Swashbuckling Adventure: The Lady Rogue

The Lady Rogue
by Jenn Bennett
Simon Pulse
2019
385 pages
ISBN: 9781534431997

Shoppers can NOT walk by this cover without picking up this book--that's how beautiful and eye-catching it is. Cover appeal alone will sell this story, but thankfully the story inside is even better than the cover! Do not make the mistake of labeling this book historical fiction. That would be a disservice. It is set in the past, but it's not dry or boring. It's ALIVE and lively with timeless appeal for anyone who needs an adventure.

From the peasant villages to the mountain passes through the Carpathans to the secret chambers and treasure to be found to the odd bookstore reeking of magic to the creepy cult of goons who follow her, Theo (Theodora) Fox, uses her intelligence and code breaking skills to find her missing treasure hunter father.

Abandoned by her traveling tutor, Theodora is now alone in Istanbul with no money and waiting for her father's return. Richard Fox has gone off in search of Vlad (Dracula's) famous bone ring. He is supposed to return and continue through Europe with his daughter. Theodora is surprised (SHOCKED) when she returns to her hotel and former boyfriend, love of her life, protege of her father is standing in her room. She's still mad at him for going away without saying good-bye, but she has only half the story. Huck Gallagher is the only person who can help her find her father. The two decide on a "truce" which doesn't last long and begin retracing Fox's journey. As the search for the fabled bone ring, it becomes apparent that they are not the only ones seeking it. There is an evil group of occultists who want the ring said to give its wearer power to defeat all armies.

Digging for clues in her father's diary, Theo and Huck venture into Romania and into the shadows of Gothic splendor. Readers will be captivated by the scenery. Like something out of Indiana Jones or The Mummy movies, The Lady Rogue is rich and layered with sights, sounds and smells. I was completely into this story and was sad when it ended. The love/hate dance between Theodora and Huck is a joy to read, and romance did not take over the story--thankfully! Huck is swoon-worthy and the quick banter between Theo and him is fun. This story would be a brilliant adventure movie, and I for one, pray for another Theodora Fox book.

Highly, highly recommended for YA readers. Grade 8 and up. One bedroom scene, but it's not graphic. Do NOT MISS The Lady Rogue; it's a MUST READ!

Middle Grade Non-Fiction Pick: Fearless Felines...

Fearless Felines: 30 True Tales of Courageous Cats
by Kimberlie Hamilton
Illustrated by Allie Runniyan, et al
Scholastic
160 pages
2019
ISBN: 9781338355833

Available November 5, 2019

Thirty true stories of fearless and daring felines who saved their owners, fought in wars, and patrolled buildings make this middle grade book a treasure trove of fun facts about brave cats. Any young cat lover will revel in the clever antics of each character--and what characters they are!

Cats may not have their place in history books, but author Kimberlie Hamilton insures that young readers will know about them. The ancient Egyptians worshipped cats and believed them to be gods. Cats came to Britain around 55BC when the Romans invaded. From that moment on, cats became important in castles, breweries and businesses to chase and kill vermin. By 1995, cats begant to outnumber dogs as America's favorite pet.

Kid readers will love impressive cats like Pyro who flew missions with his pilot owner in WWII and was considered a good luck charm among all the flyers. A cat aptly named Bomber could tell the difference between Royal Air Force planes (British) and enemy (German) planes during the war. When he alerted his family, they ran for the bomb shelter. A stray cat named Hammer appeared at Army headquarters in Iraq. Not only did he keep them mice-free, he was a therapy cat for wounded soldiers, and he came to the United States when the troops came home.

There are stories of other cats saving their family from fires and attacks from other animals. Some cats have even detected cancer in their owners! So, if your cat is behaving badly: pawing at you, bothering you, creating a ruckus, there's probably a good reason he is trying to tell you something very important. Cat behavior is fascinating to watch and to read about. This little collection is full of TALES about TAILS!

Recommended for non-fiction projects and for cat lovers everywhere. Grade 4 and up. With index, glossary, quiz with answers, further reading and recommended websites.

