TWO GIRLS AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PREGNANT DOG

In The Disappearance at Hangman's Bluff, J.E. Thompson writes another suspenseful mystery set on the Reward Planation in South Carolina. Abbey and Bee are back and this time they can't figure out why someone would steal Yemassee, their neighbor, the judge's pregnant dog.  While searching for Yemassee they encounter the mean girl from school and her family, who blames Abbey's dad, who had just come out of a long coma, for their recent misfortunes and vows revenge. 


Set against the backdrop of a summer storm, this complex mystery adventure weaves in the history of slavery, black and white relationships and human compassion. Check out the other book as well, The Girl From Felony Bay.  
For readers in 6th - 8th grades. 

ODESSA AGAIN!

Odessa is a smart, funny and a very generous person who is worried about her family, her parents’ divorce and how she is going to make it through fourth grade.  Above all else, what she really wishes is a way she will be able to turn back the time to fix all that is bothering her.  If only she could have this super power! 

Well, there is a saying which goes something like this…”be careful of what you wish for” because, your wish might come true and you might not be able to handle the outcome of those particular wishes…

One day she finds herself having that same particular power of turning back time and ‘fixing’ things…She succeeds in fixing the easer things in her life of course, and every time she fixes a smaller problem, she feels more in control of her faith… But of course, she is way too young to see that sometimes, in life you have to let nature and your own fate to guide and lead you to the right direction.   Hence, her realizing that perhaps there is a reason why her parents are divorced or why her own brother needs to be selective when it comes to finding friends. 

Literally, this enchanted story will make fall in love with Odessa and her adventures.  

Odessa Again by Dana Reinhardt is truly a fun read that will make your heart a little fuzzier and your smile a little brighter. 

For grades 5th and up.

MAGICIANS AVAILABLE WHILE SUPPLIES LAST

Jennifer Strange - eh, what's in a name - is responsible for finding jobs for all the magicians and wizards of the world. Oh, and she's also the last dragonslayer in the history of the world. Also, there is only one more dragon and he's going to die. Rumor has it that once this dragon dies, "BIG MAGIC" will return. Because magic lately has been pretty hard to come by. So it is up to Jennifer to determine the fate of magic whether she wants to or not. Luckily, this story is very funny because if it wasn't it would be very sad. But you will laugh a lot. Especially if you liked Adam Rex's True Meaning of Smek Day or anything in Brian Sanderson's Alcatraz series. 

THE LAST DRAGONSLAYER by Jasper Fforde is sure to delight the fantasy/science fiction fan who like a little comedy here and there to lighten things up. For grades 5 and up.

AUGUST 2013

WOULD YOU LIE FOR SOMETHING YOU LOVE?

Ditty loves dancing. She loves her parents. She does not love lying. But she does not want to study Jewish tradition and get married to another Orthodox Jewish boy. Her parents act like their beliefs must rule everything about their lives. But Ditty isn't quite so sure if she believes these things any more. I mean, her parents have a secret television! So Ditty decides to take ballet, and has to come up with some elaborate stories to do what she loves the most - dancing! 

DANCING IN THE DARK by Robyn Bavati is about a girl who is transitioning from obedient child to daring teen, one who questions everything her parents ever taught her. How can dancing feel so right when her family thinks it is so wrong?! For grades 6 and up.

AUGUST 2013

SEPTEMBER, A GIRL, AND SATURDAY, AN "ALMOST HUMAN" BOY

I like adventure. I like traveling to new and exciting places I've never been before. I do not, however, want to solve all the problems when I get somewhere. Maybe one or two small problems, like giving some first aid cream to a kid with diaper rash, or food for a homeless person. This is how September felt when she ended up in Fairyland, hoping for a nice, calm, relaxing adventure. Instead she is faced with evil creatures and a bunch of Fairyland problems that she is asked to help with. She meets a dragon who loves books more than she does (reading them, not eating them), and a boy named Saturday who is blue. Like blue as in color, not as in he's sad. Together they defeat evil and triumph over Fairyland. 

If you like Alice in Wonderland or The Chronicles of Narnia, you will definitely love THE GIRL WHO CIRCUMNAVIGATED FAIRYLAND IN A SHIP OF HER OWN MAKING by Catherynne Valente. For grades 5 and up.

JULY 2013

WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL SAFE

Gemma has a rough life. Going from foster parents to family she didn't know existed, she is thrown into the world of her mother, who abandoned her at a young age. She is tormented by dreams of "Redboy," has an interesting yet distant relationship with her new-found twin brother, and a strained relationship with her new family. Typical life of a young girl, right? Gemma does have hope - and she hopes to get back to her foster family as soon as possible. Her life may be upside down, but she ends up right where she should be. I'll Sing You One-O by Nan Gregory is for grades 6 and up.

