“Lost Planet” series by Rachel Searles

1. The Lost Planet
2. The Stolen Moon

An interesting science fiction adventure series.

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

Chase Garrety has amnesia. Remembering nothing from before the moment when he woke up, his only clues to the past are a blaster wound on the back of his head, a microchip embedded beneath his skin, and the phrase ‘Guide the star’. Wanting to know more about himself, he decides to leave Trucon, the planet he’s living on. However, when Trucon is destroyed minutes after his departure, he and a companion are framed for the destruction, and Chase has to go on the run. While in a refugee camp, Chase briefly meets a girl who claims to be his sister, presenting Chase with a possible key to the past. Leaping at this opportunity, Chase tries to find the girl again, not realizing the danger that lies ahead. In The Stolen Moon, Chase’s fate gets tied up with that of hundreds of innocents, as a group of hijackers seize the spaceship that Chase and his friends call home.

TO SEE THE FULL REVIEW: 

• If you are reading this in your e-mail, please be sure to click on the link at the top of the page to go to the Reading With Wisdom website.
• If you are reading this on the Reading With Wisdom website, Click on the link underneath READ ALL REVIEWS on the right-hand side of this page.

Henry Reed, Inc. by Keith Robertson

A funny story about being a boy in the country in the 1950s.

Recommended age: 12 – 14; 14 – 16

Henry is living in Italy, but he comes home to the US for the summer with an assignment from his teacher to learn about free enterprise.   Meanwhile, if Henry is anything like his mother, his Uncle is expecting an interesting summer.   His expectations might be best expressed in his parting words to Henry at the end of the summer:  “When Vesuvius erupts, take a picture for me. . . . With both you and your mother in Naples, it’s bound to [erupt].”   Wherever Henry (or his mother) went, things happened.

TO SEE THE FULL REVIEW: 

• If you are reading this in your e-mail, please be sure to click on the link at the top of the page to go to the Reading With Wisdom website.
• If you are reading this on the Reading With Wisdom website, Click on the link underneath READ ALL REVIEWS on the right-hand side of this page.

Riley Mack” Series by Chris Grabenstein

1. Riley Mack and the Other Known Troublemakers
2. Riley Mack Stirs Up More Trouble

An interesting (and hilarious) series about sticking up for the underdog.

Recommended age: 10 – 12; 12 – 14; 14 – 16.

Riley Mack and his crew (Briana— the actress, Jake— the techie, Mongo— the muscle, Jamal— the assistant, and sometimes Mrs. Mack, Riley’s mom) set out to protect all who cannot protect themselves. If that leads them into huge schemes, conning, rescuing hapless individuals, bringing down bank robbers and various assorted bad guys, not to mention getting in danger, well, it’s all in the line of duty for them. They can act, spy, and talk themselves into any place in the town, and they’ll stop at nothing to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

TO SEE THE FULL REVIEW: 

• If you are reading this in your e-mail, please be sure to click on the link at the top of the page to go to the Reading With Wisdom website.
• If you are reading this on the Reading With Wisdom website, Click on the link underneath READ ALL REVIEWS on the right-hand side of this page.

Abel’s Island by William Steig

An original story about a mouse who is washed away in a hurricane and stranded on an isolated island.

Recommended age: 8 – 10; 10 – 12; 12 – 14.

Abelard foolishly rushes out to save his wife’s scarf during a hurricane and gets blown away.  After being caught in a rushing stream, he finally comes to land on an island in the middle of a river, far from all other civilized small animals.   On the island, he manages to survive, feed himself, and protect himself from predators while he waits to be rescued.

TO SEE THE FULL REVIEW: 

• If you are reading this in your e-mail, please be sure to click on the link at the top of the page to go to the Reading With Wisdom website.
• If you are reading this on the Reading With Wisdom website, Click on the link underneath READ ALL REVIEWS on the right-hand side of this page.

“Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School” series by Andrew Clements

1. We the Children
2. Fear Itself
3. The Whites of their Eyes
4. In Harm’s Way
5. We Hold These Truths

An intriguing series of stories of kids trying to solve an old mystery.

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

Glennley is a large corporation which wants to buy Benjamin Pratt’s two hundred-year old school, demolish it and set up an amusement park.   One day as Benjamin is rushing to school, he comes across the school’s old custodian who is dying.  He gives Benjamin an old coin, and tells him that it is his duty to protect the school.  The coin has a clue on it which leads Benjamin onward.  But first he must get around a sinister assistant custodian or two who have secrets of their own.

