Month: January 2016

‘Loot: How to Steal a Fortune’ by Jude Watson: middle grade action thriller

/ Pamela Kramer

loot

Rating: 5 stars

Kids will love “Loot: How to Steal a Fortune,” guaranteed. This middle grade book by Jude Watson starts with a bang, and kids will be hooked from the first page. The adventure continues nonstop until the final page, and even that page leaves the mystery going for a possible sequel.

The story begins with a heist; the heist of three famous pieces of jewelry. One of them, however, contained seven unlucky magical moonstones. Legend was that the moonstones were cursed. And the three thieves in the robbery were, in fact, all cursed. One was caught that night, one died, and the other had his children cursed. That third robber was March’s father. March, the protagonist, saw his father die by falling from the roof during a job. Before he fell, his father threw March a moonstone. March was later to find out that it was one of the seven mystical moonstones.

March follows his father’s clues and meets his twin sister, who he never knew existed. They are caught and sent to the U.S. and put in foster care. Their foster home is as horrible as stereotypical foster homes, but they meet two other fosters and all manage to escape. The next step is to follow March’s dad’s clues and get the seven moonstones back.

The woman from whom March’s dad, Alfie, stole the moonstones is willing to pay seven million dollars for their return. March’s dad left information about how to execute each heist to get them. All that March, Jules (his sister), Darius and Izzy (their foster friends) have to do is execute the plans. But trying to stop them is a former cop who wants the deal for himself. And everything becomes even more difficult when Alfie’s former partner tries to get the moonstones, too. Can four clever kids outsmart a thief and a former cop? Readers will be dying to know the answer.

This would be a wonderful class read aloud because of the discussion that could ensue. Themes of abandonment, family, friendship, trust and morality are all great outcomes for group exploration. What makes a family? How far will people go to keep family members safe? When, if ever, is it okay to commit a crime?

Please note: This review is based on the paperback book provided by Scholastic Press for review purposes.

‘Blackout’ by David Rosenfelt: Another exciting suspense novel from Rosenfelt

/ Pamela Kramer

blackout

Rating: 5 stars

The dependably entertaining and prolific David Rosenfelt strikes again with his latest stand-alone thriller, “Blackout.” Filled with his trademark cast of fascinating characters, his always-funny and wittily self-deprecating hero, his usual strong and gorgeous female supporting love interest, and plot twists and turns aplenty, “Blackout” once again provides us with “finish-it-in-one-night” suspense and adventure.

The hero is Doug Blake, a New Jersey State Police officer who is a rebellious, unpredictable, rule-bending, and lovable character. But the first plot twist involving Blake appears not toward the end of the book, but at the very beginning. While hot on the trail of Nicholas Bennett, a loathsome crime lord, Blake is shot, falls on his head, and lapses into a coma. When he emerges from the near-deathly sleep, he is victimized by a rare form of amnesia — he remembers nothing of the last ten years of his life.

It is upon his awakening that we get to really know him (though he wouldn’t know us if we had happened to meet him during the previous ten years) as Rosenfelt’s ubiquitous and amazing talent for first person narrative humor kicks in at full throttle. As always, this author’s uncanny ability to present terrific comedy right along with heart-throbbing suspense hits us directly in the gut. He is unique.

The plot proceeds apace as the questions and suspense crescendo: Who shot Blake? Why did he get shot? Will he get his memory back? Will he be the same man he was before the shooting? What villainous plans are afoot? Who are the bad guys and who are the good guys — and who’s fooling Blake and fooling us?

There’s also a delicious cornucopia of villains here — Bennett the crime lord; Luther, his ruthless hit man; Gharsi, an international terrorist, and the surprise guest-artist/brains behind the whole dastardly plot. A sumptuous villainous feast, indeed. As usual with Rosenfelt, it will keep you on the edge of your seat with suspense while you work hard to keep from falling off your chair with laughter. A winning combination. (JK)

Please note: This review is based on the final hardcover book provided by Minotaur Press for review purposes.

‘Whatever After: Cold as Ice’ is a middle grade fairy tale by Sarah Mlynowski

/ Pamela Kramer

coldasice

Rating: 4 stars

“Whatever After: Cold as Ice” by Sarah Mlynowski is the sixth book in the “Whatever After” series about Abby and her brother Jonah, who crash into fairy tales, changing the lives of the characters for the better, and learning a lesson in the meantime.

In “Whatever After: Cold as Ice,” Abby has been having problems with her best friend, Robin. Robin has made a new friend, and Abby feels excluded. She thinks that Robin must decide — be best friends with Abby and Frankie (the three of them are best friends), or not be friends with them at all.

When Abby and Jonah go through the mirror and end up in the story of the Snow Queen, they encounter extreme cold and snow, and more danger than ever before. The Snow Queen freezes Jonah and Prince, their puppy. It’s up to Abby and her new friends (including a reindeer named Ralph) to save them.

Continue reading →

‘The Day the Crayons Came Home’ by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers

/ Pamela Kramer

crayons came home

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

They’re back! The crayons with their complaints and grumbling are at it again in “The Day the Crayons Came Home,” the sequel to (as noted on the front cover!) the #1 bestselling “The Day the Crayons Quit.” These new crayons are just as hilarious, just as individual, and just as colorful as those characters in the first book.

