The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels by Beth Lincoln Illustrated by Claire Powell Mystery Juvenile Fiction * * * Stars (Pretty good) All of the Swifts are named by their family dictionary, which chooses a name that, while open to interpretation, fits each Swift to a T. Shenanigan and her sisters (Phenomena and Felicity) live with their Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude (matriarch of the Swift family), Uncle Maelstrom, and Cook (not a Swift by blood, but still … Read more
Front Country by Sara St. Antoine Adventure Realistic Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Ginny Shepard’s world comes squealing to a halt when her science teacher starts a unit on climate change. Unlike her classmates, Ginny can’t seem to stop thinking about all the animals going extinct and the planet dying. Her friends and family don’t understand why it’s hard for her to care about anything else. When Ginny starts ignoring her grades in … Read more
Odder by Katherine Applegate Realistic Fiction Review #1 * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) What is life like for a wild otter? Living off the coast of California, near the Monterey Bay Aquarium (though it is called Highwater in her world), Odder delights in play. “Water means play, and play is their purpose.” When she was a child, barely a few months old (though otters grow much faster than human children) a storm swept … Read more
Auggie & Me (sequel to Wonder) by R.J. Palacio Realistic Fiction Review #1 * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) “Auggie & Me” consists of three new chapters from three different characters that were in the book, “Wonder.” It takes place after the book and follows bully Julian, Auggie’s oldest friend Christopher, and his classmate Charlotte. It gives an insight into how Auggie has touched their own lives and where they go and what they … Read more
Real by Carol Cujec & Peyton Goddard Realistic Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Charity is an intelligent thirteen-year-old, but no one knows that because she is autistic and has difficulty communicating and controlling her body. Her parents love and support her, but have no more idea than anyone else how smart she really is. Forced to attend a special “school” that’s basically just a holding cell for kids with disabilities, Charity is regularly … Read more
Diper Overlode Diary of a Wimpy Kid #17 by Jeff Kinney Funny Illustrated Fiction Realistic Fiction Grades 5+ Review #1 * * * Stars (Pretty good) This book is about Rodrick, the older brother, and his band. Rodrick and his band want to be very famous so they decide to enter a competition. They practice a lot, but at one poin tthey stop because they think it has gotten too extreme for them. Rodrick now … Read more
The Summer of June by Jamie Sumner Realistic Fiction Tween (grades 5-8) * * * * Stars (Great!) Summer just started and eleven-year-old June Delancey has shaved her head. She experiences a lot of anxiety and uses hair pulling as one of her coping mechanisms. She figures she’ll have to find some other way to cope if she doesn’t have any hair… That works for about 5 minutes and then she feels BOTH anxious AND … Read more
How to Get Away with Myrtle Myrtle Hardcastle series, book #2 by Elizabeth C. Bunce Adventure Mystery Realistic Fiction Review #1 * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) Myrtle Hardcastle is fuming. Though she solved the mystery of Redgraves, her father has sent her and Miss Judson packing off to the seashore for a “relaxing vacation,” or in Myrtle’s knowledge, to get her away from her Morbid Obsession with Death. Additionally, to further lengthen the … Read more
Cold-Blooded Myrtle Myrtle Hardcastle series, book #3 by Elizabeth C. Bunce Adventure Mystery Realistic Fiction Review #1 * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) Myrtle is back in her town for Christmas. However, when Myrtle is around somehow crime will be around also. Before she has to deal with another murder, Myrtle also has to deal with what is happening at home. Like how Miss Judson and her father are arguing and mad at each … Read more
Premeditated Myrtle Myrtle Hardcastle series, book #1 by Elizabeth C. Bunce Adventure Mystery Realistic Fiction Review #1 * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) Myrtle Hardcastle has grown up around crime. After all, her father is the town prosecutor and her mother was a doctor. However, when crime appears nextdoor, Myrtle’s father does not want her poking around. Elusively, Myrtle and her governess, Miss Judson, investigate the crime anyway. Miss Judson, though more of a … Read more