The Hostage Prince by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple, Book 1 of The Seelie Wars, a review Published 2013 by Viking/Penguin Young Readers Group, 232 pages Genre: Middle grade fantasy, aimed at readers approx. 12 years old Snail is her name, and she’s an odd person in the Unseelie Court. She’s a midwife’s apprentice, clumsy, […]
Prince Oleomargarine, Mark Twain’s new book for kids: a review
February 20, 2018 by
The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine by Mark Twain and Philip Stead, illus. by Erin Stead Genre: Middle Grade read-aloud picture book, 8 1/2 x 11-inch format, 152 pages Published 2017 by Doubleday Books for Young Readers Great news for Mark Twain fans! An unfinished children’s tale was found in 2011 in Twain’s papers–misfiled under recipes, […]
Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool, a review
April 12, 2016 by
Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool Published 2010 by Delacorte Press, 351 pages Genre: Historical middle grade/tween fiction, Newbery Medal winner Twelve-year-old Abilene Tucker arrives in the dusty, underpopulated town of Manifest, Kansas, during the height of the Great Depression, sent there by her drifter father who for some reason thinks she needs to stop […]
Book Review: Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi
March 30, 2016 by
Crispin: The Cross of Lead, by Avi, Book 1 in the Crispin trilogy Published 2002 by Hyperion Books for Children, New York, 262 pages Genre: Historical drama for tweens This book won the Newbery Award when it was published, and more recently the author has published two sequels. It’s A.D. 1377 in rural England. A […]
Starr Tree Farm by Ellen Parker, a review
July 10, 2013 by
Starr Tree Farm by Ellen Parker Published 2013 by Crimson Romance, 200 pages Genre: sweet romantic suspense Laura has been widowed just a year. She decides to move from St. Louis back to her home town in Wisconsin and finds herself farm-sitting for her uncle and aunt. She’s also setting up a business, a bookstore, in […]
The Fifth Man by John Olson and Randy Ingermanson, a review
August 10, 2012 by
Someone seems to be bent on killing them, and they don’t know who it is. Is there a murderous fifth man on Mars?
Light of Eidon by Karen Hancock, a review
April 23, 2012 by
Abramm is calling himself Brother Eldrin, and all he wants is to be left alone by his family. But his family isn’t happy about it, not the least because it’s the royal family, and he’s now second in line to the throne. Soon Abramm discovers that the holy orders that have been his life for the past eight years are a front for evil people who want to use him as a puppet.
Firebird by Kathy Tyers, a review
April 20, 2012 by
Lady Firebird Angelo was born the third daughter of the queen of her world. That sounds like she might have had an easy life. But the warped rules on her planet dictate that she must die as soon as she drops down to fifth in line to the throne. It’s not just those in the royal family; this happens to the heirs of all the major houses on her planet. She’s a “wastling,” born to be wasted. Her time comes, and Firebird, a pilot, is sent on a suicide mission along with other wastlings. But her enemy saves her life. What can she do now?
Book of Days by James L. Rubart, a review
April 9, 2012 by
Cameron Vaux has lost both his father and his wife, Jessie. Now he fears he’s losing his mind, the same way his father’s mind went, one memory at a time. He latches onto an idea mentioned by both his father and Jessie: God’s book holding all memories. Problem is, Cameron doesn’t believe in God.
The Hunger Games movie
March 26, 2012 by
My friend Jim Tudor watched the Hunger Games movie with no expectation. Here’s his take on the movie:
