Ted Neill

Disclaimer: I received this book as part of GoodReads' First Reads program.

This book is a WWII memoir in three parts. The first part interleaves the memoir of a sergeant as his unit is deployed in France after D-Day, as they try to take the town of St. Lo, with his grandson's memories of time spent with the man, especially a road trip they took through the south western US. The soldier's memories were written many years after the fact. The second part is from a medic who was writing things show more down on slips of paper, which he kept in his helmet. This was written as the events were occurring, and have a much more immediate feeling. The third part are photographs taken by the medic during his tour of duty. I found this to be an interesting book. I had never heard of St. Lo, and didn't know how important it's taking was to the Allied effort. As I said, the second part really brings home the feeling of war, and I liked that part best. show less

Mystery melds with magical creatures in a reality based on modern Earth, where the fantastical side has made itself known and fully integrated into daily life.

Rascheed and Jonathan hear that magical creatures they've never heard of before have gone missing in Scotland. When their teacher's at school, magical creatures themselves, talk about the problem, the two boys decide they need to get involved. With the help of a dragon and their babysitter, Josephine, they head off to Scotland to show more track down a warehouse and see if they can discover clues to help them find and assist the poor, magical creatures.

This is definitely an original twist on mystery and fantasy, which settles into a familiar world. Rascheed and Jonathan come across as normal, middle grade boys, except one is very good at creating inventions and the other sits in a wheelchair. So, there is a lot of imagination packed in...especially considering their teachers are unicorns, pegasi, and dragons. I find it amazing that these boys just pack up and fly around the world on a whim (teachers find it totally normal that two kids this age want to solve cases), but then, with everything else melded in, anything is possible, I guess.

I'd recommend this one for the lower end of the middle grade audience or chapter book crowd. The sentences are short and vocabulary fairly fitting for this age group. The descriptions and thematic are light and let the action take over. The book is short, written in larger font, and carries lovely illustrations throughout. There's humor as well as action, making this an easy read...although there were moments, I skipped over paragraphs, since some were a bit drawn out, too.

One of the more interesting things about this book is the diversity and message. Of course, there's a fun mystery and the fantasy end adds all sorts of excitement and imagination, but there's also the idea of people being equal, despite their differences (no 2nd class people) and friendship. Plus, with one of the main characters in a wheelchair, the problems they face as well as differences in their daily lives (which also includes some neat fun) comes into play in a natural way. So, there are some wholesome aspects wrapped up in these pages as well.

This is a fun read for those, who are skilled at their chapter books, like mystery and are always open to fantastical creatures and adventure. It's definitely an interesting start to what promises to be a fun series. I received a complimentary copy and found this to be an original and fun mix. show less

I won this in a GOODREADS giveaway! #GoodreadsGiveaway