Juvenile fiction

Just Read: “The Wildseed” by Marti Dumas

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Hasani has two goals after seventh grade ends – to expand her makeup YouTube channel and figure out a way to reunite her parents.

When an emotional outburst causes her undiscovered magical abilities to boil to the surface, Hasani is contacted by Les Belles Demoiselles, a charm school that teaches young ladies to harness their magic.

As excited as she is to understand her newly discovered abilities, Hasani has a lot of catching up to do. The other girls had grown up in a magical family. Hasani did not. The others come from homes of distinction and wealth. Hasani does not. So she is snubbed as ‘that scholarship girl.’

As Hasani struggles to learn as much as quickly as she can, she also sees the possibilities. Could her magic help her launch her channel to new heights? Could it make her dad leave his new bikini-wearing fiancée and return home where Hasani thinks he belongs?

Maybe it could. But at what cost to Hasani and those closest to her.

—

To be honest, when I selected this book, I expected another story about a school for young witches inspired by JK Rowling’s Harry Potter. I’m delighted to say, I was pleasantly surprised. Is this book about witches? Yes. But it’s not about casting spells. Instead, it’s story is about a school that teaches young ladies of means not just how to use charms, but how to BE charming. So, truly a finishing school for young ladies.

Dumas does a masterful job of helping readers connect to Hasani through her thoughts and her actions without overwhelming readers with either. Her settings are unique and fun, literally flowering off the page. I would highly recommend this book to witches or all ages.

@momteacherwriter, www.martidumasbooks.com

“The Elephant’s Girl” by Celesta Rimington

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I’ve been pulled toward books featuring animals lately (a pull from my youth). So next up on my “Just Read” books is THE ELEPHANT’S GIRL by Celesta Rimington. Beautifully layered with multiple mysteries, it intrigued me from beginning to end.

The story centers around a Nebraska youth who is the tragic survivor of a tornado that ravaged an area around and through a zoo. She’s found as a toddler after the tornado in the elephant pen, protected from the storm by one of the zoo’s elephants, Nyah. With no memories of her life before the tornado and no trace of a family, she’s raised by her foster father, Roger, the zoo’s train engineer. He names her Lexington Willow.

Lex soon discovers she’s not like the others. For one thing, the wind speaks to her (not always kindly). Also her school mates taunt her as “that elephant girl.” So Lex retreats from their teasing into the comforting familiarity of her zoo.

Now Lex is twelve and the mystery of her past plagues her in more ways than one. She’s finally old enough to help with the training of the elephants. Nyah, her rescuer, seeks her out and sends her a telepathic message about the woods outside the zoo.

Nyah’s message catapults Lex into an adventure that changes her life forever. She meets a forgetful ghost who hints at a long lost treasure. She faces her own fears and ventures beyond the safety zone of her zoo. And she finally solves the mystery of “who is Lex Willow?”

I loved THE ELEPHANT’S GIRL (or I wouldn’t be posting about it). It’s unique and charming and includes a thread featuring THE ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS (another favorite book from my past). Within the “Authors Notes” section Rimington includes a substantial list of resources about elephants as well as organizations devoted to protecting these marvelous animals, making this an excellent teaching tool for teachers as well. I’ll hope you’ll read ELEPHANT’S GIRL and enjoy it as much as I did.

Just Read: “Mr. Gedrick and Me” by Patrick Carman

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In MR. GEDRICK AND ME, Stanley Darrow’s family is in need of help to bring a grieving family together after his father passes away. The house is a mess. Mom is stressed out over a looming work deadline. His sister, Amelia, shuts herself in her room. And his brother, Fergus, has developed a tendency to exaggerate the facts more than just a little bit.

Reminiscent of the magical fun of Mary Poppins, Mr. Gedrick arrives at their front door with just the touch of magic the Darrow family needs to put the joy back into their lives.

Told in first person by the main character, Stanley, Carman layers her tale with humor and puts a fresh twist on a nanny-saves-the-family theme. Several mysterious happenings keep the reader guessing. In the end, and with the subtle guidance of Mr. Gedrick, the Darrows find their individual strengths and talents. By bringing these strengths together, they rediscover the joy and power of being ‘family’.  

Carman does an outstanding job of delicately infusing a message without being preachy – that real magic can happens when families work together. Loaded with the quirky humor only the perspective of a nine-year-old can bring, MR. GEDRIK AND ME is a read kids will be certain to enjoy.

Just Read: “The Great Shelby Holmes” by Elizabeth Eulberg

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I picked up THE GREAT SHELBY HOLMES instantly intrigued by the title character’s name, Shelby Holmes. I’ve been a fan of Sherlock Holmes since, well, forever. The books. The movies. The series. I loved them all. Eulberg perfectly captures all the best (and quirkiest) qualities of Sherlock in plucky nine-year-old Shelby Holmes. Her focus is on solving crimes and her success as a detective has made her a celebrity in the neighborhood and a thorn in Detective Lestrade’s side.

But what “Holmes” would be complete without a “Watson”.

Once again, Eulberg delivers.

John Watson moves in downstairs and is introduced to Shelby when something explodes upstairs (one of Shelby’s experiments, no doubt). John’s mom was in the army, so moving from place to place every couple of years had foster in him a talent for quickly making friends. With school still a few weeks away, John yearns to begin the friend-making process. But the only option so far is Shelby Holmes. And the concept of ‘friendship’ completely eludes Shelby.

When Shelby gets called in on a dog napping case, suddenly the “game is a-foot”. Watson tags along (often clueless but always eager to help). Together they follow the clues, leading them to a solution to the crime and ultimately to a unique friendship.

A wonderfully written story, moves quickly, will hold your interest, and has several laugh-out-loud moments. Established Sherlock Holmes fans will love it, but it will also appeal to and foster a new generation of Conan Doyle fans. (Side note: Shelby owns a dog named Sir Arthur. How great is that!)  

Just Read: “The Girl Who Drank the Moon” by Kelly Barnhill

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THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON is a middle grade novel by Kelly Barnhill that won the 2017 Newberry Medal. Well deserved, in my opinion.

THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON is the story of a girl, Luna, and the witch who saved her, Xan. It centers around one town’s sad tradition of sacrificing one baby each year to the witch in the woods so that she won’t curse the village. (Reminiscent of “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson.) The villager’s believe in this necessity. The councilmen who implement it do too, but for different reasons. They don’t believe there’s a witch. They do believe that this Day of Sacrifice crushes the spirits of the villagers and allows the council to maintain control.

But the witch does exist, only not the evil one the people imagine. Baffled by the villager’s actions, the witch Xan rescues the children and nourishes them with starlight as she makes the journey to find each baby a home on the other side of the forest. Then one special baby captures the heart of Xan. And when Xan accidently enmagics baby Luna with moonlight instead of starlight, she decides she must raise Luna herself, because an enmagiced child is a dangerous child to herself and to others.

This charming story is brimming over with interesting characters. There are two dragons (who doesn’t like dragons?), one regular size poem-reciting dragon and one “simply enormous” dragon that often sleeps in Luna’s pocket. There’s Antain, the village boy who sees the Day of Sacrifice as a day of horror and decides he must kill the witch to save the children. There’s a madwoman whose paper birds maim, a threatening volcano, and a woman with a tigers heart that prowls the night.

Whew. There’s a lot going on. But Barnhill masterfully weaves the characters, setting, and magical elements of THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON into a well-pace story filled with twists, mystery, magic, and more. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it for middle grade and young adult readers. THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON won’t disappoint.

Just Read: “Stella” by McCall Hoyle

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Once again, I’ve stumbled across a book I would have loved when I was young(er), another book whose cover invited me in with a story that intrigued me enough to stay for the whole party.

STELLA is a juvenile fiction book by McCall Hoyle staring Stella, a beagle recently retired from service as an explosives dog (dog’s that sniff out potential bomb threats). When she misses a scent at the airport that results in a fatal explosion and the loss of her handler and friend, Connie, Stella is racked by guilt and plagued by anxiety attacks. Now loud noises terrify her almost as much as being left alone. Unable to control her fears, Stella fails three times with new owners. With three strikes against her, Stella is given one last chance with a dog trainer and her daughter, Cloe. But it’s supposed to be only a temporary reprieve. “Don’t get attached,” Cloe’s mom warns.

Told from the point of view of Stella, this book delves into the mind of a dog who lives by her nose. The swirling scents of her world inform Stella through her keen sense of smell. Among them are the comings and goings of animals, the gun-bearing intentions of neighbors, and a strange chemical smell emanating from Cloe just before she has epileptic attacks. Stella’s dilemma – how to pass this information on to the humans in her life and warm them against danger.

Loaded with touching moments, Stella struggles with her own fears and tries to overcome them for the sake of Cloe. Packed with action as well as being informative, STELLA is a book I’d come back to again and again for a hearty dose of fun.

Just Read: “The Hungry Place” by Jessie Haas

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I was immediately drawn to THE HUNGRY PLACE by the cover. I know. I know. Never judge a book by its cover. But it’s a horse! As a child, I devoured every book I could find about animals, particularly dogs and horses, but loved stories about cats, deer, and elephants, too. So it seemed a natural fit. I was right.

In THE HUNGRY PLACE, Rae, a young lady from a financially strapped family, ‘hungers’ for a pony despite the many obstacles that whisper to her about impossible dreams. Princess is marked as extraordinary by her kindly elderly owner who claims from the start that he “wouldn’t part with Princess for a million dollars.” Fate steps in and Rae briefly meets Princess when the pony is still young. Their eyes lock. They connect for an instant. Then they part. Rae is resigned to never seeing Princess again. After all, she belongs to someone else. And Rae could never hope to own such an extraordinary pony.

So Rae sets her sights lower. Saves her money. Continues to hope. Someday she’ll own a pony. Someday. Because she hungers for that more than anything else in the world.

All the while, Princess grows up. Gets trained. Is entered in many horse shows. Becomes a champion. It’s a life that isolates her from other ponies. But the kind man is always there and she knows she’s loved. But when the kind man stops coming, her hunger for love is overshadowed by her real hunger for food and the need to survive.

Haas does an outstanding job of telling this story from the multiple viewpoints of Rae and Princess. (What fun getting to know the world through the eyes of a pony.) She also taps into the multiple meanings of her title, real hunger vs. recognizing that there’s a hungry place inside us all, and not just for food.

I thoroughly enjoyed THE HUNGRY PLACE and was delighted to learn that Haas has written over 40 books, many of them about horses. As a new fan, I plan to devour more books by Jessie Haas.