Review of The Broken Raven (Shadow Skye #2) by Joseph Elliott

The Broken Raven (Shadow Skye #2) by Joseph Elliott

Format:  Hardcover

Publisher:  Walker Books US   

Number of pages:  336  

Published:  January 21st, 2021

Source:  Raquel Stecher via Candelwick Press     

Opening Lines:  "My face is on fire, but I'm not gunna scream.  I don't think I could even if I tried."

The Broken Raven takes place about a month after the events in the first book and introduces a new character, Sigrid a twelve-year-old Dreamhain girl.  I would recommend starting with The Good Hawk before reading this book to understand the various clans and main characters struggles and achievements in the previous book.  

After having rescued Clann-a- Tuath and escaping Norveg, Agatha and Jaime return to the Isle of Skye, only to find that a rival clan,  The Raasay have taken over their homeland.  Luckily they're able to find refuge with neighboring Clann-na- Bruthaich.  At first the two clans are able to work together, but slowly their relationship becomes strained causing tension between the two sides.  Jaime's clan is in the process of trying to convince Clann-na-Bruthaich to help them to force The Raasay into leaving their enclave, but the clans are divided over whether or not to combine their forces to push them out.  However, once the sgàilean or shadow creatures used in their battle in Norveg are inadvertently released, the two clans are forced to join together to fend them off.   Jaime is then chosen to track down Budhbh, a man in Scotia who helped to contain the sgàilean in the past and Agatha sneaks away from camp to warn Lilea's parents, members of the Raasay, and show them how to defend themselves from the encroaching  sgàilean.  Meanwhile Sigrid is forced into servitude to Konge Grimr's as his eyes and is headed with him to Ingland.  Grimr's hopes the king Edmund of Ingland will aid him in taking over the Isle of Skye and all of Scotia, and to finally get his revenge against Agatha.

The Broken Raven is told in the alternating narratives of Agatha, Jaime and newcomer Sigrid.  Each of their storylines take them in different directions with new obstacles for each them to face.  Jaime is reunited with the Bo Riders and encounters a new creature (Imitator's)  while trying to locate Budhbh.  Agatha is assisted by Aileen, Jaime's friend, in making their way to The Raasay, but are held prisoner when The Raasay refuse to believe they're in danger.  Sigrid is under constant watch by Konge Grimr's men, who despise and want to off her any chance they get. When Lady Beatrice offers her the opportunity to escape in exchange for warning the Isle of Skye about the king of Ingland and Konge's plans, she doesn't hesitate.  However, escape for her will lead to one challenge after another, as Konge Grimr's has sent his most trusted man to hunt her down and bring her back to him at any cost.  I quite enjoyed the inclusion of Sigrid into the story, it changed things in an exceptional way.  Sigrid is determined, and her enhanced memory adds humor and certainly danger.  While the story ended on a cliffhanger, I am even more excited to read The Burning Swift next.  I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the talented artists who created the covers of Good Hawk and The Broken Raven, the illustrations were designed by twins  Anna and Elena Balbusso, I just love how they so beautifully capture the essence of the story.     **A huge thank you to Raquel Stecher from Candlewick Press for the hardback copy in exchange for a review**        

Review of Britfield and the Rise of the Lion by C.R. Stewart

Britfield & the Rise of the Lion by C.R. Stewart
Format:  ARC Paperback
Publisher:  Devonfield Publishing LLC 
Number of Pages:  361
Publishing:  July 4th, 2021
Source:  Review copy provided by Devonfield Publishing LLC

Opening lines:  "When the ferry from Dover, England, to Calais, France sunk in the English Channel, Tom and Sarah, who had become separated from Professor Hainsworth, vigorously rowed a lifeboat toward the French shoreline."

Britfield and the Rise of the Lion is the second book in C.R. Stewart's planned seven part series.  The first book, Britfield and the Lost Crown centered on orphans Tom and Sarah discovering that Tom's parents might be alive and he could be a member of the oldest family in England and a rightful heir to the British throne. In order to search for his parents, Tom and Sarah craftily planned a daring escape from Weatherly Orphanage in a hot air balloon.  This began a fast paced adventure across England, all the while being closely followed by Detective Gowerstone from Scotland Yard.

