Middle Grade Monday-- The Cupcake Diaries

Simon, Coco. Katie, Batter Up (Cupcake Diaries #5)

27 December 2012, Simon Spotlight

Katie is enjoying the Cupcake Club, and looking forward to having her grandmother come and visit, but she's feeling rather out of sorts-- everyone else seems to have other interests and activities, and Katie doesn't. Making cupcakes is really her very favorite thing to do, but she knows she should try to broaden her interests. She tries a variety of sports but doesn't do very well until she tries her hand at softball. She has some talent, makes the team... and then decides that being on the team stresses her out and she doesn't really enjoy it! Her supportive mother is very understanding, although Katie has to break the news to the coach herself.
Strengths: This was quite a twist-- other than Callie Be Gold, I can't think of another book where a student wants to do fewer activities. As always, this series is perfect for middle school girls, and I enjoy how the series continues but different characters are emphasized.
Weaknesses: Katie's mother and grandmother figure very largely in this, which is a bit unusual for middle grade, where students are trying to distance themselves from parents.

Simon, Coco. Alexis: Cool as a Cupcake (Cupcake Diaries #8)
26 June 2012, Simon Spotlight

I need to order Mia's Baker's Dozen and Emma all Stirred Up, ( as well as #9, Katie and the Cupcake War) but this was on the shelf at my local library! Alexis is preparing for the big back-to-school parade that the local high school has, but she has managed to run afoul of the popular girls and isn't feel very confident. It doesn't help that the cupcake club is trying to spread the work around, but no one else is as detail oriented as Alexis, and they are constantly short of ingredients, and others don't know how much the cupcakes should be sold for in order to make a profit! Alexis' sister, Dylan, is trying to help Alexis be "cool", but Alexis just wants to join the business club, be herself,  and maybe ask Matt, her friend's brother, to march in the parade with her. The girls are feeling a little fragmented-- will the Cupcake Club survive?
Strengths: Great covers, fun series with books about the different distinct characters, CUPCAKES. A good purchase in prebind for middle school.
Weaknesses: I'm done with series after five books, but my voracious readers will just be glad to see new installments!

And yes, I'm looking forward also to the next installments, but don't know why Follett has the eleventh book listed as a K-3 level.

	Emma, Smile and Say "Cupcake!" / (Cupcake Diaries, book #11) [Not yet published]
	by Simon, Coco - Simon Spotlight, c2012 -Fic- Int Lvl: 3-6	FollettBound Glued $10.91
	Not yet published: This item is scheduled to be available on December 4, 2012.

	Mia's Boiling Point / (Cupcake Diaries, book #10) [Not yet published]
	by Simon, Coco - Simon Spotlight, c2012 -Fic- Int Lvl: K-3	FollettBound Glued $10.91
	Not yet published: This item is scheduled to be available on October 16, 2012.

Lights, Camera, Cassidy: Celebrity

Gerber, Linda. Lights, Camera, Cassidy: Celebrity
15 March 2012, Puffin.

Cassidy is in Spain with her parents, who are the hosts of the cooking show When in Rome. She's used to living abroad, having a tutor, and moving from place to place, but she's a little fed up with her parents' restrictions. She sneaks out early one morning, hoping for some alone time, but before she can make it back, her parents find out. They are livid and concerned for her safety, and threaten to send her to live with her grandmother in Ohio. The show's ratings aren't so hot, though, and Cassidy's blog is very popular, so the producers want her to stick around and film segments with Mateo, the son of an old friend of her father's. Mateo is pretty cute, and they have a good time on the set, and then Logan, the son of the producer shows up as well! Definitely NOT the time to be sent back to the States! However, it turns out that a video Cassidy took on the morning she was wandering around on her own shows a group of men robbing a church, and is detailed enough that the police are able to haul in a fairly famous criminal. Cassidy's parents become even more worried about her safety, and when Logan, Mateo and Cassidy take off for a day at the beach, she gets into even bigger trouble. I'm happy to report that in book #2, Paparazzi, Cassidy gets to go to Greece (where I lived for a year!), and in Hacked, she goes to Costa Rica. There is even a book four, Drama, in the works! Now if they were just in hardcover!
Strengths: This is a great combination of travel, cooking shows, romance, and regular teen issues. The covers are bright and appealing, and there is even a little bit of a mystery involved. I love that she has Logan for a romantic interest, and he will travel with her, and then she can meet a new local hottie in every port! All the fun that we have come to expect from the awesome Ms. Gerber.
Weaknesses: I wanted to slap Cassidy just a teeny bit. You sneak out once, you get in trouble, you don't do it again, NOT you sneak out even though a notorious criminal has you in his sights! As a parent, this made me very nervous, but the teen readers will be more sympathetic to Cassidy!

Beach Reads!

Henderson, Laura. Flirting in Italian.

Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 12 June 2012

Violet is an art student in London who sees a picture hanging in a small museum, and the girl in the picture looks just like her! She manages to arrange to travel to Italy and study in a small Italian language course with Catia, who runs a sort of finishing school. This gets her near the castle from which this painting came, and also away from her very overprotective mother who looks nothing like Violet. Joined by fellow Brit Kelly and Americans Paige and Kendra, Violet settles into a routine of learning Italian and nicieties like flower arranging, going out with Catia's children, and falling for the handsome but wicked Luca. The housekeeper at the castle has an odd reaction to Violet, and she does bear a strong resemblance to the current owner's sister when she was young. When someone tries to lock Violet in a secret passage and she is late poisoned, it's clear that there are secrets that someone would like kept that way.

Strengths: The biggest need for books for girls that I have in my library is for romances, but it can be hard to find one that is intriguing and middle school appropriate. This was both. 13 Little Blue Envelopes is a huge favorite, so anything where girls travel does well. The relationship between the classmates is a nice touch.

Weaknesses: The whole mystery aspect of this seems weak to me. Why not just ask is she is adopted instead of planning a whole scheme to get to Italy? There is a bit of drinking, but never ends well. I don't see another book to this one, but the last paragraph hints at one.

Zeitlin, Meredith. Freshman Year and Other Unnatural Disasters.

(1 March 2012)

Kelsey Finklestein vows that THIS year will be different. She will rock at soccer, and since her arch nemesis has moved away, she has a shot at Jordan Rothman. While she does okay at soccer, an older girl, Julie, has something against her, and she gets stuck playing goalie. Her nemesis' cousin has moved to town and threatens to take over, but turns out to be a nice person. Jordan is dating someone... one of her good friends! The school year continues with these ups and downs (a boy is interested in her, but is a horrible sloppy kisser), but Kelsey manages to get through them with the help of her friends.

