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Elissa’s Quest (Phoenix Rising Trilogy, book one) by Erica Verrillo (2007)

9/20/2017

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By Piranha T.

Thirteen-year-old Elissa has lived in the peaceful and remote town of High Crossing her whole life, knowing no life but the peaceful village and the mountains around her town. Her caretaker, whom she calls Nana, tells her only that her mother is dead and never speaks of her father. And though Nana keeps the secrets of Elissa’s family to herself, the two share another: Elissa has a magical Gift that enables her to speak to animals.

Elissa assumes she will spend her whole life in High Crossing, but one day, a man called Lord Falk comes, telling Elissa that he is her father and has come to take her with him. Elissa leaves, and soon learns that she is to be sent to the Khan, a nefarious ruler with dark intent, to ensure the success of a battle for her father’s kingdom. And after that, it doesn’t take long for her to discover a mysterious prophesy—one she seems to have a roll in, which everyone seems to know about, and that could change her life forever.

Elissa’s Quest is a good story with an interesting plotline and some character development. Although it is the first book in the Phoenix Rising Trilogy, Elissa’s Quest does not have a bad ending—and all three books are out, which is nice. There were strong—and interesting—both main and supporting characters, and there is a slight bit of mystery—near the beginning about Elissa’s parents and later around the prophesy. Even though Elissa is a couple of years older than I am, it was not a large part of the story. However, by the third book, she is 15—and although it’s not very pronounced that she’s older, I would highly recommend Elissa’s Quest and the other two books in the Phoenix Rising Trilogy to readers ages 10 and up, since although there is several evil characters, they are not very scary.  
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Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls by Beth McMullen (2017)

9/10/2017

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By Super Kitty

Abigail Hunter is an ordinary kid. Well, all right, not ordinary; she and her mom, Jennifer, have traveled around the globe together. Still, she feels abandoned when her mom suddenly ships her off to boarding school, saying she can’t spend the next year getting Abigail out of trouble (Abigail isn’t always quite as well behaved as she perhaps could be). But when she gets caught attempting and escape from her new school, Abigail finds there might be more to it than meets the eye. Before she knows it, she’s on a mission to save her mom—because it turns out that Jennifer Hunter isn’t all that ordinary either. And she might be in trouble. Determined to prove that she is a spy worthy of her mother, Abigail swiftly gets pulled into a conflict that gets more dangerous by the day, especially when the Ghost, a supervillain and her mom’s arch nemesis (yeah, it turns out her mother has an arch nemesis), takes notice of what Abigail is doing—and decides to stop it. In this brand-new, action-packed novel, Abigail must face her fears as she battles the criminals that are stronger—and closer—than anyone expected.

One thing I like about Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls is the characters. Abigail is realistic, and responds to various (less realistic, but still quite thrilling) situations accordingly. She, and the other characters too, have distinct personalities and emotions, and bond and clash accordingly. The plot is engaging, and several twists will keep you on the edge of your seat. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fast-paced, funny, and generally fabulous read!
​
Note: I would recommend Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls to fans of the Devlin Quick and TOAST mysteries, for although they were about kid detectives in a more realistic setting, and this is about, well, a secret spy center saving the world, they are reminiscent of each other in great characters, reading levels and interests, and generally entertaining writing styles.
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    Book Reviews By & For Kids

    Everyone knows that Rapunzel spent her early years locked up in a tower. We’d like to think she read plenty of books to while away the time, and that she’d appreciate our own favorites.

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