Kessler, David. Your Food Is Fooling You.

Kessler, David.  Your Food Is Fooling You.  Roaring Brook Press see Macmillan   2013      183p  ISBN 978-1-59643-831-6  ms/hs  E-BN  Nonfiction

Your Food Is Fooling You is sure to shock young readers as it reveals the “secret” that is leading to obesity, especially in our youth.  Everyone knows that obesity comes from overeating; however, this book reveals what is being added to our foods – sugar, fat, and salt -- that cause us to want to overeat.  Dr. Kessler has written a very informative book that will appeal to young readers.  He has combined a very worrisome issue with facts that young readers will easily understand and ponder. The enlightening text is sure to have youngsters critically evaluating the foods they consume and determining alternative sources of fuel instead of foods that “hijack” our brains.  The mention of child-friendly products such as “Fruit Loops” adds credibility and interest to the discussion.

Unfortunately, there are some typographical errors that distract from the importance of the material.  For example, page 10 is missing the word “be” in a sentence in the middle of the page. Further editing is recommended.

This book is recommended for any middle- or high-school library.  It will appeal to many young readers and would make an excellent selection for a basic books list for school libraries.

Summary: This book explains how the brain is hijacked by sugar, fat, and salt, leading to the inability to choose wholesome foods and the growing global problem of obesity.  Our food is being injected with substances that make us crave more than we need.  These additives – sugar, fat, and salt -- are responsible for feelings of in-satiation after a meal that should satisfy and causing obesity in humans.

Nutrition, Obesity                                          --Virginia McGarvey

Greenwald, Tommy. Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Extra Credit.

Greenwald, Tommy.  Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Extra Credit.  Macmillan/ Roaring Brook Press  265p  $14.99  978-1-59643-692-3      2012      elm/ms                  VG-BN           Realistic fiction

                                   

Charlie Joe Jackson just got his report card and his parents are not smiling. His punishment is summer school, but not if he can get out of going.  Thus begins his plan for getting extra credit to raise his grades.  He is going to get all As –- well, not all As, maybe one B.  But he only has one quarter semester left before the school year is out.

As he begins to implement his plan, Charlie realizes that luck is not on his side, and every time he tries to win the teacher over he falls flat on his face and is in even deeper trouble.  Then his teacher offers him an olive branch and Charlie takes it, until he realizes he will have to perform in the school play. Everything seems to go from bad to worse, until he begins to see things in a new light.

To win you don’t always have to be perfect, but you do have to try!
This is a good, funny story with a good ending, and a book that reluctant readers just might enjoy.        

Middle school-Theater-Fiction, Humor                                                                                                                              --Magna Diaz

 

Rosati, Gina. Auracle.

Rosati, Gina.        Auracle.                 Macmillan/ Roaring Brook Press               298p      $16.99  978-1-59643-710-4  2012                ms/hs E-BN          Supernatural                   

Anna has been leaving her body for a long time, whenever she wanted to. She now knows that it is called Astral projection.  Her best friend Rei is always watching out for her when she goes gallavanting around the world.  Her best friends include Rei and Seth.  They do almost everything together, but only Rei knows her secret.
 

Then one day Taylor, a new student, set her sights on Seth.  Seth is not interested and tells her to bug off, but Taylor is adamant that she will go out with him.  That is when things start to go wrong. Taylor steals Seth’s cell phone from his locker and demands that if he wants it back he must meet her at the Falls!  Seth reluctantly agrees and goes alone to meet Taylor.  Taylor tries her best to seduce Seth, but he is having none of it and demands his cell phone back.  When he gets close enough to grab it, Taylor loses her footing and that is when she falls to her death!

Accused of murder, Seth now must fight for his life, and Anna and Rei help him prove his innocence.

This is a very good fast read until the very end.  It is a love story, mystery story and ghost story all in one!             

Astral projection, Supernatural, Ghost story, Romance                                                                             --Magna Diaz

 

Sheinkin, Steve. Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon.

Sheinkin, Steve.  Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon. 

Roaring Brook Press see Macmillan Children's Publishing Group          265p  $19.99   978-1-59643-487-5         2012      ms/hs  E-BN  Nonfiction                                                   

The intellectual battle waged between physicists on both sides of the world in World War II was just as fierce as any land or sea military battle.  Almost everyone has a basic understanding of the secret military project that developed the atomic bomb in World War II.  Less well-known to teenage readers is the large network of spies that Russia used to gain information about how to make a bomb and how Russia was able to get their spies into Los Alamos.  With numerous quotes, this book describes the recruitment of those spies, how they infiltrated the inner core of bomb makers, and how they communicated their knowledge to Russia.  It also provides a personalized look at the physicists and military personnel involved in building the bomb and flying it to Japan.  The book reads like a movie script - fast paced, with enough quirky comments and quotations to keep the reader constantly involved.  The spy missions to bomb the heavy water facility in Norway and to keep Hitler from becoming the first to successfully build an atomic bomb are interwoven with the narrative of what was happening on the American side of the world. This book provides an outstanding look at “the gadget” and its development.  The last chapter focuses on the after effects on the people who created it, its impact on the war, and continued concern about its use. Source notes, index, and photos complete the book.                                   

Atomic Bomb                                                                                                                                                        --Lois McNicol

 

Haines, Kathryn Miller. The Girl Is Trouble.

Haines, Kathryn Miller.  The Girl Is Trouble.  Macmillan/Roaring Brook Press 325p   $17.99      978-1-59643-610-7       ms/hs       E-BN  Mystery/Detective

     

Private investigators are what Iris’s father and uncle are. Her father was in Pearl harbor when the Japanese bombed the island and he lost a leg.  Now he walks around with a wooden leg, but he is still very capable.  He sees Iris’s interest in the investigative part of the business, and she is good at it and wants to do more.  One night she comes home and discovers that her dad has left the safe open!  She can’t help but look inside, and what she finds is photos pertaining to her mom’s death.  She realizes that, with all the blood in the photos, her mom could not have killed herself with pills as she has been told happened.  She begins her own investigation and discovers that her mom had also been labeled as a Nazi, yet to Iris that seems impossible because her mom was a Jew!

This is a very good period novel of the 1940s.  The author does a good job at creating the atmosphere of the 1940s and moving the reader back in time to picture what it must have been like during World War II.  It is an excellent story with an even better ending.             -- Magna Diaz    

Historical fiction, Mystery – Fiction, Nazis – Fiction            -- Magna Diaz