Fiction – Page 29 – Mom Read It

Fantasy, Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

POWERLESS Blog Tour: Young Adult Authors Pick Their Superpower

Posted on June 5, 2015June 1, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

To celebrate the release of POWERLESS, we’re answering the question: “If I could have any superpower…” So what would your superpower be? I’m kind of caught between wanting Magneto’s ability to control all things metal (plus, he can fly), or Wolverine’s invulnerability. But let’s check in with Powerless authors Tera Lynn Childs and Tracy Deebs, and some of your favorite YA authors, and see what they say.

Tera Lynn Childs, POWERLESS co-author

If I could have any superpower, I would want the power to breathe water. I’m a true water baby. Ever since I was little, I’ve wanted to be a mermaid—I blame the movie Splash. Growing up, I spent as much times as possible in, on, and around the water. I was a competitive swimmer for years and I visit the beach as often as living in the desert allows. The longer I can stay in the water, the better. And if I didn’t have to come back up for air…I might just stay underwater forever.

Tracy Deebs, POWERLESS co-author

If I could have any superpower in the world, I would choose telekinesis. From the time I was a little girl, I’ve been fascinated with the idea of being able to move things with my mind. Whether it’s getting my cell phone from my bedroom when I’m too tired to get off the couch or carrying my very heavy youngest child when he falls asleep in the car or hanging my oldest kid upside down when he makes me insane or stealing the last cookie from the plate in the kitchen without anyone seeing me do it or making the lights turn off and on and freaking out my kids, I think having telekinesis would be an absolute blast!!!!
Learn more about Tera and Tracy at www.HeroAgenda.com. Don’t forget about the Rafflecopter giveaway from Sourcebooks – you can win your own copy of Powerless, plus some awesome lightning bolt jewelry!

Cori McCarthy, author of BREAKING SKY
If I had a superpower, it would be the ability to freeze everything. Not cold-freeze, but the good, old fashion, Zack Morris TIME OUT. This way I could hit pause on the world and take a few deep breaths. I could track down a cheese plate and watch an episode of Bones while the rest of the world stops spinning so dizzily for a second. Then when I was done with my chill out, I’d call TIME IN, and things could keep on rolling.
Cori’s teen protagonists take flight in her recent release BREAKING SKY. More information about this thriller can be found at http://www.corimccarthy.com/breaking-sky/.

Mari Mancusi, author of the SCORCHED series
If I had a superpower, it would be the ability to slow down time. To give people a chance to take a breath, to read a book, to smell the flowers and play with their children. We rush, rush, rush through life and some important details end up falling through the cracks. Slowing down time would give us a chance to explore our passions, nurture our spirits, and enjoy the quiet moments, without feeling anxious or worried that we were “wasting time.” Because with my superpower, we would have all the time in the world!
The third book in Mari’s Scorched series SMOKED releases in September. Catch up with the trilogy here http://www.marimancusi.com/.

Zoraida Cordova, author of THE VAST AND BRUTAL SEA
If I had a superpower, it would be to travel unharmed throughout space. I call it my Starlord meets Superman fantasy. I would go through the galaxies and explore different civilizations while listening to awesome playlists (on an iPod though). I’d be able to breath, and maybe eat starts as fuel.
Pick up Zoriaida’s YA novel THE VAST AND BRUTAL SEA available in trade paperback now. And contact the author on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/CordovaBooks.

Read on for another POWERLESS Excerpt!

All my life there have only been three absolutes: ordinaries are useless, villains are evil, and heroes are good. Heroes are supposed to be the people the rest of the world looks up to, the very best examples of humanity.

I’ve spent my whole life distrusting villains—hating villains—and now I find out that some heroes are just as bad. Maybe worse. This kind of brutality is worse than anything I’ve ever heard villains accused of. This is worse than what they did to my father. Worse than murder.

Heroes are the good guys, the ones who stop things like this from happening. The heroes I know would never do this. But they are. They are. So what’s going on?

Hypnosis? Mind control? I don’t know. Somebody is responsible for this. There’s no other explanation.

But who? What are they getting out of it?

Another scream pierces the air, and I shudder. I’ve never felt so useless in my life. There is nothing I can do to help him, to save him. Nothing I can do to make it stop. What I wouldn’t give to have any superpower.

You can check out GoodReads for more information on Powerless, and you can buy the book at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, and Indie Bound. Make sure to check out the Hero Agenda website for more excerpts! Follow the fun on Facebook and Twitter.

