Peak by Roland Smith

Rating: Cleaner/Cleanest

Audience: Third grade and above. There are a few references that border on inappropriate for young kids. For example, Peak tells readers that he was conceived under the shadow of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.  Those moments are few and far between, but they are certainly worth noting. Another possible worry for young children: Peak sees several frozen corpses of climbers as he nears the summit.

Audio book recommendation: Yes! Very well read. My husband and I listened to this on a road trip and now sometimes quote lines from it in the voice of the narrator.

Plot: Peak Marcelo is a teenage rock-climbing junkie....who lives in the middle of the city. When he is caught climbing a skyscraper and bad media coverage threatens to put him in prison, he is forced to flee the city and the public eye.   His father, a world-famous climber who hasn't talked to Peak in seven years, offers to take custody of him and take him to China to go to school.  However, Peak's father has other plans.  He wants to make Peak the youngest person to ever summit mount Everest.  Soon Peak is on the mountain, training to survive while trying to reconstruct his view of his family and his life.


What makes it great?

1. The audio book narrator. His different character voices and accents were spot-on and consistent throughout the book.

2. Great characters.  Our favorite was Zopa--the ex-climber turned Buddhist monk who acts as Peak's mentor and who always has an ulterior motive.   He is the classic Yoda/Mr. Miyagi/Gandalf sort of guy who is impossible not to love.

3. We learned a lot about Everest.  Since neither of us has any intention of actually climbing Everest, it was super fun to feel like we were on the mountain with Peak.  We learned about H.A.P.E., climbing gear, ABC, and Sherpas.

It was slightly predictable, and we pretty much nailed the ending, but it made our time on the road a lot more fun and I will gladly recommend it to anyone looking for an exciting read.

Entwined by Heather Dixon

Rating: Cleanest

Audience: Fifth grade and up. Anyone who enjoys fairy tale adaptations will enjoy this book but I think it is geared toward middle school-aged girls, because it is actually kind of scary.

Plot: After their mother's death, Princess Azalea and her eleven younger sisters are forced into a year of mourning and solitude. They are not allowed to dance or leave their ancient castle home. Their father (whom they address as Sir and refer to as The King) insists that they keep to the rules, but Azalea decides that her sisters need to dance as a way of dealing with their grief. The princesses discover a secret passageway which leads to the silver pavilion of "the Keeper," who is both a dashing and sinister host.  However, as the year of mourning comes to an end, Azalea realizes that she has become entwined in the Keeper's secret world, and that the only way to escape with her family is to let him out as well. Now throw in some romance for the three eldest sisters, a war, an ancient blood-oath, dancing, politics, an enchanted silver tea set, and a father-daughter relationship in need a little work, and you've got a great read!

What makes it great?

My favorite part of the book was probably the relationship between The King and his daughters.  If you took out all the magic and the romance and the politics you'd still have a sweet story about a dad struggling to meet the needs of twelve crazy girls who just want their mother.  Of course, it's a lot more fun to read WITH all the magic and romance and politics, but Azalea's family is the heart of this story.

Also, I just started following Heather Dixon's blog and she is hilarious! She draws comics about her life that are WAY funnier than anything in the newspaper. Check it out for more info on her upcoming books.

Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke

  

Rating: Cleanest

Audience: Elementary school kids as young as third or even second grade would enjoy listening to this book, and anyone older can enjoy reading it themselves.  It is pretty long, but exciting and not too scary. Best part? Completely clean!

Audio book recommendation: Yes! When I hear the name "Bredan Fraser" I automatically think of George of the Jungle overdosing on coffee powder, but he is actually one of the best readers I've ever heard.

Plot:  The world's last remaining dragons have been living in a hidden valley for centuries, but when they learn that a group of humans is building a dam that will eventually flood their home, they choose to give up in despair rather than risk venturing out into the world.  One dragon, however, sets out on a quest to find the legendary "Rim of Heaven" where there is rumored to be another colony of dragons and where the humans cannot possibly follow.  With the help of a spunky brownie (magical creature, not delicious dessert) and a very unique human boy, the brave dragon might have a chance.  However, a dangerous creature known as "the Golden One" loves nothing more than hunting dragons and has patiently waited for them to come out of hiding...

