review

Book Review: Chasing Redbird

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Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech

Chasing Redbird
by Sharon Creech, Marc Burckhardt Illustrator

1.5 out of 5 stars
Zinnia blames herself for her aunt’s death, because she scared her aunt with a snake resulting in a medical episode that ended with her death. Zinnia decides to follow an old overgrown trail up in the hills and uncover the markers along the trail as penance. Zinnia’s uncle begins to lose his mind after his wife’s death. He insists that he can see her up in the hills, and he spends most of his days chasing her ghost. Zinnia’s little brother also insists that can see his aunt’s ghost around the farm.

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Book Review: Alice Eclair Spy Extraordinaire: A Recipe for Trouble

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Alice Éclair, Spy Extraordinaire by Sarah Todd Taylor

Alice Éclair, Spy Extraordinaire: A Recipe for Trouble (Alice Éclair, Spy Extraordinaire!, 1)
by Sarah Todd Taylor 

3.5 out of 5 stars
13-year-old Alice has been receiving mysterious coded instructions to do some spy work. In 1930s Paris, Alice knows that spies are always at work to protect France and counteract other foreign spies. Her own uncle was a spy until his death, and he taught her all about codes and ciphers. Alice receives a mission to board the famous Sapphire Express and steal some papers from a foreign spy. She is hired as a pastry chef on the luxurious train and begins to observe all the wealthy first-class passengers very carefully, looking for any suspicious behavior. Everyone is a suspect, but after some strange clues are revealed, Alice begins to wonder what is really going on aboard the Sapphire Express.

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Book Review: The Warrior Heir

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The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima

The Warrior Heir (The Heir Chronicles, #1)
by Cinda Williams Chima

3 out of 5 stars

Jack discovers that he is the descendant of wizards, and has a special Warrior magic stone in his chest that sets him apart from other wizards. Two factions of wizards, the Red Rose and the White Rose, have been fighting for power for centuries. To minimize the bloodshed of the wars, they have a tradition of holding a tournament with two warrior champions who fight to the death. Now wizards of both the Red Rose and the White Rose are after Jack, either to capture him and use him in the game or kill him outright to stop the other side from using him. But Jack just wants a normal life in his sleepy hometown in Ohio. He just wants to play soccer in high school and pass his exams; maybe kiss a girl he likes. And now he has to train to fight and kill for a world of wizards that he knows nothing about.

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Book Review: Renegades

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Renegades by Marissa Meyer

Renegades (Renegades, #1)
by Marissa Meyer 

3.5 stars
Nova has grown up with her uncle and his group of Anarchists. They have trained her to hate the Renegade superheroes, and she agrees to infiltrate their forces by pretending to become a Renegade so she can spy on them. Nova’s loyalties are divided as she finds herself more and more involved with the Renegades and she realizes that they are not all bad. She is especially drawn to Adrian, a young superhero in training whose two dads are the leaders of the Renegades.

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Book Review: The Phantom of the Opera

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The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

The Phantom of the Opera
by  Gaston Leroux

4 out of 5 stars

Christine is fascinated by the voice of the “Angel of Music”, and he trains her to be a great singer at the opera. When Christine is reunited with her childhood friend, Raoul, they discover that the Angel of Music is really the dreaded Phantom, who has terrorized the Opera House for many years. Raoul wants to protect Christine, but she feels pity intermingled with fear for the Phantom, and cannot bring herself to betray him.

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Book Review: The Seven Tales of Trinket

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The Seven Tales of Trinket by Shelley Moore Thomas

The Seven Tales of Trinket
by  Shelley Moore Thomas

Trinket’s father disappeared years ago, and now that Trinket is alone in the world, she has decided to retrace his steps and learn to be a storytelling bard like he was. Trinket begins to gather stories as she travels, in an effort to learn to storytelling. Everywhere she goes, she asks if anyone has heard of her father, but no one has seen him for years. She meets a seer who can tell the future, and a woman whose baby has been stolen by the selkies. Trinket faces off against an evil banshee and the fairy queen. She rides on a pooka to the land of the dead, and saves a noble hound from a ferocious wolf. Through all her adventures, she searches for some trace of her father, and discovers that she shares his storytelling talent.

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Book Review: The Secret History of Tom Trueheart

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The Secret History of Tom Trueheart by Ian Beck

The Secret History of Tom Trueheart (Tom Trueheart, #1)
by Ian Beck 

Tom comes from a family of adventurers in the Land of Stories. He has six burly older brothers, all named Jack, and when they receive a commission from the Story Bureau, they follow their instructions and complete a daring adventure, awakening cursed maidens with a kiss, defeating giants up a beanstalk, or outwitting evil witches. But Tom is still too young to go on adventures like his brothers do. One day, the brothers all receive a new story commission and set off on new adventures, but they are each lost in the Land of Stories and they never return.

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Book Review: The Great Turkey Walk

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The Great Turkey Walk by Kathleen Karr

The Great Turkey Walk: A Graphic Novel Adaptation of the Classic Story of a Boy, His Dog and a Thousand Turkeys
by Kathleen Karr

4.5 out of 5 stars

Simon wants to start his own business so he can get away from his bullying aunt and uncle. He asks his schoolteacher to invest in the business; they will buy 1,000 turkeys and herd them to Denver where they will fetch a better price. But Simon also needs a driver to drive the mules and wagon, so he hires a worn-out drunk, gets him cleaned up and sober, and they start on their trek across the wilderness with a massive gaggle of turkeys. Along the way they meet thieves, they befriend a runaway slave, and they struggle to survive in the wild prairies while keeping their flock together.

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How Do? Series from Flowerpot Press

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How Do Seeds Grow Into Gardens? by Clayton Grider

How Do Seeds Grow Into Gardens?: A Hands-On Book About Gardening
by Clayton Grider, Srimalie Bassani (illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

This book takes you step by step through instructions for planting a garden, and explains how seeds grow. Different plants need different temperatures, watering, or sunlight. The illustrations show little cartoon seeds sprouting and soaking in the sun. We also learn about the types of insects that are good to have around for your garden, as well as ways to deter pests like squirrels and slugs.

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Book Review: Rule Britannia

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Rule Britannia by Daphne du Maurier

Rule Britannia
by Daphne du Maurier

DNF at page 137

1 out of 5 stars
Emma has grown up in Cornwall with her grandmother, Madam, who also adopted 6 troubled orphan boys. The boys (aged 3 to 17) run rampant around the house, and Madam (nicknamed Mad) does little to control them, instead allowing their imaginations to run free and joining in their wild and violent games. When the USA and UK declare a merging of their governments, American Marines set up blockades on the road and cut the telephone service, basically setting up martial law for an undetermined period of time while the government transitions. Mad is furious, and she encourages the boys and all the townsfolk to rebel against the new government.

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