Category: Book Reviews

Blood Mountain

Blood MountainBlood Mountain by James Preller
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), Feiwel & Friends on October 8, 2019
ISBN: 1250174856
Pages: 240
Genres: Adventure
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
four-stars

Siblings Grace and Carter get lost while hiking Blood Mountain when their dad falls behind and has a heart attack. Left alone with only their dog to help them they try to find their way back to civilization. Unfortunately, their dad made them leave all technology behind so they have no way to contact help. On top of that, a mountain man that has been living hidden in the wilderness and an escaped mountain lion are tracking them. I thought the beginning description of the squirrel killing and skinning was a bit gruesome and made the book take on a bit of a horror feel. The book’s title definitely added to that feeling. Some solid survival stuff in here but parts of it were a bit hard to believe. Ages 10 and up

Mary Lehmer, Freeport Community Library, Freeport ME

 

four-stars

The Rambling

Published by Harper Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Folklore
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
five-stars

“The Rambling” is an eerie, intriguing, suspenseful and unique Middle Grade novel. It is a story of a boy’s self discovery in a very imaginative river country setting with  unmatched voice.

Buddy Pennington is headed off to river country to find his daddy who he feels he’d be better off living with.  His daddy is  a meandering soul who just happens to be a whiz at the card game,  Parsnit.   Parsnit is a mysterious card game of magic, chance and storytelling.  As soon as Buddy locates his dad, some of his Pop’s old adversaries arrive to take him away.  And,  Boss Authority, the magical crime lord who has terrorized the river country for years,  stands ready to collect on an old debt owed to him by Buddy’s  dad!  Thus Buddy sets out on a dangerous mission to save his dad and along the way must learn to play Parsnit with the best of them.

And  in this game your only as strong as the story you tell!

An adventure story at its best!  A  hard to put down tale that both boys and girls will become quickly engaged in.

 

Reviewed by Connie M. Smith, Breakwater School, Portland, ME

five-stars

The Forgotten Girl

Published by Scholastic Press Genres: Adventure, Historical Fiction, Horror, Mystery
Format: Chapter Book Fiction

“The Forgotten Girl” is a spooky  and original ghost tale for Middle Graders.

On a cold winter night, Iris and her best friend, Daniel,  sneak out to play in fresh snow in a clearing in the woods where they discover the  old gravestone of a girl,  Avery Moore,  beneath them.  Soon strange things begin to happen to Iris: she has nightmares,  thinks she sees the  shadow of the girl lurking in the woods and feels called back to the clearing.  Determined to find out what is going on, Iris and Daniel  do a school project which involves researching the area. They discover that  they were actually playing in an old black cemetery, dating to times when blacks and whites were segregated in life as well as in death . Their goal is to restore the cemetery and pay proper respects to the girl  who is buried there;   however,  Avery’s awakened ghost is not satisfied with their efforts.  She is searching for  something   more   –  regardless of the cost!

This story is unique in that it blends, mystery, history, and an original ghost tale. It examines segregation and racism in an engaging story ultimately about friendship and love and forgiveness.

I think that perhaps girls might enjoy this book more than boys; however, boys, too,  might  like the spooky mystery that it entails.

Reviewed by Connie M. Smith, Breakwater School, Portland, ME

 

Tooth Fairy in Training

Tooth Fairy in TrainingTooth Fairy in Training by Briony May Smith, Michelle Robinson
on June 6, 2019
ISBN: 1536209392
Genres: Fantasy
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
four-stars

Are fairies still super popular? They were all the rage here for a while but now unicorns and mermaids are what the kids are reading. It doesn’t really matter; this is a cute book and will appeal to fairy fans and kids of tooth-losing ages. Tate, a small fairy, is brought on a frantic, cross-species, one night training mission by her older sister. The illustrations are pretty and some border on the kind of creepy that intrigues kids. Some of the animals are not into having their teeth taken but most are pleased to let them go in this good natured story.

Reviewed by Sarah Maciejewski, Patten Free Library, Bath

four-stars

Cultivators Go to Work

Cultivators Go to WorkCultivators Go to Work by Jennifer Boothroyd
Published by Lerner Publications (Tm) on August 1, 2018
ISBN: 154152599X
Pages: 24
Genres: Non-Fiction
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
three-stars

This is a straightforward book that would be great for a kid who loves machines but doesn’t need to know exactly how they work. If they are happy to just look at photos then they’ll enjoy it but the book definitely misses some opportunities to delve a little deeper. The most interesting thing about large machinery (at least to the kids I know) is how it works so some illustrations would have gone a long way in making this book more memorable.

