Waiting on Wednesday: Rebellion, 1776 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Image: Simon & Schuster

Rebellion 1776 by Laurie Halse Anderson. 410 p. Atheneum/ Caitlin Dlouhey/ Simon & Schuster, April 1, 2025. 9781416968269.

Waiting on Wednesday features Rebellion 1776 by Laurie Halse Anderson. I'm a huge fan of Ms. Anderson. Her contemporary realistic fiction books are gripping and intense, but her historical fiction novels are as well. I can't wait for this.

Publisher synopsis: From New York Times bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson comes an eerily timely historical fiction middle grade adventure about a girl struggling to survive amid a smallpox epidemic, the public’s fear of inoculation, and the seething Revolutionary War.

In the spring of 1776, thirteen-year-old Elsbeth Culpepper wakes to the sound of cannons. It’s the Siege of Boston, the Patriots’ massive drive to push the Loyalists out that turns the city into a chaotic war zone. Elsbeth’s father—her only living relative—has gone missing, leaving her alone and adrift in a broken town while desperately seeking employment to avoid the orphanage.

Just when things couldn’t feel worse, the smallpox epidemic sweeps across Boston. Now, Bostonians must fight for their lives against an invisible enemy in addition to the visible one. While a treatment is being frantically fine-tuned, thousands of people rush in from the countryside begging for inoculation. At the same time, others refuse protection, for the treatment is crude at best and at times more dangerous than the disease itself.

Elsbeth, who had smallpox as a small child and is now immune, finds work taking care of a large, wealthy family with discord of their own as they await a turn at inoculation, but as the epidemic and the revolution rage on, will she find her father?

Teen Tuesday: Jupiter Rising by Gary D. Schmidt

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

Jupiter Rising by Gary D. Schmidt. 208 p. Clarion Books/ HarperCollins. 9780358659648.

Teen Tuesday features Jupiter Rising by Gary D. Schmidt. This is a sequel/ companion to Orbiting Jupiter, which was published in 2015. Do you need to read Orbiting Jupiter first? Hm, not really, but I suggest that you do. It has recently become a TMS favorite, and my review here, since it is also shared on the school's learning platform, will be purposely vague. 

As in Orbiting Jupiter, Jack Hurd narrates. Two years have passed, and Jack is now in eighth grade. The Hurds have been fostering baby Jupiter and are all set to finalize her adoption when the maternal grandparents step in. Jack is furious about this. How can he keep his promise if Jupiter is taken away? He's also furious over Coach Swietek's decision to pair Jack with Jay Perkins in order to improve his cross-country running. 

This spare novel packs a punch, so make sure you have tissues at hand. 

Middle Grade Monday and Audiobook Review: The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt. Unabridged audiobook, ~8 hours. Read by Fred Berman. Clarion Books, May, 2023. 

Happy Juneteenth and happy first Monday of summer break. Middle Grade Monday features The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt. Hercules Beal lives on Cape Cod with his much older brother, Achilles. Achilles returned home from Washington, D.C. to run the family nursery and to care for Herc when their parents were killed in a car crash a year earlier. Herc has to start seventh grade in a new school thanks to bussing redistricting and he's not too happy about that. He's especially leery of his language arts teacher, retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer. Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer has assigned a long-term project based on world mythology and Hercules' project is to recreate the twelve labors of his namesake and write a reflection for each.

This first-person narrative grabbed me from the start. Hercules is such an endearing character. He hikes up the dune each morning to watch the sun rise and to say hello to his parents; is convinced that Achilles' girlfriend, Viola is a vampire, and is maybe, just maybe developing a crush on his best friend. This hero's journey is filled with wonderful supporting characters. It is often laugh-out-loud funny, but there will be tears as well. Herc's reflections and Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer's scathing responses are especially funny.

Gary D. Schmidt is a favorite of mine, but I can rarely get students to try his books. He's definitely a reader's writer. His books beg to be taught for they have depth and his writing is lyrical and lovely. ELA teachers can have a field day teaching literary devices. He is prone to using repetition and he seems to poke fun at himself through Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer's criticism of Hercules' reflections.

