The Danger Box by Blue Balliett

This is the latest book by the author of the wonderful Chasing Vermeer, and it’s sequels.  I didn’t love everything about it (in fact, I almost quit reading during the first chapter because I found it annoyingly vague) but once I got into the real story, it pulled me right in.  First of all, I’m always interested in a book that’s told in the present tense, “I’m pulling the Danger Box out from the back of the toolshed.  Now I’m crouching by the rakes and hoes.  It’s a windy June night, and the shadows from the kitchen light are bumping and chasing.”  And Zoomy is a great character.  He lives with his grandparents, who love him despite his strange habits (incessant finger-tapping and list-making), and medical condition (pathological myopia).  In fact, his grandmother always seems to know what he’s feeling, and how to make him feel better.  It’s a pretty folksy tale, not always a favorite for me, but, for the most part, the author makes it work.  Zoomy’s life is completely changed by two things: his psychopathic father reappears in his life, and he makes his first friend, Lorrol, a girl he keeps running into at the library.  Zoomy’s dad, Buckeye, left behind a wooden box, and when they decide to open it, they find an old journal inside.  Zoomy begs to be allowed to read it, and of course, trying to figure out what it is opens the door for all kinds of discoveries and adventure.  There’s arson, theft, attempted murder…All in all, a good read.  Review by Stacy Church

I, Emma Freke by Elizabeth Atkinson

Emma feels like a total misfit at her school, and not just because she’s almost 6 feet tall at the age of 12. Unfortunately, her home life isn’t much better: her mother expects her to spend every afternoon minding the bead shop they own, cook for her grandfather, and take care of most of the household chores while she goes out on dates with a string of unsavory men. Emma doesn’t know anything about her father, or whether she even has any other family. For her birthday, her mom (who she calls by her first name, Donatella) tells her that she doesn’t have to go to school anymore because now she’ll be homeschooled by her grandfather (who spends most of his time snoozing with his fat, old bulldog farting on his lap). What she didn’t tell Emma is that she didn’t make any arrangements with the school, so Emma gets busted for truancy. Out of the blue, a special delivery letter arrives inviting Emma to the Freke family reunion at a campground in Wisconsin, and Donatella wants her to go. Of course, once Emma gets to Wisconsin she finds herself surrounded by people a lot like her. Well, at first they seem a lot like her. With the help of an estranged cousin, Fred, Emma proceeds to shake things up in the Freke family, and, in the end, meets her father. There are some really funny parts to the book (especially the first scene with Ms. Fiddle, the school psychologist, asking Emma to use a clock to rate her own popularity in comparison to the most popular girl at school.

“Um. One minute past twelve?: I said in a tiny voice, because I wasn’t sure if there was a correct answer or if she really had no idea how invisible I was in middle school. “We were not including minutes,” said Ms. Fiddle, arching one eyebrow so high it made that side of her mouth droop. “Just hours.”

There’s a lot about the story that I found too cliched, but it’s still an entertaining read. Review by Stacy Church

We the Children by Andrew Clements

This is the first book in Andrew Clements’s funny, engaging new series, Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School.  When the school custodian has a heart attack, he begs Ben to take his special golden coin and use it to make sure nothing happens to their school, The Seaside Oaks Middle School.  The school, which was donated in 1793 by an old sea captain, is in danger of being torn down to make way for an amusement park.  How can Ben, who is just a kid, save a school that has just been sold in a 30 million dollar real estate deal?  You can always count on Andrew Clements to deliver a terrific story, and We the Children doesn’t disappoint.  Review by Joyce Levine

Hannah’s Winter by Kierin Meehan

Hannah’s mother has an irritating habit of speaking in capital letters, which is pretty funny (“Living in Japan will be a WONDERFUL experience for you.”)  Hannah can speak and understand some Japanese from when she lived in Japan as a toddler, but she doesn’t read or write it well, so her mother sees her upcoming trip to Japan to research her next book –Surprising Japanese Gardeners (which Hannah says should be called Surprised Japanese Gardeners because they’d be very surprised after they’d met her and seen her bright purple hair) –as the perfect opportunity for Hannah to learn at least 1,000 kanji.  Hannah is to stay with the Maekawas, who have a daughter, Miki, about her age.  Miki and Hannah turn out to be well matched, especially when it comes to solving the mystery of an ancient riddle that turns up in an antique box that was a gift to Mr. Maekawa.  The riddle leads to some pretty alarming meetings with a ghost/spirit who turns out to be a mischievous boy, and some more alarming meetings with various spirits trying to prevent them from helping the boy, who they nickname “Ocean Boy.” Hannah’s Winter will give you a real sense of Japanese culture, both modern and ancient, and the mystery is fun, too.  Review by Stacy Church

