Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt

Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Doug isn’t happy when his father is fired from his job, which forces the family to move from their home in Long Island to a tiny town called Marysville so he can get more work; in fact, when Doug first sees Marysville, he decides that he hates it and calls his new house ‘The Dump.’

Not surprisingly, Doug’s dad doesn’t like his new job and takes it out on the rest of the family.  Things get worse when his brother keeps getting accused of stealing…and things get even worse when his oldest brother returns home from Vietnam in a wheelchair.

However, there are some bright spots in Doug’s life in unsuspecting places: he realizes that he adores the Audubon prints on display at the library, and the librarian teaches him how to draw them; he meets Lil Spicer, the daughter of the town’s store owner, and she helps him get a job delivering groceries for her dad; and his grocery delivering job helps him to meet and get to know people in town.  After living in there for a few months, Doug thinks that maybe Marysville isn’t so bad after all.

Readers will immediately like Doug, who played a minor role in the companion novel The Wednesday Wars (Schmidt).  Doug uses a believable voice that will be sure to resonate with male and female readers alike.  This is an excellent book that I enjoyed so much, I didn’t want it to end!



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Middleworld by Jon Voelkel

Middleworld by Pamela Voelkel

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Fourteen-year-old Max likes tv, video games, and playing the drums, so he can’t understand how his parents can care so much about Mayan history that they often leave him home with the housekeeper to travel all over the world doing archeological digs. Their newest dig is in Central America, in the [fictional] country of San Xavier.



A few days after they leave for the dig, the housekeeper tells him that he has an electronic plane ticket waiting for him that will take him to meet up with his parents, and that his uncle (who lives in San Xavier) will pick him up. A little confused with the circumstances, Max obligingly travels to San Xavier…but when he gets there, he finds that his parents have mysteriously disappeared. Not sure if his uncle is trustworthy, Max takes to the jungle where he meets a girl named Lola, a native Mayan girl who knows how to survive in the rough conditions. Together they try to solve the mystery of his parents’ disappearance by making contact with the Ancient Maya.



This is book 1 of The Jaguar Stones Trilogy. The story is full of action, suspense, and Mayan gods and goddesses. Those who enjoyed this book might also enjoy Discordia: the Eleventh Dimension (Salmon) or the Peter and the Starcatcher series (Barry).





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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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Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen

Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Samuel is a thirteen-year-old boy who spends his free time hunting in the woods near the remote home where he and his parents live. In fact, he is in the woods when their home is seton fire, his parents kidnapped, and his neighbors killed—all by the British soldiers who are in America to fight in the Revolutionary War.



Being the skilled woodsman that he is, Samuel undertakes to follow the trail made by the group of soldiers and their prisoners—he is sure his parents are among those taken, as he sees their shoe prints. Although a head wound from a scalping band of Iroquois sidelines him for a number of days, he is determined to keep moving towards British-held New York City. (It is believed that his parents, along with most prisoners of war, have been imprisoned there). Along the way, he meets Annie, a young girl whose parents had been killed right in front of her. She resolves to stick with him from this point forward, so he lets her. The traveling becomes easier when they meet a man named Abner who is willing to take them to New York City on his cart. However, when they get there, Samuel realizes that rescuing his parents isn’t going to be as easy as he thought it would be.



This is an interesting story that drops the reader right into the American Revolution. Samuel’s dedication to rescuing his parents is admirable, and one can’t help but feel for little Annie. Paulsen adds short entries of nonfiction in between pieces of the story to create an even stronger image of what one might face living in the Revolutionary time.





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Cirque du Freak: A Living Nightmare by Darren Shan

A Living Nightmare by Darren Shan

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Twelve-year-old Darren Shan (that’s not his real name—he had to change it to protect everyone he knows in order to tell his story) and his friends find out that there is a freak show visiting their town, and they really want to go, even though it’s illegal and cruel (according to adults). Darren and his friend Steve decide to go anyway when Steve gets his hands on some tickets.

Darren enjoys the show very much (he was only a little bit scared), but is concerned when Steve tells him to go on home without him; Steve plans on staying and talking to one of the freaks: Larten Crepsley, a creepy man who performs with a huge and dangerous spider. Instead of leaving, Darren hides and watches their exchange and learns that Mr. Crepsley is really a vampire and that Steve wants to join him and become his vampire apprentice; however, Mr. Crepsley denies this request and sends Steve on his way.

Weeks later, Darren is forced to seek out Mr. Crepsley’s help when Steve’s life is in danger. In exchange for his help, Mr. Crepsley wants Darren to be his assistant. What other choice does Darren have but to accept?

This is a story full of action and suspense—with vampires! Although this first book is mostly a set-up for the real vampire lifestyle that Darren will experience in the following books in The Saga of Darren Shan, readers are sure to be glued to the pages.




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Ghost Canoe by Will Hobbs

Ghost Canoe by Will Hobbs

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


Listening to this book reminded me of why I avoid books like this.



I suppose that's a bit unfair; years ago I read _Jason's Gold_ and didn't mind it, and a coworker read and enjoyed _Go Big or Go Home_. But I just couldn't get into this! What kills me is that this book won all sorts of awards when it came out (1997), and literary reviews call it exciting! *sigh*



The story is about a younger teenage boy named Nathan who lives off the Pacific Northwest Coast in 1874. One of his favorite things to do is fishing with his adult friend Lighthouse George, a Makah fisherman.



One day they learn that a ship has crashed and that the captain's murdered body has floated to the shore. Nathan decides to figure out what exactly happened. Also involved in this twisted tale is the weird behavior of the local store owner Captain Dan, a canoe that Nathan finds lodged in a tall tree, and a man who's interested in becoming the new store owner. All of this is going on while Nathan's father is away and his mother is ill.



I have to admit, I couldn't wait til this audio book was finished. There's a lot of Makah culture weaved into the story, which is fine--but not necessarily interesting to me. I didn't hate this audio book as much as I hated _The Dark is Rising_ (Susan Cooper), but this was a close second.



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Pop by Gordon Korman

POP by Gordon Korman


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Marcus isn’t sure about liking his new town, but he is sure about wanting to get onto his new school’s football team. This isn’t easy—the existing team is a tightly knit group that isn’t too wild about mixing everything up by adding a new guy.

When Marcus isn’t training on the football field, he is training at a nearby park—albeit by himself. When someone his father’s age shows up one day and starts helping him train, Marcus is skeptical at first, but quickly realizes that this guy knows his stuff. There’s something off about him, though: he never calls Marcus by his real name, he is consistently distracted, and he tends to forget (or ignore) practice times they set up together. What is the deal with this guy?

I enjoyed this book; Marcus is a likable character with a kind heart who doesn’t mean to get into trouble—trouble seems to find him. Readers who enjoyed this football story might also enjoy Football Hero (Green) or The Million Dollar Throw (Lupica).

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