By Super Kitty
​
When ten-year-old Fidge loses her temper, she expects some things to happen. Little things, like getting a scolding, and maybe being tortured by her maddening cousin Graham. Definitely not getting trapped in an alternate world, where she’s been mentioned in a strange prophecy and has to overthrow a villainous ruler in order to get home. But there’s more to the strange, colorful, cheerful world that Fidge is stuck in than she first thought: things seem oddly…familiar. And that connection might be the single thing which can save the peculiar world, and get her and Graham home…
​
I liked Wed Wabbit for several reasons. It’s entertaining, exciting, and highly amusing, plus it has great characters and a very amusing and original setting—read it and you’ll see what I mean! I would recommend it to readers ages eight and up who like funny stories, clever puzzles, or have been forced to read an annoying picture book again (and again and again.)  

By Super Kitty

The emperor of Camellion, it is said, is the worst ruler in the history of the land. He’s spoiled, selfish, and doesn’t have the faintest idea of how to lead an empire—nor does he have any intention of learning. To make matters worse, he is nearly of age to rule, and will gain full power in a few days’ time. He needs to be taught a lesson. And fast.

Begonia, a dairymaid from the country, doesn’t know anything about the shortcomings of her exalted ruler. She has enough to deal with without worrying about things like that—her cow has disappeared (again) and she has to find her as soon as possible. However, when two ancestor spirits decide to take matters with the emperor into their own hands, things start to get out of control, and Begonia seems to be the only one who can stop it. To save the empire and set things to rights, she sets off on a journey which will cross paths with a strange collection of characters, including a self-proclaimed Finder of Things That Are Lost, a peculiar—and incredibly rude—stranger, a stubborn cow, a suspicious circus owner, plotting lords, and an eight-foot ostrich. But even with her new friends to help her, is Begonia bold enough to face unnamed dangers to stop the injustices in her land?  Or has she taken on much more than she bargained for?

I liked this book for a lot of reasons. It was amusing, captivating, and most of all fun. A cast of quirky characters and usurping villains, not to mention a very determined ostrich, brought the story to life, and various escapes and twists kept it entertaining and original. I would highly recommend it for ages seven and up, or for any readers looking for a light but satisfying new read.

​A big thank you to Julie Berry, for sending us a review copy of her book!

​By Piranha T.
 
Not many people remember how to see magic anymore. Many years ago, a hundred dragons appeared in Vienna, but now only forty remain. They’ve disappeared, but to where, no one knows.
 
Grisha is a dragon who no longer has a friend. Maggie, the daughter of a famous poet, has never truly had one. Their stories meet one night, and they form a fast friendship. But neither can ignore the mystery of the vanished dragons. Both want to somehow put it to right, but neither knows how.
 
Help comes in the most unlikely places. The Department of Extinct Exotics, which makes sure the dragons stay to the rules. A talking cat who both think is their enemy. But it’s Maggie and Grisha’s quest—and it is they who must brave the final price.
 
The Language of Spells is a beautiful, deep fantasy novel set in a real world which is easy to believe with sympathetic characters. The beginning was a bit slower and harder to get into, but once you do it’s an engrossing read. I think it would appeal to readers of Lisa Schroeder’s The Girl in the Tower. I’d highly recommend The Language of Spells to readers ages 8 and up.

By contributing reviewer Radical Reader, age 10

This book is about a girl from the 1970's named Julie. She meets a new girl in school named Carla. She immediately bonds with her, but something seems off. The stories of her family just do not add up. So Julie goes on a hunt to figure out who Carla Warner really is. I liked this book because it had so many plot twists in turns and in the midst of all the lies I could not figure out what was real and what was not. I'd recommend this book to kids of the age of 8 and up because it can get confusing and it might be difficult for younger kids to follow the plot.

By Piranha T.

Twelve-year-old Oona Crate has no great love of magic. Although she possesses the rare gift of Natural Magic, Oona has a different passion—solving mysteries. And it looks like she might just get her chance. But when the Wizard of Dark Street is stabbed with an otherworldly dagger, Oona must combine magic and logic to solve the mystery before the world falls into disaster.

​The Wizard of Dark Street was a fun, amusing, quick read. A brilliant mystery, pot and world, with funny characters and varied suspects. Although not a ‘solve-it-yourself’ mystery, Shawn Thomas Odyssey gives the reader plenty of chances to uncover the clues right along with Oona. I would highly recommend The Wizard of Dark Street to readers ages eight and up looking for an entertaining, engrossing mystery.

By Piranha T.

Nine-year-old Lucy Castor loves her life just the way it is. Her father reading her The Hobbit at night, her mother making spaghetti every Monday, but most of all, playing with her best friend, Ella, making magic in the tiny moments of everyday life. She certainly doesn’t expect anything different as fourth grade draws near.

