Mini Reviews - A New Tween Edition

My Mixed-Up Berry Blue Summer

by Jennifer Gennart

 

Twelve-year-old June Farrell is sure of one thing—she’s great at making pies—and she plans to prove it by winning a blue ribbon in the Champlain Valley Fair pie competition. But a backlash against Vermont’s civil union law threatens her family’s security and their business. Even when faced with bullying, June won’t give up on winning the blue ribbon; more importantly, she won’t give up on her family. (description from Amazon.com) 

I really enjoyed this title. I think it's a lot more serious than the cover leads readers to believe. It handles the issue of families with homosexual parents very well. I'm glad I read it.

Dying to Meet You

by Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise

43 Old Cemetary Road, book one

 

This is the story of the churlish, child-hating sixty-year-old children’s book author Ignatius B. Grumply, who rents an old Victorian mansion in Ghastly, Illinois, for the summer . . . only to find it already inhabited. Enter eleven-year-old Seymour Hope and the vivacious, “old as dirt” writer-ghost Olive C. Spence. The ensuing tale of unlikely roommates is cleverly, seamlessly told in letters, newspaper articles, Grumply’s work-in-progress “Ghost Tamer” manuscript, and winning illustrations by M. Sarah Klise.  (description from Amazon.com)

Cute. I love all the different "media" used to tell the story.  The letters, the newspaper articles, etc.  It was a fun read.

Full disclosure: Both books borrowed from my Library

In My Mailbox - July 10, 2011

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme, hosted by Kristi at the Story Siren, inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie. Every week bloggers can share what they received in the mail or at the bookstore or at the library. The goal is that everyone can be exposed to more books this way!

From the Library:

Mixed Messages by Tina Wells


Won:

The Dark City by Catherine Fisher
*Thanks to Alex at Electrifying Reviews!


Gifted:

Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber
The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
*Thanks to Sharon at I Mainline Fiction!


On My Nook:

Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey
Misfit by Jon Skovron
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson


The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe
Vanish by Sophie Jordan
*Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for all these great titles!!

Trauma Queen

Trauma Queen
by Barbara Dee

Every tween girl knows what it's like to have a mom who can be a little embarrasing at times. But for Marigold, it goes way beyond embarrassing. Marigold's single mom is a performance artist, meaning she stages dramatic, wacky performances to express her personal beliefs. Things like wrapping herself in saran wrap for a piece on plastic surgery, or inviting people over in the middle of the night to videotape her sleeping. In fact, Marigold's mom's performances caused such a ruckus in their last town that the two of them, along with Marigold's little sister, have just had to move. Now Marigold's starting a new school, missing her best friend like crazy, and trying to fit in all over again in the shadow of a mom who's famous for all the wrong reasons. As if that's not bad enough, Marigold's mom takes on a new job--teaching drama at Marigold's school! Now all the kids know instantly just how weird her mom is, and Marigold's worried she'll never be able to have a friendship that can survive her mother. (description from Amazon.com)

This book made me smile. This book made me laugh. This book made me cringe. This book threw me right back into the turmoil of my earliest teen years. This book wrapped me in a giant hug, reminded me that it all gets better, and threw me back into my adult life. In short...I thought this was a GREAT tween book!

Barbara Dee just has that pitch-perfect thirteen year old girl voice. I mean, Marigold was sooo...well what I was as a thirteen year old. She really has no idea yet who she really is or wants to be, but she does not what feels wrong, and she's willing to stand up anytime she really has to to protect her friends or family. Though her emotions may be all out of whack, Marigold has just enough confidence in herself to not let the worst things get to her forever...in fact, I kind of wish I had been more like Marigold in this respect when I was thirteen!

I loved how this book deals with so many of her different relationships. Having a little sister who is a little quirky, but still utterly lovable. A grandmother who just makes her feel warm and gooey, just like a chocolate chip cookie. A boyfriend...oooh...a little boyfriend who holds hands with her on the way home from school and sneaks a chaste little kiss. *squee!* (My remembered thirteen year old heart was beating like crazy when I read that scene!!) A best friend who she loses touch with when Marigold's family moves away. New great friends at her new school. Most of all, though, this book really focuses on the relationship that Marigold has with her mother.

