Tag Archive for School Library Journal

Killer Review from SLJ for BLOOD MOUNTAIN

“A thrilling purchase

for middle grade collections;

perfect for fans of adventure novels

by Jean Craighead George,

Peg Kehret, and Gary Paulsen.”

Gr 4-6–A simple family hike unexpectedly becomes a six-day struggle for survival for two children and their dog. Carter, 11, his sister Grace, 13, and their dog Sitka become separated from their father, who lags behind and suffers a heart attack at the trailhead. The siblings’ situation becomes dire when they realize they’re lost and Grace cannot walk after being severely injured in a fall. Carter sets out on his own to seek help, leaving Grace and Sitka in the forest. Preller, best known for his “Jigsaw Jones” series, ratchets up the urgency, crafting additional threats that shadow the separated children, including a cougar on the prowl and a mysterious mountain man. The result is a page-turning adventure, skillfully using alternating points of view to give readers a direct line to each character’s heartbeat. Readers walk in characters’ footsteps thanks to the vividly realized setting. While both children experience an epiphany regarding their place in the natural world, it’s the strong supporting characters who round out the novel. D.E.C. Ranger Makayla provides fascinating survival facts and mountain man John embodies the novel’s themes of non-materialism and finding oneself. Occasionally graphic, consistently suspenseful, this title will make a lasting impression with an emotionally stirring and complex conclusion. VERDICT A thrilling purchase for middle grade collections; perfect for fans of adventure novels by Jean Craighead George, Peg Kehret, and Gary Paulsen.

Two Full Reviews for BETTER OFF UNDEAD, Plus Chapter 3, “Drink Plenty of Fluids”

Here’s goes, the full text of the first two reviews for BETTER OFF DEAD along with a sample chapter for the curious.

 

From Booklist, with a STAR!

star-512Preller takes the black-kid-in-a-white-school premise to the next level with Adrian, who is not only African American, but also a zombie. The author sets his tale in a near-future world in which climate change and pandemics are wreaking odd paranormal phenomena as well as predictable havoc. Having inexplicably survived a fatal hit-and-run accident over the summer, aptly named Adrian Lazarus is off to seventh grade, sporting a hoodie to hide his increasing facial disfigurement and lunching on formaldehyde smoothies to keep himself together. Simultaneously resenting and yet understanding the varied reactions of his schoolmates—which range from shunning to all-too-close attention from a particularly persistent bully—Adrian is also surprised and pleased to discover that he has allies, notably Gia Demeter, a new girl with a peculiar ability to foretell certain events. Preller might have played this as a light comedy (and there are some hilarious bits), but he goes instead for darker inflections. Even as Adrian sees himself becoming ominously aggressive (while developing tastes for roadkill and raw meat), his discovery that fabulously powerful data miners Kalvin and Kristoff Bork are ruthlessly scheming to put him under the knife in search of the secret to his longevity cranks the suspense up another notch. Nonetheless, in a series of splendidly lurid exploits, Adrian beats the odds as he fights for a well-earned happy ending. — John Peters

From School Library Journal:

Gr 4-7–Adrian Lazarus is a middle school zombie, the result of an accident that left him “as undead as a toenail and not really thrilled about it.” The book is similar to Paolo Bacigalupi’s Zombie Baseball Beatdown; however, this cautionary tale is more than just a brain-eating gross-out. Set in the not-too-distant future when humanity is suffering from numerous self-inflicted woes, this story’s villains are the Bork Brothers, owners of K & K Industries, “the richest, most powerful corporation on the planet” and also the source of much of the planet’s environmental troubles. Like The Wizard of Oz, to which this book makes frequent allusions, the Bork Brothers control the world behind a curtain of extreme privacy, “pour[ing] their millions of dollars into helping certain politicians win elections.” With one of the brothers dying, they attempt to kidnap Adrian, hoping to glean the secret of cheating death. Adrian foils this plot with the help of his friends, one of whom is a thinly disguised Demeter-like creature. While following these fantastic adventures, readers learn about real environmental issues, such as the vanishing of bees, with the clear message to not be a “zombie,” but to instead take action to protect the planet before it is too late. VERDICT This uproarious middle grade call to action has considerable kid appeal and a timely message. A strong addition to school and public library collections.–Eileen Makoff, P.S. 90 Edna Cohen School, NY
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends * Pages: 288 * Price (Hardcover): $16.99 * Publication Date: October 2017 * ISBN (Hardcover): 9781250066480
EXCERPT NOTE: Below is chapter 3 of 39 chapters. The book is just settling in, and here we address the central dilemma. The actual plot — the new friends, the deeper themes, and the mystery that propels the book forward — come gradually later. Still setting the scene, meeting our main character.

