Shelly's Book Blog

15-year-old Tamisin, the main character of Wings: A Fairy Tale, by E. D. Baker, has always been different, but she finds out that she is half fairy when she grows wings and travels to the land of the fey with friend and half goblin Jak.What she does not know, at first, is that Jak was actually sent to the human world to kidnap her. Jak's uncle, Targin, is a powerful figure among the goblins, and he is tired of being ruled by the fairy queen, Titania. Targin has heard a rumor and thinks that holding Tamisin will help him to bargain with the fairy queen.

I enjoyed this story. Baker's writing is sometimes a bit awkward, espeically his dialog, which often seems clunky and unrealistic. However, I did think the characters and story were interesting -- certainly enough so to finish the book and wish I could read more.

According to the cover flap for Eye of the Crow, the first book in The Boy Sherlock Holmes series, author Shane Peacock is fascinated with Sherlock Holmes and wanted to create a background story about Holmes' childhood.
This is just my type of book: a mystery/detective story set in the London of Sherlock Holmes and Charles Dickens. In this story, Sherlock is 13 years old, and he becomes involved in solving a murder because he believes the man the police have arrested is innocent. He is soon in over his head, because his contact with the condemned man causes the police to suspect him as well. He is arrested but escapes. Then he must solve the crime not only to save the innocent man still in jail but also to save himself. In this story, Peacock has created complex, colorful characters. I especially like Malefactor, the leader of a gang of homeless boys. There is also plenty of excitement to keep the pages turning, such as when Sherlock breaks into the homes of suspected murderers by sliding down their chimneys. I look forward to reading more about young Sherlock!

The Lost Hero is the first book in Rick Riordan's new series about Camp Half-Blood. Although Percy Jackson is mentioned (he's gone missing), and Annabeth makes an appearance, this book focuses on three new heroes named Jason, Piper, and Leo. When these three demigods arrive at Camp Half-Blood, they discover that there is a new (well, very, very old) and very powerful enemy to be dealt with -- someone even worse than the Titans. Zeus has closed Olympus, and Hera has been captured and imprisoned. When Chiron finds out who Jason is he tells him he was "supposed to be dead." Fans of this series (like me!) will love this new book.

Forge, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is the sequel to Chains, and both are excellent books set in the time of the American Revolutionary War. Forge continues the story of Isabel and Curzon, two slaves who escaped their masters at the end of Chains. The focus this time is on Curzon. He ends up serving in George Washington's army and is part of the force enduring that horrible winter at Valley Forge. Curzon does meet Isabel later in the book when he is recaptured by his old master and finds her working for him. Anderson does a terrific job, again, of using history as a basis for an exciting story about likeable characters. I don't think reading Chains first is absolutely necessary, but I would recommend it

Artemis Fowl, by Eoin Colfer, is one of those series I have been meaning to read for a while. I actually started reading the first book a few years ago, but for some reason it didn't hold my interest and I never finished it. I'm glad I gave the book another chance, though, because I really liked it.
Colfer describes his 12-year-old main character, Artemis Fowl, as a "pale adolescent speaking with the authority and vocabulary of a powerful adult." Artemis seems like a combination Sherlock Holmes/James Bond, and the first book is fast-paced and very clever. I will certainly recommend this series to kids who enjoy the spy/thriller genre.

The Wish Giver, by Bill Brittain, is one of those books that I had known about and seen over and over again but never read. It was a very quick read (I read it in just a few hours) but a good story. Four people go to the Coven Tree Church Social, which is an annual carnival-like event. They all agree to pay 50 cents for a chance to have one wish come true. Each is convinced that the promise was false and that he/she had been cheated, but soon after the Social the first three people want something so badly they decide to try making the wish anyway. All three wishes come true, just not in the way the wishers had intended. Whatever mysterious force that is in charge of granting the wishes seems to be very literal-minded. The results are sometimes funny, sometimes sad, but always entertaining.