Pea Green is sick of his name. “No one likes peas,” he complains. He decides to change his name to Esteban…the Magnificent (the crayon formerly known as Pea Green) and run away to see the world. Each color does not just appear once, as in the first book. Their postcards track their adventures around the world, all of them on their way home. Some, like Maroon, are as close as the living room couch. Others, like Neon Red Crayon, were left behind on vacation and must make their way home. And then there is Pea Green, who wants to leave but thinks better of it.

The humor and the illustrations will make children laugh. But they will also appeal to the adults who may be reading the book aloud to kids. Who would not chuckle when Neon Red Crayon explains how Duncan used him to color in his Dad’s sunburn during a vacation, only to drop him when they left, stranding him near the pool at their motel. He comments, “How could you miss me?” How, indeed, could one miss Neon Red? Poor fella.

Kids will roll on the floor with laughter when they read about Tan (or possibly Burnt Sienna) Crayon. He has been through the horrors of a dog’s stomach, thrown up on the rug, and is now covered in all kinds of schmutz.

The closings are also clever. Maroon crayon signs “Your marooned crayon” and others write “Your not-so-sunny friend,” and best of all “Your undigestible friend.” These books are a great way to teach letter writing skills. One activity kids would love is for them to look in their crayon box and create their own version of Daywalt’s book. Geography skills would be enhanced by having students plot a way for the crayons to return to them, including the sights they would see on the way home.

Great series! Great addition to any classroom or child’s library. This will become a classic just like the first book. And probably, a #1 bestselling book.

Please note: This review is based on the final hardcover book provided by Philomel Books for review purposes.

Never Too Late: Your Roadmap to Reinvention (without gettinglost along the way)

/ Pamela Kramer

FB_Ad_NeverTooLate

Rating: Five Stars

“Never Too Late: Your Roadmap to Reinvention (without getting lost along the way)” by Claire Cook is her first foray into the nonfiction/self help genre, although it still manages to read a lot like a novel. In this book, she shares stories from not only her own life, but from the lives of others who, like her, have reinvented themselves.

The recounting of her own reinvention alternates with the story of her visit to Isla Mujeres in Mexico for a women’s conference. Cook was the keynote speaker. At this conference for women and created by women, she met many fascinating people who had dared to follow their dreams and who are now living a life they had not thought possible. The book actually is comprised of four intertwined parts: Claire Cook and her metamorphosis; women who have influenced her or taken charge of their lives; her time at the women’s conference and what she learned there; and, perhaps most importantly, practical, enlightening, virtually step-by-step advice for effective — and successful — occupational and personal reinvention.

Cook informs the reader that she had planned on being a writer from a very early age. Yet when confronted with the challenging realities of life, that’s not what happened. It was only when she was 45 years old that she realized it was time to try to reach her life-long goal. What happened next (getting the first book published and getting the second book made into the fabulous movie “Must Love Dogs”) was not expected.

But since then, Cook has not rested on her laurels. She’s the author of several bestselling novels, and she strolled down the Hollywood red carpet at the age of 50. And, as she reveals in the book, she became one of the few authors during that walk to captivate the media, who usually only want to mingle with the top-notch actors. (Spoiler alert: a bit of luck may have been involved.)

Claire also shares her most recent reinvention. Her traditional publishers weren’t doing what she thought was best for her career and her books, so she took the matter into her own hands and decided to self-publish her books under Marshbury Beach Books (the name of the fictional town in her novels). She now owns the rights to many of her books (including “Must Love Dogs”), and she alone gets to manage the whole publishing process.

“Never Too Late” is the perfect book for readers who love Claire Cook’s books and wonder how she got to be such a successful author. But the real purpose and accomplishment of the book is the inspiration it provides and the fascinating and amazingly helpful strategies and methods she presents for any women (“and a few good men”) who really want to achieve what they’ve only dreamed of. The book is about change and opportunity — and how to grab them.

Cook is candid: grabbing opportunity sometimes involves serendipity, but it’s always a tremendous amount of work and risk. She talks about money, though she points out that it’s not always about the money; and she demonstrates how fear can be incapacitating. Different often equals scary.

The book also may well serve to let many people know that they, too, could serve as an inspiration for others. Most people have within them the capacity to inspire those around them. It’s just a matter of freeing those hidden thoughts and ideas and dreams and goals.

The author’s website states: “I’ll share my own stories, successes, and failures, as well as those of other reinventors, plus tips for getting a plan, staying on track, pulling together a support system, building your platform in the age of social networking, dealing with the inevitable ups and downs, overcoming perfectionism, and tuning in to your authentic self to propel you toward your goals.”

And she does.

One last comment: The cover — it’s brilliant. Pure Claire Cook, while still perfectly suited for this first, nonfiction creation. A beach, a blue sky, and an endless blue ocean in between. Just like the endless opportunities that exist for all of us.

Please note: This review is based on the final hardcover book provided by the author, Claire Cook, for review purposes.

Buy Never Too Late: Your Roadmap to Reinvention