3

 

Drink Plenty of Fluids

 

 

I was a busy guy during the first week of my death. Sort of the opposite of what you’d imagine, right? You’d assume it would be quiet, even relaxing, being dead and all. But not in my unlife. There was a lot to do.

For the first few days after the accident, I was seen by every medical expert in the area, even people from the FBI and mysterious others flashing U.S. Government badges. All day long they wandered into my hospital room to marvel at the new patient. They looked at me and frowned, clucked and murmured, and said helpful things like, “Hmmm, interesting, interesting.” I was a fascinating case, a puzzlement. I was tested, probed, poked, prodded, scanned, questioned, measured, charted and MRI’d until, finally, the folks in their white coats shrugged with a mixture of defeat and boredom. After three sleep-interrupted nights of liquids dripping and machines beeping, they told me to go home. Something about insurance costs. There was nothing to be done. After that, I was assigned to the primary care of Dr. Lewis Halpert. He was some hot-shot specialist flown in from who-knows-where. And so we visited his pristine office for regular check-ups at the K & K MediCorp building. As far as I could tell, I was his only patient.

On the day when my bad news got worse, I played with the controls of a leatherette recliner of the type normally found in a dentist’s office. My mother fiddled with her new watch computer, setting up the connection with my Dad who was still deployed at an unspecified location somewhere in the African continent. Dad couldn’t give us details on his work assignments, it was hush-hush, and we’d often go months without a word. Even so, he was supportive about my situation. Dad said he wanted to come home immediately, but, well, the Corporation couldn’t let him go just yet. He was a second lieutenant in a privatized army, outsourced by the government, and Corporate depended on him. The Skype was Dad’s way of being there, a grim-faced, tight-lipped, square-jawed head on a computer screen.

The room was filled with glass surfaces and glittering utensils. I kept catching my reflection staring at the strange surroundings like a startled woodland creature. Chap-lipped, sore-faced, hideous: zombie me. I missed the identity of my dark skin in our mostly white town. I used to be the black kid, but not anymore. Race, religion, politics, “zombie” trumped them all. After another routine examination –- reflexes, none; eyesight, failing; sense of smell, gone; etc. — Doctor Halpert looked at me, mustache drooping, eyes flickering with indecision. He parked heavily on a stool and rolled close to me, leaning in. “Adrian,” he began, raising his palms as a sign of surrender. “As doctors, we like to think we have all the answers. We possess all this expensive equipment, years of scientific research . . .” his voice trailed off, losing steam. He sighed, checked my mother with a glance, looked hopelessly at my father’s image in the laptop. “But there’s so much we don’t know. That’s just a fact.”

I watched him, gave a nod. At least he was honest.

“By every measure we currently employ, medically speaking, you should be dead,” Dr. Halpert said.

My throat felt dry. My tongue seemed to swell. I tried to swallow.

“You don’t have a heartbeat,” Doctor Halpert stated. “Yet here we are. We have tested you in every conceivable manner. And the fact is,” –- he ran his thumb and index finger down his thick mustache –- “the fact is,” –- repeating himself, struggling to find the words –- “we just . . . don’t . . . know . . . diddly.”

“But, Doctor –-“ my mother interjected.

“Oh, we have theories. We could sit around and speculate all day long. It might be this, it might be that. An exotic strain of virus. Ebola this, Superflu that, cancer-causing agents in the water table, the fallout from fracking, too many genetically-engineered foods, a new strain of dengue fever, or just plain bad luck. All I know, Adrian, is that you are –-“

“—- a freak,” I said.

“No, no, no,” Doctor Halpert said, “A miracle! And as a man of science, it kills me to say that. I don’t believe in miracles, Adrian. I believe in facts, hard data, research. We simply don’t understand how you are walking around today, much less why. Talking. Seeing. Thinking. And, seemingly, living. It makes no scientific sense. When it comes to your case, Adrian, we might as well be in the dark ages, applying leeches and burning incense.”

