WHEN THE LIGHTS WENT OUT

A review by Theresa: 

The whole town including Charlie and his friends had gathered together to celebrate the New Year and also to watch what was supposed to be an extra spectacular night viewing of the northern lights. Rodman Philbrick’s THE BIG DARK begins with the town standing out on the baseball field under a sky that is so bright that “shadows could be seen on the snow,” enjoying the intense colors and flashes of the light show. Suddenly there the sky was filled with an enormous burst of light followed by intense darkness. 

All the electric power was knocked out, no cars, no phones, no lights, no TVs or radios—nothing not even batteries or generators. Things get even worse when the area is hit by a major blizzard, an attempted take-over of the town by hate-mongers and arsonists and a medical emergency involving Charlie’s mother.  It’s up to the kids and the town’s lone volunteer policeman to save the day if they can in this very suspenseful disaster-survival story. 

The author includes some follow-up leads for the curious who want to know more about geomagnetic events.

For grades 5-8

A STRANGE SUMMER ADVENTURE

A review by Theresa:

In Elizabeth’ Atkinson’s THE ISLAND OF BEYOND the reader learns immediately how big a disappointment  11-year old Martin is to his father.  So much so that Dad has decided to send Martin off for a month of his summer vacation to visit his, never met before,  great-aunt Lenore who lives on a tiny island in the middle of a remote lake in Maine to do some “boy stuff” and toughen him up.  To say that Martin hates everything about the island and the creepy house would be an understatement. There is no cell reception, no video games and no food he likes. Lacking self- confidence Martin is afraid of everything he encounters, the creaks the house makes, the rustling of the bushes, his great-aunt and most of all the lake. Eventually he meets Solo, a wild child who appears to do as he pleases with no parental supervision. Warned by the aunt’s caregiver to stay away from this boy, Martin admires his new friend’s abilities and is drawn to him even though there are trust issues. Solo does become his guide though and encourages him to try new things which Martin does hesitantly.  

For Martin, this becomes a summer of meeting challenges and self-discovery. Things on the island are not always as they seem, neither is the reason for his being sent to the island. This title is part adventure, a little mystery and a coming of age story all in one. Gary Paulsen’s fans will find much to like here. 

For grades 5-8

A HAUNTING SUMMER

A review by Theresa : 

It"s summer time and school is out which means that it is off to grandmother’s Tennessee farm for 12-year-old Avery and older brother Blake and days spent playing a make-believe game of their own invention. But this year Blake feels that he is too old for this pastime and plans to spend the summer reading for school. Avery is very upset at the prospect of a long uneventful summer in the country. All that changes though when she meets Julian, an aspiring filmmaker, who wants to film a ghost story at the very old and very spooky house on her grandmother’s property.  

The big glitch is that Avery is not allowed to go anywhere near the place but after some convincing by Julian and some research into the history of her family, she breaks that rule. The house is as spooky as promised and the two would-be filmmakers are in for some very thrilling times trying to discover the mystery of the house and make their film in Sonia Gensler’s Ghostlight. 

This is a hard story to put down, ghosts and mystery an unbeatable combination.  For readers in 5th grade and up. 

AN UNUSUAL FAMILY

A review by Theresa: 

Their divorced family is a bit unusual as mom and dad are still friends and very involved with their twins, Nick and Eryn. When mom suddenly announces that she and her long-time boyfriend Michael are getting married, the expectation is that very little will change. But that may not be the case in Margaret Peterson Haddix’s book Under Their Skin. First of all they are going to move into a new house. Then the twins discover that Michael has two children that they have never met and there are no plans to get the kids together even though they are close in age. Very quickly changes come flying at the twins and the discovery that they make on a snowy day will change their lives forever. 

This new two-part series is a combination of science fiction, suspense and mystery guaranteed to keep the reader guessing. For readers 5th grade and up.

IT MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA TO LISTEN TO WHAT THEY SAY

A review by Theresa: 

Daniel and his sister Erica are moving to a new home in West Virginia.  This is not their choice, as it seldom is with kids. Their parents have moved them into an old farmhouse surrounded by a forest and miles from town. The family does not flourish in this new environment, the parents have trouble finding jobs, Daniel can’t make friends and Erica withdraws further into herself having long conversations with her doll. The local kids don’t want much to do with these outsiders except to fill them in on the local legends about their old house and a child who disappeared. 

Of course there are also ghosts and very spooky critters rumored to actually eat folks appearing in these tales. Daniel doesn’t want to believe any of what they tell but when his sister suddenly disappears, he knows that he must do something. In the very exciting and spooky book TOOK by Mary Downing Hahn the author tells this tale from Daniel’s perspective with the occasional voice of the ghost of the old conjure woman. 

This one will have you on the edge of your seat at times and is a good choice for the lover of “scary stories.” Best for readers in grades 5 and older.

STRANGE NEIGHBORHOOD

Reviewed by Theresa: 

Meet the Iremongers a very large and quirky, to say the least, family who live in a strange pieced together dilapidated mansion in the middle of a vast pile of junk near London, England. When a new Iremonger is born they are given what they call, a birth object that represents them and shapes who they become. One of the narrators, Clod Iremonger, aged 15, has a bath plug for a birth object. Some of the others have items that are even stranger. Clod though has the ability to hear these items speaking and when they start whispering more loudly and start disappearing, he teams up with Lucy, one of the servants, to solve the mystery.

If you enjoyed Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, then this new series is a good match for you.   Heap House by Edward Carey is best for readers in grades 6-8.