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“Just about the time I was thinking things weren’t turning out so bad after all, events took a turn for the worse.”  So says Jack Catcher, teen protagonist in Joe R. Landsdale’s latest, All the Earth, Thrown to the Sky.  And this remark captures the flavor of this book, and Jack’s adventures in it, perfectly. Set in the deepest part of the Great Depression, in the dustbowl of Oklahoma, Jack’s parents have just died – his mother from a wasting sickness and his father from grief – and now he’s not sure what to do.  He’s got no food and no money, and the bankRead More →

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Sci-Fi Action author Brian Falkner creates another fast-paced, twisting and turning thrill ride in his latest novel, The Project.  Best friends Tommy and Luke like to pull mostly harmless pranks and enjoy horsing around.  Even though their latest prank lands them in some serious trouble at school, they still volunteer with to help the local university library try to save its rare book collection from the impending threat of a fast moving flood.  While helping out, Luke discovers the only copy in existence of a rare book based on Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings and theories. Because he’s been researching “the most boring book in theRead More →

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Debut children’s author Kelly Barnhill’s The Mostly True Story of Jack  is a delightful, imaginative tale.   It’s a story of friendship, family, and sacrifice, all wrapped up in a mostly true (depending on how you look at it) magical mystery about a boy, a town, and the choice to do the right thing. Jack’s parents are getting a divorce, so he has to go stay in a small farm town in Iowa with his only relatives, an old aunt and uncle who live in the strangest house he’s ever seen.  It’s not like Jack will miss much from his home in San Francisco since he hasRead More →

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Love Nancy Drew? Enjoy stories with a multicultural flair? Like smart tween girls whose spunk shines through?  Is so, you’ll really enjoy debut author Sheela Chari’s Vanished.  It’s full of music, mystery, coincidences, deception and fun.  11 year old Neela dreams of being a famous musician, playing her antique Indian instrument, the veena, but in reality when she’s in front of an audience, she’s full of stage fright.  When her grandmother in Indian mysteriously sends Neela an heirloom veena- the one she plays most often that’s intricately carved with a strange dragon – Neela feels that she may finally have the instrument that will help her get over her stage frightRead More →

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Will curiosity kill the Cat? A shadowy “Game” played on the fringes of normal society where everyday people gamble for life-changing magical prizes and losers may pay the ultimate price – to 15 year old Cat, it sounds like a kooky pass-time for nerds and dorks who still live with their moms.  Cat’s used to being on her own – her parents died when she was three and she’s grown up fending for herself both because of and despite her aunt’s “parenting” style – and she’s most comfortable on the fringes, observing and being invisible.  But when a crazed, breathless businessman asks for her help hiding fromRead More →

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Jane Kelley’s The Girl Behind the Glass is a scary book.  Lovers of scary movies and scary stories told in the dark at sleepovers will devour this book about a haunted house, a horrible act, and an unsuspecting family. The Zimmers have moved to the suburbs of New York City from Brooklyn. While they’re waiting for the completion of their new home, they hastily rent a huge old house on Hemlock Street that’s been derelict and mouse-infested for years.  The children of the town used to come and throw rocks at the windows and dare each other to run up and touch the front door andRead More →

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Bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s novel Vanish is about Jacinda’s life when she gets back to the pride. After being taken away from the pride by her mother and almost exposing her race’s one kept secret.  In this detailed sequel to Firelight, there are many issues Jacinda  must face: she has to choose between her love for her pride and her true love, Will;  her relationship with Cassian has an unexpected twist because Cassian want something more from Jacinda  than she is willing to give; Jacinda realizes she wants nothing at all but to be herself; Jacinda’s twin sister Tamara has some surprises; and you find out if theRead More →

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Reminiscent of numerous future dystopias, particularly Lois Lowry’s The Giver and TV phenomenon The Twilight Zone, Ruth White’s newest middle grade fiction offering, You’ll Like it Here (Everybody Does), is an unsettling, suspenseful adventure.  At first glance, the Blues are a typical American family: Mom’s an astronomy professor, Gramps is retired and loves puttering around his workshop and painting, 14 year old David and 12 year old Meggie are smart kids, who enjoy school and spending the summers traveling around the US.  But they’ve got a secret and when the townspeople become suspicious of them and barge into their farmhouse one summer night, the secretRead More →

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Never having been a 9-year-old boy, I can’t say for sure, but… if I had been, then I would have loved screenwriter EJ Altbacker’s new series, Shark Wars.  Easily identifiable character-types, sharks, fierce action, sharks, high stakes conflict, sharks, quick pacing, sharks, and highly cinematic detail, (and did I mention sharks?), combine into an easily readable series for 8-12 year old boys (and some girls too). These books are perfectly positioned for an animated life and already have a free game for smartphones.  Altbacker hooks his readers quickly and the attempts at conveying life lessons – choosing true friends over popularity, bullying, holding true to oneself, and doing the rightRead More →