Two of Elizabeth George Speare's books won the Newbery Medal. Since I had already read The Witch of Blackbird Pond, I decided to read The Bronze Bow as well. Speare really is an incredible storyteller. The Bronze Bow is set in the time of Jesus, and the main character is an 18-year-old Galilean man named Daniel bar Jamin. As the story opens, we learn that he has seen his father crucified to death, and he is nursing an all-consuming hatred for the Romans who were responsible. He had run away from the blacksmith to whom he had been apprenticed five years previously, and in that time has been living in the mountains near his village with a band of outlaws. Throughout the novel, Daniel's hatred for the Romans consumes him and seems to direct almost everything he does.

Daniel's grandmother dies, leaving him to care for his younger sister, Leah, who appears to be suffering from some sort of mental illness and has not left the house for years. Daniel is forced to delay his plans for taking revenge against the Romans. Meanwhile, Jesus is developing a tremendous following, but his preaching does not sit well with Daniel's plans. The question of whether Daniel can ever overcome the hatred that has ruled his life for so many years drives the narrative to a most satisfying conclusion. I really liked this book!

After reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, I wanted to re-read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain is such a great humorist! I especially enjoyed the last part, with Tom Sawyer insisting that Jim and Huck go along with his elaborate plans for making an adventure out of freeing Jim. Oh, and the king and the duke are just too funny!

It's such a shame that this book has been so controversial. It seems to me that Twain, speaking through Huck's wise beyond his years, no-nonsense point of view, could not have made it clearer that Jim is a much better human being than just about anyone else in the book. Huck, too, sees beyond people's false fronts to their true character -- he quickly and easily sees the "king" and the "duke" for the frauds they really are. I think this is one of the best stories ever written.

Monkey Town: the Summer of the Scopes Trial, by Ronald Kidd, took me by surprise in how good it was. It is a fictional account of the famous Scopes Trial held in Dayton, Tennessee in 1925. At this time, Tennessee had recently passed legislation making it illegal to teach the theory of evolution in public schools. High school teacher John Scopes was put on trial for breaking this law. Dayton earned the name "Monkey Town" because people thought evolution was the idea that humans descended from monkeys.

Kidd researched the book in part by talking with people who were involved with the real trial, and he used Frances Robinson, who was 8 years old at the time and knew John Scopes, as the narrator for his story (she is 15 years old in the book). Other famous people who are characters in this story include H. L. Mencken, Clarence Darrow, and William Jennings Bryan. This is a fast moving yet thoughtful and challenging story about a topic that is every bit as controversial today as in 1925, and I highly recommend it!

In The Hideout, by Peg Kehret, 13-year-old Jeremy Holland's parents have recently died, and his grandmother sends him to live with his rich uncle in Chicago. Understandably, Jeremy is in a pretty rough emotional state. Before he reaches his new home, his train crashes and he is left alone in the wilderness. Instead of waiting for help to arrive at the crash site, Jeremy decides to try living on his own in an abandoned cabin he finds. Jeremy has some money with him, so he goes to a small store near the cabin to buy supplies. At the store he meets and befriends Bonnie, a girl his age who lives nearby. One night when he is alone at the cabin, Jeremy hears gunshots, and later he discovers the body of a bear that was killed by poachers. Jeremy is afraid that if he reports the crime, his planned summer alone at the cabin will be ruined, so he asks Bonnie to help him. The two kids are soon over their heads trying to deal with the poachers on their own. Although the story's lessons could have been more subtly conveyed, I enjoyed this fast moving and exciting story.

The Hidden Boy, by Jon Berkeley, is a fantasy story about a family who wins a "Blue Moon Once-in-a-Lifetime Adventure Holiday" to a strange land called Bell Hoot. When they arrive, however, they find that their 7-year-old son, Theo, is missing, and that they can never return to their previous home. Bea, the missing boy's older sister, seems to be the only one who has a chance of locating Theo and setting things right. Evidently, Bea is gifted in the use of Mumbo Jumbo. I'm not sure if Mumbo Jumbo is a language, or a magic, or what, but for Bea it has something to do with an ability to communicate with bees by humming.

