Return to Augie Hobble - by Lane Smith

Most of us know Lane Smith's artwork; he has illustrated a number of best-selling books, including a number of Jon Scieszka's stories.  What would a first-time novel from such a creative artist be like?  A little weird.  Adventurous, sad, mystical, mysterious, enjoyable, yet... weird.

This is the story of middle-schooler Augie Hobble, a pretty neat kid whose family lives and works at an out-dated Fairy-Tale-themed amusement park.  Augie has a strong suspicion that there is something going on that is not quite right, and you bet he is correct.  This book reminds me a little bit of Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs, but in that book the villains were your typical bad guys, and in Return to Augie Hobble... things definitely take a turn to the fantasy side.  Not nice fairy tale fantasy, but a bit more mystical than that.  I don't want to spoil anything, but there are some very unexpected turns.

I was surprised to find severe food allergies at the heart of this book.  I haven't encountered that before, and as the parent of a son with life-threatening nut allergies, I welcomed the education for the readers.  However, it's not an easy book to read for kiddos with those allergies, because there is a very upsetting death.  That wasn't the focus of the book, but then again, I'm not really sure WHAT the focus was.  The plot had powerful events and themes, but felt a little mixed-up and never really came through with a strong message in my mind.

It's a surprising book, and probably worth a read, but I could only rate it a 3 out of 5.

Rogue - by Lynn Miller-Lachmann

What do you get when a teen girl with Asperger's syndrome, a bunch of BMX enthusiasts, and a neighborhood meth lab all come together in one little book?  A powerful, heart-breaking but hopeful story with plenty of twists and turns and an unexpected hero.

Kiara has a really hard time getting along with people, and the world often doesn't make sense to her.  She usually relies on Mr. Internet for help, but there are some questions he just can't answer, such as why her mom won't come home, and why she has Asperger's anyway.  Naming herself Rogue, after the X-Men mutant super-girl is a step toward finding her own power, and through Kiara's courage in hard times, she eventually does find out what makes her special.

This is a book about facing the hard times in life, and how to make it through them. It is about looking at your abilities, not your disabilities, and fighting for what you deserve.  It's an unusual story because it tackles some tough issues: disability, drugs, loyalty, and family trouble, but it does so with grace, and is a rewarding book.

Reboot - by Amy Tintera

Zombies are cool.  Well, not if one is chasing you, which is what Wren's job is, and nobody does it better.  Known as "178" for the number of minutes it took her to reboot back to life when she died, she is the star of the government's reboot program, until she takes on the wrong new recruit to mentor.  When Wren accepts Callum, who is practically still a human, she begins to question the way things are.  In a land where dead teenagers are recruited as slaves to police the bad guys, any internal resistance could bring catastrophe.

This is an exciting, creative dystopian thriller, along the lines of Divergent, The Hunger Games, and Legend.  It is unique in its use of zombies (reboots), but it shares a strong female lead, lots of action, a realization and then fight back against the ruling regime, and characters who learn to care more about their similarities than their differences. There's plenty of violence, but also more tender, thoughtful moments than you would expect.

The pace is fast, the world is interesting, and it's a good book.  In this genre, this book is around the middle of the pack, which is not bad, as there are some amazing science-fiction/fantasty teen  stories being  published these days.  Check this book out, but be prepared to fall in love with a 5-years-dead murderous teen girl.

The Red Blazer Girls - by Michael Beil

Three girls with bright red blazers would not really strike me as the ideal undercover detectives, but I would be wrong.  Just like Nancy Drew, but more modern, less wealthy, and much more interesting, three twelve-year-old students at a New York City private Catholic school for girls are the hottest crime-fighting team in town.  When these young ladies meet a nutty old lady with clues to a valuable hidden treasure, they are hooked, and not even creepy nasty dudes, a super-sized cat or a (sigh) cute boy can stop them.

This first in a promising new series of mysteries is full of funny situations and interesting characters, and the author does a great job of using sophisticated language and concepts without being too brainy.  The book focuses a lot on the characters' lives and emotions, both serious and side-splitting hilarious, and he arranges the story so that each character's strengths contribute to the ending.  It's excellent writing.  My only problem with it is some foul language and talk about girl issues, which I suppose is fine for teenage girls, but... I'm MISTER K, and there are some things I don't care to read about.  This will probably not be a big winner with the guys, sorry.

Luckily, someone at the publisher changed the cover.  Here's the original, which to me screams "Hey! Don't read me!  I'm boring and old-fashioned!"

