Please enable JavaScript
Fiction | Page 65 | LitPick Book Reviews
Fiction
Nooks & Crannies
Nooks & Crannies
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets Clue when six children navigate a mansion full of secrets—and maybe money—in this humorous mystery with heart.Sweet, shy Tabitha Crum, the neglected only child of two parents straight out of a Roald Dahl book, doesn’t have a friend in the world—except for her pet mouse, Pemberley, whom she loves dearly. But on the day she receives one of six invitations to the country estate of wealthy Countess Camilla DeMoss, her life changes forever. Upon the children’s arrival at the sprawling, possibly haunted mansion, it turns out the countess has a very big secret—one that will change their lives forever. Then the children beginning disappearing, one by one. So Tabitha takes a cue from her favorite detective novels and, with Pemberley by her side, attempts to solve the case and rescue the other children…who just might be her first real friends.

Book Details

Ruthless
Ruthless
A spine-tingling debut about the ultimate game of cat-and-mouse in reverse as a teen struggles to retain hope—and her sanity—while on the run from a cunning and determined killer.Ruth Carver has always competed like her life depends on it. Ambitious. Tough. Maybe even mean. It’s no wonder people call her Ruthless.When she wakes up with a concussion in the bed of a moving pickup trick, she realizes she has been entered into a contest she can’t afford to lose.At a remote, rotting cabin deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Ruth’s blindfold comes off and she comes face-to-face with her captor. A man who believes his mission is to punish bad girls like Ruth. A man who has done this six times before.The other girls were never heard from again, but Ruth won’t go down easy. She escapes into the wilderness, but her hunter is close at her heels. That’s when the real battle begins. That’s when Ruth must decides just how far she’ll go in order to survive.Back home, they called her Ruthless. They had no idea just how right they were.

Book Details

Attack of the Alien Horde (Miles Taylor and the Golden Cape Book 1)
Attack of the Alien Horde (Miles Taylor and the Golden Cape)
“Clever and funny with an irresistible premise, this middle grade adventure/comic book hybrid will engage even the most reluctant reader.” —Rick Riordan, author of the worldwide bestselling Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the Kane Chronicles, and the Heroes of Olympus What if superheroes were real—and you had to become one? A boy is suddenly thrust into the role of a real-life superhero and tasked with saving Earth from an alien invasion in this action-packed novel from New York Times bestselling author Robert Venditti and award-winning illustrator Dusty Higgins.When twelve-year-old Miles Taylor unexpectedly inherits a golden cape that gives him amazing superpowers, his life instantly changes: he becomes a superhero. For real. With some help from a new friend named Henry, Miles does his best to protect his city. But his skills and courage are about to be put to the ultimate test—an alien horde is working its way toward Earth, with their sights set on the golden cape…and total domination. Ready or not, Miles is about to discover whether he has what it takes to save all humankind.

Book Details

River Runs Deep
River Runs Deep
When a boy is sent to Mammoth cave to fight a case of consumption, little does he know he’ll also be fighting for the lives of a secret community of escaped slaves, who are hidden deep within the cave.Twelve-year-old Elias has consumption, so he is sent to Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave—the biggest cave in America—where the cool cave vapors are said to be healing. At first, living in a cave sounds like an adventure, but after a few days, Elias feels more sick of boredom than his illness. So he is thrilled when Stephen, one of the slaves who works in the cave, invites him to walk further through its depths. But there are more than just tunnels and stalagmites waiting to be discovered; there are mysteries hiding around every turn. The truths they conceal are far more stunning than anything Elias could ever have imagined, and he finds himself caught right in the middle of it all—while he’s supposed to be resting. But how can he focus on saving his own life when so many others are in danger?

Book Details

The Orphan Army (The Nightsiders)
The Nightsiders: The Orphan Army
Milo’s Louisiana bayou is overrun with alien bug invaders and magical creatures in this start to a breathtaking series from bestselling author Jonathan Maberry.In a world filled with Bugs—monsters that ceaselessly ravage the Earth—Milo Silk has a hard time keeping his dreams separate from reality. So he keeps them locked up in his dream journal and hopes they’ll never come to pass. But too often, they do—like when his father disappeared three years ago. Lately, the Witch of the World has been haunting his dreams, saying he is destined to be the hero who saves everyone. But all Milo can think about is how he fears the Bugs will attack his own camp, and bring something even more terrible than ever before.What Milo doesn’t know is that the Earth is already fighting back with its own natural power in the form of Nightsiders, magical creatures who prefer shadows to sunlight and who reside in trees, caves, and rivers. And the Nightsiders are ready to find an ally in Milo…

Book Details

The Great Good Summer
The Great Good Summer
Liz Garton Scanlon
Ivy and Paul hatch a secret plan to find Ivy’s missing mom and say good-bye to the space shuttle in this evocative, heartfelt novel reminiscent of Each Little Bird that Sings and Because of Winn-Dixie.Ivy Green’s mama has gone off with a charismatic preacher called Hallelujah Dave to The Great Good Bible Church of Panhandle Florida. At least that’s where Ivy and her dad think Mama is. But since the church has no website or phone number and Mama left no forwarding address, Ivy’s not entirely sure. She does know she’s missing Mama. And she’s starting to get just a little worried about her, too.Paul Dobbs, one of Ivy’s schoolmates, is also having a crummy summer. Paul has always wanted to be an astronaut, and now that NASA’s space shuttle program has been scrapped, it looks like his dream will never get off the ground.Although Ivy and Paul are an unlikely pair, it turns out they are the perfect allies for a runaway road trip to Florida—to look for Mama, to kiss the Space Shuttle good-bye, and maybe, just maybe, regain their faith in the things in life that are most important.

