What Should I Read? Book Talks and More

Story Tim e by Edward Bloor Something sketchy AND creepy is going on at the magnet school for gifted and talented students that  George and Kate have just been assigned to.  Not only are the people who run the school dishonest, they seem to have a strange, supernatural power over some students and staff at the school.  They brag that their school has the highest scores in the nation, but kids definitely are not enjoying school there, not even a little bit.  George and Kate find it unpleasant and unsafe.  Strange things happen during story time--strange like possession!  Kate and George try to uncover what is going on so they can keep themselves and the other students safe.  I like this fantasy book written by Edward Bloor, but I did find it confusing at times and a little preachy.  Two of five stars.

The Last Apprentice Series by Joseph Delaney The first book in the series, Revenge of the Witch , introduces Thomas Ward.  Tom is a 13 year old seventh son of a seventh son.  That makes him sensitive to supernatural stuff.  At thirteen, he is apprenticed to an employer to learn a trade.  One brother stayed home to run the farm and the others went to learn a trade like blacksmith or masonry. Thomas becomes apprentice to the local Spook.  The Spook is the person in the county who deals with the supernatural--witches, ghosts, boggarts and worse.  Tom enters his apprenticeship and after several weeks of training, Mr Gregory, the Spook, is away and business and Tom must face a dangerous boggart on his own.  It was just such a creature that killed the last Spook's apprentice! There are 13 books in this series!

The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds Matt is seventeen and his mother recently died.  His grief makes him feel lost and alone, even at school where he has friends.  He needs a job and finds one at the local funeral home.  It doesn't seem like a very pleasant job, but he works with Mr. Ray who is a respected person in the Brooklyn community.  He finds that the funerals he attends as part of his job soothe him and help him understand his grief as he sees it in others.  He meets Lovey at a funeral and they quickly form a bond, can their friendship develop into more? This is realistic fiction.  Jason Reynolds is now one of my favorite authors. 

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale Miri wants to work with her father and sister as a miner in Mount Eskel's quarry.  It doesn't seem like the kind of job a fourteen year old girl would want, but the mine is as important to Miri as it is to the village.  Mining is a respected and admired occupation and the special stone, linder, that the mine provides is prized by the kingdom.  In Miri's kingdom, girls are selected as a great honor to attend the Princess Academy and she is the girl selected from her school.  Miri finds that she has a mystical telepathic ability to speak through the linden stone using a language based on the quarry songs.  this ability gives her the courage to rally her classmates to gain fair treatment as she learns many ways that will help her improve her village. This book is in the fantasy genre.

The Mighty Miss Malon e by Christopher Paul Curtis is a historical novel set in Indiana and Michigan during the Great Depression.   Deza Malone is a very smart girl who has a pretty good life, even if her father is out of work, her mother works as a maid for a not-so-nice white family, and her brother, a gifted singer who isn't always good at telling the truth.  She knows her family loves her and they have their own special culture and the Malone way of doing things.  The Malones live on the edge and when her father has an accident, they are pushed over the edge into extreme poverty and homelessness.  They must leave their home in Gary and go to Flint where they hope to find family.  Deza is a character with a true heart that readers will root for.  Readers who loved the book  Bud, Not Buddy will recognize his cameo appearance in this book.   5/5 reading stars-it might make you cry and you will definitely laugh.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan is a dystopic zombie story.  I actually read this book twice.  The cover and title are intriguing, but I couldn't remember what it was about.  Mary lives in a walled city within a forest.  The walls are breached so often by the unconsecrated that platforms are built to allow the villagers to scramble up and escape the flesh-eating former human creatures. Have you noticed that Zombie books, kind of like vampire books, follow a prescribed notion of what the creatures are like?  Mary is supposed to be claimed by a man and wed, but things go awry as she falls in love with her best friend's intended.  They all end up together escaping the village into a fenced pathway as Mary tries to keep her group safe and solve the mystery of where their destiny seems to be leading them. This is a complicated and action-filled read.  3/5 stars.