Monday Book Review: Saving Kabul Corner by N.H. Senzai

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Here’s the second in my reviews of juvenile mysteries for these year’s Edgar nominees!

IMG_3252Title: Saving Kabul Corner

Author: N.H. Senzai

Genre: mystery

Age group: middle grade

Synopsis: Twelve-year-old Ariana is a bit perturbed that her perfect cousin Laila, who just moved from Afghanistan to California, has honed in not only on her bedroom, but also on her best friend Mariam! Ariana dreams of the day when Laila’s father will return from his job in Afghanistan and she and her family can move into their new home where she’ll finally have her own room. But things never go as planned, and both Ariana’s and Laila’s worlds get turned upside down when a rival Afghan grocery store opens up in the same shopping plaza as Ariana’s family store. This reignites an old family feud that was long thought to be buried back in Afghanistan. When the family store, Kabul Corner, is vandalized, Ariana and her friends decide to find out who’s trying to destroy their business. Is it really the Afghan family who runs the rival store, or is somebody else out to get them?

If you’ve been around the blog for a while, you might remember that I also reviewed Shooting Kabul, N.H. Senzai’s first book (sort of a prequel to this one) two years ago. While I enjoyed that one, I think I enjoyed this second book even more–probably because it seemed, at least to me, to follow a more traditional mystery plot. There are clear suspects, clear clues, and a good old-fashioned wrap-up of whodunit at the end.

Another thing I really enjoy about N.H. Senzai’s books is that she gives us such a lovely glimpse into the true Muslim culture. I teach at a very ethnically diverse school, and it’s fun for me to see characters with names like that of some of my students: Fadi, Zayd, Naj, Nasreen. Some of my students’ families have fled Afghanistan for the same reasons as the characters in this book, so it helps me to understand what their life might be like at home as they worry about family members who may still be there or may even be helping U.S. forces in the area.

Kudos to N.H. Senzai for a fun mystery! I think I may be adding this as an option for summer reading for next year’s group of incoming sixth graders.

Monday Book Review: Fake ID by Lamar Giles

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

It’s time to review another Edgar nominee, this time for best young adult mystery.

Title: Fake ID

Author: Lamar Giles

Genre: mystery

Age group: young adult

Synopsis: Teenager Nick Pearson has been living in the Witness Protection Program for years. His father, a former mob ally, is a key witness in a case against a big-time mobster–or at least, will be a key witness once the police capture the mobster. Unfortunately, Nick’s dad has problems playing by the rules; thus, Nick’s family is forced to change names and locations several times. When Nick lands in the small town of Stepton, things go wrong quickly. A student at school commits suicide, but Nick isn’t convinced it wasn’t murder. Worse yet, he fears his dad is messed up in the whole deal.

Giles provides several nice plot twists to a story that keeps getting more complicated as Nick investigates, so I can see why it’s been nominated for an Edgar. After years of reading so many mysteries, it’s a little hard to surprise me so I’ll admit that there was one plot twist that got me.

Parents may want to be forewarned that there is foul language in the book, but it didn’t seem gratuitous to me. I’m sure high school students hear similar or worse language on a daily basis. There are also brief mentions of sex and one short make-out scene. Nick certainly isn’t the perfect hero of a romance novel, but he’s a kid trying to do the right thing despite his father’s mistakes, so we root for him to succeed, and there are definitely some humorous lines in here.

One other thing I feel compelled to mention is that after the questionable suicide, one character mentions that another character says there won’t be a Catholic funeral because it was a suicide. I don’t know if Giles purposely included this erroneous idea or if he’s unaware himself. However, as a Catholic with a book about teen suicide due out in just a couple months, I thought I should clear the air. Someone who has committed suicide can have a Catholic funeral Mass. If you’d like an explanation, feel free to see this article.

 

 

Monday Book Review: Nick and Tesla’s Super-Cyborg Gadget Glove by “Science Bob” Pflugfelder and Steve Hockensmith

/1 Comment/in , , /by

The full title of this book is Nick and Tesla’s Super-Cyborg Gadget Glove: A Mystery with a Blinking, Beeping, Voice-Recording Gadget Glove You Can Build Yourself. Whew! How’s that for a title! It’s the first of my 2015 Edgar-nominated books to review.

