The Candymakers by Wendy Mass

The Candymakers by Wendy Mass

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Every year, the Life is Sweet candy factory sponsors four 12-year-old contestants to compete in the Confectionary Association’s candymaking contest. Each contestant’s goal is to create a new and different candy that, if chosen as the winner, will be made available worldwide.



This year, Logan, the son of the Life is Sweet’s head candymaker, is old enough to participate and he doesn’t want to let his parents down. Also competing is Miles, a quiet boy whose oddly light backpack never leaves his shoulder; Daisy, who reads aloud from her romance novel whenever she’s alone; and Philip, a snobby boy who never misses a chance to make fun of someone. Will this peculiar group stay out of each other’s way long enough to make an awesome new candy?



I enjoyed this book very much, and I think both boys and girls will have a good time reading it. Plus, who doesn’t want to read about what goes on in a candy factory? Each contestant tells his/her own story, so the point of view switches in each section of the book, starting with Logan. Recommend this book to those who enjoyed The Mysterious Benedict Society books (Stewart).





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The Rivalry: Mystery at the Army-Navy Game by John Feinstein

The Rivalry: Mystery at the Army-Navy Game by John Feinstein

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Stevie and Susan Carol, both high school freshmen who have been writing special sports columns for publications such as The Washington Post ever since they won a writing contest, are invited to write about the annual Army (West Point) versus Navy (Annapolis) football game, which is special that year because President Obamba will be in attendance. Each of them is also allowed to get to know some of the players and coaches, along with learning about the heightened security measures that are going to be in place due to the president’s appearance. Excited about this opportunity, Stevie and Susan Carol plunge into their investigating.



Because Stevie and Susan Carol shadow the Army and Navy teams two weeks before the actual game, they are invited to attend their games against other colleges—which is thrilling to them. However, they notice (along with the crowd, coaches, and players) that the calls the officials make seem unfair, though there’s nothing much anyone can do about it. When unfair calls are made by the same group of officials at the important Army versus Navy game, Stevie and Susan Carol resolve to get to the bottom of it.



This is a story that has a little bit of everything: sports, mystery, a touch of romance, and suspense. This book is actually the fifth book in the Steve and Susan Carol Sport Mystery series, but reading books 1-4 isn’t necessary to understand the plot; in fact, this book stands solidly on its own. Readers who enjoy this series might also enjoy The Million Dollar series (Gutman).



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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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The Red Blazer Girls: The Vanishing Violin by Michael Beil

The Red Blazer Girls: The Vanishing Violin by Michael D. Beil

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is the second book in the Red Blazer Girl series. I listened to the first book and surprisingly enjoyed it (I normally don't like mysteries). I think a lot of it had to do with the reader of the book on cd being very good. So, when book two came out, I thought I'd give it a try.



There's nothing wrong with the story or anything like that; maybe my heart wasn't wholly into listening to another mystery or something...but I found my mind wandering during the story--not so much that I wasn't following the story, but enough where I felt that maybe I shouldn't listen to any more books in this series.



This story involves the same four girls as in the first one; this time they start out trying to find out who is mysteriously cleaning their school after hours, which then turns into a need to discover who stole a violin from the shop where Margaret goes...which is going on while Margaret receives a bow from an unnamed source that leads to the girls needing to solve a whole other set of clues provided by the sender (that would probably be impossible for most adults to solve, but that's beside the point!).



Maybe I got lost in the three big storylines, along with the bunch of new characters that are added to the ones from book one. It was kind of a lot to keep track of! Again, it's not impossible, but I suppose all of this added together soured me a bit on the story (and I want to know how these girls have so much energy--they go from meeting at the coffee shop before school, attending school all day, stopping at someone or other's house, practicing with their band, doing homework, etc., etc. EVERY day...it's simply exhausting to think about! Maybe I'm just jealous).



All in all, girls who enjoyed the first one will undoubtedly enjoy this one. Not only do the girls have mysteries to solve; there are also snotty classmates and boys to handle as well!



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The Red Blazer Girls: the Ring of Rocamadour by Michael D. Beil

The Red Blazer Girls: The Ring of Rocamadour by Michael D. Beil

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is a sweet story that I enjoyed--and I normally can't stand mysteries. It was well-written with very likable characters.

Sophie is a seventh-grader who is close friends with Margaret and Rebecca; they all attend St. Veronica's, a private school in New York City. While sitting in class one day, Sophie thinks she sees a figure in one of the windows of the church across the way in a place she thought was unused. She and her friends check it out and end up meeting a kind, if not odd, old lady who asks them to do her a favor.

The favor involves figuring out the series of clues that the old woman's father left for her daughter nearly 20 years earlier for her birthday, but were never solved. The girls accept the challenge and begin working together to solve each of the clues, which begin with a note and end with a ring!




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The Adventures of Jack Lime by Jack Leck

Adventures of Jack Lime, The by James Leck


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Have a problem that needs solving?  Jack Lime is your guy!  Readers follow along as Jack solves three different cases: the first involves a missing bike (that belongs to the brother of a gorgeous girl); the second is about a kidnapped hamster; and the third is about students that have gone mysteriously missing.  Jack doesn’t work for free, of course, but rather than work for money, he collects favors that he can use later on.

Jack’s one weakness is his narcolepsy; when situations get stressful, his body wants to fall asleep—and it often does!  He doesn’t let this stop him though; he is serious about being the private eye students go to for help (although he does, at times, wake up in the hospital!).

This is a funny book—readers are bound to like Jack immediately.  The three cases are told using entries that note the day, time, and location Jack finds the information he shares.  This book would be great for readers who enjoyed the Chet Gecko series when they were younger.

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