Nick, a great point guard, must prove to himself and to the coach at his school that he has what it takes to be a varsity point guard. But, when his parents get divorced, and when Trent – a troubled student that lives across the street from Nick – starts acting up, it keeps getting harder and harder. Read ‘Night Hoops’ by Carl Deuker to see how it all unwinds. Great book!
Noah G.’s Rating: ***
Twelve-year-old Foster dreams of having her own cooking show on the Food Network. She truly has a gift for cooking and her cupcakes are her specialty. A cupcake can cure almost any emotion, Foster thinks. When her mother has to pack them up and run away from an abusive boyfriend, Foster is thrust into a new town trying to make new friends, and also trying to hide her secret: she can’t read so well. Or hardly at all. Winning people over with her cooking is Foster’s best bet and her food makes her close to famous.
Miss Simer’s Rating: ***
Telling a white lie isn’t such a bad thing, right? Eighth-grader Kevin has gotten so good at lying that he doesn’t even flinch when he does it. His lies are meant to maintain friendships, appease his parents, entertain girls, and ease his social conscience. But when his lies completely get out of hand and he’s forced to own up to the untruths, that’s where things get interesting.
Miss Simer’s Rating: **1/2
Living under the sea in Benthick Territory is just fine and dandy for Ty. He isn’t disturbed by the rising ocean or the chaos that goes on Topside. He and his fellow farming pioneers are content where they are. Ty also loves exploring the ocean and when he comes across an abandoned sub that is smeared with blood, he begins to get afraid. On board the sub is Gemma, a Topside girl who has come below the surface to search for her older brother. Ty and Gemma team up to search for her brother, but instead they fall right into the path of the deadly Seablite Gang who are terrorizing the pioneers and threatening their very way of life. If Ty and Gemma can’t stop the Seablite Gang, what hope will there be for the rest of the settlement?
Miss Simer’s Rating: ***
Ten-year-old Sasha idolizes the Communist leader, Joseph Stalin. He wants to be just like him or his father, a Communist hero. But, Sasha’s father is taken away one night, imprisoned for being a traitor to Stalin, and Sasha can’t believe it. He imagines sending word to Stalin so this injustice can be righted. Sasha is instantly deemed an enemy and is thrown out on the street. What will become of Sasha in the frigid Russian air?
Miss Simer’s Rating: ***
Ha doesn’t understand why her family has to leave their home in Vietnam and secretly travel to America. She still hopes that her father will return, even though he was captured nine years earlier. When Ha’s family makes it to America, they are sponsored by a kind cowboy from Alabama. Ha’s school days are filled with bullies who make fun of her for being different, pull her hair, and chase her home. She thought their life in America was supposed to be better than her war-torn home in Vietnam, but nothing is going right. Journey with Ha in this award-winning novel written in verse.
Miss Simer’s Rating: ***
The Light (341 pages); Noah G.’s Rating: ****: Hallucinations, illusions, evil spirits and demons… Marshall can’t get away from them! All madness starts when he meets his very own creation, Gravedigger. Progressively, he finds out more and more about his best friend’s disappearance at the lake. But when Gravedigger starts to posses and kill other people, that makes Marsh and all the people close to him targets. Will Marshall find the truth before he loses his sanity? Or will Gravedigger send him to his final resting place? Find out in ‘The Light: Morpheus Road Book 1!’
The Black(405 pages); Noah G.’s Rating: ****: The last time Marshall Seaver saw his best friend Cooper Foley was when their argument at the Foleys’ house sent Coop to their lake house. But, in second ‘Morpheus Road’ book, we see how Cooper saw all the hallucinations and visions… It turns out that he’s dead, and all the times Marshall saw something extraordinary, it turned out to be all fake, by either Cooper or Damon, an evil Greek warrior. Can Cooper find out how to stop Damon from finding the poleax? Or will Damon outsmart him and Marsh? Find out by reading ‘The Black: Morpheus Road Book 2!’