The Case of The Case of Mistaken Identity by Mac Barnett

In this first book of the new “Brixton Brothers” series, Steve  Brixton dreams of becoming a famous detective…until he discovers that he already is one! When he is given a boring homework assignment requiring him to research the history of quilting, he heads to the library to find some books. It is there that his adventures begin, as he is surrounded by librarians who are actually CIA agents, and becomes immersed in a search to find a long-hidden quilt. Along the way, he tries to use the “detective work” tips he’s picked up from reading his favorite mystery novels, but the tips just don’t seem to work in his favor. When I picked up this book, I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. This book is a laugh-out-loud kind of story, and the references to the old-fashioned mystery novels that Steve loves to read are hysterical. The illustrations add so much to the humor of the story, and I am looking forward to the next book in this series! Detecting is hard work, but Steve Brixton has finally solved his first real case. Review by Ellen Parkinson

Scat by Carl Hiaasen

This is the latest book from Carl Hiaasen, author of Hoot and Flush. It's another environmental, fun mystery with great characters who have to go through some difficult times to save a species of endangered wildlife, in this case, the Florida Panther. There are some bad guys (oil company executives), some good guys (the main character Nick, his best friend Marta), and some people who seem like bad guys that aren't (Mrs. Starch, the dreaded biology teacher; Smoke, the juvenile delinquent). If you liked Hiaasen's other books, you're sure to enjoy this one, too. Review by Stacy Church

Fiendish Deeds by P.J. Bracegirdle

This first book in The Joy of Spooking series introduces the very original and very strange character of Joy Wells. Wise beyond her twelve years, Joy enjoys dressing in the vintage clothes of dead people, sneaking into graveyards and other haunted places in the middle of the night, and reading scary stories, especially those written by the mysteriously vanished author E.A. Peugeot. Joy lives in a dying town called Spooking, but since there is no school she and her brother are forced to go to school in the neighboring city of Darlington, where they are taunted daily and called “Spookies.” Joy is angered when she learns that Darlington plans to build a water park over a bog in Spooking. She became interested in the bog after reading one of E.A. Peugeot’s stories, “The Bawl of the Bog Fiend.” She wonders, was Peugeot onto something? Is there really a bog fiend, and did it have something to do with Peugeot’s disappearance? I like the character of Joy – she’s funny, smart, and doesn’t care what people think of her. The writing style is humorous in a dry-wit kind of way, and the villain of the story is realistically creepy. However, I don’t know how it will do as a series. I enjoyed reading it, but the ending didn’t leave me dying to know what happens next. If you’re in the mood for an environmental mystery with quirky characters, then check out this book. Review by Katie Corrigan

How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found by Sara Nickerson

Sixth-grader Margaret's life has gone downhill since her father's death. Her mother spends entire days lying on the couch in front of the TV, her younger sister is obsessed with "The Hardest Jigsaw Ever Made," which she takes with her everywhere, and their "Family Fun Day" involves going to the laundramat and the grocery store. So the girls know something is up when their mother loads them into their pick-up truck one Sunday, drives them a long way to a broken-down mansion at the end of a lonely road, and then plants a "For Sale" sign on the lawn. Boyd lives next door to the mansion and is obsessed with a series of hand-drawn comic books by an author named Ratt. He finds the comics at the local library which isn't really a library at all: there's no catalog, all the books are hand-written, and there are no patrons except for Boyd, who comes every day to get the latest Ratt comic, which will have shown up on the doorstep during the night. This is one of only two books that I know of that incorporate graphic novel sections into the text. The other is The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, published in 2007. Margaret goes into the mansion when her mother isn't paying attention, and finds an unopened package addressed to her mother. It's marked Return to Sender, and Margaret takes it. When she opens it later, she finds a comic book, a swimming medal and a key to the old house. Margaret's father drowned, so when she finds out the championship swimming medal was his, she knows she has to find out what really happened to him. How could he have drowned if he was a championship swimmer? There are other mysteries, too. Who is in the old mansion and what is he trying to tell Boyd and Margaret? Is he trying to kill them or help them? He chases them out of the house, along with some growling, hairy monster they never really catch sight of, but he also leaves them pages from comics that chronicle whatever has just happened or is about to happen. This is a creepy mystery with lots of suspense. For more about this book, visit http://westwoodyoungadultbookclub.blogspot.com/ Review by Stacy Church

