It’s 1924, and a young Dietrich Bonhoeffer is living in a thriving Germany.  From the beginning, he had always been curious, asking questions and dreaming of a career in theology.  However, a rising power threatens Germany, who is still licking its wounds from the horrors of WWI. Hitler and his National Socialist Workers Party (Nazis) are rapidly gaining support from German citizens.  In 1939, the war begins with Britain and France declaring war on Germany, who has just invaded Poland using their new Blitzkrieg tactics.  As another world war arises, so does the plot to assassinate Hitler.  In The Faithful Spy by John Hendrix, Dietrich Bonhoeffer has no idea what awaits him.  After traveling to America for theological and preaching studies, he senses he is needed in Europe, even though it isn’t safe.  He knows he must do something, but doesn’t know if he should. Following the invasion of France, Dietrich uses his connections to become a spy for a resistance movement that seeks to assassinate Hitler.  Will the attempts be successful? Or will the German authorities catch up with them? Read The Faithful Spy by John Hendrix to find out!

     Imagine if your father suddenly disappeared right before your third birthday, and left no explanation.  Wouldn’t you feel lonely or abandoned? Well, in The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane by Julia Nobel, Emma‘s dad has vanished for no apparent reason on her third birthday. She doesn’t know what happens to him, but when she finds old medallions in the attic, she knows that there’s more to the story. Now, she lives with her mother, who’s getting along just fine, but when her mother goes to film a new TV show, Emma is sent off to an English boarding school with a strict set of rules. First of all, no soccer, which she loves to play. Next, she must focus on her schoolwork and not get “distracted”. These rules have made life at the boarding school very hard for Emma. To help with all of her work and learning Latin, she joins the Latin society which is known for all kinds of trouble. She has her head buried deep in school work, but when mysteriously signs start popping up about her father, she knows there’s a connection between him and the school. With her newfound friends, Lola and Jack, Emma sets out to work out the mystery of what happened to her father. To start learning Latin, she joins the Latin society, which is known for all kinds of trouble. She later discovers there is a secret society related to the school – and it’s all hidden behind the innocent Latin Society. She also realizes that they’re after her father’s medallions. Emma will have to venture deep into the secrets of Black Hollow Lane to find out!  Will she solve the mystery and finally now what happened to her father? Or will the Order of Black Hollow Lane get the answers from her first? Read The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane by Julia Nobel to find out!  Also, be sure to check out her sequel, which is coming out next year!

     This novel connects to the book Restart by Gordon Korman.  In Restart, former bully Chase Ambrose suffers from a concussion and doesn’t remember who he is.  When he comes back to school, some people are afraid of him, some are his friends, and others just want to be by him.  In both these books, the main characters are trying to piece their lives together after some kind of loss. The reader will watch these characters put together the puzzle after exciting developments.  If you liked The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane, then try reading Restart to find out what happens to Chase!

     Imagine a place with rolling California hills and the freshest fruit in the land. You still with me? Then, think about a giant castle-looking house perched on a cliff. Finally, if your parents died in a tragic boating accident, and now you have to deal with your aunt and uncle. This is reality for twins Henry and Eva. In the book Henry and Eva and The Castle on the Cliff by Andrea Portes, the twins have to deal with this.  They know their parents died in a boating accident, but they don’t know anything else. When the question of how they died is resurfaced, they suspect foul play.  Furthermore, ghosts of their dead relatives arise from their graves to tell them there is more to the story, so they set out to find the real reason of their parent’s deaths.  In their journey, they’ll have to find their way through old family friends, mystery shipwrecks, and crazy parties to find the answer. Will they ever know what happened to their parents?  Or will it remain shrouded in mystery? Read Henry and Eva and the Castle on the Cliff to find out!

    I would personally recommend this book to Alika Cho in 6th grade.  She is an avid reader, and she also likes mysteries. She’s read many books this year and finished the Iditaread quickly, but she hasn’t read this one.  I’ve seen her reading books like A Particular Incident on Shady Street and other mysteries.  I think she would really like this book because of its many twist and turns and also because it keeps you on your toes.  Everybody loves a book that you just can’t stop reading. This is why I think the book would be great for her.

