Monday Book Review: Show Me a Sign by Susan Miura

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It’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these Monday Book Reviews. I am way behind, but I’m so happy today to be talking about Susan Miura’s Show Me a Sign.

IMG_2637Title: Show Me a Sign

Author: Susan Miura

Genre: mystery

Age group: YA

Synopsis: (taken from back cover) Seventeen-year-old Nathan Boliva is under investigation by the FBI for a kidnapping he didn’t commit. Deaf and beautiful Haylie Summers agreed to go on a date with him, then disappeared the day before. When the Feds discover a text was sent from Nathan’s cell phone, asking Haylie to meet him behind her garage, Nathan becomes a prime suspect.

Tied and blindfolded, Haylie struggles to grasp Nathan’s role in her captivity. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would kidnap her. Then again, if he didn’t, who is holding her hostage, and why?

Desperate to solve the crime and rescue Haylie, Nathan and his best friend Alec set out at midnight to gather intel . . . and end up with far more than they bargained for.

* * *

You all know how I love a good mystery, and Miura’s book Show Me a Sign is no exception. I love how Miura uses a deaf character in this story. Haylie’s inability to hear what is going on while she’s captured adds to the suspense and mystery in this story.

Nathan is a great hero as well. He wants to do what is right, but like a typical teenage boy, sometimes jumps in without thinking ahead to the consequences. His only concern is “saving the girl.” At the same time, Miura keeps Haylie from just being a “damsel in distress.” She’s feisty and has a good head on her shoulders.

Also, I really enjoyed the friendship that existed between Nathan and his British best friend Alec. Of course, I’m a bit of an Anglophile, so that may account for my tastes, but who doesn’t laugh when they tease each other about the way they talk? When Alec talks about bobbies and tellies, Nathan says, “They’re cops, not bobbies. And it’s a TV, not a telly. Speak English.” Alec responds, “You speak English.”

I’d recommend this book to upper middle grade and high school students who enjoy a fun mystery with a great male protagonist and a very worthy female counterpart.

Ten Books That Have Stayed With Me

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You’ve probably seen the challenge around Facebook. No, not the Ice Bucket one. The other one. The one where someone challenges you to list the first ten books you can think of that have stayed with you. They don’t have to be famous or great works of literature, just affected you in some way.

Although I’ll post this list on Facebook, I thought it would be fun to say a little more about each book here on my website. So here goes!

1. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery–If this surprises you, you don’t know me very well. I read Anne as a book report recommendation from my sixth grade reading teacher. This is the book that made me want to write stories for teens and tweens. It probably also influenced my decision to be a teacher. A friend of mine recently discovered Anne, and when she saw the movie, she said, “Yep, this has Amy written all over it.”

2. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling–This also should not surprise anyone who knows me. I’ve been to some of the Harry Potter sites in London, ate lunch at the cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote the first books, and was one of those who hung out at bookstores until midnight to buy the last few books on the night of their release. If the Anne of Green Gables series lit the fire for me to write for kids, the Harry Potter books refueled it.

3. Izzy, Willy-Nilly by Cynthia Voight–Read this in eighth grade. Knocked my socks off. I’d never read realistic fiction like this before. The book opens with the narrator in the hospital waking up as the doctors tell her they’re going to have to amputate her leg. Slowly, she remembers the date with Mario and his drinking and the car crash.

4. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle–Read it as part of a Battle of the Books competition in junior high. Talk about taking us to other worlds!

5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee–Didn’t read this one until I was forced to teach it! Ha! Who would’ve known teaching English would’ve actually brought me even more novels to read!

6. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls–This is another one I didn’t end up reading until I had to teach it. I’m not even a dog lover, but I loved this one. I even loved the dogs in this one. It’s simply but beautifully written.

7. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie–Okay, I’m kind of using this a stand-in for all of Christie’s mysteries. I haven’t read them all, but I’ve read quite a few. How does she manage to almost always get me at the end?

8. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle–It may all be elementary for Holmes, but Watson and I are usually left feeling a bit clueless. Also, I just love quirky detectives.

9. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen–Like Murder on the Orient Express, this is kind of a stand-in for all of Austen’s novels. She just makes you want to live in another time period where people at least pretend to be polite to one another.

10. Wonder by R.J. Palacio–Read this just over a year ago. If you like kids’ books but haven’t read it yet, go grab a copy. It’s a beautiful tale of a disfigured boy who faces going to a regular school after years of being homeschooled.

I like Harry Potter so much that I have the first book in three languages (English, German, and Italian)!

I like Harry Potter so much that I have the first book in three languages (English, German, and Italian)!

Monday Book Review: The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

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The One and Only Ivan has been on my To-Be-Read pile for about two years now. I kept hearing how wonderful it was but never really found the time to read it. It’s a lovely story that deserves the recognition it’s received (Newbery Medal Winner).