Fantasy, Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

YA Spotlight: Powerless, by Tracy Deebs & Tera Lynn Childs

Posted on June 1, 2015June 1, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Powerless, by Tera Lynn Childs & Tracy Deebs (2015, Sourcebooks Fire), $16.99, ISBN: 9781492616573

Recommended for ages 13+

Imagine living in a society of superheroes. Being the daughter of two highly regarded superheroes – and having no powers at all. That’s 17 year-old Kenna’s life. Her father was killed by villains when she was a child, and her scientist mother will do anything to keep her safe. But when Kenna discovers a group of villains in the lab late one night, searching for a member of their group, she discovers that the heroes she’s looked up to all her life aren’t as heroic as she thought. Everyone has their secrets. Kenna’s about to discover hers.

Powerless is the first book in the new Hero Agenda series by accomplished YA authors Tera Lynn Childs and Tracy Deebs. This is a home run for any libraries taking part in the the CSLP Summer Reading program’s theme, Every Hero Has a Story, this year. We’ve got superheroes, villains, and a lot of blurred lines and secrets on each side. It’s a perfect read for teens!

I liked Kenna, the main character. She’s conflicted about her feelings toward the heroes in her life, being perceived as helpless because she’s powerless in a metahuman society. She’s always trying to prove her own worth, and is consumed with her status in hero society – even when forming an uneasy alliance with a villain. The other characters all have their own motivations and strong personalities, which propel the story forward and make it a fun read. There are also some strong parallels to draw between the story and what’s going on in the world today, with those perceived as “heroes” engaging in some pretty horrific behavior. There are some great book discussions to be had with Powerless.

I’ve been lucky enough to be part of Sourcebooks Fire’s Spotlight Tour for Powerless, so check out Sourcebooks’ summary below, read the excerpt, and make sure to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance at winning the novel and some lightning bolt jewlery! You can check out GoodReads for more information on Powerless, and you can buy the book, which hits shelves tomorrow, at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, and Indie Bound. Make sure to check out the Hero Agenda website for more excerpts! Follow the fun on Facebook and Twitter.

Summary

Kenna is tired of being “normal.”

The only thing special about her is that she isn’t special at all. Which is frustrating when you’re constantly surrounded by superheroes. Her best friend, her ex-boyfriend, practically everyone she knows has some talent or power. Sure, Kenna’s smart and independent, but as an ordinary girl in an extraordinary world, it’s hard not to feel inferior.

So when three villains break into the lab where she interns, Kenna refuses to be a victim. She’s not about to let criminals steal the research that will make her extraordinary too.

But in the heat of battle, secrets are spilled and one of the villains saves her life. Twice. Suddenly, everything Kenna thought she knew about good and evil, heroes and villains is upended. And to protect her life and those she loves, she must team up with her sworn enemies on a mission that will redefine what it means to be powerful and powerless…

Excerpt

“You never answered my question. What are you doing down here so late?”

Those bright blue eyes sear into me as he takes a step back. “I have to go.”

His sudden evasiveness makes me suspicious, so when he starts to move past me, I sidestep into his path. “Excuse me,” I say, “but this is a secure level. Are you even authorized to be down here?”

“My dad,” he says, scowling at me. “He’s a security guard.”

A security guard? The facility might be so big that I can’t keep track of everyone who works in every lab, but I know all the guards by name. Especially the night guards, since I’m usually the last one here.

Travis and Luther are on duty tonight. Travis and his wife just had their first baby, a girl named Tia. Luther is old enough to be my great-grandfather and he never married.

I take half a step back as my suspicions turn to concern. “Who’s your dad?” I demand.

This guy definitely has the look of a villain.

What if he really is one?

He glances nervously over his shoulder. “He’s—”

I shake my head and start to walk away before he can finish the lie.

He reaches for me, but I shrug him off. My heart is beating way too fast. This could go way bad, way quick.

“Please, just listen.” He waits until I’m looking him in the eye before he continues. “You know me,” he says, his voice taking on this weird, hypnotic tone. “We’ve met before.”

His eyes start to burn brighter and brighter. Oh crap. He must be a villain, and one with a psy power. The vilest kind. Fear and anger collide inside me as I wonder what to do about him trying to mess with my head. How to play this? I can’t exactly tell him I’m—

Suddenly, the floor beneath my feet shudders violently, knocking me off balance. I lurch forward into Dark-and-Scowly’s arms. He catches me, grabs my upper arms, just as a concussion wave of air and sound hits us.