Middle Grades Pick: Quicksand Pond

Quicksand Pond
by Janet Taylor Lisle
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
2017
240 pages
ISBN: 9781481472227


Quicksand Pond is the story of two strangers, young girls who meet on a pond in New England one summer. Jessie's family (minus her mother) travels to Rhode Island for the summer renting a decrepit cottage on the shore of Quicksand Pond and steps away from the Atlantic shores. Older sister Julia is not thrilled to be carted off to the backwoods where wi-fi is a joke. She soon discovers the beach and the local kids. Jessie finds a raft at the pond's edge and like a true adventurer, she pushes off on it to the middle of the pond. Without a pole or paddle, the raft is nearly worthless. Jessie uses reeds to pull herself back to shore hours later.

Local kid Terri Carr makes her presence known from the start. She tells Jessie about old stories that have become legends in the town. A husband and wife murdered in the big house on the pond years ago, the crime never solved. People drowning. Another house burned to the ground. Folks around there know who is responsible but Terri is not saying. Terri has her own baggage--her father has a mean temper and a quick hand.

An old woman lives in the huge mansion still. She was a girl when the family was murdered--they were her parents and she witnessed the crime. Now she's an old lady subject to flights of fancy. According to her nurse, the old lady never makes sense. But....what if Miss Cutting isn't just babbling? What if she carries the clues to solve the old cases?

Quicksand Pond has all the elements that make a strong middle grade read--an old unsolved mystery, a couple of drownings, a town rife with rumors, family money and family secrets, a rural setting far enough away from city life, a father who has failed, a family in ruins, two very different girls who meet and become friends, and an unknown villain who wants to keep the past buried forever.

A quick and enjoyable read!

Highly, highly recommended grade 4-up.

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

Action Pick: The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch

The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch: At the Edge of Empire (book 1)
by Daniel Kraus
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
2015
656 pages
ISBN:9781481411394

Available: October 27, 2015

Review

“Fiction, like any art, can be divided between the living and the dead. THE DEATH AND LIFE OF ZEBULON FINCH is unequivocally and furiously among the former. A splendidly rendered, macabre picaresque, muscular and tender, imaginative and grotesque, cynical yet deeply moving. I was appalled one moment and laughing the next. Don't be fooled by the premise. This tale may be told by a dead man, but what's rendered here is life itself in all of life's absurd glory.” (Rick Yancey, The 5th Wave)

"Kraus' careful prose gifts Mr. Finch with a voice that retains a sheen of elegance even as it repulses readers with macabre imagery. And still, when his occasional efforts at reform fail, Mr. Finch becomes an oddly pitiable character." (Kirkus Reviews)

"Morbidly fascinating." (Publishers Weekly)

My review:

Gripping, disturbing, severe, and ever so gruesomely entertaining, The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch will grab readers by the throat, shake them up, and force them to listen to every squalid detail, every juicy tidbit, every strange nuance of  Zebulon's racy story of life and death in Chicago, during the 1890s through the turn of the century, into WWI trench warfare, to the glitter and glam of 1930s Hollywood. Gunned down and dead, Zebulon, rises from the icy waters of Lake Michigan seventeen minutes later to live "life" as a dead man and he's a rip-roaringly fantastic one! What could be better than a dead guy with an attitude? Deadpan humor--what a concept! Zebulon is everything anyone could want a protagonist to be: he is an evil man who can be loving, he is a hero who is tortured by his past,  he is compassionate at times, he is a sinner to be sure, but who is to judge a man who is destined to live for all eternity?

Pull up a chair, settle in and enjoy this epic tale told by a dead man who takes storytelling to great heights with a voice that evokes Dickensian characters of yore. Zebulon's fate--though terrible-- allows him to appreciate the true beauty of the macabre and grotesque. First "taken in" by a traveling snake oil barker, Zebulon spends all his time in a cage. Later, given a chance to discover what is keeping him "alive" and hoping to find a way to die, he makes his way East to find Dr. Leather, a man he met when performing in the traveling show. The doctor promises to help Zebulon. A series of gruesome exams and tactics ensue and if you're squeamish, it may be a bit much. But hold on to your hat, this tale is  just getting started.

Zebulon escapes and runs off to enlist and is shipped off to Europe to fight the enemy. It is in warfare we see Zebulon question life, death, friendship, valor, and war. At first terrified, Zebulon figures this is his chance to finally die and he embraces it. At war's end, our hero returns to America and cavorts his way to Hollywood where he's a pampered lapdog to a glamorous movie star who craves affection. Think film noir and Gloria Swanson in "Sunset Boulevard."

