Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword by Barry Deutsch

"Yet another troll-fighting 11-year-old Orthodox Jewish girl" (tagline from the front cover).

Mirka lives in Hereville a small community of Orthodox Jews with her father, her step-mother and a gaggle of siblings. Most of her excitement in life is derived from finding ways to avoid doing her knitting, arguing with her step-mother and an irksome pig who keeps sneaking into the village and eating her homework. However, though Mirka's life seems quotidian her dreams are anything but. Mirka dreams of slaying a dragon. A dream that seems out of reach until she does a favor for a woman who turns out to be a witch. The witch gives Mirka instructions on where to find a magic sword and that's when Mirka's adventures really begin!

I love the way this book immersed me in a totally different culture. The book drops Yiddish phrases left and right (and fortunately translates them at the bottom the page), provides a loving description of Shabbos and even explains how you can tell which school girls are pious, popular or rebels just by looking at their nearly identical school uniforms. (click on the picture below). The book ends with a bang too! The way she fights the troll will certainly make you chuckle and maybe even burst out laughing. Give this one to feisty girls, fans of (Jewish) adventure stories and people who love to laugh grades 3 to 8.

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by Patrick

For Octavia Boone seventh grade starts out well enough but when Octavia’s mother, a life-long seeker of faith, joins the Fellowship of the Redeemer church, her world rapidly changes. For her artist father, Henry David Thoreau seems to have had all the answers but her mother finds very different answers and wants Octavia to accept them as well. Then, when her parent’s disparate world views collide and Octavia is forced to live with her mother and a couple of fellow “Redeemers” Octavia’s anger overflows. Octavia must confront her own prejudices, explore her feelings about God, and discover a way to move forward without her ideal life in tact. Reader, Ellen Grafton, does an excellent job giving voice to Octavia’s emotional turmoil. Her pacing will keep readers engaged as will her variety in tone and pitch. Listeners will quickly connect with this engaging young character and will come away hoping for an encore.

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by Deanna

The Monster Princess by D.J. MacHale

I wanted to really like this book, and I tried to, but in the end it just didn't work for me. The illustrations by Alexandra Boiger were fantastic. As was the basic premise of a little gnome girl who wanted to crawl out of the dark and be a princess, but was ultimately rejected by the actual princesses until she saved them from another monster.

What really ruined this story for me was the forced rhyme scheme, it didn't flow, and I feel if you can't make it seem natural it just gets in the way of the story. An example from the book reads:

"But living in shadow just wasn't her style.
She wanted some light! (for more than a while.)
A princess is what Lola wanted to be,
for they sang and danced,
while she lived with fleas."

I didn't quite like the ending either, the author spent so much text setting up Lola's hatred of darkness that when she crawled back in at the end, of her own choice, I couldn't help but feeling like she had failed in her dream.

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by Scott

Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale

It's Rapunzel, but set in the wild west and as a graphic novel.

Rapunzel spends her young life blissfully unaware of the world beyond the walls surrounding Mother Gothel's estate, until one day she decides to find out what's over the walls. Beyond is a rocky wasteland of dusty stone, smoky chimneys and sad times. Rapunzel also just happens to run into a worn down old miner who turns out to be her birth mother, (what are the chances?) who had been forced to give up Rapunzel at birth by Mother Gothel. Rapunzel, of course flips out and then Mother Gothels counter flips out and sends Rapunzel off to live in a tower made out of a tree (Mother Gothels has growth magic, which lets her wilt or grow vegetation at will). So Rapunzel lives in the tower for 4 years with nothing to do except grow her hair and play with it. Anyway, eventually she grows it long enough to turn into a giant lasso and she rescues herself. The rest of the Graphic Novel she goes around as some kind of cowgirl superhero fighting for good and trying to stop Mother Gothel's tyranny. Oh and she also meets Jack (the guy who climbed the beanstock) and he follows her around helping out.

The Graphic Novel was an interesting idea and the art was great (although i didn't care for the way Rapunzel's red braid looked like hot dog links), but it was somehow lacking. About half-way thru I started looking for excuses to stop reading "Gee, I really should vacuum right now" and "Hmm, I think I've got some dishes in the sink that I ought to wash." When washing the dishes starts sounding more appealing than reading, I know something is off with the book. However, I finished reading it and all in one sitting too. I wouldn't say this book was bad, but I would say this book was a disappointment, great potential with only fair execution.

For wild west enthusiasts grades 5-9.

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by Patrick

When Royals Wore Ruffles: a Funny and Fashionable Alphabet by Chelsey McLaren

Bright vintage-feeling illustrations and interesting (often funny)
historical tidbits make this a very entertaining book about fashion through the ages. Only adding to the enjoyment is that it is also an alphabet book, though more for those who already have familiarity with their letters.

Each letter introduces you to a fashion trend, and then there is a snippet putting the trend in historical context and often linking it to notable figures. One example is that a gentleman with coat tails stood too near the fireplace, his tails burnt off and a new fashion was born!

Fans of books like Fancy Nancy or Pinkalicious are certain to appreciate this treasure.

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by Scott