Ratings Explanation

Language: A steady stream of swear words and profanity including 13 F-words and another 3 F-words in Spanish.

Violence: Brief description of drug cartels and their torturing and killing tactics. It is related that a Tarahumara teenage boy is beaten to death, probably by members of a drug cartel.

Sexual Content: Jenn runs down the beach completely naked to win a bet.

Adult Themes: Jenn and Billy party, alot. They drink like fish, pass out, throw up and make complete fools of themselves. One night while drunk, Jenn loses most of  her clothing with no recollection of how it happened.  It is stated that in Juarez, Mexico hundreds of young women have been raped, murdered and dumped in the desert. Brief mention of a well-known lesbian and her affairs with Madonna and Angelina Jolie. A Tarahumara party is described including heavy drinking, wives in the bushes with other men, and grown women wrestling naked.

Synopsis

Christopher McDougall is a full-time writer and part-time runner. Frustrated with his injury prone body, he goes in search of a method to run without pain, focusing on the Tarahumara, a tribe of incredible distance runners who live in one of the most secluded parts of Mexico. The Tarahumara are famous for their ultra-endurance and their ability to run and remain injury free. Anxious to learn their secrets, McDougall travels to the deadly Copper Canyons, an area of the borderlands fraught with sheer cliffs, soaring temperatures, deadly snakes and to top it off, gun toting drug lords protecting their illegal grows.

McDougall hopes to gain insight into the Tarahumara through Caballo Blanco, an American known to live in proximity to the elusive tribe, but, like them, really hard to track down. When they finally do come face-to-face, Caballo enlists McDougall’s help to pull off a race that will pit North America’s elite ultramarathoners against the fabled Tarahumara.

Born to Run tells the inspiring and exciting stories of some of the world’s most (and least) famous ultra runners and the history behind their success, but much of the book focuses on what we think we know about running and why everything we think we know is wrong. From shoes to form to nutrition to evolution, this book explores our running history and what we should be doing differently in order to become the runner that is in each of us.

Inspiring! I am not much of a runner, but Born to Run has made me want to love running. I was fascinated with the different stories, failures and successes of past and present runners. Scott Jurek’s story is particularly interesting. He is a current ultra runner who almost always wins, but who also waits at the finish line cheering until the last runner crosses the finish line. Another favorite was Emil Zatopek, a Czech soldier who ran in the 1952 Olympics. The Czech team was so small that he could pick his events, so he picked all of them. Because he had never run a marathon, and because he was at the Olympics anyway, he competed in the marathon as well, asked advice from an English runner along the way, and won the gold medal! Emil was known for his compassion and genuine love for running and people. When the Soviets invaded Prague in 1968, he was given the choice to be a sports ambassador for them or to spend the rest of his life “cleaning toilets in a uranium mine. Zatopek chose the toilets. And just like that, one of the most beloved athletes in the world disappeared.” The Tarahumara and their history and culture was also interesting. Searching for their secrets and methods led McDougall to state, “That is the real secret of the Tarahumara: they’d never forgotten what it felt like to love running.”

Aside from the language I recommend this book wholeheartedly. It is not written for young adults, but I think anyone, runner or not, would benefit from reading Born to Run. Recommended for 18+ because of language, but you have to be the judge of that, of course.

Ratings Explanation

Violence:  There are many instance of fighting with muskets, knives or fists.  Many people die and there is some description of the various ways.  There are many chase scenes.  Brusenna is frequently treated roughly.  She is shot, hit, bound and gagged.  There is a type of war between soldiers and the witches and many people die.  Brusenna almost drowns.

Sexual Content:  A boy taunts a girl and then grabs her breast.  Senna strips naked and applies a potion to her body.  When a girl changes from a seal to a human, she is naked.  A boy jumps on top of her to cover her up.  Someone asks, “oh, you’re ashamed of being naked?”  There are some kisses throughout.

Adult Themes:  There is some severe prejudice against the witches.  They are treated unfairly and ostracized for who they are, even though they do not harm anyone.  Brusenna experiences this in her village as people will not sell to her and she is forced to pay exorbitant prices for everything.  Her mother leaves her to seek out the other witches and Bresenna feels abandoned.

