Big Nate in a Class by Himself by Lincoln Peirce

Big Nate in a Class by Himself by Lincoln Peirce is about Nate, a wise-cracking, mischief-making 6th grader who just can't seem to catch a break. That is, until he opens a fortune cookie and finds out that this one day only, he'll "surpass all others". The entire day at school Nate focuses on that fortune, trying to figure out what special talent he has, or record he can break, or SOMETHING he can do to surpass all others. All that ends up happening, though, is Nate gets in trouble in all of his classes and ends up with detention slips from every teacher - including the principal!

This book was hilarious! It's told through text and comics, similar to the style in The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Fans of that series will definitely like Nate. You'll have to read to find out if Nate does indeed surpass all others!

Sent (Missing Series #2) by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Sent (The Missing Book 2) by Margaret Peterson Haddix takes place immediately after Found (Missing Series #1) ends, where Chip, Jonah, Katherine, and Alex arrive in the year 1483 just as evil King Richard is coming into power in England. It turns out that Chip and Alex were taken, as babies, from the 15th century to "save" them from their terrible fates - death at the hand of their uncle (Richard), who has Edward V (Chip) killed so he can steal the crown. Trying to put history back together, the time police have sent Chip and Alex back to take their rightful places as children of the former king and meet their inevitable fates. Unfortunately, Katherine and Jonah tagged along and are bent on trying to save their friends from dying at the hand of Richard. JB, the one in charge of the time traveling has given them some hints and tips on how to do this without disrupting the flow of time too much, but will they succeed? Will Chip and Alex even want to return to the 21st century after being reunited with their former selves?

This was an awesome book! I absolutely loved learning about the history of 1483 and what happened in England! I really get into historical mysteries like this, so I'm excited to try to learn even more about the young princes and what may have happened to them. I liked this book better than the first book in the series, Found, because of the historical aspect. I'm really looking forward to reading Sabotaged, the third book in the series!

Into the Gauntlet (The 39 Clues Series #10) by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Into the Gauntlet by Margaret Peterson Haddix is the final book in the 39 Clues Series. In this novel, Amy and Dan find themselves following leads to Shakespeare's final resting place. All of the other family members are hot on their trail and have actually resorted to following them to find the clues! It turns out that all of the 5 family branches (Tomas, Janus, Ekaterina, Lucian, and Madrigal, named after the 5 children of Olivia and Gideon Cahill) have 38 of the clues between them - if they would just get along and share, they could easily solve the entire mystery together. Unfortunately, the majority of the Cahills are cut-throat, greedy, and uninterested in "bonding". Amy and Dan have been asked to do just that - reunite the descendants of Gideon and Olivia Cahill. They are convinced that finding the last clue will give them enough power to convince the other teams to unite, but they'll have to survive The Gauntlet and their competition first!

This was an AWESOME ending to the series! Like the other books in the series, it was filled with action, adventure, mystery, and some interesting historical facts. I absolutely loved the way the story came together and I'm really happy with the end. I am really excited to read the new series about another family who has also been after the Cahill Clues. The first book, Vespers Rising comes out in April, 2011.

The Crossbones by Patrick Carman

The Crossbones by Patrick Carman is the third book in The Skeleton Creek Series. The story is told through Ryan McCray's journal and Sarah Fincher's videos, just like the first two books in the series. After finding the hidden gold in the floorboards of the old gold dredge in their small town, Sarah and her family moved to Boston while Ryan's family stayed in Skeleton Creek and opened a fly fishing shop/guide operation. But, Ryan has held onto a secret since the night of their discovery: he found a mysterious envelope in the pocket of the man who had embodied Old Joe Bush's ghost and terrorized them. Henry ran off before the police arrived, but the note was left behind. The note was a set of encrypted directions to four different haunted places all over the United Stated. He and Sarah hatched a plan to visit these places, find the clues the note described, and solve yet another mystery involving the strange group, the Crossbones. Their timing was perfect because Sarah was scheduled to attend film school in California. As she drove across the country on her way to film school, she stopped by all of the locations in the message, finding video after video of The Apostle, a known member of The Crossbones. All four clues led to an amazing find right back in Skeleton Creek - this time, it was Ryan's turn to investigate. At every turn, both kids are plagued by the three remaining members of the original Crossbones group: The Raven, the ghost, and the Apostle, and the danger is getting more and more real!

This was probably my favorite of the three books! I really felt like I was in Ryan's shoes as he stayed at home anxiously awaiting Sarah's video uploads as she investigated the haunted places. I loved the way the story branched out to include unsolved hauntings and mysteries from around the U.S. It reminded me a bit of the 39 Clues Series by the end, because of the seemingly endless hunt for more information to solve the mystery of The Crossbones.

The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor is the first book in the Looking Glass Wars series. It tells the "true" story of Alice in Wonderland. Alyss Heart is the daughter of Queen Genevieve and King Nolan. She had lived a relatively happy life in Wonderland, until her 7th birthday. On that day, Alyss's Aunt Redd, scorned after being denied the crown in favor of her sister, decided to take over the kingdom. Redd and her army of card soldiers killed both the kind and queen and were ready to kill Alyss as well, until Hatter Madigan saved her. They jumped through the Pool of Tears and ended up in separate places in our world, in the year 1859. Alyss ends up in England, while Hatter Madigan finds himself in France. Alyss, through a series of strange experiences, ends up adopted by a family. After years of trying to convince everyone about her past as princess of Wonderland only to be mocked, she begins to forget. That is, until Madigan finds her and sends her old friend Dodge Anders to bring her home. By this time, Alyss is an adult and about to be married to royalty in England! She doesn't know about what her people have had to endure under the dark imagination reign of her Aunt Redd. The Alyssians, people who still serve the Heart family, have gone into hiding, determined to bring Alyss to her rightful place on the throne. Redd has terrorized everyone she suspects of being loyal to Alyss and white imagination - the kingdom is in turmoil. Will Alyss be able to defeat Redd and return the kingdom to its former glory?

This was an exciting adventure. I would recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy and adventure! It reminded me of The Mirror's Tale by P. W. Catanese (another excellent adventure). At the end of the book there is a time line which shows the connections between what happened in the story and what was happening in the "real world" during the same time period. It was really interesting to see how the author mirrored the events.

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater is the second book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls Series. In this book, Sam and Grace are content as a couple, knowing the "cure" worked for Sam - he will never turn into a wolf again, no matter how cold it gets. Unfortunately, Beck didn't know about Sam's cure and created some new wolves to help take care of the pack. Cole is trying desperately to become a wolf and stay a wolf, wanting to leave his tumultuous past behind. He and Sam do not get along. Cole and Isabel do get along, until she finds out about his plan to force the wolf out of himself. She is still upset and guilty about her brother dying from the same thing that cured Sam and doesn't understand Cole's need to change for good. Things take a turn for the worse when Grace begins to exhibit some strange symptoms. It gets even worse when her parents find her with Sam when she was supposed to be alone. The ground her and force the two apart during what could possibly be the worst time of Grace's life. No one will say it, but everyone who knows about the wolves of Mercy Falls is convinced that Grace will be the next to turn (even Grace).

This was another awesome story! I can't wait for the third book to come out in July, 2011. I had forgotten how much I loved Sam and Grace's story until I got back into the series. I really like the way the author switches from character to character for each chapter. It's interesting to see what one character is thinking, then immediately move to another's thoughts on the same situation.