Hot Pterodactyl Boyfriend

High School Fiction

F/M  Cumyn, Alan.  Hot Pterodactyl Boyfriend.  Atheneum, 2016.  408p.  978-1-4814-3980-0.  17.99

Student body chair and control freak, Shiels Krane, has her life planned out. Everything changes though, when a new student arrives at Vista View High. He’s the very first interspecies transfer student, a pterodactyl named Pyke. Without speaking a word, Pyke manages to cast his spell over almost everyone, but especially Shiels (even though track star Jocelyne is officially Pyke’s girlfriend). The best word to describe this novel is weird. There is no explanation of who Pyke is and where he comes from, which makes his appeal a mystery. Plus he’s truly a pterodactyl…there is no shape shifting or even speaking (on Pyke’s part). Overall, it’s about a girl losing control and letting loose in order to find herself, but how she gets there is nonsensical. Loren Spector, LAPL, Memorial Branch

ABRACADABRA

MIDDLE SCHOOL NONFICTION

F/A  Newquist, H. P.  Abracadabra.  Holt, 2015.  148p.  978-0-312-59321.  18.99.  For centuries, elements of deception and science have been manipulated to beckon the curious.  People have always enjoyed  being entertained.  Eight step-by-step black and white illustrated tricks plus 2 - 3 pp sub stories (i.e. Tools of the Trade...) are included in this history of magic.  Their placements throughout the book, however, often inhibit a free flow of the main text.  In spite of these faults, this eye catching title will sell itself and serve as an introduction to a popular subject.  E.M. Roublow (ret.)

SALLY RIDE: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY OF AMERICA'S PIONEERING WOMAN IN SPACE

MIDDLE SCHOOL FICTION

G/A  O'Shaughnessy, Tam.  Sally Ride: A Photobiography of America's Pioneering Woman in Space.  Roaring Brook, 2015.  153p.  978-1-59643-994-8.  19.99.  Multiple vivid, well-labeled photographs (b/w and color) definitely surpass the text in telling Sally Ride's story.  This California native grew up having a strong interest in sports -- especially playing tennis.  Her college years, however, spurred her curiosity and love for science.  Thus, her journey began:  earning a Ph.D in physics, being part of the original female group admitted to NASA's astronaut program, and becoming the first American woman to fly into space.  She went on to become a physics professor at UCSD and -- with friends -- set up the Sally Ride Science Co. to motivate and encourage young people who were interested in science.  Useful for career and/or Women's History month assignments.  E.M. Roublow (ret.)

The Tortoise and the Soldier: A Story of Courage and Friendship in World War I

Middle School Nonfiction

G/A. Foreman, Michael. The Tortoise and the Soldier: A Story of Courage and Friendship in World War I. Henry Holt, 2015. 120p. 978-1-62779-173-1. 16.99

Henry Friston was a gentle and courteous elderly gentleman living in a small town in England. Everyone in town knew that he had brought a tortoise back from his time on the front lines in World War I, but few, if any, knew the whole story. Young Michael Foreman (the book is based on his own recollections), a cub reporter, convinces Mr. Friston to tell him the tale of how Ali Pasha the tortoise had become his lifelong friend. Over many visits and much tea, he relates the details of his time in the war and how a tortoise had fallen on him while he was hiding from shells at Galipoli. Foreman does an excellent job of conveying the terror of a young man away from home who fears he may never return. The reader really feels she is there visiting the charming old man and witnessing him finally tell his tale. Simple and quite lovely paintings, also by the author, are featured throughout. Oddly, Foreman seems determined to limit the book's usefulness for school reports. There are no maps, no timeline of World War I, and no indexing. In fact, there is no sense of who fought in WWI and what it was about. Animal lovers and those seeking a non-traumatic war story may enjoy it. Philip Levie, LAPL Panorama City.

Exit, Pursued by a Bear

High School Fiction

VG/A  Johnston, E.K.  Exit, Pursued by a Bear.  Dutton, 2016.  242p.  978-1-101-99458-0.  17.99

As a high school senior, this is Hermione’s last time at cheer camp and she couldn’t be more excited about it. Everything is going great, until the final weekend when Hermione wakes up in the hospital and finds out that she had been drugged, raped and left unconscious in the lake. She has no memory of the incident or who did it. Now she has to spend her senior year dealing with the fallout, both emotionally and physically, while trying to move on with her life. Author Johnston, doesn’t focus on the rape or Hermione as victim, but on Hermione as a survivor. The title, chapter headings and many of the characters names come from Shakespeare’s Winter’s Tale, although the connection between the book and the play are not clear. Regardless, this beautifully written book is sure to make many best of 2016 lists. Loren Spector, LAPL, Memorial Branch

The Novice

Young Adult Fiction

G/A Matharu, Taran. The Novice.  R.R. Donneley & Sons, 2015. 350p.  978-1-250-06712-8. $18.99

As a baby orphaned, Fletcher, was taken in and raised by the town black smith. Helping his guardian sell his wears at the fair, Fletcher comes face to face with a war veteran with a journal from a battlemage. Fletcher helps the man out of a sticky situation with the town's bully only to find himself running for his own life. But before the warrior leaves, he gives Fletcher the journal. While reading the book, Fletcher accidentally summons a demon of his very own named Ignatius.  This leads him to Hominum and ultimately Vocan Military Academy, the school for battlemages. This world is filled with political and physical battles between the Elves, Dwarves and Humans; even though they battle amongst themselves they are all at war the orcs...with the machinations of humans being the most deadly threat, even among their own kinds. Dawn Fetcher, Inglewood Public Library

BOY'S BEST FRIEND

MIDDLE SCHOOL FICTION


F/E  Banks, Kate.  BOY'S BEST FRIEND.  Farrah Straus, 2015.  213p.  978-0-374-38008-3.  15.99.  Two sixth grade classmates (one of whom has recently relocated from another state) become science experiment partners.  For five weeks, week-ends excluded, Lester and George "test" their pets' telepathy.  Will their dogs anticipate their varied times of arriving home from school?  Both the experiment and its results are related to Rupert Sheldrake's adult title:  Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home.  Reading level is suitable for readers who are younger than the book's main characters.  Recommended as a quick, fun read for animal lovers.  Should also satisfy "book report" or "chapter book" reading assignments.  E.M. Roublow (ret.)