One False Note: The 39 Clues, Book 2 by Gordon Korman

In Book 2 of the 39 Clues series, Amy and Dan's adventure takes them to Austria, the birthplace of Mozart. As in the first book, it is a race to find the clues before their crazy and aggressive relatives, but sometimes they're not so lucky, and things get dangerous. Amy and Dan are clever, and their resourcefulness gets them out of a few sticky situations. They're accompanied by their babysitter, Nellie, whose knowledge of languages and gutsy personality prove to be a great help. I enjoyed this book, and look forward to book 3, which is due out in March. Review by Joyce Levine

Masterpiece by Elise Broach

I picked up this book because I had just finished Elise Broach’s other book, Shakespeare’s Secret, and really enjoyed it. I enjoyed this book just as much, if not more, although it’s quite different from Shakespeare’s Secret. This story is about Marvin, a beetle who lives in the apartment of a boy named James in New York City. James is a quiet boy, kind of overwhelmed by his career-driven mother and step-father, and his artist father. Marvin is an adventurous beetle, who loves to explore James’ apartment and swim in his pool, a bottle cap filled with water. One day while exploring, he discovers a pen-and-ink set in James' room. He dips his front legs in the open ink, and starts to draw the scene that he sees out the window. The picture Marvin creates is beautiful, but James’ family thinks that he was the one who drew it. James discovers Marvin’s talent, and they even figure out how to communicate with each other. Their friendship grows as they become involved with helping to solve an art theft at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and during the adventure they both learn the value of honesty.

This is an adorable book. The friendship between James and Marvin is one of the most touching ones I’ve ever read about. Kelly Murphy’s illustrations of Marvin and the pictures he creates are one of my favorite parts of this book. If you like mysteries about art like Chasing Vermeer and the sequels, or books about animals, you’ll love Masterpiece! Review by Katie Corrigan

Maze of Bones ( The 39 Clues Series #1) by Rick Riordan

Maze of Bones is the first in a series of 10 books, complete with cards and an online game where players can win prizes. The story begins with the reading of Grace Cahill's will. She gives her beneficiaries 2 choices: either take the first of 39 clues that will lead to the source of the Cahill family's power, or take one million dollars and walk away. Most of Grace's unusual family accept the challenge. The family is made up of several strong personalities from around the world, as well as the 2 main characters, Dan and Amy, who seem to be the only ones who really loved their grandmother and spent any time with her. The other relatives seem to think Grace disclosed some secrets to Amy and Dan, and so, they either want to kill them, or follow them as they search out clues. The book is fast-paced, and filled with history and puzzles. The second book, by Gordon Korman, is due out December 2. Review by Joyce Levine

Dovey Coe by Frances O'Roark Dowell

This book has one of the best beginnings I've ever read in a book: "My name is Dovey Coe and I reckon it don't matter if you like me or not. I'm here to lay the record straight, to let you know them folks saying I done a terrible thing are liars. I aim to prove it, too. I hated Parnell Caraway as much as the next person, but I didn't kill him." Wow. I don't usually like books written in dialect, but Dovey Coe's character is so strong and true to life that I forgot all about it. The story begins with Dovey Coe already accused of murder. She just has to fill the reader in on the back story. It's 1928 and the Coe family lives in the mountains of North Carolina, in the small town of Indian Creek. They own their own land, and they are one of the only families in town who aren't beholden to the richest family in town, the Caraways. At the begining of the book, Dovey sees everything in black and white, sees herself as the protector of her older brother Amos, who is deaf. But in the end she learns that things aren't so clear cut, and maybe she needs Amos more than he needs her. Her older sister Caroline has long planned to escape small town life by going to college and becoming a teacher. Parnell is determined to get her to stay and marry him instead. Exactly how things go from there to Dovey Coe regaining consciousness and finding herself alone with Parnell's dead body is a masterful feat of storytelling on the author's part. Some of the best scenes in the book come in the courtroom, where Dovey has to trust her fate to a city lawyer, who she says, "...could string words together and make them shine like lights around a Christmas tree." Even though you think you know where the story is headed, the ending is shocking. This is one of my favorite books of all time. Review by Stacy Church

The Mysterious Case of the Allbright Academy by Diane Stanley

Franny and her friends change dramatically once they start at the exclusive Allbright Academy: former gloomy Cal becomes cheery and upbeat; funky Brooklyn cuts off his dreadlocks, gives up writing poetry and changes his name to the more mainstream Brook; and Franny finds studying easy and becomes a neat freak. In fact, all of the students at Allbright Academy are near perfect, and act more like adults than children. The story pulls you in right away, and while it's not a surprise that there is something not right at the school, the plot is by no means predictable. Franny narrates and speaks directly to the reader. Her voice is natural, yet not exactly realistic for an 8^th grader. In fact, I thought that this book might have been better if the characters were high-school aged: it would be more believable that they could do some of the things they do in the story. But these slight faults do not in any way detract from the enjoyment of the book, which is fun, sophisticated, and un-put-downable. Review by Katie Corrigan

