Zora and Me by Victoria Bond

Zora and Me by Victoria Bond

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Carrie and Zora are best friends in the small, all-black town of Eatonville, Florida around the beginning

of the 20th century. Zora is considered one of the most creative people in their town, although she’s also known to be a frequent liar. When a young man gets killed trying to wrestle an alligator, Zora’s imagination runs wild with stories of gators—including one about her claiming to see a local elderly man appearing to be half man, half gator.



Her stories grow even wilder when a man is found murdered just outside of their town; Zora, naturally, believes that the gator man did it! All of this is going on while they deal with issues in each of their families; Zora’s father doesn’t want Zora to “act white”, while Carrie’s father left for a temporary job in Orlando a year before and hasn’t been seen or heard from since. Together, the girls face what new challenges life seems to be handing them in a world that isn’t as small and safe as they had once thought.



This is an interesting story based on Zora Neal Hurston, the author of well-known books such as Their Eyes Were Watching God, and her childhood best friend Carrie. Included at the end of the book is a short biography of Hurston’s life. Readers who enjoy stories that take place around the turn of the 20th century might also enjoy The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (Kelly) and The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had (Levine).





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The Witch's Guide to Cooking with Children by Keith McGowan

The Witch's Guide to Cooking with Children by Keith McGowan


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
When Sol and his younger sister Connie move into a new neighborhood, they soon face a couple of unnerving facts: they have a real-life witch as their neighbor, and their parents are trying to get rid of them (by “donating” them to the witch so she can eat them!).

Sol and Connie have every intension of avoiding the witch, but they are too late realizing that the children’s librarian is her ally!  While Connie waits for Sol to be finished on the computer, the librarian catches Connie so she can give her to the witch!  Sol must put his own fears aside so he can focus on finding and rescuing his sister.

A contemporary spin on the fairytale Hansel and Gretel, this is a very entertaining book! The regular chapters are interspersed with entries from the witch’s journal, so the reader gets a feel for the witch’s point of view.  Readers who enjoyed this book should consider reading Dahl’s The Witches, Buckley’s The Sisters Grimm series, or Mull’s Fablehaven series.

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No Castles Here by A.C.E. Bauer

No Castles Here by A.C.E. Bauer


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Augie lives in a bad neighborhood in Camden, New Jersey.  Not only does he have to worry about avoiding the drug dealers in the rundown park on the way to and from school, he also must worry about the bullies in his class.  Sixth-grade is turning out to be quite a difficult year for him.  Things get even worse when he accidentally takes a book from a bookstore downtown.  Although Augie isn’t a huge fan of reading, he finds this book of tales fascinating.

When an ice storm hits the town in December, Augie and his classmates are told that their school has been damaged by the frozen plumbing system—damaged so bad, in fact, that it will remain closed for good, and they will all be split up into different schools.  Augie can’t believe that adults would give up so easily!  With the help of his teacher, his fellow chorus members, his Big Brother, and his mom, Augie fights to save his school.

This is a good story that has the tales Augie reads from his stolen book interspersed within the regular story.  Augie’s attitude in the face of his tough life will surely bring smiles to readers.  Readers who enjoyed this might also enjoy Finding Stinko (De Guzman) and Slam Dunk! (Robinson).

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