Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Middle Grade Adventure

  • MORSE CODE: Land, Sea, and Air Book 3 by Sue C. Dugan – Middle Grade Adventure, Time Travel, Historical Fiction

     

    Morse Code, the third book in Sue C. Dugan’s the Land, Sea, and Air series, plunges readers into double-layered intrigue. It’s a riot of sleuthing, history, and time itself at play.

    At one end of the story, young British twins Dot and Dash Foxshire encounter three peculiar strangers around their parents’ archaeological dig in 1921’s Guatemala. Oddly overdressed for the jungle, the newcomers reveal they had just survived both the shipwrecks of the Titanic in 1912 and the S.S. Austria in 1858 (see Book One: Save Our Ships).

    Meanwhile, Morse Code picks up where Book Two: Mayday left off. Jessie, her father, and Ben make it home from a remote island in the past, unaware that Prince, a man native to that island, has secretly stowed away with them into the future.

    His presence in 2016 quickly attracts the government’s attention; a linguist studies Prince in quarantine and grows fascinated with his hybrid system of gestures and speech, identifying it as an extinct Mayan language. Having safely arrived home in 2016’s Florida, Jessie seeks guidance from Roberto, an attractive boy at her school whose knowledge of time-space travel gives Jessie a new theory about where Prince really came from.

    Jessie persuades the linguist to travel back into the Guatemalan jungle and return Prince to his home—with her older brother, Phil, acting as reluctant chaperone. However, their expedition takes an unexpected turn when an earthquake in Guatemala hurls Jessie and Prince into 1921, where they cross paths with Dot, Dash, and the Titanic trio.

    The delight of Morse Code lies in its willingness to let two plots collide head-on, embracing historical what-ifs with a sense of childlike wonder.

    As the mismatched group assembles a chronology of their overlapping stories, Jessie recalls Roberto mentioning that Albert Einstein would be in 1921’s New York City. If anyone can help untangle the mysteries of time, it’s him. With the Foxshire family’s help, the crew sets its sights on unraveling the mystery at the heart of their travels.

    Much like the Magic Tree House series, Morse Code, Book Three of the Land, Sea, and Air series by Sue C. Dugan, balances whimsy with a little history lesson, respecting the complexities of its ideas while keeping a brisk pace toward another suspenseful cliff-hanger. Middle-grade readers eager to puzzle out myths and mysteries lost to time will find Morse Code, along with the series as a whole, both rewarding and wildly entertaining.

     

  • RECALLED: The Adventures of Rhone and Stone Book 3 by Strider S.R. Klusman – Steampunk Fantasy, Middle Grade Adventure, Mystery

     

    Readers will fall instantly into Recalled, the third book in The Adventures of Rhone & Stone Series by Strider S.R. Klusman, as its rich world of steampunk fantasy blends with spy intrigue and some truly breathtaking character moments.

    Rhone, a young agent for the Office of Public Recrimination (OPR), has just completed his first mission when he’s suddenly summoned back to the capital city. But he’s ambushed in the thick, untamed forests on the way. He nearly loses his telepathic crystal companion, Stone, and ends up forming an uneasy alliance with the bandit Lev—a former OPR agent with grave warnings for him.

    A shadowy group called The Brotherhood—five power-hungry brothers—pulls the strings of government power behind the scenes. Each holds a shard of their late father’s shattered magical amulet and view for power within their own ranks.

    Rhone and his boss, Aundrea, realize that something is seriously wrong in the capital. They start digging into who’s watching them and why—drawing ever more dangerous attention.

    Recalled stands out for its character development.

    Rhone is still a bit young and naive—awkward, not exactly a master swordsman—but his resilience and authentic heart push him forward in confronting conflict from well before his own time. Stone, his crystal companion, is the perfect foil: grumpy, brilliant, and full of dry humor. Their banter is fun and engaging, and their bond deepens the emotional core of the story.

    Lev is guarded, clearly haunted by her past, but as she starts opening herself to Rhone, her caring nature will draw readers well into her corner. And the villains? Those five brothers add just the right amount of creepy, selfish, and mysterious to the story. You know they’re up to no good, but not quite how, and that tension hums under every scene.