What makes it great?

It's a great story with a lot of fun characters and humor, but its Fraser's narration that really sells this one for me.  Each character has a unique voice that fits their personality and even their species! My favorites are probably Gravelbeard (the mountain troll) and Lola Greytail (the rat pilot) but every voice is great.  If you are looking for an entertaining book for a long road-trip, this is the one I recommend.

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

Book #3 of the Heroes of Olympus series
Read #1 The Lost Hero
and #2 The Son of Neptune

Rating: Cleaner

Audience: Fourth grade and up. As always, it depends on the child.  There is a good dose of violence, and the complexity of the myths can be hard to follow.

Plot: Percy, Annabeth, Piper, Leo, Jason, Hazel, and Frank leave Camp Jupiter in a hurry after a happy reunion, an awkward banquet, and the accidental start of a civil war between the Greeks and Romans. (Only Rick Riordan can stick all of that in the first few chapters!) Their flying ship is damaged, and they know they have to figure out the rest of the prophecy before the two camps destroy each other.  The plot is super complex and I don't want to accidentally give any spoilers so I'm going to leave it at that for now...

Favorite parts:

1. Any moment between Annabeth and Percy, but especially their hilarious reunion scene

2. The chapter where they visit my home turf at the Great Salt Lake.

Warning: This book has a killer cliff-hanger ending, so be prepared to go out and buy book four as soon as you finish book three.  I'm so excited!!!

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Rating: Cleaner

Audience: Eighth grade and up. Some of the earliest versions of Little Red Riding Hood focused on the sensual, carnal nature of the Wolf and the danger of traveling alone with strange men, so it's no surprise that the romance in "Scarlet" is a bit more passionate than in "Cinder."  This book is also a bit more violent. However, there is no sex or nudity, so I still give it a double thumbs up!

Plot: Book two in Marissa Meyer's "Lunar Chronicles" is just as exciting as the first! The Story centers on Scarlet Benoit (a.k.a. Little Red Riding Hood), who is on a quest to find her abducted grandmother with a mysterious street-fighter called "Wolf."  Scarlet's story is it is intertwined with Cinder's where we left her last: breaking out of prison and starting a life on the run. Eventually, our two heroines meet in the middle of the war they have unknowingly been a part of, and they have to work together to survive.

What makes it great?

Scarlet is fiery, brave, opinionated, and just as admirable a heroine as Cinder. I really like Wolf too.  If you want a better understanding of Wolf's character/history, go read The Queen's Army, after you read Scarlet.  It is only a few chapters long and the e-book is free on Amazon. "Little Red Riding Hood" has never been one of my favorite stories, but I really liked the way Meyer worked the fairy tale allusions into the story.

My favorite part of this book, however, is that several of the chapters are told from Kai's perspective as he is trying to find Cinder.  I liked Kai in the first book, of course, but he really won me over in this one.

I am getting really excited for the third book, Cress,to be released this coming February and for book four, Winter, to come out in 2015.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Rating: Cleaner/Cleanest

Audience: Seventh/eighth grade and up.  Younger readers could definitely enjoy this book, but the target age is more middle school.  Cinder's romance with the prince is very clean and I don't remember seeing any sexual innuendos. (Book 2, Scarlet, is a little more mature.) Like all dystopian novels, there are some alarming societal problems: plague, violent discrimination, etc. Just something to be aware of.

Audio book recommendation: Maybe. I stopped listening to the audio book after thirty seconds because I didn't like the readers voice.  However, when I was living in China and didn't have any English reading materials, I went back to listening to it on my iPod.  I got so sucked into the story that I didn't care about the narrators voice anymore and even came to like it, but I still would recommend reading instead of listening to this one.

The Plot: As you can probably tell from the cover and title, it's a fairy tale adaptation (my favorite), but it's set in the future after World War IV in the city of New Beijing.  The heroine, Cinder, is a cyborg.  Her metal hand and leg automatically make her a lesser citizen, but she holds her own by being sassy, sarcastic, and the best mechanic in the city.  The world is experiencing a horrible plague, to which the emperor himself falls ill, and the emperor's son, Prince Kai, is trying desperately to save his people while avoiding a diplomatic marriage with the manipulative Lunar Queen.  In the middle of it all is a teenage cyborg mechanic who is more important to the fate of the world than she could have ever guessed.

