Format: Chapter Book Fiction

The Blood Spell: A Ravenspire Novel

The Blood Spell: A Ravenspire NovelThe Blood Spell by C.J. Redwine
Published by Balzer + Bray on February 12th 2019
ISBN: 0062653016
Pages: 438
Goodreads
five-stars

A dark, romantic fantasy retelling of Cinderella with Blue de la Cour  as the main character. Blue is an alchemist and spends what spare time she has to changing lead into gold. See, Balavata has an orphan population that lives off the streets and Blue wants to help by creating gold via her alchemy. The Kingdom of Balavata made magic illegal after suffering from a Blood Wraith, but now orphans are going missing and strange things are happening.

Prince Kellan has now come home  to start the process of choosing a bride from one of the Head Families of Balavata as required by the laws of his kingdom. Things escalate the tensions between the families and before Kellan knows the one person he never thought of would be the person he needed the most — Blue. Blue and Kellan ,must now work together to find out the answers to the disappearing children and series of murders of his potential brides.

The Blood Spell is the 4th in the Ravenspire series and compliments the previous three titles. Recommended for grades 7 and up.

Reviewed by Kristin Taylor, Biddeford High School, Biddeford, ME

 

five-stars

Brightly Burning

Brightly BurningBrightly Burning by Alexa Donne
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers on May 1st 2018
ISBN: 1328948935
Pages: 394
Goodreads
five-stars

Brightly Burning by Alexa Donne is a dystopian retelling of Jane Eyre.  Stella, an orphan, is living aboard a ship orbiting the earth.  She is desperate to escape the ship for a better life and finds herself aboard a “haunted” ship.  Stella is a strong female lead willing to make unpopular decisions and at times chooses what is best for others rather than herself.  Readers who know Jane Eyre well may be a little disappointed by the predictability but will be surprised with the subtle twists made to the story line.  Characters are well developed and diverse from the quirky medical officer, Hana, to Rori, the AI on the Rochester.  Many characters are orphans resulting from illness, murder, suicide, or accident.  Class division is the major theme of this novel. Ships are divided by class as well as class divisions within some ships.  This manifests itself in water rationing for the lower classes, real meat for the higher classes, clothing, living quarters, technology, medical care, as well as the testing of viruses.  Brightly Burning is dystopian sci-fi for readers who may not have connected with this genre before or who need a safe introduction to the genre. Donne’s worldbuilding is relatable and realistic and readers will enjoy the romance and mystery without spending too much time figuring out the setting.  Readers from 14-18 will enjoy this novel.

Reviewed by Heather Hale, Easton School District, Easton

five-stars

The Adventures of Reddy Fox

four-stars

 

Thornton Burgess wrote many books and newspaper stories for children and is still honored in E. Sandwich, MA where a nature center exist because of his legendary body of work.  Green Brier Nature Center and Jam Kitchen sits on the land owned by Burgess’ aunt when he was a boy.   Like most of his books this is a story about one specific animal, his habits, his home and his friends.  Reddy Fox is a cunning animal who takes more chances than necessary but his adventures make great reading for early readers.  Children between 3 – 8 enjoy these stories.

Some may call this and other Burgess stories out-of-date but children continue to surprise parents and librarians with their appreciation of fun and silly books about animated creatures.  It is true that the language is a little different but readers and listeners continue to comprehend the storyline.   Books by this author are perfect for grandparent/grandchild sharing.    The illustrations are copies of those by Harrison Cady and are therefore rather dark.  This cover illustration makes me think of work by Melissa Sweet.

 

Review by Jan Hamilton, retired librarian

four-stars

Eventown

EventownEventown by Corey Ann Haydu
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on February 12th 2019
ISBN: 0062689800
Pages: 336
Goodreads
four-stars

Twins Naomi and Elodee and their family are moving to a perfect town, Eventown, to help them forget. But once they get there something happens and Elodee realizes forgetting might not be the way for them to heal. The way the twins complete each other was really interesting and the stress that Elodee felt from that was very real. Also Eventown seems perfect at first but once Elodee and the reader begins to see it in a different light, that “perfect” town image begins to disappear. An interesting twist on the losing of a sibling and the way a family copes with it.

Grades: 3 and up, Mary Lehmer, Librarian, Freeport Community Library, Freeport, ME

four-stars

Me and Me

four-stars

Lark is living the dream. She is going to the beach with her boyfriend, Alec, on her birthday. Annabelle, a little girl that Lark babysits for is there with her mom. The dream turns into a nightmare when Annabelle gets caught up in the weeds. Lark and Alec both jump in to save her. Alec gets hurt in the dive and Lark has to decide which one to save.

Chapter one starts with Annabelle being in the hospital in a comma. Alec and Lark try to hang out together, but things are a bit off. The days run from day one to day thirteen. In chapter two, the days run from day one to day thirteen. The days are quite similar, only this time Alec is the one that Lark didn’t save. He is in a comma.

The story continues on in the same fashion wherein one chapter its Annabelle who may be having life support turned off, or it may be Alec.

Each chapter is very vivid, you wonder if Lark is losing her mind because of that one choice of who she really helped.