For girls who love mysteries, this series will join my list of strong recommendations, right beside the Sammy Keyes series by Wendelin Van Draanen.

The Red Pyramid - by Rick Riordian

Perhaps you've heard of Rick Riordan?  Yes, he's the hottest thing in children's literature in the last few years, and he's at it again, topping his Percy Jackson series with this Kane Chronicles collection.  I was a little late getting to this book, though a certain young lady in my class (after reading it at least three times herself), kept bugging me until I picked it up.  I'm glad I did!  This book has all of the interesting mythology and action of his earlier books with the nice twist of switching between two narrators in each chapter.

Carter and Sadie Kane are teen siblings who have been separated since their mother's death years earlier.  When their father unites them for a mysterious trip to a museum, they begin to feel suspicious.  When their father disappears and various Egyptian gods begin trying to kill them, they know that all is not well.  Doesn't it figure that now they have to go and risk their own lives trying to save humankind from the biggest and baddest Egyptian god, Set, and that time has almost run out?

This is a fast-paced action novel, but also a crash course in Egyptian mythology.  You can tell that the author has a great sense of humor, because there are countless laugh-out-loud moments and the interactions between characters are sometimes ridiculous.  Read this book if you enjoyed the Percy Jackson series, if you're curious about Egyptian mythology, or if you just want a sure bet for something good to read.

Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan - by John Flanagan

I love this series!  It reminded me of both Eragon and Lord of the Rings, but simpler and shorter.  You've got Will, a teen who is very honest and smart, and wants to be a warrior, but is just too small and scrawny.  Luckily, he has just been chosen as an apprentice to the mysterious Rangers, who are masters of surveillance and stealth, protecting the kingdom by seeking out and fighting enemies in their own special ways.  This interests Will, but he would much rather be a warrior with a large sword and fast horse than a Ranger, with a bow and arrows and two puny knives.  As danger threatens the kingdom and Will travels afar with two more experienced Rangers, the fate of his mentor and the kingdom itself is suddenly in Will's hands.  As he is pushed to the limits of his wits and skills, Will must decide if this is the life he wants, or if he will become a warrior and fulfill his lifelong dreams.

This series is action-packed, full of interesting weaponry and battle scenes but without the bloody violence of some warrior books.  As a reader you come to know and like the characters, and Will's journey becomes your own.  This book was hard to put down, and I can't wait to read and recommend the rest of the series to my students and Guys Read book clubs.

The Return of the Homework Machine - by Dan Gutman

You might wonder how (or why) an author would mess with such a great book as The Homework Machine, and whether a sequel could possibly be as good as the original.  Surprise: It is!  Like the first book, this story is told through police interviews of each of the major players, which include the four students from the first book and a new cast of characters as well. 

This is the story of four students who happen to live near the Grand Canyon, and who also happen to have invented and used a machine to do their homework for them. After they destroyed the machine (see the first book for that story), it turns out one little part of the machine remained, and that is the focus of this book.  Once it's discovered that this little part, the "brain" of the machine, can be used by its owner to do just about anything, the race is on as good and nasty folks alike try to find it and use it for their own purposes.

This is a good book, but don't read it unless you've read The Homework Machine first.

Robot Dreams - by Sara Varon

What good is a book with no words? Even though I (Mister K) love to read, and have a passion for words, I fell in love with this wordless graphic novel about a dog and his robot friend.

With some pretty simple and interesting pictures, the author tells the story of a dog who builds a robot, and becomes its best friend. After a trip to the beach where the robot gets rusty, the dog is forced to leave his metal friend behind, and he gets lonely. The book contains the robots attempts to find new friends, but they all end up leaving, too. In his dreams, the robot hopes to meet up with his friend once more, and at the end of the book... Well, you'll be happy with the ending, I'll tell you that.

Although this is an unusual book, it's well worth picking up. You won't be disappointed.

Rules - by Cynthia Lord

What's it like to be a twelve-year old girl? I wouldn't know, but I bet it's not easy. It's probably even more difficult when everything your family does seems to center around your little brother with Autism. This is the situation that our main character Catherine finds herself in, and life with her brother David is really getting on her nerves, especially since she seems to be the one mainly in charge of watching out for him, and teaching him the rules of how to get along in this world.

When Catherine tries to make new friends, things really get complicated. The new girl next door who she really wants to be friends with is one of those "perfect" girls who seem too good for everyone, and the boy she is getting to know just happens to be in a wheelchair, and isn't able to talk. Somehow, Catherine must find a way to make sense of her world, and by the end of the book she does. It's not easy though, and this book shows that life isn't always clean, and that family and friendships can be a bit messy.