Strengths: This reminded me of Ellen Conford books, and I was all set to give it to one of my students who likes both sports books and romance books.

Weaknesses: *Sigh* Too much talk of sex. Not a lot of doing, but just a lot more discussion than I was comfortable with. This was a real shame, because I was enjoying it.

Coriell, Shelley. Welcome Caller, this is Chloe.

1 May 2012

Chloe has a great life-- she's just been elected dance queen and has two great friends. Things start to go south when her friends are upset at how she treated them after being elected queen and stop talking to her. Her grandmother's Parkinson's is getting worse, and she may have to go into an assisted living facility. Worst of all, she has an annoying new guidance counselor who has denied her junior project (that had to do with soap opera vixens) and signs her up instead to help with the failing school radio station. Since her friends aren't talking to her, and have convinced most of the school that they shouldn't talk to her, either, Chloe figures that she might as well work with the radio station. She gets a call in program that ends up doing well. Can Chloe manage to pass her junior project, save the radio station, make peace with her friend situation, and maybe even find romance? You bet your vintage shoes.

Strengths: Light, fluffy, improbably-- this is a great beach read. I've not been buying as much girly lit since the Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies went belly up, so I will probably have to buy this one.

Weaknesses: Not a lot of internal consistency (her friends won't talk to her, but everyone turns in to the radio program?), and a fairly high slappage factor. Yes, Chloe is enthusiastic, but she also is highly insensitive to those around her. I didn't care for the acerbic Clementine any more. And what WAS with the vintage shoes? What teen is going to spend $200 on a pair of shoes?

Guy Friday-- Lemony Snicket Methadone

Holmes, Jeremy. The Templeton Twins Have an Idea.
1 April 2012, Chronicle Books (although Amazon say 8/15/12, and my ARC says 9/12)


Before Abigail and John Templeton are even born, their professor father was pestered by a student who is unhappy with his grade, but when news comes that the birth is imminent, the professor rushes out without giving the student any satisfaction. Years later, the family is reeling from the death of the mother. Professor Templeton is working on his Personal One-Man Helicopter, and Tickeridge-Baltock (Tick-Tock Tech) will give him more funding than his current employer. The twins are not happy to be uprooted (along with their active terrier), although the nanny they get (Nanny Nan Noonan) is pleasant enough. These things are immaterial when Dean Dean shows up and claims that the Personal One-Man Helicopter was his idea, and he was the student brushed off by the professor on the way to the twins' birth. He hates the twins and literally wishes they had never been born, so kidnaps them in hopes that he can get the professor to sign away his rights to the POMH. Complications ensue, the narrator intersperses the story with quizzes and monologues, and eventually the twins save the day.
Strengths: Even in the ARC, the brilliance of the book design is evident. The hardcover will be very visually appealing.
Weaknesses: I have little patience for the overly precious, intrusive Narrator, and this book certainly has a lot of the Snicketesque goofiness that I personally do not enjoy. However, it must be noted that The Bad Beginning was published in 1999, and I still have about five copies of each book in the series, many in tatters, that circulate frequently. While this sort of book is not something I can stomach, the students all seem to like them.

It is with extreme sadness that I report the death of Mr. Donald J. Sobol, the author of the Encyclopedia Brown books. I learned of this through the Cybils web site, which lists obituaries at the Publishers Weekly web site, and well as several others.  I had not realized that Mr. Sobol went to Oberlin.

Three years ago, I sent Mr. Sobol a circulation card, and he replied with the most gracious letter. When I was in early elementary school, my mother and I used to sit together in the rocking chair, read the stories, and try to figure out the mysteries together. Since I never got to write to my other great literary love, Carolyn Heywood (who died in 1990), I am glad that I got to tell Mr. Sobol how much his books meant to me.

Madhattan Mystery, Seize the Storm

Bonk, John J. Madhattan Mystery.
22 May 2012, Walker and Co.


Lexie and her brother Kevin go to New York City to stay with their Aunt Roz, a budding older actress, while their father remarries. When standing in the whispering gallery of Grand Central Station, Lexi thinks she hears a crime discussed, and then the next morning reads the news that Cleopatra's jewels have been stolen. They meet Kim, their aunt's rather strange neighbor girl who is enrolled in the same summer camp they are. When camp ends six hours earlier than they thought, the three go on adventures in the city. They meet Melrose, a homeless girl whom they hope will help them investigate an abandoned station under the city that was mentioned by the criminals. They also overhead the name Benjamin Deet's and start investigating him. When their camp counselor takes them to Grand Central Station, Lexi sees one of the men she had heard discussing the crime, and is devastated to find out, after tracking him down, that he is the director of a television show about crime which is just duplicating the real life plot. Can Lexi still manage to solve the real crime?
Strengths: This has a very strong sense of place, and much of the action of the book is about discovering the city. It was a quick read, and most of the characters were likable.
Weaknesses: The mystery didn't make a lot of sense to me. Hard to explain without giving away the ending, but Lexie didn't do that much investigating, and so much else was going on that the mystery often seemed inconsequential. My students don't ask for books about NYC, so I am not sure if I will buy this one.

Cadnum, Michael. Seize the Storm.
5 June 2012, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
I love Cadnum's work, especially his historical titles like Ship of Fire, Blood Gold, and Starfall. I also thought Flash was particularly good, but it's been a tough sell to middle school students. This might be the case for Seize the Storm as well; mature topics like marital infidelity and a lot of detail about characters slow this down, while the murderous drug runners also give me pause. This would be a great title for high school-- the cover is excellent. I'll just hope that Cadnum's next title is aimed more at middle school!


From the Publisher: "Sailing from California to Hawaii, Susannah, her family, and a crewman are driven by a vicious storm into the path of a drifting powerboat. The ghostly boat carries the bodies of two drug runners and a huge stash of money. For the sailors, stealing the sordid treasure changes everything, causing dissent and division, compromising each of them, and putting their futures at risk. Because now they are being pursued by the worst enemies imaginable, including a drug lord’s son eager to prove himself and a cold-blooded teenage hit man with murder on his mind."

Princess of Glass

George, Jessica Day. Princess of Glass.

