Review: Save Me a Seat

Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the story of Ravi and Joe and the first week of school. Ravi is new to his school AND new to the US. Joe's best friends have moved away and he doesn't have any friends at school. Both boys are plagued by the class bully who makes them dread coming to school each day.

The story is told in alternating chapters. We would often get an event from both Joe's and Ravi's point of view. Ravi is from India and there are a lot of non English words in the book. At the back of the book is a glossary of Ravi's words and Joe's word's. Joe's words are mostly American slang, while Ravi's words are foreign. I didn't learn about the glossary until I was finished with the book. This book is written by two authors - an American and an Indian. The voices of the characters are very true. This is a very well written middle grade novel.

View all my reviews

Review: When Dad Came Back

When Dad Came Back by Gary Soto
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gabe's father left his family. He has been struggling with alcoholism and is now homeless. One day Gabe is out and his father shows up. Gabe's mom doesn't want his father in their lives at all. Gabe is torn about what to do.

This book really draws you in. Especially when the author describes where and how Gabe lives. It's not an easy life, but the author really makes the reader feel what it would be like.

View all my reviews

Review: The 100-Year-Old Secret

The 100-Year-Old Secret by Tracy Barrett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Xena and Xander Holmes move to London with their parents and discover they are descendants of Sherlock Holmes himself. They've always loved solving puzzles so they don't seem too surprised. They are invited to join a club for relatives of famous detectives. An opportunity to look at one of Sherlock's unsolved cases arises and Xena and Xander go about trying to solve it.

This is the first book in the series. I'm interested in seeing what other detectives make an appearance. The story is a bit predictable and the characters are typical of what characters are like in children's books.

View all my reviews

Review: The Gathering

The Gathering by Dan Poblocki
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Five very different children from different places are all drawn to Larkspur for different reasons. When they arrive they are in for a big shock. It's nothing like what they expected. This is a horror book. It's for kids who like to be scared. This is the first of three books. We learn about each of the kids and start to get an idea about why they were summoned to Larkspur when the book ends. To find out more you will need to read the next book.

I felt like the author sometime just put scary things in the book, because he saw it in a scary movie - that it didn't move the plot forward. I thought the book didn't get interesting until we started to learn more about the children and then it ended! I hate when authors do that. It kind of makes me mad.

View all my reviews