The Sacrifice

The Island of Kisapmata is beautiful, with its wonderful beaches and lush greenery, a place you would love to have a beachfront cabana on.  But it also hides a huge secret that keeps local Filipinos from stepping foot on the island, as they don’t want to be an island victim.  But a film crew with an acclaimed adventurer looking to get back in the game after some troubles buys their way on; I don’t think they knew the full price they would need to pay.  They hire a local teen, Alon, to be their guide, and even though he tries his hardest to tell them they are making the sleeping god, Diwata, mad, they don’t listen; they only want the prize at the end.  “He who offers the sacrifice controls the Godseye.  The first to feed, the second to seed, the third to wear, the fourth to birth, the fifth to serve, the sixth to lure, the seventh to consume, the eighth to wake.” 

This was a good story with Filipino lore mixed in.  I have really started to like these lore-kind of books since Riordan Presents started with them.   Despite some parts feeling like the boxes were being checked, the rest was wonderful and action-packed.  There were some twists in the book; they were all really good.  Overall, I liked the book and think others who are fans, or maybe not yet fans, will love Ren Chupeco’s books as well.

 

City Spies London Calling

Cairo, the team's newest member, takes the lead when his sister goes missing in Istanbul, but the team quickly follows the trail to Rome.  But when there comes a delicate issue involving a royal wedding arises, the team must go to London and do what they do: blend in so well that no one at MI6 will notice them doing their job.  But they still have Cairo and his sister in their minds.

I love this series, and it is so great for readers of all ages, reluctant readers, and even as a classroom read.  Ponti weaves his tales so well, with some history, some Hi-Tech stuff, friendship, and loyalty.  This book just adds that much more mystic to the series. I cannot wait for the next adventure and hope I get to go along for the ride.

 

Firstborn

Bryn is the best fighter of her year, and all she needs to do is prove she can take a life to move on from the Longest Night and graduate; if she fails, she is exiled.  But when she finds that the lastborn are going to be kidnapped, she risks everything and goes with the number one enemy of her people to find and save her sister. What she learns along the way is very enlightening, and Bryn learns that not all she was told is true, but what will she do now?

This was a really good book.  It was fast-paced, suspenseful, and action-packed.  This book quickly gained speed and never slowed down.  This book was a very different take on a dystopian story, but one I think readers will fall in love with.

The first children take up arms, the second children take up books, the third children are taken.

 

Nando

Nando is a border collie who works hard herding and believes he needs to be perfect in everything he does.  But he soon learns he cannot control Mother Nature when she pelts the farm with so much rain that Cloe, Stella, Cloe’s seizure beagle, Oscar the cat, and Nando all get swept away in the flooded, fast-moving creek.  He also learns he needs help sometimes and finds that help in a boy, Levi; together, they will find their way back where each belongs and for the surprises that await at the end.

This is the fourth book in the Best Friends Dog Tales series, and I have loved every one of them.  I will be sad to give up the tales of this family and their ragtag group of pets.  I can’t wait until I can read Oscar’s book, which isn’t listed as one of the Best Friends Tales, as he’s not a dog, but it exists, and many more.  I love the series, and this book didn’t disappoint; it is good for all ages, a classroom read, and even for reluctant readers.

 

Probable Caws: A Meg Langslow Mystery

As a lot of times the story starts with a call to Meg from her dad to come and help, this time with 50 horses her friend Ragnar had agreed to house while the Hoof and Hearth figure out what to do next.  The farm they had been on: the owner has died, and while one son is fine with it and has worked the farm all along, the other is dead set on selling to a developer.  But of course, there is a death, and which son will the blame be placed on, and what is up with the crows?

I have loved Meg Langslow books/audio for a long time, and this one does not disappoint.  It is another wonderful mystery, and one that Bernadette Dunne tells so well.  She takes Andrews' book and brings it to life through her great narration.  This is another Langslow book that will suck you in and hold you until you are done.  I love these books and can’t wait for the next.

 

Deadly Revenge

Another in the National Forest K9 series brings Maya and Josh back, and this time the worst is happening: a forest fire.  While they battle their jobs and what they need to do for the fire, they are also hampered by a kidnapped girl, one that has ties to Maya that she only just found out.  Maya, Josh, and their awesome K9s, Juniper and Finn, need to find the teen before something bad happens to her or the fire catches up to them. However, someone in the different agencies that are searching for her is a mole and is feeding the kidnapper intel to keep one step in front of them the whole time, making finding her even harder.

This is a wonderful, fast-paced, exciting, and suspenseful book/audiobook.  I have really enjoyed listening to this series narrated by Hayli Henderson.  She has really brought this story to life and is a great voice actor.  This series is for anyone who likes police procedural books, and even more so if you like the K9s, as she does them well and has really taken the time to learn what it takes to work them.

 

Sunderworld, Vol. I: The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry

Leopold sees weird things like monsters, and, like a whole different world; he was even sent to a psychiatrist for these hallucinations because they all seem to be from a TV show he watched as a child. When his mother dies, he finds some old VHS tapes his dad has put out in the garbage.  These tapes are the only thing left of that show, and he watches them a lot.  So much so that the hallucinations have come back. I mean, really, who would believe someone about a mechanical raccoon with his tail on fire, but that is what he sees, and at the worst time.  He knows he needs to follow the raccoon and enlists his best/only friend, Emmet, to help.  When they ride an old, broken trolley into the world they tried to recreate the Sunderworld they knew and made movies of as kids, Leopold will face the toughest test yet, but he is sure he is ready; he thinks it is his destiny. 

This was a wonderful, refreshing, and exciting book.  Leopold and Emmet are wonderful characters; they play their parts perfectly.  This book brings a lot of mystery and magic to the story.  I love how his mom left a trail for him to find that would lead him to everything he needs to bring his dreams or nightmares to life.  This is a wonderful book; it was a joy to read.