River Readers

Gertrude is in Hell. Yep it finally happened. And of course normal hell won't do for our lovely Gert. Her hell is being back home with her parents in a twisted version of reality. When that doesn't work out things get even more twisted and Gert is forced to relive all her adventures in Fairlyand. But back in actual Fairyland, a witch has brought Cloudia back from the dead as Dark Cloudia whose mission is to destroy Fairyland for good. Only Gertrude can save Fairyland, but will Fairyland take her back? 

Boetema is fed up with her parents. They have just moved to a new city after her it was revealed her father kind of made up his skill set. But instead of finding work in this new city the parents take off to become salt farmers in the desert leaving Boetema and her brother Inotu own their own. When Inotu gets in trouble with the authorities, they too escape to the desert. At the same time, Boetema is having strange dreams of other worlds and learns that she can astral project.

Binti is a master harmonizer of her people who is on her way to Oomza University on another world. She is the first of her people to leave their land and carries with her the traditions of her home. After first being ostracized for being different from her fellow travelers, she soon makes friends and even starts falling in love with a boy. That all comes to a halt when the ship is attacked by alien terrorists who kill everyone on board except Binti. It seems that the things that set her apart from her fellow travelers are the exact things that save her life. 

So I listened to this one because I heard about this book and was curious. I am always looking for ways to improve myself and have read some really great self-help books. This one does not fall into that category. It wasn't horrible and it did have some good ideas (mostly in the first couple of chapters), but there were definitely some things in here that bothered me. 

Henry "Monty" Montague is ready for his Grand Tour of the Continent. It is his last year of gambling and debauchery before he has to settle down and learn how to run the estate from his father. Unfortunately, his father is tired of Monty's ways and sends along a bear-leader (babysitter) to chaperone Monty, his sister Felicity, and his best friend Percy around Europe. Things are not going the way Monty planned until a wild night a Versailles. Monty is caught with his pants down (literally) and sort of steals a little something from the King's prime minister Bourbon.

Arthur is a young runaway escaping an abusive stepfather. He steals a bit of supper and is on the run from a couple of thugs when he discovers the captive bear. Of course he is afraid of the bear, but he also feels a connection with it. The bear is a gift from King Haakon IV of Norway to King Henry III of England. Because of his affinity to the bear, Arthur joins the expedition. Of course the thugs from earlier are part of the crew and continue to torment Arthur. He takes solace in caring for the bear.

In a post-apocalyptic world devoid of humans, three animal friends struggle to survive. They scavenge food where they can but their town is quickly emptying of supplies. Then a new character comes to town and promises a town not abandoned. But is he really the best character? 

I probably should have read the first one of these. Maybe it explains what happened to the humans? I thought it was a bit strange that this is set in the real world but the animals where clothes. Really it is a story about bullying and choosing your friends wisely.

A year in the life of Sunny. Sunny starts middle school with her best friend. They might not have exactly the same interests anymore but they still get along pretty well. Sunny misses her Gramps who lives in Florida, but gets to talk to him on the phone and he comes to visit once a year. Sunny really misses her brother Dale who has been sent to boarding school. Dale is a troubled kid who hangs out with the wrong crowd. He is mad and the world and Sunny isn't sure how to deal with him. She does make a new friend in her new neighbor who teaches her to twirl flags. 

Malika is a African warrior queen who has united her kingdom. Yet she still has battles to fight. The Ming Dynasty from China has come to Africa to take over. Malika has aligned herself with her neighboring country of Atala and its king Bass, who just happens to be her secret husband. She faces opposition from her counselors, but prevails in battle. 

Simon knows all about aliens. He has been studying them for years and knows they are out there really abducting people. On a camping trip with his parents, Simon actually has an abduction experience. Of course no one believes him, but it keeps happening. He relies on his friends Tony and Miranda to help figure things out. His parents think he is crazy and send him to a psychiatrist to be medicated. But Simon knows something is coming.

Delilah Dirk has been accused of treason in this second adventure. Delilah is many things but a traitor is not one of them. The real traitor is none other than an English Major and he will stop at nothing to bring Delilah Dirk down and help France win the war. So Delilah and Mr. Selim are off to England to clear her name. Turns out that name isn't actually Delilah Dirk. We get to meet her real family and see her move around in English society. This is another fantastic adventure. I can't wait to read more. 

Delilah Dirk is an adventurous rogue who just so happens to be a woman. There is really nothing she can't do, no scrape she can't get out of, no enemy she can't vanquish. And she will definitely tell you so. After a bit of a tussle in Turkey, Delilah adopts Mr. Selim, a Turkish Jannisary, as her traveling companion. Mr. Selim may not have the same skill set but he brews a most excellent cup of tea. He is dragged into adventure after adventure with Delilah Dirk and he isn't sure this is the life for him. 

Helene is an outcast in school, but she wasn't always. Her friends have just decided they no longer like her and have started making fun of and bullying her every day. Helene finds solace in the pages of Jane Eyre and identifies with the character of Jane. Helene dreads a school trip where they will be attending camp for a week, but it does not turn out as expected. Helene joins the "outcast" group which inexplicably is also joined by popular girl Geraldine. Camp turns out to be not so bad, but will things change at school?

Salamandra is back in another story from Hopeless, Maine. She and her friend Owen become suspicious when people start dying. Sure people disappear all the time, but now they are becoming ill and dying. Could the doctor have something to do with it? We learn more about Hopeless's founding families and the islands history. We also meet Salamandra's grandfather and learn that at least one person has actually escaped the island. I would love to see more books set in this series. Not sure we will get them, but there would definitely be more stories to tell.

Hopeless, Maine lives up to its name. There is not a lot of hope, but there are a lot of orphans and missing persons. Where do they all go? Why are there never any bodies? What lurks in the fog? Salamandra is one such orphan. Her parents might have disappeared or they might have just gone away. Either way they are gone and her brother is missing so she ends up in the orphanage. She is not a witch like Miss Nightshade, but she does have some powers of her own. She can control fire and fight demons. Because of this, Salamandra doesn't fit in with the other orphans.