Archive for Mystery

Book Review: The Twelve-Fingered Boy

April 8, 2013 · Filed under Fantasy, Fiction, High School, Mystery, Novels, Paranormal, Reviews · Tagged ,

The Twelve-Fingered Boy by John Hornor Jacobs.  February 2013. 9780761390077.  Gr. 9-12.

I love books with characters that are odd and unique.  I have posted here before about how I believe people judge books by their cover (I know I do!).  I loved this cover and the title, so, everything upon first impression about The Twelve-Fingered Boy grabbed me (groan-inducing pun intended).

Shreveport Justice Cannon, or Shreve for short, is a resident of Pulaski Juvenile Detention Center.  He has lived a rough life, having never met his father and being required to deal with his difficult,  alcoholic mother.  He has had to fend for himself, and also worry about his younger, vulnerable brother, Vig.  Shreve has made a “living” at the detention center by dealing contraband.  Fellow inmates make sure Shreve stays in their good graces, as he supplies the Heath bars, lollipops, and other sweets that they all desire.

Soon, Shreve gets a new roommate.  Jack is a smaller, shy boy who does whatever he can to be inconspicuous, which is difficult when one has twelve fingers.  Jack reminds Shreve of his brother, and Shreve becomes protective of Jack; a friendship is born.  Shreve soon sees that Jack’s hands aren’t the only things that make him unique.  When Jack gets angry, the air ripples around him, and he produces a powerful and destructive shockwave. Jack’s ability has attracted the attention of the dark and mysterious Quincrux, who apparently seeks out those with powers, to use for his own purposes.

Shreve and Jack decide that they can’t stay at the detention center while Quincrux is seeking them, as Quincrux is able to mentally manipulate people, making it easy for him to get past the detention center’s administration and get to Jack.  Shreve learns that he, too, has a special mental ability that was awoken by Quincrux, and this comes in handy while he and Jack are on the run.

We get a lot of “good versus evil” battles, and I must say that Quincrux is as menacing and scary a villain as there can be.  His intentions are not clear, and aside from some ambiguity at the end, it seems certain that he is the embodiment of evil.  A healthy dose of mystery is introduced to be tackled in the next book in this new series, and I am excited to see what is in store for Shreve and The Twelve-Fingered Boy.

Check out the delightfully ominous book trailer here, then get this in the hands (polydactyl or otherwise) of everyone you can!

Ryan

Blogger: Ryan H.

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The Alex Awards

March 11, 2013 · Filed under Biography, Dystopia, Fiction, High School, Mystery, Nonfiction, Realistic, Reviews, Sports · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

I try to read broadly, through all levels and genres, but I will say that the majority of books I read are written for adults.  However, I do read a good number of Young Adult titles, so I have found the perfect intersection for me… the winners of the Alex Award.

Quoting YALSA’s website, the Alex Awards are given yearly to “to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.”  When this year’s winners were announced recently, I was pleased to see that I had read a number of them.  Here are my thoughts on these excellent titles:

Caring is Creepy by David Zimmerman. 2012. 9781569479773. Gr. 11-Adult.

This book starts out as a cautionary tale, as 15-year-old friends Lynn and Dani begin interacting with people on the internet for the sole purpose of “messing with them”.  All the while, because they are normal teenage girls, they pine for love and are looking for that special someone.  When Lynn takes it a step further and meets (in real life) someone she has chatted with online, things start to unravel.  Her mom, an ER nurse, is having issues of her own, having become a mostly unwitting participant in a drug scheme with her loser boyfriend.  These storylines intersect in a thunderous climax, in unexpected ways.  Without giving anything away, this one brought to mind a fresh take on Stephen King’s Misery, as love and obsession cause someone to be held against their will.  A few words of caution: This title has many adult themes, including a lot of the big three of sex, drugs, and violence.  It is a bold choice by the committee for the Alex Award.  There certainly is teen appeal here with the themes of online safety, love, and angst, but the maturity level of the reader should be carefully considered.