Reviewed by Sarah Maciejewski, Patten Free Library, Bath

three-stars

Saving Emma the Pig

Saving Emma the PigSaving Emma the Pig by Jennifer L. Meyer, John Chester
Published by Feiwel & Friends on May 14, 2019
ISBN: 1250187796
Pages: 40
Genres: Animals
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
four-stars

Emma the pig is pregnant and sick. The farmers of Apricot Lane Farms hope she has a small litter but then she gives birth to seventeen piglets! She’s exhausted and feverish and refuses to eat and the piglets have to live with the farmers for a while. While the writing in this book is a little odd (it took me a few pages to figure out that the narrator was a human and not a rooster, which is probably on me) the illustrations more than make up for it. This whole event was clearly nerve wracking for the farmers and the illustrations and text capture the tenderness and love that the farmers obviously have for their animals.

Reviewed by Sarah Maciejewski, Patten free Library, Bath

four-stars

Gymnastics Superstar Simone Biles

Gymnastics Superstar Simone BilesGymnastics Superstar Simone Biles by Jon M. Fishman
Published by Lerner Publications (Tm) on January 1, 2019
ISBN: 1541538501
Pages: 24
Genres: Non-Fiction
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
four-stars

This is a simple and concise biography for very young kids.  The photos are great, there’s picture glossary at the end and there are a couple of interactive questions throughout the book. This is the kind of book I really appreciate when reading to small children. The text is informative, minimal and straightforward. I also love that it mentions that Simone Biles jumped on her couch when she was little which might make kids with a lot of energy think differently about themselves.

Reviewed by Sarah Maciejewski, Patten Free Library, Bath

four-stars

Crayola Fun Science Crafts

Crayola Fun Science CraftsCrayola (R) Fun Science Crafts by Rebecca Felix
Published by Lerner Publications (Tm) on January 1, 2019
ISBN: 1541510984
Pages: 32
Genres: Non-Fiction
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
one-star

When my kids were smaller I took out every craft and STEAM book in the library and tore through them thinking “Why isn’t there a book of crafts that kids can do without an adult?!”(I eventually found a few.) This book, unfortunately, is one that I would have immediately returned as it’s essentially just an ad for Crayola products. The projects are either boring or too complicated to be done without a parent present the entire time.  It suggests science themed crafts but has no information to explain them. For example, a moon flip-book craft instructs the kids to research moon phases. Why not include a brief explanation for them?

Reviewed by Sarah Maciejewski, Patten Free Library, Bath

one-star

A Treason of Thorns

A Treason of ThornsA Treason of Thorns by Laura E. Weymouth
Published by HarperTeen on September 10, 2019
ISBN: 0062696920
Pages: 352
Genres: Fantasy, Romance
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads

Sometimes people say that a house can become its own character in a book, well in this book the house really is a character and it has its own thoughts, feelings and powers. I loved that this book had a premise I haven’t really seen a lot of. That being said the execution of this book was a disappointment. I ended up not connecting with any of the characters. Because I didn’t feel a connection I became easily bored and I didn’t really care how the story ended. This book if fine for 12-19-year old’s but I wouldn’t buy it for my collection.

Reviewed by Sophie Gagnon, Skidompha Public Library

Blood Heir

Blood HeirBlood Heir (Blood Heir Trilogy, #1) by Amélie Wen Zhao
Published by Delacorte Press on November 19, 2019
ISBN: 0525707794
Pages: 455
Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Romance
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
four-stars

A YA fantasy set in a world that reminds me of historical Russia. The main characters are a princess and a con man who are both trying to hide from their pasts and their feelings towards each other. I would recommend this book to teens 14-19 who don’t mind a little bit of gore mixed in with their romance. If gore isn’t their kind of thing then I would steer them away from this choice.  Also, I would like to take a second to address the controversy surrounding this book. Before this book was published some reviewers found this book to be racists and posted online reviews saying as much. This led to people boycotting the book and partaking in online bullying of the author. I read this book and did not find it to be racist or offensive. This, of course, is just my opinion but I will definitely be adding it to the library’s collection.

Reviewed by Sophie Gagnon, Skidompha Public Library, Damariscotta

four-stars