This is a great book, and I'm excited to read more by the author. She really gives us interesting characters and puts them into realistic situations that make the reader reflect on his or her own life. This will appeal to readers who enjoy realistic fiction, friendship stories, and characters who struggle and grow because of it.

Runt - by Marion Dane Bauer

This seemingly cute book is really a realistic, occasionally bloody look at the lives and habits of wolf families. That may not sound like your type of thing, but you may be surprised. Bauer wrote this book as the fictional story of the smallest guy in a new litter of pups, named Runt by his father, the leader of the pack. Time after time, little Runt disappoints his father and family, and just can't seem to do anything right. In time, though, Runt finds a way to prove to his family that he's just as important as any of them, and the ending is sweet without being the least bit sappy.

It's obvious that the author did quite a bit of research on wolves for this book, which is set in the woods of northern Minnesota, her home state. The details are very vivid, and the hunt scenes may make vegetarian readers squirm just a bit. It seems that Bauer got her facts right, and that the way she describes the wolf family is very accurate (to learn more about wolf families, click here). This book will appeal to readers who love quick, challenging, rewarding books, and who would like to learn more about what it's like to live as a wolf in the wild.

Room One - by Andrew Clements

Ted is just a normal fifth-grader in his small town, except for one little catch - he's the only fifth-grader! His town's population has been shrinking, and now the school is down to one small group of kids, and nobody knows what will happen if even more people leave the town. Will the school just close?

Ted, who considers himself a junior detective, sets off to solve this problem and save the school. Along the way he discovers a mystery in an abandoned house on the edge of town, where he has his paper route. Soon he's wrapped up in far more than he had ever bargained for, and he's trying to save much more than his school. He's a bright, brave kid, but can he do it all on his own? I'm afraid you'll just have to read the book to find out.

This is one of Andrew Clements's best books, in my mind. Although it involves a school, it's not as school-centered as many of his other stories, and he explores concepts that are new to him: small-town living, families of soldiers who are away at war, and some familiar concepts, such as what young people are capable of accomplishing on their own, and at what point they need to inform and involve adults about their plans. For some reason the book is not illustrated by my favorite, Brian Selznick, but Chris Blair does a passable job with the pictures.

Read this book if you like mysteries, school stories, brave child characters, and long bike rides while trying to carry groceries. Read the book, and you'll understand.

The Race of the Birkebeiners by Lise Lunge-Larsen

The year: 1206. The place: Norway. The evil Baglers have taken over the kingdom, and the only hope for Norway's future is to help the infant prince Hakon escape the Bagler soldiers. The brave Birkebeiners, loyal to their dead king and to their country, were the only ones who could help. Over three days, a small band of Birkebeiners carried the prince over Norway's most treacherous mountains through incredibly deep snow and the harshest storms, fighting to save the 8-pound prince. Did they make it? I'm afraid you'll have to read the book yourself to answer that question.

This picture book for older readers was beautifully illustrated by Mary Azarian, who also lent her woodblock artistry to the book Snowflake Bentley. The book will appeal to lovers of history, winter, cross-country skiing, and picture books with amazing images.

Regular Guy

Do you have STRANGE parents? Do you sometimes wonder how those weird people could possibly have produced someone as normal and wonderful as you? That's the question that begins this delightful, mysterious story about a boy named Guy and his own wacky parents.

With the help of his best friend, the talented Buzz, young Guy Strang sets off on a quest to prove that he was switched at birth with a fellow student, the one and only Bob-O Smith, who also happens to smell like tuna fish.

This is a very funny book, and will delight readers of realistic fiction, school and friendship stories, and mysteries. The author does a wonderful job of crafting the characters' personalities, and helping the reader to get a feel for what it's like to be in Guy's shoes. Read this book, and you'll never look at your parents the same way again!

Rowan of Rin - by Emily Rodda

Is young Rowan up to the task of saving his village from an unknown fate? The boy certainly hopes so, as he sets off with the strongest villagers (against their better judgment) to discover why the river their village depends on has begun to dry up. As the group climbs the mysterious mountain, all kinds of strange things happen, and only the strongest survive. This is a fun mystery, full of magic and adventure. There are two sequels, though I haven't read them. This book is good enough to stand on its own, no question. Read this if you like mystical adventures, with riddles, danger, and strange enemies.

This author also wrote the Deltora Quest series.