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. 2012. 9780374214913. Gr. 11-Adult.

As mentioned, the intersection of adult and teen books hits me right in my literary sweet spot, and similarly, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore is a marriage of many of my favorite things.  Take an odd independent bookstore, add in technology, a dose of mystery, and some supernatural/magical elements, and you have the recipe for a fun book. Plus, the cover of the hardcover version glows in the dark…how cool is that?  Anyway, the story revolves around Clay Jannon, a recently unemployed web designer who takes a job at a local bookstore.  He soon learns that this isn’t your typical bookstore, as there aren’t many customers, and those that do come in seem to only be borrowing old obscure books, with the blessing of the owner, the eccentric Mr. Penumbra.  Using his natural curiosity, and his talent as a computer guy, Clay begins piecing together what is going on.  This is a geeky pleasure right up there with Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One.

My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf. 2012. 9781419702167. Gr.10-Adult.

As I have blogged here before, I am not usually drawn (pun intended) to graphic novels.  However, I again have to admit that I really got into this one.  For me, there is something oddly fascinating about the psychology of what shapes someone like Jeffrey Dahmer.  This is the true story of someone who was probably as close of a friend as Dahmer had growing up, Derf Backderf (pseudonym of John Backderf), who grew up to be an accomplished artist. We all know what Dahmer grew up to be, and this is the chronicle of the adolescent Dahmer, at the beginning of his spiral into madness.  This book is simultaneously creepy, funny, sad, and overall very compelling.  Highly recommended.

One Shot At Forever by Chris Ballard. 2012. 9781401324384. Gr. 11-Adult.

This book about an unlikely, rag-tag high school baseball team has drawn inevitable comparisons to the Hollywood basketball movie Hoosiers, and rightly so. There are definite similarities, including the always-gripping David vs. Goliath plot.  While Hoosiers was mostly true with some fictionalization, One Shot At Forever is a completely true story, pieced together by Chris Ballard through research and extensive interviews.  Ballard is a great storyteller who brings the characters to life and instantly makes you a fan of the 1971 Macon High School Ironmen.  At that time in Illinois, there were no sports class divisions, so if your school had 100 students, they were pitted against schools that had 5000 when competing for the state title.  The Ironmen were led by Lynn Sweet, the reluctant, long-haired, hippie coach who announced at the first practice that he didn’t have many rules, and that practice was optional.  He felt that his team should be playing to have fun, and if it wasn’t fun anymore, they shouldn’t play at all.  He was more psychologist and mentor than coach, and the kids loved him.  I loved this book; it is one of the best I have read all year.

Pure by Juliana Baggott. 2012. 9781455503063. Gr. 11-Adult.

On the surface, Pure seems to be just another in the long line of dystopias that has emerged post-Hunger Games.  But Pure gets big points for its originality.  The post-apocalyptic world has arisen due to what is referred to as the Detonations. Those that survived the blasts intact live in the Dome, a sterile sanctuary, but those outside of this protected area were obviously not so lucky.  They were changed by the blasts, often in gruesome and disfiguring ways.  They fused with whatever was around them when the blasts happened, and the young protagonist, Pressia, shows this.  She has a doll’s face fused to the end of her arm.  Others have fused with objects, animals, or other people, all of which causes them to have a natural disdain for those living unharmed in the Dome.  When Partridge, a dome-dweller, and Pressia are forced together by circumstance, their worlds collide. They work together to reveal the truth about what happened to cause all of this.  This is an original take on the now-common dystopia novel.

Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt. 2012. 9780679644194. Gr. 11-Adult.

This is a beautifully-written, multi-layered, coming-of-age, sparkling debut novel, and also one of my favorite of the year (I almost didn’t have enough hyphens and commas for that sentence, and interestingly enough, there are many more adjectives to describe this book!).  The setting is the 80s, at the onset of the AIDS epidemic.  June Elbus is growing up with many of the same problems teens encounter; finding her place in the world, arguing with her older sister, and being embarrassed by her parents.  June can always find refuge in her relationship with her uncle, Finn, a famous artist.  Finn is dying of AIDS, and this obviously impacts June immensely.  As if being a teen isn’t hard enough, June has to deal with very heavy situations and circumstances.  The author brings the reader to contemplate love in all of its forms, and the result is powerful. This is a heartbreakingly sad, yet hopeful book that I cannot recommend enough.

