Bertman, Jennifer Chandliss. The Unbreakable Code (The Book Scavenger)

Bertman, Jennifer Chandliss.  The Unbreakable Code (The Book Scavenger) Macmillan/Henry Holt    2017  353p  $16.99  Hardback  ISBN 978-1-62779-116-8  ms/jr  Fantasy  VG-BN  

In this sequel to The Book Scavenger, Emily, James, and Emily's brother are at loose ends after getting an award for finding the hidden Mark Twain manuscript. Many Book Scavengers (including their teacher, Mr. Quisling) were at their awards party. Mr. Quisling, however, was acting very mysterious. Readers will be on the edge of their seats as Emily, her brother, and James try to figure out if he is looking for the same Tom Sawyer as they are. They take up the quest to find out what he was hiding. It seems everyone as well as Mr. Griswold is hunting lost mysterious puzzles.
   

Our young sleuths have been challenged. They must tail, confer, and solve many cyphers before they can figure out the mysterious puzzle.  It is a well-written book that would make an excellent addition to any middle-school library.

Summary: This a sequel to Book Scavenger. Emily, James, and Emily's brother are off again on a new mysterious quest to find the lost puzzle.

Mark Twain novels-Fiction                                   --Linda McNeil   

Giles, Lamar. Overturned.

Giles, Lamar.  Overturned. Scholastic Press     2017  341p  $17.99  Hardback  ISBN 978-0-545-81250-4    hs  Adventure, Romance  VG

Nikki takes after her father, who is a world class poker player and the owner of a boutique casino just off the Las Vegas strip. He has just been exonerated from a death row sentence for the murder of another Vegas player. But his homecoming is short lived, as he is soon gunned down. Now Nikki is out to find out who killed him. This novel only somewhat successfully balances its various threads -- a high school sports rivalry with another local school, a new love interest for Nikki, the adult world of her mother’s adultery, casino rivalries and questionable business associates, and Nikki’s job of running the family casino, in which revenue rarely meets expenses. Her love interest in a high-school boy whose father is a megacasino rival seems to be more convenient to the plot than believable. For those looking for a book about gambling, this will disappoint, as it is more about the seedy side of Vegas, motorcycle gangs and murder investigations. The focus shifts awkwardly from high-school troubles to adult relationship problems, as though the author couldn’t decide if the book was for high-school students or a new-adult audience. Honest conversations between mother and daughter would have ended the book before it started. On page 283, there is a major typo: "Gavin’s arm went lip (limp?)".    The novel is recommended for those who love murder mysteries.

Summary: Nikki, a brilliant African-American high-school poker player, balances a new love interest, her father’s assassination, her desire to leave town, and high school rivalries in this Las Vegas novel of concealment, murder investigations, and family unease. Grades 9+.

Gambling-Fiction, Murder-Fiction                                  --Lois McNicol

Zhany, Kat. The Emperor’s Riddle.

Zhany, Kat. The Emperor’s Riddle. Simon & Schuster/Aladdin  2017  256p  $16.99      Uncorrected Proof  ISBN 978-1-4814-7862-5  ms  Adventure, Mystery  VG

Mia was not excited about leaving her friends to visit China, her ancestral home, but she is excited about spending time with her favorite aunt.  Shortly after their arrival in China, Mia finds that Aunt Lin is gone, but Mia is sure it is not willingly.  Solving a map riddle hidden on the back of an ancient painting seems to be the only way to find her aunt.  Mostly on their own, Mia and her brother Jake work their way through the riddles involving famous landmarks around the town.  Each clue leads them closer to finding a treasure hidden over 500 years ago.  During the search, Mia finds more connections to her family and her ancestry.
 

The novel is filled with exciting action and often danger, but the location is completely foreign to most readers.  Some of the information about customs and foods will be better comprehended by older readers.  This title does involve a culture and history completely unknown to most American middle-grade readers. Publisher places this title at grades 3-7.  The exotic locale and culture might be better placed at grades 5-8.  Good purchase but possibly limited audience.

