The Oddmire: Book 1, The Changeling, by William Ritter

What fun! This is the newest book by the author of the Jackaby series, and like that series, it is clever and fun, a great mix of story twists and magical characters that deliciously blends humans with elves, gnomes, witches, and faeries. There are several laugh-out-loud moments throughout the story, places where Ritter twists what your brain is expecting from a scene or character into something unexpected, even if just slightly so, but enough to make you smile - like a friend leaving you an unexpected gift in your lunchbox! The Oddmire is written for a slightly younger audience than Jackaby is, and I would recommend this for late elementary to middle school readers, where Jackaby is more firmly placed in the middle school grouping. But both series are fun to read, making me want to continue on in the respective series, something that many book one's fail to do. 4 paws!

Resistance, by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Wow. Wow! This is one powerful story! So powerful I emailed Nielsen about 50 pages in and told her I thought this was her best book so far! Resistance is the story of the resistance movements that formed in Europe in response to Hitler and the Nazis in World War 2. The main character is a Polish girl, Chaya, although the other young people she befriends along the way become equally important and powerful in the story. Chaya passes as Polish, even though she is also Jewish, so escapes the most immediate effects of looking Jewish and the Nazis work to exterminate Jews from the world. She becomes part of the resistance movement in her home country, a very dangerous, painful, scary and brave choice indeed. Nielsen writes that she felt compelled to tell the story of these heroic young people, and I'm glad she did. It is very powerful, one of the best books I've read this year, and one of the strongest book of this historical era I have ever read! The lives these people led, the things they endured to try to lessen and end the Nazi occupation of their country, the lives they were able to impact in a positive way, albeit temporarily in many instances, was extremely moving. If you enjoy historical fiction, you have to read this! If you are not a fan of historical fiction, you still need to read this - one important story in world history that will make you wonder how it could have ever come to be and at the same time make you wonder if something like Nazi Germany could ever happen again. Recent events in our own country make me fearful that influential people who ignore rules of government for their own personal gains at the expense of most everyone are more dangerous even than they may appear at the moment. Read this book, be inspired and alerted. 5 paws!

Illegal, by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin

A new graphic novel by the author of the Artemis Fowl series, one of my all-time favorite fantasy series! Illegal is a fictional account of real-world events involving people fleeing their country because of corrupt governments, extreme violence and danger, extreme poverty...looking for a better life somewhere else but at great risk of losing their life and/or their loved ones. I don't read too many graphic novels so I don't have a lot of comparisons to make, but the artwork in this is fantastic and really adds to the power of the story. Do yourself a favor and educate yourself about this aspect of what is happening in our world today and check this book out! 4 paws!

Jackaby, by William Ritter

What fun! On the back cover of this book a reviewer writes that this is a mix of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who, and I couldn't think of a better way to describe this story! Part mystery, part horror story with humor and wit throughout. Jackaby is a strong and likeable male protagonist, as is Abigail Rook. This book has adventure, monsters, mystery...I enjoyed it all the way through! My gauge of how much I like book one in a series is whether I finish it and immediately want to read the next book - which I do! I can't wait to find out what Jackaby and Rook get into next...if you are a fan of mysteries, and I know many of you are, and you like your books smart, check this series out! 4 paws!

Lincoln's Grave Robbers, by Steve Sheinkin

Sometimes you just have to go back to a favorite - book or author - to read something you KNOW is going to be good! One of my fave go-to's is Steve Sheinkin, and I was happy to come across this book a week ago, one I had not read yet. Sheinkin is my favorite non-fiction author, and this story is a true one about the plot to steal Abraham Lincoln's body from his casket and use it as leverage to get a money counterfeiter released from jail in the late 1860's. Yet another Sheinkin gem, and yet another story from our nation's history that was not in many of my history books! I will admit that this isn't the author's best book, but it is still a good one. If you want the best from this writer, go find Port Chicago 50 of Bomb, both OBOB books (Bomb is a past OBOB title, Port is next year's title) - I doubt you'll be disappointed!

Thornhill, by Pam Smy

A fairly new book by an author I have not heard of before...wow, this book is dark! A young girl growing up in a boarding home in 1982 is bullied by the other girls, and severely bullied by one girl in particular. At the same time, in the present day, a girl has moved into the house next door to where the boarding school once operated, and she finds connections to the bullied girl, although she is no longer there...so, her ghost? The story develops along the way, and the book is told alternately with words and with drawings, both by author Smy. This is one of the darker stories I have ever read, reminding me of Holly Black, perhaps. I admit it disturbed me a little. 4 scared paws.

