The Transparency Tonic

Cole, Frank. The Transparency Tonic. Shadow Mountain, 2019.

Gordy is continuing his education as a dram at B.R.E.W., aided by his friends Max and Adilene. His family has moved into a new house, and there is a new principal at Gordy's school as well. The principal's daughter is a dram like Gordy, but Gordy thinks there's something odd about her and her family. Meanwhile, Gordy's grandfather, who has been exiled in a cave in the frozen north, has escaped and is pursuing means to make his escape permanent. Gordy may be the only potion master with the skills to stop his grandfather, but will he be able to make it in time?

This is a delightful adventure tale that fits right in with the first book in this series. The antics of Max will keep kids laughing, and the trio are reminiscent of Harry, Ron, and Hermione with their penchant for getting in trouble and the adventures they find themselves in. The action sequences carry this story and will have readers turning pages to find out what happens next. Give to fans of the Harry Potter series, the many Rick Riordan series, or the Iron Trial.

Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: some intense action and mild fantasy peril
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy

"It is not a failure to readjust my sails to fit the waters I find myself in."

Lee, Mackenzi. The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy. Katherine Tegen Books, 2018.

Felicity Montague wants to become a doctor. Unfortunately, no one will take her seriously because she's a woman. When she discovers a childhood friend is marrying her idol, she travels to the wedding so she can beg to become a student of the famous doctor. But all is not as it seems, and soon Felicity is traveling across the continent and into Africa in pursuit of a mysterious curative substance. But will the pirates keep their word, or will pirates be pirates?

Wow, there's so much in this book that I liked; I barely know where to start. Felicity is a serious-minded girl who enjoys science and medicine and studying. She doesn't have the best social skills, despises frilly things, and isn't really interested in marrying anyone. She turns down a proposal from a man and mostly turns down another one from a woman. From the discussion in the book, I would tag Felicity as either ace or graysexual. Felicity's brother is married (of a sort, of course that wasn't legal then) to his boyfriend from the previous book in this series. So, lots of exciting queer rep.

There's also a great discussion about Felicity's childhood friend, who adores frilly dresses and is the life of the party, but who also enjoys science and spends lots of time in the company of her pet dog. Felicity scoffs at her friend's enjoyment of pink and frills, but her friend insists that it's okay to like both, and indeed it is. There's a minor discussion of religious and cultural differences as Felicity finds herself, for the first time in her life, to be the minority both in gender and in ethnicity.

All in all, this is a fantastic adventure tale featuring strong female characters (not all of them cishet white women, either), and there's plenty to be enjoyed by any reader who likes adventure stories, pirates, or dragons. Highly recommended.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: Some discussion of addiction to an illicit substance; mild piratical violence; character uses "zounds" as a cuss word, so no real offensive language
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alikes: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, Etiquette & Espionage

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Edelweiss for the purpose of review.

Damselfly

Prasad, Chandra. Damselfly. Scholastic Press, 2018.

Touted as a modern retelling of Lord of the Flies, Damselfly follows a group of private school students as their plane crashes on a remote tropical island with no civilization, no adults, etc. If you know the plot of Lord of the Flies, you know this one.

In spite of the diverse representation of characters and discussion of race issues, bullying, etc., this book fell flat for me. The story was not intense enough to match the intense situation the teens were facing. There were times when the pace slowed to a plod. The dialog didn't match with the supposed age of these teens at all; they sounded more like young middle school students than upperclassmen.

The idea of retelling Lord of the Flies in a modern setting and tackling modern issues relevant to teens by using the story is a good one, but it isn't original with Damselfly; Libba Bray's Beauty Queens does the same thing, but does it in a much better way. This set itself up to be Beauty Queens without the humor, but it didn't work for me: too many weird plot holes or inexplicable character actions. That being said, teens who like "trapped on an island" type stories may enjoy this one.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: language, bullying, fat-shaming, racist language, violence
Overall Rating: 2/5 stars

Read Instead: Beauty Queens by Bray, The Island by Levez, I Am Still Alive by Marshall

Ready Player One

Cline, Ernest. Ready Player One. Crown Publishers, 2011.

It's 2045 and the world is falling apart. Wade is a high school senior who lives at the top of a stack of mobile homes. He goes to school online via the OASIS, a virtual reality world invented by a genius game designer. When the game designer dies, he leaves a cryptic message and puzzle for the world: the first person to find three keys to go through three gates will inherit his fortune. Wade becomes a gunter (egg hunter) looking for this hidden "Easter egg" in the game. But as he gets closer to finding answers, he discovers that others are also searching and are willing to do whatever is necessary to get him out of the way.

