Weedflower
Facts:Date finished: 7-8-08Author: Cynthia KadohataCategory: Children’s, historical fictionPublished: 2006Pages: 257Rating: 3/5 Basic Plot:Sumiko’s family runs a flower farm in California, growing beautiful carnations and stock (weedflower) for the local flower market. She dreams of someday running her own flower shop, but life intervenes when Japan bombs Pearl Harbor. Suddenly, Sumiko’s…
Muddle Earth
Facts:Date finished: 6-29-08Author: Paul Stewart & Chris RiddellCategory: Fantasy, Children’sPublished: 2003Pages: 450Rating: 4/5 Basic Plot:Joe Jefferson is just trying to escape the chaos of his house when he takes his dog, Henry, out for a walk. But a muttered spell by the greatest (and only) wizard in Muddle Earth takes…
Pompeii
Facts:Date finished: 6-21-08Author: Robert HarrisCategory: Historical FictionPublished: 2003Pages: 274Rating: 4/5 Basic Plot:We’re in 79 AD, and strange things are happening in the Campania region. There’s sulfur in the Aqua Augusta, the wine is vibrating and there are waves, but no wind. The young, newly appointed aquarius sets out to find…
Under the Eagle
Facts:Date finished: 6-12-08Author: Simon ScarrowCategory: Historical fictionPublished: 2000Pages: 246Rating: 5/5 Basic Plot:It’s 42 A.D. and the Second Legion is defending the borders of the empire in Germany. Former slave Cato joins the legion and learns what life on the front lines is like for the Roman army in clashes with…
The Mysterious Benedict Society
Facts:Date finished: 6-9-08Author: Trenton Lee StewartCategory: Children’s (10-12)Published: 2007Pages: 485Rating: 5/5 Basic Plot:A classified ad in the paper is all it took to change Reynie Muldoon’s life forever. He shows up to take a mysterious test with odd questions and finds himself drafted with three other children into an undercover…