The Goblin’s Puzzle by Andrew S. Chilton - ADVISABLE

Chilton, Andrew S. The Goblin’s Puzzle: Being the Adventures of a Boy with No Name and Two Girls Called Alice, 275 pgs. Alfred A. Knopf, 2016.  $16.99.  Language: G ( 0 swears, 0“f”); Mature Content:G; Violence: PG .    

The boy is a slave without a name. Accompanying his master’s son to another village, the boy finds himself in an impossible situation and cannot return home or go on without the threat of death, so he escapes from slavery and joins a band of men heading for the silver mines, but when he helps an imprisoned goblin escape, the Goblin vows to only speak the truth to the boy, and the two set off on their own adventure.  Meanwhile, Plain Alice wants to be a Sage, but her shy father never seems to get around to getting her an invitation to the agon (where she can be selected and begin her training to be a sage like her father), but when a dragon captures her and flies away, her father must summon his courage and find help to secure her rescue and return.  But the dragon captured the wrong Alice.  He was supposed to get Princess Alice! The three stories come together as the boy signs on to rescue Alice from the dragon.  

This was a fun medieval story/fairy tale.  The boy was continually referencing all the stories he had heard and tried to put himself into them to figure out what to do.  The girls are delightful! The princess is a snotty rich girl, but stops acting like that when the other Alice tells her it’s annoying.  Plain Alice is so smart, the Goblin is clever and hilarious, and the boy is sweet.  I think the racial diversity was unnecessary.  

EL, MS - ADVISABLE  Lisa Librarian

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven - ESSENTIAL

Niven, Jennifer All the Bright Places, 383 pgs. Alfred A. Knopf (Random), 2015.  $17.99. Language: R (40+ swears, 4 “f”); Mature Content: PG-13 (beer, sex, no drugs); Violence: PG-13 (physical bullying by student and parent). 

Violet (Markey) and (Theodore) Finch meet on top of the school bell tower, teetering near the edge, unaware that the other is there. Once fellow high school students notice them up there, Finch quietly talks Violet away from the edge and proclaims that she saved him. She becomes a hero and he just becomes more of a weirdo to the rest of the school. Violet, a former cheerleader and popular girl, suffers survivor’s guilt for the car crash that killed her sister and has withdrawn from life, using “I’m not ready” as avoidance. Finch, living with his detached single mother and visiting his abusive father, has mental issues that overwhelm him at times. Assigned a joint project exploring the wonders of Indiana, Finch helps Violet face her fears through his unique perspectives. In Violet, Finch believes that he has found the first person who understands him.

Violet and Finch are such likeable characters that the students will be drawn to them.  The engaging writing moves the story along quickly and the chapter headings indicate the alternating voices of Finch and Violet. Not everyone in the school nor the parents are perfect, adding to the realism. This book is perfect for talking about survivor guilt, abuse and bullying. The final page has resources for these topics as well as suicide prevention and mental illness in teens.

HS – ESSENTIAL. 

Best Friend Next Door by Carolyn Mackler – ADVISABLE

Schaefer, Lola Best Friend Next Door 222 pgs Scholastic, 2015. $16.99 

Content: Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G Violence: G

Hannah’s best friend moves away and a new girl moves into her best friends house, and even into her old room. At first Hannah is resistant to the potential for friendship, especially after she discovers how much they have in common, but after the new girl, Emme reaches out to her in the nicest way, Hannah soon discovers that new friends can be amazing.

This is such an authentic and fun read! Its great to watch the friends bond over palindromes and stick up for and support each other. The author brings both girls to life and does a fantastic job differentiating them. There are many real world elements such as life changes, bullying, and two mom household. I think 3-6 graders will love reading this book!

EL  –ADVISABLE 

Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.

The Newbies by Peter Catalanotto – OPTIONAL

Catalanotto, Peter The Newbies Atheneum (Simon and Schuster), 2015. $17.99 PICTURE BOOK
Luke’s is soon going to be a big brother for the first time. It hasn’t even happened yet but things are already changing. So one morning while eating breakfast Luke imagines going away with new parents ‘The Newbies’, that have all the time in the world to spend with him. But its not quite what he expected.
I am sure that children would understand the feelings that Luke has about change, but I am not sure many kids would go so far as imagining they would go away with a new set of parents. I honestly think some readers may think he was kidnapped or having a nightmare. The illustrations are washed out and dreamy, not my favorite, though I guess it captures that imagination tone. Ivan the terrier from my favorite book by this author/illustrator did make an appearance though!
EL (K-3) – OPTIONAL Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.

Raging Sea by Michael Buckley - ADVISABLE

Buckley, Michael Raging Sea, 357 pages.  Houghton, 2015.  $19.  Langiage: PG (18 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG (off page sex); Violence: PG-13 (lots of fighting, many deaths).

