Audio and Book Review: Hideout!

Do you enjoy hiking, or boating, or camping? Do you ever think what might happen if you got lost, or stranded on a camping or boating trip? Would you be able to survive in the wilderness? In Hideout, two boys meet in the middle of a swamp. One is just on a day trip, one is struggling to survive alone. Both have secrets, and both need a friend…

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Hideout
by Watt Key, read by Charlie Thurston
7 Hours; 6 CDs

Sam is out on the Pascagoula River in his new boat…a skiff his father gave him for his twelfth birthday. You might think he would be happy to have a new boat, but you would be wrong. Sam’s father is the one who likes boats, Sam just thinks they’re okay. But it is a convenient way to escape from some of his troubles. And the boat might just give him a way to impress his father and help improve Sam’s own image at school.

Sam’s father is the Chief of Police of Pascagoula, and from keeping his ears open, Sam has learned that somewhere out there in the Pascagoula Delta marsh, there is probably a dead body. And if Sam can find it, he might get famous. Famous enough to make the kids at his new school forget about “the fight”…the day where Sam was beat up at his new school, in front of everyone. It’s something that’s constantly stuck in his head–replaying and changing the way he sees himself. So given a chance to do something different, Sam ignores the rule about staying on the river and heads into the swampy marsh.

But he doesn’t find a dead body. Instead, he finds a live one. At the site of an abandoned camp, with missing boards, a rotting dock and practically no roof, he finds Davey–a boy living on his own.

Davey claims that he’s just waiting for his brother to come back with his father. But Sam sees no sign of anyone else. Davey doesn’t have any extra food, a flashlight, or even bug spray. He doesn’t even have shoes! But Davey doesn’t know Sam, or what happened at school. And Sam likes to help people. He can’t imagine Davey staying overnight in the shack, with no blankets, no food and no light. He takes his skiff and heads for home, promising to come back with supplies.

Sam is as good as his work. He returns with water, milk, some food, fishing line, a sleeping bag and matches. Davey is happy to see him, and the two boys start working on the cabin, trying to fix it up like Davey had told his brother he would. Sam thinks it’s a little odd that the brother would expect Davey to do it with no tools or parts, but Davey tells him he’s scavenging the materials from other abandoned cabins.

Sam hates to leave Davey for the night, but he knows he can’t bring him home, and Davey wouldn’t come anyway. But Davey does act like he thought Sam would camp out with him and stay the night. Sam promises to try for the next night.

The friendship between the boys grows and Sam sneaks away as much as he can to help Davey. He uses his friend Grover, who was also part of “the fight” as an excuse to get away, without telling Grover anything about Davey. Soon, the camp is looking much better. Just in time for Davey’s brother to show up…without his father.

But Davey’s brother is not what Sam expected; and maybe not what Davey did either. He has two friends in tow, and they treat Davey–and Sam–like an inconvenience. Except when they’re ordering them around, expecting them to do everything for them. Sam’s uneasy feeling turns into fear when her recognizes their boat as the one his father has been looking for; a group of thieves stealing from business along the river.

Can Sam save both Davey and himself? Can they get away from the group that have taken over their camp and stolen their boat? Things are not looking good as they attempt an escape and end up on a desperate bid for survival…

Hideout is a great audio book too. It’s suspenseful and exciting, and will keep listeners on the edge of their seats. I really enjoyed the narrator, who has a great voice and accent. He tends to do books set in the south as well as survival stories. He does suspense really well, and he varies the voices by both pitch and pacing.

Watt Key writes many adventure and survival stories set in the swamps, marshes and oceans of the Gulf Coast. His books have a strong sense of place, so if you’re planning a visit there, it’s a good way to “preview” the landscape. Hopefully you won’t be setting off on the same kind of survival stories as his characters do though!

Hideout is recommended for kids grades 4 – 7. The audio can be enjoyed by families with kids that are older; I’d recommend pre-reading before sharing with younger kids. Davey and Sam find themselves in some scary situations. Some read alikes include The Storm Runners by Roland Smith, Leepike Ridge by Nathan Wilson, Scar Island by Dan Gemeinhart, Hide and Seek by Katy Grant, and Take Me To the River by Will Hobbs…as well as most of Watt Key’s other books.

As always, if you need help finding these or any other books, just ask one of our librarians. We love matching books and readers!

Happy Reading (and Listening!)
::Kelly::

Book & Audio Review: City Spies

So do you think you have what it takes to be a spy? Would you like to travel the world, crack codes, face danger and rescue innocents? Would you do it if you had the chance?

Here’s a series about some kids who DO get the chance. And they’re not just good spies, they’re City Spies.

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City Spies
by James Ponti, read by Lisa Flanagan
6 CDs; 6 Hours, 50 minutes

City Spies: Golden Gate
by James Ponti, read by Lisa Flanagan
6 CDs; 7 Hours, 46 minutes

Sara Martinez is a hacker.  She’s not a famous hacker, in fact she’s a foster kid in Brooklyn, New York.  And she doesn’t even have a phone, let alone a tablet or computer.  All her hacking is done by cabling together ten-year-old PCs in her school’s computer lab or by using the computers at the public library.  But it’s amazing what she can do with the tools at her disposal. She has even managed to hack into NASA.

Unfortunately, she doesn’t have the best of luck in foster parents.  So when the couple she’s living with lock her and the five year old boy she’s taken under her wing on the roof of their house overnight, she uses all her hacking skills to reveal their bad decisions (and illegal activities) to the authorities.  But instead of causing them trouble, it lands Sara in jail.  Or juvenile detention.  Same thing.

It seems her fate is sealed–there’s no way Sara will be able to get out of this. The public defender assigned to her case says that she can plea bargain her case down to two and a half years in juvenile detention–kid jail. And no computer access until she’s eighteen! But her meeting with the public defender is interrupted by someone new. A very fancy, well-dressed man with a British accent who claims to be her lawyer.  Sara hasn’t hired a lawyer, she definitely hasn’t got the money to do that! And who would do it for her? This new guy claims he can get the charges dropped, Sara is suspicious, but willing to take a chance.  She can’t face life with no access to the thing she does—and loves–best. No computers would make life unbearable.

Sara’s a little worried when, once they’re alone in the dingy little court office, the man pulls out a bunch of passports to pick a name–Croydon St. Vincent Marlborough the Third? Nigel Honeybuns?  Gerald Anderson?  The man tells Sara that none of these are actually his name, and tells her to call him Mother.  Mother?   

