VVMBookBlog

Mastepiece by Elise Broach

Marvin is a beetle who lives in James’ house. Although the two do not know each other at the beginning of the novel, they become a set of unusual friends, boy and bug. James’ mother is a bit overbearing as is his stepfather. His father is an artist who gives James a pen and ink set for his birthday. This is how Marvin, the beetle, enters into James’ life. This turns into a mystery concerning missing art. Readers will learn more about a famous artist (Durer) and follow the unlikely pair of friends on an adventure.

Absolute Pressure by Sigmund Brouwer

Absolute Pressure is an easy and suspenseful read. Ian spends his summers in Florida (Key West) with his uncle. His uncle has a dive (scuba diving) business, and Ian is a certified diver. From the beginning this book is filled with mystery and excitement as Ian almost dies when someone tampers with his dive equipment. Readers who love suspense will not be disappointed as they learn who tampered with the equipment and why they tampered with it. Ian even finds a little romance as the story unfolds.

Cherry Heaven by L. J. Adlington

Cherry Heaven has a Lexile of 830 and proves to be a more difficult read. It is a futuristic story of two worlds (two societies?). People are separated because of their DNA. The prejudice separates these worlds. Luka (Bottle Seal 55) lives a horrible, ghost like life while Kat and Tanka live a better life. These stories mirror each other in events yet are opposite. It’s a complicated novel which comes together at the end. This is a novel for those who appreciate science fiction and a bit of mystery. The theme of intolerance is woven throughout the novel as these girls live their lives near the Hydro factory.

The Postcard by Tony Abbott

Jason is basically forced to go to Florida for his grandmother’s funeral even though he has never met his grandmother. He is sent with a directive from his mother to keep an eye on his father and make sure he doesn’t drink. As soon as he gets to Florida things get quite strange. The funeral if full of odd people, and he even gets strange phone calls. Of course his dad does drink. This conveniently leaves time for Jason to follow clues to a mystery with a girl from his grandmother’s neighborhood.

It may seem a bit strange, but it is a mystery in a mystery. The book, itself, is a mystery, but Jason also follows clues and reads letters (shown in the book) which are a mystery. Reading the letters and following the clues helps Jason solve the mystery of the letters helping with the mystery of the novel.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

One can count one Neil Gaiman to come up with something weird and creepy. The Graveyard Book fits with his other books such as Coraline although I believe it is better than Coraline. As a baby Bod (Nobody) survives as his entire family is killed by Jack. He somehow escapes to a graveyard where is he is raised by its inhabitants who let him live in their tomb. The story takes Bad from a baby to a teen and follows his adventures as he lives in and sometimes leaves the graveyard. Jack, however, has been looking for Bod since he was an infant and appears to cause problems for Bod.