Six months have passed since their adventure in England, Tom and Sarah have been trapped at Mont-Saint -Michel monastery after being taken in by the monks when their ferry sunk off the coast of France.  Thomas is now in charge of cleaning the refectory while Sarah organizes the huge library, neither are happy with their lack of freedom and chores.  Concerned about whether their friend, Professor Hainsworth survived the ferry mishap, they plan their next escape.  Before being separated from the professor, Tom and Sarah were headed to Castle Chambord to locate news of any surviving Britfields, and maybe they'll also find the professor there waiting for them.

Having been freed from the island monastery and alone on the streets, Tom and Sarah attempt to make contact with Inspector Rousseau from the Paris police, Detective Gowerstone provided them her information as a reliable source to contact if any trouble should arise.  Before Sarah and Tom are even able to make contact, they are forced to flee when an assassin begins to track them down.  Just as things look bleak, Tom and Sarah are reunited with their friend Oliver from England.  Narrowly escaping the assassin, Oliver proposes they go to the Louvre where they might find documents about the Britfield family.  From there the trio are on a fast paced adventure across the streets of Paris, taking them to sights like Cathédrale Notre-Dame, the Eiffel Tower to Bordeaux and Lyon.

One of the things that I've so enjoyed about the Britfield series thus far is the way that the author draws you into the setting, there's a strong feeling of being immersed into the architecture, geography, history and culture of each new setting.   From the description of buildings, to the tidbits about each landmark.  Always enough to peak your interest without a dumping of information.  Balancing entertaining with factual.  The author had hoped to encourage children to appreciate the arts while reading exciting stories including these elements. 

In the first book, Tom and Sarah visited many of the landmarks of England, including Windsor Castle, Oxford University, Canterbury Cathedral etc.  This time they're in and around Paris, a city one day that I would love to visit.  It makes me want to sample some brie with bread and have a cafe' au lait while reading along. 

If the first book was about Tom and Sarah, this second book was about them encountering a new foe, "the committee," and Tom learning more about his link to the Britfield's.  I think that's the biggest change that I've noticed from the first book, Tom and Sarah dominated the first book, and had to rely on each other to escape the orphanage and evade Detective Growerstone.  They did receive some assistance from the professor and Oliver, but it seemed more informational.  The second book felt more about their connection to the people around them, mostly the adults who were helping them.  Detective Growerstone, Professor Hainsworth and Oliver are still present, but they're now joined by Inspector Rousseau, The Archbishop, Oliver's uncle, the Resistance fighters and many others.  It sometimes seemed that Tom and Sarah took a back seat in these instances, although logically it made sense because of the amount of help they needed, especially as the secret society began to ramp up their attack on Tom and Sarah.  

Rise of the Lion was also more action based then I recall in the first book, it kind of reminded me of a James Bond film where there's a global conspiracy, corruption, and a secret society bent on taking over the world.  Bombs, high tech gear, military style operations, drones and even a kidnapping and rescue attempt.  Yeah very exciting there toward the end of the book.  I quite enjoyed the direction the story took.   Interwoven into the book is a sense of camaraderie or family.  Sarah and Tom, even Oliver see each other as family, with a strong bond of friendship and loyalty toward one another.  They continue to be in danger, especially Tom because of his connection to the Britfield's and although Tom isn't closer to finding his parents, I can't help being excited for the next book in the series, Britfield and The Return of the Prince to see what happens next in Sarah and Tom's adventure.  **Thank you to C.R. Stewart for such an entertaining and exciting story and to Devonfield Publishing for the ARC paperback for my review.**                  

MG review of Time Villains by Victor Pineiro

Time Villains by Victor Piñeiro
Format:  E-ARC
Publisher:  Sourcebooks for Young Readers
Number of pages:  320

Publishing: July 16th, 2021

Source:  Publisher

Opening Lines:  "We found the table in some weird antique flea market."

Time Villians is the debut of a new series by author Victor Piñeiro, it's time travel with a twist on the classic question, "what three people, real or fictional, living or dead would you invite for dinner if you had the chance?"  

6th grader Javi Santiago loves to cook, sandwiches of all kinds are his specialty.  School, not so much.  Javi is really close to failing English when his teacher assigns the dreaded "which three guests would you invite to dinner" assignment.  Given the assignment is worth triple the points, Javi decides that he has to come up with a stellar guest list to impress his teacher and get an A+ to pass her class.   Enlisting the help of his best friend, Wiki and younger sister Brady, Javi sets the table, selects the guests, and prepares his most fabulous dish.  But then Brady finds a mysterious dinner bell hidden in a secret compartment of the table and upon ringing the bell actually brings their three fictional and historical guests to the table.  Young Mozart, John Montagu, aka the Earl of Sandwich and Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard the infamous Pirate are just as surprised as the three kids to suddenly appear.  After the dinner party is over,  chaos ensues when Blackbeard refuses to return to his time period.  Instead, he vows to bring back more pirates and take over their town.   Set at the fictional castle, Finistere, now turned into a school in Maryland the trio will have to draw help from their teachers and pull famous people thru time to track down and trick Blackbeard into going back.  

