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Billie O'Brien has a busy summer ahead of her.  Not only will the 12-year-old be harvesting her bees' honey to sell in town, but she's also got to check her fishing traps, help her friend scoop llama poop (lots of llama poop), assist her dad with cheese making, and—most importantly—grow the biggest, best pumpkin she can so she can beat the socks off her former BFF in the pumpkin race that happens every fall on Madeline Island.  Sam Harrington cheated her out of her win last year and she can't forgive him for that.  The only way to get her revenge is to skunk him fair and square this year.

Of course, things aren't going to go smoothly when you've got cucumber beetles gorging on your pumpkins, an ex-BFF sabotaging your growing efforts, storms churning up your favorite fishing spot, and a mysterious stranger whose sudden appearance throws your family into a confusing whirl.  Can Billie survive a summer full of unpleasant surprises?  Can she beat Sam in the race?  As Billie stumbles through three months of hard work, stinging disappointment, trying challenges, and unexpected revelations, she will learn some valuable lessons about family, friendship, and, forgiveness.

The Pumpkin War by Cathleen Young is a warm, engaging novel that has the feel and appeal of a timeless classic.  Its bucolic rural setting offers readers a unique, insider's view of farm life while emphasizing the value of kids helping out and working diligently to achieve their goals.  While The Pumpkin War is a slim novel, it's got lots going on inside.  It tells a fun, exciting story that's also touching and real.  Readers of any age can pick this one up and enjoy.  I certainly did.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of books by Cynthia Lord)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for scenes of peril

To the FTC, with love:  I received an ARC of The Pumpkin War from the generous folks at Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!

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Few people can match the infamous Sherlock Holmes in intellect and deduction reasoning.  Even though he's been retired from the detective game for over a decade, his mind remains sharper than the proverbial tack.  So, when he meets young Mary Russell, who literally runs into him at Sussex Downs, Holmes is startled—not only by the 15-year-old's sudden appearance, but also by her remarkable acuity.  Although she's an odd, gawky teenager with loud opinions, she's also insatiably curious, uncommonly smart, and surprisingly teachable.  Mary just might be the apprentice Holmes never knew he needed.

When the daughter of an American senator is kidnapped in Wales, the duo is called in to investigate.  With all of their combined skill, they put their great minds to the test in their search for the missing child.  Can they find her?  Or will the mystery stump the brightest detective to ever live and his very promising young apprentice?

More literary fiction than propulsive thriller, The Beekeeper's Apprentice is the first installment in Laurie R. King's popular Holmes/Russell series.  Although it's denser than the typical mystery, the novel remains clever, charming, and entertaining.  The characters are fun, the plot's engrossing, and the prose is solid.  I enjoyed The Beekeeper's Apprentice overall and while I'm not rushing to continue with the series, I will read more.

(Readalikes:  Um, nothing is coming to mind.  You?)

Grade:

   

for brief, mild language (no F-bombs), violence, and mild innuendo

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

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After fleeing the small tourist town of her birth ten years ago, Georgia Chambers swore she'd never return to Apalachicola, Florida.  The 35-year-old has made a life for herself as an antiques expert in New Orleans, where no one knows about her wild child youth or the estranged family members she left behind.  Her past comes calling, though, when a customer brings Georgia an heirloom teacup with a unique pattern she knows she's seen before.  Although the bee motif doesn't appear in any antiques catalogs, Georgia recognizes it instantly—her mother owns a matching piece.  The item has always been shrouded in mystery and suddenly, Georgia is intent on finding out why.  Since "Birdie" no longer speaks, Georgia can't exactly call her mother up on the phone.  As much as she hates to admit it, a trip to Florida is the only way she can get the answers she needs.

To Georgia's surprise, her client—a handsome New York City real estate developer named James Graf—insists on coming along to investigate the history of his teacup.  Irritated, Georgia vows to make the road trip as quick as possible.  Of course, fate has other plans.  

As Georgia hunts for her mother's missing piece of china, she unintentionally uncovers a dark secret from her family's past.  Although she's warned to leave well enough alone, Georgia won't stop until she gets the answers she seeks, even if it means shattering her mother's fragile psyche and breaking the already-frail bonds that still tie her to her family.  When the shocking truth finally comes to light, Georgia will have to decide what to do with the newfound knowledge that could forever change everything, for all of them. 

I've long been a fan of Karen White's Southern novels, but some of them definitely appeal more than others.  Although it is compelling, Flight Patterns falls into the latter camp.  Since I know nothing about beekeeping or antique china, I found those aspects of the story intriguing.  The characters less so.  They are sympathetic certainly, but I didn't feel a strong connection to any of them.  Plot wise, the novel kept my attention, even though certain aspects of it seem contrived and far-fetched.  I appreciate, though, the story's themes of forgiveness and redemption and the fact that Georgia's life doesn't wrap up in a perfect, unrealistic way.  Overall, then, I liked Flight Patterns, but I didn't love it. 