25 May 2012, Bloomsbury USA

This is the sequel to Princess of the Midnight Ball (2009). Poppy and her sisters were all cursed by the King Under Stone to dance every night, and the princes who attempted to thwart the king died in tragic ways, so once she is truly free of the king, she is not wild to dance... ever again. This is difficult when she is visiting the land of Breton as a royal ambassador, and is invited to many parties. She gives in, a bit, mainly because she finds visiting Prince Christian attractive, but her past experiences make her wary. When wealthy heiress turned serving girl Eleanora insists on going to a ball with the other young ladies, Poppy starts to suspect more evil magic in the works. In fact, Eleanora has made a pact with a witch named The Corley, and is soon enticing all the young men. Poppy uses her knowledge to try to overcome Eleanora's charms and keep everyone safe.

Strengths: I'm impressed. I really didn't want to read another book with a girl in a ball gown on the cover, but didn't have anything else, AND I soon felt that this was a sequel to which I hadn't read the first. Nonetheless, Poppy intrigued me, Eleanora made me want to slap her a tiny bit, but I always felt there was something going on under the surface, and I also wanted to find out the Corley's motivation. I'm going to have to get the first book out now! Diane Zahler's retellings of fairy tales have been popular, so I think I will buy this set.

Weaknesses: Well, girl in ball gown on cover. Title similar to the not nearly as good Throne of Glass. This read a little like Alcott when the girls were preparing for the various balls, and while this was good for me, it might not be as appealing to my readers.

Claws

Grinti, Mike and Rachel. Claws.
24 May 2012, Chicken House

Emma's sister Helena has been missing for several months. Her father can't handle this and has had to close down his Vietnamese restaurant and move the family to a decrepit trailer out near the woods, which is where the crags live. Crags refer to any magical creatures like trolls, dwarves, hags, etc., and Emma's father thinks that by living nearer the creatures he stands a better chance at getting information about his daughter. Emma would like to help, and when a magical cat named Jack shows up in her room and offers to make her into the Pride Heart of his group, she accepts. She will have magical abilities and be able to find her sister. The other members of the pride are not happy that she was human, and the humans in her world are not happy that she now is magical. She gets thrown out of school and sent on an adventure that takes her into all manner of danger and magic. When she finally locates Helena, it's harder to rescue her than she imagined, because Helena doesn't want to be rescued. She is in love with a faery, Corbin, and hopes to be turned into a faery herself. Can Emma learn enough magic in order to save her sister and her family?
Strengths: Good use of an innovative magical world-- the existence of crags is presented as fact and this sucked me right into the world. Readers who like the Warriors books will find enough clan details to make them happy, and I found it easier to get through than those books because the characters do not change names nor eat a lot of voles. This reminded me a bit of Gregor the Overlander.  
Weaknesses: Talking animals are always hard for me to read, and other than Warriors readers, I'm not quite sure who the audience would be.

Random Thoughts: Read Michelle Bergstein's Women From the Ankle Down: The Story of Shoes and How They Define Us, which was quite interesting, even if it lacked pictures. It made me feel very old to realize that the modern "tennis shoes" (running shoe) had basically been invented in my lifetime, and that no one seems to understand what a "school shoe" is anymore. Certainly wasn't a sneaker, when I was growing up long, long ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth. We won't even talk about the fact that when I was in 6th grade we were allowed to wear any color of jeans but blue to school, since jeans were strictly work clothes.

Then the plumber asked me if I was over 55. Nice guy, just wanted to save me some money, I'm sure. But this was a milestone. And he didn't ask it like "You're NOT 55, are you?"

Perhaps I should have said yes and gotten the discount!

His Name Was Raoul Wallenberg

Borden, Louise. His Name Was Raoul Wallenberg: Courage, rescue and Mystery During World War II
16 January 2012, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

I knew that Wallenberg had rescued many people from the Nazis, but I didn't really know who he was or how he accomplished this. This larger format, well-illustrated biography gives Wallenberg's background, from his childhood in Sweden to his college studies in the US, talks about all of the globe trotting opportunities that were afforded to him by his grandfather, and then continues on to discuss how all of these things brought him to want to provide as many Jewish people as possible with "safe passes" in order to keep them out of concentration camps. Interviews and family information from sources close to Wallenberg make this a must for schools that study the Holocaust at any length.
Strengths: This is one of the few biographies I have ever read that had enough pictures to satisfy me, and they weren't all shoved onto glossy pages in the middle. Borden does an excellent job at providing visual examples of just about everything I wanted to see. People mentioned? Pictures. Town or building described? Pictures. Maps when needed, copies of documents-- this was brilliant.
Weaknesses: This is written in choppy prose that almost looks like free verse, which is helpful for students who need a lot of white space, but sometimes it becomes overly poetic. Just a bit odd.

 

It's Nonfiction Monday, a meme started by Ana Suen. It's hosted this week by Practically Paradise.

It's also What Are You Reading at Text Mentor Texts.

Middle Grade Monday--Victory

Jablonski, Carla, illustrated by Leland Purvis. Victory, (Resistance #3)
17 July 2012, First Second

French sibling Paul, Marie and Sophie are still working against the Nazis that are occupying their town, each in their own ways. Paul is a messenger who risks being out after curfew, Marie is "dating" a soldier in order to get information, and Sophie is unhappy to be so young that people don't think she can help-- until she finds a downed pilot carrying a critical message and is instrumental in saving him and helping get the message delivered. While they are struggling with missing their father as well as their neighbor, Henri, the Resistance is struggling with hos they should continue; whenever they sabotage the Nazis, the Nazis retaliate by killing randomly chosen civilians. Is the sabotage worth the cost of these lives, and will it bring the war to an end any sooner? The war does end eventually, and we are able to see what happens to the village and family afterwards. An author's note at the end gives more historical details.
Strengths: This series of graphic novels is an excellent choice for reluctant readers who are assigned to read about the Holocaust. They are rich in historical detail as well as the emotional and psychological conundrums that the characters suffer.
Weaknesses: I wish I had a traditional novel about the French resistance with this much detail for my students who do not like to read graphic novels!

You can find the links to Marvelous Middle Grade Monday posts at Shannon Whitney Messenger's Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe, and check out the What Are You Reading list at Teach Mentor Texts.

