Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Middle Grade Fiction

BRYCE BUMPS HIS HEAD: A Sierra the Search Dog Novel by Robert D. Calkins – Middle Grade, Search & Rescue, Dogs

Bryce Bumps His Head: A Sierra the Search Dog Novel is a heartwarming chapter book perfect for the young reader who loves animals. Despite being the fourth book in the Sierra the Search Dog series so far, readers will not have any trouble jumping right in with this story of a dog’s not so typical day on the job.

Sierra and her handler, fifteen-year-old Bryce, are having a practice session when Rusty the Great Dane, and Sierra’s best friend, escapes his house and is set on playing with Sierra, but Sierra takes her job seriously and only plays with her friend once she finishes her job. The next day, a Girl Scout Troop is hiking on a rather cold and rainy day. Mrs. James almost cancels the hike but decides it would be a great opportunity to teach her girls how to stay safe in inclement weather. At the same time, Bryce is giving a rundown of the basics of Search and Rescue to David and his dog Harper.

After giving a successful survival lesson to her troops, Mrs. James is negligent in keeping track of the Girl Scouts on the hike back and notices two Scouts are missing and cannot be found anywhere. Bryce and Sierra are called in to help in the search, and Sierra catches onto the scent right away after diverging off the beaten path. The rescue mission then takes a dangerous turn and Sierra finds herself in a situation where she doesn’t only have to save a missing girl in the woods, but her own handler and companion. She must rely on her training from Bryce to save the day.

Robert D. Calkins delivers a charming story for middle-grade readers. The writing style is relatively simple while still being engaging and exceptionally educational, teaching many lessons on service animal etiquette, survival skills, following directions, and always trying your best in any situation. And while the author includes educational aspects to tell the story, readers will have to fill in details with their own imaginings of the characters’ surroundings, which is especially difficult if readers are not familiar with the Pacific Northwest. That being said, this shortcoming is rather minor as readers will be too busy caught up in the suspenseful tale of Sierra trying to save the day.

Set in the beautiful landscape of Green Mountain along the Suiatte River in Washington State, readers will be instantly enchanted by the courageous Sierra and her young handler Bryce, as she aids in the search for lost people in the wilderness.

April 23, 2019
ETHYR by M.P. Follin – Middle-Grade Fantasy, Gamers, Action/Adventure

Twelve-year-old Skyler Beam cops a squat onto his bean bag chair and logs into his favorite game Ethyr – his only real form of pleasure these days. He powers up his avatar, SkyWyz12, and goes in search of his friends across the lunar surface but strikes out. He is alone for the moment. Soon, a nameless player appears, who possesses impressive skills beyond the game’s design, and takes an interest in Skyler. Within minutes, the silent companion gets a bit too clingy for comfort, but SkyWyz12 can’t shake the irritating avatar and then discovers why. “Skyler Beam, I’ve been looking for you.” Skyler freaks, logs out, and slams his laptop cover closed.

Ethyr is a multi-player game offering different scenarios such as the House of Dragon dojo where players spar (clobber) each other to earn colored belts, or Lunarscape, where, propelled by jetpacks, they can fly around the Moon.

Skyler tells his friend and fellow Ethyr enthusiast, Ellie, of his encounter with the silent avatar and asks her to join him in the game later that day. She agrees, and they meet inside the dojo, along with two friends from his old school, Eddie and Brian. Soon, a mysterious, silent opponent appears, and the game morphs into something real. Skyler’s friends disappear, and he is locked in hand-to-hand combat with his opponent – with actual swords. Skyler gets his butt kicked and ends up with a sword point tickling his throat. His opponent, Neshama, suddenly allows him up and begins to answer a few questions. Once Skyler escapes the game, he grows more determined to learn more about Neshama’s and his secrets.

Now Skyler’s world begins to tilt off its axis. Unexplainable incidents and events occur all around him. He craves answers, but there is only one way to find them: he must re-enter Ethyr. Unfortunately, to do so, may come at the incredible cost of his life or lives of those closest to him.

Follin excels at creating the settings for Skyler’s everyday life both inside and outside of Ethyr. Her smooth prose, realistic dialogue, tension and conflict between the characters, descriptions, surprising twists and turns, and solid pacing make for a delightful read for all ages.

Ethyr – the novel – is a real pleasure to read!

M.P. Follin won 1st Place in the 2016 Gertrude Warner Awards for Ethyr.

June 18, 2018
The MYSTERY of HOLLOW INN (SAMANTHA WOLF MYSTERY, BOOK 1) by Tara Ellis – Middle Grade Mystery, Folk Tales, Children’s Books
A summer vacation turns sinister for two tweeny girls far away from home.

