Phoenix: Out of the Ashes Book 1 - by Jeff Stone

Mountain biking, kung fu, a tough girl with deep secrets, and a very, very old grandfather.  Bring these all together and you've got the story of 14-year-old Phoenix Collins, a mountain-biking teenager with a mission.  Full of action, fighting, cycling, and a bit of history and travel, this exciting book kicks off a new series with a pretty unique version of good guys vs. bad guys.

Jeff Stone wrote the Five Ancestors series, which was seven books about ancient kung fu warrior children who had the adventure of a lifetime as they traveled and fought to save their country and all that they believed in.  It was an excellent series, and this book carries the same story forward 400 years, with a new set of characters.  While you could read this series on its own, I think it will mean more if read after the original series.

The writing is tight, the pacing is exciting, maybe even thrilling, and the detail is exquisite.  However, the talk about cycling, both mountain biking and cyclocross, is overly detailed, and may lose (or win? who knows!) readers in the intended age range.  In this way, it reminded me of Will Hobbs books like Go Big or Go Home, which are good, but very sport-detail-heavy.  Overall, this is an excellent book that I did not want to put down!

The One and Only Ivan - by Katherine Applegate

What's so great about the great apes, anyway?  Reading this book, you'll figure it out.  Ivan is a gorilla, and this is his story.  You don't get to read many books told from a gorilla's perspective, so don't pass this one up.

It's a sad, but hopeful tale of Ivan and his animal friends, all part of a small curiosity zoo at a random interstate shopping center.  The author drops us right into the middle of the story, where we find plenty of struggle.  The zoo owner struggles to make ends meet, the animals struggle to keep their spirits up, the kind custodian struggles with his conscience as he sees things slipping downhill, but there will be no struggle for this book to hold your attention.  The chapters are very short, and we are truly transported into the mind of a gorilla, for better or worse.

This is a fantastic book, and I highly recommend it.  There's not much action, but plenty of drama.  If you love art, wild animals, friendly mutts, custodians' daughters, or stories that break your heart before they stitch them back together with magic, this is for you.

The Odd Squad: Bully Bait - by Michael Fry

One is so tall that her classmates tease her relentlessly.  One is so strange that nobody wants to be near him.  The last is so short that he gets stuffed in his own locker every day. Life is hard for seventh graders Molly, Karl, and Nick, and there seems to be no way out.  When these three oddballs get forced to start a Safety Patrol together by their principal, things seem to be worse than ever.  However, helped by their apparently deranged Shakespeare-quoting school custodian, the three soon learn that working together, they can overcome their fears and actually turn things around.

The story is told by Nick (the shortest seventh grader in the history of the universe, according to himself), and centers around his interactions with Roy, the school bully.  Through the course of this graphic novel, Nick learns more about his tormentor and finds new strength and empathy that he never knew he had to make some really tough decisions that could either save them all, or ruin everything.

As a graphic novel, this is kind of Wimpy-Kiddish, with more of a story line, and more likable characters.  It wasn't an earth-shatteringly wonderful book, but it was funny, well-written and drawn, and touching at parts. I'd recommend it for a fun and easy read to anyone who enjoys graphic novels, school stories, and seeing bullies get what they deserve.

One Dead Spy - by Nathan Hale

Nathan Hale is/was one cool dude.  The original Nathan Hale was awesome because he was a spy for General George Washington during the American Revolution, and risked (and lost) his life in the fight for liberty.  The author Nathan Hale is awesome because he wrote a book about a dead guy with the same name as his, and because his illustrations and sense of humor are just outstanding.

This graphic novel is a biography of the short-lived American spy Nathan Hale.  Told by the spy himself to his own executioner (hangman) through a series of flashbacks, this is also a great summary of the first part of the American Revolution and its causes.  It's really a wonderful book for anyone interested in this time period, and a good introduction to early American history and military history for reluctant, or any readers.

This series has two books (#2: Big Bad Ironclad), and I can't wait to see what else the author comes up with. Excellent book!

100 Cupboards Series - by N. D. Wilson

What began as a humdrum series has taken me for a wild ride, from which I may never recover!  I have to admit that 100 Cupboards did not especially impress me.  It turns out that this is one of those series where you just get through the first book to prepare you for the amazing story to follow!  The second and third books wowed me and left me reeling.  There were elements of the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, and a fantasy tale unfolded that was epic in scope and in imagination.  Through it all, N.D. Wilson keeps things light with his sly humor and humble, down-to-earth hero, Henry.  Is this really the kid who will save the world?