What makes it great?

This book is just fresh! We get a lot of dystopian America books, but dystopian China is new. The characters are great as well. Cinder is tough and spunky.  Kai is loveable. Iko, Cinder's android best friend, is adorable . . .

This is a great book for taking on vacation, reading at home or on the go--the plot is full of interesting twists but isn't so deep that you have to strain your brain to understand.  It is just a fun, exciting read and I think it will be a great series.

Savvy by Ingrid Law

  

Rating: Cleanest

Audience: Third grade is the beginning of the target audience, but I don't remember any red flags that would make this inappropriate for younger children (especially if read aloud).

Plot: I'm just going to quote the book jacket for the summary here because why try to rewrite what someone's already worked to perfection?

"Mibs Beaumont is about to Become a teenager. As if that prospect weren't scary enough, thirteen is when a Beaumont's savvy strikes--and with one brother who causes hurricanes and another who creates electricity, it promises to be outrageous...and positively thrilling.  But just before her big day, Poppa is in a terrible accident.  Suddenly, Mibs's dreams of X-ray vision disappear like a flash of her brother's lightning:  All she wants now is a savvy that will save Poppa.  In fact, Mibs is so sure she'll get that powerful savvy that she sneaks a ride to the hospital on a rickety bus, with her siblings and the preacher's kids in tow.  But when the bus starts heading in the wrong direction only one thing is certain: After this extraordinary adventure, not a soul on board will ever be the same.  Reading the fantastical tale of the Beaumont family will leave you as changed as if you'd just discovered your own savvy--and who's to say you won't, once you've learned how to look?" 

What makes it great?

I was hooked from the very first page by both the voice of the narrator, Mibs, and by the premise of an ordinary family with extraordinary powers which they must try to both control and accept as important parts of themselves.

This is not a superhero story.  In fact, take out the powers and the heart of the book would still be intact.   It is like a mix between the supernatural of the Charlie Bone books (a lot of the family powers are very similar to those of the Children of the Red King--read about them here: Charlie Bone--Children of the Red King) and the bittersweet, coming-of-age books of Sharon Creech (if you like this book, I highly recommend The Wanderer).

I love what the jacket says about finding your savvy. Everyone really does have a bit of "know-how" that is unique to each of us, and I love that Mibs is able to use her unusual savvy to discover the hidden savvys in others.  

(Apparently, there is a companion book called "Scumble" about Mibs' cousin, so I'll have to check it out.  Happy Reading!)

Alex Rider Series by Anthony Horowitz

Rating: Clean

Audience:  I wouldn't go any younger than sixth grade.  There is a lot of violence and just a smidgen of bad language (it is British after all), as well as the rare sexual reference (for example, one boy says to another that he wonders if the headmaster and his assistant are "sleeping together"). Though intended for a middle school audience, I think anyone twelve and up could enjoy this series.  I certainly do.

Audio book recommendation: YES!!! These books have gotten me through so many road trips and so much yard work. The narrator, Simon Prebble, does all the accents and just gives the whole performance really well.  You know it's a good audio-book when the long drive is too short.

Plot: Alex Rider is an English schoolboy living with his banker uncle and his young hip housekeeper, Jack Starbright (is that not the greatest name?).  When Alex's uncle is killed, Alex decides to investigate and discovers that his uncle was not a mere banker, but a spy!  MI6 recruits Alex to finish his uncle's current mission, and Alex become MI6's secret weapon.


What makes them great?

These books have everything you could want from a spy series--suspense, secret doors, extreme stunts--as well as that dry British humor I just can't get enough of.   Let's be real though. It's all about the special spy gadgets, and Alex gets all sorts of sweet gadgets!

