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Sinister, blood-thirsty ghosts in fog-filled cemeteries, a Medieval cathedral and castle-turned boarding school, and an angry 11 year old boy sent away from home when his widowed mother becomes engaged to a new man.    A story spun with all the cinematic detail, coming-of-age life lessons, and supernatural qualities of her other works, Cornelia Funke‘s newest book, Ghost Knight, is a tale full of danger, bravery, and friendship. Jon Whitcroft tells us the story of his first year at an English boarding school, where he was sent after some very terrible behavior towards his mother’s fiance.  Jon had expected to be miserable in Salisbury and forRead More →

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*Welcome to the Town of Remarkable Where Every Day in this Remarkable Place filled with Remarkable People is Positively Remarkable for Absolutely Everyone Except Jane I don’t think I’d like to live in a town like Remarkable, where everyone is expertly talented in something, everyone is positively happy, and every sentence uttered ends in an exclamation point!  I think 10 year old Jane Doe, unnoticed, untalented, and completely unremarkable, would be only person worth knowing.  For Jane, the middle child in a remarkable family – her mother is a world renowned architect, her father a prize winning novelist, her gorgeous brother an ultra talented painter and herRead More →

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There’s a lot going on in debut author Lissa Price’s dystopian sci-fi action romance Starters.  Within the first 3 pages I wrote “Dollhouse?” at the top of the page, realizing the multiple plot, setting, and character similarities to Joss Whedon’s short-lived TV Series, Dollhouse.  Then there’s the subtle inspiration and re-envisioning of the Cinderella fairytale, with a sci-fi element added in, reminding me of Melissa Marr’s fantastic Cinder.  And of course the post-apocalyptic world, ravaged by the Spore Wars and the smart determined young heroine willing to risk herself to save her younger sibling will be a great “what do I read next?” after TheRead More →

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Twice in as many weeks I’ve found myself embroiled in intriguing detective mysteries inspired by Allen Pinkerton, the first Private Eye.  The Case of the Deadly Desperadosis set in the lawless mining town of Virginia City, Nevada Territory, where the presumed nephew of the famous detective, P.K. Pinkerton, uses his wits, cunning, and pokerface to outwit some ruthless villains and set up a detective agency of his own.  P.K.’s hope was to get to Chicago to meet, and perhaps work for, the legendary detective and his famous agency, but when the first book in The Wild West Mysteries series ends, P.K. decides to try his luck and honeRead More →

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In the hardscrabble desert of the Nevada Frontier, 12 year old P.K. Pinkerton has trouble understanding people.  But that’s not what’s causing P.K.’s troubles today:  desperados have killed P.K.’s foster ma and pa, searching for a priceless letter: the deed to the Motherlode of silver being mined in the untamed town of Virginia City. How P.K. came to have the letter and how the desperados found out about it are just two of the mysteries in Book One of The Western Mysteries, The Case of the Deadly Desperados, by Caroline Lawrence. Fleeing from Whittlin’ Walt and his cruel gang, P.K. finds there’s really nowhere to hide in Virginia City, a lawless town full ofRead More →

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In a land far away where Kings and Queens still rule over their people, civil war is looming. Jennifer A. Nielsen’s The False Prince is about an orphan named Sage. Sage is recruited along with three other boys by a nobleman named Conner. Conner is trying to unite the fractured kingdom by finding an impersonator of the King’s lost son and putting him on the throne. The four orphans, chosen because of their close resemblance to the lost prince, are forced to compete for the role of prince. Conner constantly reminds the orphans that the losers will not live once the competition is over, andRead More →

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Time Snatchers by Richard Ungar is about an orphan named Caleb who was adopted by a mysterious man known only as Uncle.  This ‘Uncle’ has created a way to go back in time. Caleb and the other adoptees are used by Uncle to go back in time to steal important, but not high profile, historical objects. To make a profit, Uncle sells these items to wealthy people who want pieces of history.  The adopted children, called time snatchers, are compelled to cooperate because if they fail to complete a mission, they are severely punished. The two most successful time snatchers, Caleb and Frank, are pitted againstRead More →

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The Dead Gentleman, by Matthew Cody, is a fun new adventure that suggests other possibilities of what we might not see happening right in front of us in our world, especially in our closets. Tommy Learner is an eleven-year-old orphan who makes his living as a street thief in New York. When he goes for what should be a big money opportunity, he ends up with a seemingly useless metal bird and is thrust into a secret multi-world exploring society of portals, submarines, evil-doers, danger and eventually betrayal. Over one hundred years later, his ghost appears in front of twelve-year-old Jezebel Lemmon warning her ofRead More →

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New York Times bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater has created something wonderful, enchanting, thrilling, and unique in her latest, The Scorpio Races.  It’s hard to say what I like most about this book – its breathtaking scenery and visceral sense of place; the pulse-pounding thrill of the wild horses racing on the beach; the lovingly crafted, superbly detailed characters (human and horse); the fact that it’s a unique blend of romance, action, coming of age, and fantasy that feels so different from most everything else out on the YA market right now; or maybe, simply, the powerful honesty of a book well written, carefully edited, and lovinglyRead More →