The Cousins Crime by Manasi Patil is a charming novella with all the right ingredients needed for an afternoon of whodunit mystery, filled with suspense, several suspects, and a satisfying ending. When Krisha and her brother Aarav bicycle to their favorite doughnut shop, Glazer’s Bakery,...

The Midnight Monster Train, written and illustrated by E.V. Eklund, is an enjoyable children’s adventure book. This captivating story invites the young reader to join a variety of ghouls and goblins on a bewitching train ride. The skeletons are singing while ghosts roam the cars...

Jocki MacTavish by Albert Marsolais is an intriguing tale set in a fishing village in Scotland in 1705. Jocki is a humble, hardworking 11-year-old boy who cleans his family’s tavern, assists the town’s doctor, and cares for homeless cats. Jocki becomes very concerned when the...

To obtain a fortune, a young boy assumes the identity of an older gentleman in the suspenseful middle-grade novel Someone in the Walls by Teymour Shahabi. Andrew Day never knew his parents, and he was lucky to receive a scholarship to Saint Clemens school. But...

The Haunting of Lavender Raine is a paranormal mystery novella for children and preteens written by Jessica Renwick. What happened to her grandmother’s locket, and why had she ever thought to wear it that day? The golden heart-shaped locket had been one of her grandmother’s...

Something's Eating the Garden is a children’s picture book written and illustrated by Pam Fries. I began wondering what kind of animal was eating Papa’s garden and tried guessing the identity of the culprit, or culprits. What would go into a garden to grab vegetables...

Caroline’s father is an archeologist at the University of Arizona. The family recently moved to Arizona from Ohio. Caroline was sad to leave behind her best friend, Polly, and Polly’s brother, Joey. As soon as summer arrived, the friends were visiting at Caroline’s new home,...

Pure Heart Guide is the first book in the Twin Lakes series by Stephen Huls and a work of great entertainment for readers who enjoy surprises in plot and a great setting. The Adair family decides that their summer family reunion be experienced as camping...

The Drums of Dundurn is a historical mystery novel for children and preteens written by Kelly Evans. Nine-year-old Minnie wondered if her sister and Aunt Boo had heard the drumming which had kept her up most of the night. At first, it had frightened her,...

Ben Archer and the Cosmic Fall by Rae Knightly is the first book in The Alien Skill series. Nothing in Ben Archer's life is the same after the Cosmic Fall that occurred in the field next to his grandpa's house. He spent three weeks in...