Month: May 2019

Courting Darkness

Courting DarknessCourting Darkness (Courting Darkness Duology, #1) by Robin LaFevers
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers on February 5th 2019
ISBN: 0544991192
Pages: 498
Goodreads
five-stars

This dark and lusty tale set in 1489 begins where the His Fair Assassins series ends with the same sharply drawn characters, passionate decisions and political betrayals that made the series popular with historical fiction fans.  Told in first person in alternating episodic chapters, Sybella and Genevieve are both trained assassins from the convent of Mortain, the god of Death, with different roles and gifts.  Sybella and her lover, Beast of Waroch, protect the Duchess of Brittany as she travels to France to marry King Charles in order to bring peace to the nations.  Sybella has the added burden of protecting herself and her two younger sisters from Pierre d’Albret, her dangerous brother, while trying to locate an ally in the French court whom she has never met.  Genevieve has been in deep undercover in the French court for so long without a message or instruction from the convent that she takes matters in her own hands for developing her gifts and finding her way to stay faithful to Mortain.  Poisons, sword fights, knives, arrows and the evil intentions of those hungry for power pulsate throughout this historical based romance.  Not recommending for cream of the crop due to this being a spin-off of the His Fair Assassins series and reading that series will enrich and explain many complicated plot threads and identities.  Due to the complex historical situations and the passionate love making, suggest for mature High School readers or new adult readers.

Reviewed by Sheila Dube, Springvale Public Library

five-stars

The Train to Impossible Places

three-stars

The Train to Impossible Places is being planned as the first book in a trilogy. It’s geared for middle school, and full of fun.

The Impossible Postal Express is run by trolls and starts out at Suzy’s house in the middle of the night. The adventures begin… the train takes you to  ocean-bottom shipwrecks, to Trollville, and into space.

Suzy  sneaking on board, but Suzy  finds that she is now the Deputy Post Master . She’s in charge of deliveries, and there is an evil woman who will try to stop her, Lady Crepuscula.

The package containing a talkig snowglobe tries to get  Suzy not to deliver him.  Frederick the boy trapped in the snowglobe knows about the evil  Crepuscula, and her plans  to take over the entire Union of Impossible Places. Now Suzi has to decide to protect Frederick or  her friends.

The story is a bit Harry Potterish with some similar magic, and references to England.

Reviewed by Jeri Fitzpatrick, GNG Middle School, Gray

 

three-stars

Ready For It

Ready For ItReady for It by Chusita Fashion Fever
Published by Imprint on September 25th 2018
ISBN: 1250133882
Pages: 160
Goodreads
four-stars

Ready For It by Chusita is a nonfiction book discussing sex and everything that goes along with it.  Chusita strives to cover a wide variety of topics a teen may have questions about ranging from how to know if someone likes you to how same gender couples have sex. Some of the other topics covered include male/female orgasm, attraction, dating, gender, masturbation, hook ups, breakups, kissing, oral sex, anal sex, and fantasies.  The book is laid out in clear, short sections with emojis and bright orange on every page. Comic strips, quizzes, rules, definitions, slang, and full page sketches are interspersed through the book providing information in a fun versatile manner. Adults will appreciate how Chusita offers many words of caution and advises readers to always have consent, use protection, and have fun.  Readers from ages 14-18 will find Chusita’s gender inclusive, nonjudgmental style relatable and find answers to many questions.

Reviewed by Heather Hale, Easton School District, Easton

four-stars

Voyage of the Dogs

Voyage of the DogsVoyage of the Dogs by Greg Van Eekhout
Published by HarperCollins on September 4th 2018
ISBN: 0062686003
Pages: 224
Goodreads
four-stars

Lopside is a good boy! When he wakes up from hibernation, he and his pack quickly realize that the humans have abandoned their spaceship Laika. The “Barkonauts” quickly swing into action assessing the damage that led to the evacuation and getting a message back to Earth. They work hard to fulfill their mission of traveling to a distant planet. It will take all their wits and loyalty just to survive. This will be a big hit with dog lovers and maybe way to introduce science fiction to those that only read animal stories.

Reviewed by Karen Sandlin Silverman, Mt. Ararat Middle School, Topsham

four-stars

Mostly the Honest Truth

Mostly the Honest TruthMostly the Honest Truth by Jody J. Little
Published by HarperCollins on March 12th 2019
ISBN: 0062852493
Pages: 272
Goodreads
four-stars

Jane and her Pop are like a matched pair of socks — it’s always just been the two of them. Except for the times when Jane has to live with a foster family while Pop goes to rehab. This time feels different though — Officer D takes Jane and her injured hand home with her. Officer D lives in Three Boulders, a communal living community where everyone eats together and lives in cabins presided over by 91-year-old Old Red. Will Jane and her Pop be reunited? What are the secrets of Three Boulders? A wonderful tale of redemption and resilience — and knowing when to ask for help.

