The Rithmatist

Sanderson, Brandon.  The Rithmatist.  2013.  Macmillan Publishers. New York, NY.

More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist.  While he was not chosen to be a Rithmatist, Joel has a fascination with Rithmatics - the patterns that go into the defenses, and he has a deep understanding of the patterns and lines that are needed to make a strong defense. He sneaks into Rithmatics lectures during his spare time, and his understanding of the material rivals that of most of his classmates. Even so, he is not a Rithmatist, and because of this, deeper Rithmatic Theory forever remains beyond his grasp - a forbidden fruit that he is not allowed to touch.

Chalkings are the creatures that are made with chalk to attack Rithmatic defenses.  These two dimensional creatures come to life at the behest of a Rithmatist, and attack the weak point of an opponents defenses.  A Rithmatist will draw the chalkings to do his bidding, and then dismiss them with a swipe of his chalk when the battle is finished.

But what happens when Chalkings are no longer under the control of a Rithmatist?  What becomes of these Wild Chalkings?  There are rumors of Wild Chalkings loose on the island of Nebrask, but they are under the control of the Rithmatists stationed there.  Or are they?

Joel's mother is a cleaning lady, and together they live in the school that trains the Rithmatists - Armedius Academy.  Joel longingly watches the Rithmatics students as he works his way through the regular curriculum at Armedius.

Strange things are happening at Armedius - Rithmatic students are disappearing, leaving behind trails of blood.  Chalk lines are appearing all over the campus - but these lines have no Rithmatic meaning that anybody understands.

Will Joel, Melody, and Professor Fitch be able to discover the meaning of these strange lines in time to save their own lives?


Find this book in your local public library: https://www.worldcat.org/title/rithmatist-the-1/oclc/993965071&referer=brief_results

Stealing Snow

Paige, Danielle.  Stealing Snow.  2016.  Bloomsbury Children's Press.  New York, NY.

16 year old Snow has spent most of her life in the Whittaker Psychiatric Institute.  She was institutionalized by her mother when she was 5 years old after she attempted to walk through a mirror to the world beyond - as was described in the book "Through the Looking Glass".

Life in Whittaker has not been kind to Snow.  Separated from society, and kept under the influence of the drugs which make her world foggy and keep her senses dulled, Snow has had little interaction with anyone outside of the other residents of Whittaker.  But, she does have one very good friend.  Bale.  Bale has been there with her almost since the beginning of her time at Whittaker.

One magical night, Bale and Snow kiss in a hidden corner and her world changes forever.

After the magical kiss, Snow's one and only love turns violent.  The doctors up his dosage of meds and keep the two of them apart. On the night Snow manages to sneak through the security, Bale disappears into a mirror and is never seen again.

Meanwhile, a strange and magical tree begins to haunt Snow's dreams. A new orderly appears, calling her "Princess" and telling her of a strange and magical land, located beyond the tree that is hers if only she can break free from the drugs and the Institute.  He gives her directions to the tree, and disappears.

Snow escapes from Whittaker and works her way up to the mysterious tree that has been haunting her dreams.  Once she passes through the tree, she finds herself in a magical land where anything is possible, and she has unlimited power at her disposal. While she's learning to navigate this strange new world and her magical power, she must quickly learn who she can and can not trust.

When Snow finds out the horrifying truth about herself, the future of a world hangs in the balance.  What will she choose?


Author Website: http://daniellepaigebooks.com/

Find this book in your local public library: https://www.worldcat.org/title/stealing-snow-stealing-snow-vol-1/oclc/960288849&referer=brief_results

Bone Gap

Ruby, Laura.  Bone Gap.  2015.  Harper's Collins Children's Books, a division of Harper Collins, New York, NY.


Finn O'Sullivan lives in Bone Gap along with his brother, Sean.  They have gotten used to the fact that people will disappear and never return.  Their father died when Finn was very young.  Their mother left them on their own several years ago after she met an orthodontist from Oregon online.  The orthodontist was not interested in having children, so the kids were left behind to fend for themselves.

When a mysterious young woman named Roza appears in their barn battered and bruised one morning, the young men considered it to be a little odd, but they helped her out and she moved into an empty apartment in their house and settled into life on the farm with them.

When Roza goes missing - Finn finds himself at the center of controversy as people begin to blame him for her disappearance.  He describes a strange man who looks and moves like a scarecrow as the person who took Roza, but nobody believes his wild story, and Finn finds himself ostracized by everyone.

But when the strange man appears again and begins following Finn around, and threatening those that he loves, Finn decides enough is enough.  When he decides to follow the man, Finn finds an entirely new world that is entered through the rustling cornstalks in the fields that surround the town.  Is this where Roza was taken?  Will Finn be able to find the man who looks like a scarecrow and rescue Roza?

