After the death of her reporter father, Maggie Chen decides to follow in his footsteps and interns at a local Seattle newspaper. However, on her first story, she finds a connection to her father’s death that leads her to wonder if  there is more to his life than she has been led to believe.  Is everything she knows about her father a lie? What is the connection between her family and 1930s immigrant Fai-yi Li?  Maggie will find some of  her answers in Chinatown and learn about the Chinese Exclusion Act to find others. Part historical novel, part contemporary mystery.

Amy had a rough junior year. Trying to escape her abusive boyfriend a mother and stepfather who were probably glad to have some time alone, she moved from her Seattle neighborhood to a tiny town in the north Cascades with her aunt. Trying to start a new life in a small, rundown trailer in an unwelcoming rural town isn’t easy, until Amy meets Henry in the misty clearing behind her aunt’s trailer.  Henry is totally unlike her ex-boyfriend Quinn.  Henry is a gentleman.  Soon Amy finds out just how different – Henry and his family live in 1944.  But the fact that Amy is able to move through the mist threatens the existence of Henry and his family.

These two teens have a lot to learn from each other: Amy must learn to trust again, and Henry has to learn to face his fears or neither one of them will be able to move on with their lives. A sweet romance that is not too sweet, with a touch of the paranormal that will appeal to teens, this novel should appeal to girls in middle school and up.

A Long Walk to Water, by Linda Sue Park, is an interesting narrative read about two people from the Sudan, twenty years apart, whose experiences have a common thread, perseverance.  It’s the story of Nya in 2008, an 11 year old whose job is to get water for her family 8 hours a day, and Salva in 1985, who as an 11 year old boy was forced to run for his life from rebel soldiers, in the middle of the school day, with one thought, where is my family? Salva continues to walk to refugee camps in Ethopia and Kenya and as one of the Lost Boys, a new life is given to him in America. Nya will also get a chance at a new life, 20 years later, because of Salva’s perseverance.   Every reader can empathize with the separation anxiety Salva experienced of being displaced from your parents or family.  But they may see, for the first time, how something as simple as a water well could dramatically change a way of life.  Linda Sue Park creates characters with the ability to push ahead, one day at a time, regardless of their situation, showing the true determination of the human spirit.  A Long Walk To Water deserves its starred reviews and is recommended for grades 5 and up.

Once you get past and accept the fact that you are reading about werewolves in a humous manner, not in a gothic way, and get past the fart dialogue, 100% Wolf is actually a pretty engrossing story–funny, good character development, and nonstop action.  By the end of the story, you end up cheering for the underdog (no pun intended).  Because of the setting and ‘castle’ is mentioned, I am guessing the story takes place in Europe.  The Lupin family comes from a long and distinguished line of werewolves–the Fangen clan.  On each youngster’s 125th month birthday, on the monthly full moon, there is a wolfification–where the youngster makes his or her first change into a wolf and gets to lead the pack on the hunt.  Freddy lives with his uncle, who is the leader of the clan, and his two cousins who are absolute terrors with no boundaries.  When his big night arrives, instead of changing into a wolf he changes into a poodle.  You see, his mom was bit by a poodle while she was pregnant with him and although his father is a full-blooded werewolf, he still mutated.  His rotten cousins strap a moonstone around his neck making it impossible for him to change back into human form.  While a dog, he discovers a plot to kill off the Fangen clan, but he can’t warn anyone because of his dog form.  Very funny and engaging.

This is a new addition to the Writer’s toolbox series, this time we are learning how to write a simple play.  Like the others in this series, you will be entertained with a short play that can be red on it’s own with engaging artwork, or learn to write a play of your own using the Tool sidebars.  The Tools help break down the process of writing for the stage, covering areas like; Character development, scenes, stage direction, dialogue, emotions, plot, climax, and conclusion.  Good for browsing or classroom use.  Contains writing tips, exercises, glossary, and index.

Author, Jim Bartell, succeeds in giving elementary children a quick overview of the world’s largest country – RUSSIA. With a country so large, much of the information is told in generalities, though two pie graphs give quick specifics on ‘Where People Live in Russia’ and ‘Where People Work in Russia’.  Other topics of this 32 page book include: The Land, Lake Baikal, Daily Life, Wildlife, Food, and Going to School.