August 2012

THE CURE FOR BORING BOOKS

MRS. PIGGLE-WIGGLE (a book by Betty MacDonald) lives in an upside-down house and loves children. Many of the kids in her town don't like doing their chores, talk back to their parents, and misbehave in many other ways. Rather than scolding the children, the parents turn to Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle for her miraculous cures and antidotes for these rare childhood "diseases" their children seem to have, such as "Won't-put-away-toys-itis." 

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's healing methods are so funny and different, you may even read the other books in the series, just to make sure you don't have any of these strange childhood problems. Other books in this series include HELLO, MRS. PIGGLE-WIGGLE, MRS. PIGGLE-WIGGLE'S MAGIC, and MRS. PIGGLE-WIGGLE'S FARM, and are great for readers in 3rd grade and up.

JULY 2012

MAGGIE BROOKLYN IS BACK

Maggie is back with another mystery. She's been hired by a schoolmate to find out who has been egging her dog in the park.  Maggie finds out other dogs are being egged, too.  Hmmm... she's gonna get to the bottom of this. 

Meanwhile her two best friends are in a state of hyper excitement because teen heart throb, Seth Ryan, is in town to shoot a new movie and they want to be cast as extras. There's a lot of excitement in the movie world, but not all of it is good.  Seth Ryan acts totally weird, the neighbors are upset by the constant noise  and the horrible director is making everything worse. Then one day, Seth Ryan disappears.  Another mystery for Maggie to solve.

Vanishing Acts:  A Maggie Brooklyn Mystery by Leslie Margolis.  For readers in 6th-8th grades.

WHATEVER IT TAKES TO BE POPULAR!!

How to Rock Braces and Glasses by Meg Haston is all about Kacey Simon and how she was the queen bee, until her eyes got infected from her cool new contacts which made her trip and chipped her teeth.  Kacey's amazing weekend resulted with her getting braces AND glasses AND a lisp all in the same weekend. Her fall from queen of mean, giving what she thought was well meaning advice on her weekly school television broadcast, hits her hard and fast, especially when a former best friend tells her like it is.

For readers in 6th-8th grade who enjoy a fast paced rom-com.

LONG LIVE THE MOTHER-DAUGHTER BOOK CLUB!

Heather Vogel Frederick has done it again with a new installation in this great series called HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS. Becca, Megan, Emma, Cassidy, and Jess are back, with boys to kiss, and family to argue with, and best of all - new books to read! This time they're reading an entire series of what are called the "Betsy-Tacy" series. At first, the girls think the stories will be too old-fashioned, but it isn't long before each girl identifies with something that Betsy or Tacy encounters or a situation the characters face. Even though it's all about Christmas time, fans of the "Mother-Daughter Book Club" won't be disappointed. For grades 4 and up.

TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF MIDDLE SCHOOL

In this sequel to Claudia Mills’ Losers, Inc. Julius Zimmerman is stuck in French class. He’s sworn never to love a girl. He’s never going to be good in school like his brother. In fact, he’s just going to baby-sit all summer and deal with being twelve. Against his wishes, he starts to like Olivia, but only because of her beautiful singing voice, and excels at caring for three-year-old Edison Blue. YOU'RE A BRAVE MAN, JULIUS ZIMMERMAN deals with a boy whose mother has huge expectations, and she pushes him to succeed in those areas without acknowledging the strengths Julius demonstrates and things he does well. Julius tries to meet her expectations while still becoming his own person, as he transitions into adolescence. For grades 5 and up.

HEIST SOCIETY

Warning: The adventures that you will read in this book are not to be duplicated, unless you want to be arrested and put in a jail...

So here it goes... This is a story about a girl named Katarina. She has gotten tired traveling all over the world with her family so much that she decides to break free of her dependence and pursue her own endeavors.

Her family travels were not the typical beach getaways, they all consisted of stealing treasures from world famous buildings and museums. Feeling that she has enough training from the family, she goes on her own to "travel." The question is, can she pull off these grandiose heists or will she be back with the family... Let the adventures begin...HEIST SOCIETY is by ALLY CARTER.

For grades 7th and up.

For grades 7th and up.