That sounded—and felt—like a bomb went off in the lab. If we weren’t a hundred feet underground and shielded by every protection science and superheroes can create, I’d think the supervillain Quake had struck. But that’s impossible.

Then again, impossible doesn’t always apply in the superhero world. After all, impossible didn’t keep Dark-and-Scowly from being where he doesn’t belong.

Suddenly, every alarm in the facility blares. I freak. The lab! All that research—Mom’s and mine—is priceless. The superhero blood samples alone are more valuable than anything else in the building.

Panic overrides judgment and I push away, but his grip only tightens. The jerk. A little super strength would be really useful right now.

“You can’t go in there.”

“Who are you?” I demand, struggling to get out of his grasp. If he really is a villain, I don’t want him near me or this lab. Not with what villains are capable of. “What have you done?”

He doesn’t answer. More pissed than ever, I fake left and pull right. He follows my fake-out, and as his hair swings with the momentum, I see the mark I’d been looking for earlier. Not under his right ear like the superheroes. Under his left.

Shit.

“You’re a villain.”

Author Biographies

One fateful summer, Tera Lynn Childs and Tracy Deebs embarked on a nine hour (each way!) road trip to Santa Fe that ended with a flaming samurai, an enduring friendship, and the kernel of an idea that would eventually become Powerless.

On their own, they have written YA tales about mermaids (Forgive My Fins, Tempest Rising), mythology (Doomed, Oh. My Gods., Sweet Venom), smooching (International Kissing Club), and fae princes (When Magic Sleeps). Between them, they have three boys (all Tracy), three dogs (mostly TLC), and almost fifty published books. Find TLC and the #TeamHillain headquarters at teralynnchilds.com. Check out Tracy and the #TeamVero lair at tracydeebs.com. Hang out with all the heroes, villains, ordinaries, and none-of-the-aboves at heroagenda.com.

Fantasy, Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Michael Buckley’s Undertow – We are definitely NOT alone.

Posted on May 28, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Undertow, by Michael Buckley (2015, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Group), $18.99, ISBN: 9780544348257

Recommended for ages 13+

Set in present-day Coney Island, Undertow presents us with a New York under siege. An aquatic warrior race, The Alpha, has arrived on the beach, and despite constant skirmishes with the police, military, and the local populace, they’re camping out on Coney Island beach. A tense agreement has the Alpha’s teenage children attending the local high school, causing riots, protests, and tension. Coney Island is a war zone. In the middle of this is Lyric Walker, a high school student with secrets of her own. When she’s chosen to help the Alpha prince assimilate, she never expects to develop feelings for him – or powder keg this will set off.

The first thing that caught me about Undertow was this amazing cover. Look at this artwork – if you’re a New Yorker, like me, seeing a refugee camp sprout up with a broken down Demo’s Wonder Wheel and a busted Cyclone in the background is already reason enough to pick this book up, but this cover is gorgeous, eerie, and demands your attention.

The plot reads like District 9 meets Escape from New York, with a dash of romance thrown in. I couldn’t put this book down. I like Michael Buckley’s writing to begin with- I enjoyed The Sisters Grimm and the N.E.R.D.S. series, so I was happy to jump into another one of his worlds. I’m so glad I did. Mr. Buckley creates a deep, multilayered narrative with complex characters and motivations. We’ve got a warrior race reduced to living in squalor on the beaches of Coney Island while humans join street gangs to answer the perceived threat in their own vigilante fashion. Why are they here? If they’re a warrior race, where’s the invasion? Are they playing at something? Added subplots include a domestic violence story, a principal with his own agenda, and a governor who’s willing to hand the city over to street justice, to create an intense story that will leave you not-so-patiently waiting for the sequel.

Make this a beach read this summer – but just keep an eye on the water while you read.

Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Teen

Love, Lucas – A story of grief, letting go, and moving on

Posted on May 27, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Love, Lucas, by Chantele Sedgwick (2015, Sky Pony Press), $16.99, ISBN: 978-1-63220-417-2

Recommended for ages 13+

Oakley Nelson’s reeling from the loss of her brother, Lucas, to bone cancer. She’s spent the last few months at his bedside, pulling away from friends, activities, and life. With her parents’ marriage in a tailspin, Oakley and her mom head to California to spend some time with her Aunt Jo, hoping the change of scenery will give them the space they need to recover.

