The Great Trouble: A Mystery of London, the Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel by Deborah Hopkinson

Eel’s life has improved since he escaped his abusive stepfather and stopped mudlarking. Eel now has food, shelter, and steady work all supplied by the owners of the Broad Street pub. However, his stability is taken away when a jealous coworker charges Eel with theft. When Eel is about to ask a neighboring tailor to prove his innocence, Eel finds that the tailor and most of his family are dying from a new outbreak of the Blue Death. With nowhere to go, Eel takes what jobs he can to secretly care for his younger brother. Dr. John Snow, who employed Eel in the past, hires Eel in proving that the Blue Death epidemic was spread by tainted water, not noxious air as most believe. Right when Eel uncovers proof of Dr. Snow’s theory, Eel is kidnapped by his stepfather and tortured to reveal the location of his younger brother.

Hopkinson’s book is a beautifully written story within the vein of Charles Dickens. Like Dickens, Hopkinson saw a need to write a novel not only revealing the destitution of London’s orphans, but also spotlighting an important historical figure few know about today: Dr. John Snow. Dr. Snow was not blinded by superstitions in treating the sick. He had to push past many boundaries to reveal the truth of how disease was spread. Eel is a similar thinker. Eel pushes past all that fate dealt him to find a happy, stable place even when the world was telling him he would never amount to anything more than a mudlark. But once Dr. Snow and Eel worked together, the two were unstoppable, even in the face of death. At the end of the book, Hopkinson highlights the true characters and places of her story. She even includes the map Snow created in recording the spread of the Blue Death. An enlightening historical-fiction read for ages 12 and up.

Nooks & Crannies by Jessica Lawson

Life for Tabitha Crum has been difficult because of neglectful parents and a harsh school bully. The two things that help Tabitha survive are taking care of her pet mouse, Pemberley, and reading the Inspector Pensive mysteries. Just when her parents are about to abandon her, Tabitha receives an invitation from the Countess of Windermere to stay for the weekend. The Crums postpone their trip hoping they can cash in Tabitha for the Countess’s fortune. However, they learn five other children have been invited as well. When all the guests arrive at the Windermere estate, they are greeted by a mentally unstable countess who carries knives in her purse.

Nooks & Crannies is a delicious read from start to finish. Lawson takes several classic story elements from some of literature’s giants—like Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Roald Dahl—to create a delectable middle-grade mystery any age group would enjoy. Readers will fall in love with young Tabitha as she rises above her sad circumstances using her intellect, positive thinking, and keen observations to help those around her. When Tabitha hears the Countess’s story of her abandoned grandchild, Tabitha immediately believes she is not the lost heir. By disconnecting herself from the Countess’s off-putting affections, Tabitha is gifted with an objective view of the house and it’s occupants that help her connect clues in solving a mysterious death, locating the kidnapped children, and revealing the true identity of the countess. In the end, her detective skills and positive thinking bless her life in ways she couldn’t even image. A must-read for any mystery lover young or old.

Loop by Karen Akins

Things are not going well for Bree Bennis. Her mother has mysteriously gone into a comma. A known felon is hounding Bree to transport illegal items into different centuries. Bree’s time-traveling midterm into the twenty-first century is botched by an awkward preteen, Finn. When she returns to the twenty-first century to fix some of her mistakes, she meets the older, attractive Finn who verbally and physically states he is her boyfriend. According to Finn, Bree’s future-self asked him to protect her while they solved Bree’s current twenty-third-century dilemmas. Trusting in Finn, and breaking even more time-traveling rules, Bree accidentally takes Finn back to her time-period.

Loop is a treat from start to finish. Bree is immediately likeable from page one. Readers discover that Bree uses her humor and determination to both maintain her sanity and hide the pain caused by her problems. When she meets her “future” boyfriend, Finn, its almost a tipping point for her mentally. She can’t handle adding another relationship into her life. She resists trusting him until he reveals some poignant truths about herself. Going on pure faith and putting the humor aside, Bree introduces Finn into her real life. In response to this introduction, Finn becomes a calming voice and shows clear direction amidst her chaotic reality. A wildly imaginative and entertaining read, Akins proves you can make a sci-fi storyline feel as comfortable as sweatpants and as natural as PB&J. Near the end, there are times when the science and the story get muddled together, but Akins pulls it back up for a refreshing finish. Part of a duology, Akins final book is called Twist.

