Think a little bit Indiana Jones and a little bit Percy Jackson with a LOT of adventure. One of the best Juvie Fiction adventure books we've read in quite a while. It's the first in a new middle-grade adventure series and we can't wait for the next.
"One cannot fight destiny, boy. Even if one did not ask for it. The idol calls for you, and you must answer its call..."
Shinji Takahashi is just an ordinary kid. An ordinary homeschooled smart-alecky kid being raised by his globe-trotting aunt Yui. But when a magical guardian decides to use him as a conduit to awaken its power, Shinji’s life takes a turn for the anything-but-ordinary. Captured by the menacing Hightower Corporation, which is bent on using the guardian’s magic for its own nefarious purposes, Shinji must team up with a brilliant young tech whiz named Lucy and her robot mouse, Tinker, in order to escape.
Together the two turn to the venerable Society of Explorers and Adventurers and its ragtag cast of spelunkers, hackers, mapmakers, pilots, and mythology experts (among other things) to return the guardian to its rightful home and release Shinji from its magic—which seems to be draining his life force. Time is ticking, the Hightower Corporation is in hot pursuit, and success or failure might depend on one small thing—Shinji finally coming around to the belief that he is anything but ordinary.
Based on the Society of Explorers and Adventurers lore that exist across the Walt Disney Parks, Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatl is the first book in an all-new action-adventure series that brings S.E.A. into the twenty-first century through a blend of science and magic, and a focus on two young characters on an epic journey through time and place.
In this award-winning memoir translated from Italian to English, a Jewish girl grows up during a difficult time of racial discrimination and war, and discovers light in unexpected places. This classic, powerful story from Lia Levi is adapted for young readers, with beautiful black-and-white illustrations, a family photo album, and a powerful author’s note to readers.
I absolutely loved this story! Kate DiCamillo is gifted at weaving story lines and creating characters that you can easily imagine, telling an intriguing tale about a gifted girl, a monk, a devoted friend, and a goat. I listened to the audio book read by Finty Williams, who was brilliant, and then ordered the book to add to my collection.
I picked this up in an airport to read in flight and ended up being one of the last to disembark because I wanted to read just a little more. You know, that "just one more page" thing that we do. Our main character gets the chance to visit the Midnight Library where she's offered the chance to select alternate versions of her story from infinite possibilities to see how her life would've turned out had she chosen differently. It's a great exploration of taking chances, living the life you really want, and the profound effect that it has on the people you love. Definitely a good read!
Janet Skeslien Charles deftly weaves her narrative that alternates between elegant prose describing coming of age in Paris right before and during World War II, and the brashness and struggle of a lonely teen in Montana in 1983. The lessons Odile teaches Lily resonate even today. It's a beautiful story of friendship and forgiveness, love and betrayal, loss and survival. It's a story that makes you remember the characters and wonder how things would have been if...
The warehouse status for the hardcover format of The Paris Library says unavailable from the publisher indefinitely. The paperback version is due for release March 1st and you can preorder now or add it to your Wish List for later. If you don't want to wait, it's available in eBook format here or audio book here.