YA Pick: Not If I Save You First

Not If I Save You First
by Ally Carter
Scholastic Press
304 pages
2018
ISBN: 9781338134145

Available March 27, 2018

Maddie and Logan play together every day and what a playhouse they have: all the corridors and hidden rooms and back staircases in the White House are at their disposal! Logan's dad is President and Maddie's dad is a Secret Service agent who keeps him safe. When a band of Russians try to shoot the President and steal the First Lady, Maddie's dad takes a bullet and saves the day. Seeking solace and safety for them both, he moves Maddie to the wilderness in Alaska.

Maddie misses Logan and writes him every day hoping that someday he'll write back. Six years pass but  Logan never writes. Maddie is sad then angry and she questions their friendship, but living in the wilds of Alaska keeps her busy: she learns to chop wood, fish, hunt, you know, all those girl things! Maddie becomes an expert at using what she has. She can even catch fish with pantyhose.

Logan is sent to Alaska with his own Secret Service detail. An arctic storm is on the way and Maddie's dad has to fly medicine to another town. Maddie is still mad at Logan for not answering her letters even though she is finding it hard not to notice how cute he is. Preparing for the storm, Maddie and Logan are ambushed. Maddie is knocked over a cliff and Logan is taken away. As Maddie comes to, she realizes that she has to go after Logan. The weather is turning and animals (like bear) will be hunting before the storm. Maddie is an expert in the terrain and tracking. Logan is trying to make it easier to find him by breaking branches and overturning rocks when he can.

Logan hears his kidnapper talking on a satellite phone and because he studied Russian he knows that the kidnappers plan to meet and take him out of Alaska. There is a doctor standing by. The kidnapper talks freely not realizing Logan knows Russian. Maddie finds Logan and they are able to get away, but things are not as they seem. They have more than one predator after them in the wilderness.

Fans of Ally Carter will love this new title. Maddie is a fierce, kick-butt heroine who doesn't cower to baddies or allow Logan to waltz in and steal her heart (at least not right away). The love/hate banter between Logan and Maddie is too good to miss! Carter is spot on with capturing teen voice.

Highly recommended grade 7 and up. A must have for your Ally Carter collection.


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

Picture Book Pick: Watersong

Watersong
by Tim McCanna
Illustrated by Richard Smythe
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
2017
32 pages
ISBN:9781481468817


Watersong is a brilliant work of art! They symphony of  watercolors capture the power of a rain storm and a young fox as he wanders his forest home. He watches the storm listening  to the raindrops and the wind. He sees the changes that the rain brings.

Tim McCanna's use of onomatapoeia will excite young readers to follow along and make the sounds on each page. This is book that needs to be read ALOUD over and OVER again. In fact, children will demand it to be read out loud.

Readers will love reading, "Drip, drop, plip, plop, pitter, patter, pat," and the sounds throughout the storm. After the storm, the young fox observes a rainbow before coming home to his mother and family. Facts about foxes and ecosystems are included on the last page.

Kirkus called this book "Beautiful," and no one will disagree.  In fact, Watersong is an early contender for the Caldecott Award.

This book is a must for language arts and poetry. Art classes will be dazzled by the beauty of the illustrations. Young readers will learn a few facts about ecosystems and the water cycle.

Highly, highly recommended for all young readers and all library collections.

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