Ratings Explanation

Violence: A boy is prepped for an Egyptian-style partial brain removal through his nose. (It doesn’t actually happen.)

Adult Themes: Cass doesn’t know who her father is. Max-Ernest’s parents are divorced but live in two halves of the same house. This provides for some strangeness in Max-Ernest’s home life.

Synopsis

The mysterious narrator of The Name of This Book is Secret is reluctant to tell his story and urges his audience to forget everything they read as soon as they are done reading it. What could be so secret and dangerous that simply reading it could put your very life in jeopardy? That is the question that keeps readers on the edge of their seats.

Survivalist Cass and Logician Max-Ernest are extremely different, but when a super-secret mystery falls into their laps, they are forced to become collaborators. Searching for the resolution to a very old story and keeping one step ahead of the really evil guys keeps them constantly on their toes and in and out of sticky situations. As Cass and Max-Ernest learn more of the mystery, they realize they are on the ancient trail to the fountain of youth. Can they stop the madness before one of their classmates is lost forever? It  may be more than two 11-year-olds can handle, but don’t count them out too soon, they are quite capable.

Delightful! Pseudonymous Bosch is a quirky and fun narrator, lightening the tension at just the right moments. One of my favorite quotes came from Cass, “Funny how easy it is to get used to having a servant. Even for a survivalist.” I think I could get used to one as well! I love a good mystery and this is a great one for the little guys. It would be a really fun read aloud too. Recommended for ages 8 and up.

Ratings Explanation

Language: There is frequent use of “damn”. God, hell and ass are used a couple of times.

Violence: This is a murder mystery and ten people are murdered using a variety of methods (shot with a pistol, poisoning, hanging, bludgeoning, drowning). The deaths are not graphically described. Each of the victims had previously been responsible (but never punished) for causing the death of one or more persons. These deaths are mentioned, but again, are not graphically described.

Sexual Content: General McArthur’s wife had a lover. McArthur was jealous of this affair and had the lover sent to the front of a battle so that he would be killed. Emily Brent’s maid became pregnant and was ostracized. The maid then commited suicide.

Adult Themes: The whole premise of this book revolves around murder. Each of the main characters dies. The characters experience stress and mental anguish as their peers are murdered one by one. They have intense suspicions which ultimately become aimed at each other. Some of the characters feel guilty over the deaths they have previously caused. There is smoking and drinking mentioned. One brief racial criticism aimed at Jews.

Synopsis

Nine strangers are lured onto an island (off the coast of England) by an unknown madman, Mr. U. N. Owen. Mr. Owen is seemingly not present on the first evening, but a gramophone recording by Mr. Owen is played, which accuses all present of a previously committed murder. No one knows what to make of this recording and the uneasy feelings grow as one by one the characters begin to die. At first, the deaths are assumed to be suicide or accidents, but a more sinister motive becomes evident. The deaths curiously follow the words of a childish poem. After a search of the island, it is discovered that they are alone. Therefore, the murderer must be amongst the group. Unable to leave the island, suspicion towards each other begins. After a storm, the police arrive on the island to find dead bodies and an unsolved mystery. Only after a fishing trawler finds a confession in a bottle, is the mystery solved. The killer was a fanatic for justice and felt that each person deserved to die for the offenses they committed, but that the law could not touch.

This novel is hailed as one of the greatest mystery masterpieces ever written. It is listed as even being the author’s favorite. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I re-read the novel a second time after knowing “who done it”, just so that I could catch the clues Christie employed. If you love a good mystery, I’d recommend this one. (This book was also published as Ten Little Indians years ago.)

Ratings Explanation

Adult Themes:  Ben and Rose are both deaf. Ben’s mother died in a car accident. Some characters smoked. Ben’s mother never told him the name of his father. Ben and Rose each had their own experiences in running away from home. Ben was robbed of his money. Rose’s parents have marital troubles. Ben’s parents were never married to each other.

