Professor Atlas and the Summoning Dagger

Professor Atlas And The Summoning Dagger by Paul Maguire
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Tyler and Brandon win a contest to participate in an archeological dig with their hero, the adventurer Professor Atlas. The dig takes place in the remote English countryside in hopes of discovering the legendary and magical Summoning Dagger. While on the dig site, henchmen of Professor Atlas' nemesis attempt to abduct the boys and Professor Atlas. The Summoning Dagger appears and transports Professor, Tyler and Brandon back to Midieval England. The three now have to track down the magician who owned the Dagger in hopes of finding their way back to their own time.
There were a few aspects of this book that I had a hard time getting over. First, the two boys were the only two members of the dig team other than Professor Atlas. I would think that Professor Atlas would have a larger team of experienced archeologists looking for such a legendary artifact. And closely related to this issue is the fact that the boys' parents allowed them to travel interationally with basically a stranger and no other type of adult supervision.
When the three are transported back in time, there were instances when there was a pointed effort in the language and turns of phrases that we use today are questioned or corrected so that the medieval audience would understand what is being said, but a few things slip through. Like when one of the boys state that he would like to "Check out the bonfire". I'm not sure that the people of midieval Englad would understand what "check out" would mean, but there were no questions or strange looks.
But, for the most part, this was a fun and light read that would be suitable for a reluctant reader.

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Son

Son by Lois Lowry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher: Houghton Mufflin
Publish Date: October 2, 2012
Source: Baker and Taylor ARC
Interest: Middle-Grade, Series, Dystopia

The characters from The Giver, The Messenger, and Gathering Blue are revisited in this conclusion to The Giver Quartet. In Son, we are introduced to Claire. Claire was from the same community as Jonas from The Giver. She was the birth mother to the baby that Jonas' family was fostering and that he rescued at the end of The Giver. We know learn Claire's story and her desperate search for the child that she was forced to live without.
I was so excited to see this available as an ARC. I had not heard that Lowry had written another novel in this series. Although it had been many years since I had read the other novels, the tone and feel of Son immediately brought me back to this world. I read this in a matter a days and now want to re-read the rest of the series to better see the connections between the novels.
Claire's story is heartbreaking and empowering at the same time. Unusual circumstances allow her to see flaws in the controlled community she lived in. She doesn't know any other way to live, but she knows that there is more to life that what her community has to offer. No matter how long it takes her, she is determined to reunite with her son.
Her quest takes her to two different communities over many years. Over that time, she learns more about herself. And from her journey, we learn about humanity.

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The Infinity Ring: A Mutiny in Time

A Mutiny in Time by James Dashner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher: Scholastic
Publish Date: August 28, 2012
Source: Baker and Taylor ARC program
Interest: Middle Grade, Series

The world Dak and Sarah live in is very similar to our world, but there are events in history that are not quite how we remember them to be. Because the historical events in Dak and Sarah's world didn't happen as they should have, people in their work experience "Remnants" or shadows of what should have been.
There is a group of people, the Hystorians, that are keeping track of all the instances in history that didn't occur they way they should have. There is another group of people, the SQ, that want to keep history as is is. But, because events have not occurred the way they should have, natural disasters are becoming more frequent and more dangerous.
Dak's parents have developed a time travel device that can help the Hystorians fix what is wrong with historical events. This is how Dak and Sarah find themselves in 1492 trying to stop the mutiny that kept Christopher Columbus from leading the discovery of the Americas that occurred in their history.
This is a fun adventure story that middle grade readers will enjoy. It's fun to pick out the mistakes in this alternate universe. And the books in this new series link to a digital experience that readers can further explore.

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Seraphina by Racehl Hartman

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Publication date: July 2012
Source: Netgalley
Interest: Debut

Living in a world that has an uneasy truce with a race of dragons, Seraphina is keeping a huge secret: she's half human and half dragon. The dragons are able to take human form and her father didn't know until her mother died that her mother was a dragon. Seraphina inherited her mother's musical abilites and is now a music intructor at the royal court which puts her secret in constant danger of being discovered by the wrong people. But, her unique connection to both worlds may prove to be invaluable when an assassination plot of a dragon leader is discovered.

If you can get past the fantasy aspect of this novel, it is well worth the read. At its heart, it's a story about the differences of people and whether or not those differences can be tolerated and even accepted. I could have seen this story published during the civil rights era as a thinly veiled story about race relations.