Nick and TeslaTitle: Nick and Tesla’s Super-Cyborg Gadget Glove: A Mystery with a Blinking, Beeping, Voice-Recording Gadget Glove You Can Build Yourself

Authors: “Science Bob” Pflugfelder and Steve Hockensmith

Genre: mystery

Age group: middle grade

Summary: Twins Nick and Tesla Holt are named after the famous (although really not as famous as he should be) engineer and inventor Nikola Tesla. The eleven-year-old twins are staying with their Uncle Newt, a scientist asked to fix a brand-new interactive display of animatronic representations of famous scientists at a local museum about to have a grand re-opening. However, someone seems set on ruining the museum’s celebration. When Uncle Newt and his friend Hiroko think they’ve got everything ready, they activate the animatronic version of Nikola Tesla to give it a test run. At first, everything seems fine, but suddenly all the robotic-like figures start talking at once, and then at high speed until a beaker flies out of Louis Pasteur’s hand, Charles Darwin’s head falls off, and everyone is suddenly plunged into darkness. When the lights come back on, Uncle Newt and Hiroko work on repairing the broken robots while Nick, Tesla, and their two friends decide to investigate who is out to ruin the museum’s big night.

Super Cyborg GloveWhile Nick, Tesla, and their friends work on the mystery, they decide they need a special glove to help them. At first, the glove needs an LED light that can be activated by touching two fingers together. Later, they need to record someone talking, so they add a small recorder to the glove. As the mystery progresses, more devices get added to their super-cyborg glove. What makes this more fun is that the directions for the glove are included in the book so that kids (with the help of their parents) could actually build their own super-cyborg glove if they wanted to.

The mystery part of the book is pretty fun, too. While I may have predicted what was going to happen at times, I think the ending would surprise most young readers, and I definitely think the authors captured the voice of eleven-year-olds pretty well. (Seeing as I spend my days with eleven and twelve-year-olds, I like to think I know what they sound like!)

A fair warning to parents who don’t like adult characters to seem “stupid”: Nick and Tesla’s Uncle Newt is kind of your stereotypical “mad scientist.” He’s brilliant with his science, but lacks a bit of common sense, and he’s definitely not good at keeping an eye on his niece and nephew. They are allowed to roam the museum unsupervised because he’s too distracted fixing the museum display.

That being said, it’s really nice to see woman and girls portrayed as being not only interested in science but also very good at it. Uncle Newt’s friend Hiroko is a smart, female scientist, and Tesla is a bright young woman who makes for a strong heroine and counterpoint to her more cautious but still smart twin brother. I would recommend this book to those in grades 3-6 who like mysteries and/or are interested in science.

My To-Be-Read Pile

/3 Comments/in , /by

This past Monday I didn’t get a Monday Book Review posted. I did, however, trek on out to my local public library to pick up some new books after getting my car out of the aftereffects of the Blizzard of 2015.

Parking at the library was at a premium since they hadn’t managed to plow half the lot yet. I had to circle the lot for ten minutes to get a spot. Once inside, though, I found several fun picks.

image

Recognize any titles? Two of the books are up for the Edgar Award for best juvenile mystery, and the other two are up for best YA (young adult) mystery. Every year I try to read through as many of the nominees as possible before the winners are announced in April.

So here are some books you’ll probably being seeingg reviews on in the near future:

  • Nick and Testla’s Super-Cyborg Gadget Glove by “Science Bob” Pflugfelder and Steve Hockensmith
  • Saving Kabul Corner by N.H. Senzai
  • Fake ID by Lamar Giles
  • Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano

Monday Book Review: One Came Home by Amy Timberlake

/1 Comment/in , , , /by

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

/4 Comments/in , , /by

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!

Join the Insiders Club!

Sign up here for exclusive info and giveaways!

* indicates required




Home
About
Books
Speaking

Blog
Teacher Resources
Contact