The novels all follow a certain pattern and I work through the series with other books in between so I don't get sick of reading the same story arc.  However, this kind of series (Artemis Fowl, etc.) is the best way to hook a kid on reading for life.  Kids love repetition, so if your son or daughter is a reluctant reader, this might be the perfect series to catch their attention and keep it through ALL NINE BOOKS!

(And just when I thought it couldn't get any better, I discovered that Horowitz is also the creator of my all time favorite TV series, "Foyle's War".  No wonder the books are so great!)


Here is a list of the books in order:

#1 Stormbreaker
#2 Point Blank (my favorite!)
#3 Skeleton Key
#4 Eagle Strike
#5 Scorpia
#6 Ark Angel
#7 Snakehead
#8 Crocodile Tears
#9 Scorpia Rising
#10 Russian Roulette

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

Book #2 of the Heroes of Olympus series

 

Read book #1 The Lost Hero
and book #3 The Mark of Athena

Rating: Cleaner

Audience: Fourth grade and up. As always, it depends on the child.  There is a good dose of violence, and the complexity of the myths can be hard to follow.

Plot: The book opens with Percy being chased across the country by monsters, which we learn he has been doing for months after waking up with no memory (sound familiar?) and receiving training from Lupa the wolf.  With a little help from Juno (a.k.a. the Roman version of Hera), he makes it to camp Jupiter and gives his new camp-mates a lasting first impression. Classic Percy! He befriends the camp's misfits, Frank Zhang and Hazel Levesque, and the three are sent on a quest to Alaska to free Thanatos, the god of death.

What makes it great?

Book two was awesome because we get to see Percy again!  I mean, it was fun hanging out with Jason for a while, but I missed Percy, and if you were already a Percy Jackson fan before you started reading this new series, I bet you miss him too.

Frank and Hazel really make this book.  They are great.  In the first Percy Jackson series, Rick Riordan  made Percy a defender of all the demigods forgotten and ignored by their godly parents. What I love about this second series is that Riordan himself is championing a new set of under-dogs: the children of the gods we all hate.  In the first book we met Piper, daughter of Aphrodite, and in this book Hazel is the daughter of Pluto (Hades) and Frank is the son of Mars (Ares).  It's still hard to like the gods themselves (though we do see some redeeming qualities), but their kids can be really wonderful.

The Wide Awake Princess by E.D. Baker

Rating: Cleanest

Audience: It's a light and fast read intended for elementary aged girls, but enjoyable for any age.

Plot:  When their second daughter is born, Sleeping Beauty's parents are determined not to have a repeat curse and so ask a powerful fairy for help.  The only way to protect Annie from a wicked curse, however, is to make her repellent to ALL magic, which the king and queen reluctantly agree to.  As Annie grows up, however, her family realizes that her anti-magic is so strong that it doesn't merely repel spells placed directly on her but also spells around her, and they avoid being near her lest their beauty spells wear off.  Though Annie is lonely, she is a great help to the royal guard as they keep magical spinning wheels away from Annie's sister, because not only can she stop bad magic but she has developed the ability to hear it.

Of course, there wouldn't be much of a story if Sleeping Beauty didn't prick her finger and fall asleep, but after the deed is done Annie heads out into the world to find as many potential princely kissers for her sister as possible.  She stumbles into one fairy tale after another, collecting princes and causing problems for all who rely on magic to make them what they are.  

What makes it great?

It's very clever and funny.  My favorite part is the old witch in the gingerbread house. She's losing her memory so she sticks giant candy conversation hearts all over her house with messages like "go check the cages--if there are children in cages, feed them" (I don't remember the actual words, but you get the idea), which Annie cleverly changes to save the unfortunate children who come there. Annie is brave and spunky, the characters have awesome quirks, and I just enjoyed the whole thing.

I know there is a sequel called "Unlocking the Spell" but I haven't had a chance to read it yet. More to come on that. 

Princess Academy: Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale

Rating:  Cleaner 

Audience:  Fifth grade and up (it is just a wee bit scary).  I was really stressed out about this rebellion.  Have recently watched the new Les Miserables movie and cried over the ending of Suzanne Collins' "Mockingjay," seeing the stirrings of another revolution just made me fret over which of my favorite characters are going to have to die. Luckily, however, I underestimated Miri's skill as a diplomat. What a relief!

