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.