The story includes many interesting characters, but I had a difficult time understanding all the rules of this strange world. There is a rule that only groups of seven are allowed on the transport vehicle, which is a cross between a bus and a boat, but after finishing the book I'm still not sure why. Also, Granny Delphine owns a pair of glasses that allow her to see things that others can't, but I'm not sure why she is so special in the family. I guess I felt as though I were reading book two of a series and had not read book one yet. Consequently, I thought the book was interesting, but it didn't grab me as others have.

What I liked best about the story was Bea's ability to communicate with bees. She has the ability to communicate with them and influence their actions, but more importantly, she understands their culture and the important role they play in nature.

I think I will add The Last Treasure, by Janet S. Anderson, to my recommended list for middle grade mysteries. This story's main character, 13-year-old Ellsworth (Zee) Smith, gets a letter asking him to come home to the Square in Smiths Mills, NY, because his family needs him. Ellsworth and his dad, Ben Robert, left the Square many years ago, right after Ellsworth's mother and baby brother died. Since then they have lived many places but have never returned home. However, now the family needs Ellsworth's help finding the last of three treasures that the family patriarch, John Matthew Smith, left. Ellsworth's father does not want him to go but finally allows it. When he gets to Smiths Mills, Ellsworth meets his cousin, Jess, and together they work to solve the puzzle of where the treasure is and how to get to it.

This is not a murder mystery, then, but a puzzle to solve, and the ending is quite satisfying. The story revolves around family and the importance of resolving conflict among family members, even if -- or especially if -- those conflicts have been festering for many years. There is a lot of family history to explain, going back to the 1800's, so the book starts out a little slow, but it picks up quickly. I enjoyed this story very much.

I finally read Savvy, by Ingrid Law. This one was on my "to read" list for quite some time, and I'm glad I finally got around to reading it because I enjoyed it very much. The story is about a family who all find out what their special ability is on their 13th birthday. The main character is Mibs, and of course the story begins right around her 13th birthday and we wonder what her savvy will be. Complicating this, though, is the fact that her father is seriously hurt in an accident just before her birthday. Mibs is not allowed to visit him, but she thinks her new power is one that can help her dad recover, so she stows away on a salesman's bus. She thinks the salesman is heading close to the hospital but it turns out he's actually going in the opposite direction. I found that I was happy to accompany Mibs as she tried to get her family, and her life, back on track.

The Cardturner, as author Louis Sachar puts it, is a book about bridge. He says he loves the game, and it is clear from the detail in his book that he knows it very well. I enjoyed this story about a young man who helps his blind uncle play tournament bridge. Who knew a card game could be so complicated? I'm afraid the passages which describe the details of how to play, strategies and such, were completely beyond me. This didn't spoil the book, though. It's hard to go wrong with Louis Sachar (Wayside School, Holes ...)

The Shadow Thieves, by Anne Ursu, is book 1 of The Cronus Chronicles. Book 2 is The Siren Song. I came across this title when I was creating a Percy Jackson read-alike list.
I really enjoyed this story, and I think it's an excellent book to recommend to kids, both boys and girls, who are Percy Jackson fans looking for more of the same. The two main characters are cousins Charlotte Mielswetzski (pronounced meals-wet-ski) and Zachary Miller (Zee). Zee is sent from London to live with his cousin and her family in America because there seems to be some sort of epidemic in London. It's just kids who are getting sick, though. Charlotte and Zee discover the reason for all the illness is that Philonecron, an evil genius from the Underworld, is stealing the kids' shadows. He plans to animate the shadows to create an army and then overthrow Hades and become King of the Dead. Charlotte and Zee end up having to visit the underworld in order to put a stop to Philonecron's plan and save their friends. Plenty of both adventure and Greek mythology here.

I also really like how Ursu uses language. I found her writing clever and funny. For example, Charlotte's family serves Chicken Cacciatore for dinner the first night after Zee comes to stay with them. Here is part of the description of that evening: "Two hours later the cake was decorated, the dining room cleaned, the tablecloth laid, the table set, the chicken cacciatored, and the Mielswetzski family car was pulling into the garage" (p. 38). Ursu made me laugh by making a verb out of the name of the main course. This is a small nuance, but it's a good example of the author's subtle humor.

