Wilderlore: The Accidental Apprentice

 Barclay Thorne is an apprentice to a mushroom farmer ahe he is happy to be there.  One day while out looking for specific mushrooms he ends up entering the Wilderwood Forest, which is a no-no.  In that forest is magic or Lore.  He encounters a girl, Viola, who is trying to capture a beast to make it hers, but it ends up "marking" Barclay.  Because magic is forbidden in his town, he ends up running away to find out how to remove the mark. Viola helps him get to a Lore town in the middle of the Wilderwood and once there in order to remove his mark he must participate in a competition to find a Loremaker to be an apprentice to.  

Reminiscent of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, this is a fantasy book that has a slow start, but definitely has some fast paced action in parts.   

Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls by Kaela Rivera

 Cece lives in a remote town in the desert, where a few months of the year Criatura's come out and plague the townspeople and can cause death and problems.  When Cece was young she met a criatura, but it didn't harm her and helped her get home.  Because of this Cece isn't sure the legends of the criatura's are all true.  When her older sister is kidnapped by a criatura for his bride, Cece decides to go after her sister and must get her own criatura to help her enter Devil's Alley to rescue her.  As Cece finds Coyote to help her, she hides what she is doing from her parents and the town and finds that everything she thought and was told has been changed in the retelling and she also learns to trust herself and her strength.

I LOVED THIS BOOK.  It was one where I wanted to read to find out what happened, but didn't want it to end.  I hope this author continues Cece's story.  It is so amazing!  I listened to the audio and the narrator was amazing as well.

Time Villains by Victor Pineiro

 

Javi, Wiki, and Brady are shopping for a table and find one that purrs!  After they are assigned the yearly "if you could bring 3 people to dinner" assignment, they set up the table and BOOM, the three people Javi selected show up!  Once they are finished with their conversation, they send them back, but the pirate Edward Teach escapes the house and threatens harm to them unless they give him access to the table for his evil plans.  They don't know what to do, but in the process find out they are "Chosen Ones" and that their table has a long history of bringing historical/ fictional people into the present.

I LOVED this book.  It is such a fun read.  It reminded me of Time Warp Trio and The Goonies put together.  The characters are awesome and developed from the beginning with all the strong characteristics and personalities.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. I hope this is the beginning of a series.  

The Silver Arrow by Lev Grossman

 Kate writes to her Uncle Herbert, that she doesn't know at all, and asks for him to send her a birthday present.  He sends her one the next day.  A steam engine train called The Silver Arrow.  She and her younger brother Tom are exploring the engine, when it begins moving.  Their Uncle Herbert tries to catch up to them, but he can't.  Kate and Tom arrive at a station where a bunch of animals are waiting for the train with tickets in their mouths.  They said a train hasn't come by for 30 years and that the kids need to go to the yard to get other train cars.  Uncle Herbert meets them there and helps them "build" their train by choosing sleeper cars, dining cars, candy cars, swimming pool cars, etc.  As they embark on their journey Uncle Herbert tells them to keep a look out for the twilight star.  

Lots of adventure and lessons learned about taking care of our planet, BUT not overwhelming or put me off.  I really enjoyed it.  

Ali Cross by James Patterson

Ali Cross is the son of the famous Washington DC detective Alex Cross.  Ali's friend Gabe goes missing after school before Christmas Break.  That night Ali's house gets broken into and his laptop and also Alex and Bri's police weapons!  As he hunts for Gabe and enlists his friends to help, he begins to see that the robberies and Gabe being missing are somehow tied together. As Ali keeps digging he puts himself in danger and also has to deal with his dad being accused of hurting someone in the line of duty. 

I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narrators.  Great book for diversity, mystery, and action.  

 

All These Monsters (#1) by Amy Tintera

Scrabs... they are monsters that have spread across the world in 2013.  They tunnel underground and pop up in heavy populated areas killing and destroying anything they come across.  The U. S. has mostly gotten it under control, but in Europe, they are heavily infested.  

Clara is 17 and decides to join the St. John's group who is going to train you and send you over seas to help fight the scrabs.  Her father is abusive and her mother and older brother do not really do anything to protect her.  When she leaves her dad tries to lock her in, but she escapes with her brother Laurence's help.  She reports to Atlanta to train and meets Julian, who is her team leader, he finds out that she doesn't have parental permission and is set to send her home, but she shares that she will NOT be going home and he deletes the email and lets her stay.  She qualifies and heads to Paris.  Once there they continue training after being attacked by scrabs.  She and Julian begin to "date" and the team begin to fight scrabs and discover there is something fishy with the MDG (Monster Defense Group) because they are doing something with the scrabs, like training them or something.  As they dig into the mystery surrounding MDG, Clara realizes not everyone is who they seem and some are dangerous.  