Synopsis

The world is silent for young Ben Wilson having been born deaf in one ear, then later losing his hearing in the other ear due to a lightning strike. While in the care of his Aunt after having lost his mother in a car accident, Ben decides to risk it all and go in search of the identity of the father he never knew. He finds himself on a bus to New York City as he follows some possible clues to his father’s location. His quest leads him to the Natural History Museum where he discovers something about his father.

Fifty years beforehand, a young girl named Rose, who is also deaf, seeks out her mother in the same city. Ben’s and Rose’s stories become entwined in an unusual way. Will they be able to find the peace and happiness they both seek?

Author Brian Selznick tells his story through both word and picture in a captivating way. The book is big and beautiful! Ben’s story is told in words, while Rose’s story is told in picture with the two converging at the end. In this book a picture really is worth a thousand words! The sense of knowing who you are and where you belong were driving forces for Ben and Rose. They both longed to have their parents in their lives. I liked these quotes, “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” Also, “Ben wished the world was organized by the Dewey decimal system. That way you’d be able to find whatever you were looking for, like the meaning of your dream, or your dad.” This second quote tugged at my heart! I would recommend this book for children 4^th grade and up.

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.

Ratings Explanation

Language: A few instances of hell and damn and several instances of profanity. I have given this a 3 in language because the reading level is ages 9-12. There are about 15 combined instances, but I have a 9-year-old, and the language is not age appropriate for him.

Sexual Content: Kissing with tongues is mentioned.

Adult Themes: Teens lie to their parents. A teenage girl and her mother have a fight and the mother almost slaps her. It is upsetting for both of them. A boy planned to run away. When he is missing, Kat wonders if he has been kidnapped for sex.

Synopsis

Things that go up must come down, right? Not in the case of a boy who goes missing in London.

When Selim gets on the London Eye, a huge observation wheel, Ted and Kat watch him get in the pod. But when his pod comes back down, Selim is not in it. How could a boy disappear from a sealed pod? In this story in which things are not always what they seem, Ted, a bright young man with Asperger syndrome, and his sister Kat, who mostly thinks her brother Ted is a pain, work together to solve the mystery and become friends in the process.

A fun mystery I would gladly recommend to my 9-year-old son, except for the language. There isn’t a huge volume of language, but enough that I can’t recommend it to someone that young. But as far as the story goes, it was fun to figure out this fast-paced mystery along with Ted and Kat. Ted has a clever way of articulating things he notices, like a comment about his cousin Selim. He “looked like his thoughts were not in the same place as his body.” An extra bonus to the mystery is the way a family comes together in a crisis.

Ratings Explanation

Language: Swearing and profanity used frequently throughout. Jacob is referred to as “Special Ed,” Jacob mentions holding up his middle finger a couple of times. Jacob says to his friend Ricky, “do I look like I blow truckers for food stamps?”

Violence: Jacob mentions that he is afraid to find his grandfather “running naked in the street, wielding a hunting rifle, foaming at the mouth on the front lawn, or lying in wait with a blunt object in his hand. Being devoured by alligators.” Several murdered bodies/animals are described in great detail. Multiple references to weapons and their uses. The children bring a dead, rotting corpse to life. The end of the novel includes extreme fighting and gun violence.

Sexual Content:  Emma and Jacob flirt and kiss on a couple of occasions. Jacob comes across Hugh and Fiona who are “snogging” in the garden. Jacob goes swimming in his underwear.

Adult Themes: Pictures throughout the book are quite disturbing. Birth control is mentioned. Jacob’s friend, Ricky, smokes and dips tobacco. Jacob refers to drunken friends. He calls his cousins “potheads.”  Drinking beer and wine is mentioned. The characters encounter dead bodies on several occasions. Pain killers are mis-used at the end of the book. The grandfather’s children assume that he had an extra-marital affair.