I cannot believe I didn't read this book when it came out. I must have picked it up and put it back down a dozen times, but it wasn't until this past weekend that I actually tried to read it. And then I couldn't put it down. And I wasn't paying attention to anything else - food, sleep, sunshine - because I just had to find out what happened. Once I finished it, I turned back to the front and started reading again, which is something I don't think I've ever done. This book is simply fantastic. It is certainly an homage to all that made the 1980s what they were, but inside of that there is the adventure story and the mystery of the different riddles Wade and his friends had to solve. I haven't seen the movie yet, as most of the time when I love a book I do not love the movie, but I do highly recommend this book.

UPDATE: On page 173 of the paperback edition, Parzival and Art3mis are having a conversation, and Parzival asks Art3mis: "Are you a woman? And by that I mean are you a human female who has never had a sex-change operation?" This is unbelievably transphobic and once my spouse pointed it out to me, it left a bad taste in my mouth. The story itself would be fine without this ridiculous line. 

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: lots of threats of violence, both in the real world and in the game
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Ender's Game, Scythe, Proxy

Charlie Hernandez and the League of Shadows

Calejo, Ryan. Charlie Hernandez and the League of Shadows. Aladdin, 2018.

Charlie loves studying the mythology of his Latin American culture. He knows all the stories about all the different monsters and gods from all the countries in Central and South America. But when Charlie is teleported into the very mythological world he loves so much, he will have to keep his wits about him in order to save his family and the rest of the world.

This book is a perfect read-alike for the many Rick Riordan mythology stories, and as there are still scores of fans of these books, this will be an easy book to recommend. There is plenty of adventure and fantastical stories in this book, and the compelling, action-filled story will keep readers turning pages to find out what happens next. Recommended.

Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: mild fantasy peril
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Aru Shah and the End of Time, The Storm Runner

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Edelweiss for the purpose of review.

The Storm Runner

Cervantes, J.C. The Storm Runner. Rick Riordan Presents, 2018.

Zane loves his home in New Mexico, even though he isn't a fan of going to a real school again. He is afraid the other kids will tease him because one of his legs is shorter than the other and he uses a cane. At school Zane meets Brooks, a student no one at his school has heard of, and she convinces him that he is a demigod and is destined to release evil upon the world and that it is her job to stop him. All of this is going to take place in the supposedly dormant volcano in Zane's backyard.

This is a great adventure story along the lines of Riordan's many series, but the focus is on Mayan mythology. There is plenty of page-turning action and adventure as well as heavy doses of humor. I can easily recommend this book to tweens who have read all of the mythology adventures on the shelf and need something more.

Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: mild fantasy peril
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Aru Shah and the End of Time, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.

The Alcatraz Escape

Bertman, Jennifer. The Alcatraz Escape. Henry Holt, 2018

Emily, James, and their friends are going to try an escape room set up by Grizwald himself, set on Alcatraz Island. Once they reach the island, though, there are more mysteries to solve than just the puzzles that are a part of the game. Will they be able to solve the puzzles in time to win the grand prize, and can they do it in time to guarantee that the bookshop receives its large donation?

This is a fantastic middle grade mystery/adventure story, perfect for fans of the previous two installments or Chris Grabenstein's Lemoncello books. The puzzles and the mysterious events keep the reader turning pages to find out what will happen. There is suspense and some mildly scary situations, but this is a clean read that I could wholeheartedly recommend to any child.

What stood out to me the most was a discussion that some of the characters had near the end of the story, where one character says, "If you love something, like a book or a movie, and then you find out the person who created it did something awful or wasn't a very good person--is it still okay to love what they created?" Bertman doesn't provide an answer to this timely question, beyond that "people are complicated," which is certainly true.

I highly recommend this book for kids who like puzzles, for teachers who like to have read-alouds for their classroom, and for those who want their kids to read "clean" stories but still provide them with a challenge.

Recommended for: middle grade and tweens
Red Flags: mild bullying
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, Greenglass House, I Kill the Mockingbird

I received a complimentary copy of this book through the publisher for the purposes of review.

I Am Still Alive

Marshall, Kate. I Am Still Alive. Viking BYR, 2018.

Jess's mother died in a car accident, and after Jess's leg has healed enough for her to sort-of walk again, she is sent to live with her father, a man she hasn't seen in over a decade. Her father lives in the middle of the Canadian wilderness, and he has warned Jess that he made some bad choices in life, and that if she ever sees a plane landing on the lake, to stay hidden no matter what. When the inevitable plane arrives, Jess's father is murdered, his cabin is burned, and Jess is left alone in the wilderness. Will she be able to survive the harsh Canadian winter, and what will she do to escape in the spring?