Plot:  (If you haven't read the first one yet, skip this because it contains spoilers) Miri and a few other Princess Academy graduates (including Frid, who is definitely my favorite) go to the capital to attend Britta's wedding and live in the royal palace for a year as ladies of the princess. Miri also has the opportunity to attend the university there, and Peder comes to capital to start an apprenticeship with a stone carver.  However, Miri finds her new city on the brink of chaos as the common people plot to overthrow the king and his exorbitant tributes.  Miri acts as a spy on behalf of Mount Eskel, but choosing a side is difficult as Miri tries to right the wrongs of the aristocracy without betraying her best friend. 

What makes it great?

"Princess Academy" has always been my favorite of Shannon Hale's books and I was really excited when I saw that she had written a sequel. I was also apprehensive. Why? Because sequels are a scary business. If a book is the first in a planned series the later books usually turn out well, but stand-alone novels that later have sequels . . . it can go either way.

However, this really was one of the best sequels I have ever read, and it managed to be very different from the first book while still including all the Mt. Eskel pride and folklore that I loved.  If you liked "Princess Academy" then I highly recommend you read "Palace of Stone," but get on a library waiting list ASAP because it took a long time--though it was certainly worth the wait. 

Holes by Louis Sachar

Rating: Cleanest

Audience:  Fourth grade and up (though younger readers can enjoy).  I don't remember there being anything troublesome to watch out for.

Plot: Holes is about a boy named Stanley Yelnats  (whoa-ho, you see what he did there? S T A N L E Y Y E L N A T S), who has rotten luck thanks to a curse put on his ancestor.  After he is charged with a crime he did not commit, he is sentenced to time at "Camp Green Lake," a youth correctional facility in the middle of the desert.  The boys at Camp Green Lake dig holes in the desert every day. The counselors say it is to build character, but Stanley guesses that the warden is using the boys to search for something buried in the desert. Stanley soon discovers that he has to solve the mystery and right history to free himself and break his family's curse.

What makes it great?

Everything. When I was in elementary school, all the sixth graders were polled on their favorite book and Holes won with flying colors.  The plot is weird (in a good way), the characters are weird (in a better way), and the whole book is one big puzzle.  At first you don't see how everything fits together, but by the end, you're jumping up and down yelling "IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW!"

A word on the movie:  The movie is great.  It's one of those few movies that actually follows the book, so I can highly recommend both. 

Esperanza Rising

Rating: Cleanest

Audience: 3rd grade and up (though younger readers can enjoy).

Plot: Esperanza is the daughter of a wealthy ranch owner in Mexico, and lives with her parents and grandmother in an almost fairy tale existence, but when her father dies and her uncles seize control of the family ranch, Esperanza and her mother flee to California.  Desperately poor, they are taken in by relatives of their previous servants and become field workers.  Esperanza goes from riches to rags and has to rebuild her life the middle of the great depression.

What makes it great?

Esperanza grows from her trials and eventually rises above them. I love the lyrical voice of the narration and it is interesting to learn about how life might have been for an immigrant and a field worker in the great depression.  Also . . . I love Miguel.

This is a beautiful book, and I recommend it to anyone who likes coming of age stories and/or historical fiction.

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

Book 1 of the Heroes of Olympus series

Read book 2: The Son of Neptune
and book 3: The Mark of Athena

Rating: Cleaner

Audience: Fourth grade and up. As always, it depends on the child. There is a good dose of violence and the complexity of the myths can be hard to follow.

Plot: This is a separate series from Percy Jackson and the Olympians but it's the same world, with some of the same characters and places.  Percy and Annabeth come back in later books, but this book is about three new demigods: Leo, Piper, and Jason.  All three are found at a school in the desert for juvenile delinquents, and taken to Camp Half Blood, where they are almost immediately sent off on a quest to rescue the goddess Hera, who is imprisoned by a new threat to Olympus.  The main twist of the series is that the Olympian gods have two main personalities/forms--Greek and Roman, and Jason, who is suffering from hard-core amnesia, recognizes all the gods by their Roman names. If that isn't weird enough, he already has a sweet weapon and battle reflexes, though he has no idea where he got them.