Once in California, Oakley’s mom gives her a notebook, filled with letters written to her by Lucas. He leaves her with life lessons, small observations, and wry humor to help her move on, and she clings to the notebook like a life raft as she navigates getting to know the local teens in her aunt’s neighborhood, including Carson, a good-looking surfer who’s unlike any guy she’s ever met. She’s caught between her feelings for Carson and feeling guilty about moving on too quickly, but as she turns to Lucas’ own words for guidance and comfort, she realizes that going on with her life is exactly what Lucas wants her to do.

This is a moving YA novel dealing with grief, loss, and the fallout that happens when a terminally ill family member dies. Oakley’s anchor is gone when Lucas, her best friend and brother, dies; she’s devoted the last few months to him, abandoning friends and extracurricular activities. Her parents’ relationship is in turmoil, and with all the attention focused on Lucas, she doesn’t feel she can rely on either of them. She feels out of touch with other teens when she meets Carson and his friends, and her internal narrative is focused on how awkward she feels, and she often looks at herself with a self-deprecating sense of humor that’s funny and at the same time, teens will recognize and appreciate.

Love, Lucas will appeal to John Green, Gayle Forman, and Sarah Dessen fans. There’s romance, finding inner strength in the face of tragedy/adversity, and introspective dialogue that teens today gravitate to.

Chantele Sedgwick is the author of Not Your Average Fairy Tale and Not Your Average Happy Ending (Sarah Dessen fans, recognize!). Her author site offers more information about her books and

Fantasy, Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

The Map to Everywhere – a new fantasy series for middle graders begins here

Posted on May 20, 2015May 20, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Map to Everywhere, by Carrie Ryan & John Parke Davis (2014, Little Brown Books for Young Readers), $17, ISBN: 9780316240772

Recommended for ages 10-13

Fin is the perfect thief – any memory of him fades from everyone he meets. But one day, he gets a letter – someone knows him – and offers him a mission that will help him find his mother. He finds his way to the magical Pirate Stream, a waterway that connects every world in creation, where he encounters Marrill, a schoolgirl from Arizona, who’s just trying to get home, a young pirate captain, and a wizard, all searching for the pieces of a Map to Everywhere – the only problem is, an evil wizard and his crew are in search of the same Map, so he can end the world.

We’ve got the makings of a big pirate adventure with this series: two promising young heroes, a wizard and a captain that will almost certainly see more development as the series proceeds, and a world-ending Big Bad. Both Fin and Marrill have their own motivations, which give us some interesting subplots and leave us in a good place for future adventures.

I admit that I struggled with the book, overall. There was something that didn’t hook me right away, a sense of needing something more. About halfway through, I was finally on board and engaged. I don’t think middle grade adventure and fantasy lovers will have this issue at all, though. With strong male and female characters, a sharp sense of humor and exciting storytelling, this will be a good summer reading choice.

Carrie Ryan is best known for her YA post-apocalyptic series, beginning with The Forest of Hands and Teeth; she’s writing this series with her husband, first-time novelist John Parke Davis. You can find activity sheets and extras on the Map to Everywhere site, which also features links to the first eight chapters via Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and Google Play.

Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Tween Reads, Uncategorized

My Life in Dioramas: A touching middle grade book about family, change, and holding on

Posted on April 29, 2015April 29, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

My Life in Dioramas, by Tara Altebrando (Apr 2015, Running Press) $14.95, ISBN: 9780762456826

Recommended for ages 9-14

Kate Marino has spent her life in Big Red, her wonderfully large, rambling house. But her parents are having financial trouble, and have to put Big Red up for sale and move in with her grandparents – just as Kate’s dancing class is about to compete for the very first time! Kate’s world coming feels like it’s coming to an end, and begins crafting dioramas of her life at Big Red as she and her friends try to think of ways to turn potential buyers off of a sale.

I loved this story. Ms. Altebrando takes a sobering look at life for many families today and finds the spark of hope, the humor, and ultimately, the ability to move on. Kate is a wonderful main character that middle graders will love. The ideas she and her friends come up with to discourage potential buyers are hilarious and innocent rather than mean-spirited. We see the stress of the family’s financial situation affecting Kate, but also, her family, particularly through her mother’s fight with depression. Using a popular school project – the diorama – as a vehicle to advance the plot and take readers through Big Red’s story – as much a character in this book as anyone else – immediately invests the reader.