New-to-me narrator Fred Berman doesn't sound particularly youthful, but his soft, thoughtful delivery reflected Hercules perfectly. I think this might have been a book I should've read with my eyes because Herc's reflections seemed to have crossouts and such that probably added visual humor. Still Mr. Berman did a nice job with those areas as well.

Middle Grade Monday: My Aunt is a Monster by Reimena Yee.

Image: Penguin Random House

Happy last-Monday-before-break! Middle Grade Monday features My Aunt is a Monster by Reimena Yee. Eleven-year-old Safia is blind, but that is not an obstacle to much. She's well cared for by loving parents who own a bookstore and read her wonderful tales. When they die tragically in a fire, Safia is sent to an orphanage. Then, a distant relative is found. An aunt named Whimsy lives in an allegedly haunted house that no one goes near with Nanny. Safia isn't lonely though. Aunt Whimsy was an adventurer who had to go into hiding when she was "disfigured" in an accident. Safia can't see that her aunt really is a monster. Her tales of adventuring and her ghostly friend in the garden are enough to keep Safia happy, though she longs for a real adventure.

This was a fun, fast-paced graphic novel for readers who like quirky adventure.

Middle Grade Monday: The Aquanaut by Dan Santat.

Image: Scholastic

The Aquanaut by Dan Santat. 256 p. Graphix/ Scholastic, March, 2022. 9780545497619. Review of finished copy borrowed from public library.

Happy Monday! I'm approaching the halfway point in my summer break. I've read twenty books so far, well below my usual goal of at least one book a day, but I'm reading every day and enjoying nearly everything I read. How's your goal going?

Middle Grade Monday features The Aquanaut by Dan Santat. This is a sci/fi graphic novel centered around a little girl named Sophia, whose oceanographer father was lost at sea while on a research trip some years earlier. In fact, that disaster at sea is how the book opens, so be prepared. Fast-forward to today and Sophia is a distracted student living with her equally distracted uncle who is also an oceanographer who works for the an aquarium called Aqualand. Sophia's uncle is being pressured by the CEO and the investors to do something shady. He also promised to help Sophia with her science project. In the meanwhile, an aquanaut dressed in an old-fashioned diving suit emerges from the ocean near Aqualand trying to pass as human, but is, in fact being piloted by four sea creatures who had a connection to Sophia's father.

At turns hilarious, heartwarming and suspenseful, the art is just perfect. Rich, lush colors and perfectly paced panel placement encourages the reader to swallow this tale whole. I did, then turned back to page one for another read-through. I just know my GN fans are going to gobble this one up. 

Middle Grade Monday: The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo

Image: Candlewick Press

The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Sophie Blackall. 256 p. Candlewick Press, September, 2021. 9781536213616. (Review of arc courtesy of publisher.)

Happy Monday! I hope you had a healthy and restful holiday filled with a lot of great books. Today was my first day back from break and it was quite interesting. Lots of kids on the quarantine list due to either testing positive or exposure to Covid, or travelled and are unvaccinated. I'm in a 5 - 8 middle school and until recently, fifth graders were too young for vaccination. There were a few staff members out as well. Taking attendance was a bit more involved and then there were the late-comers on Zoom. Sigh. It's good to be back though. 

Middle Grade Monday features the very last book I read in 2021, The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Sophie Blackall. Sadly, I'm woefully behind in all my reading and it took me forever to get to this gem. I must say though, reading it as my last book of 2021 was lovely.

Brother Edik illuminates manuscripts in a monastery while he awaits visions, which he reports to the his superior, who then writes them down in The Chronicles of Sorrows. His other job is caring for Answelica the goat, a being so ornery that she strikes fear in everyone. Imagine his surprise then, when Brother Edik discovers a little girl, curled up, asleep in Answelica's stall holding the goat's ear! The girl is dirty, bloody, and running a high fever. She remembers nothing about how she got to the monastery. She only remembers her name, Beatryce.