Yet everything seems to be changing all at once—and not for the better, either.

Ella has stopped believing in magic and found some new, more stylish friends. Lucy’s weird neighbor, Chloe, might not be so weird after all. Biggest of all, her perfect world with her father, her mother, and Lucy herself is about to end, because Mrs. Castor is going to have a baby.

Lucy Castor Finds Her Sparkle is a beautiful story. I could easily identify with Lucy, and everything about the book made me fall I love with it. It reminded me almost of The Girl in the Tower. I would highly recommend Lucy Castor Finds her Sparkle to kids and adults ages seven and up.

By Piranha T.

Brian Brown is looking forward to a perfect summer—a soccer-playing, camping-out, adventuring sort of summer. But it’s just Brian’s luck that his parents are away, so he must go to Boring, Illinois, to spend the summer with his Uncle Gary, Aunt Jenny, and Nora, their daughter. They’re just as boring as the town itself.

At first, all is just as bad—and worse—than he imagined. His aunt and uncle have decided that Brian will spend the summer using an online learning program of Uncle Gary’s making called Summer’s Cool—and the only interesting thing in Boring seems the forest which backs up on their property, which his aunt and uncle have forbidden him to investigate. But after he gets into a fight with Nora, they accidently stumble into the forest and discover the reason that they aren’t allowed inside—the precariously-built Matchstick Castle, where there live the van Dashes, a family as quirky as the house they live in.

Once they befriend the family, Brian and Nora are caught up in all sorts of unpredictable adventures. However, once they discover a plot to demolish the Matchstick Castle, Brian and Nora try to help prevent it. Of course, the van Dashes have more than Brian and Nora on their side—with the help of enormous insects, a leaky submarine, and a bit of dynamite, there might be a chance that the Matchstick Castle won’t be demolished after all.

​The Matchstick Castle is a quirky, fun-filled book about two ordinary kids who stumble upon a bit of adventure. The characters are well-developed and whimsical, and it’s full of nonstop action and humor. For any kid ages 8 and up, I’d recommend this quirky, funny, and awesome book.  

By Piranha T. and Super Kitty

Eleven-year-old Ada Byron is feeling bereft at the prospect of a tutor after her beloved governess gets married. After all, she’s a genius—what could he possibly teach her? She is not cheered, either, by the fact that a strange girl is coming to study with her: Mary Godwin, an intelligent and adventurous fourteen-year-old eager to make friends with Ada. And, despite a rocky start, friends they become. Soon, they have founded a detective agency and are on a case—gathering clues, developing suspects, making discoveries, and, in the process, getting into Newgate prison, riding an omnibus (roof!), and sailing high over London in a craft of their own making. One thing is for sure: nothing will get between these detectives and the apprehension of the criminals!

When I first picked up The Case of the Missing Moonstone, I thought it was going to be similar to other mysteries I had read. However, it was quite amusing, and the main characters (as well as some of the supporting cast) were based on real historical figures—the main characters were based on Ada Byron (daughter of Lord Byron) and Mary Shelly (author of Frankenstein). At the end, there is an author’s note which says which people were real, which was really interesting. And although the historical aspect was fascinating, it did not get in the way of the story. Even if you are not usually drawn to historical books (Piranha T. is typically not), it is still a really cool story in and of itself. It would probably be best for ages 8+. It is the first in The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency series, and there are currently two sequels out. If you are looking for a humorous, fun, and historical mystery with spunky female characters, The Case of the Missing Moonstone is the book for you!
​
Note: although many of the characters in The Case of the Missing Moonstone were based on real people, the story was entirely invented.

By Piranha T.

The Robber Hotzenplotz begins one morning when Kasperl’s grandmother is sitting outside, using the coffee mill she got for her birthday. Before she knows what has happened, the Robber Hotzenplotz steals the coffee mill. However, although he is so tricky he has not yet been caught by the police, Kasperl and her friend, Seppel, devise a plan to get back the coffee mill. Although at first they do not realize it, the Robber Hotzenplotz has more tricks up his sleeve then the two friends suspected—as well as help from a wicked magician with something a little more than unusual in his cellar.

​The Robber Hotzenplotz is an amusing, fast-paced story with several funny plot twists and fun characters. It was originally published in Germany and it is definitely hard to pronounce some of the names, but the plot is entertaining and I did not get mixed up because of them. I highly recommend The Robber Hotzenplotz to readers ages 9 and up. 

By Radical Reader, age 9
Guest Contributor

The story is about a girl named Raymie whose father left her family.
She makes a plan to enter a pageant so her dad will see her in the paper and want to come home. Along the way she makes friends with two girls, one who wants to enter the pageant and one who wants to sabotage it.