Synopsis

Once upon a time the witch song controlled the world and it’s elements, keeping everything in balance.  Then things started to change and the witches began to disappear.  When Brusenna’s mother, one of the last remaining witches, is also taken captive by an evil traitor witch, Brusenna realizes that she is the last hope for a dying world.  Unfortunately, she is also very young and inexperienced in the ways of the witch.  Her journey is frightening and dangerous but she is not alone.  Her quest brings many loyal and true friends to her cause.  But will that be enough to stop the evil before it grows to strong?  Will Brusenna’s song be enough to save them?

This book was filled with adventure and action.  I enjoyed the interesting take on witches and the beautiful world that was created in my mind.  Brusenna’s own personal journey is heart warming.  She has spent most of her life being treated poorly by everyone around her.  Her self esteem is low.  She feels weak and uneducated.  But through trials and experiences her confidence grows and she begins to realize the extraordinary power that lies within her.  There were many things to like about this book.  This book is labeled for 11 years old and up and while I’m not sure I’d let my 11 year old read it, I’ll be passing this one on to my 14 year old.  She will love this book.

Ratings Explanation

Language:  There are about 10 instances in which God’s name is used casually (for God’s sake, OMG, for example).

Synopsis

More than anything in the world, Matty wants a horse of her own. Growing up in the resort town of Gull’s Nest, she sees the wealthy New Yorkers visit each summer, bringing with them their spoiled children and beautiful horses. When she lands a job at the local riding stables, Matty learns to care for horses and is also allowed to take riding lessons. She loves riding just as much as she knew she would. Matty moves in with her Grandmother for the summer and discovers a very old painting of an enchanting black horse. Matty wishes with every part of herself that this horse could be her very own. She knows it’s impossible, of course, so why does she feel pulled outside in the middle of the night with the horse in mind? And why does it seem like the horse in the painting is trying to communicate with her? And how is there a black horse, that looks exactly like the one in the painting, waiting for her in the meadow by the pond? Matty just might learn that what her Grandmother has always said is true: Be careful what  you wish for.

It is nice to find a book for this age group that is free of sex and violence. I enjoyed the part of the story in which Matty finds some old journals that reveal the history of the horse and painting. If you have a young horse lover, this would be a fun read for them. Thanks to Nancy DiFabbio for providing a copy for review.

Ratings Explanation

Language:  A comment is made about giving someone the finger.  There are a couple of references to someone swearing but no actual swearing occurs.  For example, someone “let out streams of curse words.”

Violence:  A woman has a dream that a dragon is terrorizing the city.  The dragon grabs a van with screaming occupants and then drops it back to the earth.  It grabs and then drops a woman to the ground.  People are hiding and trying to escape.  In the dream, the woman is clawed down her back by the dragon and wakes up to find the claw marks on her back.  Tori and Jesse fight.  A fireball singes Tori’s hair.  In training, people get hurt.  Tori breaks through a window.  Guards are shot with tranquilizer guns.  Tori is captured by bad men and chained up.  Guards are tackled.  There is a fight with a dragon, with fire and chasing.  The dragon is killed.  Tori is shot at.

Sexual Content:  There are a couple of kisses.

Synopsis

Tori did not sign up to save the world.  She just wanted to attend a dragon camp for the summer.  As the Senator’s daughter, she might be spoiled but she is also smart and uncommonly gifted at many things, like archery and shooting.  Now she is being told that she has powers passed down from ancient knights who used to fight against dragons.  Oh, and by the way, dragons are real.  Very real.  And very dangerous.  That’s why Tori is being asked to train and hone those powers to save the world from the hands of an evil man who holds the eggs of the dragons.  If she and the few others like her don’t stop him, many innocent lives will be lost.

This was an exciting, fun read from beginning to end.  My daughter actually got to this book before me.  She handed it back to me the next day and said, “this was a really good book, mom.  We should buy this book.  When is the next one coming out?”  I completely agree.  This is a book I’ll want to read again.  The story and the characters were great.  I could visualize this book as if it were a movie.  I loved the humor too.  It was right up my alley.  Here is one of my favorite quotes from the book.  ”That will teach you, she told herself sternly, not to fall for guys just because they’re gorgeous and have superpowers.  It never ends well.”  This book is labeled YA.

