• Reviews

    Shiver Me Timbers…

    It’s International Talk Like a Pirate Day!  And with that being said, here’s my (condensed) list of must-read pirate books!  I could have gone on forever, but I’ll hold back and list only ten. Dirty Joe the Pirate: A Tue Story by Bill Harley You can’t go wrong when it…

  • Reviews

    Book Review: Loot: How to Steal a Fortune

    Loot  is exactly what Jude Watson does best – action-packed, fast-paced and adventure wrapped up in a story you can’t put down.  When March’s father, a notorious cat burglar dies on the job, March must finish one last job.  His father’s dying words to March, “Find jewels,” and it’s only…

  • Reviews

    Review: Boys of Blur

    I heard about Boys of Blur on the Fuse #8 blog from School Library Journal about some books that the author (Elizabeth Bird) thought might be strong contenders for the Newbery Award for 2015.  A slight novel, with less than 200 pages, Boys of Blur, packed a punch.  With strong parallel…

  • Reviews

    Turn Left at the Cow

    What do you get when you combine a runaway teen to Grandma’s, a football star, a love interest, and the missing cash from a bank bugulary from many years ago? Turn Left at the Cow. When Travis leaves his in-love mom and new stepdad in California for his grandma’s house…

  • Reviews

    The Shadow Throne

    It’s been awhile since I posted a book review, but I finally got a chance to finish this trilogy!  I absolutely loved The False Prince and plan on using it as a suggestion all summer long for summer reading.  But, I personally, don’t find trilogies to be very strong.  I…

  • Reviews

    Almost Super

    Almost Super was such a fun read!  Marion Jensen did a great job of creating the very realistic Bailey family – with some amazing super powers, that is, except for Rafter and his brother Benny.  The Bailey family has been saving the world from the super villains, The Johnsons (you always…

  • Reviews

    The Copernicus Legacy: The Forbidden Stone

    This was definitley one of those books that I wanted to read as soon as I saw the cover!  I’ve read a number of quotes comparing it to a mixture of Rick Riordan and Dan Brown, which I could definitely see, but it is also reminiscent of The 39 Clues series…

  • Reviews

    Rooftoppers

    Have you ever read a book that makes you pause because the writing is so beautiful?  That’s how I felt reading Rooftoppers, I only got about 30 pages into the book before I had to post a quote to Twitter because it was so beautiful- “Books crowbar the world open…

  • Reviews

    Hostage Three

    Hostage Three by Nick Lake is a thrilling story of human survival in an unexpected situation. Amy is almost 18, still grieves for her mother, detests her new stepmother and has no desire to spend the next 12 months on a yacht sailing around the world with her father and…

  • Reviews

    The Key and the Flame

    This was my first book by Claire Caterer and it was definitely a fun-filled magical adventure for middle grade readers and it’s definitely left with an open ending for a follow-up story. Eleven-year-old Holly is always being told that she needs to get her head out of the clouds and…