Seven Wonders: The Curse of the King by Peter Lerangis

Another exciting installment of the Seven Wonders series.  This is book number four.  If you haven't read 1-3, I would go back and start from the beginning.  This is not a series you can read out of order if you want to understand what is happening.  Jack and his friends continue searching for the lost Loculi (the source of power for the lost city of Atlantis that has been split up into 7 pieces).  This series is like the Percy Jackson series in that you learn about ancient civilizations and gods and the adventure never ceases to entertain.  The only bad thing is now having to wait until book number 5 is released.

After Eden by Helen Douglas

This was a quick, easy read that I enjoyed and finished in a day.  Eden is in her last year of school in a small town in England.  A new, very handsome, boy shows up.  Ryan seems to know a lot about the subjects in school but not a lot about simple things like what pizza or hamburgers are or who Hitler is.  Eden figures out his secret and then decides to help Ryan with his "mission," the whole reason he has entered her world.  I found Eden's reaction to Ryan's secret just a tiny bit unbelievable, she believed him a little too readily and his secret is something that is pretty "out there."  Other than that, I liked the story.  

Golden Sower Nominees 2015-2016

I did it! As soon as school ended I started reading the 10 Intermediate and 10 Young Adult Golden Sower nominees and I have just finished them!  There is something for everyone in the Golden sower titles this year: dystopian, realistic fiction, mystery, historical fiction, fantasy and magic.  If you are looking for a good book to read during the rest of summer vacation check out one of the Golden Sower titles.  

      

Intermediate Nominees:

• The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond
• Charlie Bumper vs. the Teacher of the Year
• Darling: Mercy Dog of World War I
• Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library
• The Girl from Felony Bay 
• Half a Chance
• Hold Fast
• Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin
• Sky Jumpers
• A Snicker of Magic

Young Adult Nominees:

• Counting by 7s 
• Far Far Away
• The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die
• Golden Boy
• The Lightning Dreamer
• Prisoner 88
• QB 1
• Stung
• The Testing
• Turn Left at the Cow

Haunters by Thomas Taylor

I am a vivid dreamer, but this novel takes vivid dreaming to another level!  In this story, those that have the ability can "dreamwalk" themselves into other times in history.  Yes, that's right...time travel through dreaming.  When they appear in history they appear as ghosts.  The agency that David gets involved with try to protect the past and "uphold the dreamwalker's" code.  But there are other dreamwalkers, the Haunters, that are attempting to change history to gain power and wealth for themselves.  It is up to the dreamwalkers to stop them and protect the past, their present and their future.  Lots of action in this book and a great surprise ending!!  I am thinking this will probably become a series, but haven't heard about when the release of the next book might be.

The Inquisitor's Apprentice by Chris Moriarty

This story takes place in late 19th Century New York but it's an alternate history.  In this New York everyone uses magic.  Well, at least in Sacha's Jewish, Hester Street neighborhood they do.  That is until the police come around.  You see, magic is against the law in the US.  In fact there are special police that are in charge of investigating magical crimes called Inquisitor's.  Sacha makes the mistake of letting people know that he can see when people use their magic so he is made an apprentice to Inquisitor Maximillian Wolf and their first crime to investigate is to find out who is trying to kill inventor Thomas Edison.

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the second one that we have in the library.  I LOVED Sacha's family.  They survived the pogroms (anti-Jewish campaigns) in Russia and are making a new life in America. I love all the Yiddish words they weave into the conversation.  I also really enjoyed Lily, the other apprentice to inquisitor Wolf.

Blood Red Road by Moira Young

What a great adventure story.  It IS set in a futuristic wasteland, but the focus is not what happened to make it a waste land.  The focus of the book is the "quest" that Saba goes on to get her kidnapped brother back.  I liked Saba.  She is pretty prickly, but she grows on you as she grows in her understanding of herself and others and how to treat them.  One thing about this book that I must note is that the whole thing is written exactly the way Saba speaks...which is not always grammatically correct.  Lots of "I ain't gonna do that...," "just" becomes "jest" and "get" become "git."  Many of the words are spelled phonetically (spelled like they sound).  For example: "exact" is spelled "ezzack" in the story.  I found it tricky at first, but it really gave Saba a voice I could hear in my head.  There is a book #2 that follows this called "Rebel Heart" that we have in the library, and I hear that this is being made into a movie.

The Book of the Dead (Tomb Quest bk 1) by Michael Northrup

This is a new series by Michael Northrup that is like the 39 Clues series and the Infinity Ring Series that includes an online game that you can play to continue the adventure after you read the book.  I didn't play the game, but I read the book in one day over spring break.  I couldn't put it down.  I love books about mummies and curses and I think I've spoken before about my fascination with death rituals.  The Egyptians were masters of death rituals.  This book has a lot of action as Alex's mother tries to save his life using the book of the dead but she ends up raising some "death walkers" also and they start wreaking havoc.  I just bought this book at the book fair and can't wait for Mr. Northrup to publish the next in the series.  Other exciting books by this author offered in our library are "Trapped" and "Surrounded by Sharks."