In the courtroom, “Gerald Anderson, Attorney-at-Law” takes on the judge in a battle of wits.  He asks Sara to trust him, and for some reason, even though trusting adults is very difficult for her, she does.  Even when it looks like there’s no way out of the charges, and Mother…Gerald…seems to be trying to get a LONGER sentence than ten years…Sara trusts him.  And she walks out of the court with him into fresh air.  She’s been sentenced to Crunchem Hall, for six years under Miss Trunchbull.

(as an aside—anyone recognize that name and place? Think hard!)

Crunchem Hall a fictitious school, and Miss Trunchbull is a fictitious woman in charge, from a book written by Roald Dahl.  Mother tells Sara that Dahl is his favorite author.  His books are okay, but mostly, he loves them because the author was a spy for British Intelligence.  Just like Mother.

After a little payback with her foster parents (and making sure that the other kids are going to good homes) Sara boards a plane with Mother and her cell mate from the detention center, Sydney, another spy who’s just about a year older than her.  Sara is to be enrolled in Kinloch Abbey, a school in Scotland.  Once Mother, Sara and Sydney get home to the FARM, Sara becomes Brooklyn, and meets the other kids living there:  Paris, Rio and Kat (short for Katmandu).  All of them are spies for the British Secret Intelligence Agency.  The FARM is their home, but it’s also a cover.  It stands for The Foundation for Atmospheric Research and Monitoring…which gives Mother and the kids an excuse for people arriving and departing at all times…and to have Beny, the supercomputer that takes up practically the whole basement.

Brooklyn just has time to settle in when they’re off…on an adventure to Paris.  Brooklyn might not be trained yet, but she’s quick on her feet, and no one can beat her hacking skills.  Disguised as part of an international youth summit, Brooklyn, Sydney, Paris, Rio and Kat…along with Mother and Monty, their guardian, are ready to save the world from a notorious villain.

If they can…

The audio book for City Spies is just as good as the book.  It’s a roller coaster of adventure and friendship, spies and villains, feats of daring and sneaking around in the Paris underground.  Sara/Brooklyn bonds with her new family, and they take her under their wings.  The pacing will leave you on the edge of your seat, and I pretty much guarantee that you’ll put the next disc in as soon as the previous one finishes.

I loved the narration for both City Spies books, the first two of (I hope!) many about these young British Secret Intelligence Agency spies.  The narrator is able to do many accents—from Brooklyn’s East Coast American accent to an Australian accent for Sydney, British for Mother (along with a few others when he disguises his identity), Irish for Monty and a mix of accents for Paris, Rio and Kat.  (In fact, the only slight issue I has was that while Paris does sound like he might be Rawandan via France, the accents Kat and Rio have are less distinct;  Kat sounds soft, and Rio sounds young.)  The villains also have distinct voices, and sound appropriately menacing and tricky…with a variety of accents from around the world.

Although the synopsis above is for just the first City Spies book, the second book, City Spies: Golden Gate, is just as good.  It’s slightly longer, and the plot is a bit more intricate.  I am looking forward to books three…and hopefully more!  It looks like the plots will be global, and the kids will be traveling all over the world.

City Spies would probably be best read by third through seventh grades, but the audio recording would be great for a family car trip with kids as young as five or six, or as old as ninth or tenth grades.  Adults would enjoy it as well.  Some read-alikes would be the Spy School series by Stuart Gibbs, Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls series by Beth McMullen, Winterborne Home books by Ally Carter, The League of Unexceptional Children trilogy by Gitty Daneshvari,  and the Jackson Greene books by Darian Johnson.  And, of course, James Ponti’s other books.

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So there you have it.  Excitement!  Travel!  Danger!  And with Brooklyn, we’ll all learn that spying isn’t just fun…it’s also a lot of hard work and training.  But would you take a chance and be a teenage spy?

I would…maybe. If I could go back to those teenage years. 

If you need help finding these or any other books on this list, just ask one of our librarians.  We’re always happy to help you find your next favorite book..!

Happy Reading!
::Kelly::

Book and Audio Review: Level 13

It’s almost summer, so it’s time to travel! What better to bring along on a trip than a book…or a book on CD? Here’s one the whole family will enjoy!

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Level 13: a Slacker Novel
By Gordon Korman
performed by Jessica Almasy, Quincy Dunn-Baker, Christopher Gebauer and Jonathan Todd Ross
5 CDs, 5.75 Hours

Cameron Boxer is a dedicated student. Dedicated to beating online video games, that is! His grand goal in life is to make a living (and a fortune!) streaming online for other gamers. So his whole being is wrapped up in besting his last score and learning all the cheats and hacks for his favorites. Someday, he wants to be like Draja Dubrovnik, his online gamer hero. School? Who needs it! Cam knows he can get enough of an audience to become famous.

His friends don’t really seem to know that through. No, they think he’s some kind of hero for coming up with the P.A.G.–the Positive Action Group. What is the P.A.G.? Only the best thing to happen to Sycamore Middle School in, like, forever! (according to the Daphne Leibowitz anyway, one of the girls in the school). Cam actually came up with the idea to get his parents off his back about spending too much time online. It wasn’t supposed to be a REAL club! But now there are 874 group members, and Cameron is the head of it. The club has done all kinds of community service–from walking old ladies across the street to painting orphanages to picking up garbage. The funny thing is, everyone thinks Cam is some kind of genius for coming up with the P.A.G., although he mostly wants to slither out of those responsibilities.

So when Cam is invited to a party when he would rather be gaming, he has no idea that it’s the first step in a slippery slope leading to more P.A.G. stuff. He was just going to make an appearance! But no, cool kid Jordan is asking him–Cam Boxer!–for advice. Xavier, the school delinquent, has brought him cookies for some bake sale he seems convinced Cam knows about, and worst of all, he discovers that know-it-all Daphne Leibowitz is dating one of his two best friends–Chuck.

Things go downhill from there. Daphne has decided that the P.A.G. need to raise funds to repair the Library. Not only does that suck up all Cam’s gaming time, but the Awesome Threesome–Cam, Chuck and Pavel, their third best friend–now have responsibilities! But at the first event for the Library Fund Raiser, Cam finds a discarded copy of Guardians of Geldorf. And it’s not the ordinary version, but the very first version of the game. A first edition with the secret level–Level 13–that was banned in 47 states. The game was pulled from the market and an updated version re-released with Level 13 deleted in future editions because of “inappropriate content.” But Cam has the original right in his hands.

Can he use Guardians to become famous?

Take one slacker gamer, add a few classmates with no clue, one annoyed sister who does have a clue, and two best friends, one of whom is part of the new ‘ship Duckne. Add a suspicious teacher, a video-obsessed beaver named Elvis and a suspected stalker. The problems pile on, and Cam is soon running himself ragged trying to be famous. Not everyone is on board with his plan, but he’s going to make a valiant effort! It’s a lot of work to be a slacker in Level 13!

The audio recording of Level 13 is absolutely, hysterically wonderful! The chapters in the book alternate between Cam, Chuck, Pavel, Daphne, Mr. Fanshaw, Melody Boxer and brief appearances from other characters in the book. This means that different voice actors provide each character, making it much easier to distinguish between points of view. The kids sound like kids, the teacher sounds like a teacher, and everyone is spot on with their characterizations. I loved all their voices.

This is an extremely funny book. It’s the sequel to Slacker, and although it would probably be best to read that first, it’s not necessary. Slacker is basically the story of how the P.A.G. got started, and where Elvis came from. You can enjoy Level 13 without that background knowledge, but of course, it is better with it.

Cam Boxer reminds me of a younger Ferris Bueller. He’s spends more energy trying not to expend energy. His schemes to more good than harm, and he has the unknowing support of an entire school behind him. Even his “enemies” are annoyed with him because he’s successful. But in Level 13, you can see the scheming from inside…and figure out why things fall the way they do. Plus, there’s the added viewpoint of all Cam’s friends and acquaintances.

Level 13 is probably best for kids grades four through seven, who like humor and wacky plots. It’s classic Gordon Korman at his scheming best. The audio would be good for all ages. If you haven’t, you could also read or listen to Slacker, the first book in this set.

Some read-alikes are all the MacDonald Hall books by Gordon Korman, the Charlie Joe Jackson series by Tommy Greenwald, The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger, Ms. Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson, The Perfect Score by Rob Buyea, The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon, and Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage.

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So is Cam Boxer an over-achiever or a slacker? You’ll have to read the book and decide for yourself.

I think he would be an interesting friend to have though. And he makes me want to go find my really old Gordon Korman books to see how his characters evolved. Cam is a lot like Boots and Bruno, Bugs Potter and Rudy Miller. Don’t know who those people are? Maybe it’s time to shop Canadian bookstores!

As always, if you need help finding these, or any other books, ask one of our librarians for help. We love matching books and readers!

Happy Reading!
::Kelly::

Book and Audio Review: The Vanderbeekers to the Rescue

Looking for a good read? (Or listen?) Look no further!

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The Vanderbeekers to the Rescue
by Karina Van Glaser, Narrated by Robin Miles
5 CDs, 6.25 Hours

The Vanderbeekers live in New York City; on 141st Street in Harlem, to be precise. In a lovely brownstone in a tight-knit neighborhood. Twins Jessie and Isa, Oliver, Hyacinth and Laney all love their home, and think it’s the only place in the world to live. (It would have to be, with how hard they fought to keep it in the first book in this series–The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street.) And it’s not only the Vanderbeeker kids who love the brownstone…it’s also Franz the basset hound, Paganini the rabbit, George Washington their tabby cat, and even their visiting upstairs neighbor’s cat, Princess Cutie. Over the years, they’ve befriended the entire neighborhood and even created a beautiful garden to share. But as life goes on, things are always changing…

In The Vanderbeekers to the Rescue, the third in the series, word of Mama’s delicious baking has spread far and wide. Every day, she has more customers calling on her skills for cookies and pies and other baked goods. She’s becoming so successful that she’s left her horrible accounting job and started a home bakery. The kids definitely don’t mind…not when they get to try out new recipes and eat the extras! Mama has become so popular, in fact, that a famous New York magazine reaches out to her to do a story on her bakery. The kids all promise to help get the kitchen ready for a magazine photo shoot, but between homework and music lessons and tree house planning and a variety of illnesses and emergencies, it just doesn’t happen. So when Mama has to rush out to meet with the editor of Perch Magazine in preparation for the article, she shouts to Jessie that she should be home before the inspector arrives, and leaves. What inspector?

The inspector arrives before Mama gets home, and the kids decide to let him in. Mama knew he was coming, after all, and an inspection of the brownstone is probably something the city has to do. Plus, it’s raining, and the poor man doesn’t even have an umbrella.

Mr. West is not an animal person, and although the house is clean, there are rabbits and dogs and cats and kids everywhere. Mr. West is NOT impressed. In fact, he’s extremely grumpy about all the animals, and how they seem to be able to roam anywhere in the house. The kids show him around, but he only seems to be interested in the kitchen, not the rest of the brownstone. When Paganini and Franz start playing and knock over a plate of cookies, (which Laney promptly picks up and offers Mr. West following the “five second rule”) Mr. West gives the kids a copy of the papers on his clipboard and tells them that the license for their mother’s home baking business has been revoked, and she can no longer use their kitchen to run her baking.

The kids are shocked. This was not a building inspection, but a kitchen inspection for Mama’s baking business? How can they possibly tell Mama they’ve ruined her dream? That she can’t continue to bake and has to go back to being an accountant? They can’t. So the Vanderbeekers come up with a plan. They’ll reschedule the inspection and plan to get everything fixed up before the inspector returns.

But when Isa calls, pretending to be their mother, it turns out the only appointment they can get gives them only a week. A week? There’s no way that’s enough time! But they are the Vanderbeekers, and they can do anything.

Right..?

Wrong.

Between Isa’s violin music school entry exam, a box of kittens left on their doorstep, chickens appearing in the yard, Mama’s birthday, mysterious packages arriving and tree house building, cleaning up the kitchen in a week is definitely not happening. Will the Vanderbeekers be able to fix their epic mistake and help Mama keep her business? Will enough love and friendship get them through this new catastrophe? The Vanderbeekers are willing to try!

The audio of The Vanderbeekers to the Rescue is beautifully done. I listened in the car on a long drive, and it definitely made the time pass faster. Robin Miles has a lovely voice, and her narration is wonderful. The individual voices of all the adults are excellent; she does a range of accents and vocal timbres, and the listener might even think it’s a full cast reading, they sound so different. I did feel like the kids sometimes sounded a little too alike–occasionally I couldn’t tell who was talking–but that’s a relatively small issue in the grand picture. There’s enough description in the narration to pick up the clues. This is definitely a story that can be enjoyed over and over by families.

In a previous entry, I had reviewed the first book; The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street and loved it as well.

The Vanderbeekers to the Rescue is a wonderful addition to this series, which now stands at four titles, with a fifth book coming in September 2021. Although each of the stories build on the previous one, it is possible to read them out of order, as each episode is self-contained. It’s not easy to come up with normal true-life stories for a family of five, but this wonderful series keeps the characters alive and changing in each volume. The Vanderbeekers are slated to join the Penderwicks, the Quimbys, the Moodys and the Hatchers in well-known families of children’s literature.

The kids in the Vanderbeekers book series range from five years old to seventh graders (as of this title), but the book is probably best enjoyed by third through fifth grade readers. (Although readers who love the family will probably enjoy it right to the final volume, no matter how old they are.) For listening, it would be fun for all ages, and perfect for a wide range of listeners. There’s something here for everyone.

Some read-alikes for The Vanderbeekers to the Rescue are The Lotterys Plus One by Emma Donoghue, Cupcake Cousins by Kate Hannigan, The House that Lou Built by Mae Respicio, The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher by Dana Alison Levy, and A Long Line of Cakes by Deborah Wiles.

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So check out this wonderful family, their pets, their neighbors and their friends next time you need an audiobook. You will be happy you did!

As always, if you need help finding these, or any other books or audiobooks in our collection, please ask one of our librarians for help. And if you would like a new suggestion, ask us that too! We love matching readers and books…or audiobooks!

Happy Reading!
::Kelly::

Book and Audio Review: The Unicorn Rescue Society

Calling all Unicorn fans! You will NOT meet a unicorn in this series. Not yet anyway. But there is a Jersey Devil, a couple of dragons, and a Sasquatch..and that’s when you’re only halfway through the series! It’s certain that a unicorn has to show up. Eventually.

In the meantime, enjoy this review of the first two books, put together on one CD set.

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The Unicorn Rescue Society, Books 1 – 2
The Creature of the Pines by Adam Gidwitz, illustrated by Hatem Aly
The Basque Dragon by Adam Gidwitz & Jesse Casey, illustrated by Hatem Aly
Read by January LaVoy
4 CDs; 4 hours, 45 minutes

In The Creature of the Pines, Elliot Eisner is starting his first day at a new school, in a new house, in a new town, two weeks into the semester. Who does that? To make it worse, it’s a Field Trip day. Elliot hasn’t even met his new classmates! But here he is, getting on the bus for a field trip to the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Everyone already has a friend and seat-mate, so he’s going to have to sit with a kid he doesn’t even know. Not the kid who’s farting and laughing…not the kid picking her nose…maybe the girl sitting all alone in the back, singing to herself? It’s not like he has a lot of choice, and she looks nice. Elliot’s a worrier, but he’ll take nice.

Uchenna IS nice. She’s also fearless, and she likes to sing. She has a sense of humor that complements Elliot’s. Could this be the start of a beautiful friendship?

By the time the bus arrives at the Pine Barrens, Elliot and Uchenna are on their way to being fast friends. One of the things they agree on, along with their classmates, is that Professor Fauna, the teacher leading the field trip, is the weirdest and scariest teacher they’ve ever met. Uchenna tells Elliot that there’s a rumor that he has a torture chamber in his office, in the basement of the school! It’s not even unbelievable. When the Professor leads the class into the Barrens, after terrifying them with tales of the many creatures that could kill them if they stray from the path, Elliot and Uchenna are at the back of the line. They have no problem staying in line with the rest of the class though–they don’t want to encounter a Bell Plant or a Snake!

But when they hear faint cries coming from the underbrush, they pause. Something that sounds really young also sounds terrified…and in pain. Uchenna barely hesitates before leaving the path and crashing through the underbrush. Elliot hovers, uncertain. Should he go get the Professor? Tell the teacher? Or should he help Uchenna? But what about getting killed by the flora of the Pine Barrens? Elliot surprises himself by plunging in after his new friend.

The strange little creature they find is frightened; and frightening! It has both sharp teeth and sharp horns, and it tries to bite! Uchenna and Elliot rescue it, but now what will they do? Will it bite them? Can they take it home on the bus? Will the other kids and teachers notice? But after they get it home, Jersey…Bonecruncher?…Jersey…Blood Guzzler? (Elliot and Uchenna can’t agree on a name) escapes. Then Elliot and Uchenna figure that they have to tell someone…and that someone is Professor Fauna.

Suddenly, Elliot has his hands full with a new friend, a terrifying baby Jersey Devil, and a mission. Will the kids be able to save Jersey? It’s the start of the adventure of a lifetime as Elliot and Uchenna join forces with Professor Fauna to rescue their Jersey Devil from a duo of conniving, greedy billionaires, the terrifying Schmoke Brothers.

In The Basque Dragon, Elliot and Uchenna and Jersey have become a team, and they’re working with Professor Fauna, head of the Unicorn Rescue Society. When the Professor hears about a missing herensuge (a specific type of dragon), he enlists Elliot and Uchenna. As the newest members of the Society, he expects them to join him on a rescue mission. Jumping into his plane after school, they fly across the ocean to Basque Country, in northern Spain. They, they join forces with Mitxel Mendizabal, whose dragon charge has been kidnapped. Dragon-knapped?

It’s the evil Schmoke brothers at the root of the problem, again. Can Elliot and Uchenna and Jersey follow the clues and find the missing herensuge? They’re certainly going to try!

I just loved The Unicorn Rescue Society audio book! The narrator was perfect. Her voices for the characters were beyond excellent! Elliot and Uchenna sounded like kids, while also sounding completely different. Professor Fauna has a heavy accent and rolling Rs that suit his over-the-top-character. Even minor characters, like Miss Viola, the kids’ teacher, and other kids in the class, have distinct and identifiable voices. It almost felt like I was watching the characters while I was listening!

The stories are fast-paced and fun. As an adult listening, there were plenty of places that made me laugh. The kids will get the jokes as well, but the unexpectedness of the situations is almost funnier for adult listeners. (As a quick example, when Professor Fauna swears, he mutters “mala palabra”.) The chapters were cliff-hangers that leave the reader (or listener) wanting more.

If you listen to the audio book, make sure you also pick up the physical books as well. The illustrations are excellent, and really add to the stories. The afterwords in each book are really important to read as well. The book locations and cultures are quite thoroughly researched, and the authors’ notes share both the multiple authors’ concerns and their attempts to portray cultures correctly.

The Unicorn Rescue Society series is perfect for third through fifth grades; it might be accessible to good second grade readers as well..especially with the illustrations. I thoroughly enjoyed them; so I think adults would get just as much out of the audio recordings as kids do. It’s a PERFECT adventure for a long family car ride. There are currently five books in the series, with the sixth one coming out in May. I would highly recommend all of them! The other titles are Sasquatch and the Muckleshoot, The Chupacabras of the Rio Grande, The Madre de Aguas of Cuba, and coming soon, The Secret of the Himalayas.

Some read alikes include Pip Bartlett’s Guide to Magical Creatures series by Jackson Pearce, The Extincts by Veronica Cossanteli, The Imaginary Veterinary series by Suzane Selfors, Upside Down Magic series by Sarah Mlynowski, and The Magical Animal Adoption Agency series by Kallie George. These all have audio books as well, so if you’d prefer to listen to them, you could do that too!

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So there you have it…a whole new series about interesting creatures…and maybe, just maybe, there will be a unicorn in there somewhere. Eventually. But in the meantime, learn about some other interesting cryptids…like chupacabras and sasquataches and a variety of dragons.

As always, if you need help finding these or any other books or audios, ask a librarian for help! We love matching books and readers (or listeners). If you would like recommendations, we’re happy to help with that too. 🙂

Happy Reading!
::kelly::

Book & Audio Review: 13 Treasures

It’s that time again…time for a new Audio Book! And this one is magical…

Have you ever wished to have magical powers? To be able to see magical things? Maybe even to do magic yourself? In some books it’s fun. In other books it’s scary. Sometimes, it’s a little of both.

Most of the time, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Check out 13 Treasures and find out why!

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13 Treasures
by Michelle Harrison, Read by Nicola Barber
7 CDs; 8 Hours

Tanya has always been able to see faeries and magical beings; she doesn’t remember a time when she couldn’t. When she was little, everyone thought it was cute…a little girl chattering away to her imaginary friends. But as she got older, people around her were less accepting, and she became “that weird girl who talks to herself.” Even her parents don’t believe her when she tries to explain.

So Tanya learns to ignore the beings only she can see. But that just makes them angry. Instead of just talking to her, they started tormenting her; causing accidents to happen around her and to her. Sometimes she can center herself it by writing about what is happening in her diary, but the little people don’t like that. If they find out, it makes it worse.

And then it gets just about as bad as it can get. Tanya’s mother gives up on her daughter after her bedroom is destroyed–again–and brings her to stay with her grandmother. Tanya doesn’t want to go, the house is miles from everything, crumbling and old. It even has a name: Elvesden Manor. Her grandmother, Florence, is cold and unapproachable, although she mostly ignores Tanya. Warwick, the man who takes care of everything at the manor, including Florence, is a silent man, not given to talking much. His son, Fabian is more of a nuisance. Tanya and Fabian have never gotten along in the past, and Tanya doesn’t expect that to have changed. To have to spend weeks with this three people she doesn’t even like seems like a never-ending sentence of dreadfulness.

And then, to make matters worse, it turns out that the manor is also full of unwelcoming creatures, from the stone gargoyles on the gate to the slinking cat who catches and chews on fae folk, to the goblins in the garden. Tanya is grateful to have been able to bring her dog Oberon with her, but even he can’t warn her about everything.

On the first day, Tanya discovers an unlocked door in the house–a door that has never been unlocked before. Going in, she finds a library of books, including books about Faerie lore and the Unseen world. Out of one of the books, several newspaper clippings fall out about a girl gone missing fifty years earlier. Her grandmother finds her in the library and scolds her, but also seems afraid. She tells Tanya to keep the silver charm bracelet she found in the library…something she would have never done in the past. Tanya is intrigued by both the mystery of the missing girl, who had been her grandmother’s friend, and the thirteen charms on her new bracelet.

Strange things start to happen when Tanya goes to town. First Mad Morag, a woman Fabian calls “crazy” gives her a strange brass compass. Then a man tries to buy it from her…and when she won’t sell, he tries to steal it! She doesn’t understand anything happening around her.

When Oberon chases a goblin into the woods, Tanya has to follow him. Fabian comes with her. Soon they find themselves lost in the woods, with only the compass to guide them. A compass that points to…H? Fabian turns out not to be so bad, and they agree to cooperate to find Oberon and get out of the woods. But their discoveries there lead them to a tighter friendship as they work together to solve the mysteries surrounding Tanya. Is her life actually at risk? Will they figure out what is going on before the fae folk get to her?

The audio of 13 Treasures is wonderful. I loved the narrator’s voice and her accent. I don’t really know what it is, but it’s either British or Irish or something in between. The descriptions of the manor, the woods and the town make you feel like you are in the story. Actually, all the descriptive passages are quite nice. I do like her voices for all the characters, including the creatures. Maybe especially the creatures! One of my favorite passages is when Tanya encounters goblins, and they talk in rhyme. Tanya has to answer in rhyme, for them to hear and understand her. I enjoyed the way it unfolded as you listen; feeling like you’re figuring out what to do along with Tanya.

13 Treasures is a fun and spooky story; the first in a trilogy that includes 13 Curses and 13 Secrets. There’s also a prequel called One Wish. I have always enjoyed stories featuring the world of Faerie, and this one is delightfully menacing, with characters you grow to admire and want to succeed. It’s an adventure story, a story of an unlikely friendship, and a mystery, all rolled into one.

This book is appropriate for fourth through seventh grade readers who enjoy a good mystery or fantasy. The audio is enjoyable for listeners of all ages, and anyone going to stay in a creepy woods in England (Ireland?) should definitely read or listen to this one! Some read alikes are The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi, The Thickety by J. A. White, Under the Green Hill by Laura Sullivan, The Jumbies by Tracy Baptiste, The Green Children of Woolpit by J. Anderson Coats, and Come Fall by A. C. E. Bauer.

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So there you go…another audio book for your next trip–or maybe just to listen to around town. If you like chills and thrills, with a bit of mystery and some heartwarming family bonding (sort of) this one is for you!

As always, if you need help finding this or any other book in the library, just ask one of our librarians for help. We love matching books and readers!

Happy Reading!
::kelly::

Audio and Book Review: The Book of Fatal Errors

So snow…I think our last entry of The Clockwork Crow doomed us to the same eternal snowstorm as those characters endured in that book! Our Talking Tuesday entries have been totally destroyed by that pesky white stuff.

So, to escape, this entry features summer! Not a snowflake in sight…just green grass and bright sunshine and flowery breezes. And, oh, maybe a slight problem with some crazy Fey, a few monsters and a bit of danger. But that’s getting ahead of ourselves…

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The Book of Fatal Errors
by Dashka Slater, Narrated by Kevin R. Free
7 CDs; 8.5 Hours

Rufus doesn’t make mistakes, he makes fatal errors. Fatal errors like the ones that made sixth grade the worst year of his life. And it looks like seventh grade isn’t going to be much better, if he doesn’t keep doing things that put him in the spotlight. But that’s a whole summer away, so he doesn’t have to think about it.

Instead, he’ll concentrate on the place he can always escape to, and the person who will always sympathize. His Grandpa Jack and his house Feylawn have become Rufus’s safe place from fatal errors. Feylawn is a large piece of land, with a house and barn and lots of places to explore, from fox dens to granite standing stones and a creek that winds across it all. For Rufus, it’s always been a little fun, a bit dangerous, and sometimes even inexplicably mysterious–like how it’s so hard to find, even with directions. And how sometimes technology, like cell phones, don’t work. But it’s their family land, and Grandpa Jack always understands what he’s going through. But to Rufus’ dismay, it turns out that refuge could be in jeopardy.

When Grandpa Jack has an accident and has to call Rufus’ father for a ride to the hospital (because the ambulance can’t find Feylawn) Rufus’s dad is furious at his own father. Grandpa Jack excuses his broken arm and burns as Feylawn feeling “cantankerous”. Apparently that means fires are starting in the kitchen and holes are opening under his feet in the barn, sending Grandpa Jack hurtling to the floor below. While his father works to get his grandfather ready to travel, Rufus is told to be quiet and NOT to go into the barn, even though Grandpa Jack was trying to get to a mysterious treasure when he fell.

There’s no way Rufus can resist the pull of treasure, so he just goes out to the barn for a little peek…and he finds the bag Grandpa Jack had mentioned. Unwrapping it, he finds an old time toy steam engine, that looks to be in perfect condition. It’s strange how real the locomotive looks–like it was once people size, and shrunken down to model train size. While Rufus is admiring it, a blue jay lands nearby and tries to grab the bag still partially wrapped around it to fly off with the whole package. Rufus gets it back from the bird, but in the struggle, the tiny train bell chimes, with an echoing, silvery tone. With the sound, Rufus knows something has changed. He is determined to go back and investigate the barn and find out more about the engine.

But the next day, his parents sit him down and explain that Feylawn is dangerous. That Grandpa Jack is too old to take care of everything, and the houses and barn are too neglected to be safe. That Rufus has to find something else to do with his summer…they’re not going to let him waste the whole time puttering around with Grandpa Jack at Feylawn. Rufus is told he needs to find a camp to attend, or something to keep him busy, and he is forbidden to go to Feylawn. But Rufus has to go back at least once, to talk to Granpa Jack and not leave him just wondering what happened. And that’s when Rufus finds out his most recent fatal error–he rang the bell.

Because now he can see that Feylawn is full of Feylings. Little creatures who are causing all the destruction on the property and around Grandpa Jack. Little creatures who are supposed to be immortal, but who are dying because they need to get back home. And Iris, their leader, tells him the way to do that is to restore the rest of the train that Rufus found. But that won’t be easy. Now his parents have decided that not only is Rufus to stay away from Feylawn, they’ve decided that Grandpa Jack isn’t safe there either. They want to sell the property and find him a nice place in town.

No one else can see the Feylings, and no one believes he can. It’s Rufus against his parents and the whole world, without an ally. But when his Aunt Chrissy and cousin Abigail arrive, ostensibly to visit, but really for Aunt Chrissy to help persuade Grandpa Jack to sell Feylawn and move….Rufus discovers that snooty Abigail can also see the Feylings. And she doesn’t believe that he’s only just had his eyes opened.

Soon Rufus and Abigail have formed a reluctant alliance to help Iris and find the rest of the train. It has to be secret, because everyone would think they were crazy if they admitted to seeing Feylings. It’s also dangerous, because it seems like someone…or something…is also looking. They have a time limit looming too, as their parents are determined to sell the land and get Grandpa Jack out. Will Rufus save the day, or make a fatal error? With mysterious giants, bird shape shifters and petulant trolls hindering their progress, the cousins are all the more determined to save the Feylings, Grandpa Jack AND Feylawn!

The audio for The Book of Fatal Errors was quite enjoyable. The narrator did a wonderful job supplying the voices of the characters–from youthful Rufus to scratchy Grandpa Jack to impatient and irritable Iris. (Also the bad guys, but I don’t want to give away who they are here.) The pacing was good, and Rufus seemed to mature not only in the story, but in how the narrator portrayed him by voice. I found myself sitting in the car once I had reached my destination, not willing to turn off the CD.

There are some dangling threads left in The Book of Fatal Errors, so I do hope there will be a sequel. There was a good amount of world-building that shouldn’t go to waste with just one story!

The Book of Fatal Errors would be appropriate for kids in fourth through seventh grade. For listening, it could go younger, although some of the characters might be a little frightening for younger listeners. The relationships between Rufus and his dad, Rufus and Grandpa Jack, and Rufus and his cousin could make for some interesting family discussions. Similarly, Rufus’ “fatal errors” could be a great source of discussion about school and what real friendship is.

Some read-alikes might be The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi, The Books of Elsewhere by Jacqueline West, 13 Treasures by Michelle Harrison and Fablehaven by Brandon Mull.

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So there you go. A summer adventure with lots of time outside and some good sleuthing. (Which wasn’t mentioned, but is a vital part of the story!) In addition, there’s a great-grandmother who wrote books for children, which is not something you see every day. Also, I would love to visit Feylawn. If you check out the map above, I think you would like to as well. Check The Book of Fatal Errors out…I think you’ll like it!

As always, if you need help finding this or any other book at the library, please ask one of our librarians. We’re always happy to help you find your next favorite book!

Happy Reading!
::kelly::

Audio and Book Review: Lions & Liars

Are you tired of the snow? Ready for some summer fun? Then you’ll love today’s audio book!

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Lions & Liars
by Kate Beasley, Illustrations by Dan Santat
Read by Robbie Daymond
5 CDs, 5 Hours, 41 Minutes

Frederick Frederickson has the kind of life you’d think someone named Frederick Frederickson would have. He’s usually picked in the last batch for sports, he’s not even on the radar of the cool kids, and if there’s a wrong place to be at the wrong time…that’s where you’ll find him. His friend Joel has a theory–some kids are lions, some kids are gazelles. And some kids are the fleas on a meerkat’s butt. Joel think’s Frederick is a flea. Frederick doesn’t agree.

The one thing Frederick feels he has going for him is his annual family vacation. Every year, they go on a 7-day cruise, and Frederick can drink fancy drinks with fruit impaled on little swords and sit by chocolate fountains and just enjoy life. In fact, he’s only a day away from the family cruise trip, so getting his nose flattened by a dodgeball isn’t going to bother him. Except he didn’t count on Hurricane Hernando. And his mother getting worried enough to cancel their trip. But that’s exactly what she does. Frederick has been bragging for weeks about the cruise to his friends! How will he be able to face them knowing that this will be a week of regular school–no drinks, no fountain, with a whole other year before he can go again?

His mother’s idea of a consolation is going to Joel’s birthday party. Well, consolation and dinner…since the family has already cleaned out their cabinets and refrigerator due to thinking they were going to go on a cruise. Frederick would rather sit at home than face Joel and Raj, his other best friend, after the way he has thrown the cruise in their faces, but his mother forces him and his sister Sarah Anne to attend.

Joel is not the type to let it go, and Raj is sticking to his side. They bring Frederick down to the dock, where Joel’s father’s new boat is tied up. Frederick feels like a loser, he doesn’t need Joel rubbing it in. But then Joel goes a step too far, and Frederick snaps. He’s going to PROVE to Joel that he, Frederick Frederickson, is a Lion. He’s not going to be a flea anymore. Frederick gets into the boat, intending to prove to Joel and Raj that he has a great sense of adventure, that he can be as enterprising as the next guy. That he can face life straight on, and operate a stupid little motorboat just fine!

Except the motor falls off the boat. And the anchor line isn’t tied to the anchor. And there are no oars. And before Frederick can jump off and swim to shore, and alligator swims up beside the boat. Frederick Frederickson, despite the best efforts of his friends and his sister, floats downstream.

After a cold and lonely night (with the alligator pacing his free-floating boat) Frederick lands on the beach of a disciplinary camp for troubled boys. Of course, he doesn’t really know this at the time. All he knows is that the counselor who finds him thinks he’s a boy called Dashiel Blackwood. And because he’s tired of being a Frederick, he decides to be Dashiel. A boy he imagines is a real lion. Someone who he can practice on, and see if he can apply some new techniques when he returns to being just Frederick.

Except after the first night, no one–well none of the counselors anyway–believes that Frederick is NOT Dashiel. Some campers are dubious, but Frederick has convinced them all with his lies! But a day of straight lying is harder than Frederick thought, even to be a lion. He wants to go home. Unfortunately, part of life at Camp Omigoshee is to sever connections to the outside world for the duration. There are no phones and no computers–and no way to alert his family that he’s okay. There’s also no way for the counselors to know that there’s a hurricane coming. With Hurricane Hernando headed straight for Camp Omigoshee, can Fred–er, Dash, help his bunk mates Ant Bite, the Professor, Specs and Nosebleed to survive a category five hurricane? Will the boys survive? Are they lions…or fleas?

Lions & Liars is a wonderful book. It’s humorous, but there’s a good deal of truth behind the humor. The characters are maybe slightly exaggerated, but that’s what makes them fun characters! I love all the backstories of the campers. Frederick too. I was a little hard on Joel and Raj, but even they come around in the end. The story covers quite a few topics–friendship, finding yourself, survival and adventure!

The audio of Lions & Liars is funny. Not slapstick funny, but situation-ally funny. The scrapes the boys get into are on point and the way things escalate without control just make it funnier. Even though Frederick is trying his best, his good intentions often cause more trouble than would ever be thought possible. The narrator does a wonderful job of bringing each character to life through their voices, as well as bringing to life their behaviors. Lions & Liars truly sounds like it’s recorded by a full cast, with all the differences between the voices. It’s not surprising that the reader is a professional, and does may other audio titles. I may have to look up more of his work!

Lions & Liars would be a great book for kids in fourth through seventh grades, boys especially. The audio is accessible to kids in third grade and up, and it would be a great discussion book for families. Some similar read-alikes are Holes by Louis Sachar, Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly, 24 Hours in Nowhere by Dusti Bowling, and Restart by Gordon Korman. The audio is wonderful, but if you listen, make sure to check out the print book too–Dan Santat’s illustrations are hysterical, and add so much to the story.

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So there you have it! A funny book to read, and maybe to share with a family or friend. I’ll tell you a secret–this book wasn’t really on my radar. Last year, a fifth grader told me it was the BEST book he’d ever read, and then his mom told me it was the funniest book their family ever listened to. With a recommendation like that, well, of course I had to read it too! (And now you know–if you tell me about a book you loved, I will find it and read it too…and it might even end up here!)

As always, if you need help finding this or any other book in the library, just ask one of our librarians. We always love to match kids and books! We’re excellent at recommendations too…if you’re looking for something new.

Happy Reading!
::kelly::

Audio & Book Review: The Clockwork Crow

It’s Talking Tuesday! Time for an audio review!

Today’s tale fits the atmosphere outside our windows…cold, frosty and snowing. I’m not sure our snow is connected to magic though. But the snow in this story is…

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The Clockwork Crow
By Catherine Fisher
Narrated by Deryn Edwards
3 CDs, 3.75 hours

Seren Rhys is an orphan. She’s been an orphan all her life, so it’s really all she knows. Except for the past six months, when Great-aunt Grace had found her, and brought her to live in a great house in London. But it only lasted for a little bit, then Great-aunt Grace died, and Seren knew she’d be sent back to the dreary confines of the orphanage.

But it turns out that Great-aunt Grace’s solicitor has found another person who wants Seren. Her unknown godfather, Captain Arthur Jones, who lives in Wales with his wife, Lady Mair, and a son Tomos, who is just her age. Their house even has a name! Plas-y-Fran. It sounds grand. Seren can picture it all: Captain Jones would be mustached, tall and imposing, and Lady Mair is sure to be lovely and kind. And Tomos…well, a boy could be a companion for adventures, or perhaps more like an annoying little brother. Seren would have to wait and see.

The solicitor had handed her a third-class train ticket and left her at the station. Waiting for the train on the platform is cold and dark, and the train is running late. When the station master takes pity on Seren and speaks with her as she stomps around the platform, trying to stay warm, he inadvertently gives her another option. Seren tells the station master she has a first class ticket, and is let into the First Class Lounge, with a fireplace where she can warm up her poor frozen fingers and toes.

Seren is surprised by a tall thin man in the Lounge, and even more surprised at how afraid he seems of something outside…something she hadn’t seen in all her time outside waiting. The tall man begs her to watch his parcel, and not to let Them get it…because he has to go see if They are out there…even if he doesn’t come back. Seren agrees, thinking he will return as soon as he sees no one outside. But he doesn’t. And Seren remembers her promise when the train arrives and the man has still not returned. She grabs the package and takes it with her, to Plas-y-Fran.

But Plas-y-Fran isn’t what she expected. Instead of Captain Jones and Lady Mair, there’s only Mrs. Villiers, the imposing housekeeper and Denzil, the small man who meets her at the train station and who seems to do everything else in the huge, cold house. No one will tell Seren anything, only that the Captain and Lady Mair are in London, and that Tomos is not. The house is forbidding, and Seren can’t see to do anything right to please Mrs. Villiers or Denzil.

When she is confined to her room for impudence towards Mrs. Villiers, Seren opens the parcel and finds gears and levers and feathers. She puts the pieces of the strange puzzle together and discovers it is a crow…a tattered crow made of clockworks. She winds him up, not expecting much, but then he turns to her and demands that she bring him oil. The Clockwork Crow is alive..?

Seren finds that although the Crow is cranky, he is a good source of information. With his help, maybe she can solve the mysteries of Plas-y-Fran. Where is Tomos and what happened to him? Why won’t anyone talk about him? And who are The Family–who everyone seems to talk around while fearing their attention? Are they the same people that the thin man from the train station was afraid of? Do They want the Crow? Do they have anything to do with Tomos?

Seren is determined to solve the mystery and save Tomos.

The Clockwork Crow is a wonderful story, and an even better audio book! While Seren shivers in the cold manor house, you feel like you’re right there beside her. The descriptions are lovely–cold and bleak and silvery. The mystery is creepy, but there are clues all around Seren, she just needs to open her eyes and follow them. The Family becomes more sinister the more Seren finds discovers.

I loved the audio recording of The Clockwork Crow. Deryn Edwards has a voice that is perfectly suited to this British turn-of-the-century mystery. Her narration is sort of everyday Brit, but her accents for each of the characters is wonderful. Mr. Villiers sounds angry and choppy, like the housekeeper in The Sound of Music, while all the characters in Plas-y-Fran have varying Welsh accents. The Crow’s voice is scratchy and always on the brink of exasperation. The other characters are varied enough that even if you heard them out of context, you would know who each one is by voice alone.

The Clockwork Crow clocks in at a mere 179 pages, but each and every page is chock-full of mystery and adventure. The audio book is just under four hours, but the listener will get so sucked into Seren’s world that they will feel like they spent weeks with her and the other characters.

Even through The Clockwork Crow is a relatively short book, it’s still a book that would appeal to readers who enjoy long books. Catherine Fisher is the author of several really good young adult fantasy stories. And…The Clockwork Crow is now a projected trilogy, which I’m excited to see! The second book, The Velvet Fox, should be coming out sometime next year. I would recommend this book to third through seventh grade readers, and the audio would be enjoyed by the whole family…from kindergarten through adult. Some read-alikes are The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken, The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier, The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place by Maryrose Wood, and (for older readers) The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope.

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So if you have a fireplace or a wood stove, grab The Clockwork Crow and a mug of hot chocolate (or tea!) and settle in for a good read. If you’re listening in your car, close your eyes (unless you’re the driver!) and imagine yourself stranded in a spooky old house, on the edge of a frozen lake, in the middle of nowhere, listening to this story unfold.

As always, if you need help finding this or any other book in the Library, just ask one of our librarians for assistance. We love to help match books and readers!

Happy Reading!
::Kelly::

Book and Audio Review: Nightbooks!

It’s another Tuesday, so it’s time for another audio review!

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Nightbooks
By J. A. White
Narrated by Kirby Heyborne
6 CDs, 7 1/4 Hours

Alex was just sneaking out of his apartment to go down to the basement. It was the middle of the night, but he needed the privacy and quiet–and the boiler–to complete his errand. He didn’t expect the elevator to stop on the fourth floor. He never expected to get off on and follow the sound of his favorite movie in the whole wide world playing inside the apartment there. And he certainly never dreamed that he would knock on the door and go inside.

But he did, and suddenly, instead of burning the three notebooks full of creepy stories he’d written, Alex is stuck in the middle of his own creepy story. Captured by a witch straight out of a storybook. Alex expects to be chopped up and used in a spell, or eaten by the witch, but on his first night as a prisoner, someone outside his door whispers “She likes stories…” Alex is a storyteller, so he goes with his instincts and just before the witch screams at him to stand still and not close his eyes (because she is about to put a dangerous spell on him) he asks her if she wants to hear a story. Luckily, she does.

Alex opens one of his notebooks–his Nightbooks–and reads. It satisfies the cruel witch Natacha, and she decides he has better uses than what she had originally intended. Alex is thrust into her vast library and told to write. He’s a modern-day Scheherazade, and if he can’t come up with a new story to tell her each and every night, well…Natacha will have no use for him.

Yasmin, the girl who whispered to him that first night, is also a captive of the witch, and has been for months. She assures him there’s no way out. She’s tried everything. And it doesn’t matter anyway, because Lenore, Natacha’s enchanted cat, watches their every move. But Alex is determined to escape, and sure that he can find a way. He has some built in time to work, because he has his Nightbooks, full of older creepy stories he’s written over the years. He has a couple weeks to find a way out, and convince Yasmin to join him.

Or does he..?

Nightbooks is a creepy and exciting adventure book, containing several short stories within the story. (Alex’s Nightbook stories are told as each is read to Natacha.) It does get off to a bit of a slow start…I listened to the first disc, not sure if I actually wanted to continue. That might have been a bit because the first few stories Alex tells don’t integrate well into the audio…I kind of wish that they’d used another voice to read them. In the book, they’re visually different, so it’s not as jarring to realize that you’re listening to a character telling a story. Still, if you’re ready for that (and if you’re reading this review, you will be) you will be prepared for the difference in the storytelling.

The narrator is very good. I like Kirby Heyborne’s voice and pacing, and he does a really good job sounding like a couple children caught in a nightmarish situation. He’s also great at portraying Natacha, the easily irritated and casually cruel witch. He is especially scary as a surprise character at the end of the book. After the first disc, the flow caught up with my expectations, and things played out well. Several times I waited in the car after reaching the destination, wanting to know what was going to happen next.

Nightbooks is probably best for slightly older middle readers…fifth through eighth grades. It’s a quick read, and would be especially good for fans of Small Spaces by Katherine Arden, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz, A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz, Sweetly by Jackson Pearce, or any books by Dan Poblocki or R.L. Stine. Best not to listen to it with younger readers though, unless they’re fans of horror.

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If you’re a fan of horror, you’ll like this book. If you like dark witches, you’ll like this book. If you like books that take a fairy tale or two, twist it a bit, and set it in the modern world, you’ll like this book. Try it anyway, and see what you think! And then let me know…

Apparently, Nightbooks has now been optioned as a Netflix project! So if you’re a fan of reading the book first, either in print or by listening to the audio, come check it out at the library. The project sounds like it has a great cast, director and producers, so it’s likely to be a big hit. I know I’ll watch it!

As always, if you need help finding this or any other book in the library, please ask one of our librarians! We love to help you find the next book you’ll love. 😀

Happy Reading!
::kelly::