Spy Pick: Sealed With a Lie

Sealed With a Lie
by Kat Carlton
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
2014
244 pages
ISBN: 9781481400534


This second installment in Kat Carlton's "spy" books is equally as fun and flirty as the first book (Two Lies and a Spy). Steamy and dreamy Evan Kincaid makes another appearance as smooth talking flirtatious Brit boy, and Kari tries to convince herself that he doesn't make her heart race and her palms sweat. Both kids are in a school that trains the next generation of spies. They learn languages, coding, martial arts and other inspirational arts like how to pick a lock and how to "case" a building. Kari and her brother Charlie stay with the agency's top brass Rebecca.

When Charlie  is kidnapped and held for ransom, Kari decides she'll do anything to save him. Evan will not let Kari go it alone and swears he's in with her to save Charlie. The kids can't tell the authorities or Rebecca for fear that the kidnappers will harm Charlie.  The bad guys hold all the cards and they order Kari to drive to Germany and await further instructions. Computer nerd Matthis rounds out the trio as they go in search of Charlie and put together a plan to thwart the kidnappers.

Evan proves to be a worthy sidekick to Kari's superhero. In fact, he keeps saving her. While she should feel thankful, she tries to convince herself that she doesn't need him. The trio of kid spies play cat and mouse with the police and the bad guys. The fun just doesn't stop; the kids use elaborate disguises, high speed chases and sleight of hand.


Kari's parents make another appearance but readers will still be mystified as to whether they are indeed Russian spies or true American patriots "pretending" to be Russian spies. There's bound to be another book where more about the parents is to be revealed, and I can't wait.

Kari Andrews is a worthy YA female protagonist; she's tough, stubborn, smart and sexy. She's the girl every girl wants to be and Evan is certainly the guy every girl dreams about. This is a smart, romantic quick read. For any fan of romantic adventure. If you enjoyed Two Lies and a Spy, you will love Sealed With a Lie.

Recommended grade 7-up. No profanity. No sex.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Classic Gothic Tale with a New Twist: Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters

Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters
by Suzanne Weyn
Scholastic
2013
250 pages

Twins Giselle and Ingrid discover that they are heirs to a fortune--their mad father, Dr. Frankenstein was so tormented, he shunned his famly and friends--dying alone but leaving the girls a castle on a small island and a large inheritance. The girls travel to the island north of Scotland, seeing their inheritance for the first time. They stand aghast at the condition of the castle. It has fallen to ruin, but Giselle intends to bring it back to its formal glory. Ingrid--always the scientific one--discovers her father's journals dating back to his early university years. She reads one after another--obsessed with knowing more about her father's work and his state of mind.

Ingrid is attracted to their eccentric reclusive sickly neighbor, too, and Giselle worries about their strange friendship. Ingrid thirsts for knowledge and for education, but being a product of her times (1815)...when women did not go to university...she has to sneak around and disguise herself as a man in order to attend anatomy lectures. Her friend Anthony "borrows" an anatomy book for her to study.

The castle hides secrets and Ingrid finds the key to her father's laboratory. What will Ingrid do in the name of love? Where is the monster that her father created and then spent his life escaping? What dark secrets does Giselle herself hide?

Fans will love this Gothic horror/love story. I was rooting for sister Giselle and disturbed by Ingrid. Plot twists then had me thinking differently.

Suzanne Weyn is a masterful storyteller who handles an old story with ease. The plot is told from each twin's viewpoint as each sister writes her diary entries. The cover has Gothic appeal and will have teens clamoring for their own copy.

Highly, highly recommended grade 7-up. No language. Romance, a few kisses, gruesome laboratory.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I purchased this book for my library from the Scholastic Book Fair. This title is on middle school book fairs. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

Book Club Pick: The Watchmaker's Daughter: A Memoir

The Watchmaker's Daughter
by Sonia Taitz
McWitty Press
2012
243 pages


Poignant and sweet, The Watchmaker's Daughter is a loving tribute from a daughter to her hard-working parents who lived through Hitler's death camps and Nazi Germany to immigrate to America and start a family and a small business. Theirs is the true American dream story. Poor immigrants who through hard work and determination escape poverty and attain home ownership and send their offspring to shining American institutions of higher education.

Gita, Sonia's mother, never questioned her lot in life. She worked alongside her husband in the shop for decades and raised two children on next to nothing. Gita put food on the table in the most frugal way. She didn't move to the suburbs and buy a mink coat like all the other ladies of her generation once they had a few dollars.

As a young girl, Sonia longs to move to a house with a yard. A house where she could have a dog. Her parents' friends all have fancy cars and large, impressive homes. Sonia is embarrassed by her parents who seem so old-fashioned and religious. Her father celebrates his Jewish religion and the high holy days. He goes to synagogue and reads the Torah. He eats a kosher diet. Gita belittles their Jewish friends who eat shrimp cocktail--that it's not kosher. Sonia just wants to fit in with the upwardly mobile middle class.

There is so much to love about this book. Sonia Taitz has captured 1960s New York and its Jewish community. Her father's watchmaker's shop comes to life. Her mother's love is apparent in every action. Even when her mother tears up the letters from Sonia's ex-flame Paul, hiding the fact that he is trying to stay in touch, Sonia knows her mother did it out of love for her. Sonia is able to forgive her mother and reconnect with Paul, finally marrying the love of her life.

Sonia has always thought of her father as old-fashioned and kind of uptight, but she sees his greatness one day when a stranger approaches them on the street. The stranger thanks Simon Taitz for saving his life. Simon tells Sonia that because the Nazis valued promptness, they valued his watchmaking skills. He had his own workshop in the camp and was able to save many men by teaching them his trade. One man--her own father--was a hero and saved many lives.

This is the story of one famly, but it will resonate with all families. This is a book of the human condition and survival.

Highly, highly recommended grade 9 and up andfor any history buff and anyone who likes to read memoirs from another time. Highly recommended for book clubs; this is one book that will get members talking. Some mature content.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.