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A Boy and a Bear in a Boat

A Boy and A Bear in a Boat by Dave Shelton
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Publisher: David Fickling Books
Release Date: June 12, 2012
Source: Baker and Taylor ARC program
Interest: Middle-Grade

A boy on his own seeks to cross a body of water from a bear in a small boat. The bear is very proud of his boat and assures the boy that the crossing will take no time at all. Unfortunately, "unforeseeable anomalies" occur and the crossing takes much longer than expected.
I was looking forward to reading this book when I read the description. I thought it would be a quick, fun, and light read that I would be able to recommend to reluctant middle-grade readers. It was a quick and light read, but it was not fun. All the "unforeseeable anomalies" became stressful to read. The boy and the bear ran out of food and water (and by the end of the book, that was the least of their worries).
I don't expect a happy ending for all the books I read, often the best stories don't have a happy ending, but I thought that this book deserved a happy ending because of all the trials and tribulations that the two characters went through. But, I was disappointed. I don't consider the ending to be happy, in fact, I didn't think it was much of an ending at all. I hope that the author didn't leave it as a cliffhanger in hopes of writing a sequel.

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Unbreak my Heart by Melissa C. Walker

Unbreak My Heart by Melissa C. Walker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Release Date: May 22, 2012
Source: Netgalley
Normally Clementine would not be thrilled about spending her entire summer on a boat with her family, but this summer she's trying to escape from her humiliating sophmore year. She made the mistake of falling for her best friend's boyfriend and while he is apparently forgiven, she now wears a scarlett A on her chest.
We don't learn the full story of why Clem is so upset on her summer vacation. She only reveals bits and pieces to her family and the reader. When she does finally tell the whole story, it's not really that bad. But, it just goes to show how we can make bigger deals of things that aren't really that bad and how nasty high school girls can be to each other.
I would be comfortable recommending this to a younger teen that wants a roamnce story but is not ready for the intense storylines of many teen romances.

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Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
Release Date: 2009
Source: PLCH
Interest: Historical

Being her mother's only daughter, 11 year old Calpurnia is expected to learn how to become a proper youg lady. Calpurnia doesn't know exactly what she wants to do with her life, but she knows it isn't cooking and cleaning for a large family. When she develops a deeper relationship with her grandfather, she learns about studying the natural world. She dreams of becoming a scientist.
I love historical stories and stories with strong girl characters; this novel is both. I love Calpurnia's family - there's always something happening with so many brothers tumbling around. And Calpurnia's relationship with her grandfather is very sweet. My only problem with the novel is that there is very little indication of what Calpurnia ends up doing in the future.

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Remarkable by Lizzie K. Foley

Remarkable by Lizzie K. Foley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
Release Date: April 2012
Source: Baker and Taylor ARC program
Interest: Middle-grade
Jane Doe lives in the town of Remarkable, where everything is well, remarkable. All of the residents (except for Jane and her grandfather, John) are remarkably gifted in their given fields. Jane happens to be the only student who does not attend the gifted school in town. Jane sees herself as a dissappointement to her family and town because she is so unremarkable, but comes to learn that being normal is pretty remarkable.
All the characters in this book (except for Jane and her grandfather) were so over the top in their self-centeredness that I almost put this down after after 50 pages. But, I realized that that was Foley's intention and continued on. It turned out to be a fun and quick read. Even though a girl is a main character, it could be sold to tween boys when highlighting the pirates and sea monsters that play very important roles in the story.

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Guy Langman, Crime Scene Procrastinator by Josh Berk
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Guy Langman, Crime Scene Procrastinator is part mystery, part coming of age, and part comedy. Guy himself is a very likeable character, who is going through a rough time. He’s just lost his dad, (he died, he has not been misplaced) and he’s learning to cope with that. His best friend Anoop gets him to join the Forensics club at school, and that’s when the fun begins. There are a couple of mysteries, some definite characters, an unrequited love, and sunken treasure. Overall, I enjoyed the story a lot. The humor was right on, and I enjoyed getting to know the main characters. The one problem I had with the book is that the passage of time feels a bit wonky. I couldn’t get a feel for how much time was passing, or what time of year it was. It just kind of threw me off. Other than that, I think this would be a good book to recommend to a teen who likes funny mysteries.



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Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Release Date: February 14, 2012
Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers
Source: Netgalley
Interest: Debut Author; Legends

Fun re-imagining of the Robin Hood legend. Most of the familiar characters at least make an appearance but they are younger than how they have been presented before.



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Slayers by C.J. Hill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I got an advanced reading copy of this through netgalley(dot)com.