It's so funny...mothers and daughters really do have a special bond. It's strong, it's protective, it's intuitive, it's unshakable...by anyone from the outside. However, mothers and daughters are the people who can shake or hurt each other the most easily because we value each other so much....and teen years are ROUGH. Though Marigold and her mother love each other to pieces, at this point in Marigold's life, as so many things are changing, as she is feeling the most vulnerable, she and her mother seem to be at a total disconnect.

They have fights, they each embarrass the other, but eventually it all works out. This is because their bond is truly unbreakable. When I was reading all of their scenes, all I could think of was my mom. I think we went through something very similar when I was the same age...though she never covered herself in electronic bugs or anything!

I truly cannot wait to put this book into the hands of some of our tween readers. I think that so many eleven, twelve, thirteen (and yes, even thirty year olds!) can relate to this book and will really, truly enjoy reading it! I, personally, am looking forward to reading another one of Barbara Dee's books that we just got in, This is Me From Now On, very soon!

Full disclosure: Review copy received from author

Girl's Best Friend

Girl's Best Friend
by Leslie Margolis
A Maggie Brooklyn Mystery

Dogs are disappearing in her neighborhood, and Maggie Brooklyn Sinclair knows all about it. After all, she has a semi-secret after-school gig as a professional (ok, amateur) dog-walker. Maggie hates to see a pup in trouble, so she's even willing to help her ex-best friend Ivy recover her rescue-dog, Kermit. Kermit's being held for ransom, and Maggie has noticed some suspicious behavior lately. But she never suspected her crush Milo could be involved . . .(description from Amazon.com)

This was a fun tween mystery! Maggie is a very relatable character, concerned with having a job, getting along with her parents and brother, dealing with other kids from school, and being true to herself. She has a really good relationship with her family which I thought was great.

She's smart and creative and honest. Maggie even has morals, not wanting to date Milo after she suspects that he's been doing something wrong. She is willing to help her ex-best friend, Ivy, even though they are now archenemies because Ivy's dog is in trouble. Though she's a great role model of a character, Maggie also feels real. In short, Maggie is the tween I wish I'd been.

I really liked this mystery too. Though I had an inkling of what was really going on, Margolis threw in just enough twists that I think the average tween will love this mystery and be kept guessing until the end. Definitely recommended and I hope there are more books coming in this series!

Cyberia: Prime Evil

Cyberia: Prime Evil
by Chris Lynch
Cyberia, book three

Zane and his animal comrades have foiled Dr. Gristle's terrible plots twice--he can't talk to animals, and he can't get at the heart of what makes them wild. Zane can talk to them. He can understand them. He almost is one. Almost.

Zane keeps getting in Dr. Gristle's way though - and he's being sent as far out of the way as Gristle can get him. In fact, he's being sent right into the middle of a new plot of the bad doctor's--and in his new, utterly foreign surroundings, he's entirely too human.

Just what has Gristle done to make these new animals so angry? Can't they see that Zane is their Friend?

In order to get home, Zane must figure out a way to stop Gristle's new plan and make some new friends before he becomes animal feed--or worse. It's time to defeat the evil Dr. Gristle once and for all! (description taken from Amazon.com)

This was a fun, fast adventure read! Zane is a normal(ish) young teen boy that, luckily, can now speak to animals. His nemesis, Dr. Gristle, is always trying to take advantage of Zane's furry friends and he's having none of it!

I loved the scientific concept of the CattleLivid Converters in this book! What a cool idea - battery power derived from the emotions of the animals. Needless to say, collecting the "acid" for these batteries is done in a way that Zane must stop!

Full of zany antics, wordplay, and new friends/frenemies this was a great ending to the trilogy.

Full disclosure: Book received from SLJ for review.

