Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins

What do you do when you are forced to fight and kill people who are not your enemies?

Recommended age: 10 – 12; 12 – 14; 14 – 16; 16 – 18; Adult

Burma is oppressed by its government, and it is at war with its ethnic minorities, among them, the Karenni people.  Chiko, who sympathizes with the Karenni, is kidnapped by the military and forced to train to fight the Karenni.  When Chiko steps on a mine, he is rescued by a Karenni young person who chooses to save him rather than kill him.   But bringing him home to the Karenni camp brings its own problems.

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“Young Sherlock Holmes” series by Andrew Lane

Book Titles:

1. Death Cloud
2. Rebel Fire
3. Black Ice
4. Fire Storm
5. Snake Bite
6. Knife Edge

The truth behind Sherlock Holmes’ origin.

Recommended age: 14 – 16; 16 – 18; Adult

We all know the stories about the adult Sherlock Holmes, such as The Hound of the Baskervilles or A Study in Scarlet, but how much do we really know about the famous detective? Where did he live as a child? What sort of life did he have when he was young? All these things Arthur Conan Doyle left unanswered in his famous stories of the first great private detective. Now, however, the truth about Sherlock Holmes’ origin is being answered.

In the first book, Sherlock is withdrawn from his private school and is sent to live with his aunt and uncle, who were estranged from the family as a result of an incident in the distant past. Life with his relatives is dull at first, but when a pair of murders happen, Sherlock suddenly finds himself plunged into the first adventure of his life.

In the second book, Sherlock is out in the country when he stumbles across the secret hiding place of some Confederate leaders, who are making a plan that will change the world. Sherlock manages to escape from them, but soon he is heading to America to rescue his friend, who was kidnapped by the Confederates, never realizing the danger awaiting him in that nation.

In the third book, Sherlock’s older brother Mycroft is wrongfully accused of murder. Sherlock attempts to get him acquitted, but at the same time is pulled into an international conspiracy that will make England an outcast forever, and only Sherlock can stop it.

In the fourth book of the series, Sherlock’s friends Amyus and Virginia Crowe suddenly disappear, apparently leaving no trace of where they’ve gone. Sherlock is suspicious, however, and soon he finds a clue leading him to Edinburgh, where he is soon plunged into his most dangerous adventure yet.  

In the fifth book, Snake Bite, Sherlock Holmes finds himself unexpectedly on a boat trip to China, where he thwarts a mass murder planned by a shady business organization. 

In the sixth book, Knife Edge, Sherlock investigates the claims of a spiritualist who is trying to auction his abilities to the country who will pay the most.

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The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien

The perfect book for anyone who’s ever wondered about Middle-Earth’s legendary past, it has a near-perfect blend of mystery and adventure, romance and tragedy, victory and defeat. In magnificent language, Tolkien gives us a display of the epic eternal battle of light versus dark and good versus evil.

Recommended age: 14 – 16; 16 – 18; Adult

The book is divided into five parts: The Ainulindalë (the tale of the song of the Ainur), the Valaquenta (the tale of the Valar), the Quenta Silmarillion (the tale of the Silmarilli), the Akallabêth (the tale of the downfall of Númenor), and a small section entitled “Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age”. The first two are mainly concerned with the creation of the world and descriptions of the Valar (powerful angels that were charged with the care of Middle-Earth).

But it’s in the Quenta Silmarillion that the real action start. The story traces the battle between good and evil, starting at the Beginning of Days. The good guys are the Valar, the Elves, and Men, but the Elves and Men make mistakes along the way. The bad guys are Morgoth (also known as Melkor; Tolkien’s version of Satan) and his various malevolent minions: Balrogs, Orcs, Trolls, Dragons, Evil Men, and a rather familiar nasty dude named Sauron (ring any bells?). In Quenta, each chapter contains a different tale or legend, but each story is connected to the whole. The tales mainly deal with the three Silmarilli (jewels of light and power) and the war over them. The fourth part, “Akallabêth,” is about the ancient island of Númenor (which some of you may remember) and its downfall. The fifth and last talks about Sauron’s rise after Morgoth’s defeat and the forging of the rings of power, and the strife that resulted, ending in the famous War of the Ring.

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 “Scottish Bookshop Mystery” series by Paige Shelton

1. The Cracked Spine

1.5 A Christmas Tartan (Short story e-book; Not Reviewed)

2. Of Bags and Bagpipes

Recommended age: The Cracked Spine: 16 – 18; Adult

                                    Of Bags and Bagpipes: Adult

In The Cracked Spine, Delaney Nichols surprises herself by responding to an ad for a job at a bookshop in Edinburgh after she is unexpectedly laid-off from her Natural History Museum job at a university in Kansas.  She gets the job and meets many interesting people, most of whom seem very friendly and welcoming: her employer and co-workers, her employer’s business associates, her first taxi-driver, and the owner of the pub across the street from her job.  But before she can settle into her new life, her employer’s sister is brutally murdered and a precious artifact goes missing.  Can she sort out whom she can trust and solve the mystery without getting any of her new friends (or herself) killed?  

            Delaney’s story continues in Of Bags and Bagpipes.  She is confronted by another tragic death connected to her work and her employer and once again gets caught up in solving the mystery.

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