Modern day Robyn Hood are her sidekicks the Hoods are up against the Havocs. The Havocs pick pockets and steal from anyone and everyone. They poke fun at Robyn and her Hoods “who only took from bad guys to HELP people in need.” (15)

Each time the thefts end with a cloud of smoke and the victims yelling and accusing each other of stealing from them. Robyn and her Hoods decide to look for the Havocs at the open-air market, where there are always large crowds of people. Sure enough Robyn spots a Havoc. They run in their direction, but find nothing. After chasing after another suspicious person, Robyn trips over an open sewer grate. Again they find nothing. Then Robyn concludes they should look down in the sewer. There the Hoods find the stolen valuables. They collect it to return to the victims.

“After returning the STOLEN goods, the Hoods convinced everyone to STAY OUT of the market so they could face the Havocs.” (36) The Havocs want their loot back. When the Havocs ‘LUNGED‘ at the HOODS they trip over ” the camouflaged trip line at their feet.”(43) The Havocs release a thick cloud of smoke. By the time the smoke clears, the Havocs are gone. Robyn and the Hoods have returned the valuables, that is the important part. They “will FACE the Havocs another day.” (48)

Good over evil wins again in this updated version of Robin Hood and his merry men. This version has color graphics on each page by Abigail Dela Cruz. The text has a key word in bold or a stylized font in almost every sentence adding to the enjoyment and to the reader’s comprehension. After four short chapters, the reader is on to the next book in this series.

Book #7 in The Graveyard Diaries series takes place in “The small town of Marshfield … known for its four old cemeteries. Local people call the place Graveyard City.” (29) What better place for an urban legend dealing with a ghost to take place.

This story reads and feels like a reality TV show GHOST HUNTERS. There are no silly little anecdotes.

As Jared and his mother drive home, on a December evening, they take a short cut through one of the town’s cemeteries. There, they almost hit a girl with their car. They volunteer to take her home, as she (Tammy) has hurt herself from a fall in the cemetery. Once they arrive at Tammy’s house, she disappears. The house is terribly run down, looking like no one has lived there in years.

A little by little, Jared researches the house at the public library. Jared meets a local librarian who remembers when Tammy died back in 1961. Jared and his two closest friends (they’ve named themselves the Zombie Hunters) will try to help Tammy if she is a ghost who wants to escape or a ghost who wants to be rescued. When Jared enters the house Tammy tells him to leave them alone. Jared flees the house after seeing an allusion of flames. These ghosts do not want his help. He will leave them alone.

The book concludes with a page of five steps entitled TRACKING GHOSTS and a second page of eight items entitled GHOST FACTS.

This is a fast read for those young people who either believe in ghosts or are border-line believers. The slightly enlarged type hint this is a hi-lo book. The single black and white sketch in each of the ten chapters keeps the mood alive and moving.

Here are ten fairy tales: Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin, Cinderella, The Pied Piper, Snow White, The Princess and the Pea, Red Riding Hood, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, Hansel and Gretel, and The Swan Brothers ‘reimagined’,”not quite as you remembered.”

Different back stories make these tales more easily relatable to the youth of today who are wise about interpersonal relationships.Sometimes the title character is not always the one who wins in the end. Sometimes the story affects characters from more than one generation. Sometimes characters from other traditional tales make guest cameo appearances in another tale.

I was thinking – “That’s not the way this story goes, but I like this way better!” For example: Rapunzel has twin children, or Hansel and Gretel retell what happened to them for a writing assignment at school, or Snow White has a small glass shard of the wicked witch’s magic mirror which is controlling her, or the prince liked Cinderella best because she didn’t have ‘blue’ blood when the rose the prince gave each attendee to the ball was pricked by its thorns.

Each tale is accompanied by black silhouettes of the characters in action amidst varying tones of gray settings by Sarah Gibb. The cover art is for Rapunzel, while the book’s title refers to Rumpelstiltskin.

Whether you one tale or read them all, this book is a winner.

