Set on the shores of Scotland, this debut novel tells a heartbreaking story of a family: Elsie, her twin brother Eddie, her older brother Dillon, their parents, and how the family deals with the drowning of Eddie. Blame, guilt, teen romance, an extra-marital affair, mental illness, and eating disorders all feature in this drama.

Rider Woofson is the leader of the P.I. Pack, who investigates crimes.

Westie Barker, a member of the P.I. Pack,  is testing to earn his yellow belt at Pawston Martial Arts Dojo in Bark-Jitsu. Westie is unsuccessful at each stage of the trial, but the next student, a cat, succeeds easily. After the night of testing, Sensei Hiro sets the high-tech security system on his way out of the dojo. Then, Sensei Hiro hears a noise outside. He looks into a store window. “Suddenly a scary face popped into view. It had a huge hairy nose, pointy ears, green skin, and large red eyes. ‘Oh no!’ Sensei Hiro cried out. ‘It cannot be! The ancient Goji Goblin has come for the sacred Scroll of Bark-Jitsu!’   ” (24-25)

Sensei Hiro seeks out the help of his student, Westie, and the rest of the P.I. Pack to protect the ancient scroll, which the Goji Goblin has been after for generations.

Mr. Meow, the P.I. Pack nemesis, has cat burglar ninjas breaking into the dojo to steal the scroll. Mr. Meow has arranged to have the P.I. Pack, who are on stake-out at the dojo, taken into the police station for questioning while the cat ninjis are at work. Westie, the Pack’s inventor, is able to stop the ninjis. Then, Gus dressed up as the Goji Goblin enters. Westie takes off with the scroll heading towards the police station. The rest of the P.I. Pack emerge from their police questioning just in time to catch Gus.

” ‘Westie, my student,’ Sensei Hiro said. ‘You were very brave in the face of great danger. You protected the Scroll of Bark-Jitsu and stopped the bad guys. To accomplish such a feat, you must have a pure and brave heart. For that you deserve this…’ The sensei pulled out the yellow belt.” (113-114)

Across town, Mr. Meow is not happy that P.I. Pack has ruined his plans again.

Gray-tone pencil pictures are on almost every page.

Under the Lights is the second in The Field Party series, following Until Friday Night, published in 2015. Set is a small southern town, Under the Lights  is a teen romance with a love triangle between two football players and a girl who is back in town after being away for six following a family tragedy.

Filled with teen angst and drama, this second book in the series can actually be read without having read the first book, as the major characters in the first book are not the major characters in the second. Glines’ novels are formulaic, and this one is no exception.

Author- Walker Styles fills his Rider Woofson series full of word play dealing with all things ‘dog’.

Rider Woofson is the lead dog in P.I. Pack.  The P.I. Pack is called in to help “Mega- famous rock star, David Bow-Wowie” (6) whose instruments have been stolen by a ghost. The security video at the Bow-Wow Club shows David Bow-Wowie ‘s instruments start to move on their own and out the door.

Across the street Mr. Meow wants to turn the Bow-Wow Club’s building back into the dentist office it once was. Mr. Meow’s dream will come true if the club can not come up with the money it owes the bank in just one day.

Many years before, David’s family were dentists in the building. Back then, dentists filled cavities with gold. When the gold shipment disappeared one day, the family sold the building.

The P.I. Pack follows some clues to a music store, but they do not pan out. Meanwhile, one of the pack has been investigating in the building’s basement where he has found some ants.

It turns out David puts drops of maple syrup on his instruments before each show in honor of his uncle who told him to follow his dreams. The syrup attracted the ants from the basement who took the instruments, but the ants were too small to be seen. As it turned out, the ants had also taken the gold and buried it in the basement. “After the great discovery, David Bow-Wowie used the gold to pay the bank.” (115) Across the street Mr. Meow is hissing at the moon. He is upset with the P.I. Pack for finding the gold and the instruments. Mr. Meow wants that building! He is the one who put the maple syrup on the instruments.

There are gray-tone pencil drawings on almost every page by illustrator Ben Whitehouse.