    Klusman’s writing style is straightforward and familiar like someone telling you a story around a campfire. It’s not overly polished, but that rawness actually adds to the personal charm.

    He uses the steampunk setting to introduce intriguing details. Tiny mechanical creatures (think bug-sized automatons) shape the intrigue and give the world even more texture. This setting feels alive, always transforming with new technology.

    Themes of trust, redemption, what it means to be part of a family, and the corrupting nature of power resonate throughout Recalled.

    This is one of those stories that’ll keep you reading late into the night. It has action, heart, mystery, and enough emotional weight to make it stick with you long after the last page. Readers of the past two books in the series may miss Bella and the airship from the previous entry, but as Rhone’s world grows more connected and complex he learns the importance of calling on old friends.

    Recalled by Strider S.R. Klusman doesn’t leaves behind shadows, open questions, and the sense that The Adventures of Rhone and Stone are only beginning. Readers who love fantasy, secret plots, and characters who struggle and grow will find themselves enthralled—and maybe even left a little restless, wondering what comes next.

     

  • EXOSTAR: The Lost Space Treasure Series, Book 1 by Rae Knightly – Sci-Fi, Middle Grade Adventure, Space Opera

    Blue and Gold Badge Recognizing EXOSTAR: The Lost Space Treasure Series, Book 1 by Rae Knightly for Winning the 2023 Gertrude Warner Grand PrizeIt has been said that “the Golden Age of Science Fiction is twelve.” Rae Knightly’s Sci-Fi adventure, Exostar, embodies this childlike sense of wonder that the best of the genre evokes in its readers.

    Twelve-year-old child-robot Trinket takes off on a rocketing spaceship straight towards danger and excitement, with the mostly able assistance of the blue-furred spy and saboteur Woolver Talandrin. Trinket is searching for identity—as all the best young science fiction protagonists do. Woolver is trying to bring down an evil empire—as all the other best science fiction protagonists do.

    Together they’ve been thrust into the kind of epic tale that is guaranteed to keep young readers on the edge of their seats—including the twelve-year-old that lurks inside every science fiction fan.

    Trinket doesn’t know exactly who or even what she is.

    Her memories begin at age six with a mad scientist she believed, or at least hoped, was her creator. But the old man is dead, and Trinket is alone and looked down upon by the residents of her backwater colony as a ‘piece of scrap’. Her dreams of escape are on the verge of coming true when she’s captured by the occupying forces of the Remnants who are gobbling up the galaxy, even as Woolver and his crew attempt to stage a rebellion.

    The Remnant’s Supreme Leader is convinced that Trinket, whether child or android, is the key to the biggest treasure the galaxy has ever seen. Trinket knows only that there is some great secret locked in her mind—or maybe it’s her memory banks—that will either save the universe or destroy it. And her, as well.

    Exostar is fast and utterly furious from the very first page.

    Trinket’s search for identity will resonate with young readers, while older science fiction fans will also be caught up in the struggles of the wider galaxy. The epic fight between good and evil, the fractured Alliance vs. the rapacious Remnants, is sure to light a spark in any and all readers.

    As the opening salvo in The Lost Space Treasure series, Exostar does an excellent job of setting the scene for the ongoing adventure.

    Trinket begins as a young person searching for herself, and it’s clear from this first book that the series will be her coming of age journey where she finds that identity, whatever it might be. She has been beaten down by her circumstances and will have to learn to stand confidently on her own two feet—even if one of those feet is attached to a prosthetic leg.

    The universe in which Trinket finds herself is in a chaos that deepens over the course of Exostar. There is a huge struggle on the horizon of this epic space opera. The reader is introduced to it in careful stages as Trinket learns that the galaxy she will have to navigate is much bigger than her small town on its tiny planet could have prepared her for. As her perspective expands, her universe gets bigger, and she brings the reader right along with her on a grand adventure of deadly peril and potentially universe-shattering consequences.

    Exostar by Rae Knightly won Grand Prize in the 2023 CIBA Gertrude Warner Awards for Middle Grade Fiction.