The Case of the Missing Marquess (An Enola Holmes Mystery) by Nancy Springer Scholastic, 2006 224 pages I'm pretty ambivalent about books that amend the work of dead authors. Some - like the annotations and new stories released by the Tolkien estate - find their way onto my bookshelf. But I tend to give a wide … Continue reading The Case of the Missing Marquess
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet; ill. by Brett Helquist Scholastic, 2003 254 pages Though there’s just one title, this is really a review of three books: Blue Balliet’s series of art mysteries starring three middle-school kids who live in modern-day Chicago. I read the first book, Chasing Vermeer, with my daughter after a librarian friend … Continue reading Chasing Vermeer
Under the Egg by Laura Marx Fitzgerald Dial, 2014 247 pages I love literary serendipity. A couple of years ago, while my husband was out of town one week, I watched a documentary called The Rape of Europa. It was my first encounter with the story of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives (MFAA) military … Continue reading Under the Egg
Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos Farrar Straus Giroux, 2011 341 pages I have a thing for dark humor. I'm also a fan of period fiction (sometimes truly historical, sometimes not) and stories with a strong regional flavor. Give me a book, TV show, or movie that combines the two, and I'm in heaven. … Continue reading Super Secondaries: The Ladies of Norvelt
Tower of Treasure by Scott Chantler Kids Can Press, 2010 112 pages I've been on a graphic novel kick lately, though I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because a lot of great recommendations are making their way to me. Maybe it's because, in my other life as an omnivorous reader, I've been working my way … Continue reading Tower of Treasure
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley Random House, 2009 373 pages I think it was in one of my college lit classes that I first heard the term "antihero." Before that point, I had encountered the character type but had never had a name for it. For those who aren't … Continue reading The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy HarperCollins, 2007 392 pages On the whole, I'm not much of a fantasy fan. I think Tolkien ruined the genre for me back in middle school, when I first read Lord of the Rings. After Tolkien, run-of-the-mill fantasy novels seemed so, well, run-of-the-mill: dry and derivative. There have been several … Continue reading Skulduggery Pleasant
