The Glorious Adventures of the Sunshine Queen by Geraldine McCaughrean

The Glorious Adventures of the Sunshine Queen by Geraldine McCaughrean

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


In the 1890s, 12-year-old Cissy enjoys attending school and spending time with her friend Kookie.  The highlight of their school days is receiving letters from their former teacher Miss Loucien, who left teaching to join a traveling theater group.  When there's a diphtheria outbreak in their town, Cissy and her classmate Tibbie are sent away with their current teacher to find the theater group so that they can stay with them until the outbreak has passed.  Happily for Cissy, Kookie tags along with them.



They find the theater group living in an old, abandoned paddle-boat that had washed up onto land from the Missouri River.  After some work, the group gets the boat back into the river and their journey really begins!



This is a fun story with a huge cast of likable characters.  Despite all of the crazy hardships faced by this group as they float down the river, they always work together and help each other out.  This book is a follow-up to Stop the Train, but readers don't need to have read that book to understand what's going on in this one.  Those who enjoyed this book might also enjoy another one of McCaughrean's books: The Death-Defying Pepper Roux.



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Dragon Games by P.W. Catanese

Dragon Games by P.W. Catanese

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Hap’s mentor Umber loves taking him along on adventure after adventure with his crew to learn about the extraordinary and dangerous creatures that live in Kurahaven, Sarnica, and beyond, even though Hap pretty much dreads it all.

Before Umber took Hap in, Hap had mysteriously been transformed into a Meddler (a being that has special powers such as having visions, being able to see in the dark, and not needing to sleep), although he has no memory of this. Because he hasn’t yet learned how to harness his powers, the fact that he is a Meddler is of no help to the crew as they encounter not only jealous princes and kings, but also bidmis (small, gnome-like creatures), crabs that trap lost souls, and baby dragons. This is one adventure that none of them will ever forget!

Dragon Games is book two of the Books of Umber series. Readers don’t need to be familiar with the first book, titled Happenstance Found, to enjoy this one. The first book deals mostly with Hap’s life before he became a Meddler and his life immediately following Umber’s rescue of him. The series continues with End of Time.



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Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Liam is a totally normal guy; he likes stuff like computer games, video games, and amusement parks. The only thing is that he is really tall—taller than the kids in his class…even taller than most adults. In fact, most people think he is an adult, which can have its advantages (like getting to –almost— test drive a new car).



When Liam wins a contest to test a ride at a new amusement park, his dad thinks it’s a scam and refuses to follow up on it. Thinking about how people always mistake him for an adult, he pretends to be his dad while his friend Florida pretends to be his daughter so that they can redeem the prize. The plan works perfectly, only Liam and Florida get way more than they bargained for on this exclusive new ride.



I enjoyed this book very much and was disappointed when it was over. Liam is such a likable character—I wish I knew someone like him when I was that age! Those who enjoyed this book might also enjoy The Tapestry series (Neff).





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The Death-Defying Pepper Roux by Geraldine McCaughrean

The Death-Defying Pepper Roux by Geraldine McCaughrean

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In mid-twentieth century France, Pepper’s malicious aunt claims to have had a vision of his death the night before he was born; in it, Pepper dies at age fourteen. Always the well-behaved child, he never thinks to question this and takes it as fact—along with the rest of his dim-witted family. Therefore, he’s forced to spend his childhood confessing his sins at church, memorizing the last rites, and learning about the saints. But when his fourteenth birthday arrives, he realizes that he’s not ready to die, so he decides on a whim to run away to become someone else—and so elude death.



Pepper begins his quest to escape death on board a ship where he pretends to be his own father, who is a captain. Other roles he later steps into include a deli meat slicer, journalist, telegram deliverer, member of the Foreign Legion, and more. He constantly wonders how he’s able to step into these parts so easily: “Well, people see what they expect. Don’t they? Or do they see what they choose?” (16). Despite all of the misfortune Pepper faces during this time, he retains his kind nature towards others, always putting their needs before his own. Luckily, there’s a person out there who’s keeping an eye out for Pepper’s best interests too—unbeknownst to him.



This is an excellent book, full of adventure and humor. Pepper is such a likable character that the reader can’t help but root for him from the very start. Those who enjoyed this book might enjoy Peter Pan in Scarlet, also by this author.





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The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I began this series due to a recommendation from a friend. I dutifully read it but, admittedly, I didn't find it super-wonderful.



This story is about a young teen named Gen who is locked in a prison cell when the reader is introduced to him; he had been arrested in a wine shop after gloating about something he stole. He is approached by someone who works for the king who is interested in using Gen to help capture a very elusive item. Having nothing better to do, Gen agrees to help the man get the item for the king.



Gen accompanies not only the man who approached him, but also two other boys around his age who are apprentices--more or less--to the man, and also a royal guard.



This book is mostly about the group's travels to get to the location of the elusive item. It reminded me of book one of _The Lord of the Rings_ trilogy--walking and walking and sleeping and eating and walking and walking. I didn't particularly love all of the traveling in the LOTR series, and I didn't particularly enjoy it here, either.



The reader grows to dislike Gen due to his snotty, smart-mouthed personality. I began to feel a bit of sympathy for him when he is in the place where the item is because it is so scary in there, but on their trek back, my sympathy would ebb and flow for him.



Once they reach their destination after the adventure, we learn that there is much more to Gen than we originally thought, setting us up for book two of the series, _The Queen of Attolia_.





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The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This was a good book! I liked the four characters very much. We first meet Reynie at the orphanage where he's lived ever since his parents passed away when he was a baby. Having only one (sort of) friend--who's actually his tutor--he feels quite alone. Everything changes the day he sees an ad in the paper asking for gifted children to come take a test to see if they would qualify for a special 'opportunity.' Having nothing to lose, Reynie decides to take the test.

Reynie and 3 other children (Sticky, Kate, and Caroline) qualify for the special opportunity, which requires them to infiltrate, more or less, a special school to see what the headmaster is up to. If any of this group, self-named The Mysterious Benedict Society, wants to quit at any time, s/he is welcome. No one quits, so they head off to the school to see what they can find out.

This is an entertaining story that will keep the reader on the edge of his/her seat at certain points. This book is the first in the series, followed by The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey, then The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma.

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