird things, Luis is followed and threatened, and more.  Can they figure out what made the power go out and save their city?

This was pretty decent.  I read an eBook ARC from NetGalley and there were a few cases where text messages and notes between the characters were missing making those parts of the story difficult to follow.  All in all a decent book.

The Magician and the Spirits

This book told about Houdini's lifelong quest to prove or disprove the spiritualism of his day.  This was not something I knew anything about and I found it interesting, especially his friendship and then feud with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

While interesting I don't think the book would be of great interest to my particular readers and will hand this off to the junior high or high school where it may find an audience.