I liked this book because it was really sweet. It did have some sad
parts too. It all worked out in the end but not in the way you might think. I loved this book, I would recommend it to anybody looking for a sweet story.

By Radical Reader, Age 9, Massachusetts
Guest Writer

In this book of the series the Baudelaire children face mortal peril (again) at the hand of Count Olaf. They dress themselves up in disguises to fit in at the house of freaks in a carnival. They make some interesting friends along the way. But they're not safe yet. They still have to make sure they don't get eaten by hungry lions!

I liked this book because it had an amazing adventure. It's a little scary but in the end it leaves you wanting to read more. I recommend this book to ages 8 and up only because it's slightly scary.

By Piranha T.

When Simon, Jane and Barney Drew embark on a train to Cornwall, England, none of them suspect what they will find there. Staying with their parents and their mysterious Great-Uncle Merry in a cottage by the cliffs, they discover an ancient manuscript in the house’s attic. It tells of the hiding place of an old grail, which is a key part to defeating the rising forces of evil, the Dark. With the help of their Great-Uncle Merry, who knows more about the Dark than anyone expected, they begin to follow a trail of clues that were left over nine centuries ago. But when it comes to the final moments of the quest, can they save the grail and stop the Dark?

Over Sea, Under Stone is one of the best books I have ever read. It is the first book in The Dark is Rising Sequence, a five-book series which I loved every word of. I enjoyed Over Sea, Under Stone because it was a good fantasy with some magic, and I liked how it was about ordinary children having adventures, although, as I may have pointed out, their adventures were not at all ordinary. I would highly recommend Over Sea, Under Stone to readers ages eight and up.

The audiobook version was also great - my whole family enjoyed the entire series!

- By Super Kitty

Sophie Foster knew she was different. After all, how many 12-year-olds are not only high school seniors, but can hear people’s thoughts? But she had no idea how different she was until she meets Fitz, a telepath like herself, who tells her the truth: she is an elf, and she must leave her human family—her world—as soon as possible. Now Sophie must learn the ways of the Lost Cities, making friends, enemies, and discoveries. But even among her own people, Sophie is special... And as she battles the rising sinister forces of the elven world, she begins to discover that her past—and her future—are intertwined with more secrets then she ever could have imagined.

I really enjoyed this book—an adventure story (or in this case, series) that I can lose myself in is always welcome. There are seven* books in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series, getting progressively longer, but only six have come out. Sophie ages fairly quickly (in Lodestar, book five, she is fourteen), so I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone under the age of eight, especially since some of the evil characters can be quite intimidating. Also, although the first two have good endings, starting with book three the cliffhanger endings get progressively more suspenseful, and in book five it was so much so that the author started the afterward with “Yay! You’re still talking to me!” and went on to apologize about the ending and extreme cliffhanger. It works, though—Piranha T. and I are desperate to know what happens next! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys exciting, fast paced books filled with friendship, adventure, and magic.                            

​*There are now going to be nine books in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series. Book seven came out in November 2018. 

by Piranha T.

The Mysterious Benedict Society begins with a boy called Reynie Muldoon reading an ad in a newspaper--one that offers ‘special opportunities’ to any child who passes an unspecified test. Reynie completes it, as do three other children, these others being Kate Wetherall, Sticky Washington, and Constance Contraire. Upon passing, they receive instructions for a mysterious mission. And soon they discover time is short, and that they must complete their mission soon or they will have failed and everyone will be in danger.
​
I liked The Mysterious Benedict Society because it was about kids, and there was also a very good storyline. There were plenty of twists and narrow escapes. The first book in the best-selling Mysterious Benedict Society series, I highly recommend The Mysterious Benedict Society to readers ages 8 and up (even our parents loved it!) 

By A Bull, guest reviewer

Mr.Lemoncello`s Library is a fun and exciting book! Mr. Lemoncello is a game maker and also has a very strange library. The book starts when three children, Kyle, Mike and Curtis, were playing a game of Mr. Lemoncello's and Kyle breaks a window. He gets grounded by his parents for doing this.

The next morning he gets on the bus and his friend reminds him that his school report is due that morning. He writes the report on the bus and he thinks it's terrible. Little did he know that this report would be entered in a contest to get into Mr. Lemoncello's library first. Kyle and some other children were picked to go to the library first and then had to escape the library without using the front door. The rest of the book is about them trying to get out and very action packed and mysterious!

I really liked this book because it was exciting to read about the kids trying to escape through different clues and it made me want to be in the book! It is similar to Willy Wonka so if you like that book you will like this book too.