The Creeping Shadow

SPOILER ALERT!  If you haven't read the first three books in this series, stop now and go find them.  Seriously.  I. Love. This. Series.  You are doing yourself a disservice if you miss out on this awesomeness!  Moving on...

Lucy Carlisle is working as a freelancer when our story begins.  She is making decent money, but she misses the camaraderie of her old dependable team at Lockwood and Co.  She's also a bit lonely even if she won't admit it to herself.

When Lockwood shows up asking her to consult on a job, she cautiously accepts.  After all, she is still worried that her gifts will bring disaster to her two closest friends.

Soon the team, including Quill Kipps, is off on another dangerous expedition to investigate an intense haunting in a small town in the middle of nowhere.  What they uncover there is shocking and revelatory.

As always, the pacing and story-telling are perfect in this series.  The characters feel like old friends, and the banter is fun.  There are plenty of creepy ghosts, explosions, and insidious bad guys to around, and there is a huge revelation at the very end which hints to the very heart of the ghost problem.  Could our team finally be on track to discover the origins of the problem?

The Creeping Shadow is an excellent addition to an excellent series.  Kudos to Jonathan Stroud.  Highly recommended!

Ghosts

Cat and Maya have just moved to a new town because of Maya's cystic fibrosis.  Maya is excited by all the new adventures the town has to offer, but Cat misses her friends, and all the talk of ghosts has her a little freaked out.

When the two girls actually meet some real ghosts who accidently make Maya sick, Cat's fear only intensifies.  She is determined to have nothing to do with the Dia de Los Muertos festival.

Is it a bad idea to invite ghosts in when Maya is so sick or will meeting these spirits help Maya understand the afterlife?  Cat isn't sure.  She just knows she afraid of the ghosts and afraid of what could happen to her little sister.

Raina Telgemeier's latest graphic novel is a nice piece of storytelling with beautiful art.  The connection between the world of the living and the dead as peaceful and loving is touching, and the depiction of the sister relationship is perfect.

As for all of the cultural appropriation talk out there...I'm not really sure.  It's not my culture, so I don't really have strong feelings about it.  I do know that I am rankled when outsiders write about my religious culture and get it wrong.  I believe Telgemeier was trying to be respectful of the culture, and the story skews fantasy.  My students love Raina Telgemeier, and in my largely Hispanic school, the kids were excited to learn that Dia de Los Muertos featured in the story.

No Such Person

Miranda and Lander are sisters who couldn't be more different.  Lander is driven to succeed and dismissive of anyone and anything that gets in her way or wastes her time, like her little sister.  Miranda, on the other hand, is happy to spend the summer being lazy at the family cabin on the river.  It doesn't seem to bother her that all her friends are hard at work on summer internships; she just wants to relax.

When Lander falls for a guy who was involved in a boating accident, Miranda is surprised and suspicious.  Everyone is calling it an accident, but Jason's actions didn't look accidental to Miranda.  Now his friend Darry is recovering in the hospital, and Jason and Lander are spending every moment together.

Now there has been a murder, and the police suspect Lander.  Miranda knows that no matter how cold and dismissive her sister can be, she isn't a murderer.  This has to have something to do with Jason who has since disappeared.

While Lander fights for her sanity and a way to understand what has happened in jail, Miranda is determined to uncover the truth no matter how dangerous the process.

Caroline B. Cooney's latest is a good mystery, but I just didn't like Lander at all.  It's hard to feel emotionally connected to the story when one of the characters is just awful.  Rather than having sympathy for her plight, I was a little glad to see her taken down a peg or two.

Simon Thorn and the Wolf's Den

Simon has always lived with his uncle.  Sure, his mom shows up now and then, but it's really just Darryl and Simon.  He loves his uncle, but he's never told him about his ability to speak to animals.  Somehow, he just knows that should be a secret.

When a golden eagle shows up on the first day of 7th grade to warn him about grave danger, Simon isn't sure what to make of it.  Then his mom gets kidnapped, and Simon and Darryl are attacked by rats.

Now, Simon is racing to saving his mother, and he'll finally learn something about who he really is.  Simon is an animalgam, like his parents before him.  Animalgams have the ability to transform into animals.  Simon hasn't shifted yet, and no one is sure if he'll be a bird like his mother or a wolf like his father.

