The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl, by Stacy McAnulty

 One of this year's OBOB titles for middle school, Lightning Girl is the first novel by McAnulty, but not her first book. This is the story of Lucy, who survived being struck by lightning four years ago which scrambled her brains just enough to make her a math genius! Fun, right? This story describes her first venture into middle school, being homeschooled after the lightning event, where she finds that not every problem has a solution...get it?  :)

The book starts off a little slow, I think, but by page 50 or so there is enough of Lucy on the pages to make you like her. Her social life consists of her Nana and her uncle Paul, so being tossed into 7th grade has many challenges, as you might imagine. Once I started to get to know Lucy I couldn't stop reading or rooting for her! When she takes up at a local animal shelter and befriends an abandoned dog, well...I was hooked. How can I NOT like a dog story, right? 

This book reminded me of Sharon Creech's Walk Two Moons, one of my all-time favorite books, which is a strong recommendation! Lucy is quirky, smart, independent, imperfect, brave...a great protagonist! I'm not sure McAnulty is quite Sharon Creech yet, but Lighting Girl is good enough to make me want to read more from her. And you'll love Lucy, Windy and Luke, as well as Cutie Pi- even Nana! A really good story, a great OBOB selection, and a cool cover, too - 4 paws!

Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales, written and illustrated by Nathan Hale

 I've been wanting to read one or more of the books in this graphic novel series for some time, and finally got two of them in my paws. Wow, I'm so glad I did! They are funny, informative, fast-moving, and simply well-done! I read Treaties, Trenches, Mud and Blood about World War1, and Major Impossible, about John Wesley Powell, a 19th century explorer and Civil War soldier. 

Both books will teach you a lot about their subject but not in so much depth that it gets boring - at least I didn't think so. You are given enough information to understand the period and people in a better way but not so much info that it feels like you are reading a textbook. The graphic novel format helps with that, and the humor worked throughout the stories help as well! I found the humor funny, almost silly at times, but never too immature or predictable. This series, of which there are 10 books on all, is excellent, and it teaches about some important times and people in our country's history. I recommend these to fans of graphic novels and fans of non-fiction and historical fiction. Well done! 5 paws! 

                  

Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi

 This is one of those books that is reviewed everywhere by everyone for months after it comes out, which always catches my attention - who doesn't want to read the next best book, right?! But I hesitated reading this because the reviewers give it the grade rating of 9th grade or higher, which makes it a little too mature for us at the middle school. But I remained open to it as a possible addition to the library collection, and finally bought a copy to read and review on my own, wondering why it was rated so highly yet only for high school or above.

Children of Blood and Bone is now the first in a two-book series, and comes in at just over 500 pages. Already that makes it not the right book for everyone. While reading it, I admit there were a few times I wished it were done so I could move on to my next book. However, in those moments I decided to trust the reviewers and keep reading...I am SO glad I did! The last 100 pages were some of the best action-packed, romance-laden pages ever! So fast-moving! After getting through a few of the slower parts of the story, I was rewarded with an overall remarkable story.

Adeyemi's first book mashes African history with fantasy and African-American sentiment into a wild blend of a story. If adventure, magic, kingdoms, wars and battles and romance is your thing, you will surely like this! I found that the reason some reviewers were giving it the higher grade rating was the romantic relationship that builds up as the story goes along, peaking at some intimate suggestions that I think most mature 8th grade readers could handle. Probably even mature 7th graders. In fact, I didn't find anything more suggestive than in any Twilight books, nor anything that would even make me blush. So a strong story, with older teen characters, doing and thinking what many older teens think about when it comes to someone they are attracted to - oh, and with a unique storyline, action and adventure thrown in. 

The closest comparisons I can think of for this book would be Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, only for older middle school or high school readers. After reading the story, the Author's Note at the end of the book will make you cry. It's not the same to read it before the story - I did both. It will be something sure to move you after you complete the book. Not sure I would read the second book until I finished the first, but now I probably will dive in again. What happens to Zelie? 4 paws and a wag!