Reviewed by Olivia and Oscar

Rating: High Five!

Who We'd Recommend to: Fans of Peter and the Starcatchers, fractured fairy tales, and the Whatever After series.

Synopsis (from Amazon):
In the highly anticipated continuation of the Land of Stories series, Conner learns that the only place to fight the Masked Man's literary army is inside his own short stories! 

When the twins and their friends enter worlds crafted from Conner's imagination, finding allies no one else could have ever dreamed of, the race begins to put an end to the Masked Man's reign of terror. Can the twins finally restore peace in the fairy tale world?

Reviewed by Oscar

Rating: High Five!

Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of the Inheritance Cycle, the Young Samurai series, and Charmstone.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
In the Pacific there is an island that looks like a big fish sunning itself in the sea. Around it, blue dolphins swim, otters play, and sea elephants and sea birds abound. Once, Indians also lived on the island. And when they left and sailed to the east, one young girl was left behind. — This is the story of Karana, the Indian girl who lived alone for years on the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Year after year, she watched one season pass into another and waited for a ship to take her away. But while she waited, she kept herself alive by building shelter, making weapons, finding food, and fighting her enemies, the wild dogs. It is not only an unusual adventure of survival, but also a tale of natural beauty and personal discovery.

Reviewed by Olivia

Rating: High Four

Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Book Scavenger, A Series of Unfortunate Events, anything Cornelia Funke (Inkheart in particular, though), the Doldrums, and the Phantom Tollbooth.

Synopsis (from Amazon): 
A young girl's midnight séance awakens a long-slumbering malevolent spirit.... A band of runaway orphans allies with an underground collective of saboteurs and plans a daring rescue of their friends, imprisoned in the belly of an industrial wasteland.... Two old friends draw closer to their goal of bringing together a pair of exiled toy makers in order to reanimate a mechanical boy prince.... As the fate of Wildwood hangs in the balance.

Reviewed by Oscar

Rating: High Three

Who I'd Recommend To: N/A

Synopsis: Jack has finally found a home and a purpose on a farm, where he keeps a flock of sheep safe from coyotes and helps train young pups to do the same. But when two sheep disappear in broad daylight, Jack doesn't know what happened to them. Was it his fault? Is he just getting too old for this job? Still, he's determined not to disappoint his boy, Luke, who thinks that Jack is the smartest and fastest dog around. Then Jack and Luke discover that the animal threatening their farm is far more dangerous than any coyote: it's a rabid wolf. Jack knows that he must gather the courage and strength to protect the ones he loves most―but can an old dog learn new tricks?

Rating: High Five!

Synopsis (from Amazon) : 
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Hypnotism!Molly Moon is no ordinary orphan. When she finds a mysterious old book on hypnotism, she discovers she can make people do whatever she wants. But a sinister stranger is watching her every move and he'll do anything to steal her hypnotic secret...

Why We'd Recommend It: We first stumbled upon this book on audiobook, some four years ago. We were instantly captivated, and proceeded to read all the other books in the series within weeks. Molly Moon's world is one that all readers will instantly love, with adventure, action, danger, fame, mystery... who could ask for anything more? It's the perfect book to get you out of a reading "slump," and lucky for reluctant readers, this fast-paced book is only the first of a long series. It's also incredibly imaginative. Overall, one of our favorite semi-fantasy books, still to this day!

Rating: High Five... Million :)

Synopsis: Two orphaned brothers, Prosper and Bo, have run away to Venice, where crumbling canals and misty alleyways shelter a secret community of street urchins. Leader of this motley crew of lost children is a clever, charming boy with a dark history of his own: He calls himself the Thief Lord. Propser and Bo relish their new "family" and life of petty crime. But their cruel aunt and a bumbling detective are on their trail. And posing an even greater threat to the boys' freedom is something from a forgotten past: a beautiful magical treasure with the power to spin time itself.