This is one whale of a book! Be ready for some late nights with no sleep--it's really that good. Whenever I begin a book this lengthy, I pray, hope, wonder, and the LOVE when it delivers. An engrossing read that just keeps giving. Zebulon Finch a character I will never forget. His name will be right up there with Atticus Finch, Scarlett O'Hara, and Ryan Dean West (Winger, Stand Off). 

This is by far the BEST YA book I've read in 2015. It is in a category all by itself. The writing is so sublime, so perfect that I often had to read a paragraph several times to revel in the sheer joy of the language.

Kudos to author Daniel Kraus! I sense a real winner here! You heard it here first: The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch WILL be on so many BEST lists and look for it soon to be a movie...Hollywood will love to get their hands on this one . Steven Spielberg, you're welcome.

So highly recommended that if you only read one book this year, make it this one!

Suitable grade 9-up. Mature content. Not suitable for middle school.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC 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)

Fiction Pick: Changeling

Changeling (Order of Darkness, Book 1)
by Phillipa Gregory
Simon Pulse
2012
256 pages

In book one, we meet Luca Vero, a wonderfully hot hero who is expelled from his monastery and sent on a journey across Europe to witness the greatest fears of the "end of times." Luca must investigate when the church hears of evil in its midst.

He arrives at the Abbey of Lucretill (near Rome) to investigate the "madness" among the nuns. One sister has bleeding palms and sleepwalks; others can't sleep at all. All of them are fearful that demons are among them.

Isolde is sent away from her castle by her brother; he takes control of their inheritance--Isolde is, after all, only a girl, not someone who can inherit. She is told that her father wanted her to enter the church and never marry. She becomes the Abbess of Lucretill and travels with her mysterious servant to the abbey's walls.

Soon, Luca must interview the nuns about the strange happenings in the abbey; first, he must have the Abbess's permission. He is intrigued by this young abbess who hides her face in the gloom. Further, he wants to get to the bottom of the mysterious and evil doings.

A compelling secret is discovered on the lands owned by the abbey and Luca has a pretty good idea of who is hiding it. He investigates his hunch helped by Isolde. What they find will threaten the abbey and Isolde's life.

Books two and three promise to develop more of a romance between the two main characters. While Isolde is meek and pliable in book one, Gregory reminds readers in the author's note that Isolde is a typical girl of this time. A girl whose future lies at the hands of her father and brother. I wish the author's note was at the beginning of the book for teen readers to understand why Isolde has such a meek character. She's forced into a life she didn't choose and she seems to just go along with it; which is what any girl of her time would naturally do. At the end of Changeling, Isolde chooses her future for herself, and female readers will applaud.

Highly recommended for mature readers who love history. Rich in detail and brilliantly researched, Changeling will have its fans among those who love the middle ages and European history. Some mature content, no language.

Grades 9-up. A lot of church history and tradition.

Crossover Appeal: Stephen King's 11/22/63

11/22/63
by Stephen King
Scribner
2011
849 pages

This is an open letter to Stephen King:

Dear Stephen (I use your first name since you have been in my head for at least 25 years. I hope you don't mind):

I now forgive you for The Tommyknockers. I devoted three days of my time back in 1988 devouring The Tommyknockers--during my ten year devotion to all things Stephen King--only to be so disappointed by the ending, I threw the book against the wall! I swore I would NEVER read Stephen King again, and I was true to my word until I picked up The Mist and Cell years later. I have to admit I was becoming a King fan again. I was intrigued by the idea of 11/22/63; that through time travel one man could change a watershed moment in history and prevent the death of a beloved president. I couldn't put this novel down and kept thinking about many questions it answered and many more questions it brought up.

From the moment I began I was enthralled. Stephen, you have outdone even yourself! 11/22/63 is a watershed novel. It has everything a reader could want: mystery, suspense, intrigue, romance, seduction, murder, suicide, evil, magic, and time travel. This is a real page-turner that will make readers think long after finishing the novel.