Argos: The Story of Odysseus as Told by His Loyal Dog by Ralph Hardy

It has been many years since Odysseus left Ithaca for the Trojan War. Odysseus’s dog, Argos, maintains his promise to protect Odysseus’s family during his absence. But times are becoming desperate for Penelope—Odysseus’s wife—and Telemachos—their son. Greedy men, calling themselves suitors, take advantage of Penelope’s hospitality on a daily basis. These suitors try to pressure Penelope into admitting Odysseus is dead so she can remarry one of them. Since many suitors see young Telemachos as a threat, they plot to kill him. His life is repeatedly spared thanks to Argos’s keen intellect and boundless strength. During these troubling times, any word about Odysseus reinforces Argos’s loyalty to his master. Argos charges all seafaring birds to come to him with any information. Through these birds, Argos hears the adventures and tragedies of Odysseus’s journey.

Argos is a great introduction for young readers to a “PG” version of The Odyssey. Hardy’s canine spin on the classic Greek tale is an insightful read on the power of loyalty and family. Argos is a bear-like dog, recognized by all as the faithful “Boar Slayer” to Odysseus. When Argos is charged to protect Odysseus’s family, he goes above and beyond his call. For example, Argos takes on the fatherly role of teaching young Telemachos how to properly hunt and be brave during a fight. Argos does this because he knows Odysseus would have taught his son these skills if he were there. Later, Argos actually becomes a father and he learns, like Odysseus, how much it hurts to be tragically separated from his family. At times, the story can be a bit tedious because more than half of the book is just the retelling of Odysseus’s adventures. But Hardy does a good job at keeping the narrative fresh and unique, while he sets up suspenseful problems Argos must undergo at home. 

Above by Roland Smith

On the run since their escape from the Deep, Pat, Coop, and Kate plan to reunite in Oregon. However, their reunion is postponed when Alex Dane—Lod’s brother who helped the teens escape—shows up and tasks Kate to shadow Lod’s members that are gathering in the area. Alex, Pat, and Coop follow Kate’s trail so they can understand Lod’s next move and then notify the authorities. Kate lets herself get captured by Lod’s minions, but she tries to earn their trust so she can hide her involvement with Alex, Pat, and Coop.

This sequel to Beneath is yet another rapid-fire read full of suspense, mystery, and deception. Told from Pat and Kate’s perspectives, readers follow the break-neck pace of these teens as they chase down Lod and his demented disciples. Because there is access to Kate’s mind, readers learn more details about her upbringing in the Deep and understand how losing her parents by Lod’s hand caused Kate to turn against him. Compared to Beneath, Pat is not continually confronting his claustrophobia. However, he encounters his patterned, panic-stricken thoughts again as he is forced to enter yet another Deep. A theme Smith carries through his series is that there is no such thing as a coincidence. Smith shows that the events and decisions of a person’s past ideally places them in situations where they can conquer present dilemmas. Both Beneath and Above clearly show that Smith is an expert at crafting quality, contemporary adventures for young adults. 

Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman

For five months Anne has been surviving servitude to the rich shipping merchant, Master Drummond. However, Anne secretly plans to escape to the West Indies—the location where Anne’s English father and her West Indian mother fell in love. Anne’s goal is sidetracked when she meets Master Drummond’s son, Edward “Teach”. Teach, freshly returned from a year at sea, is immediately drawn to Anne because of her strength, intelligence, and beauty. He offers her true friendship, but she hesitates not only because of their differing social classes, but because Teach is engaged to a baron's daughter. As time goes by, the pair cannot deny they have met their match in one another.