In Kathy Cannon Wiechman’s novel Not on Fifth Street you explore the treacherous 1937 flood in Ironton, Idaho. The two brothers, Pete and Gus, struggled because of the rising water of the huge flood. Gus falls in love with someone his parents don’t approve of and causes tension with his parents and his brother. Pete has to take care of the family and deal with problems with his brother and his best friend Richie. The boys grow distant because Gus was seeing a girl named Venus Marlowe. The book is action-packed and informs readers about the record setting flood Ironton experienced in 1937. The book is about what the people in Ironton experienced during the flood and how it affected the people. I would recommend this book to people who like to read about historical events and stories of how people survived disaster. When I started reading this book, I didn’t want to put it down even to take care of my needs. The book was intriguing and interesting even though it’s factual. It is full of information and true stories about the terrifying river during that season. Not on Fifth Street is a very good and interesting book about a record setting 1937 flood and the terror it caused in Ironton.

Review by Janelle

Recommendation submitted by Library Secretary, Mikel DeBuse-Losh

This book parallels the current socio-political situation int he United States. It also includes an online contest using Virtual Reality constructs, which may have great appeal to some readers. In this society the online world is much more invasive than in today’s, but seems like one day we may get to this level.

The character development was a bit shallow. The story did not pull me in, thus not one that I can highly recommend. Students with an interest in virtual reality, gaming and other online social media platforms may have more interest in this title.

Recommendation submitted by OHS Student, Rowan P.

Adam and Zayneb meet in the London Airport going to Doha. Adam realizes they have the same journal and wants to know her. Then they meet again at a party and “the rest is history.”

This book is an easy read that is really sweet and also talks about real stuff. If you like Romance this is for you!

My favorite part of this series are the illustrations by David Clark. The illustrations are humorous. Whimsy with plants and insects both having facial expressions and acting like humans, only to have a photo of an actual plant tucked away amid the cartoons.

This book tries to inform you of the ways plants and humans are alike. This is all true at a basic level of life: basking in the sun, breathing, need for water, having babies, and even at times wearing armor. From there, Bridget Heos goes onto tell of some quite unusual plants and their added characteristics to which she attaches human attributes.

It is a fun way to learn about plant basics and then on to more diverse characteristics that only a few plants may have.

Review Submitted by OHS Student, Anne R.

These Witches Don’t Burn, follows main character Hannah – a teenage witch who has to keep her powers secret, and her navigation through school, friendships, romance, and hardships. Throughout the book she teams up with unexpected allies to save her coven from a mysterious dark force.

This book is entertaining and has diverse characters. There are a lot of plot twists and it is exciting, although I had a hard time getting into it. The characters are a little two-dimensional and shallow.

Sometimes, the past clashes with the future in ways we least expect. In Carmen Rodrigues’ latest novel main character, Marco, is forced to deal with his past while also trying to navigate his present. The book opens in the spring of Marco’s senior year of high school; he has a close “tribe” of friends, a girlfriend, a full scholarship to college, and a job he enjoys. Marco is forced into the role of “man of the house” due to a traumatic brain injury that has greatly affected his father, leaving Marco with many responsibilities that should not fall upon the shoulders of a teenage boy.

Upon entering high school, over 3 years ago, Marco’s best friend and love interest, Sally, moved away with very little communication afterward. The “tribe” has hostile feelings about Sally’s disappearance, so when she returns to school for the last couple of months of senior year, they are hesitant to trust her. However, Marco cannot easily ignore the “spark” that constantly hums while in Sally’s presence.

Rodrigues creates characters that are relatable and likable. In addition to a quick-paced plot, this book is smart; Marco is very intelligent and interested in space and physics, thus presenting to readers scientific principles in a way that is easy to understand. I strongly recommend this book for middle and high school readers.

Recommendation submitted by OHS Student, Janet G.

Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young, follows girls living at Innovations Academy. On the outside, this institution seems perfect. Girls studying here are poised, controlled, polite, mild mannered, etc. As the novel moves along, we realize that things really are not as they seem; instead, Innovations Academy is full of dark, sinister secrets.

The book presents ideas surrounding feminism and humanity, posing questions for the reader to ponder while watching characters navigate the issues as well. This is a fast-paced read; Young keeps readers engaged and wanting more by slowly unveiling secrets.