Maybe it's the influence of J.K. Rowling, but I am really enjoying reading plays lately. This funny story was another great one. I love that the author gives ideas for how to stage the book in the back. Olive wants to get more respect for non-jock students at the school, so she comes up with a plan to steal the school's mascot. Things go fantastically, dramatically, awry. I laughed out loud quite a few times.

I really enjoyed this one. Florian uses TOAST, the Theory of All Small Things, to observe the world around him. Using this technique, he can tell a lot about people. When he and his parents move to Washington D.C., he and his new friend Margaret use the technique watching tourists and copyists. This leads them into the middle of an art theft mystery, and Florian becoming a covert asset for the FBI. Can he figure out what happened at the museum before the paintings are lost forever?

I found this to be an easy, fun read. I wanted to know what Florian would get up to next, and how he would figure out the mystery. Part of me wanted to try the theory of TOAST, but honestly, I'm not sure I have the energy to be that observant! A fun new start to a mystery series.

This was a pretty enjoyable mystery, with great WWII facts thrown in. The only thing I didn't like about it was Isabel. I felt like she was sort of inserted into the story so the author would have a female character, and she wasn't very likable or believable.

I really enjoyed this mystery until the twist. Then, I may have thrown my book. Some people would say that's a good sign. For me, it isn't.

I enjoyed this one. I hoped that maybe P.T. would get in a little bit of trouble for one of his outlandish stories (and maybe, in a way, he did). Overall, I loved this story of two plucky kids figuring out how to save a place they love.

I liked this one. I think it starts off slow (or at least, the section about Maria Merian does) but as it goes on it gets more enjoyable. My favorite section was about Mary Anning and her search for fossils. This is a beautiful, quiet book for introspective readers.

Side note: I wonder if she picked scientists with variations on the name Mary on purpose, or if that was a coincidence. I'll have to look that up.

I enjoyed this one about a boy named Garvey, who is overweight, and his struggle to love himself and gain acceptance from his father for who he is, not who his father wants him to be. It's short, but powerful.

It was cute. I love animal stories and it hit all my buttons.

I really liked this one. Normally dialects, or improperly written English, drives me nuts, but Berg does it in a way that doesn't bother me. I should have known this, because I love Berg's other books.

Grace is being sent to the Big House to work. She's told to leave her questions about rightiness in her mind: why do some people get to eat more but work less? why do some people own others? what's happening in the smokehouse? When she accidentally says one thing too far, she and her family go on the run.

I had no idea that there were communities of ex-slaves living in the swamps in western Virginia. I assumed they all went north. Berg has written a beautiful story that will teach children about that. She also shows the way slavery dehumanizes people, but never in a way that's too graphic for her middle grade audience.

I really enjoyed this spy thriller. It was quick and easy to read, and the plot moved along steadily. I think kids will gobble this one up.

Two caveats: the kids in this story do not act like they are thirteen. When I remembered that, I was thrown out of the story. Also, there are a fair number of exclamation points. I love exclamation points. I use them often. When I start noticing them in a published book, I tend to get a little irritated.