Synopsis

Jacob grows up listening to strange stories from his grandfather’s childhood in Europe during WWII. After his unexpected death, Jacob, who was very close to his grandfather, struggles to come to terms with his death. Jacob and his father decide to take a trip to the island in Wales where his grandfather grew up, hoping to help Jacob deal with the death. While on the island, Jacob begins discovering that all the stories he was told by his grandfather were true. He learns about his grandfathers past, as well as his unique connection to him.

Jacob discovers that all the monsters his grandfather always spoke of are now following him. He bands together with the children from his grandfather’s childhood to fight off the monsters and save other peculiar children.

I definitely enjoyed this book. It is full of mysteries and surprises that kept me glued to the book. I felt the beginning was a bit confusing, however I managed to get into it and then could not put it down. The only thing that annoyed me was the frequent use of profane language.

Thanks to Quirk Books for supplying a review copy.

Ratings Explanation

Language:  Some uses of Deity’s name, some common swear words.

Violence:  The boyfriend, Ray, is physically abusive towards Cam.  She has cuts and bruises from his beatings.

Sexual Content:  Owen likes Campion.  He blushes at her comments.  They lay next to each other in a tent during a rain storm with their heads poking out of the door toward a the warm fire.

Adult Themes:  Owens mother passed away from a car accident.  Campion’s mother has several boyfriends, the latest of which is physically abusive.  She runs away to escape from him.

Synopsis

Owen has moved to a new town in order to start a new life with his dad after the death of his mother.  His dad works a lot and is rarely home so  Owen spends his days hanging out with his best friend, Josie, who also happens to be his dog.  Their favorite thing to do is hike on a local trail.   On one of these daily outings, Josie brings Owen a piece of a t-shirt with fresh blood on it. Owen discovers a girl his age in a nearby abandoned house with a bloody t-shirt wrapped around her head.  She is named Campion, a variety of wild flower, which means alien.  After gaining her trust, Owen finds out that Campion IS an alien and was left behind.  She asks Owen to help her build a signal so that her parents can locate her when they come back.  Owen is a little taken back but he decides to do what he can.  He locates the supplies that Campion requests and returns over the next few days to help her.  During one of his visits to the hardware store, he runs into a rough looking man asking if anyone has seen a girl around.  Owen and Cam know they need to signal her parents  as quickly as possible.

A cute story about friendship and trust.  The writing style was not overly impressive but the ending really surprised me.

Ratings Explanation

Violence: A few street brawls with punching and kicking. Giuseppe is beaten up by two thugs. A child laborer in a factory is hit with a belt for talking.

Adult Themes: Children are forced to perform/beg on the street to earn money for their padrone. These children have either been stolen from or sold by their families. If they do not bring in enough money they are thrown in the rat cellar, or worse. A character was abandoned by his mother. He is treated poorly at the orphanage and forced to work long hours in a factory. A character acts as a medium and on one occasion communicates with a spirit. Children steal.

Synopsis

Giuseppe, Hannah and Frederick are three  young characters each struggling with an adult-sized problem. Having been orphaned in Italy, Guiseppe’s uncle sells him to an evil man who then brings him to America, leaving his brother and sister behind. He is forced to play the fiddle on the street in order to earn money for his padrone, Stefano. When he happens across an almost magical green violin, his nightly intake goes up dramatically and he plans to stash his extra earnings to save up for passage back to Italy. But when Stefano discovers his deceit, Guiseppe is in real danger.

When Hannah’s father is struck with an illness she is forced to quit school and work in a hotel to support her parents and younger sisters. One day she overhears her boss speaking to another hotel employee about a hidden treasure. Hannah decides to search for it, knowing that if she can find it she will be able to get her family out of their tenement building and buy medicine for her father. Her desperation drives her to drastic measures and she incurs the wrath of her boss and the disappointment of someone who has taken her under their wing. Hannah faces losing her job and her family’s devastation unless she can find the treasure before someone else does.

Frederick is an orphan who is apprenticed to an elderly clockmaker. He desperately wants to make journeyman, but none of Master Branch’s former apprentices have ever done so. Worried that he will fail as his predecessors have, he begins secretly working on an automaton man that he hopes will earn him the title he desires.

