Airman by Eoin Colfer

Airman byEoin Colfer

Adventure

Age 11-14

Grade 6-9

212 pages 

c. 2008

Airman is one of my favorite books. As the back cover of my paperback copy say, “a fast-paced, highly entertaining tale of flying machines, criminals, martial arts, swordplay, princesses, poisons, and evil villains."There are many similarities between Airman and The Count of Monte Cristo.

As the story opens Connor Broekhart, the hero, is born in the basket of a hot air balloon flying over the World’s Fair in Paris in 1878. His early life is practically perfect. He lives with his family on the Saltee Islands, which are off the coast of Ireland. His father is captain of the Sharpshooters and a good friend of the king and his mother is a scientist. Connor himself is intelligent, athletic, has a strong sense of right and wrong and extremely interested in flying. He is also a good friend of the princess. Good king Nicholas looks upon Connor as his son and is impressed by his knowledge and interest in flying machines. He invites an old friend of his, Victor Vigny to be Connor’s tutor.

Connor’s idyllic life abruptly comes to an end when he accidently witnesses the brutal murder of King Nicholas and Victor Vigny by the power hungry Marshall Bonvilain. The Marshall tells Connor’s father that his son died defending the king and that he has captured the rebel who was responsible for the murders. However it is Connor who Bonvilian has put in prison disfigured by severe beatings and disguised by a wig, tattoos and a face mask. Connor was unconscious while all this happened. When his father comes to the prison and tells him how much he is hated Connor is heartbroken.   

Connor spends two long years in the largely underground prison on Little Saltee Island forced to mine for diamonds in unhuman conditions. Connor is tempted to resort to killing others to stay alive himself but instead uses his wits and knowledge of fencing to impress the gang member paid to beat him and instead makes him a friend. Connor also finds a friend in the blind musician who is his cellmate for a while. There is only one way to escape Little Saltee, and that is to fly. So Connor passes the solitary months by scratching drawings of flying machines on the prison walls. Eventually he does manage to escape the prison but there are many more challenges and plot twists he must face before justice can be restored to the Saltee Islands and the cruel rule of Bonvilian is broken.

I find the ongoing development of Connor’s character to be one of the most fascinating parts of the book. To survive the prison he is forced to become harder and more self- focused but he doesn’t allow hatred to brutalize him. When faced with an opportunity to kill the prison guard who has made his life miserable he chooses to wound him rather than kill him to make his escape. Likewise, though he believes his family has forgotten him, he is reluctant to abandon the island for a new life in America.

Time traveling with a Hamster by Ross Welford

Time Traveling with a Hamster by Ross Welford

Science Fiction, Adventure

age 11-13

grade 6-8

426 pages

c. 2016

Time Traveling with a Hamster is a mix of many things, a basic explanation of time travel, a fast paced adventure story, and a story of an immigrant family, a book dealing with issues of friendship, grief and loss and also containing humorous episodes. There are a few times when the word “God” is used inappropriately. However I still feel the book has merit.

It is the story of Albert Einstein Hawking Chaudhory, normally referred to as Al, and the surprising request he receives by a letter from his dead father on his twelfth birthday to use the time travel machine his father invented and go back in time to prevent the go-karting accident that eventually caused his father’s death as an adult. Al is pretty skeptical at first but when he actually finds his dad’s time machine he begins to believe that it just might be possible to save his dad’s life. Of course time travel is not without its problems and Al runs into many as the story progresses. He also finds himself in the awkward position of having to do things that he would normally not do, such as breaking into his parent’s old house, where the time machine is, “borrowing” his grandfather’s motorcycle to travel to the old house, breaking into a school in another time period to use the computers, and finally setting the school computer lab on fire to destroy the evidence of his being there.

There are many interesting, well developed characters in the book. Al, who is Anglo-Indian, is a sensitive, nerdy kid with the ability to think outside the box. He is a brave, loyal friend who is also dealing with some bullying at school and adjusting to his new step-father who really doesn’t understand him or his interests. He has a beautiful relationship with his grandfather, who is himself an interesting and well developed character. There are some touching and humorous moments when twelve year old Al meets his twelve year old father.

Many things go horribly wrong in Al’s attempt to save his father. Al does manage to remove the brick in the path of the go-karte but because of the actions of another boy his father drowns. This alters the space-time continuum, changing everything Al returns to a future where his grandfather has been profoundly changed by his grief in losing his son at age twelve, and his mother is married to another man and does not recognize Al. Spoiler Alert: With some quick thinking and a desperate last effort  Al manges to send a message to his father in 1984 which avoids his death by go-cart accident and changes the future for Al and his mother. Thus, Al  does manage to save his father and his hamster, which at one point was left behind in another time period. I have tried to highlight some things that some parents might find objectionable. I feel for the intended audience it is still a worthwhile read. As always I am interested in your thoughts and comments.

Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics by Chris Grabenstein

Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics

by Chris Grabenstein

adventure, mystery, puzzle-type book

age 9-12

grade 4-7

271 pages

c. 2016

                The sequel to Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library is another entertaining, fast paced book filled with more puzzles, riddles and clues to solve. Students from around the U.S. wanted a chance to complete in a library quest so Mr. Lemoncello set up regional competitions that will end in a Library Olympics in his hometown. The winners of the first contest will be the defending champions. However, this time the competition will be much harder and the team is worried about their chances of winning again. There are also some people in town, led by Charlie, the rich boy who lost in the first game by cheating, who dislike the new library and want to take control over it. Finally Mr. Lemoncello has his own, private reason for conducting the Library Olympics. In this book, unlike the first, not everything is as it appears and not everyone is who they appear to be.

                There are many books, old and new, mentioned as well as some interesting library facts. I did not know that Shel Silverstein’s book The Light in the Attic was banned from a school in Wisconsin in 1985 because “the book encouraged children to break dishes so they would not have to dry them.” My favorite rebus puzzle was a quote from Neil Gaiman. “Google can bring you back one hundred thousand answers. A librarian can bring you back the right one." There are more logic puzzles in this book as well as games that involve knowledge of books, research skills and book cart relays. As in the first book this is an action packed, plot-driven story without deep character development. The joys of reading, using your imagination, thinking outside of the book, and real friendships are all celebrated in the book. In the end it is only those willing to sacrifice a lot to do what is right that are the true champions. Issues of banned books and freedom of speech are also addressed and at the end of the book there is a list of all the books mentioned in the story. The list consists of 76 titles.

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library

  by Chris Grabenstein

adventure, mystery, puzzle-type book

age 9-12

grade 4-7

291 pages 

c. 2013

              A fast paced fun read filled with all kinds of puzzles. I especially liked the rebus puzzles. Mr. Lemoncello is an eccentric, quirky billionaire with a great love of libraries. He also is an extraordinary gamer and has made his money in creating all sorts of games. The old library in his hometown was destroyed twelve years ago and he has created a new, state of the art library there. He has created a contest that will allow twelve children who are twelve years old to spend an overnight in the new library before it officially opens. Once there it is revealed to them that there is another contest for them to participate in. Using the resources of the library and their knowledge of the Dewey Decimal System they are to solve the clues and puzzles to find the hidden escape route that will let them exit the library which is now locked. The one who is able to exit first will win the grand prize and be featured in commercials advertising Mr. Lemoncello’s new games.

                The twelve students are a diverse bunch including gamers, overachievers, bookworms, library helpers, and a spoiled rich kid. At first they all work by themselves but quickly decide it is better to team up. During the process even the gamers discover the pleasure of reading a book. They also learn that loyalty, respect and teamwork produce better results than taking short cuts and cheating. The character development is not very deep but I think many will enjoy this as a fun read. A lot of book titles are mentioned along the way that might give some suggestions for other books to read.

The Secrets of Winterhouse by Ben Guterson

The Secrets of Winterhouse by Ben Guterson

mystery, some fantasy elements, puzzle-type book

age 9-12

grade  4-7

384 pages

c. 2018

The second book in the Winterhouse trilogy continues the adventures of Elizabeth and Freddy as they explore this unique hotel and discover more mysteries surrounding it. Elizabeth is now a permanent resident at Winterhouse and is delighted that she has a new home. Once again on her trip to Winterhouse she meets some very unpleasant people, the  Powter family and especially their teenage son Rodney. There are also two new guests at the hotel who are both mysterious and suspicious, Elena and her creepy grandmother Mrs. Vesper.

 Elizabeth learns that there may be another magical object left behind from the former hotel guest Riley S. Granger. In the first book Elizabeth found a magical book written by Granger that the evil Gracella Winters was trying to find to destroy the Falls family. Elizabeth suspects that the Powters and Mrs. Vesper are looking for this new object. There are also rumors of secret passageways within the hotel and the possibility of four secret doors that lead to the passageways. An unusual seal in the floor of one of the hallways in the hotel has a complicated series of numbers and words that Elizabeth and Freddy believe could be some sort of code, perhaps telling the locations of the secret doors.

Elizabeth is also noticing her own special powers seem to be increasing and there are times when she is tempted to, and sometimes does, use them to satisfy herself despite Norbridge repeatedly warning her not to do so. She is also having more trouble controlling her emotions, especially when she gets angry and feels frustrated. These result in her bring rude to guests when she is helping Leona in the hotel library. Despite these growing pains when Elizabeth, spoiler, does locate the object of power she is able to resist the very strong temptation to keep it for herself. “All she wanted to do was keep the pendant pressed within the palm of her hand, wanted to maintain the feeling she had experienced, wanted to keep it hers forever.” …”The words of the rhyme filled Elizabeth: The holder, heeding silent voice alone must make the fateful choice. …”I have to choose, Elizabeth said weakly.”…”I choose not to use this for evil. ”The depths of the evil that Gracella is willing to do is also revealed in her using the lives of those related to her to keep herself alive.

It is a little darker than the first book but also filled with many puzzles and riddles to solve and the deepening of the friendship between Elizabeth and Freddy.