Book Details

The Black Reckoning (Books of Beginning)
The Black Reckoning
John Stephens
The final book in the bestselling Books of Beginning trilogy that began with The Emerald Atlas, which the New York Times called “a new Narnia for the tween set.” The adventures of siblings Kate, Michael, and Emma come to a stunning conclusion when they must find the last Book of Beginning—the Book of Death—before the Dire Magnus does, for when all three books are united, their combined power will be unstoppable. Soon Emma is on a journey to places both worldly and otherworldly, confronting terrifying monsters and ghosts, and what is darkest within herself. As the fabric of time begins to fray, she becomes the final piece of an extraordinary puzzle. Only if she can master the powers of this most dangerous book will she, Kate, and Michael be able to save the world from the dramatic, deadly final confrontation between magical and ordinary people that the Dire Magnus has in store.

Book Details

Denton Little's Deathdate (Denton Little Series)
Denton Little's Deathdate
Lance Rubin
**WINNER of the ILA Young Adult Book Award!**Get ready to die laughing: this is an outrageously funny ride through the last hours of a teenager’s life as he searches for love, meaning, answers, and (just maybe) a way to live on.   Denton Little’s Deathdate takes place in a world exactly like our own except that everyone knows the day on which they will die. For Denton, that’s in just two days—the day of his senior prom.   Despite his early deathdate, Denton has always wanted to live a normal life, but his final days are filled with dramatic firsts. First hangover. First sex. First love triangle—as the first sex seems to have happened not with his adoring girlfriend, but with his best friend’s hostile sister. (Though he’s not totally sure—see, first hangover.) His anxiety builds when he discovers a strange purple rash making its way up his body. Is this what will kill him? And then a strange man shows up at his funeral, claiming to have known Denton’s long-deceased mother, and warning him to beware of suspicious government characters. . . . Suddenly Denton’s life is filled with mysterious questions and precious little time to find the answers.  Fall in love with Denton Little!"Rubin is really funny but like John Green, he manages to be poignant at the same time. You'll laugh out loud while you read this, but you're probably going to tear up a bit too." --Bustle"The dialogue is witty and raunchy, the plot is uniquely twisted, and the ending is to die for. This book will fly off the shelves."--VOYA“Lance Rubin creates a world in which (almost) everyone can answer the question, ‘What would you do if you knew when you were going to die?’ and holy s*#! the answers are hilarious. I don’t think I’ve laughed at death so much in a long, long time. Read this book, it’ll have you dying.” —Isabel Quintero, Morris Award-winning author of Gabi, A Girl in Pieces"Hilarious, thought-provoking, irreverent, unforgettable. . . . Live your own death, Dent. We love you." --Catherine Gilbert Murdock, author of Dairy Queen “If Six Feet Under had been created by John Hughes: that’s Denton Little’s Deathdate.” —Tim Federle, author of The Great American Whatever “Wildly funny, brilliantly weird, and achingly heartfelt.” —Becky Albertalli, Morris Award–winning author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda"Highly original, fantastically entertaining, and laugh-out-loud funny, Denton Little's Deathdate is a wild romp through a night like no other." --Jennifer E. Smith, author of The Geography of You and Me"An utterly enjoyable, engrossing page-turner." -- Bulletin"The tweaked contemporary setting, irreverent end-of-life humor, and big, existential questions make this a good pick for fans of John Corey Whaley’s Noggin." -- Publishers Weekly

Book Details

The Stars of Summer: An All Four Stars Book
The Stars of Summer
Kelly Murphy, Tara Dairman
“A scrumptious gem of a story!”—Jennifer A. Nielsen, New York Times bestselling author of The False Prince for All Four StarsIn this charming sequel to All Four Stars, eleven-year-old foodie Gladys Gatsby now has her first published review under her belt and is looking forward to a quiet summer of cooking and reviewing. But her plans quickly go awry when her friend Charissa Bentley delivers Gladys’s birthday gift: a free summer at Camp Bentley. As Gladys feared, camp life is not easy: she struggles to pass her swim test and can’t keep the other campers happy while planning lunches. The worst part is she can’t seem to get away from the annoying new “celebrity” camper and sneak away for her latest assignment—finding the best hot dog in New York City. But when it turns out her hot dog assignment was a dirty trick by a jealous reviewer, Gladys’s reviewing career may be over forever.

Book Details

Binny in Secret
Binny in Secret
Micah Player, Hilary McKay
School has started, and secrets and adventures await Binny and her family in this delightful novel which Horn Book called “a vigorous blend of screwball comedy and heartfelt emotion” in a starred review.School has started, and Binny can’t stand it. She has a horrid hand-me-down uniform and the kids make fun of her “posh” city accent. Then a storm damages the roof of their home, and Binny, her sensible older sister Clem, and her rambunctious brother James (and chickens) must move to a rental home out in the country. Then one of James’s beloved chickens vanishes. What kind of creature is lurking in the undergrowth? And does it need Binny’s protection? Feisty, fiercely loywal, and totally charming, Binny will have readers rooting for her through every twist and turn of this surprising and hilariously moving tale.

Book Details

Pages



RECENT BOOK REVIEWS