Gentle Brother Edik convinces the monks to nurse the child back to health. As he cares for Beatryce, he uncovers a secret. The girl knows how to read and write! It is forbidden for girls and women to read and write in the kingdom! As Brother Edik ponders the danger of this, he remembers one of his earlier prophecies, "There will one day come a girl who will unseat a king..." Could Beatryce be this girl?

This book is getting a lot of Newbery buzz. Ms. DiCamillo builds a dangerous world, unfolding it slowly in spare and concise language. Readers will instantly care for Brother Edik, Beatryce and later, Jack Dory, all three are so pure and vulnerable in this harsh world. It is a rare thing to possess a true moral compass. 

Answelica's antics lend humor and her devotion to Beatryce is endearing. The author packs a lot of adventure and suspense in this rather short book. The black and white illustrations are well-placed and lovely.

Fans of Kate DiCamillo will not be disappointed. Fans of Adam Gidwitz's The Inquisitor's Tale will likely enjoy The Beatryce Prophecy, though there's no magic here, just the magic of the powers of friendship, love, courage and storytelling.

#tbt: The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

Image: Simon & Schuster

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey. 434 p. Simon & Schuster BFYR/ Simon & Schuster, September, 2009. 9781416984481. (Own.)

#tbt features The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey. This gothic horror novel is the diary of Will Henry, an orphan who was taken in by Dr. Pellinore Warthrup, pre-eminent monstrumologist. Will has to assist the fussy doctor in all manner and at all hours. When they are awakened late one night by a visitor bearing the body of a young girl with the monster that killed her still attached and still feeding one her, Will and Dr. Warthup's already dangerous occupation is about to get real. 

This book is definitely not for the faint of heart. It's grisly and suspenseful and better suited to a mature teen reader. If you are a fan of horror, The Monstumologist should fill the bill - sure to make you gasp and gag and possibly scream. It is the first of a four book series. The Monstrumologist was published in 2009 and named a 2010 Printz Honor book. The cover has changed over the years but my favorite happens to be the original, which I could only find on Wikipedia, so I took a picture of my first edition copy. 

#tbt: Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

Image: Penguin Random House

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. 256 p. Delcorte Books/ Random House Childrens Books, September, 1999. 9780385323062. (Own.)

In anticipation of the announcement of the Youth Media Awards in Philadelphia on Monday, #tbt features Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. Bud, Not Buddy was Curtis' second book. It was published in 1999 and won both the 2000 Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award. You may remember, that his debut novel, The Watson's Go to Birmingham, 1963 won a 1996 Newbery Honor. 

Ten-year-old Bud Caldwell is tired of being tortured by his new foster brother. When he fights back, he's punished by being locked in a shed. He escapes, takes his revenge on Todd and hits the road with his suitcase and his rules for having a "funner" life. He's going to look for his father using a few clues in the suitcase his mother left him. Humorous and heartbreaking, this historical fiction paints a realistic picture of life during the Great Depression.

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys

Image: Penguin Random House

Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys. Unabridged audiobook on ten compact discs. ~ 12.5 hours. Read by Maite Jáuregui with five others; author's note read by the author. Listening Library/ Penguin Audio, October, 2019. (Review of audiobook borrowed from the public library.)


Teen Tuesday features The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys. Weighing in at over 400 pages, this historical fiction set in 1957, Franco-ruled Spain will require a patient reader. Fans of the author's Between Shades of Gray and its companion, Salt to the Sea, know to expect - intriguing characters, lovely writing and meticulous research into lesser known historical events. 

The Fountains of Silence is all about secrets. Seventeen-year-old Daniel Matheson, visiting from Texas with his parents has them. His parents have a few themselves. But it is Ana, who works as a maid at the American hotel Daniel is staying at who has the most to lose if her secrets are revealed and she has been receiving threatening notes. The world did not know what life was like for citizens of Spain under the dictatorship of Franco, especially if they had opposed his rule as Ana's parents had. American tourists experienced only the lush beauty of Spain. But Daniel, a budding photojournalist observed something deeper and attempted to capture those moments with his photographs - an act that could mark him with danger. This layered and complex novel is slow to unfold, but is harrowing and beautifully told. A lengthy author's note, read by the author provides insight into the story and and the time period.

