Tory Brennen is good at science (which isn’t surprising since her aunt is Temperence Brennen, renowned forensic anthropologist), but also good at getting into trouble. When she and her friends Hi, Shelton, and Ben find an old dog tag while searching for a wolf-dog family on Loggerhead Island, an island off Charleston, SC that houses a facility for sea turtle research, Tory sets off a chain of events that not only endanger her life and the lives of her friends, but also change their genetic […]
“War has many unexpected casualties”
I almost hate to make this statement, but I like Holocaust literature. Now, I’m not talking Mein Kampf or anything that glorifies the atrocities of Hitler and his Nazi goons. I’m talking stories of heroism and survival like Night by Elie Wiesel, Ashes by Kathryn Lasky, Number the Stars by Lois Lowery, and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Now add to that list The Klipfish Code by Mary Casonova. I’m not a big history person, so it often amazes me just how many places […]
Breaking Down the Doors of Death
If you like a good cliff-hanger, then Rick Riordan is the author for you. In fact, the dedication of The House of Hades reads, “To my wonderful readers: Sorry about that last cliff-hanger. Well, no, not really. HAHAHAHA. But seriously, I love you guys.” The House of Hades, the fourth book in The Heroes of Olympus series, picks up right where the third book, The Mark of Athena, leaves us hanging, with Percy and Annabeth stuck in Tartarus trying to get to the Doors of […]
Ill Come To Thee By Moonlight
Cynda’s life seems to be falling apart. Her mom and stepfather are moving to Italy for three years. Cynda hates the idea, so her mother arranges an invitation for Cynda to move to Maine to stay with her dad for at least six months. The dad that left them ten years ago to marry one of his students. The dad who lives in an old inn and writes crime mysteries. The dad she has not seen in two years and who really knows nothing about […]
The Select Are Surprised
I finished January with my fifth book of the year, Lost in Babylon, the second book in the Seven Wonders series by Peter Lerangis. The series follows the Select, four 13-year-olds who have the G7W gene that means they are descendants of the royalty of the lost city of Atlantis, but that also means that they will die when they turn 14, unless they find the seven Loculi, orbs that hold the power of Atlantis, that were hidden in the Seven Wonders of the World […]
Never trust a fairy, especially if you dumped her.
I first met Jacob Reckless in the Mirrorworld created by German author Cornelia Funke’s novel, Reckless. In the first novel of the Mirrorworld series, Jacob, a treasure hunter, was desperately seeking a cure for his brother Will who was being turned into a Goyl, a stone-skinned creature. Jacob seeks assistance from the Red Fairy which is probably not the best idea since she had loved him and he had dumped her. She does help, but the “cure” she gives comes with a great price, Jacob’s […]