Jake Epping is a normal high school English teacher who picks up extra money teaching an adult GED class in the evening. He is a divorced guy with a typical bachelor life. He just gets by day after day. He happens to read an essay by the high school custodian that shatters him. The custodian's mother and siblings were murdered right in front of him and he was left semi-crippled by a madman: his own father. Jake takes Harry to grab a burger at a little dive nearby. Later, Al the diner's owner, takes Jake to a back room and tells him a little secret; the rear of the pantry is actually a portal (a rabbithole) that leads back to the past, in fact the same day every time in 1958. A few days later, Jake visits Al and he's shocked by his appearance. Al has lost tons of weight and seemingly aged 20-30 years overnight.

Al explains that he has been gone five years (only two minutes in real time) and that he has cancer and won't last but a few more days. He enlists Jake's help and he begins relating his strange story. Al has been using the rabbithole for a long time. He'll go back and buy groceries for the diner at 1958 prices; sometimes he'll stay a few minutes or a few days, but when he comes back, it's always only two minutes later in real time. Al gives Jake a notebook; it is his notes on Lee Harvey Oswald. Al has the idea that if you could travel back to 1958 and live there a few years, you could find Lee Harvey Oswald and stop him from killing President John F. Kennedy in 1963. This is a watershed moment in history that can be prevented. Al and Jake wonder if Kennedy lives, will the future be better or worse? Will Robert Kennedy live or die, will the race riots occur, will Martin Luther King, Jr., be assassinated, will Vietnam be stopped and millions of young American lives saved?

To prove their theory, Jake travels back in time and tries to stop Harry's father from murdering the whole family. When he comes back to the present, Harry doesn't have a limp and he's not a custodian. Jake is able to save the family and Harry's future. What you put right in the past will affect everything around it--the Butterfly Effect. Will Jake ruin things in the future if he changes the past? Al brings up the principle of Occam's Razor--a philosophy that states if you have two ideas about how something happened, the simplest idea is probably the true one. Al provides Jake 1958 money, a driver's license, his notebook on Oswald and advice to "blend in." Al warns Jake about the Yellow Card man who sits by the opening of the rabbithole and yells at Al each time he travels to the past. After a couple of trips, Jake realizes that the Yellow Card man knows about the time travel and is trying to warn him.

Jake loves 1958 America at first. Although it's stinkier--everyone smokes cigarettes and factories belch out black smoke--food tastes better. A root beer tastes "rootier"--it's before preservatives and artificial coloring. Ladies wear dresses with hats and gloves every day! Children jump rope in front of their homes, women stay home and cook and clean. Husbands work and commute. The seedier side of 1958 is that some men beat their wives and kids and neighbors look the other way. Violence is a part of everyday life in the past. Jake lives in Derry, Maine, for awhile and then moves to Texas so he'll be in place to spy on Lee Harvey Oswald.

He buys a degree from a college and takes a job as a high school teacher making friends and romancing the school's librarian. Sadie and Jake fall in love but they can't marry because Sadie is still legally married to her first husband who beat her. Jake is happy and he thinks of staying in 1958 and marrying Sadie, but he knows he must save the President and complete his promise to Al.

Jake gambles on prize fights and ball games--losing a few times to make it look like he's a bad gambler, but winning when the payoff is huge. After all, he knows who will win and bets accordingly. This doesn't sit well with bookies and soon Jake is beaten by some goons who work for the local bookie. He loses his memory but finally comes clean with Sadie telling her his strange story that he's from the future and has a job to do. Sadie's husband shows up with his own vendetta.

Will Jake and Sadie save the President? If they do, what repercussions will there be? Will Jake stay in the past? What happens if he does? If he returns to present day, will Sadie ever forgive him? How many things can be changed in the past without changing reality itself? The ending was just as weepy as "The Notebook," so have tissues ready.

Stephen, you said you tried to write this book back in 1972 but "the wound was too fresh"--only 9 years after Kennedy's assassination-- and that you were glad you waited until now to write it. I am glad, too. In 1972, I would have been too young to read this book, let alone appreciate it. I want to thank you for entertaining all of us--not just entertaining--but giving us a fresh look at history and making us want to know more. This is your masterpiece, and I'm thrilled to have read it and reviewed it.

Highly, highly recommended grades 9-up. This is an adult novel with teen crossover appeal. Anyone who loves King's earlier writing will love 11/22/63. History buffs and Kennedy fans will also want to read King's thrilling opus! Mature content, some sex, rough language.

