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(More customer reviews)I really loved this book. The thoughts that crossed Elvins mind were entertaining and hilarious. I'm reading it for the second time now...
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Showing posts with label mystery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mystery. Show all posts
Extreme Elvin Review
Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I really loved this book. The thoughts that crossed Elvins mind were entertaining and hilarious. I'm reading it for the second time now...
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Gentle's Holler (Maggie Valley Novels) Review
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(More customer reviews)In GENTLE'S HOLLER, Kerry Madden introduced young readers to Olivia (better known as Livy Two) Weems, a twelve-year-old with a passion for books and music. Livy has eight siblings of various ages and tempermants, a sweet mama, and a starry-eyed daddy. Money's tight - Daddy's music fills the heart and ears more than it fills the pocketbook - but the Weems make do, and their household is always bursting with family, love, and music. Livy Two also sings and plays music, often writing songs about the struggles her family has faced and the hardships they've overcome. The story is set in 1960s North Carolina, a beautiful backdrop for this artistic and energetic family.
As the tale progresses, Livy Two watches carefully over Gentle, the next-to-youngest one in the family, who has always had difficulty with her eyes. Meanwhile, the eldest son, Emmett, looks beyond the holler and fixes his eyes on Ghost Town in the Sky, a new place on the top of a mountain where he might be able to get a job. Livy Two's trips to the lending library truck connect her with another kind soul, Miss Attickson, who encourages Livy's voracious appetite for novels and poetry.
GENTLE'S HOLLER is the first in The Maggie Valley Trilogy. The second book, LOUISIANA'S SONG, is just as precious as the first book. I can't wait to read JESSIE'S MOUNTAIN, the final book in the trilogy. This series will be loved by kids and families who enjoyed the All-of-a-Kind Family books by Sidney Taylor, The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall, and Cheaper by the Dozen and Belles on Their Toes by Frank B. Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.
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The Girl with 500 Middle Names Review
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(More customer reviews)Mrs. Haddix has done it! This is a wonderful beginning chapter book for late 2nd/3rd grade readers. This will make a good read-aloud for class or small discussion groups. A terrific lesson on family relationships and values. Good book to help children who have recently transferred to a new school. The characters are enjoyable and endearing. Very believable and current topics for today's elementary age child.
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The Good Children Review
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(More customer reviews)I was introduced to Kate Wilhem through her Barbara Holloway books. I knew Ms. Wilhelm also writes Science Fiction which is not a genre I read, but I ran across "The Good Children" on the 'to be shelved' cart at the library and was intrigued by the premise. Once I started reading I just couldn't put it down. Normally well disciplined in putting a book away at bedtime, I was up until well past 2:00am finishing "The Good Children". The four siblings are so well written I felt like I knew each of them. Don't pay attention to those who complain about the implausible ending - the book has to wind down, it just couldn't go on forever. This is a GREAT book and I will, for sure, be checking out more Kate Wilhelm writings.
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The New You Review
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(More customer reviews)"The New You" written by Kathleen Leverich is really great and causes you to think. I borrowed it from my library and read it the same day. I liked it so very much I bought it! I like Abby or Abigail, the two new girl friends she makes, and her really cool lifelike dream she had caused by a fever! It's like a short story, and when I finished reading it, I wanted more. That's what reading it over and over is for. I think that this is a must read. Mostly for girls, maybe at least nine or even ten years of age, because it could be too hard or confusing to understand for younger readers. I'm a girl and when I first was reading this book a couple times, I was thinking how it was one of my new favorite books.
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Last Night I Sang to the Monster Review
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(More customer reviews)For several years I worked in a therapeutic setting for male juvenile sex offenders. What a gift this book would have been back then. Before I launch into my accolades, let me state that there are elements of this book that many adults may find to be lacking in authenticity. In other words, Zach at times says things that I know someone with his troubled mind would not say. Most certainly he would not have finished this program as quickly as he does in the novel.
But remember this: the book was not written for adults although I highly recommend for adults.
The other reviews provide you with information about where Zach is and why he is there. So I will not do that. Instead I want to focus upon why we need more books like this. Millions of kids grow up in hostile homes. And so much damage is done by parents who do not have the skills needed to be effective parents. Most situations are not as overwheming as Zach's, of course, with his many addictions as well as his seeming inability to relate to anyone, to trust anyone. The reader, however, will not know the full reason until the end. In other words there is a plot.
The book is very engaging, skillfully written albeit not exactly authentic in the voice of an 18-year-old in a few places. I quite literally did not want to put it down. So I spent the entire day reading it. And now I am about to order three copies as gifts to people I think will find it a rich experience.
