BOOK REVIEW: THE LUNAR CHRONICLES

GREAT  SERIES

The Lunar Chronicles

     The Lunar Chronicles has it all. Excitement, Mystery. Intrigue. Spies. Action. danger. Sci-fi. Romance.
    Three girls surviving in a dangerous world, each with their own compelling story. Their lives intertwined both in the past  and in the present. Together they are tasked with saving the world. To say more would be a spoiler.

Target Audience: grades 7-12

Mystery / Suspense: High

Kid Appeal: Excellent!

The Time Traveling Detective:

A Personalized Mystery Picture Book for Kids!

Claire McAllistir

Little Heroes Publishing

2017

Available: Hardcover, soft cover, e-book

    The Mona Lisa is stolen. Only a clever detective can follow the clues to solve the mystery. That child is yours, written into the story as its hero. They travel through time in a time machine to help the Paris police solve the crime and retrieve the painting.

     This is fun and reasonably priced adventure for the young reader. When ordering the book, you plug in your child's name, the names of their family and friends and the book is personalized with custom illustrations of your child and a book dedication. It's fast-paced, educational and entertaining.

Target audience: 3-8-year-olds

Mystery / suspense: good

Kid appeal: high

MOVIE REVIEW: NANCY DREW

MOVIE REVIEW: NANCY DREW

     If you've followed this blog, you know I was a huge Nancy Drew fan when I was a tween. Because of this, and my husband's out of town on business, I decided to watch this movie on Netflix.  

   Once I got past the fact that this Nancy was at first presented as a little nerdy and out-of-step socially, I quite enjoyed the film. It's an updated version, and as such, relies on what's considered fun for this generation and the modern tweenie. 

     I think most young girls will enjoy the storyline and be able to identify with her personal challenges as well as the mystery itself.

WHERE DO THE IDEAS COME FROM?

     How I Work

     Almost every week I get at least one new idea for a story. Of course, there's no way I can write them all. What I do is jot them down on whatever piece of paper is available. For every ten, one of them sticks in my brain and won't let go. It brain-bounces until I find myself jotting notes. More ricochets and I end up with something that looks like this . . . ideas scribbled on the back of a placemat while waiting for breakfast.

Have I written this one yet?

Nope, but it's in the pile, waiting for its turn 

at the keyboard.

BRING ON THE NEW YEAR!

NEW YEAR

NEW RESOLUTIONS

Plan to be here at least once a week  with something new

for

2017!

Hope to see ya here!

I'M BACK: RIDDLE 40

WHAT DO YOU CALL A  ROCK MIGRATION?

GONE WRITING

. . . up on the Northern Oregon Coast 

at Rockaway Beach.

Nothing but the sound of waves,

a lone seagull's cry

 and the clicks of my keyboard.

REWIND: PLAY DEAD a DOG and his GIRL MYSTERIES

PLAY DEAD
a DOG and his GIRL MYSTERIES
Jane R. Mason & Sarah Hines Stephens
Scholastic Inc
2012

Available: Paperback, Kindle

    Dodge is a retired police dog. Cassie is his girl. Together they make a great detective team.  Cassie's mom is the town sheriff so  with a little eavesdropping, they have the advantage of getting the inside scoop. The wealthiest man in town, Verdel Ward, has disappeared and didn't

REWIND BOOK REVIEW: RIPPER

RIPPER

Stefan Petrucha

Penguin Group

2012

Available: Paperback, Kindle, hard copy

     Fourteen-year-old Carver Young lives at the Ellis Orphanage in New York. The year is 1895. Like most orphans, he's obsessed with his past. Who were his real parents? Why did they abandon him? Determined to find the answers to these questions, he breaks into the locked record room only to discover an important clue to his past.  But is it enough for him to locate his real father? To complicate his life even further, Miss Petty announces that the orphanage is to 

BOOK REVIEW: MASTERMINDS

MASTERMINDS

Gordon Korman

Harper Collins

2015

Available: Hardcover, paperback

   Five kids. Five viewpoints.