Lark’s mother died of cancer. She is being raised by her dad. Who suffers a mild heart attack and he’s in the hospital. Lark’s mom wrote her songs and letters for her birthdays, that her dad gives her one every year.

The story has great teenage angst. It’s timely with parkour (Alec is teaching Lark), texting, music Lark’s in a band, and love.

The end has a very interesting twist.

Reviewer: Jeri Fitzpatrick, GNG Middle School, Gray

four-stars

We Regret to Inform You

We Regret to Inform YouWe Regret to Inform You by Ariel Kaplan
Published by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers on August 21st 2018
ISBN: 1524773700
Pages: 345
Goodreads
four-stars

Mischa Abramavicius is a scholarship student at an elite private school. She has top grades and has curated her activities to create the perfect resume. So when Admissions Day for the Ivies and other top schools comes, Mischa expects to be just as jubilant as everyone else when her phone pings with acceptance emails, except it doesn’t. Mischa does not get into to Princeton, Harvard, Georgetown, Williams, or Virginia Polytech. Then when her safety school, Revere, does not accept her Mischa knows it cannot just be the A- she received in PE freshman year. After bursting into the Revere Admissions Office, Mischa suspects her information has been hacked. In the wake of the recent College Cheating Scandal, this book was even more interesting to read. Readers will question what it takes (both ethically and unethically) to get into a top college.

Recommended for grades 9 and up (just not for Seniors in the middle of the college application process!).

Elizabeth Andersen, Librarian, Westbrook High School

four-stars

The Soul Keepers

The Soul KeepersThe Soul Keepers by Devon Taylor
Published by Swoon Reads on August 28th 2018
ISBN: 1250168309
Pages: 288
Goodreads
four-stars

The Soul Keepers

 

Rhett and his parents have died in a terrible car crash for which Rhett feels enormous guilt in the afterlife.  But Rhett hasn’t just died and moved on in the usual way, he has become a “syllektor”, one who keeps the souls of the dead safe.  He is working with a team of teenagers and when he feels a strong push he knows that his team is being called into service.  But, against the syllektors are the psychons, bent on evil.  The space ship Harbinger is an amalgamation of many types of ships and is the home base of the syllektors.  There are many battles, souls being eaten, and, even though they are no longer alive, the crew can still feel pain.  This book gives a peek into one view of what happens after one dies, which is a universal question.  It is a creative book which is sure to hold the interest of science fiction/dystopian lovers.  It is recommended for grades 7-12.

 

Reviewed by Ellen Spring, Oceanside High School, Rockland

four-stars

The Lost Girl

The Lost GirlThe Lost Girl by Anne Ursu
Published by Walden Pond Press on February 12th 2019
ISBN: 0062275097
Pages: 368
Goodreads
four-stars

Iris and Lark are twin sisters. They have always been together and support each other in ways that balance each sister out. But when they are forced to be in different classes at school, something shifts. Iris stops telling Lark things and she is not sure why. But the antique collector knows, and if he has his way, Iris will become part of his magic. The bond between the 2 twins is complicated and well done. And the ending was a page turner with some great twists. I did think it took awhile to get to that point though and the ending seemed to bit rushed and the friendships a bit unrealistic for what the friends do for Iris.

Ages: 10 and up. Mary Lehmer, Librarian, Freeport Community Library, Freeport, ME

four-stars

The Great Rhino Rescue

The Great Rhino RescueThe Great Rhino Rescue: Saving the Southern White Rhinos by Sandra Markle
Published by Millbrook Press on August 1st 2018
ISBN: 1512444367
Pages: 48
Goodreads
five-stars

This book tells the heartbreaking reasons behind the near extinction of the Southern white rhino. The text is straightforward and is enhanced with incredible pictures. Along with the reasons for their near extinction, are amazing facts about rhinos. Did you know that rhinos can weigh over 5000 pounds? Or that their babies can weigh 150 pounds when they are born? And these are just a few of the things you will learn about rhinos when you read this book. The back of the book has a glossary explaining terms and a page offering websites for more information (including one for a YouTube video about rhino sounds). The only flaw is that the reserves where the rhinos are now living aren’t specifically shown on the provided map. Still, this is a terrific book for anyone wanting to learn about the rhinos.

Ages: 8 and up. Cream.  Mary Lehmer, Librarian, Freeport Community Library, Freeport, ME

five-stars

The Unteachables

The UnteachablesThe Unteachables by Gordon Korman
Published by Balzer + Bray on January 8th 2019
ISBN: 0062563882
Pages: 288
Goodreads
four-stars

Kiana accidentally ends up in the class everyone calls The Unteachables. each student in the class is deemed a loss cause, even their burned out teacher feels the same, at first that is. But as the class gets to know each other and their teacher gets to know them, both begin to change. it was kind of hard for me to believe that no one ever noticed (including her parents) that Kiana was in the wrong class and that no one had helped Parker with his reading problem before. I did like Elaine (rhymes with pain) and all of the stories that swirled around her, rumors can get so blown out of proportion. Also liked the inside look at the school administration. Powerful stuff can happen there. Liked it but not as well as some of Korman’s other books.

Ages: 9 and up. Mary Lehmer, Librarian, Freeport Community Library

four-stars