Author: Lynne Ewing
Goodreads Rating: 3.96
Pages: 264
Serena is being targeted
by the Dark Side. Her power to read minds is what they need in order to
destroy the Daughters of the Moon. And Serena has always had a
rebellious side to her that may not be able to resist the seductive
temptation of the Dark Side -- and Stanton, their sexy, mesmerizing
leader. Set in mystical desert raves and gritty L.A. streets, this
second Daughters of the Moon is a provocative and powerful read.
Author:
Goodreads Rating:
Pages:
A civil war rages
between the Glorious Path--a militant religion based on the teachings of
a former US soldier--and what's left of the US government.
Fifteen-year-old Callum Roe and his younger brother, James, were
captured and forced to convert six years ago. Cal has been working in
the Path's dog kennels, and is very close to becoming one of the Path's
deadliest secret agents. Then Cal befriends a stray dog named Bear and
kills a commander who wants to train him to be a vicious attack dog.
This sends Cal and Bear on the run, and sets in motion a series of
incredible events that will test Cal's loyalties and end in a fierce
battle that the fate of the entire country rests on.
Author: Holly Goldberg Sloan
Goodreads Rating: 4.12
Pages: 384
In the tradition of Out
of My Mind, Wonder, and Mockingbird, this is an intensely moving middle
grade novel about being an outsider, coping with loss, and discovering
the true meaning of family.
Willow Chance is a twelve-year-old
genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who
finds it comforting to count by 7s. It has never been easy for her to
connect with anyone other than her adoptive parents, but that hasn’t
kept her from leading a quietly happy life . . . until now.
Suddenly
Willow’s world is tragically changed when her parents both die in a car
crash, leaving her alone in a baffling world. The triumph of this book
is that it is not a tragedy. This extraordinarily odd, but
extraordinarily endearing, girl manages to push through her grief. Her
journey to find a fascinatingly diverse and fully believable surrogate
family is a joy and a revelation to read.
Author: Sharon Creech
Goodreads rating: 3.85
Pages: 160
Format: ARC
From Newbery Medal
winner Sharon Creech comes a singular story that reminds us of the
surprising connections that bloom when unconditional love and generosity
prevail. For when a young couple finds a boy asleep on their porch,
their lives take an unexpectedly joyous turn.
When John and Marta
found the boy on the porch, they were curious, naturally, as to why he
was there-and they didn't expect him to stay, not at first, but he did
stay, day after day, until it seemed as if he belonged, running and
smiling and laughing his silent laugh, tapping and patting on every
surface as he made his music, and painting-with water, with paint, with
mud-those swirly swirls and swings and trees.
One day a young
couple wakes to find a boy asleep on their porch. Unable to speak, the
boy cannot explain his history. What kind of person would leave their
child with strangers? All they know is that they have been chosen to
care for this boy. And as their connection to him grows, they embrace
his exuberant spirit and talents. The three of them blossom into an
unlikely family, and John and Marta and the boy begin to see the world
in brand-new ways. Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech delivers a
poignant story of finding family when you least expect it.
Author: Cathryn Constable
Goodreads rating: 3.6
Pages: 288
Format: ARC
Alone in the world, Sophie dreams of being someone special, but she could never have imagined this.
On
a school trip to Russia, Sophie and her two friends find themselves on
the wrong train. They are rescued by the beautiful Princess Anna
Volkonskaya, who takes them to her winter palace and mesmerises them
with stories of lost diamonds and a tragic past. But as night falls and
wolves prowl, Sophie discovers more than dreams in the crumbling palace
of secrets.
Author: Jean Flitcroft
Goodreads rating: 3.68
Pages: 182
Format: ARC
Vanessa’s
dreams are haunted by cryptids and she longs to complete her mother’s
search for Nessie, the most famous one of them all. Can she finally
solve the mystery of Loch Ness? She gets her chance on a surprise trip
to Scotland, but no one could have foreseen the consequences. Set
against the eerie stillness of the loch, The Cryptid Files: Loch Ness is
a magical story filled with suspense and adventure.
Author: Brandon Mull
Goodreads Rating: 3.99
Pages: 224
Format: ARC BEA13
Four children separated
by vast distances all undergo the same ritual, watched by cloaked
strangers. Four flashes of light erupt, and from them emerge the
unmistakable shapes of incredible beasts - a wolf, a leopard, a panda, a
falcon. Suddenly the paths of these children - and the world - have
been changed for ever. Enter the world of Erdas, where every child who
comes of age must discover if they have a spirit animal, a rare bond
between human and beast that bestows great powers to both. A dark force
has risen from distant and long-forgotten lands, and has begun an
onslaught that will ravage the world. Now the fate of Erdas has fallen
on the shoulders of four young strangers ...and on you.
Author: Rick Riordan
Goodreads rating: 4.17
Pages: 377
Format: Audiobook
Percy Jackson is about
to be kicked out of boarding school... again. And that's the least of
his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount
Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek
mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of
them. Zeus' master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the
prime suspect.
Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to
find and return Zeus' stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount
Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than
catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who
abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of
betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the
gods themselves.
Author: Rick Riordan
Goodreads Rating: 4.13
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pages: 337
Reviewed by: Nicole
Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school... again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus' master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.
Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus' stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.
Author: Lauren Oliver
Goodreads Rating: 3.75
My Rating: 3.5 Stars
Pages: 256
Reviewed by: Nicole
I got this book at BEA12. This book is a middle grade read.
Looking across the breakfast table one morning, twelve-year-old Liza feels dread wash over her. Although her younger brother, Patrick, appears the same, Liza knows that he is actually quite different. She is certain that the spindlers-evil, spiderlike beings-came during the night and stole his soul. And Liza is also certain that she is the only one who can rescue him.
Armed with little more than her wits and a huge talking rat for a guide, Liza descends into the dark and ominous underground to save Patrick's soul. Her quest is far from easy, and the road to the spindlers' nests is riddled with danger. She must brave tree snakes, the Court of Stones, and shape-shifting serpents before facing her greatest challenge in the spindlers' lair, where more than just Patrick's soul is at stake.
