The Red Scrolls of Magic

Image: World Cat

Clare, Cassandra and Wesley Chu.  The Red Scrolls of Magic.  (Book 1 of the Eldest Curses).  2019.  Margaret K. McElderry Books, New York, New York.


Magnus Bane wanted a vacation with his boyfriend.  Just a normal vacation. The High Warlock had planned a wonderful vacation in Paris for them to get to know each other a little better.

But vacation is a relative term when you have a High Warlock and a Shadow Hunter.  Adventure seems to follow them wherever they go.  While the two of them are enjoying dinner in a hot air balloon, they see demons chasing two Shadow Hunters across the rooftops of Paris.  Unable to pass by someone in need, Alec and Magnus help the Shadow Hunters from the hot air balloon.

This begins the adventure that finds Magnus accused of being the head of The Crimson Hand - a cult that is wreaking havoc and causing Faerie deaths around the world.   Magnus and Alec set out to clear Magnus' name and discover that maybe, just maybe, Magnus founded the cult during centuries ago as a joke.  However, in the intervening centuries, The Crimson Hand has become determined to summon a greater demon and rule the world with the help of none other than Asmodeus - better known as Magnus' father.

Can Magnus clear his name before it's too late?


Author's Web Site:  https://www.cassandraclare.com/

From Bettina:  Hey, this is a totally awesome book that pulls in some pretty High Fantasy - which I love!  I hadn't read any books by Cassandra Clare before, and I am now a huge fan of her work!  I am giong to have to make a point of going back to read all of her series.  I love Magnus' character, and I want to explore the world that she has created in depth. 

Pay Attention, Carter Jones

Schmidt, Gary.  Pay Attention, Carter Jones.  2019, Clarion Books, a Division of Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt.

Carter is your average, ordinary, every day kid whose father is deployed overseas.  On the first day of 7th grade, Carter answers to doorbell to find a Butler standing on the front porch, saying that he has been sent to help them by a provision in Carter's grandfather's will.

With clinical efficiency, the Butler moves into the Jones house and helps to straighten out not only the physical house, but also the residents of the house.  Soon, all 4 Jones children are pulling together as a team and finding that they can truly can conquer the world together.

But, when Butler decides that he is going to teach Carter and his friends how to play Cricket - life takes unexpected turns as Carter finds himself at the center of the newly formed (as in formed on the field that day) Cricket Team for the school, which is led by the Cross Country Coach and Butler.  But what happens when an American School suddenly becomes obsessed with Cricket, and the Football Team becomes a mere afterthought?

The Jones family is thrown for a loop when they receive an e-mail from their father, telling them that he will not be coming home from his deployment - that he has found another family and is going to stay with them.

Can the Jones family use the lessons they have learned from Butler and Cricket to pull together and become even stronger in the wake of this devastation?

Will the Cricket Team be allowed to play their first game on the football field before the biggest football game of the season?  Will anybody even care if they do?



Author Web Site: http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/schmidt/about.html

The publisher recommends this book for children in grades 4-7.

Note from Bettina:
I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and the undercurrents running through the book.  Mr. Schmidt handles a very tough subject with humor and love.  Speaking as a child of divorce (Well over 30 years removed from that divorce, mind you.)  I can honestly say that he does an excellent job of catching many of the feelings and mixed emotions that I dealt with as a very confused and addelepated adolescent.  I like to think that most kids now are as supportive of their friends in similar situations as Carter's friends.  I'd like to state that the character Butler states a truism every child of divorce can relate to "It does eventually catch up to you." 

"Make good decisions and remember who you are!"  -Butler

New Kid

Craft, Jerry.  New Kid.  2019.  Harper Collins, New York, New York.

Jordan Banks dreams of going to Art School.  His parents were able to choose his school, and rather than sending him to the school of his dreams, they send him to Riverdale Academy Day School - an prestigious private school that is known for academics.

As one of the few children of color in the school, Jordan struggles to break stereotypes that teachers and other students hold about him because of their limited experience and he chronicles the entire thing in his ongoing comic book that he keeps with his school books and works on during his spare time.

But when one of his teachers discovers his drawings with his innermost thoughts, Jordan wonders if he will ever be able to have a "normal" moment in school ever again.

Genesis Begins Again

image: https://www.worldcat.org/

Williams, Alicia D.  Genesis Begins Again.  2019.  Simon and Schuster, New York, New York.

Genesis keeps a list of 100 things that she hates about herself.  It began when some girls in school gave her a list of things they hated about her - and Genesis kept the list and continued adding things to the list.  Among the things that she hates about herself are:  her very dark skin, her nappy hair, and the fact that her family keeps getting put out of their house because her Dad doesn't pay the rent.

As the story begins, Genesis is headed home from school with the coolest of the girls in school, ready to have some friends over to hang out.  When they arrive at her house, Genesis is shocked to find all of their things out on the front lawn.  Even worse - the girls see it, too.  They ruthlessly make fun of her and her situation.

When Genesis' family moves into their new home - out of Detroit and into the suburbs known as Farmington Hills, Genesis finds her life taking an unexpected turn. Her mother has threatened to leave her father "for good" if  he doesn't stop drinking and gambling and start paying the rent.

Genesis  herself struggles to find out who she is in a new school.  Not only does she find out what true friends are all about, she discovers that everyone struggles to accept themselves as they are.
As Genesis struggles to accept herself and save her family, she starts down a dark road that could change her life forever.


Author Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/storiestolife?lang=en