I am a sucker for survival stories - I remember wearing out my copy of My Side of the Mountain when I was in elementary school. This book has a large survivalist plot; Jess spends a lot of her time building shelter, attempting to hunt, trying to stay warm, etc. Much like Mark Watney in The Martian, Jess is completely alone, and her mistakes could be fatal. There's also the element of a thriller in this story, as Jess knows her father's murderers are going to return, and she has to decide if she is going to fight them and steal their plane or hide until they are gone.

I will admit I skimmed the final fight scenes, as I do in every thriller I read. I loved the build up to it, and the "before" and "after" chapters didn't jar me as they have in other stories. This is a compelling read and a great one to give to teens who enjoy survival stories.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: violence
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: The Martian, My Side of the Mountain, Peak, The White Darkness

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Edelweiss for the purpose of review.

Aru Shah and the End of Time

Chokshi, Roshani. Aru Shah and the End of Time. Rick Riordan Presents, 2018.

Aru Shah lives in a museum, and when some frenemies from school visit her and dare her to light the lamp that she has been told she must never light, she does what they ask. Little did she know that this would waken an ancient enemy, that she would be one of the chosen warriors to fight this enemy, and that the fate of the world would be left in her hands as a result.

This book is very similar to Percy Jackson and other demigod stories, but that doesn't detract from the fun. Aru's companion on this journey is a pigeon whose story is similar to the dragon in Mulan; he has lost his status as a guardian, has been demoted, and is hoping for redemption but doesn't believe that will happen with Aru in charge. The ending leaves room for further books in the series, and I can easily see myself offering this book to the Percy Jackson fans in my library who want to read another adventure of a demigod. My only gripe with the book - and this is truly a very minor detail - is that the main character talks about how visiting Muir Woods near San Francisco was peaceful and amazing, and in reality Muir Woods is frequently overrun with tourists and is not the quiet, peaceful forest everyone expects. I would send my main character to a different forest, but as I said, this is an extremely minor detail.

Recommended for: tweens / middle grade
Red Flags: "mild fantasy violence" is the best description; this is a very clean book
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purposes of review.

The Adventurer's Guide to Successful Escapes

White, Wade. The Adventurer's Guide to Successful Escapes. Little, Brown, 2016.

Anne is an orphan, and she is looking forward to the day she turns 13 and is kicked out of the orphanage, because she hopes to join a quest and find her family. The day before her 13th birthday, though, she is accepted as a student at a minor quest school and immediately sent on a special quest. Thus follows a hilarious adventure story involving a book that changes what's printed on its pages, a rainbow sparrow, and a giant robot named Rokk.

This book is funny and silly and enjoyable. It would make an excellent read-aloud book for an upper elementary classroom, and fantasy fans will lap this one up in a hot minute. I enjoyed the story, although I did find the inevitable "final battle scene with a villain" to be a bit drawn-out. Middle grade readers will love following Anne's adventures, and as this is possibly the first book in a series, this is a great book to give a child who has read everything and is hoping for something else.

Recommended for: middle grade readers
Red Flags: minor fantasy violence
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: What We Found in the Sofa and How it Saved the World, The Bad Beginning, The Edge Chronicles 1: The Curse of the Gloamglozer: First Book of Quint, Dragonborn;The Mysterious Benedict Society
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley for the purposes of review.

Wolf by Wolf

Graudin, Ryan. Wolf by Wolf. Little, Brown BYR, 2015.

WWII is over. Hitler won and has taken over all of Europe and Africa. He has split Asia with Japanese emperor Hirohito, who controls the Pacific. North and South America are so insignificant that they are not mentioned in this story. Each year there is a motorcycle race across Europe, Africa, and Asia, starting at Berlin and ending at Tokyo. Ten youths from Hitler's empire and ten from the Japanese empire compete for the trophy. Yael is a concentration camp survivor who has the ability to skin-shift; she can change her appearance so she looks like anyone else. Yael is determined to enter the race, win it, and earn a dance with Hitler at the Victor's Ball, where she will assassinate him.

Wow. That's about all I can say. It was so frustrating to have to put this book down so that I could work, sleep, eat, etc. The story is compelling and switches back and forth between Yael's past in the concentration camp and her current story as she attempts to survive a grueling international race. There's sabotage, back-stabbing, more sabotage, kidnapping, and of course the ultimate goal of Yael being able to get close enough to Hitler to kill him. I should have anticipated the ending, but I didn't, and I loved the surprise.