Has some language.  No sex, there is violence, of course.   I feel like I would be comfortable with 7th and up reading.

The Girl in the White Van by April Henry

INTENSE!

Savannah is fairly new in town, her mom moves them around a lot based on the current boyfriend she has.  As she leaves for kung fu class her mom's boyfriend argues with her and takes her cell phone and she runs out the door.  After class she leaves and Daniel offers to walk her home, but she tells him her mom is in the parking lot to drive her home (which is not true).  As she reaches the parking lot she is grabbed and she tries to fight him off, but he tasers her and she is knocked unconscious.  As she awakens in the back of a van she determines to escape and opens the door and jumps out in the process breaking her arm and getting a concussion.  She is delivered to an RV where another girl, Jenny, who has been missing 10 months is.  Savannah's fighting spirit makes her want to escape with Jenny, but at what cost will it be for her and Jenny?

My kind of book. Keeps you reading and wondering what will happen next.  The book is told in multiple viewpoints, but not hard to keep up with.  

Virals by Kathy Reichs and Brendan Reichs

This is the first book in a series of 5

Well, if you like lots of adventure, mystery and intrigue along with some science fiction thrown in this is the book for you!  Set outside of Charleston, NC on some small islands, Tory Brennan is newly acquainted with her father after her mother passed away.  Dr. Tempreance Brennan (the tv show Bones is based on her) is Tory's aunt.  Tory is a smart kid, but also pushes her limits, is sneaky and very opinionated. She lives on an island with other people whose parents work for the local university doing research.  The three other kids she hangs around that live on the island are boys.  As Tory and her friends discover one of the wild dogs from another island where her dad works and researches is missing they start to notice other mysteries.  An old dog tag, a mysterious lab, and murder.  After they find the missing dog, who is very sick, the group starts to show signs of sickness themselves from taking care of the dog.  But what they think the illness is will change them all in the end.  

If you like James Patterson's Maximum Ride series this is one for you!!

Aru Shah Pandava Series by Roshani Chokshi

Aru Shah lives in the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture with her mother.  She doesn't fit in at school and makes up things about herself to try to fit in.  Some kids from school stop by to confront her and she tries to impress them by opening a lamp she knows she is not supposed to touch and ends up releasing The Sleeper who is out to destroy the world.  Aru learns she is a Pandava (demi-god) and meets another Pandava sister, Mini.  Together they try to stop The Sleeper and unfreeze the world.  Great story of Indian mythology.  If you love Percy Jackson, or any of Riordan's books this is a series for you.  

Book 2 starts with Aru and Mini on a mission to get back a missing bow and arrow that have been stolen.  They think another girl, Brynne, stole it but then they see Aru with it!  WHAT??!!  Two Arus?  Now the council thinks Aru stole it and send Mini, Aru, Brynne (who is another Pandava sister) and Aiden off to find the bow and arrow and Boo is put on lockdown.  If they don't find it by the next full moon they will be out of the Otherworld forever!  More action and adventure for all!

The 3rd book in the series will be available on April 7.  If you're curious keep reading if not stop here.

Still curious?

Are you sure?????

Okay, in book 3 Aru and the gang are off to find two sisters who have been kidnapped.  One of the sisters Sheela can predict the future.  The other sister, Nikita, is good with plants and clothes.  The sisters are twins and the next two Pandava sisters.  This adventure starts with the Pandavas looking for the Tree of Wishes, but The Sleeper is looking for it too.  It is pretty much a race of who will find the tree first.  Lots of challenges, clues, and excitement kept me turning pages until the end.  I will say the end left me hanging and I can't wait for the 4th and final book to come out!!

Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

Books, ciphers, prizes, what's not to love?  Emily's family is on the move, literally.  They are trying to live in all 50 states.  This time they are headed to San Francisco, CA.  She is trying to stay positive because the creator of Book Scavenger lives there.  As they are driving into town, however they see a huge crime scene and she later finds out that Garrison Griswold, the creator of Book Scavenger, was mugged!  As they move into their apartment, she meets James, a kid who LOVES puzzles.  As Emily shares Book Scavenger with him, they begin to puzzle together Griswold's new game.  But the stakes are high because she is not the only one looking for the prize.

