Reviewed by Olivia

Rating: High Five

Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Ida B., Pinky Pye, A Mango-Shaped Space, Be Light Like a Bird, Odin's Promise, and Mayday.

​Synopsis: Jackson and his family have fallen on hard times. There's no more money for rent. And not much for food, either. His parents, his little sister, and their dog may have to live in their minivan. Again.
Crenshaw is a cat. He's large, he's outspoken, and he's imaginary. He has come back into Jackson's life to help him. But is an imaginary friend enough to save this family from losing everything?

Reviewed by Olivia

Rating: High Four

Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Echo, The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, and anything by Cornelia Funke. 

Synopsis (from Amazon):
Ben and Rose secretly wish their lives were different. Ben longs for the father he has never known. Rose dreams of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook. When Ben discovers a puzzling clue in his mother's room and Rose reads an enticing headline in the newspaper, both children set out alone on desperate quests to find what they are missing.

Reviewed by Olivia

Rating: High Five

Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Fans of Snow Treasure, Once, Number the Stars, and Each Little Bird That Sings.

Synopsis (provided by the publisher): 
Set in Norway during World War II, Bjorn’s Gift continues the adventures of Mari, a young Norwegian girl who faces growing hardships and dangers in her small village in a western fjord. German occupation troops and local Nazi supporters move closer to her family’s daily life, and her classmate Leif becomes active in
the Norwegian Nazi youth party. Mari struggles to live up to her brother Bjorn’s faith in her, as she becomes more involved in risky resistance activities, trusting only her family and a few close friends. Across Norway, oppressive laws are imposed in the months from Fall 1941 to the early 1943, with dire local consequences. Difficult decisions force Mari to admit that many things in life are not easily sorted into good or bad, and she begins to wonder if Hitler will ever be defeated and . . . whether the occupation of Norway will ever end.

Reviewed by Olivia


Rating: High Five!


​Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Snow Treasure, Once, Number the Stars, and Each Little Bird That Sings.


Synopsis (from Amazon):
Eleven-year-old Mari grew up tucked under the wings of her parents, grandma, and older siblings. After Hitler's troops invade Norway in Spring 1940, she is forced to grow beyond her "little girl" nickname to deal with harsh new realities. At her side for support and protection is Odin, her faithful elkhound. As the year progresses, Mari, her family, and her neighbors are drawn into the activities of the Norwegian underground resistance. 

Reviewed by Olivia

Rating: High Five!

Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Lost in the Sun, The Thing About Jellyfish, and anything by Jerry Spinelli.

Synopsis (from Amazon):
Wayne Kovok lives in a world of After. After his uncle in the army was killed overseas. After Wayne and his mother survived a plane crash while coming back from the funeral. After he lost his voice.

Wayne has always used his love of facts to communicate ("Did you know more people die each year from shaking a vending machine than from shark attacks?"). Without his voice, how will he wow the prettiest girl in school? How will he stand up to his drill-sergeant grandfather? And how will he share his hopes with his deadbeat dad? It's not until Wayne loses his voice completely that he realizes how much he doesn't say.

Reviewed by Olivia

Rating: High Five

Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of anything Jerry Spinelli, Ida B., Blackbird Fly, and My Diary From the Edge of the World.

Synopsis (from Amazon): 
You are now entering Ruby Holler, the one and only Ruby Holler! Your lives are never going to be the same—" 
​"Trouble twins" Dallas and Florida are orphans who have given up believing there is such a thing as a loving home. Tiller and Sairy are an eccentric older couple who live in the beautiful, mysterious Ruby Holler, but they’re restless for one more big adventure. When they invite the twins to join them on their journeys, they first must all stay together in the Holler, and the magic of the place takes over. Two pairs of lives grow closer and are changed forever.

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.

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 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.