Wicked Jealous

Palmer, Robin. Wicked Jealous.
19 July 2012, Speak

Simone is "the weird fat girl" in the wake of her mother's death (at her birth), her father's workaholicism and shiny new girlfriend, and her general inability to deal with the intricacies of high school life. She has retreated behind her hair, her extra large vintage concert t shirts and copious amounts of snack foods. When her father's girlfriend (who has an odd obsession with mirrors and red lipstick, as well as feeding Simone apples even though she's deathly allergic) takes all of her snack stash and Simone tries to get into a pottery class but ends up in Zumba classes instead, Simone starts losing weight and feeling a little better about herself. When she has to spend the summer with her college aged brother and his six roommates, she starts to become more interested in dressing well and in dating a boy from her school, Jason, whose father is a famous film maker and whose mother is in her Zumba class. Is he really the boy for her? And will Simone's trandformation stick?
Strengths: I liked the depth of the characters-- Simone's fascination with vintage French fashion, the shop run by Brad, even the somewhat flimsy character of the "evil stepmother". This was a great "beach read" and made me really happy. I love Palmer's Lucy Parker series, as well as her fairy tale retellings.
Weaknesses: About halfway through the book, when Simone moved into her brother's house, the fairy tale aspect took an intrusive turn. I think this was sue to the difficulty of incorporating the seven dwarves. Once I met all of them, things speeded up a bit.

Forever Four

Kimmel, Elizabeth Cody. Forever Four.
19 January 2012, Grosset and Dunlap


Paulina wants to create a school magazine for a contest that will award one student group money for a club or project, but three other girls have the same idea, so she will be forced to work with them. The new girl, Ivy, seems sort of cool and knows about magazines because her mother was the editor of one. Tally is rather talkative and a drama queen, but also okay to work with. Miko, on the other hand, is a PQuit (Prom Queen In Training) and condescends to work with Paulina only because she hates Ivy so much. Paulina is missing her best friend, Evelyn, who has moved away, so she makes her best effort at putting together a magazine 4 Girls, and trying to get along with the girls. Their biggest competition is a group trying to get funding for girls' sports. When someone posts on the magazine blog that 4 Girls is getting help from parents and is therefore cheating, Paulina has to come up with a way to defend the group and also sway the student body to vote for them.
Strengths: I love Cody Kimmel's work, and was a bit leery of a book with a multicultural cast of disparate characters, but it really works. Realistic in the portrayal of the relationships, fun, light. Picky Reader had friends over for a sleepover recently, and one of them picked up this book and read the whole thing before falling asleep! Good addition for girls who like realistic fiction.
Weaknesses: I know the economy is bad, but the grant/contest idea seem a bit far-fetched. Probably been done somewhere, though, and students would not care.

Kimmel, Elizabeth Cody. Leading Ladies (Forever Four #2).
19 January 2012, Grosset and Dunlap


Even though the ink is barely dry on their magazine and 4 Girls won the competition for club funding, there are already problems. Paulina is still committed to the magazine, but the others aren't. Miko has become friends with the group but is under pressure from her mother to do other activities, and from her friends to NOT hang with the magazine crowd. She takes a break from the group, which means that they have to do all of her design work. Ivy is becoming withdrawn because she thinks that her parents are going to move back to the city for her mother's new job. Tally is caught up in the school play, which is Annie and is obsessed with getting the starring role. Paulina is covering the play for the magazine, but finding it hard to do the work all on her own, especially since she has to take care of her younger brother while her divorced mother works long hours. Throw a school bout with the flu into the mix, as well as drama over a Homecoming decades-themed dance, and it's uncertain whether or not the magazine will ever get finished.
Strengths: I need a lot more series of realistic fiction books for girls-- I'm still circulating a lot of The Agony of Alice and Anastasia Krupnick, even though the first books in these great series are over 20 years old! This is a fun series with attractive covers, so I hope that there are quite a few more books coming out.
Weaknesses: I didn't like the girls as much in this book, and the reliance on technology might work to age the books prematurely.

Guy Friday--Before You Go

Preller, James. Before You Go.
17 July 2012

Jude is enjoying his summer as much as he can, hanging out with his geeky friend Corey who is obsessed with zombies and working in food service on the beach, wearing a dorky paper hat and an orange and black uniform. He makes another friend in coworker Roberto, who encourages him to get to know the attractive Becka, one of the cashiers. Being at work and hanging out with friends gives Jude the chance to get away from his health nut father (who, embarrassingly, runs in spandex shorts) and his depressed mother who has never gotten over the death of his four year old sister, who drowned years ago in the family pool while Jude was supposed to be watching her. Becka is interested in Jude, and they spend a lot of time hanging around together, but when another tragedy happens, Jude has a lot of trouble dealing with not only the recent events, but the aftermath of years of supressing his sister's death as well.
Strengths: This was an effective and engaging read. The depiction of working food service on the beach was highly entertaining, and the romance was realistic. The fact that Jude has to deal with the deaths of two people close to him is a bit unusual, but does happen.
Weaknesses: While mostly appropriate for middle school, the topics and self searching in this book make it more suitable for high school students.This strikes me as a bit like David Lubar's Dunk.

The Vanishing Game

Myers, Kate Kae. The Vanishing Game.
14 February 2012, Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Jocelyn is reeling from the death of her twin brother, Jack, in a car accident. After years of abuse at the hands of their promiscuous mother and her boyfriends, and then in an evil foster home, they were finally happy and pursuing activities that they both enjoyed. When Jocelyn gets a cryptic letter that she believes is from her brother, she assumes he is alive and goes back to Seale House to try to find him. She encounters Noah, who was also in the abusive foster home with her and was best friends with Jack, and also worked with him on computer programming for a security company. Jocelyn has no luck at all-- her car is stolen with all her paperwork, she is attacked when she goes back to Seale House, and she is dealing with both the demons of her past and someone in the present who doesn't want her to find out what is going on. With Noah's help, she manages to revisit many sites from her childhood and start to come to terms with Jack's death, as well as her feelings for Noah. Just when everything seems to be coming to a conclusion, however, a shocking twist makes us question everything we have learned.
Strengths: Good creepy cover, nice romance with Noah, and oddly, the scenes of child abuse will make this a good choice in February, for 7th grade girls who all suddenly want to read depressing books.
Weaknesses: A few mentions of sex and misconduct by the mother; nothing awful. The twist at the end was effective but one which I don't care for (similar to Alphin's Picture Perfect or Springer's Possessing Jesse.) This feels more like a Young Adult book, but since I got a hard cover copy at a book look, I'll probably go ahead and put it in the library and see if it circulates.

