"Who Could That Be At This Hour?" by Lemony Snicket

Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler) was an over night sensation with his Series of Unfortunate Events. I have to admit, I couldn't get through the first book in that series, but there was a huge faithful following among children and adults alike at the library.  Now he has started a new series, "All the Wrong Questions" in which a 13-year-old Lemony Snicket is the main character.  The book begins with Lemony escaping his parents right after graduation from a "particular kind" of school to join a mentor as an apprentice detective in a secret spy organization. He and his mentor travel to strange town by a dried-up sea where they are hired to retrieve a stolen statue.  Snicket is much more clever than his mentor, and soon figures out that the statue in question was never stolen, but that evil forces are using him and his mentor as pawns to acquire the statue.  As he tries to discover who is trying to get the statue and why, he meets a strange cast of puzzling characters, many of them young independent teens or children like himself.  The setting and characters of the story are odd, even surreal.  The mood of the writing contributes to the preternatural feel of the book.  I think that kids that liked Series of Unfortunate Events will like this one.  I actually liked it much better than the little bit I read of the earlier series (as evidenced by the fact that I actually finished it and I might even be interested in reading the second book). Though Lemony's attempts at achieving his goal are often frustrated because he keeps asking "All the Wrong Questions"  the mood is not as gloomy as the Series of Unfortunate Events and it has a kind of clever whit to it that was rather fun. (258 p)

A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck

Joey and his sister Mary Alice are sent to their grandma Dowdel's house every August for a week.  The book starts in 1929 when Joey is 9 and Mary Alice is 7, and then each chapter after that is a story about a different summer. The stories are a mixture humor and heart. The first time I read chapter one, I laughed so hard I almost fell off my chair. At first the children are afraid of their gun-slinging, rough-around-the-edges, larger-than-life grandmother.  But as they get older, they begin to understand and enjoy their Grandma Dowdel's unique personality. I have read the book a couple of times.  This time I reread it because it is our Mother/Son book club book for November.  I hope, and think, both boys and parents will enjoy reading this one together. (148 p)

Runaway King by Jennifer Nielsen

Jaron has become king, but in name only.  He doesn't have the support of his advisers, his royal bride to be or his people. Because of his father's weak rule, Jaron's country is on the brink of war with neighboring country in confederate with the pirates. The ruling council wants Jaron to go into hiding so that they can place a regent on the thrown.  Jaron agrees to go, but not into hiding. Instead he assumes his Sage identity and goes to confront the pirates himself. This is the second in the Ascendency Series that began with The False Prince. As in that one, Jaron uses charm, skill and dumb luck to make it out of the most desperate situations, but not without plenty of bruises to show for his efforts. It is a good sequel with a lot of the action and suspense of the first. It successfully progresses Jaron's personality and his  relationships with both the women and men in his life.  It ended pretty well, and I don't know where Ms. Nielsen will go from here in the last book in the series, but I am eager to find out. (331 p)

Fever Crumb: Scrivener's Moon by Philip Reeve.

 This is the third in the series begun with Fever Crumb.  The whole series are prequels to the Sci Fi classic, Mortal Engines.  In this adventure, Fever returns to London, only to be quickly bored by the social events and engagements arranged by her Scriven mother, Wavey Godshawk.  When her mother hears of a pyramid in the North Countries that might contain the answer to Scriven history and technology, Fever jumps at the chance to accompany her on an expedition to investigate.  On the way, the group is captured by forces that intend to attack the new mobile London being built by Fever's Dad.  Fever escapes her attackers and joins some Northern nomads to continue her quest for the pyramid.  Like the other Fever Crumb books, this one has a thickly layered and complicated plot line.  I there are a lot of characters, too, mostly fairly well developed so they each have personalities and back stories. It was an exciting end to the trilogy, and I think it would have been even more interesting if I had read the Mortal Engines first, so I could understand what was being foreshadowed.  Still I had a hard time getting through it.  Half way through, Fever falls in love with a northern girl and spends a lot of time struggling with her same gender attraction.  The book suggests that the attraction is partially due to Godshawk's memories that Fever carries in her head. Still, I really didn't want to read about how much Fever wanted to kiss Cluny, and admired how the sun caught her hair etc.  If it had been a heterosexual romance, I probably would have enjoyed the book much more.  I guess I am old fashion, but reading about a same gender romance still makes me feel uncomfortable.  (341 p)

Moongobble and Me: The Evil Elves by Bruce Coville

Edward is friends with an aspiring magician named Moongobble.  In order to obtain full status as a magician, Moongobble must complete three great tasks. This is the third book in the series, and recounts Moongobble's third task.  In this adventure, Edward and Moongobble are sent to retrieve a dark magic stone that has made an entire village of elves evil.  Their challenge is to retrieve it without coming under its wicked power.  It takes Moongobble's best magic, Edward's pure heart, and plenty of help from their old friends, Urk the toad, Fireball the little dragon and the Old Knight.

Bruce Coville has written so many charming magical adventures for children.  This one is an intermediate reader, written for kids in 2-3 grade.  The vocabulary and sentence structure are simple, but Coville still tells an engaging story with interesting characters. It is lighthearted, fun, and a little bit silly--well suited for the target age group. (71 p)

The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander

Taran is unsatisfied with his quiet life at Caer Dallben.  He helps Coll tend the garden, make horse shoes, and care for Hen Wen, a very special pig.  But Taran dreams of bigger things, swords, battles and becoming a hero. When Hen Wen is spooked by something coming toward Caer Dallben, and runs off into the forest,  Taran runs after her, and begins his first adventure.  He meets a knight, Gwydion, but he is not at all what Taran had expected. Gwydion is seeking Hen Wen as well, so the two become traveling partners.  The search for the pig takes him to places and into danger that Taran couldn't have imagined.  Along the way Taran discovers what it really means to be a hero.

How many times have I read this book?  At least 4.  I am reading it again because it is our Mother/Son Bookclub pick for October.  It is such a classic high fantasy for grade school age kids.  As I read it again, I was amazed how devoid of violence it is.  There are a couple of short skirmishes, but is it nothing like the fantasy books that are being published today with chapter after chapter of tense fighting.  When you have less violence, you have more time for character development.  The characters and language in this book are a delight.  Alexander has an amazing way of creating different voices for each person in the story.  As I finished the book, I was ready to pick up the next one, and read through the whole series again.  (190 p)

Ungifted by Gordon Korman

Donovan is a classic ADHD junior high boy with a particular problem with impulsivity.  His adventure starts when he happens to whack a statue of Atlas with a stick, and part of the statue rolls down the hill and does damage to the school gym.  He is taken to the School Superintendent, who accidentally mixes his school record in a stack of papers recommending people for the talented and gifted program.  So Donovan ends up at the Academy for Scholastic Distinction.  At the Academy is quickly becomes obvious that Donovan is not at the same academic level as the other students, but the administrators are so confident in their admissions procedures, it takes them a long time to admit that they made a mistake.  In the mean time Donovan endears himself with the other students, who are at first baffled by a student that is so un-driven and yet fairly socially adept (which the gifted kids are generally not).  The chapters of the story are written from the point of view of different characters.  At the beginning of the chapter it has the character's name and IQ.  There are a lot of social stereotypes here.  The smarter the kids are, the more nerdy they are.  There is the pompous adminstrator, and the uber supportive T& G teacher. Although maybe not exactly true to life, the story is very funny, and all the characters are interesting and endearing. We will be reading this book for our Mother/Son book club next spring.  It should be a fun one to discuss. (280 p)