Very similar to Mr. Lemoncello's Library.

Slayer (book 1) by Kiersten White

Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, welcome to her world.  Even if you don't know the Buffy story, you'll be fine.  

Nina, AKA Athena, and her twin sister Artemis are part of the Watcher's group.  The Watchers help Slayers to keep a look out for demons, vampires, and such to protect the world.  Nina, has not been feeling herself lately and when a hellhound comes to the castle she kills it with her bare hands!  She has become a SLAYER!!!  She has always been weak, kind, and helpful so to have the strength and desire to kill is foreign to her.  She has been studying medicine to help people, not hurt them.  As Nina, Artemis and Leo begin to investigate Nina's Slayer dreams, they open up a whole new set of problems.  But do they really know the real problem or are they just chasing smaller issues?  

8th grade and up for violence, supernatural, etc. 

 

The Divided Earth (Nameless City #3) by Faith Erin Hicks

This is the third book in this graphic novel series.  The city is being attacked from the inside (from someone who thinks they are helping), from the outside, and from "ones who are non-violent".  Rat and Kai are trying to help by taking the book that can cause terrible weapons.  As they are on their mission the forces outside have joined to try to save the city from the misguided ruler.  

Lots of action!

The Nameless City is book one and The Stone Heart is book two. 

 

Ben Braver and the Incredible Exploding Kid by Marcus Emerson

2nd in the series

Ben Braver is headed back to his second year at Kepler Academy, a superpower school, in a self-driving Volkswagen Beetle.  Last year he saved the school from the worm eating clones and he is hoping this year proves to be a little more calm.  He has not yet discovered his superpower yet, but his friend Noah can shoot fire after eating jerky, his friend Penny can control mice by playing her ukulele and so he feels like a failure.  As the year progresses, he thinks things are going well, no problems, until the end and it seems to all blow up, literally.  

Wow! What an action-packed adventure with a lovely twisty ending. Great set up for book 3. I had not read the first one and was fine just reading this one. Although I now want to go back and experience the first book. I will definitely be adding this series to my middle school library. Will be great for my fans of Wimpy Kid, Dork Diaries, Middle School, etc. I loved the characters and their growth, along with some level of a feeling of a Harry Potter type setting, but more futuristic with self-driving cars.     

Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation by Stuart Gibbs

Hold on to your seat, it's going to get bumpy!!  Charlie (AKA Charlotte) Thorne is a mathematical genius.  She is 12 years old and already in college. The CIA kidnaps her and puts her into service in exchange for a crime she committed - stealing money from a company.  She discovers that they are hunting for Pandora, a equation developed by Einstein and hidden away so it doesn't fall into the wrong hands, but who are the wrong hands?  CIA, Mossad, MI6?  Charlie doesn't know who she can trust.  

Plot has lots of twists and turns and will keep you guessing to the end.  Gibbs has left it open to a sequel, I hope he produces one. :) 

Grenade by Alan Gratz

Available on October 9, 2018


Told in two voices for the majority of the book Hideki and Ray. Hideki is a child on the island of Okinawa during WWII. The Japanese army has come to his school and given all the boy students two grenades, one to kill an American Soldier and one to kill themselves. They are then sent out to search for soldiers.

Ray is an American Soldier on the island and he feels that he wants to serve his country, but he also doesn't want to kill people unnecessarily. They've been told the differences about Japanese and Okinawans.

As Ray and Hideki begin making their way across the island they end up encountering each other in a way that will change their lives forever.

Grenade Book Trailer

Rising Water by P. J. Petersen

Kevin was arrested for stealing a car, even though he returned it, and is assigned to volunteer at an animal rescue center for community hours. Tracy and Luke work at the animal rescue center because they enjoy helping the animals. Tracy cannot stand Kevin and his attitude, and Luke enjoys having Kevin’s help. The heavy winter rains come and flood the town. Luke and Tracy, who are brother and sister, have a boat and take it to help a dog survive the flood, when it’s owner can’t get home. Luke invites Kevin to go along and help. As they start off in the boat they find more people stranded at their homes and help them to get out of the flood. After they help the dog, they notice a house has looters in it. They try to identify the thieves, but Luke gets captured. Can Tracy and Kevin work together to save Luke?

Quick read and lots of action!

Petersen, P. J. Rising water. Aladdin Paperbacks, 2003.