Change of a Dress

Change of a Dress
by Maya Gold
Cinderella Cleaners, book one

Behind the counter at Cinderella Cleaners, Diana watches the clothes come and go. She loves to imagine the exciting events that the different outfits might be worn to. Then one day, Diana reaches into the pocket of a fancy coat - and finds an invitation to a glittering gala in New York City. Since the coat's owner is out of town, Diana gets a wild idea. With the help of some savvy friends, one glamorous dress, and a lot of improvising, Diana pretends to be someone she's not, and makes it into the party! Will she be discovered, or will her disguise come off without a hitch? (description taken from Amazon.com)

Okay, this is a sweet young tween series that I just ordered for our branch library. It is a combination school/public library that houses grades K-12, so a lot of the YA books are actually tween aged. I saw this series and thought it would be perfect for the tween girls finishing 4th and 5th grade and "graduating" to the YA section.

It is very cute. Diana is a fun character. She's mostly sure of herself, she loves fashion, and she's just made some great new friends in her father's Dry Cleaning business, Cinderella Cleaners. When the opportunity comes for her to sneak out, dress up, and go into New York City to see the opening show of a Broadway musical starring her favorite TV hottie, she jumps at it. Several almost caught moments later and she starts to regret pretending to be someone else. It sweetly works out in the end, though, with closer family moments, wonderful sacrifices for friendship, and a girl determined to be a better person all around.

I really enjoyed this book and will probably read the second one, not just to recommend to the tweens, but also because I actually really liked the first book! :)

Zombiekins

Zombiekins
by Kevin Bolger

The little town of Dementedyville is as boring as they come--but a mysterious stuffed animal is about to liven things up . . .

Stanley Nudelman buys Zombiekins at the yard sale of his neighbor, the Widow Imavitch. It looks cuddly and creepy-cute--but expose the TEDDY OF TERROR to moonlight, and strange things happen. . . .

When Zombiekins gets loose at his school, Stanley finds himself in GRAVE danger. Because if his teacher Mr. Baldengrumpy discovers he turned the whole school into zombies, Stanley will be in detention till he's, like, 80!

Can Stanley and his best friend Miranda save their schoolmates from eternal zombiefication? If not, will Mr. Baldengrumpy even notice? (description taken from Amazon.com)

This is my kind of Halloween horror story. More funny than really scary. (I'm a chicken sometimes, I know!) This tween-aged zombie book is Diary of a Wimpy Kid meets Gremlins.

Zombiekins is scary cute. He's a little creepy, but you want to cuddle him...expose him to direct moonlight, though, and he just might BITE you! Poor Stanley inadvertantly creates a zombie making machine that swiftly turns his whole school into a monster haven.

The illustrations by Aaron Blecha fit the book perfectly and had me snorting aloud. Stanley is a great character that learns to stand up to a bully. His best friend is a strong female character and his little sister made me laugh. The depictions of snotty kindergarteners, scary six graders, and awkward, mean teachers will definitely appeal to readers.

I cannot wait to check out the next book, Zombiekins II: They Came From Under the Bed. I think it will be another hideously funny adventure!

The Wide-Awake Princess

The Wide-Awake Princess
by E.D. Baker

In this new stand-alone fairy tale, Princess Annie is the younger sister to Gwen, the princess destined to be Sleeping Beauty. When Gwennie pricks her finger and the whole castle falls asleep, only Annie is awake, and only Annie—blessed (or cursed?) with being impervious to magic—can venture out beyond the rose-covered hedge for help. She must find Gwen's true love to kiss her awake.

But who is her true love? The irritating Digby? The happy-go-lucky Prince Andreas, who is holding a contest to find his bride? The conniving Clarence, whose sinister motives couldn't possibly spell true love? Joined by one of her father's guards, Liam, who happened to be out of the castle when the sleeping spell struck, Annie travels through a fairy tale land populated with characters both familiar and new as she tries to fix her sister and her family . . . and perhaps even find a true love of her own. (description taken from Amazon.com)

This book made me smile from start to finish! I loved it. It had just the right balance of fairy tale charm and modern day girl bravery to satisfy every part of my reader's demands! I love a good fairy tale retelling, but sometimes, now that I'm older, I find myself questioning things...practical things...and I have to push them aside to finish the story in a happy place. Not so with The Wide-Awake Princess!!

Annie, the main character, is the younger sister of Gwendolyn (who we would all know more commonly here as Sleeping Beauty). When her sister is put to sleep, along with the rest of the castle, for one hundred years, Annie is the one that asks, "What if we get attacked while everyone is sleeping?!"