Tara Altebrando’s author page offers more information about her other books, including Roomies, a YALSA 2015 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers selection,co-authored with Sara Zarr. My Life in Dioramas hit shelves this week, so please check with your local bookseller and pick up a copy. You’ll be glad you did, and so will your kids/students/and so on.

Check out this great book trailer for My Life in Dioramas, made by Teeny Tiny Filmworks, a group of young filmmakers.

My Life in Dioramas from Teeny Tiny Filmworks on Vimeo.

Fiction, Teen

Material Girls: Pop Culture Gone Wild!

Posted on April 6, 2015April 5, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Material Girls, by Elaine Dimopoulos (May 2015, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Group), $17.99, ISBN: 9780544388505

Recommended for ages 12-18

Imagine a world where teenagers’ tastes drive commerce. Fashion trends? Voted on my teen judges. Tween programming and music stars rule the day, setting trends and acting out carefully crafted roles and personas. But guess what? A handful of adults are still running the show, sitting behind the scenes, letting this new version of child labor run society.

Material Girls takes place in a not too-distant future, where popularity drives everything. Young tweens are picked, after crafting online portfolios, to be called to creative careers in fashion or entertainment; “adequates” are left to do the boring stuff that holds society up – doctors, accountants, that sort of thing. Fashion is paramount, and trends are fast, furious, and make tons of money. People have trendcheckers that scan clothing labels and let you know whether or not you’re still on trend; teenage judges decide what clothes get made. There are no more superstar fashion designers; designers and drafters are relegated to the less glamorous, lower levels of the operation. “Stay Young!” has replaced “See ya!” as a well-wish greeting.

Two narratives make up Material Girls. Marla is a teen judge who finds herself demoted to drafter after disagreeing with her fellow judges’ outrageous tastes one too many times. Told in the first person, we see Marla slowly gaining awareness of society around her, and work with her fellow drafters and adequates to bring about change, through revolution, if necessary.

Ivy is a teen queen pop star who begins questioning her place in society and society in general. Through a third person narrative, we see her growing discomfort with people spending money they can’t afford on outrageous and uncomfortable trends that she, and other teen pop stars like her, seemingly dictate. Her brother’s “tapping” – the process by which kids are called to special careers – doesn’t go as well as planned. She’s tired of living a scheduled, scripted life and just wants to be free, but does she have the courage to see it through?

Material Girls is a brilliant indictment of today’s pop-culture and youth-obsessed society. Blending shades of Brave New World with reality television, this is as much a cautionary tale as it is a parody of today’s society. I loved this story; it provides great topics to discuss in a tween or teen book club setting, and can be read as a sociological text to generate discussion on youth culture, pop culture, and how it affects society as a whole.

This is author Elaine Dimopoulos‘ first book. She’ll be having a book release party at Boston Public Library on May 5, which sounds great for anyone in the area. There’s going to be a slide show with fashion trends that influenced the book and eco-chic swag to win. Weigh in if you get to go!

Material Girls Release Party!
Tuesday, May 5, 7 p.m.
Abbey Room, Boston Public Library

Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Tween Reads

Cuckoo Song is engrossing dark fantasy for the middle school set

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Cuckoo Song, by Frances Hardinge (Abrams, May 2015), $17.95, ISBN: 9781419714801

Recommended for ages 12+

Taking place in the post-World War I English countryside, Triss wakes up after an accident, her mother fawning over her and her father concerned about someone being responsible for it. Her younger sister, Pen, is afraid of her, shrieking that she’s “a fake”. Triss’ hunger is out of control; she can’t stop eating, and she can’t seem to be satisfied. She’s very afraid – this feels like something beyond her usual frailness and sickliness. Pen, meanwhile, is convinced that Triss is not who she claims to be – what does Pen know? The answers will lead the two sisters on a dark adventure that peels away the layers surrounding their lives, and brings unsettling answers to questions about their brother, who died in the War, and his fiancée, who can’t stay in one place, thanks to a secret of her own.