Summary: On a family trip to China, Mia and her brother solve a riddle mystery to both rescue her Aunt and find a treasure that has been hidden for 500 years. Publisher says grades 3-7, but maybe it's more 5-8.

Hidden treasure-Fiction                               ----Joan Theal

Bardugo, Leigh. Crooked Kingdom (series Six of Crows #2).

Bardugo, Leigh.  Crooked Kingdom (series Six of Crows #2). Macmillan/Henry Holt     2016  546p  $18.99  ISBN 978-1-62779-213-4  Hardback  hs/adult     Adventure  VG-BN

Fans of Six of Crows will be lined up for its sequel, Crooked Kingdom. Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn't think they'd survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're right back to fighting for their lives.      Bardugo picks up the threads of the first novel and it is just under a week since the Dregs reached Ketterdam (about a month since they left Djerholm). The stakes for the band of thieves keep increasing. They are fighting to snatch Inej from Van Eck before he has his way with her, and they are almost out of time. They devise a clever plan to destroy Van Eck’s sugar crop, using Wylan’s weevil, and to destroy his reputation at the same time.

The action and tension is non-stop. Convoluted plots-within-plots with unexpected twists and turns will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Readers will invest in these well-drawn characters and tear through the pages to see who survives and who does not. The ending is unpredictable and shocking. Darkly compelling, this novel will make readers demand another volume for the series in order to provide closure after the surprise ending.             

Summary: In this sequel to Six of Crows, Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn't think they'd survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're right back to fighting for their lives.

Outlaws-Fiction, Adventure-Fiction                          —Hilary Welliver

Isaacs, Sally. Helen Thayer’s Arctic Adventure.

Isaacs, Sally.  Helen Thayer’s Arctic Adventure.  Capstone Publishers  2016  32p  $20.99  ISBN 978-1-4914-8044-1  elem/ms  Nonfiction  VG-BN

Sir Edmund Hillary spoke to New Zealander Helen Thayer’s class about his journey up Mount Everest, and Helen was hooked.  Thus began her adventurous path to ascend Mount McKinley, Aconcagua, Mount Cook, and other mountains.  As an avid sportswoman, she decided to live her Polar Dream, which previously had been just a thought that evolved into a goal, to walk around the magnetic North Pole.  Thankfully, a local bear hunter named Charlie convinced her of the dangers of polar bears, offering her one of his guard dogs.  As fate would have it, Charlie saved her life. The winds, the snow, the frigid temperatures, injury and loneliness: any one of these could demoralize Helen if she dropped her guard.  Even a poor decision would bring her demise.  One morning, with the ice just outside her tent cracked, she realized that a wrong decision about leaving at that moment might cause her to fall into a crevice to her death.  She waited. Waiting was the right choice. 

What Sally Isaacs has done, along with illustrator Iva Sasheva, is to bring a little-known story to young readers.  Isaacs uses a simple style that is exciting; she has the ability to bring a sense of danger to the forefront.  Sasheva illustrated the adventures; one of my favorites is a picture of the polar bear standing just feet from Thayer, and in a split second Helen must decide between making the kill and letting Charlie intervene. 

Readers of all ages will enjoy this dramatic telling. Books with themes of empowerment are important, and this is one of the better stories with this theme.  The book ends with a note written to readers by Thayer, a biographical page devoted to Thayer, another devoted to Charlie, and a glossary.  There are also three discussion questions that are tied to the common-core curriculum. 

Summary: New Zealand adventurer Helen Thayer decided to live her dream of walking around the magnetic North Pole.  Equipped with a guard dog as protection against polar bears, Thayer realized that she had quite a journey ahead.  This book is a study in fortitude and living one’s dream.

 

North Pole-Exploration-Biography, Helen Thayer        --Martha Squaresky