Check out Alika’s Shelf of Ideas – http://alikacho.edublogs.org

Most of us go to zoos to see the animals and to have fun.  However, for Nick Spiriakis, it’s like a death sentence. The book Rhino in Right Field by Stacy DeKeyser is set in 1948 right after WWII.  The baseball field is right by the zoo, every time someone hits a home run, it lands in the rhino pen.  Since Nick is the right fielder, he has to retrieve the ball from the unhappy rhino named Tank. Since this always happens, his skills suffer in fear of the rhino.  Nick and his family are Greek, and the other Greek kid in town is named Pete Costas. He always pushes Nick and his best friend Ace around and bullies him with his crew.  When the local baseball team gets a new manager and holds a contest to be a team Batboy for a day, Nick wants in. However, the competition is strong. Pete and his friends will do whatever it takes to win, and Nick and Ace will have to weave through this.  With some unusual help, the boys are on their way to victory. However, Nick worries that his skills are slipping. He also has to deal with his father, who insisted he work the day of the competition.  Will Nick win the competition with his friends?  Or will the Rhino in Right Field get to him? Read The Rhino in Right Field by Stacy DeKeyser to find out!

USome say don’t try to continue your parents legacy.  However, if you’re March Mcquin, son of famous cat burglar Alfie Mcquin, you don’t really have a choice.  In the book Loot by Jude Watson, March Mcquin witnesses his father’s death while holding his hand.  In his dying words, Alfie tells March to Find Jewels.  As March runs from the scene, someone follows him, and he barely makes back to his hideout.  He knows he needs to leave and the police are after him. Desperate, he searches through his father’s emergency pack and finds something unusual – a list of words and a business card for some performers.  He contemplates his sudden loss and decides to follow his father’s clues to find seven moonstones, which could score him millions. He goes the the “show” and finds out that he has a twin sister named Julia, or Jules.  He now understands what his father wanted him to do – find her – so he does. Things start off rough, but they get along and both have a common goal – get the seven moonstones. With the help of two other kids, Darius and Izzy, they pursue the moonstones and the seven million the jewels are worth.  However, it’s never that easy. Trust is everything, and they’ll have to make alliances and enemies as they weave through old rivals, family connections, and double crosses that keep them on their toes. Will the gang succeed in getting the stones so they can live an easy life? Will they lose at Alfie’s Game?  Read Loot by Jude Watson find out!

Think about the things we have every day and the comfort we live in.  Now, imagine bombs falling around your house and having to be under the pressure of running away across the Atlantic, leaving your life and family behind.  For some in history, this mere idea for us was reality for them. In Lifeboat 12 by Susan Hood, thirteen-year old Ken in England is considered lucky by most, because he has been selected to go seek refuge in Canada with other children.  World War Two is raging around him, with the Germans advancing from France to England. Ken’s town is being heavily bombed, and there is nothing he can do except to go. However, he feels unsure and guilty. If he gets to go, why not his family?  Well, his father, because is stepmother is mean and doesn’t care for him, and his only memory of her is watching her turn away from him as he leaves. Otherwise, Ken’s last remnant of his family is the large overcoat that cost his family most of their hard earned dollars.  To help cope, he starts to make friends with the keen personalities of the other kids he’s with. When the cruise liner arrives, Ken and his friends are amazed at the the luxury of it. Great food, tons of toys, and even a Royal Navy escort! After they are “In the clear”, the main battleship leaves and only three remain – the cruise and two other ships.  Even when they think they are safe, lifeboat drills are almost a daily thing on the cruise. Little did they know, those lifeboat drills would actually come in handy. Ken is asleep when the torpedo hits. He soon wakes up to find the ship in a state of chaos. He rushes to his lifeboat, but is too late. He missed it because he went back to his overcoat that his stepmother bought him.  Ken finds spots in Lifeboat 12, which becomes his savior. Lifeboat 12 is one of the few that survived lifeboats of the three torpedoed ships. With only eight days of food and water left, Ken and the others on the lifeboat will have to find a way to survive. Ken wants to have a perfect life – with his family, the war finally over – but he knows it‘ south of reach. Will they make it back to England so Ken can be with his family?  Or will they join the others at the bottom of the sea? Read Lifeboat 12 by Susan Hood to find out!

This book connects to the book, Refugee by Alan Gratz.  Refugee is told from three perspectives, all of them being from kids that are fleeing from their country.  Many times this was by sea, which involved small lifeboats or rafts to get to land. Both books follow kids on their journey through the ocean, as they run away from their chaotic country.  Refugee is at different times periods, from WW2 like Ken, to modern day Syria. All characters have some internal motivation, whether it’s family or government to leave. Will these three make it safely to their destination? Read Refugee by Alan Gratz to find out!