The Secret of the Old Clock By Carolyn Keene

The Secret of the Old Clock

Author:  Carolyn Keene

Publisher:  Grosset & Dunlap

Year:  2001

ISBN:  978-0-448-09501-7

Genre: Fiction/ Mystery

This book is for Ages: 8 up

AR Points:      5.0

Subjects/Themes:  Mystery

In her new dark blue convertible, 18-year-old Nancy Drew uncovers a mystery, stops a gang of thieves and saves the day for several families who are struggling after a beloved family member’s will unexpectedly leaves them empty handed.  Fun references to charity balls and white gloves will remind readers that this book was originally written in the 1930s.  The first book  in the classic Nancy Drew series it introduces Nancy, Her father, Carson Drew the well-respected lawyer and the family housekeeper Hannah Gruen.  This is a great series for young readers who like mysteries and want insight in to what their parents and grand-parents may have enjoyed reading at their age.  Nancy is a courageous teenager with an adventurous streak.

If you like this book you may also like:  More books in  Nancy Drew Series or  Nancy Drew’s Guide to Life.

Horton Halfpott: Or, The Fiendish Mystery of Smugwick Manor; or, The Loosening of M'Lady Luggertuck's Corset by Tom Angleberger

Title: Horton Halfpott: Or, The Fiendish Mystery of Smugwick Manor; or, The Loosening of M'Lady Luggertuck's Corset

Author:  Tom Angleberger

Publisher:  Amulet Books     

Year:  2011

ISBN:  978-0-8109-9715-8 

Genre: Fiction/Humor 

Awards:  Edgar Award/Honor Book

AR Points: 5.0

This book is for Ages: 8 and up

Subjects/Themes: Character

Horton Halfpott is a kitchen boy in the Luggertck household.  As things go missing in the Luggertuck household Horton and his friends the snooping stable boys try to unravel the mystery and its connection to the beautiful heiress Celia and a band of shipless pirates.

Silly and fun retelling of the Cinderella story, by Tom Angleberger, Horton is too good to be true.  He is loved by the baker and the pirates.  Angleberger also provides the illustrations for this book which are quite entertaining.  This is a fun and quick read with a glow in the dark cover.   

If you like this book you may also like The Strange Case of Origami Yoda also by Tom Angleberger or Captain Underpants by Dave Pilkey.

City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

Title:   City of Ember

Author:  Jeanne DuPrau

Reader:  Wendy Dillon

Media: Digital Download

Publisher:  Listening Library; Unabridged edition   Year:  2006

ISBN:  978-0739331675

Genre: Fiction/Science Fiction

This book is for Ages: 9 up

Awards:  ALA Notable Book, Kirkus Editor’s Choice

AR Points:     9.0

Subjects/Themes:  Dystopia, Government Control, Courage, Family, Leadership,

Plot Summary:  Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow have just finished the 6^th grade and have new jobs.  Lina is a messenger, Doon works in the pipe works.  They live in the city of Ember in year 241.  Ember is a city without a sun or moon.  All light comes from lamps powered by a generator.  When the generator begins to fail Doon is convinced the city is in grave danger.  When Lina uncovers a mysterious message they work together to find a way to save the city.  

Review:   This book is one of the reasons dystopian or future imperfect books are so popular.  This is the perfect book for reader’s looking for something different.  The unabridged audio book version is enhanced with sound effects that bring the story to life.  This is a diverting book for listening to on your next road trip.

If you like this book you may also like:  The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau. 

When you Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Title:   When You Reach Me

Author:  Rebecca Stead

Reader: Cynthia Holloway

Publisher: Listening Library  Year:  2009

ISBN:  978-0739380727

Media: Digital Download

Genre: Fiction/Science Fiction/Realistic Fiction

This book is for Ages: 10 – adult

Awards: Newbery Medal; SLJ Best Book, YALSA Top Ten

AR Points:     6.0

Subjects/Themes: Time Travel, Family Life, Friendship, Bullies.

Plot Summary:  6^th graders, Miranda and Sal have been best friends for a long time.  One day on the way home from school, Sal gets punched by a strange boy in a camouflage coat.  Sal doesn’t want to hang out with Miranda anymore. Miranda’s life is made even stranger when the spare key to her apartment is stolen, and she starts finding mysterious notes around her apartment, notes about someone coming to save her friend’s life.  Miranda is scared.  Which friend’s life need saving?  Who has been in her apartment?  How does the mysterious note writer know so much about her life?

Review:  Depicting the quiet growth of Miranda, this book is strongly related to Madeline L’Engle’s Wrinkle in Time.  Stead’s characters will remind you of friends from school.  The story is well paced and builds to reveal the mystery.  The real story is about the possibilities and travel we can take as we journey through life.  Stead has created a book with depth and heart that is worth reading more than once. 

If you like this book you may also like:  A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle.

A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine

Title:   A Tale of Two Castles

Author:  Gail Carson Levine

Publisher: Harper       Year:  2011

ISBN:  978-0-06-122965-7  

Genre: Fantasy Fiction

This book is for Ages: 10-14

AR Points:     9.0

Subjects/Themes: Dragons/Royalty/Identity

Plot Summary:  12-year-old Elodie is leaving her family to seek a weaving apprenticeship in the Town of Two Castles.  Her parents warn her about dragons, ogres, and white sepulchers.  Elodie arrives in town to find there are no weaving apprenticeships available, unless she can pay for one.  She is not too disappointed because she really wants to be a mansioner- an actress.  But when the head of the acting troupe rejects her because she cannot pay, and her only copper is stolen, Elodie has no place to go.  When the beautiful dragon Menoree offers Elodie food and a warm, safe place to sleep, Elodie accepts.  Even if it means she must act like a servant in the ogre’s castle to help Menoree solve a mystery.

