The Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks

Graphic Novel

A fun, funky story of a girl with super powers.

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

Superhero girl is living a life of fighting crime.    It is a small town; there aren’t many villains, and very few super-villains (you know it’s bad when you have to fight Marshmallow Menace — who throws Marshmallows at you). It can be frustrating, and there is no money in it.   But Superhero girl is determined to do what is right, even when she is pestered by her super-successful superhero older brother.

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Manga Shakespeare: Hamlet by William Shakespeare text adapted by Appignanesi, Richard; illustrated by Vieceli, Richard.

An interesting manga version of one of Shakespeare’s most famed plays

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

Hamlet the Dane’s father died, and his uncle became king, marrying the widowed queen in the process. When the ghost of the Old King presents himself to Hamlet, speaking of murder, Hamlet is set upon a quest for truth and revenge that ends up in tragedy and death.

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“Pals in Peril Tales” series by M.T. Anderson

1. Whales on Stilts
2. The Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen
3. Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware
4. Agent Q, or the Smell of Danger
5. Zombie Mommy
6. He Laughed with His Other Mouths

A very funny series of spoofs of various genres of story books, but there are some questionable aspects to some of the books in the series.  I do not recommend Zombie Mommy, but others may not find it a problem.

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

Jasper and Katie are story book heroes.   They have not aged because their books are still being read.  In the first book, we are introduced to our heroes as they foil a dastardly plot to take over the world using, yes, whales walking on stilts.  In the second book, Lily, Jasper and Katie, along with a whole list of other story-book heroes have been invited to a rustic country resort for a special dinner.   Turns out the invitation was fraudulent, and there is skullduggery afoot.   Fortunately, the three figure it out, catch the criminals and everyone, including the bad guys (who are tied up with policemen to guard them) all go skiing.  In the third book and fourth books, they go to Delaware, through its jungles and ancient cities, dodging the Delaware secret police, dinosaurs and tentacled monsters, to find an ancient monastery hidden in the mountains, and then fight their way out.

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“The Cloak Society” series by Jeramey Kraatz

1. The Cloak Society
2. Villains Rising
3. Fall of Heroes

An interesting and fun superheroes vs. supervillains book from an unusual viewpoint.

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

Alex Knight has lived all his life in the secret base of the evil supervillain group known as The Cloak Society. He has been raised to believe in what they believe – to be a supervillain. For years he has looked forward to fighting the Society’s nemeses: the Rangers of Justice. But when he finally does, he saves a Ranger’s life, and suddenly, for the first time, Alex isn’t sure what he wants to be. And that’s not all—there are things going on behind the scenes, and soon Alex will have to make a choice: whose side is he really on?

The second book continues the story begun in the first.  The third book brings a climactic battle between The Cloak Society and the Rangers — and it all depends on Alex and his friends.

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Rook by Sharon Cameron

An entertaining, exciting and engaging retelling of Baroness Orczy’s The Scarlet Pimpernel, with its own dramatic twist.

Recommended age: 16 – 18; Adult.

There is nothing new under the sun. A disaster has befallen the world, and the majority of the world has turned away from technology, for the ancients’ dependence upon it is what destroyed them. After many long years of strife, the world has regained peace at last.  Now horrors are occurring in the Sunken City, which was once known as Paris. The wealthy and influential are being put to death underneath the Razor, and the poor are reduced to a bloodthirsty mob. But hope exists for the helpless in the form of a mysterious hero—the Red Rook, also known as Sophia Bellamy. Sophia has her own predicament; she must marry a fool with a fortune to save her family’s lands. Yet all is not as it seems, and that is a good thing. Soon the stakes—for both Sophia and the Red Rook—will have never been higher.

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“Ranger’s Apprentice – The Early Years” Series by John Flanagan

1. The Tournament at Gorlan

An exciting and engaging prequel to the author’s acclaimed Ranger’s Apprentice series.

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

When Crowley, one of the last true Rangers, and Halt, a mysterious Hibernian who has been given Ranger training, set out together, they have a difficult task ahead. They must foil the evil plans of Morgarath, a baron who has his eye on the throne of Araluen. But the man they were hoping to get help from seems to have gone to the dark side as well, and the Rangers are quickly becoming an extinct species. Can they gather together enough people to stop Morgarath’s evil plan before he obtains his goal?

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Blandings Castle by P.G. Wodehouse

A number of short stories mostly regarding Blandings Castle or Hollywood.  As usual with Wodehouse, they are complex and very funny.

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

Lord Emsworth is the absent-minded lord of Emsworth Castle, and he is surrounded by domineering sisters who try to make him act his role as Lord of the Manor, and who bring their daughters or sons to Blandings to keep them from getting married to people who don’t have money.   In the Blandings Stories Lord Emsworth, with the help of the young lovers (or in one case, a twelve-year-old girl) eventually stands up to his sisters (or his gardener) and helps the young lovers get reunited.  In the Hollywood Series, young love survives despite the temptations and trials of life around the silver screen.

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“The Shakespeare Stealer” series by Gary Blackwood

1. The Shakespeare Stealer
2. Shakespeare’s Scribe (Not Reviewed)
3. Shakespeare’s Spy (Not Reviewed)

An interesting story about a boy in Shakespearean England.

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

Widge is an orphan who was taught a form of shorthand and then sent south to secretly transcribe the play Hamlet so a rogue play company could put it on.   However, things work out much differently than Widge expects, and he starts developing loyalties to Shakespeare and his playing company.

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