THE IRON TRIAL by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Callum Hunt is an unpopular, angry boy with a damaged leg and mysterious past. Those things define him until he is admitted to the Magisterium to study magic. Call is the worst student in the trials because his father has warned him all his life that he needed to fail the trials. But he is accepted anyway, and once there, Call starts to get a sense of who he is - but things aren't necessarily what they appear in a world filled with magic. 

Wow. This was engaging and intriguing right from the beginning.Mysteries are probed, secrets are revealed and plenty of questions are left for the next book in the series. The characters are typical teen/pre-teens dealing with issues of friends, popularity and identity as they try to decide the kind of people they want to be. Plenty of questions left to draw readers forward in search of answers. I would recommend this to fans of the Harry Potter books. This has a different tone, but a similar premise with the magical training school.

4.5 out of 5

AR Reading level of 5.6

* I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher for free in the hope that I would review it honestly on my blog. Regardless, I only review books I enjoyed. I don’t believe in passing on negative reviews. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

FINDING RUBY STARLING by Karen Rivers

Ruth Quayle is playing around with pictures of herself online when she finds pictures of her face - but she knows she is not the girl in the pictures. That girl is Ruby Starling, and she lives in England. But why does she look exactly like Ruth?

I really enjoyed this story told through emails between these two girls and their families and friends. Emotions are expressed honestly about a confusing situation, although maybe more poetically and maturely expressed than you might expect from such young characters. Themes include identity, family, and truth. There is also a Buddhist aspect to the story.

4.5 out of 5 stars
No AR reading level at the time of this writing.

* I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher for free in the hope that I would review it honestly on my blog. Regardless, I only review books I enjoyed. I don’t believe in passing on negative reviews. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

RUMP by Liesl Shurtliff

"Rump" is not much of a name in a mountain community that believes your name influences your destiny. But "Rump" was all his mother got out before she died. Could there be more to his name - and to his destiny? It will take piles of straw, a spinning wheel, witches, trolls and towers for Rump to find out.

Great expansion of the Rumplestiltskin story. Told from Rump's perspective, readers get a great insight into Rump's longing for identity and purpose. The pieces come together like a great mystery. This would make a nice addition to a fairy tale collection with the Whatever After series, E.D. Baker's stories, and the Twice Upon a Time series. I also love that this story has a non-princess hero. I will be urging the teachers in my building to add this to their classroom libraries and to read them out loud with their students!

5 out of 5 stars
AR Reading Level of 4.4

April 14, 2014 - Jack: The True Story of Jack and the Beakstalk (sorry for the photo quality - this picture is from a presentation at a conference this summer).

FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell

Cather and her twin sister, Wren, are leaving for college. Wren is the more vocal sister, pushing for separation and independence from her twin, leaving Cather more than a little lost. Throughout their freshman year, Cather tries to find her own way and her own place both at college and in life.

That summary doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of all the things going on in this novel. And all of it is fabulous! I loved Cather's voice and her journey. I got lost in the beautiful writing (instead of distracted by it which was awesome). I loved the relationship Cather develops with Levi and Reagan and the relationship with her father. The strain with Wren and with their mother was believable and not easily resolved which made it even more realistic. The Simon Snow fan fiction Cather writes was fun to read - parallels to Harry Potter were obvious and only a little distracting at first. I read this while at Phoenix Comic Con which gave an extra depth to Cather's love and fanaticism for Simon Snow. My only complaint was the ending. I wanted more - more details on her final paper, her relationships and her future. The whole book was delightful! I would read this one again. 

5 out of 5 stars.

This is for high school students and older readers. Profanity, underage drinking, homosexuality, and mental illness are among the concepts explored in this book. This is also a book about writing, about identity, and about independence and growing up.

THE DEEPER LIFE by Daniel Henderson

Thought provoking stories and self-discovery questions help readers find purpose and satisfaction in life. The longings referenced in the subtitle include a longing to know who God is, a longing to know who we are, and a longing to find out why we are here. The book provides space to record thoughts and answers to the questions so that readers can clarify their values, passions and purposes, all with a goal of improving quality of life. For example, there are exercises to help a reader determine his or her theology and identity. There are examples from the author's own life and work with other people. There are other books and systems for examining your life that are similar to this one - ways to help you discover your purpose or develop a personal mission statement. This one is well-organized and easy to use and relate to. I think this would be good to use for a Sunday school class or a church or business small group.

Just in time for Easter! If your Lenten season or Easter preparations have left you looking for "more" in your spiritual life, considering reading The Deeper Life.

4 out of 5 stars

* I received a review copy of this book from the publisher, Bethany House, for free in the hope that I would review it honestly on my blog. Regardless, I only review books I enjoyed. I don’t believe in passing on negative reviews. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

ATHLETE VS. MATHLETE: DOUBLE DRIBBLE by W. C. Mack

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from the publisher at ALA this summer.

The twins - athlete Owen and mathlete Russell - are back. They're still both playing basketball, but there's a new set of twins on the team - Marcus and Mitch. They are identical, brilliant, and basketball superstars. Where do Owen and Russell fit if they aren't "the twins" anymore - and if they're riding the bench?

I reviewed the first book in this series this summer - I loved it! And I enjoyed this one as much as the first. The contrast between Owen and Russell makes for great storytelling as each takes a turn at the job. Owen's jealousy of the new twins felt authentic, but it didn't make him very like-able. Russell is a good contrast there, again, as he set aside his feelings to really look at Marcus and Mitch as individuals. This is a great story about family, team and identity. I can't wait to share it with students!

4 out of 5 stars.
No AR rating as this book doesn't release until November 5.

CHAPTER BOOK: Athlete vs. Mathlete by W. C. Mack

Owen is the basketball star. He played on the 6th grade team and should be a shoe-in for the 7th grade team - except they have a new coach who wants everyone to try out again! How absurd! And, as if that isn't bad enough, the coach sees Russell in the hallway and says he has to try out, too. Who's Russell? Owen's genius twin brother. Sure, Russell is tall (They are fraternal twins), but he has NO basketball skills. He's going to be a laughingstock - and Owen is sure he will be too, by association. But Russell turns out to have a jump shot and a real role on the team. If Owen isn't the only athlete in the family any more, who is he?

Russell has no interest in being on the basketball team. He has his Masters of the Mind team to lead and competition to prepare for. But when he sees some success on the court - and his dad starts paying more attention to him - Russell starts to wonder if he can have it all, sports and school. But basketball is enough of a distraction to give someone else a foothold in the Masters of the Mind. Russell has to decide who he wants to be.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I picked it up to scan it to see if it would be appropriate to give away to students and I was completely drawn in to the story and decided to read it cover to cover that day. It's a great story about identity as both boys, very different in temperament and interests, have to decide who they are and who they want to be. Interesting family dynamics are described but aren't the focus on the story. I'm looking forward to sharing this with my son as well as with students at school. A sequel releases in November.

Four out of five stars
AR reading level of 3.9

Recommended for: fans of sports stories and school stories, mid- to upper-elementary students, classroom reading. The "lower" reading level could make this a good match for reluctant readers or students reading a grade or so below grade level but it still looks appropriate for tweens.