My only small objection to this story is that it falls into the category of "books about a girl who has special powers and is the only one who can save her society from falling into ruin" a la The Hunger Games or Divergent. The alternate history angle is a good one, though, and it was well worth reading. Recommended.

Recommended for: teens, tweens
Red Flags: German and Japanese profanity (mild), riders sabotage each other by drugging food/drink and by breaking their motorcycles, the main character is attempting to kill Hitler
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alikes: The Hunger Games, Dirt Bikes, Drones, and Other Ways to Fly, The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious Nazi

Seven Dead Pirates

Bailey, Linda. Seven Dead Pirates. Tundra Books, 2015.

Lewis and his family inherit his grandfather's historic home, and Lewis is excited to move into his grandfather's childhood bedroom in the tallest tower of the house. Unfortunately, his bedroom is already occupied - by seven ghost pirates. The ghost pirates are excited to meet Lewis, who is extremely shy and never speaks outside of his home, because they have been promised that Lewis would be the one to reunite them with their ship.

This book is adorable. The pirates are silly and funny and weird, and Lewis grows in his confidence and is able to speak around others and even advocates for keeping his grandfather's house when his parents are planning to sell it. This book would be an excellent read-aloud story, and kids might be motivated to read other pirate stories after reading this one. Highly recommended.

Recommended for: middle grade, classroom read-alouds
Red Flags: bullying, pirate violence (one pirate threatens to pin some boys' livers to a tree, but he doesn't actually do anything), there is an epic pirate battle scene with knives and swords and guns
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Treasure Island, The Wednesday Wars, Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy

The Wild Ones

London, C. Alexander. The Wild Ones. Philomel Books, 2015.

Kit is a raccoon who has always lived in the wild, but a freak accident leaves him an orphan with a mission: he must venture into the city, find his uncle, and give him the artifact that his parents' murderers are after. Kit has never been to the city before, and he's never even met his uncle. Will he be able to survive the trip?

This is definitely a read-alike to the Redwall series, and kids who enjoy books with animals as characters would like this particular story. My book club read The Dragonet Prophecy and fell in love with it; I could easily see them loving this series, too.

Recommended for: middle grade readers
Red Flags: lots of what movie raters would call "cartoon violence" and "mild peril" - the bad animals threaten Kit fairly frequently, but there's no blood/gore/foul language
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley for the purposes of review.

Masterminds

Korman, Gordon. Masterminds. Balzer & Bray, 2015.

Eli lives in the remote town of Serenity, where no one does anything wrong and there's never any crime or any problems. Even the streets are named for peaceful things: harmony, amity, etc. One day Eli and his friend try to ride out of town to explore the desert, and Eli is assaulted with throbbing pain. He's taken by helicopter to the hospital, and his friend is whisked away to his grandparents' home out of town. Before he leaves, Eli's friend leaves him a message: "There's something screwy with this town." Will Eli be able to figure out what is screwy here, and can he do it before he or the other kids in town suffer the consequences?

This book is part mystery, part action-adventure. Because the town is so squeaky-clean, there's no violence or profanity to worry about, but there's plenty of intense mystery as the kids try to work through what's going on. This book would make an excellent classroom or library read-aloud, and will be an easy one to book talk to my patrons. Strongly recommended.

Recommended for: middle grade
Red Flags: none (seriously; a kid gets in trouble for taking too many donuts, but that's about it)
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Poop Fountain!, What We Found in the Sofa and How it Saved the World, The Mysterious Benedict Society

The Island of Dr. Libris

Grabenstein, Chris. The Island of Dr. Libris. Random House BFYR, 2015.

Billy is spending his summer at a cabin with his mom. The cabin has no internet, no TV, no xBox, and what's worse, Billy dropped his new iPhone and broke it. Now he must resort to the only source of entertainment this mysterious cabin offers: a library full of books. But when Billy starts reading, the books become much more real than they were ever intended to. When Billy discovers that Robin Hood, the three musketeers, Jack and his giant, Pollyanna, and a host of other characters are battling for supremacy of a small island nearby, he'll have to use all the powers of his imagination to save the day.

This book is so fun and adorable I just want to hug it. I fell in love with Chris Grabenstein's work after reading Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library last summer, and his newest work does not disappoint. There's plenty of adventure and excitement, but it's all based on books and reading. This book would make an excellent classroom or library read-aloud and would be easy to recommend to kids who enjoy adventure stories as well as budding bibliophiles.

