In this fantasy/romance/horror novel, newly mermaid teenage Luce belongs to a tribe of mermaids that sink ships. After a cruise line interrupts a funeral of one of her friends, the mermaids are forced to sink the ship. Once a human hears a mermaid’s song, they must die. However, Dorian, a boy on the cruise ship, sings back to Luce, and she, breaking the mermaid’s covenant, rescues him. Newly orphaned Dorian wants to take revenge for his family and sets out to meet the mermaid that tore his world apart. When the two world’s collide it becomes more than just a simple story of revenge bringing into play the lives of all the mermaids and the traditions that they have been practicing since the dawn of the existence.

This is not a happy-go-lucky lovestruck mermaid story; it is a realistically dark tale. The characters appear to be people that one could see or meet any day. The writing is not complicated; it is easy to understand, but a haunting feeling still lingers after the last page. Readers of fantasy will enjoy this book for its depth and how it confronts every obstacle that would otherwise make the book seem superficial and not nearly as dark.

— Kit H.

In this adventure/mystery/supernatural novel, teenage Tessa is a variant; she can absorb the DNA of anyone she touches and become them. In a small town in Oregon, there has been a series of murders. Tessa is given the mission to play the role of recently murdered Madison who, the world believes “miraculously survives” the attempt on her life. But, in reality, Tessa has to find the murder while trying not to be murdered herself.

The writing style was not too complicated, but it still created an impact on the reader. The plot was fast-paced and flowed evenly until just before the ending where it stumbled, but picked up shortly after. Most of the characters appeared realistic, but a few were fan service. Readers will enjoy the combination of mystery, suspense and the supernatural aspects of this book. Note: One suspects a sequel.

— Kit H.

In this first in a series graphic novel, a young teenage boy has his life changed by events that he can not control. James is forced to join a secret government organization that uses kids to get information on terrorists. This story tells of James’s training and his first mission.

The writing style is written from a teenager’s point-of-view; the language is clear and one that a teenager would use. The artwork is outstanding; the anatomy poses of the characters are true to form and the backgrounds are detailed. The story hooks a reader immediately and can keep one’s attention throughout the entire book. Note that there is some violence in the book and a few actions that may not be suited for younger children (smoking, drinking). This book is recommend for those readers who enjoy action novels.

— Kellyn S.

In this graphic novel, there are three tales of famous war dogs from three different major wars. The first story takes place during World War I – Germany where Boots accompanies a medical assistant in the battle field. The second story takes place during World War II – Greenland where Loki helps a soldier get back to the air base when the soldier gets separated from his group during a mission. The last tale tells the story of Sheba, a war dog in Vietnam.

This book is very informational; the reader is able to learn historical facts about canine war dogs and how they were important during wartime. The creative writing style is continuous throughout the book. The artwork is realistic even though it is in comic book style form. Each story is fast-paced, getting to the point quickly but effectively. These stories are about war – death and blood are depicted. The stories are powerful and fascinating to read. I would recommend this book to mature readers who appreciate and understand the meaning of war. Dog lovers would also enjoy these tales.

— Kellyn S.

Here is a plotless book much like I SPY by Jean Marzolla. Curious George visits and explores 12 structures which are all jam packed with items a curious little monkey would love to touch and play with when left alone. As the reader turns each page of this 10.25″ X 10.25″ book, the top left corner shows a picture of the outside of the structure ( forest cabin, vacation trailer, desert adobe pueblo, tropical stilted bungalow, lighthouse, houseboat, medieval castle, zoo monkey house, high-rise skyscraper*, a tree house, a barn,  and the house were the man with the yellow hat lives) above its brief description told in rhyme, with 4 or 5 or 6 isolated pictures of items to find in the larger page and a half spread of the inside of that particular structure. Each rhyme ends with – “Where is George?”

Young readers will enjoy searching the pages of this book for George and the items!

Printed on heavy paper.

* Skyscraper is misspelled by omitting the second ‘s.

These are always fun book to look at, the pictures are really nice.  There is a little story that goes along with the pictures.  It is fun to try to find the pictures.

This book tells you a lot about a Hot Air balloon.  Even though it is very basic information it is very good information about hot air balloons.  The pictures are very colorful and go well with the text.

There is a table of context in the front and a glossary and “Further Reading”, a list of books and websites for more information.  There is also an index and a page of “fun facts” in the back also.

this is a cute story of a little girl, Zaira,  who has many imaginary friends.   The other children make fun of her.  One day Zaira’s  imaginary friends are gone and she is very sad, until she sees them again and is happy.

The pictures are colorful and interesting.  I like the name of the fairy “Take that”.  It is perfect when she takes the smiles of the faces of the children who are laughing at Zaira.

The cover offers: “Watching the Universe outside your window”, as a hook to catch your interest. I loved the images in this book: from NASA, The Hubble Telescope, constellation drawings, and so much more. The Contents are broken up into four sections ( with 9+ entries in each section) : Watching the night sky, Searching for the stars, Discovering amazing planets, and Galaxies and the Universe.

I did enjoy this book in small sections at a time. My finite mind would just begin to wrap itself around one three dimensional idea when another one was introduced into the equation of space. I found out quickly,  I am not ready to be an astronaut and travel off of this planet! I will need more than this book to help me remember and understand all of the wonderful celestial bodies in this book: nebula, quasars, nebula, globular cluster, black holes, blazar, cepheid , asterism, and more, which often we are made aware of in science fiction accounts, but in fact do exist.

The photos whether taken from space looking further into space or taken  from earth looking up into the night sky, they are breath taking!

Round star maps were presented from different locations on earth, not just from the northern hemisphere.  The constellations presented are viewed from flat star maps, viewed with the unaided eye from earth, viewed with telescopes in part and in whole, and small tidbits of their ancient names / origins.

Comes with a free digital book download.

Here is a book which will give intermediate grade students some of the background needed to better understand why the United States fought a civil war. There are 4 short chapters entitled: Seeds of Secession, The Birth of the Confederate States of America, The Confederate Government, and The  End of an Era. Each chapter is accompanied by historic photographs and lithographs.

From the very beginning of the United States there was lack of communication between towns and states. Each place created its own laws with little regard or effect on other places, but by the early 1800s this was changing. The U.S. government forced the Southern states to purchase Northern manufactured goods by placing tariffs on the cheaper imported goods. Slavery divided North and South even more, especially when new states or territories were added.  Southern states feared their control over the Supreme Court would lessen if A. Lincoln was elected president.  “Some states believed secession was the only way to preserve slavery against the threat of the abolitionists… the Confederacy was founded ‘upon the great truth that the Negro is not equal to the white man.’ ”  Southern states seceded after the election of A. Lincoln, but before he took office. They thought the war would end once Lincoln’s term of office was over, but he was re-elected.  And finally, the Confederate generals did not have the needed skills to compensate for each others short comings. “Jefferson Davis was known for being stubborn… [and] argued over how to proceed.”