Pie in the Sky is a fictional story from the 1960's time period; the setting is in North Carolina. The main characters are a girl named Abby Lovett, who is just entering high school, and two horses named True Blue and Pie in the Sky. When the plot develops, Abby takes True Blue to a learning clinic she’s not quite ready for. And then something happens that Abby was not expecting, and the story develops from there.
Steampunk!: An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories is exactly what it says on the cover--a collection of rich and strange stories that all, in some way, have to do with the theme of steampunk. When I first heard of this book, I was instantly intrigued. Writing a steampunk novel is already tough work, setting the scene and all, but imagining fourteen short stories that all would create unique steampunk worlds in just a few pages was beyond me. Thankfully, I had the opportunity to read and review this book!
When treasure is thought to be located in a usually boring coastal town in California, thousands of treasure hunters gather. They're all determined to find the treasure, but none of them want it more than four 7th graders. Will, Mikey, Susan and Evelyn know that they can find the treasure by each using their separate skills. But the treasure is hidden well, and the kids are up against a lot of grown-ups with all kinds of fancy gadgets.
No Other Story is a light-hearted fantasy book about the Cheeseman family and a time machine. They are trying to save their mother and wife, Olivia. They try to travel back in time to prevent her death, but they end up in Some Times instead. In Some Times, everything happens at once. The Cheesemans find dinosaurs and Egyptians living alongside Neanderthals and modern day New Yorkers. With the help of old friends and new friends, they attempt a daring escape from Some Times to save Olivia’s life.
Melanie thought that she was headed for success after completing graduate school, but her dreams of steady employment were dashed in the post 9/11 economy. Now 28 years old, she works as a temp in Chicago- when she can even find a temp position. Her bills go unpaid, her utilities are being shut off, and her crazy ex-boyfriend just won't leave her alone.
The book starts off with three kids, Kya, Eliza and Sebastian, who lost at least one of their parents, and an old wizard, Hemlick, who is teaching them magic. Recently there have been paintings stolen at the art museum. It is up to those three to find out what is going on. But, also Marco, Sebastian’s nephew, has disappeared in the museum. There is magic in this mystery. There is a great army with magic in it. Will Kya, Eliza and Sebastian and a bunch of rebels destroy that army and kill the wicked ruler?
This book is about a girl and her family experiencing a time of bad luck. Summer's brother, Jaz, doesn’t have any friends to invite to his birthday party. Then, there is an emergency and her parents have to go to Japan before harvest season. Summer’s grandparents come out of retirement to come help with the harvest, but they are old-fashioned and challenging to be with. When her grandmother, Obaachan hurts her back, it is up to Summer to sort things out and keep their family from losing their jobs.
Emma's world has just been turned upside down: her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and her family is moving back to the United States after living in Japan since Emma was a baby. Emma doesn't know how to deal with the stress, fear, lonliness and culture shock. However, things seem a little better when she starts volunteering at a long term care facility and helps a woman with locked-in syndrome write poems. She even meets a boy named Samnang there and they bond over Japanese and Cambodian culture.
After nearly falling off of a cliff Lacey meets Jace, a dangerous boy who lives in the mountains. Lacey knows that the people of the mountains are nothing but trouble, everyone in her small town says so. People go up on the Tribal Mountain land camping or hiking and they never return-- they disappear. When Lacey is saved by Jace, a young tribesman, she forgets all of the warnings. She falls in love with him.
In just one afternoon, teenage violinist Aurora Lewis finds her familiar world turned upside down when she discovers that her violin teacher has been murdered. As she struggles to make sense of the tragedy, she also begins to uncover secrets she never knew about her old teacher. With her trusty band of actor friends, Aurora searches for clues that will lead her to the killer, even if it means going against her parents' wishes. Her sleuthing leads to encounters with shady characters, a world famous violinist, and a stubborn police chief.
