The Book Search

 Need to take a little adventure this summer?  Here are two titles that might be right up your alley!   The first one is called Champion's Quest: The Die of Destiny by Frank L. Cole.  It starts with Lucas, a 12 year old in foster care.  He is convinced that he would be better off away from the foster home where he has been living, so he hatches a plan to run away by train.  Except that one of the other foster kids, Miles, is meant to give his story credence, and Miles doesn't really want Lucas to go.  They end up in what seems like a store but is actually the offices of a magical adventure group.  Two girls join them-one is Jasmine, a girl who seems to be perpetually in trouble, and Vanessa, the daughter of the foster parents where Lucas and Miles are living.  The game sounds like some of the role playing games that people play on line like Dungeons and Dragons-there are magical beasts that can either help or hurt you, your welfare depends on...

 It's so lovely to have time to read.  I talked to a lovely woman today at the doctor's office who was telling me she loved to read to and there are so many good ones to recommend!  Here are some of my newest favorites! The first one is called The Verdigris Pawn by Alysa Wishingrad.   It's Wishingrad's debut novel, so I hope there are more to come!  It's a fairy tale (squee!!!) about Beau, who is the son of the ruler, called Himself.  Beau's mom died when he was very young and his dad has set him up with a series of tutors.  Himself sets some very high standards for academic performance and behavior that Beau finds hard to meet.  Beau has been playing a strategy game called Fist that involves trying to unseat the king.  Himself seems to be worried that Beau (or maybe someone else) is trying to unseat him through magic and charms.  The Fist set belonged to his mother, so Beau feels connected to it in surprising ways.  When Himself tu...

 It's been lovely having time to read over the last few weeks.  Not working is awesome.  I will, of course, be happy to go back to work, but having time away is pretty terrific too.  And happily, I've been on something of a tear with really great books.  Here are two realistic ones you should totally look for. The first one is called Ahmed Aziz's Epic Year by Nina Hamza.  It's her debut novel and I hope there are more coming, because this one was great!  It's about Ahmed, who's family is moving from Hawaii (where he's lived all his life) to Minnesota (his dad's home town).  The family (mom, dad, little sister Sara, and Ahmed) because his dad has a debilitating (and potentially fatal) liver disease and he can get a hopefully life saving treatment in Minnesota.  It turns out that Ahmed's dad left Minnesota as a young man, partially because his younger brother died of the same liver disease that Ahmed's dad has.  He died as a young man so A...

 Summer time is awesome.  Somehow, last summer didn't feel quite as awesome, so I'm trying hard to make up for lost time.  So yesterday, I had a couple of appointments (one of the REALLY fun parts of summer-going to all those doctor's appointments you can't schedule during school because taking a whole day off to go see a doctor??!!!) and in between, I had time to read.  I TORE through this book because I couldn't stop reading it!  I was sorry when it was over too, so maybe I'll have to go back and re-read it.  It was that good!  It's called Hollow Chest and it's Brita Sandstrom's debut novel.   The main character is 12 year old Charlie.  Charlie lives with his mom and his grandfather.  His grandfather is a veteran of World War 1 and is missing his left arm.  His mom works hard and provides the income for the family.  Charlie's dad was killed in a bombing and his brother, Theo, has been serving in the war.  But Theo is on ...

 One of the things that's been great about reading books for kids is reading picture books.  Picture books tap into a part of brain that's completely different from text so yeah, comic books read differently from text books, but they are no less reading than reading text.  I'll also tell you that if you haven't picked up a picture book or a graphic novel lately, you're going to be surprised at the quality of the art work.  These artists are putting out some amazing, awe inspiring work.  Here are two that you might consider.  The first one is a based on a Chinese folktale and it's called Kuan Yin written by Maya van der Meer and illustrated by Wen Hsu.  This story is based on possibly the most revered Buddhist saint and has connections to Chinese, Japanese, Tibetan, and Indian culture.  It's about two sisters, Miao Shan and Ling.  Miao Shan likes to spend time with animals is filled with love.  She wants to be able to spread love and happ...

 We FINALLY finished school this past week.  We were three weeks later than usual, due to a late start because of the disease that shall not be named.  I'm so happy to have a little time off of school to do a little reading!   This one started off the summer with a bang, metaphorically speaking.  It's called The Orpheus Plot by Christopher Swiedler.  This is his second book, his first one called In the Red was also an exciting science fiction story set in outer space.  I liked In the Red, but I think this one might be even better.  It's about Lucas, who has grown up on a mining ship in the asteroid belt.  This is kind of a dodgy job-the miners aren't actually supposed to be mining in random places around the galaxy, but it provides a kind of living, even though people in the Navy look down upon them.  Lucas has dreamed of joining the Navy, but that's pretty much impossible for a Belter.  Except that his adopted sister got in.  ...

 A holiday weekend, some good books to read, what could be better?  Nothing!  In my opinion!  Here are two super fun new speculative fiction books to look for. The first one is called Strangeworld Travel Agency by L. D. Lapinski.  It's about Flick (short for Felicity) who has just moved to a new town.  Her parents are very excited about the upgrade in living quarters (two toilets!) but Flick is less enthusiastic.  She takes a lot of responsibility at her house because her parents work different shifts and her baby brother needs taking care of.  As she's wandering through her new town, she comes across a place called the Strangeworld Travel Agency.  It doesn't seem like any kind of travel agency she's ever been to before and it turns out it really isn't.  It's a magical travel agency and people travel by the suitcases that are piled up all around the shop.  Each suitcase takes you to a different world.  The travel agency is run ...