FATTY LEGS: A TRUE STORY

Sometimes its hard to go to school. So learns Olemaun Pokiak, an Alaskan Inuit girl who really wants to learn to read. Her sister is allowed to go to school, but didn't like it at all, saying they take everything away from you, including your name and your hair. Even her father is against Olemaun leaving the family to go to school. But Olemaun SO wants to read, she begs and pleads. Finally, her father agrees to send her to the school. When Olemaun gets there, school is NOTHING like what she had hoped it would be. The first thing they do is change her name to Olemaun and cut off her long braids! This is a true story that took place about 60 years ago and its good for 4th grade and up.

FINDING YOURSELF IS MORE DIFFICULT THAN IT LOOKS

Rissa Bartholomew couldn't believe that she just told off all of her friends during her birthday party and right before starting middle school. Well, she did want to be an independent person, to think for herself rather than be one of the herd. Little did she realize how lonely and difficult it would be to find new friends and establish a new persona, especially if all she had to keep her company were her gnomes.

Rissa Bartholomew's Declaration of Independence by Lynda B. Comerford is a fun read for those who are coming of age and want to break out of the collective mold and begin their own self exploration as well as their world.

For readers in 6th - 8th grade.

WELCOME TO THE FAIRY GODMOTHER ACADEMY!

If I were a fairy godmother, I wonder who would be my responsibility? Would it be some poor child who can't afford proper dental care (or is that the tooth fairy's department)? Would I be Barack Obama's fairy godmother? That would be neat. In BIRDIE'S BOOK by Jan Bozarth (Fairy Godmother Academy Book 1), Birdie doesn't even know she is a fairy godmother-in-training until she arrives at her Granny Mo's house. There she learns she is the only person that can save her Arbor Fairy family lineage from complete extinction, and sets out on a dream quest to save the great Glimmer Tree and the line of fairy godmothers throughout the world. For grades 4 and up.

LIKE, I AM TOTALLY NOT AFRAID OF GHOSTS

Sherry is SO not afraid of ghosts. Well, most ghosts that is, because her mom is a ghost. But someone, or something, is out to get Sherry's step mom Paula, and Sherry has to help before something really bad happens. So, on top of celebrating her 2 month anniversary with her boyfriend, and trying to keep a good friendship with her BFF Junie, NOW she has to solve the mystery of who or what is ruining her step mom's life. I SO DON'T DO SPOOKY by Barrie Summy is a fun yet suspenseful story for grades 5 and up.

PIZZA OR FISH GUTS

CAMILLE MCPHEE FELL UNDER THE BUS... by Kristen Tracy is a good book and a surprising book, but never a dull book. Camille is in fourth grade. She knows life is not fair. But she just didn't realize how unfair life could be! Falling under the bus is only one of the many unfair things that happen - some of them funny, some of them sad. She tries being a Dingo about it...until she realizes Dingoes aren't as tough as she thought. In the end, she realizes it's not about dwelling in the unfairness, but how you move past it. This book will remind some readers of Beverly Cleary. For 4th - 6th grades.

NOT SUCH A LITTLE SECRET

Life as a princess isn't always what it's cracked up to be, particularly when the Queen is mean and horrible. But when you are tricked into becoming a princess, it is even worse. Jane is whisked away to a strange castle by an odd new girl at school. Jane's summer vacation couldn't be a stranger adventure. She flies on giant bees, eats slugs and helps save the land of Staffa and her people. Though the book is quite quirky, THE LITTLE SECRET by Kate Saunders will appeal to fans of unrealistic/fantasy fiction. For grades 4 and up.

WHAT IF YOUR SISTER DIDN'T WANT TO KNOW YOU?

Sunny Skyland has run away from her foster home to find her long lost twin sister, who she hasn't seen since she was three years old. Sunny's had a rough road, and think that reuniting with her twin will make everything better. Along the way across three or four states, Sunny finds a dog who teaches her a lot about love and communication, and she begins to regret leaving her latest foster parent without saying anything. When she finds her twin, Starr, things don't exactly work out like she's planned. RUNAWAY TWIN by Peg Kehret is great for 4th-8th grades.

ARE PEOPLE REALLY THIS PERFECT?

Willa Havisham lives in a small town in Cape Cod with her mom and step dad and they run a popular bed and breakfast. Her grandmother owns a candy/bookstore down the road. Willa has a cute boyfriend and goes to the local beach every day for poetic inspiration, and to check on the endangered species of birds. But her world just absolutely falls apart when her boyfriend decides to go to Florida, and her best friend is hanging out with another girl while Willa has to work, and the endangered plovers are getting shoved off their beach. But not to worry - Willa will save everything by the end of the book. FORGET ME NOT by Coleen Murtagh Paratore is a great entertaining quick read that will drag you through all aspects of teen angst including eco-footprints and wedding planning, and is part of a series. For grades 5-8.