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd

This is the most enjoyable children's book I've read in a long time. Granted, I love mysteries, and I am interested in quirky people, which the main character of this book certainly is. The book begins with a pretty detailed description of the London Eye, a huge ferris-wheel-type tourist attraction in London, and then jumps right into the mystery - the disappearance of Ted and Kat's cousin Salim from one of the pods of the Eye. He went up, but he didn't come down. There is a lot of insight into how Ted's brain works, even though the author never comes right out and says what his condition is called (probably some form of Asperger's Syndrome). The last two sentences of the first chapter kind of sum it up. "Somewhere, somehow, in the thirty minutes of riding the Eye, in his sealed capsule, he had vanished off the face of the earth. This is how having a funny brain that runs on a different operating system from other people's helped me to figure out what had happened." Solving the mystery requires Ted to form a partnership with his sister Kat, who is not usually a fan of his, learn to tell lies, and travel on the underground (subway) by himself for the first time. Not to mention tailing a motorcycle gang member and staking out a pub! Review by Stacy Church

Gilda Joyce: The Ladies of the Lake by Jennifer Allison

This is the sequel to Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator, which is an excellent book. In this book, Gilda changes schools to attend a private school, Our Lady of Sorrows, which her mother's despicable boyfriend Brad gets her a scholarship to. The only reason Gilda wants to go to the school is so that she can solve the mystery of the haunting of the school by the ghost of a student who died by falling through the ice of the lake. Gilda is willing to put up with having to wear a uniform instead of her trademark outfits including such off-beat items as a leopard-print jacket and stilleto heels, and being separated from her best friend Wendy, in order to delve deeper into the bizarre atmosphere and secrets of her new school. Gilda must also deal with her mother's increasingly serious relationship with her boyfriend, and she misses her dad; she writes him letters keeping him up on her investigations and life at home. I liked this book just as much as the first one. It manages to be funny, even though it deals with the serious issue of hazing. Review by Stacy Church

Gilda Joyce Psychic Investigator by Jennifer Allison

I loved this book! At the beginning, Gilda Joyce is studying a battered paperback book she found at a garage sale, The Master Psychic's Handbook: A Guide to Psychic Principles and Methods. She wants to be a professional psychic investigator, and spends all of her time wearing disguises and secretly observing human behavior. After boasting at school that she will be spending the summer in San Francisco, she remembers that she has distant relatives there. Her mother forbids it, but she writes a letter to them inviting herself for a visit. In the letter she claims her mother told her, "A young lady with your talents isn't meant to spend the summer wiping drool from the mouth of a big, dull lug of a boy (her brother, who is a perfectly normal intelligent boy)." She doesn't know that she has a cousin there who's the same age she is who just got hurt falling down the stairs when she thought she saw her dead aunt. The old mansion they live in is haunted, possibly by the ghost of the cousin's aunt who committed suicide years before, which is the perfect situation for Gilda to practice her psychic skills. This book is suspenseful, funny and sad. Review by Stacy Church

Flush by Carl Hiaason

After reading Carl Hiaason's first children's book Hoot, I couldn't wait to read his new one, Flush. I didn't find this one as funny as Hoot, but I did get hooked on the characters. This is another book about an environmental issue - Noah and Abigail's dad has been arrested for sinking a casino boat because he says it's been dumping human waste directly into the water of the Florida Keys. This is not his first arrest (he's not a criminal, he just has trouble controlling his temper when confronted with wrongdoing) and their mother is pretty fed up with his behavior at this point. Of course the kids take it on themselves to prove, well not their dad's innocence because he really did sink the boat, but to prove that he was justified in sinking it and that the real criminal is Dusty Muleman, the owner of the boat. I didn't love this book the way I did Hoot, but it's still worth reading. Review by Stacy Church

Three of Diamonds by Anthony Horowitz

The third book in a series about a pair of private detectives, the Diamond Brothers. Older brother Tim is perhaps the world's worst detective, but thanks to his clever 13-year old brother Nick, the duo always manage to crack the case. This volume finds the brothers in the middle of three exciting and humorous adventures. In "The Blurred Man", they must find out who flattened philanthropist Lenny Smile with a steamroller. A vacation in France proves to be a near-death experience when they become mixed-up with drug smugglers in "The French Confection". And in the final story, Tim is invited to a class reunion and becomes trapped on a Scottish island with a murderer in "I Know What You Did Last Wednesday". It takes some quick thinking for Nick to solve the crimes before his bumbling brother either messes up the investigation, or worse, gets them both killed. If you're looking for stories with plenty of humor and suspense, then Three of Diamonds is the book for you. Review by Jane Malmberg.