Behind the Masks

Patron, Susan. Behind the Masks: The Diary of Angeline Reddy, Bodie, California, 1880
1 January 2012, Scholastic


Angeline Reddy's father, a lawyer in their small mining town, has supposedly been knifed to death, but she doesn't believe it. Struggling to help her mother, who is recuperating from a very bad abscessed tooth, Angie enlists the help of Mr. Duval, who works with her father, and Ling Loi, a Chinese girl who comes to her aid. She also makes friends with Eleanor, who is in her class. A vigilante group called the 601 is not happy with the work that Mr. Reddy is doing and are taking matters into their own hands, kicking people out of town. Since Angie feels that her father is still alive, she helps the ladies of the town plan the big fourth of July celebration, since her mother is not well enough to go to the meetings. Mr. Johl, a butcher who has been kind to Angie, asks the committee to let his wife work with them, but the ladies decline because Mrs. Johl was once worked in a brothel, and it wouldn't be proper. Angie stands up for Mrs. Johl, which turns out to be fortuitous, since Ling Loi was raised in the very brothel where Mrs. Johl worked, and considered her a mother figure. When the Johl's are run out of town by the 601, Angie is even more compelled to fight against them, even though she suspects that her friend Eleanor's father is working with them. When Mr. Reddy shows up at the town's elaborate fourth of July masked ball, he produces a list of the 601 that was stolen from Eleanor's father and results in the 601 being dealt with properly, which is difficult since the town sheriff and constable are both in the group. Notes and pictures following the story tell what parts of the story are based on real people and events, and which are fabricated. 
Strengths: Unlike many of the diary books, Angie is NOT overly concerned with her own issues, but instead is focused on the welfare of her father and the town. I especially liked all of the details of daily life that were included, like how to moth proof the carpets. This will be a big hit with fans of this series.
Weaknesses: The sub plot with the ghost child seemed very out of place to me and the book would have made more sense to me if this story line had been omitted.

Science Fiction--Clones and Aliens

Jennings, Patrick. Invasion of the Dog Nappers
24 April 2012, EgmontUSA


Logan is on the bus to school when he sees a dog just vanish! He is absolutely sure that space aliens are responsible, and when his friend Kian's mother's dog also disappears, he resolves to find out what is going on. He forms the Intergalactic Canine Rescue Unit and starts to investigate. Suspicious people, like the strange bearded man with an accent, are all under his magnifying glass, even when they turn out to be perfectly harmless Greek immigrants with sons his own age! Soon, however, Logan finds a creepy man in a wheelchair, who turns out to be... an alien! Logan finds himself floating with all of the dogs that have been kidnapped, and in the custody of a dolphin-like alien creature whose job it is to collect dogs to take back to the home planet. Logan manages to convince the aliens that they should return the much loved family pets they have stolen and instead go to animal shelters and take all of THOSE dogs back to their planet. The aliens agree, and Logan is able to return the pets to their grateful owners. 
Strengths: This is a fast-paced, easy read that would be an excellent choice for first or second graders who are strong readers but are tired of Magic Treehouse type books.
Weaknesses: This was too young and goofy for my middle school students


McKissack, Patricia, Frederick and Pat.  The Visitors (Clone Codes #3)
1 February 2012, Scholastic Press


Marcus, the son of the director of the space program and an ardent believer in the Wholer movement, and Leanna, a clone who was illegally raised as human, are back for a third installment. Leanna is recuperating from having been kidnapped by the evil Chancellor Graham's forces, who tried to turn her into a purple clone, and her mother and Dr. Ayala are still in prison. With the help of Rizin, they hope to be able to get the two free and also fight against the chancellor and his killer bots, who have some support becomes he claims that cyborgs and clones are dragging down advancements in space exploration. They have the help of RUBy, a rock-like, Cystalline creature who is not the ship but controls the ship, and communicates via computer. However, RUBy must return to her own planet in time to complete the ritual of splitting. The Crystallines are even more discriminated against than clones and cyborgs because people do not have any idea that they are anything more than rocks. When Leanna's mother and Dr. Ayala are brought before the World Supreme Court to decide if their raising of Leanna as a human was illegal, RUBy comes along. The court needs to decide once and for all if the chancellor is right and can continue to descriminate against clones and cyborgs, and the existance of the Crystallines will help sway their opinion-- but in what direction?
Strengths: Leanna and Marcus are both interesting characters, and the futuristic elements are not all grim-- there is a lot of fun space travel and technology. All three books are short, and excellent for science fiction assignments!
Weaknesses: Still a tiny bit heavy on the civil rights parallels, but in this book this theme does not interfere with the pacing or character development as much as it did in previous books. 

Middle Grade Monday--The Kindling

Bell, Braden. The Kindling.
10 July 2012, Cedar Fort, Inc.

Connor and his friend Pilaf (really Olaf) have a hard enough time dealing with bullies like Geoffrey at their school, but when a mysterious man starts stalking him, his sister Melanie and his friend Lexa, things get weird and scary fast! Terrible storms start popping up, and Connor finds that his anger can often storm out of control-- he didn't really mean to set Geoffrey's pants on fire, did he? It is soon revealed that Connor, Lexa and Melanie all are Magi (warriors for the Light)who powers have just Kindled, and they are in danger because the forces of the Dark are trying to get them. Luckily, most of their teachers are also Magi, and are working hard not only to keep them safe, but to teach them survival strategies and lots of magic! After a few large mishaps, there is a "Parent-Teacher Conference From Heck", and the parents decide that they don't want their children to have anything to do with the Light. Then they take them to Disneyland. Silly parents! That won't work. Soon, Connor is kidnapped and at the mercy of Lady Nightwing, who is doing awful experiments on children who are on the cusp on Kindling. Will his teachers have the power to save him? Will Melanie and Lexa also be at risk? More importantly, how will all of them make sure that the gateway to the Otherworld won't stay open and make it easy for the Dark to come into our world and wreak more havoc?
Strengths: Funny, funny lines! Any book with the first line "Connor Del didn't mean to set anyone's gym shorts on fire" will be a popular book. I also thought that the world of magic was realistically and clearly defined. Using a school setting more than home worked well in this instance. The magical names and activities were all coherent and cohesive, which is a big plus, since so many magical realism books struggle to get this right. There is a nice blend of action and strategy. Very pleased.

Weaknesses: This is published by a small press (Sweetwater Books, Cedar Fort, Inc.) and might be hard to find, although paperbacks are available. This book could have used a bit more editing-- with some more polish and attention to pacing, etc., it would be absolutely brilliant.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday was started by Shannon Whitney Messenger. Every week, she lists blogs that feature middle grade reviews. Hope over to Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe to get great recommendations.

Nonfiction Monday--Potatoes on Rooftops

Dyer, Hadley. Potatoes on Rooftops.
24 July 2012, Annick Press, E ARC from Netgalley.com

With the growing decay of urban areas and the problem of "food deserts", urban farming is coming into its own. Being the granddaughter of farmers and having lived in the suburbs, I have always put in a back yard garden, but it's great to see that cities are utilizing open space to provide fresh food. This is an excellent short book detailing why it is important to have fresh food available to people, why it's good to use urban areas to do this, and how "food miles" need to be reduced so that the environment is better off. The well-illustrated format is bright, appealingly arranged, and will intrigue students.