Ratings Explanation

Language: There are a few instances of name calling such as brat and “Skunk”.  It is mentioned that a few people curse.

Violence:  “Shadows” attack a man and he dies.  Two bullies with BB guns push Leven around.  Leven manipulates the weather and uses lightening to chase the bullies.  Leven is punched by another boy.  A being in the persona of a tree wreaks havoc on a home and its occupants.  A man threatens Leven with  physical violence.  A snake catches and swallows Leven and Winter.  Clover bites Leven which causes him to fall into a dreamlike state.  “Shadows” attack people in a train station.  Sabine threatens to kill Leven.  A frozen being is shattered into thousands of pieces.

Adult Themes: A storm causes fire, destruction and death.  Leven’s father dies in a car accident one week before he is born, and his mother dies after giving birth to him.  A baby girl is born and not wanted by her mother.  The father left months before she was born.  Babies are switched in the hospital.  Leven is not loved by his Aunt or Uncle and is even forced to sleep on the porch each night.  Likewise, Winter is not loved or treated well by her mother.  Some people  occasionally go missing and end up in Foo, never to return to earth.  Terry goes to a bar.  He has money stashed away for drinking. Geth experiences painful changes.  A few vehicles are stolen by the characters in the story, resulting in a police chase.  There is mention of stolen treasure by some fishermen.  The characters don’t always pay for the things they need.  There is mention of a man smoking a pipe.  At one point, Leven has a vision of his death.

Synopsis

Fourteen-year-old Leven Thumps was born into sad circumstances and lives a lonely existence with an uncaring Aunt and Uncle in Burnt Culvert, Oklahoma. But Leven comes to discover who he really is and what he was meant to do with the help of a little creature named Clover, a thirteen-year-old girl who can freeze things named Winter, and an unusual little being named Geth, who happens to be the king of Foo.  Leven never dreamed that his purpose would lead him to the world of Foo, the place of people’s hopes and dreams. He must reach the gateway between earth and Foo before Sabine takes over both worlds and carries out his evil plans.

There are five books in the Leven Thumps series with “Gateway to Foo” being book one.  This story uses quite a bit of imagination and would appeal to children in grades 5 through 8 in particular.  I did appreciate the absence of inappropriate language and sexual content, although the description of the negative people in the story seemed to associate them with being fat, lazy and unattractive, while thin people were kind and beautiful.  The back of the book has a glossary of terms which I would recommend reading first to better understand the world the author has created.  Drawings of some of the characters were included throughout the book as well.  A favorite quote was, “Optimism is our best ally.”  It was good to read about individuals who came to know of their worth and potential and were willing to make the necessary sacrifices for the benefit of others.

Ratings Explanation

Adult Themes: Nim’s mother dies in an aquatic accident when Nim is a baby. Characters in peril.

Synopsis

Nim and her scientist father, Jack, live on a beautiful, deserted island. They receive a few necessities from a supply boat every once in awhile, but otherwise live on the garden they raise and the coconuts and other fruits that grow on the island. When Jack goes on an expedition to study plankton for three days, Nim stays at home, alone. While she is completely at ease on her own, Nim is grateful to have a sea lion for a mother, a sea turtle for a friend and a marine iguana for laughs. On the day Jack is to return to the island, a terrible storm hits. Unable to reach each other by cell phone, Nim and her father communicate via notes carried by Galileo, a frigate bird. In this emergency situation, Nim must take charge of keeping their belongings and friends safe from the menacing weather, but it just so happens that help is on the way. While Jack has been away, Nim has struck up an e-mail friendship with Alex Rover, an adventure writer who contacted Jack for some scientific advice for her next book. Nim and Alex become friends and when Nim needs her the most, Alex comes to the rescue, just like the fictional heroes she writes about.

A fun, adventurous read for any age and an excellent choice for a read aloud.

Ratings Explanation

Language:  There are a couple of instances of name calling.