After visiting sites associated with the pirate Blackbeard, Castroman began wondering what motivated Blackbeard to become a pirate. From these musings and her research, Castroman created Blackhearts, her debut teen novel. Castroman puts forward a noteworthy piece of literature that will have readers spellbound by her two incredibly strong, leading characters: Anne and Teach. Anne doesn’t know where she belongs because of her English/West Indian background. All she knows is that she needs to escape. Teach doesn’t want to live an aristocratic lifestyle. All he knows is he needs an escape. When the two meet, Anne finds a refuge and Teach finds an equal. With Blackhearts, Castroman expertly shows that a book can still be considered a “romance” when sex is not included. Anne and Teach’s relationship is more of a meeting of minds and hearts, similar to characters like Jane Erye and Mr. Rochester. A bright literary future awaits Castroman if she creates such quality reads like Blackhearts. 

Hopping Ahead of Climate Change: Snowshoe Hares, Science, and Survival by Sneed B. Collard III

Deep in the woods of Montana, biologist Scott Mills notices a big problem with a small animal. The snowshoe hares he has studied for most of his career are not changing their coat colors fast enough to protect themselves from predators. With season lengths fluctuating due to climate change, many snowshoe hares are getting killed off quicker because they haven’t molted fast enough to match their environment. Without any outside aid, snowshoe hares could become a threatened species. To learn more, Mills is studying coat-changing animals in a variety of climates. In Washington state, for instance, not all snowshoe hares molt to white each year. This genetic variation could help shield the population from climate change’s effects. Mills and his research team believe the Montana snowshoe hares could evolve a similar genetic characteristic through natural selection. Even though there is a chance these hares may change their genes to survive, this doesn’t mean humans should foster the climate change problem that caused these hares and other animals to be threatened.

Climate change can be a very touchy topic. But Collard’s book addresses the issue from the forest-floor perspective of Montana’s snowshoe hares; a species that no one can argue is being affected by climate change. Readers learn how climate change has disrupted the lives of these small creatures and how their declining numbers could drastically threaten their ecosystem. Thanks to Collard’s work with Mills and other researchers, readers are given bite-sized amounts of information to showcase the effects of climate change in easy-to-read maps, graphs, and topic definitions. Collard takes his story a step further than other climate change authors by expressing a hopeful future for both the hares and humans involved. The hares’ hope may be in natural selection, but the hope for humans comes through Collard’s doable and well-defined suggestions to decrease the population’s climate change footprint. A well-written and thoughtful book any library should have on hand for inspiring readers to make a difference in their world.

Five Kingdoms: Death Weavers by Brandon Mull

Leaving Constance in the safety of Zeropolis’s Unseen, Cole and his friends enter Necronum. At holy or haunted locations within the kingdom, the spirits of the dead (known as echoes) and the souls of the living (bright echoes) can traverse between reality and the afterlife (the echolands). Following clues from an echo named Sando, Cole’s party learns that Honor and Destiny are trapped within the echolands. However, Sando deceives Cole and imprisons Mira, Jace, and Joe’s bright echoes. Sando is a henchman to Nazeem, the evil originator and leader of the shapecrafting movement. With Hunter and Dalton watching over the comatose bodies of their three friends, Cole enters the echolands to rescue the three princesses, Jace, and Joe.

In the fourth book of his Five Kingdom’s series, Mull puts his own twist on death and adds another complex world to his Outskirts foundation. But first a note to parents, teachers, and young readers. Even though “death” is in the title, no mindless, bloodied zombies or rotting corpses are present. In Mull’s interpretation, death is the departure of the soul, or echo, from the body. Once the echo leaves reality, it lives in the echolands until the pull from the Other, or higher paradise, makes them move on. As Cole journeys through the echolands, departed characters from previous books rejoin his mission to save the Pemberton sisters. In his own way, Mull shows that the dead still care for the living and do what they can from the other side. Death Weavers mimics such books as Garth Nix’s Abhorsen Chronicles and Janet Lee Carey’s Stealing Death. As an added treat, fans of Mull’s Beyonders series may see two familiar faces who aid Cole’s mission in the echolands. An unpredictable and hauntingly surreal book worth the read!