Tough and Sweet

That is the description of Turtle, the name of the main character in "Turtle in Paradise" by Jennifer L. Holm.

Turtle is an 11 year old girl sent to live with her aunt and cousins in the hot, humid Florida Keys in June 1935. Because of the depression and shortage of jobs, her mother is lucky to take a position as a housekeeper but no kids are welcome so off Turtle goes. Not only has she never been to Florida before, her relatives don't even know she is coming! You can only imagine the adjustment for her 3 very rambunctious boy cousins!

Boys are always boys whether it be 1935 or 2010; loud, cheeky, each with very distinct personalities and, especially Bean, always looking for trouble. Not allowed to be in the "Diaper Gang", not realizing she actually has a grandmother living there, Turtle, named because of the shell she has enveloped herself in, is quickly caught up in all the family dynamics but can certainly give as good as she gets. She is absolutely delightful; gutsy and wise and I love her first interactions with her mean grandmother!

The language is that of the time, references are made to Shirley Temple and Little Orphan Annie and to know a little of the era really makes this little gem come alive. Stick with it... and you will discover if the gang finds a hidden treasure.

What are you reading today?

Very Mysterious...

Beginning with the cover of the book, " The Kneebone Boy" by Ellen Potter has an air of mystery about it. On it we see 3 children, unsmiling and serious, two dark, the one in the middle has one eye peering out from behind straight longish blond hair, a scarf wrapped tightly around his neck, a cat cradled in his arms. But if you look very closely you see legs dangling down from the tree behind them.

This sets the scene for a story about the Hardscrabbles; two brothers, Otto, the tall blonde, Max, the youngest and their sister Lucia. Perceived by their village to be strange they are usually left alone to their own devices. However adventure calls when their father has to go away and entrusts them into the hands of an aunt in London who is simply not at home when they arrive to stay. After a scary run-in with a Londoner, Otto, who for the past 8 years only speaks with his hands, tells them of a great aunt who they never knew they had. Impulsively they decide to visit her in a seaside village and hopefully she can help them clear up the mystery of what happened to their mother who disappeared 8 years ago. Once there more mysteries seem to present themselves... like who really is the Kneebone Boy?

There are wonderful twists and turns and more twists and turns on this journey and just when you think you might have it figured out it twists again. Lucia, Max and Otto are endearing characters acting like most brothers and sister do; arguing with each other one minute and yet very very caring the next. A wonderful story I know you will enjoy.

What are you reading today?

The Lost Hero

Another ride from Rick Riordan!

The first book in the Heroes of Olympus series called "The Lost Hero" is simply an amazing piecing together of mythology and adventure. New characters surface; Jason, Piper and Leo. Jason awakes on a school bus but has no recollection of who or where he is. Piper, who appears to be his girlfriend, and Leo, his best friend, certainly seem to know him but it is only when strange, very strange happenings quickly begin that his teacher admits he never saw him till the moment before. Whisked off to Camp Half Blood Jason learns he is a demi-god and like Percy Jackson, who has recently disappeared, he has a very important quest to complete with the help of demi-god friends Leo and Piper.

It seems that Hera is imprisoned and the giants are awakening to take over Olympus. This is a quest that the gods have been preparing for since our heroes births but there are so many unanswered questions that no one will help them with and that they have to discover for themselves. And it does not help that one of our demi-gods might be a traitor!

I think I should have had a book of mythology beside me as I read as there were so many names and titles that they were sometimes a blur, especially as Roman and Greek gods are intertwined. Needless to say another adventure is on its way as Jason awaits the building of the Argo II to fly, yes fly, to Olympus.

What are you reading today?

Milo: Sticky Note and Brain Freeze

This book "Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze" by Alan Silberberg is, at times, hilarious and at times had me in tears.

Milo is a 7th grader who has just moved to House #5. He is a nerdy kid who doesn't make friends easily but falls right into love with a beautiful girl at the corner store while buying.. toilet paper! Not a good start. However the girl next door keeps sending him notes and there is a guy he calls the One Eyed Jack who becomes his friend as they discover they have much in common.

As we get to know Milo we learn House #4, the one he calls the Fog House, is where his mom first got sick. We learn that Milo's dad is trying to "erase" his mom by giving away all her clothes, pictures and even her pots and pans after she dies. We learn that his neighbour Sylvia thinks Milo should work on remembering his mom and he does this in a charming and heartfelt way.
We learn how Milo felt when his mom passed away, feelings both real and raw.

Once again, a book that I thought was going in one direction went completely in another.
Read it.

A Ghost Story - All the Lovely Bad Ones

I am the first to admit I don't like really really scary books or movies but I do like a good ghost story and "All the Lovely Bad Ones" by Mary Downing Hahn is a good and satisfying ghost story.

Travis and his sister Corey have been sent to their Grandmother's Inn in Vermont for the summer because Summer Camp did not want them back! When these two learn the Inn has a history of ghost sightings they decide to do a little haunting of their own (with the help of a few props and some make-up) to further the rumor and to bring guests to the quiet Inn. It was only after Corey did a hair raising imitation of a ghost flitting among the trees that something dangerous, something that had been asleep for years, was awakened.... and not just a single spirit but a whole horde of rambunctious young ghosts of boys assigned to the County Poor Farm in the 1800's but also the ghost of the cruel mistress who was responsible for their death. Once awakened it is now up to Travis and Corey to find the three things that will put these "lovely bad ones" to rest.

What are you reading today?

Fishnapped!

Do you see the hand about to plunge into the fishbowl? Yes, this is a story about a fish being... well... fishnapped.

"Edgar Allan's Official Crime Investigation Notebook" by Mary Amato is about how the class pet and other items are mysteriously disappearing from Edgar's class and more mysteriously the thief is leaving notes, in poetry, to give clues. Edgar is determined to discover who the thief is and is using his powers of observation, recorded in his notebook, to figure how who looks and acts guilty.

He also has an arch rival, Patrick, who is also hot on the trail to discover the thief with the help of his scientist father. However, as Edgar narrows down his suspects, he actually discovers his prime suspects are classmates he really likes! Hmm this does complicate things.

Slow to start but good at the end. Try it.

What are you reading today?

Leviathan

I had seen this book "Leviathan" for a while but knew Scott Westerfield had written "The Uglies" and "The Pretties" and thought it would be perhaps somewhat similar. Not!

The art looked somewhat futuristic but this is not about the future at all.... in fact it is about the past but a very different past due to amazing creations of the Darwinists and the Clankers. Have you heard the term "steam punk" before? I had not but briefly it is the science fiction of alternate history using technology.

In 1914 the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated and World War I began. True. In this book Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated and Word War I began but his son Alek escaped with trusted servants in an armoured walker which is like a tank that walks on legs. In England Deryn Sharp, a young girl, poses as a young midshipman and is subsequently taken for a ride by a Huxley, a flying airship made of different animals blended together. Darwinists produce all sorts of "living things" such as the huge zeppelein-like creature with the body of a whale but infused with many other animals.

It is such a stretch of the imagination that I found it hard at first to feel the "willing suspension of disbelief" which is what I know fantasy to be. But the story, the very simple story of two young adults, enemies caught up in this war, was the story that I could not put down. It did not end but leads right into the second book, Behemoth.

For those good readers with vivid imaginations!

What are you reading today?