I read an interesting article in School Library Journal recently about Dan Gutman. He talked about how an adult had written him a letter complaining about one of his My Weird School books. The letter writer didn't like that Gutman's main character said he hated school. Gutman actually reprinted the whole letter so readers would know exactly what the complaints were. I decided to read Miss Daisy is Crazy!, which is the first book in the series, to see for myself. I certainly agree with Gutman that it seems silly to make such a fuss about these lighthearted books.

Miss Daisy is a second grade teacher, and she pretends that she doesn't know how to read, write, or do math. The narrator, A.J., gets totally taken in by Miss Daisy's act, but he decides he doesn't want to tell the principal how "dumb" his teacher is because then she would be replaced by someone who would make them work harder. A.J. and the other kids actually seem to learn a lot from Miss Daisy, and it seems clear that the learning process is actually pretty fun. I enjoyed this clever and funny book very much!

Libba Bray's Going Bovine received YALSA's 2010 Printz award. The description of the book on the YALSA web site reads, "Cameron, a sixteen-year-old slacker, sets off on a madcap road trip along with a punk angel, a dwarf sidekick, a yard gnome and a mad scientist to save the world and perhaps his own life." I found the book to be even more weird than this description suggests. Cameron is dying from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, also known as mad cow disease, so while Cameron's adventures really occur only in his imagination, his narration makes everything seem very real. Cameron begins the book by describing a traumatic experience he had at the Disneyland Small World ride when he was a child. Throughout most of the book he seems brooding and negative. For example, on page 1 he says his life from age 5 to 16 has been filled with "major suckage." However, Cameron's very strange journey leads to some positive moments and profound self-disovery.

I struggled reading this book and can't say I truly enjoyed it. However, I do look back on the story and appreciate that it is very imaginative, and that it tackles important life issues in a creative and interesting way.

Pandora Gets Vain, the second in Carolyn Hennesy's series about the young woman from Greek mythology who allowed all the evils of the world to escape, was entertaining. In each book in the series, Pandora (her friends call her Pandy) has to track down one of seven evils and put it back in her jar. In this adventure Pandy and her friends meet Homer, a big, strong young man who likes to write poetry (yes, I suspect he is THE Homer). He helps them to overcome the various dangers that are part of finding Vanity. I really like that Pandy's friend Alcie curses using the names of fruits: "Pom-OH-granates! Great Apollo!" she exclaims at one point.

This series may be a read-alike for the Percy Jackson series, but probably more for girls. I think that, because I started with book 2 instead of book 1, I may not have enjoyed it as much as I could have.

I guess I'm just into cute furry animals right now, because I just finished The World According to Humphrey, by Betty Birney. Humphrey the hamster stars in and narrates this middle grade novel about his adventures as the class pet in an elementary school classroom. Mrs. Brisbane, the teacher, doesn't seem happy when she returns from an extended leave to find that the substitute teacher, Ms. Mac, brought Humphrey to class and that the children want very much for him to stay. She thinks of him as a nuisance and does not want to take him home with her each weekend as Ms. Mac had done, so the children get to take turns taking Humphrey home. These visits to the kids' various homes, as well as Humphrey's weekday talks with the school janitor, Aldo, provide Humphrey and his readers with fodder for many pleasant adventures. I think both boys and girls will enjoy tagging along with Humphrey and hearing about his life in Room 26!

I found A Bear Called Paddington, by Michael Bond, to be a short but charming little story. Paddington gets his name because Mr. and Mrs. Brown, who adopted him, found him at Paddington Station. The Browns do not know what they're getting themselves into when they decide to take the poor, homeless bear home. Paddington wastes no time in making a mess by spreading jam from his sticky bun all over the house. When he tries to bathe, he almost drowns himself because he does not think to pull the plug in the bathtub. Despite all the trouble he causes, he is soon accepted as a permanent part of the family. I certainly would not mind reading more about this endearing little bear.

