Troublemaker, by John Cho (with Sarah Suk)

     The debut chapter book by actor John Cho is a fictional account of the riots in Los Angeles, CA following the Rodney King incident in 1992. Troublemaker is a good, pretty intense story told from the perspective of main character Jordan, a middle school Korean American student who is struggling with his choices in school and in life. Following the filmed footage of King being beaten by police officers, tensions run high throughout Los Angeles (and around the country), and several days and nights of riots ensue. Jordan's parents own a store in Koreatown, which they fear will become a target of the rioting. Jordan, in an effort to reconnect with his father, sneaks out of the house at night and tries to deliver his father's gun to his dad in an effort to help him protect the store from looters. The evening does not go entirely as Jordan had planned, and Troublemaker the story unfolds.

    I found this book to be a real page-turner, with themes I expect from someone like Jason Reynolds. But the publisher suggests this is a book for readers ages 8-14, which would include readers as young as 3rd grade. As much as I like the story, and you know I love historical fiction, the topics introduced here do not belong in the elementary school library. This is a solid read for 7th graders or older, but I strongly believe younger than that is inappropriate. 

    I liken this book to Attack of the Black Rectangles by A. S. King - another great topic and story, but not for younger readers. These topics, as important as they are, are too complicated for elementary readers. I don't say that lightly, as I'm all about reading what interests you! But really, save this for middle school, please. 4 paws for the topic and story, but minus 1 paw for the errant target readership.   3 paws.

Odder, by Katherine Applegate

    From prolific author Katherine Applegate (meaning she writes a lot of wonderful stories!) comes Odder - not her newest release, but only a couple of years old, and who could resist the otter on the cover, or a story told by Applegate? It turns out...not me! Odder is an otter, living in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. She loves loves loves to play, and with her friend Kairi they explore the ocean and all of its wonders. But Odder's mom told her to be careful of certain things - sharks, humans - but why worry about those creatures when you can dive! And spin! And somersault!

    Applegate has written another heart warming story about an otter named Odder, based on a true story of an otter who was rescued by the humans at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Like all of her other books - The One and Only Ivan being one of my favorites - Odder is not only hard to put down, but it also tugs at your heart the whole way. You will love love love Odder before you even finish this book, and be rooting for her and everyone in her life (well, maybe not the shark...) long after the story ends. 

    The author includes a link to the real Monterey Bay Aquarium's Sea Otter cam, so I'll include it here so you can get started falling in love even before you read the first page! 4 (otter) paws!

The Last Dragon on Mars, by Scott Reintgen

     I saw the second book in this series at the public library, and I decided that if I was going to try it (because the cover looked very cool!), I needed to read the first book first! The Last Dragon on Mars is the first book in this series, although not the first book for author Scott Reintgen. I have not read any of his other books before, but after finishing this one, I definitely want to read the second book in this dragon series!

    I admit up front that I am not normally much of a dragon dog, and I've mentioned before that I don't read a lot of fantasy, either (although I probably should - I almost always enjoy it!). The first two chapters of The Last Dragon on Mars made me want to go back and read my favorite dragon book ever - Dragon's Milk by Susan Fletcher, over again. However, after the second chapter of this book, I was hooked! Reintgen creates a universe where every planet, moon and star has a companion dragon, and these dragons, like their planets and moon and stars, are very unique characters and have history with each other. The Last Dragon on Mars is about Dread, the newest dragon in our solar system, and the 12-year-old boy Lunar Jones, who Dread is somehow connected with. I can't tell you much more without starting to give away details that you, dear reader, need to discover for yourself!

    This first book in the Dragonship Series is fun, creative, easy to follow, and a definite page-turner! I sent my human right to the library for the next book (although it was checked out...darn! Waiting patiently....). Even though I'm reading something else now, I'll come right back to the next book as soon as it gets returned! I don't think this will appeal to younger readers as much, as it is detailed and well over 300 pages long. But for you dragon-loving 4th and 5th graders? And especially middle grade readers? Go get this, put up your "do not disturb" sign, and enjoy! This is a treat! 5 paws!

Olivetti, by Allie Millington

     The cover of this book shows a drawing of a typewriter with flowers growing from within it. If you don't know what a typewriter is, imagine a keyboard and computer - but all together, like a laptop - although there are no lights, or screen, or the need for electricity of any kind to make it work. It doesn't need to charge up, and it won't quit if it isn't plugged in for a little while. No cords, but it does make noise when you use it. A cool, clicking noise, and each brand or style of typewriter has it's own unique sound as you type on it. After some time the electric typewriter came along, and that one did need a cord and electricity, and made a nice humming sound when it was turned on, but the buttons still clicked when you pressed them. Still no lighted screen - Oh, and all of this was before the Internet existed!

    Olivetti is the brand name of a typewriter, and the title of this book by Allie Millington. Olivetti is also a main character in the story, which tells you right away that there is some amount of fantasy built into the book. But it isn't a typical fantasy book, like a Harry Potter, with magic and wizards and such. In this book Olivetti is the typewriter used by Mrs. Brindle through the years as she writes and records stories from her life. Along with her husband, Felix, and their four very unique children, they live a wonderful life in the city of San Francisco. But there is something in the family's past that has changed Ernest, one of the children. With the help of Olivetti, he is destined to face this unknown past, and he seems to be on a difficult course to discover himself as well.

    I read a lot of books, as you know, and I really appreciate it when I come across one that is simply different from all the others! That is hard to do, and not required for me to give a book my highest rating. But when it does happen, like it did with Olivetti, it puts a little more joy in my wag! This book isn't perfect all the way through, but I loved it just the same! I love the unique choice of main character (a typewriter), and I quickly came to love Ernest, and kept turning pages to find out what happened next...would Ernest be okay? Realistic fiction meets a typewriter with feelings and a story of its own. Author Millington really makes it work - I hope it works for you, too! 5 paws!

The Mystery of the Stolen World Cup Trophy, by Angela Cervantes

     The newest book by award-winning author Angela Cervantes (Lety Out Loud). The Mystery of the Stolen World Cup Trophy is about...well, the stolen trophy from the world's most popular sporting event, futbol's World Cup! Cervantes introduces main character Diez Espada, an aspiring detective who takes after his late mother, also a huge mystery fan. Named after his dad's favorite soccer player's jersey number, #10 (Lionel Messi), Diez embarks on a wild adventure to try and discover who has stolen the beautiful World Cup trophy right out from under everyone's watchful eyes! He has help from his 8th grade crush, Rio, and a cast of other fun characters. 

    Cervantes provides plenty of references to real-life mystery author extraordinaire Agatha Christie, and the rest of the characters she collects in this story make it fun to read. For some reason Diez and Rio, and the way Cervantes wrote this particular story, reminded me of one of my favorite book series, Artemis Fowl, even though Artemis was a science fiction/fantasy series as well as a James Bond-type adventure. I wouldn't say this book was a real page-turner, but I did enjoy it overall. A couple of times I thought the author dropped information into the story to help move the plot along in a less-than-natural way, but being that this is written for kids like you and not dogs like me, I decided to keep rolling with it and not let it get in the way of my enjoyment! It was a fun read, and I hope you'll think so, too!          4 paws!