Bubble World

Bubble World by Carol Snow follows Freesia who lives in a perfect world filled with beaches, parties and friends.  Slowly she starts realizing that things are not as they appear and then her world falls apart.

This is an interesting book however it moved slowly and took a while for me to finish.  There's an interesting point as to what is real and what isn't real and what it takes to be happy that teens will enjoy.

Appropriateness:  There's a bit of drinking in the book and the main character frequently takes drugs (happy juice, sleepy juice) to calm down and deal with life.  There's a bit of romance which never goes further than kissing.  I would recommend this book to readers 14+

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Flora and Ulysses

  Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo follows Flora who saves a squirrel that has been vacuumed up.  When the squirrel comes to life it suddenly has cool squirrel powers.  They then hang out together in strange ways.

This was a great book.  The characters and setting made for an interesting story that played out in a delightful manner that was wacky, full of imaginative stuff and lots of other things that a good book should have.  The child who read this book was very excited and plowed through it and was sad when it ended. 

Appropriateness:  This is a great book that could be enjoyed by elementary and middle school audiences.  There is a bit of romance and the occasional use of the term shut up.

Review written with the help of a great fifth grader.  Review copy provided by Amazon Prime.

In The After

In the After by Demitria Lunetta follows Amy who is watching television when they attack.  The first section of the book follows Amy living on her own, protecting herself and the small child she finds from the horrific creatures outside, maintaining total silence at all times.  The two then move into a perfect community that quickly is shown to not be as perfect as it appears.

I really enjoyed this book and I've been in a mood to hate everything lately.  It was the perfect combination of adventure and terror combined with a utopia/dystopia with a minor mystery throughout.  I rushed through the book, finishing quickly even though it was very long.  The ending was solid enough to satisfy me but enough to keep me wondering about the sequel.

Appropriateness:  This book is fairly violent and has a lot of survival scenes where you are worried about the main character's safety.  There's no real romance to turn off readers who hate romance.  I'd recommend this book to readers 13+

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Little Goblins Ten

Little Gobins Ten by Pamela Jane and illustrated by Jane Manning is a fantastic Halloween version of the classic folk song "Over in the Meadow."  Instead of turtles and foxes this version features silly zombies, goblins and bats.  My students loved the book and the text fit the song well making it very singable.

This book will be loved by readers 3-8

We're Going on a Ghost Hunt

We're Going on a Ghost Hunt by Susan Pearson and S.D. Schindler is a retelling of the classic chant "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" with a ghosty twist.

My students loved this book and it's funny rather than scary.  It's a fantastic read aloud.

Review copy provided by Amazon Vine

The Spooky Wheels on the Bus

The Spooky Wheels on the Bus is a fun retelling of the classic children's song The Wheels on the Bus with a Halloween twist and an added counting element.  My students loved hearing this version and thought the pictures were very funny (although not scary at all). 

I would recommend this book to readers 2-6