The Thief, a Newbery Honor book by Megan Whalen Turner, begins the Queen's Thief series which also includes The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia, and the just published A Conspiracy of Kings. The series has garnered high praise, and I agree that The Thief is well written and engaging. This fantasy story provides readers with plenty of adventure, as it chronicles Eugenides' (or Gen for short) quest to steal a valuable, mystical stone called Hamiathes's Gift. Legend dictates that if the stone is freely given, the recipient not only gains immortality, but also becomes the rightful ruler of the book's imaginary country. Gen, who has been imprisoned for bragging about his skills as a thief, has been released so that he can accompany the King of Sounis's magus on a quest to find and steal the stone. However Gen, as readers discover at the end, has other plans that he only reveals once his mission is complete.

I was a little confused by the revelations at the end of this story, perhaps because I wasn't paying enough attention as I read. The writing is sublte, though, and I think younger readers would share my confusion. I might recommend this series to middle schoolers who enjoyed the Percy Jackson books, because Turner based her imaginary world on ancient Greek civilization. However, this first book, at least, seems to demand a bit more work from the reader.

Just As Long As We're Together, by Judy Blume, targets a specific audience (middle school girls), giving them a story about girls their own age who experience typical problems and life events. I was aware that some of Judy Blume's books have been banned but had never read anything of hers except Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and the Fudge books. Just As Long As We're Together is quite different from that series! It was written in the 1980's, as the references to VCRs and jazzercise videos show, but adolescent girls have long been swooning over cute boys and worrying about getting their period for the first time, so I think most girls will still be able to relate to Stephanie, Rachel, and Alison's dramas. I doubt if I'll read many more of this type of story because it's just not my cup of tea, but I can certainly see why Judy Blume's books have remained on the shelves for so long, despite so many protests from well-meaning adults who think young girls should be shielded from any and all references to sex. I did not have Judy Blume books to read when I was 13, but I think I would have liked them very much if I had.

I read a new book this weekend called Big Nate: In a Class By Himself, by Lincoln Peirce. This is the first in a planned series, and I'm pretty sure the series is going to be just as popular as the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. Big Nate is funny and clever, and the book is filled with simple drawings just like the Wimpy Kid books. Highly recommended!

Gary Blackwell's The Year of the Hangman easily kept my interest, so much so that I was rather disappointed with the ending because I wanted to hear more of the story. This book, as the author explains in a note, is an alternate history, set in the Revolutionary War-era United States. In this version, George Washington is captured by the British. The main character is Creighton Brown, a young British man who is sent by his mother to live in the United States with his uncle, who is a cold, heartless British officer. Crieghton meets and interacts with Benjamin Franklin and Benedict Arnold as he at first struggles to find a way home to England at any cost, but then gradually finds himself siding with the American rebels against his countrymen. Blackwell encourages his readers to check out a web site called uchronia.net, which offers an extensive list of alternate history novels.

Julia Alvarez won the 2010 Pura Belpré award for her novel, Return to Sender, in which an Americian boy named Tyler develops a close friendship with an undocumented girl named Mari who lives and works with her family on Tyler's family's farm. Alvarez explains in a note to her readers that the title of her book comes from the name of a real-life national sweep conducted in 2006 by the U.S. immigration authorities to round up undocumented immigrants who had criminal records. "Return to sender" is stamped on mail that has been incorrectly addressed or has insufficient postage, so the implication was that these people were also misdirected or insufficient.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this story, but I think Alvarez could have been more subtle in delivering her message. Most of the story is told through letters that Mari writes, and quite often I found myself thinking that Alvarez's voice overpowered Mari's, and the writing became more didactic than I was comfortable with. Still, Mari writes eloquently of the heartache she feels because she is separated from her mother, who has not returned from a trip to Mexico and is missing. She also expresses the joy of her friendship with Tyler, as well as the terrible anxiety she feels when her uncle is arrested and eventually deported. This story takes on an important issue, and I think Alvarez does an admirable job in illustating for a young audience its complexity.