Nonfiction Monday is hosted today at A Curious Thing. For a list of hosts for the coming months, check out Nonfiction Monday.

Happy birthday to Elias Howe, O.J. Simpson, and me. As I tell my students, I am as old as my tongue and a little older than my teeth!

The Scorpions of Zahir

Brodien-Jones, Christine. The Scorpions of Zahir. 
10 July 2012, Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Zagora’s father is an  archaeologist who had a friend, Pitblade Yegen, who went missing when they were investigating a site but who has reappeared. Zagora, along with her father and “chubby computer geek brother Duncan take off to Marrakech to reunite with him. Zagora is thrilled because she has the journal of Yegen’s grandfather, and knows about the mystery of the Oryx stone, which her father has in his possession. Many other people want it, including Olivia Romanescu, who sent for them, and Mina, who claims that the stone is the property of her people and has magical qualities. The group take off across the desert on rented camels with a young boy, Razziq, as a guide. When their father goes missing, the children have many dangers to confront, including plagues of scorpions, sand storms, and all manner of people who want the Oryx stone for their own.
Strengths: I’m a huge fan of Elizabeth Peter’s Amelia Peabody books, as well as R.L. LaFever’s Theodosia stories, and the details of archaeology and the desert in this book are very good.
Weaknesses: I didn’t like Zagora, and there were a lot of improbably plot elements. If Zagora travels with one backpack, I think it somewhat unlikely that she would pack a purple blouse and flowered harem pants. Tiny details like that bothered me because I love this type of book so much.

You can enter to win a copy of this at Goodreads until tomorrow!

Guys Read: The Sports Pages

Scieskca, Jon, ed. Guys Read: The Sports Pages.
10 July 2012, Walden Pond Press.

How many people would pay big bucks to see a Super 8 film of Jon Scieszka doing Frisbee Butt Waterskiing as a child? I know I would! In his forward, Mr. Scieszka does an excellent job of explaining why guys are so obsessed with sports, but how even the most active sports players don't necessarily like to read about sports. So true. Luckily, the guys in my school LOVE that there is a growing Guys Read Library for them, and The Sports Pages will be popular.

Aside from the informative forward, we have the story of why Dan Gutman was instrumental in the 1986 Mets win (I have that kind of power over the universe as well), a more serious Time Green football tale, an odd story of personal identity in middle school as it ties into sports ability by Anne Ursu, personal narratives from Dustin Brown, a hockey player, and James Brown, who must have been a fairly famous basketball player in the 1960s. Rounding out the collection were a good wrestling story  by Joseph Bruchac, a running tale from Jacqueline Woodson, blank pages in the ARC where a Chris Crutcher story will be, and funny turns from Gordon Korman and "I Will Destroy You, Derek Jeter" from relative newcomer and excellent guy tale teller Chris Rylander.

Strengths: Nice selection of stories, some funny, some serious, and on a variety of sports. Could have used a lacrosse or hockey one, but I will not complain.
Weaknesses: I wish that there had been short biographies of all of the writers at the back, and perhaps a bibliography so that boys who read this have some direction when it comes to choosing their next book.

Saturday Morning Cartoons-- Dragonbreath

Vernon, Ursula. Lair of the Bat Monster (Dragonbreath #4)
17 March 2011, Dial

When Danny and his friend Wendell find a bat at the local swimming pool, Danny's mom is not able to help it, so suggests that the two go on the bus (which is somehow magical) to Mexico to consult with Danny's Uncle Steve, who is a scientist studying bats in the area. When they arrive, they are irritated by the amount of bugs, but also by the fact that miners are blasting in caves where bats make their homes. They aren't the only ones who are irritated-- a huge bat comes and kidnaps Danny! Wendell and Steve take off after him, but the jungle is a hard place. Danny is fairly safe-- the giant bat, Camazotz, seems to think he is her baby. He escapes at one point but has trouble surviving in the jungle. Eventually, Wendell and Steve find him, and after some harrowing exploits involving Camazotz's mate, manage to escape and get back home. 
Strengths: These graphic novels are so much fun. I loved the footnotes explaining Danny's exploits. And how's this for a description: "It was like old cheese soaked in cat urine wrapped in gym socks dipped in boiled cabbage." (page 82) I am glad I didn't have to go into THAT cave. 
Weaknesses: Hard to tell if middle school students are going to go for these. I had the first one for a while, and it sat untouched, but when I got most of the rest of the series, they started flying off the shelves. I like them, but have reservations about having a book about were-wieners in the middle school!

Vernon, Ursula. Revenge of the Horned Bunnies. (Dragonbreath #6)
10 January 2012, Dial

Danny is off to camp, and unfortunately his annoying cousin Spencer (who likes to relate entire plots of television shows and give running commentary when Danny is playing video games) is coming to Camp Jackalope as well. Things start off okay (Spencer isn't in Danny's cabin), but when Spencer goes missing, Danny worries. With his new friend Christiana (an ardent left wing feminist!), they go looking for him and find out that he has found an actual jackalope! Unfortunately, counselors Lenny and Earl want to sell powdered jackalope horn and so are trapping as many as they can find. Danny uses his ninja skills to track them, finds the jackalope prison, and manages to free them. Lenny decides he won't "gank" the campers for finding him out, because it always ends messily, but he is arrested for embezzling money from the camp anyway. Book 7 in this series is When Fairies Go Bad, and I think I'll have to buy it for the library!
Strengths: Again, clever for children and for adults. Quick to read, graphically pleasing. Would have to buy this, if only for the phrase "crapmonkeys!" which I intend to use often this summer, and the idea of a s'more that is made with "carob and gluten-free graham crackers". You just KNOW that some health conscious mother somewhere has actually tried that. 
Weaknesses: Not sure of the appeal of the jackalope, but if more books come out, I may be able to do a themed shelf of them! (Emily Ecton's Project Jackalope being the other title I've seen recently.)

Guy Friday-- Rockin' Guys

In honor of Guy Friday, check out this post on Michael Morpurgo's Blog. I love the photo caption: "It's not about testing and reading schemes, but about loving stories and passing on that passion to our children."

Now, put on Rubber Soul or your Beatles' LP of choice, crank the volume, and get into these rock and roll related books just in time for Ringo's birthday tomorrow. (Sorry, Paul-- don't have any connection with you in any of these items, but from what I hear, you're doing pretty well!)