Reviewed by Karen Sandlin Silverman, Mt. Ararat Middle School, Topsham

four-stars

Chadwick’s Epic Revenge

Chadwick’s Epic RevengeChadwick's Epic Revenge by Lisa Doan, Natalie Andrewson
Published by Roaring Brook Press on June 26th 2018
ISBN: 125015409X
Pages: 288
Goodreads
three-stars

6th-grader Chadwick is hoping for an awesome final year of elementary school. He just needs to survive pranks played by his archnemesis Terry and try to get beautiful Jana to notice him. Chadwick spends the summer before 6th grade “creeping and lurking” trying to work his way into Jana’s circle which felt a little uncomfortable compared to the more overt pranks Terry pulled on Chadwick. As Chadwick plans his (epic) revenge on Terry, he starts to realize that he might not be the totally innocent victim and Terry might not be the totally evil bully after all.

Reviewed by Karen Sandlin Silverman, Mt. Ararat Middle School, Topsham

three-stars

Snazzy Cat Capers

Snazzy Cat CapersSnazzy Cat Capers by Deanna Kent, Neil Hooson
Published by Imprint on September 18th 2018
ISBN: 1250143438
Pages: 224
Goodreads
four-stars

Ophelia von Hairball V takes pride in being the best cat burglar in the world. She fancies herself a feline James Bond. She works for the Furry Feline Burglary Institute (FFBI) and keeps sending back the inventors they send to work with her. When Oscar Fishgerald Gold (a goldfish of course) shows up and claims to be her partner, she has to try to ditch Oscar, avoid the Central Canine Intelligence Agency (CCIA), win the FFBI’s 5th annual “Purr-fect Heist Competition,” and avoid the sabotage attempts of her cousin Pierre von Rascal of Thievesylvania. Filled with fun illustrations and Ophelia’s aphorisms (“There will be times in life that aren’t fun. Try not to have too many of those.”), this will be a fun book for fans of humorous adventures and perhaps a next step for graphic novel readers.

Reviewed by Karen Sandlin Silverman, Mt. Ararat Middle School, Topsham

four-stars

Great White Sharks in Action

Great White Sharks in ActionGreat White Sharks in Action by Buffy Silverman
Published by Lerner Publications (Tm) on August 1st 2017
ISBN: 1512433772
Pages: 24
Genres: Animals
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
three-stars

Great White Sharks are swimming into more northern waters where they are negatively interacting with humans.   This series title makes light of shark attacks while noting that many humans are afraid of them.   In reality, on Cape Cod in Massachusetts there were several great white sharks attacks last summer (2018) proving that fear is a cautionary emotion.  The book has several excellent photos that are well placed on colorful pages giving the appearance of a scrapbook rather than nonfiction.  Information provided is basic and easy to find in other materials yet young shark lovers will enjoy this title as is.    Public libraries and primary school media centers in coastal areas may want to purchase this title but they will need other materials for animal reports and student research.  As is true of truck books, there are never enough titles in the shark section of any collection.  Interest level is ages 4-8.

 

Reviewed by Jan Hamilton, retired librarian in Scarborough, ME

three-stars

Got to Get to Bear’s

Got to Get to Bear’sGot to Get to Bear's! by Brian Lies
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on October 30th 2018
ISBN: 0544948823
Pages: 32
Goodreads
four-stars

Bear needs his friend Izzy chipmunk, nothing is going to interfere in this fast paced cuddly winter story.  It takes a little longer, the snow is a little deeper yet the four animal friends are determined to make it to Bear’s cave.   Some may think that bats are cuter but this reader believed that Lies has made a good transition to forest animals in his newest picture book.   Each character exposes their own personality with whimsical articles of clothing and detailed facial expressions.

Friendship has no prejudice in this book, regardless of the size or type of creature these five animals are fast friends.  Pre-school children will enjoy the action and lively use of color while school age children are apt to pick up the goal of reaching a friend in need and the cooperation of each character.  Add this to public libraries where snowflakes  fall and to media centers that collect picture books for grades K-3.

 

Reviewed by Jan Hamilton, retired librarian in Scarborough, ME

four-stars

The Collector

two-stars

If your Tween readers are looking for horror, they will be drawn to the nightmarish doll’s face on the cover of The Collector. The story begins with Josie, her mother, and sister moving in with Josie’s grandmother in the country just before the start of school. It is hard enough to make new friends at a new school, but when Josie and her sister start hearing voices calling from the woods life becomes even more stressful. Are the voices coming from the forbidden house in the woods? Who is this mysterious Beryl her grandmother is afraid of? And why can’t they keep their windows open?  A little creepy, but not violent, this book is filled with a lot of horror tropes, but this might work well for readers who are just entering the world of horror.

Recommended for grades 5 through 8.

Elizabeth Andersen, Librarian, Westbrook High School

two-stars