In order to save her sister, and her kingdom, Annie goes on a quest to find her sister's true love...and the evil Fairy that originally cursed her...to try to speed the process up and revive the kingdom. Along the way, she gains a protector and friend, Liam, who just may be more intriguing than Annie originally thought. *wink, wink* They run into lots of other great characters, like Tomas and his little sister (very Hansel and Gretel-esque), a Prince enchanted to be a bear, a Princess who is engaged to an Ogre (very Beauty and the Beast) and Annie even gets stuck in Rapunzel's tower...where she learns more about that girl's habits than she ever wanted to know!

Along the way, Annie who has no magics of her own, demonstrates that she has plenty of other skills to assist her on her quest. She can ride bareback, she is intelligent, she learns new skills very quickly, she is brave, she has no compunction about eating whenever there is food available...all in all, she is one awesome and un-simpering Princess!

Though I'm pretty sure this is a stand-alone book, I loved Annie so much, I'd be really happy to see another book detailing her further adventures! A great tween or teen read for those that love fairy tales.

In My Mailbox - September 26, 2010

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme, hosted by Kristi at the Story Siren, inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie. Every week bloggers can share what they received in the mail or at the bookstore or at the library. The goal is that everyone can be exposed to more books this way!

For Review:


Blessedby Cynthia Leitich Smith
*Thank you, Thank you!!*


The Missionary by William Carmichael and David Lambert

Radiance by Alyson Noel

From the Library:

Once Bitten, Twice Shy by Jennifer Rardin

No Mercy by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Borrowed:

Rich and Mad by William Nicholson

*Thank you Geri!!!*

Scumble

Scumble
by Ingrid Law

Nine years after Mibs's Savvy journey, her cousin Ledge has just turned thirteen . . .

But Ledger Kale's savvy is a total dud--all he does is make little things fall apart. So his parents decide it's safe to head to Wyoming, where it's soon revealed that Ledge's savvy is much more powerful than anyone thought. Worse, his savvy disaster has an outside witness: Sarah Jane Cabot, reporter wannabe and daughter of the local banker. Just like that, Ledge's beloved normal life is over. Now he has to keep Sarah from turning family secrets into headlines, stop her father from foreclosing on Uncle Autry's ranch, and scumble his savvy into control so that, someday, he can go home.
(description taken from Amazon.com)

I had read Savvy a while ago and really loved how Law wove a story. I was pleasantly surprised to receive this audiobook from SLJ to review. Set years after the first book, Scumble further explores the savvy families in America and how they survive.

Poor Ledger, hoping to be a phenomenal runner, ends up with a junk savvy...literally. He creates junk. At least that's what he believes at first. His talent is so hard to control, he is left on the remote family ranch for the summer to try to learn to "scumble." Scumbling allows their family to successfully use their special talents, but no one seems to really be able to explain how to scumble...

When Ledge accidentally reveals his savvy to the town's biggest mouth, he has to try and do some damage control. In his quest to make things right, Ledge meets the girl of his dreams, helps his wayward electric cousin find his way, saves the family ranch, and learns quite a few things about himself.

A magical coming of age story, mixed with just the right touches of danger, adventure, and romance. The audiobook version is fun, whimsical, and fits Ledge's voice to a "T."

Full disclosure: Audiobook sent by SLJ for review

A Pearl Among Princes

A Pearl Among Princes
by Coleen Murtagh Paratore

Welcome to the island where Princes learn to be charming...

Gracepearl Coal is the Cook's daughter on Miramore, the island all Princes visit for their summer program in the Charming Arts. Each year Princes-in-training arrive on gallant seacraft, guided by captain's trained to navigate the island's treacherous waters. Passage on one of these boats is the only way to leave the island - thus betrothal to a royal is the only way for Pearl to find her far-off destiny, the one that's started haunting her dreams. Luckily, this year's crop of Princes include some promising prospects, but how will Pearl leave behind her ailing father or - hardest of all - marry a boy other than her long-time beloved, Mackree...who now finds it too painful to even speak to her?