He follows the series “Exploring Countries” format of including “Fast Facts” or “Did You Know?” trivia on every two page spread, from page 19-“Only one-tenth of Russia’s land is used for farming. The rest of the land is too wet, too cold, or too mountainous.”

The year is 2041, and it’s been ten years since the Collapse.  Most people have evacuated the cities, and there is no more oil, but 16-year-old Molly’s family is doing well.  They live on a small island in Vancouver, B.C., and have a self-sustaining farm to keep them fed.  However, when the island’s doctor is unexpectedly killed in an accident and Molly’s mother’s pregnancy has complications, she must make a journey to Portland, Oregon to retrieve her grandfather (who is a doctor) and grandmother and bring them back to Vancouver.  While this book is set in a harsh dystopian future, this is a relatively gentle story about family relationships and a teenage girl’s search for home.  The core of the story revolves around the relationship between Molly, her grandparents, and a mysterious boy named Spill who is inexplicably sweet, but may have a dark secret.  Molly is a fiddle player, and Anthony excellently portrays her connection to music, family, and the earth.   A few writing quirks (too many exclamation points!) keep this book in R and not R* territory, but it’s a good read-a-like for those who loved The Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd or Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer.

Victor Godwin is a science nerd, a perfectionist, and a middle schooler.  He has calculated the odds, and knows that the most surefire way to win the science fair is to create a perfect volcano replica of Pompeii, complete with villagers running away in fear.  Victor also knows that Benjamin Franklin, inventor extraordinaire, died hundreds of years ago – until someone who looks suspiciously like him moves in to the mother-in-law apartment in his house.  Of course, the tenant does turn out to be the reanimated Ben Franklin, and trouble ensues when Victor gets involved in helping him stay animated.  Filled with silly humor, cool looking diagrams of science fair projects and inventions, and madcap adventure, this book is enough to get any reluctant-to-read middle-school boy excited.  While not quite as hilarious or well-written as Scieszka’s similar Time Warp Trio serious, this book could definitely turn the right kind of kid on to reading.  The message of the book pushes it from AD to R — sometimes it’s more important to actually learn something, than to just get a good grade.  Stay tuned for the sequel, Benjamin Franklin Meets the Fright Brothers.

Little Blue is lost in the woods, and cannot find her way home.  When a boy stumbles upon her, they begin a journey to find the blue-haired girl’s native land, and it turns out the two children’s homes may not be worlds away from each other as they first seem.  In the simple style of a folktale, Chapman weaves a lovely story about searching for home, complete with a sweet surprise ending.  The illustrations are magnificently detailed – Little Blue’s descriptions of home comes to life with sketchy blue colored pencil, and the terrain through which the two friends travel is softly colored and intricate.  Every detail, from the simple prose to Little Blue’s beautiful dress, is lovingly and carefully created.  A perfect book for story time.

This is a book that you never want to end–it’s that good!  A high school girl, Elizabeth Rew, has changed schools and feels somewhat like a outcast.  Her history teacher recommends her for the position of page at the New York Circulating Material Repository–a library of objects rather than books.  The objects all have some historical value–think of the Smithsonians and you’ll get the idea.  Her job is to locate objects for check out, replace the objects as they are returned, repair and clean, inventory, and so on.   When she receives clearance to be able to work in the Grimm Collection she is amazed at all the magic.  This is a special section of the library which houses all the objects  written about in the Brothers Grimm fairy tales.  For example, one piece is the large mirror used by Snow White’s wicked stepmother. It will answer your question if you ask it in rhyme.   But her answer always comes with some wickedness.  You can imagine all the fun and the trouble you’d get into if allowed to use them.  Which is exactly what happens.  Someone has been checking out the artifacts, making copies of them, and switching the copy for the real thing.  When the curators become suspicious, the pages try to find out who is behind the thefts.  Their adventures have them doing battle with people using the magical objects for their own gains.  The action is nonstop and exciting.  This is one book where it is so fun and easy to read because it sounds as if the reader is just part of their conversations.  This book will fly off the shelves and should be an excellent addition to all libraries.  It is also a great fit for the popular Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley.