Kirkus Reviews (May 1, 2012) Summer is indeed a time for mystery and adventure. Instead of spending the summer with their d...moreRandom House June 2012 Ask Tim
Kirkus Reviews (May 1, 2012) Summer is indeed a time for mystery and adventure. Instead of spending the summer with their divorced father, 12-year-old Nicholas Mettleson and his younger, identical twin sisters leave New York City and head to rural Ohio to live along Forsaken Lake with their great-uncle Nick, an arm amputee who never misses a beat. It's not long before Nicholas teams up with local star baseball player Charlotte "Charlie" Brennan, and the pair discovers numerous mysteries. These involve an unfinished Super 8 film entitled The Seaweed Strangler, a sailboat that eerily appears each morning at 2:53, a boat accident that caused Nicholas' then--14-year-old dad never to return to Forsaken Lake and a letter that hints at a long, unrequited love between Nicholas' dad and Charlie's mom. Reminiscent of Jeanne Birdsall's The Penderwicks (2005), the charming narration has a timeless quality as Nicholas and Charlie involve the small-town community in completing The Seaweed Strangler and investigating the now-infamous boat accident. Also drawing from Arthur Ransome's 1937 children's nautical adventure, We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea, the novel features its own sailing hazards and thrills. Ultimately focusing on what's right rather than the truth, the appealing story leaves one big mystery unsolved, promising a sequel and more summer magic. (Artwork not seen.) (glossary of sailing terms). (Mystery. 9-12)
School Library Journal (June 1, 2012) Gr 3-6-At first, 12-year-old Nicholas and his twin sisters, Hayley and Hetty, are not happy with being sent to spend the summer with Great-uncle Nick at Forsaken Lake. But when the man promises to teach them to sail, things begin to look up. Add a mysterious homemade film about a monster, an old letter found hidden in the attic, a mystery involving the children's father from the time he spent summers at the lake, and a ghost ship, and the kids have a recipe for adventure. The story has a nostalgic feel: city kids in a country setting where everyone knows everyone else and the town librarian can recommend just the right book to each person who comes through the door. There is enough action and adventure to hold the interest of most readers once they get past the introduction, and the story is good fun.-Kelly Roth, Bartow County Public Library, Cartersville, GA (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.(less)
School Library Journal (February 1, 2012) Gr 5-8-Ben Ripley, a 12-year-old math genius, receives a mysterious summons to join the Academy of Espionage,...moreSchool Library Journal (February 1, 2012) Gr 5-8-Ben Ripley, a 12-year-old math genius, receives a mysterious summons to join the Academy of Espionage, a secret recruitment arm of the CIA. Since his life's ambition is to become a spy, he is thrilled by the offer, but his first day is hardly what he expected. It involves ninjas, flying bullets, and Erica, the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. A fellow student asks him to hack into the computer mainframe for him because the rumor mill says that Ben has great cryptography skills. Later that night another agent breaks into his room to kidnap him. It turns out someone keeps leaking sensitive information, and Ben's recruitment was set up strictly as a ploy to find the mole; he is a perfect target for the organization of rogue double agents that has infiltrated the school. Most of the adults are so inept and clueless that Ben and Erica, with the help of their fellow students, save the school from being destroyed by a giant bomb hidden in a secret passageway. Twists and turns in the plot keep readers guessing until the very end. The story, over-the-top funny, combines Alex Rider's espionage skills with a huge dose of the sarcasm of Artemis Fowl. Subtle digs at the stuffiness of a federal agency and the romance of spying abound. The book ends with a letter, fully redacted of all sensitive information, to the Director of Internal Investigations recommending Ben's continued attendance at the school, leaving room for a sequel or two.-Diana Pierce, Leander High School, TX(less)