Violence:  Elijah is chased by something unknown.  Elijah’s whole family is killed.  Elijah is hit across the face by the chancellor and then hit across his hands with a stick that has thorns on it.  He bleeds.  Someone is trying to whip Samuel.  Samuel mentions that he has been hit before.  Someone almost falls over a ledge but is rescued.  Something is trying to get Elijah.  Samuel is kidnapped and Elijah’s room is thrashed.  A guard is hit and is knocked unconscious.  Hannah is kidnapped and the ropes that bind her hands tear into her skin.  A Maliphist sends lightning and knocks kids off their horse.  One kid is knocked unconscious.  The earth rumbles and breaks apart causing the Maliphists to fall in.  Elijah breaks into a prison, is caught and hit across face.  There is a chase.  The Maliphists and Magi have an encounter using elements to fight each other.  Elijah’s uncle was tortured in prison.

Sexual Content:  A young child is running around naked.

Adult Themes:  Elijah’s family is killed and his Uncle is missing, leaving him alone.  Samuel’s family doesn’t care about him.  Maliphists prey on young boys with problems.

Synopsis

After witnessing his family’s murders, thirteen-year-old Elijah Hawk is left alone, confused and scared.  His instincts saved him, but he couldn’t save his family.  Now he senses someone or something is still after him, someone other than the detective hauling him away to some far-off boarding school.  Through a kind and patient professor, Elijah learns of a new world of people and powers unlike any he has ever known.  The Magi take Elijah in and begin to teach him of their ways.  But, another group of people, the Malaphists, demand that Elijah be theirs and they will stop at nothing to get to him.  When two of Elijah’s friends are taken in place of him, he knows he must do something.  He cannot continue to let people suffer because of him.  But what can one thirteen-year-old kid do?

The Magi was a pleasure to read from beginning to end.  A couple of times I completely forgot I was reviewing because I was so caught up in the book.  There were so many great things to love about this book.  I appreciated the “clean” nature of this book.  There was no swearing or sexual situations that would make me hesitant to pass this book on to my kids.  It was filled with growing relationships of friendship, action and suspense.  Here is my favorite quote from the book.  ”The soul is the fingerprint of the Creator.  Once a soul connects to another soul, they unite and become one.  So if your soul is able to access the soul of an element, you can control that element the same way you would control your own body.”  Cool.  This is a family friendly book for all ages.  My thanks to Kevin Turner for offering this book to me for review.  I’ll be looking forward to the next installment!

Ratings Explanation

Language: References to “Nuts” and “Balls” from the junior high school narrator, Todd Whitman.

Violence: After an explosion in the mine shaft, the recovered miner’s bodies were laid out on the dance floor.  The junior high school P.E. teacher paddles Todd on the first day of  school.

Sexual Content: Todd Whitman has a crush on Jenny Gillette.

Adult Themes:  An allusion to Todd’s grandmother and grandfather nearly ending their marriage, many years prior; forgiveness prevailed.  Todd’s mother is the caregiver for her mother who is suffering from dementia. Todd returns home to be at his mother’s bedside as she lay dying.

Author’s Summary

One night, eleven-year-old Todd Whitman receives a terrifying but hilarious midnight visitor: his cockatoo-plumed, dementia-stricken, John Travolta-smitten Grandma Carter. In constant nocturnal search of the mysterious “Dancer,” Grandma clutches her absurdly precious Saturday Night Fever album cover and giggles her way through the dance steps of her youth.

When forty-something Todd returns home to help his dying mother, he reflects on that pivotal summer of 1981: the unique relationship he developed with his grandmother, the chaos of finding his place in a large Mormon family, the near misses of impressing the one-and-only Jenny Gillette, and the utter social catastrophe of junior high.

Ultimately, despite the ups and downs of life, Todd finds peace and strength through the selfless and dedicated lives of his grandmother and mother.

I love this book!  Clark perfectly captures the torture and hilarity of navigating adolescence and the perpetual change of family ties. Simply beautiful.   I read passages aloud to my husband, Rob.  I read other passages aloud to my children and finally, the bathroom inspection passage, I read aloud to anyone within an audible range, even though I was barely capable of reading, due to uncontrollable laughter.  I enjoyed Clark’s writing style and ability to weave Todd’s experience navigating junior high school with the deeper, beautiful story of his relationship with his mother and grandmother.  I look forward to reading the sequel.

This is my holiday gift of choice for my dear friends and family!

If you want to read an interview with the author, here is the link.

http://www.motleyvision.org/2011/interview-david-clark-author-the-death-of-a-disco-dancer/#more-6225

Ratings Explanation

Language: Name calling and belittling

Violence: Fighting with fists, brooms and mops.

