Category Archives: Additional Purchase

Charlie Hernandez & the Phantom of Time

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by Ryan Calejo

In this fourth installment of the adventures of Charlie Hernandez, he and his friends must save the land of the living from dark forces by traveling back in time to the 1950’s in Cuba.  Charlie is a morphling and able to transform in moments of crises into animals that help him save the day. While trying to save the past, present and future, the 3 friends encounter many of the monsters and figures from previous books as well as a few new ones – the Phantom of Time, Tragaldabas, La Carreta, La Llorona, La Mano Paluda, Queen Joanna, Madremonte, and Charlie’s dead grandmother are just a few of the many mythological and story characters Charlie encounters. The action is non-stop, as in previous books. The monsters from South American mythology are frequent and, for me, mostly unknown. That has been my only frustration as a reader. I don’t have the background myths and legends to fall back on, though Charlie certainly does. I’m occasionally at a loss for who is who, but by book 4, it is nice to see a few of the creatures from earlier books reappear. The books could use a glossary of legendary creatures for a quick reference. There are usually some context clues, but for me, I could use a few more. There are always a lot of characters – good & bad – to keep track of!  Anyone who has enjoyed the series previously will undoubtedly enjoy book four. Since it leans on the past three books for reference, I’m not sure I would recommend jumping right into book 4.

Puffin and Penguin

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By Helaine Becker and Kevin Sylvester

This graphic novel for young readers is cute and will be relatable to students. A school story about Puffin, whose mom becomes an ambassador to the United Avian Nations. He has to move to New Stork City and start in a new school for international students. Like all new students, he is worried about fitting in and is missing his cold and watery home. Penguin is assigned to be his “buddy” but is overwhelmed with the many activities he’s committed to and thus is concerned about adding on being a buddy to the new kid. Puffin struggles to fit in and is laughed at and misunderstood as many of the birds at school are not water birds. In the end, Penguin realizes that Puffin is struggling and does what he can to make things easier for him. They end of in the drama club together and during a performance, Puffin saves the day. The illustrations are great for a graphic novel. I particularly like the very funny and relatable introduction of the various birds in Puffin’s class. Canada Goose, the fashionista. Downy Woodpecker, the drummer. Loon, the gossip and all the others you will giggle about. There are many school stories that will interest students and thus I recommend this one as an extra purchase. It would be a great purchase if you need more graphics, especially if you have the extra money for it.

Nothing Like the Movies by: Lynn Painter

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Reviewed by OHS student, Audrey L.

This book is a cute, light contemporary romance that also covers serious topics, such as dealing with the loss of a loved one. The light, fluffy plot makes this romance an easy and enjoyable read.

After something awful happens during freshman year at college, Wes Bennet must give up his dreams, and his girlfriend, to return home to Nebraska. Flash forward 2 years later, Wes is starting fresh at college determined to win the girl of his dreams, Liz Buxbaum, back.

I enjoyed the supporting characters, and how the author added more to the plot than *just* Wes trying to win Liz back. I also liked how Lynn Painter made the story dual-POV, unlike the first book. The book felt too slow in the beginning, and it had a pretty predictable plot. I felt like the breakup was so rash, odd, and out of place. And, while I understand that Liz is a grown adult now, I kind of miss the way she was in the first book, but it does make sense for her character to change and mature. Someone might like reading this book if they enjoy reading romances. It’s also a good sequel for the first book, “Better Than the Movies,” but can be read as a standalone.

Nothing Like the Movies - overall review statement.

Infested: An MTV Fear Novel

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Reviewed by Eli 12th grade – This novel is an interesting story with a good plot and conflict. Manny, is forced to leave his hometown by his stepfather.  He is now faced with new challenges brought on by his new home in New York, angry neighbors, and a cockroach infestation that only he seems to understand the danger of. Although the novel is a horror piece, it is also great at describing personal relationships in a coming-of-age story. With Manny maturing as a person over a short period of time.  The dialogue was very well written and descriptive at showing emotions of the people involved. I felt like some of the action scenes were a bit rushed and didn’t have much set-up.

The Pirate and the Porcelain Girl

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Reviewed by Tanisha 11th grade – I love the book and I love the ending they are a very cute couple and they are so much in love with each other. This book has lots of action and it has and happy ending where the characters fall in love. I really like the artwork because it grabs my attention and also makes me find the emotion of the characters. It helps move the story along in the book. I really enjoyed the way they drew the characters. It was a very interesting book and I liked the flow of it meaning the active and the love and romance. If you don’t like romance this is not the book for you, and also it’s always best to try something new.

Chaos & Flame

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Reviewed by Shiloh G 12th grade: When I first started the book I felt very confused but as I read more everything started to make more sense. Talon Goldhorn always bravely led his elite troops however his brother’s rule was threatening to undo 100 years of work. So other factions turned to Talon to dethrone his brother. The way that the plot develops makes me want to keep turning pages so I can figure out everything that is happening. My favorite part about the book is how the very beginning gives so much information and yet we don’t know anything. One thing I did not like about the book is that the book progresses quite slowly

Oodles of Doodles

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It’s a fairly silly story in the spirit of Hop on Pop or Green Eggs and Ham, where it’s playing with words that rhyme: it’s got oodles of noodle dooles, doodled by a poodle, and it’s got two cartoony dudes negotiating for those doodles before saying, “tootle-Lou.” It works pretty well for what it is, though there are some uses of some words/word structures that may need to be explained to some small readers.

While You’re Asleep

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It’s meant to be read aloud at bedtime. The narrator is trying to wax poetic about all the animals who are also going to sleep, but keeps getting interrupted by various nocturnal animals getting up to antics spoiling the go-to-sleep message. By the end of the book all the night-time animals are having a party. It ends with a question, asking how the listener can know it’s not all true, since they’re asleep? The illustrations give a lot of personality to the animals, and invited kids to open their imaginations to what goes on when they’re asleep. Who’s to know?

My Cat Does Ballet

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It’s cute enough. It’s not a bad book. I’m just afraid it’s got a really limited audience. As far as I can see, the only readers who are really going to appreciate this book are cat lovers who are really into ballet. The narrator shares all the things his friends’ cats can do, and then goes on to explain how his cat does ballet, using French ballet term to describe his cat’s activities. When he invites his friends to bring all their cats over one day for ballet lessons, they all start spinning and twirling and leaping right away, while his cat takes a nap on the couch. If you have ballet enthusiasts with cats among your patrons, they’d probably enjoy this one.

Love Is My Favorite Color

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Some won’t like it, but I do, though I’m having trouble articulating why. It’s a poetical/philosophical sort of book, using both color and words in an unusual way. The skin may be blue and the leaves pink, yet the flowy, swirly illustrations somehow draw you in and pair nicely with the way the poem discusses big, intangible words in unusual ways: peace is my favorite song, and happiness is my favorite flavor??? Yet I think it invites students into poetry by opening them up to using words in new ways, giving them permission to play with words and still find meaning.