Middle Grade Monday: Theft of the Ruby Lotus

 

Ria is unhappy with her mother. For years, her mother's worked at the MET. Now she's suddenly changed jobs and Ria's going to be forced to move to Germany. Ria's angry. She doesn't even want to attend the sleepover at the MET with her school.

But a mysterious package arrives at the house. It's a ruby. Ria can't help but wonder if it's the ruby that was stolen from the sword at the museum. Maybe this is why her mother lost her job. Maybe if she can put the ruby back, everything will be ok.

She enlists the help of her two best friends. But as they work to achieve their goal, thieves interrupt them. The thieves steal the sword. Now Ria and her friends will have to locate the sword, add the ruby back, and hope that no one is the wiser. 

Why I Read it: I love heist books

My Thoughts: I love how this was inspired by another book - From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. There are some trust issues in this book: between Ria and her mom but also between Ria and a new boy. There's a little bit of romance here. There's a lot of talk about museums and their "belongings" - I really liked this discussion. It's a great point. This book was a really fun read - lots of twists and turns, lots of great characters, and a real sense of community. 

Cover Thoughts: Cool

Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: A great middle school book for your school or public library.

Middle Grade Review: Forever Rogue

 

* Book 7 in the Forgotten Five series *

This is the final book in the series, so I do want to highlight it. 

However, I don't want to spoil anything for people.

I will just say:

There's a LOT of action/danger in this book (just like the others)

The fight scene is awesome

The ending took me by surprise - but not in a bad way

I would LOVE a spin-off of The Librarian

The parents

This is a fantastic must have series for your school and/or public library - it's full of action, danger, drama, family issues, friendships, a little romance, and superhero abilities. 

There's something for everyone!

Middle Grade Review: School for Thieves

 

Tom has been living on the streets for a long time. He had a mentor who used to tell the most outrageous stories, but he passes away. Tom's mentor taught him. Tom passed along that knowledge to other kids. Kids aren't safe on the streets; it's not long before his found family is snatched up and forced into a workhouse. 

Luckily, Tom escaped. And because of that, he's offered an opportunity of a lifetime - a chance to go to school. It's not your average school. This one teaches you how to become criminals and spies. At first, Tom hesitates, but then he realizes that once he learns enough, he can return and rescue his friends. 

But the school has it's own secrets...

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this one - there were lots of moments of action and danger. There were secrets and betrayals and double crosses. I liked the friendship Tom made. I really love that he didn't forget his found family. This book seems like it's set up for a sequel, but there's no news about another book coming. 

Cover Thoughts: Neat - I love the gold foil

Source: Book sent for review

Library Recommendation: Highly recommended for your school or public library middle grade collection.

Hand this one: readers who like City Spies or Charlie Thorne books

Middle Grade Review: Europa

* Book 7 in the City Spies series * 

There's a chatter of a major attack coming. Tru asks her team to review the evidence. Her adult agents are looking at an attack on London, but the City Spies think it's happening in Paris. They have a way of looking at things a little bit differently. It helps that they're teenagers. Could this be the work of a threat they thought they contained?

My Thoughts: As this is book 7, I don't want to say too much. But I loved it! I loved the moments with Tru - and her puzzles, games, and history. I liked learning more about the history of spies in England. I even learned about art. I love books that make me research, and I did look up some of the art mentioned. This series is fantastic and honestly, I never want it to end. 

Cover Thoughts: Perfect

Source: Book sent for review

Library Recommendation: A must have series for your public and school library's collection. 

* this book comes out tomorrow

Middle Grade Review: Eternal Flame

 * Book 2 in the National Archive Hunters series *

Iris and Ike are back in action. The flame of the Statue of Liberty is missing, the one that was damaged in the early 1900s. It's vital that it's found quickly as the U.S. President and France are holding a ceremony in a little over a week.

Their research leads them to the National Archives, Paris, and New York City. The more they uncover about the statue, the more they realize that there's some very wrong. Archives have gone missing from multiple facilities. The item hasn't just been misplaced; it's been stolen.

Can the twins recover the lost flame?

My Thoughts: I loved the first book and I loved this one too.

Lots of:

Action

Danger

Research

Friendship Moments

There was one plot twist that I did see coming, but that didn't bother me. I'm looking forward to more in this exciting series. 

Cover Thoughts: Great

 Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: Highly recommended for your school or public library collection.

Middle Grade Review: Blood in the Water

Kaylani's having a hard year. Her father's is in prison. Her friends have dropped her. Now it's summer. She's been invited to Martha's Vineyard for the summer with family friends. She's never been there before and she's not sure she really wants to go. But she goes for her father.

Oak Bluffs is nice; there are a lot of wealthy Black people with summer homes. Kaylani's staying with the Watsons and their two granddaughters. She's sharing a room with London. London is not thrilled with the idea, but she does show her guest around. 

The two girls run into London's older sister Cassie sneaking out to a party. They beg to go. The party gets busted up by the cops. Kaylani and London end up separated from Cassie on the way home. 

The next day, they learn about the death of a boy at the party. His death was made to look like an accident, but someone killed him. 

My Thoughts: I almost didn't read this one because it's described as a horror novel. And it's not. It's a thriller. I'm so glad that I read it because I tore through this book. I loved it. I loved that it was summer on Martha's Vineyard. I wanted to give Kaylani a hug for all the struggles. She was brave and strong; I admired her. I didn't like London or Cassie; they were jerks. But I did like Miles. I loved the cameo from the library. 

