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Tangled in Time: The Portal by Kathryn Lasky , 384 pages.  Harper Collins, March 2019.  $17 Language: PG (7 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content:G ; Violence: G BUYING ADVISORY:  EL, MS - OPTIONAL AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW Rose’s life has been turned upside down by her mother’s death.  Now she is surviving the mean girls in her new sixth grade class who are jealous of her online fame as a fashion vlogger.  Her new guardian, her grandmother, is forgetful, except when the two of them are working in the greenhouse.  Something is strange, though, and one day Rose finds herself going back in time to the court of King Henry VIII, in the household of the princess Elizabeth.  Rose has no control over when she moves between one realm or the other, but she does have a goal – to find the father she has never met. Lasky knows everything about historical princesses and courts – its when Rose is in the past that the book really shines.  Magic, however, is not her strong suit.  Magic needs even a few simple ru

People Like Us by Dana Mele, 375 pages. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2018.  $18.   Content: Language: R (101 swears; 12 “f”); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: PG-13.   BUYING ADVISORY: HS – OPTIONAL   AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW    One night Kay and her friends go to the pond by their school to skinny dip, but when they get to the pond, they see a dead schoolmate floating in the water.  As the investigation starts to unfold, Kay feels like she is a suspect for the murder.  And life gets even more complicated for Kay when she receives an e-mail from the dead girl.  The e-mail forces Kay to play a cruel game in which Kay has to reveal the secrets of all of her friends, otherwise Kay’s biggest secret will be reveled, a secret that would make her look guilty in the murder of the classmate.   This book sounds so good, but it is poorly executed.  Kay and her friends are bullies, making it impossible to like any of them or care what happens to them.  There are parts of the book that are bogged down with too

The Greatest Treasure Hunt in History: The Story of the Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel , 368 pages. NON-FICTION. Scholastic Focus, January 2019.  $19. Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (some deaths, not descriptive) BUYING ADVISORY:  HS – OPTIONAL, ADULTS - ADVISABLE AUDIENCE APPEAL: HS – LOW; ADULTS – HIGH Near the end of World War II a special, though very small group of people worked frantically to find and save priceless art throughout Europe.  They not only needed to try to save it from damage, but also find the secret stashes that Nazi looters left all over. As an adult, I found this fascinating reading – I wish I had read it before my first trip to Europe so that I could even more appreciate the works of art I saw.  The writing is not great; Edsel tries so hard to keep things chronological that he jumps from person to person all over Europe – making things a bit confusing.  Only die hard WWII junkies will want to read this, though it has plenty of information to ac

Charles Darwin’s On The Origin of Species: Young Reader Edition  adapted by Rebecca Stefoff, illustrated by Teagan White , 170 pages. NON-FICTION. Antheneum Books for Young Readers, 2018. $26 Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: G. BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - OPTIONAL   AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW The text of this long format book is an adaptation of Darwin’s writing, while the captions and notes in the columns are outside of Darwin’s voice and explain the concepts on that page. There are a lot of subheadings that break up the text and at least one illustration per spread.  I have not read the original text, so I may not be the best judge of this adaptation, but I found it very interesting and readable. The text is appropriate for a fifth grade reading level - there are not a lot of big words, but there are a lot of big concepts. My main concern with this book is its size. It will take some time and work for a young reader to get through this book, but unfortunately it is not ea

Losing the Girl by Marinaomi , 269 pages. Graphic Universe (Lerner), 2018. $18.  Language: R (5 swears); Mature Content: R (sex, pregnancy); Violence: PG-13. BUYING ADVISORY: HS – NOT RECOMMENDED AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW This graphic novel is written in four parts, each from the perspective of four classmates trying to navigate the awkward world of teen dating. Nigel wants to date Emily, but Emily is more interested in Ben. Ben doesn’t have much in common with Emily, but he goes out with her anyway. They awkwardly have sex and Emily gets pregnant. Emily encourages Paula not to break up with Darren, even though he doesn’t treat her well. On the periphery is the story of a missing classmate and speculation about what may have happened to her. The cover suggests a sci-fi story. The four main characters look like aliens on the cover, but the alien theme is very much in the background. Each chapter has a different illustration style which is creatively interesting, but for me it felt disjointe

Property of the Rebel Librarian by Allison Varnes , 267 pages. Random House, 2018. $16.99.  Language: G, Mature Content: G, Violence: G BUYING ADVISORY:   EL, MS – OPTIONAL AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW June loves to read. When her strict parents find her reading a book about witches, they take all of her books away and complain to the school. The school has the librarian and half the collection removed. Then the principal decides that all students must have their books approved and all books not approved will be confiscated. June begins borrowing books from the Little Free Library she passes on the way to school. Other kids find out and before you know it, she has her own library operating out of an empty locker. She's eventually caught and realizes it’s time to stand up for what she believes. This book had a lot of potential. It tackles the issue of censorship, but loses the argument by exaggerating the case. There are three likable characters: June, her friend Matt and Ms. Bradshaw the

Schmuck the Buck : Santa’s Jewish Reindeer ,  illustrated by Karina Shor PICTURE BOOK EXO Books 2018 $12 9780997590296 NOT RECOMMENDED  AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW  Schmuck the Buck was bullied in Junior High, (his name is Larry, but the nickname stuck). Living at the North Pole he is employed by Santa’s Workshop. One year Santa's deliveries don't include any batteries, and Schmuck knows just what to do! Too irreverent for children, the illustrations are bawdy and the text is designed for an adult reader, this isn’t a children’s book. Perhaps a Hanukkah gift for someone? Lisa Librarian

My Baby Crocodile by Gaetan Doremus . PICTURE BOOK. Enchanted Lion Books, 2016. $19. 9781592701926 BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS, HS - OPTIONAL. AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW A crocodile finds a knight alone in the swamp and mistakes him for a baby crocodile, given that the shape of his helmet looks like a crocodile. Crocodile takes care of him and falls in love with him as his baby. Then, on a swimming expedition, the crocodile realizes that his baby is really a human and the point of view of the book switches to the knight. The knight realizes that the crocodile isn’t going to eat him, but begins to think about killing the crocodile and being a hero back home. The point of view then shifts back and forth as each of them considers killing the other and then dismissing that thought. In the end, they part in peace.  This book is quirky. I think there are a lot of layers that could be peeled back in this interesting tale. I see its potential mostly in a high school unit on war and diplomatic differenc