This series follows Henry to a farm in Kansas, and from there through a number of cupboards that he finds in his uncle's farmhouse attic.  Those cupboards lead to different worlds, which provides quite an adventure for Henry and his cousin Henrietta, but also a bit of risk.  In fact, before we know it, chaos strikes, and the fate of the world is in question.

If you like epic adventure fantasy stories, baseball, or Kansas, this is your series.  Don't you dare abandon it if the first book puts you to sleep, just keep going and you'll never regret it!

100 Cupboards - by N. D. Wilson

Do you like nice stories about a new kid in a small town that turn out to be hair-raising inter-world fantasy adventures?  Yeah, me too.  This is one of those.

Not at all what I expected, this book had a slow start as we met Henry, a boy who was sent to live with his uncle's family in Henry, Kansas, when his own parents died.  He spends his days exploring the local area and learning to play baseball with the neighborhood boys, until the night that a piece of plaster hits him in the face.  It's not just any plaster, but a piece of the wall behind his bed, where he soon discovers a number of mysterious cupboard doors (take a wild guess how many).  At this point the story is still pretty normal, but before long it turns into a sort of Midwestern The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, with cats and baseball bats.  No, I'm afraid I really can't explain it better than taht without giving some important pieces of the plot away, and I am many things, but NOT a spoiler.

From the author of the curious realistic adventure Leepike Ridge comes this new fantasy adventure series, and I think it will be very popular with the kiddos and their parents as well.  The guy just knows how to write, and this first book leaves plenty of options open for directions to take the story, so you can expect many sequels, and that's a good thing.

Once Upon a Marigold - by Jean Ferris

This is a hilarious love story, and I could hardly put it down.  In fact, my only two complaints about this book are that it went too quickly, and was pretty predictable.  It ends like fairy tales usually do (so I won't explain), but along the way there were some very fun and interesting twists.  It is a book that has you jumping up and rooting for your favorite characters, and hissing at their enemies.  It's an excellent read for fairy tale fans who want a thrilling, fast-paced story with some quirky characters.

The main character is Christian, a lad who at six ran away from home and wound up living in a cave with a troll.  Before we know it, he's gotten to that age where a boy must go out and find his way in the world, and his way happens to be straight to the castle where the girl of his dreams spends her days as a captive princess.  Before you know it there is love in the air, evil plots and dedicated pigeons, dopey suitors and tricky mothers, and all manner of other diversions to keep you flipping pages until the heartwarming epilogue.  I'm guessing this book will mainly appeal to fourth grade and older girls, but the male characters are just as plucky and cool as the girls, so boys, don't be afraid to give it a shot.

Oggie Cooder - by Sarah Weeks

How can a lonely, strangely-dressed fourth grade boy rocket from anonymity (when nobody knows you) to FAME in the blink of an eye? And how on earth could eating processed American cheese have anything to do with it? As weird as this sounds, Ms. Weeks answers these questions in a hilarious page-turner of a novel with great illustrations and lovable characters.

Oggie Cooder has a special gift, charving (for a definition, try reading the book), which is really what the whole book is about. Or maybe it's about the difference between being happy and being popular. Then again, maybe the big idea is that the friends we've been looking for may be those who have been there by our side all along. How about you stop trying to figure out what the book is about, go get yourself a copy, and just read it. You'll get a good laugh, and won't regret it. Besides, it's pretty short, so you'll be able to finish quickly and move on to Sarah Weeks' other great book, Regular Guy.

Over the Edge (Mysteries in our National Parks)

What would you do if your mom got pushed over the edge of the Grand Canyon? (she survives, don't worry.) Would you blame the obvious suspect, or give him the benefit of the doubt? This is a problem for brothers Jack and Ashley, the main characters in this Mysteries in our National Parks series, as they try to protect their mom and figure out who's out to get her. This story is a gripping mystery, weaving nature and technology together to help solve the mystery, and protect some endangered California condors at the same time. These books are great for readers who love mysteries, nature, and good series. The plots make you think, and the characters have to make decisions that aren't always easy, just like in our own lives.

These books are available at the public library, but you'll have to make a special request. Search under "Mysteries in our National Parks".