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Gray Baby Review
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(More customer reviews)While not as much of a thriller has his previous book, Sanders shows tremendous insight into racial prejudices that still exist in America. As the son of a black father and a white mother, Clifton struggles with his own racial identity as he struggles with the realities of his father's death.
While not a sequel to his first work, there is a reference to the crimes which occurred in "The Hanging Woods" although these characters are not reintroduced. The tie in character and crime are not well described, mostly because it is only a backdrop to the real theme of the book, which is the relationship between the mixed raced Clifton and the older Swamper. Could this crime be the impetus for a third work?
Overall, a very enjoyable read which can be completed in one extended sitting.
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My Lost and Found Life Review
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(More customer reviews)"My Lost and Found Life" captivated me from the very first paragraph and didn't let me go. It is a heartwarming story about a young woman who is thrust into growing up fast, making the best of a bad situation, about making decisions right or wrong, about discovering love, relationships and learning to cope with life's journeys. Ashley's transformation is amazing, and I highly recommend this book to all the mothers out there whose daughters are coming of age and to all the daughters. I believe they will both enjoy it as much as I did. Good job!!
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Much Ado About Grubstake Review
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(More customer reviews)In this book, there is a dusty old town where a sixteen year old girl named Arley lives. She is a tough girl, with a bunch of dogs and grumpy old boarders who had kept forgetting to pay since...well...a long time ago.
It was a good book. Not great, but I don't know why the critics were so harsh. Give it a chance!
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Minerva Clark Gets a Clue Review
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(More customer reviews)I love the central and brilliant makeover conceit of Minerva Clark Gets a Clue: instead of the usual predictable exterior redo, Minerva is struck by a literal bolt from the blue which transforms her adolescent self-hatred to self-acceptance. It's Cinderella with brains, a refreshing and fun antidote to the whole Ophelia disaster that can entrap teenage girls. As both a therapist and the mother of a daughter, I recommend it highly on this count alone. It's also a good mystery that keeps you turning the pages, with enough truth and art to engage adults as well as kids. I was listening closely: Minerva doesn't talk in fakey/cutesy mock-adolescent talk but in a voice that is current but authentic and fresh. I also think young teenagers will enjoy the setup of Minerva living with her 3 older brothers and no on-site parents. I relished this book and so did two 13-year-old girls in my life. We're hungrily awaiting the next book in the series.
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Mathilda and the Orange Balloon Review
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(More customer reviews)Celebrity Authors TAKE NOTE: This is EXACTLY the kind of book you are trying (and repeatedly failing) to write when you take pen to hand (or fingers to keyboard). Mathilda and the Orange Balloon is a story about a limitless imagination and having the courage to believe in one's self that is told in such a deceptively simple way that even the youngest listener will delight in the story. The plot is so pure and simple and wonderfully told that it deserves to be discovered on it's own. And, as I mentioned above, the theme is a common enough one in picture books. But, don't let this dissuade you at all. As someone who has been reading picture books for decades now, out loud at work, at home to my kids and to myself, I find that I am still amazed by the author who can tell a complete story and convey a unified idea, in a matter of sentences. Maurice Sendak's classic "Where the Wild Things Are" is often noted for this quality - a quality that MATHILDA shares. On top of this superb writing by de Seve, Jen Corace delivers magnificent illustrations. Her artwork brings the words to life, but also tells a story that goes beyond the text. And, Corace's illustration style is perfectly matched to de Sève's writing style - both are simple and elegant, yet rich and satisfying.
I have already given this book as a gift and know I will give it many times more - it is a great new baby gift and a brilliant graduation gift! But, make sure you have it to read to your own kids first!
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Rissa Bartholomew's Declaration Of Independence Review
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(More customer reviews)Rissa Bartholomew's Declaration Of Independence
My tweenage daughter loved this book. I liked the jacket, so I took a peek, and started reading. Rissa is a very realistic heroine, not sticky-sweet and not incredibly edgy. Just a very normal girl. Also not as formulaic as a lot of fiction for this age group. Would recommend this highly for 10 -- 13 year old girls.
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Rissa Bartholomew didn't plan on declaring her independence from all of her friends at her own birthday party, one week before the start of middle school. But somehow, that's exactly what she did. Now she's entering sixth grade without a single friend, and she's determined to make new ones without simply following the herd.
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Time of the Witches Review
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(More customer reviews)Gold Star Award Winner!
Drucilla is an orphan who longs for a family. When the Putnam's of Salem Village take her in, Dru thinks she's found the family she's dreamed of.