RyanBlogger : Ryan H.

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Book Review: Freaks

February 25, 2013 · Filed under Fiction, Historical, Humor, Middle School (6-8), Mystery, Novels, Reviews · Tagged , , ,

Freaks by Kieran Larwood. March 2013. 9780545474245. Gr. 6-8.

There are a lot of great new books out there.  I am always amazed at the variety and diversity of books for kids; it seems that there is something for everyone.    However, I sometimes get jaded with media, as it seems like everything is too derivative of something else.  I like things that are unique, that haven’t been overdone.

A few things about Freaks piqued my interest and assured me that it would be unique. First, there is the eye-catching cover, depicting three of the “freaks”.  Second is the tagline, “Weirdest. Crime Fighters. Ever.”  Finally, the publisher’s note on the inside that describes it as the X-men meet Oliver Twist assured me that this title would be nothing if not unique!

Freaks is set in Victorian London, a time when sideshow freaks work in less-than-optimal conditions, and “street urchins” beg for money or work long hours at terrible jobs.  Both of these play central roles in Freaks.  The main character is Sheba, a wolf-girl who works as a sideshow attraction in Grunchgirdle’s World of Curiosities, alongside a two-headed sheep named Flossy.  Grunchgirdle is a despicable man that Larwood describes as, “…a rheumy, skinny old man with the aroma of a long-dead trout.” Soon, Sheba is sold to an equally unsavory man named Plumpscuttle.  It is here that she joins a group of other Freaks, including a giant named Gigantus, a ninja-like girl named Sister Moon, a rat-wrangler called Mama Rat, and Monkeyboy, who has a penchant for all things disgusting.

When a girl that Sheba befriends at the sideshow goes missing under mysterious circumstances, the sideshow performers team up to find out what is going on in the city.  Why are poor kids who work near the river disappearing? What is the monstrous, crab-like thing that has been sighted there? Who could be behind all of this?  Sheba convinces the other Freaks that they have to act and try to answer these questions, which takes them on an adventure throughout the city, culminating at the Crystal Palace of London’s Great Exhibition of 1851.

Freaks won the prestigious Chicken House/London Times Children’s Fiction contest.  Kieran Larwood is a Kindergarten teacher in Britain, and one can see this in his writing.  He obviously knows what children find funny, as Monkeyboy provides lots of one-liners and bathroom humor.  Larwood concludes the book with some teaching, in this case about real Victorian London.  He provides a nice history lesson about the impoverished state of the city, the history of freak shows, and the Great Exhibition.

In the book, a sign at the entrance of the freakshow reads, “A Collection of the Hideous, Horrid, and Humongous. Terror and Amazement Await You.  You Are Advised to Bring a Change of Trousers.”  While I won’t go that extent in encouraging you to read this book, I will say that it is a fun and unique story that I thoroughly enjoyed.  Freaks will be released in March.

Ryan

Blogger: Ryan H.

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Book Review : A Natural History of Dragons : A Memoir by Lady Trent

February 18, 2013 · Filed under Fantasy, Fiction, High School, Mystery, Novels, Reviews · Tagged , , ,

Natural history of dragonsA Natural History of Dragons : A Memoir by Lady Trent by Marie Brennan. 9780765331960. 2013. 10-Adult.

Isabella, a young girl growing up in Scirland (a country similar to England in the 1800s), disregards her society’s strict rules of behavior pertaining to women—and young girls.  She is fascinated with science, especially natural history, and yet is discouraged from asking questions and searching for answers. A scientific career is out of the question.

Her main interest is in dragons, about which not much is known.  She is allowed to catch and study sparklings, small creatures that look dragonish though are considered to be insects.  But this research only piques her curiosity, rather than satisfying it.  And when a wolf-drake is discovered on her father’s land (a rare occasion indeed), she is determined to join the hunt organized to get rid of the nuisance..and catch her first glance of a creature similar to dragons.  Unfortunately, her scheme almost ends in tragedy.

Isabella’s father, while sympathetic to his daughter’s passion for science, lays down the law:  her only future is marriage, but no man will have her if she continues in this way.  So she backs off from her studies, learns how to gossip and act like a “proper” lady, and is miserable…until the day her brother takes her to see a collection of captured dragons.

As the title states, this book is told as a memoir by Lady Trent—Isabella.  She is now an old woman, a famous writer and scientist, and the world’s foremost expert on dragons.  She explains how she was able to get her start in studying dragons (outrageous!) and describes her initial exciting—and terrifying—expedition to the mountains of Vystrana, where she made the first of her many discoveries about the behavior of dragons.

Isabella is a very proper lady, and her voice reflects that as well as her passion, her wit, and her sarcasm.  There is never a hint that this is a made-up memoir (is it?)  Her expedition is scientific, not a bloody campaign to kill the dragons.  But that doesn’t make it any less dangerous.  As Lady Trent says in the preface to her memoir:

It is not for the faint of heart—no more so than the study of dragons itself.  But such study offers rewards beyond compare:  to stand in a dragon’s presence, even for the briefest of moments—even at the risk of one’s life—is a delight that, once experienced, can never be forgotten.

And there is romance, a very nice romance—but not, thank goodness, that of a teen girl constantly swooning over a boy’s lips and muscles.

Since this is Lady Trent’s memoir of her first expedition, I can only hope that means there are more to come!

TraceyBlogger : Tracey L.

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Review: The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls

January 14, 2013 · Filed under Fiction, Horror, Middle School (6-8), Mystery, Novels, Reviews · Tagged , , ,

The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand. August 2012. 9781442442917. Gr. 5-8.

Before I worked here in the Collection Analysis department at Mackin, I worked in an elementary school library.  I loved finding books for students and getting great books into their hands.  I always had to chuckle at some of the (mostly) younger elementary students that thought I had the entire library catalog in my head.  Students would stop me in the hallway and ask, “How much does (insert book title here) cost if I have lost it?” or, “Is (insert book title here) checked in today?”  One of the most common questions asked of me, though, was one I could readily answer: “Do you have any scary books?”

The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls certainly fits the bill as a scary story.  In fact, I have read some reviews on it that imply it may be too scary for middle graders.  However, scary means different things to different people.  Some love the thrill of being scared, others avoid frightening things altogether as it may give them nightmares.  I am squarely in the camp of enjoying the “creepy” factor in books, and The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls does not disappoint.

Victoria is a perfectionist.  She takes great pride in her appearance, her manners, and most of all, her grades.  She really only has one friend, Lawrence, and the real reason Victoria has forged a friendship with him is so she can “fix” the mannerisms he has that are out of line with how she thinks a young man should act.  Lawrence is a sloppy, daydreaming boy, and his perpetually untucked shirt and uncombed hair are just a couple of things Victoria seeks to improve.  They have forged a true friendship underneath this odd arrangement, though, which is quickly tested.  Lawrence turns up missing, and Victoria is determined to solve the mystery surrounding his disappearance.

It is soon apparent that things aren’t quite right in Victoria and Lawrence’s town of Belleville.  Aside from children going missing, the adults are acting strangely. Many have a vacant look in their eyes and wide, fake smiles.  Their memory seems impaired, and Victoria understandably feels uneasy.  She finds that the center of the “not quite right” feeling is The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls, which is purportedly an orphanage run by fellow perfectionist Mrs. Cavendish.  Victoria soon learns that Cavendish’s good intention to change children’s lives is not what it seems.

Victoria has to unravel the mystery behind the Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls, save Lawrence and the other children in the house, and find out why the adults in town are acting so weird.  Besides having to match wits with the unsettling Mrs. Cavendish, she has to battle roach-like bugs that seem to do Mrs. Cavendish’s bidding, deal with one-eyed creatures called “gofers”, and overcome the villainous Mr. Alice, Mrs. Cavendish’s right-hand man.

Legrand brilliantly plots this story in such a way that it is delightfully sinister.  She creates characters and elements of the story that are close to normal, or that appear normal, and that is what gives it its unsettling creepiness.  She doesn’t overly rely on monsters or supernaturalism, and that is precisely why it is scary, as sometimes the insinuation of evil is scarier than overt evil!

So, for all of those students you may have that ask you for a “scary story”…keep this one in mind!  There are deeper, underlying messages to explore, such as the importance of individuality, the perils of perfection, and the bond of friendship, but this is a scare-fest in the vein of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, and in my opinion, kids will love it.

Ryan H.

Blogger: Ryan H.

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Series Review: Floors

October 4, 2012 · Filed under Fiction, Humor, Intermediate (3-5), Magic, Middle School (6-8), Mystery, Novels, Reviews · Tagged ,

Floors by Patrick Carman. 2011. 9780545255196. Gr 4-7.

It can sometimes be overwhelming trying to pick books to highlight here on the Books in Bloom blog.  There are so many good titles out there that are just waiting to be showcased!  I have been on a bit of a middle-school fiction kick lately, and I decided to tap into my built-in “focus group” to help me decide which title to feature here.  My “focus group” is comprised of my two grade-school sons, and it is always fun to see what they are picking up off the shelves and listening to their reviews of books.

I remembered a few months back that my younger son, Lucas, was really into the book Floors by Patrick Carman.  I remember watching him sitting and reading on the couch, smiling and laughing out loud, totally engrossed.  Afterward, he gave it an enthusiastic five-star rating and periodically reminded me, “Dad, you should read that book!”

So, when I saw that the second book in the series was released recently, I figured I should see if the series lived up to the hype.

The protagonist of Floors is Leo Fillmore, son of the Whippet Hotel’s maintenance man.  As part of their employment, they live in the basement of the hotel, which may sound dull, but in reality it is a child’s dream.  The Whippet Hotel is no ordinary hotel.  Built by the eccentric Merganzer D. Whippet, it features rollercoasters, a life-sized pinball machine room, hidden passageways, robots, holograms, and so much more.  It is truly imaginative, inventive, and unique.  The problem is that it appears that greedy real estate developers want to acquire the property it is built on, and they are sabotaging the workings of the hotel in an effort to drive down the price and buy it.  Things are mysteriously breaking down, chaos reigns, and many of the guests of the hotel are getting upset.  On top of all of this, Mr. Whippet has mysteriously disappeared, leaving much of the responsibility of fixing things to Leo and his dad.  Leo finds a mysterious box left to him by Mr. Whippet that sends him and his bellboy friend, Remi, on a quest that leads them throughout the marvelous hotel.

There is a lot going on here: mystery and intrigue, villains and good guys, Willy Wonka-style contraptions and inventions, and loads of adventure.  While Leo is the main character, the Whippet Hotel is the star of the book.  Carman has succeeded in creating a world within the hotel that really stimulates the imagination.

3 Below by Patrick Carman. September 2012. 9780545255202. Gr. 4-7.

In the follow up to Floors, titled 3 Below, we find that there is even more to the Whippet Hotel than was revealed in the first book.  The bossy former manager, Mrs. Sparks, is back with revenge on her mind, and she knows that the preoccupied Mr. Whippet has not paid his taxes, and now owes $700,000.  She enlists the help of the detestable Mr. Carp and a hotel guest to again try and wrest the hotel away from Leo and Mr. Whippet.   Leo and Remi are sent on another quest to save the hotel, where they encounter a new cast of characters and plenty of surprises.

This series features a lot of pure, innocent fun.  I think they are great books to get in the hands of boys, as the robots, contraptions, and adventure should prove irresistible to them.  But I also think this is a fun read for anyone…who doesn’t like magical, mysterious, funny stories?  This book would be a great read-aloud book for a classroom or reading group as well.

It appears that my “focus group” was correct on this one!  I am sure you all take note of what the children in your lives are reading…I encourage you to leave a comment after this post with any books your own personal “focus groups” have been telling YOU to read!


Blogger:  Ryan H.

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Review: The Templeton Twins Have An Idea

September 20, 2012 · Filed under Fiction, Humor, Intermediate (3-5), Middle School (6-8), Mystery, Novels, Reviews · Tagged , , ,

The Templeton Twins Have An Idea by Ellis Weiner. August 2012. 9780811866798. Gr 5-7.

  • How would the Templeton twins’ lives have been different had they never been born?
  • What were the names of Abigail and John, the Templeton twins?

I begin this review with a sample of the “review questions” that appear at the end of each chapter in this comical book.  They are posed by the funny, sarcastic, full-of-himself narrator. Unlike most narrators that detachedly recount a story, this one talks directly to the reader, often in a humorous and entertaining tone.

The aforementioned Templeton twins are the smart and inventive children of Elton Templeton, a professor and inventor who has never quite moved on after the death of the children’s mother.  He is offered a position at a university that will allow him to further his research on one of his inventions, the Personal One-Man Helicopter, so the family packs up and moves.

During one of the professor’s lectures at his new post, a former student and current nemesis, Dean D. Dean, interrupts and claims that he was the mind behind the personal helicopter invention, and that the professor stole his idea.  After being rebuffed by the professor, Dean storms out, foreshadowing that he is not through harassing the Templeton family.

Dean, with the aid of his twin brother, Dan D. Dean, end up kidnapping the Templeton twins, requiring the twins to rely on their talents and smarts to escape and foil the Deans’ plan.  Beneath all of the silliness and escapades, a good message comes through…be resourceful, think on your feet, and work together.

The Templeton Twins Have An Idea reminds me a lot of Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events.  There is a lot of goofiness within its pages (it is the best book that contains a meatloaf recipe that I have read all year!), and the excellent illustrations by Jeremy Holmes add a lot of depth.  Overall, this is a promising start to a fun, new series.

I highly recommend visiting The Templeton Twins’ Tumblr site where you can watch the book trailer, read about the next book in the series, and best of all, submit a question to the cheeky narrator.

Borrowing from the narrator’s end-of-chapter questions, I will end with a question for you:

Did you like this review? True or False. Circle one:

T          T

Blogger: Ryan H.

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Want to Live Forever?

August 30, 2012 · Filed under Fiction, High School, Middle School (6-8), Mystery, Novels, Science Fiction · Tagged , , , , , , ,

Personally, I wouldn’t want to live forever (seems like it would get kinda long), but I’ve recently read a couple books that make the possibility intriguing.  No, these aren’t vampires or werewolves or any other kind of mystical creature that lives forever.  These books explore the possibility of living forever through scientific discovery, which I found very refreshing.  Another thing I love about these books…they are both stand-alones!  I love a good series as much as the next reader, but it’s so nice to read a book that starts and finishes all in one novel once in awhile.

Origin by Jessica Khoury. 9781595145956.  Coming out September 4th, 2012.  Grades 9-12.  (ARC Copy)

Pia is one of a kind, literally. Raised deep in the Amazonian rainforest on a restricted compound, she is the creation of a team of scientist striving to create an immortal race. The night of her 17th birthday, Pia discovers a way out of the compound and decides to explore the surrounding jungle. There she meets Eio, a local village boy, who helps her uncover secrets behind the scientists’ experiments. Readers who love science fiction and mystery will be tearing through the pages from this debut novelist.

I loved the mystery of this novel.  You know something sinister is going on within the compound, but I never guessed what it was until the author revealed it.  That kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the story.  Pia was also a believable character whose growth and self-realization was, in my opinion, realistically portrayed.  The romance was a little quick, but that can easily be overlooked by all the other great elements of this story.

Revived by Cat Patrick.  9780316094627.  2012.  Grades 7-12.  (ARC Copy)

Daisy Appleby has died five times in the last fifteen years. She is brought back to life each time with Revive, a drug created by a secret government agency. After her last brush with death, Daisy and the agents who monitor her move to Omaha, Nebraska for a fresh start. There she meets siblings Audrey and Matt. When her friendship with Matt turns deeper, and she finds out Audrey’s secret, Daisy starts to question the moral implications of Revive and the true intentions of the agency who created it.

Technically Daisy isn’t immortal, but since she can overcome death, I thought it still went with the theme of the post.  This novel had a good blend of romance, mystery, action mixed with everyday teen issues.  When they move to Nebraska, Daisy allows herself to connect with peers for the first time, and doing so makes her start questioning the life she’s been given due to the Revive drug.  The romance was sweet and realistically portrayed.  I thought all of the characters were done well actually.  This is a great read for anyone looking for science fiction that feels realistic…with a little romance thrown in.

Lindsey L.

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Series Review : Gallagher Girls

August 20, 2012 · Filed under Fiction, High School, Middle School (6-8), Mystery, Novels · Tagged , , , ,

James Bond.  Jason Bourne.  Alex Rider. Maxwell Smart.  What do all of these fictional characters have in common?  They are all spies.  They are all male.  And they are all very good at their jobs (well, except for Maxwell Smart).  But how do spies learn what they need to know?

Welcome to the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a very exclusive boarding school for teenage girls who have been accepted because of their intelligence and skills.  But this isn’t merely a high-priced school for geniuses.  It’s actually a very, very secret all-girl school for spies-in-training.  Students learn to speak fluently in fourteen languages and practice advanced martial arts.  They attend classes in chemical warfare, advanced encryption, and covert operations.

Cammie Morgan and her roommates are 15 when the series begins.  On a classroom assignment to practice their spy skills in a nearby town, she meets an ordinary boy who thinks she is just an ordinary girl—and realizes the one thing that she has not learned at the Gallagher Academy is how to be a normal girl.

Though the first book is fun and full of action, it is fairly fluffy—not really the type of series that I would necessarily continue.  But as Cammie grows older, the situations that she finds herself in become more complicated, as do her relationships with her roommates and friends and her mother (the Academy’s headmistress).   She and her friends are distinct and realistic (as realistic as genius teen girls in a secret spy school can be), and all the major characters mature throughout the series.

And the books become much more serious, too. The girls find out that an ancient terrorist organization is hunting for someone—but who?  And why?  As the latest book begins, Cammie regains consciousness and realizes she has lost her memory of the summer.  Was she kidnapped?  Tortured?  Did she betray her school and her friends?

Despite the maturing of the books, they all remain very clean.  Boy-girl relationships don’t go past kissing, and I don’t think I recall even a damn or a hell.  It goes to show that YA books don’t need swearing and sex to be romantic, exciting, and suspenseful.

After reading the first book, I have listened to all of the audiobooks.  Renee Raudman does a spectacular job of giving each character a distinct voice.  (On a very personal note:  Thank you, Ally Carter, for creating Joe Solomon, the covert operations teacher; and thank you, Renee, for giving him such a dreamy voice.  Just like the girls in his classes, I think I’m in love.)

I only listen to books in the car, and I got wrapped up in the latest book on my way home Saturday.  So, since my to-do list included dusting and weeding (both my garden and my library), I decided to take a long drive through the Minnesota countryside and finish my book.  The drive was relaxing, the countryside was beautiful, and the book was great!

The Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter. 2012. Gr 7-12.

I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You. 9781423100034. 2006.

Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy. 9781423100058. 2007.

Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover. 9781423116387. 2009.

Only the Good Spy Young. 9781423128205. 2010.

Out of Sight, Out of Time. 9781423147947. 2012.

Blogger:  Tracey L.