Cuckoo Song is one of those books that slowly builds – you start with a ping at the back of your neck, and gradually, your chest is tight, and the hairs on your arms are standing at full attention. There are horrible bargains struck, and the consequences will make readers wince and break their hearts. As a parent, reading this, I ached over the desperation of a parent who just wants to hear his or her child one more time. Thinking about this from a middle schooler’s point of view, this is skin-crawling: parents who don’t know how to parent, so lost in their despair over loss; not knowing who – or what – you are, and having your younger sibling keeping secrets that directly involve you; a never-ending hunger that horrifies you, once you realize what sates it. There are so many parallels to adolescence here, and that’s what will connect with readers.

Frances Hardinge writes beautiful dark fantasy. This was my first book by her, but I can see it won’t be my last. She knows how to weave a multilayered narrative that draws vivid pictures in the reader’s mind and even transcend the page – I felt cold, damp, and chilled in alternate parts of the book, and I couldn’t put it down.

Give this book to your Gaiman fans, your dark fantasy fans, and anyone who wants a good novel that will leave them unsettled for a long time after.

Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Seed is a chilling story about belief and the loss of innocence

Posted on March 4, 2015March 3, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Seed, by Lisa Heathfield (2015, Running Press) $16.95, ISBN: 978-0-7624-5634-5

Recommended for ages 13+

Fifteen year-old Pearl’s life revolves around Seed. It’s the community she was born into; a land where Nature provides everything she could ever dream of, where the Kindred – the grown men of the community – are like beloved uncles, and where their spiritual leader and father figure, Papa S., teaches them that Nature will provide for them and punish them, if necessary. The outside world is corrupt, but Nature will favor the residents of Seed – as long as they abide by Papa S.’s rules.

When an outside family seeks refuge at Seed, Pearl struggles to maintain her belief in Papa S., Seed, and Nature – but as events become more difficult to reconcile, things are getting more and more difficult for Pearl to believe. Pearl will discover that there are many secrets at Seed, but can she face living once she discovers what’s really going on?

The community at Seed goes beyond cult, beyond closed community. It’s a horrific combination of the two, a community where men use bullying, grooming, and most egregiously, faith, to create a life where women have no power and are victimized from the moment they reach sexual maturity. They withhold education and limit contact with the outside world, always watching, to make sure that the children of Seed abide by Papa S.’s rules – but really, to keep them in the dark so that they can feed them lies under the guise of religion.

I received an advanced reader copy of Seed from Running Press, and tore right in, finishing the book in three days. It is a book that evokes visceral reactions – I was upset, I was horrified, I was angry. I wanted these children to see the lies and manipulations and walk away, to find justice for themselves and anyone who suffered at the hands of their captors – because really, that’s what Papa S. and the so-called Kindred are.

The characters, dialogue, and story pacing will draw you in and won’t let you go until you turn that last page. Even then, this is not a book that you will walk away from lightly. It will leave you shaken and changed. It’s a book I want to see in teenagers’ hands and talked about in discussion groups. I want this book on library shelves and in librarian’s hands, making sure kids read it.

Seed is an important book for an age where people are still looking for something to believe in. Do not miss this book.

Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

Seti’s Charm starts off an exciting middle school adventure series!

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Seti’s Charm: A Max Carter Adventure, by Chris Everheart (2014, Yellow Rocket Media) $12.99, ISBN: 9780985912581

Recommended for ages 9-12

Fourteen year-old Max Carter has lived with his grandfather since being orphaned at a young age. He adores his grandfather, and works alongside him in the family Egyptology museum, with plans to be an archaeologist himself one day. When smugglers attack the museum, putting his grandfather in the hospital and burning the museum to the ground, Max knows he has to recover the funeral charm of Pharaoh Seti I from the thieves and see it safely back to Egypt. Max seemingly has all the odds against him – his grandfather’s younger wife wants to see him sent to military school and the museum sold off for good, and the thieves – whom Max traces to a tropical island – certainly aren’t going to make it easy for him.

This is a great middle grade adventure. We’ve got a young hero who will appeal to Alex Rider fans, with a touch of Indiana Jones to spark some interest. There’s intrigue, action, and enough Egyptian history in here to give readers a beginning foundation of Ancient Egyptian funeral rites, which will make the next family trip to the museum a lot of fun. (Possible spoiler alert: I found myself wondering if a character was going to get his or her brains pulled out through his or her nose at one point, so I may spend a little too much time on that sort of thing.) English teachers and school librarians, this would be a good book to talk up during a history class unit on Ancient Egypt.

Chris Everheart’s author page has information about his books, plus links to his bio, blog, and events.