The Planet Thieves by Dan Krokos

Mason Stark is bored on his first mission as a cadet on a space command ship.  He is so bored that he keeps playing practical jokes on his sister, a bridge officer, and other crew members.  That comes to an abrupt end when their star ship is attached by an alien force.  Pretty soon, the cadets are the only humans on the ship, and Mason is their captain.  Regaining control of their ship is only the first of their challenges.

This book read like an episode of Star Trek Next Generation.  Krokos uses all the Star Trek terminology; tractor beams, warp engines, photon torpedoes.  It would be easy to imagine Will Crusher as Mason Stark.  The action is fast paced, and the challenges the cadets face are progressively larger and more urgent.  The whole action of the book takes place within one or two day period of time, but in the end Mason not only needs to save his ship, and his planet, but also all of the worlds in his star system. Because of the intensity of action, there is not a whole lot of time for character development.  Still, Mason does grow up during his brief stint as savior of the universe.  The story and characters were just barely compelling enough that I would be willing to read the sequel.  (253 p)

The Misadventures of Edgar and Allan Poe: The Tell-Tale Start by Gordon McAlpine

Edgar and Allan are the great-great-great-grandnephews of the famous Gothic poet, Edgar Allan Poe.  They inherited from their famous ancestor a taste for the macabre, and a talent for mischief.  Their success in performing stunningly brilliant pranks is heightened by their ability to read each others mind.  It is this ability that makes them the target of an evil mastermind, Professor Marvel, who wants to do diabolical experiments on them. Marvel lures them to his Wizard of Oz theme park by kidnapping their cat, but it will take more than a bunch of flying monkeys to stop the Poe twins.

The main characters in this story remind  me of Harold and George from the Captain Underpants series.  They are funny and smart, without being mean spirited.  The best description I can give for the writing is intelligent silliness.  This is a great transition book for Captain Underpants fans who are ready to move on to a regular novel.(178 p)

Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver

Torak is a neolithic age boy who has always lived in the forest with his father. One day, Torak's father is attacked by a giant demon bear.  With his dying breath, Torak's father makes his son swear to go to a mystical mountain and try to destroy the bear.  As Torak starts on he quest, he meets a young wolf cub.  Wolf and Torak become inseparable allies as they battle nature and other tribesmen who want to thwart Torak's quest.

This is another book that I read years ago to my family. I read it again this week because we will be doing it for our mother/son book club this month.  As I read through it again I remembered why I like it. Ms Paver makes a world where everything is infused with life and personality.  In this book the forest, the ice river and the mountain are just as much active characters as Torak and Renn.  I especially like the chapters that show Wolf's doggy view of events.  The plot is a little formulaic.  There is a prophecy and the characters have to gather specific magical items to complete their task.  But the imaginative and descriptive writing makes up for the lack or originality in plot shape. (295 p.)

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

When Henry Lee was a boy in Seattle in the 1940's, he made friends with the enemy, a Japanese American girl named Keiko.  As time passes their friendship grows until Henry knows he would do anything for Keiko.  When she and her family are taken to an internment camp, Henry risks everything to see her again.  But will their love survive the test of time?


I read this book because the author was our featured speaker at the Family Literacy Symposium.  He described himself as a hopeless romantic, in touch with his feminine side.  It shows in his book.  There are heart rending moments, but they are very much tempered by examples of kindness and friendship.  The characters are so real and sympathetic and the ending is very satisfying.  I can see why this is a hot title for book groups right now.   (290 p)

Scardy Kat by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

Kat successfully acknowledged her gift as a medium in the first book in the series "Suddenly Supernatural" but that does not mean all her struggles are over. In this book her friend, Jac, has finally given up the cello for good, Kat's mother is spending a lot of time with a very handsome energy healer, and and there are two ghosts next door that seem to need her help.  It is all too much for the teenage psychic.

When I read the first book in the series, I wondered if the author was using the psychic arts just as a plot device or if she was, herself, a believer and practitioner.  After reading this second book I am inclined to believe she is a practitioner and is using the books to introduce her beliefs to her audience.  That doesn't make the book bad, but I think parents might want to be aware of the fact.  I liked the book about as much as I liked the first.  Maybe the characters are a little too perfect.  Jac is the perfect friend, Jac's mother is the perfect pushy mother, Kat's mother is the perfect quirky mom, and Orin is the perfect energy worker/cute mother's boyfriend. Discriminating readers might be bothered by the over idealized characters, but less sophisticated readers will just enjoy the the slightly spooky adventure. (250 p)

Loki's Wolves by Kelley Armstrong and Melissa Marr

The small town of Blackwell, South Dakota, is dominated by the Thorsen family.  Matt Thorsen's dad is the Police Chief and his uncle is the Mayor.  It is also home to the Brekkes, who are generally second class citizens living on the wrong side of town.  The family rivalry goes back a long way, in fact, it goes back clear to the ancient battles of the Norse Gods, because the Thorsen's are decedents of Thor, and the Brekkes are decedents of Loki.  As decedents of the gods the two families have special powers, and are destined to be players in the world's final battle, Ragnarok.  If the Thorsen's and the Brekkes can learn to work together, maybe the total destruction can be avoided. But that is a big "if".

This book was written by two authors, with Armstrong writing the Thorsens and Marr writing the Brekkes.  When I first started the book, I thought, "Rick Riordan wannabe," and it does feel a lot like the Percy Jackson books. That is not necessarily a bad thing.  The interplay between Fen Brekke and Matt is interesting.  I think that when one author writes a book she tends to choose one main character.  Since this book was written by two authors, both Matt and Fen feel like main characters.  It makes their struggles and conflicts feel a little more intense.  The big drawback to this book is that it is a terrible cliffhanger.  Luckily, the second book comes out soon. (358 p.)

School Spirit by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

This is the first in the "Suddenly Supernatual" series.  Kat's mom is a spiritual medium, so Kat has grown up familiar with the workings of the realm of ghosts.  When Kat turns 13 she begins to see ghosts herself.  At first she tries to ignore her gift, but when she finds a true friend, in the form of quirky musical prodigy, she begins to have the courage to embrace her own unusual talent. Kat, and her friend, Jac, become aware of the ghost of a former student at their school and work together to discover why the departed girl is stuck haunting the school library.

This book is for a much younger audience than either Lockwood and Company or Boneshaker. It is more a story about friendship than the supernatural, with the ghost thing as an interesting, but not at all scary, backdrop.  That said, it is a cute story about friendship, and the girls have unique and likeable personalities.  It is a good read for 3rd or 4th grade girls who like mysteries.  (316 p)