But Mistress Putnam's behavior is strange, and when young girls begin to fall ill without explanation, there's talk of witchcraft. Soon the accusations are flying and Dru even makes one of her own. Innocent lives hang in the balance, and Dru must find a way to stop the madness.
Myers does a fantastic job of bringing to life the events of the Salem Witch hunts and trials. Seamlessly weaving historical figures with fictional characters, TIME OF THE WITCHES draws the reader in and makes them feel like a participant in one of history's most tragic times.
I absolutely loved this book and have added it to my re-read pile. Dru's story grabbed hold of me and wouldn't let go as I discovered more and more about her life and times. Though I studied the Salem Witch trials in high school, I got more from this novel than I did from those weeks of study. Thanks to Myers, I better understand the reasoning behind these girls' accusations.
This book would be great for use in a classroom to introduce Salem's darkest times as it gives the reader not only historical information, but also the human connection lacking in the history books. Bravo, Anna Myers. Bravo.
Reviewed by: Joan Stradling
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An orphan named Drucilla has finally has a place to call home with the Putnam family in Salem. Although her adopted mother is strange—haunted by a troubled past—Dru feels drawn to her as the mother she never had. When a new reverend and his family move into town with their servant Tituba, life takes a strange turn as young girls begin to fall ill and accusations of witchcraft begin to swirl. Reluctant to turn her back on the Putnams or her peers and overwhelmed by the power of groupthink among the other girls in town, Dru becomes one of the accusers herself. But when her best friend Gabe is accused, she must find a way to end the hysteria, or risk losing him forever.
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Four Things My Geeky-Jock-of-a-Best Friend Must Do in Europe Review
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(More customer reviews)Four Things My Geeky Jock Of A Best Friend Must Do In Europe is a young adult novel about a girl and her somewhat eccentric mother out on a Mediterranean cruise. Told in first person from the point of view of the daughter, who maintains her sanity by writing to her best friend Delia (who wrote the titular phrase on the daughter's hand, in permanent marker no less, as a reminder of a certain promise), Four Things My Geeky Jock Of A Best Friend Must Do In Europe is filled with riotous adventures ranging from a "bikini malfunction" on the French Riviera to the curse of the terrible plastic monkey. A lighthearted, exciting read.
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Sonata #1: For Riley Red Review
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(More customer reviews)One great deed. One glorious contribution. Rachel finds herself in the whirlwind of her friend Desmona's search to save the world (and save herself). Written as if in the early sixties just before the Beatles came to America and just before protesting became a national pastime, the story takes you through Rachel's life as she tries to navigate her way from being a child to growing up. Although Rachel's mom keeps telling her that nothing good can come out of her hanging out with "those rich kids" whose parents don't care about them and let them run wild, she finds Rachel and her brother Riley comforting to be around.
Although the story starts out a little slow, it picks up. I give it 4.5 stars, but since Amazon doesn't do half stars, I rounded up for good measure. It is a book I'd give to my almost 8 year old daughter.
Budding activist will enjoy this one as well as girls who enjoyed books like Charlottes Web and From the Mixed up Files of Basil E Frankweiler.
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Tink (The Children of Crow Cove) Review
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(More customer reviews)After he forgot to close the gate and the sheep devoured all the vegetables in the garden, Tink felt completely responsible for the hunger that his small Crow Cove community was now experiencing. Although his guilt pushed him to leave the settlement, he did not get far before stumbling upon a bedraggled man who had passed out along the road. Tink had no choice but to seek help back at Crow Cove. He learned that the man, Burd, was a drunk who had a personal history with some of the community members. Had Tink just introduced more problems to Crow Cove by bringing this troubled man into their fold, or could Burd's fishing talents redeem him and help to fill their empty stomachs?
Closely woven into this short novel are several important economics lessons related to barter, interdependence, food insecurity, and the marketplace. This book comes as the third in the Children of Crow Cove Series, and because its story line draws in virtually all the characters and many of the events from the first two books, readers will understand Tink better if they read the first two installments. Note that the book encompasses situations with domestic violence, alcoholism, and depression, making it more appropriate for mature children who can handle such themes.
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We first met Tink when he came to live in Crow Cove as a young boy in Eidi. Now hard times have come to the little settlement, and their food supply is dwindling. Tink, with the help of a newcomer to Crow Cove, saves his friends from starvation by learning how to fish—and also learns important lessons about the complexities of human nature, the importance of compassion, and his own valued place in his community. Tink is a strong new addition to the much-acclaimed Children of Crow series.
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