Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony Artemis Fowl #5 by Eoin Colfer Adventure Fantasy Science Fiction Review #1 * * * * Stars (Great!) Artemis Fowl gets involved in demons and has to defeat a girl who stole a demon. Then the demon turns out to be a warlock and has to save his island in time from being destroyed. I liked it because it was very interesting and I liked everything else in the series. … Read more
Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception Artemis Fowl #4 by Eoin Colfer Adventure Fantasy Review #1 * * * * Stars (Great!) Artemis Fowl returns after getting a memory wipe and forgetting everything. Now he must help LEP defeat one of their most dangerous nemeses yet, Opal Kabal, the only person who could be smarter than Artemis Fowl I liked it because it has lots of adventure and thinking. Review # 2 * * * * … Read more
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin Fantasy * * * Stars (Pretty good) Minli lives in a small, poor, rural village in the shadow of Fruitless Mountain (called so because it is barren of life). Her parents – Ma and Ba – work hard cultivating crops, but barely manage to get by. Ma is bitter and resentful about their misfortune and poor circumstances, and when Minli uses one of her copper coins … Read more
Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident Artemis Fowl series #2 by Eoin Colfer Fantasy Review #1 * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) Artemis Fowl returns for another epic adventure. He must save his father from the Russian mafia and come up with money to save him. He also has to help fairies with a goblin problem. It is led by two people who are ready for revenge. I liked it because it is all about … Read more
Anne of Green Gables Anne of Green Gables #1 by LM Montgomery Classic Historical Fiction Review #1 * * * * Stars (Great!) A girl named Anne is sent to live with a brother and sister in the place of a boy. The siblings almost send the girl back, but her charm stops them. Anne makes some great friends and gets several prestigious honors in school, as she does very well at school. The brother … Read more
Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool Realistic Fiction * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) 12-year-old Abilene Tucker’s father has raised her “on the rails”, but now he has chosen to abandon her in the town of Manifest where he spent his youth, as he heads back to his wanderer’s life. Abilene discovers a hidden box of keepsakes, which leads her and her new friends on a search for a spy. The objects in the … Read more
Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine Realistic Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Caitlin’s (5th grader) brother Devon was killed in a devastating shooting at the Virginia Dare Middle School and she’s not sure life is ever going to be the same. She misses him, but she has Asperger’s syndrome, so her way of relating to people and the world is a little different than normal. It doesn’t help that Caitlin’s dad is falling apart with … Read more
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly Historical Fiction Realistic Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Eleven-year-old Calpurnia Tate has the utter misfortune of being the only girl right in the middle of a family full of boys. Because of this, there are some expectations put on her by her mother. Calpurnia struggles to improve her sewing, knitting, and cooking because in 1899 a girl is expected to do these well. She really … Read more
Heart of a Shepherd by Rosanne Parry Juvenile Fiction Realistic Fiction * * * Stars (Pretty good) Heart of a Shepherd is a touching and memorable story of family loyalty and faith. Ignatius “Brother” Alderman, nearly twelve, is in charge of the family ranch when his father leaves for Iraq with his Army Reserve Unit. Birthing calves, raising newborn lambs, and fighting wildfires are all part of a rancher’s duty, and Brother accepts it all … Read more
The Wonder of Charlie Anne by Kimberly Newton Fusco Historical Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) This is the poignant story of Charlie Anne and her family during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Charlie Anne’s mother has recently died in childbirth and her tough unemotional cousin, Mirabel has arrived to take care of the family. Life is a never ending round of chores for Charlie Anne who misses her mother desperately. The final … Read more