When Guiseppe, Hannah and Frederick become acquainted, they realize that their problems, although daunting,  can be handled with the help of their friends.

I listened to this on audio and quite enjoyed the tale of friendship and perseverance through trials. There is a little mystery thrown in as Hannah hunts for the treasure and Frederick searches for the mother who abandoned him.

I appreciated the inclusion of several actual articles, published in the New York Times in 1873, concerning a young boy, Joseph, who was stolen from Italy and brought to New York City. Forced to play music on the streets in order to earn money for his padrone, Joseph spent several years a victim of both physical and emotional abuse, until he found the courage to escape.  The true story of Joseph inspired Matthew Kirby in the writing of Guiseppe’s story in The Clockwork Three.

Recommended for grades 5 and up.

Ratings Explanation

Language:  There were a couple exclamations involving Deity.  Sucks and pissed were also used once.  Some phrases like, “what’s up her butt” were also used.

Sexual Content:  6^th grader Juliet goes on her first date.  She worries about what will happen if he tries to kiss her on the lips.  She says her first kiss is supposed to be with a really hot guy.  There are a couple instances of hand holding.

Synopsis

Juliet thinks she is the most un-cool kid in the whole 6^th grade.  And now these things called Hot Tickets are showing up and everyone seems to be getting one but her.  Juliet is going crazy wondering where the Hot Tickets are coming from so she decides to make it her job to solve the mystery and figure out the person behind the social craze.  Certainly unmasking the Hot Ticket master will earn her a year’s worth of coolness.  Maybe she’ll even get her picture in the yearbook!

I really enjoyed reading this middle grade novel.  Juliet is a fun, likeable character with a knack for getting into trouble.  Her take on 6^th grade and the cool crowd is humorous.  There were several times in the book I found myself snickering.  My favorite line (because it’s probably one I can really relate to) is, “Cindy’s left ear is probably cooler than my entire body ever will be.”  It was fun to watch Juliet learn about friendships and how to treat others as she navigates through her 6^th grade mystery.

I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.  This is currently available as an e-book.  I read mine on my Kindle.

Ratings Explanation

Language:  There are a couple exclamations of Deity.

Violence:  There are several burglaries in Beverly Hills.  A purse is stolen from a party.  Sherry joins up with the band of robbers to get more information and help police catch them.

Sexual Content:  Sherry and Josh are boyfriend/girlfriend until they break up.  There is hand holding.

Adult Themes:  Sherry communicates with her “ghost” mom who has died, as well as other ghosts.  She is the only one who can hear them.

Synopsis

Her name is Sherlock Holmes Baldwin.  No, really.  But most everyone calls her Sherry.  And she really does have a knack for solving mysteries.  In this fourth installment of the series, Sherry is headed to Hollywood.  Her essay on love has won the grand prize from Hollywood Girl magazine and Sherry has won an all expense paid trip to Hollywood.  A dream come true for any thirteen year old.  Within a day of arriving, Sherry stumbles upon a mystery.  A purse is stolen right out from underneath their noses and the suspects are the same ones who have been burglarizing the homes of young Hollywood celebrities.  With the help of Sherry’s best friend Junie, and Leah, a new ghost on the scene, Sherry puts her mind to solving the million dollar mystery.

This was a cute book and I really enjoyed reading it.  It was fun and light.  Sherry is an active, curious character who loves solving mysteries.  The story had a good flow to it and made me smile.  My favorite line from the book was, “she’s pretty old, like forty.”  HA!  (while I’m not forty YET, I’m closer to that age if we are rounding!)  Sherry sure seemed to have a lot of free reign for a thirteen year old girl, especially in LA where things can get a bit rough.  I know I wouldn’t allow my thirteen year old girl to romp through the streets of LA, day and night, unsupervised.  This book has a marketed reading level of ages 9-12 which I would agree with.