Catwoman: Soulstealer, by Sarah J. Maas

Wow, sometimes it just takes a little while to finish a book, you know? Now that it is raining less (slightly!), and sunny more (slightly!), I find myself laying on the back deck in the sun, barking at birds and chasing insects, and my reading lags a little. Anyway, I managed to get through this 3rd book in the DC Comics chapter book series, and it was...okay.  While I read I was trying to think of what I wanted to read next (not a good sign while reading a book to wonder about the next one) and whether I wasn't as fond of this book because the main character is a villain instead of a hero, like Wonder Woman or Batman.  I'm not sure, but this one was just okay, of the first three in the series so far. It had action, romance, adventure, super heroes (although the "good" superhero was Batwing...never heard of that character before, have you? It had all the elements of a great story, and it was...good. Not bad, but not great. I still think Wonder Woman was the best of the series so far, and I'm looking forward to book #4, Superman! In the meantime, if you read Catwoman, let me know what you think of it! I love to be talked into a so-so book being really great for someone! 3 paws.

Harbor Me, by Jacqueline Woodson

My brother, Henry, was the runt of his litter. We have the same parents, but I was born in the first batch of puppies, and he was born in the second. Not only does that make me the older sister (and smarter, of course, in every way), but it means we had different experiences in our dog youth. One result of that difference show itself in our eating habits. Henry eats from a special dish made with extra shapes within the bowl to force him to eat more slowly. As the runt, I imagine he was the last to get to Momma for food, and that has made a lifelong impression on him - not a good one, necessarily...he eats like he has never eaten before, and like he may never get to eat again! The special dish helps him slow down so at least he tastes some of what he is eating...how much is debatable!

I share all of that as a way to introduce you to the latest book by author Jacqueline Woodson.  The book, Harbor Me, will make you read slowly, just like Henry's dish makes him eat slowly. You cannot read this book quickly, it just will not allow it. The words are not long or difficult, the book itself is less than 200 pages. But the story has such a richness, such a depth to it, that it forces you to read slowly. The characters, their situations, the exchanges between them as they meet for their weekly ARTT sessions....it all is put together so perfectly, and so descriptively, that you have to read slowly. The story is like a really rich, thick, homemade ice cream; you want to keep every bite in your mouth as long as possible until you just have to swallow it - and then you can't get the next bite into your mouth fast enough!

The only thing I wasn't sure of about this story is how mature main character Haylie's reflections and thoughts are. She is written like a 50-year-old wise woman, but in the story she is in the 6th grade. It seemed a little like Woodson was telling some of her own story, perhaps, in this book, but that isn't a bad thing. Whether that is true or not, if you have any liking whatsoever of realistic fiction, I highly recommend this book! Or any book by Woodson, for that matter...she is a master writer, and she shines in Harbor Me. Wow. 5 paws!

         Henry in front of me at home!

The Library Book, by Susan Orlean

About twice every school year I have to read a book meant for adults. Not sure why, just need something different. This spring break I read The Library Book, and what a treat! One of the reviews calls this book a love letter to libraries, and I couldn't agree more! Using the devastating fire in 1986 of the Los Angeles Public Library as the background to explore not only the fire, but libraries around the world, I loved this book! Not sure if any of my owner's middle schoolers would enjoy it as much, but if libraries just seem like one of the greatest things since peanut butter in a kong, than try this one! The BMS library doesn't carry it, but the public libraries do! Enjoy! Blink blink! 5 paws!

The Lifters, by Dave Eggers

This is one of the newer books in the library since the start of the new year, and one I didn't really pay much attention to until a student returned it and told my human that it was good. So, he brought it home and I gave it a try! It reminded me of a mix of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein, and something Neil Gaiman might write. In other words, it was quirky and odd, but it kept you reading...it isn't anything I can put my paw on as far as what I liked and what I found odd, it was simply a mixture of everything. But a good mixture! The story is a fantasy tale where this force called The Hollows blows tunnels underneath places where people are experiencing sadness or turmoil.  Gran, the main character, finds himself becoming one of the Lifters - someone who tries to keep the ground from collapsing- and thus houses, schools, churches, buildings, etc. I can't totally compare it to anything else I've read, which on its own is a good thing - so often books seem to follow the same script a lot, so something different is a welcome change! But it's almost too quirky...I don't know - YOU read it and let me know what you think! I give it 4 paws...how many would you give it?