Time Villians includes a diverse cast of characters, Javi and Brady are Puerto Rican and Wiki is Haitian American.  There's lovely mentions of Puerto Rican inspired dishes made from fried plantains like tostone's and a jibarito sandwich.  Finistere, makes for a zany school, think something like Wayside Stories meets Story Thieves and Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library.  And the trio's teachers will remind you of some other fictional characters from books.   The time travel aspects and premise are interesting, bringing to mind the question of what happens when changes are made in the past and how it might impact the future?  Readers will also enjoy all the various literary and historical characters and those interested can see a complete listing for all of the characters mentioned in the story in Wiki's Pedia of information at the back of the book.  Overall this made for a fun debut, although I am curious what will happen next as the premise includes the magical table bringing people from the past and I would think that they learned their lesson about who they might invite in the future.  Although the possibilities are limitless.  **A huge thank you to Ashlyn Keil at Sourcebooks for the E-ARC**      

MG Review of Return of Zombert by Kara LaReau, Illustrations by Ryan Andrews

Return of Zombert by Kara LaReau, illustrated by Ryan Andrews

Format:  E-ARC

Publisher:  Candlewick Press

Number of pages:  160

Publishing:  July 13th, 2021

Source:  Edelweiss +

Opening Lines:  "In a certain corporate headquarters on the edge of town, all was quiet."  

After having escaped from YummCo Laboratories in the first book of the series, Zombert has now found a home with Mellie Gore.  Bert continues to be adventurous, spending his nights regaining his strength and hunting.  Meanwhile, back at the lab the scientists have been hard at work with their next experiment and Y-92 looks to be a promising replacement.  However, the Big Boss is still concerned that Zombert has not yet been returned to the lab, so YummCo stages a Harvest Festival and a Best Pet Contest in hopes of drawing Bert out of hiding.  Desperately in need of the money to pay off Bert's vet bill, Mellie enters him in the talent contest.  When Bert has an adverse reaction on stage and is taken by YummCo employee's, Mellie and her best friend Danny must join forces in order to save him.

Return of Zombert is a quick read, slightly on the shorter side, with enough mystery to keep the reader entertained.  There's the sense that something makes Bert unusual, and his past is beginning to take shape driving the storyline, while making him a sympathetic character.  However, I'm sure much more will be fleshed out in the next book.    The story alternates between Mellie and Zombert, rising in tension and has an ending that is especially creepy.  Bert's fate is left unresolved, which might be unsettling to some readers.  Think along the lines of a cross between Bunnicula and the Rats of NIMH, a little macabre but not too scary.

The art work in my review copy wasn't finalized, but I really enjoyed those that I did get a chance to see.  I'm also in love with that cover.   Mellie is really the highlight of the story for the love and care that she gives Bert.  She wants people to see that being weird is alright, and that there are many good qualities to Bert that make him special.  I especially love the relationship that they share.  The moments where Bert is sleeping on her bed and purring.  Kara LaReau wonderfully portrays all of Bert's animal instincts and behaviors. This would make for a fun Halloween read, but defiantly start with the first book, Rise of Zombert.  

Secondhand Dogs by Carolyn Crimi, illustrations by Melissa Manwill

Secondhand Dogs by Carolyn Crimi, illustrations by Melissa Manwill

Format:  ARC paperback

Publisher:  Balzer & Bray   

Number of pages:  256  

Publishing:  July 6th, 2021

Source:  Barbara Fisch via BlueSlip Media    

Opening Lines:  "Gus lifted his head and sniffed the chilly November air."

