happy diwali to everyone who celebrates. 💕

One book. Five curious incidents. Pages of horror and a riveting read. If you like to read bone-chilling and peculiar graphic novels, Mark Fearing’s “Welcome to Feral: Little Town. Big Scares!” will entice you with every chapter! Follow along with Freya, the investigative and conspirative narrator, as she shares all the spooky happenings in Feral. Or, at least, of what she uncovers to be spooky happenings. The horror-themed book contains five short stories, from tales of abandoned ice cream trucks, deep in the middle of a winding woods, to a suspicious troop leader with mysterious habits that leave his terrified troop training for battle. Freya’s nail-biting ideas are bound to keep you on the edge of your seats! Follow along with Freya’s map of Feral covered in posted notes and pushpin, while Freya uses factual details and her interrogative imagination to fill in the blanks of the unusual happenings in Feral, especially surrounding missing kids. Mark Fearing does a spook-tascular job in creating unsettling atmospheres and creative plot twists. I would recommend this book series for ages 10-13.

One book. Five curious incidents. Pages of horror and a riveting read. If you like to read bone-chilling and peculiar graphic novels, Mark Fearing’s “Welcome to Feral: Little Town. Big Scares!” will entice you with every chapter! Follow along with Freya, the investigative and conspirative narrator, as she shares all the spooky happenings in Feral. Or, at least, of what she uncovers to be spooky happenings. The horror-themed book contains five short stories, from tales of abandoned ice cream trucks, deep in the middle of a winding woods, to a suspicious troop leader with mysterious habits that leave his terrified troop training for battle. Freya’s nail-biting ideas are bound to keep you on the edge of your seats! Follow along with Freya’s map of Feral covered in posted notes and pushpin, while Freya uses factual details and her interrogative imagination to fill in the blanks of the unusual happenings in Feral, especially surrounding missing kids. Mark Fearing does a spook-tascular job in creating unsettling atmospheres and creative plot twists. I would recommend this book series for ages 10-13.

Thank you, DOGOBooks! I won a copy of Zeus the Mighty: Book 3, The Trails of the Hairy-Clees and wanted to share how this is a great third installment of the series. From the first two books in the series you meet an overly obnoxious and confident hamster name Zeus. Along with his friends, book 3 takes you on another hilarious adventure all the while providing some great Greek myths in a light read. In book 3, the animal Olympians are listening to a podcast about Heracles and how he had to perform different labors. This leads to a new addition to the storyline, Hermes, a rescued hen, wanting to be a member of the Olympians. Zeus, Athena, Ares, Poseidon, and Demeter all agreeing the best way to have Hermes join is by performing “Hairy-Clees’ labors”. I enjoyed the comical dialogue and it is an easy to read book for older lower school to middle school kids who like animals and enjoy mythology.

One baffling boating accident, three self-serving stories. With the help of Lark Heron-Finch, will the truth behind the horrific boat accident that killed Albert Pritchard rise to the surface? Michael D. Beil’s “The Swallowtail Legacy: Wreck at Ada’s Reef” is written from a blunt, problem-solving, and scientific twelve-year-old girl’s sharp minded point of view. While on a somber summer vacation to her late mother’s childhood home on the island of Swallowtail, Lark is urged to assist Nadine, a native novelist and old friend of Lark’s mother, in uncovering the truth about the wreak at Ada’s Reef. At her stepfather’s – Thomas – proposal, she excitedly agrees to be Nadine’s assistant. Little did Lark know that she would be unraveling a “ghost net” that many locals wanted to remain at the bottom of the sea. Lark’s job reviewing inquest reports exposes a mystery around the death of Pritchard and connects it to the death of his friend, Captain Edward Cheever. Captain Cheever’s final words: “Will. Safe. Two bells. Ada holds the key,” spear-heads Lark and Nadine into questioning the most prominent family on the island. Will Lark’s tenacity help Nadine unearth the truth about two deaths, or two murders? Beil’s “Swallowtail Island: Wreck at Ada’s Reef” was a straight-forward, yet enjoyable book. I found the characters relatable and the intriguing plotline kept me engaged. Juggling soccer camp, caring for her little sister, Pip, and her English Settler, Pogo, Lark seems to enjoy the distraction her new job as a mystery-solving assistant provides. I would recommend this book for children ages 13+, since the book touches on sensitive topics.

One baffling boating accident, three self-serving stories. With the help of Lark Heron-Finch, will the truth behind the horrific boat accident that killed Albert Pritchard rise to the surface? Michael D. Beil’s “The Swallowtail Legacy: Wreck at Ada’s Reef” is written from a blunt, problem-solving, and scientific twelve-year-old girl’s sharp minded point of view. While on a somber summer vacation to her late mother’s childhood home on the island of Swallowtail, Lark is urged to assist Nadine, a native novelist and old friend of Lark’s mother, in uncovering the truth about the wreak at Ada’s Reef. At her stepfather’s – Thomas – proposal, she excitedly agrees to be Nadine’s assistant. Little did Lark know that she would be unraveling a “ghost net” that many locals wanted to remain at the bottom of the sea. Lark’s job reviewing inquest reports exposes a mystery around the death of Pritchard and connects it to the death of his friend, Captain Edward Cheever. Captain Cheever’s final words: “Will. Safe. Two bells. Ada holds the key,” spear-heads Lark and Nadine into questioning the most prominent family on the island. Will Lark’s tenacity help Nadine unearth the truth about two deaths, or two murders? Beil’s “Swallowtail Island: Wreck at Ada’s Reef” was a straight-forward, yet enjoyable book. I found the characters relatable and the intriguing plotline kept me engaged. Juggling soccer camp, caring for her little sister, Pip, and her English Settler, Pogo, Lark seems to enjoy the distraction her new job as a mystery-solving assistant provides. I would recommend this book for children ages 13+, since the book touches on sensitive topics.