   Serenity, New Mexico is the perfect community, crime-free and peaceful. Everyone's parents are employed. Every backyard has a pool. The small community and has a small school. There are only thirty kids and for the most part they all get along. This isn't to say don't have best friends, but in a town where honesty and personal integrity are held in the highest esteem, it seems that the kids are almost as perfect as their perfect parents. That is until

REWIND BOOK REVIEW: SOUND BENDER

SOUND BENDER
Lin Oliver & Thed Baker
Scholastic
2011

Available: Paperback, Kindle, Hardcover

   Leo and his younger brother Hollis's parents have disappeared and are presumed dead. That means they get to go live with their eccentric uncle who is only doing his duty. It's obvious he really doesn't want them, but they have no choice. They're kids and can't live on their own. The only upside is that Uncle Crane is rich. Real rich, like limousine rich. Hollis loves it. Leo isn't so sure. His uncle is strange.

BOOK REVIEW: WHAT WAITS IN THE WOODS

WHAT WAITS IN THE WOODS
Kieran Scott
Point
2015

Available: hard cover, Kindle, paperback (Scholastic school market)

   Callie Velasquez lived most of her life in the city before moving to the country. She's settled into a new high school, made two new friends and most important has a boyfriend. The three girls decided to go on a wilderness camping trip and Callie can't resist inviting Jeremy to join them. The other two girls aren't excited about having him along but grudgingly agree to let him to tag along. The four teens set out for their week in the woods. Callie feels like a fish out of water. The

BOOK REVIEW: NAZI HUNTERS

NAZI HUNTERS

Neal Bascomb

Houghton

2009

Available: hard cover, paperback, Kindle

This is a non-fiction book about the hunt for and capture of Adolf Eichmann. Eichmann was the Nazi officer held responsible for the plan (The Final Solution) that killed six million Jews during World War II. When the war ended, Germany was in chaos. Many of the Nazi war criminals escaped and assumed new identities. Many went into hiding in South America. 15 years after the end of the war, Eichman

POST SCHEDULE UPDATE

POST SCHEDULE UPDATE

Hi to my regular followers. As the beginning of school approaches I've decided to modify my posting schedule. Not because I'm going back to school, but because I need to spend more time writing on my stories.

I will continue to post a book review weekly, but I'm going to slow down on the games and trivia. There are lots of both to choose from already on the blog. Use the tabs above to find them.

Read!

MYSTERY QUOTE #1

MYSTERY QUOTE #1

"No object is mysterious. 

The mystery is your

 eye."

Elizabeth Bowen

GAME: THE SECRET ZOO HIDDEN OBJECT GAME

GAME: THE SECRET ZOO
HIDDEN OBJECT GAME

BOOK REVIEW: THE DEER WITH THE PURPLE NOSE

THE DEER WITH THE PURPLE NOSE

Wayne L. Brillhart

Wan Lee Publishing

2014

Available: Hardcopy

    Purdy is an English Setter who stumbles on a puzzling mystery in his own backyard. Dottie the Deer's nose has turned purple. The mystery? How did this happen? Why? And what does it mean? Enlisting the help of his brother Rusty

IT'S A MYSTERY

Why didn't I blog today?

REWIND GAME: HOW'S YOUR EYESIGHT?

 GREAT DETECTIVES 
NEED TO BE OBSERVANT!

HOW'S YOUR EYESIGHT?

Take This Test & See!

Eyesight Challenge » free puzzles

BOOK REVIEW: ETIQUETTE & ESPIONAGE

ETIQUETTE & ESPIONAGE

Gail Cooper

Scholastic

2013

Available: Hard copy, paperback, Kindle

    Set in Victorian times, fourteen-year-old Sophronia does not behave like the other young ladies of her era. It's like she's been placed out of time. Instead of serving tea, embroidering, and having polite conversation, she'd rather climb a trees or dismantling a piece of machinery to see how it works. Her hoyden behavior is most embarrassing to her very proper mother. So it doesn't come as too much of a surprise when she is sent off to Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality to learn proper deportment.  What is a surprise is the school. Instead