Mrs. Nelson's Toy and Book Shop

Reviewed by Lindsey Z.

This book is about a brother and sister who live in a country that recently had a dictator rise to power. Wisty, a fifteen year old girl, and Whit, a 17 year old boy, didn’t pay much attention to this until soldiers came to their house in the middle of the night and accused them of being a witch and wizard. They thought this was a crazy idea, but their parents didn’t look surprised, just horrified. They were taken away and sent to a prison. While being held prisoner, they experienced accidental spurts of magic that generally protected them. Some of the powers that Wisty and Whit had included moving objects with their minds, transforming themselves and others into animals, and bursting into flames without getting burned. They soon believed that they really were magical. This is a story full of surprises that I would recommend to boys and girls ages 10-14.

Reviewed by Emily H.

This book is exciting, mysterious, and scary to me. It all begins with Sherry Holmes Baldwin’s mom dying. Even though Sherry’s mom is dead, Sherry can still talk to her ghost. Her mom attends the Academy of Spirits and their main campus is the Dairy Queen in Phoenix. Everybody that has a child at the academy has to solve a mystery to get to the next level. Now Sherry’s step-mother, Paula, has a stalker. Who’s the stalker is the mystery. The only reason Sherry is even involved is that she wants five minutes of “real time” with her mother. The story really gets going when the stalker slashes the tires on Paula’s car. Is this mystery too uberspooky for Sherry or can she solve it?

I liked this book because it kept me reading. This is the kind of book that you can’t just read a chapter and put down. I would recommend this book to girls 10 and up and for people that like thrilling stories. It is 276 pages of on-the-edge-of-your-seat reading. I really loved it.

Reviewed by Robin T.

Johanna is servant to Dame Margery, a very quick-tempered woman who never fails to be angry with Johanna. When  Dame Margery announces that she is going on a pilgrimage, Johanna is not happy. Soon into the pilgrimage, Dame Margery is quoting religious texts nonstop, refusing to eat meat, and endlessly crying. This makes the rest of the group extremely upset with her. Petrus Tappester, a somewhat  mean man who is said to have a devil in him, begins to threaten both Dame Margery and Johanna. Soon, Johanna must serve the entire group! Her mistress accuses her of many sins. Will Johanna ever make it through this pilgrimage? I recommend this enjoyable piece of historical fiction to ages 10 to 13, and even to some grownups.

Reviewed by Joy P.

Girls Acting Catty is about friendship, popular mean girls and hard, confusing situations that the main character, 6th grader Annabelle has to deal with. When Annabelle becomes friends with Taylor she has to contend with Taylor’s catty crew who hate her. But luckily she can over-come the problems and fight for her real friends: Claire, Emma and Rachel. After time Annabelle realizes that those are her real friends. It makes her happy to know that she has friends that can understand her and be there for her even when she makes mistakes. My favorite par of this book was about Halloween and the rotten eggs. I loved this sequel to Boys Are Dogs and I hope you do too.