A fantastically riveting and fast-paced read, this nonfiction thriller, Fallout, by Steve Sheinkin, will entertain readers who enjoy topics from real wartime heroes to readers of the espionage genre, alike. Strangely enough, during the Cold War, a paperboy’s tip leads to the discovery and dismantling of a Russian spy ring, and even the unexpected and the undetected will drive the world forward, even through the surmounting crises of the Cold War. In Fallout, the use of pictures to give readers a window into the physicality of the fantastic people and characters is merely brilliant! The fast-paced high-tension story, following the “how it happened” of selections of the Cold War! Whether you read quickly or slower, this book will keep you on edge and turning the page! Fun and fast, never a dull moment, but thoughtful and contemplating, showing the subject due consideration!

Set Me Free is a page-turning novel about courage and compassion by Ann Clare Lezotte. It is a sequel to Show Me A sign which was inspired by the true history of a deaf community in Martha’s Vineyard. It is sure to be a wonderful hit among middle-grade audiences. Mary Lambert has been tormented by the memory of being kidnapped as a specimen of cruel experiments to determine the cause of her deafness, and she is now growing tired of her life in Martha’s Vineyard and of her beloved writing and decides to the teacher an 8-year-old deaf girl how to communicate with no past language experience, which will prove to be much more complicated than originally thought. The descriptive language allows the reader to feel hope and courage. Those who loved Ann Clare Lezotte’s novel “Give Me a Sign” will honor how much time went into making this book just as good as the first.

by Frances O’Roark Dowell

Hazard written in verse by Frances O’Roark Dowell may just be the new hit among middle-grade audiences. Hazard, is a boy filled with rage and dealing with a father newly home from the Afghanistan war. He is being forced to go talk to a therapist about his father and the rage he keeps inside, strongly feels like it will do nothing. The amount of effort that was put into representing the families that have had very similar experiences as shown in the book makes one appreciate the story even more. Some families can relate to the events of the book and that makes this wonderful realistic fiction story worth reading. Others will enjoy the struggle that the characters experience throughout the book while others will love the realistic part of it. Though everyone will love the story that Frances O’roark Dowell told.