What makes it great?

This book was awesome--I loved it! If you liked the Percy Jackson books, I can almost guarantee that you'll like this one too.  It has the same funny, adventure-packed writing, and all sorts of great plot twists.  I don't suggest reading this series if you haven't read the Percy Jackson series yet;  Riordan gives you all the background you need to at least understand the story, but you'll get so much more out of it if you've read the first series.

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

  

Rating: Cleanest

Audience: Fourth grade and up (though younger kids can enjoy).

Plot: Tired of living in his family's cramped city apartment, Sam decides to run away to his family's deserted ancestral farm in the Catskill mountains and lives there alone for an entire year.  He learns how to trap animals, makes a home inside a giant tree, and raises a hawk named Frightful to help him hunt, all while trying to avoid being found by civilization. It's pretty cool.

What makes it great?

This book is a classic.  I read it with my family a long time ago, and it is still one of my brother's favorite books.  Sam's story of survival is cool, but even cooler is the way he makes survival look fun and exciting.  He builds a fireplace and makes all these gourmet meals with acorn pancakes with homemade jam--I hate to call Sam's wilderness survival "glamping," but it totally is.  I think a lot of us just have this desire to live in the great outdoors, far from civilization, and while we probably won't ever do that, Sam does.  Reading about his life makes us feel like we are living that dream too.

Elephant Run

Rating: Clean/Cleaner

Audience: There are some war horrors (like beatings and be-headings), so I'd say sixth grade and up.  The target audience is middle school, but I enjoyed it and my grandma (who lived in Cambodia for a few years) loved it, so there is no cap on the upper end of the age range.

Plot:  Nick Freestone is sent to Burma (Myanmar) to live on his father's Teak Plantation after his mother's London apartment in WWII.  His parents, who are divorced, both think he will be safer in Burma, but it isn't long before the Japanese invade and Nick's father is sent to a prison camp.  Nick spends some time as a prisoner in his own home, and eventually breaks out with a girl named Mya,an old monk named Hilltop, and a couple elephants to find his father and get safely out of Burma.

What makes it great?

1. elephants 2. WWII historical fiction from Southeast Asia perspective 3. secret passageways 4. Sargent Sonjii.

If any of those things intrigue you, I can guarantee that you will like it.  If you still need convincing, let me tell you that it is exciting and a page turner and you will come away satisfied.  I like reading war books that highlight on the humanity of both sides, and I think this book really did that.  The characters are a mixture of Japanese, Burmese, and British, and there are good and bad on every side.  I don't really care which of these teasers convinces you to read it, but I hope that one of them does, because I think this is one that everyone should read, if only just to learn about a part of the world that we usually don't focus on when we talk about WWII.

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Rating: Cleanest

 

Audience: The nastiest word in the series is "cakesniffer" so you don't have to worry about language or sexual content. However, Count Olaf and his henchmen do get drunk a lot and the books are very dark for young readers.  So I would recommend sixth grade and up.

The Story: Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire lose their parents and their mansion in a horrible fire.  They inherit an extensive fortune from their parents, but the evil Count Olaf wants it for himself. He will stoop to any low and wear any ridiculous disguise in order to get it.

What makes it great?

Disclaimer--the orphans never do get a happy ending. In every book you think "Yes! This is the one where fortunate events are going to happen" and then . . . they don't.  So know before you start that these books are not happy. They just aren't.  But they ARE brilliant, and if you go into them just planning to enjoy Lemony Snicket's awesome writing and the horribly wonderful characters and bizarre plot twists, then I believe you really will.

I love the way Lemony Snicket portrays himself as a man on the run and has to leave his research about the Baudelaires in weird places for his editor to trck down.  I also love the series because it taught me so much cool vocab and so many strange facts. But the best part of the series is the villains, from Count Olaf to Principal Nero to Esme with the dangerous stiletto heels.  Villain perfection.