I enjoyed this narration. Whenever there are bits of another language sprinkled into a narrative, I prefer to read with my ears to experience fluent speakers. The narration was measured and nearly unbearably slow. New-to-me narrator, Maite Jáuregui spoke English well, but had a curiously inconsistent way of pronouncing some words. I was listening in my car, so didn't make notes; but hotel was one that stuck out for me. Sometimes it was "ho-TELL," and sometimes it was "ho-till." I found it quite distracting. Once the secrets began to unfold and the suspense built, I was less aware of them. 

I was fully immersed in the first part of the book. Then, the story flashes forward eighteen years. Though I loved it, it felt rushed and a tad incomplete. I guess I didn't want to leave the characters just yet, even after 12.5 hours of listening (or over 400 pages if reading.) Also, I could stare at that gorgeous cover forever.

I'm in a middle school. Though I usually have at least one advanced, mature and eclectic reader each year, I am not sure that a middle school student is the audience for this book. Definitely a must-read for high schools. I also anticipate hearing the title announced come awards time. 

Middle Grade Monday: Queen of the Sea by Dylan Meconis

Image: Candlewick Press

Queen of the Sea by Dylan Meconis. 400 p. Walker Books/ Candlewick Press, June, 2019. 9781536204988. (Review of finished purchased copy.)

Happy Labor Day Monday, TMS Readers! Today is my last day of summer vacation. I plan on finishing my 91st book today. If it rains, I might be able to squeeze in a 92nd.

Middle Grade Monday features a gorgeous MG graphic novel debut called Queen of the Sea, written and illustrated by Dylan Meconis. This rich and atmospheric tale takes place on a tiny island off the coast of Albion and is told by Margaret, an orphan, who is being raised by the nuns who live on the island. It's a work of fiction, but loosely based on the story of young Queen Elizabeth I. 

We learn of life on the wind-swept, mostly barren island. The inhabitants work hard and have contact with the outside world only twice a year, when a supply ship arrives. Occasionally, the ships arrive with new residents, as in the case of William and his mother; and, later, an unexpected ship with the arrival of a mysterious "prisoner." 

The art is luscious—pen and ink and earth toned watercolor. The paper is creamy and the book has some heft. There's a lot of dialogue to follow, which might require some rereading. Queen of the Sea is a thoughtful, suspenseful yet humorous tale that will stretch your graphic novel wings. Hand Queen of the Sea to your graphic novel fans as well as fans of historical fiction. Highly recommended! It's also getting a bit of well-deserved Newbery buzz.

#tbt: The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

Image: Scholastic

The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke. 368 p. The Chicken House/ Scholastic Inc. 2002. 0439404371 (Own)

#tbt is a recommendation by a rising sixth grader. Esther recommends The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke. Funke is known as the "J.K. Rowling of Germany." The Thief Lord was originally published in Germany in 2000. It was translated and published in the U.S. in 2002. It is the story of two brothers. Prosper and Bo are orphans who have run away to Venice. They fall in with a gang of orphans who live in an abandoned theater. They are led by a shadowy teen named Scipio. This work of magically realism is suspenseful and atmospheric. It was adapted for film in 2006.

Thanks Esther!

Arc Review: Zenobia July by Lisa Bunker

Zenobia July by Lisa Bunker. 316 p. Viking/ Penguin Young Readers Group, May 21, 2019. 9780451479402. (Review of arc courtesy of publisher.)

Happy Book Birthday next week (5/21) to Zenobia July, Lisa Bunker's highly anticipated sophomore novel. Prepare to have your heart touched.