Adult Situations: Spencer’s father has left their family. Adults lie to children. Garth uses children to help him gain power.

Synopsis

Spencer Zumbro is starting sixth grade at a new school. So far, things aren’t going so great. To make things worse, he keeps falling asleep in class. During one of his little naps, the class bully draws on his face with permanent marker. Spencer runs to the bathroom to clean it off. The only thing he can find is a mysterious bottle of pink soap which burns his face but removes the marker. That is when he first notices the strange creatures roaming the school. The problem is, no one else can see them, except for maybe the janitors, who seem to be chasing them down with their cleaning equipment. Everyone starts to think Spencer is a little crazy. Everyone that is except a mysterious man named Garth Hadley. Garth convinces Spencer to follow him out to his van one day after school, where he promises to explain everything. The van is loaded with all kinds of janitorial supplies, which Garth explains are actually magical. Garth tells Spencer that he is from the BEM, a special division that protects students from evil, magical janitors. Spencer is not quite sure how to take all of this in, but when Garth invites him to help debilitate the evil warlock janitor who reigns in his school, he can’t pass it up. Spencer is given a few magical tools to help him locate the bronze nail and hammer which are the source of the warlock’s power. Spencer decides he needs help and recruits his gullible classmate Daisy. After exposing her to the mysterious soap, Daisy too can see the magical creatures and joins Spencer in his quest to save their school. After unwillingly becoming involved in all kinds of menacing and rule breaking activities to help Garth, Spencer and Daisy are suspended from school and given detention with the dreaded janitors. After a few days working with the ‘evil’ janitors Marv and Walter, they learn the story of the strange creatures from a different perspective. The janitors tell them that it is actually Garth Hadley who is the evil one and they are only trying to protect the school from him. They explain that Garth is actually trying to keep the strange creatures around to drain the smarts out of all the kids. That changes everything. Spencer and Daisy join the janitor team and learn to use a whole new set of magical cleaning supplies. It is now up to them to try and save their school from Garth and his BEM team.

This book has been a huge hit at our school, especially with the upper elementary kids. Who would have thought that cleaning supplies would make such an impact on the literary world? I enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot up to the very end which opens up all kinds of possibilities for a sequel. A great book for all ages.

Ratings Explanation

Language: Mostly name calling and belittling.

Violence: Scientific-type experiments on animals and humans, including children. Some die from the effects of the experiment. The elixir gives them super strength, alters their physical appearance, and takes over their minds. Several attempts to kill and several murders committed. Fighting with fists and weapons.

Sexual Content: Modo blushes at the sight of Octavia. He is amazed at how beautiful she is. While climbing down a sewer, Octavia removes her dress exposing her Victorian type underclothing so that she can move around more easily. Modo doesn’t quite know how to handle that.

Adult Content: Modo is born a deformed child and given away. He ends up traveling with a freak show. Children are kidnapped to became part of a huge scientific experiment. Modo tries to find love and acceptance in his strange life. He desires to be part of a family.

Synopsis

Modo was born an ugly, deformed child and was given away to a traveling freak show. He was discovered and purchased while still an infant by Mr. Socrates. The man noticed that Modo had the unusual ability to transform himself. Unbeknownst to Modo, Socrates raised and trained him to become a Secret Agent for the Permanent Association. When Modo turns fourteen, he is given his first assignment in London to discover the purposes of a science society club and its connection with the disappearances of several street children. During his investigation, Modo discovers another secret agent, Octavia Milkweed, who is also working for the Permanent Association. They get more than they bargained for when they stumble across the Clockwork Guild in the depths of London’s sewers. This evil, secret organization has enlisted the help of a mad, brilliant scientist who is able to harness amazing strength from ordinary animals and human beings with his elixir. The Clockwork Guild has plans to use this discovery to destroy the British government. Octavio and Modo scale the roof tops and explore the sewers in an attempt to save their country.

I really liked this book. It was a great mix of adventure and intrigue with a hint of romance. Modo’s character is fascinating. He is an interesting mix of strength, intelligence, adventure and compassion. I’m excited to see how he develops throughout the other books of the series. I also loved the author’s use of the descriptive language. I even learned a few new words. A great read for an adventure and mystery lover.