book reviews

Book Review: The Death of a Maven

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The Death of a Maven by Kathryn Johnson

The Death of a Maven (The Haunted Farmhouse Mysteries, #1)
by Kathryn Johnson 

3 out of 5 stars

Verity’s friends gather at her farmhouse to comfort her on the anniversary of her husband’s death. When one of them is found dead the next day, the cops say suicide, but Verity thinks it must be murder. Verity and her friends begin to look into the victim’s death, determined to find some proof that she didn’t kill herself. The victim’s family asks Verity to help go through the deceased’s possessions and Verity begins reading the old journals that could contain the secret to her death. Verity discovers that her old farmhouse is also home to two ghosts who are unable to move on after hundreds of years. They watch over Verity and the dairy farm and eagerly join in the investigation.

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Book Review: The Grey King (Dark is Rising)

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The Grey King (The Dark is Rising, #4)
by Susan Cooper

5 out of 5 stars

Will is recovering from a serious illness, and is sent for a holiday with his aunt in Wales. There he meets Bran, a mysterious albino boy with a dog who can see the Dark wind of the Grey King. Will is on a quest to find the golden harp and use its music to awaken the Sleepers to fight against the Dark. With the help of Bran and his dog, Will stands up against the menace of the Grey King and searches for the harp, but at a terrible cost.

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Book Review: Trials of Apollo The Tyrant’s Tomb

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The Tyrant’s Tomb by Rick Riordan

The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo, #4)
by Rick Riordan

3 out of 5 stars

Zeus punishes Apollo by turning him into a mortal human. Apollo must complete various trials and serve a demigod named Meg, so that he can regain his godly status. In this fourth book of the series, Meg and Apollo are trying to turn back the zombie forces of the Triumvirate from attacking New Rome. A prophecy tells them that if they can capture the breath of a dying god, they could summon godly help to face Caligula’s armies.
Apollo and Meg are joined by Hazel, Frank, and Reyna in their quest. Lavinia, a lesbian with a crush on a Poison Oak dryad, breaks all the rules of the 12th Legion to help Meg and Apollo sneak in and out of New Rome on their quest.

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Book Review: The Puppets of Spelhorst

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The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo

The Puppets of Spelhorst
by Kate DiCamillo (Goodreads Author), Julie Morstad (Illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

An old sea captain purchases five puppets from a shop window (a king, an owl, a girl, a boy, and a wolf), propelling them on an adventure to find their purpose. Each puppet has their own dreams and desires. The king wishes to hear beautiful music and respected. The wolf wants to bite and chase. The boy dreams of accomplishing some great deed. The girl longs for beauty under the moonlit sky. The owl advises them with wise words.
When the puppets become the property of two little girls, they think they will find their purpose in acting out a story with the children, but the obstacles they face are greater than they can ever imagine.

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Book Review: Burning Beauty

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Burning Beauty by Temple Bailey

Burning Beauty
by Temple Bailey

4.5 out of 5 stars

Virginia is overshadowed by her selfish brother Rickey, who is convinced that he has the genius to write a bestselling book. He potentially sells the manuscript to a famous editor, Michael McMillan, who is smitten with the lovely Virginia. But Virginia is also being wooed by rich Anthony, who impresses her with his fancy country estate. Virginia must choose if she will marry for money or for love, but her brother’s selfish concerns take precedence and Virginia runs away from both her suitors in order to take care of Rickey.
Rickey is obsessed with a wealthy socialite called Marty that he dubs his “silver witch”. She is his muse for a new book, but she is just toying with him. He barely notices the sweet Mary Lee who truly loves him.

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Book Review: Bunns Rabbit

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Bunns Rabbit by Alan Barillaro

Bunns Rabbit
by Alan Barillaro

5 out of 5 stars

Bunns is a rabbit born with short ears. Her parents worry that the superstitious rabbits in the warren will reject her, and they are right. The entire family is going to be evicted from their burrow, because the other rabbits think that Bunns will bring bad luck on the whole meadow. Bunns runs away on her own, hoping that with her gone, her family will be allowed to stay safely in their home. She meets the Spirit Fox who sends Monarch butterflies to lead her through the forest, where she will be tested. If she is found worthy, the Spirit Fox may grant her a wish.

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Book Review: The Wheel on the School

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The Wheel on the School by Meindert De Jong

The Wheel on the School
by Meindert De Jong, Maurice Sendak (Illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

Lina is the only girl at the village school. She starts asking why storks don’t come to nest in their seaside village, and all the other schoolchildren begin to wonder why as well. They notice that other villages have old wheels on their roofs, so that the storks have a place to build their nests. They start asking around to see if they can find an old wheel to put on the roof of the schoolhouse, but it’s more difficult than they imagined to get a wheel. Most wheels are being used on wagons, not sitting around to be bird nests. As the obstacles against them continue to grow, the children refuse to give up, and soon the whole village is helping them, hoping to attract the good luck that storks bring with them.

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Book Review: Can You Forgive Her?

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Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope

Can You Forgive Her? (Palliser #1)
by Anthony Trollope

5 out of 5 stars

Alice breaks off her engagement with John Grey and considers the proposal of her cousin George Vavasor instead. She vacillates between these two men as she vacillates with her own character. She considers what her life would be like with each of them, and has to decide what kind of person she wants to be. She worries that she will be stuck in a boring country life with John Grey, and longs for more political excitement as her cousin George is up for election and hopes to gain a seat in Parliament. Alice is confused and can’t sort through her true feelings and she has no one to guide her in making these decisions.

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Book Review: The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane

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The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane by Julia Nobel

The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane (Black Hollow Lane, #1)
by Julia Nobel

4 out of 5 stars

Emmy discovers that her dead father left behind a mysterious box of medallions with a note urging her to keep them safe. When her mother sends her to boarding school in England, Emmy thinks the medallions have some connection to the old school. Perhaps her father was a student there at some point and copied the odd symbols that are engraved on library books and wall carvings about the school. Emmy enlists the help of her new friends, Jack and Lola, and they investigate the existence of an underground society that will go to any lengths to hide their secrets. Now Emmy isn’t even sure if her father is really dead, or if the secret society is hiding something even more dastardly.

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Book Review: The Black Market

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The Black Market by Jed Alexander

The Black Market
by Jed Alexander

3 out of 5 stars

Martin’s aunt gives him a special pair of shoes made from the leather of an extinct animal. She tells him that she got them from the Black Market, a secret place where people come to trade in magical items. It constantly changes location, and is only open on Halloween. Martin and his friend, Jess, go searching for the Black Market, and Martin exchanges the shoes for a Bag of Dirty Tricks. He loves playing innocent pranks, but some of the tricks included in the bag are downright mean and dangerous. Martin and Jess get involved in more and more deceitful lies as they start to use the dirty tricks, and they are dismayed to see that their victims are genuinely suffering because of the pranks.

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