Simon doesn't know who he can trust in this new world.  No one seems to be telling the whole truth.  How can you win if you can't tell the difference between a friend and an enemy?

Aimee Carter's series opener is a fast-paced fantasy for those who like the "Chosen One" plot.  It has plenty of action, and kids will enjoy the animal shape-shifting aspect.  This is a good pick for upper elementary to 6th grade.

Mayday

Wayne Kovak is having a hard year.  School is difficult for him anyway since he tends to freeze up in social situations.   He spouts facts to fill the silence and to steer away from uncomfortable topics.

When his uncle dies on active duty in the military, he is buried in Arlington cemetery.  On the way home from the funeral, Wayne and his mom are in a plane crash that leaves them both injured.  Wayne was struck in the neck by flying debris, and his vocal chords are so swollen, he can't talk or eat solid food.  He also has a large L-shaped scar on his face.  Great.  Now, he's branded a loser for real.

His uncle's burial flag is lost in the crash, and Wayne is determined to find it.  He knows if he can just get the right data, he can locate the lost flag.

His grandfather moves in to help take care of them, but Wayne soon realizes something is going on with him.  He's sick, but no one is talking about it.  Wayne has always struggled to connect with his drill sergeant grandfather, and now he can only communicate by paper, so that isn't helping.

There's also his father, AKA The Flee.  He always promises to show up and never follows through.  Wayne is beginning to wonder if his father cares about him at all.

There's also his sort-of-girlfriend, Sandy Showalter, the most beautiful girl in the 7th grade, and his new friend, Denny, who he met at speech therapy.  Denny has a stutter that goes away when he whispers or sings, so all of their conversations are interesting, to say the least.

Karen Harrington's new book is heartbreaking and laugh-out-loud funny by turns.  Highly recommended!

What Light

Jay Asher's new book is pretty much the complete opposite of 13 Reasons Why.  Where that one is dark, heavy, and powerful, this one is light and fluffy.  There's nothing wrong with fluff.  It was just a bit of a surprise.

Sierra's family owns and operates a Christmas tree farm in Oregon, but every year they spend Thanksgiving and Christmas in California selling trees on the family lot.  It isn't their main source of income, but it's a fun family tradition that makes them all feel personally connected to the work.  It also gives Sierra a whole other life that she lives once a year.

While she is sad to leave her best friends and all the winter holiday activities in Oregon behind, she is always excited to help run the tree lot and spend time with her California best friend, Heather.

This year Heather wants Sierra to find a holiday boyfriend so they can double date and take some of the pressure off Heather and her sweet but boring boyfriend.  At first, Sierra isn't into the idea.  She isn't the type of girl who is into flings, but then she meets Caleb.  He is handsome, funny, and kind, and Sierra can't stop thinking about him.

But Heather and the other kids in town raise the alarm.  When he was a kid, Caleb attacked his sister, or at least that's the rumor.  Is it true, and if it is, she that brand Caleb for life?

This was a sweet and fluffy book--a Hallmark Christmas movie for teens.  It was a little boring to me because it was so predictable, but I know plenty of people who would love it.  Plus, a clean romance is always hard to find, so it gets bonus points for that!

Connect the Stars

Audrey has a gift (or maybe it's a curse).  She can tell when people are lying.  It wasn't so bad when she was a little kid.  Most people told the truth most of the time, but now that she's in middle school, people lie all the time.  She feels frustrated and hurt when people lie to her, so she's decided to always tell the truth even if it means she won't have friends.  When her best friend lies and Audrey suffers, it is the ultimate betrayal.

Aaron is really good at remembering things.  If he's read it, seen it, or heard, it's in his head.  This makes him a natural for the star position in his school's quiz bowl team, but when the final question is one of intuition rather than information, he fails miserably.

Both kids find themselves at a wilderness camp in the West Texas desert.  Their parents are hoping this experience will help them gain confidence and see the world in different ways.  Along with their teammates, they will learn to survive in the desert.  Kate is very sensitive and good at empathizing with others.  Louis is hypersensitive to any stimulation.  They will have to deal with a couple of bullies plus an overbearing guide, but el Viaje a la Confianza may be just what these kids need, especially when one of the kids runs away, and they have to race against the unforgiving desert to save her.

This new book by Marisa de los Santos and David Teague is engaging and enjoyable.  Parts of the story are a little far-fetched, but I think kids, especially sensitive kids will enjoy it.