Sisters Grimm: Council of Mirrors

The Council of Mirrors Michael Buckley

Time to wrap up the Everafter War and say goodbye to the Grimm family-- this is the LAST book in the fantastic Sisters Grimm series. As such, it's spoiler-rific for earlier books in the series.

Mirror has taken control of Granny's body and is trying to get through the barrier. Ferryport Landing has been ransacked, looted, and reduced to little more than rubble. Uncle Jake is crazed with grief. The remaining mirrors can see only one future where the Grimms are victorious, and it involves Daphne forming a coven and Sabrina leading an army.

Sabrina's excited to be taken seriously, but she has to earn the mantle of responsibility and not just run from it.

Plus, zombie chipmunks and the end to the craziest love story ever.

A wonderful end to a wonderful series. Puck remains a perennial favorite. I love that he's the one that gives Sabrina the tough words she needs to hear to lead her army. I also enjoyed Bunny's backstory, which sheds a ton of new light on her character and motivations. I find Atticus problematic (in that way that violence against women has become a convenient short hand for "bad guy").

But, overall, a very fitting end to this series. I especially like the double epilogue.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Sisters Grimm: The Inside Story

The Sisters Grimm: Book Eight: The Inside Story (Sisters Grimm, The) Michael Buckley

The Grimm sisters are inside the Book of Everafter, running through various storylines as they try to track down the Master and save their baby brother. They have to rely on all their fairy tale knowledge, because the Editor is after them to make sure the stories stay as written.

I like how in this one, Daphne and Sabrina are inside the fairy tales, instead of the fairy tale characters being inside the real world. It gives us a different perspective. Lots of adventure as always and FINALLY Sabrina seems to be growing a bit as a person.

My only complaint is that this book has been out for over a year and we have to wait until Spring 2012 for the final installment.

Also, am I the only one who thinks that the new TV show, Once Upon a Time, looks like Sisters Grimm, but for grownups? I'm very excited for it. Too bad ABC's the only station our antennae won't properly tune. I'll be watching it online the next day, I guess.

Book Provided by... my wallet

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Super Awesome Sequels I Can't Sit Still For

I changed the poll over the sidebar, because I left a few things off. I revoted for everyone that had voted, so your votes are still counted. If that makes sense. ANYWAY! Check out my sidebar (yes, JacketFlap and GoogleReaders, you will have to visit my blog... :) And vote on what you want to see me read/read me review during MotherReader's 48 Hour Challenge in June. I can't make a decision, so I'm passing the buck. HA!

Anyway, Thursday night, I went to class, I went out to dinner with a friend, and then I came home, curled up on the couch with Sasskerdoodle (aka, Sassy, aka my dog, or, as I call her, my puppy friend) and read

Tales from the Hood Michael Buckley

This the the 6th and latest installment in the Sisters Grimm series. In this one, the Grimms are the only non-Ever Afters left in Ferryport Landing after Mayor Heart and the Sheriff of Nottingham have run everyone else out of town.

Mr. Canis has been arrested and is struggling ever more to keep the wolf at bay.

Bluebeard is presenting the prosecution (and trying desperately to win Snow White) so who better to hire for the defense than Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men. They're not sure they can win (the Mad Hatter, is, after all, the judge) but are happy to one again be a thorn in Nottingham's side.

Of course, Sabrina's not so sure they should even try, especially since Daphne won't go get the secret weapon. When Sabrina steals the key and sneaks out, even Puck is disappointed in her, and Daphne won't even look at her anymore...

There is the bright lining though, as it appears that finding Goldilocks might be closer than ever...

I feel this is more of a place-holder novel in the series. It wasn't as heart-pounding exciting as Magic and Other Misdemeanors but rather one of those books to get you to the next exciting one. If that makes sense.

Despite the lack of tension (as compared to the last book) you still get the (now dark) zaniness of Ferryport Landing, I mean, the whole scene with the Scarecrow as the town's librarian? I also loved Puck's take on the situation-- Oz is a swindler, so the Scarecrow's brain must have been second hand. A good one for fans of the series, but you definitely won't get what's going on if you haven't read the previous ones.

UPDATE Dude, I can't believe I forgot to tell you that we really get into the story of Little Red Riding Hood-- you never thought of it like this before!!!!

Also, in March, the new Last Apprentice book came out and it was taking my library too long to order it, so finally I just went to the bookstore and bought my own copy.

Attack of the Fiend Joseph Delaney

The Spook knows that the witch clans at Pendle are banding together, which can only mean evil. He's taking his time to carefully plan to counter it, but then when Tom goes home to see what was in Mam's trunks, he finds the farm destroyed and the trunks missing...

So, it's off to Pendle immediately to save Tom's inheritance, not to mention Jack, Ellie, and the baby who are being held hostage.

The Pendle clans have joined forces to raise the Devil himself. If they succeed, they won't be able to control him after a day or two and it'll be bad for everyone.

Unfortunately for Tom and the Spook, the witches have created a monsterous creature that can see in mirrors to spy on people. A creature that lives off human blood.

But, Tom and the Spook have Alice, as long as she stays on their side...

I read recently that this is a 7 book series, so, Book 4 is the pivotal book of such things. It ends much darker than the others and we can tell something bigger is looming. It's also creepier yet. They're making a movie of this series and on one hand, I'm really excited, but on the other hand, I don't think I would be able to actually watch it. The books are scary enough!

But, on a lighter note, Ingrid Michaelson opened last night's show with this. PRICELESS.

That Old Black Magic...

If you have not yet started reading The Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley, what is wrong with you?! READ IT! NOW! Because I desperately need to talk over the latest installment, Magic and Other Misdemeanors with someone. Seriously, if you have read this, contact me.

Wow. This book blows the others out of the water. A lot of the darker themes from the previous books (like the Scarlet Hand) really come to play here. Mayor Heart is taxing all non-Everafters (including the Grimms) out of Ferryport Landing. For, as Sheriff Nottingham says,

Ferryport Landing is an Everafter settlement... Too many outsiders have come in here, stealing our jobs, enjoying our hospitals and schools. But not for much longer. Mayor Heart has decreed, and I wholeheartedly agree, that Ferryport Landing is an Everafter town for Everafters!

Meanwhile, Charming is still missing and Snow White is heart broken. Baba Yaga, Glinda, and Morgen LeFey all have had something stolen, but Granny is too preoccupied with the taxes and leaves the case to Sabrina and Daphne.

Oh yeah, and Mr. Canis is having a harder and harder time controlling what literally is the beast within and there are some seriously odd rips in the space/time continuum.

The ending leaves a lot of answered questions and March seems too long to wait for Tales From the Hood

I have further, plot spoiling thoughts here.

Sequels I've Neglected--Kid Lit

So, you know how when you are totally in love with a series and you pre-order the next volume as soon as possible and then just kinda drop everything to read it when it comes through the door? Please tell me I am not the only person like this.

Anyway, here are some books that fall in that category. I read these most of these day they came out. I'm just slow to talk about them.

The Last Apprentice: Curse of the Bane by Joseph Delaney.

Ok, I didn't preorder this. But I totally pre-reserved it at the library. If anything, this book is scarier, creepier, and grosser than the first one. And possibly even better.

Thomas Ward and the Spook are off to Priestown (which, as you can imagine, is a town full of Priests, and they're never fans of Spooks). The Bane is an evil thing that crushes its victims flat and is starting to control the minds of the people living near its prison, in the catacombs underneath the church. Thomas and the Spook need to finish it once and for all, but the Spook has tried, and failed before.

Oh, and they're going to be hanged for being Spooks. All in a days work!

Regarding the Bathrooms: A Privy to the Pastby Kate Klise

Ok, once again, something I pre-reserved. I only have so much bookshelf space people!

The kid's in Sam N's class are back. It's summer, and they've all found jobs. Marriages are on the rocks, international crime rings seemingly have ties to Geyser Creek and deep secrets of the past are uncovered. Probably the best book in this series since the first one.

The Sisters Grimm: Once Upon a Crime by Michael Buckley

When we last saw Sabrina, Daphne, Puck & Co., Puck's wings had been torn off and he was dying. SO! The family makes its way to New York City, the heart of the Faerie Kingdom so Puck can get well...

It turns out that Veronica Grimm (before she went missing) was a hero here. Sabrina is NOT HAPPY to find this out. She is angrier than ever. Then, King Oberon is found poisoned and an innocent Faerie is blamed. Sabrina wants out of the game, and Grandma Grimm lets her quit, but now Daphne won't talk to her...

This is one of my favorites in the series. The change of locale and new cast of characters keeps the scenario from getting repetitive and old. Also, it's not often that you see the cast of A Midsummer Night's Dream making fractured appearances in children's literature. Where it's funnier if you're familiar with the play, it still works for people who haven't read or seen it (and I think most of the target audience falls into this category).

I also love the introduction of the Godfathers. More Mafia than turning pumpkins into coaches, they're brilliant. As is Bluebeard as a Wall Street financier. Once again, all jokes that younger readers aren't going to fully understand, but it's not only for adults.

The changing and evolving relationship between Sabrina and Daphne is one of the best, and most subtle, parts of this series, and this is a good volume (if less subtle) in that regard.

And yes, I've already pre-ordered Magic and Other Misdemeanors

Clarice Bean, Don't Look Now by Lauren Child

This hasn't even been published in the US yet, but Amazon will obtain a UK copy for you.

Clarice has some bigger worries in this latest installment (and more pages in which to explore them! yippee!) It's still zany and fun and silly and everything you love about Clarice, but also deeper and older. Betty moves away and everyone's cranky and she's so worried and anxious about everything that she's not sleeping anymore, which isn't helping with school. There's a new girl, Clem, and everyone seems to love her, but Clarice doesn't trust her at all.

There's still a lot of Ruby, a lot more of Marcie (as she's back from France) and less of Minal Cricket. A must read for Clarice fans.

Catching Up-- Fairy Tales

Well... I've been reading a whole heck of a lot and work's been pretty busy lately. So, here's to trying to catch up a bit!!!! I still haven't blogged everything I read in May, let alone so far in June! Plus, I have pages and pages of banned books to tell you about (unfortuneately...)

Anyway... here we go!

The Goose Girl Shannon Hale

You remember how much I loved and adored Princess Academy? This is just as good, if not better. Written for a slightly older audience than Academy, Goose Girl retells the not-as-well-known Grimm fairy tale. Princess Ani of Kildenree is being married off to a far-off prince as part of a diplomatic deal between the two countries. One her way, her handmaid and a faction of her escort overthrow her, instating the handmaid as the princess and forcing Ani to run for her life in the woods. Eventually, she reaches the new kingdom, but is forced into hiding. She must disguise her distinctive blond hair in a country of brunettes and change her name to Isi. She gets a job tending the king's geese as she tries and finds a way to regain her rightful position.

At the same time, she see's the injustice in this new land. She passes herself off as one of the people from the forest, but sees how the forest people are never accepted by the city people and not allowed to become full citizens. Of course, her traitorous guards know she's around and are looking for her...

In the end, in addition to an excellent fairy tale, there are also deep lessons about belonging, justice, inner strength, friendship, and discovering who you are.

More than this though, Hale's prose and her sense of place and location make this book a sheer delight and quickly making her one of my favorite authors.

Enna Burning Shannon Hale

This is a companion book to Goose Girl and is an originial tale, not a retelling. In this book, Ani's friend Enna takes the lead war as Bayern is faced with an invading army. Ani's gift of wind-speak is grown out of control to the point where it overwhelms her. Enna has learned the secret of fire-speak and uses her gift in battle but must live with the consequences of burning people alive. Her gift is also raging out of control with the war far from over, she, and Bayern need help.

This is a powerful followup to Goose Girl and perhaps my favorite of Hale's three works so far. I highly recommend.

Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile Bill Willingham

Ooooo.... a graphic novel series has finally sucked me in, big time. Here is an underground community of Fable-characters who are exiled in modern day New York. Back when it was still New Amsterdam, they fled after their various kingdoms and worlds were taken over by the unknown Adversary. Fabletown is led by Mayor King Cole, but everyone knows that Deputy Mayor Snow White is the real power behind the throne, with sheriff Bigby (Big Bad Wolf) keeping order. In this first book, which is the first 5 comic books bound into one collection,Snow's sister, Rose Red is missing, possibly murdered... fun stuff!

Fables Vol. 2: Animal Farm

Rose is paying off her community service debt up at The Farm, where Fabletowns non-human residents live. When Rose gets there, she finds herself embroiled in a communist plot to take over the farm and eventually return to the homelands. With Goldilocks as the communist revolutionary, followed in Orwellian fashion by the three little pigs, there is a battle on...

Fables Vol. 3: Storybook Love

This is great, because we have some stand-alone stories in addition to adding on to the story arc of the previous two books. There's a Civil War Era tale of Jack's, plus the history of how the Liliputians escaped and the origins of their current coming-of-age ritual of trying to steal a piece of magic barley-corn. There is also a non-story arc story in the modern fabletown community where a journalist is onto the Fables... but misreads the evidence. After confronting Bigby with the news that he knows they're all vampires, they come up with a plot involving Sleeping Beauty's special talents...

In the title story, things get down to business as we discover whose side Bluebeard is really on, as well as the return of previous villians. Bigby and Snow are targeted and forced into hiding and the end reveals a big secret that has you *dying* for the next installment!

Fables Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers

This starts with Boy Blue's retelling of the last battle of the Homelands, descibing the battle, and the survivor's guilt faced by those on the last ship that made it to the New York.

This also sets up the main story of the return on Red Riding Hood, who wasn't on the last ship. But is she who she says she is? There's been goblin sightings and even worse, the portal has been reopened and the Advesary's forces have found them. Fabletown is once again battling for their very exsistance, but this time in the heart of fundy New York.

Fables Vol. 5: The Mean Seasons

The early tales in this volume see Bigby's war stories and Cinderella's true nature.

In the main story, we follow a year in the life of Fabletown. Charming wins the election and there's a new adminstration. Beauty and the Beast have a hard time learning the ropes and Charming sees that not all promises can be kept. Snow gives birth relocates to the farm with Rose. Bigby dissappears and the North Wind shows up to give some pointers to his grandchildren. This volume doesn't see the amount of action as the previous ones, but it packs a true emotional punch. Very well done and probably my favorite.

Fables Vol. 6: Homelands

We start with a one-off on where Jack went to, which introduces his own new spin-off series.

In the mean time, we see Fabletown, where Blue has run off with Pinnochio and gone back to the homelands, ready to face down the advesary, whom we finally see and discover. We are also told that so far only the European worlds were taken, but the adversary is expanding, and the Asian and African worlds are set to fall as well...

Which has me really really excited for...Fables: Vol. 7 Arabian Nights (and Days) which comes out a week from today. I can't decide whether to buy it or not, because I've read all the others in the library, but they haven't even ordered it yet, so who knows when we're getting it?!

The Sisters Grimm : The Problem Child Michael Buckley

In this third installment, there is a Jabberwocky lose in Ferryport. We also have the return of a long lost relative and Granny Grimm's reluctance to take on a case, which has Sabrina and Daphne worried. There is an election for Ferryport mayor and we meet the Little Mermaid, the Blue Fairy and Baba Yaga. Puck is gravely injured and it looks like the only way to save him and deal with the Jaberwocky is the vorpal blade... which was destroyed. Sabrina also learns how addictive magic can be and the high price one pays for using it. Very good! I can't wait for the next one!

Clue into Reading!

Well, this year, the theme for Summer Reading is mysteries... so, here's a whole bevy of kiddie whodunits!

Chasing Vermeer Blue Balliet

What does it mean that Calder finds an old box with a painting by Vermeer and then finds the painting again hanging in a house? What does it mean that Petra dreams about a woman and then finds out that woman is in a valuable Vermeer painting that gets stolen? Petra and Calder are surrounded by weird coincidences and odd patterns. Why was this painting stolen? Who stole it? Is the theft linked to Ms. Hussey’s homework assignment about life-changing letters? Can Petra and Calder find the painting?

This is an tremendously well-done book. Balliet really brings Chicago's Hyde Park alive and I'm planning to spend tomorrow at the National Gallery of Art so I can see Vermeer's "A Lady Writing"! This is wonderfully illustrated by Brett Helquist (who is probably best known in kidlit circles for doing the Lemony Snickett books) and clues are hidden in his illustrations-- a whole new puzzle to figure out! This book is full of puzzles, patterns, messages that need decoding and coincidences and will have greater questions how what makes an art expert and who can own art...

The Wright 3 Blue Balliet

In this sequel to Chasing Vermeer, Balliet turns from Vermeer to Frank Lloyd Wright, the architect who designed a famous house in Hyde Park, right by Petra, Calder, and Tommy’s school. But the Robie House is old and falling apart and the university wants to tear it down to send different sections to different museums. Ms. Hussey’s class is on the case! Can a building be art? Can a piece of art survive if you take it apart? Can the kids save the house? Why does Petra keep finding copies of The Invisible Man? Is the jade fish that Tommy found Frank Lloyd Wrights lost talisman? What are those voices Calder hears from the house and who are those strange men breaking in? More importantly, will Tommy and Petra ever be friends or will Calder have to choose? With more secret codes and clues hidden in the illustrations, Balliet tops her previos work-- The Wright 3 has even more suspense and coincidences and patterns than Chasing Vermeer!

The Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley

Sabrina and Daphne Grimm’s parents disappeared! They were taken right from their car and the only clue was a handprint made from red paint. After a year and a half in an orphanage they go to live with their grandmother, a woman that had always been told was dead. Their new town is weird and their grandmother is ever weirder–she thinks fairy tales are real and claims to be a detective to solve fairy tale crimes! According to Granny Grimm, they are descendants of the Brothers Grimm, and they weren't writing bedtime stories. Fairy Tale characters (or everafters) are real, and they're trapped in Ferryport and the Grimms are charged with keeping them there...

Buckley succeeds in creating a believable fantasy world where your favorite fairy tale characters have to blend in with "normal" people and work real jobs like the rest of us... really well done. I'll admit I thought this would be a bit of a breeze-through book, but the quality of writing was suprisingly good and engrossing.

The Fairy-Tale Detectives - Book #1

Sabrina can’t believe that her grandmother thinks fairy tales are real. She really can’t believe that fairy tale characters live right in Ferryport. She really, really, really can’t believe that a local farm house didn’t blow up and was really stepped on by a giant. But then Mayor Charming and Glinda the Good Witch are involved in a cover-up and a giant kidnaps Granny Grimm! The Grimm sisters know they need to help and enlist the help of Shakespeare’s Puck, Jack the Giant Killer, and the Magic Mirror. But even then, can they figure out how to save Granny Grimm? Who let the giant out? Why? And is that a red handprint?

The Sisters Grimm: The Unusual Suspects - Book #2

Sabrina and Daphne are off to school. Daphne loves being in class with Snow White as a teacher, but Sabrina’s having a tougher time–she keeps getting teased and beat up. Things don’t get any better when Puck joins her class! But even Daphne can’t deny there are monsters loose in the school and they’re killing people. There are red handprints all over. Even Mayor Charming is turning to the Grimm Sisters for help solving the case! But Sabrina's anger at not being able to find her parents is growing. Coupled with the increased activity of the Scarlet Hand and resentment towards the Grimm family by certain elements in the Everafter community, she expands this hatred to all Everafters in general and is hindering the investigation. This is an action-packed follow up to The Fairy-Tale Detectives and the cliffhanger ending will have you waiting for the next installment. As Daphne would say, This book is so punk rock!

The Lady Grace Mysteries Jan Burchett and Sara Vogler writing as Grace Cavendish

Lady Grace is a maid-of-honor to her majesty, Queen Elizabeth I, and her secret detective. Whenever there is something afoul at court, Lady Grace tries to figure it out, usually with the help of Ellie, the laundry maid, and Massou, the acrobat.

In addition to being well-done, exciting and suspensful mysteries, these are also obviously meticulously researched to paint an accurate portrait of life in Queen Elizabeth's court. These books also manage to shine where most historical fiction falls flat-- it offers enough detail and research without letting it get in the way of the characters and plot. There is an extensive glossary at the back of each book as well as historical notes. There is always a general note on Queen Elizabeth and Lady Grace and then there are other notes as the story dictates. The characters of Ellie and Massou act as a nice foil for showing the great disparity between rich and poor, even in the halls of Whitehall, and in letting readers know that life was not all gowns and feasting. They also allow Grace to go places to invesitgate that would normall be unheard of for a Maid-of-Honour.

Assassin

Much to Lady Grace’s displeasure, the queen is making her chose a husband to marry when she turns 16. Sir Charles is nice, but old enough to be her father. Sir Gerald is mean and stuck up. Sir Robert is quite handsome, but poor and doesn’t talk much. Which one should she choose? But after she makes her choice, one of her suitors is found murdered and another is accused of the crime. Who really killed the man and why? Can Grace, Ellie, and Massou figure it out?

Betrayal

Lady Sarah has run off and eloped with a sea captain! But when Lady Grace looks at the letter Sarah left behind, she knows it isn’t in Sarah’s handwriting. Maybe she really didn’t run away. Maybe she was kidnaped. Maybe she was kidnaped by pirates! In order to rescue her, Grace cuts off all her hair and dresses like a boy to explore Francis Drake’s ship with Massou. But then, the boat launches and Grace and Massou are trapped at sea and their ship is going into battle! Will Grace ever get back to England? Will she have to fight in a battle? Will she ever find Sarah? Was Sarah really kidnaped by pirates? And what will the Queen say when she finds out?

An excellent look at the Queen's navy and Elizabethan warfare and piracy!

Conspiracy

Lady Grace, the Queen, and the rest of the court are traveling through England to escape London during the worst plague months. While staying with Robert Dudley (the Earl of Leicester), they are joined by Prince Sven of Sweden. It is well known that the Queen and the Earl have been in love for a long time, but the Swedish Prince is out to marry Queen Elizabeth. Jealousies and tensions are running high as both men compete for the Queen’s hand. Things get worse when a series of accidents threaten the Queen’s life. Lady Grace is sure they aren’t mere accidents and is on the case! Who is trying to kill the Queen? Can Grace find out before they succeed?

Deception

It’s winter and the Thames is frozen over. People have set up a Frost Fair where you can shop, play games, and there’s even a tavern and a fire with a roating ox–right on the ice! The Maids-of-Honour have been learning to ice-skate and have fun at the fair with the Queen, but then Lady Jane falls down and discovers a hidden dead body. The corpse’s eyes have been covered with coins, but these are the new coins the Queen just commissioned–coins that are supposed to be under lock and key. When Grace looks closely at them she realizes that they’re counterfeit! How is a boatman connected with a counterfeiting scheme? How far up can this scheme go? The Queen has only given Grace five days to find out before she orders an official investigation. Can Grace find out in time? Every clue seems to be a dead end as she embarks on her most complicated–and dangerous case yet!

The Wright and Wong Mysteries Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz

Orville Wright and Agatha Wong have been best friends since second grade. Now they’re in seventh grade and students at John Q. Adams Middle School in Bottomless Lake, Arizona. Agatha talks a mile and minute and Orville doesn’t talk much at all. Orville has a condition called Asperger’s. He likes logic and order and has a hard time understanding how people work and why they do the things they do. Orville doesn’t understand why you should smile at someone when you say “hi” or “thank you”. He is, however, a really nice guy. He’s also a genius. Not only does he know everything, but he also notices really tiny details and remembers almost everything. Between the two of them, Agatha and Orville can crack almost any case, but they might get into some trouble doing it!

With autism and autistic disorders on the rise, I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more characters like Orville.

The Case of the Prank that Stank

It’s the big football game against Lake Placid and the cool kids have a great idea for a prank. Even better, they need Agatha and Orville’s help. Well, they need Orville’s amazing skills with science and mechanics to make a fire-breathing lake monster. They have it all figured out, but when the big time comes, the field house explodes and the football field catches on fire! Everyone blames Orville for miscalculating the distance of the fire. Worse, everyone blames Orville and Agatha for the fact that everyone on the prank committee has a month of detention and all sports have been cancelled–not just for the season, but forever! Agatha was so excited to be accepted by the cool kids, and now she and Orville are social outcasts. Plus, Lake Placid is the rich town, Bottomless Lake is relativly poor. They've always been nasty rivals, and this has just made things worse. Agatha and Orville know it wasn’t the prank that caused the fire–Orville’s calculations are never, ever wrong. The timing was just a coincidence–or someone is framing them! Can Agatha and Orville figure out who really set the fire? Will anyone ever speak with them again?

The Case of the Nana-Napper

Nana Wong has disappeared! All she left was a hastily scrawled note that doesn’t sound like Nana at all! Agatha is convinced she’s been kidnapped. If that weren’t bad enough, now she has to stay with her Uncle Boonie, who doesn’t even have a couch for her to sleep on and makes her go to bed at 7pm! If she has to go to bed so early, how will she and Orville ever find Nana? Not to mention that they’ve been given a new case of proving Stu innocent of breaking one of his mother’s collectible plates. As they investigate, it looks like the two crimes might be related to each other and to a string of recent vandalisms. Will they find Nana in time? Will they ever get out of detention? Will Agatha have to sleep in Boonie’s old sleeping bag forever?

Holes Louis Sachar

Stanley Yelnats didn’t steal that pair of sneakers. They really did fall from the sky and hit him on the head. Sadly, the judge doesn’t believe him so he’s sent to Camp Green Lake for eighteen months. It was either that, or jail. Stanley blames the curse put on his great-great grandfather–the Yelnats family has been doomed to bad luck ever since then! The warden at Camp Green Lake is looking for something, so everyday the “campers” have to dig a hole that’s exactly five feet wide and five feet deep. It’s hard, tiring work and the Texas desert is hot. Stanley is always thirsty. The desert is full of rattlesnakes and scorpions and yellow-spotted lizards. If you get bitten by a rattlesnake or scorpion, you’ll be sick for a few days. If you get bitten by a yellow-spotted lizard, you’re dead. Can he escape? Will he ever get home? Sneakers don’t just fall from the sky, do they? Is Stanley really under a curse? What is the Warden looking for? And what will she do when she finds it?

This Newberry winner (and one of Silvey's 100 Best) interweaves three tales that come together to form a larger story about history, redemption, crime, friendship and fate. Really well done in that it has a huge larger message, but it's subtle and easy to miss--unlike so much literature that has a huge larger message and likes to bang you about the head with it as often as possible.