If the reader of Greenglass House was intrigued by the house’s various elements and wants some background to the house itself, this may be the book for them.

In September 1810, Lucy Bluecrowne’s father bought a huge house on top of a hill overlooking a river. There her father planned to keep Lucy, her Chinese half-brother Liao, and her Chinese step-mother Xiaoming safe while he was off at sea. However, this was not to be. A pair of time-travelers looking for a conflagrationeer and a special ironmonger / weapons maker put Lucy and Liao in harms way.

The time travelers go back and forth through time wheeling and dealing with a supplier for their evil buyer/employer. If they fail, they will suffer greatly in reputation and physically. Then there are the innocents – Liao and Lucy who might not want to travel time for crooks.

As the story weaves in and out of time various features of the Greenglass house are recounted, to the reader, and why the features are in the house in the first place.

Winifred, Fred for short, finds herself being picked up from school by Children and Youth Services and taken into foster care. Fred finds herself miles away from Philadelphia, in Lancaster, with a women she does not know, Margery, and a non-stop barking dog in the neighbors yard. Fred’s mother has been arrested for stealing someone else’s prescription drugs from the drug store where she works. Fred is a ‘glass is half full’ kind of girl where her mother is concerned and believes her mother’s story that it was all a misunderstanding, an accident. Mom will be in jail for awhile and so Fred will be in foster care for at least a month. Fred soon finds herself standing up to a bully and getting suspended from her new school on her first day, helping another girl (Delia AKA Lardvark) who is being bullied by the same girl, and the inhumanely treated dog (Toby) next door.

All the characters are so well developed with intriguing backstories slowly spooned out over the course of the story readers will not want to put this book down! Why is Margery so understanding? Why does the neighbor treat his dog so poorly? Why does Larkvark allow the daily bullying to continue?

“Maybe everyone hid pieces of themselves until it was safe to bring them out and show them to someone else.” (180)

Bionic Eyes by Christine Zuchora-Walske is a informative book that tells the reader the history of projects for blind people going from glasses to brain implants. I would say this book is a good book for 5 year olds and higher who like science stuff. It will also teach kids and other people how bionic eyes were created and upgraded. The book has many things like a links page, a contents page, a timeline, a glossary, an index and pictures to go with that stuff as well. If you need further help, this book has definitions for items that they talk about, they have reference pictures for you to understand how the things work, they even have details about every date found out about the objects they talk about. The facts in this book are very accurate. I highly recommend this book as a learning and informational book. I would honestly give a 5 star rating on this book.

Review by Ryan

The book Creative Podcast Producers by Heather C. Hudak is about the history and usefulness of Podcasts in today’s modern world. This book explains why podcasts are so important and how they became a huge part of our world. It explains more about technology and what goes into making a podcast. This book is jam packed with information, bright pictures, a detailed timeline and an essential glossary and index. This book is great for students who are interested in such subjects and it’s an easy read. This book is well written and very informative, but it’s not a very entertaining book. I liked reading it and learned a lot from it. I would recommend it to those students who are very interested in the topic, but not just reading for fun because it is not very exciting. This book is very motivational and encouraging to young people. They can pursue their dreams and become something even by themselves. It’s a very positive and useful book that I recommend reading because it’s very interesting and a good read.

Review by Jessie

Great Hockey Debates by Giles Ferrell is about some of the famous conflicts that broke out in hockey. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in hockey.The book also includes pages for: further discussion, glossary, online resources, books for more information, an index, and information about the author.

Review by Barrett

Humans and animals are not as different as you think, even in smog filled cities and strange places of fantasy. The book Tales From The Inner City by Shaun Tan covers the stories of different animals and their relationship with humans in a creative way. There is a short story for each animal included in the book, accompanied by beautiful art displaying the mood of the story. Some stories are from the perspective of the animal, and some from the perspective of the human. Along the way you will read the enticing stories of bears with lawyers, fish that swim in the sky, and pigs that sink into the ground. The stories all come together to teach the reader that nature is valuable, and the bond between human and animal needs to be mended. It can also show that people must be kind to animals, and that kindness and joy are more important than money and power. I thoroughly enjoyed the stories, art, and messages, since they are interesting and inspirational. I felt myself excited each time I turned the page, wondering what will happen next. I would recommend it for anyone seventh grade and up. Readers who like animals, dystopian fiction, or stunning art would definitely love this book.

Review by Alison

Mars Orbiters is about trying to uncover data from Mars to see what is on Mars and trying to see why the water disappeared from Mars. This story of how NASA,Russia and others are making improvements to their orbiters. The book should be in a school or a public library because people may want to check out it too learn more about the orbiters, the scientists who built them (like NASA) and the history of the orbiters. The table of contents was helpful,the timeline,glossary and index in the back of the book were really helpful. This book is best for grades 5th to 8th grade for people who want to know more about the the planets.

Review by Enrique

Darius Drake gets a letter written in blood with, ¨Who killed Darius Drake?¨ Darius decides to solve this mystery involving missing diamonds, his parents´ death, and his own death with the help of tough guy, Arthur Bash and his stepsister, Deirdre. But which adult tells the truth? ¨Who Killed Darius Drake?¨ by Rodman Philbrick is a story full of mystery of finding out how everything is connected no matter how different the subjects may be. From photos of a little girl and a man to a tennis team. This book is also about which adult tells the truth or which wants to betray the children for their own self interest. If you like mysteries or solving things, this is an amazing book. It’s filled with information to connect the dots to solve the question. The growing relationship with Darius and Arthur from business partners to friends feels real and makes sense. All three main characters are developed and fun to read about and their situation. This book has relatable characters in a situation we’d never expect kids to be in and shows what kids can accomplish and that kids should not be put down just because of their age. I would suggest this book if you’re into mysteries, developed characters and platonic relationships.

Review by Natalie

The California Drought by Laura Perdew Droughts is about natural phenomena that are caused by high temperature and changing weather patterns. They caused a severe shortage in water. I learned more about droughts and what the community does to prevent them from happening. I also learned how animals are affected by droughts. Even trees are affected by these phenomena. The cover of the book showed a picture of a drought that made me want to learn more about them. The book also contained pictures with captions that explained them thoroughly. There was also a glossary that explained words that were unknown to me. I’d recommend this book to anyone who want to learn more about natural phenomena and how to help prevent them.

Review by Adalie

Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen is an amazing book. This book is a fictional story following the adventures of a Jewish girl names Chaya during World War II. Chaya is a 16 year old girl from Poland joining the resistance to fight against Adolf Hitler and save the people being tortured during the war. Nazis and soldiers from Poland both attack Jews for little entertainment, and she is trying to stop that. She makes a friend out of someone she despised who helps her on the way. What makes this book good is that it gives a message. It gives the idea that no matter the consequences, it is always best to give others hope and fight for what’s right. It also has some history of the war involved. Doing some research on World War II makes the book satisfy almost any reader. It is historically correct in some places, but it also isn’t based entirely on historical events. It does use historical event and figures to create some of the characters. I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes realistic fiction and history.

Review by Zach