by Elaine Vickers A wise librarian nurtures friendship between three ten-year-old girls experiencing significant changes in their young lives. Grace’s best friend has moved away and now she cannot find the ability to speak. Jada has just moved to Salt Lake City with her father because of his new teaching job. Malia’s mother is in the […]
Mighty JackBy Ben Hatke Mighty Jack is a modern interpretation of Jack and the Beanstalk. You might call it a fractured fairy tale transformed into a graphic novel. Jack has been left in charge of his autistic sister Maddy for the summer. Of course, his mom has to work, but Jack doesn’t want the responsibility. […]
Under Their SkinBy Margaret Peterson Haddix Nick and Eryn are 12-year-old twins who lead a pretty normal life, spending half their time at their mom’s house and half the time with their dad. When their mom announces that she is getting married to Michael, Nick and Eryn know that life will change. But change comes […]
The Unbreakable CodeBy Jennifer Chambliss Bertman This follow-up to Book Scavenger has Emily and her best friend James solving yet another mystery. This time they come across the infamous Unbreakable Code, which has gone unsolved for 150 years. Emily and James try desperately to crack the code which leads to some kind of treasure. Along […]
The Last Kids On EarthBy Max Brallier, illustrated by Douglas Holgate Jack is a thirteen-year-old foster kid who has bounced from house to house and school to school. He’s never had a real family or real friends. When he finally makes friends with Quint, a geeky science-type, they get hit with the zombie apocalypse! Everyone […]
The Darkest DarkBy Chris Hadfield Have you ever been afraid of the dark? Chris Hadfield has. Lying in the dark, Chris thinks of all kinds of scary things, especially aliens. He has many sleepless night in his family’s cottage on Stag Island in Ontario. He keeps his parents awake too, and they are getting pretty […]
Masterminds By Gordon Korman Growing up in a town like Serenity has its perks: there’s no crime, no poverty, and honesty is valued above all. Kids like Eli, Randy, Tori, Amber, Malik and Hector are 13 years old and have known each other their entire lives. In their small town of 185 people, they pretty much […]
The Japanese LoverBy Isabel Allende The Japanese Lover is a love story steeped in history, using San Francisco as a backdrop for its measured progression. The book opens with Irina, a care aide at Lark House, a seniors’ home in San Francisco. Irina’s life begins in poverty in her native Moldova. As an immigrant to […]
Smoke Gets In Your EyesBy Caitlin DoughtyIn preparation for Caitlin Doughty’s second book I thought I would re-read her first. This member of the Order of the Good Death is a YouTube favourite of mine. I regularly enjoy her Morbid Minutes and Ask A Mortician series.Doughty writes very much like she speaks, making this an […]
Minds of WinterBy Ed O’Loughlin In 1845, the Erebus, an Arctic exploration vessel captained by Sir John Franklin was lost to the harsh conditions of the North. Neither man nor artifact was ever recovered from this expedition and there has been much speculation about what happened to the ship and its crew. However, historians […]