The death of Zenobia's father, while sad, was actually liberating for her. The years between the death of her mother and then her father were stressful and repressive. She was homeschooled, isolated and felt like a constant failure to her dad. After his death, she was sent clear across the country to Maine to live with her Aunt Lucy and her wife, Phil. They give Zen the choice to live her life honestly. So she has a new name and a new life. It is thrilling and terrifying.

As she makes friends, and an enemy or two, a cybercrime is committed at school involving hate speech aimed at a Muslim student. Zenobia has some serious hacking skills and is itching to help her teacher solve this crime. She also jumps to a few wrong conclusions. 

She is a relatable character in that her anxiety over starting a new school and fitting in and finding friends is fairly common. So too, her push-me/ pull-you feelings about her aunts and her new living situation. They are all getting used to each other. Issues around gender identity are woven nicely into the story without becoming instructive or overwhelming. 

Zen has landed in a good place and is surrounded by supportive adults even though they themselves are new to parenting. The story is peopled with a diverse cast of interesting characters from the delightful Uncle Sprinkles, a drag queen friend of the aunts who takes Zen shopping and helps her with make-up tips to Arli, a fearless gender-fluid person eager to make Zen welcome.

All-in-all, Zenobia July is a perfect middle grade novel. I have quite a few students intensely interested in books with transgender characters and am deliriously happy to have a new title to add to the collection.

Blog Tour and Arc Review: The Law of Finders Keepers by Sheila Turnage

The Law of Finders Keepers by Sheila Turnage. 360 p. A Mo & Dale Mystery #4. Kathy Dawson Books/ Penguin Young Readers, September 11, 2018. 9780803739628. (Review from arc courtesy of publisher.)

If ever there was a series I never wanted to end, it is this one. Mo and Dale reside in my heart next to Moose Flanagan, Heidi It and only one or two other characters. A visit to Tupelo Landing makes all right in this crazy world. Indeed, the town is very nearly a character! It is a place kind of frozen in time. A place where everyone knows everyone. If one were to sneeze at one end of town, another would say, "Bless you!" on the other end. A place where kids ride their bikes and leave them unlocked in driveways and against fences. 

The Law of Finders Keepers can stand alone. But if you have not read the three earlier books in the Mo & Dale Mystery series, you are missing out. 

Sixth graders Mo LoBeau and her partners, Dale and Harm are the Desperado Detectives. Mo continues to search for her "Upstream Mother" and writes letters to her faithfully. The Desperado's newest case arrives when snow and a treasure hunter named Gabriel Archer blow into town. It seems that Tupelo Landing and the dastardly pirate, Blackbeard have history. It may just be that Blackbeard buried his lost treasure in Tupelo Landing. Everyone's going treasure hunt crazy and it's bringing out the worst in some residents. Crimes are being committed. Mo is also dealing with some new clues in her search for "Upstream Mother" on top of it all.

Turnage's storytelling is masterful as she juggles her large, eccentric and colorful cast of characters. I feel like I could amble into Miss Lana's cafe, grab a seat at the counter and recognize everyone who walks in the door! The rich dialogue is at turns amusing and dramatic as clues and suspense mount. I just adore the friendship between Mo and Dale and Harm. Dale just cracks me up and I admire how Mo and Harm gently help him. I am curious about the adults they will grow up to be. 

So readers, sadly, it is over. We bid goodbye to Tupelo Landing with a tear or two and many laughs. The Law of Finders Keepers is a perfect conclusion to an absolutely must-read series. 

Friday Memes: The Law of Finders Keepers by Sheila Turnage

Book Beginnings is hosted by Rose City Reader and Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice.

The Law of Finders Keepers by Sheila Turnage. 360 p. A mo & Dale Mystery #4. Kathy Dawson Books/ Penguin Young Readers, September 11, 2018. 9780803739628.

First Line: The Desperado Detective Agency's biggest case ever crept up on tiny Tupelo Landing in the dead of winter, and kicked off on the rarest of days. Unlike most of our borderline famous cases, it started with two things found.