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of other Southern novels by Karen White; also of books by Joshilyn Jackson and Dorothea Benton Frank, although theirs tend to be more R-rated than White's)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for violence, scenes of peril, and innuendo

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of Flight Patterns from Costco with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

 

 

 

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A dazed, hypothermic man walks out of the sea on the Outer Hebrides' Isle of Harris with no recollection of his name, address, or occupation.  Gradually, he learns that he's Ian McLean, he lives in a seaside cottage in Luskentyre, and he's a writer working on a book about something called the Coffin Road.  According to his neighbors, Ian moved to the island 18 months ago to write.  It's curious, then, that he can find no evidence of a manuscript-in-progress anywhere in his house.  Has he been suffering from a massive case of writer's block?  Or is something else going on here?  Nothing that Ian has learned about himself feels right.  Who is he, really?  And what's he been doing in the Outer Hebrides?

George Gunn, a detective sergeant from Stornoway, also has a mystery on his hands.  The body of an unidentified man has been found on a tiny, sea-soaked island where a century ago a trio of lighthouse keepers disappeared without a trace.  George doesn't recognize the corpse, but Ian thinks he does.  The details are very murky in Ian's mind, but he believes he might have been the one to kill the man.

Karen Fleming, a 17-year-old Goth girl living in Edinburgh, is also trying to piece together a mysterious puzzle.  Her father, a scientist, vanished two years ago.  His apparent suicide doesn't sit well with her.  The more Karen finds out about the work her dad was doing before he disappeared, the more convinced she is that he didn't kill himself.  But if he didn't, who did?

As these three mysteries unfurl, it's up to the principal characters to figure out what in the world is going on.  When the different threads become tangled together, it's apparent that something very sinister is happening on the Isle of Harris.  Can Ian and George weave it all together in time to save themselves?  Or will they, too, become victims in the dangerous game being played out before their eyes?

Like Peter May's other Outer Hebridean mysteries, Coffin Road is a tense, intriguing mystery set against a broody backdrop that lends an otherworldly eeriness to the story at hand.  This one gets maybe a little far-fetched, but who cares?  It's a twisty, compelling tale that kept me turning pages well into the night.  If you're a fan of intriguing mysteries set in remote, atmospheric locales (which I am), definitely give Peter May a go.  I've read a number of his books over the last year or so and I've enjoyed them all.  Coffin Road is no exception.

(Readalikes:  other mysteries by Peter May, including the Lewis Trilogy [The Blackhouse; The Lewis Man; The Chessmen] and Entry Island)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language, violence, blood/gore, sexual content, and references to illegal drug use

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of Coffin Road from the generous folks at Quercus (a division of Hachette Book Group).  Thank you!

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The last place 12-year-old Carol wants to spend her summer vacation is on an isolated sheep ranch in the New Mexico desert.  While her friends are lounging by the pool, she'll be sweating to death as she helps care for an elderly stranger with dementia.  Yes, Serge is her grandfather, but it's not like she's ever met him before.  Unfortunately, there's nothing she can do to change her pathetic situation—her stressed-out parents need Carol's help to clean up and sell the ranch so they can move Grandpa Serge into a care home.  

Carol doesn't take most of what Serge says seriously.  His mind is going, right?  So, why does it sting so much when he admonishes her not to spit on her Mexican heritage?  And why do his crazy stories about a healing tree and magic bees strike such a chord with her?  Grandpa Serge has no idea what he's talking about.  Or does he?  

As Carol learns to appreciate the things that matter most, she'll come to some surprising conclusions about herself, her family, and a desolate ranch that's filled with more possibility than she ever could have imagined. 

Hour of the Bees, a debut novel by Lindsay Eager, tells a compelling coming-of-age story about roots, relationships, and redemption.  Its blend of magical realism and plain ole realism makes it unique.  Carol's voice seems authentically twelve, in all of its whiny/whimsical glory.  The tale does get preachy and overly sentimental, especially toward the end.  It also has a very far-fetched finale that kind of soured the story for me.  Overall, though, Hour of the Bees makes for an enjoyable read with some important messages.  Be warned, though:  the heavy subject matter might be a tad much for more sensitive middle grade readers.

(Readalikes: Reminded me of The Time of the Butterflies by Kimberley Griffiths Little)

Grade: 

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for scary scenes/scenes of peril

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of Hour of the Bees from the generous folks at Candlewick Press.  Thank you!

(Image from Amazon)

In California's Central Valley, something strange is happening—honeybees are dying at an unnatural rate.  The situation has become alarming; if it continues, it could be disastrous.  The U.S. government has assigned a team of researchers at the University of California-Riverside with finding some answers.  When the scientists began mysteriously dying one by one, it's clear that someone will do anything to stop the truth from getting out.

(Readalikes:  Hm, I can't think of anything.  Can you?)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for violence and references to mature subject matter (illegal drug use, child abuse, etc.)

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of Silent Sting from the generous folks at Covenant Communications.  Thank you!