“Is it . . . contagious?” asked my mother, inching ever so slightly away.

“Not at all,” the doctor replied. “It’s certainly not an airborne virus or anything of that nature. Of course, I wouldn’t let him bite you, ha-ha-ha!” He turned to me, smiling broadly. “You’re not going to bite your mother, are you, Adrian? Of course not!”

I joked, “Yeah, no, I just had a big lunch.”

More laughter, ho-ho-ho, even my dad thought it was a laugh riot. Mom, however, didn’t seem amused. Her mouth laughed, but her eyes didn’t get the joke. Mom’s cell buzzed with an incoming message. She checked it, frowned. She was missing work for this appointment.

Dr. Halpert looked at me, waited. I didn’t know what to say. I rarely did. My thoughts refused to organize themselves; the words wouldn’t cohere. My mind was a buzz, a beehive, a blur, a whirr. I stared at him, blinking, thinking, coming up empty.

My father broke the silence. “Well, that’s not a very satisfactory answer, is it, doctor?”

Dr. Halpert shook his head. “No, it isn’t,” he admitted.

“So what now?”

Doctor Halpert glanced at me, and back to the computer image of his inquisitor. “Summer’s almost gone. School starts in another week or so. Middle school, I guess.”

“You think he can go to school?” my mother chimed in, shock registering in her voice. “You think it’s all right?”

“Life goes on,” the doctor replied. He scratched his cheek with nervous fingers, tugged at his white lab coat. Perhaps Doctor Halpert recognized the irony of his own words –- this crazy situation -– so he quickly added, “I mean, Mr. and Mrs. Lazarus, I don’t see the harm in it. Admittedly, Adrian’s is an unusual case. Bizarre, truly. No one has an explanation for what’s happened to your son. By everything we know, there’s simply no way on earth your boy should be sitting in my office having this conversation. There’s no heartbeat! He’s dried up, blood doesn’t course through his arteries. He’s a zom . . .”

The doctor stopped himself, embarrassed or unwilling to finish the word; so it hung in the air unspoken like a bubble on the verge of bursting. Zombie. I felt a twitch in my stomach. If I had anything to hurl, I would have upchucked right there on the floor.

The thought of going back to middle school, seventh grade, was sickening.

My mother sat staring at me, the downward sickle of a frown on her lips. She made a dabbing gesture on her face, as if applying phantom makeup. “Is there anything we can do to –-“

“Ah, yes! I almost forgot,” Dr. Halpert said, jumping out of his seat cheerfully. He pulled open a cabinet door, then another, reached for bottles, pushed others aside, scanned labels. By the time he was finished, the counter was cluttered with all sorts of medicines and potions. “The good news is, there’s some very simple things we can do to stave off the symptoms.”

The doctor read the question in my eyes.

“I don’t think we can cure you, Adrian –- this is uncharted territory for all of us — but there’s a lot we can do to keep the, urm, illness from progressing. You know, just by using standard over-the-counter products such as creams, lotions, eye-drops, salves, and whatnot. Chap stick, for example, works wonders,” Dr. Halpert said. “And drinking plenty of fluids will help, too.”

My mother listened intently, obviously interested. She finally had something to latch onto after days of helpless hoping. They weren’t going to try to cure my condition. Nope, they just wanted to conceal it.

“Essentially, Adrian, you’ve lost your vital secretions. You’re body is drying up, no juices, and we can’t have that.”

“I see,” my mother murmured, grasping the concept. She said, “It’s like putting on hand moisturizer. I do that every night before bed, Adrian.” She raised her smooth, well-moisturized hands as if they were exhibits in a legal proceeding.

I smiled weakly.

“Exactly,” Dr. Halpert chirped. “We’ve got to keep him . . . squishy.”

Both of them chuckled over the word. Squishy. Ho-ho. Meanwhile, I scratched at the skin on my dry, flaking knees. “Doctor,” I spoke up. “I don’t have a heart beat. My face is falling apart –- my face! Are you seriously telling me to drink lots of water?”

