Josh Lacey

After the funeral of Tom Trelawney's grandfather, a man named Marko breaks in and threatens Tom, demanding the location of valuable documents hidden in his grandfather's home. Tom tricks Marko and finds the documents himself. They turn out to be letters from his great, great, great, etc... grandfather to his wife detailing his theft of a golden, jewel encrusted tiger he hid in India. Tom calls his Uncle Harvey, who he knows will help, and sneaks out to meet him. Together they head for India show more to find the tiger and embark on another exciting adventure together.

The Sultan's Tigers is a thrilling romp that should appeal to reluctant readers in the middle grades. Tom is an incorrigible character, in that he rarely considers the consequences of his actions and is very disrespectful to his parents, but these are the very traits that get him involved in so many dangerous, electrifying situations. Uncle Harvey is an older version of Tom with just a little bit less of a conscience. Together they make a formidable team as they search India for stolen treasure. Overall, The Sultan's Tigers is another enjoyable episode in the Tom Trelawney series. show less

I was shelving books at the library when I ran across this one in the children's section. The name "Grk" caught my attention, so I pulled it out and began to read... several minutes later, I figured I'd better get back to work, but I was already hooked, so I checked it out to finish at home.

The adventure begins when twelve-year-old Timothy Malt finds a small black and white dog on his way home from school. Determined to return Grk to his owners, Tim sneaks off with the dog to Stanislavia, show more where he must rescue Grk's owners from the evil Colonel Zinfandel, who has just taken over the country in a military coup.

The story is a fast-paced political thriller, which doesn't shy away from the inevitable violence, but neither does it dwell on it. Possibly too intense for younger children, it was a breath of fresh air to this adult who loves thrillers, but occasionally finds them unnecessarily murky and unpleasant. The characters are nicely drawn, and Tim is an admirable reluctant hero, an ordinary schoolboy who does what he thinks is right, even when it's scary and dangerous.

I enjoyed this book a lot. show less

In some sort of post-collapse future world, people rarely travel. One old-technology enthusiast loves screening old films in a shed re-fitted as a cinema. His latest invitation to a screening is a flop so he innovates successfully. An attempted story twist at the end though falls flat.

This review is also available on my blog, Read Till Dawn.

This is such a cute book! I read it one night when I wasn't tired. Its short size made it perfect for this situation, because I could read the whole thing in one sitting without worrying about staying up all night with a book. I lent it to my middle-school-aged brother, and I think he liked it okay - he didn't really say anything about it, and I think he feels like it's a little too young for him. Even my elementary-school-aged brother show more thought it was too short, though he also fretted about the fact that it was told in e-mails. I think that disconcerted him.

I hadn't read a little-kid book like this in a very long time, but The Dragonsitter is a lot better than a lot of the rubbish I remember reading when I was younger. It's silly, but in a cute way that still carries a storyline and allows for some real plot. The only real worry I have about the content of the book is toward the beginning: the dragon eats Edward's little sister's rabbit. This rather violent act might completely pass by most people as just another one of the dragon's wild acts, but I could see some of the more tender-hearted kids getting pretty upset over the idea that a cute little bunny got eaten. In fact, I think I was one of those tender-hearted kids. The death of anyone, no matter what species, cut me deeply, to the point where I was literally traumatized by the death of a minor feline character in Lassie Come-Home (some consider that one of the more kid-friendly dog books; I spent years considering it one of the saddest books I'd ever read). My only real concern with The Dragonsitter is that some other poor little kid will be as sensitive as I was, and come away sad. You know the kids in your life better than I do, though - if they're part of the 99% of the kids who won't care about Jemima the rabbit, then I definitely suggest giving The Dragonsitter a try with them. It's a fun little story, and it's even got sequels for the kids who become particularly attached to Edward and the dragon!

Disclaimer: I got a complementary ARC of this book at KidLitCon (in preparation for the hardback release). show less