P.S. if you enjoy this series go on to YouTube and watch the Arthur episode about Fern and Persimmony Glitchet.  It's very funny.  Fern writes to Persimonny Glitchet (the Lemony Snicket of Arthur), who gives her top secret writing advice to use a fake name when she writes her stories so people will tell her what they really think.  She writes a story called "Happy Happenings", which is a lot like "A Series of Unfortunate Events" except NOTHING bad happens.  

The Wanderer

Rating: Cleanest

Audience: Fifth grade and up.

Plot:  Sophie, her two cousins, and her three uncles set off on a modern pilgrimage across the Atlantic ocean, crewing their own boat, to visit their Grandfather "Bompie" in England.

But that's not the whole story. Sophie has deep, scarring fears she refuses to acknowledge except in fictional stories about the grandfather she's never met, Cody's never good enough for his father, Uncle Mo wishes he had followed his dream to be an artist, Uncle Dock is still longing for the love of his past . . . deep stuff.  Through Sophie and Cody's travel logs, we see all the real desires of the characters unfold, and they learn how to support each other and confront their own fears.

What makes it great?

Sharon Creech doesn't write thrillers--her stories are moved forward by emotion, not by plot.  That being said, I think this one has the most interesting plot out of the ones I've read. Reading about life on a ship is exciting, especially to someone (like me) who doesn't live anywhere near an ocean. The characters learn the phonetic alphabet (alpha, bravo, charlie, foxtrot, etc.), and how to navigate the seas, as well as how to dig for clams, juggle, draw caricatures, and tell stories. They run into a storm, and have to get their small boat through it with only six people (three of them children) on crew. That's just cool!  But the novel is also lyrical and beautifully written.  I can read this book again and again.  It's probably not for everyone. If you want a book is mostly action instead of emotion, this is not the book for you, but if you want to walk away from a book feeling something deeper, I highly recommend it.

Airman

Rating: Cleaner

Audience: My whole family enjoyed this one, but it is a little dark and there is some violence. I would recommend fifth grade and up.

Audio book recommendation: Yes! Loved it.  The narrator does all the accents and voices.

Plot: Conor Brokehart is born in a hot air balloon and has always felt a connection to the air. He lives with his parents on the island nation of Great Saltee off the Irish Coast, where he befriends Princess Isabella and works with with the great inventor, Victor, to build the first working flying machine. But when he is convicted of a crime he did not commit, he is sent to work the underwater diamond mines on the prison island Little Saltee.  Now he must invent for himself a new identity as "the airman" to escape the island and save his family, his home, and the princess from the evil Bonvilain.

What makes it great?

The Saltee Islands are a real place but the story is fantastical and high-adventure, which is why it's fun to read. Conor is smart and resourceful and survives prison by giving the main thug advice on hair gel.  That's just awesome! Also, there is just something about the desire to fly that I think we can all relate to. 

Howl's Moving Castle

Rating: Cleanest

Audience: This is a good fantasy for any age, but I think the target age is maybe fifth grade through ninth.

Plot: Sophie is the eldest of three daughters and is resigned to her future as a failure (in tales it is always the youngest who succeeds) and to her life in her parent's hat shop.  But when the Witch of the Waste turns Sophie into a ninety-year-old woman for no apparent reason, Sophie sets out on a quest to break the spell and ends up in the moving castle of the disreputable wizard Howl, where she finds more than one spell in need of breaking.

What makes it great?

What I like about this book is that it is very different from any fantasy I've ever read.  Sophie's world is relatively normal. She works in a hat shop, after all. But the weird stuff is considered just as normal as working in a hat shop.  Sophie lives in a wizard's house, befriends Calcifer the fire demon, and wields magic of her own without even realizing it.  I also love the idea of Howl's door.  The moving castle has one door that leads to at least four different places depending on where the knob is turned, which is really clever.  Mostly though, I just love the characters.  Sophie is stubborn and funny, Howl is dashing and mysterious, and you just can't help but love Calcifer.  The romance between Sophie and Howl is the cherry on top.

A word on the film:

This is one of the few times when I can recommend the movie just as highly as the book. The book is weird.  The movie is weird in a completely different way.  I like them both. The plots are slightly different, but I think Miyazaki did a great job of capturing the every-day magic of Sophie's world. Check it out!