Lyric, Bex, and Arcade have escaped the devastation at Coney Island and are eluding the police dragnet in a desperate cross-country race to find their families and save the last few Alphas so that they have some chance to fight against the insane King of the Alphas, his wicked Queen, and the Rusalka forces that they have unleashed upon the shores of New York.  Lyric must survive capture, betrayal, and heartache in order to find the power within her that is the only key to destroying the many forces set against her.

Buckley’s novel has become even grittier and violent than the first in the series.  While the action is a bit predictable, fans of Lyric will want to know what happens to her. 

MS – OPTIONAL, HS – ADVISABLE.  Cindy, Library teacher

Ten Hungry Pigs by Derek Anderson - ADVISABLE

Anderson, Derek Ten Hungry Pigs.  PICTURE BOOK.  Orchard Books (Scholastic), MAY 2016.  $17. 

One Pig is ready to sit down with is duck friend and eat a perfectly satisfying peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  Until – nine more pigs come along with, each with a crazier idea of what to add to the sandwich.  Pig one gets more and more frustrated with each addition until someone comes along to scare them all away.

I have to admit, I was into expecting much from the hungry pigs and I was totally wrong – so very, very cute!  It’s a nice look at “too many cooks spoil the broth”. The surprise at the end was a perfect touch.  I would love to read this with a group with a document camera so that everyone can see it up close and personal.

Pre-K, EL (K-3) – ADVISABLE.  Cindy, Library teacher

Believe your Eyes (Cici: a Fairy’s Tale #1) by Cori Doerrfeld –ADVISABLE

Doerrfeld, Cori  Believe your Eyes (Cici: a Fairy’s Tale #1) 140 pgs. Graphic Universe (Lerner), 2016. $15.00  Content: Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G Violence: G GRAPHIC NOVEL
Cici is about to turn 10 but she isn’t very excited about her birthday, instead is she is upset that her dad moved out and her parents are getting a divorce. When her Abuelita (grandmother) comes to stay with them, Cici learns the family secret, she is a fairy. She only has a day to decide if she wants to stay one. In the meantime, she is ignoring her own birthday to go to a party her best friend wants to go to instead. With her new fairy sight she discovers many things, not all of them good.
The fairy part of this story was more a gilding for all the real life lessons about life, family, and friendship. It’s a darling graphic novel. My only issue is that the cover is very child like and appealing, but the subjects broached in the plot are better third grade plus, I can already foresee arguments with first graders.
EL –ADVISABLE  Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.

The Sea-Wolf by Jack London (adapted by Riff Reb) –OPTIONAL

London, Jack (adapted by Reb, Riff The Sea-Wolf  Papercutz, 2014. $13.99 Content: Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: R (rape scene) Violence: PG13 GRAPHIC NOVEL

After being rescued at sea by Captain Wolf Larsen, the smart and bookish Humphrey van Weyden finds out quickly that he wasn’t really being rescued. Instead he is put to work on the ship, Ghost, and must basically fend for his very survival amongst the crew, the elements, and the intelligent but dangerous captain. After the crew ‘rescues’ a refined woman named Maud, Humphrey comes back to himself a bit, and knows he must help her. They manage to escape together, but will Captain Larsen find them?

The illustrator masterfully uses a limited color palette to set the tone of each chapter. The illustrations are quite dark and intense, just like the story. I think this graphic novel would give a reader chance to grasp the gist of the plot before they dived into the more complex full book. Though they may be tempted to treat it as a cliff’s notes version. Before purchase please note there is an attempted rape scene, illustrated without nudity but still very disturbing.

HS –OPTIONAL Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.

Run by Kody Kiplinger - OPTIONAL

Keplinger, Kody Run, 304 pages.  Scholastic, JULY 2016.  $18.  Language: R (100+ swears, 25+ ‘f’); Mature Content: R (sex acts mentioned briefly; body parts mentioned, drinking by teens); Violence: G.

If Bo Dickinson’s mom is arrested one more time for drug possession or prostitution, Bo only the only place for her to go will be to a group home or foster care – she’s been there once and she does not want to do that again.  Agnes Atwood was born with an eye problem, which leaves her barely able to see anything, making her effectively blind.  When the two become friends, both of them find that there are other ways to live their lives.  And when Bo’s mom inevitable gets arrested, the pair is ready to flee.

Bo’s life, unfortunately, is not a surprise to adults who work with teens – teens who have parents who are more interested in themselves, who just need to get high, who should have never had kids in the first place.  While the story is compelling, it is much too realistic for me.  I think the swear count could have easily been halved and still made its point.  Otherwise, I would recommend this for a much wider audience.  As it is, impoverished communities, inner city teens, will find themselves on these pages.

HS – OPTIONAL.  Cindy, Library teacher