Slayers is the story of a group of kids with super powers who are training to fight the bad guy. How did they get their super powers? Interesting question. The Slayers got their powers from their ancestors. Who is the bad guy? Dragons. And not the cute, friendly anthropomorphized kind either. These are truly the big, bad monsters of olde. They are terrifying, smart and totally dangerous. Oh, and they can be controlled by a dragon lord. This is where Hill really came up with a cool concept. When the history reported that alchemists were trying to turn lead into gold they got it wrong; they were trying to make liquid gold. This liquid gold would give people powers to defeat the dragons. It ended up being fused with their DNA, and can be passed along to their descendents. The powers can only be triggered by a pregnant descendent being in the vicinity of a dragon egg (about 5 miles). It sounds a little out there, but the story really works well.

Most of the Slayers have known each other and gone to camp together every summer when the story opens. Tori is obsessed with dragons and has been all her life. She is afraid of them, but knows everything there is to know about them. This camp should be perfect for her. It’s called Dragon camp. Once she gets there, not everything is what it seems. She meets two guys, and immediately gets off on the wrong foot with both of them. Then, Dr. B, in charge of camp, resident dragon expert, and leader of the Slayers informs Tori that she will be with the ‘advanced’ campers (Slayers, of course). It takes her a while to figure out what’s really going on, and she isn’t super likable at this point. Luckily as the story progresses she redeems herself, and truly becomes part of the tight-knit Slayer group.

Overall, I really liked this story, and I hope I don’t have to wait too long for the next one!


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Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Lola thinks that with her hot ne older boyfriend, she has finally gotten over her long-time crush Cricket Bell. But, when Cricket comes back into her life, she has to deal with how she really feels about him.

I really liked Anna and the French Kiss by Perkins and was looking forward to reading this one, but it fell flat for me. The biggest problem I had with it was that I disliked Lola. She was selfish and inconsiderate with just about everyone in her life.





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Halflings by Heather Burch

Halflings by Heather Burch

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Publish Date: February 1, 2012
Publisher: Zondervan Publishing
Interest: debut author, paranormal romance
Source: Netgalley

Nikki finds herself in some very bizarre and dangerous situations. And every time, she is saved by the same 3 hunky guys. These hunky guys turned out to be halflings, or part angel. The halflings are duty bound to protect Nikki. They don't know why or what her importance is, but their heavenly instuctions are to keep her safe.

This is exactly what I thought it was going to be: a beautiful girl (who doesn't think she is pretty at all) find herself in a love triangle with 2 supernatural beings. Not only will she eventually have to choose between the two but she is also somehow the cornerstone in a plot that could mean the end of all human existance. That's a lot for a 17 year old to have to deal with!



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Erebos by Ursula Poznanski

Erebos by Ursula Poznanski

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publish Date: January 19, 2012
Publisher: Annick Press
Interest: debut author (in U.S.), realistic
Source: Netgalley

A computer game is sweeping through Nick's high school. People are becoming so obssessed with it that they start to miss school and extra-curicular activities. But, no one is talking about the game; that's one of the first rules when you agree to play. To play the game, you have be invited and you are forbidden to talk about any aspect of the game. Somehow, the game knows when you break the rules and your character is punished, maybe even killed off. It's very unsettling how much the game knows about your personal life; it's as if it is alive. If it's not bad enough that players start to neglect their real-life responsibilities, they then have to start fulfilling missions in the real world that are possibly dangerous and illegal. Nick becomes suspicious of the game and its programmer's motive when he is asked to poison his teacher who has become a threat to the game's existance.

At first, I thuoght this was a thinly veiled story about the dangers of drug abuse: addiction to something that causes you to lose interest in favorite activities and to withdraw from family and friends. But, it was more than that.

I gave it 5 stars because it is the most different book that I have read in awhile. It's realistic without being just about teen angst and hearbreak. There is a little bit of angst and a little bit of "does she or doesn't she like me", but it's very minor. There's also some action and intrigue, but not too much that it is completely unbelievable. You don't have to be a gaming geek to enjoy this, but gamers will get a kick out of it. Highly recommend.



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Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publication Date: February 7, 2012
Publisher: Harper
Interest: debut author; dystopian
Source: Baker & Taylor ARC program

Aria is expelled from The Pod, the only home she has ever known, into the outside world where terrible electrical storms are ravenging the landscape. She has no real-life experience with jut about anything; the Pod dwellers experience everything virtually. In the outside world she has to fend for herself until she strikes up a bargain with Peregrine, an Outsider. Peregrine will take Aria to the Pod where her mother has been working and in return Aria will get Peregrine access to the virtual link of her people so that he can track down his kidnapped nephew.

I was a little hesitant to read this. I've been pretty burned out on dystopians but there has been so much hyp about this that I thought I should read it. I'm glad I did. The world building was interesting and the characters were realistic. And I appreciated that the ineveitable sexual tension that arose between Aria and Peregrine was not overbearing. There was a good twist at the end that I didn't see coming (but I'm pretty oblivious to that sort of thing, someone else may have seen in coming a mile away). It's obvious that there will be another book after this one.



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Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publication Date: December, 27th 2011
Source: ARC from NetGalley
Interest: Fantasy


Every Other Day is a new take on paranormal YA. What if Darwin had found a preternatural species of plant on his journeys? If that happened you would have Jennifer Barnes’ world in this book. People have been aware of the preternatural for over 200 years. They have studied them, but they still don’t know everything.

Kali turns into to something not human every other day. And on the days she isn’t human she needs to hunt and kill the creatures that kill humans. It’s not something that she can control; it’s not even something that she understands. She has been keeping her ‘other’ self a secret since it started happening when she was twelve. Then two unexpected things happen. The first thing is that she makes a friend, and the second thing is that there is a cheerleader in mortal danger and only Kali can save her. Suddenly, Kali has people in her life that she cares about and that care about her. The only problem is that when you care about someone, you want to protect them, and you want them to get to know you and for someone who has a secret life, that is a problem.

I really liked this book a lot until about 100 pages from the end. The story got a little crazy from there. It eventually ends ok, but I have to say I was a bit disappointed. I do hope there is a second book though. The world and the characters were both very strong, and I want to know where the story is going.



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Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Seanz

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publication Date: February 21, 2012
Source: ARC from Baker and Taylor
Interest: Coming of Age

15 year old Aristotle is a late in life child for his parents. His twin sisters are grown with children of their own and his brother has been in prison for 11 years. His family doesn't talk about his brother - there's no pictures of him on the walls, they never even say his name, Ari doesn't even know why he is in prison. Ari's father served in Vietnam, but that's something else that is never discussed. It's no wonder that Ari tends to keep things inside.

Ari meets Dante at the local swimming pool. Dante is unlike anyone Ari has ever met. Dante talks about everything and is openly affectionate with his parents. Ari knows that he has a good life and should be grateful for what he has but he can't help but be frustrated by the questions he has that he can't ask his parents. Ari and Dante question how the world works around them and how they fit in it.

I really loved this book but while trying to write the above description I could tell that it's going to be a hard book to sell. While there are some big events that happen in the book, the story doesn't revolve around those events so I can't tell someone, "It's about a boy who is hit by a car and how he recovers." Yes, that happens and it's a big event, but it's just a small part of the story. Basically, it's a very real coming of age story. The novel covers about 2 years and it's about how these two friends learn about themselves and the world around them. It's about about 2 families that aren't hiding huge unspeakable secrets like substance or sexual abuse, but families that keep smaller secrets from each other to protect themsleves and each other.

While it's not a story about a love triangle between humans and paranormal beings or a story about the end of the world as we know it, it is still a very gripping story. I couldn't wait to see how Ari dealt with his emotions that were on a knife's edge between love and hate. I'm a little sorry that I read this book so early in the year because it has set a pretty high bar. I hope that I haven't just finished my favorite book of the year in the first week of February.



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The Girls of No Return by Erin Saldin

The Girls of No Return by Erin Saldin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Publication Date: February 2012
Source: ARC from SWON's ROYAL interest group
Interest: Debut

Lida is not happpy about being sent to spend some time at the Alice Marshall School, a school set in the remote wilderness with the intention of rehabilitating troubled teen girls. She is not willing to get with the program and share what her "Thing" is, aka why she was was sent to the school. She tries to disappear into the background but finds that difficult to do when she finds herself torn between two girls who despise each other at first sight.

I was a little disappointed with this. There were a lot of reviews of it that mentioned how gripping and original it is. I didn't really see it. All the usual suspects were there: the lost and misunderstood main character, the tough girl, the girl that wants to be everyone's friend and the girl that is so cool that you know she's bad news.

I never really connected with Lida. She just seemed so weak and unable to stand up for herself - to the point of being annoying. Near the end of the book, she seemed to make a breakthrough and I was hoping that she would have some sort of "I am a worthwhile person" moment but, it never really happened.



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