Behnke, Alison. Death of a Dreamer: The Assassination of John Lennon.
1 January 2012
The fascination with the Beatles still continues among middle school students even though it has been over 30 years since the death of John Lennon. On the morning of 9 December 1980, there was a noticeable pall over my high school, and all my friends could talk about was Lennon's death. I had no real idea who he was, and couldn't have named any Beatles' tune if asked. In college, I became familiar with all of their works, but this book shed a lot of light not only on Lennon's life but the changes in society during his floruit. Concise and nicely illustrated, this book covers Lennon's early life and his involvement with the Beatles, but continues on with his marriage to Yoko Ono and his activities involving pacifism and social justice. A brief chapter explains Chapman's supposed motivations and mental illness, and the book concludes with the aftermath of Lennon's death and his social and musical legacy. At 96 pages, this is a perfect length for students who have even a faint interest in the Beatles and Lennon, and is an attractive enough book that casual readers might pick it up and be interested in learning more about this artist.

Briant, Ed. I am (Not) The Walrus.
8 July 2012
Growing up in Port Jackson without a dad and with a mum who is struggling to make ends meet, Toby's life is difficult, but he makes do. He and his friend have a Beatle's cover band that they are trying to name (and there are so many fun choices-- The Day Trippers, The Nowhere Men, etc.) and get gigs for. Toby is lucky to be able to use his brother Shawn's equipment, since Shawn is off in the military, but when he finds a note in hi precision bass that it may be stolen, he starts to wonder whether or not he should keep the instrument. Trying to return it proves interesting but perilous, since a shady guy named Rupert is very eager to get his hands on the guitar, which was used at one time by George Harrison. With the help of a girl he meets, aptly named Michelle, Toby tries to make his gigs, figure out what is going on with the guitar, and come to terms with his difficult family situation.
Strengths: This was a great realistic fiction book for boys, with a nice romance and great music connections. I'm sure that there are a lot of boys in high school who are in bands who would like to read this. It's clearly British in tone (set near London), but not distractingly so, and over the twenty years that I have been teaching, the Beatles have never waned in popularity among a small number of students. Picky Reader, who loved Jan Page's Rewind, might even read this one.
Weaknesses: Sometimes scenes dragged on with too much descriptive detail, but not often.


Miller, Barbara. Rock God: The Legend of B.J. Levine.
17 January 2012, Sourcebooks

BJ moves with his lawyer mother and ex-rocker father from Cleveland to New York City. He's excited that things might be different-- he'll be cool, not called "Dockers" by classmates, and he'll have the same close relationship with his father that his best friend Kevin has. When the weird Merv shows up and drops a book about how the Good Supreme, a legendary rocker, BJ decides to follow the vague instructions and try to become a rocker himself. He recruits Jann, a guitar player who earns money playing sappy songs at birthday parties and for the Cotton Candy Twins, as well as drummer Layla. They manage to break into a Daughters of Glenda concert and sing for her on stage, and end up traveling to Cleveland to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the company of Terry and the Pirates. BJ meets Sammy, whose father was in a bad with BJ's father. Sammy is tired of the rock life style and wants to run off to California to find her mother, but the two are railroaded by B.L.A.S.T. (Bayonne League of Angels for the Sacred Two) who believe that Sammy and BJ are the answer to a prophecy that states they will be the next Sacred Two, i.e., the two lead singers in a rock band. Complications and running around ensue, and BJ has to figure out some family secrets before he can decide if his destiny is to be a Rocker or a "Docker".
Strengths: This book had a lot of goofy, frenetic activity, and I can see it being very interesting to reluctant readers who are interested in rock music. The fast pacing makes this move quickly, and the mixture of goofy and details about being in a rock band is very fun.
Weaknesses: Sometimes the quick, goofy tone made it hard for me to follow the plot.

On the Day I Died

Fleming, Candace. On the Day I Died
10 July 2012, Random House Children's Books (ARC from Netgalley.com)

Mike is hurrying down a country road trying to make curfew when a girl appears in the road, dripping wet, and asked to be taken home. When he drops her off at her house, she forgets her shoes in the car, but when he knocks on the door, an older lady answers. Every year on the same date, someone shows up with Carol Anne's shoes, because she died in a canoeing accident. The woman tells Mike to take the shoes to the cemetery, and when he does, he sees 55 pairs of weathered saddle shoes about, and is confronted by the ghosts of teenagers who all passed away. Their stories span the decades and are all set in Chicago. One girl dies in a fire when no one will believe her about a classmate who is an arsonist, another robs funeral homes during the Great Depression and meets a terrible end. The 1893 World's Fair and the State Asylum figure in the deaths of two other teens. Some meet their ends at the hands of demonic hood ornaments and an aunt who was a mob moll. At the end, we find out that Mike has met these ghosts because he was close to death himself, driving distractedly.
Strengths: This was a largely historical book that will be easy to give to students because of the ghost story element. It's good and creepy, but nothing that will keep students awake at night. I think this will be good for readers who like Schwartz's or San Souci's collections of scary stories.
Weaknesses: This would be more popular closer to Chicago, but I don't think students will care too much.

Life, LIBERTY and the pursuit of barbecue

Hope everyone has fun plans for the holiday! I'll be marching in the local parade with some of the cross country team, and then cleaning the garage if I haven't fainted because of the heat.

I'm back from a week in Iowa with three teenagers in a Hyundai Elantra for hours at a time. This was somewhat traumatic! There was not a lot of reading that occurred during that trip, so I hope I'm not letting the Team Librarian for the Summer Throwdown down! 

DeVillers, Julia. Cleared for Takeoff. (Liberty Porter: First Daughter #3)
12 July 2011, Simon and Schuster

Liberty is still trying to get used to her Dad being the president-- it's not like she can have tourist kids up for play dates, more's the pity. She's bored when she is on vacation and everyone else has to work, even when Max Mellon shows up with his mom on their way through D.C. When her dad has to go on a trip to the country of Georgia, she's thrilled, but a little worried that she will mess up. She's glad when she finds out that James, who is her age, and his mother, who taught the Young Diplomats course on manners to her class, are going as well. Riding on Air Force One is fun, and she manages not to make too many mistakes when meeting other American families or attending big parties with the Georgian people. She even uses her mom's phone to Skype her class so they can all see what the party is like as well. She has one embarrassing moment when she mispeaks in the language of the country, but the people are so glad that she tried that all is forgiven.
Strengths: This is a popular series among my 6th grade girls and imagine that it is even more popular for younger students. The look into what life is like in the White House is tantalizing. It is interesting that the author is now living in Georgia with her husband, who is posted there!
Weaknesses: Liberty's enthusiasm is nice, but her knack for getting into scrapes is a bit wearing. The students like to read those columns in magazines about "My Most Embarrassing Moment" a lot more than I do, which is some of the appeal, I guess.