Recommended for: middle grade
Red Flags: movie makers would call it "mild fantasy violence and minor peril" - there are a few times when the characters are in mildly dangerous situations
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, The Ninja Librarians: The Accidental Keyhand, The Grimm Legacy

Panic

Hardesty, Sue. Panic. TRP Cookbooks. 2013. $11.25. 164p. SC 9780979270161.

Three very different teenagers travel together into the desert to find Indian artifacts to sell. When their truck breaks down, they must struggle to survive against the dangers of the desert: heat, snakes, lack of water, and panic. Will the trio make it out of the desert alive, or will they succumb to the deadliest factor of all, panic?

With teens as main characters and a survival plot, this book would seem to be an easy sell to a young adult audience. The plot-driven survival story and the trio of very different characters would certainly appeal to teens were the story written in a more compelling style. The simple language of the story and the characters causes the story to feel like an elementary school “first chapter” book, and the sketches and drawings throughout contribute to this juvenile appearance. While weaker young adult readers could definitely benefit from a story written on a lower level, the writing style in this book will not compel them to finish the final page, and the characters will not convince a young adult reader that the author has spent any time around teens.

This book will not appeal to the average young adult, and even strong readers may experience difficulty in finding motivation to finish the story. With further editing and an updated, more contemporary cover, this story could appeal to teens who enjoy survival stories. Librarians looking to add more books containing LGBT characters to their collection should instead consider the works of Kristen Cashore or Malinda Lo.

Dirt Bikes, Drones, and Other Ways to Fly

Wesselhoeft, Conrad. Dirt Bikes, Drones, and Other Ways to Fly. HMH BFYR, 2014.

Arlo is a daredevil.  He rides his dirtbike down the highway, racing semi-trucks and leaping over hills.  He is also the #1 ranked player in the game Drone Pilot, where he flies planes to complete various missions.  His international ranking has gotten the attention of the military, who want to use him to fly real drones in war zones. Arlo doesn't want to be responsible for anyone's death, but his sister's medical bills are piling up, and he knows his family could use the money.  Arlo has to choose between what is right and what is easy.

I really enjoyed this book. Arlo is a likable character, and his stunts are never boring. Also, the descriptions of New Mexico were beautiful, and I was glad that while Arlo's sister had Huntington's, the book wasn't trying to teach everyone exactly what Huntington's is like.  I thought his decision at the end was ... interesting, to say the least.  I can't say I'd have done the same thing in his place, but I respected the journey he went on to make that decision.  All in all, this is a great book, and although I don't like to gender stereotype, I know that many of the boys in my library would LOVE to read it.

Recommended for: teens, fans of adventure/stunts
Red Flags: minor violence, minor language, Arlo's dad drinks a lot
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: The Eye of Minds for video game aspect, Killer of Enemies for adventure, The Green Glass Sea for setting in White Sands, NM.

Scan

Fine, Sarah. Scan. Putnam Children's, 2014.

Tate is frustrated with his father's expectations for him.  Tate has to get up at 4:30 every morning, learn to speak twenty different languages, eat a very carefully balanced meal, and excel in school. Tate's father always tells him that he'll explain why when it's the right time.  The right time never comes, though, and one decision soon changes everything in Tate's life. He will need to use every bit of his father's training just to stay alive.

This book was filled with action sequences, surprises, and technology that would make it a great Apocalyptic-esque film. I enjoyed the story until it became obvious that the author was stretching it to create at least a sequel, possibly an entire series.  Then it lost me. I did enjoy this book, though, and could easily recommend it to my students, especially those who are obsessed with the Special Forces divisions of the armed forces. 

Recommended for: teens, those who enjoy action/adventure

Red Flags: lots of violence

Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Vitro

Khoury, Jessica. Vitro. Razorbill, 2014

Sophie is trying to find her mother, who is working on mysterious Skin Island which is somewhere in the Pacific relatively close to Guam. She gets there and finds all the crazy experiments her mom has been a part of.

The science fiction part of this story, as well as the cover, will definitely appeal to my students. And I had fewer problems with the Guam descriptions in this book than I did in the previous two books I found set on Guam. I don't, however, recommend that anyone stand outside the Guam airport and wait for a taxi like the main character did; you'll be waiting a long, long time.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: violence
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

Dangerous

Hale, Shannon. Dangerous. Bloomsbury, 2014.

Maisie Danger Brown entered a contest on the back of a cereal box and won a spot at space camp.  However, things start to go very wrong once she's at the camp, and soon she realizes she's signed up for a lot more than lessons on how to be an astronaut. Any more details would provide too many spoilers, but this book is an action-packed page-turner that is sure to thrill science fiction fans.

Recommended for: young adults, science fiction fans
Red Flags: violence in large quantities
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars