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 This book was fun! I don’t really understand how Quantum Physics works, but the author seems to do a good job of explaining it and integrating a challenging scientific topic into the basis of the story. This book introduces the main character, “Tick” Atticus Higginbottom, and his journey to become a “Realitant” who travels to different realities. I was pleasantly surprised by Tick’s close relationship with his father. In other children’s novels I am often frustrated when the main characters do not communicate with the adults. In The Journal of Curious Letters, Tick actually confides in his dad, and dad listens and supports him. It’sRead More →

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The Patron Saint of Butterflies was unique and fascinating to read from the point of view of teens raised on a religious commune. The story is alternately told from the point of view of Agnes and then Honey, best friends who have grown up together at the commune. Agnes believes the commune’s doctrine, while Honey questions everything. When Honey flees with Agnes’ grandmother, taking an unwilling Agnes along on an adventure to save her little brother’s life, they have a life-changing journey that is satisfying and heartfelt. Highly recommended realistic fiction! Recommended for junior high and up. Posted by MichelleRead More →

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Aislynn has the Sight. She can see fairies.  But if they realize that she can see them they will probably blind her or kill her, so her whole life she has carefully pretended that she can’t see them.  She just wants to be a normal teenager, hanging out with her gorgeous best friend, Seth.  Her friends encourage her to be more than friends, but she doesn’t want to ruin their relationship.  Her life changes suddenly when one of the most powerful fairies, Keenan the Summer King, chooses Aislynn to be his queen and attempts to win her over.  Keenan is beautiful, charismatic and persistent, but Aislynn justRead More →

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  I couldn’t put Savvy down until I was finished! It was fun and touching with great characters and a clever premise. When a Beaumont kid turns 13, they get their “savvy.”   Mib’s older brothers have powerful savvys: one can make storms and the other makes electricity. What will Mib’s savvy be? Right before Mib’s 13th birthday her father is hospitalized from a terrible car accident. She is determined to visit her father at the hospital 90 miles away because she is convinced that her savvy will allow her to save him. On the journey to her father Mib has a grand adventure where she gets toRead More →

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Schooled, by Gordon Korman Capricorn has had a sheltered childhood growing up on an isolated old farm commune with his hippie grandmother. When she is injured and cannot care for him for two months he is forced to enter the real world and attend middle school in town. At first all the kids treat “Cap” terribly because he is so different. He is easily confused by the strange, foreign environment of middle school!  His innocent, kind and peace-loving nature help him to acclimate and eventually even win the kids over. It was interesting to follow the story from the different points of view of various people telling the story:Read More →

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 Wake 17-year-old Janie has a secret. She enters people’s dreams. She doesn’t want to, but she can’t stop it.  And it’s really annoying when it happens when she is at school, or work, and especially when it is a nightmare.  Things get complicated when she befriends Cabel. Some of his dreams are about her.  And some of his dreams are frightening.  When they end up in a dream together, they learn each other’s secrets.  Can they help each other? This was a quick, enjoyable read.   Due to some language and mature situations it is recommended for older teens and adults. http://www.lisamcmann.com/ Posted by MichelleRead More →

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This is the third book in the Grey Griffins series and they just keep getting better! Max, Ernie, Harley and Natalia are the Grey Griffins, four kids in the small town of Avalon, Minnesota who enjoy playing a card game called Round Table. In the first book, The Revenge of the Shadow King, the exciting adventures begin when the kids discover that the fantastic creatures and characters on their Round Table cards actually exist!  Max finds a magical book in his grandmother’s attic and is tricked into releasing an evil creature from it. Max becomes the new guardian of this important book, called the Codex.Read More →

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The Other Half of Me by Emily Franklin.  Jenny is a teenager with some typical teenage problems.  She is struggling to fit in with her athletic family.  She wants them to be more supportive of her interests.  She is jealous of her twin sisters’ close relationship and also feels that nobody understands her.  In her family of 6, she feels lonely. Jenny loves to paint.  The big art show is coming up and she wants to paint something good enough to get into the show. She has a crush on Tate, and now he seems to like her too.  Jenny also has some problems that are far from typical.   Her dadRead More →

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The Softwire: Virus on Orbis 1 is a fantastic sci-fi book for all ages.  Excellent for reluctant readers! Johnny Turnbull, aka JT, and his little sister Ketheria never knew their parents.  Years before they were born, their parents agreed to leave Earth to make a long trip through space to work on the far-off rings of Orbis.  After a malfunction killed all of the adults on the ship, the computer raised the embryos that the adults had brought on board.  When these children, no older than twelve, arrive on Orbis they discover that they must work off their parent’s debts by being virtual slaves for theRead More →