The book is every student’s dream of what a school should be, Between the hover desks and wind tunnel skydiving in PE, there is something foe every child to enjoy. I appreciate the author’s honesty when Jack said, “Don’t ask me how this works, I really don’t know.” It truly encapsulates a child’s imagination and creativity, leaving ways to get it to work for later, A great read as we are getting ready to build our own new school and for use with our STEM projects.

A great read-aloud book about a young girl and how she deals with nightmares. It will be especially helpful for children who deal with monsters and nightmares.

The pictures are colorful but not scary.

This book is follow up to Charlotte the Scientist is Squished.

Charlotte is excited that Grandpa has moved in with her and her family. He visits her lab daily until the day he falls ill. Along with other forest creatures, Charlotte wants to find a cure. The book follows along as Charlotte does all the things that scientists do. Does she find the cause of the illness, discover the cure, and heal her Grandpa?

There is a glossary in the back of the book.

Natalie’s Hair Was Wild! is about a young girl who likes her wild hair. A variety of animals agree with Natalie as they move in to nest in her hair. Natalie is not phased by this. Eventually, the animal sounds get to her. Follow Natalie’s story in this whimsical picture book that both boys and girls alike will enjoy.

This is a very interesting non-fiction book about poo, s subject that is rarely explored. The book tells about different animals and their poo. At the end of the story, it explains what zoos do with all the animal poo.

Lola the armadillo spills her juice. Instead of cleaning it up, she runs off to the library. On her way, she encounters friends in the same predicament. She has them join in her journey to the library. At the library, things continue to go wrong until Lola meets a bird. The bird helps Lola and her friends clean up their disasters. This book is beautifully illustrated.

The Hidden Witch is a sequel to the fantasy graphic novel The Witch Boy. In this follow up the focus of the book moves beyond Aster and includes a larger teen group. Some of these are magical while other are not. However, they all have the same desire to figure out their life’s direction. Instead of a battle against a curse dragon, this story’s major conflict revolves around the daily wounds of everyday teenage life. This book is full of colorful images and creates a sweet story that continues the tale from the previous book.

Reviewed by OHS Substitute

Fireborne by Rosaria Munda reveals a fantasy adventure that captures your attention from the beginning. Dragons are present in the book, mostly as side characters who choose their beings and perform/act depending on their human counterparts. The dragons play a role in helping these humans determine their status in society. Told from the perspective of two orphans, Annie and Lee, they are growing up in an ever-changing world and are faced with many difficult choices along the way. Annie is an extremely talented, yet humble character who you quickly learn has a quiet strength that allows her to overcome her own personal doubts, as well as prove her worthiness to a society that often seems to doubt her or have low expectations of her. On the other hand, Lee is often favored by the people, but he still has a modesty about him and is constantly observing and evaluating the people and things around him. As these characters and their relationships develop through the book, you begin to connect with them, their feelings and the decisions that they make in the Revolution that arises.

Well written, fast paced. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by OHS substitute.

The story is gripping from the beginning and gets the reader involved immediately. It’s a combination of romance and action. The novel has young ladies escaping their pasts in Europe to begin a new life in New Orleans in 1872.

Celine is escaping Paris because of a murder she committed there. She and her friend Pippa, from England, were taken in by a convent in order to give them better lives. She meets a mysterious young man who has a profound effect on her. She is enraptured by the city and becomes involved in the underworld where ladies are being murdered by a serial killer. Celine has little fear and Pippa is cautious and fears for her friend, but is still there for her.

It was amazing how quickly the plot was developed. The main characters are: Celine, Pippa, and Sebastien Saint Germaine from New Orleans. It was a romantic thriller, a patent fantasy story. It is a great read and I would recommend it to readers of all genres.

Paris Secord, known as DJ ParSec to the dance/rave scene, is found dead right before she’s about to make it big. Two key figures in her life, Kya and Fuse, who were not friends before the murder are forced to work together because neither of them believe that the police are doing enough or even know what they are doing to find Paris’s murderer. Her fan base, ParSec Nation, work via social media to pull clues for Kya and Fuse. And true to social media form, not all clues lead to the truth.

Lamar Giles provides plot twists and thrill scenes, some of which were hard to follow as the story shifts narrators between the three girls as well as jumping back and for between past and present. As in the best murder mystery writing, the murder is not who you think it might be and will probably keep most teens engaged, especially if they like hip-hop jargon.