Twelve-year-old Samantha (Sam) Wolf and her best friend Alyson (Ally) Parker leave their home state of Washington vacation two weeks in Montana where Sam’s aunt and uncle have turned an old mansion into a hotel called Hollow Inn, after the family that once lived there. While things look pretty good initially, the girls learn from the staff that the place is haunted. Moreover, business is suffering since the last guests abruptly left claiming someone else was in their room – a ghost! Now, Sam’s aunt and uncle must deal with negative rumors and targeted vandalism.

Sam doesn’t fall immediately into the trap of believing the mansion is haunted. Being a natural investigator, Sam happily delves into the Hollow family journal found in the attic. Her hope is to find answers, to separate fact from fiction where the Hollow family history is concerned, and find a way to boost her uncle and aunt’s business.

While Sam’s intentions are good, situations become challenging and downright frightening when a dark presence appears in her room during her first night at the inn. The next day, the girls take a little boat out on the lake and panic when the boat mysteriously overturns. More determined than ever, Sam and Ally begin snooping around the estate in earnest to get to the bottom of the strange occurrences. Their investigation pays off when they discover a secret passageway. Little do they know, however, that their find will point them down a dangerous path.

Ellis’ The Mystery at Hollow Inn, the first book in the Samantha Wolf Mysteries is a well-written work, filled with engaging dialogue, plenty of twists and turns, and chapter cliffhangers that champions a confident, inquisitive young girl and her friend.

Reminiscent of Nancy Drew, Samantha (Sam) Wolf is a relatable, well-crafted character that young readers will enjoy getting to know. Level-headed, smart, and focused, Ellis’ newest heroine can consider any situation that comes her way without allowing her emotions to taint her decisions. She’s also exceptionally curious, an asset that lands her in hot water time and time again.

Working with a small and relatively harmless-looking cast, Ellis keeps her antagonists under wraps while sprinkling red herrings and false leads throughout the narrative; and while clues (lightly laced with twists) are given, it’s a who-dun-it to the very end.

Make room on your bookshelf next to Nancy Drew! Here comes a new series perfect for today’s young mystery fan. Samantha Wolf tackles ghosts, vandals, and a creepy sense that someone or something is watching her every move!

Reviewer’s Notes:
- How was the writing? (very good style, minimal errors)
- Is there any sex? (none)
- Is there any violence? (very low- age appropriate)
- How is the book narrated? (third-person POV)
- Which tense is the book? (largely present tense)
- What’s the mood? (a classic Middle-Grade mystery that consistently builds tension)
February 17, 2018
The DRY by Rebecca Nolen – Middle-Grade Fantasy/Adventure

This middle-grade fantasy sends a determined 12-year-old into a coal mine to find his missing father. Instead, he finds a phantasmagoria deep inside the earth, where first appearances can’t always be trusted. Heads-up to insectophobes: You’ll encounter plenty of creepies crawling through this spine-tingling adventure for middle graders.

It’s 1895 and years before child labor laws when Elliot Sweeney’s father fears for the town’s children, who are being sold to the company running the coal mine and never seen again. When his investigation swallows him up as well, Elliot, apprehensive but resolute, sets off to find him. Along the way, he picks up increasingly strange objects, companions, and stalkers: a watch that runs backward, a fierce girl named Lefty, a mysterious key, a blind burro named Beulah, a rat-faced mine recruiter. But that’s nothing compared to what Elliot and Lefty find once they enter the secret entrance to the boarded-up mine.

Like Tolkien’s Mines of Moria, this underground realm is palatial and studded with stone carvings and gems. And like Moria, within the cold beauty of this place called Penumbra is an ugly truth. Here Elliot and Lefty discover the lost children living in brutal conditions, mining gems for the cruel and vainglorious Wicked Prince of Every Place. Forced to work with their hands and without their shoes, the children’s blood gives power to the prince’s Water Moon, which absorbs all water, above and below ground. Hence, the title of the book, The Dry.

Elliot’s father is here too, weakened and powerless to defeat the vast army of insects and amphibians under the prince’s command: giant wasps, salamander servants, evil beetles, stinging caterpillars, and more.

And here is one of author Nolen’s greatest strengths: creating talking critters who not only possess unique personalities but suffer moments of existential crisis as well. Chief among these is Morrigan Wasp, Foundress of the United Vespid Kingdom, who imprisons Lefty but, after much soul-searching, realizes she is as enslaved by the prince as are the children. Morrigan helps Elliot escape to the other side of the mountain, where he finds the diminishing water queen Tosia, whose watery world is receding. Emboldened by his escape, Elliot rallies the creatures there—otters, dragonflies, horses—into the climatic, and inevitable war between good and evil.

Kids, teens, and fantasy-loving adults will find much to marvel over in this classic hero’s journey through a strange land that tests his courage at every turn. While the myriad of invertebrates may at times overwhelm the youngest readers, we encourage you not to fear; Elliot Sweeney is a bona-fide twelve-year-old hero, one who perseveres in spite of his fears and because of his unwavering love for his father, his new friend, and justice.

March 14, 2017