Thirteen-year-old Serena Shaw just got the starring role in her school’s musical, The Wiz. She should be on cloud nine, but ever since her mother’s death, he dad has got “the blue.” He’s severely depressed – won’t get dressed, won’t get out of bed, won’t leave the house – and Serena is left to keep her grades up, star in the musical, take care of her little brother, and do all the house duties such as laundry, grocery shopping, and cleaning. Serena doesn’t understand why her father doesn’t snap out of it and realize he needs to take care of her and her brother, and soon she begins to understand just how dire his situation is. Can she get help in time?
Miss Simer’s Rating: ***
Vespers Rising by Rick Riordan, Peter Lerangis, Gordon Korman, and Jude Watson (238 pages) – Miss Simer’s Rating: ***; In four parts, this novel details the history of bad blood between the Cahills and the Vespers. The feud began in the early 1500s when Gideon Cahill created a powerful formula that altered his own genetic makeup. Before Vesper could steal the formula, Gideon split it into four parts and distributed them to his children. Fast forward 20 years, and Madeline, his fifth child, is doing what she can to protect her father’s precious ring which holds the secrets to the powerful formula. Madeline has to evade Vesper to protect the ring, nearly killing herself in the process. Fast forward another 400 years to Grace Cahill and her attempt to decipher a secret message takes her to Casablanca in the middle of WWII. It leads her to the ring and she must try to get it before the Vespers. Finally, in present day, siblings Amy and Dan Cahill learn of the ring and they must again locate it before the Vespers do, putting their lives on the line once again.
The Medusa Plot by Gordon Korman (222 pages) – Miss Simer’s Rating: ***; Seven members of the Cahill clan are simultaneously kidnapped from around the globe. Amy and Dan receive a mysterious message from “Vesper 1″ requiring them to steal a painting of the Medusa from a high-security museum in Italy. If they miss a deadline or fail at their task, a hostage will be shot. Among the hostages are Nellie and Fisk, and Amy and Dan do not want them to be hurt. Their trip to Italy isn’t easy, of course, and Vesper 1 is watching their every move.
The King’s Ransom by Jude Watson (190 pages) – Miss Simer’s Rating: ***; Since Dan and Amy managed to escape Italy with a long-hidden copy of Il Milione, they feel like they’re finally getting the jump on Vesper 1 and his demands. But their joy is short-lived when he tells them they have four days to find a medieval map that has been seen since 1932. Their trip takes them to Prague where they uncover a trail left by an American undercover spy code named The Sparrow. The trail takes them to the “Mad King’s” castle, where they learn that their father may have been a Vesper. Dan and Amy don’t have much time to consider this as yet another beloved person is killed and another is kidnapped. Where will the madness end?
The Dead of Night by Peter Lerangis (190 pages) – Miss Simer’s Rating: ***; Atticus has been kidnapped and only Dan, Amy, and Jake can save him from the Vespers’ evil plot. Their travels take them to Samarkand and an ancient astronomer’s lair. The Vespers are after a special object hidden in the lair, and if Dan and Amy don’t find it by the deadline, Alistair Oh will be murdered! Meanwhile, Isabelle Kabra is back in the mix, running a “charity” for hungry children. Ian wants to get to the bottom of his mother’s new venture and his travels to Argentina uncover a new complication.
Seventh-grader Lacey has to care for her mother. She is all alone since her Aunt Linda left – all alone with her mentally ill mother. Lacey’s mom is starting a new job at the local grocery store and Lacey is starting her own job at the local library. Lacey’s hopeful her mother’s ghosts won’t come out to haunt her. But the day that started so new and fresh for Lacey, full of hope for the future, comes spiralling out of control when her mother disappears. Lacey, worried mostly for her mother’s safety, has help from her crush, Aaron, and together they see how dark her mother’s mood has become. Full of twists and a surprising, even scary, conclusion, readers will be unable to fathom the depths of love Lacey has for her mother and her resolve to overcome the illness that overwhelms her life.
Miss Simer’s Rating: ***