Jasper John Dooley is quite excited when he finds his dad’s old toy mouse, Marcel. Jasper loves Marcel so much he keeps him on a long string and wears him around his neck. But sometimes Jasper has to take Marcel off, and that leads to all kinds of worry. Marcel turns up missing from under Jasper’s pillow, and again when Jasper is sent to the principal’s office.
Finally, Marcel has a serious accident, and it seems like he may be gone forever! This is a super sweet story about a boy with a special bond.

Kelsey, Becca and Leo have very different personalities and generally don’t hang out, until they rescue three kittens which forms a bond of friendship. They decide to form a club committed to solving mysteries. Becca’s mother runs the Wild Oaks Sanctuary for animals. They have a zorse (cross between a zebra and horse) that was abused and brought to them for rehabilitation wearing a sparkly fly mask. However, a man shows up to claim the zorse. This sends the trio into action to solve the mystery of who abused the zorse, which turns into a dangerous situation. The trio work to solve a twisted, double mystery; who abused the zorse, and why is the sparkly fly mask so important. This is the second book in “The Curious Cats Spy Club” series.

“Liam loved to get mail.” So begins the story of a boy who NEVER received mail and decided to do something about it – he wrote a letter to his mailbox! The mailbox responded by sending Liam a fire-breathing dragon. Liam, who must have been raised by very polite parents, wrote a thank you letter back to the mailbox (with a request for more stuff) and received many wonderful items, like trombone-playing pigs and an air whale (i.e. a whale that flies). He and the mailbox went back and forth until he had TOO MUCH MAIL! He then decided to share the wealth by sending gifts to others through the mail and decided that it felt good to give to others, too.
This book is full of fun, with cartoon-like drawings, speech bubbles and little side jokes that will appeal to older readers as well as the target k-3 crowd. Writing letters and the enjoyment of sending and receiving mail are explored in a silly, entertaining way. This will be a great addition to a lesson on letter writing or a unit on community helpers (post office).

This series focuses on four friends and their adventures as Critter Club members, who care for and find homes for pets. They operate a volunteer pet rescue center with help from Amy’s mom, Dr. Purvis, a veterinarian.
In this book, Ellie can’t wait for her cousin’s wedding, but she becomes even more excited when Hailey asks her to be the flower girl! To add to the excitement, the Critter Club girls (Ellie, Amy, Marion and Liz) get a cute bulldog puppy that needs a home. Ellie’s enthusiasm turns to dismay when she ruins her flower girl’s dress with paint. How will she fix this and can they find a home for Lulu, the bulldog puppy? Fortunately, things seem to work out for the Critter Club!
This series is a great one for early chapter book readers. The combination of cute animals and the diverse girls who help them is a winner and the accompanying illustrations are quite charming. The stories are relatable and the language is appropriate. Pick this book up for your primary students – it will fly off the shelf.

Five high school students are in their evening summer school Psychology class when their heartless and sadistic professor dies. They spend the next three weeks in a state of absolute terror, dread, and crisis as they try to cover up their involvement, avoid implication in the crime, and struggle with the temptation to turn on each other to pin the blame on someone else.

This is a suspenseful nail biter that engages the reader through the very last page, in spite of the somewhat stereotypical characters. There is the “Queen Bee” gorgeous (white) girl, so popular with the boys and envied by the girls; the super brainy girl (black) who has never had a boyfriend; the rich and unemotional (Asian) boy; the handsome (white) juvenile delinquent guy; and the kind, sweet (white) gay boy.

The story is told from all five of their points of view, which makes the book even more engaging.

Life is Funny by E.R. Frank is an intense fiction novel that is anything but funny. The author gives insight into 11 teenagers growing up in Brooklyn, NY over a span of 7 years; each character has a voice and portrays an in depth look into their modern day life and struggles dealing with topics of unwanted pregnancies, drug and sexual abuse, love, suicide, cutting, and what it’s like to be a teenager. It’s at times graphic and slightly intense for younger teen readers, but at the same time gives raw perspective into 11 teenagers lives all living in the same area. Originally published back in 2000, this new cover art will also help pull in readers.  I recommend this book older teens and adults who want a look at what some students in our system have to deal with, and how they react.