Review:  Gail Carson Levine stays true to her style with this sweet new tale that reminds us not to judge a dragon, ogre, princess or apprentice by how they look.  

If you like this book you may also like:  Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine.

Egypt Game, By Zilpha Keatly Snyder

Title:   Egypt Game

Author:  Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Publisher: Antheneum Books for Young Readers    Year: 2009, c 1967, 1995

ISBN:  978-1-4169-9051-2

Genre: Fiction/Realistic

This book is for Ages: 8-12

Awards:  Newbery Honor, ALA Notable Book

AR Points: 7.0          

Subjects/Themes: Egypt/Mystery/Make Believe

Plot Summary:  11-year-old April Hall has just moved from Hollywood to Northern California to live with her grandmother while her mother and singer Dorthea Dawn is on tour.  She meets Melanie and her younger brother, Marshall who live downstairs.  Together they start the Egypt Game, an intricate game with rituals to honor ancient Egyptian gods, in the back lot of the Professor’s A-Z Antique Shop.   Soon they are joined in the game by Elizabeth, Toby and Ken.  When a young girl is murderer from their neighborhood, April and the other children must be on guard.  Lots of people are wondering who the murderer is.  Could it be the Professor?  Soon strange things are happening in the game.  Will the police capture the murderer before another child is killed?

Review:  This book is especially good for sixth graders in California studying ancient Egypt.   April has a hard time trusting the new people in her life.  She desperately wants to believe that her mother is going to bring her back to Hollywood. But she is able to escape those concerns in the Egypt game.  The Egypt game reminds me that imagination, books, movies, television and games are all quick escapes for our daily worries.

If you like this book you may also like: Beyond the Grave by Jude Watson

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Title:  Paranormalcy

Author:  Kiersten White

Publisher: Harper Teen Year: 2010

ISBN:  978-0-06-198584-3

Genre: Fiction/ Fantasy

This book is for grades: 6 and up    

Awards:  YALSA Teen Top Ten

Subjects/Themes: Fantasy, Fairies, Mysteries

AR Points: 10

Plot Summary:  16-year-old Evie can see through the glamour that fairies, vampires and other creatures use to fool humans.  She has been able to for as long as she can remember and has been working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency (IPCA) since she was eight.  Evie’s best friend is a mermaid and she sort of dated a fairy name Reth.  Now she wants him to leave her alone.  More than anything in the world Evie wants to live a normal life and go to high school.  One day, Evie helps catch an intruder at IPCA who turns out to be a cute 17-year-old boy named Lend.  Lend is trying to solve the mystery about the strange creature that has been killing vampires and other magical creatures.  Solving the problem of the creature becomes a big worry for Evie, especially when she discovers she and the creature are linked by a fairy prophesy.

Review:  Evie is a fantastic, smart, girl with a quirky fashion sense.  She loves pink and her favorite High School TV show Easton Heights.  Evie is definitely someone you would want to have as a friend, cousin or sister.  Lend seems like a normal (almost) teenage guy.  He is not really sure who he is, but he is a great guy. The other characters fairies, vampires, werewolves, mermaids, water sprites and yes humans are all interesting.  White gets rid of the silly romance that usually surrounds vampires in the first chapter.  Paranormalcy has plenty of humor to relieve the tension from the mystery and the suspense will keep you reading all night long. White creates an alternate universe that is believable and refreshing although not without flaws. This is a great book for older ‘tweens to adults.

If you like this book you may also like:  Supernaturally by Kiersten White,

Down the Rabbit Hole

Title:  Down the Rabbit Hole

Author: Peter Abrahams

Publisher: Harper Collins, 2005; ISBN: 0-06-078664-7

Series:  Echo Falls

Genre: Fiction/Mystery

This book is for children in grades: 6 - 12

Subjects/Themes: Murder/Suspense
Awards:  Booklist Editor's Choice, Edgar Award/Honor Book, Agatha Award
AR Points: 10
Format: Audiobook

Plot Summary:  Finding herself lost on the way to soccer practice 13-year-old  Ingrid, an eighth grader in Echo Falls ends up in the home of Cracked up Katie waiting for a cab. Just hours later, Katie is murdered.  Ingrid left her red sequined soccer cleats in Katie’s living room.  What will mom say if she knew Ingrid was there?  Will Joey's dad, the chief of police, find her through her cleats?  Will he think she is a suspect?  Ingrid heard a strange noise in Katie’s house while she was there.  Could it have been the killer?   Ingrid's family has problems too.  Ty her freshman brother is acting strange.  Mom and Dad are both super preoccupied with work.  Dad puts so much pressure on her and Ty about winning and college.  Ingrid must find a way to win at soccer, get the lead in the play and solve the murder mystery.  Can she follow in Sherlock Holmes' footsteps?  What if the killer comes looking for Ingrid?

Review:  I started listening to this book years ago on a trip with my family.  The trip ended before the novel and I was super excited to finish listening to this book.  I have to admit I was pretty disappointed.  I wanted to like this book.  The plot was just too simple.  It was way to easy to figure out who the killer was and I really did not like Ingrid.  Sure she is smart.  But she handles every situation she gets into with lying and/or stealing.  After a while I just did not respect her character.  Also, Ingrid's family has problems. Ty her brother is violent and her parents simply aren't engaged.  As the first book there are plenty of questions to answer in the rest of the books in the series.  This is a decent story but there are better books out there.

If you like this book you may also like:  Nancy Drew Mysteries