Yeah! I've found another awesome series to read aloud with my boys: The Looking Glass Wars, by Frank Beddor. I just finished the first book and am looking forward to reading the second, Seeing Redd. I found an interesting interview with the author here. Also check out The Lookin Glass Wars website, where you can listen to music and play games created for the series.

When I chose this book to read next, I had no idea the series was such a phenomenon. Novels, graphic novels (the Hatter M series), music, games, a movie in the works, fan clubs -- wow! I actually started the series by listening to the audio CD on my way to work. Gerard Doyle is amazing. He seems to have a distinctive voice for almost every character. My favorites are Jack of Diamonds, General Doppelganger (whose voice is really doubled -- as in Doyle's voice X2 whenever this character speaks -- cool!), and Redd. He really makes the characters come alive. I found that I was missing out on some of the story, though, because I sometimes was distracted during the ride to work (what a pain, to have to actually pay attention to my driving! :) ), so I checked out the book and started reading from the beginning again.

I was quickly taken in with Beddor's tale, which is both funny and horrifying at the same time. Alyss, on her 7th birthday, finds herself lost in Victorian London, alone, after her evil Aunt Redd stages a coup, kills her sister Genevieve (Alyss's mother) and proclaims herself Queen of Wonderland. Hatter Madigan, who is head of the Millinery (the military of Wonderland) and is also the royal bodyguard, has come with Alyss through the portal between Wonderland and London, which is known as the Pool of Tears. They became separated en route, though, and he is searching for Alyss. Meanwhile, back in Wonderland, the cowardly, despicable Jack of Diamonds is getting very rich pretending loyalty to both sides of the conflict, and ordinary Wonderlanders live in fear of Queen Redd and her henchman, The Cat. There is plenty of adventure here, as the forces of black and white imagination battle over control of the queendom.

I was happy when I found out that one of the main characters of Masterpiece, by Elise Broach, is an insect. I like books about talking animals, especially those where the animals are not the traditionally cute and fuzzy kind. The rats in Elizabeth Winthrop's The Red-Hot Rattoons made rats kid-friendly long before Hollywood did the same thing with Ratatouille, and Lynne Jonell's Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat skates right along with that same idea. From there, how far is it, really, to an artistically gifted beetle?

Yes, in Masterpiece, Marvin the beetle in an artistic genius who surprises 11-year-old James with his exceptional drawing ability. Marvin and his family live in the cupboard beneath the kitchen sink in James's family's apartment. One night, Marvin uses the new pen and ink drawing supplies James received for a birthday present to draw a picture of the scene outside James's window. In the morning, James's mother thinks James is the artist, and things kind of spiral a little bit out of control from there to involve an art museum and the mysterious theft of a very old and valuable drawing.

This is a clever but not too complex little story and I liked it a lot. It was actually refreshing after reading Pepper Roux, which was so complicated it made my head spin.

I had a difficult time getting into The Death-Defying Pepper Roux, by Geraldine McCaughrean, but about half way through I finally caught on. The narrative keeps up a dizzying pace from that point on, and I had to work to keep all the characters and events straight. The main theme is that Pepper's aunt declared when he was a baby that he would not live past his 14th birthday. Supposedly, she had several dreams where a saint told her so. Pepper and his family believed all his life that his doom was sealed. The book begins, then, on his 14th birthday, and Pepper, understandably, does not want to die, so he is running away from his fate throughout the whole story. Pepper sees angels coming to take him to heaven in the most commonplace sights. I really enjoyed the way the author made this idea of people seeing what they want, or expect to see, rather than what is really there, come alive in her story.

I was also amazed that she was able to come up with such a complex and imaginative plot. McCaughrean is a gifted writer, adept at poetic description. All in all a good read, but not, I think, for the reluctant reader. This author demands attention.

I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be Your Class President was written by Josh Lieb, who is executive producer of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. You don't have to be a fan of, or even know about, The Daily Show to appreciate the humor in this story, though. As far as the plot, the title pretty much sums it up: Oliver is an 8th grader who lives in Omaha, Nebraska. Most people, including his parents, think he's just a fat, stupid kid who will never amount to much. Actually, though, he is a genius who has already built a business empire which he runs from a secret underground bunker that he had built under his parents' house when they were on a Hawaiian vacation (that he arranged and paid for). Oliver is, of course, still a child, so he has a front man, Mr. Sheldrake, who the world thinks is a billionair but who is really Oliver's lackey. It's all very silly and improbable, but that seems to be kind of the point. It's fun to fantasize about ruling the world as a twelve-year-old.

When Oliver decides to run for class president of his eighth grade class, his father tells him he must have a credible opponent for victory to mean anything. To make a long story short, Oliver has some serious daddy issues, and this election becomes more important to him than perhaps it should, considering he has a billion-dollar business empire to run.

The humor is mature and, I think, more appropriate for teens than for elementary aged kids, despite the picture of a little boy's face on the book's cover. This is a book that I can see becoming very popular through word of mouth among middle grade kids. Lieb doesn't hold much back, considering he's writing a children's book; readers will find references to sex, swear words, and descriptions of some pretty cruel behavior scattered throughout the story. For those who appreciate dark humor, though, this is a winner.

Science Fair: a Story of Mystery, Danger, International Suspense, and a Very Nervous Frog was written by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, the same duo who wrote the Peter and the Starcatchers series. This is a very fast-paced story, full of adventure and suspense. It is certainly not very politicially correct, though, because many of the laughs come from making fun of the bumbling characters who hail from a made-up and, presumably, developing nation called Kprshtskan.

Here is an example of the type of humor in this book: When the authors introduce this country, we learn that the citizens there "speak Kprsht (pronounced kprsht)." Also, one of the secret agents stores a very stinky brick of cheese in his pants and seems blissfully unaware of the offending odor. Barry and Pearson pander to negative stereotypes for laughs, and I really do think it's sad when people feel it's OK to laugh at and look down on others because they are different.

Still, I am ashamed to say, that I laughed a lot while I read this book. Maybe if you are talking about fictional characters then it's not so mean? Nah, that's just a rationalization. Still, I really enjoyed the story of these ordinary middle school students saving the world from the machinations of a deranged strongman and the power hungry nerds he manipulates into helping him, and I think a lot of kids will, too.

I don't read adult fiction much any more, but I never miss a Sue Grafton novel, and her latest, U is for Undertow, doesn't disappoint. In fact, I had forgotten what a really, really good writer she is. This story is told in alternating chapters, part set in 1988, with Kinsey investigating, and the other part set in 1967, when the crime took place. A man named Michael Sutton hires Kinsey to investigate because he has a kind of fuzzy memory of seeing two guys digging a hole and burying something when he was six years old. He thinks the incident may be connected to the kidnapping, and presumed death, of a little girl back in 1967. A subplot involving Kinsey's estranged family adds to the nostalgia, and both storylines come to what I thought were satisfying conclusions. I wonder what the title of her next book will be?

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma is book 3 in Trenton Lee Stewart's series about four exceptional children and their benefactor, Mr. Benedict. I liked the first two in the series, The Mysterious Benedict Society and The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey, very much. I don't think this third book is quite as good, but I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to fans of the series.
What I liked best about this book is that the characters go to such lengths to support and help one another. The title sets out this theme nicely. The book begins with the four children, as an educational exercise, grappling with the prisoner's dilemma. Because they are exceptionally resourceful, of course, they manage to find an option C that pretty much turns the exercise on its head. Throughout the rest of the story, though, it is their concern for each other, Mr. Benedict, their parents, and all the other people they love, that drives the children's actions. In fact, all of the "good" characters seem quite willing to sacrifice their own well-being when it means helping someone they love. The bad guys, such as Mr. Curtain and the Ten Men, seem to lack this moral compass.
My favorite character is Constance Contraire, the insufferable four-year-old genius. I think that her character grows and changes the most in this story, and I have always delighted in her cantankerous, stubborn nature. So although I had expected a bit more from this book, I found I still enjoyed it and found the ending satisfying.