School Library Journal (October 1, 2004) Gr 5-8-Twelve-year-old Britt's older brother has helped watch over the family for as long as she can remember....moreSchool Library Journal (October 1, 2004) Gr 5-8-Twelve-year-old Britt's older brother has helped watch over the family for as long as she can remember. So when Bran tells Britt and her mother that he's convinced a family to let them house-sit for the summer, no one questions the arrangement. This house-sitting job will give their mother the chance to go to school full time and try to get a scholarship to finish. However, when they move in, Bran starts acting strange, and Britt discovers that the owners really didn't give them permission to live there, only for Bran to mow their lawn. She also learns that they are her maternal grandparents, estranged from her mother. Bran explains that because their grandparents disowned her when she eloped, using their house is simply a long overdue payback. Britt isn't sure that she buys this, but goes along until they are discovered. Lo and behold, the owners of the house aren't their grandparents at all, and they are all in deep trouble. This novel starts out as an interesting and lightly suspenseful mystery but becomes too far-fetched to be believed with the "happy ever after" ending. Britt's character is the only one with depth; the supporting characters, especially the mother, are rather shallow. Not a bad read, but for books with more character depth try Avi's Midnight Magic (Scholastic, 1999) or Wolf Rider (Bradbury, 1986).-Saleena L. Davidson, South Brunswick Public Library, Monmouth Junction, NJ(less)
From the Publisher: You think jackalopes aren't real? THINK AGAIN.Jeremy's troubles begin when his eccentric neighbor leaves him an "experiment" for s...moreFrom the Publisher: You think jackalopes aren't real? THINK AGAIN.Jeremy's troubles begin when his eccentric neighbor leaves him an "experiment" for safekeeping-a jackalope! This so-called mythological creature looks like a bunny rabbit, but comes with razor-sharp antlers and is purported to be a ruthless killer. When government agents show up at Jeremy's house seeking the jackalope for their own nefarious purposes, Jeremy must find a way to protect the jackalope, and himself. So he reluctantly joins forces with Agatha, his holier-than-thou genius neighbor. Together, with the jackalope (and his weapons-grade antlers) tucked away in a backpack, they have only one chance to save Jack and still get their science fair projects in on time. With her striking sense of humor, Emily Ecton has created a hilarious and suspenseful adventure,complete with a compelling and unforgettable cast of characters.(less)
Excerpt p. 5 “None of us had been ready when Grace’s mom snapped the shot. We begged her to take another as we huddled in front of the camera. I pointe...moreExcerpt p. 5 “None of us had been ready when Grace’s mom snapped the shot. We begged her to take another as we huddled in front of the camera. I pointed to my eyes, squinty because I was laughing so hard; Maddie grumbled that her face looked fat, self-consciously pinching the skin beneath her chin; and Grace complained that we were too old for pictures, threatening to hit Delete. But Mrs. Lee pulled the camera out of our reach and waved her hand. She promised that the picture had captured everything we’d want to remember about that summer. And she was right: the picture was perfect. Genuine smiles lit our faces, and I could almost hear the echo of our laughter: We were happy in that just-before-high-school way when it was still cool to ride your bike to the pool or eat box after box of Hot Tamales while playing truth or dare in a tent set up in your friend’s back yard. I missed that kind of happy.” Flash forward to one day during Kate Lowry’s Sophomore year, this email from Grace appears: “Kate. I’m here… Sort of. Find Cameron. He knows. I shouldn’t be writing. Don’t tell. They’ll hurt you. Dead best friends didn’t send emails. The email was a clue, a clue I’d spent the last year trying to find. Someone or something was trying to tell me what I’d always known in my heart: Grace’s death was more than just a horrible accident. She needed my help.” (less)
From Abrams web site: "Murder in the lab! The famous forensic scientist Dr. Ramachandran is stone-cold dead, and Ruby Rose’s father is the prime suspec...moreFrom Abrams web site: "Murder in the lab! The famous forensic scientist Dr. Ramachandran is stone-cold dead, and Ruby Rose’s father is the prime suspect. It’s one more reason for Ruby to hate the Gardens, the funky urban neighborhood to which she has been transplanted. Wise but shy, artistic but an outsider, Ruby must marshal everything and everyone she can to help solve the mystery and prove her father didn’t poison his boss. Everyone? The list isn’t too long: there’s T. Rex, Ruby’s big, goofy but goodhearted friend; maybe those other two weird kids from class; and that mysterious old lady in the apartment upstairs, who seems to know a lot about chemistry . . . which could come in very handy."(less)
Ms. Yockey
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Books:
mysteries-2012
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