Page 56: "Pieces of eight what?" Dale asked, grabbing a stick and raking a spiderweb away.
    "Silver coins they broke into eight bits, for change. That's why old people say a quarter's worth two bits. Get it? Two-eighths equals a quarter."
     "Pirate fractions," Dale muttered. "That's just wrong."

I just love these books! The voice, the characters, the humor and the setting are all just so memorable and endearing. I am participating in a blog tour the week this releases. So look for my review then.

#tbt: Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

 

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. 245 p. Delacorte Press/ Random House Children's Books, January, 1999. 0385323069. 

Bud, Not Buddy is Christopher Paul Curtis' second book. You may recall that his first, The Watson's Go to Birmingham, 1963, won a Newbery Honor. Bud, Not Buddy was published in 1999 and won both the Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Author Award in January, 2000. Not bad for a new author! Bud, Not Buddy is the first-person story of ten-year-old orphan, Buddy Caldwell. It is 1936, the height of the Great Depression and Buddy has had it with foster homes. He hits the road with his suitcase containing the few items his mother left him, hoping they are clues to who his father is. At turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Bud, Not Buddy is a satisfying read.

Here's the cover of the paperback edition:

Teen Tuesday and review: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. Folk of Air series #1. Unabridged digital recording (online resource). Twelve hours, 37 minutes. Read by Caitlin Kelly. Blackstone Audio, January, 2018. 9781549140082. (Review from e-audiobook borrowed from public library.)

When I received an arc of this at a Little Brown Preview, I was super-excited because I adore Holly Black. When she signed my arc, she did caution me that it really wasn't for middle school when I shared that I work in a middle school. So, I kept putting off reading it. Then the stars started rolling out. Then I found it on audio, which is the way I tend read most fantasy and older YA.

Wow! Consider my socks officially knocked off!

To summarize, after a third-person preface, this is narrated by seventeen-year-old Jude Duarte. In the preface, we learn that when Jude and her twin sister were seven, their home was invaded by Madoc, their older sister, Vivian's fae father. Madoc has learned that the body that was burned with his house was not that of his wife and her unborn child and, after viciously murdering his wife and Jude's father as revenge, kidnaps the three girls and returns to Elfhame.

Fast forward ten years and the POV switches to first-person, present tense. Jude Duarte is a compelling narrator. She hates Madoc but loves Elfhame. She trains hard towards her goal of becoming a knight in the king's court. This will give her a measure of power in a land where she is an outsider and despised - especially by Cardon, the king's youngest son who is a bully.

The world-building is vivid. Black immerses the reader into a fully-formed Faerieland, peopled with fascinating, vicious characters. The story is sumptuous and intriguing, always surprising. There is not one wasted word nor misplaced character. The suspense ratcheted up unbearably before taking me totally by surprise, leaving me breathless and panting for the next installment.

The Cruel Prince is not to be missed - especially if you are a fan of faerie stories. While Ms. Black's advice that the story is not for the typical middle school reader, I have mature eighth grade readers who are huge fantasy fans who would love this. (I also have an eighth grade only section in my library.) And while I am sad that I did not get to read the arc before publication, not doing so shortens the length of time I have to wait for the next installment, The Wicked King, due out January 8, 2019! Behold the beautiful cover:

Middle Grade Monday: Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve

Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve. Fever Crumb series #1. 336 p. Scholastic Inc., April, 2010. 9780545207195. (Own.)

Our Middle Grade Monday feature is Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve. Book one of the Fever Crumb trilogy is set in an alternate universe (?) London or possibly a futuristic (?) London but is steampunk at its very best. Fever, an orphan, was adopted by Dr. Crumb, a scientist in the Order of Engineers. She was raised to think rationally, logically and scientifically and she's the only female member of the Order. As London comes under attack, Fever must leave the safety of the Order to work with an eccentric archaeologist. With vivid world-building and fascinating characters, readers who are drawn into Fever's world will not soon forget it. 