He shook his head. “No, no, no. I mean, yes . . . and no. The truth is, Adrian, water will help. Lots of it. A gallon a day, maybe two in your case. But I have something else in mind, too.” He plucked a pink pad from his front coat pocket, scribbled on it, tore off the top sheet, and handed it to my mother.

She scanned it and read, “Formaldehyde smoothies?”

“Formaldehyde is a common embalming agent,” Doctor Halpert explained. “It’s frequently used in, urm,” he gestured with his hand, pulled again on his thick mustache, and said in a muffled voice, “funeral homes and whatnot.” Cough-cough.

“On dead bodies?” I interrupted.

My mother gaped at me, neck stretched forward, as if to say: Don’t be rude. I felt pressure behind my eyes, a welling up, but no tears came. Not squishy enough, I guess. No juices. Real zombies don’t cry.

The doctor continued, “Formaldehyde helps preserve dead tissue –- though it’s most often used as a fixative for microscopy and histology, but nevermind that. The point is, Adrian, if you drink one of these smoothies every morning, I believe it will help keep you looking better, feeling better, and, urm, smelling fresher.”

He stood to open a window.

For a moment I thought about jumping out of it. But what would be the point?

Dead was bad. Middle school would be worse.

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Jigsaw Jones is back! Highly recommended.”

As far as I’m aware — and I think I’ve been paying attention — no book from my Jigsaw Jones series has ever been reviewed. Until now. With the 41st title in the series.
Up in the treehouse with Danika, Mila, Jigsaw, and Joey. Illustration by R.W. Alley from THE CASE FROM OUTER SPACE.

Up in the treehouse with Danika, Mila, Jigsaw, and Joey. Illustration by R.W. Alley from THE CASE FROM OUTER SPACE.

 –
Thank you, School Library Journal and Gina Petrie, for recognizing the happy news surrounding the revival of this popular series (more than 10 million books sold, and counting). 
 
But most of all, my heartfelt thanks goes out to classroom teachers for keeping these books alive in the minds of young readers. I still receive a steady flow of fan mail, and I know that it’s because of teachers and librarians who have kept this series on the shelves and in the bins: tattered, mangled, well-used. Don’t despair. Eight “classic” titles will be reissued this year by Macmillan, revised and updated and available in paperback (cheap!), plus the brand new one, The Case from Outer Space. It’s out of this world.
 
But don’t take my word for it . . . read the official review from SLJ!
 
 
THE CASE FROM OUTER SPACE
Jigsaw Jones Series

Author: James Preller 

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 96
Price (Hardcover): $15.99
Publication Date: August 2017
ISBN (Hardcover): 9781250110183

– 
Jigsaw Jones is back! Preller’s puzzle-solving second grader returns for his first mystery in 10 years, coinciding with the republication of four original “Jigsaw Jones” mysteries. Fans of the 32-book series will be happy to once more see Jigsaw, fellow detective Mila Yeh, teacher Mrs. Gleason, and other familiar friends. Here, classmates Joey and Danika find a mysterious note in a book they borrowed from a neighbor’s Little Free Library. They are convinced it means that aliens are coming. Jigsaw and his friends spend afternoons investigating the mystery, while during the school day, they learn about the solar system. Then they catch the bus home, where they are involved in stakeouts, neighborhood canvasses, and code-breaking. As usual, Preller brings the threads together in the end. He references other real-world titles (Marjorie Weinman Sharmat’s “Nate the Great”; David A. Kelly’s “Ballpark Mysteries”; Richard and Florence Atwater’s Mr. Popper’s Penguins), includes a secret code (a “Substitution Code” this time), and incorporates deductive reasoning, allusions, and similes. Jigsaw has the same droll sense of humor longtime fans will remember (“As a cook, I’m pretty good with a toaster.”). VERDICT Those who enjoy Preller’s works for younger readers will welcome the return of Jigsaw Jones. Highly recommended, especially for devotees of series such as David A. Adler’s “Cam Jansen,” Ron Roy’s “A to Z Mysteries” and “Calendar Mysteries,” and, of course, Marjorie Weinman Sharmat’s “Nate the Great.”–Gina Petrie, Catawba College Library, NC 

SLJ Calls THE COURAGE TEST “A Middle Grade Winner!” See Full Review & Minor Correction.

