Mystery lover, Paloma Marquez, goes with her mother to spend a month in Mexico City. While there she meets, sister and brother Lizzie and Gael, but before she even knows their names they pass her a strange note asking for her help with a ‘life or death’ situation. Life or death !? Paloma loves mysteries, in fact she’s obsessed with her favorite mystery series featuring Lulu Pennywhistle, super awesome girl detective. But can she solve a real life mystery? Lizzie and Gael seem to think so.

The mystery centers around Frida Kahlo, a famous artist, has items on display at La Casa Azul in Coyoacan. Her husband locked many of her treasures in their home’s historic bathroom, a stronghold that stayed locked until 2002. (This part is true.) Now one of her treasures, a beautiful peacock rink, has been stolen and an innocent man thrown in jail for its theft. (And that’s where Paloma’s fictional adventure begins.)

Paloma is followed, threatened, and lied to the people she thought she could trust. But through it all she puts on her Lulu Pennywhistle brains and works to solve the mystery of the missing ring.

In addition to an intriguing mystery, Cervantes weaves a thread throughout her book about the importance of family, finding a connection with those in your life and with those that were lost too soon — Paloma lost her father at a young age and struggles to gather memories of him through others; her new friends, Lizzie and Gael, are trying to reconnect with their own father.

Heartfelt and full of gotcha twists, ME, FRIDA, AND THE SECRET OF HE PEACOCK RING is a great read. Well done, Angela!

I’m a huge Katherine Applegate fan. It started with CRENSHAW and I’m delighted to report my, well, delight continues with the ENDLING series.

In the first book, ENDLING THE LAST, readers are introduced to Byx, a young daime (often mistaken for a dog by the less informed). Byx is the runt of her litter with an insatiable curiosity, a trait that inadvertently saves her life – she wanders away on a small adventure narrowly avoiding being slaughtered when soldiers raid her family’s home and kill all her loved ones. Grief stricken, lonely, and terrified that she may be the last of her kind, she embarks on a journey to find more dairne. Along the way, she acquires several unlikely companions: a wobbyk (loveable big-eared rodent), a poacher (human female), and a felivet (fierce and panther-like). Fueled by hope, the small band follow ancient myths and trace rumors on a quest to prove that other dairne still exist and that Byx isn’t the Endling of her race.

In book two, ENDING THE FIRST, Byx and company continue their search for more dairne. But their quest has morphed into something larger. Their world is on the verge of war. Who is friend? Who is foe? Should they fight or flee? Whatever their path, Byx and her new ‘family’ are determined to face the good and the bad together.

This is a “no spoilers” review, so I dare not say more about the storyline. But I absolutely loved traveling with Byx on her quest and was thoroughly enchanted by these characters, their world, and the adventure. My only complaint is that the third book in the series won’t be released until March 2, 2021. So now begins my impatient waiting for ENDLING: book three.

Readers who enjoy books like “Endling” will also enjoy “Petdemonium”, a middle grade sci-fi adventure.

Book Trailer here

Available on Amazon.com

SEVENTH GRADE VS. THE GALAXY instantly hooked me for two reasons. Reason 1: I used to teach seventh graders. Reason 2: The first lines of the book were perfectly crafted to establish tone and setting:

“Zero-gravity dodge ball three times since Tuesday. So you knew it’s the end of the year.”

It’s the last day of school on a space ship orbiting one of Jupiter’s moons. Wow! What’s not to love?

But when the defenseless school is suddenly attacked, Jack activates the light-speed engines his father secretly installed. It catapults the school, teachers, and his classmates hundreds of light-years away. Instead of escaping to a safe haven, they are captured by an alien race determined to prevent Earth from realizing their potential as beings of a larger universe.

With the perfect blend of intrigue, humor, and action, Levy successfully kept me invested in the story of Jack and his friends, Ari and Becka (aka T-Bex). Readers will love this sci-fi adventure. One small caution, Jack’s adventure doesn’t end with this book. The saga of SEVENTH GRADE VS. THE GALAXY continues in EIGHTH GRADE VS. THE MACHINES (coming soon).

If you liked SEVENTH GRADE VS. THE GALAXY, you will also enjoy PETDEMONIUM. 

“Crenshaw” explores how one hard working family deals with the threat of homelessness through the eyes of Jackson, an ‘old soul’ fifth grader.

As a future animal scientist, Jackson relays his family’s plight in a scientific just-stating-the-facts way.

> Dad got sick and can’t work.

> Mom got laid off.

> The family hasn’t much money.

> They can’t pay their rent.

> Jackson and his younger sister are often hungry.

That’s the way things are. Those are just the facts.

Then Crenshaw, his imaginary friend from first grade, reenters Jackson’s life. Crenshaw’s appearance is NOT logical, NOT sciency, and totally NOT normal. Jackson tries to push Crenshaw away, but the endearing bubble-bath-loving cat knows he’s needed. With catlike persistence, he encourages Jackson to tell the truth to the one that matters most.

No spoilers here. So I’ll just add that Katherine Applegate does an amazing job portraying a loving ‘working poor’ family. It’s touted as a book for middle graders (ages 8 to 12), but “Crenshaw” is both heart felt and heart wrenching and a book that everyone of all ages will enjoy.

I read “Crenshaw” when it first came out a couple of years ago. I loved it so much, I had to read it again and share it with you here.

@kaaauthor

http://katherineapplegate.com/

If you enjoy books like CRENSHAW, you will love my book PETDEMONIUM. Click here to download the first two chapters as a free PDF. 

I was instantly intrigued by Suzanne Nelson’s book, A TAIL MAGNOLIOUS. A girl steals an elephant? An elephant!? Really? How is that possible? I had to find out more. And was delighted to discover a magical story about a 10-year-old orphan, her elephant, and a bag of extraordinary beans.

Nelson’s orphan, Nitty Luce, has hope. Hope for a better life away from the orphanage. Hope that she can find a place where she isn’t a ‘jinx’. Hope that she can one day have a family of her very own. So she finds the gumption to run away. Then she steals two things: a bag of jittering beans as green as her eyes and an elephant, Magnolious, who has been unfairly sentenced to death. They manage to escape during one of the many dust storms plaguing their world.

Maybe it was luck or a bit of magic or an elephant’s keen sense, because the pair eventually take shelter from the storm in a barn. The barn belongs to Windle Homes, a grumpy farmer living on the outskirts of Fortune’s Bluff. And his farm and the entire township has been ravaged by vicious dusters that squelch anything that attempts to thrive.

Confronted by the stubborn can-do attitude of Nitty (not to mention a huge protective elephant), Windle reluctantly agrees to allow Nitty and Mag to plant her seeds on his farm. As the seeds jitter and grow and stand their ground against the ever-worsening dusters, Nitty befriends Twitch Higgler, boy detective, and Bernice, the oldest daughter of the Sigh family. Twitch convinces Nitty that something is amiss with Mayor Snollygost and the constant loud whomping emanating from the mayor’s institute. Together, the children set out to discover the truth and along the way renew what Fortune’s Bluff has lost, hope.

I don’t believe in spoilers, so to find out what happens grab a copy today. You won’t regret it! Because our Nitty (yes, she’s mine; give her a chance and she’ll be yours; that makes her ours), Mag, a unique assortment of Fortune’s Bluff residents, and Nelson’s charming voice combine to create an unforgettable read.

If you enjoy books like A TALE MAGNOLIOUS, you will love my book PETDEMONIUM. Click here to download the first two chapters as a free PDF. 

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“Adventures of PB and Jay: A Short Story Collection”