Samurai Rising by Pamela Turner

 An interesting, action-filled biography of Japan’s most famous Samurai warrior.

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

This is a biography, not a story.   But it is the action-packed true story of a young warrior who wants revenge on the warrior-clan that killed his father.    Afraid of nothing, he beats unbelievable odds, even leading a horse-back charge down a cliff. 

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Maddigan’s Fantasia by Margaret Mahy

An interesting book about a post-apocalyptic world with time travel and some magic.

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

Garland is a part of the traveling circus troupe, Maddigan’s Fantasia.   One day, after an attack in which her father dies, Garland meets two boys—one carrying a baby—who are from the future.  The boys are carrying a Talisman that was given to them by their scientist parents.   However, the boys’ evil Uncle Nennog, who can exert some effects in the present, has sent two creatures to pursue them.   It takes all of Garland’s, the boys, and the circus’ ingenuity and steadfastness to defeat Nennog’s time-traveling evil plans.

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Eyes of the Emperor

Author: Salisbury, Graham

Recommended: Yes.  A historical fiction story focusing on the Japanese in World War II from an unusual angle.

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

Summary of Plot: In a story based on real circumstances, Eddy joins the US Army in the days before World War II.  He wants to make a break with his Japanese past.   However, once Pearl Harbor hits, the Japanese are viewed with suspicion.    Unexpectedly, Eddy and his friends are given a difficult assignment far from the battle lines.

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Standing Small by Nevin Martell

Fun account of the history of Lego Mini figures.

6 – 8; 8 – 10; 10 – 12; 12 – 14; 14 – 16; 16 – 18; Adult

Interesting facts about many of Lego’s mini-figures.

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“Supers of Noble’s Green” series by Matthew Cody

Book Titles: 

1. Powerless
2. Super
3. Villainous

Imaginative and interesting stories about children super-heroes.

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

Daniel has moved into the town of Noble’s Green where he meets some children with some amazing powers.   However, there is a mystery—all of the children lose their power when they turn thirteen.   Daniel discovers that there is a dangerous secret to this mystery, and it takes all of the super children, together with Daniel’s help, to defeat the villain who is the real reason that the children lose their powers.  In the second book, he learns that there is more to this mystery than he thought.   The battle isn’t quite over, and the super children are still in danger. In the third book, another group of super-powered kids starts launching a crime spree around town, but Daniel suspects that this is only part of a bigger plan.

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 “Rapunzel’s Revenge” series by Shannon Hale

Book Titles:

1. Rapunzel’s Revenge
2. Calamity Jack

Graphic Novel

A fun and unusual take on the Rapunzel story.

10 – 12; 12 – 14; 14 – 16; 16 – 18; Adult

Evil Mother Gothel stole Rapunzel when she was little and used magic to dominate the land.   When Rapunzel challenged her, she imprisoned Rapunzel in a tower.   But Rapunzel escapes and uses her long hair to fight her way across the land to rescue her real mother, defeat Gothel and free the land from Gothel’s domination.   In the following book, Rapunzel and her friend Jack set off to Jack’s hometown where giants are oppressing the city.   Aided by a newspaper publisher friend, they work to foil the plans of the giants and rescue Jack’s mother.

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The Neptune Project by Polly Holyoke

An interesting book set in an entirely new world—the ocean.

14 – 16; 16 – 18; Adult

Nere lives in a post-apocalyptic world which is ruled by the cruel Western Collective. The world’s temperature is rising, and all hope for mankind seems lost. But some scientists have come up with a desperate plan for the continuation of the human race: the Neptune project. They’ve genetically changed the makeup of the kids in the Neptune Project giving them all sorts of abilities to help them survive underwater. Nere, unknowingly and unwillingly, is a part of it. Once she is fully transformed, the above world is lost to her. However, the depths of the ocean are not a safe place to be, and Nere has a long journey before she reaches safety.

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