Why We'd Recommend It: When I think about my younger years, The Thief Lord comes to mind. Written by one of my favorite authors, Cornelia Funke, when my third-grade-teacher recommended this to me, I found it hard to resist. Just read the synopsis and you'll see why. Ever since this book, I've been obsessed with writing stories that take place in Europe - especially Italy. The story grabs you right in from the start and doesn't let go until you get to the mind-blowing end. Truly an incredible book that I've probably reread about a thousand times by now. But don't take my word for it. Go and read it yourself!

Reviewed by Olivia

Rating: High Four

​Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of the War That Saved My Life, ​Breaking Stalin's Nose, the Devil's Arithmetic, and Jerry Spinelli's Milkweed.

Synopsis (from Amazon):
Felix, a Jewish boy in Poland in 1942, is hiding from the Nazis in a Catholic orphanage. The only problem is that he doesn't know anything about the war, and thinks he's only in the orphanage while his parents travel and try to salvage their bookselling business. And when he thinks his parents are in danger, Felix sets off to warn them--straight into the heart of Nazi-occupied Poland. To Felix, everything is a story: Why did he get a whole carrot in his soup? It must be sign that his parents are coming to get him. Why are the Nazis burning books? They must be foreign librarians sent to clean out the orphanage's outdated library. But as Felix's journey gets increasingly dangerous, he begins to see horrors that not even stories can explain.

Reviewed by Olivia

Rating: High Five!

Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of any other of Pam  Munoz Ryan's books, Cornelia Funke, and (just a little bit) Jerry Spinelli.

Synopsis (from Amazon): Lost and alone in a forbidden forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and suddenly finds himself entwined in a puzzling quest involving a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica.

Decades later, Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California each, in turn, become interwoven when the very same harmonica lands in their lives. All the children face daunting challenges: rescuing a father, protecting a brother, holding a family together. And ultimately, pulled by the invisible thread of destiny, their suspenseful solo stories converge in an orchestral crescendo.

Rating: High Five!

Synopsis: Nine-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada’s twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn’t waste a minute—she sneaks out to join him.
 
So begins a new adventure of Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take the two kids in. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read, and watches for German spies, she begins to trust Susan—and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie. But in the end, will their bond be enough to hold them together through wartime? Or will Ada and her brother fall back into the cruel hands of their mother?

Why I'd Recommend It: The War That Saved My Life is another Sweet Sixteen book - one of the first I read, in fact. It still remains my favorite, right alongside My Diary From the Edge of the World (they have a very similar feel). Right from the start, I felt the emotions Ada felt, in a  very moving way. The writing was beautiful, and I loved the setting, too. This book provides an interesting perspective on World War II -- the perspective of a girl in England experiencing things from that side of the War. But more than anything else, this book isn't about that. It reminds me of Paperboy, or Part Two of Echo (review coming soon!). It has a classic feeling, and there's never a dull moment. I was completely engrossed in this beautiful book the whole ride. Definitely one of my favorite books this year!

Rating: High Five!

Synopsis (from Amazon):
In the bleak winter of 19 0, Nazi troops parachuted into Peter Lindstrom's tiny Norwegian village and held it captive. Nobody thought the Nazis could be defeated—until Uncle Victor told Peter how the children could fool the enemy. It was a dangerous plan. They had to slip past Nazi guards with nine million dollars in gold hidden on their sleds. It meant risking their country's treasure—and their lives.

Why I'd Recommend It: My teacher in - third grade, I think? - recommended this to me, and I instantly dove into it and couldn't be shaken out. Although it's been a while since I last read it, I remember having loved it to the fullest and being fascinated with the interesting perspective on Nazis during World War II, and how small villages being taken over dealt with it. Since then, I've read many Holocaust and World War II books, but I think this book is probably the best introduction to those terrifying times a parent could give their children. With a story that's bound to keep you engaged for hours, brave characters that any kid would look up to, and plenty of danger and adventure, SNOW TREASURE truly is a winner.