IvanTitle: The One and Only Ivan

Author: Katherine Applegate

Genre: animal story

Age group: middle grade

Synopsis: Ivan is a silverback gorilla who was spent nearly his entire life in the company of humans, and most of that within the Big Top Mall and Video Arcade at Exit 8, where he has been the main attraction for years. It’s been a pleasant enough existence for Ivan who doesn’t remember much. His memory is nothing like that of his elephant friend Stella, who also lives at the Big Top Mall, and can remember all sorts of things before life at the mall. One day a new baby elephant arrives. Her name is Ruby, and when changes come to the mall, Ivan decides he must find a better existence for her.

This is the kind of book that fits right in with Charlotte’s Web, so if you’re a fan of that, you’ll like The One and Only Ivan, too. The best part of this story for me was Ivan’s voice. The whole book is told from Ivan’s perspective, and Applegate creates such a persona for this giant ape that you can’t help but love him. If you like animal stories or stories of touching (and somewhat unlikely) friendships, you’ll really enjoy this one.

Monday Book Review: The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

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Feeling dystopian withdrawal after The Hunger Games and Divergent series ended? Look now further than The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau.

The TestingTitle: The Testing

Author: Joelle Charbonneau

Genre: dystopia

Age group: young adult

Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Cia Vale wants nothing more than to qualify for The Testing, a series of tests that allow only a chosen few to study at the University. Those who pass will study to be the leaders for the United Commonwealth. They must revitalize the planet after much of it was destroyed during the Seven Stages War. However, finding out she’s qualified for the Testing turns out to be not such great news. Cia’s father (who had also passed the Testing and studied at the University) reveals that being chosen for the Testing isn’t such a great honor after all. In fact, it’s the last thing he would have wished for his only daughter.

Fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent will really like this book. It’s the first in a trilogy. (The last book just came out so you can read right through them if you want.) Like the other two series, there is definitely some violence in the book, but the main character tries to live by the morals she was taught as a child. Cia isn’t interested in “taking out” her competition during the Testing, but other candidates aren’t as morally attuned. Like Katniss in The Hunger Games, we see Cia care for a fallen comrade. Ms. Charbonneau did a nice job making Cia a character we can empathize with as she struggles with making ethical choices.

In terms of plot, Ms. Charbonneau hits all the right notes for this dystopian. The tension is great. It’s not as full-on tense as The Hunger Games (which I was thankful for because too much constant tension is tiring to me as a reader), yet there was enough tension that the plot is driven forward (I felt Divergent didn’t always keep the plot moving forward as much as it could have). This book hit the right mix.

I have a lot on my summer reading list, but I do look forward to reading the rest of the series in the near future.

Monday Book Review: One Came Home by Amy Timberlake

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This is the third in my series of reviews of the nominees for best juvenile mystery for the 2014 Edgar Awards, and so far it’s looking like a top contender.

One Came HomeTitle: One Came Home

Author: Amy Timberlake

Genre: mystery (historical)

Age group: upper middle grade

Synopsis: In 1871, Georgie Burkhardt has plans for one day running her grandfather’s store with her older sister Agatha, but those plans take a turn when Agatha disappears.  It happens after a thunderous flock of pigeons invades their small town in Wisconsin, using it as a nesting place. Agatha has two local men interested in her, but she suddenly leaves one day with a group of “pigeoners” who are out to hunt the birds and follow them wherever they nest. Days later, the sheriff returns to town with an unidentifiable body dressed in Agatha’s blue gown. Everyone assumes the worst except for Georgie. She’s convinced her sister’s still out there, but can she find her before it’s too late?

I’ll fully admit to being envious of those writers who can create an authentic voice for a character in a historical piece, and Amy Timberlake does just that. Georgie is a full-fledged, gun-wielding tomboy of the late nineteenth century. Her narrator voice sweeps us up in her search for her sister.

I also admired how Timberlake creates suspense without being flashy or overly dramatic. I found myself reading late into the night and yet wondering how I could be so invested in a book where “little happened.” This isn’t an action-packed book, yet I found myself caught up in the  mystery of what happened to Agatha and what would happen to Georgie. I think part of the suspense-building is due to the way Timberlake works the pigeons into the story. They are a dramatic part of the setting of this story, and their presence is based on the fact that in 1871 south-central Wisconsin was home to the largest nesting of passenger pigeons ever. Of course, one can’t help but think of the Hitchcock movie The Birds, and then you get a sense of how intimidating a giant flock of birds can be.

This is only the third of the Edgar nominees for best juvenile mystery I’ve read so far. It’s been a busy spring, but I hope to finish off the rest of the nominees before the awards next month!