Find this book in your local public library:  https://www.worldcat.org/title/bone-gap/oclc/988938136&referer=brief_results

Stella by Starlight

Draper, Sharon M.. Stella by Starlight.  2015.  Atheneum Books for Young Readers.  (An imprint of Simon and Schuster).  New York, NY.


Stella lives in North Carolina.  Her world is divided by color: black children go to one school and white children go to another.  Black families are treated by the black doctor, and white children are treated by the white doctor.  The KKK makes appearances in town whenever they feel that the white people in town are in danger of losing control over the lives of the other population.

In spite of it all, Stella and her family thrive.  She attends school with her brother.  Her family is full of love and laughter.  Everyone in the neighborhood pulls together to help each other succeed and survive through the harsh conditions of the depression.

Everything seems to be going well until the night Stella and her brother Jojo see a cross burning across the pond in the middle of the night.  Terrified at the thought of what it signifies, they run to tell their parents.  As the neighbors gather to ponder the meaning of the return of the KKK after a period of relative calm and quiet, a plan of action to protect those in the community is developed.

But even the best of plans come unraveled....

When three of the black men in town register to vote.

When the house of one of those men is set alight by the Klan.

When a child is brutally attacked after a trip to the candy store.

Can Stella's family survive through these challenges?


Find this book in your local public library:
https://www.worldcat.org/title/stella-by-starlight/oclc/1069705002&referer=brief_results#borrow

My Near Death Adventures (99% True!)

DeCamp, Alison.  My Near Death Adventures, (99% True!).  2015.  Crown Books for Young Readers.  New York, NY.

  

Stanley's life has recently been turned upside down.

He has discovered that the father he thought was dead was actually alive, and had left him and his mother soon after he was born.

His mother and father have been divorced, and in order to save money in order to make a fresh start in a new town, he and his mom are now working in his Uncle's lumber camp for the winter.

Stanley Granny (who can be up to 99% evil) is living and working with them.

As Stanley struggles to come to grips with his long absent father, he is plagued by a long string of practical jokes, mishaps, and a cousin who "helps" him get into all kinds of near death adventures.

Can Stanley find the culprit behind the practical jokes?  Will one of his adventures cause his own death?  Will his mother end up married to one of the loggers in the camp?

Find out in My Near Death Adventures!  (99% True!)


Find this book in your local public library:
https://www.worldcat.org/title/my-near-death-adventures-99-true-99-true/oclc/903999373&referer=brief_results

The Jeddi Doth Return

Doescher, Ian.  William Shakespeare's The Jedi Doth Return.  2014.  Quirk Books, Philadelphia, PA.

Hardcover, $14.95.   ISBN: 978-1-59474-713-7.

Once More to the Death Star, Dear Friends!

You've seen the original Star Wars.  You've seen the new movie in the series. You know the tale by heart, but have you ever heard it told in Iambic Pentameter?

Come and join this joyful romp with the rebel alliance, told in the style of William Shakespeare. Even if you're not a fan of the Bard, you will enjoy this quick paced journey through with Luke and his friends.

Author's Web Site:  http://www.iandoescher.com/


Find this book in your local public library:
https://www.worldcat.org/title/william-shakespeares-star-wars-the-jedi-doth-return/oclc/948606428&referer=brief_results

The Curious Cat Spy Club

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Singleton, Linda Joy.  The Curious Cat Spy Club.  2015.  Albert Whitman & Company. Chicago, Illinois.

Hardcover, $14.99, ISBN:978-0-8075-1376-7.

Three more unlikely companions have never been found.  Becca, the popular girl that everybody loves, lives on an Animal Sanctuary with her mother.  Leo, the school geek who struggles with friends and social situations is a technological whiz.  Kelsey, the quiet girl who doesn't quite fit in, she has dreams of solving mysteries like Harriet the Spy.

The three find an abandoned litter of kittens tied in a bag in a dumpster and smuggle them to safety in an old abandoned building in the sanctuary.  Bound by their love of the kittens, the three form and unlikely friendship that they name the "Curious Cat Spy Club".  The three don't acknowledge each other outside of school, but they are bound in the mutual love for the kittens and fear that they will lose the kittens if their parents should find out about them.

As Kelsey, Leo, and Becca struggle to find a way to pay for the needs of the kittens, they stumble upon the idea of returning lost pets to their owners.  As they begin collecting lost pet signs around town, they begin to notice a disturbing pattern to the pet disappearances.  Not only are an unusual number of animals being lost, they are all being returned by one of the three same people.

Sensing a mystery, Kelsey begins to look deeper into what is happening with the missing pets in town.

As she gets closer to the truth, what Kelsey discovers about the missing animals could drive a permanent wedge in her newfound friendship!