Teen Tuesday: The Reader by Traci Chee (audiobook review)

The Reader by Traci Chee. Sea of Ink and Gold bk. 1. Unabridged audiobook on 10 compact discs. 12.5 hours. Read by Kim Mai Guest. Penguin Random House Audiopublishing, September, 2016. 9780147525710. (Review from audiobook borrowed from the public library)

It's Teen Tuesday! This week's feature is a high fantasy called The Reader. The Reader is author, Traci Chee's debut and the first book in the Sea of Ink and Gold series. Sefia is an orphan who has been on the run with her Aunt Nin ever since her father was brutally murdered years earlier. She has only one item connected to him - a strange rectangular object which opens to reveal paper decorated with odd scratchings. It is a book, but Sefia and nearly everyone in her world are illiterate. She is in grave danger because the powers that murdered her father are after the book, and her. The suspense is high throughout this layered and nuanced book as readers struggle along with Sefia to figure out they mystery.

The audio performance by Kim Mai Guest was well-done, although it took a bit of extra attention to realize that there is a book within the book. There's a light-as-air, musical quality to her voice that is very easy to listen to. A bit of patience is required through the set up but well worth it. The world building here is quite vivid and the writing is lovely. The tension slowly ratchets up and once the pieces began clicking into place, the book ends, leaving readers panting for the next installment. The Speaker is due out November 7. 

Teen Tuesday: Thornhill by Pam Smy

Thornhill by Pam Smy. 544 p. Roaring Brook Press, August, 2017. 9781626726543. (Review from purchased finished copy)

If you enjoy graphic novel hybrids or gothic horror, check out our Teen Tuesday feature. Thornhill by Pam Smy. Two stories are told in this debut, one in pictures and one in prose. The pictures take place in the present time and the prose is the diary of a girl who resided at Thornhill back in the days when it was an orphanage. It's a boarded up dilapidated wreck now but Ella, who has just moved in across the street spies a girl in the upstairs window and, because she is lonely, investigates.

This one is dark, creepy and disturbing. Dread grows as the diary entries unfold and the visual story is equally suspenseful, helped along by the tones of black and shadows. Atmospheric and a perfect choice to lure a dormant reader.

Review: Warren the 13th and the All-seeing Eye by Tania del Rio

Warren the 13th and the All-seeing Eye by Tania del Rio. Illustrated by Will Staehle. 220 p. Quirk Books, November, 2015. 9781594748035. (Finished copy courtesy of publisher for review.)(Had also previously purchased a copy for my library)

Happy Friday the Thirteenth everyone! What better way to celebrate than to meet Warren the 13th.

Warren comes from a long line of Warrens, all of whom have taken care of the family legacy, the Warren Hotel. Unfortunately the hotel has fallen on hard times since his father's death years earlier thanks to his lazy uncle. It is up to Warren to be the bellhop, the groundskeeper and errand boy. He tries his best but he's only twelve. To make matters worse, his uncle has recently married. Aunt Annaconda despises Warren and finds every excuse to punish him. She is also methodically trashing each room in the hotel. Warren learns that she's searching for the All-Seeing Eye, something Warren always believed was a myth in the family folklore.

As treasure seekers descend on the hotel, Warren desperately tries to save it from wreckage at their greedy hands and tries to figure out other strange doings, such as the mysterious resident of the boiler room and a pale girl creeping about the place. 

This slightly over-sized volume is quite eye-catching with its red and black and gold cover art.The story moves apace with plenty of humor, twists and turns, accompanied by black and red spot art and full- and double-page illustrations.

The mystery is resolved satisfactorily at the end but Warren is headed for new adventures, as promised by an * after the words, "the end." 

This series is sure to be a hit with your students/ patrons who are fans of Lemony Snicket. Give this quirky book to readers wishing a side of humor and a dash of the macabre with their reading.

Warren the 13th and the Whispering Woods is due to publish on March 21, 2017. This volume sports a green and black cover.

While Warren's toadish features are mentioned several times in book one, I wonder if they will be explained in book 2.