Monday Book Review: Saving Yesterday by Jessica Keller

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When I first met Jessica Keller at an ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) meeting, I learned that she wrote adult Christian fiction. What I didn’t know right away was that she had a YA book in the works. When the book was released last month, I jumped at the chance to snatch a copy so that I could share it with all of you.

Saving YesterdayTitle: Saving Yesterday

Author: Jessica Keller

Genre: Speculative fiction (I love that in the dedication she thanks her dad and brother for making her watch Star Trek and all those sci-fi shows.)

Age group: YA

Synopsis: Gabby Creed never knew her mother, and she’s been forced to act like a parent to her alcoholic father. However, on her seventeenth birthday, her life is really turned upside-down. A bracelet mysteriously appears on her wrist, and she is sucked back into time. She finds herself during the Civil War with a boy who can also time travel. Eventually, she learns that they are both Shifters, time travelers who switch time periods at the whim of a man known only as Nicholas. When they time travel, Shifters are expected to protect humans and their history. But that’s not easy to do when the Shades (creepy creatures with melting faces) want to feed off human despair and capture Gabby for their own evil purposes.

As I mentioned on Facebook yesterday, I figured Jessica Keller and I were kindred spirits when she mentioned things like Anne of Green Gables, Jane Austen novels, and having to take away someone’s nerd card when they confused Star Wars and Star Trek. (No problem for me there. While Jessica only has one brother, I have four brothers to indoctrinate teach me in the ways of the Force, show me how to give a Vulcan salute, and know not to confuse the two!) However, after reading Saving Yesterday, I’m absolutely sure we’re kindred spirits.

The book moves at a great pace, the characters are sympathetic, and the plot is intriguing. Even though we lost an hour of sleep Saturday night, I stayed up late to finish! Saving Yesterday is the start of a series, and I’m looking forward to the next installment.

Parents of teens: No need to worry about inappropriate language and such here.

While Jessica is an author of Christian fiction, there is no overtly Christian talk in this book. However, it’s a “safe read,” and there are definitely some Christian themes running through it.

Monday Book Review: The Thief by Stephanie Landsem

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I’m taking a break from reading the 2014 Edgar Award nominees to bring you a great Biblical fiction book just perfect for some fun Lenten reading! That’s right, I said, “fun Lenten reading.” Don’t think it’s possible? Check out Stephanie Landsem’s The Thief.

The ThiefTitle: The Thief

Author: Stephanie Landsem

Genre: Biblical fiction

Synopsis: With a father addicted to gambling and a mother addicted to wine, Nissa survives the only way she knows how, with the help of a talented thief named Mouse. Without Mouse’s help, Nissa and her blind brother Cedron would starve. However, getting help from Mouse gets complicated when Mouse is nearly caught by Longinus, a Roman centurion who wants nothing more than to catch the little thief who escaped him. Meanwhile, rumors spread around Jerusalem about a new teacher who can heal. When this new prophet brings sight back to Cedron, Nissa hopes to find a new way to survive, but the miracle of Cedron’s sight only brings further problems as tension mounts in Jerusalem over this new prophet.

As you can probably guess, the prophet/healer is Jesus, and Landsem expertly works in various Bible stories leading up to and including the passion and death of Christ. What I liked about The Thief even more than The Well (the first book in the Living Waters series) is how many different Biblical stories Landsem is able to weave into one narrative. It’s fun to see familiar Gospel stories fleshed out and pieced together in surprising ways. Like she did in The Well, Landsem has a way of introducing you to a character and only later do you realize you “know” that character from a Bible story. For example, when you first meet Cedron, you might not realize he’s the one who will have his eyes covered in mud and then told by Jesus to go wash in the Pool of Siloam. You’ll have to read the rest of The Thief to find out what other Biblical figures appear!

For me, one of the most surprising parts of the story was how much it helped me picture the political tensions of the time. In school, they taught us about how the Pharisees believed Jesus was just another trickster and how the Zealots wanted a real revolution, but seeing that tension depicted in a story made it so much clearer to me.

So if you’re looking for a new way to get into the passion narrative this Lent, pick up Stephanie Landsem’s The Well. It goes on sale tomorrow!

Visit Stephanie Landsem online here.

Monday Book Review: Strike Three You’re Dead by Josh Berk

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I grew up with four brothers, and that meant summers spent either watching the Cubs on TV or playing ball out in the yard. So I was excited to read the middle grade baseball mystery Strike Three You’re Dead.

IMG_4252Title: Strike Three You’re Dead

Author: Josh Berk

Genre: mystery

Age group: middle grade

Synopsis: Baseball fan Lennie Norbeck dreams of one day being the announcer for the Phillies. After winning a contest, Lennie gets the chance to announce one inning at a game, but his dream is cut short when a new pitcher mysteriously dies on the field in the middle of the game. Lennie and his friends (the two Mikes) decide to investigate the case.

