Paul D. Marks is a multiple award-winning author whose latest novel, “The Blues Don’t Care,” is a striking illustration of the talent that has brought him those awards. It’s the first entry in what promises to be an entertaining and thoughtful series of “Bobby Saxon Novels” — mysteries with not only the requisite twists, turns, surprises, and reveals, but also a penetrating look into our ubiquitous all-too-human flaws — greed, corruption, fear of the “other,” and, especially, racism.
August is a month filled with the afternoon sounds of cicadas indicating that summer is almost over, and in “Dark August,” Katie Tallo fills us with so much darkness, tragedy, and despair that there are no sunny summer days and beautiful summer nights at all.
The story starts slowly. And the Gus (Augusta) Monet we meet is not a very likable character. She’s living in cheap motels with a thug named Lars. She allows him to abuse and threaten her. And she has no aspirations at all. None.
Gordon Korman’s books are among the most popular novels for middle grade readers. Kids love them. His “Swindle” series is addictive, and his stand alone novels like “Restart” and “Slacker” are thoughtful and humorous at the same time. “War Stories,” his newest middle grade novel, is thoughtful, but necessarily less humorous; it delves into a much more serious topic — war.
“ICK! Delightfully Disgusting Animal Dinners, Dwellings, and Defenses” by Melissa Stewart is a book that will astonish adults and delight children who never realized all the myriad synonyms for the word “poop.” This non-fiction magazine-type book published by National Geographic Kids is filled with glorious photos and ample information about animals whose personal habits will make many of us blanch. Really.
The Table of Contents divides the information into three parts: Disgusting Dinners, Disgusting Dwellings, and Disgusting Defenses. There is also an introduction and conclusion, with a glossary and an index. For a classroom teacher, having a book that will intrigue and entertain children and that includes all these important nonfiction text features is priceless.
Last year, Katherine Center brought us the wonderful novel, “Things You Save in a Fire.” In my review, I said that if you only read one book last summer, that should be the book you chose. This summer we are treated to “What You Wish For.” It’s another lovely story about a strong young woman facing a difficult situation with determination and best intentions, if not with complete dignity.
In “Of Mutts and Men,” the charming man and dog duo of Chet and Bernie are solving crimes together again, courtesy of Spencer Quinn, who writes as fabulous a dog narrative as anyone. Chet is the four-legged narrator who allows us to participate, albeit virtually, in how the two intrepid detectives solve the crime of one Wendell Nero, a hydrologist who was found with his throat cut, while working at the remote Dollhouse Canyon.
“The Rider’s Reign: A Rose Legacy Novel” is the final book in the trilogy that began with “The Rose Legacy,” the book that is also the title of the three-book series. In it we learn of a world in which some humans can communicate with horses. And any horse-loving human reading this trilogy would only wish that this was, indeed, a real thing. Talking to horses — how amazing would that be?
In “The Half Sister,” Sandie Jones writes a novel that demonstrates how what we perceive as perfect families are sometimes anything but that. When a young woman named Jess shows up at the family’s front door claiming to be the daughter of their late father, Lauren and Kate are stunned, especially Kate because she had an extremely close relationship with her father and couldn’t believe that he’d ever do anything to hurt their family.
“The Unadoptables: five amazing kids. One UN-ordinary adventure to find the home they deserve,” by Hana Tooke, is a middle grade historical fiction that is Dickens-esque while it also charms and touches the heart. The story takes place in Amsterdam and begins in the year 1880, over the course of which five infants are abandoned on the premises of the Little Tulip Orphanage.
With her new historical fiction, “The Last Train to Key West,” Chanel Cleeton revisits the hurricane of 1935, which has been called one of the strongest storms to hit the United States. She imagines the lives of three women, all unknown to each other at the start of the novel, but whose lives become connected through chance encounters.
Remember Bob, the scrawny little dog with lots of bravado who was Ivan and Ruby’s buddy in “The One and Only Ivan“? Well, author Katherine Applegate decided that Bob deserved his own story, and “The One and Only Bob” is this survivor’s tale.
First, let’s be clear about one thing: Bob is NOT a good dog. Sure, he’s loving and appreciates his two square meals a day, but don’t expect him to listen or obey commands like “sit” or “leave it.” He’s the first to say that he’s a street dog, and he’s proud of it. His opinion of Hachiko, the dog who waited at the train station for his owner for nine years? “That dog was a ninny. A numskull. A nincompoop.”
“Have You Seen Me?” is the latest mystery by Kate White, who is also the author of the Bailey Weggins mysteries, including “Such a Perfect Wife” and “Even if It Kills Her.” This new novel is a stand alone novel, and White generously provides us with many, many choices when we try to figure out who the bad guy (or bad guys or gals) might be.