TO SEE THE FULL REVIEW: 

• If you are reading this in your e-mail, please be sure to click on the link at the top of the page to go to the Reading With Wisdom website.
• If you are reading this on the Reading With Wisdom website, Click on the link underneath READ ALL REVIEWS on the right-hand side of this page.

“Pete the Cat” series by Peg Kehret

1. The Stranger Next Door
2. Spy Cat

Two interesting stories about two series of crimes and the cat who helps solve them.

Recommended age: 10 – 12; 12 – 14

In the first book, there is a series of arsons in Alex and Benji’s neighborhood.   Pete the cat leads Alex on the way to the clues to solve the arsons, but then Alex finds himself in great danger.  In the second book, there is a series of burglaries in the area.   When the burglars hit Alex and Benji’s neighbor’s house, and then Alex and Benji’s house, it is very frightening — especially when Benji goes missing.   Fortunately for Alex and Benji, their cat, Pete, is also on the case — and with his help they catch the crooks and free Benji.   Now, if only Pete could stop eating french fries.

TO SEE THE FULL REVIEW: 

• If you are reading this in your e-mail, please be sure to click on the link at the top of the page to go to the Reading With Wisdom website.
• If you are reading this on the Reading With Wisdom website, Click on the link underneath READ ALL REVIEWS on the right-hand side of this page.

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein

An intriguing story full of puzzles, books, mysteries, and games, which teaches a lot about teamwork, honesty, and playing fair.

Recommended age: 12 – 14; 14 – 16.

Kyle Keeley is only good at one thing: games. He couldn’t be happier when Mr. Lemoncello, the greatest game maker in the world, creates the most amazing library in the world. Right in his hometown! And to top it off, the twelve-year-olds of his town (including Kyle) are offered an amazing opportunity. Each kid may write an essay about the library, and the twelve with the best essays are invited to stay the night before the opening of the library in the library. Kyle is determined to get in. But getting in is the easy part; the hard part is getting out again.  Kyle is caught up in a game called “get out of the library.” The first one to do it gets a prize, but it might be beyond even Kyle’s ability escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library.

TO SEE THE FULL REVIEW: 

• If you are reading this in your e-mail, please be sure to click on the link at the top of the page to go to the Reading With Wisdom website.
• If you are reading this on the Reading With Wisdom website, Click on the link underneath READ ALL REVIEWS on the right-hand side of this page.

Faithful to the End

“The Last Dogs” series by Christopher Holt

1. The Vanishing
2. Dark Waters
3. The Long Road
4. Journey’s End

A story of three dogs trying to find their owners who have disappeared for an unknown reason.

Recommended age: 10 – 12; 12 – 14

Their owners have disappeared, and they don’t know why.   Max and his two friends have set off to find their masters.  Fleeing starving wolves and seeking their owners, they run into the Corporation — dogs who are much more dangerous than the wolves.   It takes all their courage and resourcefulness to escape and bring freedom to the captives of the Corporation.   In the subsequent books, they continue their journey down river, learning some important information on the way.

TO SEE THE FULL REVIEW: 

• If you are reading this in your e-mail, please be sure to click on the link at the top of the page to go to the Reading With Wisdom website.
• If you are reading this on the Reading With Wisdom website, Click on the link underneath READ ALL REVIEWS on the right-hand side of this page.

“The Seven Sleepers” series by Gilbert L. Morris

1. Flight of the Eagles
2. The Gates of Neptune
3. The Sword of Camelot
4. The Caves that Time Forgot
5. Winged Raiders of the Desert
6. Empress of the Underworld
7. Voyage of the Dolphin
8. Attack of the Amazons
9. Escape with the Dream Maker
10. The Final Kingdom

Fun fantasy stories about seven young people battling to defeat evil.

Recommended age: 10 – 12; 12 – 14.   Winged Raiders: 12 – 14

The world has been destroyed by nuclear war.   But before the war, seven young children were placed into suspended animation.   Fifty years later, they have been awakened and given a quest — to defeat the evil that is ruling in the land and restore God’s House.

TO SEE THE FULL REVIEW: 

• If you are reading this in your e-mail, please be sure to click on the link at the top of the page to go to the Reading With Wisdom website.
• If you are reading this on the Reading With Wisdom website, Click on the link underneath READ ALL REVIEWS on the right-hand side of this page.