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When Millie was little, a magical “small person with wings” (don’t ever call them fairies!) lived with her and her family.  He was her special, secret friend: he made beautiful illusions in her room, turned squash (yuck) into candy corn, and most off all, he never made her feel bad about her weight. One day Millie brags about him to her kindergarten class, promising to bring Fidius to show and tell, and instantly the kids want to be her friend. When Millie tells Fidius about what she did, she realizes she broke his trust and the next day he leaves her forever.  The loss ofRead More →

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Perfectly capturing the enterprising spirit of the turn of the 20th century, Gary Blackwood’s Around the World in 100 Days is an enjoyable update on the classic Around the World in 80 Days.  This time around it’s Phileas Fogg’s only son, Harry, whose vision, guts, and bravado will be tested. Caught with the same fire and courage of his father, Harry embarks rashly on his adventure, but this time it’s to prove to the skeptical world that the motor vehicle, his Flash, is the way of the future. Boldly, and sometimes heedlessly testing the limits of technology, Harry and his mechanical-genius Johnny, along with theRead More →

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Check out this review of Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld from briangriggs.com: “I realized today that there is no main antagonist in the Leviathan/Behemoth series. It’s straight character vs. self and character vs. society. I wonder if that’s why students don’t quite get into the action. The only complaint I’ve received is that there’s so much focus on the history and not on excitement. The “focus on history” comment is an interesting one, considering the book is about giant flying whales and steam-powered mechs. Behemoth is a great sequel to Leviathan. It continues documenting the travels of the airship crew as they delve into the Ottoman Empire.Read More →

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Mike Lupica’s Hero, due from Philomel/Penguin Books in November 2010, is a variation on familiar territory for both Lupica and the teen-hero genre.  When 14 year old Billy Harriman’s dad, the globetrotting special advisor to the President, is mysteriously killed in a small aircraft crash, Billy’s world is turned upside down.  Billy had always looked up to his famous hero-of-a-dad, but also secretly wished he’d been around more, instead of always putting others, and America, before Billy and his mom.  But now that his dad is gone and never coming home, he is forced to confront the anger, resentment, and longings he’d suppressed for years. But that’sRead More →

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On a dark night when he was 12 years old, Jacob Reckless laid his hand on the gilded mirror in his missing father’s study as was instantly, magically transported into a strange world where fairy tales have come to life.  And from that first visit, Jacob becomes addicted to the escape, the freedom, and the forgetting that the Mirrorworld provides him.  Until the day, 12 years later, when his younger brother Will follows him through the mirror and is attacked by the stone-warriors and infected with their poison.  Now it becomes a race against time as Jacob and Will must search throughout Mirrorworld to findRead More →

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I love fairy tales! Who hasn’t thought about what they’d wish for if they had 3 magic wishes or dreamed of finding Prince Charming? Alex Flinn, once again, weaves real life and fairy tale magic together to take us on a fun and sometimes funny romp. Johnny and his mom own a shoe repair store in an expensive hotel. Business is not so good and teenage Johnny has to spend 12-18 hours a day there. When a guest at the hotel, an exotic princess, notices him and his work ethic she asks him to help find her brother. The twist? The prince has been cursed by a witch and turned intoRead More →

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  Lingerby Maggie Stiefvater Lingeris the sequel to Stiefvater’s romance, Shiver.  In Linger, Sam and Grace can now be together, but their life is too complicated: Sam’s the guardian of the pack and there’s trouble when wolf Beck changes a guy name Cole.  As it turns out, Cole is famous rock star so it becomes much harder to keep the pack a secret. Later in the story, Grace start to get sick, which leads to a big surprise at the end. I liked this book because it’s a lot like Romeo and Juliet. I think Linger is a good book for people to read because shows that people will do crazy thingsRead More →

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Jill Jekel is devastated by the murder of her father. When the police discover that he had been involved in illegal activities they lose interest in finding his murderer. Jill discovers that her father had been secretly working in his laboratory in the middle of the night and used her college savings account to fund his experiments!  Now with her mother falling apart, Jill tries to find “normal” again. When the mysterious, handsome Tristen Hyde gives Jill attention and support she finds herself curiously drawn to him. And when their chemistry teacher suggests they work together in a competition for a chance to win a 30K scholarshipRead More →

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Australian author Richard Harland’s newest book, Worldshaker, is an action-packed, fast-paced thrill ride that grabs the reader from the first page and keeps you riveted until the satisfying conclusion. Col Porpentine is the grandson and heir to the supreme commander of the juggernaut Worldshaker. A technological marvel, Worldshaker carries over 10,000 people, including the nobility from the Old Country (formerly England) on an endless trip around the world, consuming resources and leaving a trail of destruction behind.  Col is a privileged member of the upper decks and has never questioned the order of things, the mastery of his people, and the mission of Worldshaker.  But then he meetsRead More →