 

More good news for my upcoming book, now just one measly month away from hitting the shelves. The Courage Test has already earned a starred review from Booklist and been named a 2016 Junior Library Guild Selection. Below, please find the full review from School Library Journal. While I am grateful for any positive attention, and impressed with the amount of information this reviewer conveys in a difficult, condensed format, I should clarify two points:

1) Will and his father live in Minneapolis and travel in a long, dull drive to Fort Mandan, North Dakota, where they pick up the old Lewis & Clark Trail. From that point on, they loosely follow the trail all the way to Seaside, Oregon.

Sacagawea on the trail with her son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, nicknamed Pompy.

Sacagawea on the trail with her son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, nicknamed Pompy.

2) The character of Maria Rosa is 15 and pregnant, not coincidentally in the same condition as that of Sacagawea when the explorers first encountered her in Fort Mandan. Sacagawea grew up with the Shoshones and had been kidnapped by the Hidatsa tribe at around age ten. A few years later she was sold to a fur trapper named Toussaint Charbonneau. It is not clear in The Courage Test that Maria is exactly a “runaway,” but it is strongly intimated that she came into the United States illegally from Mexico, seeking a new life. The title of Chapter Three is “An Illegal Girl,” for example.

 

THE COURAGE TEST 

Author: James Preller 

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Pages: 224
Price (Hardcover): $16.99
Publication Date: September 2016 
ISBN (Hardcover): 9781250093912

 
Gr 4-7–William Meriwether Miller—named after Lewis and Clark—is not happy about embarking on a wilderness adventure with the father who walked out on him and his mother. It’s not what he had in mind for his summer (he’s missing the chance to play on the All-Stars baseball team), but his mother insists. So he and his father, a history professor working on a book about the famous explorers, set off from Minnesota to North Dakota, driving, camping, rafting, and hiking along the Lewis and Clark Trail. As they work together to overcome obstacles and help a pregnant 15-year-old runaway, Will slowly gains a better understanding of his father. When he finally learns the reason behind the trip—his mother has been diagnosed with breast cancer and is starting treatment—he comes to appreciate his family as they are and not as he wishes they could be. The lively narrative is interspersed with Will’s entries for a school writing assignment, which contain lots of facts about the original journey, as well as postcards to his mother. Despite the emotional heft, there is plenty of action, including white-water rafting and a close encounter with a bear. VERDICT A middle grade winner to hand to fans of history, adventure, and family drama.–Laurie Slagenwhite Walters, Brighton District Library, Brighton, MI <<

School Library Journal reviews SCARY TALES: “The Thrills and Chills Are Delightfully Spine-tingling.”

The folks at School Library Journal reviewed the first book in my new SCARY TALES series, Home Sweet Horror.

Did they like it?

Would I be posting this if they didn’t?

Um, no.

Money quote:

“The thrills and chills are delightfully spine-tingling in this truly terrifying tale. A great choice for reluctant readers.” School Library Journal.

Note: All books in the series are available in Hardcover, Paperback, e-book, and carrier pigeon.

Illustrated by Iacopo Bruno.

Here’s the full deal, with thanks to reviewer Carol Hirsche for the kind words:

PRELLER, James. Home Sweet Horror. Bk. 1. illus. by Iacopo Bruno. 112p. (Scary Tales Series). Feiwel & Friends. 2013. Tr $14.99. ISBN 978-1-250-01886-1; pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-1-250-01887-8.

Gr 3-5–Liam and Kelly  move with their father into a new home after their mother passes away. Eight-year-old Liam is immediately bothered by the creepy old house. He hears sounds and feels like he is being watched. No one else in his family senses anything until Kelly’s friend, Mitali, comes for a visit. The scariness escalates when Mitali tricks them into repeatedly saying “Bloody Mary” in front of the bathroom mirror. An evil spirit is summoned, and no one can deny that something is wrong in the house. Frightening events follow, their dog disappears, and a mysterious message appears on their refrigerator: “Get out now. Love, Mom.”  The scratchy black-and-white illustrations enhance the mood of the story. The thrills and chills are delightfully spine-tingling in this truly terrifying tale. A great choice for reluctant readers.–Carol Hirsche, Provo City Library, UT