Gus is the pack leader of Miss Lottie's motley rescue dog's, which include Roo the hunting dog, Tank the bulldog and Moon Pie the one year old pug.  Ghost is the independent cat who makes a sometimes home with Miss Lottie, and Quinn is the eleven year old boy from next door who helps Miss Lottie with her dogs to escape the teasing and bullying of his older brothers friends.  Whenever a new dog is introduced to the pack, as the leader Gus makes the call whether or not to accept them, and today Miss Lottie is introducing Decker, a Doberman mix to the rest of the pack.  At first, Gus has his doubts about Decker, who seems rude and uncaring, plus it seems like he's trying to challenge Gus in front of the rest of the pack.  Yet, Gus also believes in second chances and thinks with a little more time, Decker might adjust to the other dogs and begin to fit in.  However it isn't long before Decker begins to show his true colors, enacting a plan to oust the other dogs and have Miss Lottie all to himself, beginning with taking over the coveted spot on Miss Lottie's bed from Moon Pie.  Decker even goes so far as to instigate strife between Miss Lottie and the other dogs by injuring his own paw to frame Tank.  Believing Tank is to blame, Miss Lottie separates him from the rest of the dogs.  But Decker's most aggrieves act is convincing Moon Pie that his owner Gertie has been looking for him and he should runaway to find her, when she actually passed away several weeks ago and the other dogs haven't had the heart to share the news with him yet.  When Moon Pie actually does runaway, the other dogs decide to try and find him before the coyote spotted roaming the neighborhood does.        

Carolyn Crimi wrote one of my favorite picture books, Boris and Bella, a Halloween book with a classic movie monster feel.  Her latest book, Secondhand Dogs is equally delightful, highlighting the importance of adopting pets from a rescue shelter.  That  for whatever reason an owner gives up their pet, these pets should be given a second chance at a caring loving home.      

Gus makes a wonderful leader, he genuinely cares about the pack and is sympathetic to all of their needs.  By initially accepting Decker into the pack, he tries to be flexible and give him time to adjust, despite feeling like he's taking a huge risk.  While Gus might lack some confidence in being the pack leader, he always seems to put the pack first.  Moon Pie is the sweet little trusting puppy.  The kind of dog who will look up at you with his head tilted to the side while begging for a snack.   I believe this is what I so love about Crimi's stories, her characters.  Each of the dogs in the story exemplifies the temperament and personality style of the breed.   From the overly excited Roo,  to the guardian, protective, stocky nature of Tank.  If you've ever owned one of these breeds, you'll notice those personality traits as you read.  Decker's story will defiantly pull at your heart strings.  He obviously was mistreated by a previous owner, but his bullying of Moon Pie, pushing him out of Miss Lottie's bed was quite sad.  Poor little Moon Pie.  Then when Decker deceives him into searching for Gertie, you worry for this little pup away from home.  Despite Decker initially coming off as harsh, uncaring, maybe a little evil, and intent on having his own way, he'll start to grow on you as more of his backstory is revealed.  My favorite moment in the story was when Ghost jumped on Miss Lotties's lap to comfort her when Moon Pie went missing.  Such a lovely illustrated book that will appeal to all types of dog lovers.   ** A huge thank you to Barbara Fisch at BlueSlip Media for the ARC paperback.**  

About Carolyn:  

Carolyn Crimi received her MFA in Writing for Children from Vermont College in 2000. She has published over 15 books, including Dear Tabby, Don’t Need Friends, Boris and Bella, Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies, Where’s My Mummy?, and I Am the Boss of this Chair. Her book There Might Be Lobsters won The Golden Kite Award in 2018 for Best Picture Book Text, and her middle grade debut, Weird Little Robots, was named a BEA Book Buzz pick. Carolyn has received over thirty state awards and award nominations and was given The Prairie State Award in 2012 for her body of work. You can visit Carolyn at carolyncrimi.com.  Facebook: Carolyn Crimi  Twitter: @crims10

Praise for Secondhand Dogs:

“A sensitive, satisfying, and intriguing canine tale.”   —Kirkus Reviews

MG Realistic Fiction review of The Last Super Chef by Chris Negron

The Last Super Chef by Chris Negron
Format:  E-ARC
Publisher:  Harper Collins
Number of Pages:  416 
Publishing:  July 6th, 2021
Source:  Author and Publisher via Edelweiss +

Opening Lines:  "I know the exact amount of flour for the perfect cake batter."

10 year old Curtis Pith is passionate about cooking, whipping up everything from Crème brûlée cupcakes to a Cheese Soufflé.  One day he hopes to be just like the host of The Super Chef, chef Lucas Taylor.  Not only is Chef Taylor his idol, he's also secretly his absentee father, which his mom pretty much admitted when he was in the second grade.  While watching Super Chef with his younger sister, Paige, Curtis is surprised to learn the show is changing up their format and that this will be Chef Taylor's final season.  Curtis is heartbroken by the news until he learns that five children contestants will be selected from around the world to compete in a cooking contest with a grand prize of $250,000.  Curtis knows this is his one opportunity to finally meet his dad and show him what he can do, and maybe help his single mom who's been struggling to pay their bills.  Now all he needs is a winning video entry to impress the judges and be selected as a contestant for the competition.  