This was a charming book. I found Gracepearl to be a likeable character. She was nice, sweet, conscientious, but also balanced. Her love was true, even if it was confused. She never led on the boys she was considering and she took her friends feelings into consideration all the time.

The other main characters were all likeable as well. Some were gruff, some misunderstood, some shy, but all were true to themselves. This is a good book to give to a tween or less self-assured teen who needs a little dose of a "nice" book where the characters treat each other fairly well and remember who they are when all's said and done.

Parts of the plot were a little predictable, and it all seemed to work out very well at the end, but it is such a nice story that I was left smiling at the end anyway. I think there are a lot of readers who would have this same reaction. A good read!

Thursday Tween Talk - Jan. 28, 2010

The Pandora Series



Pandora Gets Jealous
by Carolyn Hennesy

13-year-old Pandora Atheneus Andromaeche Helena (or Pandy, for short) has no idea what she’ll bring for her school project. By accident she discovers a simple box, said to contain something so terrifying and horrible that no one must ever, ever touch it for fear of inflicting all of mankind with the wrath of the Gods and Goddesses. This, of course, makes the box the perfect thing for Pandora to bring for her school project. Unfortunately, things don’t go quite the way she was hoping, and the box accidentally gets opened, unleashing all kinds of evil and misery into the world. Hauled before Zeus, Hera and the rest of immortals, Pandy’s given the task of collecting all the evils within a year’s time.

There are now four books in this series, Pandora Gets Jealous, Pandora Gets Vain, Pandora Gets Lazy, and the newest Pandora Gets Heart. These are great to recommend to tweens, especially tween girls, who really enjoyed the mythological aspect of the Percy Jackson series. Pandora is a fun, relatable teenage character, her friends are a hoot, the gods and goddesses are interesting. Each book takes Pandy to a new and interesting location and she meets many different types of people along her journey. These are fun and easy to read. I highly recommend them for the fantasy tween set!

Thursday Tween Talk - Jan. 7, 2010

As I stated in my last Thursday Tween Talk post, our Library is not doing any Tween Time programs in January because the program attendance dropped so significantly last year (probably due to the weather!). So, instead I decided to do a Tween book review.



Sharp Shot
Rich and Jade series: Book 3
by Jack Higgins

Rich and Jade Chance are once again on the run— but this time, trouble finds them while their father is away on his own mission. After a breathless chase through an amusement park, Jade is taken hostage by a man from Chance’s past who is plotting a dastardly political coup in the Middle East with nuclear weapons as a threat. Worse still, the President of the United States is on his way to the region for a summit meeting. It will take all of the Chance family’s wits and skills to find the bomb and defuse the threat—and time is running out.

I thought this was an excellent choice for tween boys, reluctant readers, and girls who like the "Gallagher Girls" series. The chapters are short, it is action packed right from the first page, and though it involves some geography and politics, it is all written in an extremely easy to understand language. In fact, this book almost read like you were watching it happen on a movie screen. Definitely recommended for those sometimes hard to please tween readers.

Thursday Tween Talk - Dec. 17

At our library, we run a "Tween Time" program for students in grades 4-8 every first and third Wednesday of the month. We try to rotate between book related, craft, active, and "other" programs to keep the tweens guessing...and coming back!

Yesterday, we did our second annual "Holiday Gifts Workshop" for our Tween Time program. We gave the tweens all the supplies to make five different crafts and let them go at it for an hour. They had a blast and came out with some great looking homemade gifts to take to their families for Christmas, Hannukah, or whichever holiday they celebrate.

The crafts that we suggested they make were recycled greeting card ball ornaments, beaded candy cane ornaments, popsicle stick sleds, popsicle stick frames, beaded bracelets, and felt magnets.





We're planning a break now until February. We found last year that our January attendance really suffered between the weather, people recovering from the holidays, and other factors, so on the first Wed. in February, we're kicking off again with "Chocolate Day." YUM.

I can't wait for our Spring line-up of programs...we have a ton of great stuff planned. Chocolate Day, Life-Size Monopoly, Clay Crafts, Wii Fun, a "Camp-Out Movie..." It's all going to be a blast to do. Do you all do this type of program at your libraries too?