Cover Thoughts: So good!

Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: Highly recommended thriller for your middle grade school and public library collection. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Recommendations: Middle Grade Mysteries

 This week's topic is book recommendations. I'm picking middle grade mysteries/thrillers. 

 

 

Have you read any of these?

Book List: Art Heist

As I was sharing books for Color Your World, I realized there were several Art Heist books.

So, I made a graphic:

Books Included:

Starry Starry Heist

Framed

Masterpiece

Chasing Vermeer

A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall

Mystery on the Museum Mile

The Art Swap

Capitol Chase

The Van Gogh Deception

Arts and Thefts

The Sweetest Heist in History

Manhunt  

Middle Grade Review: Capital Chase

Twins race to find the thief stealing valuable historical artifacts before their family’s framed for the crimes.

Ten-year-old Ike Carter has committed large chunks of American history to memory. That’s what happens when you’re a genius who loves the past. His twin, Iris, prefers the present (aka reality) . She’s an elite athlete, dominating the competition thanks to her wicked-sharp spatial awareness.

During the opening night of a new exhibit at their mom’s boutique museum in Washington, D.C., Ike and Iris inadvertently stumble onto a robbery in progress. A girl not much older than them is stealing a miniature portrait of George Washington from the collection[ML1] [ASW2] [LMD3] . It's only the first in a string of crimes, all focused on items that were once gifted by the Marquis de Lafayette to his American friends. With some help from the National Archives Research Center, the twins puzzle out the culprit’s next targets, and are soon hot on the trail of the mystery girl.

But their efforts also put them in the crosshairs of the FBI’s Art Crime team, who suspect their family is involved. If the twins can’t catch the real perp as they target the final item, it’ll be game over. - Summary from the publisher

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this start to a new series. I loved how the twins were opposites of each: one was the brain and one was athletic. I read this on the plane - lots of action and lots of danger. I liked learning more about Lafayette. I loved the nerdy moments of research and fun facts. Of course I loved how they went into special libraries with rare books and artifacts. There were several National Treasure jokes in this book. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book.

Cover Thoughts: Love it! 

Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: Highly recommended. Hand this one out to readers of The Genius Files by Dan Gutman or Framed by James Ponti.

Spooky Read: Daybreak on Raven Island

No one wants to be on the 7th grade field trip to Raven Island - a remote island that used to host a prison. Tori's missing a soccer game because of poor grades, Martin would rather be filing a movie for a film festival with his best friend who moved away. Noah would rather be anywhere with his mom who died recently. Instead, the three of them are paired together.

They spend the day seeing the old prison, hearing ghost stories, and witness something pretty creepy. They meet the rest of their class by 2 pm to catch the last ferry off the island. But Melvin wants to film something spooky for the movie festival. He knows the island will provide and amazing backdrop. At the last moment, he leaves the ferry. Noah and Tori go with him. Neither are pleased with the situation.  

There's a ghost hunting team on the island - hoping to make an amazing show. Something happened on the island years ago - three prisoners escaped, and the warden died. No one has solved the mystery. But Marvin, Tori, and Noah witnessed a ghostly glimpse of the moment. No one wants them to uncover the truth. Obstacles and spooky moments force them to decide what's important. Are they going to uncover the mystery of the island before it's too late?

My Thoughts: I wouldn't want to spend the night on this island - especially after witnessing all the creepy moments. A great story about finding friends. I loved how the trio came together. I felt badly for each other them as they all were dealing with significant trauma - grief, anger, and feeling alone. My heart went out to Tori's brother who was sent to prison. I really liked the author's note about incarcerated loved ones. Lots of action, danger, and mysterious happenings in this book. Part horror and part mystery, this book will leave readers on the edge of their seat as they try to figure out what happened. 

Cover Thoughts: Spooky

Source: Book sent for review

Library Recommendation: Highly Recommended for your middle grade section.

Review: Wildfire

Sam's summer camp is evacuating as a precaution against a wildfire that's spreading across Maine. When he realizes that he left his phone in his bunker, he quickly retrieves it. But in doing so, the fire creeps up between him and the bus. There's no way to make it.

Now he's forced to navigate the forest and run from the wildfire. He remembers a few survival tips from his recently deceased father, which help him stumble through the forest.

He meets a girl from another camp, also lost. The two of them join forces and attempt to survive as the fire rages on all around them.

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this action packed book. I couldn't put it down because I wanted to see (if) and how Sam escaped the forest. I enjoyed all the twists and turns. I was happy that Sam made a friend, it would have been terrible going through that all by yourself. Plus the banter between the two of them was refreshing. I liked learning the survival tips and learning about the environment. This would make an interesting book discussion book as lots of topics are brought up: grief, death, drug addiction, helping the environment, stealing, and friendship.

Cover Thoughts: Love it
Source: My library
Library Recommendation: A great middle grade action thriller for your school and public libraries.

If You Like Pin:

On Your Radar: Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation

Title: Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation

Author: Stuart Gibbs

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

Release Date: September 17, 2019

Reasons It Should Be On Your Radar:

* Girl Genius

* Albert Einstien

* Thriller

* Danger

* Action

* Plot Twists

* Family

* CIA

* Clues

* Saving the World

** BEA ARC 2019

I couldn't put this book down; it's a must have book for school and public libraries!