Soulbound

Brewer, Heather. Soulbound (Legacy of Tril #1)
5 July 2012 (or maybe 19 June. Seen both), Dial

Kaya's parents are both Barrons who are trained to fight against the evil Graplars that are trying to take over Tril, but Barrons are forbidden to marry. Each Barron is soulbound to a Healer at birth, but after her parents' Healers died, they fell in love and ran away to live among the Unskilled, where they have raised Kaya. After Graplars attack their village, Kaya receives a notice from the Shadow Academy that she WILL come and be trained as a Healer... or else her parents will suffer for their treason. When she arrives, Kaya is given a guard, Maddox, who is supposed to keep her safe and also away from the Barron to whom she will be bound. Her soulbound Barron died, and Healers can be reassigned, in Kaya's case to the attractive, kind and very skilled Trayton. Kaya is not unhappy to be bound to Trayton, but she does chafe against the Protocol that Healers can't be trained to protect themselves, and also the prejudice that Healers are subject to. She also is intrigues by Darius, an Unskilled who trains student to fight with the Katana. Since Darius is a rule breaker, she asks him to help her train after Trayton refuses. It's good that he does, because Graplars (giant blue monsters who eat humans) are getting into the grounds of Shadow Academy and attacking students. Kaya finds herself torn on many fronts-- she likes both Trayton and Darius, she wants to fight but doesn't want to have her parents suffer from her misbehavior, and most of all, she wants to be a Healer but doesn't want to be considered a second class citizen. The ending of this book has a lot of unexpected twists, setting the stage for book two, Soulbroken.
Strengths: The plotting on this was brilliant; I was able to give a synopsis to my children without having written any notes. Teen girls will ADORE the love triangle-- one hot boy that you HAVE to be with and another one that you sort of WANT to be with. And maybe should be anyway? Good stuff. Readers of Graceling, Alanna: The First Adventure and other kick-action heroines will enjoy this, and it's middle school appropriate, shirtless hot guys aside.
Weaknesses: I suspect that the final copy will have a map. It's that kind of book. And as a high fantasy, I expected more...world building. I did not feel a sense of place that makes Alanna so appealing. Names were inconsistent (Trayton, yes, but once you have him, you can't have a Melanie. Or a Katelyn), there was a vague medieval feel, but then powdered sugar ring doughnuts...I was surprised. I was also not convinced that Healers would be considered second class citizens. A lot of the plot centered on this, and I did not find it believable. If Barrons will die if there aren't Healers, and there is a shortage of Healers, why would they be bullied and harassed? As I said previously, I thought the plotting was excellent, and I liked the characters a lot, so I was surprised by these two weaknesses. Also, Brewer has a huge following at my school... of preteen boys. I don't quite see the Vladimir Tod fans picking this up. I will buy it and do hope that the second book in the series strengthens these areas.

Not quite sure where to put this comment-- bonus points for not using the f-bomb and using "fak" instead; however, loses points by throwing this word around too much, including in the very first sentence. They also use "dek" a lot to mean a person who is being a jerk.

Nonfiction Monday-- Girl Scouts

Nonfiction Monday was started by Anne Suen and the round up is hosted this week at Booktalking.

Corey, Shana. Here Come the Girl Scouts!: The Amazing All-True Story of Juliette 'Daisy' Gordon Low and Her Great Adventure

1 January 2012, Scholastic


This picture book gives an attractive overview of the life and drive of the founder of the Girl Scouts, and shows her commitment to helping girls be active and contributing members  of society. I thought that this was going to have more information-- it would be essential for an elementary library but doesn't have as much information as I wanted for middle school. The notes at the back of the book were very helpful, as was the list of resources.


Confession: I was a Campfire Girl during my formative years, and to this day am a little biased against Girl Scouts because of this. Is it my imagination, or do they think they are just a little bit better than Campfire Girls. Of course, it's now Camp Fire USA, and Camp Kiwatani is now an upscale housing development because the camp went under... okay, perhaps they are better. But we sold better candy.

Middle Grade Monday-- Suggested Reads

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is hosted by Shannon Whitney Messenger at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe.

I'm not a fan of MUST reads. Picky Reader ( a rising 9th grader), loves books where the children are abused, and Harry Potter, but won't read a paranormal book for love nor money.

But the books below  I could hand to almost any 6th grader and they would be fairly happy. I have them divided by "girl books" and "boy books", not that girls don't read Chasing the Falconers, and boys don't read I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You, but you'd have a little more success staying along gender lines.And remember, these are the books that work for me at my school library. But if you haven't heard of these, I'd definitely take a look.

For the gentlemen:

For the ladies:

And for everyone:

Goosebumps!

Stine, R.L. The Haunted Mask.
1 July 2012, Scholastic

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of this classic horror series for children there is a new story issued in hard cover.

Lu-Ann and Devin are both complaining about Polly's Halloween party. Lu-Ann thinks it's boring; Devin won't be able to go because his father has bought a pumpkin farm and he won't be able to attend. After Polly brings out her most used party trick-- using static electricity to hold a balloon on her forehead-- Lu-Ann can no longer stand it and sneaks off to the attic with Brad and Marcus. There, they find the skeleton of William, who was introduced in the first chapter, who owned a mask store years ago. After coming into possession of a particularly evil mask that adhered to his face, he managed to rip it off but died while trying to hide the mask. Not knowing that the same fate will befall her, Lu-Ann puts on the mask. It takes over not only her body, but her personality, and she goes on a violent rampage through the town. After consulting the owner of a modern mask shop, she finds that only an act of especial kindness can remove the mask, but she's too filled with rage to perform one. At the same time, Devin is struggling with evil on the pumpkin farm, which was built over a graveyard. Ghosts, evil pumpkins, and the undead all haunt him. Can the two friends save each other on Halloween?
Strengths: These are still popular because while scary (things are constantly attacking people, evil is unleashed right and left), they are filled with things children don't actually have to worry about. There are very few Goosebumps books left in my library because they have all fallen to pieces. I will definitely buy this book and am investigating The Nightmare Room series.
Weaknesses: Fear Street books are more widely read than this series in my middle school. While this has been updated, with brief mentions of Wii and cellphones, I would have preferred the update just strip all those mentions. Who knows what will happen in the next twenty years? Readers will still want books about evil masks.