I would recommend this mystery to kids who enjoy baseball. As an avid mystery fan, I was able to guess “whodunit” well before Lennie did, but I enjoyed the twists and turns in the story along the way, and I think most middle schoolers would be surprised by the ending.

Another thing I think middle schoolers would enjoy is the voice in this story. Lennie definitely sounds like a preteen, and Berk’s characterization of his two best friends (affectionately known as Mike and Other Mike) are spot on for middle school boys.

One note for parents: because this is written from the perspective of a middle school boy, you can imagine that he views his parents as being rather stupid (despite the fact that they’re both doctors) and embarrassing. In other words, typical middle school perspective; however, I know that bothers some parents, so I thought I’d mention it.

This is my second review for the Edgar Award for best juvenile mystery. To read my first review, click here.

Monday Book Review: P.K. Pinkerton and the Petrified Man by Caroline Lawrence

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It’s time to start reviewing this year’s nominees for the Edgar Award for best juvenile mystery! First one up is a historical mystery that takes place in the Nevada Territory during the time of the Civil War.

IMG_4251Title: P.K. Pinkerton and the Petrified Man

Subject: Caroline Lawrence

Genre: mystery

Age group: middle grade

Synopsis: Twelve-year-old P.K Pinkerton has just opened his own detective agency in Virginia City (Nevada Territory). A young former slave girl asks for his protection. Last night, she witnessed the murder of her mistress Short Sally, a local “Soiled Dove” (prostitute). Now she’s worried the murderer is after her to keep her quiet. P.K., with his autistic-style “eccentricities,” decides to take on the case.

Ms. Lawrence creates a great voice for the character of P.K. Pinkerton. Although the word autism is never used, any teacher familiar with some of the common traits of autism would be quick to catch on. P.K. has trouble reading people’s facial expressions, and he always tells the truth to the point of being blunt.

I also enjoyed some of the historical aspects of the story, from the references to the far-off Civil War to the inclusion of Sam Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain).

Many of the parents who read this blog want to know about age appropriateness, so I’ll reveal that the swear words are fairly PG. Since we’re dealing with the “wild west,” you’d expect a lot of the adult males to curse. “Hell” is written as “h-ll” and “damn” is written as “dam.” Any further swearing by adults is simply described by P.K. as “profanities unfit for publication.”

Some parents may also be concerned about the fact that the murder victim is a prostitute. The word prostitute is never used in the book. Instead, the women are described as “Soiled Doves” who accept “Gentleman Callers.” Parents will have to decide how comfortable they are with that.

As a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, I always find it interesting when “secular” books include the Christian faith. P.K. describes himself as “50% Lakota Indian but 100% Methodist.” The Methodist minister in the book is painted in a favorable light, and P.K. does resort to prayer on several occasions in the book. The inclusion of his faith was woven rather seamlessly into the story and seems historically appropriate for the time. (Side note: I can’t imagine trying to be a Christian minister during a time and place where such lawlessness prevailed. They had their work cut out for them!)

Overall, I enjoyed the mystery. The chapters are short, and Ms. Lawrence does a great job of leaving little cliff hangers at the end of each chapter.

Will it win the Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery?  I don’t know. I’ve got several more nominees left to read!

2014 Edgar Award Nominees

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It’s that time of year again! The Mystery Writers of America have announced the nominees for the 2014 Edgar Awards. As I did last year, I’ll be reading through the YA and juvenile nominees, reviewing them, and then posting my predictions for the winner.

Edgar Allan Poe

Here’s the list of nominees. Have you read any of them? I haven’t yet!

BEST JUVENILE

Strike Three, You’re Dead by Josh Berk (Random House Children’s Books – Alfred A. Knopf BFYR)
Moxie and the Art of Rule Breaking by Erin Dionne (Penguin Young Readers Group – Dial)
P.K. Pinkerton and the Petrified Man by Caroline Lawrence  (Penguin Young Readers Group – Putnam Juvenile)
Lockwood & Co.: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud (Disney Publishing Worldwide – Disney-Hyperion)
One Came Home by Amy Timberlake (Random House Children’s Books – Alfred A. Knopf BFYR)

BEST YOUNG ADULT

All the Truth That’s In Me by Julie Berry (Penguin Young Readers Group – Viking Juvenile)
Far Far Away by Tom McNeal (Random House Children’s Books – Alfred A. Knopf BFYR)
Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy (Simon & Schuster – Simon Pulse)
How to Lead a Life of Crime by Kirsten Miller (Penguin Young Readers Group – Razorbill)
Ketchup Clouds by Amanda Pitcher (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

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