I haven't had this much fun reading a book about cooking since All Four Stars by Tara Dairman.  I like to think of myself as a culinary enthusiast, always curious to try new ingredients and dishes and I especially enjoy a story that highlights these skills.  Plus as an added bonus both books have a Crème brûlée incident and speak to that inner foodie in me.  

The Last Super Chef is a cross between the Golden Ticket from Willy Wonka,  and the talented kids from Master Chef or Chopped Junior.    The story follows along with each of the kids as they're selected to compete, start to prepare their dishes, including the prep work, utensils, descriptions of the scrumptious ingredients and the final presentation of their completed work to the judges.  Each of Chef Taylor's challenges was designed to not only test their cooking skills, aptitude and how well they could work together, it also included a special theme for each challenge, based off the skills needed for an exceptional chef.  I love how the story highlights kids from a variety of culinary backgrounds and introduces new ingredients, while exposing the reader to other cultures foods, including dishes from Kyoto, Japan, Mexico City and from Boston, Illinois and New York.  Those Crème brûlée cupcakes and Jambalaya sound to die for!   

The story is so much more than just the cooking competition, although this is the meat and potatoes of the book, there is also the emphasis of how a TV personalities life can become an international conversation.  Speculation, rumors and questions about issues can arise at any given moment that don't pertain to anyone else but the individual.  It highlights the pressures that kids place on themselves to live up to their expectations and those of their parents.  And also the disappointment of letting yourself down by not feeling you can measure up.  Yet, it's also hopeful by illustrating the importance of teamwork, friendship, a strong family support, and a dash of kindness go a long way in helping you succeed.  If you enjoyed All Four Stars, love watching cooking shows and competitions, or know of a young culinary enthusiast, The Last Super Chef will certainly satiate their appetite.  **A huge thank you to Chris Negron and Edelweiss + for the E-ARC**

Unlocked (Keeper of the Lost Cities #8.5) by Shannon Messenger

Unlocked (Keeper of the Lost Cities #8.5) by Shannon Messenger
Format:  Ebook
Publisher:  Aladdin
Number of pages:  764

Published: November 17th, 2020

Source:  Library

Opening Lines:  "One of the first things Sophie's given after Fitz brings her to the Lost Cities is a registry pendant-a simple choker-style necklace containing a special crystal that allows the Council to monitor her whereabouts."

Keeper of the Lost Cities book 8.5 is kind of a book geared toward the hard core Keeper of the Lost Cities fans.  It's chalked full of information about the main characters, has a full color map that pinpoints various locations from the story, Havenfield (Sophie's House), Wandering Woods, to name a few and even has some of the main characters registry files.  The registry files were ok, but I could have skipped the healing records.    There's artwork created by Keefe with his running commentary and as a bonus there is a 236 page novella of events that take place between book 8 and the yet untitled book 9.  There's even coloring pages, quizzes and so much more.  It's an impressive wealth of information on the characters.  Unfortunately,  the longer that I'm away from the series, the more the details begin to escape me.  While I appreciate all the information in Unlocked, I personally wanted more of Keefe and Sophie.  Things were starting to get very interesting while reading the novella, what with all the revelations about Keefe's new abilities, but alas I'll still have to wait for book 9 now to find out more.  Which makes me wonder what will happen if you decide skip this book thinking it's more of an encyclopedia of the world, or you don't realize that there is a novella at the end of it.  Things you'd be disappointed if you missed out on, new details, plot changes, not to mention some surprising Sophie moments.  I kind of feel like the people who know all of this information will be clambering for the last 200+ pages and waiting on bated breath for book 9.  At any rate, I did enjoy the recap of some of the important details and Keefe's lovely artwork.  I've seen mixed reviews of Unlocked on Goodreads, some are getting tired of the lengths of Messenger's books and the way she's had Sophie wavering between Keefe and Fitz.  I guess that's why I waited for this one to hit the library before reading it.  Some feel that the series should be coming to a finale.  I'm of the mind that Messenger has a plan for her story and why not let her ride it out to the conclusion.  I'm certainly happy to have read Keefe's POV and am curious about what the future will hold for their friendship.  It looks like the expected publication for book 9 is November, so not to far off I guess.