Like in September and October, I didn’t have as much time to
read as I like, and I returned to mostly shorter reads during these two months.
But an author can pack a lot of great story into a small space, as these titles
prove:
Title: Orphan’s Song
Series: Songkeeper Chronicles #1
Author: Gillian Bronte Adams
Genre: YA Fantasy
Synopsis: An orphaned girl’s
musical gift causes several forces, good and evil, to battle over where she
belongs.
Review: Not the most memorable of fantasies,
and nothing stood out to me as exceptional. That said, it is a safe, clean read
with some nice action and interesting characters.
Title: Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
Author: Betty MacDonald
Genre: Midgrade Humor
Synopsis: An eccentric lady
provides parents with the cures for their children’s bad behavior.
Review: The unpredictable Mrs.
Piggle-Wiggle and her off-the-wall cures will bring smiles to child and adult
alike.
Title: The Deadly Curse of
Toco-Rey
Series: Cooper Kids #6
Author: Frank Peretti
Genre: Tween Supernatural
Suspense
Synopsis: An archeologist and his
two kids seek to recover the relics of a tomb said to be cursed.
Review: Though not a story for a
child with an overactive imagination or who scares easily (which is why I’m
only now reading the series as an adult), Toco-Rey is full of twists and turns
and may be my favorite Cooper Kid book thus far.
Title: The Chimes: A Goblin
Story
Author: Charles Dickens
Genre: Adult Magical Realism
Novella
Synopsis: The goblins inhabiting
some old church bells reveal the potential repercussions of an old man’s
despair.
Review: The Chimes is
reminiscent of Dicken’s more famous A Christmas Carol. Although not as
good as A Christmas Carol, The Chimes can hold its own as an
engaging story, with much to say about how far-reaching our actions can be.
Title: The Cricket On the Hearth:
A Tale of Home
Author: Charles Dickens
Genre: Adult Novella
Synopsis: A stranger arrives just
before a wedding, turning the lives of four families upside down.
Review: A humorous tale with a
couple of great twists! I thoroughly enjoyed discovering this Dickens gem.
Additional books, all highly recommended:
Title: Wind in the Willows
Author: Kenneth Grahame
Genre: Midgrade Animal Adventure
Title: Encyclopedia Brown: Boy
Dectective
Author: Donald J. Sobol
Genre: Midgrade Mystery
Title: Jigsaw Jones: The Case of
Hermie the Missing Hampster
Series: Jigsaw Jones #1
Author: James Preller
Genre: Midgrade Mystery
Title: Babar and Father Christmas
Author: Jean De Brunhoff
Genre: Children’s Christmas Picture
Book
What gems of story have you been encountering of late?
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