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

Girl Pick: Past Perfect

Past Perfect
by Leila Sales
Simon Pulse
2011
303 pages

Fun, quirky, and captivating Past Perfect is the latest from Leila Sales author of Mostly Mean Girls.

Chelsea has dreams of escaping her parents constant attentions and working with them in Essex Revolutionary War re-enactment village again this summer. She wants to work in the air-conditioned mall like a "normal" teen not dress in heavy, 10 pound dresses complete with petticoats and a mobcap (a weird droopy bonnet women used to wear) in the stifling summer humidity of Essex, Virginia. When her BFF Fiona convinces her to work in the village just one more summer, Chelsea gives in. She soon realizes that the only thing worse than wearing 10 pound dresses, enduring the summer heat, and working with her parents is working with her ex-boyfriend Ezra, the ONE who broke her heart.

Just across the street from the Revolutionary War village is yet another historical tourist attraction: the Civil War village. There is a heated battle between the summer hires each year for supremacy. The kids call it "war" and it involves mostly harmless and funny pranks, but when Chelsea's general is "wounded" and several of the Civil War's team is hospitalized, the war is really on! Chelsea is kidnapped by a boy on the other team, and she soon finds herself falling for him. This is treason! This is not acceptable!

The clever banter between Chelsea and her friend Fiona and Chelsea and hottie "enemy" Dan is charming. When Fiona wants to work in the village, Chelsea says, "Since she seemed to envision it as a constant Gone With the Wind experience, minus the death and destruction."

Chelsea switches "tribes" and soon finds herself without a "country." Later, Chelsea thinks over her dating relationship with ex-BF Ezra and realizes that he was the one who treated her poorly and she was guilty of allowing him to treat her so badly and she is finally ready to move on.

Brilliant teen dialog, a darling, spunky heroine, a quirky setting, and a hot guy will keep teen girls reading. Some kissing and light petting. No sex. Some talk about "doing it" and a couple of "bad" words.

Recommended grade 9-up because of light petting, language. It would probably be okay for grade 7-8 if you have other edgy titles.

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

High School Pick: This Thing Called the Future

This Thing Called the Future
by J.L. Powers
Cinco Puntos Press
2011
213 pages with glossary of Zulu words

Disturbing, yet compelling, heartbreaking, yet uplifting, anguishing, yet soaring, This Thing Called the Future paints a grim picture of post-apartheid South Africa, a country so ravished by AIDS and poverty that a whole generation of children is growing up without parents--their parents victims of the disease.

Khosi is a fourteen year old girl living with her grandmother Gogo and little sister Zi. Her mother works in a neighboring town but only makes it home occasionally. Their village is small, achingly poor, and squalid--full of people sick and dying. Many do not have access to medicine and they choose to visit the local sangoma, a traditional healer who uses herbs to treat maladies. Khosi grapples with the ideas of modern medicine and education and her grandmother's world of superstition, magic, and the "ancestors."

When Mama visits, Khosi notices she is frighteningly thin and realizes that Mama is hiding her illness. A neighbor carries a grudge against Mama and her entire family claiming that Khosi's mother stole her insurance money. She swears redemption and threatens ruin for the family. Khosi seeks help for her family and her own bad dreams from the sangoma. She goes through a ceremony to purify herself and their home. The sangoma cuts her skin behind her ears, on her ankles and her feet. She and her grandmother must go through this for five days in order to purify them from the neighbor's curse.

Khosi knows her Mama would never steal from someone else. As Mama gets sicker, she makes Khosi promise to keep a secret. There is money in a bank in the city. It is meant for Khosi to leave South Africa and take her little sister Zi with her to get an education, escaping this cycle of poverty and ignorance.

When Khosi questions why this disease is killing their people, Mama says, "Don't look at the past...It's there and will always be there and there is nothing you can do to change it. Now, now you must look ahead. There is only this thing called the future."

Khosi loves South Africa and can't bring herself to think about leaving her beloved homeland. When Mama dies, Khosi is finally able to let go the past and to look ahead to this thing called the future.

Recommended grades 9-up. Mature situations, violence.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the editor of the newspaper for a column review. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.