Going Where Its Dark

Students, kids, and life-long readers,

What is your biggest fear?  One of my biggest fears is to be trapped in a small space, and this book opened that fear.  I don't think I will be entering a cave in a long time after reading this adventure about Bucky.

Bucky and his best friend Dave live in the back country of Virgina and have developed a love of exploring caves. Just as Dave is about to move, Bucky discovers a hidden cave that has never been explored called the hole.  With Dave gone, Bucky is risking much to explore it on his own, and he has the summer to figure out how achieve this mission.

But that is not all.  Bucky struggles with a serious stuttering problem that leads to bully issues and worry for the family.  An unexpected connection with Bucky's uncle may be the one who can help Bucky's stuttering in an unsual manner.

This book has many sides plots and great selection of characters that continually interact with Bucky. The writing style of the cave exploration was so vivid that is increased my fear of small spaces and caves.

If you are looking for an adventure book and enjoy the idea of cave exploring this would be a great book for you.

GENRE:  Adventure/Realistic Fiction

AUTHOR: Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

GRADE LEVEL: 6-8

Scourge

Students, kids, and life-long readers,

What if you were diagnosed with a contagious illness that may spread to your family and friends unless you were to be exiled to island?  Would you go through with it?  How difficult would it be to leave the ones you love, during a time that you need them the most?

This is what our main character faces as she has been diagnosed with the Plague or Scourge and is being sent off with an enemy and her best friend.  Once on the island, they learn that man do not survive, and once you are sent to the infirmary, you may never be seen again. But this plot has more layers as she is part of an unwanted section of society known as the River people.  This faction has been at odds with the more noble section of the city, and this separation will be a turning point in the plot.

Our main character has a very difficult struggle ahead of her, and may even need help from those she does not trust.  But not everything appears s it seems and there are many surprises hidden throughout this book.

GENRE: Adventure

AUTHOR: Jennifer Nielsen

GRADE LEVEL: 6-8

Masterminds #2 - Criminal's Destiny

SPOILER ALERT - This is the second book of a series.  I strongly advise you to read the first book, and besides the first one is the best book of the series.  You can find the book talk here.

Our second book begins with our crew hanging out at the dormitory school in Colorado, but it doesn't take long for the Purple People Eaters to find them and the chase is on. They are on the run and learn that just telling the police will not solve their problems, but only expound them.  While one the run, our main character are faced with a dilemma - Should they break the law to try and survive, and if they do, does that stem from their DNA.  Are they becoming the criminals?  Can they escape their dreaded past?

There are many twists and turns, suspense, action, and excitement as they search for the truth, make their way back to Serenity, and even try to break someone out of jail.  And who could forget the agonizing question, "WHAT HAPPENED TO HECTOR?"  Many questions will be answered so make sure you don't miss book two in this thrilling series - Masterminds.

The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones

Kids, students, and life-long readers,

Mabel Jones has done THE DEED.  This one deed opens the door for the pirate crew of the Feroshus Maggot (Yes, that is how it is spelled) to capture her and force her to serve as one of the crew.  And what is THE DEED?  You will have to read to find out.

But this is no ordinary crew.  The captain is a ferocious wolf bent on the quest to capture all five parts of the hidden "X" to find the forbidden treasure spoken of by his lost father.  The rest of the crew is made of talking animals from a silent orangutang to a thieving lemur to a crocodile that enjoys nothing more than amputating appendages.  Mabel Jones is in for quite an adventure as she is forced to walk the greasy pole in the fir moments of meeting the crew.

The hunt is on and crew must find the four most despicable pirates to take back the pieces and find the treasure.  This story is filled with adventure and humor.  The narrator telling the story has quite the voice jumping in and out of character.  There is also a connection to Geronimo Stilton as the author is very creative with the fonts and placement of the words and sentences.

If you are looking for a light read that you can enjoy some adventure and a good laugh, this is the book for you.

AUTHOR: Will Mabbitt

GENRE:  Adventure/Humor

GRADE LEVEL:  5th-8th

Masterminds

Kids, students, and life-long readers,

TEACHER ALERT - This is a great read aloud for class, and will keep the student guessing the entire time.  Great for predicting and characterization.

If you have read any of my blog posts, you know that Gordan Korman is one of my favorite authors.  When I first picked up this book, I knew nothing about it, but it is now part of my top ten list.

This story features five teenagers living in the town of Serenity - the happiest city in America.  All houses are the same with everything that children need from pools to basketball hoops in their driveway.  Some of our main characters love the life that Serenity offers, while others speak of leaving as soon as they can.  It won't take the reader long to see that this is not your ordinary town from the classes that are taught to the activities the children do.

The plot thickens when Eli is working on his computer and after an electrical surge is able to see the real internet.  American history that has been taught to him does not match.  The Boston Tea Party was not an actual tea party between the British and American to discuss their differences????  This is enough to lead Eli and crew to find the truth of Serenity and their lives.  There will be countless predictions and questions to keep you guessing the climactic reveal of their backstory.  And adventure and suspense will continue to build as they continue to take risk after risk to find the truth

Story Thieves

Students, kids, and life-long readers,

If you could enter any story or book that you have read, and change a part of that story what would you do?  Inform a character of a poor choice they are about to make, or let them know who not to trust, or maybe even stop a favorite character from dying.

The main character Owen has a chance to do just that as he catches his classmate Bethany climbing out of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory book. Bethany tries to elude Owen, but he is hooked on the possibility to enter books, and to stop the death of a beloved character - think Dumbledore in Harry Potter.  Owen intentions are hidden from Bethany who has her own agenda  - trying to find her lost father that suddenly disappeared one day.  Transporting in and out of books is not an easy task and there is danger that lurks throughout - for Owen and Bethany - and the for safety of the series and the world.

I very much enjoyed this book with small connections to other series and I couldn't stop thinking about what series/book I would jump into if I have the opportunity.  Right now, there are two more books to this series and I am eager to read them to see what is next for Owen and Bethany.

AUTHOR: James Riley

GENRE: Fantasy

GRADE LEVEL: 5-8

Above

Kids, students, and life-long readers,

DISCLAIMER - This book talk is for the second book in a series.  If you have not read the first book, I highly recommend you do not read this book talk as it will reveal what may have happened to characters from the first book.  The first book is entitled BENEATH by Roland Smith.




Alright, everyone, our main characters are back, Pat, Coop, and Kate, but they are still on the run from the Shadows.  After telling their story to the FBI, Alex, sends them off to different parts of the country to shake off any of the Shadows that might be following them.  The plot picks up when they all meet together in Oregon to fill everyone in on what has been happening, but it doesn't take long for the Shadows to find them and Kate is taken captive.  Coop, Pat, and Alex are on the hunt down the western coast to try and find Kate before Lod follows through with his new master plan.  That's right, the Lord of the Deep is back, and he has a new diabolical plan.

The main part of the book is the chase, but the author leaves many clues and questions for the reader to try and figure out and let's just say not everyone should be trusted.  This book should also answer any questions that you had from the first book in the series, BENEATH.  If you liked the first book, you should definitely read the second book to see if Pat and Coop can make it in time, will Kate survive after her betrayal, who will betray them this time, and can they stop Lod in time.

Author:  Roland Smith

Genre: Realistic Fiction/Adventure

Grade Level - 5th-8th grade