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Series Review: Chet and Bernie Mystery series

July 23, 2012 · Filed under Fiction, High School, Mystery, Novels, Reviews · Tagged , , , ,

I’m not necessarily a fan of mystery series, but Spencer Quinn’s Chet and Bernie Mystery series is one of my favorites. Though written for adults, it would be an excellent addition to high school libraries.

Bernie Little is the owner of the Little Detective Agency, which specializes in missing persons, and Chet, his partner, is the first-person narrator of the series. I am listening to the fourth book, and so far they have worked on cases involving missing children, show dogs, and an elephant.  Before working as a detective, Chet had gone through police training, and had actually done quite well

until the very last day.  The only thing left had been the leaping test.  And leaping is just about my very best thing.  Then came some confusion. Was a cat involved? And blood? I ended up flunking out.

Leaping?  A cat? I forgot to mention that Chet is a dog.

Now, I’m a sucker for books with animal characters.  Show me a book—novel or nonfiction—with a dog on the cover and I’m hooked.   And I like books that have a dog as a primary character. However, something is often lost—or actually added—when the dog becomes the narrator.  Either the dog understands too much, or the human in the story can practically read Fido’s mind, resulting in an unrealistic tail…er, tale.

But Quinn obviously knows dogs, because Chet is totally a dog.  He enjoys chasing balls and chewing on rawhide strips and being scratched.  Every good dog adores his human, and Chet worships Bernie.  His doggy nose and K-9 training makes him a great tracker and valuable partner (“[Bernie’s] brain and my nose: plenty of perps now wearing orange jump suits can tell you about that combo”).

But Chet is also only a dog.  He nods off at inconvenient times, like during conversations…and when Chet sleeps, he doesn’t hear what’s going on, so we the readers miss important information.  Or he gets distracted, either by scents (bacon, cats, or the female dog down the valley) or sounds:

The woman started to answer, but at that moment I heard something rustling in the bushes on the far side of the driveway.  The next thing I knew, I was in the bushes myself, sniffing around, maybe even digging, but only the littlest bit. Some kind of smell was in the air, frog or toad, or…

“Chet? You’re not digging in there, are you?”

I backed out of the bushes, trotted over to Bernie.  Oops—my tail was down, tucked back in a guilty manner.  I stuck it right up, high and innocent.

Even when he’s paying attention, Chet is still just a dog.  He doesn’t get idioms or a lot of figurative language.  He’ll obsess on one word that he hears, like when Bernie describes a town as flea-bitten:

That was what Bernie called it—flea-bitten—but I felt no fleas at all, hadn’t been bothered by them in ages, not since I started on the drops.  But the funny thing was, even though I didn’t have fleas, just the thought of them suddenly made me itchy.  I started scratching, first behind my ear, soon along my side, then both at once, really digging in with my claws, faster and—

“Chet, for God’s sake.”

I pushed all thoughts about scratching clear out of my mind.

And though we know everything that Chet does, Bernie doesn’t.  If they get separated and Chet sees or smells something, Bernie doesn’t automatically intuit what his partner knows.   Bernie is smart and loyal, but there are no super powers and mind melds.   Just a man and his dog.

Or, if you prefer, a dog and his human.

The first book of the series, Dog on It, received starred reviews from Library Journal, Booklist, and Publisher’s Weekly, and the rest of the books have all been highly reviewed.  For those who prefer audiobooks, Jim Frangione has given Chet an excellent voice.  Funny, suspenseful, and full of heart, this series is not just for dog lovers.

Series in order:

Dog on It : A Chet and Bernie Mystery. 9781416585848. 2009.

Thereby Hangs a Tail : A Chet and Bernie Mystery. 9781416585862. 2010.

To Fetch a Thief : A Chet and Bernie Mystery.  9781439157084. 2010.

The Dog Who Knew Too Much : A Chet and Bernie Mystery.  9781439157091. 2011.

A Fistful of Collars : A Chet and Bernie Mystery. Coming out on September 11, 2012.

Blogger:  Tracey L.

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